From VTuber♂ to VTuber♀ - Chapter 29

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What’s so special about twins…

“S-So, this kid here…”
“…Yes, that’s how it turned out.”

He looked like he couldn’t tell whether this was reality or a dream. His eyes were round as saucers, and his finger kept pointing at me. I slowly hid behind Toya’s legs again.
It must seem strange, after all: a male VTuber who suddenly quit due to ‘health reasons’ and retired, then reappears as an aspiring VTuber, tagging along with Toya.
I just hope he doesn’t start yelling something like, “Get away from Toya, you net-kama!”

“Yeoreum-kun… I mean, Yeoreum-chan?”
“Uh, you can call me whatever’s comfortable for you.”

It doesn’t matter to me if he calls me “Yeoreum-kun” or “Yeoreum-chan.” I’m in a girl’s body now, so “Yeoreum-kun” might be weird—yet I’ve lived most of my life as a man, so “Yeoreum-chan” also feels strange. Something like “Yeoreum-ssi” might be best, but honestly, when my body’s already changed so drastically, what does it matter what people call me?

“So you were a wom— ahem, I mean, you’re female?”
“Right now, yes… but until recently, I wasn’t.”
“Which means…”
“Turns out I was a twin.”

I answered in a small voice when the president asked if I was a woman. Calm down, I told myself. No one here will find it odd if you say ‘twin.’ We’re in Japan, not Korea.
He seemed puzzled by “until recently, I wasn’t,” but once he heard the word “twin,” an expression of understanding dawned on his face.

“Ah, so you were a twin… but, might I ask about your age…”
“Boss, are you investigating Yeoreum’s personal details right now? Pfft…!”
“No, it’s just that if she’s a twin, she might be quite young…”

Is that how it seems? In general, a person’s gender from a twin changes around age seven or, at the latest, before puberty. Being 25 is way too late. I’m one of those outliers—someone in that tiny statistical category of “after age 17.”

“She’s the same age as me.”
“…Seriously?”
“Seriously, seriously.”

Toya answered for me, and the president fixed his gaze on me again. He still seemed to have trouble believing Toya and I were the same age. Well, I don’t blame him.
But since neither Toya nor I said anything else, he eventually seemed to accept it. Maybe it helped that minors legally can’t sign on as company VTubers.

“So the reason you quit being a VTuber was…?”

The president asked cautiously, and I nodded silently. There were a lot of details missing, but if you boil it down, I did quit because my body had changed.

“It must be… odd, right? To be honest, I didn’t even know I was a twin until my body changed. You see, I grew up in an orphanage…”
“…I’m sorry.”
“No, there’s nothing for you to be sorry about… ahaha…”

The president’s gaze held no contempt for my orphanage background; instead, he seemed to pity me. And not pity for being an orphan, but for not knowing I was a twin until it was too late.
Is it really that big of a deal? Honestly, even now, I don’t feel anything about being a twin. I’m just like, Oh, so that’s how it is, and that’s it.

“Suddenly having your body change must be disorienting. That’s why I’ve heard that, when orphanages take in children, they normally test for twins so they can manage them separately, but…”

“Probably just human error. Um, I’m sort of used to it by now, so I’m okay.”

“…I see.”

But really, I’m not okay at all. I’m still scared of mirrors. Sometimes when I wake up, I feel like it’s not my body at all, and I can’t move properly. And occasionally—very occasionally—I get this feeling of suffocation, like a caterpillar trapped in a chrysalis, unable to move a finger. It terrifies me so much that I end up sobbing.

“To be frank, if Miss Yeoreum wants to, we could make arrangements for you as soon as possible. From our point of view, you’re practically a benefactor. It would be our pleasure to help.”

“I haven’t really done anything worthy of being called a ‘benefactor’…”

“On the contrary. Without Miss Yeoreum, Toya might not still be with us. Calling you a benefactor may not even be enough.”

