From VTuber♂ to VTuber♀ - Chapter 22

Discharge, and After

“You have a lovely voice.”

I never imagined that a single phrase like that could save a person.

I had just said it because I genuinely liked Toya’s voice.
But when she turned those gentle eyes toward me, it made my heart feel ticklish—I couldn’t help but glance away.

“Ah, Yeo-reum, your ears are all red.”
“…Whatever.”

Her teasing tone completely disarmed me.
All the dark emotions that had been trying to stain my heart vanished without a trace, as if they’d never existed.

If I kept showing my face, I knew I’d just keep getting teased, so I pulled the blanket over my head.
That only made her laugh louder—and somehow, I felt even more embarrassed.

“If you cover your head with the blanket like that, it’s not good for your breathing.”
“…”

Totally being treated like a kid.

Toya gently pulled the blanket off my head with a bright smile on her face.
Even though I tried to hold it tightly with all my strength, she peeled it off effortlessly.
That moment made me painfully aware of just how much stronger Toya was than I was now.

Really, it made me feel like all that worrying I’d done was just foolish.

I pouted and turned my head away.
But she just kept giggling next to me, as if something was endlessly funny.

“Yeo-reum, your hands are so soft~”

She grabbed my hand and started playing with it.
It was a little annoying, but it didn’t feel bad, so I let her.
And… to be honest, whenever I tried to pull away, she looked so down that I just stayed still on purpose.

Come to think of it—Toya had her own struggles, too.

She always showed such a bright side of herself, so I had assumed she lived without any worries.
…Ah. That was probably pretty unfair of me, huh?

“Oh, right. Yeo-reum.”
“Yeah?”
“Have you thought about doing Vtubing again?”

“…”

There it was—the real question.

Her tone was playful, but I could feel the sincerity beneath her words.

Vtuber… huh.
To be honest, I hadn’t thought about it in a long time.
After my body changed and I took time to sort out my emotions, I’d tried not to think about anything related to that world anymore.

“…I don’t know. I think I still need more time.”

“Okay. That’s fine.”

I wondered what she’d say if I said I didn’t want to do it anymore,
but her response was surprisingly calm.
Her eyes said she’d wait until I was ready—
her expression said she’d accept whatever decision I made.

…I’m not anyone special.
Why does she go this far for me?

Still, I couldn’t deny that it felt… nice.
So I accepted it.

Toya really cares about me.

“Oh no, was I talking too much? Sorry, Yeo-reum. Let’s get some sleep now.”
“…Yeah.”

I actually wanted to talk more.
But my vision was blinking out, and I reflexively closed my eyes.

Sleepy. Really sleepy…

As consciousness faded, I could still clearly feel the warmth of her hand holding mine.
That night—
It was the first night I didn’t have a nightmare since my body changed.

—

“You’re well enough to be discharged now.
Your body’s still a bit weak, so I was a little concerned at first, but thanks to your guardian’s great care, you recovered quicker than expected.”

“Thank you, doctor!”

Almost two weeks had passed since then.
After finally shaking off that awful cold, I sat with Toya and listened as the doctor gave me the all-clear to go home.

I didn’t understand why Toya gave me that triumphant look when the doctor said I’d recovered well thanks to her,
but it totally reminded me of a kid bragging to their mom about getting a perfect test score.

She looked like a puppy waiting to be praised,
so I reached over and patted the tops of her hands that were neatly folded together.

Good job. You did great. Thank you.

“Come on, take my hand so you don’t trip.”
“I’m not gonna fall.”

“Says the one who kept falling in the snow. You still have bruises from that, don’t you?”

“That’s because I was running. Now I’m just wa—”

The moment I said that, the world spun.

Oh no. I hadn’t walked in so long—I messed up…

Tripping over my own feet felt like something only an idiot would do.
And now that I had done it, I wanted to curl up and die from embarrassment.

Maybe it happened too fast,
because Toya just stood there, wide-eyed, watching me tumble.

“Are you hurt? Told you to hold my hand…”

“It hurts, but I’m okay.”

