Chapter 26

I swear to the sky, there was no particular intention behind it.

It was just that I was amazed that Ha-eun, who was only 11 years old, already had an 11-pack abs.

The reason Min Da-yeon gently pressed her index finger next to Ha-eun’s belly button was genuinely just that.

There was absolutely no other reason.

“So, just stop being mad. I said I was sorry.”

“…I’m not mad.”

A calm voice, as usual.

However, in stark contrast, her ears were flushed to a nearly tomato-like shade.

Having spent four years attached to Ha-eun, it wasn’t hard for Min Da-yeon to notice that Ha-eun was flustered by her sudden action.

Despite having already finished her bath and eaten dinner, Ha-eun’s state had not really changed.

Honestly, I wondered what was so embarrassing about touching a friend’s belly just because we were the same age and the same gender.

The person who usually returned to a stoic demeanor with just a simple “OK” sign seemed to have vanished.

It was simply because it was the first time Min Da-yeon had encountered this unfamiliar side of the person known as Lee Ha-eun.

No matter how self-centered Min Da-yeon might be, she couldn’t help but be concerned.

‘But if she has abs already, how long has she been working out…?’

Min Da-yeon’s ambitious plan to uncover Ha-eun’s acting secrets was somehow put on the back burner.

Not long after that, Na-yeon, holding a plate of fruit, warned that they shouldn’t talk too late into the night.

Until Ha-eun, with a noticeably awkward tone, handed a few books that Min Da-yeon could read from the shelf, she kept stealing glances at Ha-eun, trying to gauge her mood.

‘…This is frustrating.’

If I had my way, I would drop the books and do something to diffuse this awkward atmosphere.

Yet, seeing Ha-eun sitting at her desk scribbling in her diary somehow made it hard for me to speak up.

However, less than a few seconds later, on the monitor placed right in front of Ha-eun,

“Alright, it’s exactly 9 PM now. For those who haven’t pressed the like button, please do so~.”

It was soon realized that it was not just a YouTube video, but a live broadcast.

Furthermore, Ha-eun was not writing a diary but jotting down something while watching the broadcast.

-Peek.

“Hey, Lee Ha-eun. What are you…doing?”

I lifted myself slightly onto my toes and shifted my gaze towards Ha-eun’s notebook.

Almost simultaneously, I caught sight of the densely packed words in Ha-eun’s notebook.

However, for some reason, Ha-eun’s closed mouth seemed to fumble, trying to say something but failing.

In that instant, a hypothesis crossed Min Da-yeon’s mind.

‘That notebook, could it be… her acting secrets?!’

When you think about it, the way Ha-eun had been showing herself to Min Da-yeon was not entirely unique.

Of course, not everyone would take singing lessons from a famous hip-hop crew like Daulby or attend an acting school under a large agency, but.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t people living lives similar to Ha-eun’s.

There are even those in the same agency as Min Da-yeon who juggle both idol and acting careers.

However, I had never seen anyone taking notes while watching an internet broadcast like this before.

I had never seen someone record changes in the broadcaster’s tone based on the in-game situation or even the approximate responses in the chat!

The only difference between Ha-eun and others.

In other words, what had allowed Ha-eun’s acting to attract attention was now.

Finally revealing itself in front of Min Da-yeon!

Then, feeling curious, the moment I turned my gaze to the side, I saw.

Several notebooks that looked somewhat similar were stacked.

-Thump.

-Thump.

Min Da-yeon’s heart began to race faster at the thought that she had finally found the basis of Ha-eun’s bizarre yet chilling acting skills.

Yet somehow, she tried to calm her trembling heart and let out a voice that feigned nonchalance.

“Hey, Lee Ha-eun. Can I…look at those?”

She asked if she could look at the notebooks that seemed to hold Ha-eun’s acting secrets.

After a brief moment of consideration, Ha-eun returned a nod, but in a vertical manner.

Of course, from Ha-eun’s perspective, it was just puzzling that Min Da-yeon suddenly seemed so eager about the notebooks for preparing as a Virtual YouTuber.

It was just that Ha-eun’s expression looked so serious and earnest that she couldn’t bring herself to say anything.

Thus, the notebooks containing the unique characteristics of the Da Ramji broadcasts, potential fictional stories to be used during Virtual YouTuber streams, and a list of various content ideas.

