Now That I Have Become a Woman, I Am a Vtuber - Chapter 72

[Ah! Ah! Moshi moshi?]  

I couldn’t help but be a little impressed by the voice coming through my earbuds. Is this really the voice of a 1.6 million subscriber VTuber? I felt the same way last time, and hearing it again is just as great.  

“Can you hear me?”  

[Hai!]  

“Um, um… How should I greet you? I’m kind of blanking out. Should I study Japanese more?”  

[Long time no see!]  

And then, suddenly, they spoke Korean fairly fluently.  

What’s this? They’re way better than last time!  

“Did you study?”  

If they speak Korean this well, maybe I won’t need to rely on my broken Japanese after all.  

[Yes, I studied!]  

“Oh… that’s amazing!”  

It’s a heartfelt compliment. After all, learning a language from another country isn’t easy. I remember how tough studying for the college entrance exam was when I was still a guy.  

[Right? It was hard! I was studying to play with Miro, but I couldn’t get in!]  

“Uh… go, gomen nasai.”  

[Ah, it’s okay! Let’s start the game!]  

“Sure.”  

So, I began playing the game with my fellow gamer friend from the same industry, despite the slight language barrier. In Royal Ground, when you drop into an outskirt area that isn’t popular, there’s a peaceful time for looting. While wandering through houses and gathering items, I chatted with my Japanese friend.  

“By the way, what should I call you?”  

[Um… Tenshi-chan?]  

Tenshi-chan?  

Using “chan” feels a bit…  

It might be a normal cultural thing in Japan, but as someone who’s lived in Korea my whole life, it feels slightly embarrassing.  

“Hmm, how about Tenshi-san?”  

[Tenshi-chan!]  

“Tenshi-san, where should we go?”  

[Don’t go to Miro.]  

“Um, the safe zone is coming, so we should hurry, right?”  

It’s nice knowing they can understand me, so I feel more comfortable speaking…  

[Eh? Nani? Can you say that again?]  

“Um… time has passed a lot. We need to go now.”  

[Ah, hai.]  

Ah, maybe it’s still a bit difficult for them to understand harder phrases?  

This is tricky; I can’t quite figure out what kind of expressions will work or not.  

As I was pondering how to phrase my words, Tenshi-san, who was in the car with me, spoke up first.  

[I watched Miro 24!]

“Really? You watched that?”  

[Yes! It helped me a lot with my Korean study! It was really fun!]  

Oh… there were a few Japanese people in Miro 24, but was Tenshi-san among them?

“Your Korean has really improved, especially if you’ve been watching my streams,” I said.

Streaming, unlike TV dramas or movies, reflects a country’s unique internet culture. If they’re able to enjoy it to this extent, they must’ve really studied.

[Ah, no, there’s still a lot I don’t understand. I just love the atmosphere, so I keep watching.]

Atmosphere? What was the vibe like during *Miro 24*? Let’s see—early on, things were smooth; then there was that cooking stream disaster, followed by some light gaming, late-night chatting, and oversleeping that one morning, which got everyone fired up. It ended pretty lively with other members joining in, so overall, I’d say the vibe was good.

“Oh, I see! Do you watch my streams a lot then?”

[Yes, I watched occasionally afterward, but…]

“But…?”

[Why are you playing all these weird games lately?]

“Huh?”

[And stop picking on Japan so much.]

Oh… right. Lately, in *Civilization*, I’ve been… aggressively attacking Japan. What was once a powerful empire is now a fallen state, constantly getting clobbered by me. Well, they burned all their resources on war, and raiding is the only way to recover. Plus, it’s just a game, right?

[Your chat keeps making fun of Japan too. Miro-dan is mean.]

“Oh… gomen nasai. That’s on me for not moderating well.”

This time, I genuinely owed an apology. While it’s a bit of a joke on our side, it could feel odd from a Japanese perspective.

[It’s okay. I know you don’t mean it in a bad way.]

Fortunately, Tenshi-san is understanding. As a fellow streamer, she’s probably accustomed to this kind of humor.

“Thank you for understanding, arigato.”

[Then, could you maybe stop playing that game? It’s hard to watch.]

“Hmm, I don’t think I can do that,” I laughed. I’ll probably stop soon anyway, but I have to at least finish it.

[Miro, you’re like Miro-dan.]

“Now, that’s a low blow!”

To compare me to *Miro-dan*? That’s crossing a line!

[Haha, I’m just kidding. By the way, would you be interested in doing a collab?]

A collab?

[It’d be fun to play together on stream! Plus, Miro’s pretty popular with my viewers too.]

A collab with a huge VTuber like Tenshi? That’d be all gain and no loss.

From the beginning, the fact that she was the one to propose this collaboration was a huge gesture of goodwill toward her.

However…

“I appreciate the offer, but I’m sorry, I’m not interested at all right now.”

[Eh-? Really?]

Regretfully, I declined the collab offer.

Why should I go along with the crowd? 

Sure, it’s fun, but I’m trying to build a small yet solid viewer base.

More external interest from a collab with Tenshi would be inconvenient, and honestly, if I had wanted to do one, I would have already.

“When I have the time, I’ll make the offer myself. Would that be okay?”

[Yes! But you don’t have to mix in awkward Japanese!]

“Oh… right…”

I meant it as a courtesy, but maybe it came off a bit clumsy.

[Miro, you seem to show consideration in unusual ways!]

“Hmm, is that a compliment?”

[Yes, it’s a compliment!]

“Oh, thank you.”

[You’re very welcome!]

She’s really a bright person.

