Chapter 51

Being about 10 minutes late for the meeting?

I can understand that.

Unlike us adults, Ha Eun is still a high school student.

After all, I could just assume that classes must have ended late today.

Wanting to be a Virtual YouTuber despite still being in high school is also something I can understand.

There’s no age limit on the profession of being a Virtual YouTuber after all.

Finding what you want to do at a young age and ultimately passing the audition is something that should be praised, not criticized.

However, no matter how much I try to understand,

“…Could you sign this for me?”

“W-what? Us?”

I absolutely could not comprehend why someone who should be receiving signatures was instead asking for them.

No matter what anyone says, the most famous person here right now is Ha Eun.

She is the one who has been most widely recognized for her charm as well.

Really, why would anyone need the signatures of people who haven’t even debuted yet?

If they truly wanted signatures, it would have been better to ask Da Ramji or Jee Hye-min instead of themselves.

“I already got Da Ramji’s.”

“Oh, I see…”

Just a few seconds later, I encountered Ha Eun’s earnest gaze and cautious voice once again.

Unable to refuse her genuine demeanor, we all ended up giving our individual signatures.

It was also hard to muster the courage to turn down a request from such a famous actress like Ha Eun.

At that very moment, the sketchbook containing four signatures was gently placed in Ha Eun’s bag.

‘…Wait a minute. Four people?’

Realizing something was off, my mind was filled with question marks.

The total number of people in the room is six.

Excluding Jee Hye-min, there are five.

In other words, the final successful candidates who gathered in this room aren’t the usual four, but five.

Ha Eun moved a bit closer to Jee Hye-min, who was standing behind her.

“Why is there one more person?”

Whispering those slightly flustered words into Jee Hye-min’s ear, she finally revealed things that she hadn’t informed Ha Eun about yet.

“Originally, there were supposed to be four, including Ha Eun. But we couldn’t afford to drop any of the four, so we decided to increase the number.”

“Is that really allowed?”

“Well, adding just one more person isn’t going to kill anyone.”

Jee Hye-min added that they were all exceptionally talented enough to expand the number of members in the project.

Since she was the one in charge of the project, I figured it was the right decision, so Ha Eun didn’t raise any further objections.

In a way, it might even have been a relief.

Ultimately, all the members Ha Eun remembered are now able to debut under the name ‘Fantasy Realm.’

Since Ha Eun had been secretly worried that someone might not be able to participate because of her, she felt a slight sense of relief.

The problem lay in the distance between Ha Eun and the other members.

“Um, it was certainly lively a moment ago, but everyone suddenly got quiet. Didn’t you all want to chat with Ha Eun freely?”

‘Freely? …How exactly?’

In any case, the other members were just ordinary people.

Though some had gained recognition in their specific fields or had a degree of fame, it was on a totally different level.

Even if you stopped anyone passing by to ask if they knew Ha Eun, they would definitely answer yes.

Even if they didn’t recognize Ha Eun, they would never forget the young Lee Ha-eun from Beorol.

Strictly speaking, aside from the young Lee Ha-eun, there were many words to describe Ha Eun.

But was there really any need to explain the person Lee Ha-eun in detail?

From the perspective of the other members, Ha Eun was truly an ecological disturbance.

When Jee Hye-min had first relayed Ha Eun’s existence, she honestly thought Ha Eun was merely someone wanting to do Virtual YouTube for some fleeting fun.

And this was also the case with Jee Hye-min when she first realized Ha Eun was an entertainer.

‘I completely understand why you’d ask such questions. However, Ha Eun is more earnest about Fantasy Realm than anyone else. If not, feel free to slap me across the face.’

She did her absolute best to convince the other members of Ha Eun’s significance.

Showing them Ha Eun’s audition video was part of that effort.

‘She really sings well, right? I was super surprised the first time I heard it.’

‘…What are people like us supposed to live on?’

‘Huh? What did you say?’

‘Oh…nothing!’

Thanks to that, the misunderstandings among the other members were quickly resolved.

The problem wasn’t about Ha Eun’s exceptional singing and dancing skills; it was that they were feeling intimidated in a different way than before.

Thus, Jee Hye-min’s request for them to talk to Ha Eun more comfortably was quite a challenge.

Recognizing Ha Eun’s sincerity towards becoming a Virtual YouTuber and casually conversing with her were two entirely different matters.

Ultimately, unable to stand the awkward atmosphere that remained no matter how much time passed, Jee Hye-min finally decided to act.

“I didn’t want to resort to this method, but…”

She picked up a small remote control from the table and pressed a button.

At that very moment, familiar voices started playing from the monitor on the wall.

[ So, what’s the most impressive comic or animation you’ve seen, Yena? ]

[ Haikyuu! ]

[ Haikyuu? Isn’t that just a knockoff of Slam Dunk? ]

[ What did you just say? ]

[ Eun-hye’s resume states that she’s a webtoon artist; could you tell us what webtoon it is? ]

[ Well, that was a really unpopular comic…so it’s a bit hard to say… ]

Following that, the interview videos for each member played in sequence.

The last video to play was indeed Ha Eun’s interview video.

[ Mint Choco vs Hawaiian Pizza. ]

[ Mint Choco. ]

[ Why? ]

[ Hawaiian pizza isn’t real food. ]

After that, a quite lengthy video featuring Ha Eun’s personal preferences and small anecdotes played.

This was all part of Jee Hye-min’s strategy to lower the aura that Ha Eun carries as an actress.

Certainly, it was an effective strategy, especially since most of the questions that began to surface were directed at Ha Eun.

At the very least, it successfully opened a dialogue between Ha Eun and the other members.

However, from Ha Eun’s perspective, it was disclosing personal information in front of people she had desperately wanted to meet.

