Chapter 2: A Male Streamer’s Dilemma in the Reverse World

As I turned my head, I noticed a group of women whispering among themselves, nudging each other forward as if urging someone to act.

Finally, one of them approached me and spoke.

“Are you perhaps preparing for the civil service exam?”

Hmm… What should I say? Judging by the atmosphere, this seems like an area for exam preparation.

But saying I’m planning to be a streamer might sound strange.

I decided to give a vague answer, recalling the study materials I saw in my room.

“Yes, I’m preparing for the Grade 12 administrative assistant exam.”

“Oh, I see! You’re aiming for the administrative assistant position.

Studying must be tough, right? It must be especially challenging with a man’s brain.”

“Well, it’s not easy.”

“In that case, would you like to join our study group? We can help you with your studies.”

“Sorry, what?”

A study group? Is that where people gather to study together? Why would anyone do that?

Studying alone with textbooks and practice problems seems more efficient.

Perhaps my doubt showed on my face, as the woman hastily waved her hands in reassurance.

“Oh! Don’t take it the wrong way. We’re only inviting you because we have an opening in the group.

Our group has a great study atmosphere.”

“I appreciate the offer, but I’ll have to decline. I’m more comfortable studying alone.”

Her intent to help seemed genuine and kind, but I wasn’t in a position to leisurely sit in a group and read books.

Becoming a civil servant wasn’t my life goal. After declining, I turned toward the main entrance again.

“Oh! You should’ve lied and said there’s already another guy in the group!”

“Such a waste, seriously.”

I caught snippets of their conversation as I walked away.

Why are they so disappointed? Did they really want to study with me that badly?

I wouldn’t even be much help and might end up being a burden.

Once I start earning money, my first goal will be to move out of this exam prep area.

I don’t belong here, and lying about my circumstances felt unsettling.

Stepping outside, I scanned my surroundings.

Restaurants, bars, and internet cafes lined the streets, giving the place an air closer to a red-light district than an academic haven.

Among the passersby, a few male students were scattered here and there, but as expected, the number of women overwhelmingly outnumbered them.

Most women wore revealing tops and short skirts, their outfits flaunting their figures.

It was a feast for the eyes.

I accidentally locked eyes with a woman after glancing at her chest, but she just smiled faintly and walked past.

“Oh wow! Look at those legs.”

“Careful, she might hear you, you lunatic. Haha!”

On the flip side, there were drawbacks.

Walking a short distance, I kept hearing lewd comments around me.

It was another reflection of how societal norms differed in this world.

I decided to let it slide—it wasn’t obscene enough to bother me much.

After all, they were complimenting the physique, so who am I to argue?

I stopped by a convenience store and picked up some instant meals.

With a fridge and a microwave back in my room, I stocked up on enough food to last about a week.

After paying, I left the store with two large 30-liter bags filled to the brim.

“Can you manage carrying all that? Are you sure?”

“I’m fine. I’m stronger than I look for a guy.”

I responded nonchalantly to the clerk’s concern and walked out.

Using the phrase “for a guy” felt oddly natural now.

It seems I’m adapting bit by bit.

Some overly friendly women approached, offering to help carry the bags.

Their intentions seemed kind, yet there was an undertone of ulterior motives.

I politely declined, citing the short distance, and made my way back to my goshiwon (exam prep housing).

The crisp autumn air was refreshing, but lugging heavy bags left me sweaty.

I grabbed a bottle of water and took a sip before unloading the instant meals into the fridge.

“Not many male streamers, as expected.”

I sat down with a microwaved plate of spaghetti, browsing the homepage of Twica TV.

Although it was just past lunchtime a relatively early hour-many streamers were already live, and the viewer counts were impressive.

The top-ranked streamers were mostly women, which made sense.

Gaming dominated the platform, and women presumably excelled at it. Yet, my focus was on studying male streamers.

Curious, I navigated to a major community site’s Twika gallery and began searching for information.

One post caught my attention: “September Male Streamer Donation Rankings.” Just what I was looking for.

1st Place: Tangle Changsu

• Donations: 1,805,866,100 won
• Total viewers: 3,158,497

2nd Place: Wheel9

• Donations: 1,315,695,800 won
• Total viewers: 7,781,281

“Male streamers make this much money?”

The staggering donation amounts left me speechless.

Over 1.8 billion won in a single month! If you factor in YouTube and ad revenue, how much are they actually earning?

These figures dwarfed what I earned during my peak as the No. 1 pro gamer.

Intrigued, I returned to Twica TV and searched for Tangle Changsu.

