The Show Must Go On

The front office's working conditions often mirrored the guild's performance.

The better the results, the more relaxed the workload, the higher the benefits, and—if luck was on their side—a fat bonus at the end of it all.

That was precisely why Kirin Guild had earned the nickname of "dream workplace" among hunter industry professionals. There simply wasn't another guild in Korea that treated its people better.

But.

That same Kirin Guild was changing. And not for the better.

The PR team leader, seated at the head of the table, finally opened his tightly sealed lips.

"The representative wants it done again."

"Excuse me??"

"Did I hear that right?"

"Team Leader! We've already pulled several all-nighters for this!"

"Everyone, quiet down for a second. I need to think."

Despite being in a conference room, the PR team leader pulled out an electronic cigarette and took a drag.

When exactly had it started? When had Han Jeong-do begun spiraling out of control?

Even up to the middle of the Stove League, it hadn't been this bad.

He had been obsessively controlling everything with an almost grotesque intensity, and his fixation on Mir Guild—specifically on the Mountain King—had grown extreme. But even then, there had still been some semblance of restraint. A minimum line that wasn't crossed.

But now that line is gone.

It had vanished completely.

The reason was obvious.

After witnessing Kim Jong-pil's rejuvenation in real time, something inside Han Jeong-do had shattered. In cruder terms, the man had completely lost it.

But the front office staff, unaware of these circumstances, were simply bewildered by Han Jeong-do's sudden and severe hysteria. At this point, they were starting to wonder if he was suffering from senility.

How the hell are we supposed to bury Mir Guild in the news cycle? Especially when they're playing in the opening match.

And as if that weren't enough, Kirin Guild had their opening match stolen right out from under their noses while they were wide awake.

The new intelligence team leader had been fired over that incident as well.

Honestly, in the team leader's opinion, it had been unavoidable. Who in their right mind would have predicted that fans would launch their own public opinion campaign and even create overseas accounts to spread it? Those fans were clearly insane.

No, the very fact that they could shake up the entire hunter scene like this already surpassed the normal firepower of any typical fandom.

And yet Han Jeong-do wanted their opening match—the one protected by these deranged fans—to be buried. All with nothing more than a short promotional video.

The team leader, barely holding onto his sanity with the help of nicotine, continued the meeting.

"Stop sitting there like corpses and give me some ideas. Anything works. We can reshoot if we have to. Just speak freely."

The team members, who had been watching him carefully, finally spoke up cautiously.

"Team Leader, honestly... we've done everything we can."

"Yeah. There's nothing left to film."

The video promotion team analyzed the market through YouTube and various media outlets, then produced promotional videos to promote the guild.

Because of that, they understood better than anyone else that the market—and the public—no longer wanted Kirin Guild.

There were three main reasons.

First, excessive image consumption.

"We've been making opening match promo videos for five straight years. There's nothing left to shoot."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"You saw the latest research analysis, right? Outside of our own fans, people don't want to see us anymore."

"Besides, this isn't even an opening match for us. Let's be real—we're basically trying to ruin the neighbor's festival. If we mess this up, we're going to get hit with massive backlash."

By achieving five championships and building a dynasty, Kirin Guild had lost its freshness. The public was cold. While they might still offer praise for that greatness, many had grown tired of seeing it.

Of course, there were clear ways to solve this problem.

The team leader knew them. Every member of the team knew them. But that solution naturally led to the second issue.

Second, an uncooperative raid team.

"What's the point of brainstorming new concepts if they reject everything? It's honestly humiliating."

"They always act so cool, so important, so stylish... That doesn't work anymore, Team Leader."

"When the Mountain King was here, they at least pretended to do some fan service and moved a little. Now? Forget it."

To break out of this mannerism, they needed content that was equally bold and fresh.

Mukbang, singing, game streaming, variety shows—things like that.

But the current Kirin hunters seemed to have egos the size of the universe. The moment they were asked to do anything that might "ruin their image," they immediately shouted "No!"

So what could the producers possibly do?

The final problem was an extension of the above.

Third. Representative Han Jeong-do himself.

"Honestly, the representative is the biggest problem. When the raid team says they're bothered or don't want to do something, the representative is supposed to step in and take charge!"

"That's right. It's been three years since the representative himself stopped appearing on broadcasts, always talking about 'class' or whatever. And coincidentally, that started exactly on the day the Mountain King left."

