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STORYLINE: Jihoon barely heard the drone of the teacher's voice over the buzzing in his head. He was physically present, but mentally hacked. Words dissolved into static under the harsh fluorescents. He hadn’t slept. The image from the Smart Mirror, that glitch, kept replaying in his brain like a virus in a loop. It hadn’t been a hallucination.
His fingers hovered over the embedded screen on his desk, only pretending to scroll through the lesson. In truth, his searches had grown darker, more specific. Search: "Lathandro, Apophis Atelier, Gin Aesthetica."
He pressed Enter. His breath caught as a website loaded instantly. Elegant. Minimalist. Professional.
GIN AESTHETICA™
Shaping the Future of Beauty
Jihoon stared, stunned.
Client testimonials poured across the screen, glowing with impossible praise:
"No scars. Minimal pain. Revolutionary."
"Dr. Gin’s techniques ended the cycle of post-surgery pain medication abuse."
"We are leaving the age of barbaric medicine and entering the golden age of true beauty."
"I was a plastic surgery disaster. He not only saved me, he made me beautiful. Dr. Gin is a saint from heaven!"
It sounded too good to be true. But Jihoon only had to look in the mirror to know it was real.
He clicked the *About Us* page. There he was, The King Cobra himself. But not in leather. Not in chains. Not prancing in fishnets and lingerie. Not smiling like a sin-drunk serpent god.
No, this was worse. This version wore a pristine white coat, hair slicked back, no glitter, no heels. Just clean lines and polished confidence. Behind him, a backdrop of sterile chrome and frosted glass. A face exuding trust. Prestige. Sanity.
The caption beneath the image read:
Dr. Lucien Ginerva
Lead Aesthetician, Founder
Board Certified / Augmentations & Full-Identity Rewrites
Jihoon’s fingers trembled against the glass. It was him. No long hair. No lipstick. No velvet laughter. Just a calm, professional gaze. The look of someone who’d never done anything wrong in his life. He scrolled lower.
Client List: Private.
Clientele: Global entertainers, political dignitaries, royalty, world athletes, news anchors, CEOs.
Appointment Wait Time: 5.7 years minimum.
Location: Classified / Invitation Only
Jihoon went cold. His pulse beat in his chest. The elite of the world, rebuilt, restructured… maybe even owned by this man. And Jihoon? He had been inside his lair. He had seen something he was never meant to see. His vision blurred. The letters on the screen began to shimmer, slither.
The website font twisted, coiling into glyphs like snake tongues. He gripped his desk. His breath caught. Was he hallucinating? Or was something breaking inside him?
Did no one else see this?
He didn’t notice Minjo until she spoke.
"You're going to get flagged by the school firewall if you keep that up," came a soft voice from just ahead.
Minjo, girl genius of the Robotics class.
She didn’t even turn around. Just said it like a fact, like she’d been watching him from the back of her skull.
Jihoon flinched, eyes darting up from his screen. Her short, choppy bob shifted slightly as she leaned forward, refocusing on the teacher. Her hair today smelled like coffee, and the edge of her glasses had a smudge she hadn’t noticed.
Every time she looked at him too long, Jihoon wanted to melt into the floor. She saw things. She saw him. And he wasn’t sure that was something anyone should do right now.
He had always liked Minjo. The kind of liking you hide behind careful glances, or take the long way just to pass by her locker. Since Club Apophis, her voice was the only one that felt real. Now, as she leaned closer, close enough that he could feel her warmth, something ancient stirred in him: a dark ache, a primal pull, as if her heartbeat was music he could not ignore.
Minjo turned slightly, just enough to speak to him from the corner of her mouth. "I know about Kyle. And the dare. I know you went."
Jihoon’s stomach dropped.
"I just don’t get it," she said softly. "You’re smarter than that. You don’t have to prove anything to people like him."
Her words wrapped around his neck like a noose made of truth. He opened his mouth, spewing garbled noises. There were so many things he wanted to say to her. *I love you. I’m terrified. I need help.*
But what tumbled out of his mouth instead shocked him:
"Lunch? With me?"
Peeking from her shoulder, her Emoti-Bot changed its expression from worry to a big smile.
She blinked, surprised. "Sure. Outside. I need to talk to you too."
