Hobbyist VTuber

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First off, all the tickets for Ha-eun’s fan meeting were completely sold out.

From what I heard from Luna Entertainment, the competition was pretty fierce.

There were even rumors of scalpers trading tickets under the table, so it seemed like more people were interested in the fan meeting than Ha-eun had anticipated.

“I thought 500 seats would be enough, but…”

Maybe it’s because this is her first time holding a fan meeting.

It still didn’t fully sink in that the vast live hall in front of her would soon be filled only with Ha-eun’s fans.

A different kind of tension compared to when she rehearsed at Gocheok Sky Dome.

Thoughts about what kind of experience she should give to the people who came just to see her kept piling up.

Lost in thought, she wandered around the live hall and stopped in front of the entrance where her photo books and photo booths were displayed.

Looking at the photos of herself on display, she felt a slight sense of nostalgia, but the most decisive reason was…

“Are these still cuts not sold separately? They’d be really popular as photocards.”

“Ah, we’re not selling them separately. We plan to give them out as gifts on the day of the fan meeting.”

“I see.”

It was because Yoo Seong-jae was talking to a fan meeting staff member in front of Ha-eun’s life-size cutout.

When she approached Yoo Seong-jae and asked if he was interested in Ha-eun’s merchandise, his answer was positive.

“They look really well-made. I feel a slight urge to collect them.”

“Hmm, I think there are a few extra in stock… Should I give you some later?”

“I’d love that. By the way, it’s scary to think that this girl might stab me with a knife later.”

“…Lee Ye-seo and Kim Jung-hyun are different people.”

After the conversation about Lee Ye-seo and Kang Chan-sung from <Veterans> passed between Ha-eun and Yoo Seong-jae, he spoke to her again as she silently looked at her life-size cutout.

“Ah, right. Can I ask you something?”

“?”

“I saw earlier that you were really good at hosting. Do you have a new program coming up?”

This was followed by a comment that Ha-eun seemed like a veteran MC during the rehearsal.

He asked if she had been practicing hosting for a new variety show she was going to appear on.

“Usually, we hire separate MCs for fan meetings. But you seem skilled enough to handle it all by yourself.”

“Ah…”

Honestly, it was quite awkward.

After all, she couldn’t just say it was because she had been on air for over a year as Dia.

But she also couldn’t make up a program that didn’t exist.

So Ha-eun just brushed it off, saying she had followed the fan meeting script she had prepared in advance.

Shortly after, Da-yeon joined, having just returned from the bathroom.

However, she seemed a bit displeased, narrowing her eyes slightly as she asked what they had been doing alone with Yoo Seong-jae.

“…Talking about appearance fees?”

She steered the conversation back to the merchandise she was going to give Yoo Seong-jae.

After all, the secret of Ha-eun’s hosting skills had to be kept from Da-yeon as well.

There was nothing more nerve-wracking than Da-yeon starting to dig into why Ha-eun was so good at hosting.

So she quickly picked up one of Ha-eun’s photocards and asked Da-yeon what she thought.

“Huh? Photocards are the appearance fee? Then you should give me more.”

“What about me? Why don’t I get any?”

“………….”

For some reason, the situation got even more tangled.

Why did they have to compete over something like this?

‘We can’t have this during the fan meeting…’

In a way, it was like a rivalry.

Though it was more like Da-yeon was unilaterally keeping Yoo Seong-jae in check.

‘But why?’

From Ha-eun’s perspective, there was no real reason for them to be at each other’s throats.

They had gotten along fine during the filming of <Moonlight Drawn by Clouds>, so why did they keep bickering in front of Ha-eun?

“Hey, Lee Ha-eun. Give me a photocard too.”

“Well, I can’t say no… But can I give it to you after the fan meeting?”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t know how much stock will be left.”

“…Fine.”

After finally calming Da-yeon down, they returned to the live hall.

After checking the lighting and microphone settings, they finished all the rehearsals with Ha-eun’s fan meeting entrance performance practice.

And then, the very next day, on the day of the fan meeting.

Even though there was still plenty of time before the entrance, Ha-eun was surprised to see people already lining up and asked Ju Jeong-yoon next to her if this was normal.

