Gender Swap: The Introvert’s Broadcast

So, we paused the broadcast for a while.
It wasn’t that I planned to end the stream here.
Now that we had all gathered, it was better to do something.

“By the way, have Mangming and Ibaek met each other in person…?”
“Hmm, we haven’t met in person, actually.”
“Yeah, not in person.”

It seemed like they had never actually met before.
It made sense.
I had never heard them mention each other, so it was clear.
I thought about this while carrying the camera and heading downstairs to the first floor to set it up.

“Is this angle okay?”
“That should work... If the angle looks off on the stream, we can just adjust it.”
“That’s true.”

After a quick test of the angle before starting the stream, we went ahead and turned it on.

[ The broadcast has started! ]

With the familiar notification, the stream began.
And soon after:

[🗡️All-powerful Cthulhu: hey hey]
[By the way, this pension is huge, whoa]
[Wait, is this a two-story pension???]
[This place is awesome]
[This is what a pension should be, lol]
[Hwan-hee: Oh, starting the stream right away, huh]

Viewers started to pour in.
I had a feeling it was because the news that I was up had spread, making more viewers rush in.
Or maybe not.

“Oh, everyone’s coming in.”

[All-powerful Cthulhu donated 1,000 won!]
–Is your head okay? You seem a bit better from when you were moving around earlier.

“My head? I think it’s fine now, but... I might need to get it checked again later.”

I didn’t feel dizzy now, but who knows how it will feel after some time.

‘Better safe than sorry.’

[🗡️All-powerful Cthulhu: Take care, haha]
[Glad to hear that]
[That’s something you should get checked every time you feel sick]
[If you leave it, it might get worse, and only you’ll suffer]
[Please be careful while streaming...]
[By the way, did you find out who sent the toy snake?]

Reading the chat reminded me of something.
After all, everything started with me falling because of that toy snake.

“I’ve found the culprit, but I’m not really searching hard for them. The person probably sent it as a joke, so I don’t want to go looking for them too seriously.”

Well, if they feel really sorry, they might come and apologize.
But no one has approached me so far.

[🗡️All-powerful Cthulhu: You’re not looking for the culprit?]
[But honestly, the culprit is probably someone you know, haha]
[Who could it be?]
[Hwan-hee: If someone confesses, they’d be a criminal, so no one will admit it...]
[Even if Da-ma forgives them, others won’t forgive them.]

I couldn’t speak openly about this for that reason.
Even if I gathered the courage to speak, I could still go up to the person and yell at them.

‘...It would be nice if they’d just tell me privately.’

I thought it was a bit disappointing as I started setting the table.

“We haven’t had anyone else over yet, so let’s just eat something simple for now. I’m planning to drink later tonight.”

[🗡️All-powerful Cthulhu: Oh, more people coming?]
[Who’s coming?]
[Let us know]
[Is anyone else coming?]
[Hwan-hee: I can’t think of anyone else who’s coming, haha]
[Yeah, honestly no one’s coming to mind]
[Do you think Kang Hu-min is coming, haha?]

It seemed like the chat wasn’t too sure about who was coming.
That made sense.
I hadn’t really talked to other streamers much on my broadcast before.

“Well... I have a few close friends, so we’ll probably just be a small group, I think.”

[Ah, haha, I know who it is]
[Confirmed]
[🗡️All-powerful Cthulhu: Ah... It’s ‘that person,’ huh...]
[It’s that person, yeah (don’t know who they mean)]
[Sorry, I’m new here. Who are you talking about? I really don’t know...]
[If you don’t know, shut up, idiot, haha]
Forced exit!

[Da-ma has always said not to reject new viewers, but here we are.]
[Hwan-hee: Please listen to the streamer, guys.]

We finished talking and finished setting everything up.
It wasn’t anything extravagant.
We just grilled enough meat to fill everyone up.

“Wow... what’s with this meat’s color...”

