I Became the Eldest Daughter of 10 Siblings

Do you know the term “red pill”?
People often say they’ve taken the red pill when they discover the real identity of a virtual YouTuber. It’s a forbidden fruit that should never be known and can’t be known.
That’s exactly the situation I’m in right now.
A virtual YouTuber whose red pill has been exposed.
So, here’s a question.
What is Han Yujin’s red pill?
The answer: Han Yujin’s previous life was as a man.
Now, one more question.
How was this man in front of me able to find and bite into that forbidden fruit?
…How on earth?
No matter how much I rack my brain, I can’t even come up with the first letter of the answer.
If doubts could materialize as question marks visible to people, there would be about a thousand floating above my head.

“Why aren’t you answering?”
“No, it’s not that…”
My face crumbled weakly, drenched in worry. My mind went blank as if I’d been hit with a hammer. My whole body felt chilled, and I couldn’t get any words out.
Han Yujin, get a grip.
I have to make up some excuse.

The man, tired of waiting for an answer, finally drove a merciless wedge into my heart.
“You played guitar at the girls’ high school festival too, right? You said you got dozens of calls from unknown numbers?”
“How on earth do you…”
A person who even knows I was in the band club in the past… no, if he knows even about my previous life, he’s not human but a god.

Finally, I,
GG. Han Yujin has lost.
I ran away, unable to bear the indescribable pressure. The anxiety stabbing sharply every time my lungs filled with air was too much.

“Huh? Hey, hey, where are you going!”
Ignoring the man’s startled shouts, I fled into the store. The man persistently followed me inside.
“Oh, shit. You’re small but damn fast. Hey, listen to me.”

I hid tightly behind Seong Dojun. My hand gripping his sleeve was shaking badly.
“HaYoo, what’s wrong? What happened?”
When Seong Dojun asked in confusion, I bowed my head deeply and pointed my finger.

Then,
Seong Dojun snapped at the man fiercely.
“Who are you?”
“Look. It’s a misunderstanding, so ease up. It’s not what you think. I just need to talk to her.”
“What do you mean talk? If it’s not a misunderstanding, why is she shaking like this?”
Seong Dojun aggressively grabbed the man’s collar. The man closed his eyes tightly and raised his arms.
“Listen. I’m really bad at fighting, so please don’t do this.”
“You crazy pervert bastard, you think this is a joke till the end.”

Just as Seong Dojun was about to clench his fist,
“PD Kim! Why aren’t you sitting down? Is something wrong?”
A drunk middle-aged customer behind us looked on with surprised eyes.
“It’s nothing, Team Leader! They’re just dongsaengs I know, haha.”

“…Did you say PD?”
Seong Dojun released the collar he was gripping, wearing a dumbfounded expression.
“Now we’re talking! Yes, yes. I am a PD. I was just joking around with this friend because we know each other from gaming.”

Like a switch turning off, my panic disappeared.
…What? He says we’re gaming friends?

The man took out a business card from his pocket.
“I’m Kim Hwachang, PD from KBN.”

Staring blankly at the business card, I thought.
Kim Hwachang… Could it be the Hwachang I know?

“By any chance, the Ruin guild…”
“Yes, man! What, do I need to call you Zenith instead of Han Yujin for you to believe me?”
“Then what was that conversation earlier about?”
“What do you mean? You told me yourself a few months ago.”
“What about the part about being a man?”
“You were pretending to be a man in chat, talking about military service, so I was just playing along.”
“How did you know to find me here?”
“It’s all from what you said. There’s no other bar in Jamsil that serves tomato beef curry as a side dish, right?”

I vaguely remembered complaining in chat about how hard it was to make tomato beef curry.
“Ah.”
The embarrassment hit me belatedly.
Damn it! So in the end, I was just imagining things on my own, making a fuss over nothing.
I buried my face in my hands, rubbing it dry.

“Anyway, when do you finish?”
“…In an hour.”
Kim Hwachang lightly dusted off his clothes with his palm, straightening his appearance.
“Let’s talk after you’re done. About appearing on a broadcast.”

After closing the store, we moved to a nearby izakaya.
Me, Kim Hwachang, and Seong Dojun too.
“…Haha. There’s no need for your friend to come along.”
“No. How could I not be here after committing such rudeness?”
I felt the tense atmosphere between the two surrounding me.

We ordered grilled mero and caprese. I didn’t drink alcohol, while the two men ordered draft beer.
I spoke first.
“Mister. So what kind of broadcast is it?”
“Not mister, call me oppa. I’ve still got a long way to go before finishing civil defense training.”
Oppa my ass, what a freezing oppa.
“Mister.”
“Oppa.”
“Mister.”
“Oppa.”
“Old man.”
“Hey. That’s a bit…”

Unable to watch anymore, Seong Dojun intervened.
“Please, stop! Let’s agree on PD-nim.”
Agreeing to the mediation, I shook hands with Kim Hwachang.

Kim Hwachang spoke while tearing into the mero’s flesh with his fork.
“The program I direct is . You must have heard of it at least once.”

