The Streaming Red Ocean
Streaming. Internet broadcasting. This is something I’m only admitting now, but back in the first timeline, I seriously considered becoming a streamer. It was about a year after I’d been possessed by this body, I think. Trainee life was so brutal that my eyes naturally started drifting in that direction. After all, if you’ve been hit with a gender bender, jumping into streaming is practically the national meta. To cut straight to the result: it was a catastrophic failure. Turns out this isn’t something just anyone can do.
First of all, the streaming scene in this world is an absurdly oversaturated red ocean. The fact that only superhumans can become idols means most people with idol-level talent have no path into the industry. So what do the ones who can dance, sing, and perform but aren’t superhuman do instead? A good number live ordinary lives, some switch fields to become dancers or singer-songwriters, but quite a few cross over into streaming and thrive there. Imagine every top-tier idol from the real world suddenly flooding into Twitch and YouTube. That’s exactly the kind of hellscape we’re dealing with here.
Even so, my appearance as Na Yeri was on another level, so viewers trickled in one way or another. The problem was the type of audience I attracted. They were after something… special. With only a year’s worth of mental fortitude after the gender swap, there were many things I simply couldn’t handle. At the time I hadn’t even properly established my own identity, so I couldn’t adapt to that kind of atmosphere. If VR streaming had existed back then, things might have been different, but that technology still needed more time. In a world with superpowers it eventually gets developed, but that was still about five years away.
Still, if the VR originally developed for military use ever gets adapted for gaming, someone like me would probably have a real shot at shining. “Five years from now, huh. Once I retire I should seriously consider it. I think I could make it fun.”
Back then I really was unmatched in VR. I was the one flying around the most during military training simulations, after all.
What we’re filming today is content for the personal YouTube channel of Choi Hyena, a stylist from Purple Swan. It’s a little different from straight streaming, but it’s still in the same realm, so I feel a bit nervous. The female cam streamers I tried my hand at during the first timeline and Choi Hyena’s beauty channel are completely different in tone, but trauma doesn’t care about such distinctions. The memories of getting absolutely shredded in the first timeline must have left deeper scars than I realized.
“This isn’t like you at all.”
“I’m not sure what ‘like me’ even means anymore… but yeah, I guess?”
In that sense, the fact that I’m doing today’s shoot together with Seong Jiyeong is actually pretty encouraging. Even if I freeze up, Jiyeong—who doesn’t understand the concept of nervousness—will probably cover for me. Besides, it’s not even a live broadcast, so the company will just edit it nicely anyway. Choi Hyena, with all her broadcasting experience, will help smooth things over too. Thinking like that helped me relax a little.
“Hello everyone~ Today I’m joined by Cha Entertainment’s precious gems, Na Yeri and Seong Jiyeong. This is Choi Hyena’s ‘Hot N Beauty’~ Let’s get started, shall we?”
The only problem was that Choi Hyena’s channel is a beauty channel. This wasn’t exactly an area where I could show off any amazing skills. When the other members had filmed internet broadcasts or YouTube content with different Purple Swan members before, I’d thought that if I was going to do it, I might as well film with Choi Hyena and learn some makeup tips. I figured since most of her viewers are women, it would be a good way to reach potential female fans.
But now that I was actually doing it, nothing came to mind. Was I surprisingly weak when it came to real-life application? Meanwhile Seong Jiyeong was exchanging perfectly polished banter with Choi Hyena while maintaining her usual elegant, aloof expression.
“Alright, no need for more talk~ I’ll bring both of you over to the vanity now~ Ladies, are you confident?”
“Mm. I’ll just do it the way I usually do.”
“Oh, I love that confidence. And what about our Yeri?”
“Ah, I’m… not very good with makeup…”
“Really? Well, that makes sense. Your face is already stunning even without it. But you know, women always look even more beautiful with makeup on~ So let’s see some confidence from you too, Yeri! Go go!”
Today’s episode of ‘Hot N Beauty’ would feature me and Seong Jiyeong doing our usual makeup routines. Then Choi Hyena would review it and give advice on how to make it look more natural and prettier. Of course, the process of us applying our own makeup would also be filmed for review during the advice segment.
In that sense, this was pretty much the polar opposite of content I was suited for. Because when it came to this stuff, I was worse than a newborn baby. Even thinking back to the absurd state of my face right after I first possessed this body, Na Yeri’s makeup skills were below trash level. Having lived only as a man before, I knew absolutely nothing about makeup. And even though I’d lived as Na Yeri for over ten years across the first timeline, the life I led had been so far from anything feminine that my skills in this area hadn’t improved at all.
The only period where I’d built up even a little bit of feminine experience was during my two years as a trainee. Even then… the company I was with wasn’t big enough to have fans attached to trainees from the beginning, so management wasn’t exactly hovering over us. In all sorts of ways, I’d lived a life completely removed from makeup.
To give a rough comparison, makeup was to me what cooking was to Seong Jiyeong. Just as she had an extremely high chance of mixing up salt and sugar, my hands would move on their own to create bizarre artwork regardless of my intentions. If someone asked me to carve double eyelids with a machete, I could probably do it with artistic precision. Putting foundation on my own face was overwhelmingly more difficult than that.
