Chapter 122: Chapter 121

The stream screen displayed the completed playback of the music video for Faded Staccato.

In the top right corner, the chat window was scrolling at a dizzying speed.

And in the previously empty bottom-right corner...

Shfftt.

“…Thank you. I’m glad you think I sang well.”

Diah’s avatar reappeared, wearing her usual youthful smile, though her voice was now slightly calmer.

Maybe that’s why...

Mom, when I grow up, I want to be like Diah! Mom, when I grow up, I want to be like Diah! Mom, when I grow up, I want to be like Diah!

Diah, are you a former trainee or something?

Diah is secretly OP; everyone knows it.

Why did you dodge every karaoke request until now if you could sing this well?

We are living in Diah’s era, folks! We are living in Diah’s era! We are living in Diah’s era!

The music video and the song are both insane. Fr.

The already fast chat became even faster.

Most messages were about Diah’s first cover song, with fans marveling at her incredible singing skills.

However, no one among the Noeulis had yet caught on to the secret of the live broadcast.

“Hmm, just wait a moment~. I’ll show you something fun~.”

Click.

Swish.

Diah decided to reveal a hint about the real nature of the song they’d been listening to.

The mouse cursor began moving slowly toward the progress bar of the music video.

??

Did you hide an Easter egg in the music video?

I can’t resist Easter eggs. Tell us already!

Kya, Diah always delivers.

Okay, I believe you. You really care about your cover songs.

But where could an Easter egg even fit in that video?

While the Noeulis speculated wildly about the existence of an Easter egg,

the mouse cursor circled the progress bar and then finally settled on it.

Simultaneously, on the broadcast screen:

|◀ II ▶| 🔇 ●───

A surprise prepared just for the Noeulis.

?? Why is it muted?

???

The audio was fine earlier.

Is this a bug?

What’s going on?

Oh, wait, I think I get it.

The sudden mute symbol filled the chat with confusion.

A few seconds later, the cursor restored the video’s volume.

The intro to Faded Staccato started playing again.

And that’s when the Noeulis began to sense something different.

♪──♪♪───♪♪─♬♪

Then, abruptly, the audio cut out.@@novelbin@@

For ten seconds, the "original" audio of Faded Staccato played before being silenced.

What replaced it was Diah’s youthful voice, tinged with playful mischief.

“The version you heard earlier wasn’t a recording—it was live~. Fooled you all, didn’t I~?”

What?!

Wait, what???

Hold on, I didn’t get that.

So this wasn’t just a cover reveal—it was a concert?!

OMG, she’s insane. LOL.

What even is this girl?!?

Kyaaaaa!

The chat in the top-right corner of the screen began lagging under the surge of reactions.

For about two seconds at a time, the chat completely froze before catching up again.

Meanwhile, the donation window was already flooded with messages praising Diah’s live singing.

Ding!

[Zzulin donated 10,000 KRW!]

You’re the first person I’ve seen hit those high notes in Faded Staccato without missing a beat.

[TINFH donated 10,000 KRW!]

Diah can do whatever she wants (and she really does).

The realization that they’d been listening to a live performance instead of a recording only hit the Noeulis about ten minutes later.

[RubikCube donated 50,000 KRW!]

The world’s first VTuber to debut a cover song live. Unreal.

[eternalyg donated 50,000 KRW!]

If it’s not too much trouble... could we get an encore?!

Strictly speaking, the music video for Diah’s first cover song, Faded Staccato, had already been revealed.

But her unexpected live performance, paired with her exceptional singing skills, had left an indelible impression.

“Hm, no encores for now. If I don’t finish the homework my manager gave me, I’ll get in trouble…!”

Squirrel <<< whipped worker.

There’s a squirrel next to her with a knife, forcing her to advertise merch (rough paraphrase).

Even a one-year-old is working for money; why am I not?

An evil boss forcing a baby to sell merch (age 30+).

This is going to be controversial, I swear.

Before transitioning to the second part of the broadcast, Diah lingered in the cover song aftershow for a while longer.

Some light banter with Yuna about her upcoming cover song added to the atmosphere.

Of course, Ha-eun was keenly aware of the Noeulis’ skyrocketing interest in her singing streams.

“If there’s a song you’d like me to practice for the future, write it in the fan café~.”

It was a subtle hint that singing streams would soon become part of Diah’s content lineup.

Finally, the first part of the day’s broadcast—the reveal of Diah’s cover song—had concluded successfully.

Now, it was time for part two: the merchandise showcase.

Shfftt.

“How about this~? Can you see it well?”

The screen, once dominated by the Faded Staccato music video, transitioned to the cam view.

Appearing in the wide-angle frame were two hands wearing clean, white kitchen gloves, and a neatly packed box of merch.

“Hmm, everything looks so cute. What should I show first?”

Her youthful voice pondered the question aloud, eventually deciding to ask the Noeulis for their preference.

After a brief yet intense debate among the Noeulis, the first item to be showcased was chosen: Diah’s acrylic stand.

“This is the front side—it’s my usual look. And the back? Ta-da!”

Gasp.

Wait, why did her expression suddenly turn mischievous? LOL.

Even her acrylic stand is teabagging us now. What is this?

The contrast, though.

Why does it look like she’s plotting something all of a sudden? LOL.

The acrylic stand perfectly captured Diah’s unique charm—sweet yet quirky.

Even the slightly odd, childlike innocence of the design didn’t go unnoticed.

One curious Noeuli asked about the size of the acrylic stand.

Swish.

The camera showed Diah’s hand giving a thumbs-up next to the stand for comparison.

“Oh, it’s about the size of my fist!”

The thumbs-up is adorable LOL.

Even her fist looks small in gloves. So cute!

Are Diah’s fists for sale, too? Asking for a friend.

Even with gloves, it looks like a marshmallow fist.

The explanation finished, Diah was about to showcase the next item, a character file, when—

Ding!

[ekdus7 donated 100,000 KRW!]

I’m not sure what the voice pack in the merch list is. Could you give us a sample?

The large donation came with a request for a preview of the voice pack instead of the planned showcase.

Naturally, the Noeulis jumped on board with the idea.

Crazy levels of commitment.

They spent 100,000 KRW just to ask about merch?

That’s not even rude—just buy me some chicken.

Chairman vibes, omg.

When did this person get released from prison?

The voice pack costs 10,000 KRW, and they donated 100,000 KRW. LOL.

Sample time, let’s gooooo!

You can’t say no to that, Diah.

While the voice pack was technically part of the merch lineup, its intangible nature left some Noeulis genuinely curious.

Others, knowing full well what it was, feigned ignorance just to get a preview.

Faced with overwhelming chat pressure and no valid excuse to refuse, Ha-eun ultimately caved.

Suppressing the wave of embarrassment bubbling up from deep within her chest, she adopted the mindset of a true professional VTuber.

“…Yummy~! This cotton candy from Noeulis is super tasty~!”

Her voice, brimming with cheer and cuteness, filled the stream.

The chat window instantly exploded, scrolling so fast it seemed to blur.

Unable to endure it any longer, Ha-eun reached out and turned off her mic.

Click.

“Ugh… Ughhh…!”

She buried her face in her hands, cringing at herself.

At that moment, she couldn’t help but curse her past self for not stopping Da-yeon from becoming a Diah fan.