Chapter 15: I Feel Like I Hear Your Voice.

“…Huh?”

A flash.

Kyuseok opened his eyes. But why did it feel like it had been ages since he last opened them? What he saw before him was his classroom.

Class 2-7 of Daechun High School, where he reunited with Soohyun, whom he had only attended kindergarten with.

A wooden classroom with sunlight perfect for napping. A blackboard with half-erased scribbles and broken chalk pieces.

In the midst of it all, at an old desk covered in graffiti, typical of old schools, sat a girl. The girl’s beauty made the nostalgic blue uniform look shabby.

Could moonlight spun into thread create hair of such a silver hue? Could the sea reflecting blue stars solidify into such clear eyes?

All beauty lost its luster and wandered before her, while she alone radiated light. An overwhelmingly beautiful sight.

Kyuseok knew the girl’s name. But he couldn’t utter it. Why?

A small smile graced the girl’s face. Captivated by her noble appearance, Kyuseok was about to approach her when he realized something.

She shouldn’t be wearing that uniform.

Soohyun’s gender changed after graduation.

‘Kang Soohyun? What was I doing?’

He remembered leaving the house, talking to her.

Trying to tickle her…

“…Gasp!”

Seeing Kyuseok flinch back in surprise, ‘Soohyun’ slowly opened her mouth. A beautiful voice emerged from her dainty, pink lips.

“If you don’t get up now, you’re dead.”

Kyuseok strained every muscle in his body.

“Gah! Cough, cough! Ugh…!”

It was an elaborate illusion.

Soohyun in a school uniform, something that couldn’t happen, had made him lose his mind. He was embarrassed.

But the pain from the blow that had brought him to the brink of death for the first time in his life hit him faster than embarrassment.

“Ugh…!”

Kyuseok clutched his stomach and came to his senses on the floor. It felt like there was a hole in his lungs, breathing was pointless. Like someone had stabbed him with a spear and was slowly twisting it.

His abs, relatively well-defined for an ordinary person, tensed to protect his internal organs, but a fighter’s knee kick was overwhelming. It only increased the area of pain.

“It was Kyuseok, right? I remembered your face. Sorry.”

Kang Shimjeong apologized, his voice not sounding particularly sorry. He was quite jealous that Kyuseok was playing around with his sister.

Still, the fact that Shimjeong recognized Kyuseok contributed to his survival. The strength that left him right before the direct hit. And the fact that Kang Shimjeong wasn’t in fighting shape yet.

If not for those two factors, he would probably be reunited with Soohyun’s now-gone male genitalia in heaven.

“pant… gasp…”

Kyuseok could only pant like a dog in summer. Not dying didn’t mean he was fine.

Soohyun was currently contemplating in this situation where her best friend was almost killed by her brother with a flying knee kick.

Should she apologize to her friend who almost died while playing with her, or should she thank her brother who almost killed her friend to protect her?

Choosing the latter was difficult, but the former felt strange. In the end, Soohyun chose the third option.

“…Why are you here?”

Changing the subject.

She ignored Kyuseok’s resentful gaze at having his pain dismissed. Even if he looked up to glare at Soohyun, he would be the one in pain.

“Groan…”

“I was going to see you as soon as I got back to Korea. I got that message, so I couldn’t not come.”

Shimjeong replied, slapping a pain relief patch on Kyuseok’s stomach with a ch ch sound. Kyuseok screamed with every slap.

“Ow! Ow!”

The siblings, no, the brother and sister, treated Kyuseok’s screams like bizarre background music and calmly continued their conversation.

“Still, you should have given me a heads-up.”

Shimjeong cleared his throat and, suppressing his racing heart, prepared his finishing move.

“A surprise… or something. I wanted to act like a normal older brother.”

“…Ugh.”

Soohyun’s genuinely disgusted expression. Not a high-quality expression from her avatar, but the epitome of kimoi (disgusting).

Without changing her expression, she muttered,

“You…?”

“Ah. It’s ‘oppa’ now.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Soohyun’s serious expression. Kyuseok tried to say something.

“Ugh… Soohyun-hyung, right? I’ve heard a lot about you. It seems like you’ve been through a lot…”

“I remember you, Kim Kyuseok. You briefly attended our gym. I don’t have anything against you, but this isn’t the time or place for you to be here.”

An overwhelming aura emanating from his 193cm frame. Kyuseok was also quite tall, but not on the level of the 190cm club.

“Y-Yes, sir.”

He lost, obviously.

Seeing the quickly intimidated Kyuseok, Soohyun raised her voice. Not because her friend was being ignored, but because she felt like her pet was being scolded.

“He should be here. Kyuseok should be here.”

“..Sigh. Kang Soohyun.”

“He took care of me when you weren’t here. That guy can’t study, he’s clumsy, and he can’t cook! He’s got nothing but money and looks…”

Kyuseok, who was about to be touched by her tone and excitement, stopped. Wait. This isn’t a touching scene, is it?

Shimjeong ran a hand through his hair. He seemed to be getting angry.

“Kang Soohyun. You’re the one who refused the money I sent you every month.”

“Yeah. I know you get a lot of fight money, hyung. But I don’t want your money.”

Amidst the suffocating conversation, Kyuseok was in utter confusion. Not because his best friend’s brother was the world’s best fighter. Not because Soohyun could have been rich but refused and was living like this.

“Wait a minute. Am I the only one who finds this weird? I don’t understand at all!”

