What in the world just happened?
For now, then…
Let me try to retrace the events of yesterday.
Perhaps there’s a clue hidden within them.
Yet, nothing particularly noteworthy seemed to have occurred.
Like any man recently discharged from military service, I had simply been reveling in the taste of civilian life.
I had woken up around noon, eaten, played some games, and in the evening, I had tuned into my favorite VTuber’s stream.
Since the VTuber’s broadcast concluded around 1 AM, I had drifted off to sleep shortly thereafter.
It had been an entirely unremarkable, ordinary day.
“But why…”
“Why?!”
I lifted my head.
A peerless beauty, standing in the mirror, gazed back at me.
My cheeks instantly flushed a vibrant crimson.
Yet… it was me.
The identity of the stunning woman in the mirror was, unequivocally, myself.
“What was so problematic about that, you might ask?”
“Well, until yesterday, I had been a man!”
I had lived as a man for over two decades, and I had even completed my military service.
My discharge had occurred just a few days prior.
‘Could it be that I had been mistaken about my own gender my entire life?’
‘If so, it would be profoundly unfair.’
‘After all the hardships I had endured in the military!’
“Surely, not that too…”
A sudden, unsettling thought flashed through my mind, prompting me to immediately check my privates.
They were gone.
To be precise, they had transformed into those of a woman.
“…”
Next, I opened my wallet.
My identification card’s photograph had changed.
Nevertheless, my name remained the same: Yoo Jiwon, my cherished name, bestowed upon me by my grandmother.
However, unlike before, the latter half of my resident registration number now began with a ‘4’.
“…”
I checked my phone as well.
Fortunately, it didn’t seem as though I had entered someone else’s body; my contacts were still intact.
Yet, my face in the photos taken with my family had undeniably changed.
“What the f***…?”
The expletive had escaped my lips almost involuntarily.
I had just checked the date.
I apologize.
However, I believe everyone would understand.
Today was precisely five days before my scheduled military enlistment.
I had regressed to the very cusp of my military service.
‘If I was going to undergo a TS (TL Note: Trans-Sexual) regression, couldn’t it have happened two years earlier?!’
‘Then I wouldn’t have had to go to the military at all!’
“Hmph.”
‘No, that’s not right.’
‘I needed to think positively.’
‘Had things gone awry, I might have been forced to enlist in the military once more.’
‘Compared to a simple regression, a TS regression was still better.’
Issuing a short sigh, I turned my gaze back to the mirror.
“She’s dead gorgeous, though.”
‘Was this why they said a TS man was invincible?’
Never in my life had I witnessed such breathtaking beauty in a woman.
Her hair was as black as pitch, and her skin as fair as jade, utterly flawless.
Upon that pristine canvas, eyes as vast and deep as lakes were set.
It felt as if I were observing a celebrity on television.
No.
She seemed far more beautiful than most celebrities.
“Had my height shrunk slightly…?”
My original height had been 180 centimeters.
Now, it was somewhere in the mid-170s.
However, something else had grown.
Quite significantly.
“Ahem!”
I chuckled awkwardly, my gaze dropping slightly.
‘…A quick check wouldn’t hurt, would it?’
‘After all, it was my body now.’
Quietly, I began to observe my new form.
“Hehehe.
****
I had harbored a faint hope that I might revert to my original self upon waking, but regrettably (?), such a thing did not occur.
I was still a woman.
Yet, the reality no longer felt alien.
It was as if I had lived as a woman all along, or so it seemed.
Of course, the awareness of having once been a man persisted.
“So this was the TS (TL Note: Trans-Sexual) I had only ever heard about?”
A genre I had encountered several times in web novels.
It referred to a genre where a protagonist, who had lived their entire life as a man, would awaken one morning as a peerless beauty.
By now, it had become quite popular, to the extent that it could be considered a fairly mainstream genre.
During my military service, I had even engaged in a rather in-depth discussion with my subordinates on the topic of whether a TS (TL Note: Trans-Sexual) man should still be required to serve in the military.
The conclusion, however… I couldn’t quite recall.
The discussion had been so utterly brainless that it had slipped my mind.
Regardless!
I had, against all odds, become the subject of such a TS (TL Note: Trans-Sexual) phenomenon!
“What should I do now?”
My original profession was that of an illustrator.
I had designed covers for web novels and VTuber models.
I had made a respectable name for myself within the industry.
My artistic abilities hadn’t vanished simply because I had undergone a TS (TL Note: Trans-Sexual) transformation.
Therefore, continuing to live by drawing, as I had before, wouldn’t pose a significant problem, but…
“Somehow, I found myself wanting to try something different.”
This TS (TL Note: Trans-Sexual) was a truly unique event.
Since I had already become an SSS-rank beautiful girl, I yearned to try something new.
‘What would be suitable?’
Typically, the protagonists—or rather, the ‘sisters'(?)—in TS novels tended to choose professions that actively utilized their transformed appearances.
For instance, an actress or a model.
“Hmmmm.”
‘An actress, you say…’
Indeed, acting was a profession where one’s altered appearance could be fully leveraged.
After all, a TS (TL Note: Trans-Sexual) beautiful girl was the strongest in the universe.
However.
No matter how much I pondered, I simply couldn’t envision myself acting.
For someone like me, who had only ever played the role of a tree backstage throughout my entire life, the profession of an actress was utterly unimaginable.
Being an actress wasn’t merely about possessing a beautiful face; it also demanded substantial acting prowess.
“In that sense, I’ll put it on hold for now.”
Just because I wished to live differently from before, I didn’t want to blindly embark on a career that held no significant interest for me.
There was ample time to consider it thoroughly before making a decision.
