Chapter 306: Chapter 306

Interpersonal Relationships.

Even Da-yeon, who hated to lose to Ha-eun since what felt like the dawn of time, had already admitted that Ha-eun was better in that area.

Since their elementary school days, back when they started hanging out, Ha-eun had always been sociable.

She wasn’t overly bubbly or flashy, yet people naturally gravitated toward her.

“If it was just because she’s pretty... then they’d be swarming around me too, wouldn’t they?”

Sure, Ha-eun’s good looks probably had some influence on how many friends she had.

But more than her appearance, it was the other things that really made a difference.

Like her personality, soft and fluid like water.

Or the way she spoke, gently coaxing people to open up without even realizing it.

“She’s the total opposite of Diah.”

At any rate, it was obvious that Ha-eun got along well with people.

Not just at school, but also on set.

Even in the entertainment world, there were plenty of people close to her.

She was beautiful, had a great personality, and on top of that, her acting and singing skills were outstanding.

She even excelled at self-management, to the point of being a role model.

Given her skyrocketing popularity lately, it only made sense that people wanted to stay on her good side.

In that sense, the fact that Ha-eun had approached someone like Ji Jeong-hoon first might not have been anything out of the ordinary.

Maybe... she just wanted to be friends.

“...Am I the weird one here?”

Da-yeon, recalling Ha-eun chatting so warmly with Jeong-hoon, slowly shifted her gaze to the ceiling.

It felt ridiculous to feel this conflicted over the fact that the two of them had merely exchanged a few words.

What was the big deal about Ha-eun and Jeong-hoon becoming friends?

At most, it just meant one more name was added to Ha-eun’s growing list of celebrity acquaintances.

Whether Jeong-hoon recently signed up at Ha-eun’s gym or actually started working out with her—none of that should’ve been Da-yeon’s concern.

And yet... she couldn’t stop thinking about what was said before the whole "come work out" thing.

Questions like, “What do you think of Jeong-hoon?” and “Do you like him?”

And then Ha-eun brushing it off with, “If not, then never mind,” or something along those lines...

“Why did she even bother checking how I felt?”

Just as she told Ha-eun a few days ago, Da-yeon had no feelings for Jeong-hoon.

But Ha-eun deciding to talk to him after confirming that? That was a whole other issue.

If Da-yeon had said she did have feelings, would Ha-eun have stayed away? Would she have given up?

No matter how she looked at it, Da-yeon couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe—just maybe—Ha-eun actually liked Jeong-hoon.

Maybe Ha-eun had asked in advance, just in case.

“...What does she even like about him?”

Either way, Ha-eun was still a woman.

A 20-year-old at the peak of her youth.

It was perfectly natural for her to develop an interest in a guy.

She was a celebrity, sure, but nowadays, no one really crucified celebrities for dating.

Sure, if a scandal broke out, people would talk, but it wasn’t like committing a crime.

...Outside the entertainment world, though, people would probably go absolutely ballistic.

“She wouldn’t have completely forgotten about Diah, right?”

From the beginning, Ha-eun was the kind of person who naturally drew attention from men.

Back in middle school, there were countless guys who confessed to her and were gently turned down.

And not just at school—there was already one celebrity whose interest in Ha-eun was painfully obvious.

Ha-eun had no clue, of course, but Da-yeon had noticed. Even Kang Seon-woo had picked up on it.

It was that noticeable.

“...Honestly, she’s like a nine-tailed fox or something.”

That was the kind of person Ha-eun was.

Someone who could make your heart flutter just by being near her—without even realizing she was doing it.

That might’ve been why Da-yeon couldn’t get that image out of her head—of Ha-eun chatting warmly with Ji Jeong-hoon.

It was the first time she’d seen Ha-eun show open interest in a guy. Yeah, that must’ve been it.

It was just... surprising.

“...Then why do I hate it so much?”

Her chest felt tight.

If it really was just surprise, her forehead wouldn’t be creasing .

Come to think of it, this wasn’t the first time.

Back when she noticed Yoon Seong-jae’s feelings for Ha-eun, it was the same.

More than being worried that Ha-eun would suffer because of some one-sided crush from a friend, Da-yeon just didn’t like the idea of Ha-eun being in a relationship. At all.

“Lee Ha-eun, in a relationship...”

The image of Ha-eun and Jeong-hoon walking arm in arm.

Holding hands, fingers laced.

And then, finally... walking down the aisle together. The thought alone made her blood boil.

Was this what it meant to feel like your insides were on fire?

The very idea of someone else taking Ha-eun away from her just rubbed her the wrong way. Logically speaking, both Ha-eun and Da-yeon would eventually find someone, get married, and start their own families.

