Jealousy.
An unspoken, overwhelming jealousy surged up.
It was different from the competitive drive Da-yeon had felt in the past when Ha-eun’s style of acting contrasted with her own.
This was sothing else—
A gut-level, physiological envy as a woman.
And a little bit of bitter frustration.
Why the hell doesn’t that little brat lose any chest fat even with all that working out...?
Objectively speaking, Da-yeon didn’t have a small chest either.
But the world ran on comparisons.
Having spent so many years side by side with Ha-eun, there was simply no escaping the visual contrast of that bust size.
It made Da-yeon’s chest seem smaller by default—whether she wanted to compare or not.
“You got surgery, didn’t you.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Then why do they keep getting bigger?”
“I don’t know, they just grow on their own...”
“...?!”
Unlike Da-yeon, who had tried all sorts of thods to enhance her bust, Ha-eun had done literally nothing—and that only made it more unfair.
Wasn’t effort supposed to pay off?
She’d probably drunk enough milk to fill a truck over the years.
So why did that side keep growing while hers stayed the sa?
“If anything, go ask my mom... Wait, even she isn’t exactly on the smaller side...”
“W-What?”
“I’m just saying, maybe you’re the mutant— ...I was kidding! Kidding! Put the chair down!”
Da-yeon, eyes flashing with rage, made Ha-eun flinch and throw her hands up in defense.
Maybe it was because she’d been working out lately, but she was seriously strong now.
She was hefting that chair like it weighed nothing.
“I don’t want to hear that crap from you.”
“Eek.”
And just like that, the latest commotion passed.
Ha-eun tried on the properly sized dresses, while the designer explained which styles suited her body best.
Having gone through this process before for various award shows, it wasn’t new to Ha-eun.
In fact, she’d been fitted for dresses more than once just for CF shoots.
But the dress for the Venice Film Festival was a different matter.
It would be made of luxury fabric, designed to be exceptionally elegant.
Naturally, the price reflected that.
If I used this much money to commission a new avatar for Diah... I could make at least five, she thought.
“...Lee Ha-eun, you’re having weird thoughts again.”
“I am not!”
It made sense that a dress for the Venice Film Festival would cost more.
It was a gathering of global stars—there was no way she could show up in just anything.
The only surprising part was how shockingly high the actual number was.
“So people show up decked out in designer brands from head to toe, you know.”
“For that kind of money, you could buy... I an... just kidding.”
“Don’t even talk about gukbap. You don’t even like gukbap.”
Before long, the final estimate for Ha-eun’s dress was confird.
Since Da-yeon’s dress had already been decided, the rest of the discussion focused on how long the tailoring would take for both gowns.
They left the dress shop shortly afterward.
Though it was well past lunchti, neither of them had eaten yet.
So first order of business: lunch.
They headed to a nearby gyudon specialty place.
And the mont they sat down, Ha-eun pulled out her action cam.
Cue the YouTube intro.
“We just wrapped up our schedule and ca to grab a bite. Today’s nu is—”
Here she goes again, Da-yeon thought.
To be fair, it wasn’t like she was being obnoxiously loud about it.
In fact, it was quiet—almost too quiet.
Whenever they fild in restaurants with other custors around, Ha-eun spoke in a near-whisper.
From the side, it looked like people could barely hear her. Still, asking for permission to record in every single place had to be exhausting.
“Do you really need to film everything?”
“I’ve got a whole team depending on . I have to keep up with the channel.”
“Team?”
“My YouTube team. They’re all waiting for this footage like their lives depend on it.”
She said it so seriously it almost sounded like a public service announcent.
Then she asked Da-yeon if she had any interest in starting a YouTube channel.
The answer ca imdiately: nope.
She said she had zero confidence in chatting alone in front of a cara like Ha-eun did.
“I just want to eat in peace when I eat.”
“You’d probably get tons of subscribers, though.”
“Pass.”
“There you have it. No plans to start a channel anyti soon.”
“...Wait. Are we streaming right now?”
“Not live, but soone did leave a comnt asking about your channel.”
Apparently, a hardcore fan.
As she fild her just-served yaki-gyudon with her action cam, Ha-eun even told Da-yeon the userna of the person who left the comnt.
Honestly, it was a strange feeling.
She hadn’t expected soone to ask about her YouTube on Ha-eun’s channel.
Maybe it was because she appeared so often as a guest.
“So how does the cheese gyudon taste, Miss Min Da-yeon? Care to comnt?”
“Want a bite?”
“If you’re offering.”
And so, between occasional mini-interviews from Ha-eun, they finished their gyudon. Then, they boarded manager Kim Jin-soo’s van to head to their next schedule: a celebrity ceremonial first pitch eting.
Another event they were attending together. With baseball season in full swing, the team had requested both Ha-eun and Da-yeon to make an appearance.
“Co to think of it, didn’t you do a first pitch when you were a kid, Ha-eun?”
“Oh, yeah. That was also for the Sehwa Eagles.”
The first pitch event had always been sothing Ha-eun wanted to do again. It was part of what launched her career in the entertainnt industry, so it carried emotional weight.
It was also why she’d talked Da-yeon into joining.
Ha-eun would handle the pitching; all Da-yeon had to do was swing the bat.
