Chapter 287: Chapter 287

To begin with, Ha-eun and Da-yeon’s Understory gameplay went smoothly from start to finish.

Since they were using gamepads instead of keyboards, it took them some time to adjust, but they quickly got used to the feel of the controls.

However, there was a small hiccup at the beginning of the Understory livestream.

“...We missed it. We're gonna faaaall—”

“...We missed it. We're gonna faaaaall—”

The prologue began as the protagonists, ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ “U” and “I,” fell into the underground world—the game’s main setting.

To make the stream more entertaining, Ha-eun and Da-yeon voiced the characters’ lines themselves.

The audience’s reaction to Ha-eun and Da-yeon’s dubbing was far louder than expected.

It was because Ha-eun’s voice as “I” and Da-yeon’s as “U” sounded eerily similar to what fans had heard on Diah and Hida’s streams.

“Eek! W-Who’s there!”

“Eek! W-Who’s there...!”

Since Da-yeon’s real voice didn’t differ that much from her VTuber persona, the situation was manageable.

But Ha-eun, whose regular voice contrasted more sharply with Diah’s, stirred commotion every time she opened her mouth.

And so, she resorted to a drastic measure.

“Everyone. Did you know the chat is being recorded too?”

Ha-eun glanced at the chat window beside the game screen and continued.

She said a broadcast was basically a public space, so they should use it cleanly.

That they should help create a better internet culture.

“Someone said people who aren’t clean can be sent to prison. I wonder if that person is compiling a suspicious list right about now...”

“No graffiti allowed either, because even graffiti is still writing. So please focus only on our stream.”

Having voiced a kind of warning-slash-request through her broadcast mic, Ha-eun then fully focused on playing Understory.

Maybe because she hinted at what’s often called a “ban raid,” the chat calmed down a bit.

Of course, the most decisive factor was that the viewers were gradually becoming immersed in the stream itself—not just in Ha-eun and Da-yeon.

“Hi! I’m Nyongnyong! Wanna be friends?”

“...Why aren’t you dubbing?”

“I-I think this one’s your line, Da-yeon.”

“What are you talking about? It spoke to you.”

Ha-eun’s “I” and Da-yeon’s “U” explored the underground, meeting all sorts of quirky characters.

As they uncovered the hidden secrets of the underworld, both the girls and their audience were pulled deeper into the narrative.

It helped that the stream seemed to enter a kind of self-regulating state as it went on.

Time passed like that.

And soon, there were only about 20 minutes left before My Little Live’s livestream was scheduled to end.

At the same time, they had just reached the final chapter of Understory.

“Don’t get cocky. That was just a fraction of my true power—!!”

—BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM!! 💥💥

“L-Left! Next it’s bottom right!”

“Ugh... It suddenly got so hard!!”

Ha-eun and Da-yeon were so focused on dodging attacks raining down on I and U that they completely forgot to dub the final boss’s lines.

If even one of them died, it would be an immediate game over.

Fortunately, they had learned some patterns through trial and error by then.

The camera captured every moment of their emotional highs and lows as they struggled with each of the boss’s brutal attacks.

“Get out of my sight───!!”

—Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew! 🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫

“If we dodge this, it’s over. Focus!”

“You talking is making me lose focus!”

And so, after narrowly avoiding the final barrage from the last boss “Oto,”

Ha-eun’s “I” and Da-yeon’s “U” finally reached what’s known as the pacifist route ending.

The credits rolled in immediately afterward.

“Thanks for playing!”

“L-Lee Ha-eun. Is this... the end?”

“Yeah. I think it’s all over.”

With the game creator’s thank-you message displayed, Understory had officially ended.

But there were still about 10 minutes left before My Little Live’s livestream was over.

“Okay, Ms. Min Da-yeon. Would you share your thoughts on today’s stream with us?”

“Why the formal tone all of a sudden?”

“Interviews are supposed to be formal.”

Ha-eun and Da-yeon shared their thoughts on the livestream through their mics.

They were happy to have experienced the novelty of livestreaming a game together.

They were also relieved that the viewers seemed to enjoy it.

“This was my first time doing a game stream live, and it was really fun.”

She wrapped up not as VTuber Diah, but as celebrity Lee Ha-eun.

The moment she said it was her “first time,” the chat blew up—but technically, it was her first game stream as “Lee Ha-eun.”

And so, with only about two minutes left until the end of My Little Live’s livestream...

“Can you close your left eye and poke your right cheek at the same time...? Da-yeon, give it a try.”

Ha-eun read out a viewer’s comment in her usual calm tone and turned to Da-yeon beside her.

Looking confused at first, Da-yeon closed her left eye and poked her right cheek with her index finger just like Ha-eun said.

Having successfully tricked Da-yeon, Ha-eun finally burst into laughter.

What followed was a comment about their stream’s thumbnail.

“That cutesy move you just did? That’s gonna be our thumbnail now.”

“...!...!! Lee Ha-eun, you—!” 😡

“Ah, it’s really time to end the stream now. Bye everyone~ 👋”

[ Broadcast by Min Da-yeon & Lee Ha-eun has ended. ]

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

When the broadcast fully ended, the viewer count far exceeded the previous all-time high.

Ha-eun and Da-yeon were once again declared the winners of this round of My Little Live.

And all because Da-yeon’s cutesy moment had aired live just before the end.

“What are you going to dooooo!!” 😫

Until the My Little Live staff showed up, Da-yeon had Ha-eun by the collar, shaking her back and forth.

