“Jiaaaaaaaaaah!”
The day after resolving the Anomalous Phenomenon,I woke up and immediately screamed at the top of my lungs.
My house was a shabby place with zero soundproofing,but it was already 1 P.M.,so everyone who had somewhere to be was probably already out.
No one from the neighboring units responded to my scream.
Good.
That meant I could scream as much as I wanted.
In that sense.
“Jiaaaaaaaaaah!”
I screamed again until my throat gave out.
Bang bang bang bang.
There it was—someone responded.
Maybe from the neighbor’s neighbor’s unit?
Or the neighbor’s neighbor’s neighbor?
Hard to tell.
The reason for my screaming was simple:Following the “black smoke” incident,another strange phenomenon had shown up in my room.
I stared blankly, stunned, at the new “phenomenon” that had appeared in the corner of my room.
What I saw was… blood.
My sheets and white comforter were stained red.
Clearly, this phenomenon had something to do with blood.
Stay calm.
I am a devout follower blessed by the Radiant Myriad Stars.
Even if something goes wrong, they’ll come to my rescue.
I’m physically stronger now, and I’ve got divine protection.
This is different from last time.
No need to panic—just act boldly.
So, I carefully lifted the blanket.
And.
I found out what this “phenomenon” actually was.
“…”
It wasn’t an Anomalous Phenomenon.
Today marked exactly one month since my gender changed.
This wasn’t some supernatural anomaly.
It was… a natural phenomenon.
I’m not even human anymore.
I’m a devout follower of the Radiant Myriad Stars.
So why is this the one time they decide to treat me like a regular person?
I’m so bitter I could collapse from the unfairness. Seriously, it’s unfair.
…
…
…
With a sullen expression, I stripped the sheets and comforter off the bed and tossed them into the laundry basket.
Then, I peeled off the clothes and underwear I was wearing.
I had no idea if the bloodstains would come out in the wash, but still—leaving them unwashed wasn’t an option.
“So annoying.”
Eventually, I stepped into the bathroom and started a bath.
Shhhhhh.
“Ugh, cold!”
The place I lived in was so run-down, it had no soundproofing at all.
For hot water to start flowing, I had to let the water run for at least a full minute.
As cold water splashed straight into my face, my mind snapped fully awake.
According to the Wiki, my gender is “female.”
Not just “a female,” but a woman.
The term “woman” refers to a human female with XX chromosomes.
In other words, this “Devout Follower of the Radiant Myriad Stars” species isn’t biologically all that different from humans.
Having a period hadn’t even crossed my mind, but well—whatever.
I should be thankful that my gender is “woman” and not just “female.”
Compared to being disposed of, something like a period is a minor inconvenience.
A bath,a trip outside to buy pads,and some laundry—that’s all it takes to handle this.
“…Sigh.”
Still,no matter how much I tried to think positively, I couldn’t make myself feel better.
As I waited for the water to heat up, I sank into my thoughts.
If they were going to change my species to a “Devout Follower of the Radiant Myriad Stars,”they could’ve at least left my gender alone.
Why did the Radiant Myriad Stars make me a woman, of all things?
Was it divine taste?
Or did they have some specific intent?
I didn’t know.
At least I didn’t have any unpleasant symptoms like sharp cramps in my lower belly or overwhelming fatigue.
I’d heard that women who suffer from severe menstrual pain really go through hell.
Like Ayase, for example—she once ended a stream in the middle of it because the cramps were too much to handle.
I guess having a strong body is a small mercy in all this.
Shhhhhh.
Finally, hot water started flowing.
Good.
Now I could soak my hair properly.
“Mmm…”
Nice.
A hot bath always feels good.
Always.
…
…
…
After finishing my bath, I headed to the convenience store to buy the necessities.
Well, I had to buy at least some pads.
I didn’t really know which ones were good, so I just picked up the most expensive ones I saw.
It’s not like I’m strapped for cash right now.
It hadn’t been publicly announced yet,but I was officially registered as an Awakened One.
Awakened Ones get paid by the Awakened Association.
A regular monthly salary is deposited,and on top of that, bonuses are given based on how much one contributes to resolving Anomalous Phenomena
or the evaluation and use of Items.
Last month, I evaluated three Items at the Association’s request and resolved one Anomalous Phenomenon.
The amount of money I received?
It was a staggering sum—enough to make me gasp.
Well, I mean, it’s a life-risking job.
You should be paid well.
Of course, having more money is always better.
But that didn’t mean having more money automatically made me happy.
I mean, what’s the point of money, really?
It’s not like someone else is going to resolve Anomalous Phenomena for me just because I’m rich.
All it really changed was that I could now swap out convenience store triangle kimbap for 5,000-won flying fish roe premium kimbap from a branded shop,and swap the convenience store drumsticks for 20,000-won fried chicken instead.
“…”
Hmm.
