From VTuber♂ to VTuber♀ - Chapter 5

January 2nd) The Me Who Is No Longer Me

“So, you’re Yeoreum? The Han Yeoreum?”

“…Yes.”

Why am I shaking so much over this? I don’t think I even trembled this much during my first interview. Actually, maybe the interview was easier. At least I didn’t feel this much pressure back then.

Even though we were both seated, the overwhelming height difference made me shrink into myself. Maybe it’s better to be this small now. If I had the body of an adult woman instead, I feel like I might’ve gotten slapped by my manager with the mood he’s in.

Yeah, the fact that he didn’t hit me on sight is a win in itself. Just calm down, Han Yeoreum.

“Um, here…”

“…”

I timidly slid over the medical report I got from the hospital. The one that said I had a twin, and that the body change was the result of that.

When I first got home, I had a strong urge to tear the whole thing up. Thankfully, I resisted. If I had shredded it, this situation would’ve become even more of a nightmare.

“You’re really Yeoreum?”

“…Yes, I’m really Yeoreum.”

There’s no reason I’d fake this. And the fact that Yeoreum, who always stayed at home, suddenly wasn’t there added some credibility to the report.

My manager looked at me with a face torn between disbelief and forced acceptance, then let out a deep sigh. A sigh carrying so many unspoken things.

Even that was enough to make me flinch and lower my shoulders. Another long sigh followed.

“Yeoreum, I don’t think you’d lie about something like this—yeah, I know. You’re not the kind of person to make up something like this…”

“I only found out today, too.”

When we signed the contract, I wrote down that I was an only child. My manager seemed equally confused by everything.

Still, could anyone in my shoes be more confused than me?

Neither of us said anything for a while. Or more accurately, we were both just trying to figure out what to say.

“…So, why did you call me crying? Was it because your body changed? Or are you hurt somewhere?”

“Oh, right.”

I had forgotten in the chaos, but my face and the back of my hand still stung painfully.

I lifted my head slightly, and my manager’s eyes widened.

It looks gross, doesn’t it?

As if my white hair and red eyes weren’t strange enough, now my whole face was flushed red too…

Unable to meet his gaze, I looked away awkwardly, then eventually lowered my head again.

“Looks like a burn… Did you touch something hot?”

“I didn’t go near anything like that…”

“Let’s go to the hospital first. Damn… Now that you’re this small, where do I even take you? A pediatrician?”

“…”

I was just there, actually.

Before I could even respond, he pulled me by the hand and out the door.

The sun shining brightly above felt like it was mocking me. My life… really is a joke.

—

“It’s a burn. Looks like your skin is extremely sensitive due to albinism. You probably have a strong sun allergy, too. Try not to go out when the sun is high, and always wear sunscreen if you do.”

“…Should I get a full examination?”

“Absolutely.”

Thankfully, we didn’t go back to the pediatric clinic but somewhere else. Still, the first place was kinder… Maybe because they treated me like a kid, and this place saw me as an adult?

Anyway, I got bombarded with all sorts of medical warnings I’d never even heard of before—like being allergic to sunlight.

Apparently, my bones are fragile and don’t heal easily. My muscles don’t develop well, so I need to exercise more. My stomach is small, so I have to eat frequently and take supplements. And I must never let direct sunlight touch my eyes. And so on and so on…

The list of precautions was longer than a receipt after a drunk office party.

‘…So it’s not just the body that changed.’

If it had just been the body, maybe I could’ve handled it. But now I’m dealing with multiple genetic disorders, allergies, vulnerabilities…

If these issues came from the body change, then it means my twin might’ve suffered from them too.

Why am I using the past tense? I guess… it’s because the doctors said there’s basically no way someone could grow into adulthood with all these conditions.

I hadn’t even planned on looking for them. But now, just hearing that they might not be alive… it made me sick to my stomach.

It’s pathetic, really. I never even met this twin—and now I’m sitting here in this state, shaken over the possibility they might not exist anymore.

“The medication will be expensive. But until your symptoms improve, there’s no choice. Your guardian will need to be very attentive. Don’t give up—your condition can get better.”

“…Okay.”

“And you too—don’t lose hope. In a way, you’re lucky the gender change happened later. It gave your body more time to stabilize.”

“……Yes.”

This country is funny. There’s no support for people whose conditions are caused by gender changes from a twin.

The diagnosis itself was cheap, but the meds? They’re in the tens of thousands.

As I stared blankly at the bags of medication in my arms, my manager quietly placed his coat over my head.

Ah, right. The doctor said to avoid sunlight. I was so out of it, I’d completely forgotten.

“Yeoreum.”

“…Yes, manager?”

I was staring at the ground, counting grains of sand, when I heard him say my name and looked up.

He had a very serious expression.

He usually talked a bit rough, but he rarely looked this grim. That’s how I knew something was up.

…No, scratch that. The problem already happened. The biggest, most irreversible problem of my entire life.

“…The company president wants to know if they can see you now.”

“…The president?”

Everything up to now—this was just the appetizer.

Changing bodies, getting diagnosed—those were just the basics. Not even actual incidents.

But this… this was different.

This wasn’t about lifestyle. This was social. No, economic.

They signed a contract with a male VTuber. And now, suddenly, that person’s body changed completely.

Of course the president would want to talk face-to-face at least once.

Alright.

I made the decision quickly. Much faster than I expected.

“You’ll be okay, Yeoreum. He just wants to talk for now—”

“Thank you for everything, manager.”

The wind blew. Our hair tangled and fluttered, covering both of our faces.

I wondered what kind of face my manager was making.

But I didn’t want to see it.

I turned away, not letting my own face be seen either.

I didn’t want to know what I looked like right now.

—

[Announcement: VTuber Han Yeoreum’s contract with Straight has been terminated as of today.]

[As of today, VTuber Han Yeoreum’s contract has been terminated due to personal health issues. There was no conflict or scandal between Straight and the VTuber.]

. . .

[Did you see the termination announcement for Yeoreum?]

[No joke this time, it’s real…]

[Why?? What happened?? Why did Yeoreum get terminated??]

[Did he get into a scandal or something? Secret girlfriend, maybe?]

[But the notice said there was no drama or scandal.]

[You seriously believe that? This has got to be some prank lol.]

[There’s no reason to fire Yeoreum otherwise.]

[They said it was health issues. Maybe he got really sick? That would explain the sudden stop in streams.]

[But how sick do you have to be to get your contract terminated? lol]

[What if he didn’t do something wrong but something happened to him?]

[I’d honestly believe he fell into a coma more than anything else lol.]

[Yeoreum, of all people, doing something bad? Nah.]

[Maybe it’s not that he caused a scandal, but that one happened to him?]

[If he really got into an accident and can’t recover, I guess they had to terminate it…]

[The vagueness in the announcement makes it even more suspicious…]

[It’s driving me nuts not knowing what happened.]

[And it’s strange how the statement was so careful to protect Yeoreum’s image…]

[Seriously… what kind of disaster is this to kick off the new year?]