Episode 5 of God and the Goblin was a powerful one, in many ways.
Baeksulhwa’s growing feelings for Baek Jin were becoming more apparent.
And Baek Jin, who knew he had to leave as soon as possible, was faced with the difficult decision of how to part from her.
The contrast between the two protagonists, both harboring feelings for each other but making opposing choices, captured the audience’s attention.
SNS and online communities buzzed louder than ever before because of this.
ㄴ Isn’t it more like she’s just thankful?
ㄴ Feels like they’re still in the “almost” stage
ㄴ Well, she is a high schooler lol
ㄴ Completely different from when adult actors wear uniforms awkwardly
Every scene in Episode 5 led the viewers to multiple interpretations.
What exactly were Baeksulhwa’s feelings for Baek Jin?
What was the meaning behind her calling him "General"?
The room for interpretation in these scenes led to a significant increase in viewership.
The instantaneous ratings exceeded 30%.
An unbelievable record for the early stages of a cable drama.
“Isn’t there some error in the ratings?”
“Some Day only had 13%... I’m curious how UBS will report it.”
The ratings for a network broadcast like UBS could be considered low.
But compared to that, the performance of God and the Goblin was phenomenal.
To be honest, no one doubted the acting of the two leads, Kang Sun-woo and Ha-eun.
Their reunion after over ten years far exceeded any expectations.
“There’s no one around me who isn’t watching God and the Goblin.”
“Ugh, people are already begging for spoilers for the next episode.”
This wasn’t just impressive for a cable drama.
It was an outstanding achievement for all Korean dramas, and it was beginning to affect the atmosphere on set as well.
In other words, motivation.
A firm commitment to make sure God and the Goblin didn’t fizzle out.
It had been nearly ten years since a drama had achieved a 30% rating, so everyone was determined to maintain this momentum.
Even the supporting cast felt the pressure.
“Everyone knew Sun-woo’s name value, but Ha-eun is seriously killing it.”
“I saw an article this morning—Trustworthy Ha-eun.”
Just being a part of God and the Goblin would be a significant milestone in the careers of all the actors involved.
It was an opportunity to make their faces known to the public.
For the main leads like Kang Sun-woo and Ha-eun, this was a huge break, but for others, it was a rare, golden chance.
Naturally, the subject of many conversations on set was Kang Sun-woo and Ha-eun.
Though Sun-woo had earned his fame, Ha-eun, still young, was likely caught up in the excitement of the drama's success.
“What’s Ha-eun doing right # Nоvеlight # now?”
“Maybe still sleeping? It’s Saturday morning.”
“Hm, from her Instagram, it looks like she wakes up early in the mornings.”
While these discussions about Ha-eun swirled around the set, Ha-eun herself was having a completely unrelated conversation.
“Hey, Hye-yeon. When did you learn Japanese?”
“I lived in Japan for a while when I was in elementary school. That’s when I learned it.”
Ha-eun’s room, tidier than usual, was where she sat with her friend, Gong Hye-yeon, at a study desk.
Since Hye-yeon was the best at Japanese among Ha-eun’s friends, Ha-eun had invited her over to help prepare for her upcoming collaboration with the famous Japanese VTuber, Lucid.
“I had said I’d figure out a way to learn... but it’s better than not learning at all.”
Ha-eon trusted Hye-yeon since she had smoothly communicated with locals during their school trip to Japan last year.
While it’s one thing to know a language and quite another to teach it, Ha-eun was still grateful.
She hadn’t expected to invite Hye-yeon over to her house, but there was no choice.
Meeting at a café would have made her too recognizable, and it would have gotten noisy.
“So, first, I need to see how much Japanese you can understand....”
“Oh, I can understand basic stuff.”
“Hmm... simple everyday conversations?”
So, Ha-eun ended up spending time with Hye-yeon as her makeshift Japanese tutor, and after a short break eating fruit brought by Na-yeon, the conversation turned to Christmas plans.
“Hey, Ha-eun, what are you doing for Christmas?”
Hye-yeon, who was nibbling on strawberries, asked about Ha-eun’s Christmas schedule.
The conversation shifted to a Christmas party with friends.
“We’re having a pajama party at my place on Christmas Eve. Want to come?”
“Umm... Christmas Eve?”
“Yeah, about seven people will be there.”
Hye-yeon asked hopefully.
Ha-eun hesitated for a moment.
She really wanted to go to the Christmas party with her friends.
But she couldn’t skip the Illusionary Realm group stream that was scheduled for Christmas Eve.
“Actually, I have a schedule from 4 PM, so if I go, it’ll probably be around 10 PM....”
“Oh, that’s fine! Your schedule comes first!”
