If the name suggested as Diah’s real name had been utterly ridiculous, there would have been no need for Ha-eun to feel embarrassed. If it had been a name completely unrelated to Diah, she could have just ignored it.
After all, the message asking if Diah’s real name was Min Da-yeon wasn’t a serious inquiry. Usually, the idea that a famous actress was the real identity behind a VTuber was met with complete disbelief.
However, unfortunately, Ha-eun’s case was one where the "normal case" didn’t apply.
"Mi… Min Da-yeon? Isn’t she an actress?"
Even as she pretended not to recognize the name "Min Da-yeon," Ha-eun’s heart raced. There wasn’t really any way to prove that Diah wasn’t Da-yeon, which made her feel uncomfortably awkward.
Anyway, continuing to discuss Diah’s real name was pointless. Ha-eun’s voice, slightly flustered in response to what was likely just a joke in a donation message, was causing the chat to feel increasingly awkward.
So, Ha-eun decided to end the topic of Diah’s real name altogether. After quickly checking her tone, she returned to her usual bright, cheerful voice.
"So, you’re saying I’m as pretty as an actress, right? Thanks~."
Her usual sunny voice followed by a question about Diah’s keychain appearing in the KBC Acting Awards photos.
"By the way, was I really wearing my keychain?"
Technically, Ha-eun had seen the photo of Da-yeon’s handbag with Diah’s keychain attached over ten times before, but she continued to act as if she had no idea about the handbag photos until today.
With her face covered in blatant confidence, Ha-eun quickly searched for photos of Da-yeon’s handbag while manipulating the broadcast computer.
It wasn’t long before she found the images again.
"Uh, uh? It really is my keychain? This isn’t a composite, right?"
For the next five minutes, Ha-eun pretended to be fascinated as she looked at different angles and shots of Da-yeon’s handbag, thankfully with other members on her side, making it hard for anyone to notice any awkwardness.
"Our maknae’s really made it~." "Did Diah’s keychain show up well?" "Oh, here too, it’s Diah! Looks like she kept carrying the handbag around."
And so, Ha-eun managed to navigate the Da-yeon-related commotion. She passed the baton to Ji Hye-min, who had been waiting for the "Year-End Party" portion to begin.
Shortly after, the broadcast started to feel more like a proper year-end show.
"Now, let’s take a moment to reflect on the year~." "Wow─!" "Clap clap clap~."
The screen soon filled with a compilation of famous clips from the VTubers of Illusionary Realm. The highlight moments from all the broadcasts since the members’ debut began to play slowly.
The video had been edited to include clips from every member, but some of the more famous clips occasionally exceeded the designated time for each member. Since the atmosphere and situations in each clip were so varied, reactions to the clips also varied.
As a big fan of Illusionary Realm, Ha-eun was already very familiar with the famous clips from the other members. When their clips played, she could instantly guess what was happening, but…
"Piano. The third key from the right..."
[ Screech! ] [ Kyaaa!! ]
"?! She hasn’t pressed the key yet, hasn’t pressed it!!"
But when Diah’s famous clips played, Ha-eun couldn’t even look at the monitor directly. She still couldn’t bring herself to watch her own broadcast, and her face kept heating up.
Of course, Ji Hye-min and the other members were too busy commenting on the clips to notice. The comments were mostly teasing Ha-eun, which was the real issue.
"In Battle Island, she slaughtered everyone without batting an eye, but when it comes to Shirooni, she freezes up~." "I wasn’t that scared of Shirooni. Was she really that scary to you, when you were one year old?" "I heard she fainted during that scene. Is that true, Diah~~~?"
Literally, Ha-eun was being bombarded with playful attacks from all directions. While these people had always teased her, for some reason, they seemed even more persistent today, digging into her weaknesses.
The main reason why Ha-eun was receiving such relentless teasing, apart from the usual fun, was because they were enjoying the moment.
"How could you suddenly pop out like that!" "Would Shirooni come out and say, ‘I’m coming now’?" "Oh, that’s why you called me crying before~." "? When did I?!"
It was as if Ha-eun had become the perfect punching bag with made-up stories.
Whether these comments were true or not, it didn’t matter; they all banded together simply because they could tease Diah.
For a long time, the teasing about Diah continued from the members and the viewers. When Diah’s debut clip played…
Ha-eun immediately lowered her head. Her hands, which had been hiding her face for so long, were now tightly covering it.
"Huh? How old are you to want to be friends with me? I’m one─☆"
Maybe it was because only the best moments from Diah’s debut broadcast were chosen, but hearing the moments where Ha-eun herself had gotten too excited made her shiver with embarrassment every time they played.
"I’m Noeulis’! Noeulis are mine!"
The most embarrassing line from Diah’s broadcast played, and Ha-eun immediately fell off her chair. She crawled under the table, curled up, and could only groan.
Tears were even gathering in her already-red eyes. The power of her embarrassing moments being revealed in front of the people Ha-eun had long admired was stronger than she had imagined.
But since the Illusionary Realm Year-End Party broadcast still had a long way to go, Ha-eun couldn’t stay hidden under the table forever. She had only just finished the "clip reaction" part.
Not long after, Ha-eun finally emerged from under the table.
At that moment, food for the year-end party arrived.
Sori, the general manager of Illusionary Realm, entered with several wrapped food items. As Ha-eun crawled out from under the table, Sori stared at her in surprise.
Ha-eun’s not-so-subtle self-recrimination started right then.
"The president and the unnie’s have been really hard on me, manager. Please scold them for me...!"
Ha-eun shot a sly glance at the other members and Ji Hye-min, who were nearby. Of course, everything was being captured by the broadcast microphone.
"Our maknae, who’s been treated so badly─!"
Sori switched to a broadcast tone and grabbed what they called the "switch."
What followed was a discussion of the members' past embarrassing moments.
And so, Ha-eun’s first and last counterattack came via Sori.
"Cream, when we did Biohazard Big City, you cried a lot more than Diah did!" "Ah, wait a second, that wasn’t...!" "You kept running away from the broadcast, and I had to stop you. Can’t even think of your own past, huh?!"
Once the attack on Cream was over, Ha-eun’s expression finally returned to normal.
And then, Ha-eun raised her thumb in Sori’s direction.
"Of course, only the manager could do that."
Back at her seat, Ha-eun grabbed a piece of cake from the food set and put it on her plate.
The squishy sounds made by the broadcast mic followed.
"Diah’s cake ASMR~. It must be delicious~. I want to eat it~. But I can’t~."
Diah’s teasing wasn’t really teasing. The chat began to explode with activity.
Seeing the viewers getting so fired up over Diah’s annoying voice, Ha-eun smiled with satisfaction. She wanted to focus on her own enjoyment right now, even if she knew this would come back as karma later.
"The recruitment period is until February next year, so please show a lot of interest~."
At that moment, Ji Hye-min, who had opened her mouth again, was announcing the recruitment for Illusionary Realm’s second generation.
Ha-eun slowly walked over to Ji Hye-min’s side and quietly whispered:
"If any Noeulis from the second generation pass, they’ll do whatever I tell them to do for a day~."
She casually dropped this bomb into the broadcast microphone.
Knowing there was no one in the Noeulis group who would make it into the second generation, Ha-eun teased them again.
In fact, thanks to her past life’s memories, Ha-eun knew who would be selected for the second generation, and she had never expected a Noeulis to be in it.
And so, this comment was just another playful jab at them. But, unbeknownst to Ha-eun, one of the Noeulis would indeed end up applying for Illusionary Realm’s second generation.
She had no idea what would come back to haunt her for this.
At the moment, Ha-eun was too busy filling the broadcast with her teasing voice.