---

Fear.

An emotion that arises from fearing something.

It wasn’t such an unfamiliar feeling.

No, in a way, it could be said to be the emotion most familiar to Ha-eun.

Regardless, the reason Ha-eun began acting in the first place was due to the fear of her parents from her previous life.

The first emotion that rushed in when Ha-eun’s seemingly healthy acting fell apart due to a momentary mistake was also fear.

However, because the fears that her parents from her past life allowed her to show didn’t include fear directed at themselves,

She had to learn to become numb to fear first.

Maybe that’s why, until now, Ha-eun had never shown signs of being scared of anything.

There really wasn’t much for Ha-eun to be scared of.

So, perhaps.

“I’m planning to play <Shirooni> on Wednesday.”

[ Hmm, it seems like there could be an impact…. Are you okay with that? ]

“Yes. I’m confident.”

In a call with the dedicated manager in charge of the fantasy world making arrangements for Dia’s broadcast schedule, she assured there wouldn’t be any problems.

It wasn’t that she outright disliked the way others worried about Ha-eun.

In the first place, <Shirooni> itself wasn’t that scary of a horror game.

The graphics were a relatively cute 2D pixel art style, unlike the latest horror games that generally use 3D.

Thus, considering that Ha-eun was already trained in the emotion of fear, she thought she’d be able to clear <Shirooni> without any trouble.

She believed she’d just have to focus on showing Dia’s different side.

To put it bluntly, that was a misjudgment.

“Ah, there was nothing just a moment ago! Where did that come from…!”

– Nothing was there X I saw nothing O

– I wondered what kind of confidence it was to just stand there, lol

– I’ve never seen a dead person in the kitchen before

– Do you know the VTuber who lost 150,000 won in an instant?

– Prediction) All-nighter tonight

The shaking vision.

Irregular breathing.

The heartbeat hammering way too loudly.

Lastly, Dia’s avatar, which was almost fainting and leaning backward.

‘…This is bad.’

Everything from one to ten proved that Ha-eun was genuinely scared.

At the same time, it meant that the act of Dia “acting scared like a child,” which Ha-eun had previously planned, was impossible.

Ha-eun must have known the overall story of <Shirooni>.

She probably remembered most of the traps’ locations and how the game progressed.

Therefore, she intended to play smoothly so that Dia wouldn’t feel frustrated while also intentionally getting caught by yokai or falling into traps, showcasing Dia’s flustered appearance as an ‘act.’

The problem was that the version of <Shirooni> in Ha-eun’s memory was an outdated version from years ago.

The version Dia was currently playing had undergone several updates compared to the one Ha-eun remembered.

Therefore.

“Hide in the warehouse before they come running—”

-Clank.

-Clank clank.

“…Huh? Why won’t this open?”

– The locked door does not open. Because it is a locked door.

– You need to find the key first, Dia Dia

– “Open, sesame,” and it will open, sure

– Oh no, a shadow behind you

– Good luck, lol

In an attempt to entertain the broadcast, instead of purposely getting caught by yokai, she genuinely couldn’t escape and ended up getting caught and devoured.

Simultaneously, the terrified voice captured by the broadcast mic was genuine, not an act.

In a way, that might be expected.

The strongest fear a person can feel is “fear of the unknown.”

Ha-eun, who thought she was immune to the emotion of fear until now,

Hadn’t gotten familiar with the fear of the unknown even a tiny bit.

To be precise, the fear Ha-eun was used to was learned fear.

It was a type of fear that finally became fear only because she knew what it was.

However, the current <Shirooni> that Dia was playing primarily utilized ‘sudden appearances’ as its horror elements.

The fear felt by the players in <Shirooni> stemmed from the fact that a white yokai trying to eat them “did not reveal at all” when or where it would appear.

If Ha-eun had been playing the <Shirooni> version from her memory, she could have predicted when and where the yokai would pop out.

“Th-the piano. The third key from the right….”

