Gender Swap: The Introvert’s Broadcast

There’s a moment when you should be careful about drinking.
When you think, “It should be fine if I have this next drink...” that’s when you should stop. The brain of someone who has been drinking gets really clouded.
And the last drink you take like that—

“Ugh…”
Makes you forget all of yesterday’s memories.
There were quite a few.
Times when a man had been in my house.
But never had I drank with someone after the broadcast ended.
It was always just during the stream.

But—
“Hmm, this tastes good... This is it... Hehe.”
When facing the man in front of me, it felt a little different.
I became a bit more careful with my actions, a bit more tense, I guess.
Even though I’d felt a bit nervous the first time we met, inviting him to my house made the atmosphere feel even heavier.
Though the original reason for inviting him was for the Reld Cup stream, I couldn’t help but feel the sweat on my hands.

“Phew…”
I’d never been this tense in my life.
It was the first time I had felt nervous around a man.
And so, even while drinking whiskey, I was paying attention to Jiwoo’s every move.
I was making sure he was comfortable, wondering if the whiskey I gave him was to his taste.
“The price isn’t bad, and it tastes pretty good... Mmm...”

Jiwoo was clearly tipsy now, his face fully relaxed.
Even though he usually smiled a lot, there was always a bit of a wall up.
When he was fully drunk, that wall seemed to come down a bit.
He was showing more of his feelings than usual.
‘It was similar when we went to London.’
Back then, even though he’d been tipsy, he seemed to be aware that the broadcast was on, so he didn’t spill anything too personal.
Now that the broadcast was off, and with no one else around, maybe I’d get to hear some personal stories.

With that slightly dubious thought, I took another slow sip of whiskey.
Then—
“Harin, thank you for making this food…”
Suddenly, Jiwoo was speaking formally.
It threw me off.
He’d never spoken like this unless we’d just met.

“Out of nowhere?”
But I didn’t panic. I kept my composure.
Losing my composure meant losing control of the conversation.
For me, taking control of a conversation was incredibly important.
Everything started from gaining control.
“Well… I’m getting sleepy…”
It seemed like Jiwoo had reached his limit with drinking.
He stood up from the table and collapsed on the nearby couch.
Clearly, he was feeling drowsy.

‘If he sleeps here, his neck’s gonna hurt, though.’
If he was going to sleep, it would be better on the bed.
Sleeping somewhere else would probably make his neck sore.
So I made a suggestion that had no ulterior motive.
“Jiwoo, do you want to sleep on the bed?”
“Sure...!”

Jiwoo accepted immediately.
Without any hidden intentions, I helped him to the bed.
But—
“Ugh… I’m tired…”

Jiwoo collapsed on the floor.
It seemed like the alcohol had left him too weak to move.
I had no choice but to slowly lift him up.
I did my best to avoid contact, carrying him in a way that didn’t touch his back.
“It’s comfortable…”
His voice came into my ear, which was a bit painful, but I managed to endure and finally got him onto the bed.
He wasn’t too heavy, so it wasn’t too difficult.

Thud—
I managed to get him onto the bed.
“Phew.”

Finally.
Though his voice kept brushing against my ear, which was a bit painful, I thought it was a relief that I made it. Just as I was about to get up to clean up the drink setup, something happened.
“Yup.”
Jiwoo, who had been lying down, suddenly pulled me into a hug from behind.

“Hmm… so soft…”
I had seen him attempt a similar action when we were drinking in London, but back then, he seemed to hold back because the broadcast was on.
Now that the broadcast was off, he embraced me fully from behind.
…Staying like this for a while didn’t seem like a bad choice.

My head was spinning—
“...It doesn’t hurt.”
It wasn’t that bad.
It seemed like the drink from yesterday had been pretty high quality.
Cheap alcohol always gives me a headache, but luckily, it seemed like this one wasn’t like that.
With that thought, I got up from the bed—

“...Huh?”
I was shocked to see Harin lying next to me.
And it was on the bed, too.
In that moment, my mind went completely blank.
What was going on?
Why did I wake up from drinking to find Harin next to me?
I couldn’t make sense of it.
‘Why is Harin almost half undressed?’

