Chapter 104: A content planner who is familiar with broadcasting to the point of winning awards

The option of putting the two to sleep was discarded long ago.

Forcing someone with a mountain of work left to do into bed wouldn’t make them sleep.

Therefore, it was Plan B.

At the very least, to prevent them from starving, she had to stuff sandwiches or something into their mouths.

Also, for hydration and caffeine, she needed to inject it into their veins.

Seo-ah, while getting dressed, lightly gestured to Ye-rin.

“Ye-rin, shall we go out and get some simple breakfast and coffee?”

“Ah, then I’ll just change in my room and come out!”

“Okay, then let’s meet in front of the 1st-floor desk.”

Surprisingly, these two zombies didn’t even turn their heads while Seo-ah and Ye-rin opened the door and left.

Only the faint sound of them exchanging opinions with serious gazes could be heard.

That’s no ordinary concentration.

And so, as Seo-ah and Ye-rin stepped out of the hotel, the unfamiliar yet beautiful morning scenery of Vancouver unfolded before their eyes.

Under the soft morning sunlight, a refreshing breeze brushed their cheeks.

“Hwaaa… Last night, my head felt like it was going to explode, but breathing in this morning air makes it a bit better.”

“You’ve worked hard, Ye-rin.”

At Ye-rin’s light complaint, Seo-ah let out a small laugh.

The two headed to a charming little cafe near the hotel.

As they opened the door and entered, the delightful aroma of freshly brewed coffee wafted in.

“Four coffees, to go, please. And I’d like to buy a few types of sandwiches too…”

“What are you looking for?”

“Do you have any recommended items? Something that could give strength to someone who stayed up all night would be great.”

Seo-ah, having finished ordering in fluent English, looked out the window with Ye-rin while waiting for the coffee.

“Ye-rin-ssi, listening to you talk about the paper last night, it was really amazing?”

After a brief silence, Seo-ah spoke first.

“Honestly, I couldn’t understand a single word… How do you understand such difficult content?”

At Seo-ah’s sincere compliment, Ye-rin’s cheeks flushed slightly red.

Ye-rin smiled bashfully, looking embarrassed, and scratched her head.

“Hey, actually, I barely followed along either? Listening to Hyo-in unnie and Jina unnie talk, I realized I still have a long way to go.”

‘That’s why it actually motivated me more.’

‘I need to work even harder from now on,’ she thought, clenching her fist with determination, but only for a moment.

Ye-rin soon let out a small sigh and spoke in a dejected voice.

“But… actually, graduate school life is much harder than I thought.”

At first, she thought it would be fine.

Her grandfather, her parents, all were in research fields.

She thought she would adapt quickly too.

But the research industry she actually stepped into was completely different from what she had imagined.

“I was somewhat prepared… but actually facing it, truly daunting moments kept coming.”

Actually, being tormented by the supervising professor is nothing.

Still, since she’s a ‘parachute’, the professor couldn’t treat his mentor’s granddaughter carelessly.

Even when the professor occasionally lost control of his emotions and assigned unreasonable tasks, her mentor Hyo-in served as a strong breakwater.

However, the decline in self-esteem was unavoidable.

Coming to graduate school, there were just too many outstanding people in the world.

She wondered how on earth they came up with ideas for the hundreds, thousands of papers pouring out every year.

Actually, she didn’t have to look far. Even looking at her lab seniors, everyone was far ahead of Ye-rin.

Watching Byeong-jae and other male seniors give seminars, honestly, most of it was incomprehensible.

Hyo-in, her direct mentor and the lab’s ace, being amazing… goes without saying.

What made Ye-rin feel small more than anything was none other than Jina’s existence.

When she only heard about her, she just thought she was an amazing senior making huge contributions in the field.

She even looked down on her inwardly. After all, she was someone who couldn’t endure graduate school life and ran.

She thought the kind-hearted Hyo-in had added her as a co-first author out of pity for such a senior.

It was a misconception.

Above the dizzyingly high mountain peak that was Hyo-in.

There was Jina, a sky with no visible end.

Beyond just holding sway over Hyo-in in research, she was even ‘lecturing’ to a fledgling like herself, 맞춰 (matching/tailoring) to her level.

‘Even someone like this couldn’t get a doctorate…’

‘Can someone like me continue doing research?’

She was already plenty intimidated after seeing her lab seniors’ papers get rejected one after another.

After talking about papers with Jina, her confidence hit rock bottom, even leading to feelings of self-loathing.

Such inner thoughts cast a shadow over Ye-rin’s face.

“…It’s hard. When you face anything directly, it’s bound to be different from what you initially thought.”

Watching Ye-rin like that, Seo-ah slowly nodded her head.

“Whether it’s research or broadcasting… no, actually, I think every job has aspects like that.”

At Seo-ah’s words that she too had many worries, Ye-rin’s eyes widened as if surprised.

“I thought Seo-ah was someone who didn’t have worries…”

Because she seemed so relaxed and mature.

Even though their fields were different, she was shining brilliantly.

But Seo-ah lightly waved her hand, saying that wasn’t the case.

“Because people’s gazes always follow me. I always feel tense and anxious.”

Seo-ah paused for a moment and added cautiously.

“Actually, I also jumped into the broadcasting industry because I liked it… but sometimes, it’s so hard I think about running away.”

‘Hiding behind the avatar ‘Winter’ makes it even more so.’

‘If I just disappear quietly like this, would anyone know?’

