Chapter 57

The gradient hairstyle, transitioning from pure white to gradually brighter colors.

Eyes that seem to capture the beautiful evening sunset.

A white off-shoulder dress full of freshness and purity.

Finally facing Diah’s avatar, there was not a single part that dissatisfied Ha Eun.

Every part of Diah resonated perfectly with Ha Eun’s heart.

Afterwards, when Ha Eun tilted her head, Diah did the same.

When she opened her mouth in an “ah,” Diah mirrored it perfectly.

When she mimicked the lines of YouTubers from her memories, Diah echoed them back.

‘…Finally.’

The adorable youngest member of [Gensokyo], Diah.

Everything about her was exactly as Ha Eun had wished and hoped for.

So, she had forgotten.

“Um, excuse me… Ha Eun?”

Right now, Ha Eun wasn’t alone in the soundproof booth.

“I think the avatar test is done, so let me tell you about other things.”

A slight glance to the side.

The corners of her mouth trembled as she tried to hold back a smile.

Decisively, because of the broadcast delay, Diah’s high-pitched voice that had just started playing from Jee Hye-min’s phone.

‘…Ah.’

Made Ha Eun’s ears flush red in an instant.

At the same time, it made her realize, albeit belatedly, that her sanity had momentarily slipped away.

In hindsight, it didn’t matter if Jee Hye-min and her acquaintances caught on.

They were people who already knew she was Diah anyway.

Just the fact that it was the first time her practiced expressions and voice in front of the mirror were witnessed by someone else was reason enough for her anxiety.

“This is Ha Eun, so this is Diah’s broadcast waiting screen. And this screen is—”

-Click.

-Click click.

“On the left monitor, there will be support and a chat room. And Diah’s current status will be shown—”

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

Ha Eun had trouble comprehending what Jee Hye-min and her acquaintance were saying for quite a while.

She managed to grasp the context, but.

She couldn’t maintain eye contact for more than a second.

About 20 minutes after the basic guide for virtual YouTuber broadcasts had ended,

The heat in her ears had subsided somewhat.

However.

“Um, Ha Eun. It seems like Diah will have to debut alone on Tuesday.”

“?”

Because she found out that the debut broadcast schedule for [Gensokyo], planned from Monday to Wednesday, would be solely Ha Eun’s solo debut among the members.

“I feel like introducing two members two days in a row would feel a bit heavy.”

“Still, since you are the most veteran in broadcasting, I think you’ll do well based on the lines you said earlier.”

Even after hearing some encouragement of sorts from Jee Hye-min and her acquaintance, Ha Eun felt a weight on her shoulders.

After all, a solo debut on Tuesday carried a significant weight.

Ha Eun had to bear the expectations created by the two members who debuted on Monday all by herself.

At the same time, she also had to build the anticipation for the other two members debuting on Wednesday.

Although Ha Eun had been preparing for her debut as the virtual YouTuber Diah for a long time,

It was uncertain whether she could perform such an important task right from her first broadcast.

“…I’ll do my best.”

Still, instead of honestly saying that she felt burdened by the solo debut, she lied that she was excited.

After all, she still disliked others worrying about her.

A calm expression she had created for herself for some time.

A serene voice without any trembling.

The heat from earlier had completely disappeared.

The emptiness was filled only by Ha Eun’s unique sense of gravity.

Jee Hye-min, somewhat relieved, said she was looking forward to working together.

Either way, Ha Eun had received the highest internal evaluations.

Due to the schedule of the Gensokyo project, one of the members had to debut solo.

Thus, it was only natural from the company’s perspective to select Ha Eun, who received the highest evaluation among the members, as the solo debut member.

There were times when they were concerned about assigning such a heavy responsibility to Ha Eun, the youngest by age.

But no matter how much they pondered, there was no one else to entrust such a task to besides Ha Eun.

“I, along with Dongjin, will be in as your broadcast managers. So, if you ever need help, just call for us.”

After giving another round of encouragement and farewell to Ha Eun,

She finally saw the two of them off as they left through the entrance and returned home.

-Thud.

“Haah…”

With the pressure and burden that surged in late, she steeled herself for her solo debut.

Entering the pure white soundproof booth again was a matter of course afterwards.

“Ah, ah. Ahh—”

For quite a while, she murmured various lines while Diah’s avatar was displayed on the monitor.

Sometimes, she would tilt her head or suddenly smile brightly or cry, adding some physical acting on the side.

‘I’ll be able to… do it.’

What Ha Eun wanted to act as Diah was her ideal.

Since it was portraying the image Ha Eun had long dreamed of in her past life, she wanted to prepare more diligently than ever.