Right now, she hated it.

Da-yeon was vaguely aware of how childish her thoughts were.

But what could she do when this was how she truly felt?

Besides, it wasn’t like her to sit around stewing in silence .

Did Ha-eun really ask Jeong-hoon to work out together because she liked him?

Or was it, like she said, just because it gets boring working out alone?

[Min Da-yeon] — Can you come with me tomorrow at 7 a.m.?

[Kim Jin-soo (Manager)] — ??

[Kim Jin-soo (Manager)] — Where are we going?

[Min Da-yeon] — The gym Lee Ha-eun goes to.

Da-yeon was the type to confirm things with her own two eyes.

Even if—by some miracle—Ha-eun and Jeong-hoon were working out together all lovey-dovey... well, she didn’t know what she’d do then.

But she’d think about it after seeing it for herself.

And so, off she went to Ha-eun’s gym.

She got up unusually early, hopped into Kim Jin-soo’s van half-asleep, and finally arrived at the gym.

Heart pounding, she took a step forward.

She glanced around the wide interior of the gym, searching for Ha-eun and Jeong-hoon.

Just then, familiar voices reached her ears. She instinctively ducked behind a workout machine and peeked her head out—just enough to see them.

“I... I’m gonna die at this rate, Ha-eun...”

“People don’t die that easily. Come on, just one more set.”

That wasn’t lovey-dovey at all. What she saw was a pale-faced Ji Jeong-hoon, looking like he’d been through hell. He was soaked in sweat.

Granted, Ha-eun beside him was also sweating buckets. But while Jeong-hoon looked like he was about to pass out, Ha-eun seemed as energetic as ever—even from a distance.

It was right then that her eyes met Ha-eun’s. Ha-eun blinked wide-eyed in surprise and rushed over like the wind.

Before she could even process the fact that she’d been caught, Ha-eun was already grabbing both her arms.

Da-yeon was speechless. Technically, she had confirmed what kind of relationship Ha-eun and Jeong-hoon had. And seeing Jeong-hoon on the verge of collapsing had reassured her that there was absolutely nothing going on between them.

Almost... involuntarily... she felt relieved.

"Why are you here? You trying out working out too?"

"Y-yeah... I thought I'd... give it a shot..."

She couldn’t exactly tell Ha-eun that she’d come to find out if she was dating Ji Jeong-hoon.

Which was how she ended up being dragged into the locker room and shoved into workout clothes by Ha-eun in under a minute.

"Ms. Da-yeon, run... Run while you still can... This place is hell..."

"Judging by the fact that you’re still cracking jokes, I guess you’ve got energy to spare. One more set."

"But... You said one more set last time too...!"

"If it were me, I’d just do it instead of talking."

Watching Ji Jeong-hoon get dragged into yet another hellish workout, Da-yeon found herself pulled gently by the wrist and planted on a treadmill by none other than Ha-eun.

"Start with some warm-up, then we’ll move on to stretching."

"But I haven’t even paid yet!"

"First day’s a free trial, don’t worry."

Like some kind of fitness center salesperson, Ha-eun adjusted the settings on Da-yeon’s treadmill.

Left with no choice, Da-yeon did as she was told.

Maybe this was karma for worrying unnecessarily about Ha-eun.

Or maybe she just hadn’t realized what being caught by Ha-eun at the gym would entail.

"My... my arm’s gonna break! I can’t pull anymore!"

"Bones heal. Just three more seconds~! Push it~."

"You—You crazy witch—! Gaaaah—!"

In the end, Da-yeon got absolutely wrecked.

Pushed and pulled to the brink of death by Ha-eun.

And this, despite the fact that she thought she’d been doing a decent job maintaining herself.

She wasn’t even close.

The two of them finally started talking once Da-yeon collapsed on the gym floor, totally drained.

Amid the sweat pooling in her ears, she heard Ha-eun say she hadn’t expected her to show any interest in working out.

"Good decision, Da-yeon. You need to start building stamina too. I’ll help you sign up later."

"Like hell you will...!"

"It’s fine. I already got your parents’ approval. They said to take good care of you."

The moment she realized Ha-eun had already talked to her parents about this, Da-yeon felt like the world had turned upside down.

She cursed her past self—the her from just yesterday—for deciding to come here in the first place.

Maybe the only saving grace was that she wasn’t the only one swept up in Ha-eun’s obsession with working out.

"You’re both gonna be filming Dynasty for a while anyway. It’s a zombie drama, right? Lots of running. Better to get in shape now."

