Gender Swap: The Introvert’s Broadcast

After finishing solo queue, we had about an hour left until the tournament started.
It felt like dead time, and I wasn’t sure how to spend it.

At that moment—
“Should I cook something for you?”
Harin made a tempting suggestion.
I hadn’t eaten yet, and I was definitely feeling hungry.
It seemed like a good idea, especially since the chat had been raving about how good Harin’s cooking was.

“Sounds great. I’m starving.”
I’m not usually one to accept food from others, but rejecting such an offer didn’t feel polite.
[🗡️OmnipotentCthulhu: Harin’s cooking is legit]
[🗡️OmnipotentCthulhu: She makes some delicious stuff LOL]
[Looks seriously tasty, for real.]
[Why only you? Why only you? Why only you? Why only you? Why only you? Why only you?]
[Let us try Harin’s food too, please.]

Harin began preparing a meal for me.
Of course, it wasn’t as if the food magically appeared as soon as she started cooking.
A lot of preparation was required.
‘I wonder what she’ll make.’

I was genuinely curious.
Just as I was lost in these thoughts—
“Jiwoo, can you chop green onions?”
Harin suddenly called my name.
The unexpectedness of it left me frozen.
It had been so long since anyone had addressed me by name.

“...Yeah, I can manage.”
[🗡️OmnipotentCthulhu: What kind of relationship do they have?]
[🗡️OmnipotentCthulhu: Why’s she calling him by his real name???]
[She just called him by name??? What’s their deal?]
[Kang Hoomin: ??]
[Seriously, what’s going on?]
[Are they really close or something? I thought this was just WWE banter.]
[Who can’t chop green onions LOL]
In most cases, I’d assume this was just for show, but this felt too specific to ignore.
So I asked her directly.

“Why are you calling me by my real name all of a sudden? It’s throwing me off.”
“Oh… is it weird? I just feel like we’re close enough now. I usually call people by their real names when we’re friends.”
“So, we weren’t close before?”
“No, we were! Just… not close enough for real names, you know?”
[Hmm, interesting.]
[What’s their deal?]
[To be fair, Harin does call people by their real names once she’s comfortable LOL.]
[They must be on good terms.]
[🗡️OmnipotentCthulhu: I support this.]
[Support what, you idiots? It’s just WWE banter.]
[She’s just trying to rake in donations; don’t fall for it.]
The chat was suspicious of the sudden shift, speculating about ulterior motives.
I, however, was the most bewildered, so I spoke firmly.

“Let’s not entertain nonsense like that.”
It’s best not to give attention to such comments, but leaving them unchecked could cause issues.
Subtly hinting to a mod to handle it seemed like the best course of action.
“So, should I just chop the green onions?”
“Yeah, I’ll prepare the doenjang-jjigae.”
“Doenjang-jjigae sounds perfect.”
Among stews, doenjang-jjigae is my favorite.
Its deep, savory flavor always hits the spot.
Thinking about this, I took the green onions Harin handed me and placed them on the cutting board.

“It’s been a while, so I might chop them a bit awkwardly. Don’t judge me too harshly.”
[🗡️OmnipotentCthulhu: Hmm… excuses, huh?]
[Just admitting you can’t chop properly, aren’t you? LOL]
[What a lame excuse LOL.]
⇨ User has been temporarily banned!
[Honestly, chopping green onions is harder than people think.]
[Kang Hoomin: My dad could do it in under a minute LOL.]
I started chopping the green onions slowly, putting in as much effort as I could.
But—

Crunch—
The onion didn’t chop the way I intended.
It was an embarrassing mess.
“You said you could do it. Watch your hands.”

Harin smirked and came over to chop the onions herself.
Her knife skills were impressive—clean and precise.
She must cook often to be this good.
“Wow, that’s amazing.”
I was genuinely impressed, watching her work.
But then—

“Why are you just watching? Come here, I’ll teach you.”
Harin called me over.
I thought she’d finish chopping everything herself, but apparently not.
[🗡️OmnipotentCthulhu: Didn’t he say he’d chop them? LOL.]
[Running away, huh? LOL.]
[Harin’s giving a personal green onion tutorial, huh?]
[Is there even a ‘right way’ to chop green onions?]
[Just smash them in a bag, right? What’s the big deal?]

I approached her, knife in hand, ready to try again.
“Hold on, let me help.”
Harin grabbed my hand, adjusting my grip.

“Don’t use force here; just press down when cutting.”
“Got it.”
Being this close to Harin was a first for me, and it made me a bit nervous.
Still, following her instructions, I slowly started chopping the green onions.
Slice—

After what felt like ages—
“Phew, finally done.”
We had finished chopping the required amount.
The tension had been unbearable.
Harin seemed more relaxed than when we were outside, likely because this was her own home.

“Next time, just chop them better if I ask again.”
“Sure thing.”
[🗡️OmnipotentCthulhu: Why’s Dama so flustered?]
[🗡️OmnipotentCthulhu: LOL.]
[If Harin were standing that close to me, I’d be flustered too LOL.]
[Honestly, that was way too close.]
[Harin’s flirting techniques are something else.]
[Kang Hoomin: Fact) Dama isn’t interested in dating anyone, especially not Harin.]
[Kang Hoomin: Based on past streams, Dama might actually be gay.]
⇨ User has been temporarily banned!
[🗡️OmnipotentCthulhu: Keep your thoughts to yourself, please.]
We continued preparing dinner in a more comfortable atmosphere.

“Stir that until you can’t see the yolk anymore.”
“...Why do I feel like I’m doing all the hard work?”
“Hey, do I look like someone who’d do that?”
“You kind of do.”
It felt like Harin was dumping all the tedious tasks on me.
Hoping it was just my imagination, I kept whisking the eggs until—
“That’s perfect. You can take a break now.”

Finally, Harin gave her approval.
“Okay, I’ll rest for a bit, then.”
“Sure, everything’s almost ready.”
I’d assumed Harin would handle everything, but here I was, doing my share.
Feeling slightly miffed, I muttered under my breath.

“...Do hosts normally make their guests work like this?”
[🗡️OmnipotentCthulhu: Usually not.]
[Harin typically does everything herself LOL.]
[She probably asked because it’s Dama.]
[When Rije visited, Harin handled everything solo, I think.]
[That just shows how much she likes you.]
[At least you held hands with Harin, huh?]
I sighed and fiddled with the computer while waiting.
Then—

“It’s ready. Come eat.”
Harin called me over.
“Finally… I’m starving.”

When I got to the table—
“Wow… when did you make all this?”
A feast was laid out, one I hadn’t seen even in childhood.
Stunned, I looked at Harin.

“Hey, I’m no amateur. This is nothing.”
“With this, I might have to start calling you ‘Master Harin.’”
I hadn’t expected such a spread.
Amazed by Harin’s cooking skills, I sat down to eat.
[🗡️OmnipotentCthulhu: Wow, that looks incredible LOL.]
[Just one bite, please! Just one bite! Just one bite!]
[Why are only they eating this amazing meal?]
[Kang Hoomin: Do the classic ‘one bite for the camera.’]
[I really want to try Harin’s cooking now.]

While eating—
“Jiwoo, can you pass me that side dish? I want some jangjorim.”
“Oh, sure.”
Since Harin’s dining table was quite large, she had to ask me to pass things.
I picked up some jangjorim and handed it to her—

And she immediately ate it straight from my chopsticks.
‘What the—?!’
I’d expected her to grab it with her own chopsticks, not eat directly like that.
Startled, I glanced at the chat, but—

‘Is it just me being weird?’
The chat seemed completely normal.
Maybe I was overreacting.
Thinking that, I continued eating.