Chapter 318: Chapter 318

When a crow flies, a pear falls.

The proverb that popped into Nael’s head—about a crow flying and a pear coincidentally dropping—probably did so because she felt like the crow in that very saying. All Nael had done was get a little overly excited.

“I-I would never cheer for them to lose! I’m upset they lost too because Ha-eun was in that game...!”

Her last-minute attempt to cheer for the Sehwa Eagles was purely damage control—to escape being seen as the crow. A few minutes ago, her excitement hadn’t meant she was rooting for their defeat. She just said that although today’s match ended in a disappointing loss, they’d definitely win the next one.

“Go... go Sehwa Eagles~! You’ll definitely win the next game~!”

— Did they lose? Did they lose? Did they lose? Did they lose? Did they lose? Did they lose? Did they lose? Did they lose? Did they lose?

— What did you just say

— Is it over is it over is it over is it over is it over is it over is it over is it over is it over

— Sehwa Eagles flyyyyyyy!!!!!!

Naturally, her message of encouragement only added fuel to the already blazing fire of the chat. Tons of people began treating Nael’s support like some kind of curse or voodoo spell.

“Ha-Ha-eun’s photos... Are there any that turned out well~?”

Before the chat could spiral into another frenzy, Nael quickly switched the stream screen. She knew all too well from experience that if she left the “Sehwa Eagles comeback loss” thread unattended, it would absolutely explode.

That’s why she pulled up photos of Ha-eun and Da-yeon throwing the ceremonial first pitch and taking the batter’s stance. While viewing and saving the high-res shots, she fully reverted back into her usual Ha-eun superfan mode.

“Ha-eun even looks amazing in a uniform. I should’ve seen this with my own two eyes....”

— She’s seriously gorgeous fr

— Just ask her to send a selfie through DM lol

— I still don’t get why she’s even a VTuber with that face lolcry (User temporarily banned)

— Can’t she just video call her right now? Come on, really

— Another life-defining shot added to the collection

— Let’s ask Diah to do a cosplay cam stream, go go go go

— VTuber GOAT whose real face beats the avatar

“Oh, this photo turned out great. Her form... wow... You’d believe she was a pro athlete. ...Wait, Da-yeon’s face... whoa... she’s legit shocked in this one?”

— A 140km/h fastball is shocking, no joke

— That witch face when she sensed danger.jpg

— Lee Ha-eun <<< just different, even in posture

— Hida’s assassination attempt failed

— The scene after this is hilarious as hell

— She ended up getting grabbed by the collar by Min Da-yeon lol

While Nael was busy collecting baseball uniform pics of Ha-eun and Da-yeon, community forums all over the internet were buzzing with the same topic.

This was because a small tidbit had resurfaced—how Ha-eun had stood on the mound as a child ceremonial pitcher long ago.

Her blazing fastball throw today also drew a ton of attention.

— Today's Lee Ha-eun & Min Da-yeon ceremonial pitch.gif

ㄴ Look at that throwing form lolol

ㄴ I hated how celebs half-ass their first pitches, but these two are different

— Lee Ha-eun 14 years ago vs now comparison

ㄴ Her face just grew up, literally the same kid

— Live) Lee Ha-eun’s ceremonial pitch clocked at 140km/h

ㄴ Yup, actual 140 lol

ㄴ Can’t we seriously consider scouting her

And unsurprisingly, posts about the pitch started appearing in communities related to Illusionary Realm as well. Ever since Diah and Hida’s red pill moment became public knowledge, anything involving celebrities Lee Ha-eun and Min Da-yeon had become fresh bait for discussion.

[Saw Diah IRL while coming to watch baseball]

: (Photo of Ha-eun on the mound)

What is ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) this? lololol

ㄴ That’s Diah? She’s freaking gorgeous

ㄴ Does this guy still not recognize Diah’s face ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ 𝗇𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅•𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾•𝗇𝖾𝗍

ㄴ So jealous of that person seeing Diah live

[Diah & Hida ceremonial pitch video]

: (Short video clip of Sehwa Eagles’ ceremonial pitch)

They said the 140 isn’t an error, it’s legit

Diah <<< now organizing baseball hierarchy too, VTuber GOAT

ㄴ I was there, she totally crushed it

ㄴ Ain’t even human ;;

ㄴ What kind of girl throws 140??

ㄴ Her form is knife-precise lol

[Seriously though, why are these girls VTubers?]

: (High-res photo of Ha-eun mid-pitch)

(High-res photo of Da-yeon staring at Ha-eun)

With that face, ffs lol

ㄴ Both their faces are off the charts fr

ㄴ That figure is on god tier lol

ㄴ You’re a damn creep, get arrested

ㄴ So they’re performing at the Minecraft concert later, right?

ㄴ So pretty I’m shaking

ㄴ All hail the VTuber GOAT

While the communities were in a frenzy over Ha-eun and Da-yeon’s ceremonial pitch event, an unrelated post brought an entirely different piece of news.

Title > Isn’t this Diah?

