Chapter 11: Joining the Gallery

After returning home, I changed out of my school uniform, quickly showered, and felt relieved to be back in pants. I still preferred pants.

After drying my long brown hair with a towel, I quickly blow-dried it. I tried to mimic my sister’s technique, and it seemed to work reasonably well.

I tossed my now-dry hair and lay on my bed. Hwajuyeon had asked me to create an account for her…

I had agreed, so I intended to. It felt wrong to go back on my word, and an account wouldn’t hurt.

I got out of bed and powered up my laptop. After logging into the Google community, I saw a strange phrase: “Fixed Nickname Application.”

[Agree to Terms]

[Fixed Nickname Application (For users 14 and older)]

Oh. I clicked it, half-expecting it to be a trick, but it seemed legitimate. I readily agreed to the terms and moved on to the identification code section.

The registration process was unusual. I’d never seen an identification code before. But the rest of the process was standard.

After entering my password, I reached the nickname creation stage. Knowing I’d always run into issues with duplicate names, I tried my real name.

[Kim Jia [Fixed Nickname]]

-Nickname available.

Huh? I expected my common name to be taken. It was surprisingly easy. However, using real names in communities was usually problematic.

But the name Kim Jia still felt unreal. Having lived as Kim Jihan my whole life, it felt distant.

Even if I use my real name, what could happen? I decided to go for it and entered the code. My fixed nickname was created.

Now I had to contact Hwajuyeon. I got out of bed and rummaged through the trash can, remembering throwing something away in frustration.

After digging around, I found a crumpled yellow sticky note. I smoothed it out, revealing her message.

[Looking forward to hearing from you 010-xxxx-xxxx]

“…”

It was a little funny now. What kind of person blocks someone they like and sends a message like that? It was rather cute.

I considered throwing it away again, but decided to keep it as a memento. It could be useful for teasing her later.

I stuck the note to the back of my laptop and sent a message to the number I’d just saved. She read it instantly. Was she waiting for me to message? I felt slightly bad about that.

[I made your fixed nickname!]

[Hwajuyeon: Excellent. Could you please send me your identification code?]

[Yes… one moment.]

It was unusual, so I remembered the code. But what was it? I hadn’t written it down, and forgetting it would be a problem. I frantically searched my laptop.

Thankfully, it was displayed below my logged-in account. Phew. Finding it again would’ve been a headache. Relieved, I sent her the code.

[tough0158 Here you go]

[Hwajuyeon: Thank you]

Why did she ask for my ID? It wasn’t private information; my ID was fine to share, but I was curious. Was she trying to build camaraderie as fellow regulars?

I put away my phone after reading her message. It wasn’t important. I should explore the gallery while I’m logged in.

[Real-time Best]

(Most Viewed)

-1. (Official) Method for women to have children discovered [1628]
-2. 1.3 million-subscriber couple exposed as fake lol [235]
-3. My friend who I thought was awesome is now trans… .jpg [638]

The most striking post was number one: a method for women to have children. It wasn’t just me; it had an overwhelmingly high number of views.

I clicked it, expecting it to be a troll or hoax. But the content was astonishing.

[Title: Official) Method for women to have children discovered][1632]

[Author: 00]

(Image of a complex scientific paper)

Hey lesbians. This isn’t a joke, so please read. Women could always have children, but it was difficult and complex, so it wasn’t common. Now, it’s easy with mutual consent.

You all know about iPS cells, right? For those who don’t, it’s the kind of cells that often appear in yuri pregnancy stories. It makes pregnancy between women possible.

And it’s now shown to be realistically possible.

Three-sentence summary:

1. It was incredibly difficult for women to have children.

2. Scientists discovered cells that allow women to have children.

3. Now it’s easy with mutual consent.

4. Get busy.

[Likes: 10267 / Dislikes: 186]

[All Comments]

00:WTF

00: Insane. The person who discovered this should receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

Loo: Nobel, not Peace, you idiot lesbian…

YuriFanatic: I need to tell my girlfriend.

00: I’m one of those who had a hard time getting pregnant; I wish they’d discovered this earlier.

Loo: The process was so complex, I almost gave up.

Loo: It’s fine now, right? I had one kid and was going to stop, but now I’m thinking of having a soccer team.

00: Definitely no need to worry about declining birth rates lol.

Workaholic: Isn’t it too early to say that?

Loo: What do you mean? The line to get pregnant is already forming.

00: Four-sentence summary thumbs up

This is actually real…? Was everyone in on this conspiracy? I researched it further and even found news articles. Is the whole world filming a hidden camera on me?

But given the mainstream nature of yuri, it wasn’t surprising that women could have children. My gender change alone had shattered my sense of reality.

But it still felt unreal. Would I really date a woman and have a child? What would the Yuri Gallery’s response be?

I searched “yuri” in the search bar; the gallery appeared at the top. “#1” was next to its name. Hwajuyeon manages a huge gallery… no wonder she seemed different.

Intrigued, I clicked on the Yuri Gallery. A flood of posts appeared.

[Wow, I’m glad I waited for pregnancy.] [8]

[Is it normal to be aroused after struggling to get pregnant?][12]

[Dinner recommendation?][4]

[I think my professor likes me. What do I do?][4]

[Head mod, do something! Ban the guy who posted the guy pic!][17]

[Pregnancy is easy now, but I don’t have a girlfriend.][3]

[Just joined; what’s the latest gossip?][6]

[Anyone want to have a baby with me?][21]

As expected, the Yuri Gallery was buzzing with the pregnancy news. While refreshing, a strange window popped up and disappeared due to my quick refreshing. It happened too fast to read.

It disappeared without confirmation; it probably wasn’t important. I stopped paying attention and continued refreshing.

After refreshing a few times, several new posts appeared, unrelated to pregnancy. The gossip was entertaining.

[What? New assistant mod?][24]

[Wasn’t there one empty assistant mod spot?][9]

[Please don’t get caught doing something weird and die this time.][19]

[Thumbs up if you welcome the new assistant mod lolololol][3]

[What? More assistant mods?][31]

The posts were about moderators. Someone must’ve been appointed.

Assistant mods are basically deputy managers. They help manage the gallery, delete posts, etc., without pay. Essentially, unpaid labor.

Feeling sorry for the new assistant mod, I clicked on one of the posts.

[Title: What? More assistant mods?][31]

[Author: 00]

(Pepe the Frog shooting a gun into the sky and laughing)

Hello, I’m a malicious user from Tokyo!

Let’s do our best starting tonight!

[Likes: 52 / Dislikes: 14]

The red text and content were frightening. Many were angered.

[The new assistant mod hasn’t even introduced themselves.][4]

[There’s clearly one more assistant mod; where are they?][7]

[If they don’t show up, I’ll post a guy pic.][16]

Seeing them all cursing made me want to post too. It seemed rather fun. I clicked the post button.

As I started typing the title, my phone buzzed. It was Hwajuyeon. I opened it.

[Hwajuyeon: You approved the new assistant mod without any consideration? I expected at least a question.]

What?