Gotta Stream First
"I'm losing my mind, for real."
I used to be a moderator there. In a gallery overflowing with trolls and inflammatory memes, I'd kept things in check—but nothing like this had ever happened before.
But the responses that came back just said the gallery was dead and everyone had moved elsewhere.
"Haa..."
I sighed, set my phone down, and stared into the mirror.
Lustrous black hair flowing with shine, brown eyes, a fist-sized face, and soft-looking lips. A cute girl who looked barely 160cm tall, dressed in pink pajamas, stared right back at me.
"Hello there."
And then a voice came out of my mouth—one so sweet and melodic I could never have produced it before.
"Is this a dream?"
I splashed cold water on my face, but it just felt cold—didn't wake me up. So not a dream. I'd definitely been living the life of a young man on break before reenrolling in college, but overnight, I'd become a young woman.
"I'm losing it—what the hell is this?"
I slowly stepped out of the bathroom and scanned the room again. It was my one-room apartment, but something felt subtly off.
Cutesy dolls I never would've bought were scattered around, and the rack was full of nothing but women's clothes.
For now, I headed to the desk with the mystery mic and phone, sat down, and instinctively hit the power button on the computer. I picked up my phone to get a read on the situation.
Mom♥
Dad♡
Noona★
"Eugh... what the?"
The first thing I saw in my contacts were names I'd never use. Mom and Dad were one thing, but who the hell was Noona? I remembered having a little sister...
Right then, a pounding headache hit like someone smashing my skull, and memories that shouldn't exist started flooding in.
"H-haa...!"
Thud!
The pain was unlike anything I'd felt before—I slammed my head straight onto the desk.
Last night, I'd invited my sister—who lives nearby—to my place for the first time and we drank.
"Ehehe... Noona!"
Was I buzzed from the booze, or just hyped for tomorrow's stream? Hard to say.
"You gonna be able to stream tomorrow like this?"
"Yup! Totally! This is nothing!"
I'd only had two cans of beer—why the worry? Did she think I was some kid just 'cause I turned 20 today? She's only 24 herself! Who am I? The girl who nailed the full broadcast program test today!
"If Mom or Dad saw you like this, forget independence—they'd half-kill you."
"Ehet...! You'll keep it secret, right Noona?"
She nodded slightly, then started kneading my cheeks with both hands, gazing at me like I was the cutest little animal.
She'd always had my back since we were kids—that's how I got to move out right at 20, and she even loaned me cash for the gear and VTuber setup.
"Thanks, Noona..."
"Anyway, crash here tonight, and tomorrow morning before you go live..."
Before I go live...?
"Haat...!"
A memory flashed of seeing something insanely cute, and my eyes snapped open. Yesterday, I was crystal-clear on being a buff army vet dude, but now another set of memories was surfacing.
Seo Ha-yoon. 20-year-old freshman at K University. The crazy chick who started living alone before turning 20 to debut as a VTuber. That was me now.
"Urgh...! My head!"
Both sets were Seo Ha-yoon, but the clashing memories were killing me. The army vet Ha-yoon, set to reenroll, versus the reckless girl Ha-yoon who'd dumped her life savings into VTuber gear.
I hurriedly checked my phone again.
K University Computer Engineering ('26 Freshman – Temp)⁵⁵ (5)
'26 class. Four years younger—nice, but...
"If I'd gotten just one year younger, I could've dodged the army."
A twinge of regret, but at least no reserves duty. Silver lining. I set the phone down and eyed the desk.
Pro-grade mic for streaming, phone for tracking, and on the lit-up monitor background: VStudio program.
"Haa..."
And next to the monitor, a note in cute handwriting.
'Riee' First Stream! Weekend, so after lunch at 2PM! (๑•᎑•๑)
No way out. If it was just the note, I'd skip, but I'd already posted on the streaming site—and borrowed money from "sister" for the VTuber setup.
From the memories, she wouldn't chew me out too bad, but it still pricked my conscience. Quitting without even trying after taking her hard-earned cash? Not human. Plus, the girl Ha-yoon's memories kept nagging me to stream.
"One hour left."
Tense about adapting to this body-changed-in-an-hour situation, but no time to hesitate.
"Gotta just do it."
Trembling hands gripped the mouse; I clicked the VStudio icon on the desktop.
The screen flickered off then on, revealing the VTuber from Ha-yoon's memories: brown-red hair like mala tang, blue eyes, school uniform—top-tier cutie.
"...Worth the price tag."
As I zoned out staring, a ridiculous memory bubbled up. Back when I was a guy mod, or now as freshman girl Ha-yoon—we both dug silver hair. But she went red for her own avatar? Just 'cause she loves mala tang.
Even asked the rigger to add hairpins like a famous mala tang chain logo. Lucky the rigger nixed it over copyright...
"Am I seriously that nuts?"
Well, only a nut would borrow family cash to stream. What's so great about mala tang anyway?
Curious, but not the point. First stream in an hour, and all I knew about VTubing was from gallery lurking—zero hands-on.
Worried my mod history might bite, but girl Ha-yoon hadn't even touched uni forums. Clean slate—perfect for starting.
"Set up the program first."
Using faint memories and Google, I cautiously fired up the streaming studio, powered on the tracking phone. Supposed to be lunchtime, but too busy—no hunger pangs till setup done.
"Ah, ah. Hello...!"
Settings locked in; testing my still-alien voice, the preview corner's VTuber mimicked my lip sync.
Blink, she blinked. Tilt head cutely, she did too.
"This is wild..."
Heard Live2D was pricey—wonder how much sis shelled out. Could dig into memories, but nah. Knowing the cost would shatter my nerves and tank the stream.
I lightly kneaded my cheek—soft and squishy, calming the nerves. Explained why sis always did it. Chest steady now, I checked the clock.
30 minutes to debut. Shaky hands dove into the streaming app for final prep.
Generic title screaming "don't click," but unavoidable. "Ex-Mod VTuber Debut!" would pull aggro, but those types burn out fast. Better safe and bland for longevity.
"...Still too bland?"
Hesitated, fingers twitching over keys. But this was sis's blood-sweat-tears money. Can't risk trolls targeting day one.
"Nah, safety first. Long-run or bust."
Would mod experience work in the cutthroat VTuber sea? Too late to bail.
Five minutes to go. Heart pounding like it might burst. Final background check...
"Haa, here we go for real!"
Hand on my absurdly huge chest, deep breath, shaky click on "Start Stream."
One weird word slipped in, but maybe pique curiosity? Felt like I forgot something... Nah, probably not important.