It's a Gender-Reversed World, But I Don't Go Out Anyway - Chapter 23
Chapter 23: Growing on YouTube Too
* * *
“So who is this person?”
[You don’t know a YouTuber with a million subscribers?]
[Well, she’s actually less popular in live streams]
[More like a million-subscriber editor than a million-subscriber YouTuber]
“Stop the hate!… Then who’s this person next to her?”
[That’s the fitness streamer]
[Can’t believe you don’t know her lol]
[That body is insane;;;[1] unnie…]
[Calm down lesbian…]
I didn’t know either of them. Obviously, since I only knew a handful of people. But what was more surprising was that all 800 viewers in my stream seemed to know everyone.
While I wondered if this was the power of collective intelligence from 800 people, seeing some viewers commenting every time a new person appeared made me realize there were viewers who genuinely knew every streamer.
“How do you know everyone…?”
[It’s more surprising that the streamer doesn’t know any of them]
[But seriously, don’t the people who can name everyone have no life?]
[This is our real world.]
[It’s possible if you watch streams all day lol]
Still, I was grateful there were viewers explaining about the streamers, and I continued with the ideal type tournament. Between the two people, I chose the fitness broadcaster. The reason was because of the photo – since the fitness broadcaster had an exceptional physique, my gaze kept getting fixed there.
Usually, I thought of myself as a pure person who only looked at faces, but when comparing photos, that didn’t seem to be the case.
[Ah lol can’t resist those abs lol]
[If I tried hard enough, I could get like that too…]
[You trying octopus]
[Buff octopus lol]
[What’s wrong with you guys?]
Then I saw a familiar name.
“Oh, Yeonhee… nim?”
[Who?]
[Ah lol that’s from the streamer party lol]
[LOL first time in her life she got styled for a party]
[Clothes and makeup really do make a difference]
“That’s that person?”
Honestly, while I hadn’t watched her streams much, I had subscribed to her YouTube because I streamed with her, and occasionally watched her broadcasts, but the person in the photo was completely different. Does a woman’s transformation repeat in this world too?
No, thinking about it-
“Is it because her clothes are usually a bit strange?”
[LOLOLOL for real LOL]
[Well she only streams in sweats or worn-out t-shirts lol]
[What’s really annoying is that after that day she keeps saying she looks good when she dresses up]
[Honestly it’s false advertising]
The other person next to her is also a game streamer, but honestly, I don’t know her. Obviously.
However, even excluding the fact that I knew her, I would have still picked Yeonhee. Rather than being overwhelmingly pretty, it was like feeling that gap moe. Like what they call reverse charm. In my prediction, she’d probably make it quite high up in the ideal type tournament.
[Can’t believe you picked Yeonhee?]
[Yeonhee delusion mode on]
[For real lol she’s probably watching the stream right now wondering what she’d do if she got confessed to]
[If you’re watching, just start your stream you fool]
[Daeju is so nice… looking out for her in case she gets hurt]
“I just picked her normally?”
[Yeah, we understand, kid]
[Ah… our streamer has such depth like us…]
[Raised her well]
[Well done! Daeju!]
Since they were already determined to see it as a sympathy vote, it seemed pointless to say anything.
I thought I wouldn’t see anyone I knew among the continuous stream of strangers, but surprisingly, I saw someone I remembered seeing somewhere. Among all the people shown so far, she had one of the most notable appearances.
“Where have I seen this person Jia before?”
[You made it to the finals in her previous ideal type tournament]
[Surprisingly, she was a celebrity]
[She is really pretty]
[Her streams are too mild-mannered to watch lol]
“Come on, try watching something mild-mannered for once”
[She doesn’t even know she’s spicy lol]
[Wait, isn’t it that Daeju isn’t spicy but we’re the ones making spicy comments?]
[Anyway, it’s Daeju’s fault for not managing viewers properly]
[If you deny this you look like a long-horned beetle]
After hearing she was a former celebrity, looking at her again, she definitely had a different aura from ordinary people. I hadn’t noticed before hearing it. Back when I appeared in her ideal type tournament, I just thought she was pretty. I guess this is why image is so important – just hearing she was a celebrity made me feel her aura.
I shouldn’t be like this… my image is already at rock bottom because of Big Package Squad’s activities…
Suddenly I felt a bit depressed.
Curious, I searched for Jia on YouTube. While she wasn’t too famous, she was from an idol group, and after the group disbanded due to the company going bankrupt, she apparently blew up through streaming.
“There’s no disagreement here.”
[True, honestly Jia is good at everything except streaming]
[Isn’t that basically a fatal dig at a streamer;;]
[That room’s chat rules are so strict;; no sexual harassment, no fatal digs, no swearing;;]
[That’s normal you crazy b*tch]
It wasn’t mild-mannered, it was normal chat rules.
