That Day Has Dawned

Turning back the clock, we return to a few hours earlier.

It was still the early dawn, before the sun had even risen.

Lee Shin's eyes snapped open. He sat bolt upright in bed at a perfect right angle.

"The day. Has. Dawned."

He sprang up and turned on the shower.

"Uaaaaagh!!"

It was ice-cold water.

A typical American accommodation where the boiler didn't work properly.

But he endured it. He was the kind of man who could change lodgings entirely if it served his concept. That man was none other than me—Lee Shin.

"Ugyagyagyagyagyak."

Beneath the pounding stream, he brushed his teeth with such savage intensity it felt like his gums might disintegrate.

You bastards. How dare you treat me—treat this body—like that!

You're all dead!

After finishing his rage-fueled brushing and shaving, he wiped the fogged mirror. Lifting his chin, he stared at his reflection.

Ha. This is insane.

"I'm fucking handsome."

It was dazzling. Nothing less than pure light.

Outside, a checkered shirt, baggy pants, a curly wig, and orange glasses had been laid out. Despite their appearance, they were all fairly high-grade items.

The peculiar part was that they were curse items designed to slash his charm.

As a side note, even Lee Shin had been surprised this time.

Charm 101—an off-the-charts value.

He had always talked about it, but never paid it much mind. There had been no need.

Yet ironically, the act of reducing his charm to a human level made him freshly aware of just how absurd it was.

Even after layering on multiple curse items, it barely reached human standards? Quite the ordeal.

"This body's charm is... heh."

When he left the accommodation in comfortable clothes, a man in a suit stood waiting by the door.

A Mir Guild Strategy Planning Office employee assigned exclusively to Lee Shin.

"The car?"

"On standby."

"Organize the items and belongings inside."

"Understood."

Downstairs, a black van waited. The moment Lee Shin stepped in, the stylists inside moved in perfect sync, hair dryers and cosmetics at the ready.

By the time the van had crossed New York's dawn streets and come to a stop, the man who emerged was Lee Shin at full makeup and maximum power.

Lee Shin entered the shop.

A neatly dressed elderly man came forward and bowed deeply. As someone from the East—a land of courtesy—how could Lee Shin merely nod at an elder's greeting? He bowed back at the same angle.

"Welcome, sir."

"Hello. Are the clothes I ordered ready?"

"They are. This way, please."

"Thank you."

This was a bespoke tailoring shop in New York.

A world-renowned landmark where the planet's greatest craftsman—known as a meister—created the finest suits stitch by stitch, one at a time. A place frequented without fail by America's most prominent political and business figures.

It operated on a reservation system so strict that money alone could not secure an appointment. It had been a while since Lee Shin had thrown his wealth around so extravagantly.

The enormous sum, combined with several sets of Woongjindan favored by corporate CEOs, had finally persuaded the master craftsman.

"We prepared two shirts—white and navy."

"I'll take the navy. It's my personal color."

"Understood."

He put on the shirt and trousers, tied a loose necktie, slipped into the shoes, and fastened the Rolex watch that had been prepared in advance.

Then he draped the suit over his shoulders in a shoulder-roving style.

The reflection in the mirror sent an infinite surge of dignity coursing through him.

"Wow, custom-made really is on another level. The ones I usually wear are decent, but this is in a completely different dimension. Good thing I reserved two sets."

"I'm delighted you're satisfied. It's been a long time since I've had a client the clothes suited so perfectly. Simply mesmerizing."

"Shall we take a moment to admire?"

"I was about to suggest the same."

For a long while, one man gazed at his own appearance while the other admired his creation. Both remained speechless, staring at the mirror with enchanted eyes.

After the fitting was perfectly complete and he stepped outside, the streets of New York were already jammed with parked cars.

Lee Shin strolled the streets at a leisurely pace on his own two feet.

"Hmm. The scent of freedom."

In this foreign environment, the reins felt completely loosened. It was the sense that he cared even less about the gazes he had never bothered with in the first place.

So this is it. Today is the day.

The day of my—Lee Shin's—New York runway debut.

New Yorkers, behold me. This is Korea's absolute beauty.

