It was a thing of the past.
Or rather, clinging to things that couldn't be changed or things that couldn't be helped was not a very productive thing to do.
Instead of things that couldn't be done,
Ha-eun believed it was wiser to focus on what could be done, to spend time on things that could be changed rather than worrying about the unchangeable.
After all, she had to finish the recording for Illusion first.
She thought it was pointless to worry about what Da-yeon might do now.
♪───
“Ha-eun, doesn’t Misun unni’s high note sound amazing?”
“Yeah, her breath control is steady, so it sounds really nice.”
And so, she tried to focus entirely on the Illusion recording.
She didn’t want to think about anything else.
For Ha-eun, worrying about Da-yeon was a fruitless worry.
It was something she couldn’t change with her own power.
Yeah, it was probably just needless worry.
Worrying about what might happen with Da-yeon in the future would change nothing in the present.
‘...She won’t fail the interview, right?’
Why couldn’t she forget this?
‘Looking at the RP she made, she must be confident...’
She kept overthinking things that didn’t matter.
She found herself imagining different possible outcomes for the future that hadn’t even arrived yet.
However, in any case, she couldn’t imagine Da-yeon failing.
After all, actress Kim Da-yeon was an exceptional actress.
‘VTubing is acting, too.’
She was someone who had lived as an actress her whole life.
It was rare to find someone who could perform a character better than a current actress.
Of course, even Da-yeon, no matter how great she was, probably hadn’t done live interactions as a VTuber.
But then again, none of the other applicants had done internet broadcasts either.
‘There were no former streamers among the second-generation Illusionary Realm applicants.’
In Ha-eun’s mind, it was nearly impossible for Da-yeon to fail the interview.
She knew better than anyone how much effort Da-yeon put into things once she decided.
She had learned everything there was to know about VTuber broadcasting.
Da-yeon must have prepared thoroughly, based on all the streams she had watched of Diah.
And judging by the positive feedback her RP got from Ji Hye-min, it seemed like Da-yeon had done her market research.
Her singing skills had also received praise, so Ha-eun felt confident that Da-yeon’s acceptance into the second generation of Illusionary Realm was a done deal.
The bigger problem was that Ha-eun, who was Kim Da-yeon’s friend, couldn’t know anything about Illusionary Realm’s second generation.
‘If I show I know something, it’ll look weird.’
The fact that Da-yeon had applied for Illusionary Realm’s second generation was known only to Illusionary Realm’s staff.
If Ha-eun asked Da-yeon anything about it, she would essentially be revealing that she worked for Illusionary Realm herself.
Ha-eun had been worried for a long time about the possibility that Da-yeon might learn about Diah’s red pill.
The option of revealing Diah’s true identity and trying to stop Da-yeon from participating was never even on the table.
In other words, it was inevitable that, like Ji Hye-min had said, Ha-eun would eventually become Da-yeon’s plaything.
‘...They say a word can pay off a thousand debts. This is the complete opposite.’
Whether Ha-eun liked it or not, she was bound by fate to eventually give Da-yeon whatever she wanted, in front of all the viewers.
However, Ha-eun still had no idea what Da-yeon would actually demand.
It was certain that Da-yeon would get the free access pass to Diah, but what Da-yeon would do with it was beyond Ha-eun’s imagination.
It was like an unknown fear.
The same type of fear that had genuinely scared Ha-eun during the Shirooni Kyeonwang broadcast now resurfaced, but this time, it came in the form of Da-yeon.
And thus, a deep sigh escaped Ha-eun’s lips.
“Haah...”
However, the people around Ha-eun had no clue what she was thinking.
Her deep sigh was misunderstood in a strange way.
“Mi, sorry Ha-eun. I’ll sing better next time.”
Maria, who had just finished her first recording, said this while nervously glancing at Ha-eun.
Others were doing the same, trying to read Ha-eun’s mood.
It was understandable.
Ever since some time ago, Ha-eun had started speaking less, and now her expression was even more downcast.
‘It was fine during Misun unni’s recording...’
‘Maria’s singing is nice, so why is she like this?’
‘...Is she on her period?’
For the other members, who didn’t know Da-yeon had applied for the second generation of Illusionary Realm, they couldn’t help but misunderstand Ha-eun’s behavior.
Only Ji Hye-min, who understood the meaning of Ha-eun’s sigh, quietly patted Ha-eun on the shoulder.