I was in complete shock.
Sure, she had worn revealing clothes during the broadcast, but I didn’t expect her to have taken them off in her sleep.
Now, her outfit was even more revealing.
“…I should just go back to sleep.”
This couldn’t be real.
How could this be happening?
Why was Harin sleeping next to me, and why was she almost undressed?
I just couldn’t process all of it.
Feeling dizzy, I closed my eyes again and tried to fall back asleep, when—

“Mmm…”
I heard Harin stir.
She must have been shocked.
She’d probably scream when she realized she was sleeping next to me.
I figured I’d wait for the perfect moment to get up, when—
Scratch-scratch—

Harin gently stroked my hair before getting up from the bed.
‘...Huh?’
This was completely unexpected.
Where did things go wrong?
Feeling disoriented, I lay back in the bed, replaying the events of yesterday in my mind.

“Jiwoo, let’s eat.”
Harin came into the room and woke me up.
“Ah, uh…”

I couldn’t refuse, so I carefully got up and made my way to the dining table.
The table had already been set with a simple meal.
“Sit down. You need to eat.”
“Uh…”
So, Harin and I sat at the table and began to eat.
It wasn’t just a regular meal; it was a soup meant to help with the hangover from last night’s drinking.
But still…

“So… what happened yesterday?”
I had to ask.
I was really curious.
If I had done something wrong, I needed to apologize.
When I asked, she replied—

“Hmm… Nothing much? Nothing really happened.”
That wasn’t the tone of someone who’d had nothing happen.
It definitely meant something had happened.
So I pushed a little more.
“Ah, please tell me what happened. I can’t remember because I was so drunk…”

I really couldn’t remember what happened.
If Harin didn’t tell me, I felt like I’d never recall it.
I stared at Harin, hoping she’d tell me.
“Well… you kind of just clung to me. Other than that, nothing really happened.”
Ah.
I’d messed up.
No matter how close we were, clinging to someone wouldn’t feel good.
That was a huge mistake.
So I immediately apologized.

“Ah… I’m really sorry. It wasn’t on purpose. I drank too much…”
As I waited for Harin to forgive me, she gave me an unexpected response.
“…I was fine with it.”

 
Rrring-
After escaping Harin’s house without knowing what had really happened, I received a phone call.
It was from Yeram.
She had probably tried calling since I hadn’t picked up after saying I’d come back late yesterday.

‘I better say the right thing.’
Thinking that, I answered the phone.
“Ahem, hey.”

Oppa, where are you?
“I was drinking with Harin while watching the Reld Cup broadcast. I’m on my way now, almost there. Just wait a bit.”
Oh, really? Okay.
 

Surprisingly, Harin didn’t seem concerned.
I guess all the trust I’d built over time helped a lot.
‘Definitely feels good to have her trust.’
No matter what I said, she trusted me.
Feeling good, I walked a little more and finally got home.

Creeeeak—
The sound of the door opening and Yeram running toward me.
Her house wasn’t that big, so there was no need to run, but for some reason, she did.
I’d have to talk to her later about why she ran like that.
“Did you get something for me?”
“Oh, I didn’t bring anything.”

Since I usually got her little things when I came back late, Yeram always ran to meet me when I got home.
But today, I didn’t bring anything.
“I’ll get it next time.”
“Okay, I got it.”
As Yeram turned around, she suddenly stopped.

“Huh?”
She tilted her head and then walked closer, sniffing my clothes.
After a moment, she spoke.

“This smells new.”
Yeram said in a confused tone.
“I borrowed some perfume before I left. Didn’t want to smell bad.”
“…I see. Yeah, smelling bad would’ve been a problem.”

Yeram said that and returned to her computer.
She was clearly in the middle of a game.
I didn’t want to talk about what happened yesterday since it might make her worried.
There was no good in bringing it up.
With that in mind, I threw the clothes I’d worn into the laundry and went to take a shower.
“Ugh, a mosquito bite.”
I noticed a mosquito bite on my neck.
It must have been from Harin’s house yesterday.

‘Should remind her to have some mosquito repellent ready next time.’
Thinking about that, I finished my shower.