From VTuber♂ to VTuber♀ - Chapter 7

January 3rd) Living is always hard.

This body was really inconvenient.

First of all, the capacity of my stomach was just way too small.
Of course, if I stayed full for a long time after eating, that might have been fine,
but the speed at which I got hungry again was just as fast.
Was this some kind of fast metabolism?

After ordering delivery because I was starving, only to get full after just a few bites,
I decided from now on to buy food and eat it little by little.
Sorry, jajangmyeon. You got all soggy after just a few bites…

“Hwaa…”

“Welcome~”

The world had gotten pretty convenient these days—no need to go to a dedicated kimbap shop,
you could buy kimbap at the convenience store right by your house.
Since it was a place I frequented, I knew exactly where the kimbap was,
but I stopped in my tracks when I got there.

Uh, well… hmm.

I looked up blankly at the kimbap placed way up high.

Right. I had gotten so short I couldn’t even reach it anymore.

“Uh, excuse me…”

Growl—

“Um, could you help me just once?”

Normally I would’ve just given up and walked away,
but the rumble of my stomach forced me to abandon the last shred of my dignity.
I mean, how could someone my age not be able to reach some kimbap
and have to ask the convenience store clerk for help?

I only felt pathetic for a moment—then I followed the clerk as they came out from the counter.

Looking between the clueless clerk and the shelf of kimbap,
I stretched my hand out toward the unreachable snack.

“Ah. Here you go.”

“…Could you maybe grab two more?”

“Of course~”

Success! Daily sustenance acquired!

When the clerk handed me three packs of kimbap, I couldn’t help but smile,
which prompted a stifled laugh from the clerk in front of me.

…Was I too obvious?

The quiet chuckle made me a little embarrassed, so I quickly dropped the smile.
I trailed behind the clerk back to the counter, placed the kimbap on it,
and neatly completed my payment.

“Have a good one~”

“Bye…”

I pulled up my hood and turned away from the clerk’s bright smile.
Hood, check. Mask—yep, found it.
As for my hands, I pulled down my sleeves to cover them completely. Perfect.

After blocking myself completely from the sun,
I finally started walking home again.

The doctor had told me to always wear sunscreen when going outside,
but… well, I didn’t really feel like putting it on just to walk to the corner store.

“…Wait, why didn’t the payment go through?”

Back home, I was checking my account balance after the massive hit from the prescription costs
and realized the payment for the kimbap hadn’t gone through.

I definitely handed over my card, and the clerk said it was paid.

Maybe it was their first day and they didn’t use the POS system properly?

Even if it was just some cheap kimbap,
it still felt wrong not to pay.
I didn’t want to be that kind of person…

Ding-ling—

“Welcome~”

“Uh, I don’t think this got paid for earlier…”

So I bundled back up in my padded jacket and returned to the store.

I placed the kimbap on the counter again and looked at the clerk.
Looking a little flustered, they beeped each barcode.
They didn’t seem completely inexperienced though… so what happened?

I fished my card out of my pocket again,
placed it on the counter, and watched my phone.
This time, the alert came through: payment complete.
I nodded slightly.

Okay. Paid.

“Take care,” the clerk said again.

“Thanks…”

I hugged the kimbap close and trotted out of the store.

Growl—

“…I’m hungry.”

Time to get home and eat.

—

A small floor table, some microwave-heated kimbap, and my phone.

I stared absentmindedly at the steaming rolls before picking up my phone.
The app I launched: iTube.

I knew watching videos while eating wasn’t exactly the best habit,
but come on, for modern folks it’s basically a package deal.

[Yatogami Toya’s New Year’s Broadcast]
[Toya worried about the streamer…]
[VTuber Han Yeoreum contract termination? Rumors around STRAIGHT.]

“…Figures.”

Seeing those recommended videos made my appetite vanish.
This was exactly why I hadn’t checked any communities.
Even scrolling just a little showed tons of posts about Yeoreum.

With a sigh, I kept browsing for something to watch while eating.
And then I found it: an old video titled “2023 Tonatsu Year-End Highlights.”

“…Wow, how is this video two hours long?”

Did I really do that many collab streams with Toya?

I did stream a lot back then, but I didn’t realize it was that frequent.

…Well, not that it mattered anymore. That era was gone.

Still, watching this kind of content was better than newer videos.
Revisiting good memories might hurt,
but at least for the length of the video, I could feel a little happiness.

[Oops, oops! That was a mistake!]
[If we survive and place second, we can still move on. Want to stick it out?]
[…If we win this, isn’t that a total victory? And we still have the revival beacon.]
[But there’s a team right above the beacon.]
[Did they spot us?]
[No. Doesn’t look like it. Why?]
[Let’s do it.]

“Yeah… this was legendary. Never thought Toya would die to the circle zone like that…”

Watching the video brought back all the memories.
Ah, those were the days~ That was fun~
I chewed slowly as I smiled to myself.

…Though I couldn’t even eat the whole kimbap in one bite anymore.

I ended up deconstructing it to eat bit by bit and thought,
“I should’ve just bought something else…”

Couldn’t even eat what I wanted properly.
How depressing.

“…I’m full.”

Was I really full? Or just lost my appetite?

Either way, I decided to stop eating.
My mood was already low—forcing myself to eat would only make it worse.

I closed the “Tonatsu Year-End Highlights” video and shut off my phone screen.

I had just wanted a little joy.
But instead, I got another bitter taste of reality.

“…Now what, seriously.”

If only I had enough money to live without working.
I had some savings, sure,
but not enough to live off forever.
With all these medical costs, I probably had even less time than I thought.

I’d decided to keep living,
so I’d have to find a way to make money eventually.

“Aaah…”

I really, really didn’t want to.

—

[Anyone got any news on the streamer?]
[Like… even people they used to collab with, no one seems to know anything?]
ㄴ[Some say it was all just business.]
ㄴ[Even if it was, how can not a single person know what’s going on?]
ㄴ[Apparently no one’s ever been to their house, even if they’ve met in person.]
ㄴ[What if they’re hospitalized or something?]
ㄴ[Then someone should’ve mentioned going to visit them, right?]
ㄴ[What if they just disappeared? Like, quit from burnout.]
ㄴ[Doesn’t seem like the type to quit overnight, though ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[Didn’t Toya mention Yeoreum a lot in today’s stream?]
[She kept saying she was trying to contact him, wanted to game together, stream together, etc…]
ㄴ[The unicorns are losing it…]
ㄴ[(Yeoreum Main Ship Canon)]
ㄴ[Why does this kind of ship even exist, lol]
ㄴ[Am I the only one who actually enjoyed their collabs? Watching a seasoned player guide a newbie was fun ㅋㅋ]
ㄴ[Honestly, Yeoreum never even flirted or anything. Just straight gameplay. Nothing to break over.]
ㄴ[Still, he was a guy, though…]
ㄴ[Don’t you know? Boys and girls shouldn’t be friends past age seven.]
ㄴ[But Yeoreum and Toya never met offline.]
ㄴ[Toya’s never even been to Korea ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
ㄴ[Maybe Yeoreum visited Japan?]
ㄴ[Yeoreum? Go to Japan? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
ㄴ[The guy’s a total homebody. Going overseas to meet a game friend? Yeah, right. ㅋㅋ]