From VTuber♂ to VTuber♀ - Chapter 9

January 9th) A Time to Sort Out My Thoughts

For a while, I needed time to sort out my thoughts.
No—not just my thoughts. I needed to sort out a lot of things.

The reason?
Well, someone had reported that an elementary school-aged girl was frequently visiting the home of a man living alone—
so the police had shown up.

Of course, the misunderstanding was cleared up cleanly,
but I didn’t have the courage to meet with the other residents of this one-room apartment and explain everything.
So in the end, I decided to move out.

“…You too, huh? No renewal. Contract terminated.”

I guess both decisions were mine to make, in the end.

As I gently ran my hand across the wallpaper of the room I’d grown attached to, I lowered my head.
I had once thought about moving, if I ever saved up enough money.
I knew that someday, I’d leave this tiny apartment.
But I never imagined I’d be leaving it like this.

Honestly, if I wanted to, I could have stayed.

“My manager—ah, I mean former manager—is the type who gets emotionally attached. He probably would’ve kept stopping by…”

Continuing that connection would’ve been nice.
But not like that.
Right now, I just needed time alone.

Time to sort out my thoughts, and more importantly, time to adapt to this new body.
…Which was going to take a while.

“Cough, cough, cough—ugh, am I catching a cold or something?”

I grimaced as a sudden coughing fit overtook me.
Please don’t tell me something else is going wrong now.

The meds I’m already taking are more than enough to handle.
If anything gets added on top of that, I really don’t think I can take it.

All I could do was pray nothing was seriously wrong.

—

“So yeah, I’m going to Korea!”
“Are you serious?!”
“Dead serious! Really, really serious!”

I yelled from the heart toward my stunned manager.

I was so worried I couldn’t focus on streaming! At this rate, I might not even be able to sleep properly!
And it’s Yeoreum! Not just anyone—Yeoreum!

My friend, my lifesaver, someone who ended their VTuber contract because they’re sick—of course I had to go see them!
Even if it’s my first time going to Korea, there’s GPS and maps and everything now. I’d figure it out!

“But you said you don’t even know what they look like!”
“I’ll ask Yeoreum!”
“You said they’re not answering your messages! What if they’re seriously ill?”
“Then I definitely need to go!”
“Ugh, seriously! You don’t even know what they look like!”

…Looking back, maybe I should’ve asked for a photo at some point.
We got along so well online that I never even thought about meeting in person.
We never talked about where we lived or shared any personal details.
We were just having so much fun gaming, doing collabs, and streaming together.

“Maybe I was the only one who thought this connection was special?”

Yeah… We did meet through total coincidence.
I met a Korean during a random game stream, and later found out that person was a VTuber—
a senior who had debuted before me.
That’s when I realized I wanted to talk to them more.

I used to always come in last place.
At best, I’d get third with some good luck.
But the first time I got first place? It was all thanks to them.

But it wasn’t just that.
That wasn’t the reason why I thought Yeoreum was special.

“Your voice is really nice.”

Just that one line.
That one line that saved me—
that became the reason I am who I am now.

That’s why I had to go see Yeoreum.
If they were in trouble, I wanted to help.
If they were sick, I wanted to visit.

Even if they didn’t reply, even if they ignored me—
“I know there’s a reason for all of it.”

“You’re really going? What about your streams?!”
“You’ll handle them for me, right, manager?! You know how much Yeoreum means to me!”
“…If your fans found out, they’d freak. You know that, right?”

I know.
But there’s no better word to describe how I feel about Yeoreum than “like.”

I’m not saying I fell for someone I’ve never even seen.
But even so, Yeoreum is incredibly important to me.

Maybe I was just looking for an excuse to meet them in person.

We did promise to meet one day,
but it was one of those vague, maybe-someday promises.

“So I’m going! Bye!”
“Sigh… What would the boss say if he heard this…”
“I bet he’d say something like, ‘You can’t stop a girl in love—go on, then!’”
“In love—Toya! You said it wasn’t like that!”
“Ah, my bad…!”
“Honestly! Who falls for someone they’ve never even seen in real life?!”

