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By now, I could tell just by looking at her face…
That she was in a massive predicament. I could tell because I’ve seen her panicked expression several times.
“Ah… I…”
Doah’s eyes were shaking so much.
I had a feeling that if she didn’t answer him soon, Junseok would start suspecting her.
…Time to step forward, I guess.
As a Pink Army, I couldn’t let the whole school know that Doah was Luka.
“Hey you.”
In the meanest tone possible, I glared at Junseok.
Ugh. I couldn’t get used to this.
“Huh?”
Junseok’s eyes shifted from Doah to me.
“Fucker, you’re the team leader, how could you not know that?”
Hearing me confronting him out of nowhere, he sent me a dumbfounded look.
Sorry.
Really, I didn’t mean what I said, Junseok.
“What? Are you telling me that I should know everything about VRWorld just because I am the team leader?”
“Oh, c’mon, even Doah knows, why don’t you?”
My words sounded petty, almost like something that came out of a third-rate bully’s mouth.
Well, as long as it could buy Doah some time, it should be fine.
“Oi, Han Taemin.”
Offended by my words, Junseok clicked his tongue, seemingly at a loss for words.
“Do you know?”
“Know what?”
“No, I mean. I honestly think it’s pretty absurd how you’re pushing me around just because I’m the group leader, when you don’t even know how to use VR either.”
His furrowed brow showed how annoyed he was.
“Why are you guys like this~? Class is starting soon.”
Minji noticed that the atmosphere suddenly turned cold and tried to come between us.
“Nah, I’ve researched everything already.”
“…Really?”
Hearing my shameless reply, Junseok asked me in suspicion.
“You want a quick tutorial, huh?”
Wow… Never thought I’d ever say something like that in real life.
This felt like something out of a skippable mob villain scene, the kind of scenes I really fucking hated when it happened in manhwas.
Now I’m cringing at myself.
“How to install a camera?”
“Press the menu and select the camera option at the bottom, then just click on the top one.”
Thank. The. Lord.
He actually asked something I already knew.
I answered him so confidently, but I actually didn’t know a lot of details because I hadn’t tried any of it myself.
All I knew were the things that I saw in Luka’s streams.
So, if Luka hadn’t used the features, I wouldn’t know it.
“…Is that right?”
Junseok asked Doah for confirmation, and she nodded her head twice.
“Wait, how do you even know that?”
Finding out that my answer was actually correct, Junseok looked really flustered.
“What the hell? Have you actually played VRWorld before?”
“Dude, when you said we’d shoot for the group project, I set aside some time to research it. Why are you picking at me when you didn’t even do the same?”
“You started this whole thing! Also, we didn’t decide to do it collectively!”
“Well, that just shows how much effort I put into this project!”
Normally, people wouldn’t be convinced by these words, but not this time.
Thanks to Doah, I became the top contributor for the project, so I was completely justified to make such a statement.
“Anyway, once it’s confirmed that we’d be shooting with this, you all need to research it. So, Junseok, Minji, you two should at least watch the VRWorld tutorial.”
“Sure, sure. If the professor says so and tells us to continue today, I’ll do it.”
Probably feeling uncomfortable with the atmosphere, Minji tried her best to move the conversation forward.
When the kids argued among themselves, I usually just watched quietly from the back, but a social butterfly like her always had a different approach in these situations.
“Yeah. That’s great. But don’t make snide remarks like ’You’re the leader, why aren’t you doing anything?’ in the future.”
Junseok sighed, trying to end this conversation here.
“My bad.”
Though I said it lightly, I was truly sorry deep inside my heart.
I am sorry. Group leader-nim.
Really very gomen.
I should buy him some snacks later.
Having put out the urgent fire, I could now turn my attention to Doah.
Was she okay…?
Our eyes met.
But, neither of us looked at each other openly.
Because Minji was right between us, we could only give each other a side glance.
But in that brief moment, somehow both of us were glancing at each other.
Doah’s cheeks turned slightly red.
As soon as she made eye contact with me, her body stiffened, and she immediately turned her gaze ahead.
…She probably thought I was a weirdo.
Maybe she thought I was a troll or something after picking a fight on a stupid thing like that.
…I really only wanted to show her my cool sides.
There was probably a better way, but at that moment, I genuinely thought that was the only way to gain his attention.
“Okay. This is the VR group, right?”
Anyway, it was time for us to get feedback from the professor.
