Hobbyist VTuber

An ordinary school life.

One of Ha-eun’s wishes.

Therefore, those who disrupted Ha-eun’s ordinary school life were her enemies.

What else could someone who hinders another’s wish be but an enemy?

In that sense, the first-year students who became noticeably noisy whenever they encountered Ha-eun.

In other words, the freshmen of Narae High School were clearly Ha-eun’s enemies.

“But I can’t just take them out.”

“You shouldn’t. It would make the news.”

Da-yeon said this while sipping on the strawberry milk she bought from the school store.

A cold-hearted demeanor showing not even a grain of interest in Ha-eun’s complaints.

Even though Da-yeon also received attention from the first-years, she showed no discomfort.

Perhaps because she wasn’t as obsessed with an ordinary school life as Ha-eun was.

“They keep coming during breaks to ask for photos, disrupting my study flow.”

“Then just ignore them. Don’t engage with them at all.”

“How can I ignore kids who come because they want to see me? They’re all my fans.”

“…Then what do you want me to do?”

A slightly incredulous expression.

Seeing Da-yeon’s baffled reaction, Ha-eun eventually slumped onto her desk.

Even Ha-eun thought her own words were nonsensical.

‘It might get better as time goes by.’

At least while <The Sunshine> was airing, she couldn’t avoid the attention.

Not receiving attention would have been even stranger.

Thus, the conclusion.

“Da-yeon, I want to go to the school store.”

“Go ahead.”

“Let’s go together.”

“I already went.”

“Still. If I’m with you, they won’t bother me.”

“…?”

Whenever she needed to go to the school store or the restroom, she always went with Da-yeon.

Because of Da-yeon’s prickly personality, the first-years found it hard to approach her.

The aura she exuded just by standing still.

A fierce gaze that seemed sharp at every moment.

Though Ha-eun’s impression was also quite sharp.

Perhaps because Kim Jung-hyun from <The Sunshine> had a gentle image, it naturally neutralized her sharpness.

‘Come to think of it, even during <Moonlight Drawn by Clouds>…’

When Yeong-wol from <Moonlight Drawn by Clouds> was still showing only her strong side as a bodyguard, there wasn’t much commotion at school.

Rather, they were a bit cautious of Ha-eun.

The interest in Ha-eun surged again during the kiss scene between Yi-hyun and Yeong-wol.

That is, from the moment Yeong-wol’s image added a touch of tragic femininity.

In other words, the reactions around Ha-eun changed depending on the roles she played.

‘Maybe it’ll quiet down after <Veterans> is released.’

After Ha-eun’s first villain role, Lee Ye-seo, was revealed, it seemed she could enjoy a quiet school life.

Of course, that was still a long way off.

Anyway, for now, she had no choice but to rely on Da-yeon.

That’s why she tried to go to the school store with Da-yeon at all costs.

There was just one thing Ha-eun overlooked.

That Da-yeon’s favorite thing in the world was teasing Ha-eun.

“Lee Ha-eun!! Are you going to eat a strawberry sandwich??”

“!?!?!”

Da-yeon, who had just entered the school store, shouted loudly for everyone to hear, for this very reason.

Naturally, all eyes turned to them.

Sure enough, the murmurs that started shortly after were mostly about Ha-eun.

Because Da-yeon’s voice was so loud, even students outside the store noticed Ha-eun’s presence.

“Da, Da-yeon, because of you, everyone’s staring at me…!”

“I just called your name, didn’t I?”

“Ugh.”

Come to think of it, the biggest enemy was someone else.

Not an enemy related to Ha-eun’s school life.

But a terrifying enemy closely related to Ha-eun’s other name, Dia.

‘…I chose the wrong person to trust.’

Right now, that enemy was sticking out their tongue mischievously in front of Ha-eun.

But she still bought something.

She even bought two of the strawberry sandwiches Da-yeon had mentioned earlier.

Sugar replenishment was essential for smooth studying.

After returning to the classroom, it was just a continuation of the same moments as the past few days.

It wasn’t until a week later that a warning sign saying <No Entry for Other Grades> was posted on the third floor of Narae High School.

However, the impact of <The Sunshine> wasn’t limited to Ha-eun’s school life.

“…A cosmetics commercial?”

“Yeah.”

As Ha-eun’s Kim Jung-hyun gained attention for her beauty, several CF offers came in.

The cosmetics CF from a famous brand that Jung-yoon had informed her about was one of them.

Since appearance was the most important factor in cosmetics CFs, Jung-yoon was inwardly pleased.

