Hobbyist VTuber-Chapter 209
No matter what, Diah is the youngest member of Illusionary Realm's first generation.
Being the youngest both in terms of her VTuber RP and actual age, Diah had always been treated as the "maknae" among the first-generation members.
Of course, Ha-eun herself didn’t mind being treated as the youngest.
After all, all the first-generation members of Illusionary Realm had been people Ha-eun admired for a long time.
Her personal fan-girling was overflowing.
However, now she was collaborating with the second generation of Illusionary Realm members.
Technically, the second-gen members were also people Ha-eun had admired in her past life.
But currently, Ha-eun was participating in the collaboration not as a fan, but as a respected senior.
Thud.
Clatter─!
“How’s that? Did I earn a lot? Impressive, right~?”
She wanted to show the second-gen members her "senior" status, her worth as a role model.
That’s why she proudly showed off all the scraps of metal she had farmed in the game to the second-gen members.
The variable, however, was that Hida, who had been abandoned by Diah right from the start of the game, was a bit upset.
[ Diah-senpai, am I not important? Are those scrap metals more important? ]
“Hida, you’re going to respawn, right? The scrap metals aren’t coming back.”
[ Hmph. You said they were well-done earlier. From now on, I’ll abandon Diah-senpai too! ]
“Ugh.”
To be honest, Ha-eun hadn’t really expected Hida to treat her like a senior.
They were too familiar with each other by now.
Nevertheless, other collab members like Ocean and Nael had praised Diah’s farming skills.
That made Ha-eun feel a little proud.
After finishing farming on the first island and arriving on the second island...
More specifically...
Tap-tap-tap!
“Hey, guys! I’m back! Get ready to run─!!”
Just as Diah was being chased by the monsters on the deserted island and running toward the helicopter for escape.
Vroooom─!
“Wha, wha? Guys! I’m not on yet!!”
[ Diah-senpai, bye~! We’re leaving! ]
“This is rebellion! Turn the helicopter back!!”
[ Bye-bye~! ]
Before Diah could board, Hida hit the start button and the helicopter flew away.
As a result, Diah ended up staying on the deserted island, a snack for the monsters.
“Aaaah! The monsters are here! Help me!!”
[ Hahaha, Diah-senpai, you're running so well~. ]
“Hey!!!!!”
Diah is alive here!All the scrap metals disappeared.Is that really a junior?Throwing away like a dog ㄷㄷAlready eaten by the juniors ㅠㅠㅠㅠNot long after, Diah respawned back in the helicopter seat, immediately grabbing Hida’s chest and shaking it with a jangle, her voice full of betrayal.
“You could’ve saved me! You could’ve saved me─!”
[ If we left any later, the monsters would've clung to the helicopter. It couldn’t be helped. ]
“No matter what, how could you abandon your senior?!”
[ Whatever. Whatever! ]
So childish, both of them ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋAbandoned by a 600-year-old grandma, now a 1-year-old baby <<< What’s going on hereReal-time squirrel) Things are looking well at homeFeeling dizzy already ㅇㅇThus, the collab turned into a game of mutual pranks between Diah and Hida.
It was always going to end up like this, with both of them targeting each other's weaknesses.
Creek.
Step, step, step...
[ Hmm, there’s nothing here. ]
It was around the time when the farming on the fifth island had just begun.
The collab members were searching for scrap metals in a secluded abandoned building on the island.
But as always, Diah, who was keeping a close watch on Hida’s movements, found something unusual.
“...Got it.”
Wait, seriously? ㅋㅋㅋㅋWhat’s she gonna do with that?Tarantula perfume? What is that?Witch, 10 seconds until disaster... 9 seconds... 8 seconds...After finding a special item, Diah immediately headed toward Hida.
Not long after, when Diah spotted Hida on the other side, she made her move.
“Shh...”
Thud, thud, thud, thud...
Roll, roll...
The special item Diah had just farmed rolled right toward Hida’s room.
And right after that, the door to the room was locked.