‘Sometimes, very occasionally, I had thoughts like that.’

What held such Seo-ah back was, in the end, her original intention.

“Whenever that happens, I try to recall why I started this work.”

Even if she doesn’t feel confident about herself.

Even if she wants to let go of everything.

“When I recall the moment I first harbored the dream, it gives me a little strength.”

At Seo-ah’s words, Ye-rin slowly nodded her head.

After pondering for a moment, she honestly confessed her deeper inner thoughts.

“Actually, there was a time when I also wanted to try being a VTuber.”

“Really?!”

At the unexpected words, Seo-ah’s eyes widened.

“Yes. But when I actually tried to broadcast myself, I just couldn’t gather the courage. My personality is like this, and I wasn’t confident about making anyone laugh…”

‘It was a brief deviation,’ Ye-rin said with a shy smile.

“Still, thanks to that, I was able to find a research topic. I thought it would be good to make avatars for VTubers, so I started looking for labs doing related research.”

Luckily, she was able to connect with her current supervising professor through her grandfather’s connection.

And very luckily, she was able to meet a good mentor like Hyo-in.

“But looking at Ye-rin-ssi, your atmosphere and voice seem like they’d suit a VTuber very well. How about it? Trying it out even now?”

At Seo-ah’s playful words, Ye-rin blushed.

“Ah, no…! Lab work is busy right now, and more importantly, I don’t have any talent for broadcasting…”

“Hey, I was being quite serious. A VTuber with a graduate student concept. Sounds fresh and fun.”

“Ahaha… Would there be demand?”

“Of course. For starters, I think I’d press the follow button?”

Watching Ye-rin’s shy demeanor quietly, for some reason, Jina’s image faintly overlapped.

The reason for starting research.

And belittling herself by saying she has no talent for broadcasting.

There are quite a few similarities.

Of course, Jina is far more outstanding in research and much more serious about VTubing.

But still, you never know the future, right?

Just then, the voice of the staff announcing that the ordered coffee and sandwiches were ready echoed in the cafe.

The two accepted the bag and cups and headed towards the hotel.

While walking, suddenly.

“Um… Seo-ah.”

Ye-rin hesitated for a moment, then cautiously began to speak.

“By any chance, Seo-ah… are you Seasons’… W-Winter…”

Shhh—

Seo-ah, with a gentle smile, brought her index finger to her lips.

Seo-ah winked slightly and added playfully.

“I’m just an ordinary planner. Got it?”

---

Seo-ah and Ye-rin’s expressions hardened as they opened the hotel room door.

“…Wow.”

“Really… They’re hardcore.”

Jina and Hyo-in, these two research zombies, were sitting at the table in the exact same posture as when they left the room.

If anything had changed, it was perhaps that the printed papers on the table were piled up more messily.

“At this rate, it seems like we’ll have to retrain the model and get the results again…”

“Wouldn’t that take too much time? How about just slightly modifying the formula here instead?”

“Then how are you going to solve the problem of some data not following the trend of the indicators? This seems like it could definitely be attacked.”

The air in the room had grown even heavier.

A crumpled piece of paper fell powerlessly from Hyo-in’s fingertips.

Jina is pressing both temples firmly, letting out a faint sigh.

“If it weren’t Jina unnie, I don’t think they’d ask such detailed questions…”

“What am I, a nobody? If I have doubts, other professors will think the same. Don’t try to just gloss over it.”

Jina’s voice is somewhat sharp.

Her usual languid demeanor was nowhere to be seen.

Seo-ah watched the scene, then cautiously observed Hyo-in’s expression.

Hyo-in bit her lip firmly, mulling over Jina’s sharp criticism.

In the tense atmosphere, as if it would explode any second.

Seo-ah smiled brightly and brought the cold coffee to Jina’s cheek.

“Jina, shall we take a short break before continuing?”

At the cold sensation spreading from her cheek, ah- a languid sound escaped Jina’s lips.

“Thank you, Seo-ah Ma…. My head was feeling hot anyway.”

“…Manim (Madam)?”

“It’s nothing. My mind is so preoccupied that all sorts of nonsense is coming out.”

She almost called her Mama.

Jina, too, focused on work, was in no position to criticize Summer for confusing Mom and Mama.

Jina and Hyo-in immediately sucked on their straws as soon as they received the coffee.

Hyo-in emptied half of the venti size in an instant, while Jina even opened the plastic lid and poured the drink and ice directly into her mouth from the cup.

“While we’re taking a short break, let’s fill our stomachs too. If you need anything else, please let me know.”

Of course, those two wouldn’t ask for anything themselves, so Seo-ah would have to be observant and take care of what seemed necessary.

Seo-ah sighed worriedly and whispered to Ye-rin standing beside her.

“Still… it’ll be finished by tonight, right? The presentation is two days from now, you said.”

“I wish it were… but probably tomorrow morning, no, maybe even tomorrow night they’ll still be at it…”

Jina and Hyo-in, having finished their short break, picked up the prints again.

Looking at them, it seemed they might be at it not just until tomorrow night, but even until the dawn of the presentation day.

“…Ye-rin-ssi, can I come over to your room and sleep together tonight?”

“…Of course. I should also sleep properly in a bed today, not on the sofa.”

Staying up all night here would only be a disturbance to the two.

Of course, while awake, she had to provide as much support as possible.

For now, starting with getting more of that coffee that had already been emptied.