Chapter 3
“Let's think. Think, think.”
I shoved some chocolate from the cupboard into my mouth and crunched away, trying to get my brain working.
I had to think, or my future was going to look bleak.
“First, I need to open all my new accounts, then transfer the money from my old accounts into them. How much is the gift tax?”
Just then, a good idea flashed through my mind.
“Bitcoin.”
Bitcoin probably wasn't taxed.
I hurriedly looked it up online, but that damn law—with its basic deduction of 2.5 million won—only made my future look bleaker.
“I'll just spend what's in there now and abandon that account.”
There was no other way. Besides, that was the only way, and my old identity had a lot of problems.
“The shop. Let's go to the shop.”
I hastily pulled on some casual pants and ran to where the shop had been before.
“Hey!”
I rushed into the shop, panting hard, and found it looking like it was in the process of being cleared out.
“Oh? You're here earlier than I expected.”
I went into the back room and looked for any useful potions.
“What are you looking for?”
“I want to get rid of my old identity. I don't know who you are, but Korean law is such a pain. It'd be better if the old Lee Jiho were found dead or something.”
At that, she tilted her head and looked at me.
“There are countries like that?”
“No, honestly, it's not just Korea. Other countries are probably the same, right? I suddenly turned into a woman, and it was probably thanks to your potion, wasn't it?”
She smiled and nodded.
“Then I have one more favor to ask. I want to clean up my old identity somehow. Is there anything you can do?”
“That'll cost you.”
I turned to look at her.
“How much?”
“Three million.”
I quickly started calculating in my head at her answer.
Three million, leaving 2.4 million. With 2.4 million, a computer CPU would cost about 600,000 won. Since I'd use integrated graphics, I could skip the graphics card. A motherboard, 170,000. I had no idea about memory, so 16 GB for 40,000. An SSD... 1 TB for 100,000, a power supply for 75,000, and a cooler for 40,000.
Altogether, around 1.02 million...
Live on 1.38 million for six months. Setting aside food, that left clothes and transportation for six months... 200,000 a month.
Not bad. I was going to be a Durahan anyway, so the clothes I had at home would be enough. Would underwear really cost more than 200,000?
More importantly, I needed money to buy that stuff, and to get money, my old identity had to be erased.
“Sounds good.”
I quickly took out my card and held it out to her.
“You're decisive.”
“Business is best done fast.”
I took her hand, smiled, and accepted a potion from her.
Given what happened last time, I knew it would work, so I drank it in one go.
Gulp, gulp—
As soon as I swallowed the potion, it seemed to take effect immediately this time.
An unbearable urge to vomit welled up from deep in my stomach and throat, and I retched it out.
A sticky, flesh-colored liquid kept gushing out of my stomach, and it took nearly a minute before I finally threw it all up.
“Kh, khek. Ugh. Wh-what is this?”
The liquid that had poured from my mouth suddenly clumped together, then hardened like clay and slowly melted as it took shape.
“This is... me, isn't it?”
There was my body, lying perfectly still as if dead.
“...I saw this body just yesterday, but seeing it like this makes me feel strangely unsettled.”
I scratched my head, tapped its cheek, then put a finger to its neck.
“It won't have a pulse. You didn't exactly vomit up your blood.”
There was no pulse. When I pressed down on its stomach and chest, I could feel bones and organs.
“...So it has blood? Saying it was dead and cold without any blood would be weird in its own way. Fake blood would be iffy, too.”
“Common-sense alteration.”
“That's a word that really does sound like magic.”
I got up from the floor and wondered what to do with the corpse.
“Can you take care of it?”
“How do you want me to take care of it?”
“Just... just have it be found as a corpse. Since common-sense alteration is in effect, people will think someone died. They won't wonder why it was here, right?”
She nodded.
“I can do that much. You spent quite a lot of money.”
“By the way.”
At my words, she turned to look at me.
“Why are you doing this for me?”
“Because it's fun.”
I didn't say anything more in response.
When I went back to the shop the next day, it had vanished without a trace.
#
The funeral was over.
I met with my mother and talked with her.
