Gender Swap: The Introvert’s Broadcast

Only then did I understand why Yeram had been so insistent about coming here.

She wanted to meet Harin.

But I couldn’t help wondering.

“What if you couldn’t meet her? What would you have done then?”
“Well, in that case, we’d just eat the braised short ribs and leave.”
“...Fair enough.”

It was a logical response, but I still found it absurd.

I gave Yeram a light smack on the head and returned to munching on the radish kimchi.

Just as I was about to finish it—

Tuk, tuk.

Yeram tapped me on the arm.

“What? Do you need me to grab you an apron?”

She must’ve wanted one.

As I stood up to fetch it—

“No, it’s not that… it’s just, um…”

Apparently, it was something more important.

I wasn’t the most perceptive person, so even though her gestures practically screamed “notice me,” it was still hard for me to catch on.

I stared at her intently, waiting for her to finally speak.

“Can you… go talk to Harin? You’ve met her online, right? Just say hi for me.”

“...Me?”

Was she serious?

Say hi to someone I’ve only met online?
And in person, no less?

“Uh, sis? I’ve never actually spoken to her. What are you even talking about?”

The only interaction we’d had was through chat. Harin didn’t even know what my voice sounded like.

Not to mention, her impression of me probably wasn’t great.

‘No way her opinion could be good after that raid.’

Even if it wasn’t my fault, my so-called "fans" had stormed her stream.

“Still, it’s better than me trying to approach her, right?”
“There’s a good chance I’d make things worse. If you want to talk to her, go ahead.”
“Come on, oppa. Just this once.”

It was the first time Yeram had ever pleaded with me like this.

I was determined to keep saying no, but seeing how much she wanted it… I couldn’t refuse.

“Fine, fine. I’ll do it.”
“Awesome!”

Yeram’s face lit up like she’d hit the jackpot.

I made a mental note to give her a stern talking-to when we got home and stood up from my seat.

‘Ugh, this is nerve-wracking.’

I didn’t particularly dislike Harin, but I didn’t have any positive feelings toward her either.

From what I’d seen on her streams, she didn’t seem like the easiest person to get along with.

With that thought, I slowly approached her table and opened my mouth.

“Hello.”
“...Yes?”

I greeted her casually and got straight to the point.

“My sister is a fan of yours. Would you mind taking a photo with her?”

There was no reason to reveal that I was “Dama.”

I kept it simple, delivering my request.

Harin, who had been scrolling on her phone, glanced up at me.

“If she comes over here, I’ll take the picture. Bring her.”
“Oh, okay.”

As expected, her tone was just as cold and blunt as it was on her streams.
Definitely not the warm type.

‘First time seeing someone whose on-stream persona matches their real self.’

Most people wore at least a metaphorical mask.

I found it oddly fascinating as I returned to our table and gestured for Yeram to come over.

Seeing my signal, Yeram sprinted toward us in a single bound.

Harin looked at her briefly before speaking.

“So, you’re a fan of mine?”
“Yes…!”

Yeram was so excited that her breathing grew uneven.

I couldn’t understand how someone could get this thrilled over a streamer, not a celebrity.

As I watched in mild disbelief—

“So, if you’re a fan of mine, do you know when I first started streaming?”

Harin suddenly asked a question.

When did she start streaming?

Even I didn’t remember the exact date I started my own streams, so I found it strange that she’d ask this.

“March 12th…!”
“Oh, you answered right away. Not many people get that right.”

She got it right.

If it were me, I’d have panicked and forgotten.

I was amazed that Yeram could remember such a specific detail.

She must’ve watched a lot of Harin’s streams to know that.

I could’ve sworn Yeram told me she didn’t watch streams often…

As I mulled over this—

“So, this guy is my brother. You probably know him, Harin.”

Yeram blurted out the confession like a cannonball.

“Sis? Quiet.”

There was absolutely no need to reveal this.

I tried to stop her, but—

“Huh? Who is he?”

Harin’s curiosity was piqued.

It wouldn’t be a huge deal if she found out, but I had been trying to keep it under wraps.

“My brother streams too, under the name Dama.”
“...”

