Since I Became a Woman, I’ll Do Cosplay

A week had passed since Hayoon had embarked on a game planning project with her viewers.

Initially, the plan was to just loosely outline the theme and then contact Arin, but before they knew it, they had reached the stage of finalizing the title.

Hayoon’s strong drive and the viewers’ deep knowledge in this field had pushed the project forward quickly.

With such engaging discussions going on, they had somehow missed the right moment to wrap up their talks.

“How about ‘Cos Bar’? This feels just right, doesn’t it?”

– How is a dating sim title ‘Welcome to the Cosplay Bar’ even a thing?

– Cos Bar is a passable title. It’s pretty legit.

– Just plainly calling it ‘Cosplay Bar’ might actually be better, huh?

As Hayoon was heading down the wrong path with suggestions like this…

“But, if we go straight for ‘Cosplay Bar,’ with just those two common words, it won’t stand out. Maybe ‘Holic’ fits better?”

– Is it about getting addicted to maids?

– This one is actually pretty good.

– Uh-heh… getting hooked on maids…

The viewers were promptly offering advice.

“About the first concept, maybe a maid?”

– Yeah, attach something after ‘maid’…

“Too cliché with ‘bar,’ and ‘cocktail bar’ might be overdoing it… How about ‘Holic’?”

– The feeling of getting hooked on maids, you mean?

– This has potential.

With viewers like these, it was obvious that Hayoon could not afford to lose focus on game planning.

[10,000 won donation]

– How about ‘Cosplay Holic’?

Not only was discussing with them fun, but it even generated some income.

Before Hayoon knew it, merely keeping the game planning stream on resulted in a week flying by.

– That’s right, don’t you do cosplay too, boss?

– A dating sim made by a cosplayer, huh? This is going to be a hit.

– ? Does the host cosplay as well?

– Are there viewers who haven’t taken selfies with our cosplay host?

– Link… just give us the link…

And just as the chat window started buzzing about Hayoon’s cosplay, before it could fully heat up…

– Should we try it out once?

A direct message arrived. It was from Arin.

Arin, who had been nervous all by herself while Hayoon was immersed in game planning, had finally reached out.

With clenched fists, Hayoon jubilantly responded.

“Shall we get to work then?”

– Huh?

– What about it?

– Show us a cosplay picture at least.

– Are you that curious to see the face of a high schooler?

– Back off, you weirdos.

“It’s not because of that, but I have an appointment to meet a friend.”

– A friend?

– A boy?

“A girl.”

[1,000 won donation]

– Is it that person from the meeting the other day?

“That’s right.”

[10,000 won donation]

– Here’s my coffee money; I support you. Okay.

“Thanks. Our manager will message me the list of people with good ideas later, so I’ll draw everything later when I have the time.”

– I’ve already sent it. Check when we do the art stream later.

“Alright, that’s it for today.”

– Click.

As Hayoon turned off the stream, a noise reminiscent of static when connecting speakers played briefly in her mind.

– She’s really gone.

– What was that cosplay talk about a while ago?

– Figure it out yourselves.

– Isn’t it obvious she’s a minor from her reluctance to mention cosplay?

– The stream is over. Go to bed, weirdos.

Meanwhile, the chat continued moving for a while.

It seemed that viewers from the Girl War community were covering for Hayoon.

“That’s why you need a strong fandom.”

Most likely, those from the Girl War community had a high probability of having spent money supporting Hayoon before.

Many of them must have met Hayoon in person at events, so naturally, they’d feel closer to her than the average viewer.

So naturally, they were calling for Hayoon’s defense and keeping inappropriate chats in check.

“Having a bit of back-and-forth could also help bring the broadcast forward…”

Shifting her gaze from the monitor, Hayoon picked up her phone and entered the DM chat.

“Since it’s already late today…”

Why waste such an opportunity when Arin herself had reached out?

– Can we meet tomorrow? At that tea shop near Seodaemun Station from last time? What time suits you?

– Yes. After lunch, around two would be good…

Hayoon happily made plans for the meeting.

“Mom, I’ll be going out tomorrow.”

“Ah, don’t forget to wear a mask.”

“A mask?”

“I heard that this week there were over 30 confirmed cases. It’s always better to be careful, so remember to bring one.”

