Gender Swap: The Introvert’s Broadcast

"Losing is a bit annoying. Especially when I tried hard," I muttered.

It was one thing to lose without effort, but losing after giving it your all was frustrating on another level. Especially since I had been steering the game toward a favorable position.

[🗡️Omniscient Cthulhu]: Sometimes, it can’t be helped.
[🗡️Omniscient Cthulhu]: There’s always a few like that.
[If we could purge them all, Reore would be a healthier game.]
[Fact: Even with those players, Reore remains number one.]
[Big Reore, unshaken.]
[But honestly, for top Sonic, you did pretty well.]
[With another champ, you might’ve carried. Too bad.]
[Honestly, with another top champion, mid and jungle probably wouldn’t have fought either.]

Despite my frustration, what could I do? The game was already lost. Getting angry now wouldn’t change anything.

But there was something else.

"Playing with a random pick is actually fun. I think I’ll do random picks again next game."

Randomly selecting champions for the top lane was surprisingly enjoyable. Testing out different champions’ abilities added to the fun. I decided that, for the foreseeable future, I’d stick with random picks for my streams.

[Hwanhee]: I used to think it was inconsiderate to teammates, but…
[Hwanhee]: After watching this match, it’s better to just play what you want.
[For real, with so many weird players around.]
[If you’re going to lose anyway, might as well lose while having fun.]
[🗡️Omniscient Cthulhu]: Let’s go again!
[Kang Hoo-min]: Clearly, you’ve given up on reaching Challenger.]
[Did you actually take the Challenger joke seriously? LOL.]
[If you really thought that was serious, that’s a little creepy.]

I glanced at the chat, realizing that many thought my bet with a loyal viewer was a joke. To clarify, I spoke up.

"I was serious about that. If I don’t keep my promise, I’ll ban myself permanently from the stream."

I wasn’t joking. A person should keep their promises. It wasn’t some offhand remark—it was recorded and everyone had proof.

[🗡️Omniscient Cthulhu]: Wait, you were serious? LOL.
[🗡️Omniscient Cthulhu]: I thought you were just joking around.]
[Turns out it was real, LOL.]
[Hwanhee]: What if the guy just bails on the bet?]
[Hwanhee]: Breaks the promise and runs off.]
[Kang Hoo-min]: I don’t usually run away.]
[That phrasing implies you sometimes do, LOL.]
[If the situation’s bad, running’s the only option, isn’t it?]

"If someone breaks their promise and runs, there’s not much I can do. They’ll just be banned from my stream and the forums."

The person I made the bet with was heavily invested in forum activity, so I doubted they’d break their word.

As I queued for another game, a new viewer entered the chat.

[Salok]: Hello.]
[Salok]: I heard Mangming is here, so I came to visit.]
[Kang Hoo-min]: ?]
[Why is this person here?]
[🗡️Omniscient Cthulhu]: Is this stream a dumpster? Why do these people keep showing up?]
[Salok]: That’s a bit harsh coming from a manager.]
[Salok]: So unfriendly.]
[🗡️Omniscient Cthulhu]: Why would I be friendly to you?]

The new chatter seemed to have come from somewhere else, and at first, I didn’t think much of it. But their familiarity with the regular viewers suggested they weren’t just a random passerby.

"Uh, sorry if I’m out of the loop, but… who are you?"@@novelbin@@

I genuinely didn’t know. I wasn’t familiar with all the connections between various streamers on Twiss.

[🗡️Omniscient Cthulhu]: You don’t know them?]
[🗡️Omniscient Cthulhu]: They get mentioned on the forums sometimes.]
[Hwanhee]: It’s her—a crazy one.]
[Salok]: Calling me crazy is a bit much.]
[Hwanhee]: Shut it.]
[Salok, lend me 10,000 won. Salok, lend me 10,000 won. Salok, lend me 10,000 won.]
[Temporarily banned!]
[Salok]: Ugh, there’s always people like that.]
[Kang Hoo-min]: She’s a stock streamer.]
[Kang Hoo-min]: Talks a bit rough too.]

