Hobbyist VTuber

---

Ha-eun’s goal for this trip to Japan was simple: ‘rest.’

She wanted to travel without worries, relieve the fatigue that had been piling up unknowingly, and clarify her thoughts about her future.

This trip was particularly significant as it marked Ha-eun’s first trip abroad.

Just the very idea of facing landscapes that were starkly different from anything she had seen so far filled her with excitement.

However, a mishap, triggered by her friends’ mischievous antics, threw her ambitious travel plans off track.

For better or worse, the lewd cover of an adult magazine that Ha-eun, a minor, shouldn’t have seen kept haunting her eyes…

“Well, one must do what one must.”

As her friends watched the unique products at the Japanese convenience store, Ha-eun started to take in various new items herself.

Either way, ‘exploring Japanese convenience stores’ was indeed one of the things Ha-eun was looking forward to.

Most importantly, the fact that she could actually purchase things she had only seen in anime had momentarily shattered Ha-eun’s self-control.

“Uh, Ha-eun, are you really going to buy every type of pudding?”

“Yep.”

As a result, Ha-eun’s convenience store basket became significantly heavier than her friends’, while she literally swept up specific collaboration products only available in Japan.

Among those, the items that had collaborated with the famous Japanese VTuber group, “Prism Live,” stood out as the most numerous.

Perhaps due to that, Ha-eun subconsciously wished that one day, “Dia” could also release collaborative products like “Prism Live.”

“Well, that’s still a long way off.”

Right now, Ha-eun’s basket was filled with things belonging to those who had realized her dreams.

Honestly, it still felt vague, but for now, she decided to be content just knowing that her dreams were achievable.

Except…

“Um, are you perhaps a celebrity?”

“…?”

While scanning the items at the checkout, the clerk began to speak to Ha-eun.

“E-excuse me…!”

Ha-eun hurriedly whipped out her phone from her pocket and activated the voice recognition translator while stuttering a bit in the few Japanese phrases she could manage.

What came through the translator’s voice was something oddly familiar.

“Are you a celebrity? I feel like I’ve seen you on TV.”

For some reason, the familiarity of the situation triggered memories of the novels she had read in her past life.

Especially the scenes involving female characters living like Ha-eun who worked in convenience stores stood out clearly.

“Hmm, I think I’ve experienced something like this before.”

Her stunning looks, a benefit of reincarnation.

And then there were the reactions of clerks and PC room staff upon facing such beauty.

The scenes that provided a hint of the characters’ appearances in the novels were unfolding right before Ha-eun’s eyes.

The only difference was that the setting had shifted from Korea to Japan.

It felt quite surreal.

What amazed her even more was that this event was happening in Japan, not in Korea, where her name and face were somewhat known.

However, she still didn’t know how to respond to the clerk, whose curiosity seemed boundless.

“Why? Is there a problem?”

“No, it’s just… they asked me if I’m a celebrity.”

“Seriously?”

She initially consulted with her friend, Gong Hye-yeon, who was standing behind her.

What followed was a fluent exchange of Japanese that Ha-eun heard right away.

“A really famous Korean actress. She’s truly incredible.”

“A Korean actress? Really?”

From that moment on, the conversation filled with excitement flowed only between Gong Hye-yeon and the convenience store clerk.

Of course, she still couldn’t understand much of what was being said.

But as the conversation progressed, the clerk’s eyes widened in astonishment, and at some point, Hye-yeon, who was been grinning nonstop, showed something on her phone to the clerk.

“Are you really Neungyeo? I’m a huge fan of ‘Moonlight Splitting Clouds!’”

“Uh? Ha-eun, this person is a big fan of ‘Moonlight Splitting Clouds.’”

Surprised by the unexpected revelation.

She snapped out of it to find herself posing for a photo with the clerk.

“Was ‘Moonlight Splitting Clouds’ popular in Japan too? I wonder…”

After a brief photo session, what followed was an outpouring of compliments about how much the clerk enjoyed Ha-eun’s performance in “Yeongwol.”

The awkward smile on Ha-eun’s face translated to a soft “Arigato,” as those words were relayed through Hye-yeon, who had become her translator for the day.

Not long after, the clerk asked about Ha-eun’s next project.

“What’s your next project, Ha-eun? Can you tell me?”

I suppose it makes sense for a clerk who appreciated Ha-eun’s acting to inquire about her upcoming work.

The problem was that Ha-eun’s next project, [The Sunshine], could be quite sensitive for Japanese viewers.

‘…Should I say this or not?’

On top of that, her character, Kim Jeong-hyeon, was known for being hostile towards Japanese people throughout the movie.

She remembered that there were even scenes where Kim Jeong-hyeon fought against Japanese characters.

Thus, she ended up not sharing anything about [The Sunshine].

Instead, she gave the clerk her Instagram account, asking them to check in on her updates from time to time.

Only after shaking hands with the clerk could she finally leave the convenience store.

Not long after, she was joined by Hye-yeon and the other friends who all called Ha-eun a global star.

“Our Ha-eun is now a global star.”

“She’s pretty clueless for an 18-year-old. Or maybe her cluelessness makes her even more popular?”

“We’re on a completely different level now~.”

‘…They’re all so hyped.’

Their chatter continued until they returned to the hotel.

Half of the remarks directed at Ha-eun were filled with envy mixed with playful teasing, lingering around her for quite a while.

Anyway, as the time for her meeting with the homeroom teacher drew near,

Once everyone had placed their purchases in the hotel fridge, they headed back to the lobby.

About ten minutes later, they boarded a shuttle bus to the first stop of their trip: the Skytree Observatory.

Once they arrived at the top floor after riding the enormous elevator, Ha-eun’s usual calm demeanor faded into an excitedly chaotic one.

