I Gave Up Being Stronger

Hassan had grown up in a challenging environment. His father was an alcoholic who often resorted to violence at home. Hiding in the closet with his younger sister and trembling in fear had been a part of Hassan’s daily routine.

The year Hassan turned ten, his mother could no longer endure his father’s abuse and fled home, leaving her kids behind at home. Consequently, Hassan had to face his father’s violent outbursts, and the boy bravely endured the beatings.

‘If I run away, my sister will be the one to suffer.’

Hassan neither fled nor rejected his father’s violence.

Five years passed, and when Hassan was fifteen, his father started to abuse his younger sister as well.

‘This can’t continue.’

Hassan could bear being hit, but he could not stand to leave his sister in this hellish situation. At fifteen, Hassan resolved to escape this hell with his sister.

“Shh, be quiet.”

Taking advantage of the moment when their father was deeply asleep after drinking, Hassan quietly left the house with his sister. At fifteen, the jobs Hassan could do to support both himself and his sister were severely limited.

“Oppa, I want to paint. I will become a great painter.” His eleven-year-old sister dreamed of becoming a painter.

“I understand. I will help you achieve your dream.”

Learning to paint required a significant amount of money, something Hassan was in desperate need of. At the time, barely making enough to survive by shining shoes, he could not afford to teach his sister painting.

‘Even if I shine shoes all day long, I can hardly afford just the paint…’

Even though he had reduced his sleep and diligently looked for work, there was not much a fifteen-year-old could do.

One day, he was dragged away by a man, who assaulted him. Accustomed to being beaten, Hassan did not resist much, thinking the beating would eventually end as he was overly accustomed to violence. However, this assault was different.

‘Why is he taking off my clothes?’

Hassan could not comprehend what was happening. Although he did not understand everything, he endured an ordeal far more horrific than being punched or kicked. After a while, appearing satisfied, the man threw money at Hassan. The amount was 1,000 baht, which was approximately 27 dollars.

‘It’s money!’

To earn this amount of money from shining shoes, Hassan needed to work hard for three days.

Hassan pulled up his pants and bowed. “Thank you, Sir!”

***

Time passed, and Hassan no longer polished shoes. He had discovered a much quicker and easier way to earn money. Certain men would pay him after subjecting him to degrading acts. It was something he had never even considered as a means to make money, yet it turned out to be surprisingly profitable. He and his sister were able to afford a very small place to live together. Even though it was old and rundown, that did not matter; it was their cherished home.

Hassan had turned twenty, and his sister was sixteen.

“I need a private tutor, Oppa.”

“A private tutor?”

“Yes, I am the only one without one. Do you know Minni? Her painting skills are way worse than mine, but she significantly improved after she started taking lessons from a private tutor.”

She explained that to get lessons from an exceptional tutor, rather than just any ordinary one, they would need much more money.

“Alright, I will see what I can do.”

Subsequently, his sister got a boyfriend—the tutor, and the following year, she became pregnant. When the tutor learned she was pregnant, he abandoned her and fled.

Hassan comforted and reassured her. “Maybe it’s best to get rid of the bab—”

“No! How could you even say that? You are my brother, for god’s sake!” Hassan’s sister adamantly refused the idea of an abortion. She sobbed, questioning how she could end a life, leaving Hassan no choice but to acquiesce.

‘We will need more money with a child on the way…’

The child was named Kuan. With this new addition to their family, Hassan worked tirelessly, ensuring his sister and Kuan were well taken care of. Around the time Hassan turned twenty-two, his sister requested a place of her own.

“I want to live apart from you, Oppa.”

“Why all of a sudden? Did I do something to upset you?”

“It’s not that…” She avoided his gaze, her cheeks turning red. “I don’t want Kuan to know who you are.”

“Why?”

“I know what kind of work you are doing, Oppa.”

“...”

“And I also understand that you had no choice.”

“...”

“The rumors have already spread through the neighborhood. People are pointing fingers at you. I just wish Kuan… didn’t know any of this.”

“Alright, it might be better for Kuan that way.”

“You know my bank account number, right? I would like you to continue depositing money on the first of every month.”

***

Three years had passed since his sister left, and Hassan found himself with three more nieces and nephews, each from a different father.

[Oppa, I am truly sorry. I don’t think I can endure any longer. Please take good care of my children. You are all they have.]

Like their mother before them, his sister had abandoned her four children and disappeared.

‘I can’t abandon these kids.’

Around this time, Hassan Awakened as a Player.

‘Being a Player could mean making a lot of money, right?’

Life, however, was not that simple.

‘Why can’t I level up?’

Hassan did not want to return to his old ways. He did not want to be an uncle his nieces and nephews would be ashamed of. However, he knew no other way to earn a living.

‘Just a bit more. Let’s try just a bit more. I have 77 Intimate Miracles at my disposal!’

He even tried advertising his ability to perform miracles for free but was treated like a lunatic. Without any proof of his abilities, no one was willing to trust Hassan with their body.

[77 Intimate Miracles]

[The ability to bestow the miracle of gender transformation.

This miracle will be perfect, surpassing any other method of gender transformation.

*However, the recipient of the miracle must be a Player.]

Just as he was running out of savings, a man approached him. “Do you really do it for free?”

“Of course!”

Hassan was desperate for a chance.

Just one chance.

