From VTuber♂ to VTuber♀ - Chapter 197

Vacation. (5)

“Everybody’s totally staring at me…”

“L‑Let’s get moving!”

Every gaze stabbed my skin like a needle.
Ugh, feels like I did something foolish.
The attention was so suffocating I could hardly breathe—completely different from when I’m streaming.
I clutched Toya’s hand and shuffled away, heading nowhere in particular—just anywhere with fewer eyes on us.

“Toya, hold on a sec.”

“…Hm?”

“A VTuber booth.”

“VTuber?”

In my daze we’d wandered all the way to the section selling VTuber merch.
Seeing several familiar faces on the displays filled me with nostalgia.
I’m glad everyone seems to be doing well.

“Think I’m here somewhere?”

“…Probably not. We are in Korea.”

“What about you, Yeoreum?”

“Me? Well…”

At this point I’m treated as a Japanese VTuber.
It’s been over two years since I stopped streaming as Han Yeoreum.
I’m not sure anyone even remembers.
But that’s my own doing, so I’m not upset. I made my choices and I live with the results.

“Wow, this girl’s cute~”

“She is.”

“Of course, Yeoreum’s cuter!”

“Come o—no, I’m not that cute.”

Blue hair, cat ears, a hoodie.
Why compliment the figure then randomly drag me into it?
At first I thought it was a joke, but Toya kept glancing between the figure and me with total sincerity, so I sighed.
Fine, fine. I’m the cuter one—Ichinose Natsu, specifically.

“Well, I like her, so I’m buying.”

“Impulse purchases aren’t a good habit, Momiji.”

“Not impulse! It’s a souvenir for our Korea trip!”

“Yeah, yeah…”

Who am I to stop her.
Toya bought the blue‑cat VTuber figure, plus several eco‑bags, stuffing them neatly inside another bag.
One, two, three—just how many did she plan to buy?
I blinked at the endless flow of merch; Toya only smiled wider.
Hopeless…
She’ll control herself… probably.
I considered buying one piece, but since Toya bought plenty there was no need for me to duplicate. I just browsed around.
Our room’s the same anyway; whether we display them in the room or the studio, it’s the same place.

“So many new VTubers I haven’t seen…”

People who once streamed facelessly now used virtual avatars, and countless newcomers followed suit.
Concepts and models were all over the map.
Now and then I spotted sets drawn by the same mama—seeing identical art styles on wildly different personalities made me go ooh.

“Speaking of which—”

We walked for a while; suddenly I felt something familiar and stopped.
What the—
Staring at an unexpected sight, I reached toward the figure in front of me—

“Oh, little miss, you mustn’t touch that with your hands.”

“Ah, y‑yes ma’am…”

“See? It says right here, ‘Please look with your eyes, don’t touch with your hands!’”

“Okay…”

Right.
The sign was way above my eye level, so I missed it.
Anyway, looking up I could still tell the figure was exquisitely crafted.
Could it be hand‑made? The “please don’t touch” note suggests so.

‘And they’re both me.’

One side was Han Yeoreum, the other the current Natsu.
It looked like two figures, but to me it was clearly a matched set.
Whoever made it had real skill; I understand why they ban touching.

“Here, this is what I used as reference.”

“You drew that? Nicely done.”

“Right? She’s my absolute favorite VTuber.”

The vendor began explaining, slowly and theatrically.
How the first stream went, the faceless era, which episodes were fun, why and when she became a VTuber, all the little stories and issues—
Some things even I’d forgotten, and I found myself genuinely impressed.

“And after that—”

“Yeoreum, I bought everything; let’s g—”

“Ah.”

Just as the story reached the part where I became a girl and moved to Japan, Toya’s voice rang out behind me.
I could only let out a short squeak.
Yep, definitely busted.
Sure, Yeoreum isn’t the rarest name—but still…

“No way. Han… Yeoreum…?”

“Eheh…”

I tapped Toya’s arm and sighed deeply.
You blew my cover, silly Toya.
She froze, realizing what happened—the booth was plastered with my merch; no way she’d miss it.

“R‑Really…?!”

“…Um, over there a moment?”

