Hobbyist VTuber

---

Snow-white hair gradually transitioning into bright colors like a gradient.

Eyes that seemed to contain the beautiful evening glow.

A white off-shoulder dress bursting with purity and innocence.

Finally confronting Dia’s avatar, there wasn’t a single part of it that I didn’t like.

No matter which part of Dia it was, it perfectly captured Haeun’s heart.

After that, whenever Haeun tilted her head, the avatar would tilt its head in the same manner.

When she opened her mouth to say “Ah~,” the avatar would echo with the same “Ah~.”

It would mimic the catchy lines of virtual YouTubers that Haeun remembered, repetitively mimicking her.

‘…Finally.’

The cute youngest member of [Fantasy Realm], Dia.

Every single thing about it was exactly what Haeun had longed for.

So, I had forgotten.

“Um, excuse me… Haeun?”

Right now, Haeun wasn’t alone in her soundproof booth.

“It seems the avatar test is done, so I’ll let you know about other things as well.”

A slightly averted gaze.

The corners of her mouth quivered as she suppressed laughter.

Most importantly, the high-pitched voice of Dia that was just then playing from Jihyemin’s phone due to the broadcast delay.

‘…Oh.’

It made Haeun’s ears turn red within seconds.

At the same time, it made Haeun realize that her rationality had momentarily flown away.

In retrospect, it wouldn’t matter if Jihyemin and her friend found out anyway.

After all, they were people who already knew Haeun was Dia.

However, it was the first time that her practiced expressions and voice, which she had always rehearsed in front of a mirror, were discovered by someone else.

“This is Haeun. So, this is Dia’s broadcast standby screen. And this screen here—”

-Click.

-Click-click.

“The left monitor will show donations and the chat window. And it will display Dia’s current status—”

“I’ll register the broadcast managers while we’re at it—”

For quite a while, I couldn’t grasp what Jihyemin and her friend were saying.

I vaguely understood the context.

But maintaining eye contact for more than a second was impossible.

About 20 minutes later, the general guide to the virtual YouTuber broadcast concluded.

The heat in my ears had settled somewhat.

Except.

“Um, Haeun. It seems like Dia will have to do the debut broadcast alone on Tuesday.”

“?”

Due to the debut broadcast schedule of [Fantasy Realm] set from Monday to Wednesday.

To be precise, it turned out that only Haeun among the members would be making her debut alone.

“It feels a bit heavy to introduce two people in a row for two days.”

“But Haeun is the most veteran when it comes to broadcasting. From the lines you dropped earlier, I think you’ll handle the hosting well.”

Even after receiving words of encouragement, or rather, not-really-encouragement from Jihyemin and her friend, Haeun felt a heavy weight on her shoulders.

After all, Tuesday’s solo debut was going to be a significant event in many ways.

Haeun had to bear the expectations created by the two members debuting on Monday all by herself.

At the same time, Haeun had to build anticipation alone for the other two members who would debut on Wednesday.

Though Haeun had been preparing for the day she would debut as the virtual YouTuber Dia for a long time.

It was uncertain whether she could fulfill such a heavy responsibility right from her first broadcast.

“…I’ll do my best.”

Even so, rather than honestly admitting her burden of going solo, she lied and said she was looking forward to it.

That’s because Haeun still didn’t like the thought of others worrying about her.

At some point, she had been putting on a calm face.

With a serene voice that held no tremor.

The earlier warmth had already vanished.

What filled that emptiness was only the weighty atmosphere unique to Haeun.

Upon seeing this, Jihyemin also seemed somewhat relieved and expressed her gratitude.

Regardless, Haeun had received the highest score in internal evaluations anyway.

According to the schedule of the Fantasy Realm project, one of the members had to debut solo.

Thus, it made perfect sense for the company to choose Haeun, who received the highest evaluation, as the solo debut member.

There were times when they worried about giving such a heavy responsibility to Haeun, the youngest by age.

But no matter how much they deliberated, there was no one but Haeun to shoulder that responsibility.

“Jongin and I will be in as the broadcast managers, so if you need any help, just send out an SOS at any time.”

After exchanging yet another round of encouragement and farewell with Haeun, they left through the entrance door only for Haeun to return home.

– Thud.

“Haa…”

Finally feeling the pressure and burden that crashed over her, she steeled herself for the solo debut.

Entering once more into the pure white soundproof booth was a matter for later.

“Ah, ah. Aah—”

For quite a while after that, Haeun whispered various lines while keeping Dia’s avatar on the monitor.

Sometimes tilting her head or suddenly flashing a bright smile, or crying along with her gestures.

‘…I can…do it, right?’

What Haeun wanted to act as Dia was her ideal.

It was an expression of the image that her previous life, Haeun, had dreamed of.

