Hobbyist VTuber

[ "Hida—well, I mean, Da-yeon—insists it must be this day. She really hopes you’ll make time for her, Diah." ]

Over the phone, the general manager chuckled apologetically, expressing regret for being unable to rein in Da-yeon’s stubbornness.

It wasn’t entirely unreasonable. Neither Da-yeon nor Ha-eun had much free time, so from the perspective of someone managing their schedules, juggling commitments like this was undoubtedly a headache.

In the end, Ha-eun relented, replying, "Okay."

She wanted to push it off again but realized she had already postponed their collaboration several times. Another excuse might only anger Da-yeon further, especially when she'd find out Ha-eun had time for Nael’s stream but not hers.

"What’s the collab content?"

[ "It’s a secret... or so she says. She’ll tell you during the stream." ]

"...What is she planning now?"

A bad feeling washed over her.

For Da-yeon to keep even the general manager in the dark wasn’t a good sign.

Ha-eun had mentally prepared herself for their collaboration, but the unpredictability of Da-yeon’s antics unnerved her. She feared what kind of embarrassing legacy Da-yeon might create for Diah. After all, while the stream might last only a day, the recording would remain forever.

‘Maybe she enjoys teasing me because she likes me.’

Ha-eun hoped for a calm and uneventful collaboration, like the one with Nael. But judging from Da-yeon’s past comments and donation messages on Diah’s streams, chaos seemed inevitable.

Still, with only ten minutes left before the meeting with Rev for their CF shoot, Ha-eun had to cut the conversation short.

"I have to hang up now; my CF meeting is about to start."

[ "A... meeting?" ]

"Yes, a meeting."

[ "...Wait. Where are you taking this call from?" ]

The general manager sounded unusually concerned.

"I’m at Rev. It’s a cosmetics company."

[ "Rev? Are you saying you’re in their building right now?" ]

"Yes."

[ "Don’t tell me... you stepped out of the meeting to take this call?!" ]

"No, the meeting hasn’t started yet."

[ "Oh, thank goodness. I was worried I interrupted something important." ]

The manager let out a sigh of relief before reminding Ha-eun to always clarify if she was in a situation where taking calls wasn’t ideal.

They followed up with a random tidbit about using Rev’s cosmetics themselves before hastily ending the call.

[ "Anyway, I shouldn’t keep you. Good luck with your meeting!" ]

"Thank you. Talk later."

Click.

With the call over, Ha-eun sighed.

‘Well, at least Da-yeon probably won’t go too overboard... right?’

There wasn’t much else she could do but wait for the day of their collaboration. Calling Da-yeon to ask about the plans would only make things worse. Instead, Ha-eun decided to focus on her immediate priorities—like the Rev CF meeting, starting in five minutes.

"Ha-eun, it’s time. Let’s go in."

"Alright."

Accompanied by her manager, Ju Jung-yoon, Ha-eun entered the sleek meeting room within Rev’s headquarters. As an international brand, the atmosphere of the office felt more Western than Korean, though the ad proposals they presented aligned well with Korean sensibilities.

"If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask. We’re here to get your thoughts, Miss Ha-eun."

For the duration of the meeting, Ha-eun reviewed various proposals with her manager. While everything seemed fine to her, the final decision came down to Jung-yoon’s recommendation.

"I think Option B suits you best, Ha-eun."

"Then let’s go with Option B."

"Understood. Would it be alright to proceed with the original shoot dates we discussed?"

"Yes, that works."

With the meeting wrapped up, the Rev representative sent them off with a polite, "We look forward to working with you during the CF shoot!"

Ha-eun still felt slightly uneasy about her upcoming role as Lee Ye-seo in Veterans, but she had already set the tone with her debut album. At least for now, her image aligned well with a cosmetics campaign.

With all her pre-shoot preparations complete, Ha-eun decided to learn more about Rev and brainstorm ideas for the shoot’s vibe while heading home.

In the van, she browsed through Rev’s brand history on her phone when Jung-yoon suddenly spoke up.

"Oh, by the way, Ha-eun."

"Hmm?"

"Starting next week, you’ll have action scene rehearsals for Veterans with Seo Jin-tae and Yoo Sung-jae."

The new schedule caught her attention, though it didn’t seem particularly unusual.

"Just a heads-up," Jung-yoon added, "don’t mess up."

"Mess up? What do you mean?"

"Don’t actually hit anyone. Yoo Sung-jae might be fine, but Seo Jin-tae is turning sixty soon."

Ha-eun squinted at her manager in disbelief.

"You’re acting like I’m a menace. Do you think I’d actually hit someone? Especially someone like Seo Jin-tae?"

"Yoo Sung-jae specifically asked me to warn you. He said you might need a reminder."

"Why is he always like this?"

"He’s just looking out for you."

"Feels more like he’s teasing me."

"Well, maybe a little. But it’s better to be cautious. Control your strength, alright?"

Ha-eun rolled her eyes but didn’t argue further. She wasn’t exactly a powerhouse—her grip strength was average at best... or maybe a little above average.

Okay, fine. Maybe it was above average for a woman.

A week later, however, she had to eat her words.

[ "Screeech!!" ]

"Ahhh!!!"