“I don’t think I’ll hit it.”
“Eh, the batter usually just whiffs. Swing once and wave, that’s it.”
In the end, Da-yeon also agreed to take part in the Sehwa Eagles’ first pitch ceremony.
It helped that she wouldn’t be alone—and it had been a long ti since Ha-eun was this eager about an event.
“Alright, then we’ll need to get uniforms too. Got a number in mind for the back?”
This brat’s way too excited.
Talk of Ha-eun’s ceremonial first pitch ended when Ju Jung-yoon arrived to pick her up.
Afterward, Da-yeon left for her Dynasty shoot, while Ha-eun headed to her eting at the LUX office—each getting into separate vans.
About 30 minutes later, Ju Jung-yoon’s van pulled into LUX.
Ha-eun, now wearing her building access badge, entered the company lobby—where Ji Hye-min was already waiting for her.
—SQUUUUUUEEZE!
“You’ve committed a grave sin...”
“B-Baba-ba! B-Baba-ba!”
“‘Watch It Separately’? Watch THIS separately!”
...Yeah. She was a bit too excited to see her.
She greeted Ha-eun by imdiately grabbing and pulling on her cheeks.
“I was going crazy without you! Actually going crazy—!”
“E-Enough, unnie! L-Let go!”
“I was dying of embarrassnt, you know.”
After that intense punishnt for making Ji Hye-min say cutesy promotional lines, Ha-eun followed her into the eting room where they first discussed the launch of new Diah rchandise.
“We’re planning to release new rch for Diah’s 2nd anniversary. Got anything in mind?”
“Hmm... you know those round cushions where only the face is printed? I forgot what they’re called.”
“Face-pop cushion?”
“Yeah, that one. I thought it’d be fun to use Diah’s face for it—”
That discussion went on for about an hour.
Or more specifically, it went on until Ji Hye-min’s notebook was packed full of new product ideas for Diah.
“Ga ad? For Diah?”
“Yup.”
Then, Ji Hye-min pulled out a new folder—this ti with an unexpected announcent.
“You know Blue Academy, right?”
“Uh... yeah.”
The na wasn’t unfamiliar to Ha-eun.
First of all, it was developed by a major Korean ga company, OnGas.
Plus, s from Blue Academy had already popped up in Diah’s stream chat a few tis.
But above all else, what stood out the most:
Blue Academy’s developers had once launched their own VTuber.
One way or another, anything related to VTubers always stuck with her.
They really got torn apart over that “red pill” controversy before they shut it down...
Regardless. This was the first ad Diah had ever been offered.
There was no way she would even consider turning it down—this one actually ant sothing.
Still, despite Ha-eun’s enthusiasm, there were so blurry lines in the ad contract.
“I get the feeling they don’t just want Diah.”
“Huh?”
“I an... it sounds like they also ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) want actress Lee Ha-eun in the ad too.”
So-called “howork stream” obligations would go to Diah.
She’d play Blue Academy live on stream and promote the newly released character.
However, the OST cover and voice-over lines for the comrcial?
Those, according to Ji Hye-min, were expected to be done by singer Pinocchio and actress Lee Ha-eun—not Diah.
“I an, technically, they’re all the sa person, but...”
“...Right.”
“Well, nothing’s set in stone yet. You can decide after eting with them.”
Either way, she definitely wanted to take the ad.
Diah’s first ever sponsorship wasn’t sothing she was about to pass up.
So she decided to et the client directly.
They, too, were eager for a face-to-face eting, and the date was confird faster than expected.
Never done a ga ad before, she thought.
Though she’d heard of Blue Academy, Ha-eun had never actually played it.
So, as prep for the eting, she decided to give it a quick test run.
Ti passed.
And finally, it was the day of the eting with OnGas.
“...There’s sothing off with the rates.”
“Uh... I’m sorry?”
The marketing team at OnGas, who had co to et her, weren’t t with a pitch or introduction.
They were t with complaints.
From a frustrated newbie.
“I an, it’s a pickup event for a new character. The rate’s supposed to be higher.”
“R-Right. The odds of drawing Prana are higher than other characters.”
“Then why do I keep pulling dupes? It’s way too many duplicates—”
Even though she kept her usual poker face, her voice and expression gave away a subtle hint of indignation.
Not to ntion the sheer number of duplicates visible on her Blue Academy account.
“This just doesn’t make sense. If I didn’t get her five tis in a row, statistically, that ans I should have by now, right? Why does she keep not showing up?”
“Ah... haha...”
The words rate rigging almost left her mouth.
The gacha system in Blue Academy was far more brutal than she’d expected.
“Okay, but I seriously want to know—why is there no ceiling for pass characters? Are you saying soone could pour in tens of millions and still not pull her? That’s—”
Whoa... she’s really into this ga, the team thought.
Actual business talk only started after they promised to “look into” every single one of her complaints. And even then, they were caught off guard again.
♪──♬──♪♪──
Beep.
“This one’s the Diah version. And this...”
♪♪───♪♬──♪
Beep.
“This is the Pinocchio version. Which one do you prefer?”
The marketing team had worked on plenty of ad campaigns before. But this was the first ti they’d ever received a counter-proposal from the model. And never before had soone pre-recorded two separate OST versions before the contract was even signed.
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