"The more I see it, the more I think it's ridiculous that a perfectly fine guild separates the raid leader and the representative like this..."

"Hey."

"Sorry."

"Watch your mouth. I'm saying this for your own good."

Although he scolded the employee, the team leader inwardly agreed.

It wasn't for nothing that guilds divided their leadership into three roles: raid leader, team leader, and representative.

Beyond allowing each person to focus on what they did best, it was also so that when interests clashed like this, they could argue with each other and find the best solution.

But when one person held the position of overall representative, the balance inevitably tilted to one side.

Usually, that side was the raid team. And the result was the current Kirin Guild—a guild that existed solely for the raid team. It was no different from a "full raid" party.

The team leader, seemingly having given up, continued the meeting with the electronic cigarette still in his mouth. Without the nicotine, he wasn't sure he could endure this hopeless reality.

"What ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠else can we do? We have to keep going until it's done. Love it or hate it, it's still our guild and our raid team. If you really can't stand it, just think about the salary that hits your account every month. At least we still get paid the most."

"That's because Mir Guild..."

"......"

"Sorry."

"...Right. Let's just try a little harder. I'll start by pulling myself together. Shall we go back to the drawing board and rethink the concept from scratch?"

At the team leader's almost pleading request, the team members pulled themselves together and dove back into the meeting.

Unfortunately, the heavens—or rather, a certain guild's clown of a representative—turned all their hard work into nothing but foam on the water.

"Hah... This is over."

The team leader threw both hands up as he stared at Lee Shin on the monitor.

Evening rush hour in Seoul.

People were flocking toward the large electronic billboards. Park Seong-cheol, also known online as "Toegail-jwa," was among them, rushing toward the spot he had scouted in advance.

"Is it really happening today?"

"Yeah, yeah. Five minutes left on the timer."

"Those guys have too much money. They're doing this again?"

"It's not your money, so..."

"Excuse me. Coming through."

Instead of taking the subway home, he ran through the streets. This was the location he had searched for days in preparation for today—the spot with the largest electronic billboard in the area.

When Park Seong-cheol arrived, he looked around.

The height was perfect. He wouldn't have to strain his neck, and there weren't too many pedestrians.

"Nice."

He set up the tripod and camera he had brought from home. One by one, other people began to gather.

A young man who looked to be in his twenties pulled a tripod out of his bag. Their eyes met. 'You too?' 'Me too.' They exchanged silent nods of understanding.

After finishing his own setup, Park Seong-cheol even helped the friend who appeared to be a fellow Yongbung-i with his tripod. Then he quickly checked his phone.

Twenty seconds.

It was almost time. His hands were trembling with nerves when the friend he had helped handed him something.

It was a water bottle. The yellow liquid inside was suspiciously fizzy.

In this harsh world, it was normally insane to drink something a stranger offered. But these two men were not strangers. They were comrades. Brothers-in-arms.

Park Seong-cheol nodded and drank the yellow water.

Damn... It wasn't bad.

Ten seconds. Nine. Eight. As he counted down in his head, the young friend seemed too excited to hold it in any longer and shouted.

"Five!"

Not wanting to look awkward, Park Seong-cheol joined in.

"Four!"

More voices that sounded like Yongbung-i fans joined.

"Three!"

Then ordinary people started shouting too.

"Two!"

Everyone shouted together.

"One!"

The countdown reached zero.

Crackle!

The entire city went dark. Every single light went out without exception.

The darkness was so complete it made people wonder if something like this was even possible.

And at that exact moment.

A line of light drew itself across the center of the billboard, and a door opened.

The appearance of a familiar face made several people cheer.

It was Lee Shin. He forcefully pushed the door open, stepped out into the darkness, and brushed his hands together with a few sharp claps. Then he smiled like a child, bright and innocent.

That's cheating, isn't it?

A naturally charming smile that could captivate anyone regardless of gender or age had captured the entire country.

On screen, Lee Shin reached into his pocket and pulled out a single photograph.

It was an old, faded film camera photo.

In it, a man was holding up a championship trophy amid cheering crowds.

Park Seong-cheol covered his mouth the moment he saw it.

It was the photo of Mir Guild lifting the championship trophy in the very first season of the league.

"This is insane..."

Lee Shin, looking at the photo, took a powerful step forward. In an instant, the darkness lifted, revealing a familiar landscape.

Under dim, outdated lighting stood a familiar station.

