Hobbyist VTuber

---

Behind Ha-eun, neatly wrapped gift boxes were stacked up. In front of her, a white table with a pretty birthday cake was set up. A few steps away from Ha-eun, Joo Jung-yoon and a few other staff members were setting up for Ha-eun’s birthday broadcast. After fine-tuning the camera angles, Jung-yoon’s voice finally came through.

“Don’t be too nervous. Just think of it as a video call.”

“Ah, yes…”

Honestly, she wasn’t particularly nervous. After all, she’d been streaming as a VTuber for over half a year. She didn’t think there’d be much difference just because this was a broadcast as actress Lee Ha-eun, not Dia. It wasn’t her first time doing an Instagram Live either.

Of course, the unreal number of 44,000 viewers still didn’t quite sink in. How long would it take for Dia to reach 44,000 viewers?

‘…This feels weird.’

As she was wrapped up in this ambiguous feeling, Jung-yoon asked if they could start the broadcast.

“Ready?”

“Yes.”

The broadcast began shortly after. As Ha-eun’s face appeared on the vertical screen, the chat speed skyrocketed.

‘I… can’t even read this.’

The chat was moving at an unbelievable speed compared to Dia’s streams. She caught glimpses of not just Korean but English, Chinese, and Japanese too. For a brief moment, she was flustered. Her past Instagram Lives hadn’t been like this.

‘…Is a birthday broadcast really that different?’

Thinking about it, her previous Instagram Lives had been sudden, unannounced streams. But this birthday broadcast was an official one, announced in advance by her agency. It was bound to be different from her casual, impromptu streams.

Anyway, she had to focus on the broadcast now.

“Hello, I’m Lee Ha-eun.”

She waved lightly at the camera, greeting the viewers. The reactions were slightly different from Dia’s streams.

– Hello

– Wow

– wow

– Unnie, I love you 💗💗

– Oooo

– hi

– Ah, so cute ㅠㅠㅠ

The atmosphere of the Instagram Live chat was definitely different from Dia’s streams. If Dia’s streams felt like hanging out with a friend, Instagram Live felt more like a fan meeting.

“Ah, the cake? Fans specially ordered it for me. Look, my initials are here.”

– Ooo

– The photo cake turned out great

– Ha-eun, happy birthday!!!

– Noona, you’re so pretty

– Birthday??

The chat was mostly filled with exclamations. When she lit the candles on the cake, the chat was full of messages that clearly came from her fans.

However, when they asked her to sing the birthday song with them, the chat was flooded with the lyrics. As Ha-eun blew out the candles, the chat was filled with clapping emojis and “clap clap clap.”

“Now I’m really 19. Time flies.”

– So next year, you’ll be an adult ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

– What did you wish for when you blew the candles?

– Your outfit is so cute

– Unnie, you’re so pretty today, what’s going on?

– How long is the live today??

For a while, she interacted with the viewers. The chat was still incredibly fast, but Jung-yoon and the staff helped by pointing out which questions she should answer.

“They’re asking who was the first to wish you a happy 19th birthday.”

“Hmm, just a second.”

She pulled out her phone and scrolled through her messages. After finding the first birthday wish, she spoke up.

“[Min Da-yeon] – Happy birthday

[Min Da-yeon] – Min Da-yeon sent a gift and a message.

[Min Da-yeon] – (Image of an expensive gift card)”

“Da-yeon was the first. Next was Director Kwon Jae-hyup. Third was a school friend.”

– Of course, besties

– What did you put on your lips??

– Is Da-yeon Min Da-yeon?

– Oh, today is Lee Ha-eun’s birthday!!!

She answered the questions diligently, with Jung-yoon and the Luna Entertainment staff guiding her. When she got the signal to move on, she reached down.

She picked up a white cake knife. Carefully cutting the birthday cake, she took a small bite.

“Mmm… it’s delicious. How did they know my taste so well?”

She cut another slice and brought it close to the camera.

“It’s really moist inside. The cream on the outside is super sweet too.”

– I want cake too ㅠㅠㅠ

– This feels like a mukbang YouTuber ㅋㅋㅋ

– I’m a big fan of you😊😊😊😊

– Cream on your upper lip

Next was the photo time. She held the cake in one hand and made a heart with the other, staying still.

“Did you get it…? Ah, you want me to do more poses?”

After striking a few more poses as requested by the viewers, the photo time ended. She then lifted the broadcast phone to show the many gift boxes behind her.

“You sent so many gifts. The wrapping is so pretty, I feel bad opening them.”

