Chapter 3
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Life on Easy Mode (Not)
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I must have cried myself out until I was exhausted and fallen asleep at some point.
The pillow was a mess, stained with tears, snot, and drool that had overflowed.
Was it dehydration, or had I used up all the energy in this frail body?
Rubbing my puffy eyes, I lifted my head from the pillow, and a wave of embarrassment washed over me.
'Haaa... What the hell was that about yesterday.'
The memory of my pathetic wailing replayed in my mind, making my face burn hot. At least no one had heard it.
Was this what it felt like to have 25 years of a man's pride ground to dust?
I roughly wiped my face with my damp sleeve. Even the slightest rub stung my skin in a way that felt utterly foreign.
Feeling somewhat calmed, I picked up the phone I'd tossed beside the bed.
Trying to hold it with one hand like usual—but whether from lack of strength or unfamiliarity with this body—
"Ugh...!"
My wrist buckled weakly. Unaccustomed to the weight, the phone smashed straight into my face as it fell.
"Ow..., that hurts......"
It hurt so bad tears welled up. Determined not to drop it again, I gripped it tightly with both hands.
I slowly scrolled through my contacts with my index finger.
My finger stopped at the one saved as 'Mom.' It trembled.
I wanted to just press it and call.
I wanted to explain this situation to someone, be understood, and saved.
But my finger only shook; it couldn't press the screen.
'...What would I even say? "I woke up as a girl"?'
They'd think I was crazy. That their son had finally lost it.
Or maybe they'd mistake me for a kidnapper or scammer, or even report me missing to the police...
The fallout if I got hauled in was obvious without seeing it.
'Of course, Mom might believe me.'
I never doubted she would. She'd always said she only trusted me.
No, but even if she did believe me, that was a problem.
She'd already raised me through college, and I was just about to enter society. Telling her, "Your son vanished, and now you have a daughter. Raise her too," would be...
Unfilial.
Okay, maybe leeching off her without a job as her son was unfilial too...
But at least with that body, I could prepare for job hunting. This body meant raising another kid from scratch.
'What can I even do right now with this body?'
I was just an unidentified nobody who couldn't prove I was me.
I couldn't even step outside. No clothes to wear out anyway.
Forget job prep; now I couldn't even do convenience store work.
Not that I'd ever done that, but still.
"Hmm......"
In the end, I had only one place to turn: an anonymous space.
I logged into the large community site I usually just lurked on.
With all sorts of weird categories, there had to be one for TS stuff.
'Found it. Knew it had to exist.'
Among the countless categories, I spotted 'TS Channel.'
Clinging to the faint hope that if this unreal thing happened to me, maybe it had to someone else too.
I typed out a post with shaking fingers.
[Title: I Actually Woke Up as a Girl]
[Content:
I'm seriously a 25-year-old guy, but I woke up as a girl this morning
My Resident Registration Card is the same. What do I do?
Haven't told anyone. Please give serious advice]
Jealous...... When's it my turn...
Fantasy channel material
Proof or gtfo
Imagining TS victim biting nails and hammering keyboard gets me going...
[Notice] No roleplay. Why do fantasy-posting idiots keep coming here? Go to fantasy chan.
'No, this is real......! You bastards!'
Amid the nonsense, a few tried to "play along" with earnest bullshit.
Explore your body in the mirror first. Let female hormones take over your brain and you'll feel better lol
No money? Grab a nearby ajusshi and call him "oppa"
I wanted to smash the monitor.
The world's most serious dilemma was just amusement fodder to others, like worthless shit.
'There was something about "fantasy chan" in the comments.'
Searching for fantasy brought up 'TS Fantasy Channel' boldly on screen. I clicked without hesitation.
The board list hit me with indescribable disgust.
[Title: Wanna Get TS'd and Raped]
[Title: Fantasizing About Dad Finding Out I Turned Girl]
[Title: Wanna Become a Cutie and Coast Through Life]
"......Wow."
I looked down at my body. My wiggling toes caught my eye.
Crushing my pride, I hammered the keyboard again.
Pretending to be one of their fantasies, mimicking the other posts.
[Title: Realistically, What Happens If TS'd?]
[Content: Ignoring sex drive, what happens if you really TS?
Woke up in my one-room as a girl.
Resident Registration Card unchanged. In Korea, doesn't that just fuck you over?]
Masturbate
Get laid
What do you mean fucked? Being a girl in Korea is easy mode life
The comments had zero value.
I slumped back in the chair, dazed. My dangling short legs entered my view.
'Crazy bastards.... What the hell am I even doing here.'
As comments kept pouring in, one caught my eye.
If it were me, Vtuber. All you need is a model.
'Vtuber.'
Earn money hiding behind a character without showing your face.
And revenue could go straight to my existing account.
'Perfect! This is it...!'
After agonizing over the name, I took 'Baek Eun' from my real name Baek Eun-hae and slapped 'Shirogane' on it.
I named it then banged my head in self-loathing. But I had to endure this shame.
I already had a mic; the model was the issue.
No income yet, but I had some savings.
Model being key, I agonized and bought a pricey ready-to-use public one.
My balance plummeted, but I ignored it.
Ambitiously posting debut promo on the community, even running a '30 Cyburger' giveaway for viewers.
Investments for the future weren't wasteful...!
Debut stream day.
For a short improv idea, I'd prepped script, settings, everything thoroughly.
[Stream Start - Debuting as Shirogane!]
Hitting start, a red 'LIVE' appeared on screen.
Waiting screen on, 1 min, 2 min... no one, then viewers trickled in.
Once enough gathered and time hit,
I glanced at the script.
Mic tested hundreds of times, but my lips wouldn't move.
The model mimicked my tense face poorly, blinking like magnesium deficiency.
Silence stretched. Chat filled with '?'s.
I couldn't speak. Heart pounded.
"Uh...... Um...... I'm...... Shirogane......"
Palms soaked like a flood of cold sweat.
Script pre-written beside screen, but letters danced wildly; couldn't read.
"S-Sorry... Let me, let me try again...!"
Chat had some 'lol's mixed with '?', kinda positive?
But my mind blanked white then black repeatedly. Side-glanced viewer count dropping.
In just 5 minutes.
Choking back sobs, I pushed through somehow, but shame blacks out the rest.
Probably just picked Cyburger winners roughly and hit end like fleeing.
In just 1 hour.
I slammed face on desk the instant stream ended.
Talking to strangers was too much, even through a screen.
'A guy who couldn't even do in-game voice chat and only typed... what Vtuber...'
Schools others attended so I did too, army because others went.
Discharge brought faint confidence: 'I'm normal now.'
Clubs, activities tried, but always outsider after a day or two.
Cut all uni ties post-semester, holed up here—my core never changed.
'Not that I had ties to cut...'
With shaking hands, I sent Cyburger coupons one by one to winners.
Then blankly opened the bank app.
"......"
'Huh?'
Vtuber model and Cyburgers drained it; not enough for next week's food, let alone tomorrow's.
"Ah, bathroom......"
Tasks done, tension gone—lower belly pressure hit hard.
Instinctively stood to pee in toilet—
Splash—
'Right...'
Wanting to wail again, I cleaned up and crawled to bed corner.