At that moment, another little bot on her desk made a low beep and projected a blurry hologram of Jihoon with heart eyes. A third one squeaked and played a warbling MIDI version of "Secret Lovers."
Jihoon groaned and covered his face.
Those damn bots definitely knew too much.
On her, Minjo, Robotics prodigy:
His fingers hovered over the embedded screen on his desk, only pretending to scroll through the lesson. In truth, his searches had grown darker, more specific. Search: "Lathandro, Apophis Atelier, Gin Aesthetica."
He pressed Enter. His breath caught as a website loaded instantly. Elegant. Minimalist. Professional.
GIN AESTHETICA™
Shaping the Future of Beauty
Jihoon stared, stunned.
Client testimonials poured across the screen, glowing with impossible praise:
"No scars. Minimal pain. Revolutionary."
"Dr. Gin’s techniques ended the cycle of post-surgery pain medication abuse."
"We are leaving the age of barbaric medicine and entering the golden age of true beauty."
"I was a plastic surgery disaster. He not only saved me, he made me beautiful. Dr. Gin is a saint from heaven!"
It sounded too good to be true. But Jihoon only had to look in the mirror to know it was real.
He clicked the *About Us* page. There he was, The King Cobra himself. But not in leather. Not in chains. Not prancing in fishnets and lingerie. Not smiling like a sin-drunk serpent god.
No, this was worse. This version wore a pristine white coat, hair slicked back, no glitter, no heels. Just clean lines and polished confidence. Behind him, a backdrop of sterile chrome and frosted glass. A face exuding trust. Prestige. Sanity.
The caption beneath the image read:
Dr. Lucien Ginerva
Lead Aesthetician, Founder
Board Certified / Augmentations & Full-Identity Rewrites
Jihoon’s fingers trembled against the glass. It was him. No long hair. No lipstick. No velvet laughter. Just a calm, professional gaze. The look of someone who’d never done anything wrong in his life. He scrolled lower.
Client List: Private.
Clientele: Global entertainers, political dignitaries, royalty, world athletes, news anchors, CEOs.
Appointment Wait Time: 5.7 years minimum.
Location: Classified / Invitation Only
Jihoon went cold. His pulse beat in his chest. The elite of the world, rebuilt, restructured… maybe even owned by this man. And Jihoon? He had been inside his lair. He had seen something he was never meant to see. His vision blurred. The letters on the screen began to shimmer, slither.
The website font twisted, coiling into glyphs like snake tongues. He gripped his desk. His breath caught. Was he hallucinating? Or was something breaking inside him?
Did no one else see this?
He didn’t notice Minjo until she spoke.
"You're going to get flagged by the school firewall if you keep that up," came a soft voice from just ahead.
Minjo, girl genius of the Robotics class.
She didn’t even turn around. Just said it like a fact, like she’d been watching him from the back of her skull.
Jihoon flinched, eyes darting up from his screen. Her short, choppy bob shifted slightly as she leaned forward, refocusing on the teacher. Her hair today smelled like coffee, and the edge of her glasses had a smudge she hadn’t noticed.
Every time she looked at him too long, Jihoon wanted to melt into the floor. She saw things. She saw him. And he wasn’t sure that was something anyone should do right now.
He had always liked Minjo. The kind of liking you hide behind careful glances, or take the long way just to pass by her locker. Since Club Apophis, her voice was the only one that felt real. Now, as she leaned closer, close enough that he could feel her warmth, something ancient stirred in him: a dark ache, a primal pull, as if her heartbeat was music he could not ignore.
Minjo turned slightly, just enough to speak to him from the corner of her mouth. "I know about Kyle. And the dare. I know you went."
Jihoon’s stomach dropped.
"I just don’t get it," she said softly. "You’re smarter than that. You don’t have to prove anything to people like him."
Her words wrapped around his neck like a noose made of truth. He opened his mouth, spewing garbled noises. There were so many things he wanted to say to her. *I love you. I’m terrified. I need help.*
But what tumbled out of his mouth instead shocked him:
"Lunch? With me?"
Peeking from her shoulder, her Emoti-Bot changed its expression from worry to a big smile.
She blinked, surprised. "Sure. Outside. I need to talk to you too."
At that moment, another little bot on her desk made a low beep and projected a blurry hologram of Jihoon with heart eyes. A third one squeaked and played a warbling MIDI version of "Secret Lovers."
Jihoon groaned and covered his face.
