Hobbyist VTuber

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This children’s nutrition supplement commercial was not something I had to do but rather something I wanted to try.

It was a proposal I accepted of my own will, not forced upon me by anyone else.

Honestly, I was a bit swayed by the sizeable advertising budget and felt a tingle of excitement watching my parents, more bewildered than I was, reflecting my own emotions.

But that wasn’t everything.

This was the first time I experienced something where the outcome could change significantly based on my own will and effort.

It was a moment that could either be marked by regret or framed as an experience, depending on how I approached it.

I wanted to make it a time so significant that I would have no regrets.

“Um, director. I have a question.”

“Ask me anything you’re curious about. Well, except for my bank account password.”

His voice conveyed that he’d answer everything he could, and so I asked what his intention was in the commercial.

I specifically wanted to know what kind of expression he was aiming to portray.

He had already mentioned that I didn’t need to act out any specific emotions; I just needed to run naturally on the track. However, I couldn’t shake the feeling that he might have wanted something more.

“I’d like to know your thoughts a bit more in detail.”

I hesitated, aware that it might be an impertinent question, but I cautiously voiced it.

Fortunately, the director didn’t brush it off or act annoyed, allowing me to gain a clearer idea of the blueprints in his mind.

The issue was that I couldn’t easily meet Kim Min-jun, who I needed to sync with on camera.

Still, I hoped we could at least meet for a day.

“Hey, Ha-eun. Why do you want to meet with Uncle Kim Min-jun so badly?”

“I have something I want to ask him directly.”

I didn’t tell my mother exactly what I hoped to gain from meeting Kim Min-jun.

When I tried to explain it, it came out sounding vague and unclear.

Anyway, all I could do right now was wait for a way to reach Kim Min-jun.

After the ad meeting, I spent my time going over the CF storyboard.

Ultimately, this was all preparation for my future VTuber broadcast.

Experiencing a commercial shoot with a national representative wasn’t exactly an everyday occurrence.

If I could smoothly integrate these unique experiences into my broadcasts, I felt like I could create some distinctive content.

Of course, if I simply recounted the true story as is, it could lead to unwanted trouble, so I would need to add some embellishments.

As time went on.

About four days remained until the shooting day of the ad.

“This Saturday? Oh, yes. That works.”

Finally, the opportunity to meet Kim Min-jun in person had arrived.

*

“Oh, so you’re Ha-eun! A hundred times better than the starting pitcher, the genius girl!”

“………………”

A mix of curiosity and warmth in his gaze, a firm handshake.

The morning meeting between Ha-eun and Kim Min-jun was slightly more chaotic than Ha-eun had anticipated.

Still, well, the purpose of meeting Kim Min-jun had been accomplished.

Now the only thing left was to observe Kim Min-jun throughout the day, finding ways to ensure Ha-eun’s image didn’t fade in the CF.

“Hmm, if I just watch you exercise the whole time, won’t it get boring? Are you really okay with that?”

“Yes. You can just show me exercising.”

Like Ha-eun, Kim Min-jun had never acted much before.

Thus, the CF scene assigned to him required no elaborate acting; it was simply a ‘just run’ scene.

He would run along a long track and pass the baton to Ha-eun, who would be waiting in the center—it was that simple.

Although Kim Min-jun had a few lines to record for the CF, they wouldn’t be captured on camera.

Because Kim Min-jun was a national athlete.

Just by running, his presence would inevitably shine through.

If the viewers of the CF remembered only Kim Min-jun instead of Ha-eun, the essence of the children’s nutrition supplement commercial would be diluted.

So, to ensure Ha-eun’s presence stood out.

Starting with the basics: simple stretches, warming up, mealtime.

I observed Kim Min-jun’s day without showing an ounce of boredom until the red sunset faded completely, leaving only the night sky.

“Thank you. I finally got it.”

‘…Got what?’

Then, I saw Ha-eun bowing politely with her hands together towards Kim Min-jun.

I was a bit taken aback by the weightiness from her choice of words and demeanor, which felt far from childlike.

“Uh, I’m glad it helped. It was a pleasure meeting you, Ha-eun.”

“Me too.”

For now, I sent Ha-eun and her mother off with a smile.

These days, it seems some kids mature a little faster.

Though she was still only six… there are always exceptions.

