After court maid Hong-ryeon was upgraded from a cao role to a supporting character, Ha-eun had to officially participate in Dynasty as a supporting cast mber.
And this was sothing she was well aware of.
She hadn’t accepted Da-yeon’s request for additional filming without knowing about this change.
‘It’s been a while since I’ve had a supporting role.’
Back in middle school, when her acting gigs were sparse, she had mostly played supporting or minor characters, so it wasn’t unfamiliar to her.
Since Hong-ryeon was a character that didn’t originally exist in the script, her lines were relatively minimal for a supporting role.
Except for the part where Ji Jeong-hoon, who played Crown Prince Lee Jin, visibly trembled every ti he ran into her, Dynasty’s filming had gone smoothly.
But there was one unexpected thing.
“Could you lift your chin just a little? Ah, yes. That’s perfect~!”
At the poster shoot for Dynasty.
Though she wasn’t originally supposed to be there, Ha-eun, dressed in her court maid uniform, adjusted her pose to match the feedback coming from beyond the set.
That was because Hong-ryeon had beco a significantly important character among the supporting cast.
Several of the newly added scenes were now deeply tied to the core storyline.
Still, the biggest reason Ha-eun was included in the poster shoot was, of course—her fa.
At least, that’s what Da-yeon believed.
“Having you on the poster will help with promotion.”
“Hm...”
Even though she wasn’t a lead, it probably didn’t matter much.
There were definitely people who would watch the show just because Ha-eun was in it.
They’d cling to her for ratings, using every possible straw they could, and so on.
As usual, Da-yeon’s voice, blunt and direct, rang in Ha-eun’s ears.
But underneath those words was the unspoken truth that Ha-eun’s presence was a aningful help to Da-yeon’s drama.
“You’ve always been the type to make your own life harder.”
“I’m fine. It’s not that exhausting.”
“...Well, that’s good then.”
Ha-eun, who knew Da-yeon well, could tell that even those words were Da-yeon’s way of saying thank you.
Then it was Da-yeon’s turn.
Click.
Click click.
‘Haven’t seen her with braided hair in a while.’
Sitting on a folding chair on set, Ha-eun quietly watched as Da-yeon, now Crown Princess Jeong, posed for the cara.
Neatly braided hair.
Golden embroidery gleaming on white silk.
A deep blue skirt.
She looked every bit the noblewoman.
Maybe it was the character’s gentle and quiet nature, but she felt different from the usual Da-yeon.
Ha-eun said so honestly and complinted her, saying the shots looked really pretty.
“...So you’re saying I never look like that normally.”
“Oops.”
Which... kind of made it not a complint.
To make matters worse, Ha-eun flinched involuntarily, and Da-yeon let out a low growl.
Anyway, after sohow finishing the Dynasty poster shoot—
As usual, Da-yeon hopped into her manager Kim Jin-soo’s van and headed off to her next schedule.
Only to be interrupted by the unexpected:
Click.
Creaaak—
“What the—why?”
“I’m coming too.”
Ha-eun had swung the van door open and climbed in to sit next to Da-yeon.
She said she wanted to tag along to Da-yeon’s next schedule.
“Why are you coming?”
“Because I’m experienced. I’ll help you.”
Da-yeon’s next schedule was practice for her 3D avatar debut at the LUX studio.
Ha-eun already knew this and had basically snuck a ride in her van.
Besides, the poster shoot had been Ha-eun’s last schedule for the day anyway.
On the surface, it was a gesture of goodwill—to help out a first-tir with 3D avatars.
In reality, it was because of the motion capture suit.
In other words, she wanted to see Da-yeon in skintight gear.
“W-what are you looking at?!”
“I-it’s fine... Ahaha... It suits you...”
As expected, Da-yeon in a black skintight suit did not disappoint.
Ha-eun wanted to take a picture, but she gave up—she was pretty sure she’d get murdered for it.
From there, it was a repeat of everything Ha-eun had already experienced.
They checked whether Da-yeon’s movents synced correctly with her 3D avatar, if various poses were properly rendered, and so on.
The difference from the first-gen Illusionary Realm debut was that this ti, there wouldn’t be a group performance.
Instead, each second-gen mber would be doing a solo show.
「──♪─♪♬──♪♪」
‘She’s good at live singing too.’
Unlike the five-person joint concert of the first-gen group, the second-gen mbers would each perform solo.
Right now, Da-yeon was singing Hida’s solo track, Witch, live for that reason.
“How is it? Do you think I’m doing okay?”
“Your dance seems a bit reserved, but the vocals are great.”
Afterward, Ha-eun continued watching the 3D debut rehearsal alongside Ji Hye-min.
This was the first ti Da-yeon had ever perford—across both her current and past lives—which made it feel a bit surreal.
