Hobbyist VTuber

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“Zero, one, two, three, four, five, six… um…”

As Ha-eun counted the numbers that couldn’t even be described as small, her expression grew a bit complicated while glancing at the view count of her music video on the living room computer.

Considering the status of Dubbly, the view count wasn’t particularly strange, but somehow…

‘It’s only been less than a month.’

The thought that more than a million people had seen her in just two weeks made something tingle deep within her chest.

Perhaps it was because this time she could see exact numbers like view counts, unlike during the CF shoot.

It felt a bit more real than when Hando Pharmaceuticals’ children’s nutritional supplement sales shot up a few months ago.

That moment when she received a few boxes of children’s vitamins from Hando Pharmaceuticals felt more distant.

The slightly different looks from the kindergarten teachers made Ha-eun feel that she had gained some fame.

Of course, the kids in the same class weren’t overly interested in hip-hop artists like Dubbly, so the changes weren’t that noticeable to them.

‘Hey, Ha-eun, didn’t I see you on TV yesterday?’

Every now and then, some kids who recognized Ha-eun from the matches in the TV music video would ask her curious questions.

These were innocent questions stemming from the fact that a classmate appeared on television.

Anyhow, in the end, Lee Jun and Lee Gun-yeol had exceeded their casting goals with overflowing success.

They also arranged for Ha-eun to be part of Luna Entertainment, the agency they were affiliated with.

This was to initially shield Ha-eun from all the attention she might receive.

Moreover, the previously promised singing lessons were adjusted from once a month to twice a week.

In fact, this change was significantly influenced by Lee Gun-yeol’s resolute voice, stating that meaningful skill improvement couldn’t be gained from having lessons only once a month.

Regardless of the lesson cycles, receiving singing lessons from top figures in the music industry was invaluable.

If she learned from those who knew better than anyone about what kind of voice could mesmerize people, Ha-eun’s singing skill would indeed grow by leaps and bounds.

In the future, when she became a VTuber, she would have gained a powerful weapon.

Not every VTuber Ha-eun remembered was great at singing, but most of the so-called “big companies” had outstanding singing skills.

‘It feels a bit odd to ask now, but is becoming a singer your dream? Not an actor?’

On the first day of singing class, Lee Jun asked about Ha-eun’s future aspirations, which made her stammer through her answer, hinting at various paths.

At this age, the dreams of children tend to change continuously, so Lee Jun didn’t pry further.

In fact, Ha-eun had thought about changing her dream at least once.

She had never failed to make the expressions, gestures, and voices she intentionally crafted perform their roles until now.

‘It seems quite likely that it’s a possibility… so please prepare yourself mentally—’

However, since she also vividly remembered the moment when things she believed were hers suddenly vanished, she had already experienced that what seemed like a natural life to someone else could transform into an uncertain concept for herself.

She didn’t become complacent or arrogant about the various interests or compliments given to her.

After all, it was merely a year’s worth of events.

And no one could predict what would happen in the future.

Hence, Ha-eun’s thought of walking the safest path with relatively low failure chances remained unchanged.

Truth be told, her stubbornness about being a VTuber wasn’t entirely because of that, but anyway.

At the moment, it didn’t matter whether she acted or filmed a CF.

For someone like Ha-eun, who hadn’t yet experienced a real “world,” everything was a fresh experience.

Her parents were also hoping their daughter would have more experiences, so in a way, it could be counted as filial piety.

The sight of Seong-yun’s eyes widening while watching the match music video was also a pleasant one.

To clarify, the concept of VTubers wouldn’t appear in the world for another decade.

Therefore, until the day of her debut as a VTuber, she would steadily prepare.

She would also experience common school days and moments she had yet to encounter.

Ultimately, she aimed to fill her unexpectedly regained “life” with ordinary moments just like everyone else… but.

“Hey, Ha-eun, can we talk for a second before class starts?”

“Huh?”

It seemed she had already said goodbye to the word “ordinary.”

Particularly when she saw the enormous film title, “The Neighbor Uncle,” boldly printed on the front page of the script handed to her by Lee Jun.

“Isn’t the movie name strange, Ha-eun? But it’s not actually a weird movie. It’s about a really strong uncle trying to protect a girl your age—”

Lee Jun hurriedly provided a brief explanation about the movie, worried that Ha-eun might misunderstand.

However, none of Lee Jun’s efforts resonated with Ha-eun.

The reason being, she already knew the movie’s content, as well as its expected performance.

The Neighbor Uncle.

To be clear, it wasn’t a ten-million viewer movie, but it had reached the same notoriety as countless ten-million viewers movies.

In fact, it might have even been more famed than some of those blockbuster ten-million movies.

Even though the lead actor’s outstanding performance made headlines, the child actors’ performances were also remarkable.

