Chapter 6: I Froze My Way to a Career Plan

Worrying about streaming and my future, I somehow fell asleep past midnight.

“Ugh… what time is it…?”

Pressing my throbbing forehead, I reached for the phone on the bedside shelf.

With a press of the power button, a bright light assaulted my eyes.

Frowning, I checked the time.

1:00 PM.

“Ugh…”

Blinking slowly, I checked again.

[1:01 PM]

Startled, I bolted upright and checked the clock again.

No matter how many times I looked, the screen didn’t change.

Not three hours—thirteen whole hours of sleep.

When was the last time I slept this long…?

Letting out a hollow laugh, I put the phone down and rubbed my face.

Must be the deep sleep, but my head feels crystal clear.

Yawn—I stretched with a groan.

“Man, I stink…”

Now that I think about it, this body… well, that’s just an excuse.

During deadline season, I was so focused on finishing my writing that I skipped cleaning and showering.

Glancing around, the apartment looked less like a home and more like a landfill.

Guess changing bodies doesn’t reset cleanliness.

“Gotta wash up first.”

I’ll shower, do laundry, and clean afterward.

Slipping out of bed, I peeled off the oversized T-shirt and headed to the bathroom.

Turning on the shower, I felt something was missing.

Oh, my brain—forgot a towel.

I grabbed one from the drawer and returned to the bathroom.

Tossing the towel into the bathroom cabinet, I leaned against the wall, waiting for the water to warm up, when my eyes drifted to the mirror.

A naked woman stared back.

Yup, that’s me.

Surprisingly, I didn’t feel embarrassed or ashamed at all.

Has my libido been neutered or something?

Sure, I’m physically “neutered” in this new body, but I was a man before—how am I feeling nothing?

“Ugh, whatever. Just shower.”

I tested the water with my hand.

Still cold.

It’ll warm up soon, I guess.

Cold water might clear my head anyway.

Sighing, I stepped into the chilly stream.

“Brr—cold!”

Halfway through, it hit me—I forgot to turn on the water heater.

“Oops!”

I slapped my forehead, the sound sharp against the water.

“Ugh, I’m freezing…”

Stamping my feet to warm my chilled body, I quickly dried off and used the hairdryer.

Midway, I was so cold I aimed the dryer at my body instead.

It felt oddly nice, so I sat naked on a chair for over ten minutes, nearly catching a cold.

I grabbed whatever clothes were in the drawer.

They didn’t fit, of course, but better than nothing, so I threw them on.

Unintentionally, I ended up with the “boyfriend shirt” look.

Wearing this “boyfriend shirt” dream of guys everywhere, I realized just how big my original body was.

It didn’t make my heart race, though—it was my body, after all.

Plus, it smelled like a lonely bachelor, which I wasn’t a fan of.

I tossed the towel around my neck into the laundry basket and headed to the back balcony for a broom.

Wait, gotta deal with the trash first.

“Geez, what a mess. I’m losing it, making a fool of myself again.”

Sighing, I propped the broom by the balcony door and grabbed a 20L trash bag, stuffing it with the biggest pieces of garbage.

Between not cleaning for over a week and yesterday’s chaos, the apartment was a disaster.

The 20L bag filled up in no time.

I really let this place go.

“Now… how do I get this out?”

Going myself is out of the question.

Not because it’s a hassle—emotionally, sure, but that’s not it.
I don’t have clothes.

All I have are the ones I wore as a man, and they’re way too big for me now.

Wear just a coat?

That’s too big, too.

What’s the problem with going out briefly, you ask?

[Today’s low is minus 13 degrees Celsius, three degrees colder than yesterday—]

“Freeze to death? No thanks.”

In that sense, going out myself is a no-go.

I’d actually freeze.

So, what’s the plan?

“…”

No options.

The only ideas I can think of:

Option 1—brave the cold in a coat over nothing, which is a nonstarter.