Click!
[ Huh? What’s going on? Is someone there?? ]
“Hehe...”
Just as Hida, startled by the suddenly locked door, rushed toward it,
a pink smoke started to rise from the special item Diah had thrown earlier.
And almost simultaneously...
Thud-thud-thud-thud.
Thud-thud-thud-thud.
[ Aaaahhh! Spider! Spider!!! Aaaaahhh!!! ]
Literally, giant spiders emerged from everywhere, attacking Hida.
As expected, Hida screamed so loud that the mic almost burst from her shock.
“Haha~!”
Satan has been fired;;Diah’s love for her junior is truly the greatest ㅋㅋㅋㅋWhat is going on over thereWhoa!!! Diah has gone mad ㄷㄷIn the end, Hida, completely covered in spiders from head to toe, died.
Diah opened the locked door, took the items Hida had farmed, and immediately returned to the helicopter.
Still clueless about what happened, Hida glanced at the chat window and only then realized the truth about the spiders.
As soon as she respawned back in the helicopter seat, she rushed to Diah.
[ This is murder! MURDER!! ]
“Wait, did I kill you~? It was the spiders, right~?”
[ Shameless demon!! You’re not a spirit, you’re a devil!! ]
“Well, I brought the items, so isn’t everything fine? Let’s forget about the past~.”
Watching their antics from the side, Nael and Ocean just laughed.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
They didn’t want to take sides and get dragged into this messy fight.
Time passed, and the farming on the final island was completed.
Then, a message appeared on Diah’s broadcast screen.
Ding.
<YOU'RE FIRED!!>
This was the bad ending of Riser Walking, meaning the collab members had not earned enough revenue to meet the required quota.
“Hey, guys...”
[ Huh? ]
[ What’s going on~? ]
[ ...? ]
“We didn’t earn enough money. Looks like we’re all... fired?”
[ Fired? ]
[ Oh no, we’re all doomed~! ]
[ If Diah-senpai hadn’t been messing around─! ]
Bubububang!!
[ Aaaahhh! ]
And so, the collab ended with the helicopter exploding in mid-air.
Afterward, everyone shared their thoughts about the collab on their individual streams before ending the broadcast.
However...
♪
♪
♪
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.
♪
<Da-yeon>
“Ah.”
As soon as Diah’s stream was turned off, Da-yeon called.
Realizing the repercussions of the prank she had pulled, Ha-eun quickly turned off her phone.
She knew very well what Da-yeon would say over the phone.
However, despite ignoring Da-yeon’s call, Ha-eun ended up meeting her the very next day.
The reason? Da-yeon needed Ha-eun’s help with the upcoming second-gen Illusionary Realm group song.
[ Ha-eun, I didn’t notice it when you were here, but now that you’re gone, it’s really obvious. Can you spare some time for me? ]
“Um, Hye-min unni. I can make time, but... is it really okay for me to go?”
[ Well, everyone’s going to find out you’re Diah eventually. Da-yeon already knows. Don’t stress about it, just come! ]
Thus, Ha-eun’s first meeting with the second-gen Illusionary Realm members was set up.
Technically, two out of the five second-gen members already knew Diah’s identity, but still, Ha-eun couldn’t help feeling nervous.
‘Hmm... I wonder what kind of people they are...’
One hour later, Ha-eun arrived at the recording studio, the same one she visited during the Illusion recording session.
At the entrance, Ji Hye-min was waiting and immediately walked up to Ha-eun, grabbing her by the shoulders.
“Teacher! We’ve been waiting just for you~!”
“...Are the others waiting inside?”
“Yep. Let’s go in~.”
Walking alongside Ji Hye-min, Ha-eun finally entered the studio.
“Ah, ah? Senior!”
Nael, who had been sitting on the sofa near the entrance, was the first to recognize Ha-eun and ran up to her.
Da-yeon, who had been standing silently, acknowledged Ha-eun with a nod right after.
“Did you come?”