Of course, she didn’t regret it—not even a grain of sand’s worth.

“Anyway, we won Korean beef, so it’s all good.” 😎

“Is this the Korean beef?”

“Yes. There was more than we expected, so we decided to store it for now.”

After the filming of My Little Live wrapped up, Ha-eun brought home the 1++ grade Korean beef set she had received as the winner’s prize from the production team.

It was planned that the Korean beef would be used later when shooting content for The Man Next Door, where Ha-eun and Da-yeon would grill the meat together, conduct a casual interview, and follow it with a review of the show.

However, the portion was too much for just the two of them to eat.

So they split the leftover portions after setting aside what they’d eat together.

“Thanks to my daughter, I don’t need to go grocery shopping tomorrow.”

The 1++ beef was carefully stored in the fridge by Na-yeon.

Since it was quite late and well past dinnertime, the beef Ha-eun brought was saved for the next day.

Ha-eun had already eaten, too.

“You must be tired from working nonstop. Get some rest.”

After taking a shower, Ha-eun changed into fresh, soft clothes and flopped onto her wide bed.

But sleep didn’t come easily.

Tossing and turning, Ha-eun eventually sat up and picked up a script from the bookshelf.

The script that had been her biggest source of stress lately—it was for The Chairman’s Youngest Son, a drama that, in her past life, had infamously turned into a trainwreck by the end.

A drama doomed to fail.

Of course, it might be premature to say so since filming hadn’t even started yet, but it was already obvious that the story fell apart in the later episodes.

The Chairman’s Youngest Son was based on a web novel, just like The Moonlight That Parts the Clouds.

The source material had long dominated the rankings in the modern fiction genre.

The drama, too, was praised for its acting in the early to mid episodes.

But things took a turn with increasingly sloppy storytelling, added love triangles not in the original, and finally, the bizarre ending where the protagonist disappears into the mountains—it sparked a massive controversy.

Didn’t it end with the twist that the youngest son was actually the eldest, living off the grid...

Anyway, the script now in front of Ha-eun was almost identical to the one from her past life.

Reading through it, it wasn’t totally lacking in logic, but it was clear that the story wouldn’t meet viewers’ expectations.

So, she continued to worry.

How could she steady the drama and lead it to a strong finish?

Was there no viable approach?

“What did you think when you read it, Seong-jae?”

“I was... a little puzzled too. But, Ha-eun, interfering with the script is...”

“Not our place, right? It’s a completely different realm.”

Strictly speaking, there were limits to what an actor could intervene in.

Requesting script changes just because you didn’t like the direction was considered unprofessional.

An actor’s job was to act according to the script.

Writing the script was the screenwriter’s responsibility.

Ha-eun was an adult now, so she couldn’t throw tantrums to get her way.

Not that she ever really had, but being wiser was more important than ever.

The only thing that came to mind was to meet with the writer of The Chairman’s Youngest Son.

She couldn’t directly demand changes, so she’d at least ask about the intent behind certain story decisions.

If she could persuade the writer, all the better.

I wasn’t even thinking about doing this drama...

The offer had come from SL Group first.

She accepted it because she thought it was a good chance to build a relationship with them, but otherwise, she hadn’t been particularly interested in it.

Now that she had agreed to appear, however, she had a duty to make the drama a success.

If The Chairman’s Youngest Son ended up being praised—unlike in her past life—

SL Group would view her in a much more favorable light.

But if it bombed again, just like before, it would leave a blemish on her image, and SL Group’s opinion of her would take a hit as well.

Right now, success was her only option.

If nothing else works, maybe I should try meeting the original author...

Her worries dragged on.

At one point, she even daydreamed about pulling strings through her connections to change the script.

Of course, it was a completely unrealistic fantasy, and she shook her head to snap out of it.

Just sticking closely to the source material should be enough to make it a success.

Ha-eun’s mind was filled with nothing but this one concern.

“Ha-eun, it’s about time we head out.”

At that point, there was less than a week left before filming for The Chairman’s Youngest Son began.

As usual, Ha-eun had a packed schedule, and her first stop was a meeting for a commercial.

The one thing that bothered her—it was a commercial for a subsidiary of SL Group, the same one that had stressed her out in the past.

Still, money didn’t have a name.

She told herself to treat it like pure business.

But the discomfort in her heart was hard to ignore.

Soon, she would come face-to-face with someone she wasn’t particularly thrilled to see.

And once again, she’d have to put on a fake smile and pretend everything was fine.

That’s what she thought would happen...

“Jeong Do-yoon, head of Media Division.”

...was someone who should’ve been in a hospital bed standing here, now?

“Let’s start with the mobile shopping app campaign—”

“As you may have heard from the previous meeting, our SL Group would like to become a strong partner for you, Ha-eun.”

A voice too familiar, laced with a slight rasp.

Eyes void of emotion despite the faint smile.

A body too slim, even under an expensive suit.

But more than anything else...

“If you ever need anything from our side...please don’t hesitate to say so.”

The words spoken by someone just an arm’s length away.

“Personally, I’m a fan. If there’s anything I can do to help, I want to.”

They left Ha-eun at a loss for words.

Because for a fleeting moment, those hollow eyes held something real—genuine emotion.

“Whether it’s for you...or your friend.”

“I’ll review everything you mentioned positively.”

“If you ever need to get in touch, feel free to contact the number on my card. Thank you for your time.”

“...Would you mind taking a photo with me?” 📸