Those damn bots definitely knew too much.
This post was a lot of fun to do, I love robots and this round of Cyber Fair has a wealth of them for you to enjoy. The Robotics Classroom is made from the Soloars Solarpunk Workshop. Its PBR with wonderful textures, lights and PBR probe all set up. 53 land impacts, and scripted doors. ...Also from Soloars is the Duck-E animesh robot. It can wander on its own, or is an attachable pet. it comes in Orange or Pink. And it quacks too. ... The hover bot is Mr Nice Guy by Bondi. It comes is several colors and has a hud to change its facial expressions. ... The wearable dueling animesh bots, Click to Fix Bot, are by Tardfish. Click on the bots start their war. lol It comes in several colors. ... On the deck is robot box head, Aras TV Head by KYMILE. It comes with a hud to change its textures and display screen. ... Hanging from above are the cool hanging planters, Scifi Inverted Ring Lights Set by Cerridwen's Cauldron. Click on the rings to change their colors. They are mod too. From Shard are the fun animesh robots Harrori Lenzo and DaVinici Butterly. ... Serving as futuristic school desk are Desk: Europa Desk by Isil, La Sina Lounge Chair Grey by The Loft, and laptop by MESHWORX.
Worn by Minjo is the T-666 jacket by Over. It works pretty cool as a cyberpunk school uniform with led glow parts. ... Paired with it are the T-022 shorts by Sokiro. They are mod, so I used the black set and tinted the led glow part to orange. ... The hypnotic eyes are Cyber XI by SHIMM. They are the bonus texture from the fatpack, brown eyes with a receiving wifi signal icon as the pupil. Pretty cool effect. ... Additional parts of Minjo's outfit are: Zeroichi's Ocean Goggles, GRAAL's Elion glasses, MALified Cyber Mechanic Gloves in orange, Wasabi Pill's Cleo hair with the gold beads hidden, and Phedora Banshee boots. The BOM layers are both knit as my nod to Minjo's inspiration, -- Cyberpunk Velma from Scooby Doo fame. lol
On her, Minjo, Robotics prodigy:
Jacket: Over T-666 Jacket, PetiteX [mesh](CyberFair)(280L)
Shorts: Sokiro T-022 Short - LaraX, black [mesh](CyberFair)(250L)
Eyes: S H I M M CYBER XI, full set, Lelutka, Bom / [BOM](CyberFair)(100L)
Goggles: ZEROICHI Ocean Goggle, gold [mesh]
Glasses: GRAAL STORE Elion Glasses [mesh](249L)
Gloves: MALified Cyber Mechanic Gloves, Orange, Maitreya [mesh]
Hair: Wasabi Pills Cleo Mesh Hair [mesh]
Boots: Phedora Banshee V2 Boots, LaraX [mesh]
Power Drill: [A.Z] #1387# Power Drill # [mesh](49L)
Socks: Luxuria Thigh High Knit Socks - *white* [BOM]
Bodysuit: Sn@tch Full Knit Bodysuit, Black [BOM]
Pose: Just Posing Amenity (65L)
Setting:
Sitting large robot: solares Duck-E [add/rez] [mesh](CyberFair)(699L)
Building: solares Solarpunk Workshop [mesh](CyberFair)(649L)
Hanging plants: Cerridwen's Cauldron [CC] Scifi Inverted Ring Lights Set [mesh](CyberFair)(499L)
Hover bot: BONDI Mr Nice Guy, Blue [mesh](CyberFair)(295L)
Boxhead: KYMILE Aras TV Head, fatpack [mesh](CyberFair)(599L)
Fighting Bots: Tardfish Click to Fix Bot, Blue (pbr) [mesh](CyberFair)(249L)
Large robot: SHARD Hattori Lenzo [animesh]
Mecha butterfly: SHARD DaVinci Psyche butterfly, static [mesh]
Laptop: MESHWORX Loztech Laptop With 5 Animations [mesh]
Desk: Isil Europa Desk [mesh]
Chair: The Loft La Sina Lounge Chair Grey [mesh]
Hanging wires: BROKEN ARROWS S.T.A.R.K Labs, Cables 2, Silver [mesh]
Tree: LOVE Cherry Blossom Tree, A, white [mesh]
BONUS IMAGES: inworld raw shots, hi-res, midday sky.
