It was just after Lee Joon had left the studio.
âIs there a specific style of song you personally prefer, Ha-eun?â
Still radiating warmth and enthusiasm toward Ha-eun, Hwang Ji-hyuk asked for her opinion on the style of song they should create for the Infinite Challenge Music Festival stage. In response, Ha-eun said that as long as it wasnât overly cheerful, she would be fine with it.
âCute songs are a bit... not my thing.â
Ha-eun wanted to ensure that her public image as an entertainer and Diahâs VTuber persona didnât overlap too much. After all, the image of âactress Lee Ha-eunâ had always been far removed from anything overly cute.
She thought it would be better to maintain the weighty, serious aura she had cultivated as an actress and carry it over to her activities as a singer. However, since she wouldnât be performing on stage alone for the Infinite Challenge Music Festival, this wasnât solely her decision.
âShould we really proceed with just the two of us, even though we donât know yet who my teammate will be?â
She asked if discussing the song style shouldnât wait until they knew who her teammate would be. Ji-hyuk explained that this was just preliminary planning.
âItâs better to sketch out a few rough ideas now rather than starting completely from scratch later.â@@novelbin@@
Ji-hyuk had been preparing for this ever since he was first invited to appear on the Infinite Challenge Music Festival. After all, neither Ha-eun nor whichever regular Infinite Challenge member ended up on her team had any expertise in composing.
He believed it was better to establish a general direction and then make adjustments later as needed. And so, the brainstorming session between Ha-eun and Hwang Ji-hyuk began.
âThe Infinite Challenge Music Festival tends to favor upbeat, lively songs. So, something too calm or serious might not work well.â
âHmm... What about a J-pop-inspired style? Something with a bit of rhythm.â
âOh, J-pop sounds great. Could you name one J-pop song you enjoy? Iâll try to pick up on the melody.â
The brainstorming session lasted about an hour and resulted in five or six rough melody sketches. After listening to them one last time, Ha-eun and Ji-hyuk parted ways, agreeing to meet again soon.
After leaving Ji-hyukâs studio, Ha-eun headed to the LUX headquarters, specifically to the streaming room inside the building.
âIâm here.â
âOh, welcome, Ha-eun! I just got here too.â
Jung Maria, who was sitting in her streaming chair preparing various things for the broadcast, greeted Ha-eun warmly. The look of determination on Mariaâs face wasnât just an illusionâit was clearly genuine.
âShe doesnât seem nervous... but hmm.â
Today marked Diahâs first broadcast after the chaos surrounding her real voice reveal. It was also her first IRL collaboration stream. Postponing the broadcast any longer would have negatively impacted Diahâs reputation for consistency, so they needed to reassure the audience as soon as possible.
The Fantasy Horizon official channelâs stream was already live, showing the waiting screen.
Open the door!!!
Kyaaa! Diah! Cream!
Cream, Iâm cold... Iâm falling asleep...
Is this the stream of the spirit goddess?
Let me hear what they heard too!!
Open sesame, open sesame, open sesame, open sesame, open sesame, open sesame, open sesame!
The chatâs already chaotic, LOL.
Thanks to the collaboration stream announcement posted earlier on the fan cafe, a large number of viewers were already waiting, even though the broadcast hadnât started yet. The announcement post had also garnered an overwhelming number of comments, which was both exciting and a bit daunting.
Title > Broadcast Announcement
Diah | 13:00
Sunday, 5 PM~
With Cream (IRL Collaboration)
(No further explanation needed image)
(Youâve seen enough, no more details image)
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Before Bed, Diahâs Screams: Youâre alive!!!!!!!
Noori: An IRL collab? ð
Round Sun Rises Jim: Prepare the booze and the kennel! Itâs time for the heroes!
ã´ DiahS2 Hawaiian Pizza: Hero, warrior, come eat~
Save the Polar Bear: Is she going to use her baby voice for the snail moment?
ã´ DiahBehindShiroOni: Nope, itâll be her goddess voice while playing with Cream like a favorite doll.
ã´ DiahDakimakuraWishDay111: Both of you, get out.
SwordmasterDiah: I missed you ã ã ã ã
The anticipation was blazing hot. This was a clear sign of the high level of excitement from Diahâs fans, affectionately called âNoelians,â for her next broadcast.
â...Good thing weâre doing this collab.â
If Diah had streamed solo, she wouldâve been overwhelmed by the sheer energy and expectations of the audience. Reassured by her earlier decision, Ha-eun let out a breath of relief.
âUnnie, are you done setting up?â
âUh, yeah. Your setup was adjusted by the manager earlier.â
âOh, I see. Iâll make sure to thank them later.â
Shortly after, the countdown to the start of the Diah & Cream IRL collaboration broadcast began. Ha-eun, who was busy fine-tuning the mic placement and virtual avatar sensitivity until the very last moment, suddenly turned and spoke in a completely different tone.
âIâm hereâ!!â
â?!â
Jung Maria, sitting right next to her, flinched in surprise at Ha-eunâs abrupt change in voice tone. At the same time, the chat exploded with activity.
"Why are you late? Why are you late? Why are you late? Why are you late? Why are you late? Why are you late? Why are you late? Why are you late? Why are you late? Why are you late?"
"Diah!"
"Diah, explain the real voice incident!"
"Is our Cream sitting next to you??"
"Diah noonaaaaaa!"
"Why is our Cream martyr so silent?"
"Did you tape Creamâs mouth shut or something? Dang."
"Cream, if Diah is threatening you right now, tilt your head as a signal."
About a minute later, the donation notifications started flooding the stream alongside the chat. Fortunately, most of the donations were small, at the 1,000-won minimum amount, with mundane, harmless messages attached.
[User donated 1,000 won!]
"Noona, please say 'loser' in your real voice. I beg you."