“There aren’t any first-come-first-serve events or anything…”

“That’s just how fan love is.”

It was also mentioned that Heo Ju-eun, an old acquaintance of Ha-eun and an entertainment reporter, had already arrived.

She was reportedly interviewing one of Ha-eun’s fans about their thoughts on attending the fan meeting.

As the reality of the fan meeting slowly sank in, Ha-eun’s heart began to race.

Was meeting her fans always this nerve-wracking?

‘…Let’s do well. Let’s really do well…’

Not long after, makeup and outfit changes began.

Since the first part of the fan meeting was Ha-eun’s entrance performance, she prepared an outfit that matched the song she would be singing.

After several rounds of brushing, she finally arrived backstage.

The audio of the fan meeting trailer playing inside the live hall reached Ha-eun’s ears.

｢Lee Ha-eun’s 1st FANMEETING. How does it feel for Ha-eun?｣

｢Honestly, I’m nervous. More nervous than when I did the Infinite Challenge Music Festival.｣

‘Hmm… So that was the trailer filming.’

The trailer, which was in the style of a vlog, briefly showed the preparation process for Ha-eun’s fan meeting.

The voices of the two guests, Da-yeon and Yoo Seong-jae, were voice-modulated to hide their identities.

However, the content of their conversation was something only Da-yeon and Yoo Seong-jae could have said.

Especially the mentions related to <Moonlight Drawn by Clouds>.

｢You don’t know how scary Ha-eun was during the filming of Gu Ga-dal…｣

｢Don’t say things you don’t know. Lee Ha-eun is even scarier at other times.｣

‘…Everyone probably knows who it is.’

In the end, the voice modulation was pointless.

It seemed like everyone knew who was saying what.

After hearing more familiar voices, the fan meeting start time arrived.

The trailer ended just a few seconds later, and the live hall quickly fell silent.

And then, what felt like an hour passed in a minute.

｢…♪───♬｣

Instead of the fan meeting trailer, the intro to 『On a Spring Day』 began playing inside the live hall.

Almost simultaneously, countless cheers erupted.

-Tap tap.

-Swish swish.

“Don’t be nervous. Just think of it as having fun with the fans~.”

As always, Ju Jeong-yoon, who was by Ha-eun’s side, said this while lightly patting her shoulder.

When it was finally Ha-eun’s turn to go on stage, she gave a short cheer of “Fighting!” and gave Ha-eun a light push on the back.

And then, step.

Followed by another step.

｢On a spring day that came by♪ It circles around you and me─♬｣

Ha-eun, who had been singing 『On a Spring Day』 from backstage, finally stepped onto the stage.

At the same time, she was met with the gazes of countless people.

‘……This feeling is new…’

Joy.

Or perhaps, excitement and thrill.

Various emotions poured down onto Ha-eun, who was holding a hand mic in one hand and greeting the fans with the other.

From start to finish, these were unfamiliar emotions, not her own.

But still, she was quite pleased.

She realized that this fluttering feeling was why she was holding a fan meeting.

“…Hello. I’m Lee Ha-eun.”

Even as she gave the ordinary greeting she had done hundreds, if not thousands, of times, she couldn’t calm down.

She tried her best to keep her expression composed, but her heart was still racing.

“More people came than I expected… If I had known, I would have rented a bigger place…”

After a long greeting between Ha-eun and her fans, the first part of the fan meeting began with a quiz.

It was a segment where Ha-eun would ask questions, and the fans in the audience would answer for small prizes.

Questions about Ha-eun’s birthday, debut work, or the first photo she posted on Instagram followed, and everything went smoothly without any issues.

“Next question. What is my favorite food─”

“…Velvet Cake!!!!”

The moment the quiz about Ha-eun’s favorite food started.

A voice louder than any she had heard so far came from somewhere in the audience and pierced Ha-eun’s ears.

“…? Who was that just now?”

As she turned her gaze toward where the loud voice had come from.

‘Huh…?’

A petite, cute face.

At the same time, a very familiar face was shouting with both hands cupped like a megaphone.

“Red Velvet─! Cakeee─!!”

‘Na-el?’

 

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