Chapter 0: I’m a mama….?

Prologue.

I’m a Mama…?

A cramped, dark, one-room apartment, unfit for its three monitors and a drawing pad, a scattered stylus pen for tablets, and a Wacom tablet that cost me 4.69 million won, bought while weeping.

In this intersection of this space that reeks of money, I feel tension comparable to when I bought the Wacom tablet as I press my finger once more.

Click.

And a brief wait.

“Gulp…”

Swoosh…

Pouring out are the images that GPT mimicked from me.

Moreover, my shortcomings were complemented by the strengths of other artists.

Except for the fact that it’s obvious that an AI drew it…

It’s more cost-effective than me, a professional illustrator who charges hundreds for my work.

“F*ck…”

I wiped my dry face, trying to ignore the images of my art style still showing on the monitor.
No wonder elementary school students have been sending me DMs lately, saying that GPT draws better. It’s getting better and better, AI is really scary. It’s good at copying my art style too.

Is this why I haven’t been getting many commissions lately?

I tried to hold back my tears and looked at the DM window, only to see shopping mall ads…

…or not?

“Ah. There are some Vtuber commissions.”

Two Vtuber illustration requests, though I’m not sure when they came in.

Come to think of it, I heard that the Vtuber world is a red ocean these days.

I wrote a high price because I’m a professional, but there are many requests.

“Hmm. Let’s just work hard on one and take a break. I’ve been accumulating some mental damage lately.”

One is Hanasaki Yui. A Vtuber I don’t know. Is she trying to use me from her first avatar? Is she confident or just that desperate…

And the other one is Qjwcnfdml tls. What’s that supposed to mean. Is it a meaningless combination of letters?

Hmm. This one has a higher payment.

[Qjwcnfdml tls: This is a virtual avatar commission. Please design the most beautiful girl you can imagine. Please complete the work within five months. Up to ten million won is possible.]

A large sum of ten million won, and a strange request.

My favorite kind of person, someone with a suspicious amount of money.

“Oh ho…”

The drawing request is so abstract.

If I were a PC extremist, I could draw a pig African-American for all I know.

But… I can’t do that to someone who trusts me with such a large sum of money.

Besides, isn’t this a provocation?

To draw the most beautiful girl possible…

[WhitePalette: I accept. Please look forward to it.]

Click.

After sending the message, I immediately grabbed my pen and turned on the pad.

The most beautiful girl… The worries didn’t last long.

Swoosh… Swoosh…

People’s discussions about beautiful girls will probably never end.

Because there are as many beautiful girls in the world as there are people.

However, if it’s the most beautiful combination for me.

Silver hair and blue eyes. Moderate chest and a youthful appearance of a high school girl.

Well, it’s a common combination, but few people say this combination is not pretty.

The pen moved without hesitation.

I drew and erased a picture that would normally take three days to complete.

The finished product was a rough sketch. It was better than usual, but I wasn’t satisfied.

Since it has come to this, let’s put in more than our all.

I thought that five months ago.

My life’s masterpiece was completed.

I slept four hours a day and drew this picture.

I looked at my drawing again.

A picture drawn by investing several hours in each wrinkle of the clothes until no more corrections could be seen, a picture that exceeded my full power.

“Wow…”

It turned out well.

Well, I’ll skip the description of her appearance.

I’m better at explaining with pictures than with words.

But roughly speaking, she’s a silver-haired, blue-eyed high school girl.

I was thinking about the costume, but just a Gothloli dress.

Motion capture is done by Papas, right?

Those guys will take care of it.

[WhitePalette:

Here is the work. What do you think?]

A reply came shortly after.

[Qjxbdufdml tls: It’s perfect. After the deposit, the work will be delivered to the artist. Thank you for your hard work. Mr. Kang Soohyun. If we meet next time,

you will be the most beautiful.]

“…Huh?”

Before I could even ask how they knew my name, a severe headache struck me.

It felt like hundreds of needles were being stuck in my brain. It felt strangely dirty.

Ding!

“Ugh..?”

In my fading consciousness, I saw the result of five months of work on my phone.

[Web message received: Goryeo 06/17…. Virtual’s new deposit 10,000,000 won]

Ah.

“This f*ck…”

This is the reason why I became a cute girl.