For similar reasons, modeling was also put on hold!
“…”
Ultimately, I was back to square one.
While I longed to initiate something new, there was nothing specific that piqued my interest.
‘Was this why they said a loser once, a loser always?’
The very act of challenging myself with something new felt like an enormous burden.
“Was there truly a need to start something entirely new…?”
‘It wasn’t as if I had grown to dislike drawing.’
“Let’s think about it slowly…”
I had only just been discharged from the military.
I needed a bit of time to adjust to civilian life.
Beep.
With that in mind, I pressed the power button on my computer.
For now, I would embark on a journey to the Rift!
****
“No more!”
This accursed game, it seemed, hadn’t changed at all, whether in the future or now.
It was still teeming with trolls.
Having suffered a clean five-game losing streak, I promptly reported every single teammate before quitting the game.
“I shouldn’t have played.”
I checked the time.
Four hours had slipped away.
It felt as though I had simply thrown those hours into the void.
‘Never again would I touch this blasted game!’
Ring-a-ling!
Just then, a notification popped up on my phone.
It was an alert that my favorite VTuber had begun her broadcast.
DoDarin.
Our DoDarin-chan ♥
A VTuber I had followed since her humble, small-time (TL Note: ‘hakko’ refers to a small, unknown streamer) days.
However, she had, by now, grown into a mid-tier streamer boasting over a hundred thousand subscribers.
By the time I had been discharged from the military, her subscriber count had soared to over seven hundred thousand.
She was, unequivocally, one of Korea’s most prominent VTubers.
And the one responsible for the original art of her virtual model was…
“None other than me!”
I was DoDarin’s original artist, her “Mama” as they called it.
I had drawn dozens of pieces, from the original model art to expression charts and additional illustrations.
Of course, it had been incredibly grueling, but…
Thanks to her success, I too had gained recognition.
The ancillary benefits stemming from her popularity had been immense.
While setting aside the monetary gains, of course.
The sensation of seeing my own drawings speak and act like a real person was, truly, beyond words.
It was as if I had genuinely become her mother, if that makes sense.
“Our DoDarin-chan…”
As her “father,” I couldn’t possibly miss my daughter’s broadcast.
Though, of course, I had already watched this particular broadcast a year and a half ago.
It mattered little.
DoDarin-chan was always adorable, no matter how many times I saw her.
[Hello, everyone~! Have you all been waiting patiently?]
–Explain yourself. Explain yourself. Explain yourself.
–Late again?
Listening to her refreshing voice, the stress accumulated from the Rift seemed to dissipate instantly.
[Ack! This time, I’m truly innocent! I absolutely didn’t mean to be late, it’s just that…]
[Dried_Bellflower sponsored 10,000 Plankton.]
[No excuses.]
[Alrighty. No excuses from me!]
–ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
–So you just overslept, huh?
–Cute.
–So, what are we doing today?
Since I wasn’t the type to actively participate in chat, I often just left her broadcast playing in the background like ambient noise while I ate or worked.
Today was no different.
For the first time in a while, I drew some fan art of her.
After approximately five hours had elapsed.
[Bye, everyone!]
[DoDarin’s broadcast has ended.]
Her broadcast concluded.
“Hoooh-!”
Simultaneously, I stretched my arms high above my head.
‘Perhaps it was due to my altered body.’
A dull ache now radiated from my shoulders, a sensation I had never experienced before.
‘Why was this happening?’
‘Was it my posture?’
“I suppose I should call it a day too.”
DoDarin’s broadcast had ended.
And with my shoulders aching, it seemed better to finish the drawing tomorrow.
Thus, I prepared to shut down my computer.
But just then, a red notification caught my eye.
‘What was that?’
Tilting my head in curiosity, I checked my message inbox.
“Do-DoDarin…?”
[Artist-nim! You truly worked hard this time too!! It’s so beautiful ㅠㅠ]
It was a message from none other than DoDarin herself.
“Were we in private contact with a VTuber, you ask?”
“Had I been deceiving everyone all this time?”
Regrettably, that was not the case.
It was merely a message related to work.
Before enlisting in the military, I had worked feverishly, driven by the desire to earn as much money as possible.
I had drawn as many web novel covers as I could, including the new costume design for DoDarin.
Consequently, it seemed I had done nothing but draw until just a few days before my enlistment.
‘DoDarin-chan…’
Even if it was merely a work-related message, receiving a personal communication from her was undeniably a source of immense joy.
I was about to compose a lengthy reply to her.
However, the subsequent message that followed made me halt my hand instinctively.
[If it’s not too much trouble… would you be willing to share a meal sometime!? I’d really love to thank you in person!!!]
‘That’s right.’
‘I had completely forgotten.’
Come to think of it, she had indeed invited me to a meal around this time.
Despite being the illustrator responsible for DoDarin’s virtual model, I had never actually met her in person.
Given the nature of the work, everything could be handled remotely from home.
Of course, it wasn’t that I hadn’t had the opportunity.
Her company had extended invitations several times, just like this.
Just like this.
However, I had declined all those invitations.
It seemed my past self had lacked the confidence to stand before her.
Perhaps I hadn’t wanted to reveal my less-than-ideal appearance.
Above all, when I had received this particular invitation, my head had been shaved in preparation for military enlistment.
I simply couldn’t bring myself to meet DoDarin while completely bald.
But.
“What about now…?”
My current self was not bald.
Nor was I unattractive.
Even though my gender had changed…
I was beautiful enough to stand proudly before DoDarin.
–O-Okay…!
I sent her my reply.
The chance to meet my favorite VTuber in person.
I wouldn’t miss it for the world!