***
"Just as I thought, it's easier than expected with a current singer," Ji Hye-min commented, likely referring to the smoothness of the last recording, which had been Kim Jung-hyun’s turn.
Thanks to the ease with which the final recording of Illusion went, the composer, with a satisfied voice, praised everyone for their hard work.
The Illusionary Realm members and Ji Hye-min all left the studio afterward. The sky had already darkened.
Crucially, it was because the members, excluding Ha-eun, were all completely exhausted.
“Alright, let’s go eat some beef!” Ji Hye-min’s company card made its appearance for the group dinner.
Only then did the members slowly start to brighten up, their eyes starting to regain their clarity.
"Are you really paying for this, CEO?"
"Yes~."
"...Then I’m taking out the pillar of LUX today."
Not long after, the restaurant they arrived at was distinctly different from the usual.
The atmosphere of the place and the clean outfits of the staff were all indicative of what could be called a "premium beef restaurant."
When they arrived at the room that Ji Hye-min had reserved, the members of Illusionary Realm couldn’t hide their excitement.
The only one who remained calm was Ha-eun.
Her silent perusal of the menu gave off the feeling that she was, indeed, an entertainer.
Perhaps that’s why...
“Hey, Ha-eun.”
“?”
“What’s the best thing to get here?”
"Yeah, show us your actress taste."
They asked Ha-eun to recommend something, assuming that someone like her must have been to such a place often.
They also made sure to ask for the most expensive items.
But the response Ha-eun gave was simple: everything was delicious.
It was a response she could easily give, as Ha-eun didn’t mind healthy food and wasn’t particularly picky.
"Ah, cold water isn’t good for your throat. I think it’s better to ask for warm water instead."
"...Did we come here to drink warm water?"
This content is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.
"Taking care of your throat can’t hurt."
As a result, they didn’t end up ordering any extra drinks like beer or soda.
Ha-eun had firmly stopped them from ordering, insisting that it was unhealthy.
Of course, the grilled beef was more than enough to satisfy their hunger.
It would’ve been even better with cold drinks, but...
As they continued to taste the tender beef,
"Okay, okay, listen up for a second."
Ji Hye-min, who had been grilling the meat like a mother bird feeding its chicks, spoke up.
What followed was a discussion about the 3D avatars for the members of Illusionary Realm.
"As you all know, we’ll be doing a live performance for our one-year anniversary."
To make the stage even better, dance lessons were necessary, which followed as the next piece of information.
In other words, the work related to Illusion was far from finished.
"Dance lessons will start next Tuesday. The instructor is someone we’ve worked hard to bring in, so let’s all do our best."
The reason Ji Hye-min had reserved the beef restaurant ahead of time was, in fact, because of the grueling dance lessons.
The idea was that since they’d eaten expensive beef, they should work hard at the dance lessons, something like that.
However, Ha-eun, who had already stood on stage twice as a singer, didn’t worry much about the dance lessons.
‘I’ll need to buy the VR and full-tracker gear soon.’
Right now, Ha-eun was only thinking about doing full-tracking broadcasts with her Diah 3D avatar.
She was thinking about what kind of content she could create using full-tracking.
This was why she turned to Ji Hye-min to ask about the progress of the 3D avatars for the Illusionary Realm members.
“Is there still a lot left to finish?”
“It’s not that far off. I think they’ll be ready by mid-February to early March.”
“So, can I get it before the performance? I want to practice some things on my own."
The response was positive.
However, she was reminded that the avatars couldn’t be revealed before the one-year anniversary performance.
"As long as you don’t spoil the 3D avatars."
In other words, Ha-eun could use her 3D avatar as much as she wanted, but she couldn’t show it to the public yet.
A little over an hour later, after Ha-eun returned home, she bought the VR gear and full-tracking equipment.
At any rate, getting used to VR came first.
Therefore, Ha-eun started playing VR games, familiarizing herself with the VR-specific sensations.
And so, time passed.
“Delivery’s here~.”The day Ha-eun’s VR equipment and full-tracking gear were delivered to her house,
She displayed a list of VR games she had pre-selected on the stream afterward.
“Alright, vote for the game you think will be the most fun~.”
Everything went according to Ha-eun’s plan until she began receiving VR game votes from Noeulis.
She also made sure to remind them that this was her first time playing VR games, so she might be inexperienced.
But as she connected to the VR game that received the most votes, Beat Saber,
: VR horror games would be fun, lol.
The donation message sent a chill down Ha-eun’s spine.