Chapter 316: Chapter 316

‘I... think I can do it.’

‘I... I succeeded. Enough.’

‘...In the end, it’s just me. Only me. I... have to save him.’

Ever since the time long ago when Ha-eun made the decision about her past life, she had vaguely known.

Whether she liked it or not, she had to meet him.

To prevent the “ending” that Ha-eun had experienced from repeating for him, she needed to get close to him—at least to a certain extent.

‘Yeah, you already knew.’

Not to the extent of the people who had made Ha-eun suffer, but still.

Meeting the person who used to be her also required courage and resolve.

To say that such a familiar face didn’t make her feel even a grain of discomfort would’ve been a blatant lie.

But if she was to live solely as “Lee Ha-eun,” she had to completely shake off her past life.

In ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) a way, it was something she was doing for herself too.

‘I definitely knew...’

Even if it was hard, she had to approach her “past self,” open his heart, and earn his trust in Ha-eun.

Only then could he live a life driven entirely by his own will.

And Ha-eun would cut off all the twisted ties that had made things hard for him—with the influence and power she now had.

The decision she made long ago hadn’t changed in the slightest, even now.

Her thoughts about her past life hadn’t shifted.

“That, the things I gave you last time... um, did they suit your taste? Cough.”

In that sense, the fact that Jeong Do-yoon had asked to meet first wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

There was nothing wrong with the casual talk about the gift she received a few weeks ago—a piece of cake for Ha-eun, and meringues for Diah.

No matter the reason, the fact that Jeong Do-yoon was taking a favorable stance toward Ha-eun was a good sign.

And the request that followed—to help facilitate a meeting between Rick Simon and SL Group—was proof that Jeong Do-yoon was relying on Ha-eun.

“At the M.O.M happening at the end of this year—cough—we’re hoping Rick Simon will make an appearance. Of course, we’re also planning to officially invite you, Lee Ha-eun.”

“...I heard it’ll be held in Osaka this year. Am I remembering that right?”

“Yes. This year, it’ll be at the Kyocera Dome in Osaka—”

Even the positive response she gave to the ongoing conversation about the music awards ceremony.

Even the polite thanks she returned upon hearing that the CF she shot had recorded excellent results.

Even saying she’d speak to Rick Simon herself.

It was all for the sake of Ha-eun’s ultimate goal.

“If there’s something I can help with, I will. We’re partners, after all.”

From the standpoint of becoming someone who could help Jeong Do-yoon, things were going smoothly. Clearly.

Ha-eun didn’t deny that either.

However, there was one thing about Jeong Do-yoon that made things difficult.

It was something completely unrelated to “celebrity Lee Ha-eun,” and for that reason, it had to be addressed.

“...Please refrain from acting weird with my friend.”

To Ha-eun, the Jeong Do-yoon in front of her was already a difficult person to deal with.

Even though she was trying, in her own way, to approach him, there had been a few times when Jeong Do-yoon made things more uncomfortable.

And to Ha-eun, those moments were unwelcome.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t like Jeong Do-yoon had done anything terribly wrong.

If anything, he’d simply d to Diah like other Noeulis.

And he hadn’t even left any support messages—just d.

‘The truth is, thanks to his donations, the stream did get more fun.’

Still, every time she saw that incredibly familiar nickname, it felt like her roleplay as Diah might collapse.

The embarrassment from JDY wasn’t the kind of thing she could just overcome with effort.

At least for now, those three letters were too much to handle.

So she asked—gently—for a bit of restraint.

She still couldn’t explain how she knew he was the one who d.

“I’m not sure what you mean...”

“I’m just passing along what a friend told me. Only the people involved know what really happened.”

She wasn’t telling him not to watch the stream at all.

She just didn’t want him to flaunt corporate dominance through donations.

It was understandable—after all, the financial power of a chaebol heir was far too much for a one-year-old spirit to handle.

And this wasn’t just any rich family—it was SL Group.

Ha-eun already knew very well the kind of power the SL Group family wielded, including the man sitting right in front of her.