Actually, that’s pretty nice.
Thinking it over again, yeah—money really is better the more you have.
Anyway, I paid for the pads, along with some drinks and snacks I could munch on at home later.
The part-timer’s face was pretty familiar to me.
If I remembered right, they’d been working at this convenience store in my neighborhood for over a year now.
This part-timer usually looked totally dead inside,but for some reason, they looked unusually cheerful today.
“Oh, hello! It’s been a while since you last came in!”
“…Yeah, I guess.”
They even greeted me.
They looked kind of nervous… and maybe even a little flushed.
Did something good happen to them?
“That’ll be 35,700 won, ma’am!”
The part-timer said it in the most upbeat voice I’d ever heard from them.
Something really must have gone well.
Maybe they got a confession from someone they liked?
I’m not oblivious.
I’m aware of how I look.
My striking pink hair.
Delicately balanced facial features.
Ridiculously large boobs.
Objectively speaking, the appearance of “Lee Jiah, Devout Follower of the Radiant Myriad Stars,” was beautiful enough to catch the eyes of most men at a glance.
Even if it was our first time meeting, I could still understand why men might treat me warmly.
But in this part-timer’s case, this wasn’t our first time seeing each other.
Ever since I was hit by the black smoke,the “historical setting” itself had changed—so that “Lee Jiah” had always been a woman.
Otherwise, would even my ID have changed completely?
I don’t remember ever taking an ID photo with a woman’s face.
Which means this part-timer has probably seen “female Lee Jiah” countless times over the past year.
He should be more than used to my face by now…So I had no idea why he was suddenly acting so friendly today.
Well, not that I minded.
It wasn’t like his friendliness was unpleasant or uncomfortable.
So after I finished paying,I gave him a polite nod.
“Thanks for your hard work. I appreciate it.”
At that, the part-timer froze.
What the hell?
Seriously.
Just as I was about to walk out the convenience store door.
“P-please get home safe!”
The part-timer’s voice rang out, overly excited.
Hmm.
Well.
It’s a hundred times better than him doing the checkout with that usual deadpan look on his face.
***
The male part-timer who works at the convenience store near Lee Jiah’s house—his name is Ahn Jun-young.
And he had a secret he couldn’t tell anyone.
He…knew the true identity of the VTuber “Lee Jiah.”
Truth be told, he had never had any interest in VTuber culture.
What he truly cared about was—the pink-haired woman who would occasionally come into the store and buy tens of thousands of won worth of daily necessities.
She was the closest thing to his ideal type that he had ever seen.
Though they’d never had a proper conversation, and she always left in silence after checking out with a blank expression.
Ahn Jun-young was content just to see her face every now and then.
Then came a completely random incident.
As a hardcore “Rodae-nam” (a Korean internet slang term for male users of a certain toxic online community),he was lurking in the “Rodae Gallery” as usual when he came across a striking thread title:
[Absolute troll legend Lee Ji-ah (VTuber) <— called out]
The post, which had hit the “Best” section, was utterly shocking.
A user with the nickname “Lee Jiah (VTuber)”was apparently a god-tier troll who could put most griefers to shame.
What was even more absurd was that, based on the comments,she wasn’t even trolling—she was just that skilled.
Since she was a streamer, they said you could verify it yourself by watching the VODs.
He couldn’t believe it.
Ahn Jun-young had to see “Lee Jiah (VTuber)” in action with his own eyes.
So, he clicked the link someone posted in the comment section and jumped into her stream.
Before long—he had converted.
To a devout follower of the VTuber named Lee Jiah.
He had known from the very beginning that the pink-haired woman who occasionally came into the convenience store and the VTuber were the same person.
Ahn Jun-young never told anyone about the secret he alone knew.
And he had no intention of ever telling anyone, either.
Ahn Jun-young wanted to be a romantic.
Even if no one would ever acknowledge it.
Even if the pink-haired woman herself would never recognize it.
Even so—he wanted to be a romantic.
He quietly became a follower.
And quietly became her fan.
For VTubers, RP (roleplaying) is everything.
He couldn’t understand why she would make an avatar modeled after her real face,but even if they met again at the convenience store—he had vowed to never do something rude like asking for a photo or autograph.
Ding.
She—arrived at the convenience store.
…
…
…
He had promised himself not to get excited, no matter what.
But.
“That’ll be 35,700 won, ma’am!”
His voice naturally came out louder than usual, and there was nothing he could do about it.
After finishing the transaction,suddenly—she looked at Ahn Jun-young,gave a deep 90-degree bow,and spoke.
“Thank you for your hard work, as always.”
Because she bent over, a bit of cleavage was visible.
But honestly, that wasn’t important to Ahn Jun-young.
What mattered was—that she, for the first time, spoke to him.
Ahn Jun-young’s mind exploded.
At that moment, he was promoted from follower—to fanatic.