"Wow......"

"What the hell is that?"

"Bravo. Absolutely killer."

A nuclear bomb of charm had detonated ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on the New York morning commute.

Off-the-charts charm had seized dominion over the city.

Regardless of race, gender, or age. Walking, running, or lying down—it didn't matter.

Every living thing whose path crossed Lee Shin's turned their eyes toward him. No, it surpassed mere attention. It felt as if spacetime itself froze along the path he walked.

What could one call it? As though God had selected that man as the protagonist of this world, and everyone else had been created merely as background characters to make him shine......

―His presence transcended common sense so thoroughly it inspired such absurd thoughts.

Monopolizing every spotlight and reigning as the master of New York, Lee Shin came to a stop at one particular place.

It was Selena's favorite café, where the pot-bellied owner served hand-drip coffee that was simply to die for.

"Hi, Charlie."

"You? No way... the kid...?"

"Right now I'm the representative. One coffee, extra shot."

"Fuck......"

As he leaned his elbows on the outdoor bar, Charlie soon brought the coffee with the eyes of a man who had seen a ghost.

"Hey. Is it the person I'm thinking of?"

"If the person you're thinking of is the representative of Korea's number one guild, the genius of the century, and a fucking incredible human being... then yes. That's me."

"......Your face really must be bulletproof."

"Generally speaking, yes."

Charlie, stunned, pulled out a cigarette and placed it between his lips.

As he went to light it, his hand froze at Lee Shin's next words.

"You said it before, didn't you? That you didn't expect much from that shithole guild. That you'd be satisfied if they just operated in a normal, understandable, human way."

"......!"

The front office tries hard. The raid team shows passion.

A guild where common sense prevailed—a truly normal guild.

It had been a confession from Charlie, a longtime big fan and anti of the Mets, spoken as if venting his frustrations. Lee Shin remembered it perfectly.

"Request received. I'll make that wish come true."

"!!"

"Consider the coffee my treat for that."

Waving his hand, Lee Shin disappeared in the direction of the Mets Guild.

A wind was blowing. It was a wind of change he had never felt before.

"You’re fired."

The wind had become a typhoon.

Lee Shin's typhoon, making landfall in America.

"This can't be happening......!"

"I can't accept this. Why are we being fired?"

"What is the reason? Please tell us the reason."

James and the other employees resisted fiercely, but Lee Shin wasn't even looking at them. His gaze was fixed on Selena.

"Selly, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠am I mistaken? Isn't America a place where firing people is completely free?"

"Uh... y-yeah, I suppose so."

"Yet these people are demanding a reason?"

"Hey......"

"One moment."

When the furious James tried to speak as their representative, Lee Shin raised a hand and cut him off.

"Very well. I am Korean, after all. As a member of a courteous nation that teaches morals in its school curriculum, I shall explain with proper etiquette."

All eyes turned toward Lee Shin.

It wasn't their own guild but someone else's, and he was a foreigner with a different skin color. There was no reason for favorable glances to come his way.

Yet Lee Shin climbed onto the desk instead, making himself even more conspicuous.

"In truth, the people I've singled out did not commit any grave offenses. They didn't take bribes from business partners or leak internal information for personal gain. They didn't engage in that kind of corruption."

Instead, the moment they arrived at work they asked whether the team was watching another guild's match instead of their own, showing zero affection for the guild. They fidgeted restlessly an hour before quitting time, clearly only interested in killing time. They lacked passion to the extent that they dumped work on interns who knew nothing.

"No problem! That can happen. What does it matter? It's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠business anyway, right? You don't all have convictions or dreams like our Selly here, do you? Am I wrong?"

"Gulp......"

"Ahem......"

"Oh, don't be embarrassed. From the Mets Guild's perspective it's sad that I uncovered all of this in just a few days, but what can you do? To you, the guild is simply business. As long as you receive your salary, that's enough, isn't it?"

At Lee Shin's question the pointed-out individuals avoided his eyes. Among them, James awkwardly looked away.

Lee Shin continued with a bright, spinning smile.

"There's a Korean proverb: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Similar to the Code of Hammurabi. It means to view things at the same level. Since you treated the guild as business, the guild will treat you as business as well."