If Jeong Do-yoon wanted to manipulate Diah’s stream the way he pleased, he easily could.

Of course, she could always just ban him.

But no matter what, she didn’t want to resort to banning someone who “used to be her.”

“Well then, I’ll be going now.”

“Ah, yes. I’ll be waiting for your message.”

Thinking he probably got the point of what she said, Ha-eun left the meeting room.

She walked with her usual calm steps toward a nearby café, where Ju Jung-yoon was waiting.

Then again, maybe what they say is true—“what’s expected happens.”

Even when she brought up Diah directly, there wasn’t the slightest trace of surprise on his face.

From head to toe, he was still covered in the “performance” Ha-eun remembered perfectly.

‘No, maybe even more than me...’

Ha-eun, having lived a completely different life from her past, had grown softer and more tender in some ways.

It didn’t happen all the time, but now and then, she cried when she was sad.

She even acted spoiled sometimes—especially with Cream.

She’d occasionally been swept up in emotions she hadn’t even known in her previous life.

Of course, she didn’t think that was a bad thing.

Maybe, just maybe... this was “normal.”

To feel things as they were, to express them as they were—maybe that was what was “right.”

But in Jeong Do-yoon’s case.

Every single part of him was something crafted from start to finish.

So meticulous that even someone other than Ha-eun wouldn’t be able to tell it wasn’t real.

‘...I wish he could be honest, at least when he’s alone.’

It weighed on her heart.

Someday, she hoped Jeong Do-yoon could express his feelings as they were, like everyone else.

Only then, Ha-eun believed, she would truly be able to leave her past self behind.

“Hey, Ha-eun. How was the meeting...? We don’t have to go to the screen baseball place today, right?”

“...The talk went well. You don’t have to worry.”

And just as Ha-eun was reassuring Ju Jung-yoon, who had asked for her stress level today,

Jeong Do-yoon, who had just gotten into the back seat of the sedan sent to pick him up,

‘...Please refrain from acting weird with my friend.’

“...I was too... harsh... What do I... ah...”

Had the look of someone whose world had just collapsed.

The cold expression of Oshi—no, that’s a misunderstanding—kept flickering before his eyes.

And since that day, the nickname JDY hadn’t shown up in Diah’s donation alerts for quite a while.

The day after the meeting with SL Group.

And at the same time, one day before the Dream Server special concert.

“Yes. They said they want to invite Rick as a special artist.”

Ha-eun, who had gone to Song Hyun-min’s studio for the first time, conveyed the conversation she had with Jeong Do-yoon.

The sight of that Rick Simon rolling around in the corner of the studio was memorable in many ways, but—

For now, delivering the message came first.

“Do you think Rick will say okay?”

“Rick’s actually kind of an attention-seeker. He usually doesn’t say no.”

『...I think I just heard my name.』

『Rick, you’re a superstar. That was a compliment. Seriously.』

She had also needed to check on how preparations for the Dream Server special concert were going, so Ha-eun planned to stay in Song Hyun-min’s studio a bit longer.

On top of that, this special concert wasn’t just about Song Hyun-min—Rick Simon was also scheduled to appear.

Technically speaking, Rick Simon had pretty much been tricked by Song Hyun-min, but since a man shouldn’t go back on his word, he didn’t retract his decision.

When the Dream Server and server staff heard this, they trembled in fear—but in any case.

“By the way, I’m sure they’ll try to invite Ignite too. Did they reach out to you?”

“Yes. They contacted us recently. It wouldn’t be a proper music award without us.”

“...Can’t argue with that.”

Anyway, that’s how the conversation about M.O.M. more or less wrapped up.

After that, the news that Rick Simon had been invited was relayed smoothly in fluent English by Song Hyun-min. Content orıginally comes from 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭⚫𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦⚫𝘯𝘦𝘵

Rick Simon, who had been sprawled on the sofa all this time, finally sat up and plopped down right beside Song Hyun-min.

The moment Rick Simon opened his mouth came right after.

『Song. You said you’d talk to Shehulk.』

‘...Why does he keep calling him Shehulk?’

