Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Found
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Found.
Yoo Seo-ha. Age 22. A woman who used to be a man.
No family. No friends. No breasts.
Currently feeling an intense pressure in her lower abdomen as her bladder swelled.
"You knew this was coming. What's there to panic about?"
She broke out in a cold sweat, trying to stay calm.
She wouldn't go a lifetime without using the bathroom or taking a shower, right?
She had already steeled her mind for it.
So she slowly opened the bathroom door and stepped inside.
"......"
A little while later.
With her face burning hot, she silently washed her hands and successfully escaped the bathroom.
Did you know that when you're full of tension, urine doesn't come out?
I didn't particularly want to know that fact either.
Thanks to it, instead of resolving things in the shortest time like she'd simulated in advance,
she ended up spending a long, leisurely time on the toilet until the tension finally eased.
She had no desire to describe in detail the specific, embarrassing events of that process—the direct causes that made her face burn.
Like anyone else, she had simply focused on emptying her full bladder capacity.
Having to go through this every single day from now on?
Just imagining it felt like her sanity was chipping away rapidly.
Who knew her lack of experience with women's bodies would hit her this hard.
"First time touching it..."
Slap!
She startled at the mumble that slipped out unbidden and smacked her foul mouth.
Forget it. This couldn't be her first touch. She absolutely refused to acknowledge it.
Just as physical contact during emergency treatment on a patient isn't punishable by law,
this was merely an unavoidable mishap that happened while she was trying to save herself.
"Ah..."
Dizziness washed over her, and she leaned against the wall.
Every time she escaped the game and faced reality, it felt like a bit of her humanity wore away.
Especially when directly experiencing something like what just happened to her.
Thoughts she deliberately tried not to dwell on bubbled up to the surface.
If there's a result, there must be a corresponding cause.
What on earth could have caused her to become Yoo Seo-ha?
There must really be an absolute transcendent being out there. And he clearly loved pranks.
'Why me? All those two years building up my career... If one divine prank wipes it all away, then nothing I achieve from now on will have any meaning...'
"Haa. Haa."
Her breathing quickened.
She hurriedly rummaged for her relaxation aid.
She grabbed the rectangular device on the desk, put it to her lips.
As she surrendered to the sweet smoke laced with nicotine,
her small body relaxed languidly, and her racing thoughts gradually settled.
Whew.
Now her head was finally working again.
Maybe because of her friendless childhood. She felt like she'd been a bit pathetic just now.
Anyway, worrying wouldn't solve it, right? No answers would come from obsessing over things beyond her control.
She didn't need to drag in matters outside her power and turn herself into a wreck.
Lost two years? She had dozens of times more days ahead to live.
So what if she lost that useless lower part she barely used anyway? Her fingers were fine now—that was a gain.
Having neatly concluded her thoughts, she pushed off the wall and stood straight.
Good thing she'd bought the vape.
Without it, she might've holed up in the corner scratching at the walls.
If pathetic thoughts cluttered her head later, she'd check if she was low on nicotine.
At least it was a reliable remedy for her.
Sunset was fading outside the window.
The first day since becoming Yoo Seo-ha was ending.
A bit early, but she decided to go to bed.
Being shorter made the bed feel roomier. Nice perk.
Such advantages existed too.
The blankets she wriggled into smelled nice.
*
The owner of the vape shop—and streamer Kang Nari—mostly streamed games.
The mainstream games broadcast on her platform, SOFT, fell into two categories...
First was Korea's most famous 5v5 AOS game,
and second was Triachia, where most former and current pros streamed.
And Kang Nari's main game right now was the latter: Triachia.
It wasn't like she'd been playing this old game from the start of her streaming.
Early on, she focused on other games, then later got into Triachia.
It was a strategic choice to grow her streaming tier.
Stagnant games desperately craved fresh newbies, and Kang Nari had pinpointed that viewer need.
Of course, early days brought a grinder of advice and pure hate in chat,
but enduring it yielded big rewards.
A prime benefit was the viewer demographic.
Unlike the popular AOS dominated by viewers in their early 20s or younger,
Triachia's audience was mostly working adults with jobs and money.
Fewer total viewers, but the donations exploded compared to other games.
For 30-somethings lost in nostalgic games, 10,000 won was pocket change for a hobby.
"Ugh. Apprentice CK starts soon... If I flame out again, I'll get flamed hard."
To keep those lucrative viewers hooked, SOFT spared no investment in the Triachia scene.
The 'Apprentice CK' Kang Nari was prepping for was SOFT-sponsored too.
A rough summary:
SOFT pros take on one apprentice each and train them hard for two months.
Then the apprentices compete in a league named after their masters to crown a winner.
Kang Nari had successfully become an apprentice to Im Chan-ho, the implicit Undead top dog and current pro.
She'd thought it was great luck at the time, but one problem arose.
Her master had made it to the ongoing STL finals.