I was speechless.

What could I even say at this point?

All I could do was hope this situation would end quickly.

“Dama? Hmm…”

Luckily, it seemed Harin didn’t remember my stream name—

“Oh, you’re the guy Mangming’s close with.”

—until she suddenly did.

This was beyond despair.

Now that she knew, there was no avoiding it.

“I’m Dama, a streamer on Twiss. Nice to meet you.”
“Oh.”

Harin finally gave me a proper once-over, her eyes scanning me from head to toe with a lingering gaze.

“So, you’re the guy Mangming watches. I was wondering who it could be… turns out it’s someone like you.”

Her voice carried a teasing tone, as if she’d found something amusing.

“Please, let’s keep this meeting off the record…”
“Nope.”

She rejected me without hesitation.

“I need things to talk about on my stream. This is perfect content. Besides, you caused some trouble for my stream before, didn’t you?”
“Well… that’s true.”

Her reasoning was flawless.

I had indeed caused issues for her stream in the past by unintentionally sending over disruptive viewers.

She was entirely justified in talking about this encounter.

“Since we’ve met, why don’t we take a picture together? With your sister, too.”
“Huh?”

The suggestion caught me off guard.

“Oppa, let’s do it.”

Yeram looked at me, clearly eager to take the photo with Harin.

At this point, I couldn’t refuse.

“We can take the picture, but please don’t show it on your stream. I’ve never revealed my face.”
“Of course.”

“Alright, let’s take one then.”

Harin’s expression seemed almost mischievous, like she’d struck gold with this situation.

I had a feeling she’d cause some kind of trouble once we parted ways, but there was no way to predict what.

For now, all I could do was comply and take the photo.

“Jungyeon, could you take the picture for us?”
“Sure.”

And so, we took the photo.

“...I can’t believe you actually met Harin.”
“Who would’ve thought I’d take a picture with Harin? I’m definitely bragging to my friends about this.”
“If you’re going to brag, just say you met her. Don’t show them the picture.”
“Got it.”

The last thing I wanted was for the photo to spread and for people to realize I was Dama.

Still—

‘I was planning to ask about more things to do in Seongsu-dong on the gallery.’@@novelbin@@

But the day ended faster than expected.

Yeram had probably intended to do more initially, but meeting Harin seemed to have wiped all those plans from her mind.

It was surreal, running into Harin like that—and even more surreal exchanging phone numbers with her.

“This is the first time I’ve exchanged numbers with someone famous.”

I had around a hundred contacts in my phone, but none of them were famous.

The closest I had to a notable figure was one of my professors.

Everyone else was just a classmate or acquaintance.

Lying on my blanket, I logged into Ifrit Gallery.

[Currently ranked 45th most active gallery!]

The notification popped up in the corner.

It seemed like the gallery had finally returned to normal.

After dealing with so much trolling, things were settling down.

Feeling relieved, I posted a new thread.

[Author: UnveilLondonSecrets]
[Title: Planned to explore Seongsu-dong today but…]
[Content: (Photo) Ended up just eating braised short ribs. Couldn’t find time for anything else.]

The point of the post was to apologize for not visiting the places people in the gallery had recommended.

Shortly after posting:

L: What the hell? You got all those recommendations and only ate braised short ribs?
└ L: Seriously.
L Kang Hoo-min: Hey, get back on stream.
└ L: The kind of woman who calls men “jerks” outright, LOL.
└ L: Fearless of lawsuits.
L: Shut up and stream already.
L: I’m bored. If no one starts streaming, I’m deploying tactical nukes on the gallery.

‘Maybe I shouldn’t have posted that.’

I regretted my choice to write that post.

Sighing, I got up from my blanket and sat in front of my computer.

“I’m starting the stream now.”
“Okay.”

It was always a good idea to warn in advance. You never know when something unexpected might happen.

[Stream has started!]

As the stream went live, viewers began pouring in.

[Finally crawling back, huh.]
[Gimme braised short ribs! Gimme braised short ribs!]
[Kang Hoo-min: You pig.]
[Classic Kang sarcasm, LOL.]

And so, with the familiar flow of chat, the stream began.