Chapter 107: For the first time, the moment of walking alone

Hyo-in quietly watched Jina present from below the stage.

More precisely, she watched Jina’s avatar present.

She finally fully understood Jina’s words that she could present sufficiently without personally being on stage.

At this rate, there would certainly be no worry of being found out.

At least, for the time being.

“Anyway… As expected of Jina unnie.”

At Jina’s overwhelming presence before the audience, Hyo-in quietly held her breath backstage.

Jina’s presentation was insufficient to be described merely as ‘good’.

It was overwhelming.

It definitely captivated attention, immersing people.

Also, it was armed with perfect theory that no one could refute.

It was truly flawless.

‘Still, I thought I had caught up a little…’

For the past year, after Jina left the lab.

Hyo-in had, in her own way, struggled hard and run.

Thanks to that, she learned a lot.

Therefore, she also saw a lot.

She felt like she finally understood the extent of Jina’s capabilities as a researcher.

‘…Suffocating.’

Her heart pounded kung kung- like crazy.

She felt ashamed of herself for vaguely thinking she was at a level to research alongside Jina.

She was still merely Jina’s assistant.

No, now that they met again after a year.

Now that Jina had thrown off the shackles of the lab and soared away.

It felt like the gap had widened immensely, like that between a supervising professor and a student.

‘Can someone like me… stand side by side with Jina unnie on the same stage?’

A sense of inferiority, a sense of tension, enveloped Hyo-in.

It felt like gradually sinking into deep water…

Her body, limply…

“Actually, my master has one more person, and that’s the next presenter, Hyo-in! Everyone, a big round of applause, please!”

Just then, a nasal voice calling Hyo-in’s name echoed on the stage.

Hyo-in, who had been lost in thought, unknowingly walked towards the stage.

She was lucky.

It just happened to be the timing for Jina to introduce the next presenter and for Hyo-in to come out; otherwise, she might have caused an accident.

The sound of fervent applause from the audience faintly echoes in her ears.

She thinks she can vaguely hear familiar voices cheering in a familiar language, like ‘Unnie, good luck!’ or ‘Hyo-in, fighting!’.

But that too is fleeting.

A high-pitched ringing, piiii-, sounds in her ears.

Her vision turns pitch black, and she can’t see anything.

Her mind goes completely blank, and she can’t think of anything.

‘How… did it end up like this…?’

‘I read the paper dozens, hundreds of times.’

‘I practiced the presentation so much.’

‘I even bothered Jina unnie all night.’

‘I really prepared thoroughly…’

‘Why…!’

Wanting to just run away, just as Hyo-in squeezed her eyes shut.

“Hyo-in. Look here.”

In the darkness, a gentle voice echoed.

Slowly opening her eyes.

Turning her head to the side.

Jina’s form registers on her retina.

To be precise, it’s Jina’s avatar, JINA.

But her indifferent yet gentle smile was exactly like Jina’s own.

While Hyo-in blinked blankly, JINA transformed back into MINA.

“There’s nothing to be nervous about! We practiced until we were sick of it, didn’t we?”

“…”

“Show them everything you’ve prepared. Let’s just blow up this presentation hall!”

At MINA’s cute and brutal gangster-style English, laughter spread among the audience.

The suffocating atmosphere on stage also softened before she knew it.

Huu- Haa.

Hyo-in took a deep breath.

Only now did her surroundings begin to come into focus.

‘Why did I try to compare myself to Jina unnie?’

Hyo-in finally realized.

Just because Jina shines so brightly.

Just because she can’t follow that light.

It absolutely doesn’t mean all her efforts so far were meaningless.

‘Right. The reason I’m standing here now is…’

It’s not to catch up to Jina.

It’s not to compare and despair.

This stage is simply a place to prove her own efforts.

At the same time, it was also a place to take one step away from Jina.

A place to gain confidence that even without Jina by her side, she could do well enough on her own.

Of course, the core idea of this paper was also given by Jina.

And she ended up receiving Jina’s help with the presentation preparation too.

Even on stage, she only managed to regain her composure after receiving Jina’s encouragement.

But as a starting point for taking her first steps away from Jina, there is no stage more perfect than this.

‘Until just now, it might have been Jina unnie’s stage…’

Not anymore.

From this moment on.

It is Hyo-in’s stage.

The heavy stone weighing on her heart disappeared.

She felt like she could finally breathe properly.

Hyo-in, standing side by side with Mina, smiled and looked at the audience, slowly raising the microphone.

“Beautiful, or perhaps cool… How can such evaluation criteria, which reside in the realm of subjective emotion, be measured as objective indicators?”

The audience’s gaze focused on her pleasant voice, which made people feel comfortable.

“First of all, no one can deny that this avatar next to me is extremely cute. Of course, she’s a black-hearted gangster inside, but who cares? She looks adorable on the outside.”

Light laughter spread among the audience at Hyo-in’s joke.

It wasn’t as dramatic or flashy as Jina’s presentation.

Instead, it was calm and stable.