Mangming was staring at the meat, mesmerized.
I had bought the most expensive meat I could find, thinking I’d enjoy it by myself. It seemed like a good idea, so I opened my mouth.

“I got it from the local butcher, asked them for the best one. It shouldn’t taste bad.”

Before I moved, there was a butcher shop near my old one-room apartment.
Of course, since I didn’t have money, I used to go there and buy scrap meat occasionally.
They were always generous with their service.

‘So, that’s why I went all the way there to buy the meat.’

[🗡️All-powerful Cthulhu: That really looks delicious, haha]
[Just one bite, please]
[Please, just one bite, really, please, one bite, seriously, please]
[Looks so good...]

“Oh... the meat really is good.”
“The butcher’s got great skills.”

We chatted a bit as we began grilling the meat.

Sizzle—

The meat slowly started to cook, and the scene was captured on screen.
I had rented a pretty expensive camera thinking I’d stream casually by myself, but now that I was watching the broadcast, it seemed like I’d made a good choice.

[Ugh, I’m really hungry, haha]
[🗡️All-powerful Cthulhu: Wow, this is killing me, haha]
[Please, just one bite]
[Seriously, one bite...]

We continued grilling and eating the meat.

“Ah... I’m full.”
After grilling and eating a lot of meat in the yard, we went upstairs to the second floor where the computers were.
Since this pension was quite expensive, there were several computers available.

“By the way, there are more computers upstairs.”

[🗡️All-powerful Cthulhu: ?]
[Really?]
[Is that true?]
[It didn’t seem like there were any when I was watching Ibaek’s stream earlier]
[How expensive is this place..?]

“I rented this place with a big budget, so it was a given that it should have these things.”

I’d been working hard to earn money, so it felt important to use it well.
...Although the cost was pretty high.
Honestly, before coming here, I had a huge debate on whether to cancel the reservation or not.
It needed to be expensive enough, but not too expensive.

“Well, I’m happy with it now.”

It was impossible not to be satisfied.
The place was amazing, after all.
If I wasn’t satisfied here, I’d be being too greedy.

Creak—

I opened the door and turned on the computer, switching the broadcast to stream from the computer.
The camera was great, but streaming from the computer was smoother without lag.

“Ah, can everyone see now?”

[🗡️All-powerful Cthulhu: Yeah, it’s all visible.]
[Wow, the picture quality is so clean.]
[The picture quality is nice, but it’s nice that it’s not shaky, haha.]
[Even if the camera is great, it’s still shaky if the person’s moving around too much.]
[Hwan-hee: Yeah, it’s clear now.]

Once we were all set up and visible, I thought for a moment.
I still didn’t feel well enough to continue broadcasting.
It was fine to do outdoor streams moving around, but sitting in front of the computer for long periods seemed hard.

So, I made a decision.

“Uh... could you two continue the broadcast for a bit? I have a headache.”

[🗡️All-powerful Cthulhu: ?]
[Hey.]
[No way, seriously? Come on, haha.]
[Why are you taking a break from your own broadcast, haha.]
[What does having a headache have to do with it?!!!]

The viewers were complaining, but I didn’t care.
Having a headache was a fact.

‘I have a headache, though.’

If I passed out while streaming, the viewers wouldn’t be responsible for it.
I want to live for a long time.
I don’t want to push myself too hard.

“So, I’ll just rest for a bit…”

Ignoring the complaints in the chat, I lay down on the bed and decided to sleep.
I’d wake up when the other streamers arrived, I thought.

“Hmm...”
It felt like I woke up much faster than I expected.
Wasn’t tired, to be honest.
I wanted to sleep more.
Feeling a bit disappointed, I opened my eyes and turned to the right, where Ibaek and Mangming were streaming.
But—

“...?”
There were a lot of people.
What was going on?
Why were there four people?
I got up, slightly confused.

“Uh... who are all of you...?”

I could tell by their faces, but it was hard to recognize them by the backs of their heads.
I slowly walked over and asked—

“Hm?”
The people talking all turned to look at me.