Chapter 132: Chapter 131

“Hm, I think it would look great on you guys too. You should try it on─!”

Ha-eun, who still maintained her signature high-pitched voice, made the request.

In the end, Ji Hye-min and the other members followed Ha-eun to the kimono rental shop where she had chosen her kimono and tried on kimonos that suited them.

Although the rental fee for the kimonos was higher than expected, they couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

When they left the rental shop and reunited with Ha-eun, compliments flowed naturally.

“Wow. No, wow…”

To exaggerate a bit, the members seemed enchanted by each other’s kimono outfits.

The actress-like aura Ha-eun had exuded earlier when her kimono photo was taken had now completely disappeared.

Soon after, Ha-eun eagerly requested a group photo.

Mile quickly switched her phone from vlog mode to selfie mode.

“Alright, are we ready? 3, 2, 1!”

- Click.

The selfie stick, lifted high by Mile, was used several more times after that.

Ha-eun, not satisfied with just one shot, continued to ask for different poses.

Thus, they took photos until Ha-eun was satisfied, then immediately sent the pictures.

Ha-eun's heartfelt voice followed, saying that she would print the photos once they returned to Korea and keep them as cherished memories.

“Wait, you're going to print our pictures, not yours?”

“Why would I print my own photos? If I’m going to print something, it should be your photos.”

“...Are you immune to your own photos or something?”

Naturally, Ha-eun and the other members couldn't quite understand each other.

Their views on each other’s photos were too different.

The other members thought that Ha-eun’s solo photo, with its captivating atmosphere, was a truly amazing shot.

Since she was a real advertising model, the quality of her photos was bound to be exceptional.

Meanwhile, Ha-eun believed that the group’s kimono photo was the one that was truly worth keeping.

It was a photo that only Ha-eun could have, given that she was the only one in the Illusionary Realm with the privilege of taking such a picture.

In any case, the Illusionary Realm group’s Japan trip had just begun.

Now that they had already changed into kimonos, they decided to explore more places.

They enjoyed the trip, wandering around souvenir shops, snack bars, and famous photo spots around Asakusa Senso-ji Temple.

“Ah, fortune telling!”

They arrived at a fortune-telling stand where many people were already trying their luck.

With less than a month until the new year, they all secretly hoped for a good fortune for the upcoming year.

After paying 100 yen, Ha-eun drew a long wooden stick.

They found the drawer that matched the number written on the stick and pulled out a fortune paper.

“33, 33, where is it… Ah, found it!”

Ha-eun, still speaking in Diah’s cheerful voice, read her fortune on the translation app on her phone.

“Eh? Great fortune─! Big luck─!!”

With an even more cheerful demeanor, Ha-eun proudly showed her fortune paper to Ji Hye-min and the other members.

Of course, her excited voice was fully captured in Mile and Ria’s vlogs.

But to the other members, Ha-eun already seemed to be living a very successful life.

“Hm, what does our youngest need to do to succeed even more?”

“Yeah, what should she do?”

It was hard to imagine Ha-eun becoming even more successful than she already was.

Eventually, they joked about something impossible, like surpassing 1 million concurrent viewers, and filled the audio of the vlog with lighthearted banter.

Mile and Ria filmed the vlog for about three more hours.

More specifically,

“Yap! Diving into the bed─!”

After finishing their dinner at a Gyukatsu restaurant, the last scene of the Day 1 vlog was Ha-eun jumping onto the wide bed while holding the selfie stick.

Once the cameras of Ria and Mile were turned off, Ha-eun could return to her original voice.

Thanks to drinking water in between, her throat wasn’t too sore.

Before long, they arrived in Dreamland.

On Day 2 of the trip, they had to go to the ski resort early in the morning, so Ha-eun tried to get a good rest.

However, the other members hadn’t gone to bed yet, so it was the first time Ha-eun was seen sleeping by the other members.

Perhaps that’s why...

- Ding.

“Diah sleeping ASMR, starting now…!”

The members secretly started recording Ha-eun’s sleep sounds without her knowing.

Technically, the only thing they recorded at that moment was the white blanket covering Ha-eun and her peaceful breathing, but that short scene would end up being the most popular part of the Japan trip vlog.

No one knew exactly why, but it was certain.

