Was it because Ha-eun had originally been an actress?

    There were no real issues during the filming of Pinocchio''s first music video.

    Her eye contact was perfect. She was also skilled at striking the right pose according to the camera angle.

    However, from Ha-eun’s perspective, it was the first time she’d ever acted in such a pure and innocent way.

    “Do I really just have to stand there and look quietly?”

    She felt a bit doubtful about the script for the music video "On a Spring Day." After all, it just said to slowly look up at a cherry blossom tree, with no dialogue.

    She couldn''t quite grasp how just looking could convey innocence.

    The costume was just a simple school uniform too.

    Still, she got reassurance from Lee Jun and Lee Gun-yeol, who told her there was no problem.

    “Adults can’t fake innocence, no matter how hard they try.” “Why would a high schooler act like a high schooler?”

    When they followed up by asking if she was bragging about being young, she avoided eye contact and remained silent. Looking back, it almost felt like she was being deceived in some way.

    Anyway, since they were professionals who had done music video shoots many times, Ha-eun decided to stop questioning things.

    ‘This feels more like a commercial shoot than a music video shoot.’

    For quite a while, she stood in front of the camera, taking the so-called “emotional shots.” The outdoor scenes for the “On a Spring Day” music video weren’t the only ones being filmed—there were also indoor studio scenes to shoot.

    By the time all the filming was done, the sky was starting to get dark.

    But with so many takes to choose from, Ha-eun had to pick the one that she liked the most.

    “...It’s already 12 o''clock.” “Well, it turned out okay, didn’t it?” “Yeah, I guess... it’s better than not looking good.”

    For the first time in her 19 years, Ha-eun came home at dawn.

    She had already told Na-yeon that she’d be coming home late, so she wasn’t really scolded, but she still felt a little awkward.

    ‘...Will I have a curfew when I turn 20?’

    It was common for parents to set curfews for their daughters. It was something Ha-eun had never experienced in her past life since she wasn’t a daughter back then, so she was curious about how it would feel.

    ‘But I’m sure there won’t be that many times when I’ll come home late...’

    Regardless, next year she would turn 20 and officially become an adult. She had heard that once she entered college, there would be more occasions for drinking, but...

    At least, for now, she wasn’t interested in it. To Ha-eun, alcohol was unpleasant and bad for her health.

    Especially for someone like her, a public figure, drinking carried a higher risk of causing undesirable controversies compared to ordinary people.

    ‘I did enjoy the drinks in Japan, though... but the blackout part was... dangerous.’

    She didn’t plan to drink regularly in the future.

    It wasn’t as though she was worried about getting scolded by Na-yeon, who was probably fast asleep in the living room.

    Thinking about what it would be like to turn 20 and become an adult, Ha-eun drifted off to sleep.

    When her eyes opened again, it was already morning.

    She had woken up later than usual, since she usually got up at dawn.

    Maybe that’s why.

    As she was just about to get out of bed, Na-yeon came into the room to wake her up. Their eyes met.

    And almost at the same time—

    Squeak!

    “Our daughter, from now on, how about texting to let us know what time you’re coming home~?”

    Na-yeon pinched Ha-eun’s nose with her thumb and index finger, pulling it slightly.

    Through that, Ha-eun realized that Na-yeon wasn’t very fond of her coming home so late at night.@@@@

    ????...Click.

    That was Ha-eun’s defense when she was thirty minutes late for the rehearsal at the Illusionary Realm 1st-anniversary concert.

    “...Honestly, there was a bit of traffic.”

    “You came three hours early for the recording~. But now, you’re late for rehearsal because you didn’t want to wear tights~.”

    “That’s not it, really.”

    “So why can’t you look me in the eye?”

    “Well... Honestly, the sight of you all right now...”

    It was too funny.

    Ha-eun couldn’t help but burst into laughter, causing Lee Yena’s eyes to narrow further.

    However, Ha-eun didn’t notice it at all.

    “You guys really look like the henchmen from Power Rangers.”

    After making an extra remark, Ha-eun managed to push Yena and the others to the limit, and they firmly decided to punish her.

    Ticklish.Ticklish, ticklish, ticklish.

    “Aha, no! I’m sorry, I’m sorrry!!”

    “Henchman? Hench—?!”

    “Do you think you’re any different, Ha-eun? Huh?”

    In the end, it was different. Especially in the chest area.

    Technically, "tights" were clothes that naturally stuck to the body, but somehow, the undeniable truth of fashion over looks applied even to the motion-capture suits.

    “...I feel like I’ve seen this look before.”

    “Huh? This is the first time you’re wearing tights like that today?”

    “No, I’ve seen you in them before...”

    Pff

    “Eun-hye, are you crazy? Ha-eun’s still a minor!”

    Ha-eun was momentarily confused by the misunderstanding. She didn’t understand the jokes about whips and such that the other members were making.

    Anyway, the reason they were all gathered in this strange fashion—Ha-eun’s very subjective evaluation—was because it was just a rehearsal.

    Soon after, they each went to their positions, and Ha-eun had to practice the choreography to the song Illusion that they’d all worked hard to perfect.

    Ha-eun and the rest of the group wore what’s commonly called an "idol mic," which is an in-ear microphone.

    In other words, they had to sing and dance at the same time during the rehearsal.

    “...The last part of the first verse is strange. Let’s do it again.”

    A few errors were made by the other members during their performance, which was why Ha-eun kept going back and forth to the monitoring room.

    Strictly speaking, it wasn’t too strange. This was the first time the Illusionary Realm members were doing a live performance, so it would have been odd if there were no mistakes.

    Eventually, the rehearsal ended much later than expected, much to the dismay of the crew.

    Of course, Lee Dong-jin and Ji Hye-min hadn’t planned for the rehearsal to run this long. They just couldn’t stop Ha-eun, who was trying to perfect everything.

    “...I told your mom we’d send you home early.”

    “Well, it can’t be helped...”

    At that point, as Ha-eun was checking the rehearsal footage—not the actual studio scene, but the 3D avatar footage—Ji Hye-min hesitated for a moment before finally deciding to approach her, somewhat awkwardly. He revealed that he had spoken to Ha-eun’s mother.

    “Wait, did mom... call you?”

    “Y-yeah. But don’t worry. She doesn’t know about your streams yet. I covered for you as best I could.”

    “...Mom’s way too perceptive...”