Sitting in his chair, the professor watched the video Doah had prepared and then let out an exclamation.
“Oohh…! First of all, making a video itself seems possible. Am I right?”
“Yes, sir.”
Junseok replied, standing close to the professor as if he was his secretary.
“So, one of you moved the character in this video, I assume?”
“Yes yes.”
“Who did it? Perhaps?”
Doah timidly raised her hand in response to the professor’s question.
“I did it, sir.”
“Now that you’ve tried it, what’s your impression of it?”
The 4th Industrial Revolution, the Metaverse, and all that. Were professors always this obsessed with these kinds of things?
The professor looked at Doah with interest, as if he had just discovered an interesting toy.
“Uh… First of all, it’s fascinating. I think it’s enough to make a video with it.”
“Now all you have to do is just plan the content well. You can move the other objects here around, right?”
“Yes, we can.”
“Good. Good.”
After stroking his chin for a moment, the professor gave us some ideas of what to prepare for next week, and we diligently wrote them down on our notepads.
“Whew… I guess now we really have to start trying out VR like Taemin said.”
“But, don’t we need more headsets?”
Hearing Minji’s question, Doah spoke up.
“Depends on how many actors we want to use.”
“Is it possible if we only use one? Like, can you do it by yourself, Doah?”
“Yes, of course.”
Junseok swept his face once and nodded.
“Alright, let’s schedule another meeting later. We’ll discuss how we’re going to proceed with the overall plan. First, let’s look over at the worlds and decide which one we should use.
“Yes yep.”
The class ended that way, and Junseok was the first to leave the classroom, saying he had something urgent to do.
“Doah.”
Even though the words ‘You shouldn’t be too obvious that you’re a VR expert like that!’ rose up to my throat, I looked at her with a calm face.
“Yes?”
“If you’re having trouble with the VR stuff, just contact me. Like I said, I’ve learned a few things by looking at blogs and stuff.”
“Thank you.”
When Minji, who was sitting in the middle, saw the two of us, her lips curled up and she jumped out of her seat.
“Oopsie~ My bad for being tactless~”
After gathering her belongings, Minji grabbed her bag and whispered something in Doah’s ear.
Her ears grew redder and redder.
“…Hey!”
Minji chuckled mischievously at Doah’s yell and tapped her on the shoulder, signaling that she would go first.
“Just what did she say that made you yell like that?”
“…I don’t know.”
I asked because I was curious, but she didn’t give me an answer, making me even more curious.
“But, Oppa.”
“Hm?”
“You don’t have a headset, do you? Is that okay?”
“Well, I can just click around with my mouse just like what I did with you the other day.”
I wanted one too, but I didn’t have the money, Luka-tan.
Well, I might be able to buy it if you refund all the donos I gave you.
“T-Then…”
Doah mumbled her words.
Since I didn’t know what she wanted to say, I just blinked at her.
“Would you like to try the headset?”
…Trying the headset? You want me to?
So, did that mean she was going to let me borrow it?
When I didn’t answer, Doah added a word.
“I mean. Oppa seemed a little interested, so… I just… Yeah… Without the headset it’s not really…”
“Sure, I’ll try it.”
I said that, but wasn’t the timing a little bad?
After all, the moments I needed a VR headset the most was for one of Luka’s VR Game Nights.
What was the point of confiscating Luka’s headset?
I wanted to enter the virtual world to see you.
Entering alone felt like the roles were completely reversed.
“Really? Okay, I’ll bring it to you tomorrow!”
At that moment, I almost asked her whether she had a VR stream on Friday or not.
Cold sweats trickled down my forehead.
Han Taemin, you fucker, watch what you’re going to say!
“Ah. I’ll appreciate it if you do so. Uh. When should I return it to you?”
“If possible, before Saturday.”
Which meant, I’d receive it on Thursday and return it on Friday.
Guess she needed it for the Closer collab on Saturday.
“Okay. Can I just connect it right away and use it?”
“Ah, well, it might be a little hard to figure it out at first.”
“Uh.”
“Usually, it’s a lot easier to have someone who’s already tried it to help from the side.”
“Well, why don’t you come to my house?”
“…Ah?”
The astonished voice that often appeared in Luka’s stream came from Doah’s mouth.
As I wondered if I had said something odd, I pondered over my words once again…
No. Wait. Wait.
“C-Can I…?”
…Luka would come to my house?
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