Chapter 58: Chapter 57

Her long, white hair with a gradient of bright, lively colors. Eyes that seemed to capture the beauty of a glowing sunset. A delicate, off-the-shoulder white dress that exuded elegance and purity.

The *Dia* avatar Ha-eun now faced was flawless; there wasn’t a single part of it she didn’t adore.

When Ha-eun tilted her head, *Dia* did the same. When she opened her mouth to say "ah~," *Dia*’s mouth moved in sync. The avatar even perfectly mimicked her expressions as she practiced VTuber catchphrases from memory.

‘…Finally.’

The cute *Dia,* *Fantasia’s* youngest member, was everything Ha-eun had imagined and more.

She almost forgot.

“Um, Ha-eun?”

That she wasn’t alone in her soundproof booth right now.

“It looks like the avatar tests are done, so let me explain a few more things.”

Turning her gaze slightly, Ha-eun noticed Hye-min, who was struggling to keep her lips from trembling in amusement.

And there it was—a high-pitched voice, *Dia*’s voice, replaying on Hye-min’s phone due to the stream delay.

‘…Oh.’

Ha-eun felt her face turn red, realizing she’d lost herself for a moment there.

To be fair, she didn’t need to be embarrassed in front of Hye-min and her assistant; after all, they already knew her identity as *Dia.* But it was the fact that she’d just revealed her carefully practiced expressions and voice to others for the first time that flustered her.

“This here, Ha-eun, or rather *Dia,* is your waiting screen. And next, this screen is—”

-Click.

-Click, click.

“On the left monitor, you’ll see donations, the chat, and *Dia’s* avatar status—”

“We’ll also set up manager permissions for your moderators—”

For a while, Ha-eun could barely focus on what Hye-min and her assistant were explaining.

She understood the basics but found it nearly impossible to maintain eye contact for more than a second.

It took about twenty minutes for the basic VTuber streaming guide to wrap up, giving her some time to cool down.

But then…

“Ha-eun, it looks like *Dia’s* debut stream on Tuesday will have to be a solo broadcast.”

“?”

Ha-eun learned that the *Fantasia* debut schedule, initially set for Monday through Wednesday, had been slightly altered. Now, she would debut solo.

“It feels a bit heavy to introduce two members two days in a row.”

“We figured you’d do well solo since you’re the most experienced, Ha-eun. Based on your practice lines earlier, you seem to have a knack for this.”

Although Hye-min and her assistant offered her words of encouragement, Ha-eun felt a weight settle on her shoulders. A solo debut was a significant responsibility.

On Tuesday, she’d need to not only meet the expectations set by the members debuting on Monday but also generate excitement for the other two debuting Wednesday.

Ha-eun had prepared for this VTuber debut as *Dia* for a long time, but she wasn’t entirely sure she could handle such a crucial role on her first stream.

“…I’ll do my best.”

Rather than admit she felt overwhelmed by a solo debut, she lied and said she was excited. She still hated the thought of people worrying about her.

She arranged her features into her usual calm expression, her voice steady, with no hint of nerves.

Seeing Ha-eun’s calm resolve, Hye-min breathed a sigh of relief, thanking her. After all, Ha-eun had received the highest internal evaluations, and someone needed to debut solo for the project schedule.

While Hye-min had initially worried about giving such a responsibility to their youngest member, Ha-eun was the only one suitable for the task after all their deliberation.

“Dong-jin and I will be there as your stream managers, so if you need help, don’t hesitate to reach out.”

After some final words of encouragement and a farewell, Ha-eun watched Hye-min and her assistant leave before returning to her room.

-Thud.

“Haah…”

She sighed, finally feeling the full weight of the responsibility and steeling herself for her solo debut. She returned to her soundproof booth, ready to practice.

“Ah, ah. Ah~”

For quite some time, she spoke different lines, moving *Dia*’s avatar on the monitor. She even practiced expressions like tilting her head, smiling brightly, and pretending to cry.

‘I… think I can do this.’

