It's a Gender-Reversed World, But I Don't Go Out Anyway - Chapter 32

Chapter 32: Is This Even Food?

***

When I arrived at the agreed location and called the contact number, Yeonhee picked up immediately.

“Hello?”

“Ah… I’ve arrived…”

“I’ll be down soon~”

The Yeonhee in my memories was someone who was extremely shy and nervous, just like me, but now her tone seemed much more relaxed, probably because she was at home with people she was close to.

In contrast, I was unusually out for a long time, feeling anxious about my clothes, and everyone I was about to meet would be strangers… honestly, I felt a bit dizzy.

My hand holding the phone was trembling like it was on vibrate mode, and I’d taken so many deep breaths that my mouth was completely dry. I made another resolution that after today, I’d stay cooped up at home playing computer games for a while.

That aside, it was quite a nice apartment.

Compared to my proud one-room villa, it was natural for most places to be superior, but this place, from its location to the cars parked around, gave off an obvious “I’m a nice place” vibe.

Do broadcasting companies pay this well?

Or maybe Yeonhee was special. Though I hadn’t seen much of it, her money-making method of deliberately aggravating people was so effective that even I, despite being a streamer myself, almost sent an angry donation.

While I was lost in these thoughts, I saw someone getting off the elevator through the glass door. Though it was my first time seeing her in person, I could immediately tell it was Yeonhee from having seen her many times in videos.

Conversely, since she was seeing me in person for the first time, she hesitated for a moment but came over and opened the automatic door.

“Hello…”

“Ah, yes, hello…”

Things became awkwardly suffocating again. We both bowed slightly in greeting and rode the elevator up without saying a word.

Thinking about how she must have come down from laughing and chatting with others only to enter this silence upon meeting me made me anxious, so I threw out a meaningless comment.

“Um… your place looks really nice…”

“Ah, does it…?”

Yeonhee lifted the corners of her mouth slightly with a somewhat proud expression. Though she tried to hide her emotions, the slight change in her expression was enough to convey how pleased she was to receive praise about her home.

I’d feel good too if someone praised my place. Anyone would.

The elevator ride that felt a bit long finally arrived at the 13th floor and the doors opened.

I could see a slightly opened front door. Seeing Yeonhee heading that way, it seemed to be her place. Come to think of it, this might be my first time in a woman’s home.

That thought just made me more nervous.

“Please come in.”

“Yes.”

With a short, firm response to hide my nervousness, I followed her inside. Due to the layout of the apartment, I immediately made eye contact with someone sitting on the living room sofa as I entered. A long-haired woman wearing an apron was probably Yeonhee’s cooking battle opponent today. Honestly, I had no idea who she was… but she was staring intently at me.

When I awkwardly smiled and nodded during that strange staring contest, she finally snapped out of it and said,

“Ah… Hello~ Everyone, Daeju-nim is here.”

Then the people who were streaming in the living room started telling their viewers that I had arrived. Despite me being a bit late, everyone greeting me with smiling faces was also proof that we weren’t close.

As I was taking off my shoes and about to walk in, Yeonhee grabbed my arm. I wondered why, but then

“The camera angle is quite high, so you need to cover your face when entering.”

She handed me a huge straw hat. It was the kind you’d find irresistible at Mexican tourist spots.

Why does she even have something like this at home?

I gratefully accepted it and entered the living room.

Immediately, four pairs of eyes focused on me. Perhaps because I was covered by the straw hat, they looked at me even more intently while greeting me.

“Ah, are you Daeju-nim?”

“Ah, yes, hello…”

“Wow, a man coming to Yeonhee’s house?”

“He must have been forced to come, right?”

“Did Yeonhee kidnap him?”

“I’ve had men over plenty of times!”

“Your dad?”

“Did you just make a dad joke?”

Fortunately, as they started talking among themselves, the focused attention scattered, and I sat on a chair positioned outside the camera’s view while keeping my face covered. Had they prepared this beforehand? There was even a cushion, and they even had a tablet set up so I could see the chat window of the stream. There was even a separate microphone prepared.

Looking at the broadcast, my appearance was barely visible except for my right hand occasionally showing when I moved.

“Daeju-nim, please say hello to the viewers~”

“The viewers have been really looking forward to this.”

Following another streamer’s suggestion to at least greet the viewers now that I had arrived, I reluctantly gave my greeting.

“Nice to meet you everyone… I’m Daeju…”

[There he is]

[This bastard was here all along lololol]

[Perverted bastard lol Is it fun being in front of so many people? lol]

[What’s the mod doing;;; Why aren’t they blocking that?]

[Mod… honestly, you like these kinds of comments too… be honest]

Sure enough, as soon as I appeared, the chat became chaotic. Since it was a large collab stream with many streamers, the viewership was slightly over 10,000, and even among those, the firepower was shining.

I wasn’t proud of it at all.

After me, the first person to notice the change in chat was naturally Yeonhee, who started the broadcast.

“What’s this? Why are they like this?”

Then she glanced at me.

“Daeju-nim, I’m sorry. My viewers tend to cross lines a lot, so I’ll just ban them all…”

“No, no, I’m really fine, and these are probably my viewers…?”

“Ah…”

Only then did Yeonhee seem to remember the existence of the Big Package Squad, and she looked at the chat with an expression like she’d just swallowed bitter medicine.

“If Daeju-nim is okay with it…”

[lol If the room owner is okay with it, it’s fine.]

[??? The owner of this broadcast is Yeonhee though?]

[From now on this is Daeju’s broadcast]

[???]

[If you don’t like it, come at me you bi*ch]

[??????]

I never thought I’d see these kinds of comments in other channels too. The viewers from other channels were clearly confused by what they were seeing in chat.

