Became the Mother of Virtual YouTubers - Chapter 96
Before long, Jin Ha and Han A-ri’s talk show was heading towards its conclusion.
In a calm atmosphere, Han A-ri murmured as if feeling regret.
“It’s already… time to wrap up.”
“Right? Time flies. It’s been a year since you started broadcasting, Han A-ri.”
Jin Ha’s calm voice picked up where Han A-ri left off.
“How was your day… How was it? This is your first time on a broadcast, were you uncomfortable at all?”
“Not at all. On the contrary, thanks to you, Han A-ri, I feel healed. It makes me think of the old days.”
“Speaking of the old days…?”
Jin Ha paused for a moment before cautiously speaking.
“When I just graduated from graduate school, I was reminded of that time.”
The mention of graduate school suddenly sobered the mood in the chat room.
– Ah… oh…
– Mama… what sin did I commit in my past life…
– Jinha is free!
– What was that place called graduate school…
– Congratulations on escaping slavery…
Seeing the constant flood of condolence messages, Jin Ha awkwardly smiled.
“I experienced some personal matters and unexpectedly had to make a new start… and it was really quite overwhelming.”
Now, Jin Ha could choose to do what she wanted and fully enjoy the privileges of being a freelancer.
But back then, she often had days with no proper work, and her bank account was nearly empty, which put her under a lot of psychological pressure.
Maybe it would have been better to sell HANA for money.
At least I could have properly added it to my portfolio and had my value recognized.
The fact that she became a woman overnight left her disoriented, unable to think clearly.
With a strong sense of pride, chasing dreams and romance, Jin Ha struggled through hardships.
“It was a tiring and difficult time, but… whenever it got tough, I managed to get through the day by watching your broadcast, Han A-ri.”
Even as she sent emails encouraging Han A-ri not to give up on broadcasting, she knew she herself couldn’t afford to give up.
“Thanks to you, I can now stand firmly as a 3D designer.”
Han A-ri’s eyes quivered slightly on the screen.
Holding her breath, she waited for Jin Ha’s next words.
“I wanted to take this opportunity to truly thank you, Han A-ri, for coming onto today’s broadcast.”
“Jin Ha…”
“Even though you call me Mama, it’s actually thanks to you that I could be reborn.”
At this rate, who knows who Mama is?
Jin Ha chuckled softly, rubbing the back of her neck.
“…”
As Jin Ha’s calm confession continued, transparent droplets welled up in Han A-ri’s big eyes.
“Once again, thank you. Trusting HANA to you was the best decision of my life.”
In no time, a small, round tear fell down her cheek.
It was such a natural tear that it shook the hearts of those watching.
“D-don’t say that… I, too… I’m so grateful…”
With a choked voice and tears flowing down, the chat room was soon filled with sobbing emoticons.
– No… why are tears falling…?
– Is this really a VTuber? Not a homunculus or a clone, right?
– What are we supposed to watch if you set the bar so high for other VTuber broadcasts!!
Amidst the emoticons, there were also rare messages expressing awe at Jin Ha’s overwhelming skills.
“I’ve received too much from Mama… what should I do now…”
“Oh… I didn’t mean to make you cry…”
“B-but…”
“If you keep crying, I’ll limit the avatar features.”
With Jin Ha’s playful voice, Han A-ri let out a little laugh.
“Really… that’s just too much, Jin Ha.”
After wiping her nose discreetly and catching her breath, Han A-ri turned to the viewers again.
“Jin Ha is great, but I also want to thank everyone who has been with me over the past year… Thanks to many of you, I’ve come this far.”
So she shyly asked for their continued support.
In response to Han A-ri’s bashful request, Jin Ha added softly.
“From now on, please love and cherish our daughter a lot.”
“…??!?!”
“I’ll be cheering along with you.”
Leaving behind that bombshell, Jin Ha exited the voice chat room just like that.
– Is Han A-ri broken?? hahahaha
– She called her our daughter…
– The eldest is Han A-ri, the legitimate child is Han A-ri, the eldest is Han A-ri, the legitimate child is Han A-ri…
“Oh, that must have been nice, Jin Ha?”
“Haha…”
As soon as Jin Ha took off her headset, she received a call from Winter.
