Since I Became a Woman, I’ll Do Cosplay

Now reflecting on her first three years of high school, what could Hayoon say about them…?

They could very well be described as the life of a recluse.

Waking up early in the morning around 6:40 AM and reaching school by 7:30 AM.

Afterward, she would sketch for about 30 minutes and during every break, she would manage to sneak in a little progress. She would really dive into her work during the lunch break.

In the afternoon, she would relax a bit, then return home and immerse herself in drawing until midnight before finally sleeping.

People hardly approached Hayoon living this kind of life, and if asked whether she wanted to relive those three years of seclusion, she honestly believed it was something she couldn’t do again.

Thus, Hayoon’s second high school life needed to change.

Then, how should she change?

On Thursday, Hayoon began her commute to school while pondering these thoughts. Even though she had only been commuting for about two weeks, she had already gotten somewhat familiar with the way.

While lost in thought, she managed to arrive at the bus stop without any significant issues.

From here on out…

‘School life, I need to also consider how I’ll spend it…’

It wasn’t an easy thing at all.

Hayoon detested wasting time.

Knowing that she needed to formulate a plan for her school life, her hand instinctively reached into her bag for the tablet.

This is Hayoon’s problem.

Though she detested wasting time to an extreme degree, her rational side recognized the trouble it had caused in her previous life, never allowing her to adjust to high school life.

“What good was studying math, science, and English when I wasn’t planning to go to college anyway? Drawing pictures and making 2 million won a month would be enough for me…”

This was a typical contrarian mindset.

Because of this mindset, Hayoon always kept to herself.

Honestly, she had tried to change. Even by the time she was a first-year student, she had actively tried to make friends and even participated in a school gaming competition, reaching the semifinals with four classmates.

However, nothing ever turned out the way she hoped it would.

After all, friendships made during high school rarely lasted into one’s 30s or 40s.

The moment Hayoon started feeling that cultivating these relationships was useless compared to earning money right away, her social connections unraveled uncontrollably.

“I really lived without a plan back then.”

Stepping off the bus and heading toward the school gates, Hayoon realized anew just how aimless she had been in her past life.

But was she different now?

What about the Hayoon of today?

She had reached out to Arin using Live2D technology and recruited Jin Ho for programming, adding them to her team.

Wasn’t that even worse behavior now?

At least, back then, she had endured three years by herself in a corner, while now, she treated these two people as her employees.

Perhaps, because of her, their social relationships were deteriorating.

Even if Arin said she didn’t have any friends, Hayoon might still be taking away the time she could use to make friends.

At first, she hadn’t cared, but looking back on her high school life, Hayoon was filled with guilt.

“I’m doing something I shouldn’t be.”

By involving Hayoon, these two people had fewer opportunities to make friends and establish their own bonds. Yet, Hayoon herself engaged in little meaningful social interaction with them.

This way, it would be as if there were two more people like her former self added to the mix.

“Maybe we should go out and play together sometimes….”

At first, it had started as a fleeting thought of wanting to enjoy school life more, but this was actually a more important issue than expected.

If Hayoon were to get so caught up in work like in her previous life and isolate herself, the two of them might end up having no significant high school memories to treasure.

“Uhmm….”

The truth was, Hayoon didn’t know much about what high school memories were supposed to be like. Her entire experience was so distant from that ideal.

Frankly, she didn’t know how to help ensure these two friends might look back fondly on the game development era.

Hayoon herself was always far from ordinary. If things continued this way…

“Maybe I should try talking to them in person?”

Indeed, it would be better to have the same concerns discussed together, turning them into memories they could treasure.

—

With about 20 minutes left until the morning assembly, Hayoon placed her bag in the classroom and headed to the clubroom, which was already open.

Mr. Park Geon-su only enforced rules about the clubroom’s door if not requested by them, so it was highly likely Arin was inside.

Since she and Arin possessed the spare key…

“Who’s in there?”

Muttering briefly, Hayoon opened the door and entered the room to find…

– Crunch.

A familiar sound of munching.

Already, it seemed like two bags of these snacks were consumed, with empty wrappers scattered on the desk.

Sure enough, it was Arin inside.

“Uh… uh, uum!”

Was it too much all at once?

Arin covered her mouth with one hand and waved, greeting Hayoon cheerfully. With an awkward smile, Hayoon waved back and naturally turned the chair around to sit in front of Arin.

“Eating this much this early in the morning? You should have rice for breakfast.”

“…You sound like my mom.”

