Yeram wasn’t angry for no reason. From her perspective, it looked like strangers were coming into my stream and making inappropriate comments. As a sister, she probably had every right to be upset.

‘If Yeram were the one being spoken to like this... I’d be angry too.’

I understood why she was reacting this way, and I would’ve probably felt the same. Still, it seemed best to clear things up. I didn’t want any misunderstandings to sour the mood in the chat.

Click.

I muted my mic and turned to Yeram.

“These people are all friends I’ve known through the community. Don’t get mad at them.”

If they were strangers, I would’ve responded more harshly, but since these were people I’d interacted with regularly on the gallery, I felt there was no need to take things too seriously. If they crossed a line, there was always the option to take legal action.

“Even so, it’s a bit much for them to make these kinds of comments.”

“That’s just how they are. Besides, I might have encouraged it a bit by pretending to be a girl in my posts.”

“Hmm… well, okay then.”

Yeram still seemed a little unconvinced, but she nodded, deciding to let it go. Relieved, I unmuted the mic.

“Attention! Broadcasting from the Admin Office.”

I said this as a test to check if the mic was working. The chat instantly exploded.

[환희: Hey, didn’t you say you were a public service worker? WTH]
[환희: Why the lie?]
[Men can’t do public service? This guy’s a freaking racist.]
[강후민입니다: I keep telling you, please avoid talking about the military. I don’t want to see the gallery fall apart.]
[Classic low-grade threats from Kang Pyeong, lol]
[전지좆능한크툴루: Forget whether you’re a guy or not.]
[전지좆능한크툴루: The real question is…]
[전지좆능한크툴루: What should we call your stream name?]

That was indeed an important question—what they should call me as a streamer. I’d thought about it before since a streamer’s name is crucial.

‘It has to be catchy without sounding too weird.’

With an idea in mind, I decided to ask the chat.

“Any suggestions for a stream name? I can’t think of anything.”

Using my real name was out of the question. Hopefully, they’d come up with something clever. I checked the chat for responses.

[전지좆능한크툴루: How did you not even have a name ready, LOL?]
[전지좆능한크툴루: Just doing this for fun, I see.]
[환희: I’m still confused. So you’re not a girl? Seriously?]
[환희: Anyway, just use the one you already have in the gallery.]
[LondonSecrets! LondonSecrets! LondonSecrets! LondonSecrets!]
[But seriously, what even is London’s Secret?]
[강후민입니다: How about Kingdom? Sounds cool.]

“Kang Hoo Min, you wanna get punched?”

What kind of name suggestion was that? If I used that, it’d just bring up anime or drama results on search engines. Worst idea ever.

[강후민입니다: Let’s see it get famous then.]
[강후민입니다: I could totally beat you up, though.]
[Beating up guys as a flex, lol]
[True gender equality is Kang Pyeong, lol]
[환희: Most decent usernames are already taken these days.]
[환희: It’s tricky to find something unique.]
[전지좆능한크툴루: Just piece something together from words around you.]
[전지좆능한크툴루: That might be easier.]

Using random words around me wasn’t a bad idea. Combining letters could result in a surprisingly good name.

“Hmm…”

As I thought about it, a good name popped into my head. It was catchy, memorable, and something I’d heard in a documentary before.

“How about Dugong?”

Dugong. Not bad, right? It had a nice ring to it and would be easy for people to remember. Plus, it wasn’t a famous animal, so it felt unique. As I shared my idea—

[전지좆능한크툴루: What’s a dugong?]
[전지좆능한크툴루: You otaku freak.]
[환희: LOL, what even is a dugong?]
[강후민입니다: To clarify, for those curious, a dugong is a medium-to-large herbivorous marine mammal found in the Indian Ocean, Red Sea, and South Pacific.]
[Ugh, I wanna punch this explainer guy so bad.]
[But that was kind of helpful, lol]

Judging by the chat, my choice didn’t seem too bad. No one was giving it a negative reaction. Just as I was about to settle on it—

“Oppa, I really don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Yeram, who’d been quietly watching my stream, finally spoke up, looking a bit uneasy.

Click.

I muted the mic and removed my headset to hear her out. She started explaining earnestly.

“Dugong isn’t good at all. What even is that? It doesn’t sound nice, and it’s awkward for others to say.”

“Is it really that bad?”

“Yes, oppa, it’s super lame.”

That stung. I’d thought it was a pretty decent name. Then she continued.

“Why not go with Dama instead? It’s also from an animal name.”

“Dama?”

“Yeah, it’s way better than Dugong.”

Even though I still liked Dugong, Yeram rarely pushed an opinion this strongly, so I decided to trust her judgment this time.

“Alright, I’ll ask the chat.”

“Cool.”

Yeram went back to her seat with a satisfied look, like she’d just saved me from a terrible fate. I was a bit disappointed, though; Dugong didn’t seem that bad. With a slight sigh, I turned the mic back on.

“I’ve got a new name idea. Wanna hear it?”

[What’s it this time?]
[전지좆능한크툴루: Bet it’s another awful one.]
[강후민입니다: Judging from past experiences, it’ll probably be lame.]
[환희: LOL, the reactions are like this because of how you usually act in the gallery.]
[Should’ve done something to earn trust.]

I hadn’t really done anything strange; just stirred up the usual chaos like everyone else. Feeling a bit unjustly judged, I shared the name Yeram suggested.

“What about Dama?”

Dama. It didn’t have the same appeal as Dugong, but objectively speaking, it wasn’t a bad name. Expecting mixed reactions, I looked at the chat.

[전지좆능한크툴루: Not bad.]
[전지좆능한크툴루: Dama actually sounds good.]
[Dugong <<< Hearing ‘Dama’ makes Dugong sound worse.]
[Honestly, Dugong was a pretty terrible choice, lol]
[강후민입니다: Dama sounds decent.]
[환희: Dama’s really good. It’s got a nice ring to it.]

Surprisingly, the chat seemed to like it. They actually preferred “Dama.”

“You guys really think Dama’s better than Dugong? Doesn’t it feel a bit bland?”

[전지좆능한크툴루: Dugong feels way worse in comparison, lol.]
[강후민입니다: Does this guy have any shame?]
[환희: Just go with Dama, seriously, go with Dama.]
[Dama looks okay, but at a glance, it looks like ‘Dae Ma,’ haha.]
[Whatever works, lol.]

The chat was pretty active for the viewer count, so I didn’t miss any comments.

“So, Dama or Dugong? Which one should it be?”

I asked one last time. I still wanted Dugong, but if so many were in favor of Dama, I figured I should go with the majority.

[전지좆능한크툴루: Just shut up and go with Dama, man.]
[환희: Stop bringing up Dugong, LOL.]
[강후민입니다: Dama it is. No further discussion needed.]
[Everyone’s set on it, lol.]
[Dama is way better, honestly.]
[Fine, Dama it is.]

There was no last-minute change of heart. I shouldn’t have listened to Yeram. I begrudgingly set the stream name.

[Dama]

“Wow. It really sounds like something you’d put on ramen.”

Sighing, I put my disappointment aside and got ready to do what I’d been planning to do: play ranked.

“Alright, let’s get started.”

It was my first-ever ranked game, and I was excited to see just how fun it would be.