Chapter 314: Chapter 314

After court maid Hong-ryeon was upgraded from a cameo role to a supporting character, Ha-eun had to officially participate in Dynasty as a supporting cast member.

And this was something she was well aware of.

She hadn’t accepted Da-yeon’s request for additional filming without knowing about this change.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve had a supporting role.’

Back in middle school, when her acting gigs were sparse, she had mostly played supporting or minor characters, so it wasn’t unfamiliar to her.

Since Hong-ryeon was a character that didn’t originally exist in the script, her lines were relatively minimal for a supporting role.

Except for the part where Ji Jeong-hoon, who played Crown Prince Lee Jin, visibly trembled every time he ran into her, Dynasty’s filming had gone smoothly.

But there was one unexpected thing.

“Could you lift your chin just a little? Ah, yes. That’s perfect~!”

At the poster shoot for Dynasty.

Though she wasn’t originally supposed to be there, Ha-eun, dressed in her court maid uniform, adjusted her pose to match the feedback coming from beyond the set.

That was because Hong-ryeon had become a significantly important character among the supporting cast.

Several of the newly added scenes were now deeply tied to the core storyline.

Still, the biggest reason Ha-eun was included in the poster shoot was, of course—her fame.

At least, that’s what Da-yeon believed.

“Having you on the poster will help with promotion.”

Even though she wasn’t a lead, it probably didn’t matter much.

There were definitely people who would watch the show just because Ha-eun was in it.

They’d cling to her for ratings, using every possible straw they could, and so on.

As usual, Da-yeon’s voice, blunt and direct, rang in Ha-eun’s ears.

But underneath those words was the unspoken truth that Ha-eun’s presence was a meaningful help to Da-yeon’s drama.

“You’ve always been the type to make your own life harder.”

“I’m fine. It’s not that exhausting.”

“...Well, that’s good then.”

Ha-eun, who knew Da-yeon well, could tell that even those words were Da-yeon’s way of saying thank you.

Then it was Da-yeon’s turn.

‘Haven’t seen her with braided hair in a while.’

Sitting on a folding chair on set, Ha-eun quietly watched as Da-yeon, now Crown Princess Jeong, posed for the camera.

Golden embroidery gleaming on white silk.

She looked every bit the noblewoman.

Maybe it was the character’s gentle and quiet nature, but she felt different from the usual Da-yeon. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡⁂𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚⁂𝙣𝙚𝙩

Ha-eun said so honestly and complimented her, saying the shots looked really pretty.

“...So you’re saying I never look like that normally.”

Which... kind of made it not a compliment.

To make matters worse, Ha-eun flinched involuntarily, and Da-yeon let out a low growl.

Anyway, after somehow finishing the Dynasty poster shoot—

As usual, Da-yeon hopped into her manager Kim Jin-soo’s van and headed off to her next schedule.

Only to be interrupted by the unexpected:

Ha-eun had swung the van door open and climbed in to sit next to Da-yeon.

She said she wanted to tag along to Da-yeon’s next schedule.

“Why are you coming?”

“Because I’m experienced. I’ll help you.”

Da-yeon’s next schedule was practice for her 3D avatar debut at the LUX studio.

Ha-eun already knew this and had basically snuck a ride in her van.

Besides, the poster shoot had been Ha-eun’s last schedule for the day anyway.

On the surface, it was a gesture of goodwill—to help out a first-timer with 3D avatars.

In reality, it was because of the motion capture suit.

In other words, she wanted to see Da-yeon in skintight gear.

“W-what are you looking at?!”

“I-it’s fine... Ahaha... It suits you...”

As expected, Da-yeon in a black skintight suit did not disappoint.

Ha-eun wanted to take a picture, but she gave up—she was pretty sure she’d get murdered for it.

From there, it was a repeat of everything Ha-eun had already experienced.

They checked whether Da-yeon’s movements synced correctly with her 3D avatar, if various poses were properly rendered, and so on.

The difference from the first-gen Illusionary Realm debut was that this time, there wouldn’t be a group performance.

Instead, each second-gen member would be doing a solo show.

‘She’s good at live singing too.’

Unlike the five-person joint concert of the first-gen group, the second-gen members would each perform solo.

Right now, Da-yeon was singing Hida’s solo track, Witch, live for that reason.

“How is it? Do you think I’m doing okay?”

“Your dance seems a bit reserved, but the vocals are great.”

Afterward, Ha-eun continued watching the 3D debut rehearsal alongside Ji Hye-min.

This was the first time Da-yeon had ever performed—across both her current and past lives—which made it feel a bit surreal.

