Chapter 114: Hanari: Click

“Today’s race winner is! Seasons’ Winter, who succeeded in a last-minute comeback with an incredible tactic!”

As darkness settled deeply over the map, spectacular fireworks began to explode pang pang.

Receiving a flood of congratulatory messages in the chat and applause from the other members, Winter stepped forward with a slightly shy smile.

Daon approached Winter and handed her a card the size of his own avatar.

On the sparkling hologram card, the words ‘Jinro World Beta Tester Invitation’ were clearly written.

“This is just a fashion invitation, you know, right? Jina will deliver the serial code separately later.”

“Actually, I just got a DM.”

“Really? Hiya~ Looks like she was watching the broadcast. Then, a brief winner’s interview! We can’t not hear it, right?”

Receiving a solo shot from Cosmo Live’s official channel camera, Winter cleared her throat, heum heum.

As befits Cosmo Live’s representative dutiful daughter, first, a shout-out.

Mama’s love is indeed Winter.

“I went to an overseas conference with Jina-nim this time, right? On the flight back, Jina passionately explained the physical laws of virtual space for a whopping 11 hours.”

Saying the strategy used today was an application of what she learned then, Winter smiled bashfully.

[-Um… 11 hours is a bit…]

[-Professor’s_Secret_Tutoring.mp3]

[-Your ears must have been bleeding…?]

[ModernDayDobby3749 has donated 1,000 won]

[Ugh… Why the PTSD… P-professor… Please stop… Kraaak!!]

[StarDustMember0 has donated 1,000 won]

[Upvote if you think she did the same thing to Winter that she experienced in grad school… Should I press it?]

[-(Okay/Good)]

[-I’m a current grad student, I pressed upvote while crying…]

At the chat window’s intense reaction, Winter chuckled kuk kuk and continued speaking.

“And… honestly, the competitor I was most worried about was Summer, but thanks to her focusing on interference, I think I was able to win more easily.”

Following Winter’s gaze, the official channel’s camera also focused on Summer.

Today’s Summer performance: 2 kills (Spring, Cherry), 1 death (Mary).

Summer, suddenly in the spotlight, scratched the back of her head and smiled awkwardly.

“Uh… It’s nothing special, actually, after seeing the prize, my motivation kind of dropped, I guess…”

Everyone looked at Summer with puzzled eyes.

Winter, especially, looked a bit flustered.

“Your motivation dropped after seeing the prize? It’s the right to experience the world Jina-nim created one step ahead?”

“About that~ Actually, I already received it, the beta test invitation.”

“…?!”

At Summer’s revelation, not only Winter but the other members also widened their eyes in surprise.

The chat window also quickly filled with numerous hooks (question marks/flames).

Summer paused, annoyingly slowly, then spoke.

“This RP world is called Jinro World, right? The world Jina Mama and Rosy-ssi made. Jinro World for short.”

“S-so?”

“Actually, a while ago, another operator, Rosy, contacted me separately.”

“…?”

“She said she was sorry for the delayed official release of ‘Saving Yoo Da-hee’. And then she sent me a Jinro World beta tester invitation?”

“Whaaat?!”

“Wow~ If I had gotten first place, I would have used the invitation to create another piece of original content. Too bad~”

Summer burst into laughter with an expression that wasn’t regretful at all.

[-Lol LOL No wonder LOL]

[-This b*tch had no intention of getting 1st place from the start LOL]

[-Hey hey, that wasn’t my true intention?]

---

“Sky Race Challenge, I enjoyed watching it.”

The moment she spoke, her heart began to pound.

Ari clutched her smartphone tightly and sat gently on the edge of the bed.

After exchanging numbers since the 1st-anniversary talk show, they had talked on the phone quite a lot.

But this moment still felt tense and nerve-wracking.

Like a fresh couple who just started dating, each other’s first love, gradually getting to know their partner.

Such a shy excitement gently spread throughout her body.

[Ah, you watched it? How was it? Was it somewhat fun?]

Jina’s voice, heard over the smartphone, was soft and affectionate.

As the languid voice flowed into her ear, her cheeks flushed for no reason.

Glancing in the mirror, her ears and face were visibly red.

‘Calm down. Why on earth am I like this.’

Ari, trying to shake off the awkwardness, cleared her throat, keuheum-, and rambled on.

“Midway, I also entered Mary’s channel and briefly experienced the flight content in VR mode, it was really vivid. You were busy enough to go overseas, when did you even make this?”

[Ah, that? It’s nothing special. Just slightly improved a technology I had already made.]

Jina is always like this.

She would talk about incredible technologies that others couldn’t even imagine as casually as if she were boiling ramen at home.

Listening to her, it somehow felt like it really was nothing, and she found herself smiling.

Now, whenever some new amazing technology appears in the streaming world, she has developed a habit of first checking if Jina made it.

Jina was that surprising and wondrous a person.

[How have you been lately, Han Ari-nim? Are you doing well?]