User: don’tdothistome | 18:26

(Video clip from the kids’ animation “Honey Ping” on KidsTV)

「Nemiya! Take my hand~!」

「Magical Princess~♡ Transform─!」

「Dodo Ping! Friends shouldn’t fight!」

Turned on the TV for my little sister and I swear I heard a voice I know

Ruby Ping <<< sounds 100% like Diah no matter how I hear it

ㄴ It’s an anime for little girls

ㄴ Main character signs a magical girl contract with love fairy to find scattered fairies across the universe... (read more)

ㄴ Why does this guy know so much

ㄴ Sounds like Diah, for real

ㄴ This ain’t easy lol

A few days earlier, the magical girl anime Honey Ping had begun airing—and the voice of ‘Ruby Ping,’ the main character’s partner, sounded way too familiar to be coincidence. The post exploded, quickly climbing the trending charts.

As expected, the rumor spread like wildfire across various communities. Where forums had been flooded with baseball threads, now they were suddenly overrun with discussions about a preschool anime.

Title > Diah update.mp4

User: drumandtambourine | 18:51

(Shorts clip from episode 1 of Honey Ping)

「Nemiya, great job! High five~!」

「Now... say the spell of truth!」

「YumYum Ping! It’s me, Ruby Ping!」

She ditched the Noeulis and made a magical girl contract (with an S-class local beauty) to catch intergalactic fugitives

So far, captured Dodo Ping and YumYum Ping

ㄴ (Confused SD Noeulis emoji)

ㄴ (Shocked SD Noeulis emoji)

ㄴ What’s it called, please

ㄴ Why do you need the name

ㄴ I’m watching it live from now on

ㄴ She’s a spirit in Illusionary Realm but a fairy here

ㄴ Spirit, fairy—same difference right?

Title > Why we need to work hard in life

User: BocchiSeason2Confirmed | 19:03

(High-res photos from Ha-eun’s magazine shoot)

(Thank-you video for God and the Goblin hitting 40% viewership)

(Screenshot of solo song “Cotton Candy” hitting #1 on the charts)

Even girls like her...

(Honey Ping, Episode 1 – Shorts clip)

「No one can defeat the power of love!」

「Take this~! Love Power─!!」

...I live this hard, and yet, f*ck.

(Image: a disheveled, exhausted frog character)

If you're lying in bed scratching your stomach like a useless slob, it's time to reflect. Seriously. Take notes, for real...

— If I had that face, I’d live my life to the fullest too, f*ck

— How many personas does Lee Ha-eun even have?

— Main identity: Actress

Sub identities: VTuber, singer, voice actress, bed model, cosmetics model, cake model, sandwich model, etc.

— Living a life of pure achievement

— Is she using clone jutsu or something? LOL

— I cried from top to bottom while repenting...

— Why are you crying from the bottom, you psycho

And the community only grew noisier by the hour. Since this was the first time Diah’s voice had explicitly appeared outside of a VTuber stream, the bait just kept on giving.

Maybe it was because of that—even Nael’s stream, who was known as Diah’s junior and a self-proclaimed Ha-eun mega-fan, didn’t go untouched. While she was streaming, getting ready for the final day of , chat messages suddenly exploded with Honey Ping content.

— BREAKING: Diah becomes a magical girl

— Just watched Honey Ping and that was totally Diah’s voice, right?

— Rumor has it Diah ditched Dream Server to go catch fairies

— Ruby Ping <<< not for the faint of heart, fr

— Nael, did you know Diah-sunbae did the dubbing?

“Honey Ping? Uh... just a second.”

Completely unaware of the whole situation, Nael began typing. Moments later, she was face-to-face with a cute little fairy whose voice was, unmistakably, Diah’s.

「Nemiya! Take my hand~!」

“Oh, oh... Wh-What the—what the heck...!”

And just like that, as if possessed, Nael started digging up every single clip related to Honey Ping. Her heart was already pounding before she realized it.

「No one can defeat the power of love!」

「Take this~! Love Power─!!」

“KYAAAHH! So cute!! Is this it? Is this all there is? Is there more? Was that just episode one!?”

— Yup, only ep 1 out so far

— BREAKING: Nael’s eyes have turned

— Reuniting with Diah was the worst... Reuniting with Diah was the worst... Reuniting with Diah was the worst... Reuniting with Diah was the worst...

— Calm down, Nael, CALM DOWN

— She’s absolutely dying from joy LOL

— A junior who murders her senior with adoration ㄷㄷ

— Supposed to be streaming but ends up having a moment with a magical girl;;

By the time Nael fully converted into a Ruby Ping stan from her obsessive Honey Ping search, a preset alert popped up, notifying her that a long-awaited video was about to go live.

[Uflix Teaser Release in 00:00:01]

[Uflix Teaser Release in 00:00:00]

With a quick remark that she’d watch this and then log into , Nael brought up the teaser for the new historical drama starring Da-yeon and Ha-eun. The release was still months away, but the mere fact that it featured the two of them in a period piece was enough to send expectations skyrocketing.

Above all, she had been counting down to this day ever since she’d seen a photo of Ha-eun and Da-yeon in hanbok, posing sweetly together. Now, with her viewers—many of whom had been influenced by her relentless fangirling over Lee Ha-eun—Nael pressed play on the very first teaser for Dynasty.

“Hello? Nael? What’s—”

[ GIVE ME BACK MY RUBY PING... MY RUBY PING!!! ]