She looked so cute in so many ways that Ha-eun couldn’t stop herself from grinning.

Eventually, as Da-yeon wrapped up her rehearsals for Witch and the other songs—

Ji Hye-min, standing right beside Ha-eun, suggested that she take the mic too.

“I’ll play the MR for you. You should try a rehearsal too, Ha-eun.”

This suggestion from Ji Hye-min was for the special concert at the Dream Server event.

On the final day of Dream Server, there would be performances from the Illusionary Realm members—including Diah.

If the Dream Server concert ended successfully, it would significantly affect the reception of the second-gen’s 3D debut streams later on.

This Dream Server project was also a stepping stone for growing Illusionary Realm as a whole.

So when Ha-eun appeared on set a few seconds later—not in a skintight suit, but in a lighter motion capture setup—and started singing with her signature clear tone, it was because of that.

“...Why doesn’t she have to wear the tight suit?”

“We have to bring out a different size for Ha-eun. If she wears Da-yeon’s size, it’ll tear... oops.”

Ji Hye-min’s gaze had instinctively dropped toward Da-yeon’s modest(?) chest before snapping away.

Even so, Da-yeon seemed to understand the meaning instantly and wore a weirdly defeated expression.

Well, it would probably tear.

There was no way that skintight suit could contain those aggressive curves.

Still, even if they ignored the skintight suit part—

Why did Ha-eun have ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) a headset mic?

Before Ji Hye-min could even start to explain—whoosh!

Ha-eun, belting out a high-tempo song, suddenly burst into breakdancing.

It looked more like a circus act than a concert.

“...You can’t do that kind of stuff while holding a mic.”

Compared to her joint concert with Leni, she seemed even more fired up this time.

Maybe it was just in Ji Hye-min’s head, but Ha-eun looked unusually motivated.

...Why did she seem more desperate during a VTuber concert than a real-life idol one?

“Hah... hah... How was... it?”

“It felt more like a circus performance than a concert.”

“I meant Diah’s avatar, not me.”

“She looked like she’d downed a couple shots.”

Diah’s 3D avatar on the monitor certainly captured Ha-eun’s movements well.

It just looked more like a heavy metal rocker than an idol, thanks to how flashy everything was.

As for the singing—well, she was a professional singer. It would’ve been strange if she hadn’t done it well.

She just didn’t expect she’d go that hard on the choreography. With a 3D avatar, no less.

“If you don’t dance, Hyun-min’s going to steal the spotlight.”

“...You’re the one who invited him.”

“Still, you need to try hard not to fall behind.”

“Is it even possible not to...?”

Da-yeon already knew that Song Hyun-min was set to perform at the Dream Server special concert.

Word was, he’d be performing his new song, Num0, too.

Of course, Pinocchio—the featured singer on Num0—wasn’t going to appear due to “personal circumstances.”

A shame for the audience who would be watching the Dream Server concert.

“Couldn’t Diah just perform with him? It’s not like people don’t know.”

If Ha-eun showed up at Song Hyun-min’s surprise concert, things would get loud for a lot of reasons.

She had even considered turning off the stream briefly and resuming it after the concert ended—but she didn’t think she could handle the fallout.

‘It’s already wild enough that Hyun-min’s performing. If Pinocchio appears too, the chat will explode...’

So, unfortunately, Num0 would be performed by Song Hyun-min solo.

The only thing nagging at her was that Song Hyun-min and the other members of Ignite were in the middle of a world tour.

They were scheduled to return to Korea four days before the Dream Server concert, but still—was that really enough time to recover from jet lag?

Not that she doubted Hyun-min’s abilities, of course.

More specifically, a certain pub in Manhattan.

Having just wrapped up their concert in New York, the members of Ignite and their staff gathered at the pub. A loud cheer erupted as they toasted.

With that, Ignite’s world tour officially concluded on a high note.

『So we’re heading back to Korea tomorrow.』

『Yup. Good work, Rick.』

Raising his beer again, Song Hyun-min clinked glasses with the white man sitting next to him.

That man was Rick Simon, a popular American artist who had joined Hyun-min’s solo stage as a special guest.

『So you’re taking a break now?』

『Not really. I’ve got a concert in a few days.』

『In Korea? You’ve got another concert over there?』

The man—Rick Simon—asked in surprise.

One of the top pop artists in the U.S., he was also personally close with Song Hyun-min.

