Became the Mother of Virtual YouTubers - Chapter 100
It was a late time that suited the expression “dawn” rather than “midnight.”
While most other graduate students had already left work (not all of them), Hyo In and Ye Rin were still in the brightly lit lab.
Haaaah—Ye Rin, sitting in front of the monitor and editing video materials, rubbed her eyes slightly.
Hyo In, watching her, chuckled softly and spoke.
“Ye Rin, it’s time to go home now. You’ve been stuck on this all day.”
“I’m fine. You’re not leaving either, so how can I go first?”
Ye Rin shook her head and smiled lightly. Although she had just started her first semester after entering graduate school, she felt like she was already a slave.
“Well, looking at it, it seems like just a bit more work will do.”
The SIGGRAPH conference was notorious for being difficult not just during the paper submission process but even more so after it had been accepted. Not only did they have to submit additional code and experimental data, but they also had to prepare videos to prove the reproducibility of the research, making it time-consuming to handle each piece of material.
“But, Hyo In, shouldn’t we start preparing for our flight and hotel reservations soon?”
After typing away for a while, Ye Rin suddenly asked as if she had just thought of it.
“I already made all the reservations yesterday.”
“What? No, that’s a task for me! Why would you do it…?”
“It’s fine. You’ve been working really hard helping me make the camera-ready version.”
“…You did almost all the work, though.”
Ye Rin pouted, expressing her discontent. Hyo In let out a small laugh at her cute complaint.
“Thanks to you, it was much easier.”
Hyo In averted her gaze back to the monitor, almost missing the deadline.
“…”
Ye Rin slowly turned her head to observe her senior’s face.
Today, or rather recently, Hyo In’s expression was unusually bright.
The sister, who seemed to have no particular excitement upon receiving the paper acceptance email, had been smiling a lot for some time now. Despite the long nights and the nagging from the professor trying to finalize the paper, her smile didn’t fade.
Rather than being excited… Yes. It was some sort of soft and fluttery expression.
After a moment of hesitation, Ye Rin carefully opened her mouth.
“Is there something good happening with you these days? Besides the paper?”
Hyo In’s face briefly stiffened before a smile returned.
Trying to hide her embarrassment, she coughed lightly, but she couldn’t hide her rising smile.
“Well, it’s not so much a good thing… It’s just that I feel like I’ll be able to spend time with someone I’m happy to see after a long time.”
As expected. Hyo In’s cheerful expression was only related to “that senior.”
“Jin Ha, right? The one who was your mentor.”
“Yes, yes. I think I’ll be spending a lot of time with Jin Ha during this conference. Is that okay?”
“Of course! I should learn a lot from that senior, too.”
Ye Rin nodded, but then realized that she didn’t know much about Jin Ha.
What she did know was that Jin Ha’s name was notable in the industry, as there were many people looking for her. Also, she had attended the conference alone without any issues, while other seniors struggled to team up and would end up falling apart. And that she had left the lab last year after clashing with the professor.
“So, what kind of person is that senior Jin Ha?”
As her curiosity grew, Ye Rin asked cautiously.
“She’s not just someone who does research well, right?”
“Jin Ha is… how should I put it…”
It was hard to express in words. So normally, Hyo In would have brushed it off. But perhaps due to the late hour or the dawn’s emotion settling in, she wanted to talk properly now.
“I relied on her a lot. Both academically and in other ways.”
Hyo In’s voice trailed off slightly.
“In fact, she is more precious to me than just someone I depend on…”
Of course, she couldn’t say that out loud. Jin Ha, who was a man before, had now become a woman. And Jin Ha wanted to hide that fact as much as possible.
“For Ye Rin… Jin Ha said she’d treat you to a drink after the conference to personally discuss it.”
Of course, it was obvious that it would eventually be discovered by others, not just Ye Rin. But Hyo In didn’t want to be the cause of that. She only mentioned “Jin Ha” when in front of Ye Rin. This was a matter of trust with Jin Ha.
“But why does everyone avoid talking about Jin Ha, who is such a good person, in the lab?”
“Well… the biggest reason is probably that the professor dislikes her?”
“Puhahaha! I mean, she keeps getting calls asking about Jin Ha almost every day.”
It’s understandable that the professor would be annoyed, Ye Rin laughed.
“Anyway, I want to get closer to Jin Ha when I go to the conference this time.”
If Hyo In matched so well with Jin Ha, then surely Ye Rin would like her too. She looked forward to their upcoming meeting.
“Yeah. I’m sure you two will get along well.”
