Hobbyist VTuber

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J-Pop Ideal World Cup.

This is a content where songs that match your taste are selected and further refined among countless J-Pops until only one remains.

When a broadcaster runs the Ideal World Cup by themselves, it typically revolves around discussions between the broadcaster and the viewers. However, when two people, like Dia and Cream, conduct the content together, the focus shifts to their discussion.

Is that why?

“J-Pop views number one! What more needs to be said?”

“Views aren’t everything! A good song is the best!”

– Huh

– Are you saying Lemon doesn’t sound good, Dia?

– Well, this could get controversial.

– But honestly, if we’re judging by views, there’s no need for the Ideal World Cup, right?

– But Lemon became popular from the song itself without the anime buff!

– So, what’s the name of the singer for Samurai Heart, huh?

Without yielding an inch, the clash of opinions between Dia and Cream started to sweep through the chat as well. Every time Dia and Cream made a point, viewers either supporting or opposing them gathered around, creating a noisy atmosphere.

At some point, the chats or donations regarding Dia’s true voice completely vanished. As Ha-eun thought, running a polarizing content like the Ideal World Cup would likely cause interest in Dia’s true voice to diminish.

However, regardless of whether Ha-eun’s strategy worked or not, the only thought on her mind was to protect her favorite J-Pop from Cream.

“J-Pop originated from rock! Where do you see Lemon as rock?!”

She tried to use every piece of evidence she could muster to logically defeat Cream. Even so, Cream’s thoughts remained unchanged.

Thus, in the very end, they had to decide which song to keep through a spinning wheel program. After the spinning wheel stopped, the surviving song turned out to be, unfortunately for Dia, Lemon.

“Alright~. Lemon’s out~. Samurai Heart is eliminated!”

“Ah, clueless! Cream unnie’s a J-Pop noob!”

Dia’s voice, filled with despair at the sight of Samurai Heart being eliminated, was captured by the broadcast mic. Following that, as soon as their opinions diverged once again, Dia’s voice began rising in intensity once more.

“I absolutely cannot give up on [Jeon Jeon Jeon Se]!”

“Without a doubt, [What I Thought About Dying]!”

– So Dia’s an otaku, huh?

– You have to acknowledge Jeon Jeon Jeon Se, guys.

– Why is this so desperate, lol.

– You think Jeon Jeon Jeon Se will win against my dying life?

– Is everything a normal war now?

– This match-up is already too fierce, lol.

In the end, not a single unanimous choice was made until the content concluded, resulting in a long and heated debate between Dia and Cream captured on the broadcast. Even after the final surviving song was decided, Dia and Cream’s fervor didn’t lessen.

However, as the broadcast end time approached, Dia said, “After the stream, I’ll continue the serious discussion to enlighten all the J-Pop noobs! Then, bye-bye~!”

With her signature farewell echoed into the mic, Dia maintained her high tension until the very end.

As soon as the broadcast completely ended, Ha-eun sighed.

“Haah…”

As always, once the broadcast ended, she collapsed on the streaming desk, drained.

The problem was that this was the first time Jeong Maria had seen Ha-eun in such a state. Once again startled by Ha-eun’s instant change, Jeong Maria hurriedly asked if she felt unwell and checked Ha-eun’s complexion.

“If you’re not feeling good, you should have said so ahead of time!”

“I’m just a bit tired… I’ll be okay after a short break, so don’t worry too much.”

Afterward, Ha-eun asked Jeong Maria to take out some chocolates from her bag. Immediately after, Jeong Maria brought the chocolates in an instant and gently laid Ha-eun down on the streaming room floor.

She wanted to prevent any strain from being on the desk too long.

However, even after settling Ha-eun in a more comfortable position, Jeong Maria’s worried expression didn’t fade. To be honest, she couldn’t help but feel concerned as she looked down at Ha-eun with sympathy.

Before long, Ha-eun finally spoke up again.

“Don’t just stand there, unnie, come sit next to me.”

Ha-eun asked Jeong Maria to sit beside her, like Ha-eun herself.

Upon hearing Ha-eun’s request, Jeong Maria had no choice but to sit down on the streaming room floor against the wall, just like Ha-eun.

Just as Jeong Maria settled right next to Ha-eun, Ha-eun slowly leaned towards her, finally burying herself completely in Jeong Maria’s embrace.

“Ha-Ha-eun?”

“Just let me lean for a moment. It’ll be quick…”

Thus, Jeong Maria could only embrace Ha-eun. Regardless of the situation, once in Jeong Maria’s arms, Ha-eun’s expression visibly eased, so she decided to let it be.

Then, the sound of chocolate wrappers rustling followed.

A small alphabet chocolate that Jeong Maria picked up was slipped into Ha-eun’s mouth.

“…This feels like I’m feeding a baby bird.”

“If a bird eats chocolate, doesn’t it die?”

“Oh, really?”

Thus, they continued their casual conversation, which wasn’t really about anything, before the topic of Cream’s broadcast came up.

