As someone who usually enjoys reading novels, I knew all too well how the concept of a "gender-swapped world" favored men. A world where the roles of men and women were reversed.

When I first arrived in this new world—

Finally, the moment has come.

An opportunity to unleash my hidden "Gustavo Train Cannon."

—that’s what I thought.

So, I casually went to a convenience store, lingering around for a while. After all, in this kind of genre, it’s a given that just breathing is enough to attract women.

But reality was harsh.

"Don’t worry about bringing the water over."

"Oh… Okay…"

The part-timer had no interest in me at all. And it wasn’t even a guy. She was a pretty decent-looking girl, yet she had zero interest in me.

It was then I realized:

Ah, this isn’t paradise.

I’d better just live as I normally would.

Until that reality hit me, I had been in my small apartment, imagining what my future here might look like. I had dreams of making a stylish return to college and living a life that attracted attention from those around me.

But now—

Tap-tap-tap.

I was just a guy stuck in his room playing games. Nothing had changed from before.

The only difference was that guys were rare in games now.

"Well, at least that’s a perk."

Whenever I found myself in a disadvantageous spot, I could pull the “But I’m a guy!” card and avoid getting flamed. Of course, that wouldn’t work on the Gallery.

If I tried the “But I’m a guy!” excuse there, I’d get hit with an onslaught of insults from anonymous users, filled with an absurd level of hostility. Not that I knew why, and frankly, I didn’t care to find out.

"Hmm."

Lost in these thoughts, I continued playing.

Ding!

A cheerful sound and a vibration from my phone—an incoming notification.

Pausing my game for a moment, I checked my phone. It was a text telling me to start work tomorrow.

"Well, at least I don’t have to worry about money now."

Money had been one of the trivial worries I had in this gender-swapped world. I needed to make sure the lease on my apartment was still valid and that the people I knew were still around.

Fortunately, nothing had changed. The lease was intact, and my parents hadn’t suddenly reappeared. Even my younger sister was still here. The only difference was the swapped gender roles.

Sighing, I flipped my phone back down and resumed the game I had paused.

"Gotta finish this story."

I planned to complete this game’s main story before switching to another. Leaving it unfinished would just make everything feel incomplete.

—“Did you get everything?”

Hearing the voice of "Arthur," who was now a woman, I hid behind a wall.

Beep. Beep-beep-beep. Beep.

The sound of a five-digit code being entered, and someone came into my studio apartment.

It was—

"Ugh, it stinks in here. Can you air it out?"

My little sister.

Whether it mattered that she was a girl was debatable, but biologically, she was female, so calling her my “sister” seemed appropriate.

"Can you open the window? I’m in the middle of something urgent."

"Urgent? You’re just gaming. What nonsense."

"Arthur!! I’ll come to save you soon!!!"

For me, gaming was life. If Arthur died here, I was fully prepared to shed at least a tear.

"Whatever," my sister muttered as she opened the window wide. Fall had arrived, so the breeze was a bit chilly.

"Ah, that’s cold!"

"You should get some fresh air once in a while. How can you spend all day gaming inside?"

"Let’s say I’m using online resources to engage in healthy hobbies with others."

"Right. Sure," she replied, rolling her eyes, as she set down her bag and plopped herself onto the desk chair. She turned on her computer.

As my only little sister, I usually let her be, but this was too much. I paused my game and got up.

"Turn off the computer."

"Why?"

"You’re a senior in high school. Shouldn’t you be studying, not gaming?"

"You didn’t study either, did you?"

"I got into a good college, didn’t I?"

Luckily, I was talented enough in studying to get into a reputable university without sacrificing too much sleep. I was currently on a leave of absence, but still.

"My test scores are fine too."

"Alright, let’s hear them."

I hadn’t heard about her mock exam grades recently, so I thought it wouldn’t hurt to check.

"8, 3, 1, 1, 1, 1."

"A traitor to the country, huh?"

I couldn’t believe it. Who the heck scores an 8 in Korean history? At the very least, you should be scoring around a 5 if you’re human.

"Why’s your Korean history grade so bad? It’s just memorization."

"It’s boring."

"Fine, but what about that 3 in language?"

"…I’m more of a practical learner."

"Sure, right."

I raised an eyebrow. She was bad at language and Korean history but supposedly good at English.

"Maybe citizenship isn’t for you."

"Oh, come on."

"I’m serious."

As I teased her, she launched her game. In truth, I wasn’t about to stop her from playing. If you stifle a high school senior’s hobbies too much, their grades often suffer.

"So, are you going to play? I even dreamed last night about which champion to pick."

"Do as you please."

She was playing League of Legends, but I never found it appealing enough to try. People say it’s hard to get into, and that alone kept me from trying.

“Let’s play one game together; League is really fun!”

"I’d rather not get sucked into LoL Hell."

Most terms remained similar to my old world, except the ones with gender in them, which were reversed.

"Oh, come on, just a taste! Why do you think like that?"

"They say it’s hard. I don’t like difficult games."

"But you’re always playing Hearthstone."

"Excuse me, that’s a ‘strategic card game.’"

"It’s the same thing."

It seemed my sister, hooked on League, couldn’t appreciate the nuances of a “strategic card game.” I’d tried introducing it to her once—

"Who even plays that crap?" she’d said, and I abandoned the idea of playing together.

Anyway, I had no desire to play League. I was already struggling to finish the storyline in the game I was playing.

"Enjoy your solo queue, then. I’ll be over here clearing my game."

Sitting back down, I continued my Western-themed game. Shooting enemies down with a pistol, I felt I was close to reaching the next segment. Just a bit more, and I’d be ready to move on.

But then—

"Ugh, politics again. Did he register his birth in Yeouido?"

I heard my sister muttering under her breath. Normally, I’d have commented, but I let it slide. After all, League was notorious for this.

"When the jungler comes, you’re supposed to engage, geez…"

It seemed her role was jungler. Though I wasn’t interested in League, I knew enough about it to recognize its reputation for harboring some rather "passionate" players.

‘It’s impressive what this game does to people.’

My sister, usually one to avoid swearing, was visibly affected by League’s influence. I was glad I hadn’t started playing.

I resumed my game, clearing the storyline.

“Ugh—”

Stretching my stiffened body, I stood up and noticed my sister was still engrossed in her game. It had been at least three hours since she started. I wondered how fun it must be for her to stay that absorbed.

Curious, I approached her from behind and looked over at her monitor.

Tap-tap-tap.

[All][PersonalityIsRealbb][Korriki]: Why are you playing like that?

[All][PersonalityIsRealbb][Korriki]: Hey, jungler, say something.

[All][PersonalityIsRealbb][Korriki]: Did I do something to you?

[All][PersonalityIsRealbb][Korriki]: Let me farm some minions, please.

The word “jungler” appeared, and it seemed my little sister was on the receiving end of some scolding. She was struggling.

Then—

[All][BackAlleyNeedleSword][Graves]: Your mom—

That line hit hard.

I wasn’t a League player, but I’d spent enough time on forums to know exactly what that kind of language meant.

‘Wow, seriously…’

Saying something like that… If the other side retaliated with similar language, we wouldn’t have a single comeback.

Tap, tap.

"Hey, why—!"

She was fuming, clearly frustrated.

"Move aside a bit. Let your big brother handle this."

If I left her like this, who knows? A lawsuit might just appear in our mailbox, so I decided to step in.

"Take a break."