Clicking on the replay of his previous stream, a pop-up appeared:

[Viewers under 19 years old cannot access this content. Would you like to log in?]

I tried using the same ID as my game account, and it worked. The stream loaded immediately.

Wow… this guy is something else.

Tangle Changsu was nearly naked, dressed only in his underwear.

His glistening, well-oiled body shimmered under the lights.

What caught my attention most, however, was the stream’s donation wall—virtual sticky notes listing the names and donation amounts of supporters.

It was a unique culture among male streamers, fueling competitive viewer donations.

“Thank you for the 2 million won donation! Ah, when you ladies support me like this, it really excites me. Here comes my reaction!”

Tangle Changsu moved the wallpaper aside, adjusted the camera, and showed his full body.

The tent formed over his stiff underwear bobbed up and down as if greeting.

Then, lowering his arms, he stood in a crouched horse-riding pose and started shaking his hips violently to the music.

[Wow, look at how heavy that is, LOL]

[Oh yeah!]

[Changsu really is packing, huh? LOL]

[Groaning like a crazy person, LOL]

[I’m turned on, you crazy bastard]

[His hips are gonna break, LOL, LOL, LOL]

Click!

I immediately turned off the stream.

While I could acknowledge Tangle Changsu’s professional commitment, it was too disgusting to keep watching.

There didn’t seem to be anything I could learn from him.

Who in the world doesn’t like money?

Of course, I like money too, but I could never go that far, no matter what.

No, I won’t.

This time, I searched for and played the stream of WheelNine, ranked second.

Although lower in donation rankings, he had significantly more cumulative viewers.

That meant he had a higher level of public popularity. Surely, there would be something to learn from him.

The first thing that surprised me was that WheelNine’s looks were quite decent.

His features were sharper than those of actors or idols in entertainment gossip columns.

Though slightly lacking by my standards, he was the closest I’d seen in this world to a handsome man.

Thankfully, WheelNine was a gaming streamer, not a male cam model.

He was playing League of Legends (LoL), but his skill was outright terrible, almost comical.

In the bottom lane, playing Sonaka as support, he was tucked far back, constantly cursing out his AD carry.

“Ah! This ADC isn’t even human. Look at his CS count. The difference in ADC skill is disgusting.”

It’s because you’re staying in the back and doing nothing.

In the early phases of the bottom lane, the support’s role is more crucial than the ADC’s.

You’re supposed to pressure the enemy and make them uncomfortable.

If you just sit in the back healing, your ADC, Ashe, is essentially playing a 1v2 lane.

Naturally, they can’t farm or maintain their health.

“Ah! Stop getting hit by skills! Because of this idiot, even I’m low on health.”

Sonaka can use her W healing skill.

However, every cast drains 10% of her own health.

As Ashe took pressure, the support kept using heals, and both of them naturally became low on health.

Gradually, the lane was pushed back, and the enemy jungler, Alaph, executed a turret dive.

The result? A complete wipeout.

The lane phase was practically over after suffering such massive losses.

“Ha… This is a situation where even rage-quitting is justified, right?”

This stream was frustrating in a different way—I couldn’t keep watching.

Personally, I despise forced blame-shifting.

Trash like this deserves to be criticized.

With such thoughts, I glanced at the chat window, only to find completely unexpected reactions.

[Wow, this ADC should just quit LoL]

[Cut off their fingers, so they can’t play anymore]

[WheelNine is getting stream-sniped way too much lately, poor guy]

[The ADC is definitely not local]

[Sonaka’s just a horrible pick, poor Ashe, LOL]

[Shut up, noob, get a clue]

[Protect the prince!]

The viewers were actually siding with WheelNine.

The innocent Ashe was being verbally abused and insulted instead.

What on earth is going on?

It felt like common sense was being destroyed, and the whole thing gave me a sense of alienation.

Is there something special I don’t know about?

With that question lingering, I quickly skimmed through the video.

The game, unsurprisingly, ended in a loss.

WheelNine slammed his desk with a genuinely pissed-off expression.

This was a “shotgun” move often performed as a performative act by streamers.

Frustrated, he quit LoL and opened the YouCube site.

“Nowadays, there are just too many trolls.

I can’t even play with this mindset.

I’ll listen to some music and heal my soul.”

WheelNine played a music video and, with melancholy eyes, struck dramatic poses while whispering and softly humming along.

“Hmm~ Your love, baby~”

What is he doing? Is he sick or something?

He murmured with a lisping tone, making short sounds, and it was so cringeworthy I couldn’t bear to listen.

At least match the rhythm!