So she wanted to prepare more thoroughly than ever.

*

“Hey? Where are you going, Haeun?”

“Drama shooting.”

“Oh, right, right. You said you passed the audition.”

After her friend’s light encouragement of “Good luck!” Haeun casually waved her hand to say goodbye.

Not too long after, she got into the black van driven by Joo Jeong-yoon.

However, Joo Jeong-yoon noticed that Haeun seemed to be more fired up than usual today.

“Are you nervous? Should I give you something to calm you down?”

Joo Jeong-yoon tried her best to help ease Haeun’s nerves.

However, her actual tension wasn’t about filming the first shot for [The Moonlight Split by Clouds].

But rather.

[Fantasy Realm PV]

[5,214 people waiting]

‘…More than I thought.’

It was due to the upcoming release of the PV for Fantasy Realm.

Of course, there was also some anxiety about Dia’s debut broadcast scheduled for Tuesday.

However, after arriving at the filming location for The Moonlight Split by Clouds, there was still some time before the release of the Fantasy Realm PV.

Perhaps that’s why.

“Um, Haeun? Are you uncomfortable anywhere?”

Even when heading to the dressing room to change into Yeongwol’s costume and makeup, she was seriously contemplating whether or not to watch the Fantasy Realm PV on her phone.

The fact that Haeun was in such a state made her appear uncomfortable to others.

“Hmm, it’s not good to be too tight, so should I loosen the compression bandage a bit?”

“Ah… No. It feels just right.”

Thus, the white compression bandage that wrapped around Haeun’s upper body remained intact while Yeongwol’s black costume was put on her.

In the end, watching the Fantasy Realm PV would have to be postponed until all shoots for the day were finished.

However, the moment the sword for the filming was in Haeun’s hand.

“Uh…?”

She was momentarily bewildered by the weight of the sword being far less than half of what she remembered.

Thus, it came naturally to ask the staff in front of her if there were any other swords.

“Um, Haeun, I think you’ll need to ask Director Jin directly about the swords.”

“?”

“The thing is, the director said he wanted to manage the filming swords himself. So you’ll have to check with him to see if there are any other swords you can use.”

The staff had trailed off without making clear what had happened.

So, eventually, she headed over to Jin Gyuseong to find a sword that was a bit heavier but suited for swinging better.

“Excuse me, Director. Is there a heavier sword?”

“That’s the heaviest sword we have.”

‘Impossible.’

Ultimately, the sword Haeun had used in the audition could not be found.

Although a relatively heavier sword was handed to her by Jin Gyuseong, it still didn’t satisfy Haeun’s standards.

The composure in Jin Gyuseong’s expression made it impossible to ask about it any further.

Additionally, the now perfectly transformed Yuseongjae, as the Crown Prince Lee Hyeon, approached Haeun.

“I heard everyone saying that Haeun’s makeup looks fantastic, and I was curious how well it suited you… This is like Yeongwol just jumped out of the book, though?”

“Ah… Thank you. Seongjae, you look exactly like Crown Prince Lee Hyeon.”

Pushing the question about the sword aside for a moment.

They began discussing the scene that Haeun and Yuseongjae would be filming that day.

“It’s on the first page of the script, so it would be hard to forget the lines. Well, not that there are many lines to begin with.”

As Yuseongjae had noted, the scene planned for the first shoot in The Moonlight Split by Clouds was marked as number 1.

This was because Jin Gyuseong was a director who filmed in the order of the script.

Following today, they were set to film in the sequence of the script for The Moonlight Split by Clouds.

This approach aligned with Jin Gyuseong’s personal belief that filming in order enables actors to immerse themselves more easily.

The upcoming scene was where Crown Prince Lee Hyeon, on an outing from the palace, would first meet Yeongwol in a certain forest.

“Just don’t accidentally cut me when we start, okay?”

“Well… I’ll try my best.”

It was also the moment when Lee Hyeon would recognize that Yeongwol had exceptional sword skills.

That’s because the main content of this scene was about Hyeon narrowly being saved by Yeongwol while fleeing from a wild boar.

A risky situation where, if mishandled, Hyeon could end up cut by Yeongwol’s sword instead of the wild boar.

Of course, since it was just filming, Yuseongjae, who asked Haeun not to cut him before, wasn’t worried about actually getting harmed.

“Alright. 3, 2, 1… Cue!”

Finally, the signal to start filming echoed through the set.

More precisely, it was the moment when Yuseongjae, running away from an imagined wild boar, stumbled just in front of where Haeun was hiding.

​

-A chill ran down.

For some reason, an eerie feeling washed over Yuseongjae, making it seem as if he would genuinely get cut by Haeun’s sword.

Haeun’s expression also appeared fierce enough that it felt like she might actually slice Yuseongjae.