Gender Swap: The Introvert’s Broadcast

In any ranked game, you're bound to encounter some people with questionable mental states. It’s inevitable when playing team games. Still, this was getting ridiculous.

“Why does everyone just give up on playing?” Jihoo muttered.

It was frustrating how many teammates were throwing in the towel. Sure, the game wasn’t going great, but the opponent was bound to make mistakes. They weren’t in the higher tiers, after all. Yet, some players seemed eager to surrender at the first sign of trouble.

[Omniscient Cthulhu: But hey, we won anyway.]
[Omniscient Cthulhu: Cheers to that.]
[Hwanhee: True, lol.]
[As long as you win, nothing else matters.]
[But seriously, are we sure their main is gold? Their plays don’t look like gold-tier.]
[Dama’s playstyle is just built different, honestly.]

Jihoo had only been playing Reore for a short while, but he was already starting to understand how to win most games—provided no one intentionally threw. He didn’t expect to pick it up this quickly, though.

“Still… spoiling them with victories like this only reinforces bad habits,” he sighed.

Jihoo recalled seeing a post on Ifrit Gallery where someone said, “Winning like this just gives them bad habits.” At the time, he’d been skeptical. Winning was good, wasn’t it? But after playing Reore for himself, he couldn’t disagree. Too many players seemed to have pawned their sense of responsibility for short-term rewards.

“Well, one more win, and I’m done for today.”

Recently, Jihoo had been enjoying Reore so much that he’d played longer than usual. But today, with the quality of games being so poor, he decided to rank up one last time and then call it a night. Maybe he’d stick around afterward for some casual chatting with his viewers—talking about current events could be fun.

While the "tier" mattered a lot in gaming, Jihoo didn’t obsess over it. Players were placed where they belonged based on skill. There was no need to get worked up over it.

“Alright, let’s play mid lane for the last game.”

After spending the entire day in the top lane and enduring the complaints of his teammates, Jihoo felt like his prefrontal cortex was drying up. He wasn’t a babysitter, after all.

Glancing at the viewer count, Jihoo was pleasantly surprised.

[Viewers: 79]

His viewership had grown considerably since he started streaming. While unexpected, it felt like the perfect number for a casual hobbyist streamer. The audience size was manageable for meaningful interaction.

‘Let’s see who’s watching,’ he thought.

Streaming was about connecting with people, so Jihoo scrolled through the list of viewer names. While viewers couldn’t see who else was watching, Jihoo could—one of the perks of being the host.

That’s when he spotted it.

[Mangming]

“Huh.”

The same nickname he’d seen earlier popped up again. Jihoo was a little startled. Why was Mangming watching his stream again? Earlier, Mangming had mentioned dropping by for fun, but now?

“Mangming’s watching my stream,” Jihoo announced thoughtlessly.

The chat immediately exploded.

[Omniscient Cthulhu: Seriously?]
[Omniscient Cthulhu: Why is that guy here?]
[The stream is fun, though.]
[Mangming, why’d you rage quit your own stream to watch this? Mangming, why’d you rage quit your own stream to watch this? Mangming, why’d you rage quit your own stream to watch this?]
[Hwanhee: But honestly, announcing it like this is hilarious, lol.]
[He was quietly lurking, and you just called him out, lol.]
[Kang Hoo-min: The quieter they are, the more tempting it is to roast them.]
[Classic innocent bystander massacre for psychological satisfaction, lol.]

It dawned on Jihoo that he might’ve made a mistake. The chaos in the chat was understandable, though—if Mangming had ended his stream only to quietly watch someone else’s, it was bound to stir things up.

‘This might get annoying,’ Jihoo thought. But what was done was done. He just hoped it wouldn’t spiral out of control.

Meanwhile, in the Red community, a niche gallery called the Mangming Gallery was blowing up.

As the name implied, the gallery was a fan club dedicated to Mangming. But this wasn’t your typical fandom. Many members had a love-hate relationship with him, frequently mocking him while remaining oddly loyal.

[Post by User: ㅇㅇ (110.12)]
[Title: If you wanna strangle Mangming, upvote ㅋㅋ]
[Content: I swear, I just wanna choke him out.]

L: Gurgle gurgle
ㄴ: Squeeze
ㄴ: Cough cough
ㄴ: Dude, say something, lol.
ㄴ: …Well, that escalated.]

[Post by User: ㅇㅇ (58.9)]
[Title: A song that sums up my feelings toward Mangming.]
[Content: Murder on My Mind <<< This is my vibe right now.]

L: What the hell is "murder"? Did you drop out of middle school?
ㄴ: Is this about "mudara"?
ㄴ: Mudara? What is he, a vegetable seller?
ㄴ: Ignorance is Mangming’s trademark, lol.
ㄴ: This is chaos. Instead of roasting Mangming, y’all are roasting each other.
ㄴ: It’s like a martial arts novel. The last one standing will emerge with a legendary poison technique to destroy Mangming.]

The gallery was home to some truly unhinged fans.

“Clean win,” Jihoo declared, finishing his last game for the day.

[Omniscient Cthulhu: For real.]
[Omniscient Cthulhu: That was a hard carry in mid.]
[It really was a hard carry.]
[Hwanhee: D-Ma.]
[Don’t call him that, lol.]
[Why is his viewership suddenly climbing, though?]
[Apparently, there’s a ‘Dama cult’ now, lol.]
[What is this, a religion?]

Jihoo checked his viewer count again.

[Viewers: 143]

The sudden increase puzzled him. Despite the rise, the chat remained manageable, thanks to restrictions he’d set earlier.

‘Did someone post about this somewhere?’

It was likely tied to Mangming being in the stream, but Jihoo couldn’t shake the feeling he’d invited unnecessary trouble by mentioning it.

“Well, I’ll just chat a bit and then wrap up,” Jihoo decided.

Just as Jihoo was reminiscing about an old, awkward college memory, a donation notification popped up.

[염왕일패도지자망밍의앞에조아려 has donated 1,000 won!]
-Hello~~~ I’m from the Mangming Gallery~~ Loving the stream~~@@novelbin@@

The donor’s elaborate and peculiar nickname caught Jihoo’s attention. Still, they didn’t seem to have any ill intent, so Jihoo responded politely.

“Oh, thanks for the donation.”

‘The Mangming Gallery? That’s a thing?’

It was the first Jihoo had heard of it.

[Omniscient Cthulhu: Oh no.]
[Omniscient Cthulhu: Of all places, why the Mangming Gallery?]
[Hwanhee: Lol, this is bad.]
[What even is the Mangming Gallery?]
[Why are people so scared of it?]

The chat split between those in the know and the clueless. Jihoo, for his part, was indifferent.

“Is the Mangming Gallery famous or something?” he asked casually.