Gender Swap: The Introvert’s Broadcast

How long had I been eating?
I was starting to feel full.

“Wow, I’m stuffed. I ate so much.”
The food was so delicious that I couldn’t help myself.
[🗡️OmnipotentCthulhu: You really ate a lot LOL]
[That’s enough to burst your stomach.]
[Are you pregnant or something?]
[Three months along, I’d say.]
[How do you even eat that much LOL]
[Good cooks are a rare breed...]
[Shouldn’t Dama be the one cooking, though? Hmm...]
[Misogyny detected! 🚨]
[Kang Hoomin: Men belong in the kitchen? Let’s not, okay.]
[Yeah, let’s avoid comments like that.]

With our meal done, only 30 minutes remained until the tournament finals.
If we cleaned the table and did the dishes, there’d be no time left.
So, Harin and I split the tasks.
“Jiwoo, you go get coffee, and I’ll do the dishes.”
“Café latte, right?”
If I remembered correctly, Harin liked café lattes.
When I asked—

“Yeah, hot.”
“Got it.”
With that, I turned on a separate stream on another camera and headed out.
No one was particularly interested in watching someone do dishes, so it made more sense for me to chat while walking.
[🗡️OmnipotentCthulhu: How do you even know Harin’s coffee preference?!]
[🗡️OmnipotentCthulhu: This is insane LOL]
[I seriously ship this.]
[When did they get this close?]
[I want a deep eye contact moment with Dama too… deep eye contact… deep eye contact…]
[Kang Hoomin: Everyone, just pretend you don’t know, okay...]

“Come on, what are you all on about? You really think I’m in that kind of relationship with Harin? We’re just close friends.”
Maybe it was the way we’d acted today, but the viewers seemed to have the wrong idea.
We were just friendly, with a bit of casual physical contact. That’s it.
Feeling slightly wronged, I clarified further.
“Also, knowing someone’s coffee preference isn’t exactly rocket science.”

It wasn’t hard to remember such details.
Yet here they were, spinning wild theories over it.
Shaking my head, I glanced at the chat.
[🗡️OmnipotentCthulhu: Sure, let’s go with that.]
[🗡️OmnipotentCthulhu: No baseless rumors, please.]
[No speculations allowed, okay?]
[Oh, so it’s like that? Got it.]
[Everyone’s quick to catch on, huh?]
[This concept is hilarious LOL.]
[Kang Hoomin: Let’s all play along, folks.]
[Kang Hoomin: Be serious about the immersion LOL.]
Even the mods were chiming in, which only fueled the chaos.

“Sigh, what am I even supposed to say to that?”
Knowing that saying more would only fan the flames, I sighed and quickly bought the coffee before heading back to Harin’s house.
Creak—
The door was already open, so I didn’t need to punch in a code.

“Oh, you’re back already?”
“The café isn’t far. It didn’t take long.”
“True.”
Handing Harin her coffee, I turned off the separate stream and sat down at the computer.
On the desk, there were desserts.
Impressive.
Even though I was just a guest, she’d gone out of her way to prepare so much.

[🗡️OmnipotentCthulhu: Wow, she even made dessert LOL]
[🗡️OmnipotentCthulhu: That’s next-level hospitality.]
[Just one bite, please! Just one bite!]
[Why are only you guys eating...]
[Making dessert is a rare skill.]
[Didn’t she do the same for Rije?]
[Rije only got a meal, not dessert.]
“Wow, do you always make dessert too?”
“Nope.”
“Then why now? Not that I’m complaining, but I’m curious.”
“Because it’s you.”
Her sudden answer almost made me spit out my coffee.
I barely managed to hold it in and looked at Harin.

“I always do this for male guests.”
Harin replied casually and began setting up the tournament broadcast.
She was so proficient that it was clear she’d done this many times before.
‘Is this some kind of Western-style joke?’

