Became the Mother of Virtual YouTubers - Chapter 108
“Are you feeling sick? Or did the professor do something inappropriate?!”
Even someone like Jin Ha couldn’t earn a doctorate.
What could someone like me possibly do well…
Ye Rin mumbled in a defeated voice as she stared down at the ground.
In that moment, Jin Ha and Hyo In exchanged quiet glances.
Soon, Hyo In’s eyes narrowed.
This was the sign that it was the right time to speak up.
‘…Are you really telling me to say it?’
‘No, aren’t you the one who is supposed to say it?!’
‘But when it comes to actually saying it… it feels a bit awkward.’
‘You plan on just abandoning a clueless junior after breaking their head, huh?’
Sharp whispers exchanged, and Jin Ha let out a small sigh.
After a moment of hesitation, she struggled to open her mouth.
“Well… my gender changed overnight.”
“…What?”
“Actually, I was originally a man.”
Ye Rin stared at Jin Ha with a blank expression before bursting out laughing.
“Ah, come on, seriously! I’m trying to be serious here… don’t joke around like this.”
Just for a moment, the laughter faded.
Ye Rin’s eyes widened as she saw the tense expressions on Jin Ha and Hyo In’s faces.
“…Are you serious? This isn’t a prank, right?”
This time, Hyo In nodded her head.
“Yeah. You might not believe it, but it’s true.”
Ye Rin’s face turned pale in an instant.
Looking back, the people in the lab, especially Byeong Jae, did call Jin Ha “hyung.”
She thought it was just a nickname used among close friends, like in engineering circles…
“Y-you really were a man?!”
“I… I hope you can keep it a secret from the others in the lab for now.”
They probably still think I’m a man.
Jin Ha scratched her head, adding in a flustered voice.
“That… being a secret doesn’t make sense! H-how could such a thing happen?!”
Her head felt hot, and the effects of the alcohol wore off quickly.
Ye Rin was truly excited.
In the midst of this, Hyo In tried her best to calm Ye Rin down.
“I’ll tell you more details later. For now, just know this.”
Ye Rin quietly gazed at Hyo In, slowly blinking her eyes.
Then, as if recalling something, her face turned to shock.
“No way, did Hyo In unnie sleep in the same bed knowing Jin Ha unnie used to be a man?”
“Uh, uh?!”
At her sharp observation, Hyo In flinched slightly.
Who would think she wasn’t a grad student? Her attack power was something else.
“Well… she’s a woman now…?! And also, lower your voice!”
Ye Rin groaned, holding her head.
“Wait, then what do I call Jin Ha unnie…? I mean, should I call you ‘oppa’… or… what should I say…”
“Just call me unnie.”
“Then which of the people know that Jin Ha unnie used to be a man?”
“Aside from the two medical school professors checking my issues, it’s just Hyo In and you.”
She hadn’t even told her parents yet.
She claimed she was too busy to visit during the holidays and used the excuse of having a cold to explain her strange voice.
In fact, most of these issues could be solved by just sending plenty of allowance.
That’s right. Jin Ha was a filial child.
Naturally, from the listener’s perspective, this was the kind of story that would make them hit their forehead.
“…Wait a minute. Then Seo Ah unnie must not know either? That you were a man?”
“Well, that’s true.”
“But, did you really plan to sleep in the same bed?!”
“Now that you mention it?!”
The gaze directed at Jin Ha instantly doubled.
“No, wait! The reservation mistake wasn’t mine but Seo Ah’s…”
Before Jin Ha could finish her excuse, Seo Ah staggered over.
“Jin Ha-nim~ I’m back~”
Seo Ah tried to naturally cling to Jin Ha with the help of the effects of alcohol.
But in that moment, Ye Rin interjected with an anxious expression.
Hiding Seo Ah behind her, Ye Rin glared intensely at Jin Ha.
“Don’t you dare get close to Seo Ah unnie!!”
“Um… I didn’t approach anyone. It was Seo Ah-nim who came to me…”
Suddenly, a throbbing headache made Jin Ha unconsciously touch her forehead.
It seemed they needed a bit more time to resolve this misunderstanding.
*
Waiting for Jin Ha’s return from Canada was 999+ unread emails.
It was fortunate that the UI only displayed up to three digits, or else it might have shown 9999+.
“Did I stand out too much at the conference…?”
Mumbling that she should have moderated her behavior, Jin Ha carefully opened her inbox.
There wasn’t a single advertisement or spam email in sight.
Only inquiries about recent papers, collaboration requests, and job offers filled the inbox.
Still, she felt the need to skim through the subject lines, frowning as she slowly scrolled down.
No matter how many times she scrolled with the mouse wheel, there seemed to be no end. Meanwhile, emails continued piling up in real-time.
“At this rate, it’s going to feel like there’s no end to it.”
Eventually, Jin Ha closed the inbox after skimming through just a few pages.
There was no immediate rush for work. If she needed to, she would find a way to get in touch with someone.