(This donation was skipped by the moderator.)
[User donated 1,000 won!]
"They say youâre not a baby spirit but the Spirit Queen. Is that true?"
(This donation was skipped by the moderator.)
[User donated 1,000 won!]
"Diah noonaaaaaaaa!"
(This donation was skipped by the moderator.)
The sheer volume of these donations kept the Fantasy Horizon channel moderators working tirelessly. But as time passed and order was somewhat restored, the stream could finally proceed smoothly.
âFor todayâs stream, Iâve brought some really scary wizards with me. If any of you Noelians say something weird, you might get kidnapped to another world, so watch out~.â
"Gasp."
"Another world (ban)."
"If you displease me, I will carry out a purge of blood. (Roughly translated.)"
"But seriously, when are we getting the explanation about the real voice incident? (This user has been banned.)"
"Ahhhh, someoneâs been banned!!!"
"Whatâs with the ban speed?"
"Are they using an auto-clicker to ban people? Thatâs insanely fast."
âEven if you apologize later, I wonât forgive you. So be careful~ and stay cautious~.â
"First-ever permanent ban? Dang."
"But what if someone offers an amount of money that canât be refused?"
"Somebody donate an entire cotton candy factory."
"Wait, what? Donations above 100,000 won are blocked?"
"Argh! Open the door!! I loaded up my donation balance for this!!"
"Whatâs going on here??"
Just as the viewers were descending into chaos over the unexpected restrictions, Ha-eun seized the opportunity. She gently tapped Jung Maria, signaling her to start her segment.
After clearing her throat, Jung Maria finally began explaining the plan for the stream.
âFor the first part of todayâs stream, weâll play Iron Fist. For the second part, weâll do an Ideal Type World Cup. So, donât get yourselves banned and make sure to have fun!â
"What? Thereâs a second part?"
"Will we see the legendary mid-air combo with 11 hits?"
"Wasnât Cream a ranked player in Iron Fist?"
"Diah, can you please use your real voice just once? Iâm asking for the 12th timeâ (This user has been banned.)"
"Isnât this Diahâs first time playing Iron Fist?"
"If Diahâs gaming talent is as god-tier as usual, she might even crush Cream."
Soon, the streamâs screen switched to the Iron Fist lobby. True to its reputation as the worldâs most famous two-player fighting game, even the lobby exuded an intense, competitive atmosphere unique to the genre.
Still, just playing for fun without any stakes might be a little dull for the audience.
âHow about this: the loser of each round gives the winner one wish ticket. What do you think, unnie?â
âSounds good to me.â
With that, they decided to bet "wish tickets" on the matches. Ha-eun wasted no time revealing what she planned to wish for if she won.
âA full playthrough stream of Biohazard: Big City. From start to finishâno breaks!â
âW-wait, what? All the way to the ending?!â
"Hell yeahhhhh!!!"
"Diah, youâre a genius streamer. I believe in you."
"Please win! Please win! Please win! Please win! Please win! Please win! Please win!"
"Is Diah playing too?"
"Out of all the games, why Biohazard? LOL."
"Wasnât Creamâs trigger point zombies? This is so cruel."
"This is evil. LOL."
Without giving Cream any chance to protest, Ha-eun started the game immediately. Cream had no choice but to pick her character and dive into the match against Diahâs chosen fighter.
"Wow, she picked Takuo right away. How much does she hate the idea of playing Biohazard?"
"Sheâs bringing her main character right from the first match. LOL."
"So shameless."
"Diah, can you say 'hello' in your real voice just once? (This user has been banned.)"
"Using tryhard mode against a noob. LOL."
"Will Diah be okay?"
The match began with an intense standoff. Creamâs character, Hanata Takuo, a boxing champion, and Diahâs character, Experiment Subject: Tora, circled each other cautiously in the arena.
Takuoâs probing jab punchesâhis signature boxing moveâ
MISS!
âwere dodged by Tora, who opted for evasion instead of blocking. From that moment, things took a drastic turn.
More specificallyâ
ââââ! âââ Special Grapple Attack!â
Ha-eunâs lightning-fast combo inputs sent Takuo sprawling onto the arena floor.
MISS!
BAM!
MISS!
BAM!
MISS! MISS! MISS!
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Takuoâs punches continued to hit thin air as Tora repeatedly knocked him to the ground with grapple attacks. No matter how much Cream tried to mix in feints to escape the endless grapple combos, she couldnât find a way out.
ââ ââ! âââ! Now for the Special Spinning Kick!â
Just as Takuo braced for another grapple, Toraâs foot came flying instead, landing a devastating axe kick.
"This IRL collab is about to turn into an IRL fight."
"Why does she keep falling for the same two moves?"
"The problem isnât the attacksâitâs Diahâs reaction speed. Itâs insane."
"Sheâs attacking, but itâs like her attacks donât exist."
"??? 'What are you looking at? Thatâs just my afterimage.' LOL."
"Sheâs dodging everything. What even is this?"
"Cream, give up your rank already."
The first round ended as a clean game, with Cream failing to land even a single hit. Watching her descend into panic at the thought of a Biohazard marathon stream was a spectacle in itself.
âDuring the collab, I might mess with you a bit. Is that okay?â
âY-yeah! Mess with me as much as you want!â
In hindsight, this was far from âa bit.â It was pure domination, as if Cream was nothing more than a toy in Ha-eunâs hands, just as the viewers had described.
Cream glanced sideways at Ha-eun, whose cheerful smile seemed brighter than ever. For a moment, Cream thought she saw a pair of bright red horns sprouting from Ha-eunâs head.
It was probably an illusion, but it didnât feel like one.
Ha-eun had never looked so cheerful before, yet to Cream, her expression could only be described as the very embodiment of madness.