"Is that... really how this works...?"

‘Why does he look like he’s getting convinced... again...?’

By the time Ji Jeong-hoon made his escape and fled the gym, Da-yeon was still sprawled across the floor.

She couldn’t so much as lift a finger at that point.

Ha-eun plopped down next to her, fresh from the bench press.

And so began a discussion about body toning.

"See? When I press here, your stomach goes in. If you tone it a little more, it’ll look even better."

"Who told you to go around touching people’s stomachs without warning..."

"We’re not ‘people,’ are we? That hurts, you know."

"I’m dying over here..."

Da-yeon could barely muster a groan.

Ha-eun’s reply came with a sheepish smile.

Then came talk about Parasite Family releasing in the summer, and the Venice Film Festival.

"We’re going to be on the red carpet, so we’ll have to wear dresses. Better to have our bodies ready in advance."

The conversation drifted into territory that still felt too distant, too unreal.

The Venice red carpet would be flooded with global press.

Looking even a little prettier in that spotlight wouldn’t hurt Da-yeon.

"Remember our bet? Whoever wins the most awards has to call the other ‘Unnie’ for a whole month."

"You think it’s that easy to win an award at the Venice Film Festival...?"

"It doesn’t have to be Venice only. We’ll count all festivals combined. But yeah, winning there would be nice."

Eventually, it all circled back to one point:

Da-yeon needed to take better care of her body.

And once they hit the gym showers, with Ha-eun explaining how to use the facilities, the topic finally died down.

Hot water poured over Da-yeon’s head.

Her body, half-dead from exhaustion, just stood there under the spray.

Eventually, she managed to start washing up.

That’s when it happened.

Her eyes locked onto Ha-eun’s abs—those clear, defined vertical lines running right below her chest.

The way the water ran down between them was oddly mesmerizing.

Like when they were kids, Da-yeon reached out and poked Ha-eun’s stomach.

Almost immediately—boing.

"...Is that a spring or something? Were you flexing?"

"Nope. Wasn’t flexing at all."

Back then, her belly would squish when poked. Now? It barely budged.

Da-yeon couldn’t help but think those rock-solid abs could probably deflect a needle.

Not that there was any reason to stab someone in the stomach.

Anyway, after finishing their showers, they changed back into their regular clothes. The source of this content ɪs 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩·𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢·𝔫𝔢𝔱

Then, Ha-eun brought up something Da-yeon had promised a few weeks ago—a collab stream.

"You know that new Minecraft server that just opened? The one with all the streamers?"

"It’s got a roleplay section. Let’s team up. Do an RP collab with me."

When Ha-eun suggested they collab on the Dream Server, Da-yeon agreed—she had promised, after all.

And now that both Diah and Hida had been outed as celebrities, pairing with random streamers would be tricky anyway.

If not each other, they’d both be too self-conscious.

Even if they were VTubers, they knew exactly who was behind the avatars.

But then, time passed.

And the moment both Diah and Hida logged in together using the early-access invites they got from the Dream Server mods—

[ You take care of the farm and housework, honey~ I’ll go mining and make us rich~ ]

[ Bye, honey! Wish me luck with my get-rich-quick dream~!! ]

The RP Ha-eun had envisioned was that of a countryside couple returning to farm life.

Da-yeon was absolutely speechless.

And yet, off in the distance, Diah’s avatar cheerfully bounced away.

—Hooooneeey 😂😂😂😂😂

—Wait, was Hida the husband this whole time?

—Bit of an age gap between those ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) two lovebirds, huh?

—Hida, let’s start with a 9x9 field first

—Potatoes are OP rn, go potatoes

"Ah, um, okay then... I’ll go farm now, I guess. Wait, where’s our house again...?"

Somehow, she managed to make a field, buy some seeds from the in-game shop, and plant them.

So far, Hida was managing the stream solo, so things were okay.

[ Honey’s home! Feed me, woman! ]

"...You’ve got to be kidding me."

When she heard that bright, cheerful voice bark out such a bold demand, Da-yeon’s soul left her body.

She never imagined Ha-eun would actually roleplay as her husband.

[ Pfft, bleh! Honey, why’s this soup so salty?! ]

"Wait... can Minecraft soup even taste salty?"

[ Are you back-talking your husband right now?! ]

"What kind of husband even says stuff like that...?"

—Baby husband turned into a grumpy old man 😭😭😭

—Just add water if it’s salty 😂

—599-year age gap between these two, I’m crying

—Let’s not say mean things like ‘just eat what you’re given’...

—Wife’s the boss in the house anyway...

—Figures he’s a baby, throwing a tantrum over food