Eye for an Eye
If you never touched it, fine. But once you do, you see it through to the end.
Eye for an eye. Tooth for a tooth.
If they want to play dirty, then dirty is the answer.
“Romance is nothing but one controversy after another. If Park Jeong-seok and his partner had actually been dating nicely, would any of this have happened? The moment things go south, everyone starts digging for reasons, and before you know it it’s ‘your fault, my fault,’ and you end up seeing the ugliest sides of each other.”
“There’s a reason divorce trials are considered the messiest things in the world.”
The opponent’s real target wasn’t the message. It was the messenger.
Since they couldn’t touch Lee Shin or Mir Guild directly, they were trying to rattle the raid team instead.
The rumor itself was the same. They hadn’t expected some massive payoff. It was just a probe—throwing bait to see if anything stuck, quietly shaping the atmosphere. Did they really put in the effort to gather solid evidence?
They create an issue, burn through it, and in the end it all comes down to “So where’s the proof?” followed by “If not, whatever.” Getting worked up over it is just a waste of energy.
So.
‘Time to shift the target their way.’
He might as well kindly mark the bullseye for them. Like this.
Lee Shin looked into the mirror and drew a small dot beneath his eye.
Was it just his imagination, or did he suddenly look like the female lead from some trashy drama?
Bury issues with bigger issues. Bury aggro with even bigger aggro.
If it backfires, you’re screwed. But don’t forget—
He was Lee Shin.
The GOAT of aggro.
The hellfire-mouthed tanker.
When it came to playing dirty, Lee Shin could outdo anyone in the world.
Let’s have some fun.
“Everyone, my time is literally worth its weight in gold. I may not earn $150 a second like that one guy, but it’s still pretty expensive. Tsk, now that I think about it, I’m getting pissed. Why should I be explaining someone else’s relationship drama? What about me? What about my own love life??”
“No, seriously, I’m being very serious right now. I’ve been running this guild and I haven’t slept more than four hours a day. And now you want this poor Guild Master to explain other people’s love lives? Maybe it’s a good thing they broke up……?”
“Anyway! The conclusion is, if he did something wrong, the court will have something to say about it. Until then, I’m staying in neutral. If Jeong-seok turns out to be at fault? Then I’ll happily throw him under the bus. Is that a promise? OK?”
If he had tried to explain and justify every little thing, the situation would’ve gotten ugly fast.
But when you’re confident? People suddenly have nothing to say. Especially when that confidence comes from a face with maxed-out Charm (101). There’s simply nothing left to argue.
Even the people who came specifically to stir trouble found themselves swept along, and the reactions gradually cooled off.
With that matter settled, time to move on.
“Got it? Then let’s wrap up the rest quickly.”
Lee Shin dismantled each rumor one after another. No need to drag things out. From here on, it was just riding the momentum.
The documentary segment had already ended, after all.
“As for the rumor about Yu Ri-ra being a stalker—our Ri-ra does have a severe case of pretty-boy fever, but that was only when she was fangirling. These days she just follows me around the waiting room, so if anything, I’m the one who should be complaining.”
“Park Su-bin smoking? Pfft, that’s the funniest one yet. A guy who picks up trash off the street, smoking? Though I’ll admit, it would look cool. Mink coat, sunglasses, cigarette—ugh~”
And finally, the last one.
“Let’s move on to the rumor about Hye-jung being a school delinquent. Even I was surprised when I first saw it. If this were true, even I would’ve had a hard time covering for her. So I did some investigating of my own.”
Lee Shin pulled out a document envelope with “Top Secret” written on it in obnoxiously large letters.
“Who do you take me for? Just wait. I investigated this properly. Where is it…… Ah, here.”
He dramatically pulled out his own smartphone.
When he pressed the play button, a woman’s voice came through the speaker.
— “Hye-jung was a delinquent? Her? Hahaha!”
The woman claiming to be Lee Hye-jung’s friend insisted on her innocence.
More videos followed.
— “……I saw that video too. The part about her extorting money? I was dying of laughter. Her image changed after she awakened, but she used to be a total loser.”
One after another, testimonies poured in.
It felt less like an interrogation and more like a class reunion. And then came the finishing blow.
“Everyone, this is Lee Hye-jung Hunter’s old photo that I barely managed to get permission to show. Once you see this, you’ll understand she was the real deal.”
Lee Hye-jung had practically begged him to kill her rather than show it, but he’d somehow convinced her.
Lee Shin pulled out a thick yearbook from below and flipped through the pages with a flourish.
“Ah, I’ll cover the surroundings a bit. You understand, right?”
He shielded part of the page with his hand and revealed one photo.
There was Lee Hye-jung in an untailored, baggy school uniform, wearing huge glasses and braces, awkwardly making a V-sign.
The fierce, heavily made-up version from the broadcast was nowhere to be seen. In its place was a timid, awkward girl.
The fact that it was a graduation album photo only amplified the credibility. At this point, what more was there to say?
The chat was steadily swinging in Lee Shin’s favor.
“See? This is what real evidence looks like. Now you understand why I said I didn’t want to waste time on this nonsense? I’m Lee Shin. Lee Shin! I don’t start fights I can’t win!”
“Ah, and I won’t name names, but some of you crossed the line a little. I’ll acknowledge that.
But I always follow through.
Lee Shin delivered his final warning.
