Became the Mother of Virtual YouTubers - Chapter 78

Jina Mama, from now on I will monopolize it

Just for a moment.

Jina thought Hwimin had realized she was there.

‘…No way, right?’

Well, if she had, it would have been ‘Mama’, not ‘Mom’.

Her eyes would be on her, not the monitor.

Jina sighed quietly and brought over a stool, sitting down next to Hwimin.

Then, she scooped up the porridge with a spoon and brought it to Hwimin’s lips.

“I said I’ll eat it myself. Don’t bother…”

Grumbling only for a moment, Hwimin slightly opened her mouth and accepted the porridge.

Even while doing so, her hands continued working without rest.

After feeding her all the porridge in the bowl, Jina placed the mug containing the drink on the edge of the desk.

Hwimin was still engrossed, as if sucked into the screen.

‘Now that I’ve fed her, I just have to wait until Hwimin takes a breather.’

‘I should work on my stuff too.’

She was glad she brought her laptop, not knowing how many hours she’d be here.

Jina herself would pound the keyboard for ten-odd hours straight once she got hooked on something. Hwimin would be similar.

Just in case she disturbed her work, Jina sat far away from Hwimin.

Then, placing the laptop on her lap, she started checking the overdue work files.

There happened to be plenty of work to kill time with.

How much time had passed?

The air in the room settled even heavier.

Jina’s eyes also started to feel dry.

Just when she was thinking she really hated it but might have to make some instant coffee.

“Uuuugh~”

Hwimin stretched long.

Leaning her body fully against the chair back, she stretched both arms straight up.

It was such a big stretch that the sound of stiff joints cracking, ududuk, could be heard.

“But Mom, when did you get here…? You didn’t say you were coming up.”

Hwimin murmured lowly as she lowered her arms.

Her voice was groggy, like someone not fully awake yet.

The corner of Jina’s mouth twitched upwards.

For a fleeting moment, she considered making a joke, but decided to just stay quiet.

“…Mom?”

Hwimin slowly turned her head, looking towards the sofa behind her.

And so, Jina’s and Hwimin’s eyes met.

“…”

‘So you finally look this way?’

“…!”

Hwimin’s half-lidded eyes widened hwak- in an instant.

“Uh, uh uh… Ugyaaaak-!!”

Hwimin, her face flushing red, startled and jumped up as if leaping.

“Wh-wh-who are you?!”

“Come to think of it, this is our first time meeting in reality, right? It’s me, Jina.”

“J-Jina… Mama?”

“Yes. Not Mom, Mama.”

Hwimin, still unable to gather her wits, just stood blankly in place, blinking her eyes.

“C-come to think of it, your voice is the same… You look just like the avatar you use in VR Chat too…”

“I hear that a lot.”

“Your boobs are amazing too…”

“Are they as good as Summer’s?”

“Ahem! I am quite well-built… M-more importantly… When did you arri-, no… When did you get here?”

Hwimin asked awkwardly, her face flushed red.

As if the word ‘Mom’ she had just uttered echoed in her mind, her eyes darted around, unable to find focus.

“Been here a while. By the way, your concentration was amazing?”

Her tone was calm, but a hint of a smile played on her lips.

It wasn’t hard to picture Hwimin kicking her blankets pang pang.

“…You should have told me when you arrived.”

“Hey, how could I disturb you? Anyway, did you write the song well?”

“Um, well… I think it came out okay.”

Hwimin sat cross-legged on the chair, gazing blankly at Jina.

Then suddenly, she gently poked Jina’s chest with her fist tuk-.

“Jina Mama, you need to apologize to me.”

“Apologize for what?”

“Really… The modeling, you carved it unnecessarily well. I thought it was reality, not a game…”

Saying she got overly immersed because of that, Hwimin pouted her lips.

“Still, thanks to that, you got proper inspiration, right?”

“That’s… true. That’s why it’s more annoying.”

A much lighter laughter spread through the room.

As the tension and embarrassment subsided, Hwimin faced Jina with a more comfortable expression than before.

“Mama, did you know? Actually, I used to be a pretty successful YouTuber? Making and singing original songs was my main content.”

Her expression was playful, but the voice coming out of her mouth was calm.

“But hmm- thinking about how to increase video views, how to increase subscribers… things got a little twisted.”

Jina quietly listened attentively to Hwimin’s words.

The smile gradually faded from her side profile reflected in the monitor light.

Instead, the shadow of lonely memories settled.

“The songs didn’t come out well, and I couldn’t bring myself to sing either. Didn’t want to do anything…”

Hwimin’s shoulders seemed to slump slightly.

Just recalling the memories seemed heavy on her heart.

“I spent months like that. Day after day, just watching streams… or playing games like crazy…”

“No wonder Summer was good at various games.”

At Jina’s words that changed the mood, Hwimin burst into laughter, “Nyahaha-“.

‘Indeed, Summer looks better smiling than being serious,’ Jina thought with a gentle smile.

“Still, becoming ‘Summer’ and hiding behind the avatar somehow made singing possible, but the songs still wouldn’t come out worth a damn.”

