Chapter 105

Since the filming of <Clouds Parting Moonlight> has completely wrapped up, I haven’t really spent any time.

Even at school, where I could at least see him, I can’t make time because of the preparations for <What If We Fall, Together>.

Decisively, I think with the filming for <Infinite Challenge Music Show> and <The Sunshine> starting, it will be even harder to meet up.

“Hey, Da-yeon. Should I hold the popcorn…?”

“Sure.”

For the first time in a while, I sat next to Ha Eun in the same theater, watching a movie together.

The feeling of being apart from Ha Eun for a long time wasn’t particularly welcomed.

On the surface, it was definitely true.

However, that wasn’t everything.

As soon as the movie, filled with heartfelt tears and touching twists, ended, I hurriedly followed Ha Eun to the bathroom from a distance.

“Haah….”

I silently waited until Ha Eun, who was exhaling faint breaths in the very last stall of the restroom, came out.

Eventually, I heard the sound of her drinking something like bottled water several times.

Then came the sound of her clearing her throat.

Just like that, squeak.

Except for the slightly reddish area around her eyes, all parts of Ha Eun returned to normal as she appeared again past the doorway of the restroom.

“Sorry. Did you wait a long time?”

“Not really.”

I didn’t ask why I tried to hide Ha Eun’s emotional state from Da-yeon.

The mere fact that Ha Eun had forced back tears in secret added credibility to the hypotheses in Da-yeon’s mind.

But for now, since I was spending time with Ha Eun as a friend, there was a way to verify if Da-yeon’s theory was true, and that had existed for several years.

Therefore.

“Hey, Lee Ha-eun. You said you’d tell me after the movie.”

“What? …Oh, right.”

Instead of digging deeper into Ha Eun’s secret, I asked about the reason her tension rose slightly before the movie started.

I didn’t want to make Ha Eun uncomfortable.

There was partly a desire to avoid any discomfort between us.

Soon, Ha Eun started sharing stories about what happened at the movie theater’s concession stand.

“Actually, when I ordered the popcorn earlier, the girl working said you were my boyfriend—”

However, this was not such an easy conversation, either.

“Do you have a boyfriend? Ah, of course I do☆”

‘…This is driving me crazy….’

I couldn’t stop recalling Diah’s remarks about Diah’s boyfriend from her first broadcast.

Even though the tone was distinctly different, there was nothing I could do to avoid the nagging thought.

“I should’ve said I’m not a boyfriend!”

“But, they said they’d upgrade the size for free.”

“How much is that worth to make me a guy!”

“It’s okay, Da-yeon. From a distance, you can’t tell if I’m a guy or a girl.”

“What?!”

After making a statement that touched on Da-yeon’s sensitive side, I lost my composure for a moment and rushed at Ha Eun.

With that, I grabbed Ha Eun’s shoulder tightly and began to shake her while shouting in a mix of anger and jealousy.

“Oh, it’s just because of what I’m wearing. If I dress well, I get told I have a good figure too!!”

“But seriously, you said you couldn’t tell from a distance—”

“Good for you to have such big breasts that it’s clear even from far away, ya spoiled brat!!”

“…Sorry.”

Finally realizing that I crossed the line, Ha Eun awkwardly corrected her previous statement with a wry smile.

Continuing on, I walked alongside Da-yeon, paying attention to her, but with a different meaning than before.

About ten minutes later, we arrived at a pasta restaurant near the theater.

After Ha Eun and I placed our orders for dishes to eat, our conversation remained ordinary and uneventful as we shared casual stories.

We avoided topics that would make us uncomfortable.

Most of our conversation over the table consisted of the small events we’d individually experienced during the time apart.

But there was one thing I needed to confirm directly with Ha Eun.

“Lee Ha-eun.”

“?”

I spoke to Ha Eun, who had just started twisting long strands of pasta onto her fork.

The question I voiced was one I already knew the answer to.

“We’re friends, right?”

A childish question.

In stark contrast to my serious expression.

Ha Eun, who momentarily looked puzzled, nodded and confirmed my inquiry.

If she had to choose between ‘yes’ and ‘no’ to Da-yeon’s question, she would probably choose ‘yes’ at any time.

“Still, I can’t guarantee it.”

