Chapter 49

The preparation for school might sound grand, but it’s not all that complicated.

First.

“Status Window.”

-Yes?

“Bring the reward.”

-Understood!

The roulette ticket saved during the near-crisis situation in the mother-daughter relationship is now being used.

Regardless, the webcam was turned on, and in the process, some embarrassment was endured, so there’s ample right to receive a reward.

-Considering your unsettled mood, instead of the roulette, I propose attempting a simple random box-style gacha.

-What do you think about that?

“That’s fine.”

Just then, the status window also declared it would provide rewards via a simplified random box. Nodding in agreement with the status window’s move, Hayoon tapped the hologram form of the random box provided by it.

Then,

-Pang, Pa-pang!

With a refreshing fanfare sound effect,

[Endless Vigor]

-You gain the ability to recover effortlessly from any fatigue after a good night’s sleep.

If you get at least 6 hours of sleep, you’ll have a peaceful day.

-Cheers to your energetic day!

The long-coveted “Endless Vigor” was now in hand. Judging from the description, it seemed advantageous for maintaining condition while managing school life concurrently.

“Nice! Nice!”

After opening the trait random box, now…

Calculating the bus schedule and the travel time to school, checking if there are any issues with the school uniform that has only accumulated dust in the wardrobe, and spraying an appropriate perfume to mask the unique closet smell—these tasks are all that’s left.

Next is the time to introduce a change to the routine upheld so far.

Given that Hayoon had been managing both 7-day-a-week broadcasts and work, living every moment in crunch mode, adding high school attendance made it impossible to maintain the current routine. It was time to establish a new one.

“First…”

The time until 5 PM can basically be considered free.

Since high school classes typically start by 8 AM and end by 4 PM, one will be home and doing various things until around 5 PM. Starting a broadcast right away would be unrealistic.

“No, no… The broadcast will be on hiatus from now.”

The schedule after 5 PM is fixed for illustration work.

There are still many illustrations to be drawn, and with the Patreon broadcast now entering a rest period, it’s time to focus on Patreon and Pixiv.

With the channel through broadcasting now gone, it’s necessary to focus on the quality of illustrations and draw attention via Pixiv rankings.

Given that one must compete with other talented artists at a similar level or higher, even working from 5 PM to 11 PM might still feel insufficient.

“Since I can just do my work during math, English, or Korean classes, if I use that time, I might be able to manage about eight hours of drawing, right?”

Eight hours a day.

Considering that high school attendance is now necessary, this amounts to securing the minimal time needed to focus on cosplay and Patreon management.

The problem now is the broadcast…

“Even though I’ve posted a break notice, I need to keep engaging with the audience…”

It seemed right to occasionally communicate via the cafe.

And then, a week passed.

“Looking for character concept recommendations…”

Hayoon posted on the cafe asking for auto-character concept recommendations.

The content of the post stated that all recommendations would be reviewed and the best combination picked.

In truth, this amounted to Hayoon creating the character as they pleased, yet the response was enthusiastic.

-Is it okay?

-No issues with mental health?

-With the new high school schedule, just take a proper rest break. Take it easy.

As it was the first communication after the long hiatus notice, the loyal viewers were primarily concerned about Hayoon’s wellbeing.

Those who had been watching since the early days had built a deep connection with Hayoon and hardly ever intended to watch other broadcasts.

-Track pants with a training jersey is a stable combination. Let’s go.

-The female character should have black long hair.

-The chest absolutely has to be large. Seriously.

Some viewers inevitably submitted art requests, suggesting ideas tailored to their tastes for Hayoon’s auto-character.

This led to active contributions, as the participants were deeply immersed and eager to offer creative ideas.

“I’ll bring a few concepts next week. While preparing for high school, I’ll manage real life and take it easy…”

With this, Hayoon responded that they would post survival updates about once a week.

The response from the fan cafe members was nothing short of explosive.

Hayoon attempted to solidify the loyalty of devoted viewers through these small interactions.

The following week arrived.

“Here we go… What do you think of this concept?”

Hayoon posted a concept drawing on the fan cafe.

It was an auto-character created by incorporating the ideas from the viewers.

A training jersey with track pants.

Black hair with a ponytail.

An athletic attribute with a large bust.

Though somewhat bland for an auto-character, if considered as just an illustration for Pixiv, it wasn’t bad.

-Really, it’s incredible.

There’s nothing left to ask for.

-Even if it’s only once a week, just like during the broadcasts, the feeling of requesting and receiving art is enjoyable.

-Three months, when will they pass? Would you come back around the summer vacation season?

-That would be great…

The fan cafe members grinned upon viewing the concepts Hayoon had drawn and occasionally offered new ideas, eagerly awaiting the next week’s concept designs.

The following week,

Viewers happily commented and offered opinions on the improved hanbok-styled dog spirit concept Hayoon presented.

And on the following Monday,

The second year of high school for Hayoon began.