『What kind of concert?』

『Eh, you know. One of those concerts.』

『Come on, at least tell me the scale.』

『Hmm... I heard it’s around 200,000 people.』

『Wait... what? Two hundred thousand? For one concert?』

Rick’s eyes went wide with shock, and Song Hyun-min barely held back a grin.

The look on Rick’s face was just too good.

Of course, it wasn’t a lie.

The previous season’s Dream Server concert had amassed around 200,000 viewers total.

This season would likely be similar.

『I didn’t think Korea had a venue that big.』

『I didn’t either, but turns out they do.』

Maybe it was the buzz from the alcohol, but Rick’s over-the-top reactions were pretty entertaining.

There was a certain thrill in messing with him.

『Well, I was invited by someone I know.』

『And this acquaintance of yours—organizing a 200,000-person concert—who are they? Are they a singer too?』

『A singer... yeah, technically.』

Then, Hyun-min teased Rick by saying the person was the featured artist on his song.

And surprisingly, Rick guessed right on the first try.

『Ha-eun? The one who featured on Num0?』

『Didn’t you say she once threw you? That girl?』

『...Must you bring up my trauma.』

The conversation shifted to Ha-eun’s career as a singer.

And it ended with Hyun-min mentioning that she’d also be appearing in the upcoming 200,000-viewer concert.

After a brief silence—

『...You sure you don’t need another feature?』

Rick looked over with a subtle but eager expression.

When asked more directly if he was serious, he gave a positive answer.

『You’d come all the way to Korea for that?』

『Come on, Hyun. Even in the U.S., a 200,000-person concert’s a rarity. It’s a golden opportunity.』

『Didn’t you say you were working on a new song? Will you have time?』

『Not a problem. A little fresh air in Korea will probably help me write better lyrics.』

And so it was settled—Rick Simon was coming to Korea.

Sure, it felt like things had escalated a bit, but technically, no one had lied.

Just like Rick said, getting some air in Korea could boost his songwriting.

That was why, once they were back in Korea, Hyun-min made sure to connect Rick with Ha-eun.

『Alright, Rick, time to impress her. If you want to be on that concert lineup, you’d better make a good impression.』

『Impress her, huh... hmm.』

...What the hell happened in America...?

Strictly speaking, Ha-eun knew exactly what misunderstanding Rick was under.

A few hours earlier, she had received a message from Song Hyun-min explaining the situation.

He said he’d played a small prank on Rick because they were close and asked her to go along with it.

Not to worry—he’d handle the consequences.

“Who even puts someone on a plane as a prank?”

Even after hearing the whole story, Ha-eun still didn’t quite get how it had all come to this.

Why was one of America’s biggest stars now standing in front of her?

Do world-famous celebrities prank on a different scale or something?

『By the way, Hyun... you really got thrown by this tiny girl? You need to hit the gym, man.』

『You really have no idea...』

When Song Hyun-min opened his mouth again, it was with another absurd request.

“Could you arm wrestle Rick real quick?”

“...Arm wrestle Rick Simon?”

“Yeah. You and Rick.”

Just after that, since Ha-eun didn’t fully catch Rick’s native English, Hyun-min provided his own... interpretation.

“He said you look like a brittle little twig who’d snap in half. He’s seriously underestimating you.”

“Teach him a lesson.”

And so, before she knew it, their hands were clasped.

At the same time, Hyun-min delivered a completely made-up ‘translation’ to Rick.

『She said if you beat her in arm wrestling, you can join the concert lineup.』

『Arm wrestling? ...You’re not joking?』

『She doesn’t go back on her word.』

At that point, Rick was still worried he might hurt her, so he decided to go easy.

But maybe... a little too easy?

Ha-eun’s tiny hand didn’t budge.

He added more strength—still no movement.

He went all in, just short of full power—and still, nothing.

Something was definitely off.

And just like that—CRACK.

Rick Simon’s hand was slammed down at a perfect 90-degree angle.

He didn’t even get a split-second to fight back.

Agonizing pain surged through his arm.

His eyes blurred slightly as a hint of tears welled up.

When he looked down, he saw his own hand pinned to the table by that small hand.

Then, as his gaze rose toward Ha-eun, he was met with an icy glare.

A look that seemed to say: Don’t ever underestimate Korea again.

『Better start bulking up, Rick.』

『Damn it... who brings She-Hulk to a concert meeting?!』

In the end, at least Rick Simon wasn’t denied his concert spot.

But for a while, he couldn’t use his right hand properly while in Korea.

And since it had been his own fault for underestimating Ha-eun, he had no one else to blame.

『This is a battlefield, not a concert venue.』

『What are you talking about? Look, stage is right here. Perfect setup.』