“Who would ask you for a guarantee like that?”

“Usually, people say that when they want a guarantee.”

“…Let’s not talk about that.”

After that, we just focused on eating.

I knew it was better to let things go when Ha Eun showed unexpected behavior instead of making a fuss.

Once dinner was done, I said goodbye to Ha Eun without any further conversation.

I had already achieved the goal of spending time with her.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah.”

Then, I boarded the van that Kim Jin-soo usually drove to pick up Da-yeon, arriving at her house.

And.

“How was it hanging out with Ha Eun—”

Before Da-yeon’s mother, Jeong Go-eun, could finish her sentence, bang!

Without even saying a brief greeting, Da-yeon slammed the door to her room.

Soon after, Da-yeon began searching for an old notebook in a drawer.

Fragments of childhood memories when she had spared no effort to uncover Ha Eun’s acting techniques.

Strictly speaking, it was a while ago that Da-yeon remembered its existence.

But the thought of facing what was somehow a sort of dark history for Da-yeon made her hesitate to dig it out.

However, now that I received a definite affirmation of our friendship from Ha Eun.

I felt compelled to erase any lingering doubts about her.

I felt that to know Ha Eun better would help me decide how to treat her in the future.

-Seruk.

As I carefully flipped through the pages of the long-lost notebook, I began to find out why the name ‘Diah’ was so familiar.

I started to remember why the new voice of Diah that I had heard a few days ago sounded so familiar.

Then, not long afterward, I came face to face with the truth.

<Diah>

– Spirit

– Childlike personality & emotions

– Sunset? Dusk? Sunrise?

– Has a huge talent for gaming <— Practices to the point of being a ranking expert in popular games

Familiar two characters and recognizably familiar traits.

"...Ha."

Perhaps because I confirmed the truth in the notebook where Ha Eun had written her notes or diary as a child, my entire body relaxed.

I also realized that what I thought were Ha Eun's unique acting secrets was, in fact, a plan for her RP as a Virtual YouTuber.

Afterward, memories from the past began to flood my mind in an instant.

Like a panorama, memories unfolded before Da-yeon, and she...

-Stepped.

Took a few steps toward the bed located in one corner of the room.

-Slithered.

Dove deeper into the thick blanket.

"Ugh, ah, aaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!"

I forcefully expelled the overwhelming feelings of the unexpected dark history that had unwittingly formed within me in the form of screams.

Repeatedly washing my face with cold water, I tangled and ruffled my hair.

Afterward, for a while, I continued to impose only harsh stimuli on myself.

Yet the intense sensations refused to fade, pushing me to the brink of madness.

However.

-Ding.

[Diah's broadcast has started.]

"Haah, haah…."

The broadcast that I had set notifications for months ago began again, and my body moved reflexively.

Eventually, Da-yeon’s monitor was filled with Diah's broadcast screen.

What I faced was a cheerful face just like any other day.

The bright voice I heard was the same as always.

"If I were a girl, then the sun would be a newborn baby! So, just keep being my boyfriend!"

- Gasp

- To Diah

- Ah, I can't help it; I have to be your boyfriend

- Who am I? 'Diah's boyfriend'

- Only this time~

- So when are we going on a date, Diah?

"Date? Hmm.... Okay! We're going to have a Battle Island date for the first three people who sign up, so hurry up and apply!"

What emotion is that throbbing feeling rising from deep down in my chest?

Although Da-yeon already knew of the concept of the 'red pill,' it was overwhelming in a way different from the usual experience, further deepening my confusion.

What kind of image does Ha Eun have now?

Is she smiling brightly with the same face as that innocent little spirit?

Is that appearance also part of her seamless, bizarre performance?

"..............."

It became impossible to distinguish what was real and what was not.

Nevertheless, I couldn't stop facing it until the very end.

I couldn't let go of either of the two people who had become my friends for no reason.

The reason I gazed at the friend in the monitor with a face flushed red as if about to burst was simply that.

The secrets that had stopped being secrets became, in their own right, a new secret that Ha Eun had to hide.

If it were to be revealed that I had uncovered Ha Eun's secret, I would surely lose both Diah and Ha Eun.

No matter what, losing was better than that.

There was nothing scarier than losing.

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