Chapter 169

Haeun’s fan meeting tickets were completely sold out.

According to what was conveyed from Luna Entertainment, the competition was quite fierce as well.

In fact, it seems that even underground tickets were being traded, indicating that more people showed interest in the fan meeting than Haeun had anticipated.

“I thought 500 seats would be more than enough…”

Could it be because this was her first time holding a fan meeting? The thought of the vast live hall being filled only with Haeun’s fans felt surreal.

The kind of tension she felt was significantly different from when she rehearsed at the Gocheok Sky Dome. She was filled with anxiety about what kind of experience to provide to those who came solely to see Haeun.

Lost in thought, she wandered around the live hall and stopped in front of the entrance, where Haeun’s photos and a photo booth were displayed.

While looking at the scenery of Haeun’s photos, she was filled with a sense of nostalgia. But the most decisive reason was.

“Are these still cuts not for sale? I feel like they would be really popular if sold as photo cards.”

“Oh, we’re not selling them. We plan to give them away as gifts on the day of the fan meeting.”

“Ah, I see.”

Haeun had noticed that Yu Sung-jae was having a conversation with the fan meeting staff in front of her life-size cutout.

When she approached Yu Sung-jae to ask if he was interested in Haeun’s goods, he responded positively.

“I think they turned out really well. It makes me want to collect them a bit.”

“Hmm, I believe we have a few spare ones. Should I give you one later?”

“If you do, I’d love it. By the way, what do you mean by that lady later stabbing me with a knife? That’s a bit scary.”

“…Lee Yeo-seo and Kim Jeong-hyun are different people.”

Thus, after a conversation between Haeun, Yu Sung-jae, and references to Lee Yeo-seo and Kang Chan-seong from <The Veterans> passed, Yu Sung-jae spoke up again to Haeun, who had been silently staring at her cutout.

“Oh, right. Can I ask you something?”

“?”

“I saw you hosting really well earlier. Are you working on a new program?”

He continued with praises that Haeun seemed like a veteran MC during rehearsal. Next, he asked if she had practiced hosting for a new entertainment program.

“When it comes to fan meetings, we usually invite separate MCs. But I felt like Haeun could handle it all by herself.”

“Ah…”

Honestly, it was quite awkward. It wasn’t something she could just say was the result of her over a year of broadcasting as Diah.

Yet, she couldn’t simply invent an imaginary program to explain herself. So Haeun just trailed off, saying she followed the pre-prepared fan meeting script.

Shortly after, Da-yeon joined them after visiting the restroom.

However, as if something was bothering her, she narrowed her eyes and asked what Haeun and Yu Sung-jae were doing alone together.

“…Talking about appearance fees?”

Haeun shifted the conversation back to the goods she had promised Yu Sung-jae. She had to keep the secret of her hosting skills hidden from Da-yeon.

There was nothing more nerve-wracking than when Da-yeon began to probe why Haeun was good at hosting.

So Haeun quickly picked up one of her photo cards and asked Da-yeon for her opinion.

“Oh, was the photo card the appearance fee? Then I should give you more, right?”

“What about me? Why don’t I get any?”

“……….”

For some reason, the situation got even more tangled.

Why were they trying to compete over even such things?

“That can’t happen at the fan meeting…”

In other words, it was like a cat and dog relationship.

To be honest, it was closer to Da-yeon unilaterally keeping an eye on Yu Sung-jae, but.

“Then why?”

Haeun thought there was no particular reason for them to be at each other’s throats. Why were the people who had never quarreled during the filming of <The Moon that Rides the Clouds> suddenly bickering in front of Haeun?

“Hey, Lee Ha-eun. Give me a photo card too.”

“Well, I can’t say no… but can I give it to you after the fan meeting?”

“Why?”

“It’s just that I don’t know how many will be left afterwards.”

“…If that’s the case, fine.”

After barely calming Da-yeon down, Haeun could return to the live hall.

After that, they inspected things like lighting and microphone setup, and once they finished Haeun’s rehearsal for her entrance performance, all rehearsals were completed.

Then, the very next day, on the day of the fan meeting.

Despite the fact that there was still plenty of time until the entrance, Haeun was surprised to see people already lining up and asked Joo Jung-yun, who was right next to her, if this was normal.

