I ended up dancing along to idol songs I knew, spurred on by the chat’s enthusiasm.
Though it was my first time, it wasn’t difficult since I just had to follow the movements on screen.
To be honest, I thought to myself, “Hey, I’m not bad at this, am I?”
So after finishing the dance, I somewhat cockily asked the viewers:
“Whew… that wasn’t bad, right?”
[LOL he looked kind of awkward]
[Like a grilled squid]
[Like dried shrimp with salt]
[Like enoki mushrooms in boiling soybean paste stew]
[Like a wiggling cola gummy]
“What’s with all these comparisons?”
The analogies were all terrible.
They seemed even worse since they were unnecessarily all food-related.
[But hey, the score is pretty good]
[LOLOL The moves were right but something feels off]
[Are you an invertebrate? There’s no snap to the movements]
[Sigh, you idiots, Daeju’s obviously half-assing it to keep the stream entertaining lol]
[True lol he knows how to work the stream lol]
Strange.
The game was giving me five stars, but people’s reactions were different from what I expected – they were laughing like they hadn’t in a while.
I became curious about how different the real me looked compared to how I felt.
“Let me check the recording real quick.”
[Choosing another thing to regret?]
[Can’t resist curiosity lol]
I watched my dance in the recorded stream.
I did follow Just Dance’s movements.
I copied them almost exactly, but something was off. Someone in chat said there was no snap to the movements, and they were exactly right.
I was hitting the poses with force, but couldn’t control that force, making my body sway like one of those inflatable tube men in front of new stores.
And yes, this Just Dance was definitely a game.
Because… now that I’d actually tried it, my pride was quite hurt.
“Okay! I completely understand now!”
[LOLOL What do you understand? Let’s just chat and forget about dancing]
[Why is everyone being like this? ^^ Your dancing was good! But perhaps… do you have any other outfits? ^^]
[Someone kick out these bastards]
[People asking for outfit changes in Daeju’s room lololol]
After that, I kept dancing out of stubbornness.
Around the tenth song, my limbs started losing strength, and I collapsed onto the floor.
The floor felt refreshingly cool.
“Ah… whatever, I’m not moving anymore.”
[He’s down lololol]
[Actually, he looked like he’d collapse around the fifth song but held on well]
[Must work out somewhat to last 10 songs]
[? Isn’t that basic?]
[Not easy for someone who just games in their room lol]
[But when’s this guy gonna eat his jjajangmyeon?]
I didn’t want to move even a little bit anymore.
My arms, legs, and shoulders had all unanimously declared retirement for the day. Honestly, the last two songs went beyond trying to dance well – it felt like fan service because the viewers’ reactions were good.
The mask made it feel like my breath was barely reaching my lungs before escaping.
Despite the air conditioning, it was insanely hot in the soundproof booth, and the sweat made everything uncomfortably sticky.
This mask was soaked with sweat, making even breathing a chore.
“Ugh… so hot…”
[LOLOL Why’d he go all out by himself and collapse?]
[Must really need money, the way he was shaking it lolol]
[Huh? Why’s that guy covering his hand with the mask?]
[Eh? What? Lost his mind?]
[Now! Remove your mask and reveal yourself!]
It was a moment of irritation.
I was dying from heat, couldn’t feel the cool air conditioning because of this mask, could barely breathe, and the dampness inside the mask – whether from evaporated sweat or just humidity – made everything worse.
So without thinking.
Just for a moment, wanting to breathe, I lowered my mask, then raised it back up.
“Ah…”
For that one second, the cool air entering my lungs and brain felt like heaven,
And now, with fresh air in my brain, I came to my senses.
“Ah… really… what are you doing… Daeju…”
I lay on the floor holding my head.
‘My hands and feet are trembling and my head is spinning’
I never thought that nonsensical phrase would fit my situation so perfectly.
It reminded me of that day when I left my family to live alone due to certain events.
I wondered what the chat situation was like.
Maybe as usual, they were casually typing things like [Stop whining and get up and dance, idiot lol]?
Or by some miracle, maybe the angle had hidden my unmasked face?
“Hah…”
I slightly raised my head to look at the chat.
I couldn’t read it.
Things were just scrolling up, and they were all chat messages.
I stumbled to my feet and approached to try reading the chat.
Since it was still moving too fast to read, I asked for a moment.