But what could I do? They told me to do it, so I had to. I’d just have to learn properly from our stylist Choi Hyena afterward.
“Okay, we’re done~ Let’s take a look, shall we~”
After a suitable amount of time had passed, both Seong Jiyeong and I finished our makeup and returned to Choi Hyena. When Jiyeong walked over, it was obvious she was full of feminine charm—she’d done a clean, elegant look that perfectly highlighted her natural aloofness. It was exactly the style I wanted, so it really caught my eye.
“Wow, Jiyeong, you kept it clean and perfectly true to your own style. Your sense is really good. Everyone, I’ve always said this, right? Too much is so bad. Now then, let’s look at our Yeri… Pfft.”
Choi Hyena, who had been chattering excitedly while looking at Seong Jiyeong, took one glance at my face and froze. She bit her lip hard, desperately trying to hold back her laughter.
Just laugh already. I get it. Even I could tell this was… The mascara was flying everywhere, the blush was clumped up in chunks. It looked exactly like what would happen if a six-year-old tried to copy her mom’s makeup. No matter how hard I tried, my hands moved on their own and the result could only be described as “Na Yeri style.” Since it had come to this, I figured completely failing would be better than doing it halfway, so that’s what I went with.
“Hmm, I see. You know, I’ve always thought this about you, Yeri. You really… don’t know how to use your face. Ha, seriously. If only you’d given this face to me instead. I would have cherished it so much.”
“You’re pretty too, unnie.”
“I’m not the type of Choi Hyena who gets happy from such obvious flattery.”
“Your face is already smiling, though.”
“Ahem. Was I being too much just now~? Even during my active years I didn’t hear that I was pretty very often. All the compliments went to Jiyoo. Why do you think I got so obsessed with makeup? There’s a reason for everything. Oh, and don’t expect any old footage or anything. I’m not showing that~”
After bursting into laughter at my makeup job, she sighed, then started joking again when I called her pretty, even throwing in some self-deprecation. Choi Hyena really did have great energy. It would be nice if we had one member with that kind of bright tension. Our group’s atmosphere is too static, so we tend to fall flat. If Purple Swan didn’t have Choi Hyena, they probably would’ve been nothing but decorative vases on variety shows too. Once we debut and appear on variety programs, it’ll probably go the same way. Thinking about that gave me a slight sense of crisis.
“Now then, Jiyeong. As a fellow member, what do you think of Yeri’s makeup skills?”
“I think Yeri would be better off not wearing makeup at all. That’s just a cruel waste of a face.”
“Ooh. Going further?”
“Wouldn’t the cosmetics company file for damages? Who would buy these products after seeing this?”
“Hehe. Exactly. I feel the same way. This is all sponsored, you know. Right about now the person in charge is probably shaking while calling me to complain, don’t you think?”
“The compensation is going to be huge. We’ll probably need to earn a lot more money.”
“You think so? It might actually happen.”
The back-and-forth between Seong Jiyeong and Choi Hyena with me stuck in the middle. Jiyeong seemed to be on fire today. If that girl could just nail down her character, maybe she could actually do well on variety shows? Seong Jiyeong doing variety… it felt strangely mismatched, but somehow it worked.
“Alright, let’s wipe all of this off. We’re going to give our Yeri a proper makeup lesson. Yeri, watch carefully and learn a lot.”
After checking each other’s makeup, we moved into intensive tutoring. Since Seong Jiyeong was already so skilled that there was nothing left to teach her, the target naturally became me. What I learned was that for me, makeup existed somewhere beyond the Andromeda galaxy. It felt like I would need to study for several years minimum before I could do anything decent.
“Yeri, you should just have other people do your makeup for the rest of your life.”
“…I really need to succeed at this idol thing.”
“That’s exactly it~”
After giving up cleanly after several attempts, Choi Hyena and Seong Jiyeong joined forces to decorate me instead. They said I should at least serve as proper teaching material. They worked on my face with great enthusiasm, then proudly presented me with a mirror. The looks in both their eyes as they stared at me were excessively burdensome.
Ah, so… is this that moment? The part where they tear up and say “This… is me?” while gasping in admiration?
“…Yeah. It’s pretty. Yep.”
I tried to notice the mood and come up with something, but all I confirmed was that this was genuinely difficult. Even to my own ears, my response was extremely dry.
“Pfft. Confused Yeri is so cute. Everyone, this is an extremely rare sight.”
“Even I think it’s quite precious.”
Thanks to them reacting from the side, it was less awkward. Damn it, what is this? Even after debut, I think I should just focus on dancing and singing.
“This is why I like Yeri. She’s incredibly beautiful, but she doesn’t seem to know it and doesn’t try to use it. Probably because she’s confident in her actual abilities. You know how it is. Truly capable women want their skills acknowledged more than their appearance. As a fellow woman, I find that kind of person really cool.”
The broadcast itself ended more cleanly than I expected, largely thanks to senior Choi Hyena hyping me up so much. Was this what they called a senior’s protective affection? For me, it was a perfect finish that left me nothing but grateful.