She went through the various gift boxes, thanking her fans repeatedly. As the broadcast neared its end, she returned the phone to its original position.

Finally, it was time for the farewell.

“Thank you for celebrating my 19th birthday. See you next time~.”

With that, *click*.

Her index finger slowly reached out and pressed the end button on the Instagram Live.

Shortly after, Jung-yoon’s slightly surprised voice came through.

“Ha-eun, you’re really good at this.”

You could’ve done it alone.

Ha-eun just gave an awkward smile at Jung-yoon’s praise. After all, she’d been streaming alone for over half a year.

Of course, she had no intention of revealing the truth. That’s why she silently helped Jung-yoon gather her birthday gifts.

However, as expected before the broadcast, it was impossible to carry all the gifts at once.

So, they decided to take the gifts that didn’t fit in Jung-yoon’s van later. They then headed straight to Ha-eun’s house to deliver the gifts to her room.

But Ha-eun’s schedule wasn’t over yet. She had to get back in Jung-yoon’s van for the filming of <The Sunshine> that would start in a few hours.

Time passed, and as always, she changed into Kim Jung-hyun’s beautiful hanbok and waited.

– Knock knock.

A knock came from outside her waiting room. The person she met was actor Bae Jin-hyuk, who played the supporting role of Hwang Tae-sung in <The Sunshine>.

“Ha-eun, can you come with me for a moment?”

Bae Jin-hyuk’s sudden request made Ha-eun look puzzled. Still, she followed him out of the waiting room since there was no reason to refuse.

After walking with Bae Jin-hyuk for about five minutes, they arrived at a familiar set.

“Ha-eun’s here~!”

A group of familiar faces had gathered. Someone walked out a few steps away from Ha-eun.

“Happy birthday to you~. Happy birthday to you~.”

The sudden song came from the writer in charge of Ha-eun in <The Sunshine>. The rhythmic clapping followed.

All the staff, without exception, were celebrating Ha-eun’s birthday. Bae Jin-hyuk, who had brought her there, joined in too.

“Now, blow out the candles before the wind does, Ha-eun. Ah, don’t forget to make a wish.”

As she blew out the candles again, the room filled with applause. A quiet smile had been on Ha-eun’s face for a while now.

“Thank you… everyone.”

She didn’t mention that she’d already had a birthday party in the morning. There was no rule saying you could only have one birthday party.

Thus, Ha-eun’s surprise birthday party, which would later be included in <The Sunshine>‘s making film, ended smoothly without any issues. Shortly after, the filming of <The Sunshine> began.

“Alright, let’s start. …Action!”

Today’s scene was the reunion between Kim Jung-hyun and her old friend Hwang Tae-sung. The reunion took place less than a week after Park Joo-ho left to help the righteous army at Kim Jung-hyun’s request.

“I came as soon as I heard you were recuperating. How are you feeling?”

However, Hwang Tae-sung was not only Kim Jung-hyun’s childhood friend but also her fiancé. Meeting him after several years inevitably brought complex emotions.

Yet, in the end, the happy memories of their childhood resurfaced.

– Rustle.

“It’s been a while.”

They locked eyes with a faint smile. Beneath Kim Jung-hyun’s gentle expression was joy.

“I was worried since I hadn’t heard from you. I’m glad you seem well.”

Hearing Ha-eun’s calm voice, Bae Jin-hyuk was momentarily speechless. It was different from the Ha-eun he usually knew.

“It’s still cold outside. Shall we go inside to catch up?”

As Ha-eun turned away from Bae Jin-hyuk and started walking, an indescribable atmosphere emanated from her. Even though it was a simple everyday scene, the emotional depth was heavy.

What was felt was Kim Jung-hyun’s friendship towards Hwang Tae-sung. At the same time, a vague affection towards another man.

“…You seem to have changed a lot since we last met.”

Hwang Tae-sung’s mutter held many meanings.

For Hwang Tae-sung, who had cherished Kim Jung-hyun since childhood, the emotions were stronger than he had anticipated. The depth of his feelings had suddenly deepened.

In many ways, it was different. At least for today, it was definitely different.

“Why are you standing still? Your feet couldn’t have frozen in this short time.”

At the same time, Kim Jung-hyun gave Hwang Tae-sung a brief smile. Yet, the thick aura still made it hard to distinguish between acting and reality.

However, they didn’t know that this change had started with the surprise birthday party. The current Ha-eun was simply excited, a fact they were unaware of.

Unbeknownst to even Ha-eun herself, Dia’s emotional line had seeped into her acting.

 

---