Hobbyist VTuber-Chapter 167
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.
Youth is unbeatable ;;Encore, encore, encore, encore, encore, encore, encore, encore!Your expressions have gotten prettier.Diah is the best!Was this full tracking?For dancing, she’s definitely Illusionary Realm's #1, for sure."Thanks, everyone! I’m glad you enjoyed it~."
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.
??What happened?Diah, did you mess something up?This isn’t the end, right? Please tell me this isn’t the end!Our baby disappeared ㅠㅠㅠㅠThe sudden disappearance of Diah’s 3D avatar caused a surge of rapid messages in the chat.
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’!"
Kyahhhhhh!D I AI knew it! Damn, I knew it! Damn, I knew it! Damn, I knew it! Damn, I knew it! Damn, I knew it!Why is the energy so high at night? LOLAnd thus, another performance began.
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~ ♪"
Oh, it’s Galaxy!Kyahhhhhh!Look at that gorgeous choreography!She’s singing so well???This is it.Our baby has leveled up ;;Viewer count just passed 15k ㄷㄷThe Noeulis were ecstatic over Diah’s rendition of Galaxy, which was just as flawless as the original.
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 must’ve practiced so much LOLTake a breather, please ;;(Cheering speech bubble emoji) x10You did amazing!What followed was a candid storytime about Diah’s preparation for her Illusionary Realm audition.
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..."
Hmm, LOLWait, this sounds oddly familiar.Live footage of Yuna having a hypertension episode.Now I get why Yuna had such a hard time.But still, you nailed it—cheers to that!The chat buzzed with mentions of how similar Diah’s Galaxy prep sounded to Illusion.
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."
Yuna is crying LOLA pro’s mindset, I guess.Fearless youth (age 1).Now that I think about it, the Noeulis haven’t lost anything here, huh? LOLDiah, you’re doing great. Keep it up.The casual yet entertaining broadcast carried on until it was nearly time to end the stream.
"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?
Updat𝓮d fr𝙤m ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com.
"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—"
WOW!!!Hold me, hold me, hold me, hold me, hold me, hold me, hold me, hold me, hold me, hold me, hold me!This new feature is insane LOL.Hug me too, hug me too, hug me too, hug me too, hug me too, hug me too, hug me too, hug me too, hug me too!Is it possible to pet us too?Please stream just a little longer!One more roulette spin, let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!"...Wow."
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..."
This new feature is next-level ;;Getting gently spun by baby Diah? I can’t resist.I’ll buy an entire cotton candy factory if you hug me just once ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠLook at all the Noeulis losing their minds LOL.The reaction from the Noeulis was even more intense than Ha-eun had imagined.
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?"
Wait, WHAT.Don’t leave, don’t leave, don’t leave, don’t leave, don’t leave, don’t leave, don’t leave!Where are you going???Hug me!How can you show us this right before ending the stream?!You’ll come back tomorrow, right? Tomorrow, right? Tomorrow, right? Tomorrow, right? Tomorrow, right?There hadn’t been a day when Ha-eun felt so scared to press the "end stream" button.
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.
"...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."