“Koreans thrive on rice, you know.”

“That’s easy for you to say, but you probably didn’t eat breakfast either.”

Hayoon tapped one of the crinkly wrappers on the desk. Arin, who had just swallowed a bite of the snack, replied bluntly but with a teasing tone,

“Yeah, I didn’t eat breakfast. How are you supposed to eat a proper meal and still get here at this time?”

“True enough. You must be hungry, huh? There’s nothing we can do about that. Guess I’ll have to bring out one more.”

“Huh?”

“You’re probably starving. This will keep us going. And while we’re at it, I could eat some too.”

This person…

Seeing her trying to trick another piece out with Hayoon as an excuse showed just how severe her snack addiction was.

Even someone as unaware of female social habits as Hayoon knew from online communities that once girls got into a particular snacking habit, they often fixated on it, but this level of obsession…

“Phew, fine.”

“Yum…”

Arin offered Hayoon a piece, smiling somewhat mischievously. Hayoon accepted it with her hand and popped it into her mouth.

-Crunch.

A familiar, addictive taste of soy-based chicken sauce wrapped her tongue. Definitely the kind Hayoon had often indulged in during her school days.

It was steady and addictive, understandable given its low price. No wonder Arin couldn’t stop eating it.

-Crunch, Crunch.

After chewing the snack a few more times, Hayoon turned her gaze back to Arin, who was munching happily with a blissful look on her face. Including the earlier ones, this was the fourth bag already. Not showing any signs of getting tired of it, she seemed content just with these little snacks.

‘Am I overthinking this?’

Could she be placing too much seriousness onto someone who finds happiness in such simple snacks?

Even though, that was true to some extent…

‘But that doesn’t mean I should just ignore it either.’

She was going to ask the same thing to Jin Ho eventually. Perhaps…

It would be best to bring it up when it’s just the two of them alone.

“Big sister,”

“Uh?”

“Is there anything you wish for?”

“Wish?”

“If the game releases successfully, is there something you’d like to do? Or anything you wish to try during the remaining high school period? It seems like you’re just following along with whatever I suggest.”

“Hmm…”

Of course, being suddenly asked that, Arin was a bit taken aback.

She was, after all, currently enjoying her life. Having found a companion like Hayoon with whom she could freely discuss illustrations, along with the money that was forthcoming, she was more than satisfied. She expected to earn at least several million won, so it was hard not to be excited.

No matter how you looked at it, Arin was truly enjoying her present life. Compared to the last year where she had buried herself in self-development with no meaningful friends, this was much better by several folds.

Still…

If pushed to choose one specific desire…

There was one thing she had wished for.

“Should I call it socializing? Like a pajama party or something.”

“Pajama party?”

“You know, like going out for barbecues in the summer or some similar high school things. I’ve heard that students often do such activities, but around here, everyone’s too busy with job preparation.”

“Ah?”

In short, she wanted an after-party of some kind.

A chance to bond with the people involved in the game’s release might be fun too…

“We could go to the beach if you prefer, right? If there’s a limit on the number of people, we can reserve a villa. Money isn’t an issue, and we have enough flexibility in our schedule for at least a one or two-day break.”

“Really? We can go to the beach? For real?”

Arin seemed truly excited at the prospect of such an opportunity, her enthusiasm evident.

‘Alright, first, I’ll take the big sister to the beach for a pajama party and a little night chat to check off one of her bucket list items…’

Next was Jin Ho.

Though, he was a heavy sleeper and hadn’t come to the clubroom this morning.

Instead, right around lunchtime, he made an early visit to the clubroom as was usual for the most senior students who get served first.

“Are you here now?”

“Huh? Aren’t you going to get lunch?”

“It’s second-year dining time. If the first years want to be served, they have to wait another 20 minutes, so I came briefly.”

“Ah, you troublemaker.”

During their lunchtime meeting, Jin Ho grumbled about there being discrimination in the dining schedules, saying it was particularly disheartening when it came to food.

As they exchanged casual chatter for a while, they transitioned to a more serious conversation starting with Hayoon’s question.

Jin Ho’s response was…

“Hey, can we find a vocalist?”

“Vocalist?”

“Right, while directly singing character theme songs might be a stretch, I think it’d be nice to have an opening or ending theme. In my research, I found that soundtracks can bring in quite good profits when visual novels sell.”

Though somewhat ambiguous, Hayoon could use this response well enough.

Even choosing a vocalist could become a small piece of cherished high school memory.

---