In any case, it was merely a showing of her training routine, so I didn’t think it would be a problem.

I believed I had answered all her childlike curious questions sincerely during our breaks.

A few days later, when I ran into Ha-eun again at the CF shoot, she kindly greeted me, suggesting that I hadn’t made any mistakes after all.

Still, one thing weighed on my mind.

“Wait, Ha-eun, you want to run too?”

“Yes. Is that okay…?”

“Well, it’s not that it’s not okay….”

Approaching Kim Min-jun, who was trying to warm up in advance to prevent getting out of breath during the CF shoot, I asked him to run just one lap to match my pace.

Was he perhaps trying to loosen up his tense body?

“Alright then, let’s start with some stretching.”

“Okay.”

So, I gradually helped Ha-eun loosen her stiff body, and then as requested, we began to run very slowly on the track together.

I heard the voice of a staff member announcing that we were getting ready to shoot after that.

After patting Ha-eun’s shoulder encouragingly, I smiled at her with a cheery “let’s do our best!”

In return, I received a couple of nods and a ‘let’s do our best too, Kim Min-jun,’ the kind of encouragement that was hardly childish.

‘…So this is what it takes to film a CF, huh?’

Caught off guard by Ha-eun’s remarkable demeanor, I couldn’t help but break into a smile.

She was an intriguing child, in multiple ways.

Soon after, the shoot finally began.

Following the moderately fast but stable posture I had practiced over the past few days, I ran towards Ha-eun, handing her the baton.

At the same time, cameras began to focus on Ha-eun, who was no longer following Kim Min-jun.

However, when Ha-eun reached about the halfway point on the track—

– Trip.

In an instant, Ha-eun’s feet got tangled, resulting in a fall.

Her stumble was caught clearly on camera, appearing like nothing short of a mistake.

Naturally, as soon as Ha-eun fell, the director, Kang Eun-tae, signaled for an NG.

But instead of calling for a cut, he stopped those rushing towards Ha-eun.

“Get a whole shot of Ha-eun’s face right now.”

He urged the cameras to focus on Ha-eun, who was just getting back on her feet.

Fortunately, there were no tears welling in her eyes, but continuing the shoot after this was going to be difficult for anyone other than Kang Eun-tae to understand.

However, following Kang Eun-tae’s instruction, the cameras moved.

We managed to capture Ha-eun jogging toward the end of the track.

Only when her feet reached the end of the track did Kang Eun-tae call for a cut.

He approached Ha-eun, who was slowly walking towards us from a distance, checking on her condition.

For the staff on set, who knew he could be dictatorial during CF shoots, it was quite unexpected to see this side of him.

“First, bring the first-aid kit to clean the wound, and Yang-tae, you explain to Ha-eun’s mother.”

“Yes? Oh, yes….”

With that, Kang Eun-tae left caring for Ha-eun, whose knee was slightly scraped, and returned to his director’s position.

As he began examining the results of what had purposely been allowed to happen, my thoughts drifted.

‘…Huh.’

A sense of déjà vu.

In the footage, Ha-eun resembled nothing less than a younger Kim Min-jun running.

Her stride, the angle of her head—all of it mirrored Kim Min-jun’s.

But as Ha-eun’s gaze fell downward, she stumbled and fell.

In that moment, silence enveloped the shooting site.

– Zing.

Ha-eun’s two eyes, completely oblivious to anything other than the finish line, focused intensely for the camera.

The déjà vu that I felt before had now become a remarkable contrast enhancing Ha-eun’s entire vibe.

Just a second ago, she had been running with stable posture, just like Kim Min-jun, but now she was gazing intently at something beyond through her fall.

The effect was amplified.

After a moment, as Ha-eun slowly got back up, her height began to rise again, and she regained her original posture.

Maintaining a poker face as if nothing happened, Ha-eun continued to run to the finish line.

Coincidentally, it echoed perfectly the phrase:

I will express Ha-eun’s calmness as confidence drawn from the nutrition supplement. With the supplement, she will face any adversity confidently.

Just days before, it was precisely this concept that Kang Eun-tae had laid out while persuading Ha-eun and her parents.

‘So that’s why he had such a good instinct for this.’

Perhaps it was because the likeness of the image in his head had manifested so closely from the very first shoot.

Kang Eun-tae’s mouth had been subtly upturned for some time now.