Relatable example materials and solid logical development stood out.

The audience, faced with a presentation style starkly different from the previous one, followed along without losing concentration.

Above all, the topic was extremely interesting.

It was visible that they were repeatedly opening and closing their lips, wanting to ask questions right away.

And so the presentation concluded, and applause once again filled the hall.

Compared to when Jina finished her presentation, a bit more heartfelt cheering was mixed in.

Applauding along with the other audience members, Seo-ah let out a small gasp.

“Hyo-in-ssi is really amazing too. She seemed a little nervous at first.”

“Of course. Hyo-in unnie prepared so much, you know.”

Ye-rin’s eyes reddened.

Although she hadn’t participated in the paper work from the beginning.

For the past few months, she had watched Hyo-in consistently stay up all night, ponder, and strive beside her.

Therefore, this moment when Hyo-in’s efforts were rewarded was incredibly delightful.

Seeing her most precious senior shine brightly, light was also engraved in Ye-rin’s eyes.

---

In the evening, there was a banquet schedule.

It was the conference’s official dinner, a place for participants to share their thoughts on the presentations and build fellowship.

“Hyo-in unnie, you worked so hard. You were really cool today.”

Ye-rin smiled brightly and raised her cocktail glass.

Hyo-in also smiled slightly and lightly clinked glasses.

“Still, it’s a bit disappointing. I stumbled a bit during the Q&A.”

“Hey~ Unnie, you still answered everything perfectly except for one.”

“That one is what’s disappointing, well.”

‘In the end, I ended up relying on Jina until the very last moment,’ Hyo-in thought, letting out a low sigh.

“Oh, come to think of it, where is Jina unnie now?”

“That unnie, well…”

Hyo-in gestured with her chin towards one side of the hall.

Ye-rin, turning her gaze, her eyes widened slightly.

Two women surrounded by numerous people are visible.

None other than Jina and Seo-ah.

It was natural for people to gather.

Practically, the star of this conference.

No, at the very least, the star of today.

Was none other than Jina.

Jina, buried in the crowd, just scratched her head with an awkward expression.

Communication with strangers still seemed difficult.

Moreover, these people were pouring out English with heavy accents, hard to understand, without any consideration.

No matter how fluent Jina is in English, anything outside the scope covered by Korea’s cramming education system is tough.

“Yes, that’s correct. Our Cosmo Live has partnered with Jina and is applying various technologies to our broadcasts.”

On behalf of Jina, Seo-ah, standing right beside her, smiled brightly and chatted with others for Jina’s share too.

It was a moment where the difference between an science type and an arts type, an I (Introvert) and an E (Extrovert), was starkly revealed.

Although she lacked research knowledge, now wasn’t Q&A time but time for fellowship. It was the perfect environment for Seo-ah to shine.

Just then, Jina’s gaze, which had been looking around, landed on Hyo-in.

After briefly exchanging glances with Hyo-in, Jina excused herself from Seo-ah and the others and quickly crossed the hall.

“Phew! Tired, so tired.”

“Good work, Jina unnie.”

At Jina’s languid complaint, Hyo-in smiled faintly and said.

“Just a moment, Jina unnie. Did you just ditch Seo-ah unnie and run away alone?”

“Ditch? I left her in charge of the rear.”

“That’s ditching!”

“It’s true. Seo-ah-nim also said she wanted to build connections with researchers on this occasion.”

Ye-rin squinted her eyes disbelievingly and glared at Jina.

At Ye-rin’s reaction, Jina laughed lightly and changed the subject.

“Anyway, Ye-rin, how was this conference for you? Since you saw the preparation process too, I think you must have felt quite a lot.”

Ye-rin downed the cocktail in her hand.

Then, with hazy eyes, she muttered in a dreamy voice.

“Honestly, I came without knowing much at first. Part of it was because the professor told me to come along, and I also wondered what I could learn by coming…”

Putting down the empty glass and picking up a new one, Ye-rin continued with a serious expression.

“But, I really thought it was a good decision to come.”

Watching Hyo-in’s presentation, she felt a glimpse of the sense of achievement in research.

She thought she wanted to write her own paper someday.

Having long conversations with Seo-ah, she reflected on the reason she started walking the path of a researcher.

Her faded goal became clear once again.

And after watching Jina’s presentation…

Ye-rin trailed off, then emptied her glass again.

As expected of someone from engineering, she drinks very well.

Puheu- After letting out a sigh mixed with the smell of alcohol.

She cautiously confessed her inner thoughts.

“…Honestly, I’ve lost confidence.”

‘Others, maybe, but Jina, I didn’t think I could catch up to her even if I were reborn.’

To Ye-rin, Jina was.

An insurmountable, sky-like senior.

‘But even such a senior.’

‘Couldn’t endure lab life and left…’

‘Someone like me, how?’

Borrowing courage from the alcohol, Ye-rin cautiously voiced words she normally wouldn’t have.

“So… Jina unnie, why on earth did you leave the lab?”