Gender Swap: The Introvert’s Broadcast

Harin.
I hadn’t heard that name before.
Well, it wasn’t surprising—I didn’t know much about streamers anyway.

Resigning myself to this lack of knowledge, I decided it might be time to start studying streamers more seriously when I had the chance. For now, I opened up my browser and searched for “Harin.”

[Harin was born in Spain…]

“What?”

I blinked in surprise.
Judging by the name, I had naturally assumed they were Korean-born.
Turns out, that was my bias.
Intrigued, I carefully read through the information about Harin available online. And that’s when I discovered something.

“This person’s content is a bit edgy too.”

Compared to Mangming, it wasn’t as extreme, but Harin still ranked higher on the edginess scale compared to most others.
Like enjoying a dish with just the right amount of spice.
I couldn’t say for sure since I hadn’t watched their streams myself, but based on what I’d read, that seemed to be the case.

“I should take a proper look later.”

It felt like I had enough information for now, but judging someone based only on snippets was irresponsible.
I needed to see it for myself.
With that thought, I quickly wrapped up my search.

After finishing my part-time shift and returning home, Yeram had already shut off the computer and was studying diligently at her desk.
The college entrance exam was fast approaching, and she seemed to be giving it her all.

Feeling impressed, I decided to speak up.
“I bought tteokbokki. Let’s eat together.”
“Oh.”

Yeram responded instantly.
Food was non-negotiable.

Clatter.

I pulled out a small foldable table from the corner, set it up, and laid out the freshly bought tteokbokki and soondae, their appetizing aroma filling the room.

“Perfect timing. I was starving.”
“It looked good on my way back from work.”
“This is the best.”

Clearly famished, Yeram quickly devoured the tteokbokki and soondae.
The appetite of a high school senior during exam season was something to behold.
She hadn’t always been this kind of big eater.
Watching her, I decided to bring up what I’d found earlier.

“By the way, I looked up that Harin person. Turns out they’re not from Korea.”
“Yeah, but they’re completely Korean. They were just born in Spain. They only look foreign.”
“Do they speak Korean well?”
“Better than I do, judging from their videos.”
“Not much for watching live streams these days, huh?”
“I’m a senior, remember? No time for that.”

Fair enough.
A senior watching live streams instead of studying would be… unique, to say the least.
Unless they had a different path in mind.

“Anyway, the reason I recommended them is simple. They’ve got a big audience, and while their language can be rough, they’re not a bad person.”
“Mangming doesn’t seem bad either.”
“She’s not bad, but her fandom is. In the streaming world, a bad fandom can ruin someone’s reputation.”
“True.”

That made sense.
No matter how well a streamer conducted themselves, if their fans acted out, their reputation would inevitably take a hit.

“It’s just how it is.”

This was part of why I hesitated to reveal personal details about myself.
In a world as peculiar as this one, the smallest thing could snowball.
Already, I occasionally got trolls in my chat just for being a “guy.”
If I exposed my face, it could escalate.
With those thoughts swirling in my mind, I finished off the remaining food and moved on to my next task.

“Alright, I’ll leave the cleanup to you. I’m going to check out that person’s stream.”
“Sure.”

Since I bought the food, it was only fair for her to handle cleanup.
That’s how it should be, no matter how many years passed.
With that declaration, I sat down at my computer and opened Twitch.

Whirr.

The familiar startup sound played, and the homepage loaded, displaying countless streams currently live.
The streamers I usually watched were buried down below, not exactly big names.

“I wonder if they’ll ever blow up.”

One of them, Rimardo, was a classic example.
They were the definition of a lone island—no collaborations, no networking with other streamers.
They didn’t even stream regularly.
Sometimes I wondered what they even did with their time.

Now that I thought about it, I’d never understood why streamers who didn’t stream or singers who didn’t release albums existed.
Like that green-haired singer I used to like—they hadn’t released an album in eight years.
The nerve.

I shook off the idle thoughts and clicked on Harin’s stream.

[Viewers: 5,302]

An impressive number.
Considering my own viewer count from the last session, I couldn’t fathom how successful someone had to be to reach those heights.
Probably years of consistent effort.

“Sounds exhausting.”

I’d rather be content with my current situation.
Chasing higher numbers might ruin the fun.
And this was a hobby, after all.
With that thought, I settled in to watch.

“-What the hell is this?”
The chat exploded:
[Wait, what did they just say?]
[This is controversial...]
[What exactly are they telling men to do here?!]
[Definitely seems like a Mangming collab is on the horizon lol.]
[Chat, stop. No way Harin would ever stream with Mangming.]
[Why did Harin say that though?]

Harin continued, her tone sharp:
“-The jungler keeps asking me for a leash. Just handle your jungle on your own, damn it.”@@novelbin@@

Harsh words, but fair.
Back when I used to play regular games, junglers often asked ADCs and supports to “leash” jungle monsters.
I’d naively done it back then, but thinking back, it was selfish.
What kind of teammate made those demands?

The chat agreed:
[RammusSpikesFusion: For real.]
[RammusSpikesFusion: Junglers asking for leashes is so annoying.]
[RammusSpikesFusion: Back in the day, I didn’t know any better.]

One hour flew by as I got immersed in Harin’s stream.

“Time really flies.”

It made sense why popular streams attracted so many viewers.
At first, you’d wonder why anyone watched live streams at all, but before you knew it, you’d get hooked.
It wasn’t even an edited highlight reel—this was live.

That in itself was a talent.
Impressed, I left a comment:

[RammusSpikesFusion: Great stream.]
[RammusSpikesFusion: Thanks for the fun.]

Leaving the stream, I got ready to start my own broadcast.

It wasn’t difficult anymore.
I wasn’t a veteran, but I had enough experience to feel at ease.
Setting up my gear, I clicked the button.

Click.

[Your stream has started!]

The message popped up as my screen went live.
It used to feel awkward seeing myself on camera, but now I was used to it.
As long as my audience didn’t grow too much, I could stream comfortably.

“Yawn.”

Just as I stretched, the chat erupted:

[Finally, you’re live!]
[What were you doing on Harin’s stream?]
[OmniscientCthulhu: What the hell.]
[OmniscientCthulhu: People beat me here? Unacceptable.]
[Hwanhee: Hey there!]
[Kang Hoo-min: Hello.]

The usual regulars were here, and even a few new viewers seemed to have trickled in from Mangming’s stream.
I used to think twenty viewers was a lot, but now fifty people were watching.

“Good to see everyone... but how did you know I was watching Harin’s stream?”

That had me genuinely curious.
I hadn’t exactly made it obvious.

The chat responded:
[Are you serious?]
[You kept chatting with a name like ‘RammusSpikesFusion.’ How could we not notice? Lol.]
[OmniscientCthulhu: Honestly, that name is a bit crude.]

Ah, right.
I really needed to change my username.