Chapter 303: Chapter 303

《Illusionary Realm Café》

What would you like to order?

“Mmm, I’ll have~ a sweet caramel macchiato. What about you, Mr. Rimbbang?”

Diah’s substitute stream for Cream was purely for Cream and her fans, the “Creamppang.”

She couldn’t make a sick person stream, but she also couldn’t leave the waiting Creamppang hanging.

By a stroke of luck (or perhaps not), Diah had been with Cream at the time and offered to cover the stream.

She told the real Cream—Jeong Maria—to relax and enjoy the fake Cream’s stream from behind the scenes.

In gaming terms, it was auto-hunting.

‘Isn’t this kind of like taking care of a sick friend?’

Either way, Ha-eun didn’t mind as long as it helped Jeong Maria.

So, with Jeong Maria watching from the sidelines, she threw herself fully into the stream.

No matter what voice was coming through Cream’s mic, it was all for Maria’s sake.

With that in mind, it was a misunderstanding to think Ha-eun meant anything deeper with her lines.

“Oh my~ Mr. Rimbbang, you look so handsome drinking coffee~. I think I’m falling for you~.”

“Don’t say that with my bodyyy─!”

She looked up at the sky, without a hint of shame—she really was just trying to mimic Cream sincerely.

She had no intention of using Cream’s avatar to create any embarrassing memories or scandals.

However, the problem was that Jeong Maria, who should’ve been resting in bed, kept misunderstanding and jumping into the stream.

Random interruptions ruined the flow, and her unexpected interjections interfered with the broadcast.

So Ha-eun decided to take matters into her own hands.

“Mr. Rimbbang~ how are you so handsome? If someone saw you, they’d think you’re a model~.”

“Th-That was, cough, a sudden statement from Diah, completely unrelated to Cream─”

“...Excuse me for a moment~.”

“Patients need to stay in bed!”

“There~. Sorry about that little disturbance~.”

Having swiftly subdued Jeong Maria, who’d been wriggling around behind her, and laying her down on the bed,

Ha-eun continued the date roleplay with Cream’s fans, the Creamppang.

After leaving the café scene, they transitioned to walking through the streets on a spring day.

It felt like a real university-town date, with Ha-eun exchanging flirty lines with her virtual partner, Rimbbang.

“Mmm, standing next to you and the flowers, I can’t tell which one’s prettier~.”

The date scenario played out just like a visual novel, the kind often referred to as dating sims.

At various points, viewers were presented with options. Depending on their choices, the story branched in different directions.

Since this was a special segment Jeong Maria had prepared in advance,

all Ha-eun had to do was follow the script and voice the lines shown on screen.

Once she finished her line, the Creamppang in chat would vote for their desired choice,

and Ha-eun would hit “Enter” to proceed with the story.

《Where should we go next?》

“What would you like to do next, Mr. Rimbbang~?”

“Hmm, let’s see... Ah, the coin karaoke room! No date is complete without karaoke~.

As expected of Mr. Rimbbang, you’ve got great taste~!”

“Mmm... Mmph...! Mmph-mmph...!!”

Then came a cheerful “ding” and a background photo of a coin karaoke room filled the screen.

Seconds later, Ha-eun cleared her throat with a few soft hums—and began belting out Cream’s solo track, Custard Cream.

🎵 “This sweet feeling I can sense─♪ Let’s play together on the tip of your tongue─♬”

[User Gareujageu d 30,000 won!]

: Live vocals, holy hell

[User eternalyg d 30,000 won!]

: AAAHHH she's a natural disruptor

Whether it was a cover or an original song, if Cream sang it, it was guaranteed a spot on Ha-eun’s playlist.

She hadn’t practiced this track specifically for today,

but no matter what Cream sang, Ha-eun was always ready to follow along perfectly.

That moment—when Ha-eun was singing her heart out—was the only time Jeong Maria stayed silent.

Even she couldn’t complain about Ha-eun singing her song seriously, without any gimmicks.

Of course, once the fake Cream’s karaoke session ended, the nonsense returned.