As time passed and the sun began to set again,

“Ah, that’s the Shinkansen!”

“Wow, Ria unnie, you’re really an otaku─☆”

“What?”

The Illusionary Realm members arrived at the train station, starting to film their vlog again.

Somehow, since they were filming the travel vlog, the trip felt even more fulfilling, and there was no time for empty air in the audio.

However, when they reached the ski resort, they had to pause the vlog filming for a moment.

Since it was their first time at a ski resort, they needed to learn how to ski.

This was also true for Ha-eun.

However, perhaps due to her relatively good athletic abilities compared to the other members,

- Swish.

- Swish.

“Whoa, she’s already doing short turns?”

“Hey, is that hard to do?”

“Very! It’s not something you can learn in a day or two.”

Ha-eun quickly adapted to the new sport, leaving the beginner stage behind.

Meanwhile, the other members were just rolling around on the slopes, not really skiing or snowboarding.

Perhaps that’s why, whenever Ha-eun encountered familiar faces lying in the snow, her playful voice would naturally come out.

“Wow, it’s a living snowman─!”

“It’s not that bad, you know?”

“You’re covered in snow from head to toe, so it’s a snowman~.”

Although it wasn’t during vlog filming, Ha-eun still kept her high-pitched voice and playful nature, showing her mischievous side.

“Well then, I’ll go first~. Ria, the snowman will roll down the hill~.”

- Swish!

“IF YOU CATCH ME, YOU’RE DEAD!!”

Of course, Ria, who was fully heated up, never actually caught Ha-eun.

No matter how hard she tried to keep her balance, she kept falling and ended up being the living snowman Ha-eun described.

- Heh.

Every time Ria fell, laughter echoed from a distance, and it seemed like it wasn’t just a hallucination.

The evidence was Ha-eun’s smiling face.@@novelbin@@

***

- Tap.

“Eh…?”

“Oh, it’s snowing!”

This moment took place after the ski resort hours had ended.

More specifically, it was when they were taking a taxi toward a famous hot spring near the ski resort.

“But wait, if it keeps snowing like this, we could really have a snowy hot spring experience!”

“Our Diah will get her wish fulfilled~.”

Snowflakes began to fall from the high sky.

To be precise, Ha-eun knew there was a possibility of snow from the weather forecast, but since weather forecasts weren’t always reliable, she had only hoped for a tiny bit of snow.

Now that it had started snowing, she couldn’t help but wish that it would keep falling.

One of Ha-eun’s bucket list items, "Snowy Hot Springs", was about to come true today.

Not long after, they finally arrived at the hot spring.

Fortunately, the snow was still falling.

Without wasting any time, Ha-eun quickly completed all the necessary preparations and headed straight for the outdoor hot spring, even before anyone else.

- Sizzling!

“...!!”

The heat of the outdoor hot spring was so intense compared to the outdoor baths during her school trip that Ha-eun had to take a step back.

Despite that, she managed to get herself into the hot spring, eventually submerging her entire body except her face.

As she tilted her face upward, she noticed the white snow beginning to pile up on her forehead.

This was the romantic experience of being in a hot spring while it snowed, just as she had imagined.

As Ha-eun slowly relaxed, relieving the fatigue built up from skiing,

“Ha-eun, come here for a sec.”

“?”

Lee Ye-na, who had already joined the hot spring with the other members, called out to Ha-eun.

Ha-eun walked a few steps through the warm water to reach Ye-na’s side.

Leaning in as if whispering, Ye-na brought her head close to Ha-eun’s right ear and said,

“Diah’s mid is amazing~.”

“!!!”

This was the same comment Ha-eun had heard from one of the Sunsets a while ago, but this time Ye-na herself said it.

Ha-eun’s face immediately turned bright red, and she hurriedly covered her chest with her arms, avoiding Ye-na’s gaze.

To put it bluntly, she was in a situation that invited teasing from head to toe.

Even though Ha-eun tried not to let it bother her, she couldn’t stop herself from reacting whenever she was teased like this—it was impossible not to be amused by her responses.

However,

“W-Why are you saying this to me…! If you really knew the truth—”

Just as Ha-eun, completely losing her composure, pointed at Ji Hye-min with a voice filled with indignation,

“…What?”