‘Is that Shibuya Station? It looks right according to the map.’

As her eyes surveyed the vast panorama in front of her, she became busy looking for the famous spots she had only seen in photographs.

Among them, she particularly sought places that had been settings for various well-known animations.

As she discovered each location from her memories, she snapped photos and categorized them for a special video she planned to feature later.

She wanted to share the new and exciting feelings she was experiencing with her viewers, so her camera was constantly snapping away.

*

It was around the time when everyone in class 2 had finished dinner completely.

“Listen up, me and Teacher Jung will be alternating to come and check on you all, so don’t do anything weird and hit the hay by 10 PM~.”

The warning from the homeroom teacher, anticipating the chatter of class 2 students spending the night together, echoed throughout the group.

The students in class 2 responded verbally, acknowledging the homeroom teacher’s caution.

Of course, most of class 2 had no intention of giving up the biggest highlight of the school trip.

Not even considering that they needed to conserve energy for the next day’s plan at Disneyland.

What mattered was having fun right now.

Ha-eun was no exception to this secretive mindset.

The only difference was that Ha-eun was interested in some of the hotel facilities rather than engaging in childish antics like truth or dare with her friends.

‘If it’s supposed to come out at 9:50… then I should just make it in time.’

The free time given to Ha-eun and her classmates lasted until 10 PM.

Going outside the hotel was strictly off-limits before that time.

This meant that as long as they were inside the hotel, they could go wherever without a worry.

Remembering that various facilities were located on the hotel’s top floor, Ha-eun made her way to the elevator alone.

“Whoa.”

“Hey!”

She ran into Gong Hye-yeon, who was already inside the elevator.

Feeling adventurous, she asked where she was going, and to her surprise, the destination was the same as Ha-eun’s.

“Apparently the open-air bath is really good for the skin. How about you, Ha-eun?”

“I-I am too….”

To be honest, Ha-eun wasn’t particularly interested in the effects of the open-air bath.

She was merely curious about the place that’s frequently associated with Japan, which often appears in various subcultures.

Of course, she couldn’t say that openly to Hye-yeon.

For some reason, she half-expected that the response could turn into something awkward, hinting at words that began with “O” and ended with “Kuro.”

Anyway, the elevator had already reached the top floor.

Given the circumstances, it was imperative to act swiftly if they wanted to return to their rooms without exceeding the free time the teacher had mentioned.

“Oh, there’s no one here!”

“Really…”

They finally arrived together at the spacious open-air bath.

After that, Hye-yeon began working her magic, alternating between handling Ha-eun’s towel and her hair.

“Ta-da! Sheep hairstyle complete!”

Soon, Hye-yeon styled her towel into the shape of a sheep and headed right into the bath.

Not long after, Ha-eun settled herself in the seat next to Hye-yeon.

‘…It’s not hot at all…’

The lukewarm temperature of the open-air bath was a far cry from the scorching heat she had envisioned.

The distance between what she had imagined while perusing manga at the cartoon cafe and what she was experiencing turned out to be quite pronounced.

However, for some reason, Hye-yeon sitting right next to her kept glancing in Ha-eun’s direction.

Feeling a bit confused, Ha-eun turned to Hye-yeon and their eyes met.

“Um, Ha-eun. Can I… touch your abs?”

The sight of Hye-yeon’s curious yet fascinated expressions alternating between Ha-eun’s eyes and abs was somewhat amusing.

After a brief hesitation, Ha-eun nodded her head, and Hye-yeon’s fingers began to poke at her defined 11-pack abs.

“Wow, incredible! Such a springy touch.”

‘Ticklish….’

Hye-yeon’s approach, treating Ha-eun’s abs like the springs of a mattress, didn’t change even after several inquiries on how to achieve such prominent muscles.

But when Hye-yeon eventually couldn’t contain her curiosity and asked Ha-eun for an arm-wrestling match,

The moment she grabbed Ha-eun’s hand and pushed down, it ended with Hye-yeon using both hands against Ha-eun.

“Ugh─! Ugh─!!”

In front of Hye-yeon, who was turning red with effort, Ha-eun merely had to hold her ground.

She figured that if she pressed harder, one of them would surely end up hurt, so it was pointless to strain against each other.

Thus, Hye-yeon quickly succumbed to exhaustion.

Eventually, the breathless word “She-Hulk” slipped from Hye-yeon’s mouth as it brushed past Ha-eun’s ear, and it seemed she hadn’t misheard.

After some time spent in the open-air bath, they rinsed off before heading back to the room, with Hye-yeon falling asleep almost immediately.

Not that Ha-eun’s other roommates, who were already sprawled across their beds, were any less worn out.

‘They were all over the moon about having a late-night party….’

It seemed the day’s itinerary that began with the Skytree was quite exhausting.

Alone, Ha-eun took out her phone and earphones and sought out “Cream,” who was streaming from across the ocean.

And within less than five minutes…

– Creak.

“!!!”

Feeling the shadow of her homeroom teacher slipping into her room made her instantly pretend to be asleep.

Was this how one would feel playing a horror game like Shirooni in VR?

Of course, if she was caught not sleeping, it would just lead to a brief scolding, but for some reason, her nerves were far more on edge.

Then, her homeroom teacher’s shadow quietly retreated without saying anything.

Ha-eun let out a silent sigh of relief, wanting to reaccess Cream’s broadcast, but—

– Ding.

[Homeroom Teacher] – Get to bed soon.

As she opened her phone, her heart sank at the sight of the teacher’s message.

It was only a little later that she realized Cream’s voice was escaping from her earphones.

Ultimately, Ha-eun had no choice but to comply and fall asleep like the other friends.

In front of a veteran teacher who had been guiding Na-rae High School students for over ten years, Ha-eun was still but a rookie.