Additionally, notes that might reveal Ha-eun’s unique speech patterns or concepts as a Virtual YouTuber ended up in Min Da-yeon’s hands.

Not long after, unable to hide the natural upward curve of her lips, Min Da-yeon lay on Ha-eun’s bed.

Only then did she begin to carefully read through each of the notebooks—about four or five of them.

‘…I need to make sure I keep this a secret later.’

When Ha-eun eventually debuted as a Virtual YouTuber, Min Da-yeon felt the necessity to prevent her from leaking any of Ha-eun’s secrets.

After all, as long as they didn’t fall out badly, they would have no reason to hurt each other.

Rather than keeping secrets as someone who had yet to debut as a Virtual YouTuber.

She thought it better to fulfill a request from Min Da-yeon, a close friend she could share a bed with, as Na-yeon said.

However, at that moment, the very person who received Ha-eun’s kindness was now thinking.

‘RP? What is RP? And is there a group called [HwanSyangHyung] among the idol groups? That name sounds completely new….’

Desperately trying to decipher terms and guidelines that were hard to understand for someone who was basically like a layman regarding Virtual YouTubers.

‘…No wonder she handed it over so willingly. That girl is such a pain.’

Misunderstanding that Ha-eun had written her acting secrets in a mysterious code only she could understand.

***

“Where can I watch the broadcast you saw yesterday, Ha-eun?”

“Um, it’s from New World TV. It should come up if you search on Google.”

“Got it.”

After spending the night with Ha-eun, Min Da-yeon could come away with (misunderstand) two things.

1. Ha-eun’s outstanding acting skills were all learned by watching the internet broadcasts of a famous broadcaster, Da Ramji.

2. Therefore, in order to act as deeply immersed as Ha-eun, Min Da-yeon needed to analyze Da Ramji’s broadcasts as well.

Of course, what Ha-eun would think upon hearing this would likely be that it was utter nonsense.

However, Min Da-yeon was not naive enough to blab about the secrets she had figured out in front of the person involved.

Thinking that she would soon be able to act in the same way as Ha-eun, Min Da-yeon left Ha-eun’s house.

Not long after, Ju Jung-yun arrived at Ha-eun’s house with what might be considered a piece of good news.

“Ha-eun has been cast as the final choice for the role of the young Han Yu-hwa. They said filming would start in just two weeks, so from now on, Ha-eun will—”

The continued conversation would cover things that Ha-eun needed to know before the filming of [You from the Stars] began.

However, since Ha-eun had already had the experience of filming as a leading actress in a movie,

She thought she could manage this one as well without any major issues.

She was already fully prepared to step back in front of the camera, and the various highlight scenes from You from the Stars were still vivid in her memory.

“The Daulby members are busy filming [Infinite Challenge] and [Don’t Stop People] these days, so it might be better to take a break from singing classes for a while—”

“Um, Jung-yun unnie. I want to keep taking singing lessons, even if we reduce them to once a week. Or even once every two weeks. Is there any way…? ”

However, unlike during the shoot with the neighbor uncle,

The insistence on continuing her singing lessons with Daulby even at the cost of reducing their frequency stemmed from wanting to see.

‘Hey, Ha-eun. This time, could you sing just slightly lower? Don’t just use your natural voice; mix in some falsetto every now and then.’

‘Then Ha-eun’s voice will strain. She hasn’t even gone through voice changes yet; we should refrain from pushing her too hard, Joon-ah.’

‘It’s just greed; I’m being greedy. Every time you give feedback, you fix it like a pro.’

She wanted to keep watching the scene where Lee Jun and Lee Geon-yeol were both in the studio together.

Although Ha-eun remembered that the upcoming events would soon lead to trouble for Daulby, it was ultimately Daulby’s fault.

For now, it was a situation that had yet to happen.

In other words, it was an event that still held the possibility of being stopped before it could become irreversible.

Regardless, Daulby was precious to Ha-eun as well, so she felt she needed to mitigate what she could prevent.

Of course, she couldn’t predict what kind of snowball effect this decision of Ha-eun’s would lead to in the future.

Still, it was better than regretting later.

“Then, I’ll talk to the Daulby members.”

“Thank you, Jung-yun unnie. But can I ask one more favor…?”

“Sure? What kind of favor?”

“Um, well, that is… can you find out the contact information for Lee Jun’s manager and Lee Geon-yeol’s manager?”

She wanted to do her utmost in these matters.

Just as she always had until now.

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