As I forced myself up through the pain,
Toya brushed the dirt off my clothes with gentle taps.

Then I noticed the people around us watching with proud expressions,
like I was some sweet little kid. It was my first time being looked at like that, and it felt… strange.

Even though I insisted I wouldn’t fall again,
Toya grabbed my hand and refused to let go.

I wondered if she realized that, with our height difference, holding hands like this made my arm sore…
But I didn’t say anything.
She’d probably just feel bad, and I didn’t want that.

“Oh, right—Yeo-reum.”
“Yeah?”

“I have good news.”

Her calling me just “Yeo-reum” now instead of “Yeo-reum-ssi” felt a little unfamiliar for a moment,
but I tilted my head curiously at her mention of good news.

Good news? What kind?

Toya looked at me like I should already know.
And then I remembered—could it be…?

“Your grandma woke up. I got a call.”

“…Really?”

“Yeo-reum?!”

“…Thank god.”

Thank goodness… I was so, so worried…

The moment I heard the news, my legs gave out, and I dropped to the ground.

What would I have done if something had happened to her?

My chest ached with fear.
I clutched it tightly, feeling the rapid pounding of my heart.

I’m so glad.
She woke up.
She’s okay.

“You can’t just sit down like that! Come on, up we go.”

“R-right…”

“She’s your precious grandma, right? Don’t you want to go see her?”

“…But…”

Am I really allowed to see her?

I knew she wouldn’t say anything to hurt me.
But this was my issue—
my conscience whispered, Are you sure you have the right to go there?

My head said I shouldn’t go.
But my heart… it wanted to.
I wanted to run to her and say I was sorry.

But still—

“Yeo-reum.”

“…?”

“Sometimes… you don’t need to overthink things.
If you miss the moment because you’re thinking too hard, you’ll regret it.”

She was right.

All the times I’d overthought things in the past—
they had only made things worse, not better.

Encouraged by Toya’s words, I got to my feet.

When I did, I heard clapping.
Looking around, I saw people in the waiting area applauding me.

…Was this some kind of hidden camera prank?

I lowered my head to hide my awkward expression,
and someone whispered, “Aw, she’s shy.”

“Alright, let’s go. I know the address, so I’ll take you there.”

“How do you even know that…?”

“I exchanged Line info with her daughter.”

Apparently, she wanted to get in touch with me,
but since Toya didn’t have my number, they exchanged Line IDs instead.

Watching Toya confidently hail a taxi made my heart tighten.

Wait… what was that feeling? It didn’t hurt, but… it felt like my heart was being squeezed a little.

…Could this be arrhythmia or something?

Given how weak my body had become,
it wasn’t impossible.

I really should get a full check-up soon…

If my body got any weaker, it would cause all sorts of trouble—maybe even danger—
so I resolved to get examined properly soon.

I had finally met Toya. I couldn’t afford to burden her any more.

Though honestly, I already felt bad enough.
So I gripped her hand tightly, pouring all that guilt and gratitude into it.

She looked puzzled, like she was wondering why,
but I didn’t explain.

She already knew.
She just pretended not to.

“You know, Yeo-reum gets all red when she’s embarrassed. It’s so obvious~”

“…Don’t look.”

“Nope. I’m gonna keep looking.”

I tried to press on her grinning face to push her away,
but she was too strong. I couldn’t budge her.

Fine, I’ll just endure it.

I let out a deep sigh and dropped my arm—
only for her to immediately grab my hand again and start playing with it.

Okay, now this was weird.
Was Toya really Japanese?
Or maybe… secretly a Korean high school girl or something?

Seriously, isn’t her physical affection way over the top?

Squish, squish—

I thought she’d get bored and stop after a little while,
so I just let her.
But no matter how much time passed, Toya never let go of my hand.

Even after we got in the taxi.
Even after it started moving.
Even up until just before we arrived at our destination.

I was about to tell her to stop when the driver mentioned we were almost there.

“So? Don’t you feel a little less nervous now?”

“…Yeah.”

Just like she said—
the heart that had been pounding so wildly earlier had gone calm, as if it had never been troubled at all.

—