Ha-eun, knowing she’d be late if she went to the party, explained her situation.
Just then, Hye-yeon asked another question.
“By the way, Ha-eun, what’s that room in the middle of your room?”
Hye-yeon’s gaze turned to the soundproof booth in the center of the room, almost like a secret hideout.
Ha-eun’s heart skipped a beat.
She couldn’t admit that it was where she streamed as Diah.
“Well... it’s a, um... a recording studio.”
“A recording studio?”
“Yeah, I set it up to practice singing at home.”
And so, Ha-eun turned her soundproof booth into a “personal recording studio” in Hye-yeon’s eyes.
Four hours later, the soundproof booth door opened.
Ha-eun, having just sent Hye-yeon off, immediately started her stream, announcing the Christmas group stream.
The fans—Noeulis—were thrilled.
And just as the Christmas event was announced, a donation message popped up.
[User ㅇㅇ has d 10,000 won!]
: Are you giving gifts too?
A sudden shift in the stream topic, now all about Christmas gifts, flooded the chat.
The chat was flooded with Noeulis’ quiet demands.
Diah’s avatar hesitated for a moment, then spoke.
“Okay. Our Noeulis deserve Christmas presents too.”
With that, Ha-eun opened her notes app and announced that tonight’s stream would be all about Christmas gifts.
She added that she would give out content suggestions from Noeulis as presents.
“Our time together is the real gift—☆”
“Well... if you don’t like the gift stream, I guess there’s nothing I can do. I’ll go then. Bye bye.”
After that, a list of content ideas started to appear on the note pad on the stream screen.
Ha-eun selected a few suitable ones from the suggestions flooding the chat and wrote them down.
“Alright, we’re done collecting suggestions~. Now it’s time to spin the roulette!”
“Alright, alright. Spin, roulette—!”
The roulette started spinning.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
As it spun, the chat was flooded with Noeulis' hopes and expectations, each one hoping for their preferred content to win.
Soon enough, the roulette came to a stop at 1 hour of speaking in formal language.
The chat was divided between those excited for the formal language stream and those disappointed that their preferred content wasn’t chosen.
Ha-eun glanced at the chat, now buzzing again, and then spoke up.
She said that from now on, she would become a “new Diah” for the next hour.
“If I’m going to be polite Diah, I need to hit my head a little harder. Just wait a second~.”
At that moment, Ha-eun’s fist slammed down on the desk harder than she expected.
The dull thud echoed through the mic.
The sound of Diah’s head slamming onto the desk made the chat explode with confusion and laughter.
Shortly after, Diah’s usual high-pitched moan of discomfort came through the mic.
“Ah... ugh... my head...”
But then, the next words that came from Diah were... a bit strange.
While her tone was polite, it was different from usual.
“Who... are you...? I can’t remember...”
Her voice sounded fragile and unsure, as if she had lost her memory.
She spoke like a lost child, confused and disoriented.
The chat was filled with more questions, trying to understand what was going on with Diah.
But despite what the Noeulis said, Diah claimed she couldn’t remember anything.
“Ugh... I miss my mom and dad... I’m scared of the uncles...”
Diah’s avatar, which had been showing a confused and sad expression, looked as if she might burst into tears at any moment.
Her voice became increasingly pitiful.
The Noeulis in the chat were just as confused, never expecting this kind of behavior from Diah.
It was an unexpected sight for every fan.
But, it wasn’t as though Diah had become a completely different person.
[User ㅇㅇ d 10,000 won!]
: What about a cotton candy, please?
One of the Noeulis, likely trying to cheer Diah up, offered her favorite snack: cotton candy.
Diah was momentarily surprised, then broke into a big smile.
“Wow—! Thank you for the cotton candy~!”
“No! The person who gives cotton candy is a nice person!”
Diah’s consistent behavior—though now more childlike—finally made the Noeulis realize how they should treat her.
The stream gradually turned into a child-like performance, as expected.
[User ㅇㅇ d 100,000 won!]
: This old man wants to hear our lovely Diah sing...
“W-Wow! Thank you, Grandpa! Please wait a moment...!”
“Mm, mm-mm. Baby Shark, doo doo doo doo doo doo~♪”
“Want me to sing something else? Hmm... Oh! I can sing ‘Round and Round the Sun’!”
❮With someone like her.❯
“Thinking about the uncle makes my chest hurt... Why am I ? Can you tell me, please, uncle...”
❮This is the same person, huh. ...The actress is amazing.❯
❮Huh? What did you say?❯
❮No, I mean... she’s really good at acting.❯
❮Well, of course. She’s a popular actress in Korea. Why else would she be famous?❯