She looked so cute in so many ways that Ha-eun couldn’t stop herself from grinning.
Eventually, as Da-yeon wrapped up her rehearsals for Witch and the other songs—
Ji Hye-min, standing right beside Ha-eun, suggested that she take the mic too.
“I’ll play the MR for you. You should try a rehearsal too, Ha-eun.”
“Oh... okay.”
This suggestion from Ji Hye-min was for the special concert at the Dream Server event.
On the final day of Dream Server, there would be performances from the Illusionary Realm mbers—including Diah.
If the Dream Server concert ended successfully, it would significantly affect the reception of the second-gen’s 3D debut streams later on.
This Dream Server project was also a stepping stone for growing Illusionary Realm as a whole.
So when Ha-eun appeared on set a few seconds later—not in a skintight suit, but in a lighter motion capture setup—and started singing with her signature clear tone, it was because of that.
“...Why doesn’t she have to wear the tight suit?”
“We have to bring out a different size for Ha-eun. If she wears Da-yeon’s size, it’ll tear... oops.”
“............”
Ji Hye-min’s gaze had instinctively dropped toward Da-yeon’s modest(?) chest before snapping away.
Even so, Da-yeon seed to understand the aning instantly and wore a weirdly defeated expression.
Well, it would probably tear.
There was no way that skintight suit could contain those aggressive curves.
Still, even if they ignored the skintight suit part—
Why did Ha-eun have ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) a headset mic?
“Ah, that’s...”
Before Ji Hye-min could even start to explain—whoosh!
Ha-eun, belting out a high-tempo song, suddenly burst into breakdancing.
It looked more like a circus act than a concert.
“...You can’t do that kind of stuff while holding a mic.”
“Oh... right.”
Compared to her joint concert with Leni, she seed even more fired up this ti.
Maybe it was just in Ji Hye-min’s head, but Ha-eun looked unusually motivated.
...Why did she seem more desperate during a VTuber concert than a real-life idol one?
“Hah... hah... How was... it?”
“It felt more like a circus performance than a concert.”
“I ant Diah’s avatar, not .”
“She looked like she’d downed a couple shots.”
“?!”
Diah’s 3D avatar on the monitor certainly captured Ha-eun’s movents well.
It just looked more like a heavy tal rocker than an idol, thanks to how flashy everything was.
As for the singing—well, she was a professional singer. It would’ve been strange if she hadn’t done it well.
She just didn’t expect she’d go that hard on the choreography. With a 3D avatar, no less.
“If you don’t dance, Hyun-min’s going to steal the spotlight.”
“...You’re the one who invited him.”
“Still, you need to try hard not to fall behind.”
“Is it even possible not to...?”
Da-yeon already knew that Song Hyun-min was set to perform at the Dream Server special concert.
Word was, he’d be performing his new song, Num0, too.
Of course, Pinocchio—the featured singer on Num0—wasn’t going to appear due to “personal circumstances.”
A sha for the audience who would be watching the Dream Server concert.
“Couldn’t Diah just perform with him? It’s not like people don’t know.”
“T-that’s a bit...”
If Ha-eun showed up at Song Hyun-min’s surprise concert, things would get loud for a lot of reasons.
She had even considered turning off the stream briefly and resuming it after the concert ended—but she didn’t think she could handle the fallout.
‘It’s already wild enough that Hyun-min’s performing. If Pinocchio appears too, the chat will explode...’
So, unfortunately, Num0 would be perford by Song Hyun-min solo.
The only thing nagging at her was that Song Hyun-min and the other mbers of Ignite were in the middle of a world tour.
They were scheduled to return to Korea four days before the Dream Server concert, but still—was that really enough ti to recover from jet lag?
Not that she doubted Hyun-min’s abilities, of course.
***
New York.
More specifically, a certain pub in Manhattan.
“Cheers, everyone~!”
Having just wrapped up their concert in New York, the mbers of Ignite and their staff gathered at the pub. A loud cheer erupted as they toasted.
With that, Ignite’s world tour officially concluded on a high note.
『So we’re heading back to Korea tomorrow.』
『Yup. Good work, Rick.』
Raising his beer again, Song Hyun-min clinked glasses with the white man sitting next to him.
That man was Rick Simon, a popular Arican artist who had joined Hyun-min’s solo stage as a special guest.
『So you’re taking a break now?』
『Not really. I’ve got a concert in a few days.』
『In Korea? You’ve got another concert over there?』
The man—Rick Simon—asked in surprise.
One of the top pop artists in the U.S., he was also personally close with Song Hyun-min.
『What kind of concert?』
『Eh, you know. One of those concerts.』
『Co on, at least tell the scale.』
『Hmm... I heard it’s around 200,000 people.』
『Wait... what? Two hundred thousand? For one concert?』
Rick’s eyes went wide with shock, and Song Hyun-min barely held back a grin.