I’d never heard a woman make a joke like that to me before.
Still flustered, I joined her in setting up the commentary.
“You don’t usually watch pro games, right?”
“Not much.”
“Then don’t focus on the players. Talk about the game setups instead. I know the players and picks well, but I’m not great at analyzing in-game dynamics.”
“Got it.”
Harin clearly had a good grasp of pick-and-ban strategies.
She’d demonstrated this during her previous tournament as well.
It made sense that she left the in-game analysis to me.
With that, we began watching the finals.

Boom!
Fireworks lit up as the Korean team, which included Rije, and the Western team entered the arena.
Even for someone like me, who didn’t know much about tournaments, the scene was spectacular.
“Wow, this is impressive.”

The players from each lane faced off dramatically as they were introduced.
It was a visually striking moment, and I thought it could work well in other tournaments, not just for Leore.
“Alright! Let’s look at the predictions for this finals match!”
“Let’s take a look!”
 
Soon after, the analysts’ score predictions were displayed.

“3–2, 3–1, 1–3… Wait, Korea isn’t favored?”
I was shocked.
I’d assumed the Korean team would have the advantage.
But here they were, trailing in the predictions—even from Korean analysts.
“Is this normal?”
“Yeah, the other team is really strong. I’m rooting for Rije, but honestly, it won’t be easy for them to win.”
“Wow, I thought they’d win for sure.”

[🗡️OmnipotentCthulhu: Nothing is certain in sports.]
[Rije has to solo carry for them to win.]
[Can they even pull this off?]
[Kang Hoomin: Honestly, I see this ending 3–1 in favor of the Western team.]
[This feels bad...]
[If they win, it’s gonna be a massive upset LOL.]
[Bet 100 bucks on the underdog. Let’s go!]
[100 bucks?! LOL.]
[Hwanhee: This final is gonna be amazing.]
Harin seemed well aware of the odds.
Judging by the predictions, the performance gap between the teams must have been significant.
“I hope they win. Losing would feel pretty bad.”
“That’s why I messaged Rije before the match. Told them to play like they’re carrying the whole team.”
“Is that okay?”

I didn’t know enough about the pro gaming scene to say for sure.
[🗡️OmnipotentCthulhu: What if that message messes them up?]
[🗡️OmnipotentCthulhu: If things go wrong, Harin’s gonna get all the blame LOL.]
[Why take that risk...]
[Kang Hoomin: Messaging them before a match could mess with their mindset.]
[Yeah, this might stir up some controversy.]
As I hesitated, unsure how to respond, Harin jumped in.

“What’s the big deal? Rije actually plays better when I say stuff like that. Stop acting like you know them. Just watch the game.”
Harin’s confidence was undeniable. She knew her audience well.
“Wow, that’s a bit scary.”
“Respect your elder, kid.”

With her quip lightening the mood, we began our commentary in earnest.
“The picks look solid, but I heard their mid laner isn’t very skilled with Hwei. That’s a bit concerning.”
“Yeah, the picks are interesting. Is this typical?”
“Well, the patch version has shifted a bit. Pro games and ranked games are always different.”
“Ah, I see...”
The game dynamics felt unfamiliar compared to what I knew.
Still, I began explaining the match-up strategies.

“For the Western team, they’ll likely focus on gaining an advantage in the bot lane. They should concede the dragon and prioritize gains in the top lane instead.”
That was my understanding of Leore dynamics, though I couldn’t say for sure how pros would approach it.
[🗡️OmnipotentCthulhu: Wow, clean analysis.]
[🗡️OmnipotentCthulhu: This is what a Challenger player sounds like.]
[After hearing amateurs struggle to explain, this is refreshing LOL.]
[Easy there, don’t bash Harin.]
[Let’s keep it polite...]

As we continued the commentary, something shocking happened.
“No way… what’s this?”
Rije’s team’s mid laner made a critical mistake.
And in situations like this—

“Moderators, manage the chat.”
The chat was bound to explode.