It was Busan. More precisely, Busan Station. Even more precisely, it was Busan Station from the time of their first championship.

Lee Shin walked through the hazy scenery as if strolling through the past.

He looked around as if searching for something, then waved happily. It was Lee Hye-jung, leaning against a door. The two smiled at each other and walked down the stairs together.

The scene changed again. The pair walked past a construction site. At Lee Shin's signal, Lee Hye-jung kicked down a steel door with a powerful swing.

Inside, several men carrying rebar looked at them sideways. They were massive figures in white shirts and jeans. It was Kang Mal-suk and the rest of Mir Guild's tanker team.

Lee Shin jerked his thumb backward and shrugged. Everyone burst into small laughs and fell in behind him.

"He's gathering his comrades."

"Whoa... This looks like a movie."

The more Lee Shin walked, the larger the group behind him grew.

People riding in on flames, people dropping from the sky, people emerging from stealth like drifting smoke.

One by one they joined until the raid team was nearly complete.

Then, from far away, lightning, thunder, and electricity began to swirl in the sky.

The bundle of lightning shot straight toward where Lee Shin stood.

It looked like he was about to be struck at any second!

At that moment, a silver wall appeared to block the path.

It was Kim Yu-shin, the Hwarang. He smiled at Lee Shin as if to ask if he was okay, then shouted toward the other side.

Soon after, Yu Ri-ra came running across the sky, stepping on the bundles of electricity. She scratched her head apologetically and landed lightly beside Lee Shin.

"Did you see that? Yu Ri-ra was running on the sky!"

"Didn't Hwarang's shield change? What is that?"

"Now the only one left is..."

Just as they were thinking that, the final two appeared.

Two figures stood on either side of the bridge leading to Yeongdo.

The one on the right was someone they knew very well. The local boy. Mir Guild's homegrown world-class star.

Park Su-bin was flying through the sky, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his trademark black mink ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠coat flapping behind him. Behind him rose the completed upper body of a giant.

"Wow!"

"It's evolved from before!"

"Fuck yeah! That's what I'm talking about!"

But on the left was someone they had never seen before.

A young man in a pure white uniform that contrasted with Park Su-bin's outfit. He pulled a sword that had been embedded in the ground. With sharp features and mysterious sky-blue eyes, it was Baek Yeon-woo.

Baek Yeon-woo, holding his sword, looked down at Park Su-bin, who looked up at him in return.

They didn't know who he was, but the way the two looked like rivals made the fans' hearts pound wildly.

There was no explanation, so they couldn't know anything for sure. But just knowing it was one of Lee Shin's picks was enough to send their expectations into overdrive.

"No way... Are these the new Children of God?"

"Lee God did it again..."

"Oh my god, he's so cute."

The fans were going crazy, stomping their feet in anticipation.

But soon they had to stop moving as if frozen.

Because he had finally arrived.

The true protagonist.

At the end of the path leading to the stadium stood a throne.

An insert shot began from the feet and moved upward.

Black dress shoes.

Black slacks.

A black t-shirt and long coat.

And resting upon his head.

A golden laurel wreath.

It was the Mountain King.

Kim Jong-pil sat upon the throne, gazing down upon the world. He looked exactly as he had during the legendary era when he had written his own myth.

The people watching were speechless.

This must be what it felt like to stand before a majestic mountain.

All they could do was stare in awe.

Even then.

Step. Step.

The raid team had finally gathered.

They walked into the stadium.

When they emerged from the dark tunnel, their clothes had already changed into combat gear.

Armored, armed, and fully equipped, the raid team locked eyes with the figures on the other side.

The very same people who had been holding the championship trophy in that faded photograph.

Two groups facing each other.

The past and the present overlapped.

Lee Shin and his raid team took one step forward.

The glory you achieved—we will inherit it.

That silent vow crossed time and reached the past. The man in the photograph, who had been alternating his gaze between the trophy and the raid team, extended the hand holding the cup.

His mouth, now in a close-up, smiled gently.

"...I've been waiting for you."

The screen went dark.

The city's lights came back on. The frozen city returned to its daily life.

But the fans could not move.

They remained rooted to the spot for a long time.

"...After showing us something like that."

"...You want us to wait?"

"Go catch Lee Shin right now."

·

·

After that legendary heart-pounding showcase, the long-awaited day finally arrived.

― "We are live from Busan, where the opening match is about to take place!"