I more or less told her that I was the original Lee Jiho's girlfriend. Since his will said to divide his money between me and his mother, I received a share after taxes.
‘The money left over was 1.2 million? No, 400,000.’
I needed to find a part-time job, so I got up to leave.
Just as I stepped outside to look for a part-time job, I heard footsteps behind me, and my mother grabbed my shoulder.
“Take this money.”
“...Pardon?”
My mother took an envelope full of money and tried to push it into my arms.
“I'm fine. I'm old now, and I have the money my husband left behind, as well as the money I've saved myself.”
Then she went straight back to the funeral, leaving me no chance to give it back.
“Ah.”
I feel like shit.
My mother had lost her husband to cancer, and now her son had been found dead, yet she was handing money to some woman she'd never even met, claiming to be her son's girlfriend.
I wanted to run up to her right then and tell her I was Jiho, that I'd drunk a potion and turned into a woman, but...
‘If I told her, she'd think I was some lunatic.’
I decided to forget about all that. What I had to do now was become famous, make money, and pay my mother back.
That was all I had to think about.
Not long after I got home, the landlord cautiously came over to me.
“...Were you and Mr. Lee Jiho in a common-law marriage?”
“Common-law...?”
“Well, I'm not sure if I should say this, but now that Mr. Jiho has passed away, there's the matter of the security deposit contract.”
Just then, my phone rang.
“Yes, yes. Ah... I understand.”
I handed over the phone and explained the situation to the landlord.
My mother, his sole heir, had told the landlord to return the deposit to me.
Her son had died, and she was already distraught, yet she was even giving the deposit to her son's girlfriend, a woman she'd never met before...
‘...’
After confirming the details, the landlord asked me for my account number.
I didn't have an account yet, so I asked for some time to collect myself, then saw the landlord off.
I lay on the bed and quietly rested my arms above my head.
My mind was a mess, full of upsetting thoughts.
When it came to streaming, I had to switch off my brain and think only happy thoughts.
“Maybe I should rub one out.”
I sat in front of the full-length mirror and looked at myself.
Let's think. What kind of character would people like more?
‘I've never masturbated even once~’
Would it be some noble princess type who said that?
‘Oh, fuck, you do it five times a week, right? Isn't that normal?’
Or would it be a horny, easygoing sex fiend who said that?
“Ah, ah.”
How should I shape my persona as a woman with a low, boyish voice?
First of all, pants instead of skirts, and I should lower my voice a little to create an appealing contrast.
They say the livestreaming scene has lots of male fans, but I shouldn't ignore female fans either.
Women can spend just as much money.
‘The best thing is to win over both. That's why I'm going to be a Durahan.’
The VTuber scene is its own rabbit hole, and unless a female streamer takes on a clownish role, it's hard to get much of a response from women...
‘Let's think about the deposit. I'm going to stream anyway, so I should move. A simple one-room place in the provinces would be better than a studio.’
I searched sites for places in the provinces and found one listing that looked strange.
‘A million deposit, 150,000 a month, and a 50,000 won maintenance fee? Something's off.’
But considering it was in the provinces, and I'd searched in the cheapest area, I figured a listing like that could turn up.
‘Do I not know how the world works?’
Come to think of it, my mother had found the place I was living in now, and I'd been living here for years.
I told the landlord in advance, arranged to transfer the lease into my name, and decided to stay in the old place for about two more months before moving out.
‘There are all sorts of things to do, like putting together a simple character persona, but...’
Seeing is believing. I should just go live and get started.
“A username... Maybe I'll use my real name and start off acting like I don't care about streaming?”
Let's make the username Lee Jia01, since I was born in 2001. For the ID, something casual too, like ‘I don't care~’
dlwldk01, Lee Jia01
Nice.
I turned on my stream for the very first time.
“It's my first time, so let's take it slow. Let's aim for an average of 10 viewers!!”
The stream began, and I switched into streaming mode.
And five hours later, today's stream ended.
June 3, 2023
Average viewers: 2
Followers: 1
Stream time: 5 hours, 15 minutes
Unique viewers: 1
“Fuck.”
My stream had gone to shit.