After Diah’s spectacular K-pop performance ended without a hitch, the background of her broadcast seamlessly transitioned from the vast concert stage back to her familiar streaming room.
Soon, Diah approached her usual desk and took a seat in front of it.
The next segment began with a question: how was the performance?
Around 13,000 Noeulis eagerly shared their impressions in the chat.
For the next ten minutes, the typical lighthearted chat between Diah and her Noeulis continued.
Then— blink.
Suddenly, the broadcast screen went dark.
Only the chat window and donation overlay remained visible.
Moments later, an upbeat musical intro began to play.
──♪───♬
The screen slowly brightened again, and the background returned to the concert stage.
Sure enough, at the center of the vast stage stood Diah’s 3D avatar once more.
"For the next performance, I’ll be singing my favorite song! Here’s Starlight’s ‘Galaxy’!"
Unlike the first, which had only featured choreography, this one included live singing as well.
"Would you cross my universe to meet me~? ♬"
The reason she could include live singing was that Galaxy was Ha-eun’s Illusionary Realm audition song.
Having practiced it countless times in Doubly’s studio to secure her spot in the agency, it was the song Ha-eun felt most confident performing.
It was also the only song where she could showcase 100% of her talent using Diah’s voice.
Perhaps that was why—
"One step ♪ Another step ♪ Come closer and talk to me warmly~ ♪"
The song had been a massive hit several years ago, known by practically everyone, which added to the excitement.
After delivering a flawless performance of Galaxy, Diah returned to her familiar streaming room.
Breathing slightly heavier, she thanked her Noeulis for their enthusiastic reactions.
"I’ve always wanted to perform this song on stream someday. Whew... Doing it with a 3D avatar makes it even better~."
She revealed that she had practiced not only Galaxy but several other K-pop songs in Doubly’s studio.
Of course, she didn’t explicitly mention that the practice sessions had taken place at Doubly’s studio.
Even a small hint, like being connected to Doubly, could drastically narrow down the list of potential "red pill" candidates who might expose her identity.
Instead, she referred to Lee Jun and Lee Gun-yeol as simply “very strict vocal coaches.”
While she shared how tough it had been to meet their rigorous standards, she didn’t give away their identities.
"There were times they made me sing the same part over 20 times. Ugh, even just remembering it gives me PTSD..."
Mentions of the hardships endured by the first-generation Illusionary Realm VTubers, including Yuna, filled the chat.
Even so, since both Illusion and Galaxy were masterpieces, there were no complaints about the end result.
Diah’s remark about being glad she could deliver a good performance left no room for disagreement.
"If you could turn back time, would you still train just as hard? Hmm... Probably, yeah."
"Hey, I brought something cool today. Hang on a sec~."
Diah moved her hands, and moments later, she summoned a small SD avatar of a Noeuli next to her.
The chat was momentarily bewildered by the sudden appearance of the tiny avatar, which eventually nestled into Diah’s arms.
Just a few seconds later—
-Ding!
-Rolling, rolling...
A roulette appeared in the middle of the broadcast screen, spinning until it landed on one Noeuli’s username.
The name popped up as Diah held the tiny avatar close.
[ekdlqmd546] - Uh...
[ekdlqmd546] - What’s this?
"Alright, from now on, you too can be held like this Noeuli! What do you think? Cool feature, right?"
Three seconds.
Two seconds.
One second.
"Uh... why isn’t the chat movi—"
The flood of messages from the Noeulis felt like a massive tsunami crashing in.
Of course, Ha-eun had anticipated that this feature would be popular, but still—
"Um, uh. You can also pet it like this or pick it up with both hands and spin it around..."
When she thought about it, it wasn’t that complicated—a personalized 1:1 chat feature with a physical SD avatar added.
"Uh, Noeulis, I think I’ll head out... now?"
Even though nothing had gone wrong, the chat felt like it was going to explode with noise.
And so, after nervously watching the Noeulis' reactions for what felt like forever, Ha-eun only managed to hit the button when her usual bedtime was fast approaching.
"Bye-bye—!"
Finally, Diah’s stream transitioned to the waiting screen.
Even then, the chat showed no sign of calming down.
Quickly averting her gaze from the monitor, Ha-eun rushed out of the streaming booth.
‘It’s just an SD doll... but does having a username displayed really make it feel so different?’
Was it because this was her first time streaming with a 3D avatar?
Ha-eun found herself bewildered by the new experiences this stream had brought.
‘...Hmm....’
The earlier 3D avatar broadcast had also doubled as practice for her upcoming fan meeting.
Even after lying down on her bed, thoughts continued to swirl in her mind.
***
"Fan meeting?"
"Yeah."
"When?"
"It’s not finalized yet... but probably sometime next month."
The conversation took place the morning after Diah’s 3D avatar broadcast.
As usual, Ha-eun and Da-yeon met in the classroom of Narae Arts High School, where Ha-eun brought up her upcoming fan meeting.
Her ultimate goal was to find out if Da-yeon would be willing to participate as a guest.
Most importantly, another guest candidate, Yoon Seung-jae, had already agreed to join, using the opportunity to promote Veterans.
"If you join too, it’ll turn into a Moonlight That Parts the Clouds reunion."
On a personal note, Ha-eun really wanted Da-yeon to appear at her fan meeting.
After all, Da-yeon was her closest friend.
Visit frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓ for the b𝘦st novel reading experience.
"...Let me know once the date is confirmed. If I can make it, I’ll come."
"Oh, uh. Thanks."
Thankfully, Da-yeon didn’t outright decline.
However, Ha-eun had another reason for bringing up the conversation—an upcoming CF shoot for Rev’s cosmetics scheduled for a few days later.
"Hey, Da-yeon."
"?"
"I’m shooting a cosmetics CF on Wednesday. So, uh—"
Could you teach me how to do makeup?
With a slightly embarrassed look, Ha-eun said this as she placed various Rev products on Da-yeon’s desk.
"...How have you been doing your makeup until now?"
"My mom did it for me. Or Jung-yoon unnie."
"Excuse me, we’re 19 years old."
"...It’s never too late to learn."