Option 2—keep the trash inside, piling it up.

Option 3—order clothes that fit online, then go out to throw it away.

Crossing my arms, I closed my eyes.

Option 1 saves time and money but risks my health.

Option 2 saves time and money but lowers my quality of life.

Option 3 costs time and money but preserves my health and dignity…

“Ugh…”

On hold for now.

I don’t know how much clothes will cost, so Option 3 isn’t automatically the answer.

It’s the end of the month, so I can’t spend much.

For now, I’ll leave the trash by the door and think while cleaning.

Grabbing the broom by the balcony door, I swept the room, my mind spinning.
Not that there’s much to think about—just “go or don’t go.”

Hardly worth calling it thinking.

While my head churned, my body worked diligently.

I swept the dust, vacuumed it up, and mopped.

Repeating the simple tasks, my eyes fell on the trash bag by the door.

It made the entryway feel cramped—getting rid of it would make things so much better.

“Alright, let’s go.”

I won’t freeze to death, right?

Just in case, I’ll layer another T-shirt before heading out.

“Sht, sht, it’s… fcking… fcking freezing…”

Never doing this crazy sht again.

I’m not kidding—I almost froze to death.

The long coat dragging because of my smaller body was one thing, but the cold wind slipping between my legs nearly killed me.

No shoes fit, so I wore slippers, which made it worse.

And because I had to haul the broken closet door, I had to make two trips to the dumpster.

Layering a shirt under a T-shirt and coat made three layers.

But it couldn’t beat subzero temperatures.

Bow to the majesty of nature, Ice Human.

Pushing the nonsense swirling in my head aside, I poured hot water from the purifier and dropped in a green tea bag.

Soon, the tea steeped, and I sipped it after letting it cool slightly.

“Phew…”

Now I feel alive.

I really thought I was going to freeze earlier.

Who’s the idiot who thought layering a T-shirt under a shirt and coat would keep me warm?

What a garbage idea from some moron’s head.

All that human effort is useless against subzero temperatures.

Sighing, I peeled off the layered T-shirt, shirt, and coat.

I need to buy clothes, whether for going out or not.

This is more uncomfortable than I thought.

The sleeves keep flapping, and when I roll them up, they slide down when I wash my hands—it’s annoying in a dozen ways.

For my mental health, I need clothes that fit this body.

“Let’s check prices.”

Sipping green tea, I sat at the computer and powered it on with my foot.
Thanks to upgrading to a 3080 and replacing the motherboard and parts recently, it booted up fast.

Now, where do I look for clothes?

I’m clueless, but Google will sort it out.

“Came up quick…?”

Google was too helpful, and I was thrown off.

It showed not just tops and bottoms but even underwear I hadn’t considered.

Well, I wasn’t planning to go without, so I ordered some basic underwear.

Unsure of my chest size, I got a small sports bra.

“Just in case…”

I ordered a medium, too, in case the small doesn’t fit.

Anyway, clothes ordered, trash dumped—what now?

Sitting blankly in my computer chair, I noticed a news article about the rise of internet streaming due to COVID.

Oh, right, I decided to stream.

Propping my chin up, I visited Twitch, the mecca of streaming.

So many streamers were broadcasting—eating shows, gaming, art, just chatting, you name it.

Everyone was showcasing their unique flair, streaming freely.

Among the countless streams, one caught my eye.

“Huh, they’ve got this too.”

[“Long time no drink stream”], [“Booze mukbang collab, hehe”], [“It’s not Kahlúa milk, it’s coffee milk, you bstard”], [“Kaoliang, kaoliang, kaoliang, kaoliang liquor”]

The titles, streamers, and drinks varied, but the theme was the same: alcohol.

Alcohol…

Call it fate or whatever, I started browsing through drinking streams one by one.

By the time I snapped out of it, night had turned to day.

“This is it.”

A day and a few hours after deciding to stream, my content was set: alcohol.