[ Screech! ]

[ Guwaaaaah! ]

“?! I haven’t pressed the keys yet, I haven’t pressed them!”

– You seem to have upset someone by touching their piano without permission~

– From <Shirooni>‘s perspective, Dia is an intruder, sure

– Another intruder! Another intruder! Another intruder! Another intruder! Another intruder! Another intruder! Another intruder! Another intruder! Another intruder! Another intruder!

– At this rate, she’ll really be up all night, won’t she?

Unfortunately, the <Shirooni> that Dia was currently playing was the version updated with all the most recent patches.

As a result, she was completely unable to predict where or when the yokai would pop out.

In other words, <Shirooni>‘s sudden appearances were able to showcase their terror effectively.

[ Silica donated 10,000 won! ]

: At this rate, I might explode from <Shirooni>

[ Morang parakeets donated 10,000 won! ]

: Hmm, seems like the face area isn’t cooked evenly. Eliminated.

“Y-you’re not supposed to eat my face…!”

– But you’ve already been eaten more than ten times

– If it’s an uncooked face, isn’t that a pass? I really don’t get it (message deleted)

– <Shirooni> might just be too tired to eat you, lol

– Why did you come to the abandoned mansion? To deliver a packed lunch, huh…!

For quite a while, Ha-eun genuinely paid the price for overly trusting her memory.

The chat filled with messages teasing Dia and her donation comments were just an added bonus.

Thus, finally, after about two hours since the <Shirooni> broadcast had started.

More specifically, at the moment she realized she hadn’t even had a chance to see the annex, the main stage of <Shirooni>‘s core story.

‘…This isn’t going to work.’

In order to avoid further confusion due to parts that differed from Ha-eun’s memory,

She removed all information about <Shirooni> from Ha-eun’s mind entirely.

Because she felt that relying on the memories would only lead to continual surprises.

Above all, what worried her most was Ha-eun’s throat.

Though it hadn’t hurt yet, any more screams might prove risky.

‘Stay calm.’

After completely clearing Dia’s state to that of a blank slate knowing nothing about <Shirooni>,

She prepared to make sure she wouldn’t let her guard down, no matter where she went in the manor.

“I’ve checked the bathroom and the warehouse, so now I just need to check the master bedroom—”

[ …Creak! ]

[ Guwaaaaah! ]

“Why are you hiding in the fireplace! There are so many other places!”

– That’s just the homeowner’s discretion

– Isn’t it Dia’s fault for disturbing the Shirooni that was quietly hiding in the fireplace?

– The fireplace is wider than expected

– I just stepped away for a moment, why is it game over again?

Of course, being startled was another issue altogether.

Because she had been carefully investigating in search of more clues, the frequency of encounters with yokai increased as well.

What was fortunate, however, was that the previously stagnant story began to gradually progress again.

Thanks to thoroughly investigating every nook and cranny of the mansion, they were able to steadily advance toward the ending of <Shirooni>.

Having solved all the puzzles in the basement of the manor,

After quite a few trial and error, Dia managed to shake off the yokai chasing her after finding the secret passage.

“P-please open the door, <Dia>. If you don’t, I might really get caught!”

“I absolutely will not. You’re a yokai already!”

– LOL

– This is why I hate smart little kids (1 year old)

– Ah, she won’t fall for this at all, haha

Ha-eun instantly saw through the lies of already-dead NPCs,

Finally successfully reaching close to the ending.

Not long after that, they faced a massive maze filled with traps of all kinds.

Right behind them, numerous yokai were pursuing Dia.

– I predict 20 tries

– Didn’t the squirrel take over an hour just at this part?

– Not to mention, saving isn’t even possible here, lol

– If you die here, you’ll definitely be sent back to the starting village, Dia

[ 67889 donated 10,000 won! ]

: If you don’t die even once, it’s 40,000 won

[ Exclusive Keizer Atul donated 10,000 won! ]

: Plus an additional 60,000 won, haha this is a safe asset

As expected, incredible quests were soon upon them.