Instead, he seemed to be composing his own live soundtrack on the spot.

Honestly, the original song wasn’t great to begin with.

The singer wasn’t exactly bad, but that’s about it.

It felt like watching a high schooler perform decently at a school festival.

Could this, too, be the result of the “male nerf”? This world really is insane.

[Naine’s nasal singing voice hits different]

[No male streamer sings this well except for Naine.]

[Ash, sorry for flaming you earlier. Thanks for the eargasm.]

[Eargasm? lolol He’s absolutely terrible.]

[Shut up, idiot. Don’t ruin the vibe.]

[What kind of skill do you even expect from a guy? This is more than good enough. Stop the baseless hate.]

The chat was… maddening.

Watching it made me feel like I was losing my mind.

I shut down the Twika TV window entirely.

Maybe I should become a singer instead?

Even if I put out noise like that, they’d still call it an eargasm and praise me.

At first, I thought gaming was my only viable career path.

But gradually, I’m starting to believe I can succeed in other fields, too.

[Why does everyone worship Naine so much? He’s bad at games and only blames others.]

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t figure it out.

Out of desperation, I posted a question on the Twika forum.

Since it was critical of a top male streamer, it quickly garnered over 100 downvotes.

[What, are you a guy? LOL]

[Obvious male vibes here, lol. Such a typical move.]

[Male hater, lmao. Classic inferiority complex.]

[Shut up, loser. He’s just acting exaggeratedly for entertainment value, and you’re taking it seriously? Get lost.]

Amidst the flood of hate comments, a few responses were actually informative:

[He’s a prince, right? Do you know any other good-looking male streamers who also game? Plus, he’s the best in terms of looks and gaming, so of course people adore him.]

[Who do you even watch? If they’re good-looking, they suck at games so badly they don’t even use a cam. If they’re good at games, they’re hideous. All the others are like that.]

[Isn’t Naine decent at singing and dancing, too? If he went full-on cam streaming, he’d rake in double the donations. But he sticks with gaming out of loyalty to his viewers. And you’re criticizing him?]

[Agreed.]

[Agreed x2.]

So, it all boils down to scarcity.

A streamer who combines looks and gaming skill?

Naine’s the only one, so he gets unconditional support.

If he were to quit gaming broadcasts, there’s no one to replace him.

Fine. I’ll create that replacement.

The fact that I was being unfairly ridiculed only fueled my determination.

I wasn’t even saying anything wrong, yet I was bombarded with insults.

Inferiority complex? They’ll all end up sending me donations someday.

Without wasting any time, I went to an online shopping site and purchased all the necessary equipment—camera, mic, lighting, a green screen, and more.

Prioritizing performance over price, I spent about 700,000 won.

Given my current situation, it was a bit excessive.

But I wasn’t worried; I was confident in my success.

“Should I start with a no-cam broadcast first?”

The equipment would arrive at my goshiwon tomorrow.

For now, I didn’t plan to stream with a camera.

I wanted to make a name for myself with my gaming skills first.

Since my goshiwon had soundproofing, as long as I didn’t yell, I’d be fine.

I already had a basic headset with a mic, so I was ready to start streaming.

I launched the broadcasting software and finished setting up.

For my username, I simply used my real name: Shin Yuseong.

Thankfully, it wasn’t already taken.

Now, I just needed a catchy broadcast title.

To attract attention, I added some clickbait:

[(New Male LoL Stream) 10 Wins in a Row or I Shave My Head!]

Thus, my first broadcast in this alternate world began.

I had some faint hope, but as expected, no viewers came in right away.

Back when I streamed after winning the WLC, I had 200,000 viewers.

Now, with no recognition, things were different.

It was a bittersweet reminder of my reset life.

Let’s wait a bit longer.

Surely, at least one person will join—after all, male game streamers are rare here.

Instead of jumping straight into ranked games, I opened a waiting screen to build some suspense.

[10 wins in a row? lolol]

“Welcome!”

Finally, my first viewer.

I couldn’t believe I was this excited over just one person joining.

Damn it, I almost thought the system had bugged out.

Once the floodgates opened, more viewers trickled in one by one.

By the time I was chatting casually with them, my viewer count had risen to 15.

That should be enough.

Waiting any longer would be rude to the audience.

They might start complaining about when I’d actually play.

Worst of all, I feared losing these viewers out of boredom.

So, I immediately queued up for a ranked game.

[?????]

[?]

[What’s going on?]

[???????????]

[Stop messing around lololol]

What did I do wrong?

Suddenly, the chat was flooded with question marks.