However, for some reason, Ha-eun seemed to know about the general vibe of Cream’s broadcasts, prompting Jeong Maria to ask in surprise.

“How do you know that so well? Do you watch other people’s broadcasts too?”

Jeong Maria, curious about when the busiest member of the Fantasia crew, Ha-eun, had time to watch broadcasts, spoke with a puzzled tone.

After a brief silence, Ha-eun spoke again shortly thereafter.

“A friend enjoys watching unnie’s broadcasts. I subconsciously learned about it through that person.”

She spoke only the truth, but she couldn’t mention that the friend was her past life’s Ha-eun. She thought if she did reveal more detailed truths, she wouldn’t be believed.

‘Well, it would be more unusual to believe it.’

So, while snuggling quietly in Jeong Maria’s arms, munching on sweet chocolates like a baby bird, she thought she felt somewhat better before rising.

What followed was a brief farewell.

And then.

“Don’t stress too much about the past.”

Ha-eun’s version of support for the person she still loved dearly from her past life, much like in her previous life.

Considering that she sensed Jeong Maria subtly watching her during the joint broadcast, she thought it was something she had to say.

“…Did it show?”

“A bit.”

“But Ha-eun, it’s true that you’ve gotten in trouble because of me…”

“Well, it seems people’s interest has calmed down to some extent. Maybe nothing will happen.”

Thus, after confidently assuring Jeong Maria everything would be fine, the very next day.

“Lee Ha-eun.”

“?”

“Only play for one day.”

She was approached by Dayeon, who had just dismissed her class, asking for one day of her time.

Because the filming for [Infinite Challenge Song Festival] and [The Sunshine] would make her even busier starting from now.

As there was no particular reason to refuse, Ha-eun pondered over her schedule for the day for a moment before nodding.

Eventually, Ha-eun and Dayeon headed to a nearby movie theater.

Both Ha-eun and Dayeon wore hats and masks, which looked a bit strange.

Due to the risk of exposing the identities of the two famed celebrities, it couldn’t be helped.

Anyway, standing suspiciously like that would only draw more attention, especially since the lobby seemed to be unusually crowded today.

Therefore.

“I’ll get the tickets, you buy the popcorn and cola. Make it caramel flavor.”

“Okay.”

To get into the screening room as quickly as possible, Ha-eun and Dayeon decided to split the tasks.

Even until they briefly separated, Ha-eun hadn’t revealed what movie they were watching today, but it didn’t matter much to her, so she didn’t think too hard about it.

Eventually, they arrived at the cinema’s concession stand.

As Dayeon previously requested, Ha-eun ordered caramel popcorn and two glasses of cola.

However.

“Ma’am, if you order the couple combo, you can upgrade to a larger size for the same price. What would you like to do?”

“A couple combo?”

“I noticed you seem to be here with your boyfriend. It’d be better for you both to order the couple combo.”

With an unexpected offer from the concession counter’s staff, Ha-eun paused to think for a moment.

Turning her gaze for a brief moment toward Dayeon, who was getting the tickets, was the next immediate thing.

‘Hmmm… From afar, I might get confused.’

Unlike Ha-eun, who had long hair down to her shoulder blades, Dayeon had slightly shorter hair in a bob.

Wearing her hat deeply, from a distance, it was hard to tell if she was a woman or a man just by her back.

So eventually.

“Well, then, I’ll take the couple combo.”

“Got it~.”

Instead of correcting the misunderstanding, she opted for reasonable practicality.

She thought it might be fun to tease Dayeon by saying she became Ha-eun’s boyfriend by coincidence.

Soon the staff brought over a large size caramel popcorn and cola, saying “Enjoy your meal.”

And then.

“Have a beautiful love~.”

A little whisper in support of Ha-eun and Dayeon’s future together.

Finally unable to hold in her laughter at the staff’s warm expression, Ha-eun gathered the popcorn and cola and headed straight back to Dayeon.

“What’s up, why are you suddenly so excited?”

“I’ll tell you after the movie. What about the tickets?”

“I got them. Row G, center of theater 5.”

It was immediately after that Ha-eun heard the name of the movie she and Dayeon were going to see.

Yet, the film Dayeon had booked was bewilderingly in a genre that Dayeon typically didn’t enjoy watching.

‘…No way.’

Ha-eun thought she understood why Dayeon had asked her to spend time with her.

That made sense since both the film Dayeon booked and [The Sea Butterfly] were known to evoke tears from the audience at a striking level.

Regardless, Ha-eun had known Dayeon for over ten years.

She could easily tell that Dayeon’s choice of film hid some intention.

“Lee Ha-eun, have you seen [Like a God]?”

“Ah, I haven’t seen it yet…”

“Well, that’s good. Let’s go, movie time is starting.”

Still, she could only take a step forward eventually.

Afterward, it was hard for Ha-eun to not feel scared as Dayeon walked in step beside her.