The chat made me pause. Why was it that only chaotic people showed up on my stream? Couldn’t I attract at least one normal viewer?

Then Salok introduced herself.

[Salok]: I’m a 24-year-old female streamer on Twiss.]
[Salok]: I stream about stocks and Bitcoin.]
[Salok]: Height: 165cm, MBTI: INTP.]
[???]
[Nobody asked for your specs.]
[We asked what you do, not your personal profile, LOL.]

It seemed Salok didn’t have the best reputation either, though she didn’t strike me as a terrible person. At least she seemed deliberate in her chat messages.

"Uh… okay," I replied awkwardly.

I didn’t have much to say. What was I supposed to do with someone who suddenly appeared and started listing their specs?

Then Mangming, who had been quietly watching, joined the conversation.

[Mangming]: Hey, why are you here?]
[Salok]: Oh wow, you really were watching.]
[Salok]: Why haven’t you been responding to my messages lately?]
[Mangming]: Can we talk about this later?]
[Mangming]: Just watch the stream quietly, okay?]
[🗡️Omniscient Cthulhu]: Both of you, shut it.]
[🗡️Omniscient Cthulhu]: This is a gaming stream. Why are you two doing this here?]

It seemed the two were quite close. Their interactions gave that impression, but I wasn’t interested in the specifics of their relationship.

"Alright, let’s focus on the game now. Please keep the chat game-related."

I phrased it gently, hoping they’d get the hint and stop their back-and-forth.

[🗡️Omniscient Cthulhu]: Wow, you’re calling them out, LOL.]
[Hwanhee]: Dama laying down the law.]
[Don’t make friends here~ Don’t make friends here~]
[Salok]: Sorry, I was just happy to see her after a while.]
[Mangming]: Let’s just focus on the game.]

Finally, the chat calmed down a bit. I decided to re-enable chat restrictions once this person left.

Ding!

The game queue popped.

“I think this is the first time I’ve been sniped like this.”

It was true; this was my first time experiencing such blatant targeting. I’d joined other streamers’ chats before, but I’d never been directly called out like this.

[LOL, Salok got sniped hard.]
[A small-time streamer messing with someone with 450k subs? Hilarious, LOL.]
[Why is Mangming even watching this guy’s stream?]
[While we wondered what Mangming was up to, she’s been watching a guy stream, LOL.]
[Let’s teach her a lesson. Teach her a lesson. Teach her a lesson.]
[It’s only fair, LOL.]

My head was spinning a bit, but I quickly gathered my thoughts. Being sniped like this was new territory for me, and I wasn’t sure how to handle it. While I admitted that showing up in someone else’s stream might’ve been a mistake, the sheer audacity of the backlash was a bit grating.

As I pondered my next move, an idea struck me—a brilliant one.

“This’ll work perfectly,” I mumbled to myself.

It was a plan that could lightly prank Mangming and simultaneously leave a lasting impression on Dama’s stream and its viewers about “Salok.”

Meanwhile, in the game lobby:

“Wow, this champion’s head is huge,” I remarked.

I’d never seen a champion with such an oversized head before. It might’ve been fine if it were a guy, but since this was a female champion, it felt oddly unsettling. She was wielding two axes, her large head adding to the peculiar image.

[Don’t diss people with big heads, dude, LOL.]
[Too harsh, LOL.]
[You ever try wearing hats when your head’s big? Don’t talk until you know the struggle.]
[Why’s the pee joke coming out of nowhere?]
[Guess they really wanted to pee, LOL.]

Ignoring the chaos, I selected the champion and adjusted her runes. Once again, I relied on Mangming for advice.

"Okay, Precision… got it. All set."

As I finished setting up, a notification appeared on the screen:

[Salok donated 10,000 won!]

The name was familiar, and it caught my attention immediately.