I really wish they’d stop.

If there was any silver lining, it was that the other streamers seemed to find the chat entertaining.

“What’s your first impression of Daeju-nim?”

One of the streamers spoke out loud, apparently reading one of the chat messages.

While pretending to read the chat intently, I focused my ears on their conversation.

“He’s good-looking… and above all, his aura is different.”

“Right, it’s like he’s from a different world…”

“He has an aura you can’t feel from other men.”

[lololol What is this, an isekai?]

[Seems like there’s nothing else to compliment… just ‘aura’…]

[Our Daeju’s charm is that there’s nothing to compliment]

[How is that a charm?]

[Standing next to him charges your self-confidence]

[Ah]

Setting aside the chat reactions, I almost screamed in surprise.

Are women’s intuition still this sharp in this reverse world? I don’t know what kind of aura I was giving off, but when they said I seemed like I was from a different world, I really broke into a cold sweat.

That’s when Yeonhee, while preparing cooking utensils like frying pans and knives in the kitchen, suddenly spoke in a slightly louder voice.

“Alright! Let’s start preparing to cook!”

“Oh, fighting(Encouragement)!”

“I’m going to judge really impartially.”

“I’ll still win against Yeonhee though~”

“Come on… how can you when you’ve never even lived alone…”

[Daeju say something too, did you come here to eat?]

[Just be tough and say ‘You bi*ches, my hot bar is the tastiest~’ while dropping your pants and it’s 30,000 won(25$)]

ㄴ [You have been forcibly removed]

[Ow, the chat rules are pretty strict here lol]

[This… is strict?]

[Daeju… what kind of battles have you been fighting?]

The comments from normal people appearing between the Big Package Squad messages warmed my heart. Everyone was worried about me, but honestly, I’d gotten used to it and could just accept this level of jokes.

To think I’d get used to this kind of thing.

[But don’t Daeju’s occasionally visible fingers look really erotic? lol]

[Yeah I thought so too]

[Why are there no normal people in Big Package Squad?]

[Because all those normal Big Package Squad members are dead.]

“Oh? I smell something.”

“What is it? Kind of like a burning smell?”

“What burning smell? Isn’t that just something burning?”

Now that they mentioned it, there was a smell of kimchi along with something burning coming from the kitchen.

Where have I smelled this before… Specifically, it reminded me of that time I was heating up kimchi stew on low heat and went to take a quick shower, but took longer than expected, turning my entire one-room into a chemical warfare training ground.

“Ah shit, it’s burnt…”

[Yeonhee…]

[I knew it from the moment this girl who only plays LoL got excited about cooking just because she lives alone]

[For real, how would you improve when you just order delivery for every meal while living alone?]

[Daeju probably cooks better]

Come to think of it, most of my viewers were originally from Yeonhee’s channel.

As the spicier comments started appearing, the streamers were shocked but laughing excitedly.

“Yeonhee-ssi, chat is saying to surrender~”

“That’s why you’re all bronze and silver! I’ll never give up!”

“No seriously, I’m so offended that my opponent is Yeonhee while… ah, mine burnt too”

Another burning smell was added.

This time there was a sweet smell mixed with the burning scent, and when I looked up from afar, I could see rice covered in ketchup turning brown, probably attempting an omurice. There was some black color too.

By this point, my expression matched those of the other streamers.

Oh? This is ruined, isn’t it?

[Can’t see Daeju’s expression but looking at the other streamers’ faces, it must be the same]

[When Yeonhee burnt it = As expected lol When both burnt it = Fuck what are we going to eat?]

[Just order food delivery now lololol]

[Run away!!]

“Daeju-nim… what do you think?”

The short-haired streamer addressed me, who had been too quiet.

“They both burnt… should we call it a draw?”

“Hey now!”

Yeonhee suddenly shouted.

Then she started bringing out her food in fancy dishes.

Well, kimchi fried rice isn’t a time-consuming dish anyway.

“It’s done, so try eating it.”

“Oh!….Oh… Huh?”

“What is this?”

“Wasn’t it kimchi fried rice? Until halfway?”

“Since it burnt, I improvised on the spot~”

The food she put down was clearly not fried rice by any means.

Rice soaked in liquid. Rather than fried rice, it looked most similar to rice mixed into kimchi stew.

I gathered my courage and asked.

“The dish name is…?”

“Kimchi risotto!”

[How can kimchi + rice look this unappetizing?]

[It can]

[Even Twis’s representative Yellowy[1] would pass on this menu]

[Yellowy? Who’s that?]

[It’s Daeju’s nickname. Yellowy.]

I got the nickname ‘Yellowy’ just because I eat Sol’s Eye and McCol a lot.

Unlike my viewers’ perception, I actually had normal taste buds. The proof was that this kimchi risotto didn’t appeal to my appetite at all.

What was unfair was that while it didn’t look appetizing at all, the sour smell was so strong that it was making my mouth water.

“Hey look, Daeju-nim is swallowing his saliva!”

[This makes even the Yellowy?]

[lololololol He’s actually drooling over this lol]

[Daeju… please eat some proper food…]

[This breaks my heart]

“No, the smell is just too strong…”

“I’m done too!”

Following that, the omurice came out.

It looked normal on the outside, but a burnt smell was creeping up from under the egg.

[Don’t eat it…]

[No one comes all the way to Gimpo to eat this kind of stuff]

[Guys…]

[Daeju, eat that and reflect on your life]

“Um… ladies first…”

“Please, Daeju-nim.”

“Twis’s representative Yellowy-nim…”

The arrows naturally flew in my direction.

***

(End of chapter)

T/N:

1. “Yellowy” (누렁이) is typically a name given to Korean yellow/brown mutts.