Since none of the viewers watching Dia’s broadcast thought anyone could succeed in this mission, it was a possible occurrence.

As the number of viewers rose to about 8,000, they all eagerly anticipated Dia’s genuine screams and despair.

However, that was only because Dia had often fallen victim to the yokai’s packed lunch due to ‘not knowing’ things.

Thus.

Now that the locations of the yokai and traps were completely revealed,

-Tap tap.

-Swoosh~!

-Swish. Swish swoosh.

She was confident she wouldn’t become a yokai’s meal even once.

“Up down up right down left up up jump!”

– ?

– Why is she doing well?

– This isn’t what I was expecting

– Someone is controlling Dia

– Wait, why are we escaping the maze like it’s a rhythm game, lol

– Who are you!!!!!!!!!!

– Give us back our hopeless Dia!

So, after reaching the end of the maze with unprecedented skill,

As Dia watched the yokai that had been chasing her collapse together with the maze crumbling behind her, she exclaimed.

“Take that, all the wicked viewers who said there’d be 20 tries—☆”

– Huh?

– Where on earth did you learn that phrase?

– UNBELIEVABLE!!!!

– This is bad, Dia is so happy, lol

She spun in place, celebrating that she hadn’t died even once.

And just less than 5 seconds later.

[ Snatch! ]

“?!”

[ Guwaaaaah! ]

“What, what is happening!!!”

Somehow a yokai that had crawled up to Dia’s location dragged her down below, leading her to her death.

At the same time, the broadcast chat flooded with explosions of messages.

– HAHAHAHA

– You can’t teabag in <Shirooni> either, Dia, lol

– As expected, you didn’t betray my expectations

– I trust you, you are indeed Dia

– Dia’s teaching moment GOAT: <Shirooni>

– Wow stunning

– Welcome back, Dia! It’s the starting village!

The final escape also came with a time limit, but the oblivious Dia didn’t even know that~

Ultimately, she had to restart from the beginning of the vast maze.

Once she finally emerged from it, she headed straight for the exit.

Ignoring the ‘boring’ chats flooding the broadcast chat, she pressed on.

Finally, as the ending credits for <Shirooni> began to roll, she let out a sigh of relief.

Not long after, she finally saw the message ‘Thanks For Playing!’

Just as she moved her mouse cursor to exit the game,

[ Wham! ]

[ Guwaaaaah! ]

The white yokai that had been tormenting Dia all day appeared once more, preparing to shatter Ha-eun’s eardrums as it released an awful scream.

-Bang!

-Crash!

Dia’s avatar once again teetered backward, nearly fainting.

Having properly toppled over in the broadcast chair, she could only barely confirm that the speed of the chat had exponentially increased.

– This time, I think she really died

– May the soul of the deceased rest in peace

– Ah, the ending is so fulfilling, haha

– I’ll have to save this for replay, won’t I?

– Dia, your real-time clips have been completely filled!

After taking a moment to catch her breath,

With great effort, she managed to rise.

“…Bye-bye….”

– So you were alive after all

– Real-time) Squirrel almost called 119 out of relief

– Diva (not the character)

Two days later, she said her farewells to the viewers she would reunite with.

Dia’s broadcast would completely conclude ten minutes after that.

However, even during the final ending credits, the white yokai that had suddenly appeared wouldn’t leave Ha-eun’s mind.

– Thud.

– Thud.

She headed not toward Ha-eun’s bed across from the broadcasting booth, but toward the door.

Then, she immediately made her way to the master bedroom.

“Can I… sleep together today?”

“Huh? Why? Did you have a scary dream?”

“…It was similar.”

She crawled between Nayun and Seongyoon, who were already ready for bed.

Though she knew full well that it was just a game, she couldn’t seem to calm down.

Of course, from Nayun’s perspective, she couldn’t ignore Ha-eun’s request.

So she gently hugged Ha-eun, softly patting her back while recalling memories of their childhood.