I Want to Be a VTuber Too...

It had been a year since I turned twenty, became a full adult, and boldly left home to carve out a life on my own. Living in this cramped studio apartment and grinding away at a dead-end job, my only real hobby was watching VTubers from the comfort of my room.

But even that hobby had started to feel... off. I was getting hit with more and more reality checks by the day.

"Wh-what, what, what!? No waaaaay... ErisTel! Thank you so much~eri! Mwah mwah! Ah, isn't this way too much? But no refunds, okay? Get lost! ...As if I'd actually say that! Thank you once again! Heheheheh!"

A red-haired girl with cat ears standing perkily on top of her head. Of course she wasn't a real person—it was a virtual avatar, bowing her head again and again.

Eris. My all-time favorite oshi and a corporate VTuber I'd supported ever since her small-time days.

Originally, Eris had the lowest viewership in her group and struggled with popularity. I felt bad for her but also saw her charm, so I proudly declared myself her fan. At some point, though, she grew enough to receive a million won donation in a single stream.

Watching my small-time oshi grow into something respectable filled me with pride, but at the same time...

I'm so jealous.

Jealous. Insanely, ridiculously jealous!

I mean, she earns a million won that easily? And all she has to do is say "Thank you~eri~" a few times? Come on. I've been slaving away at a dead-end job making barely two hundred a month and this is...

In the end, the crushing reality check made me close the stream and flop face-first onto my bed.

I want to be a VTuber too.

Honestly, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I thought I'd be pretty good at it if I tried. Just react to chat with stuff like "Wait, seriously?" Laugh with a cute "Kyaaahaha~" now and then. It looked a hundred times easier than rotting away at my shitty company job.

But what does it matter if it looks easy?

My gender is male. Becoming a VTuber was an impossible dream for me.

Sure, there are plenty of male VTubers these days, but it's just... not the same.

"Sigh."

With another energy-draining sigh, I grabbed my phone and opened the gallery. Then I started typing up a post.

I half-jokingly poured my secret wish to become a girl into that shitpost.

This was the Small-Time VTuber Log-Carrying Minor Gallery—often shortened to Hamugael. It was a quiet corner of the internet where people promoted or relayed their favorite small-time VTubers and carried logs for them. I originally made it as an Eris Log Gallery back when she was still small-time. But as more people flooded in asking for log-carrying help for other small-timers, the name changed. That name stuck.

It had definitely grown since then, and the posting activity was pretty lively these days.

Anyway.

The kind souls of the gallery who still bothered to comment on my consistent shitposts. I was the manager here, sure, but they'd probably only kept replying because I'd been at it for over a month now.

This is all so pointless now.

I tossed my phone aside and pulled the blanket over my head. It was 11:30 p.m. Time to sleep. I had to go to that dead-end job again tomorrow.

My eyes slowly closed. As I drifted off, I thought to myself: If I'm reborn as a girl in the next life... I will definitely... become a VTuber...

Beep beep, ding-ding-ding~ Beep beep, ding-ding-ding~ Dorororo~

Ah... fuck.

The moment that god-awful default alarm went off, my eyes snapped open. The fact that I had to go to work again filled me with pure despair. What choice did I have? If I wanted to keep living alone, I had to at least drag myself to that shitty company... Sigh.

I trudged over to the fridge and took out some orange juice. Downing a glass in the morning before heading out was my daily routine. I poured it into a cup and was about to take a refreshing swig when—

"...?"

My reflection in the full-length mirror beside the fridge caught my eye.

It was a girl. And not just any girl—an impossibly beautiful one, the prettiest I'd ever seen.

I blinked a few times, wondering if I was hallucinating from exhaustion, but the image in the mirror copied every movement.

"Wh-what... what the...?"

In shock, I started frantically touching my body with one hand. I pulled on my cheeks, groped my heavy chest—

But I didn't wake up from the dream.

In other words... this was real.

I had woken up as a girl.

There was no doubt about it. My appearance was completely different from when I was male. The hair swept behind my ears cascaded all the way down to my waist. My bangs parted naturally, revealing a pale forehead. My arms and legs were long and slender. Just judging by proportions, I looked taller than I had been in my previous life. And while the parts that were supposed to stand out did so perfectly, my arms and waist were delicately thin. As for my face... there was no need to even describe it. Even the way my lips parted in shock looked adorable.

