Chapter 313: Chapter 313

Before the advertisement meeting with ON Games’ PR team, Ha-eun decided to play Blue Academy herself to better understand what kind of game it was.

She even secretly spent a little money without telling Na-yeon and tried out the so-called “gacha” content multiple times.

‘I can’t advertise something I don’t know well.’

She believed that in order to do a good job with the advertisement, she had to understand the game herself.

There’s that old saying, “Know yourself and know your enemy, and you’ll never be defeated,” right?

Her deeper dive into Blue Academy came from that same mindset.

It wasn’t like the game ad was some kind of war, but knowing the game well was never a bad thing.

‘The genre is a collection-type RPG. The main story follows the protagonist and the student characters as they...’

Anyway, Ha-eun played Blue Academy pretty diligently.

It also didn’t hurt that the game’s characters were exactly her type when it came to visuals.

After all, everything about Ha-eun—from her career to her interests—was tied to subculture.

Characters steeped in subculture aesthetics were bound to appeal to her.

...Though some characters being nearly impossible to pull from the gacha definitely shattered her nerves.

‘If I didn’t get them three times in a row, doesn’t that mean I could get them three times in a row next time? Why aren’t they coming out?’

‘If they didn’t come out in three rolls, that usually means they won’t. And you call yourself an elite student?’

‘...I know where Dad hides his emergency stash.’

That aside, what really stuck in Ha-eun’s mind was what Ji Hye-min said—that it seemed ON Games wanted the celebrity Lee Ha-eun to be in the ad too.

“What does she mean by celebrity too...?”

Lee Ha-eun the celebrity and Diah the VTuber were the same person, but also not the same person—at least in some respects.

For example, legally speaking.

She didn’t know the exact details, but any contract signed by Lee Ha-eun the celebrity had nothing to do with Diah the VTuber.

From the start, Lee Ha-eun and Diah were under entirely different agencies.

So, the fact that Ha-eun’s name came up in the meeting with ON Games felt off.

Legally, LUX had no connection to celebrity Lee Ha-eun.

Either way, the Blue Academy ad request had come to Diah.

If Diah’s ad included Lee Ha-eun’s OST and narration, it would be no different from publicly confessing that Diah was Ha-eun.

Sure, the people who knew already knew—but making it official was a whole other matter.

Ha-eun had no intention of making anything official, so after some thinking—

“This is Hwang Woo-hyun from the legal team. It’s been a while.”

She went to ask a professional.

Then spent quite a while being walked through various scenarios.

Even if it was an OST or narration by celebrity Lee Ha-eun, it was still her voice, and unless her face was shown outright, it’d be hard to distinguish her from Diah.

Even if someone could tell it wasn’t Diah’s voice, the legal distinction was murky.

Maybe the whole thing had to do with differences in ad rates between celebrities and VTubers.

“If they use celebrity labor at VTuber ad prices, that’s a profit. It’s what we call taking advantage.”

“T-Taking advantage...?”

“Well, it’s all just speculation in the end. You won’t know unless they say it outright. Still, it’s best for you to make the distinction clear, Ha-eun.”

In the end, the consultation with Luna Entertainment’s legal team proved useful for Ha-eun.

She still didn’t know if ON Games was trying to take advantage of her, but better safe than sorry.

Either way, the difference in value between Diah and Lee Ha-eun was undeniable.

Even though Diah’s rates weren’t cheap, celebrity Lee Ha-eun’s advertising fee was in the jaw-dropping range.

‘I... I’m an expensive person...’

It was the first time she thought about it from the advertiser’s perspective, and the realization felt strange.

She wondered when she’d become so expensive.

Anyway, since it was important to keep the Diah ad and the Ha-eun ad separate, she brought two versions of the OST to the ON Games meeting and played both for them.

‘Guess that means they need the celebrity version too.’

Celebrity Lee Ha-eun was willing to advertise Blue Academy.

However, using Lee Ha-eun’s OST and narration required an additional fee.

In short, they needed to spend more money on Ha-eun Inc.

“Both versions are amazing. You sing so well, Ha-eun.”

Of course, they didn’t directly say, please pay up, but the implication was there.

They couldn’t expect a bonus appearance from celebrity Lee Ha-eun just because Diah was doing the ad.

Fortunately, ON Games responded positively to Ha-eun’s counterproposal.

“Um, that Pinocchio version you played earlier... would it be okay for us to upload it exclusively to our official channel?”

“Oh, yes. That’s fine.”

After that, the meeting continued without any hitches, and they agreed to sign a separate ad contract for celebrity Lee Ha-eun.

As for Diah, she just needed to complete the homework stream as previously arranged...

“Um, also—would it be possible to upload the Diah version to Diah’s YouTube channel too? It’d be a shame to waste that version of the OST.”

“Oh, um... yes. Got it.”

“Thank you. In that case, we’ll reach out later about the music video—”

...In the end, they decided to use the Diah version of the OST in the ad as well.