Afraid she’d scream, I pointed to a door marked Staff Only beside the booth.
Toya looked at me like are you sure?—well, sure.
If someone knows this much about me they’re unlikely to blab easily… right? Maybe I’m making a mistake?

“Phew…”

“R‑Really… the real Han Yeoreum…! No, no—now you’re Natsu, right?”

“Please keep my visit here a secret, okay?”

“Y‑Yes!”

Inside the staff room, I locked the door, then removed my cap and sunglasses.
White hair, red eyes—no dye, no lenses.
I raised an index finger to my lips: “Shh.”

“If you don’t keep the secret—”

“…Don’t?”

“—I’ll be very sad.”

“G‑Gasp…!!”

Honestly, I wasn’t planning any punishment.
I never intended to hide my identity that strictly; and even if they told, I couldn’t really stop them.

“If you do tell, just wait until after today. I won’t say ‘never,’ okay?”

“Of course! I’ll keep it!”

The vendor nodded violently.
I put the cap and shades back on, tugged Toya’s sleeve.
Let’s go—there’s plenty left to see.

“Wait, please!”

The voice belonged to the Han Yeoreum‑goods vendor.
She hurried over, holding the display figures now placed inside a case.

“Please take these.”

“…But that’s—”

“Please accept them.”

…They must be precious. Am I really allowed?
I hesitated, and she grabbed my wrist, gently but firmly pressing the case into my arms.
Why did she look like she’d just won the whole world by giving away something dear to her?

“…I’ll treasure them.”

“No need to feel pressured. My next piece will be even better.”

She said that with such a brilliant smile I could only stare blankly for a moment—
It was that dazzling, those words that sincere.

[VTuber herself visited her own booth LOL]

[(Pic) Han Yeoreum & Natsu figures.JPG
Seller says she made them herself—quality’s insane…
If they were for sale I’d pay anything, damn.]

ㄴ[Sell them NOW!]
ㄴ[Take my money NOW!]
ㄴ[It’s perfectly normal to find Yeoreum hotter than Natsu, right?]
ㄴ[ㄴGay gay…]
ㄴ[ㄴWhere do these freaks keep coming from;;]
ㄴ[Where’s the booth exactly? I saw only art prints and keyrings, no figures;;]
ㄴ[ㄴThey were right in the middle—how’d you miss ’em?]
ㄴ[ㄴSeriously none there. I’ll ask the seller just in case.]
ㄴ[ㄴSeller said she couldn’t display them the rest of the day for unavoidable reasons.]
ㄴ[ㄴDid someone accidentally break them?]
ㄴ[ㄴHope not; quality was insane.]
ㄴ[ㄴDidn’t look broken—she was all smiles.]
ㄴ[ㄴBet some rich Han‑boong bought them for a fortune ㅇㅇ]
ㄴ[ㄴ(Too much to refuse… emoji)]

[I’m the one who exhibited the Yeoreum figures at Sub‑Fest!]

[(Pic) Ichinose Natsu figure.JPG
Finished a new piece—came to show it off!]

ㄴ[How can it be even better than the last one;;]
ㄴ[Seller‑noona, will you marry me?]
ㄴ[ㄴHan‑boong, please…]
ㄴ[ㄴWeakest output from Han‑boong;;]
ㄴ[ㄴWeakest? More like worst LOL]
ㄴ[No Yeoreum this time…]
ㄴ[ㄴThat is Yeoreum, you know?]
ㄴ[ㄴTo me Yeoreum is only Han Yeoreum! Forget Ichinose Natsu!]
ㄴ[ㄴ(Natsu‑says‑I’m‑Yeoreum emoji)]
ㄴ[ㄴ(Yeoreum‑says‑I’m‑Natsu emoji)]
ㄴ[Nuuuoooooh LOL]
ㄴ[ㄴDude, see a doctor. Seriously LOL]
ㄴ[ㄴI just can’t hold it in.]
ㄴ[ㄴHold what in, man LOL]
ㄴ[ㄴ(Inari pedo‑smash emoji)]
ㄴ[ㄴ(Toya you’ll die emoji)]