Thus, it was even less appropriate for Ha-eun, who hadn’t yet taken a proper acting class, to take part in such a film.

While “Match” music video was indeed praised for Ha-eun’s excellent immersion, the film’s running time compared to the music video was unmatchable.

It was a cold self-assessment that Ha-eun made for herself, realizing it just wasn’t on that level.

“Um, Ha-eun, try not to feel too much pressure. Just think of it as getting an experience for a movie audition. All the other kids have already failed the audition…”

“…Okay.”

Nonetheless, the reason she ultimately accepted the audition proposal was simply because Lee Jun had earnestly asked her.

Seeing Lee Jun, who seemed to presume that she would fail the audition just like the other child actors at Luna Entertainment, a sense of stubbornness inside Ha-eun surged up from the depths of her heart.

Thus, confirming her participation in the Neighbor Uncle’s audition.

As she read and reread the thick script—thicker than the storyboard for the music video—the audition day finally arrived.

“Oh, our actress is here.”

‘…Why is the CEO here?’

But naturally, the president of Luna Entertainment appeared before Ha-eun and took her directly to the audition.

This time, she was determined to squash that stubborn director’s arrogance or so it seemed.

For Ha-eun, who wasn’t that desperate in this audition, it was quite a dilemma.

*

“Hah…”

As Kwon Jong-hyuk, the director of Neighbor Uncle, sighed heavily while watching the audition footage from a few days ago, he felt it was likely a flop.

His keen intuition told him that it would be a waste of time.

When he suddenly received a call and took a taxi to meet the rapidly rising actor, Kang Sun-woo, it had seemed promising.

It was like a miracle for his film, which still hadn’t found any investors, that a top actor like Kang Sun-woo extended a hand first.

However, the child actor playing the role of ‘Kim Ji-ah,’ which needed to balance with that superstar, hadn’t been found yet.

Maybe it was because the rumor that Kang Sun-woo would star spread through the industry, leading to a flood of applicants for the role of Kim Ji-ah.

‘…I wish they would focus on improving their skills before trying to make a name for themselves.’

Ironically, most of them were just average child actors.

Sure, some stood out, but he had yet to meet someone worthy of being cast as Kim Ji-ah.

A child actor from Luna Entertainment had an audition scheduled in a few minutes, but the only notable trait was a fairly decent appearance. He felt nothing remarkable about it.

The children’s nutritional supplement CF and the match music video listed in the resume were also not the kinds of roles Kwon Jong-hyuk desired.

In other words, this was bound to be yet another waste of time.

He was hoping to confirm his personal curiosity regarding whether the crying scene from the match video was CGI or performed truthfully by a child actor—which was nothing more than a quick smoke break.

However…

– Squeak.

“I’m here, Director Kwon.”

He had to hastily tuck his lighter inside his coat upon facing the president of Luna Entertainment appearing abruptly before him.

“Oh, no… What’s the CEO doing here?”

“I came to check on the guy who thought there were no talents in Luna.”

The bigger problem was that the talented president apparently knew about Kwon Jong-hyuk’s off-the-record complaints via some means.

Still, that had only been his grumbling during a casual drinking session with acquaintances.

And since he had criticized other famous agencies the same way, Kwon Jong-hyuk also felt there was unfairness in it.

“Of course, let’s hold auditions for our actress first. We can share our grievances later.”

‘…Is this pressure or what.’

Either way, the one with a prior agreement with Kwon Jong-hyuk wasn’t company CEO Jeong Do-cheol but the child actor Lee Ha-eun.

Kwon Jong-hyuk had finally met Ha-eun, who had been hidden behind Jeong Do-cheol’s large figure all this time.

“Oh… hello. I’m Lee Ha-eun.”

An awkward voice dripped with nerves.

Kwon Jong-hyuk’s interest instantly faded as she appeared no different from the other child actors he’d seen.

Anyway, he surely couldn’t let her audition casually in front of Jeong Do-cheol.

After the setup for the audition recording camera was completed, he spoke to Ha-eun again.

“You can start whenever you’re ready.”

“Ah, yes…”

Taking a brief, shallow breath, she stared ahead with somewhat anxious eyes.

Thus, the soft voice emanating from her slowly parted lips was.

“…Phew.”

To Kwon Jong-hyuk, it felt like a sardonic and unexpected laugh.

As he shifted his now stiffened gaze towards Ha-eun.

“I knew you wouldn’t acknowledge someone like me… and yet I foolishly held onto hope.”

The previous nervousness was nowhere to be found as a bittersweet smile adorned her face, her eyes growing moist.

At the same time, he glimpsed Jeong Do-cheol in the distance, grinning while watching her.

‘…This slippery old man.’

Even if he didn’t want to admit it, he had to confront the fact that he’d been thoroughly outplayed.