Of course I’ve heard of it. You’d have to be a spy not to know.
is a human documentary that closely covers the real lives of ordinary people. It’s so famous that the whole nation can hum along to the melancholic piano background music inserted in the program.
It’s truly the essence of a long-running, fundamental, national program.

“You’re the eldest of 10 siblings, right? How beautiful a picture is that? I’ve even got a title. ‘How a Family of Ten Lives’, what do you think?”
“Oh, that’s not bad!”
Seong Dojun clapped and chimed in.

I checked the ratings of on my phone under the table.
11%. For a terrestrial program these days, 11% is an extremely high figure.
It was certainly not a bad offer.

Isn’t it? A 20-year-old girl getting up at the crack of dawn, braving the cold wind to deliver newspapers, skipping breakfast to work at a fast food place, and then working at a bar on top of that.
If I shed a small tear while looking exhausted, sympathy votes from the public will pile up like a mountain.
Hehe. If that happens, donations on my stream will explode too, right?
If that happens, I should take the kids out for a nice meal somewhere.

At some point, once I decided to devote myself to my siblings, my way of thinking changed to prioritizing money and donations above all else.
They say it costs at least 200 million won to raise one child, what can I do?

After careful consideration, I decided to do it.
There was no reason not to, no matter how hard I looked.
“Okay, I understand. I’ll ask the kids first.”

“Ah, and this is a different matter.”
Kim Hwachang pointed at me with the fork he was holding.
“You, appear on my next program too.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m transferring to cable now. I’m going to launch a program there. I think it would be fun if you were in it too.”
“What kind of program is it?”

He started explaining excitedly.
“We gather people from various fields and have them compete in a brain survival. One person gets eliminated each round, and the final two compete for the win. What do you think? Isn’t it good?”

Suddenly, my ears perked up.
Seong Dojun reacted with an “Oh.”
“That’s not bad. You’re setting up a stage for people who are supposed to be smart and having them go at it, right?”
“Mmm, that’s right.”
“I’m pretty smart too, how about giving me a spot? It looks so fun.”
“Haha. Your boyfriend knows his stuff.”
“…He’s not my boyfriend.”
Seong Dojun waved his hands, looking at me cautiously.

Putting off the answer, I went to the bathroom as calmly as possible. My eyes met with my reflection in the mirror.
A smile, impatiently, leaked out.
Haha! This is crazy, really!

Opportunities…
Opportunities are rolling in from everywhere, almost suffocatingly.
I knew what program PD Kim Hwachang was envisioning.
.
A reality entertainment program that will be broadcast on the cable network tvK. And it would become the pioneer of brain survival entertainment shows that will spring up like mushrooms in the future.

Thrilling editing, charming cast and narratives, interesting and creative game compositions.
Riding on that popularity, would go on to break the highest viewership record in cable entertainment history.

I knew all the games that would appear there. And I clearly understood how things would unfold.
Coming out of the bathroom, I immediately answered Kim Hwachang.
“I’ll do it.”
I must do it no matter what.
And somehow, I’ll win.
For my siblings, and for myself.

Internet broadcasting,
,
And .
I’m going to catch all three rabbits at once.

The face of an animated female character appeared clearly on the phone screen. Looking at it, I neatly rolled up my bangs with a gluon.
I moisturized my skin with toner and lotion and applied sunscreen. Then, I thinly spread foundation and covered blemishes with concealer. Using a brush, I applied eyeshadow and patted on powder blush to create a cheek tint.

Now I feel like I could do makeup with my eyes closed.
How many trials and errors did I go through to reach this level of proficiency?
Anyway,
Perhaps I went through such hardships for this very moment.

After finishing my makeup, I meticulously compared the female character in the photo with my face in the mirror, alternating between the two.
“Done.”
Right now, I have become,
A perfect ‘Aragaki Mio’.

I arrived at the meeting place dressed as similarly as possible to that character’s outfit.

-Knock knock!
[Moon Jaehyun: Zenith hyung]
[Moon Jaehyun: Where are you??]

Mio’s real name was Moon Jaehyun.
Looking straight ahead, I saw a man wandering around with his phone.

[Han Yujin: Probably behind you]
[Han Yujin: Mio]
[Han Yujin: No matter what I look like]
[Han Yujin: Don’t be surprised]

Then came Moon Jaehyun’s reply.
[Moon Jaehyun: Ok no matter what you]
[Moon Jaehyun: Look like you’re my hyung]
[Moon Jaehyun: Trust me!!]

No, I hope you’re insanely surprised.
Because then I can steal you away and make you my editor and manager.
To not miss the opportunity and luck knocking at my door, I decided to no longer be picky about means and methods.

Finally, Moon Jaehyun turned his head.
Our eyes met.
As if time had stopped, his movements froze like a statue.

“It’s me, Zenith.”
I gave him a smile as if drawn in a picture, breathing life into the stiff statue.

Then,
Moon Jaehyun’s mouth gaped open and he hesitantly spoke.
“…It’s Mio-chan.”