Me? It’s already too late for me. If I strengthen chat rules now, my identity, the uniquely mind-numbing chat would disappear. Since most people come to YouTube to see that chat, I really can’t get rid of it now.
[Everything’s allowed in Daeju’s room but why not in other rooms]
[You think Daeju’s a pushover?]
[He is though]
[Oh yeah, true]
Continuing on, we finally reached the semifinals.
Yeonhee, Jia, the fitness YouTuber, and a short-haired broadcaster who was suspiciously popular among women.
Actually, it was a preview of the finals between Yeonhee and Jia, and while the fitness YouTuber and short-haired streamer were pretty, I felt burdened about making someone I had absolutely no connection with win.
Think about it – would it feel completely good if I made someone win when we had no connection at all? Well, it might differ by person, but honestly, I’d feel pressured, and they might try to find out what kind of person I am. What if they watch my videos or VODs[2] then?
Just Yeonhee or Jia. These two know me.
It seemed better to make one of them win.
“These two should meet in the finals but they’re meeting in the semifinals”
[Let’s think of it as a preview of the finals.]
[But Jia is her real self, and Yeonhee is wearing a skin, can they even compare?]
[For real lol I’m not Yeonhee no skin]
[We should judge just by photos otherwise it’s too pitiful for Yeonhee lol]
The chat’s reactions already predicted Yeonhee’s defeat.
And reality was cruel.
“Um… sorry Yeonhee-nim”
As everyone predicted, Jia won.
[The hopeful Yeonhee should turn off her stream and go look in the bathroom mirror lol]
[Drawing lines on a pumpkin doesn’t make it a watermelon lol how could she win]
[You fought well!]
***
[Today’s ideal type tournament summary]
No discrimination against hair length, doesn’t care about chest size
Don’t smile just yet, our curly-haired small-chested Big Package Squad, obviously looks matter lol
Seems to like cat-like features overall
By the way, just looking fierce doesn’t make you cat-like lol you’re just sharply ugly lol
[Comments]
 Why is this b*tch talking like this
 Sharply ugly lmao
ã„´ But what actually makes someone cat-like then?
ã„´ Kind of proud but cute
ã„´ Kind of like me
ã„´ Shut up
 BTW Jia won lol how can you beat a former idol
ã„´ Winning against Yeonhee makes it a dishonorable victory
***
I ended the stream a bit hastily after the ideal type tournament.
The reason wasn’t anything special, just that I inevitably had to pay studio apartment rent, utilities, and all sorts of headache-inducing things, no, not headache-inducing but wallet-aching things.
There was backlash from viewers, but these guys would say “already ending?” whether I streamed for 5 hours or 10 hours.
For reference, today’s stream was 3 hours.
“I did end early…”
I checked my new video that was uploaded on YouTube.
In the highlight-style edited video, the editing of my ideal type tournament was already included. I’m not sure if they predicted the results and made captions in advance or if they started editing while watching, but they actually pulled it off.
While thinking I hired a good editor, watching my past self like this was somehow embarrassing.
“Did I really say that?”
It wasn’t quite dark history, but it felt like grey history.
Even my voice wasn’t the voice I knew as mine. While in my head it was a deep, weighty voice, in the video it was thin and high-pitched, and while I don’t know about others, that voice really bothered me.
“I wonder what other streamers think when they watch their videos”
Maybe they don’t watch them.
I already know the content, but my appearance was always a bit worse than I thought.
I continued watching the video while checking the comments and people’s reactions.
[Mmm~ Delicious.]
[The ideal type tournament just ended but it’s already edited and uploaded?]
ã„´ [This is why you need a fan as your editor]
[As always, slightly dirty chat and shameless streamer… perfect]
[This stream is like cheonggukjang[3], you avoid it because of the smell but once you eat it it tastes good]
Not bad.
Yeonhee was among them too.
[Yeonhee: I lost… but fought well.]
ã„´ [Did you fight?]
ã„´ [You just got beaten…]
ã„´ [Ah lol blocked punches with your face lol]
ã„´ [Why is this person getting roasted when they made it to semifinals?]
ã„´ [That’s their character]
Seeing this happening when the video was just uploaded, was she really watching the stream?
I pinned the comment for now. When the person involved shows up, you should at least do this much.
And I scrolled up to check the most important thing.
“Oh…”
With just three videos, I had reached ten thousand subscribers.
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(End of chapter)
Translation Notes:
1. “;;”: Korean internet slang equivalent to “…” expressing awkwardness or speechlessness in English.
2. VOD: Video On Demand/Stream recordings
3. “cheonggukjang”: Korean fermented soybean paste known for its strong smell but good taste