“Me? Well, same as always. Hmm, except for one concern I have.”

[A concern…?]

“Seeing the Cosmo Live members all gather and do such big content… I felt a bit envious.”

Whining that unknowingly slipped out.

Only to Jina, she unknowingly reveals her honest feelings.

When they only exchanged news via email, there was a sense of distance.

But after hearing each other’s voices, their relationship had become much closer.

“Since I’m alone, after all… Planning content like that is difficult for me.”

Han Ari fiddled with the blanket and confessed her inner thoughts in a calm voice.

“It’s hard to schedule collabs, and since my personality is so timid, it’s really difficult for me to suggest things to others. But carrying on the broadcasts like this is gradually becoming too much…”

[Well, Han Ari-nim is now a proper big name too. How about looking for an agency?]

“It’s not that I haven’t thought about it… Hmm, for the time being, I plan to try a bit more on my own.”

[If you need help, please tell me anytime.]

“Ah, no! I’ve already received more than enough from Jina-nim… Besides, this is fundamentally a problem with my personality.”

‘In the end, I have to change,’ she thought.

Ari let out a silent sigh.

Long ago, during her idol trainee days.

The experience of ultimately failing despite the agency’s and surrounding expectations still remained in her mind.

Because of that, it’s unavoidable that she unknowingly hesitates.

“It’s a slightly different story, but Winter-nim… no, Winter really helps me out a lot.”

[…Winter-nim?]

“Even while pretending not to, she subtly takes care of me. She introduces me to Mary-nim and other musicians, and pays a lot of attention to me. I’m so, so grateful.”

‘She’d get angry again if I said this in front of her, but she’s subtly a tsundere, you know?’

At Ari’s added words, a languid laugh leaked from the smartphone.

“…Ah! I’ve only been talking about myself. How about you, Jina? Are you still very busy these days? You’re preparing for Jinro World or something, right?”

[Ah, actually, regarding that, I have something to tell Han Ari-nim.]

“To me?”

Jina’s voice is a little serious.

Ari straightened her posture and pressed the smartphone tightly to her ear.

[Actually, there’s something I’d like to ask of Han Ari-nim.]

“What can I do for you?”

She didn’t ask what kind of task it was.

If it was Jina’s request, she was prepared to grant it unconditionally, even if it was somewhat unreasonable.

[We’re planning to start the beta test for Jinro World soon.]

First, tester rights were distributed one by one to each MCN that invested in the world’s development.

On top of that.

[Me and another developer, Rosy, decided to each bring one additional streamer, you see?]

So, that’s why, Han Ari.

[Would you like to become a beta tester for Jinro World?]

Han Ari was speechless for a moment.

Jina’s proposal is sudden, and also surprising.

“M-me? Is it okay for someone like me to do the testing?”

It was natural to hesitate.

Understandably so, the comparison target is too strong.

Many people already know that another developer, Rosy, used her authority to select Summer as a tester.

Rosy said she picked her out of apology, but honestly, there’s no streamer as suitable for a virtual reality RP world as Summer.

Setting aside her familiarity with VR content, she’s extremely good at role-playing.

Especially watching her method acting, deeply immersed in her role, makes one wonder why she didn’t debut as an actress.

The ‘Raising Yoo Da-hee’ content, which immediately boosted Summer as a streamer, has a full version video with over 1 million views.

The music video for the song ‘Because I Hate Seeing You Hurt’, made by compiling highlights from it, surpassed 10 million views long ago.

The invitation Jina intends to give Han Ari carries that much expectation.

[When I decided I had to invite someone, Han Ari was the first person who came to mind.]

“B-but I’m not that good at games either…”

[Gaming skill isn’t important. As long as you have fun, that’s enough.]

“My personality is timid, so I don’t get along well with others either…”

[Then how about trying to act with an assertive personality this time? This is an RP world, isn’t it?]

At the languid encouragement, Han Ari felt her cheeks flush.

“I-I’ll try my best…”

Ari’s voice trembled slightly.

Receiving Jina’s unconditional trust gives her a little courage.

[Oh, then can I see Han Ari dropping a ‘Yabal’ (curse word)?]

“Really! Stop teasing me!”

Even after that, Ari and Jina exchanged various stories.

Her heart not calming down even over trivial topics is unavoidable as a fan of Jina.

“Then I’ll contact you again soon, Jina.”

[Yes, sleep well, Han Ari.]

Only after the call ended did Ari let out the breath she had been holding in one go.

Then, she flopped face down onto the bed right there.

“Uuuuuugh…!!”

Her face, beyond just flushing, felt hot as if burned by fire.

Her legs kicked restlessly, and her fingers kept clutching the blanket tightly.

Han Ari, who had been feeling fluttery for a long time with her face buried in the pillow, soon composed herself and sat up.

“Right, Jina trusted me and gave me this opportunity…”

‘I can’t possibly disappoint her.’

Han Ari swallowed dryly and sat in front of the monitor.

These days, all reference materials are on YouTube.