Another barrage of fabricated flirty lines from fake Cream made Jeong Maria’s entire body cringe.

“Mr. Rimbbang, you sing so well. I honestly thought honey was dripping from your voice~.”

She said it was just to help Jeong Maria—to help Cream.

But from Jeong Maria’s perspective, Ha-eun looked like she was having the time of her life.

The final part of the date scenario, the dinner segment, began shortly after.

《Aren’t you hungry? What should we eat?》

“What would you like for dinner, Mr. Rimbbang?”

Eventually, after a flood of votes from countless Creamppang, the final choice was: “Let’s eat at home.”

Just as Ha-eun hit the Enter key and brought up an image of eating at home on the broadcast screen, a donation message popped up from a very familiar username.

[ Mile has d 10,000 won! ]

: What food is there at Cream’s place? That fridge was completely empty last I checked.

A message from Mile, the eldest member of Illusionary Realm’s 1st generation.

Hearing that Diah was filling in for Cream’s stream, she had popped in to check and ask the question.

Ha-eun remembered taking a glance at Jeong Maria’s kitchen earlier.

“Uh, um... I saw some ramen earlier. Want to eat ramen, Mr. Rimbbang? Or maybe we could order some—”

“Mmph!!! MMMPHHHH!!!!”

“...What? What’s wrong with ramen? I mean, of course, if we’re being health-conscious, something else might be better...”

After a few waves of chaos tore through the chat window,

Ha-eun somehow managed to finish the dinner portion of ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) the date roleplay.

She brought the session to a close with a warm goodbye.

“It was really fun, Mr. Rimbbang. See you next time~. Bye-bye~!”

The stream officially ended about an hour later.

Until the very end, Ha-eun continued pretending to be Cream — though nobody was fooled.

Right before shutting off the broadcast, she finally called in the real Cream.

This was to inform the Creamppang in chat about Cream’s cold.

“I, uh, cough, happened to catch a cold. I think I’ll be able to stream again once I’ve recovered.”

“I’ll post an update as soon as I’m better, cough. Thanks for coming to watch today’s stream~.” Latest content publıshed on 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹·𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑒·𝗇𝗲𝘁

[ Cream’s stream has ended. ]

Ha-eun hit the end button after delivering the broadcast schedule update.

It wasn’t until afterward that she began packing up to leave.

“Thanks for today, Ha-eun. For taking care of me... and for covering the stream. I’m sorry I couldn’t go on the date with you myself.”

“Oh, it’s okay. I got more than enough of a date. Just being with you is enough to make me happy.”

It was a shame they hadn’t made it to the movie theater,

but a home date was just as lovely.

The memory of seeing a sickly Cream — something no one else had —

was probably one she’d treasure for a long time.

More than anything, sitting in Cream’s chair, using Cream’s avatar,

speaking into Cream’s mic with a voice mimicking Cream’s tone, typing on Cream’s keyboard—

“There, there. The taxi’s here. Take care, Ha-eun.”

“Ah, okay... Please get plenty of rest, unnie.”

Ha-eun, who had been listing off all the things she’d loved about the day, climbed into the taxi with a hint of reluctance on her face.

Only after the taxi carrying her disappeared into the distance did Jeong Maria finally return to her apartment.

Even as she got back, Ha-eun’s heartfelt voice lingered in her ears.

“Just being with you makes me happy, unnie.”

“...Goodness. Am I really that great?”

Recalling everything that had happened with Ha-eun throughout the day,

Jeong Maria collapsed onto her bed with a gentle sigh.

By the time Ha-eun’s “I got home safe” text came through, she was already fast asleep.

“Ha-eun, do you have a moment?”

About a week had passed since the convalescent home-date with Jeong Maria.

Now at LUX HQ once again for discussions about Diah’s upcoming 2nd anniversary,

Ha-eun heard the voice of Sori, Illusionary Realm’s general manager.

Sori, while proposing they check out the 3rd gen trainees’ stream rehearsal,

also mentioned that 1st-gen Yuna and 2nd-gen Ocean were already watching from the streaming room.