If he could get it right just once, sitting on a fortune was just a matter of time.

“But you have to be a Player,” Hassan said.

“Ah, I have Awakened as a Streamer. Can Streamers receive it too?”

“Yes! As long as you are a Player, it does not matter.”

‘Finally! My chance has come!’

However, Hassan was wrong. The man who had taken Hassan to his house showed his true colors. “Don’t you remember me?”

“Who are you?”

“I was one of your regulars, hehe. I have been looking for you for so long.” The man who claimed to be a Streamer was indeed a Streamer. “Let’s start the livestream!”

He immediately knocked Hassan unconscious with a punch. Although his Job was a non-combatant type, he was over Level 100 and had more than enough strength to knock out Hassan.

When Hassan woke up after a long time, he was not particularly shocked. He was too accustomed to this kind of violence. What shocked him was something else.

“Why… didn’t you pay me?” Hassan asked.

“Money? What money?” The man laughed. “I just conducted my livestream, that’s all!”

A new era had dawned. It was a world where due to the guise of Play, one could not even report the atrocities committed.

“Hey, viewers, did you guys enjoy it? Ah, thank you for your donations! I will be back with more great content next time!” the man said.

***

Similar incidents happened to Hassan multiple times. Most involved Streamers who specialized in adult queer content.

“Wow, I can’t believe this worked!”

“I also met with Hassan.”

“You’d think he would catch on to this trick at this point.”

“Seeing as this method keeps working, the guy must be pretty dumb, haha!”

However, Hassan was not dumb; he was desperate. To some people, that desperation was an easy target. Every day, his hope that he would meet someone who genuinely wanted a gender transformation was shattered.

‘Another Streamer?’

He was fed up. He had no energy or will to resist anymore.

‘This is not the life I wanted.’

Wishing this moment would just end, Hassan listlessly took off his shirt.

Then, Kim Chul-Soo asked, “Why do I sense the presence of a Streamer?”

“Are you not in league with those guys?”

“Just stay still for a moment.”

“Yeah, I figured as much.”

Jin-Hyeok examined Hassan closely, reading the traces left on him, and noticed a few clues. “A Streamer? And his Player name is… BoyLove?”

Jin-Hyeok immediately searched for BoyLove on the spot. BoyLove had posted many videos on Eltube, some of them involving Hassan.

“Do you have a sister, Hassan?” Jin-Hyeok asked.

“How did you know that?”

Jin-Hyeok frowned. The titles were blatantly provocative.

[Shocking request from the sister! You can do anything to my brother.]

It turned out BoyLove was dating Hassan’s sister. The storyline was dizzying.

‘They used Hassan’s sister to exploit him on Eltube,’ Jin-Hyeok thought.

Moreover, on top of that, the sister had requested them to assault her brother.

“No, it’s nothing important. Let’s just listen to your story for now,” Jin-Hyeok said.

***

As he listened to Hassan’s story, Jin-Hyeok became enraged. “What kind of people are they? How can they be so horrible?”

“...”

It wasn’t that Hassan had kept his story a secret. He had spoken to the police, GMs, and even Players from famous alliances.

‘Everyone shows their anger like this in front of a camera.’

However, things changed when the camera went off or as soon as they learned about Hassan’s past. Their gaze would shift. He thought Chul-Soo would be no different.

“Everyone gets angry like you in the beginning. But thanks for that anyway.”

“No, but this is crossing the line,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“A new era has begun. It’s a world where such acts go unpunished. I’m just a person who has been left behind.”

With a deep frown, Jin-Hyeok made a call. “Brick, I would like to make a formal request.”

Brick immediately accepted Jin-Hyeok’s request. He even said he would not take a fee.

—The Black Thorn Alliance guys will make great sparring partners.

Hassan asked, “What’s Brick? What are you requesting?”

“Oh, nothing much. I’m just planning on killing those guys.”

“What?” Hassan could not believe his ears.

Chul-Soo then casually said, ‘I’m going to go eat a hamburger tomorrow.’

“It’s nice to have someone share this anger. I have heard that you are a man of justice, and it seems that’s true,” Hassan said.

The Orderly IntenseMan.

The IntenseMan of Justice.

Hassan had heard plenty of nicknames of Chul-Soo. However, for him to offer assassinations this casually, there had to be a catch.

“You want something from me, right?” Hassan asked.

“Of course.”

‘I knew it. Like the others, this one will want the same thing, under the guise of creating content.’

Hassan had been through so much that he was resigned to it.

“If I take care of them, you will have to use your 77 Intimate Miracles to fulfill a wish of my friend,” Jin-Hyeok said.

“What?”

“I will pay you whatever you want.”

“You will pay me?” Hassan doubted his ears again.

‘This can’t be happening to me. There is no way this is happening to me! Wait… I need to calm down. He might be lying. He will probably act differently once he gets enough footage for his livestream.’

Hassan no longer wanted to be played by Streamers; he just wanted to go back to his home. He did not know how long he had been kidnapped, but the kids should be anxiously waiting for him.

“I should get going now…”

“Wait, hold on, I’m getting a call.”

The caller was none other than Brick.

—We have taken care of six Streamers related to Hassan. All cleanly eliminated, Sir Chul-Soo. It took about twenty-eight seconds longer than anticipated. I feel guilty for not being more intense.

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