During the joint broadcast with Han A-ri, she figured it would turn out this way the moment she saw the chat nickname ‘Seasons_겨울’ popping up occasionally.
However, hearing Winter’s extremely sulky voice made her feel quite awkward.
“Uh… Winter, did you wait until the broadcast ended…?”
Jin Ha attempted to change the subject intentionally with a joking tone, but it didn’t work on Winter.
[That’s too much!! I asked to broadcast with Jin Ha first… but then someone else…!]
Winter’s voice was filled with disappointment and regret.
Scratching her head, Jin Ha cautiously spoke, hoping for the best.
“Um… Winter, are you maybe feeling jealous?”
[No, I’m not?! Wh-why would I say something so ridiculous…!!]
“Oh, I’m relieved if that’s not the case.”
With Jin Ha’s lightly humorous tone, Winter pouted, keeping her lips pressed together.
[But seriously, isn’t that too much? You told Sachyo you weren’t going to join their broadcast, but you only appeared on Han A-ri’s… ]
“I was planning to join Winter’s broadcast too…”
[But you canceled immediately after it was announced you didn’t meet your New Year’s goals!]
“Well, a promise is a promise, so…”
After saying that, Jin Ha felt a bit regretful.
Words that sounded too much like a capital T slipped out of her mouth unknowingly.
As expected, a cold and sulking voice responded.
[So, you’re saying you won’t ever join my broadcast, is that it?]
“No, that’s not it…!”
Jin Ha, flustered, waved her free hand as if she were facing Winter in person.
Although they weren’t face to face, she felt a bit silly for even gesturing like that.
“Broadly speaking, it’s a promise to the viewers, so… I mean, it’s like how I only made one music video for Summer…”
[So?]
“Um… anyway, what I mean is, I’m not saying I won’t join Winter’s broadcast.”
Why, didn’t I just send her a message a while ago?
That I would show my face on Winter’s broadcast soon.
At some point, Jin Ha found herself making excuses that weren’t really excuses.
Like soothing an upset partner.
‘…Why do I feel like I got caught cheating?’
She had never cheated to begin with.
And they weren’t even in a romantic relationship.
…Above all, Jin Ha, Winter, and even Han A-ri were all women!
Still, the mood felt strange.
[…] That was just a line to soothe me, wasn’t it?]
“No way. When have you ever seen me make empty promises?”
[So you’ll join my broadcast…?]
Winter’s voice had taken on a hint of hope.
With that excited tone, Jin Ha sighed softly and replied.
“Yes, I will join your broadcast, Winter. I promise.”
[Really? For real?!]
“Yes. I really mean it.”
Through the speaker, she heard a bright cheer and the sound of something being kicked playfully.
Winter’s unusually excited demeanor was vividly clear in her mind.
“Actually, I thought you’d easily meet your New Year’s goal, so I had something prepared in advance. I should make use of it.”
[Of course! Since you made it, it’d be a waste not to use it, right? So, when shall we do the broadcast? I’m ready, and it looks like you are too, so how about tomorrow?]
“…Huh?”
Uh… Winter?
Are we not getting approval from the boss or the manager?
Is there no need for an announcement or anything?
Fortunately, Jin Ha didn’t have to stress about convincing Winter with practical reasons.
Winter seemed to realize she had lost her composure in her excitement.
[Oh, even so, tomorrow might be pushing it, right?]
“…I’m glad you understand.”
[So how about next week or the week after… Ah! We need to plan the content first, so let’s meet up and discuss, okay? I’d prefer it if we could meet at a cafe instead of VR chat…!!]
“Hold on a second. Let me check my schedule.”
As Jin Ha listened to Winter’s excited voice, she clicked her mouse.
The moment she checked the calendar.
“…Ah.”
A cold sigh escaped Jin Ha’s lips.
[…Is something wrong?]
Winter’s excited voice suddenly dampened.
Upon hearing Jin Ha’s sigh, she immediately sensed that something had gone wrong.
Jin Ha hesitated for a moment before speaking with a guilty heart.
“Um… it seems it might be a bit difficult for the time being.”
[Are you really busy?]
Jin Ha paused briefly before carefully opening her mouth.
“I just checked, and I have a schedule to present a paper overseas at the beginning of next month… so I think I’ll have to prepare at least a little.”