A desperate cry. An appeal so powerful it seemed to be calling for an end to the war, that even Shimjeong, who was about to ignore him, couldn’t help but respond.

“…Sigh. What now.”

“Your younger sibling has become a girl? And you’re not even questioning whether she’s really Kang Soohyun?”

Shimjeong froze. He just realized that he hadn’t asked his sister what had happened since he entered the house.

“Oh. You’re right.”

Soohyun, who was preparing to stab her brother in the heart, was impressed. Right. She had taken it for granted. That suspicious guy…

Shimjeong, who had been silent for a while, fiddled with the candy in his pocket and replied.

“I talked to her while you were unconscious, so I know. She’s still my sister. I wouldn’t not recognize her just because her body changed.”

Shimjeong’s gaze lingered on Soohyun’s face. Still small. Fragile. His last family member, someone he had to protect. Those uniquely innocent and fragile eyes. A precarious teardrop that seemed ready to burst.

Shimjeong smiled and said,

“Yeah. You haven’t changed.”

“…Still disgusting.”

Ignoring Shimjeong, who felt a sense of warmth despite Soohyun’s disgusted look, Soohyun’s house was gradually enveloped by night.

Mama’s brother is a siscon.

If he’s Mama’s brother, isn’t he an uncle?

Mama is also an English word, what about Uncle?

Stop it, it’s getting complicated…

“Eh! So what happened with your older brother, the martial arts coach?”

“He told me to leave right away… It was really awkward.”

“Eh…”

Well, Sayo. I know you’re broadcasting, but even for entertainment, I can’t say I’m on good terms with him.

40% of what I just said is a lie because I’m afraid of being doxxed. I changed Kyuseok’s gender and the technique he was hit with to a simple restraint.

The one and only WFC champion became an ordinary martial arts coach, and Kang Shimjeong was downgraded as well.

“But… but…”

Sayo still had a dreamy expression, even though I found it disgusting. Unlike me, Sayo doesn’t have any family, so she must be envious of me having a biological brother.

He’s worse than having no one.

“But! He attacked person A because he was worried about Mama? That’s cool…”

“…I don’t think that’s cool at all.”

Kim Kyuseok almost died.

Kyuseok is my only family and friend.

I don’t want to be friendly with someone who almost killed him.

Since she’s talking to Haru-chan, she doesn’t sound like an outsider at all LOL

This isn’t the innocent, reclusive, beautiful girl Mama!

Hey, Mama doesn’t have an RP.

“Haha.”

But what the vast majority of Vtuber fans want is a siscon brother and a brocon sister.

A Vtuber family relationship with a slightly vulgar, selfish desire mixed in.

“Oppa is a fool. Yeah. A fool who doesn’t even take care of himself.”

I owe Sayo a lot.

Should I act a little according to the cliché?

Siscon brother and brocon sister W

Older brother! Please give me your younger sister!

You’ll seriously die, he’s a martial arts coach ww

“Ugh… I’m envious. Envious, Mama.”

Haru in the video puffed out her cheeks and shook her head.

Sayo’s avatar, Haru, hasn’t changed yet. There were too many things happening to comfortably draw.

“By the way, Haru. When are you thinking of revealing your ‘new face’?”

“Hmm. Probably around mid-July. I want to show it off at my 4th anniversary live. Ah. Kenji-san told me not to say too much.”

Casually dropping big news…

Kenji is crying again.

The CEO is treated worse than a stray cat

Eh. That was a secret?

Then you should have told me not to ask. I can’t believe she’s a broadcasting professional.

Haru chuckled foolishly and said,

“Yeah. Let’s discuss the details when we meet! Mama and I. We’ve never met offline, right?”

“Ugh. Offline…”

Me, who can’t even change her ID because the cheat doesn’t work, going to Japan with a ‘passport’? That’s impossible…

“I’ll… consider it.”

“Eh. Really? I didn’t expect that! I’m happy! Thank you, Mama!”

An offline collab we never expected?

Are you stupid? Think about Mama’s outsider energy.

Plainly impossible w

…If it weren’t during a broadcast, I’d like to meet Takahashi Sayo at least once. It’s impulsive, but I’ll just say it.

“Yeah. I’m looking… forward to it.”

Japan. I’ll think about it for two weeks.

It wouldn’t hurt to do some reconnaissance.

“Okay! Yakiniku, gyukatsu…! There’s a mountain of things I want to eat with you!”

Hmm. I’m looking forward to that too.

But I’m sorry, Sayo… the problem is my ID.

As you know, my ID hasn’t changed.

The last trace of my male self, still remaining.

I need to show my passport to go to Japan.

My resident registration card hasn’t changed, so there’s no way my passport…

Ding-dong!

“Delivery!”

I didn’t order anything.

The only thing that could be coming is…

“…Strange timing.”

Creak-

I peeked through the door, and the delivery person was already gone, leaving only a small package.

[Kang Soohyun customer.

Passport and resident registration card.

Sent by Virtual God]

Rip-

I opened the package to find my properly updated passport and ID card.

“…What? Like this?”

It’s kind of anticlimactic. Why send it so unceremoniously? If it’s from a god, it should suddenly fall from the sky or something. Or appear through a status window notification.

“Well. Good is good, I guess…”

Thinking that I’ve changed quite a bit, not feeling any regret at the disappearance of the last trace of my male self,

I prepared to go to Japan.