Chapter 302: Chapter 302

The “former” movie theater date—“current” spring cold caregiving session—was nowhere near over.

Sick days are always lonelier when spent alone, so even though plans had changed, it was better for Ha-eun to stay, just being there.

“I mean, I don’t have anything until noon tomorrow... Should I just sleep over?”

“Uh, well... I don’t mind, but won’t you catch my cold if you stay too long...?”

“I was just saying it. Still, can’t bother a sick person, right?”

They had originally agreed to hang out until dinner, so Ha-eun said she'd head home afterward.

But was it just her imagination, or did she seem a bit disappointed when she looked away?

“But hey... cough... why can’t you make eye contact with me today?”

“It’s just... you look a bit too... stimulating right now.”

“N-no, I mean... if I lower my head, I think the nosebleed will come back. So I’ll stay till it stops.”

Even after that, Ha-eun kept her gaze straight ahead, refusing to look directly at Maria lying on the bed.

But her willpower could only do so much—her eyes kept sneaking glances.

Eventually, she gave up and slid down to the floor, leaning her back against the bed frame.

Maria, half-lidded eyes watching her, broke the silence again.

She asked how Ha-eun ended up dubbing Forgotten Child.

“Did they come to you first? Asking you to voice the lead?”

“Yeah. I got the offer around last winter...”

Forgotten Child was Maria’s favorite animated film.

When the subtitled version came out a few months ago, her channel had been flooded with content about it.

It made sense she'd asked Ha-eun to go see the Korean dub together.

She loved the film and fully intended to watch the dubbed version as well.

“I was gonna do a review stream of the dub next... cough...”

“You can do it after you’re fully recovered, unnie.”

As they reminisced over key scenes from the film, Maria shared thoughts about Yume, the lead character.

She wondered how Ha-eun had expressed Yume’s loneliness—how she was forgotten every year.

Or whether Ha-eun resonated with the moment Yume was finally remembered for the first time.

She even asked if Ha-eun sang Yume’s lullaby in the dub.

“Did you sing it yourself? Or did they use the original Japanese version?”

“I sang it. We rewrote the lyrics in Korean. I have the audio on my phone. Wanna hear it?”

“Hmm... I think I’ll wait and listen at the theater. It’ll hit harder that way.”

With how long they talked about Yume, it was abundantly clear just how much Maria loved Forgotten Child.

Then came the question Ha-eun had been quietly expecting:

“I didn’t know you were interested in voice acting.”

“Honestly... I thought about it for a long time.”

She explained how she'd hesitated for a while—partly because of Diah.

It was Maria, in fact, who tipped the scale.

“I kept wavering, but once the whole red pill thing happened, I just... wanted to do it. I didn’t feel the need to hold back anymore.”

“Yeah... makes sense.”

“And... I caused another little accident.”

Ha-eun confessed she’d recently started dubbing HoneyPing as well.

She was certain things would get chaotic again once that went public.

“Wait... does your voice sound that similar?”

“If you close your eyes, it doesn’t sound like LoveyPing. It sounds like Diah. But I figure little kids won’t know Diah anyway, so... it should be fine.”

“Weren’t you the one watching CEO's show when you were seven?”

“...What are the odds there’s another kid like me?”

Like it or not, Ha-eun’s entertainment career inevitably affected her VTuber life.

No matter what drama she acted in, what show she appeared on, or what song she released—people would mention Diah.

Still, Ha-eun pushed forward because she wanted to.

Comments from Diah’s viewers weren’t a reason to limit herself.

She was reminded of something Kang Sun-woo—her mentor—had once told her:

“If you want to act, act. If you want to do both, do both. You’re not hurting anyone by doing what you love, are you?”

And just like that, she decided. She’d keep doing whatever she wanted.

“Hey, unnie... Did you ever ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) watch magical girl anime when you were a kid?”

“Hmm... I remember lying on the floor of a stationery shop, begging my mom to buy me a magic wand.”

“...Oh no. I just pictured it.”

They kept chatting like that, time slipping away unnoticed.

The sun was beginning to set beyond Maria’s window.

That’s when Ha-eun asked if she was getting hungry.

“Unnie, want something to eat? It’s about time for dinner.”

“Hmm... I guess I am a little hungry.”

Ha-eun stood and went to Maria’s fridge, where she had stashed the porridge she’d brought earlier.