"Hoo..."

Deep breaths. In and out. In and out.

I took slow, deliberate breaths to calm my racing heart. Let's organize this calmly. What about the clothes in my closet?

I slid the door open. All my old underwear was gone, replaced with women's underwear.

What about my ID?

Name: Shin Arin xxxxxx-xxxxxxx

The photo and name on my resident registration had both changed.

"Hmm..."

Just to be sure, I searched the internet for terms like "suddenly turned from male to female," but nothing relevant came up.

Alright. Summarizing what I knew: The world was the same, only I had changed. Like a version of me from a parallel world. Something like that.

Yeah, that seemed to fit. There was no other way to explain this situation.

What... what am I supposed to do now...?

In the span of a single night, I had gone from male to female. Everything suddenly went black.

Why are you doing this to me...? I was living just fine as a guy, so why the hell did you do this, you goddamned son of a—!!

...Wait, what am I saying?

"Puhuhuhuhuhu!"

Thank you! Thank you so, so, so, so, so much!

I offered the most overwhelming gratitude to whatever god was listening. What was with this voice? Even when I laughed like a total maniac, it came out as a beautiful clear tone... Heh.

And what was with this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠insane beauty? I'd have been fine with an average face as long as I became a girl, but I'd ended up with visuals that could rival a top idol.

Should I skip VTubing and just do cam streams? Or maybe try becoming an idol?

"No."

I shook my head. It had to be VTubing.

Where else could I find a work-from-home job that let me rake in money with a single click? Plus, I wouldn't have to show my face, so even if I got famous I could still enjoy my hobbies freely.

"Ha... Heheheh. This is actually perfect."

Just thinking about becoming a VTuber made my whole body tremble with excitement. In my head, I could already see my successful future as a streamer. Unable to contain the rush, I thrust both hands into the air.

"Naisu!!!"

A victory pose straight out of an anime. My own little ceremony.

But then...

"...Huh?"

People instinctively realize when they've screwed up.

When I looked up, the cold glass of orange juice was floating in mid-air above me.

"Oh."

Right. I was holding the cup.

The juice poured straight down onto my face.

Splat.

A sweet smell spread as my face turned sticky. At the same time, my soaring excitement crashed back to earth.

"......"

Okay, calm down. You're way too hyped right now.

You haven't even succeeded as a VTuber yet and you're already having delusions.

...Let's just take a shower.

I went into the bathroom and started to take off my top, but paused when I caught sight of myself in the mirror again.

Damn, even on second look she's insanely pretty.

How could a person look like this?

It was so fascinating that I kept touching my face over and over. When I finally moved to finish undressing, a slight wave of embarrassment hit me. Well... whatever. It's my body now, right? Let's strip without shame!

Off came everything.

I stood completely naked in front of the mirror.

"......"

Whoa... my chest is actually pretty big?

Hmm... are women's hips usually this wide?

Whoa... my skin is ridiculously flawless.

Whoaaa...

I spent a full hour just admiring my new body.

After my shower I checked my phone and found messages waiting.

My shitty company boss. Even after I turned into a girl, he was still texting me in that rude, informal way.

I fired off the reply and immediately blocked him. I'd always wanted to do something like that. It felt amazing... Heh.

That aside, becoming a girl was great and all, but how was I supposed to make money from now on?

I checked my bank balance. Three million won. That was my entire fortune right now.

It was an awkward amount—enough to feel tempting for a quality avatar, but with rent to pay... buying one right away seemed impossible.

Should I try streaming without an avatar first?

Some strange confidence told me I could still earn a decent amount even without one. After all, I was a girl now. Girls are invincible.

How could anyone resist a stream title like "New Female Streamer - Day 1"? There was bound to be more traffic than if I were a guy.

Still... I doubt many people will show up.

No cam, no avatar. How many viewers could I really get? Ten would already be a lot.

I'd definitely need a side hustle... Ugh.

After thinking it over for a while, a good idea suddenly hit me.

Wait. I had a place to promote my stream, didn't I?

I quickly created a Jijijik streaming channel using my old username.

And then...