"So let me ask. Over the past several seasons, what exactly have you accomplished?"

Remove emotion and look at pure results.

While the Mets Guild remained perpetual last place, what had they done?

While fans lowered their expectations from the best to merely a 'normal guild,' what had they done?

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

Performance. Results.

In America, the land of capitalism—in the very heart of that country, New York—was there a more perfect reason for termination?

"Then what about the others......"

"They treated the guild with emotion, unlike all of you."

Conviction. Effort.

Those who still possessed even the minimum sense of duty had maintained their loyalty to the guild.

"End. That's it, right?"

So get lost.

Lee Shin waved his hand as if annoyed. The mumbling employees, upon seeing the security guards who had rushed over, picked up their exit boxes and flowed out like the ebbing tide.

The people who remained could not speak after the series of events.

'......What is this? How did this happen?'

'The front office got cleaned out this easily?'

'That talkative James couldn't utter a single word.'

It was a scene of utter domination through sheer personal presence and charisma, yet somehow it didn't feel strange.

No, it felt too natural. As if this was simply how things were meant to be.

Meanwhile, Selena stared at Lee Shin with wide, astonished eyes.

'I thought he was a cute, smart gentleman.'

As an analyst, she knew more about Lee Shin and the Mir Guild than anyone else.

The Lee Shin shown on broadcasts had an image of being intelligent and charming. In an era overflowing with criticism and hatred, he was a representative who received an unusual amount of affection from fans.

So she had assumed he was purely kind and gentle, but that was completely wrong.

He was a tyrant.

That man seemed born to stand above others.

Before they knew it the office had become completely empty.

A chilly draft blew through. It was neatly organized, but at this rate it wouldn't be strange if operational holes appeared everywhere.

But had Lee Shin only been doing this sort of thing for a day or two?

That was why he had prepared.

"Come in, Ji-min."

The moment Lee Shin ended the call, people in black suits entered shortly afterward. Leading them was a woman.

Choi Ji-min, who had once built the bedrock of Korea's top guild as information team leader only to be neglected and forced into retirement.

The former information team leader of the Kirin Guild, Choi Ji-min.

She had made a spectacular return as the number two of the strategy planning office.

"Should we proceed exactly as you directed?"

"You know my style, Ji-min. Proceed however you see fit."

Ah, but before that—one moment.

Lee Shin patted Choi Ji-min's shoulder and announced to everyone.

"You are all fortunate. If I may say so, Ms. Choi here is the greatest brain in our strategy planning team. You have no idea how much effort I invested to recruit her. So please treat her well."

Unlike a certain Mr. Ma, Lee Shin gave infinite trust to those with ability.

Choi Ji-min also seemed pleased with the new representative as much as her generous salary; her face looked far brighter than before.

Compared to the days when she had squatted in the emergency stairwell, smoking cigarette after cigarette.

At any rate, all the pieces had now come together.

Clap, clap.

"Even though I may look gentle, I'm actually a rather rough man. Since time is of the essence, I'll finish this quickly and accurately. Fasten your seatbelts properly."

Now then.

"Let's start the rebuilding."

Around the time Lee Shin pressed the rebuilding button for the Mets Guild.

A massive match was underway in Korea.

The core of the match that experts had unanimously emphasized was this:

Whether Shinseong Guild's three rankers could provide an answer to Mir Guild's first option, the Hwasan Duo.

That was why, even before the match began, the media and YouTubers had focused on them. However......

The Hwasan Duo had certainly performed well.

It was also true that Shinseong Guild's three rankers had failed to stop Hwarang and Sanwang.

However, if anyone asked whether Hwarang and Sanwang were the MVPs of this round, everyone would shake their heads.

Because the crack in this match had appeared from a completely unexpected place.

She was tearing through the opposing lane.

With absurdly calculated speed and firepower, she had become the terror of the canyon.

A dealer who was lightning incarnate, and the legendary weapon held in that dealer's hand.

This was the reason Lee Shin had been able to leave for external activities.

The F. Colt Revolver in Yu Ri-ra's hand roared as it fired.