As *Dia,* Ha-eun aimed to bring to life her ideal self—a vision she’d dreamed of in her previous life. She was determined to perfect it, no matter what it took.

---

“Oh? Where are you going, Ha-eun?”

“Drama filming.”

“Oh, right, you passed the audition.”

A classmate gave Ha-eun a cheerful “fighting!” and she waved in return. Soon, she was riding in her manager Joo Jung-yoon’s black van.

Something about her seemed more intense than usual to Jung-yoon.

“Nervous? Want some calming pills?”

Jung-yoon tried to ease Ha-eun’s nerves, thinking she was tense about the first day of filming for *Moonlight Drawn by Clouds.*

However, Ha-eun’s nerves weren’t due to the drama.

[*Fantasia* PV]

[*5214 viewers waiting*]

‘…More than I expected.’

The preview video for *Fantasia,* set to premiere soon, was what had her on edge. And she was also nervous about *Dia’s* debut stream on Tuesday.

Even after arriving on set, there was still some time before the PV release, so she couldn’t help but think about it.

“Are you alright, Ha-eun?”

In the dressing room, as her outfit and makeup transformed her into Young-wol, she debated watching the *Fantasia* PV on her phone.@@novelbin@@

Apparently, her preoccupied expression looked a bit uncomfortable to others.

“Hmm, it’s better not to be too stiff. Should I loosen the bandages a bit?”

“Oh… no, it’s perfect as it is.”

Thus, the bandages on her upper body stayed in place as she changed into Young-wol’s dark costume. Watching the *Fantasia* PV would have to wait until after filming wrapped up for the day.

However, as soon as she held her sword…

“Huh…?”

She was surprised by how light the prop sword felt—barely a quarter of the weight she remembered.

Naturally, she asked the nearby staff member if there were any other swords available.

“Um, Ha-eun, you’d have to ask Director Jin about the swords.”

“?”

“Actually, he insisted on handling the props himself. So if you want a different sword, you’ll have to check with him.”

The staff member’s vague response didn’t provide much clarity, but she decided to follow up with Director Jin Kyu-sung to find a heavier sword.

“Director, is there a heavier sword available?”

“That’s the heaviest sword we have.”

‘That can’t be right.’

She couldn’t find a sword as heavy as the one she’d used for the audition.

Though Kyu-sung handed her the heaviest available sword, it still didn’t feel quite right. His expression was so firm, she couldn’t press further.

And then, Yoo Sung-jae, now fully transformed into the Crown Prince Lee Hyeon, approached her.

“They said your costume looks amazing, Ha-eun. I was curious, but… you really look like Young-wol stepped right out of the novel.”

“Ah… thank you. You also look exactly like Crown Prince Lee Hyeon.”

Setting aside her thoughts about the sword, they began discussing the scenes they’d be filming together.

“The line’s on the first page, so it’s hard to forget. Although, there’s not much dialogue in this scene anyway.”

As Sung-jae mentioned, the scene they were about to shoot was the very first one in the *Moonlight Drawn by Clouds* script. Director Jin Kyu-sung preferred to shoot scenes in script order.

The scene they’d soon film was the moment when Crown Prince Lee Hyeon, on an outing outside the palace, meets Young-wol in a forest for the first time.

“Just don’t accidentally cut me, alright?”

“Well… I’ll try.”

It was also the scene where the prince would realize Young-wol’s extraordinary swordsmanship, as Young-wol would save him from a charging boar just in time.

It was a tense situation, where one wrong move could result in the prince being cut instead of the boar. Although it was just a scene, Sung-jae couldn’t help but joke about it.

“Alright. 3, 2, 1… action!”

At the director’s cue, the filming began. Sung-jae, fleeing from an imaginary boar, stumbled and fell right in front of Ha-eun’s hiding place.

At that moment…

-A chill.

Sung-jae felt an eerie sensation, as if he really might be cut by Ha-eun’s blade. Her expression was so intense it looked like she might actually attack him.