“Aren’t you curious about the trainees?”

They probably wouldn’t believe me if I said I already know all about them...

Ha-eun, who usually said yes to anything involving Illusionary Realm, accepted the invitation.

But the moment she and Sori stepped inside the streaming room at LUX—

“Okay, we’ll start the singing stream now... huh?”

“Ha-eun? When did you get here?”

Inside were Mir, Yuna, and Ocean — all startled by her sudden appearance.

None of them had been told she’d be dropping by.

To make things more dramatic, this was right when Mir was about to start a singing stream practice.

A huge deal, considering the popularity of her previous release Snowflake and her current chart-topper Cotton Candy.

All eyes locked onto Ha-eun.

And then, Sori dropped the final bomb.

“Oh, perfect timing. Ha-eun, why don’t you evaluate Mir’s singing stream~?”

Getting vocal feedback from someone like Ha-eun,

who was now widely recognized as a singer as well, was a golden opportunity.

Mir didn’t deny that either—but—

Ha-eun stared at Mir for a beat, then quietly reached into her coat.

And pulled out a pair of super dark sunglasses.

At that moment, Yuna’s face went pale as she screamed at Mir to escape.

Ocean swallowed nervously and grabbed Ha-eun’s shoulders as if to hold her back.

“S-Sunbae... This might be too much for a trainee...!”

With an unreadable look—equal parts curiosity and terror—Ha-eun sank into a chair.

Then, in a calm, slightly amused voice, she said:

“Go ahead. Let’s hear it.”

The atmosphere shifted completely.

Still, no one could deny Ha-eun’s skill as a vocalist.

So Mir decided—if it’s come to this, might as well give it her best and get meaningful feedback.

🎵 “The dazzling sunlight shines on me~♪”

“...Hold up. Your breath was trembling a bit.”

Barely 10 seconds in, and the critiques began.

Yuna and Ocean were clinging to each other, visibly shaking.

Not that it was hard to understand why.

Mir had once trained to debut as an idol,

and her body was already reacting to what her brain hadn’t fully processed.

🎵 “The flowers that bloomed for no reason─♪”

“Nope. Your pitch is off. That ‘no reason’ part—‘eop-seo’—should go from A to G, not A to F.”

She had, quite literally, been torn apart.

Maybe she was imagining it, but some of Ha-eun’s critiques almost felt... personal.

...Just her imagination, right?

“Okay, that’s enough singing for now. Let’s switch to regular stream practice. Everyone else, pretend to be viewers.”

By the end of Ha-eun’s high-intensity feedback, Mir’s mind and soul were in tatters.

Sori instructed them to begin a mock stream.

Yuna, Ocean, Diah, and Sori all logged in to act as viewers.

Then the typing began.

- Clackclackclackclackclack.

Peeking nervously upward, Mir saw Ha-eun typing at lightning speed.

To put it bluntly, the difficulty level was insane.

For a trainee like Mir, Ha-eun’s “toxic chat” barrage was overwhelming.

Still, Mir knew this was a test.

If she thought about it, Ha-eun had dealt with way worse as a celebrity.

The post-red pill chaos after Diah’s first exposure? Legendary.

So she pushed forward.

“Um... I really like Attack on Titan!”

She started from the bottom of the chat window, hoping to pass Ha-eun’s test.

Maybe she could leave a good impression while she was at it.

Mir, who personally loved Attack on Titan, couldn’t understand the flood of contradictory messages.

What was this? Fullmetal Alchemist?

How old was that anime, even?

“Fullmetal Alchemist is a masterpiece too~.

But if I had to pick the best anime of the 2000s, it’s gotta be Attack on Titan, right?”

“No, no~. The anime version has a completely revised ending~.

And Attack on Titan is crazy popular internationally. More than any other anime!”

“Well... Don’t you think there’s always a reason behind popularity?

And maybe there’s also a reason some things aren’t popular—”

It was, quite literally, the start of a war.

As the debate spiraled out of control, Sori, Yuna, and Ocean looked on in confusion.

Was this really something to argue over?