Right before meeting me, Toya had been thinking of quitting VTubing if she couldn’t get first place in Area of Heroes within a month. It was partly a spur-of-the-moment decision, but apparently she’d been contemplating leaving for a while—because of her complexes about her voice and not being able to enjoy streaming wholeheartedly.

Even if you force someone to stay a bit longer, once their heart’s truly gone, you can’t stop them. But then, she met me right before her heart was gone for good, or so the president explained.

“If you plan to keep living in Japan, I’m willing to draw up a contract right away. If you’d rather not return to VTubing, we can provide a different job for you. You’ve got past VTuber experience, so you could even work as a manager.”

“…That seems like… quite a generous offer.”

I’ve heard the saying “If the deal is too good, you should be suspicious” more times than I can count. Of course, I don’t think the president who manages Toya would have some nasty ulterior motive, but still—it was so generous that I couldn’t help but be on guard.

Would it be some sort of scam? A slave contract? Actually, what benefit is there to taking me into the company at all? I doubt Han Yeoreum alone would attract so many new viewers…

“It isn’t too generous. Miss Yeoreum absolutely deserves that treatment.”

“…Please give me some time.”

“Then I’ll see you next time. And Toya—take Miss Yeoreum home safely. I noticed you streamed until morning yesterday, so go get some more rest.”

“Yeees, yeees~”

And that was the end of our meeting with Toya’s company president.

I still had unanswered questions swirling in my head, but since I didn’t have to decide right away, I resolved to take my time and think it over.

…No one’s ever treated me this well before.
I fiddled with the hem of my shirt to cope with the awkwardness I couldn’t suppress.

“Let’s go, Yeoreum.”

“Yeah…”

Right. Let’s go back for now—then I’ll think carefully.

—

“Let’s do VTubing together, okay? Pleeease? Let’s do it together~”

Ever since we got home, Toya had been like this—hugging me tight and rubbing her cheek against mine, begging me to become a VTuber with her. She’d done it so much that my face actually stung, but she still showed no sign of stopping.
Um, maybe you could give me some space?

“Toya, it’s hot… could you back off a little?”

“Ah, sorry.”

As soon as I spoke in a weak, exhausted voice, Toya finally let me go. Feeling half-melted, I sagged onto the floor, and Toya reached out her arm and started gently massaging my hand.
The more time passes, the more she’s touching me… maybe it’s my imagination.

“How can he treat me so well?”
“Huh?”
“I’m not that big of a deal…”

I sighed, recalling the way the president had acted. If he’d just turned me away, or ignored me, I’d feel less conflicted. But he was so kind that I felt guilty refusing—and also guilty if I just accepted so easily.

“The boss is really into superstition.”

“Superstition?”

“Yup. There’s this super old belief that ‘A favor from a twin is a favor from the gods and must be repaid.’ I guess he takes that to heart.”
“…I see.”

Toya went on about how, historically, Japanese mythology often starts with twin deities. Because of that, there are a lot of proverbs and superstitions related to twins.

I see.

Back in Korea, being a twin never had such a good reception. They’d occasionally appear in the news, but their overall numbers were so low that they never really got much protection.
And I remember reading in history class that they were called “demons that steal the eldest son’s birthright,” or something like that. Right.

“Yeoreum, did you ever get any special training back in Korea?”

“Twin training?”

“Yeah.”

“…Nope, never. I found out I was a twin so late that I was long past the age where you’d get that sort of help.”

From what I found online, the “training” twins usually get is just guidance on day-to-day living for when their gender shifts. But if your age is past that window, you can’t even receive that education in the first place.

“…So the meds you’re taking now—are you buying them with some kind of government assistance?”

“Huh? Japan provides support for that? That’s kinda nice…”

Just my monthly medication costs hundreds of thousands of won (a few hundred dollars). Does Japan really subsidize that? For real?
I looked at Toya with wide eyes, and she looked back with a similarly surprised expression, like she couldn’t believe what she’d just heard.

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