***

“Hey? Where are you going, Ha Eun?”

“Drama filming.”

“Oh right, you mentioned you passed the audition.”

After receiving a light cheer from a classmate wishing her good luck, Ha Eun waved her hand lightly as a farewell.

Not long after, she got into Ju Jung-yun’s black van.

However, from Ju Jung-yun’s perspective, Ha Eun seemed to be more pumped up today.

“Are you nervous? Should I offer you some Cheongsimhwan?”

Ju Jung-yun made an effort to relax Ha Eun.

However, Ha Eun’s nerves were not due to the first filming of [The Moonlight Split by Clouds].

But rather due to the [Gensokyo PV]

[5214 people waiting]

‘…More than I expected.’

It was because of the upcoming release of the Gensokyo PV.

Of course, there was also the tension concerning Diah’s debut broadcast scheduled for Tuesday.

However, even after arriving at the filming location for The Moonlight Split by Clouds, there was still some time left until the Gensokyo PV release.

Perhaps that was why.

“Um, Ha Eun. Is there anywhere uncomfortable for you?”

Even while heading to the dressing room to change into Yeom Wol’s outfit and makeup, she seriously contemplated whether to pull out her phone to watch the Gensokyo PV.

The issue was that Ha Eun’s appearance appeared uncomfortable to others.

“Hm, since being too tight isn’t good, shall we loosen the compression band a bit?”

“Ah… No, I think it feels just right.”

Thus, the white compression band around Ha Eun’s upper body remained intact as Yeom Wol’s black outfit was put on her.

In the end, watching the Gensokyo PV had to be postponed until after all today’s filming was completed.

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

“Uh…?”

She was momentarily bewildered by the weight of the sword, which felt less than even a quarter of what she remembered.

It was only natural that she would ask the staff in front of her if there were other swords.

“Um, Ha Eun. For the swords, you’ll need to ask Director Jin directly.”

“?”

“That’s because the director decided to manage the shooting swords himself. You’ll need to ask him directly if there are other swords you can use.”

The staff, who trailed off without clearly stating what had happened, made Ha Eun inevitably head towards Jin Kyu-seong to find a heavier sword that had a good swing to it.

“Um, Director, do you have a heavier sword?”

“That’s the heaviest sword we have.”

‘That can’t be.’

In the end, they were unable to find the sword Ha Eun had used in the audition.

Although a relatively heavier sword was handed over by Jin Kyu-seong, it still didn’t satisfy Ha Eun’s expectations.

The firm expression on Jin Kyu-seong’s face prevented her from asking more about the swords.

Additionally, Yu Sung-jae, who was now perfectly transformed into Lee Hyun, approached Ha Eun.

“I heard everyone saying the makeup suits you really well, so I was curious to see how well it fits… this is just Yeom Wol popping out of the book, isn’t it?”

“Ah… Thank you. Sung-jae, you also look just like Lee Hyun.”

Shoving aside her doubts about the sword for the moment,

They began discussing the scene that Ha Eun and Yu Sung-jae would be filming today.

“It will be hard to forget the lines since they’re right at the start of the script. Well, considering there aren’t many lines anyway.”

As Yu Sung-jae had just said, the scene number planned for the first filming of The Moonlight Split by Clouds was 1.

This was because Jin Kyu-seong was the type of director who filmed in order based on the script.

After today, they were also set to shoot The Moonlight Split by Clouds in order according to the script.

The plan for shooting in sequence stemmed from Jin Kyu-seong’s personal belief that it made it easier for actors to immerse themselves.

Shortly, the scene to be filmed was the one where Lee Hyun goes out of the palace and first encounters Yeom Wol in a forest.

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

“Well… I’ll try my best.”

Additionally, it was the scene where Lee Hyun would notice that Yeom Wol possessed exceptional sword skills.

This was understandable since the main content of the scene was that Lee Hyun, running away from a boar, would narrowly be rescued by Yeom Wol.

If they weren’t careful, it was possible that instead of the boar, Lee Hyun might end up getting cut by Yeom Wol’s sword.

Of course, since it was merely filming, Yu Sung-jae, who had just asked Ha Eun not to cut him, wasn’t really worried about being cut.

“Okay. 3, 2, 1… Action!”

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

More accurately, at the moment Yu Sung-jae, who was panting from running away from the imaginary boar, fell in front of where Ha Eun was hiding.

​

-Shiver.

For some reason, an eerie feeling brushed over Yu Sung-jae, as if he might truly get cut by Ha Eun’s sword.

Ha Eun’s expression also had a terrifying look, as if she might actually cut Yu Sung-jae.

---