What followed was a discussion about Rick Simon’s appearance fee for the special concert.

It was half-joking, but he clearly said that he couldn’t appear in the concert for free.

“He’s not suddenly asking for a payment or anything. He just says there’s something he’d like Ha-eun to help with.”

“Well, Rick’s been working on a new song lately—”

The conversation that followed was about Ha-eun not as an actress, but as a singer.

Through Song Hyun-min, Rick Simon asked if Ha-eun could record the guide vocals for his new song.

This was because Rick Simon already knew that the one who featured on Song Hyun-min’s previous song as “Pinocchio” was Ha-eun.

“He said he’s fine singing the male part himself, but he can’t do the female part. So he’s asking Ha-eun to help.”

“Wait, so the song is already finished?”

“Not completely. Just some parts. He thinks you’d only need to help with the completed parts.”

He said he just wanted to get a rough feel for the song.

Ha-eun nodded—because it wasn’t that big of a deal.

‘If a song is all he wants as payment, that’s cheap.’

As always, Ha-eun was willing to help if she could.

She never imagined she’d end up helping a pop star like Rick Simon, but if it counted as his appearance fee for the concert, then it actually worked out well.

Not long after, she entered the recording booth.

Then, after putting on the headset, she sang the English lyrics in sync with the music in her ear.

At the time, the only thing on Ha-eun’s mind was her English pronunciation.

It wasn’t her first time singing English lyrics, but it might still sound awkward to a pop singer like Rick Simon.

But after a few rounds of recording—

Once Ha-eun came out of the booth—

A question she hadn’t expected was relayed to her.

『Ask if she can try a different voice. You know, that slightly cuter one.』

“Um, Ha-eun. Could you maybe sing it again, but in a different voice?”

At this point, Song Hyun-min already knew that Ha-eun was Diah.

He had even watched Hida’s stream thanks to Ha-eun, so he was somewhat familiar with the VTuber side of things.

That was also why he was willing to appear in the Dream Server special concert in the first place.

Because he knew Ha-eun was Diah, he didn’t hesitate to join the massive collab concert hosted on the server.

But—this was something else entirely.

“Mm, mmm~ Baby shark, doo-doo-doo-doo-doo~♪”

Ha-eun hadn’t even imagined that Rick Simon might know Diah’s identity.

So when she saw a bright, bubbly video of Diah playing on Rick Simon’s phone, she was completely speechless.

Her ears instantly flushed with heat.

“Waaah~! Thank you for the cotton candy~!”

『I want a voice that’s like halfway between that one and your current voice.』

With her face turning red by the second, Ha-eun snatched Rick Simon’s phone out of his hand.

But the moment that followed—when she looked up and met the blue eyes behind his sunglasses—

There wasn’t even a trace of teasing in them.

“Um, Ha-eun. Rick’s not trying to make fun of you. I think he genuinely wants the Diah voice.”

“...Okay, I understand...”

In the end, she tightly shut her eyes and turned back toward the recording booth.

And then came Song Hyun-min’s interpretation—Rick wanted a voice that was a blend of Diah’s and Ha-eun’s.

‘Should I do it like when I sang “Across the Milky Way” back then...?’

This wasn’t Ha-eun’s first time using a blended voice between Diah and herself.

She had once slightly “unsealed” Diah’s voice to record a song for Noeuli Park Yeon-woo, who was undergoing cancer treatment.

That’s why Rick Simon’s requested voice flowed right into the studio mic so naturally.

She had sung with that kind of voice before—it wasn’t too difficult.

When she stepped out of the booth again, the faces she met seemed strangely serious.

“By any chance, with Rick...”

Do you have any plans to debut a song?

That voice, completely devoid of any teasing tone, left Ha-eun speechless once again.

It would’ve made more sense if it was with her original voice—

But a voice mixed with Diah’s?

“Ah... Are you serious?”

『I’ve been looking for a voice this unique.』

“He says he’s serious.”

It felt like she had just crossed a river she couldn’t return from.

Especially because, even in her past life, there had been a time when a Korean female singer had collaborated with Rick Simon.