But after playing the game Jina made.

After experiencing another reality.

Hwimin’s emotions properly exploded.

The swirling feelings burst out in the form of ‘music’.

The original intention she had forgotten for a long time.

Popped out before she knew it.

“It’s not finished yet, but it’s almost done. It’s all thanks to Yoo Da-hee.”

No, honestly speaking.

“Thanks to… Jina Mama.”

Emotion filled Hwimin’s voice.

She tried hard to pretend she was fine, to laugh playfully, but.

She couldn’t hide her reddened eyes.

“I’m so stupid, aren’t I? Falling head over heels for a mere NPC…”

“There were many people besides Summer who shed tears.”

First off, most people who watched the broadcast cried. Tearful emojis filled the chat for a long time.

Spring, who watched Summer’s broadcast with her, also cried. Apparently, she cried so much that the viewers ended up comforting her.

“Besides, Rosy, who made the game with me, was practically bawling her eyes out?”

“Ahaha… Right, they should have made Yoo Da-hee, that kind-hearted idiot, a bit happier…”

“Actually, she’s working hard on it.”

“That’s really… exciting. What, are they going to sell it as DLC?”

“Surely they wouldn’t be that malicious?”

“Well, it doesn’t matter if they sell it. I’ll buy it even if it’s full price.”

Saying so, Hwimin tilted her head up and briefly looked at the ceiling.

Her gloomy feelings remained, but she didn’t shed tears.

A trembling breath escaped naturally.

The air in the room was now filled not with heat, but with warmth.

Jina quietly approached Hwimin’s side.

She didn’t add any other words unnecessarily.

Instead, she gently placed her hand on her shoulder.

Then Hwimin turned her head towards Jina and, without hesitation, rested her forehead tuk- against her chest.

“…Jina Mama. From now on too, you’ll keep watching over me like today, right?”

At the faint voice resonating against her chest, Jina silently nodded.

“Really… You should be truly thankful that Mama is a woman, not a man.”

“You mean you would have pounced if I were a man?”

“If it were someone as charming as Summer, wouldn’t the man be the one getting pounced on?”

“Well… if the opponent is Mama, being on the receiving end might not be so bad?”

“…Haha.”

Watching Summer let out a sly “Eheheh-” laugh.

Jina once again let out an awkward laugh.

“…Is this song really, Summer, made by you?”

In the Seasons-exclusive studio in VR Chat.

Winter, upon hearing the song Summer brought, asked with wide eyes.

“Why? Don’t believe it, Winter-ssi?”

“Believing it is one thing… This song is too good?”

Summer crossed her legs and grinned.

An expected reaction.

Summer was that proud of her song.

“So, why did you let me hear this song?”

“I was hoping Winter could feature on this song. If it were up to me, I’d want to sing it alone, but my singing skills haven’t recovered enough for that yet.”

“I’d love to. But… how did you really make this song?”

Winter stopped the song playback and looked at Summer with curious eyes.

“Summer, you hadn’t even started making the song until a week ago.”

“Ah, about that…”

Summer trailed off, smiling shyly.

“Actually, while getting overly immersed in ‘Saving Yoo Da-hee’, inspiration suddenly struck~ Lost my mind tapping out melodies, and the song was just ttak- finished~”

At Summer’s deception(?), Winter let out a small gasp, “Ah-“.

Winter also knew that ‘Saving Yoo Da-hee’ was the content that recently made Summer’s broadcast blow up.

Moreover, she also knew that the person in charge of the 3D modeling for that game was Jina.

“It might sound weird saying this, but it’s all thanks to Jina Mama. I almost called Spring unnie~ Nyahahaha!”

“…Hasn’t it even been announced yet?”

“That’s true~ But either this song or another one, one of the two will enter the Melon Chart Top 100~ This song is definitely worthy of that!”

Unlike Summer, who displayed confidence all over her face.

Winter pouted her lips ppyujuk-.

Summer didn’t miss it.

Noticing Winter’s expression subtly darken, she curled her lips and laughed silently.

Then, she playfully tapped Winter’s shoulder.

“So about that, Winter, no, Winter unnie.”

“…?”

“Jina Mama, I plan to monopolize her from now on.”

“Wh-what did you say?!”

Winter sharply turned her head as if hiding her reddened cheeks.

“Ah~ I don’t know, I don’t know. I can’t make songs without Jina Mama.”

Summer waved her hand dismissively and laughed.

“So I can’t hand Jina Mama over to Fall or Spring, nor to Unnie.”

“Summer, you… are you trying to pick a fight with me right now?!”

“Ah, of course, not to that Han Ari girl or whatever her name is either.”

‘Anyway, Jina Mama is mine,’ she declared.

Summer, with an annoying expression, boldly declared war.

1st (-) Bebe – Yeon Yanggaeng (Red Bean Jelly)

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95th (New!) Cosmo Live_Summer – Because I Hate Seeing You Hurt (feat. Cosmo Live_Winter)

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99th (New!) Cosmo Live_Summer – Summertime