#

Hayoon’s May was peaceful.

The broadcast was on hiatus, but cosplay illustration production for “Cosplay Holic” and Patreon continued steadily despite the break.

Even with heightened focus on quality, it wasn’t overly burdensome.

In fact, with the abundance of free time, Hayoon reached a point where they were regularly posting character draft concepts on the fan cafe every week.

It was leisurely, tranquil—a rare sense of freedom since becoming a woman through the status window.

But now, this leisure is at its end.

As the start of Hayoon’s second year as a high school freshman began.

“Haa, I really hate it.”

Before becoming a woman, Hayoon couldn’t even remember the last time they had attended school so early, and it felt like they were going even earlier now, making their mood sour.

But, what can be done?

It’s not like one can skip school just because they don’t want to attend, and there’s no guarantee of passing the high school equivalency test either.

“Still, I’ve gotta go… to school…”

Dressed in the unnecessarily pretty Burberry-check skirt and tidy pure white blouse of a uniform, with only about a hundred female students in the entire school, she draped a navy blazer over her shoulders.

“Ugh, why is it so pretty…”

This time, entering Yongsan IT High School, the girls’ uniforms were among the most attractive in all of South Korea, not just Seoul, truly leaving one in awe with every look.

After admiring the fit of the uniform in the mirror until satisfied, she picked up her bag, containing her newly purchased tablet and various essentials, and left the room.

“I’ll be going to school.”

“Wow, is it already today?”

“Yeah, it turned out like that.”

Stepping outside, she found Min Jeong-kyun, who had recently switched to remote work, waving goodbye while still engrossed with his laptop and eating toast in the kitchen.

“See you later. Is mom at the studio?”

“Ah, there’s no work these days for her, but she left this morning saying she’d give your stuff the hard edit.”

“Hmm, I don’t know how to thank her.”

“In that case, just say ‘I love you’ once tonight.”

“Alright, sounds like a plan.”

Yusoohee went to work as usual, and Hayoon prepared to go to school with a smile.

With all the effort Yusoohee had put in for her, it wouldn’t look right to complain about just going to high school.

“Need to release the game by October.”

Determined to hurry before it’s too late, Hayoon adjusted her shoes, quickly opened the front door, and stepped outside.

And just as she walked past the elevator and out the apartment building,

“…”

Hayoon felt the wind.

The peculiar circulation of air between her thighs every time she wears a skirt.

Her skin crawled with goosebumps—she couldn’t get used to it at all.

Thinking about stopping by a convenience store on the way to school to purchase something like thigh-high stockings.

“10 minutes to arrival…”

Upon reaching the bus stop, Hayoon immediately checked the bus’s arrival time and pulled out her tablet to start working on an illustration.

Given this was the commuting hour, even if the estimated 10 minutes might extend up to 30, she could at least rough out a draft in this time, despite the uncomfortable position.

“Details can be fine-tuned comfortably later.”

Swiftly, smoothly, the pen traced black lines.

The piece she was working on was a cat-nurse themed illustration.

At the cosplay bar, the simple nurse costume felt too bland, so the concept of bartender Ju Ye-na with a cat ear headband, as part of her ECG.

As Hayoon’s pen traced the lines, a beautiful female figure began to form.

A large bust resting on the bar counter, her face slightly flushed, fingers idly circling, she depicted Ju Ye-na smiling seductively.

“Ah, this is really great…”

In most visual novels, characters are confined to pre-set scenarios.

The convenience store, the tteokbokki shop—each a space where the player interacts with the heroine to develop romantic feelings, limited in its possibilities.

The greatest drawback of this method is the limitation in variety of clothing options available for the heroines.

But what about “Cosplay Holic”?

Through the concept of heroines dressing up in cosplay within the confines of a limited space like a cocktail bar, it created limitless possibilities.

Maid, nurse, bunny girl, police officer, and so on.

There’s no outfit that can’t be incorporated.

‘This is it.’

Unrestricted by overlapping concepts in illustration production—the pleasure this would bring an illustrator is immense.

With a faint smile, Hayoon kept drawing, and inevitably, gazes followed her effortlessly.

Just standing there, she attracted glances.

The exceptionally pretty school uniform.

And during the working and commuting hours, sitting with one leg crossed, drawing on a tablet—there was nothing about her that didn’t attract attention.

Despite the stares, Hayoon concentrated on completing the rough draft, ignoring them.

This is something she will experience for the rest of her life living in this body, and right now, the most important thing for Hayoon is the successful launch of “Cosplay Holic”.

‘Cosplay reminds me of Halloween. I should suggest setting the release for Halloween to solidify the schedule.’

After sketching for about ten minutes while waiting for the bus and confirming its arrival, she boarded.

“Haa…”

Sitting by the window at just the right moment, Hayoon sighed dramatically.

“I hate going to school…”

Despite the dislike, somehow she’d have to try to adapt.

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