“…Alright everyone… just a moment… no, don’t calm down. I’ll switch it to subscriber-only chat.”
They rarely listen anyway, so I just switched it to subscriber-only mode.
The chat was still moving much faster than usual, but messages started becoming readable one by one.
[Did anyone see?]
[Saw something but since he was lying down, just nose and chin]
[Damn he’s lying down and making a fuss]
[But his skin looks decent?]
[Must be that expensive all-in-one lotion he mentioned spending on]
[Pay-to-win skin lolol]
[What about his nose?]
[Not big, but high bridge]
[Missed chance to add to the big nose list]
“Whew… thank you, thank you… God, Buddha, Allah, Cthulhu… I’ll never lose focus again.”
[Casually committing blasphemy]
[Well… the more gods the better?]
[At least can’t go to heaven now]
[I can’t go to heaven ’cause I thought about Daeju once lol]
[??? That’s a thing?]
The tension drained away and I lay down again.
This time not from exhaustion, but because my legs gave out when the tension released, making me collapse like a tragic heroine.
As the tension eased, I wondered if I needed to be so anxious about this.
I’d seen news about a woman in her 20s s*xually harassing a man in his 40s.
Shouldn’t I be fine then?
While my mind bubbled with such confidence, another part of me was thinking how fortunate it was that only my nose and chin showed – I nearly soiled myself, as the saying goes.
[Lying down again]
[Shame there’s fewer insults in subscriber chat… tsk…]
[We’ll try our best to insult anyway ^^]
[Ban this communication-less lying stream, get up you bastard]
“Sorry. No strength left, and the tension’s gone, so I can’t get up.”
I waved my hand in the air while lying down.
[Do we really need to be considerate of that?]
[Tsk… might be possible if you show your face again…]
The nose and chin exposure was a significant hit, but not the worst case.
Plus, thankfully the angle while lying down made it hard to see clearly. It was truly divine luck.
Glancing at the viewer count, it had passed 3,000 after that brief exposure.
Probably word had spread by now.
My first suspicion was my Tgether page.
It was obvious without looking. Screenshots would be circulating.
“But… at this rate…”
It was clear that after today, topics about my bare face and face reveal would keep coming up.
Actually, while it had decreased recently, it had been constant, and today would probably make it worse.
I’d thought I’d have to do it someday, would have to eventually.
I wanted to at least get some proper grooming done first, and figure out how to deal with this social anxiety.
“Need to cut my hair too…”
I’d bought clothes, and exercise… well, I could work out like today, and appearance… plastic surgery… no, that’s… scary.
Maybe makeup instead?
Nah, what kind of guy…
But this is the reverse world. Doesn’t everyone wear makeup? Even before the reverse world, guys wore makeup well, didn’t they?
[What’s he muttering about?]
[Said something about cutting hair]
[*Shiver* Guillotine-ju]
[Logically he must mean hairstyle lolol]
[Logic? Does such a sweet word exist in Daeju’s streams?]
“Sigh… but when is the jjajangmyeon coming?”
After organizing my thoughts, I felt hungry after the intense exercise.
Checking my phone, the delivery app showed I’d asked them to ring the bell and leave it at the door.
Must be proof of the soundproof booth’s effectiveness.
With the loud music and dancing in the booth, I couldn’t hear the doorbell.
I filled my exercise-emptied stomach with cold jjajangmyeon and hardened sweet and sour pork.
Then I got a text from an unknown number.
<Hey, it’s Sujin from second year of high school, remember? lol Class president>
“Ah…”
I remember.
How could I not?
But would they be the same person in this world?
I’m not sure.
Everyone I’d met so far were people I only met after coming to this world.
But if it was the Sujin I knew—
They’d be one of the people I least want to meet right now.
<I know.>
<Do you perhaps stream?>
<Huh?>
<Yeah, you’re checking messages right now lol>
I stared at the camera with surprised eyes.
More precisely, at Sujin who must be watching me through it.
Was I found out?
Just from my nose and chin?
Viewers naturally couldn’t understand my reaction.
[What did he see?]
[Looking at his fingers move, it’s either text or KakaoTalk]
[What’s up?]
[All the humor’s gone though;;]
<Want to meet tomorrow?>
Faced with what was essentially an undeniable request, I could only reply <…Where?>
Going outside after so long scared me.
With just one text, I felt like I was reverting to who I was before streaming.
***
(End of Chapter)