The look on Rick’s face was just too good.
Of course, it wasn’t a lie.
The previous season’s Dream Server concert had amassed around 200,000 viewers total.
This season would likely be similar.
『I didn’t think Korea had a venue that big.』
『I didn’t either, but turns out they do.』
『Wow...』
Maybe it was the buzz from the alcohol, but Rick’s over-the-top reactions were pretty entertaining.
There was a certain thrill in ssing with him.
『Well, I was invited by soone I know.』
『And this acquaintance of yours—organizing a 200,000-person concert—who are they? Are they a singer too?』
『A singer... yeah, technically.』
Then, Hyun-min teased Rick by saying the person was the featured artist on his song.
And surprisingly, Rick guessed right on the first try.
『Ha-eun? The one who featured on Num0?』
『Yup. That’s her.』
『Didn’t you say she once threw you? That girl?』
『...Must you bring up my trauma.』
The conversation shifted to Ha-eun’s career as a singer.
And it ended with Hyun-min ntioning that she’d also be appearing in the upcoming 200,000-viewer concert.
After a brief silence—
『...You sure you don’t need another feature?』
『Hm?』
Rick looked over with a subtle but eager expression.
When asked more directly if he was serious, he gave a positive answer.
『You’d co all the way to Korea for that?』
『Co on, Hyun. Even in the U.S., a 200,000-person concert’s a rarity. It’s a golden opportunity.』
『Didn’t you say you were working on a new song? Will you have ti?』
『Not a problem. A little fresh air in Korea will probably help write better lyrics.』
And so it was settled—Rick Simon was coming to Korea.
Sure, it felt like things had escalated a bit, but technically, no one had lied.
Just like Rick said, getting so air in Korea could boost his songwriting.
That was why, once they were back in Korea, Hyun-min made sure to connect Rick with Ha-eun.
『Alright, Rick, ti to impress her. If you want to be on that concert lineup, you’d better make a good impression.』
『Impress her, huh... hmm.』
...What the hell happened in Arica...?
Strictly speaking, Ha-eun knew exactly what misunderstanding Rick was under.
A few hours earlier, she had received a ssage from Song Hyun-min explaining the situation.
He said he’d played a small prank on Rick because they were close and asked her to go along with it.
Not to worry—he’d handle the consequences.
“Who even puts soone on a plane as a prank?”
Even after hearing the whole story, Ha-eun still didn’t quite get how it had all co to this.
Why was one of Arica’s biggest stars now standing in front of her?
Do world-famous celebrities prank on a different scale or sothing?
『By the way, Hyun... you really got thrown by this tiny girl? You need to hit the gym, man.』
『You really have no idea...』
When Song Hyun-min opened his mouth again, it was with another absurd request.
“Could you arm wrestle Rick real quick?”
“...Arm wrestle Rick Simon?”
“Yeah. You and Rick.”
Just after that, since Ha-eun didn’t fully catch Rick’s native English, Hyun-min provided his own... interpretation.
“He said you look like a brittle little twig who’d snap in half. He’s seriously underestimating you.”
“...A twig?”
“Teach him a lesson.”
And so, before she knew it, their hands were clasped.
At the sa ti, Hyun-min delivered a completely made-up ‘translation’ to Rick.
『She said if you beat her in arm wrestling, you can join the concert lineup.』
『Arm wrestling? ...You’re not joking?』
『She doesn’t go back on her word.』
At that point, Rick was still worried he might hurt her, so he decided to go easy.
But maybe... a little too easy?
Thunk.
‘...Huh?’
Ha-eun’s tiny hand didn’t budge.
He added more strength—still no movent.
He went all in, just short of full power—and still, nothing.
Sothing was definitely off.
“My turn.”
And just like that—CRACK.
Rick Simon’s hand was slamd down at a perfect 90-degree angle.
He didn’t even get a split-second to fight back.
BANG!
『What...the...!!』
Agonizing pain surged through his arm.
His eyes blurred slightly as a hint of tears welled up.
When he looked down, he saw his own hand pinned to the table by that small hand.
Then, as his gaze rose toward Ha-eun, he was t with an icy glare.
A look that seed to say: Don’t ever underestimate Korea again.
『Better start bulking up, Rick.』
『Damn it... who brings She-Hulk to a concert eting?!』
“...She-Hulk?”
In the end, at least Rick Simon wasn’t denied his concert spot.
But for a while, he couldn’t use his right hand properly while in Korea.
And since it had been his own fault for underestimating Ha-eun, he had no one else to bla.
***
『...Hyun.』
『Yessir.』
『This is a battlefield, not a concert venue.』
『What are you talking about? Look, stage is right here. Perfect setup.』
『...You bastard.』
Reviews
All reviews (0)