Chapter Text
The energy in the soundproofed studio is still palpable, even as the game screen shrinks into a small window in the corner. Donghyuck, as Haechan, leans closer to his microphone, a playful glint in his eyes.
"Alright, my lovely little sprouts!" he says in Korean, his voice bright and animated, a stark contrast to the quiet that will soon follow. "It's time for this sun to set for today, especially after that crazy win!" He chuckles, a warm, genuine sound that his viewers adore.
The chat scrolls rapidly with goodbyes, emojis, and inside jokes that only this community understands. Donghyuck's eyes scan the messages, picking out familiar usernames.
"Aigoo, 'KimchiLover88' is saying they'll miss my chaotic energy already! Don't worry, my little kimchi, the chaos will bloom again tomorrow, even bigger and better, you just wait!" He winks at the camera, a habit that always sends a flurry of heart emojis into the chat.
Someone asks about his plans for after the stream, probably not realizing what time it is where he lives. As it should be, since he wisely has never disclosed his location and makes sure to stream at a time that makes sense for his mostly Korean audience, even if it means his sleep schedule is a complete mess.
So it's not weird that the viewers assume he still has a full day ahead of him and casually ask what he'll do with it.
He grins mischievously. "Hmm, what will this tired sun do? Maybe I'll finally conquer the mountain of dirty dishes that has been threatening my existence. Or maybe," he leans in conspiratorially, lowering his voice to a playful whisper, "maybe I'll just stare at the ceiling and contemplate the mysteries of the universe. You'll never know!"
He spots another message and replies in the same animated manner, indulging his audience with his bright and witty personality that gets the slightest but subdued when he's focused in the middle of a match. After the game is over, just chatting with his viewers is where he really shines, his charisma drawing in fans that don't even like gameplays all that much.
"Okay, okay, it's really time for me to go before I start revealing all my deepest secrets to you all," he says, laughing. "Thank you for spending your precious time with me, you guys are the best." He gives a final wave, his smile genuine and warm. "Until tomorrow, my little sunshines!"
With a final flourish, he initiates his outro sequence – a catchy K-pop song with animated graphics of his avatar waving goodbye. He watches it play out, a softer expression on his face now that the performance is over. The chat continues to buzz with farewell messages, a testament to the connection he's built with his audience. As the outro fades, he hits the "end stream" button, and the vibrant energy of his online persona slowly dissipates, leaving Donghyuck alone in the quiet studio once more.
But the downtime is very short lived, as he goes into the bathroom connected to the studio (because it was originally the master bedroom), already set up with a ring light and a stand for his phone, his cosmetics taking up all the available space in the counter.
He takes a quick bathroom break and after washing his hands, he's ready to go again, hitting the start live button on his Instagram.
He smiles gently at the camera, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "Hey everyone," he says in a soft, slightly lower tone than his streaming voice. "Welcome to my little wind-down session. It's getting late here in the left side of the earth, but I thought I'd hang out for a bit and get unready with you all."
The chat window is less frantic than his gaming streams, with a slower, more conversational pace. Greetings in various languages – English, French, German, a smattering of Korean and Mandarin – pop up. He reads a few aloud.
"Hi from London! How was your day, FullSun?" he reads, smiling. "My day was… productive, and a little chaotic, as always," he replies, reaching for a cleansing balm. "Just finished a long gaming stream. Now it's time to wash off the digital war paint."
He scoops a small amount of the balm onto his fingers and begins to gently massage it onto his dry skin. "This stuff is a lifesaver, especially after wearing makeup under those bright lights for hours. Does anyone else have a go-to product for taking off makeup?"
Comments start flowing in, sharing favorite cleansers and routines. Donghyuck reads them out, occasionally offering his own thoughts or asking questions.
"Ooh, micellar water! Classic. I use that sometimes too, especially when I'm feeling extra lazy. But tonight, this balm feels nice." He closes his eyes for a moment, enjoying the soothing sensation.
He reaches for a cotton pad and gently wipes away the cleanser, revealing his bare skin. "Ta-da! The truth has been revealed," he jokes, a hint of a playful smirk on his lips. "Don't worry, the mask will be back tomorrow."
He picks up a bottle of toner and spritzes it lightly onto his face. "Next up, a little bit of hydration. Winter air can be surprisingly dry, you know?" He pats the toner into his skin "The logic behind that is beyond me, like, there's snow all over the place, isn't that frozen water? So why oh why is the cold so drying?"
He looks at the scroll of messages, catching one that calls him stupid followed by a bunch of emojis to make it clear that they don't actually mean to insult him.
"I'm not dumb, chat, just uneducated. There's a difference" he says like that's somehow better. But the fans who have been around long enough know the story of how he dropped out of university (well, not the full story, but they know he did anyway) and the comment will make sense to them.
The conversation meanders, touching on everything from the weather in different parts of the world to recommendations for good late-night snacks and a discussion of Korean skin care versus french labs. Donghyuck answers questions about his day, his work, and even a few lighthearted ones about living away from home.
As he applies a serum, he notices a comment about the time difference. "Yeah, it should be around noon for you guys in Europe. You see? I time this with military precision so I can entertain you guys during lunch break, aren't I the sweetest?" He teases fondly "Thanks to any Americans for hanging out with me at such odd hours though, and I mean the whole continent because it should be past midnight for everyone east of Greenwich. It means a lot." His voice is sincere, a genuine warmth in his tone.
He continues with his routine, applying eye cream and a final moisturizer, all while keeping up a steady stream of gentle conversation. This is a different side of him, less performative, more grounded and intimate. It's a glimpse into the person behind the energetic streamer, a young man winding down his day in the quiet solitude of his studio, connected to a small but appreciative audience across the globe, an audient hat doesn't usually overlap.
He has different names — although related enough that if you look for them you will find him everywhere — across all platforms and doesn't promote himself from one to the other. The time differences and the language he uses helps, but the main reason the gamers don't watch him put on and take off make up is exactly that. They don't consume that content.
He is an entirely different kind of entertainer in every platform, same charming personality, but with such a divide in content categories that he really rarely gets recommended to the same people.
There are exceptions to every rule.
"Have a good night FullSun, the best skin care is 8 glasses of water and 8 hours of sleep" he reads out loud, smile fond as he recognizes the username of one of the few people who follow his gaming, as well as his make up on Instagram, and his singing on YouTube — but has yet to find him on TikTok, and constantly complains about it.
"Thanks J, couldn't have said it better. You heard it girls, the superior skin care lab is your own bed and kitchen" he replies, making a point of downing half a glass of water before continuing, bringing the stream to a close "Imma go take that advice. Take care of yourselves sunshines. Love you!" And he's out.
He finishes off his routine by brushing his teeth, finally ready for bed after too many hours in front of the debilitating blue light of multiple screens.
But he chose this life. He could be just as successful making only one type of content and posting the same thing all over, hitting the same numbers with a fraction of the effort. But he chose this instead, this draining but rewarding life style, where he can build community for every side of himself.
And he might be overcompensating, his connection to his fans simply a desperate attempt to fill the hole left by his friends and family when he moved to Canada almost 2 years ago. When they all turned his back on him, rejected him after he made such a decision.
He also questions the choice he made sometimes, too young and inexperienced. He wonders if he's doing the right thing, if he's on the right path. And when he does, he wishes he had someone to tell him everything's alright.