“Our guild’s performance has been good lately and I’m in a generous mood, so I’m letting it slide this time. But next time? No mercy. If you want to bite, come prepared. If you come at me half-assed like this again, I’ll have the Daeido Group legal team pull out each and every one of your teeth.”
That concluded the scandal segment.
If it had ended there, it would’ve been a perfect clarification broadcast.
But while they might escape the controversy, they wouldn’t escape the spotlight.
Which meant the next step was necessary.
The final move in Lee Shin-style trolling.
And that final move was……
“In the next segment, let’s talk about ‘How to Increase Your Awakening Probability by an Extra 2%.’”
People were already chasing entertainment. He’d give them something far more entertaining.
Something so big they’d completely forget about the scandals.
A much, much, much bigger fire.
“See you in five minutes.”
The screen went dark and the timeline appeared, but the chat was still in full panic.
110,000…… 160,000…… 200,000…… 250,000…… 300,000……
The viewer count kept climbing in silence.
* * *
At the same time, the operator of the Wrecker Channel, who had been monitoring Lee Shin’s broadcast, let out a hollow laugh.
“Whoa…… I knew he was a lunatic, but he just charged straight in without hesitation? He really lives in his own world.”
His subordinate asked in a worried tone.
“Boss, what do we do now? If he handles it like that, uploading the video we prepared is gonna be awkward.”
The second tip video they’d been working on was a classic victim-narrative piece—tuned audio of a woman’s back view to set the mood.
“Hoo, our views are gonna take a hit. Hell, we might even get backlash…… Tsk, it lacks impact.”
Lee Shin had dropped so many massive, high-impact moments that their slightly emotional, gossip-level video couldn’t even compete.
If they released it now, it would just be old news.
“Damn it, I stayed up all night editing that thing.”
“Hey, if we want to salvage that video, we’ll have to go further. Ask your sister if she can show just her side profile.”
“Come on…… But that’s her real face.”
“Dude, did Photoshop die? Mess with the background a bit, tweak the angle, and even her parents won’t recognize her. Do me a favor.”
The tip video wasn’t a real tip to begin with.
They’d compiled a fictional scenario from school records and rumors, then had the subordinate’s sister sit in and act it out.
Was that fraud?
Even reality variety shows have scripts—does that make them fraud too? Entertainment is about being fun, and wrecker content is about getting clicks. That’s just how it works.
“You don’t trust me? I’ll make it perfect. She won’t even recognize herself.”
“I trust you, boss, but will my sister agree? Lee Shin came at us like a rabid dog. Honestly, it’s scary.”
“Just ask. I’ll pay her properly.”
The subordinate reluctantly sent a message to his sister, only to receive an immediate phone call in response.
After hearing the shouting, he frowned and hung up right away.
“……She said no. And she wants us to take down all the videos she’s uploaded so far. She said she was watching them with her friends and freaked out when she heard her own voice.”
“Damn it. Everything’s going wrong.”
The real problem was that their target this time was Lee Shin.
Who could’ve predicted he’d respond to controversy in such an insane way?
Normally, when you hit someone with wrecker content, they’re supposed to be caught off guard.
But this Lee Shin guy wasn’t just drifting while already wrecked—he was now driving in reverse and dragging the wrecker channel along with him.
“Boss, let’s just drop it.”
“Ugh……”
“I’ve got good instincts. Something feels off about this. If we keep going, we’re gonna get screwed.”
“Getting screwed isn’t the issue—the payout is huge……”
If this had been something the boss made up on a whim rather than a paid request, he probably would’ve dropped it already. There were plenty of other targets in the world……
But this job had come with an advance payment.
The contract was strict: two videos a week, five a month. Keywords: “Mir Raid Team.” Minimum five minutes each.
The shadier the business, the more ironclad the contracts had to be.
Since they couldn’t exactly write formal contracts, reputation was everything. And the pay was three or four times what a normal ad would bring.
The penalty for breach made it hard to walk away.
“Hey, we’ve got that backup channel, right? The one with 20k subs.”
“You mean the one we set aside for Shorts? But why all of a sudden?”
“Edit what we shot and upload it there.”
“……Is that okay? We have a contract, and it’s a different channel.”
“That’s why I’m going to make a call.”
You just focus on editing.
Now it was a race against time and negotiations. The client had probably seen the situation by now. With the right words, they’d understand.
The boss flipped through his contacts and stepped out the door.
The door closed. Just a brief moment later, as the subordinate reached to click on the video file……
BOOOOOOM—!
The door burst open and a figure flew inside.
“Aaaagh!!”
The one screaming and crashing into the corner was the boss who had just gone to make a call.
A clear, murderous aura emanated from the entrance.
The subordinate couldn’t bring himself to look toward the door. The chilling killing intent felt like it would devour him at any moment, and his lower body grew damp.
Thud. Thud.
From the floor up came the shadow, black dress shoes, well-fitted black slacks, a black leather belt. Then a distinctly feminine silhouette appeared, and finally the face.
Yun Cho-a stood there.
Her low voice echoed coldly through the room.
“Capture Issue TV?”
“……”
“Answer.”
“Y-Yes, that’s us.”
The moment the subordinate admitted it, Yun Cho-a nodded toward the door. Men in matching suits cast a soundproofing spell and stood guard outside.
Through the closing door, they could see a man dangling from Yun Cho-a’s hand.