In an instant, Ji Hye-min glared with a dangerous look that sent a chill down Ha-eun’s spine.

- Tap!

“Mm! Mm-mm!”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

In the end, Ye-na had to quickly cover Ha-eun’s mouth with her hand to stop Ha-eun from digging her own grave.

After all, if she continued to talk, it would be trouble for both of them.

She had no intention of facing Ji Hye-min’s wrath again like in the café earlier.

From that point, Ye-na kept a firm hold on Ha-eun’s mouth until they finished showering with lukewarm water after leaving the hot spring.

“By the way, Ha-eun, you really have a great figure.”

“…Thank you.”

“I’m not trying to tease you, but really, the shape of your body—”

- Swipe.

- Tap.

“You’re the first person I’ve seen with such a clean shape. No flab whatsoever.”

“Uh, no need to touch it…”

“Come on, when else am I going to touch a girl’s abs? Just flex your stomach for me.”

“...........”

- Flinch.

- Ting─!

“Ah, you really flexed it!”

“…I still think you’re teasing me.”

A little while later, after putting their clothes back on, they stepped out of the hot spring.

At least, Ha-eun was satisfied because she had checked off her goal of experiencing snow while in the hot spring.

But the day wasn’t over yet.

Since they hadn’t had much of a chance to chat the night before, they could freely talk tonight.

“Hmm, what should we buy?”

Just like the other members, who were picking up snacks for the night at the convenience store, Ha-eun also added some snacks to her basket.

Thanks to her past experiences from the school trip, it was easy for Ha-eun to pick out foods she liked at the store.

The only issue was that the other members, who were adults, bought quite a bit of Japanese beer, even Ji Hye-min.

“Ha-eun, you know you can’t buy alcohol, right? If you do, there will be articles all over the internet, and things will spiral out of control, you know?”

“…I know...”

With a teasing tone, Ji Hye-min bought several cans of her favorite beer, leaving Ha-eun feeling a bit left out.

So, after returning to the hotel, when they started the New Year’s party with the snacks they had bought,

- Click.

- Sssshhhh─.

“Ahhh─. This is the taste.”

While Ji Hye-min and the others were enjoying their “adult pleasures,” Ha-eun could only sip on a can of cola.

But the conversation never stopped.

“If, just if. If Ha-eun’s red pill gets exposed, will people start thinking we’re all celebrities?”

“Oh, now that you mention it, that might actually happen.”

The conversation was filled with casual talk and some talk about the upcoming Illusionary Realm end-of-year broadcast, which would take place in about two weeks.

“We still don’t know what we should do for the joint broadcast. Should we do a year-in-review first?”

“I think it’d be fun to do a rolling paper!”

“Wait, like a rolling paper for each member? That sounds good!”

Or, they discussed the upcoming 1st anniversary of Illusionary Realm members in spring and the new recruits for Illusionary Realm 2.

“…Hmm…”

But for some reason, Ha-eun began to feel dizzy.

Perhaps it was because the fatigue from skiing hadn’t worn off yet.

- Sip.

- Tap.

“Ah, I finished it… yeah. Maria-unnie, can you get me another can of cola?”

“…? What’s going on with you?”

A puzzled expression greeted her.

Then, not long after, they heard a surprised voice.

“Wait a minute. Why is my Jack Coke here?”

Jack Coke.

More precisely, Jack Daniel’s with Coca-Cola.

“Wait, wait, how many cans did you drink?!”

Technically, it was Coke, but the label clearly said Coca-Cola.

“Unnie, the cola… is it more?”

The real identity of the drink was whiskey with about 7% alcohol.

“…Hic.”

When Ha-eun hiccupped, a brief silence filled the room.

But Ha-eun, without caring, began to crawl toward Maria, still a bit tipsy.

“Unnie, I… I drank the cola… I want more…”

“That… that’s not the cola, Ha-eun!”

As Maria tried to calm Ha-eun down,

- Hug.

- Slither.

“Ha… Ha-eun?”

Ha-eun suddenly embraced Maria and buried her face in her chest.

It was clear from the voice that followed:

“Cream, cream… Hmmm…”

Ha-eun was completely out of it.

This was undeniable evidence that she was drunk.