Busy with personal practice for the pro league finals, Im Chan-ho had no choice but to leave her to her own devices.
"I'd focus on winning the pro league too, so I get it... but sigh."
Having lost her master, Kang Nari had to prep for the league solo.
That's why she ran the vape shop now, watching YouTube strategy videos during slow hours.
No teeth? Use the gums.
Too good an opportunity to just give up.
Luckily, the shop was dead enough that by 2 p.m., she'd watched videos most of the day.
Bad break for Kang Nari personally.
Ding-a-ling!
"Welcome!"
A customer entered the quiet shop. She paused the video and stood.
She flashed her broadcast-honed customer service smile and looked to the door.
The face she'd just seen yesterday opened the door and came in.
Not just her memorably cute looks, but the same tousled, uncombed hair.
"Back already?"
"Yeah. I only grabbed one liquid yesterday, right? Figured I'd stock up properly."
The little customer nodded repeatedly, like she'd realized her nicotine needs overnight.
Seemed she really liked the vape.
Kang Nari pulled out the same type Yoo Seo-ha had bought yesterday, bagged and wrapped it.
Then.
The customer's eyes flicked to Kang Nari's phone screen.
"Triachia?"
"Pardon?"
"Ah. Sorry for peeking."
"No, no. It's fine!"
She stopped Yoo Seo-ha mid-bow apology.
More intriguing than the glance at her phone was that she'd recognized Triachia.
A game whose recognition skewed heavily to 30-something men.
Familiar to her as a streamer,
but plenty of early-20s women had never even heard of it.
So it was surprising that this customer, looks-wise an unlikely candidate, knew the game.
"Do you play Triachia too, miss?"
"Uh... I did ranked matches from morning till just now, then came here."
Not just knew it—she actively played. Even up to moments ago?
This time, Kang Nari was genuinely shocked.
"I'm not sure if I like Triachia... but I wanna get good, so I'm practicing."
"Ah, that's why the strategy videos?"
"Yep."
Her same-age female friends knew zilch about Triachia, of course.
The only ones to chat about this old game with were fellow streamers.
So finding an unexpected common ground with a customer her age sparked instant closeness.
"What's your main faction, miss? Or do you just play casually without one?"
"No. Pretty much every day... Ah! Not that I'm addicted or anything—just hobby when I've got time?"
"Whoa!"
First time seeing one in the flesh.
Someone playing Triachia purely as a hobby, not work.
Young blood still trickling into this scene? Made her mood lift.
Longer game life meant longer streamer life for her.
"I'm pretty decent too! Hit 1500 MMR on Undead main. But dunno why, my skill's plateaued lately—keep losing. Thinking maybe Undead's just trash faction, so switch to Humanity...?"
Tsk...
Yoo Seo-ha's relaxed eyes narrowed, brows furrowing slightly.
Kang Nari inwardly winced.
The closeness was one-sided; she couldn't assume the customer felt it too.
Their relation was purely customer-seller.
Professional only.
But she'd gotten excited solo, oversharing irrelevant personal woes.
Familiarity from someone unnamed would just creep her out.
I brain-farted.
About to lose a potential regular.
Worse, she was embarrassed at herself for latching on uninvited.
Long in a job without people contact—her social sense must've hit rock bottom.
"Sorry... I got too excited without thinking..."
She clamped her mouth shut politely, clasping her hands.
Her face burned with shame. Blanket-kicking tonight for sure.
"At least you know you messed up."
"Y-Yeah......"
"At 1500 MMR, it's not a faction issue—your fundamentals are the problem. Switching factions? Running away like that, you won't improve in years."
"Pardon?"
But the customer's frown wasn't from her false familiarity.
Just got under her skin.
A noob blaming faction for stagnant skill.
"Do you know how to time your strong moments per build against the opponent's weak ones? Strategy videos say 'scout at this timestamp'—but why then? You just sending scouts on autopilot 'cause they said so?"
"Uh, um..."
"Undead unit production's unique compared to other factions. Proportional to crypt numbers for explosive army bursts—you know that, but what does it mean?"
"Pardon?"
"Take a guess."
"Uh... no idea..."
"From opponent's view, hard to predict your attack timing. Make 'em aware and force resource sink into defense? Resource gap widens more. You been playing like that?"
Does this person always talk this much?
Up to now, impression was a quiet, slightly timid type.
Not the usual languid gaze—eyes gleaming sharply.
Like facing a teacher with a rod.
Trak-gwi.
Triachia demon shorthand—usually for viewers who can't hold back coaching streamers.
Right now, Yoo Seo-ha gave off that chat-veteran vibe to Kang Nari.
Slight difference: the coaching was super detailed.
But as a beginner, Kang Nari lacked the eye to verify if it was right or wrong.
One foolproof check existed in these cases.
"Um, miss... what's your Triachia MMR...?"
"2500 right now."
"Holy..."
Found her.
My master.