“Ha Eun, who was your favorite in the lecture? I really liked Roy’s charisma.”

“Uh, well…Izumi…”

“Oh, right. Izumi was there. He definitely has charisma as well.”

Even while answering questions directed at her, I couldn’t hide the blush that crept to my ears.

Thus, one common thought that began to form in everyone else’s mind was,

‘She’s cute.’

‘She’s really cute.’

‘How adorable!’

The vague sense of distance that everyone felt towards Ha Eun had completely vanished.

Perhaps because of that,

“Well, everyone here is older than Ha Eun, so just feel free to speak. Right, Ha Eun?”

“Ah, yes…that’s fine.”

This was the moment when Jee Hye-min’s final strategy to facilitate conversations between Ha Eun and the other members kicked in.

The A4 sheets for creating the Virtual YouTuber avatars were distributed to all the members about ten minutes later.

“There’s plenty of time, so take your time discussing and creating your characters!”

The cheerful atmosphere returned, just as it had been before Ha Eun arrived, as everyone began to make their avatars, all captured in Jee Hye-min’s eyes.

This time, it was actually Ha Eun who seemed a bit overwhelmed by the members, but since conversations continued somehow, I thought it wasn’t too big of an issue.

Most importantly, the awkward atmosphere that had been felt earlier had completely dissipated.

-Creak.

I thought that there was no longer a need for Jee Hye-min to remain in her position.

After all, to the Fantasy Realm members, Jee Hye-min was just “the representative.”

Thus, while leaving the Fantasy Realm members in the room and stepping into the long corridor, the moment she placed her ear against the door,

– Um, Ms. Miso. Why’d you choose the nickname Milo?

– Because it’s “Miso.” I dropped the “ma” from “smile.” The avatar’s hairpin also has a Miso pattern, right?

– By the way, the concept art for Diah is really pretty! Did you draw it yourself Ha Eun?

– Ah, no. It’s concept art I commissioned from an illustrator. I can’t draw well.

The atmosphere in the room had changed little from the harmonious scene that Jee Hye-min had originally imagined.

Fortunately, in many ways.

***

“Eun-hye has entered, Ms. Miso has entered, Maria and Ha Eun… have just joined.”

“Hey, Yena. You don’t have to invite the representative?”

“The representative said she would create a separate chat room later, including the manager.”

It was a late evening when the sunset had just vanished.

The Fantasy Realm members, who had just stepped outside the building, were exchanging contact information as they promised to meet again.

Of course, Ha Eun shared her contact information with the other members as well.

However, the reactions from the other members were,

“This is an entertainer’s contact info…!”

“I never thought I’d get an entertainer’s phone number. Amazing.”

“I’ll cherish it as a family honor, Actress Lee Ha-eun~!”

With a sprinkle of mischief in their tone, they playfully teased her.

Therefore, as every member began to disperse towards their respective homes, they almost ran toward Ju Jung-yun’s van.

By the time she got into Ju Jung-yun’s van, she felt like she wanted to hurry home and rest comfortably in her cozy bed.

However, for Ha Eun, unfortunately,

｢───♪ ──♪─♪｣

The lyrics or voice of the song playing from Ju Jung-yun were, for some reason, strangely familiar.

Ju Jung-yun was listening to tracks from Daulby’s newly released album that day,

Specifically the songs Ha Eun had featured in.

“…Is even my sister like this too…?”

“Um, I was just playing the real-time music chart in order.”

Soon, the news of Daulby’s performance, achieving a chart-topping success, was also shared.

“They even wrote an article titled, ‘Who is this suddenly emerging star in the vocal world, Pinocchio?’”

“…That’s a lie, right?”

“I knew you’d say that, so I took screenshots. Look, the actual article title is Pinocchio, right?”

With that, a screenshot from Ju Jung-yun’s phone was held out before Ha Eun’s eyes.

Even though she didn’t really know who Pinocchio was and denied any connection between herself and Pinocchio,

“Then can I make this song, ‘Tunnel,’ my ringtone?”

With Ju Jung-yun’s mischievous voice landing a direct hit, Ha Eun eventually fled to the back seat.

However, it wasn’t long before she had to return to the front seat again because,

“The Casting Audition for ‘Moonlit Casting Call’ is tomorrow at 7 PM.”

A discussion began about another project Ha Eun was putting a lot of effort into.

She was informed of the outfit style required for the casting at Yeongwol Station.

“First, you need to wear a compression vest. You’ll have to put compression wraps over it too.”

“Can’t we just use compression wraps? They didn’t mention anything about a vest in the novel.”

“If you use only compression wraps, you’ll end up in great pain. If you tighten your chest too much, you won’t be able to breathe properly.”

Following that, Ju Jung-yun’s remarks were almost like a scolding to consider Ha Eun’s chest size.

Almost simultaneously, as she slightly bowed her head and then raised it again, Ha Eun said,

“…I don’t think it’s that big.”

This was a statement no more than a mere thought from Ju Jung-yun, who has felt insecure about her small chest.

Of course, Ha Eun didn’t say it just for fun.

Just a few hours ago, she had been in the same space with Jee Hye-min, who had helped her understand what a real size is.

Comparing herself to Jee Hye-min, Ha Eun considered herself to be on the more ordinary side.

From that point onward, Ju Jung-yun’s narrowed eyes towards Ha Eun regarded her as if she were invisible.

As time passed,

When there were barely 10 minutes left until the start of the Yeongwol Station casting audition, Ha Eun asked,

“Um, is this really a sword?”

“No, it’s a prop.”

‘…It’s quite heavy for a prop.’

She was marveling at a model sword that had a different texture and weight compared to the plastic swords used in Kim Gyu-tae’s action school.

It indeed resembled a real sword, cutting through the grasses that had sprouted on the outdoor set smoothly.

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