“...Yeah.”
“What’s with that look?”
“I-I wasn’t looking around.”
Perhaps it was because of the collab from Riser Walking yesterday that Diah kept feeling uneasy.
Even though she usually interacted with Da-yeon as usual, today she hesitated slightly, instinctively trying to gauge Da-yeon’s mood.
However, unlike Nael and Da-yeon, who already knew Diah’s true identity, the other second-generation members had no idea at all.
“Um, Da-yeon? Are you filming a prank with Ha-eun... by any chance...?”
‘Yoon’ froze in place.
Thud.
“Ah... so it really is Ha-eun... Wow...”
‘Ocean’ dropped the paper cup he was holding onto the floor.
“...Didn’t Diah-senpai say she was coming?”
‘Nael’ still couldn’t believe that Ha-eun was Diah.
Their gazes all focused on Ha-eun.
However, Ha-eun thought that what really mattered right now was the recording of the second-generation Illusionary Realm group song.
Swish.
Hoping to keep things under wraps, she put on a pair of dark sunglasses she had brought along. Then, in a calmer tone, she spoke.
“Today, I’m not your senior, but your instructor, so please bear with me if I come off a bit strict.”
She had transformed into the special instructor mode that Yuna had once dreaded.
In less than ten minutes, the initial curiosity and surprise from the second-gen members turned into apprehension and fear.
Beep.
“Don’t break your breath in the middle; try to exhale all at once. Do you understand what I mean?”
Beep.
“Hm... the pitch at the end is a bit shaky. I’ll re-record the guide vocals for you, and you can try following along after you listen.”
Beep.
“One more second. Actually, if you enter 0.5 seconds faster, it’ll sound better. I’ll have you sing it just one more time.”
Beep.
Beep.
Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep...
Soon, the sound of groaning and whimpering began to fill the studio.
The only person smiling was Ji Hye-min.
“Alright, after we’re done here, let’s go have some beef. Just a little more, everyone, hang in there~!”
“More here...?”
“This is insane. I’m leaving!!”
Thud.
“Where are you going? We’re finishing the recording before leaving.”
“Screeeech!!!”
***
“Thanks, Ha-eun. Having you here really cleared up all the blocks we had.”
After the second-gen group song recording had smoothly progressed, Ji Hye-min spoke to Ha-eun, who had just finished recording the demo for Diah’s solo song Bright Day, with a bright smile on her face.
The conversation turned to the progress of the Bright Day music video.
Ji Hye-min mentioned that they’d be receiving the finished version soon.
“It’s been really emotionally well done. You can look forward to it.”
“Oh....”
To be precise, Diah was a slightly unusual case among VTubers.
It was rare for a VTuber to create songs without the help of a company.
Ha-eun was likely the only VTuber to have made it onto the music charts.
Thanks to this, the production of Diah’s first solo song went much more smoothly than that of other first-gen members.
This was probably one of the reasons Ji Hye-min felt secure with Ha-eun.
After the entire crew moved to a high-end steakhouse Ji Hye-min had reserved, everyone gathered in the private room of the restaurant.
“Um, Ha-eun... Diah-senpai?”
“You can call me casually in private.”
“Well, Ha-eun. ...No, no, that’s too much. I’ll just call you Diah-senpai.”
Starting with Nael, who hesitantly spoke up, the other members gradually followed with curious questions, not giving Ha-eun a moment to catch her breath.
What was unexpected was that Da-yeon, who «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» had been sitting right next to Ha-eun, hadn’t said a word.
Ha-eun thought that after the Riser Walking collab yesterday, the aftermath would hit, but Da-yeon didn’t say anything or seem to complain.
Swish.
“Eat. It’s perfectly grilled.”
“Ah? Oh, thanks...”
To Ha-eun’s surprise, Da-yeon even fed her a piece of beef!
And it was with Da-yeon’s chopsticks!
‘Why is she acting like this...?'
Da-yeon was definitely acting differently, and Ha-eun was bewildered.