Hyo In smiled and turned her attention back to the monitor. Her concentration had noticeably dropped.
“Hmm…”
Her mind was filled with thoughts of Jin Ha. While the paper presentation was the main focus, the idea of sightseeing together, spending some leisure time, and talking about things left unsaid made her lips naturally curl up.
Seeing Hyo In’s expression, Ye Rin felt a slight, very slight, twinge of jealousy.
“I wish I could become an important person to Hyo In too.”
Ye Rin swallowed a small breath, looking back at the monitor.
*
In the midst of the scorching heat of August.
The airport was bustling with people ready to go on summer vacation.
Amidst the crowd moving busily with their suitcases, Hyo In and Ye Rin stood in front of a café, looking around.
Soon, Hyo In’s gaze fixed on one side.
“Oh, Jin Ha! Over here!”
At Hyo In’s voice, Ye Rin turned her head. Someone began walking gracefully through the bustling crowd.
Ye Rin’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Is that… Senior Jin Ha?”
With lightly tousled short hair, she exuded neatness. Wearing just a short-sleeved tee and solid-colored cropped pants, her body line looked particularly chic.
But what stood out the most was her expression. Approaching with a languid and nonchalant look, Jin Ha radiated a soft charisma that drew people’s attention.
Ye Rin found herself staring at Jin Ha in a daze. Their gazes naturally met, and Jin Ha smiled slightly with narrowed eyes.
“Oh, you arrived early?”
Just as languid and relaxed as her expression, her voice made Ye Rin’s heart skip a beat.
The senior Hyo In had mentioned countless times was now standing right in front of her.
“Hyo In, this is our new junior, Ye Rin.”
Upon hearing Hyo In’s introduction, Jin Ha lightly bowed her head.
“Hello, I’m Jin Ha.”
“Ah, um, yes! Hello, senior! I’m Jang Ye Rin!”
This youngest one was quite disciplined.
“I’ve heard a lot about you from Hyo In. She says you’ve been stuck with a demanding mentor since your first semester.”
With a playful remark from Jin Ha, Hyo In pouted and lightly hit her arm. Ye Rin, caught between them, shook her head in panic.
“Oh, no! Hyo In has taught me a lot… Um, senior! It’s okay to speak casually with me!”
“Okay, I got it. Just call me ‘sister’ instead of ‘senior.’ ‘Senior’ sounds too stiff.”
Ye Rin, her face flushed, nodded slightly.
“Yes, Jin Ha, sister!”
Her first impression of Jin Ha? Absolutely amazing.
A person with such style is also outstanding in research? And stands up to the professor, proving her own capabilities?
The future Ye Rin dreams of was right in front of her.
“Ahem! Now that everyone is here, shall we head out?”
“Wait a moment. Actually, one more person is on their way.”
“…What? Who else is coming?”
Hyo In asked, taken aback. She hadn’t thought there would be more people joining.
“They said they were nearby… Oh, here they come.”
Hyo In and Ye Rin’s gazes naturally followed the direction Jin Ha pointed.
In the distance, someone was approaching, catching everyone’s attention. A woman wearing a neat black sleeveless shirt and a jacket exuded elegance and calmness.
Her dark hair falling gracefully to her chest swayed softly as she walked. With a confident stride and clear gaze, her long limbs would make anyone believe she could be a model.
She went straight to Jin Ha, greeted her with a bright smile.
“Long time no see, Jin Ha.”
As the unfamiliar woman greeted Jin Ha with a warm voice, Hyo In blinked in surprise, and Ye Rin froze completely.
The stylish air typical of someone in the working world.
The way she expressed familiarity with Jin Ha so casually.
The woman before them was a formidable presence. Hyo In was instantly convinced.
Comfortably taking the seat right next to Jin Ha, she turned to Hyo In and Ye Rin and flashed a bright smile.
“Nice to meet you. You two must be from the same lab as Jin Ha, right?”
“Ah, yes… Hello.”
Hyo In awkwardly nodded in response.
Ye Rin couldn’t say anything, simply following Hyo In’s lead and bowing her head.
It was clearly the height of summer. The chills running down her arms felt almost like a feeling of cold… It must just be her imagination?
“Nice to meet you.”
Like ‘Winter,’ the woman smiled gently at the two of them. That smile was reminiscent of a polar fox, salivating at the sight of a delicate snow rabbit.
Soon, she pulled out her wallet and held out a business card.
“I’m Seo Ah, and I’m in charge of content planning at CosmoLive, a virtual YouTuber MCN.”
Puhuh—!!
Jin Ha barely stifled a laugh that almost escaped her lips.