The first thing Ha-eun felt at the sight of Diah’s swimsuit fan art was confusion.
The second was embarrassment.
And the third, final feeling that bubbled up inside her was…
“…Do people actually… ?”
The chat responded instantly:
Overcome with curiosity, Ha-eun scrolled down to the comments section of the post.
Comments (Sorted by Most Recent)
**- (Smirking emoji of a fan)
Ha-eun blinked at the screen, unsure of how to process the flood of enthusiasm.
“…It’s… pretty, I guess?”
The chat erupted again.
**- Fifth request to see the fan art again.
Ha-eun recalled how, during her VTuber debut prep, she had researched what kinds of illustrations fans liked.
But no amount of research had prepared her for this level of enthusiasm.
All it took was a change of outfit—a swimsuit, no less—and the fans were losing their minds.
Wasn’t this a little too much?
“Maybe it’s because they’re seeing a side of Diah they don’t usually get to see…”
Ha-eun was aware that her primary audience leaned toward preferences for this sort of content, but she didn’t fully understand why.
She hastily typed out a reply to the post.
Diah: “It’s beautifully drawn. Please make more of Diah in other outfits next time~.”
Leaving a short comment and a like, she prepared to move on to another fan art post, recalling the counselor’s advice to relax more during streams.
[ekdus7 has d $50,000!]
Message: Please do 10 seconds of eye contact.
Ha-eun froze mid-click. The donation amount was significant enough to catch her attention—but it was the username that really made her pause.
“Eye contact? Seriously?”
Caught between clicking another post and avoiding the swimsuit fan art she’d just seen, Ha-eun found herself in an awkward, no-win situation.
[ekdus7 has d $50,000!]
[ekdus7 has d $50,000!]
[ekdus7 has d $50,000!]
[ekdus7 has d $50,000!]
A cascade of donations followed, making the chat and donation feed explode.
Message: Diah’s being bullied LOL.
**- Absolute mad lad.
Ha-eun had had enough.
Her face burned as the realization hit her: Da-yeon, who had now seen the fan art, was behind this.
With a few swift clicks, Ha-eun kicked ekdus7 from the stream, making it the first ban in Diah’s streaming history.
**- LOL they got kicked!
After banning Da-yeon, Ha-eun moved on to explore other fan art posts.
Unfortunately, several posts featured illustrations as bold—or even more so—than the swimsuit one.
Her plans for a relaxing, low-effort stream crumbled as her heart raced every time one of Diah’s "unexpected sides" appeared on screen, prompting ecstatic reactions from the fans.
“Why, WHY are there so many of these?!”
Unable to handle the barrage, Ha-eun began closing posts the moment she suspected they were risqué.
“My heart is racing way too fast… If I keep looking at this stuff, I might have to move to the spirit realm for good….”
The chat, for once, showed concern:
**- Don’t leave us, Diah!
Ha-eun used the fans’ concern as an opportunity to steer the stream toward tamer territory, focusing on wholesome fan art.
As she browsed lighter, more comedic art, she began to genuinely relax.
Many of the posts recreated memorable moments from her streams.
“Oh, this one’s from my first Battle Island stream! They drew the exploding motorcycle so well.”
**- That stream was like watching Mad Max.
With every fan art she viewed, Ha-eun’s mood lifted. The calm enjoyment her counselor had recommended was finally kicking in.
The fan art exploration lasted another hour, feeling far less hectic than her usual gaming streams.
By the time she wrapped up, her throat felt noticeably less strained—a small but meaningful improvement.
Ending with her signature goodbye, Ha-eun shut down the stream.
For once, she still had some energy left.
She briefly considered studying, reading her script for The Sunshine, preparing for the Song Festival, or even reviewing Yena’s cover song feedback.
But Jung-yoon’s earlier words rang in her ears:
For the first time in years, Ha-eun lay down in bed with energy to spare.
It had been so long since she’d simply rested that the feeling felt foreign.
For a fleeting moment, she stared at the ceiling, her mind blissfully blank, before sleep swept over her.
The dream she had that night eluded her memory.
But she woke up refreshed, feeling lighter than she had in months.