She had been trying to be mindful of Da-yeon, but this sudden change left her confused.
Of course, whether the beef was fed to her by Da-yeon or by Ha-eun herself, it was incredibly delicious.
Especially since it was on Ji Hye-min’s credit card.
After the meal, when everyone else left, only Ha-eun and Da-yeon remained.
“Hey, Ha-eun...”
A slightly cautious voice came from Da-yeon, sitting next to her.
The conversation turned to Hida’s solo stream from a few days ago.
“The 1,000,000 won donation was fully raised, and we spun the roulette a few times...”
“You... spun it?”
“Well, the roulette result was... a 24-hour stream...”
Da-yeon hesitated for a moment, recalling the disaster that had happened.
After taking a deep breath, she continued.
“...Could you stay with me for just one day?”
She desperately asked Ha-eun to help with Hida’s first 24-hour stream.
She couldn’t think of anyone else who could help but Ha-eun.
“But... what about your parents?”
“They’re both at the countryside for the rituals. I’m alone at home.”
“If I stay with you, I’m sure you’ll feel better.”
Da-yeon, looking a bit nervous, glanced at Ha-eun as she spoke.
Right after, Da-yeon brought up the filming of Friendholic.
Since Ha-eun had helped her out before, Da-yeon wondered if Ha-eun could return the favor with her request.
In the end, Ha-eun nodded.
She promised to help Da-yeon with her collab request.
And almost immediately, Da-yeon, with a bright smile, clung to Ha-eun.
“I’ll let you know once we finalize the stream content. Thank you, really.”
Time passed, and eventually, the first day of Hida’s 24-hour stream arrived on Friday.
Is the big one coming? Is the big one coming? Is the big one coming? Is the big one coming?When is Hida coming?I want to see the Witch ㅠㅠㅠOpen the room, room leader! Open the room! Open the room!The chat speed was already frantic even before Hida’s stream began.
As a result, both Da-yeon and Ha-eun, who were watching the chat, felt a little flustered.
“This is crazy, right?”
“It’s probably because it’s a 24-hour stream. They’re probably really excited.”
After Da-yeon typed on the keyboard and clicked the mouse, they began preparing for Hida’s first 24-hour broadcast.
Then, as Hida’s stream finally went live, Hida made a surprise announcement about a special guest.
Hmm, hmmm.
“The witch kidnapped me─!! Help me!!”
“?!”
A completely different voice came from Ha-eun, making Da-yeon’s eyes widen in surprise.
She had known Diah’s voice was Ha-eun’s, but this was the first time hearing it directly.
Is that Diah??Is this real?Oh, the baby finally got caught.You said you were a special guest, but why are you bringing the child, Witch?Is Diah going to be eaten now? ㅠㅠㅠWith Diah’s sudden appearance, the chat exploded with confusion.
At the same time, Hida’s voice came over the mic, asking the viewers not to jump to conclusions.
Ding.
[ ㅇㅇ has donated 1,000 won! ]
: What’s Hida really like, Diah?
A message from a donor appeared on the screen, and Ha-eun’s gaze automatically shifted to Da-yeon beside her.
However, since she was in Diah’s persona at that moment, she spoke to Da-yeon through the mic.
“Witch, can you step aside for a moment?”
After Da-yeon moved back slightly, Ha-eun leaned closer to the mic and took a deep breath.
“The gap between the avatar’s mid and the real mid is night and day!! This is fraud, fraud!!”
?Wait, what did you say?Diah: Hida’s mid is just a sucker (slightly offensive joke)HahahahahahaThis will cause some controversy.Diah Cola speaking up;;In front of the person? The guts are insane ㄷㄷAnd thus, Ha-eun made what could be called a ‘conscience declaration.’
Almost immediately, Da-yeon’s angry headlock hit Ha-eun’s neck and face, but Ha-eun did everything she could to reveal the truth.
“Are you crazy...”
“The truth... will eventually come out...!!”
“Q-quit it!!”