“Ah, okay…”

Her mother reminded her to bring a mask, showing concern.

A pandemic was looming.

#

The next day, Hayoon and Arin reunited at the café they had visited the previous week.

This time, Hayoon had brought her laptop, ready to give a full briefing to Arin, while Arin still looked somewhat uneasy, perhaps because she found the situation embarrassing.

“Thank you for coming again. I couldn’t pay you much attention with all the planning.”

“No, I was also contemplating a lot before reaching out again.”

Amidst the slightly awkward conversation with two cups of coffee and a laptop between them, the distance between the two hadn’t completely closed. Recognizing that time was needed, Hayoon smiled gently and handed over the conversational reins to Arin.

“Could you perhaps explain why you came here today?”

“Hmm, well…”

Arin was naturally an indecisive individual.

Although she secretly desired collaboration with Hayoon, it had taken her a whole week to contact her. It was clear that she needed some more time, and given the chance to gather her thoughts, she finally began speaking.

“To be honest… because I felt regretful.”

“For what?”

“For the art… if I could make it come alive, it would be much better. I also thought it might be fun to work with talented artists who can create illustrations like you do…”

“And?”

“Visual novels? I looked into that genre… There seems to be quite a lot of artwork required as resources, right?”

“Of course.”

“Although I’m not an expert, I can manage backgrounds and source illustrations. I thought it might be helpful to work together. I felt like I could lighten your load… and was confident that I could be useful…”

“Hmm…”

With a distinct smile, Hayoon firmly shook Arin’s slightly cold hand due to the winter.

“Uh, wh-what?”

Caught off guard by the sudden physical contact, Arin briefly flustered, but soon had to meet Hayoon’s intense gaze.

“Thank you. I didn’t expect you to think about ways to help our team like that.”

“I, I guess…”

“Perhaps I should give you a bit more bonus, too?”

“Th-thank you…”

An enthusiastic collaborator is always welcome. Hayoon stared at Arin, clearly pleased by her dedication, while Arin briefly tried to avoid the gaze but quickly returned her eyes to meet the appreciative stare.

“Alright, I’ll now explain the main concept of our work to you.”

Hayoon released Arin’s hand and switched on the laptop, opening the PowerPoint presentation hastily made the night before. Skipping over formalities like titles and tables of contents, she prepared a direct-to-the-point presentation.

And on the first slide…

“Cosplay?”

“Yes, and it seems like you would be quite interested in this subject, right?”

“Yeah… well?”

However, cosplay alone wouldn’t draw people’s attention enough. Thus, they added…

“Cocktail Bar…?”

“In Korea, it’s rare, but in places like Japan, you have quirky cafes like that, right? Imagine something like a Cosplay Cocktail Bar?”

“Hmm…”

Arin tilted her head in slight confusion but…

“No, think about it. You like cosplay, right?”

“I do, but…”

“Imagine the most ideally-shaped person serving you drinks in a bartender or maid outfit.”

“Oh…?”

Arin’s expression soon changed as if she realized something.

And then Arin thought…

‘If she came dressed like that last time and served drinks, and we drank together, I would definitely want to take a picture to remember it…’

With Hayoon, who she thought was the prettiest cosplayer she’d seen in the last few years, Arin was letting her imagination run wild.

Indeed, the saying that pretty women are liked even by other women isn’t unfounded. Thinking it was a pretty solid image, Arin nodded approvingly.

“Next, we’ll add two heroines to spice things further.”

One would be the pure-hearted girl.

She works as a bartender for financial reasons but has her rules set strictly, refusing to serve men.

But through interaction with the player, she’ll start making drinks for a male customer for the very first time!

The other would be the carefree tomboy.

She joined bartending just because she loves alcohol.

She causes problems by treating guests carelessly, but with the player’s intervention, she begins making drinks exclusively for the protagonist—pure love!

This was the top-notch scenario worked out by Hayoon and the viewers over an entire week.

“Pretty good, huh?”

Arin, listening patiently to Hayoon’s introduction, was genuinely amazed by how detailed and high-quality the story was.

It was more specific and polished than expected.

And Hayoon…

“Then, let’s proceed straight to production. First, within the remaining month of January, I’d like you to produce some background scripts…”

As if there was no time for leisure, Hayoon began energetically directing Arin.

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