To Jung-yoon, that scene from episode 6 of <The Sunshine> was like a painting.

Originally, cosmetics CFs were a matter of pride for female celebrities like Ha-eun.

It’s just that Ha-eun, who wasn’t particularly interested in such things, didn’t pay much attention.

Anyway, since the opportunity had come with Kim Jung-hyun’s popularity, Jung-yoon strongly supported this cosmetics CF.

However, in Ha-eun’s case.

“But I don’t know much about cosmetics. I only know the basics…”

“You can learn.”

“…It’s not good for skin health.”

“Not all of them are like that.”

Since she only wore very basic makeup unless it was for filming.

She wasn’t sure if she could handle a cosmetics CF well.

A cosmetics CF was still acting.

She thought she needed to understand what product she was advertising and its strengths.

Crucially, because she had the preconception or misunderstanding that cosmetics were bad for skin health.

She was about to repeatedly ponder over this cosmetics CF offer before accepting it.

“First, it’s a one-year exclusive contract. The model fee is roughly 400-500 million won, but there’s room for adjustment─”

“O-okay, I’ll do it!”

There’s no business before money.

Because the contract fee offered by the famous French brand Rêve was beyond imagination.

Ha-eun guessed that Rêve’s Korean branch must have really taken a liking to Kim Jung-hyun.

Though Rêve was actually more focused on the aftermath of Ha-eun’s Sears commercial, but whatever.

Thus, the advertising discussion concluded very positively.

Though the contract wasn’t signed yet, it was practically confirmed.

However, since the news of Ha-eun’s casting in <Veterans> had been reported a while ago.

“A third-generation chaebol, so a high-class image, right?”

A few questions about Lee Ye-seo from <Veterans> were asked.

After all, the movies or dramas a CF model appears in also affect the CF.

Especially important is the role they play.

Just like how it would be strange if an actor who appeared in a traffic safety public service ad played a hit-and-run driver in a movie, Ha-eun was the same.

“A charismatic villain, right? Is that correct?”

“Ah, charismatic… …Yes, that’s correct.”

As a cosmetics CF model, she had to avoid damaging her image.

Surprisingly, Rêve wasn’t worried about Ha-eun’s villain role but rather looked forward to it.

“Villains leave a strong impression. We’re looking forward to it.”

There was no sign of concern.

Even though Ha-eun herself thought, ‘Isn’t a villain role bad for CFs?’, the fact that Rêve had considered everything and still offered the CF didn’t change.

The problem was that there was no guarantee Rêve wouldn’t change their mind.

If Ha-eun’s Lee Ye-seo turned out to have a worse image than Rêve expected, the advertising contract could be canceled.

Of course, the image of actress Lee Ha-eun wouldn’t be fixed by the three letters of Lee Ye-seo.

But for now, the known image was Kim Jung-hyun, a lovely lady, not Lee Ye-seo.

‘Hmm…’

Since Ha-eun’s acting in <Veterans> was a bit different from before, the impact shouldn’t be underestimated.

Perhaps she needed to appear in something light like a variety show to solidify a harmless image.

Thus, she was lost in thoughts about her first cosmetics CF for a while.

Unexpectedly, the answer came from a completely unexpected place.

“Let’s release one album in high school. Do you know how precious the high school title is?”

“A mini album won’t take much effort! Just record exactly 5 songs…!”

The solo album proposal from Double Lee, who didn’t want to waste Ha-eun’s voice—though Ha-eun was already using it fully as Dia.

A tired voice followed, saying that a slump seemed to have hit recently.

“At times like this, you should take a break by making songs for others.”

“…Why don’t you just rest?”

“Resting isn’t that easy. When work is stagnant, it’s really bothersome.”

So, just this once.

Just like when he first met Ha-eun a long time ago, Ha-eun’s hands were momentarily clasped together by Lee Geon-yeol’s hands.

For some reason, it felt like it wasn’t the first time Lee Geon-yeol had said ‘just this once’.

But for the sake of managing her image as a cosmetics CF model and moving forward towards her goal of becoming a big star.

“…Will there be a music video or something?”

“Ah, I’m not even hoping for a music video.”

“No, I want to try filming a music video…”

“…Huh?”

Using the name Pinocchio didn’t seem like a bad idea.

Though it was still unknown how well Ha-eun’s first solo album would perform.

“Well, let’s consider it a challenge for now?”

“…If someone who’s done dome concerts calls it a challenge, what does that make others?”