Apparently, Diah’s youthful voice fit perfectly with the newly released character.

The problem was, the OST she’d played today was an unapproved demo version that hadn’t yet received ON Games’ final confirmation.

Which meant she’d have to record the final version for the official ad later.

Ha-eun had basically created more work for herself.

‘Now I’ve got even more to do...’

The only silver lining was that her schedule had lightened a little lately.

She had wrapped up most of her CF shoots for SL Group, and aside from filming The Youngest Son of the Chairman, there weren’t any major appointments.

Things were expected to get busy again around May, with university festivals and the Baeksang Arts Awards coming up.

But until then, she had a bit of breathing room.

She wasn’t completely unavailable.

“They want some additional scenes. Said it’d make your role flow more naturally.”

The news that Ha-eun’s schedule was about to get packed again came the very next day after her meeting with ON Games.

It was early morning.

The walking path near Ha-eun’s house.

“If you don’t, just say so. Everyone knows how busy you are, Lee Ha-eun.”

“No, I’ll do it. The character was made because of me, after all.”

After a short pause, Ha-eun accepted Da-yeon’s request for additional Dynasty filming and slightly shortened Baekseol’s leash.

She needed to slow down a little to talk about the shoot with Da-yeon.

“So are we reshooting from the beginning?”

“There’ll be some new scenes, sure. But it’s probably not going to be that much.”

The conversation shifted to Ha-eun’s cameo role in Dynasty—the palace maid Hong-ryeon.

They were expanding what was originally just a surprise appearance to a supporting role, adding more backstory between Hong-ryeon and Crown Princess Jeong.

It wasn’t a major overhaul, but it was a decision made to improve the drama’s quality, and they needed more of Ha-eun’s performance to do that.

Director Kwak Jung-yeon’s earnest efforts to convince her had left a lasting impression, among other things.

“They said the Crown Princess and Hong-ryeon were childhood friends before coming to the palace.”

“What about the new script?”

“They weren’t sure if you’d say yes, so it’s not done yet. But it won’t take long.”

News about a schedule Ha-eun hadn’t even considered came rushing in.

And then came Da-yeon’s voice, saying she’d get the new script soon.

“But, Da-yeon... what if I had said no?”

“Then... it would’ve been a shame.”

“...What kind of answer were you expecting?”

She added that it was rare for a special cameo character to be bumped up to a supporting role.

Then muttered under her breath that Director Kwak must’ve caught a case of “art disease.”

“If the drama ends up being better because of it, that’s a good thing for you too, right? You’re the female lead.”

“...Still feels like I’m inconveniencing you.”

Da-yeon turned her head forward again and silently walked along the path.

A few steps ahead, Baekseol darted around with her tail wagging like a motor, sniffing everything in sight.

Then, not even a few seconds later—

Da-yeon spoke softly, matching her pace to Ha-eun’s.

And in that moment, Ha-eun’s head instinctively turned toward her—unable to get used to hearing those three words from Da-yeon, even now.

"...Nothing. It's nothing."

It felt like just yesterday when Da-yeon used to throw every bit of attitude at Ha-eun out of pure pride. Official source ıs 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝•𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾•𝘯𝘦𝘵

Maybe Da-yeon was finally maturing after all.

Ha-eun found herself feeling a little proud of her.

“You’re thinking something weird again, aren’t you?”

“It’s just your imagination.”

“You are. You’re definitely thinking something weird.”

Anyway, after walking the overly excited Baekseol together with Da-yeon—

Since Da-yeon had come all the way to see her early in the morning, Ha-eun brought her home for breakfast before letting her go.

Ha-eun’s first additional shoot began about a week later.

「My lady, this is that plum tea you used to like when you were young. Do you remember?」

「...You really remember everything, don’t you.」

In a scene set before the palace fell to ruin, court lady Hong-ryeon sat chatting with the Crown Princess.

Because they were real-life friends, the scene felt completely natural, or so Director Kwak Jung-yeon {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} remarked.

And just as they wrapped up the first round of additional filming—

“Da-yeon, Ha-eun. Stand together for a second.”

Unable to suppress her excitement at seeing Ha-eun in hanbok again after so long, Ju Jung-yoon pulled out her phone.

At almost the same moment—click!

Da-yeon in soft pink hanbok, and Ha-eun in her court maid’s uniform, were captured in frame.

Only a few seconds later, the photo was uploaded to Ha-eun’s official Instagram.

Comments poured in instantly on Ju Jung-yoon’s update showing Ha-eun’s latest activity.

However, one particular reaction left Ha-eun feeling a little conflicted.

[Lee Ji-hye (Nael)] – The hanbok is gorgeous!!

[Lee Ji-hye (Nael)] – Is this a new show?

[Lee Ji-hye (Nael)] – Last time in Moonlight, you and Da-yeon were enemies, but now you’re friends?

[Lee Ji-hye (Nael)] – You two look close. I love it, hehe

‘...Should I tell her we turn into zombies later?’