With a bit of “magic,” she heated it all up.

Not long after, Maria sat up and began nibbling at the porridge, while Ha-eun watched with quiet focus.

She was eating, too—technically.

But she was so focused on Maria that she couldn’t even tell if it was going into her mouth or nose.

“Mm-hmm. Tastes different from what I’m used to.”

“I added a little magic.”

For someone who spent more time in hospitals than home, porridge had been a staple food for Ha-eun.

Even now, it was something deeply familiar to her.

If you eat something every day, no matter how good it is, you’ll eventually get tired of it.

So she knew a few tricks to make it better.

“Just a few drops of sesame oil and some ground perilla seeds. Makes a huge difference.”

“Wow... aren’t you fancy.”

“Please call me Chef from now on.”

Of course, she couldn’t tell Maria the real reason for her porridge expertise.

Instead, she simply smiled as she watched Maria enjoy the food.

But there was something that had been weighing on her mind since the moment Maria said she was sick.

As Maria finished the last spoonful, Ha-eun spoke up:

“Did you... post a break notice for your stream?”

Ha-eun had found out Maria was sick just 30 minutes before their meetup.

Maria had actually hoped to recover enough to still go out—

Which meant she hadn’t planned on canceling her stream either.

“God, I totally forgot...”

Since Ha-eun arrived, they’d been talking non-stop while she nursed her—no time to update her channel.

Now realizing this, Maria rushed to her streaming PC to write a short cancellation post.

Just as she was about to post it, Ha-eun stopped her—

And made a surprising offer.

“So... all those people have probably been waiting, thinking you’d stream tonight, right?”

“Well... yeah, I guess.”

“Wouldn’t it feel kind of sad to leave them hanging after all that? So... could I maybe stream in your place?”

“You? Instead of me?”

At the end of the day, VTubing is still acting.

And acting was the one thing Ha-eun did best.

Even better—Cream, as a character, was the one Ha-eun knew most intimately.

She knew every little detail, including... well, the ones that weren’t even public yet.

So when it came to playing Cream, Ha-eun was confident. Updates are released by 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝·𝘧𝙞𝙧𝙚·𝔫𝔢𝔱

“Wouldn’t it be too late if you stream now, though?”

“It’s only 8. Worst case, I’ll just sleep over.”

“Didn’t you say earlier you shouldn’t bother sick people?”

“That version of Lee Ha-eun is dead. From now on, I’m Diah—standing in for Cream.”

Anyway, she was doing this to help Jung Maria.

Totally. Absolutely. No ulterior motives.

Definitely not because pretending to be Cream sounded insanely fun or anything.

Ha-eun kept clearing her throat as she sat down in Cream’s streaming chair—right in front of Jung Maria.

There was a faint scent in the seat. Something oddly pleasant. Distracting.

Cream’s keyboard and mouse.

Every piece of equipment in front of her felt priceless—something Ha-eun couldn’t buy even with millions.

If she could, she might’ve just paid to keep it all to herself for life.

...Okay, maybe she was getting carried away. Dial it back, Ha-eun.

Anyway, there were only a few minutes left until Cream’s scheduled stream.

One more throat-clear. Deep breath. Then Ha-eun hit the broadcast button.

[Who wants to go on a date with Cream~?]

Viewers flooded in as soon as the stream started.

Today’s theme, fitting for spring, was a roleplay-style “date with Cream,” and chat was immediately on board.

Ha-eun watched the chat roll for a moment, and once the view count hit four digits—

She leaned into the mic and attempted her best Cream impression:

“Sooorryyy~. I’m suuuper late↘↗, teehee~.”

Give me back my Cream, you monster!

IT’S A CREAM IMPOSTER FROM TEMU 😱

“I caugh↗t a col↘d~, so my voice is a little~ off today~. Be nice to me, okay~?”

“...Pfft... phhhk... snrrrk...”

Waaahhh I don’t want this! Go away! Gimme Cream! 😭

“First~ let’s go to a café↗, okay~? All good spring dates start at a café~.”

“...Why are you all whining so much?”

“You don’t... want to go on a date with me?”

[Kawatori d ₩100,000!]

That voice is way too sexy. Are you SURE you’re Cream? 🔥

“Cream does have a kinda sexy voice, right~?”