She seems even brighter than when we last collaborated.

And we’re not even on a live stream right now, yet her energy is off the charts.

I can see why she’s so popular in her homeland.

With that great voice, cheerful personality, and solid gaming skills, who wouldn’t want to watch?

That’s definitely something I could learn from as a junior VTuber.

[Enemy up ahead! Be careful!]

“Ah! Right!”

And just like that, we ran three matches of LoG together.

Later, we had to exchange contacts, but since we use different messaging apps, we went through a little trouble adding each other on Discord, yet it ended smoothly, with plans to connect again.

By evening, after having a hearty meal with Jang-nyeo, I started my main broadcast.

[It’s that time again]

“Hey everyone, welcome.”

– Ah, so exciting, Civ time again.

– Seriously, how long are you gonna play this?

– Please… give it a rest already.

– It’s fun, quit whining.

– Yeah, Civ is great!

– The real issue here is the ones who actually enjoy it.

The stream had started, but they were bickering among themselves without even greeting me.

“Why are you all fighting right from the start? Cut it out, please.”

– Well, they started it.

– If you just stopped playing Civ, we wouldn’t have this issue??

– I love that there’s more streams, so why are you saying to stop?

– If you don’t like it, just leave, you jerks.

“Ahem, this is the last Civ stream, so stop arguing.”

I casually mentioned that I’d likely reach the ending today, and the chat began to stir.

– Really? – We should settle this.

– Actually, I enjoyed Civ, can’t you keep playing it?

Ugh, here we go again, another two hours, huh.

– Let’s just keep playing Civ.

…?

Wait, what?

Did everyone actually like Civ?

“Why are you all reacting like this? Isn’t it good if I stop playing?”

[OO, thank you for the 1,000 won donation!]

No, isn’t it common sense that playing Civ all night is better than just stopping after two hours? Are they playing me?

I feel like I’ve been tricked.

Wasn’t everyone against it?

Was this some kind of good cop, bad cop routine?

Though I did notice some viewers left during it…

– Honestly, the more you watch, the more fun it is, haha.

– I bought Civ because of you, so keep playing.

– …

From Japan, next time—

[Jangin Miro, thank you for the 10,000 won donation!]

Honestly, if it’s that fun, we should just keep watching, right?

– 20…

– What can we even do?

– By now, it’s kind of enjoyable on its own.

Ha… so they all actually liked Civ.

Does this mean my original plan failed?

No, no.

Judging by the lack of spam from new viewers, I think I managed to filter them out to some extent.

“Well, even though I’ll play Civ until the ending today, I probably won’t play it again for a while.”

To be honest, I’d like to keep playing, but I’m starting to feel tired.

Streaming into the early morning every day wears on you eventually.

If I keep going like this, I’ll wear myself out.

Everything about Kim Suhyun is great, except her stamina is way too low.

Maybe I should start going to the gym?

Or I might need to take over Bokshil’s walking duties from Jang-nyeo.

Since I’m mostly home anyway, I could handle the walks.

– GG~ 

– Honestly, I’m not disappointed, haha.

– Though you’ll probably end up playing something else anyway.

– How about some LoL?

– Or maybe some LoG for a change?

[OO, thank you for the 1,000 won donation!]

Miro, a lot of posts piled up on the fan cafe while you were playing Civ—will you check them out later?

“Ah, should I take a look before we dive into Civ?”

I really enjoy checking out the fan cafe posts.

They’re filled with my stream memes and posts from my fans, after all.

There’s a charm to looking at them—it’s fun for me, and the viewers enjoy it too. A win-win.

“Alright, let’s check it out before we start.”

– Oh, haha!

– The great Miro!

– Haha, look at this!

– Let’s just stick to the fan cafe today?

“I’m only going to skim through the popular posts, and I’ll read them properly later.”

Even though my viewers don’t use the fan cafe much, there’s still plenty to see thanks to its size. Look at this—a post that was just uploaded already has lots of views and has risen to the popular posts.

[Today, I searched for Miro’s match history. Is this real??]

Hmm, the title’s a bit weird, though.

– ???

– What is that?

– Click on it already!

“Haha, I was a bit bored earlier and played a few rounds of LoG.”

[OO, thank you for the 1,000 won donation!]

That fan cafe post says you duoed with that Japanese VTuber? Miro, I’m starting to feel upset.

“Well, yeah, I just popped in briefly, and they asked me to join.”

– Then you should’ve streamed it, geez.

– If you were going to play LoG out of boredom, why did you play Civ yesterday??

Anna!! Myle!! Gahhh!

They’re exploding.

The viewers, who had been holding back during Civ.

The viewers who thought, “Well, if Miro wants to play Civ, we’ll just have to enjoy it,” 

and the ones who thought, “At least it’s nice that the stream is long.” 

They’re all getting stirred up now.

– Seriously, Miro, why did you play LoG off-stream?

– You should’ve streamed it.

With that Japanese VTuber… did you record it or not?

– Why did I watch nine hours of Civ yesterday..?

“Well… um….”

What should I do?

But honestly, is it really my fault?

Can’t I play some LoG on the side?

I wanted to have a casual, private conversation.

Streaming is fun for me, but it’s also work in a way.

Every word I say is heard by thousands in real-time and permanently recorded. 

Even though I try to relax, I can’t help but feel self-conscious.

So… confidently…

“Alright, then… I’ll stream LoG tomorrow…”

*sigh*

Well, that’s the quickest way, isn’t it?

Today, I’ve managed to preserve the peace on Miro’s stream once again.

Being in charge is such hard work.