I do, right here!
Even if Yeoreum wasn’t good-looking, even if their face had scars or blemishes, I wouldn’t care!

Yeoreum has a beautiful heart!
In my head, they’ve become this ultra-handsome ikemen type,
but even if the real person didn’t match that image, I’d still like them.

That’s what “liking someone” really means, after all.

“Sigh… I’m curious how Yeoreum would react if they met you in person.”
“Probably act normal, like always?”
“…They’d be shocked to find out the guy who drops ikemen voice lines all the time is actually this hyper.”
“Yeoreum’s a guy, so maybe he’d prefer an energetic girl over a cool-voiced one?”

My manager sighed deeply and waved his hand at me.
A clear gesture: “Hurry up and go.”

That was it, right?
He was giving me the green light to go to Korea, right?!

“Yaaay! Manager, you’re the best! You’re a god! A real god! Thank you so much!”
“You only say that when it suits you. Go find your faceless groom already!”
“Groom? I haven’t even thought about marriage yet!”
“Ugh, just get out of here already!”

I dodged the cushion he threw at me and burst out laughing.

I never thought my first trip abroad would happen like this.
No plans, no preparations—just going.
And yet, I’d never been more excited.

I’m coming to see you, Yeoreum.

—

[Toya’s taking a break?]
[So now Toya’s on break too, right after Han Yeoreum? Is this… something?]
↳ [Yeoreum didn’t go on break—his contract ended.]
↳ [So why is Toya suddenly taking time off?]
↳ [She even had a full stream schedule posted, and now this?]
↳ [Did Toya get sick too?]
↳ [What is happening in the new year, seriously LOL]
↳ [Feels like 2025 is starting with chaos…]
↳ [So it’s true Toya’s on parental leave now?]
↳ [Why are you so confidently spouting nonsense LOL]

[(Han Yeoreum main ship theory)]
↳ [Can we stop using the “dead” jokes already.]
↳ [Dead? LOL don’t kill off Yeoreum just yet.]
↳ [He might be sick enough to end the contract, but he’s not dead.]
↳ [If he died, the announcement would’ve started with:
‘We regret to inform you of the passing of VTuber Han Yeoreum…’]
↳ [True LOL]

[Toya suddenly on break?!]
[Toya… why? I was so excited to spend the new year with her…
She didn’t, like, get a boyfriend for New Year’s or something, right?
Killkillkillkillkillkillkillkillkill…]
↳ [Chill, omg wwww]
↳ [Kill who exactly? Toya? Or Yeoreum?]
↳ [Probably both wwwwww]
↳ [Tona2 is gonna end with a hole in the donut, huh…]
↳ [Huh… Toya’s gone. Nobody’s home inside.]
↳ [Why is the story going that direction LOL]
↳ [Y’all are nuts.]

↳ [She probably just got the flu. It’s going around.]
↳ [Anyone can say they got the flu.]
↳ [If it was the flu, wouldn’t they just say so? LOL]
↳ [? They probably did say that, what’s your point LOL]

[If Toya really went to see Yeoreum…]
[My unicorn horn might snap…]
↳ [Didn’t you say Yeoreum was fine before? LOL]
↳ [But Yeoreum’s a shut-in, a foreigner, and Toya’s never even seen his face…]
↳ [If Toya meets him, that’s two out of three excuses gone wwwww]
↳ [This is why unicorns… Maybe it’s time to let go.]
↳ [Let go? The guy just debuted, come on LOL]
↳ [So, is it true Toya went to meet Yeoreum? Or is this just a joke?]
↳ [Obviously a joke LOL]
↳ [Korea isn’t that close. It’s not like you can just teleport there LOL]
↳ [Have you even been to Korea? How do you know?]
↳ [Just a feeling.]
↳ [So you haven’t been there LOLLLLL]