“There’s no particular first-come-first-served event…”

“Fan passion is like that.”

Haeun’s old friend, Heo Ju-eun, who works as a reporter in the entertainment department, was also said to have already arrived. It was reported that she was interviewing one of Haeun’s fans for their impressions of participating in the fan meeting.

In this way, as the reality of the fan meeting slowly began to sink in, Haeun’s heart started to pound a little.

Was meeting Haeun’s fans such a nerve-wracking experience?

“…Let’s do well. Really, let’s do well…”

Not long after, the makeup and wardrobe change began.

Since the first item of the fan meeting was Haeun’s entrance performance, Haeun had to prepare her look to match the song she was going to sing.

After finishing several rounds of brushing, she arrived backstage.

The audio of the fan meeting trailer being played inside the live hall reached Haeun’s ears as well.

“Lee Ha-eun’s 1st FAN MEETING. How does it feel for Haeun?”

“To be honest, I’m nervous. I think I’m more nervous than when I did the Infinite Challenge Music Festival.”

“Hmm… so that was the trailer shooting back then.”

The trailer, which was almost in the form of a vlog, briefly showed Haeun’s preparations for the fan meeting.

The voices of the two guests, Da-yeon and Yu Sung-jae, were processed with voice modulation to conceal their identities.

However, the content of the conversation contained things that could only have come from Da-yeon and Yu Sung-jae.

Especially mentions related to <The Moon that Rides the Clouds>.

“Do you know how scared Haeun was during the shooting of that?”

“Don’t say things you don’t know. There are moments when Lee Ha-eun is really scary.”

“…I feel like I know who it is.”

Ultimately, the voice modulation was pointless.

It seemed everyone knew who said what.

Listening to the familiar voices continued until the start time of the fan meeting arrived.

Not even a few seconds had passed after the trailer ended, and the inside of the live hall fell completely silent.

Thus, a minute felt like an hour as time passed.

“…♪───♬”

Instead of the fan meeting trailer, the intro of “One Spring Day” began to play inside the live hall.

Almost simultaneously, countless cheers erupted.

– Tap, tap.

– Swish, swish.

“Okay, don’t be nervous. Just think of it as having fun with the fans~.”

As always, Joo Jung-yun gently rubbed Haeun’s shoulder while saying that.

When it came time for Haeun to appear, she gave a brief cheer of encouragement and pushed her back.

So, step by step.

And just like that, step by step again.

“On a spring day that came one day♪ it circles around you and me─♬”

Haeun, who had been singing “One Spring Day” from backstage, finally appeared on stage.

She was simultaneously met with the gazes of numerous people.

‘……This is my first time feeling like this…’

Warmth.

Or perhaps, a flutter of excitement.

All sorts of emotions poured down on Haeun, who held a handheld microphone in one hand and greeted the fans with the other.

Emotions from others that were entirely unfamiliar, not a single one being her own.

Yet, she felt delighted.

It was this thrilling feeling that made fan meetings worthwhile.

“…Hello, I’m Lee Ha-eun.”

Even as she offered the ordinary greeting she had done hundreds or thousands of times, she still couldn’t calm down.

She tried to maintain a composed expression, but her heart was gradually fluttering.

“Many more people came than I thought… If I had known this, I would have booked a bigger place…”

Afterward, a lengthy exchange of greetings between Haeun and the fans continued, leading to the first segment of the fan meeting: the quiz time.

Haeun read out questions with small prizes, where the fans in the audience had to guess the answers.

Following that, topics like Haeun’s birthday, her debut work, and even trivia about the first photo posted on her Instagram went smoothly, without any notable commotion.

“Okay, next question. What is my favorite food—”

“…Velvet Cake!!!!”

The moment the quiz about Haeun’s favorite food started, a voice so loud that it could not even be compared to any heard before echoed from somewhere in the audience, piercing Haeun’s ears.

“…? Who just said that?”

As she turned her gaze towards the direction of the very loud voice, she thought, ‘Uh…?’

A cute and adorable face appeared.

At the same time, a familiar face was cupping their hands together to form a megaphone and shouting.

“Red Velvet—! Cake!!!”

‘Na-eul?’

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