In the first place, her smartphone’s messaging app was also packed. Even selecting some of the work offers would fill her schedule to the brim.
However, unlike emails, messages had their own flavor.
[Spring-nim: I saw the presentation you gave, Mama! It was so incredible~]
[Fall-nim: Jin Ha Mama, that’s not fair! Why did you only take Winter unnie to Canada?!]
[Summer-nim: Mama! Is it true you slept in the same bed as Winter?!]
[Summer-nim: Lie! Tell them that Winter is just spouting nonsense!!]
[Summer-nim: Yeurmi’s horn has turned black, it’s turned black!]
[Summer-nim: Clarify it, special investigation, clarify it, special investigation!]
[Summer-nim: (A unicorn with a broken horn screaming)]
The Season members were whining about why only Winter got to travel abroad.
[Rei-nim: Mama, did you see the video that went up on Youtube?]
[Rei-nim: They analyzed my solo concert and your presentation at the conference together, and it ended up trending in the algorithm.]
[Rei-nim: Thanks to that, the songs I sang are climbing the charts.]
[Rei-nim: Well, it’s nothing special, just a little! Just a tiny bit grateful.]
[Rei-nim: So I’d like to meet up sometime and treat you to dinner…]
[Rei-nim: If you’re busy, that’s understandable!!]
[Rei-nim: (Shy Kamishiro Rei emoticon)]
Kamishiro Rei, hoping to see her face after a long time.
There were also So-yul, who said they already replayed Jin Ha’s conference presentation dozens of times, and the sweet-hearted Han A-ri, who consistently sent heartfelt letters.
While Jin Ha might quickly delete client emails just by glancing at the subject lines, she carefully read through each and every one of her daughters’ affectionate messages.
“There’s a reason why favoritism toward daughters isn’t just a saying.”
Although she didn’t show it, Jin Ha was a doting mother.
Storing the messages filled with affection in a separate important messages folder, she then set aside work offers requested through CosmoLive and the follow-up project of Project Lingerie, before she continued scrolling through her messages.
[Roji-nim: I’m currently working on a project to become a new god of a world.]
Amidst numerous messages, a remark from someone resembling a terminally ill patient caught Jin Ha’s attention.
[Roji-nim: As a fellow creator who helped build that world, there’s something I’d like you to check out.]
[Roji-nim: If you have time, could we meet briefly in VRChat?]
She had actually intended to thank Roji separately.
Roji had provided a lot of help for preparing Jin Ha’s conference presentation, like offering the latest voice-learning AI model.
[Is now a good time?]
As soon as she sent the message, Jin Ha received a VRChat private room link from Roji.
It was as if Roji had been waiting for Jin Ha to get in touch all along.
*
Following the link Roji sent, Jin Ha entered VRChat, and a village set against a medieval European background unfolded before her eyes.
‘It looks quite complete.’
As she carefully stepped onto the intricately designed stone path, the realistic sound of her footsteps tickled her ears, just as if she were walking on actual gravel.
The delicate rustling of leaves swaying in the wind and the sound of flowing water along the outskirts of the town added to the ambiance.
Everything she saw and heard felt incredibly realistic.
Jin Ha slowly moved her feet toward the center of the village.
Pretty buildings fanned out around a round plaza.
Signboards fashioned from wood, charming little stalls placed here and there, and even rough wooden benches.
Everything appeared meticulously carved and crafted with care.
Sure, 99% of it was likely generated by AI.
Above all, what caught her eye most was the tower located at the center of the village.
The four-story tower stood tall, projecting an ominous feeling at odds with the surrounding bright, warm atmosphere.
Upon closer inspection, it felt as though this village was the final line of defense against whatever ‘something’ lay within that tower.
At that moment, a bright, cheerful voice came from behind her.
“How is it? This is a village I decorated using the 3D object generation model you left in VR TRPG. I think I did a pretty good job!”
In a witch costume, the girl Roji beamed at Jin Ha with a big smile.
“It’s not bad, but there are a few areas that need tweaking.”
“Really?! What do you think needs to be changed?”
“The biggest issue is that the lighting processing is quite fragmented. It looks too monotonous, so the texture appears flat.”
“That’s… definitely true…”
“Especially to make the wall of that building more elaborate, it would be good to add point lights and utilize indirect lighting more intricately to enhance the shading.”
Jin Ha’s feedback was always cold and blunt.
With a tone that could easily hurt feelings, one might expect Roji to feel downcast, but instead, she smiled brightly.
“Aww, Jin Ha-nim is really ruthless! But I actually like it.”
As if she had been waiting for sharp feedback, Roji’s eyes sparkled with joy.
“By the way, what’s this map for? Are you trying to make a new VR game or something?”
“Well~ something like that. To be precise…”
A significant smile appeared on Roji’s lips.
Now that she thought about it, when Roji had such an excited expression, there always seemed to be an extraordinary plan in the works…
“I’m preparing a fantasy-themed streamer RP world, inspired by Sword Master Online.”