The League Republic
The heat of the league didn't cool down after the Breaking Season. If anything, it burned even hotter.
Watching rivalry matches at the pub on weekends had become part of daily life. Eating lunch with fellow fans while discussing the Competitive Conquest was practically an unwritten rule. Fandoms had even begun forming their own separate lines depending on which guild they supported.
Kids now begged to go to the stadium instead of amusement parks. Families flooded the roads on weekends, turning them into absolute hell, all because missing a rivalry match meant you couldn't join the conversation.
This explosive popularity naturally led someone to ask a fundamental question.
No one denies that the league is the world's greatest sport.
No one denies that Korea is a renowned hunter powerhouse even within Asia.
But even taking all that into account, the current frenzy was abnormal.
It hadn't been this bad when the Kirin Guild established its dynasty, nor even when the Three Kings wrote their legends.
There had to be a reason. Many experts pointed to one single factor.
The Dragon's Revival. The Founding of an Empire. The Steps of Legend.
These heartwarming stories were enough to fill several pages of YouTube, as the kids would say with a single satisfying click. But what experts truly praised the Mir Guild for was its marketing and branding.
They were too lazy to target only a few groups and run marketing campaigns. Too lazy to only show off cool, impressive stuff and polished content without any real struggle.
In cruder terms, they only opened their wallets for people who could actually spend money. Their focus wasn't on popularity — it was on money.
Lee Shin and the Mir Guild flipped the bird at that entire approach.
You want to grow the league? Then spend the money. Move with real sincerity. Reach out to the fans.
And finally—
He laughs while watching matches with the fans, feels disappointed with them, and celebrates with them.
He wants to give the fans even one more thing they desire.
And then he whispers:
Thank you for loving the league that I love.
To everyone, regardless of age or gender.
And his charm went beyond simply promoting the Mir Guild. It completely transformed the entire industry.
Every guild began focusing on communication. Hunters started meeting fans at eye level. Even if that communication was a forced effort to not fall behind the Mir Guild, fans welcomed it gladly.
That was why they clapped, cheered, and willingly opened their wallets.
Thanks to this, corporations began seeing potential in hunters.
Broadcasting stations, sensitive to market trends, had chosen the league and its hunters.
In the end, this country had truly become a league republic.
All because of one man.
* * *
The keyring on the phone shook. Just like the smiling Lee Shin inside the keyring, its owner was beaming brightly.
"Don't worry at all, boss. Oh my, I'm the one who should be thanking you. Yes, yes, I'll send it right away!"
Her name was Bae Ji-ae.
She was the president of 'Flam,' an internet shopping mall that had gained quite a bit of buzz, especially among people in their 20s and 30s.
Bae Ji-ae pushed open the office door with her hip and strode in energetically.
Then she shook the coffee and snacks she was carrying in both hands toward her waiting colleagues and shouted.
"Good morning everyone!!"
"Good... morning..."
"Ughhhhh..."
Strictly speaking, it wasn't exactly 'good' nor was it exactly 'morning.'
Outside the window, it was still dark before sunrise, and an unexpected rain shower was even pouring down.
But Bae Ji-ae was a woman as fiery as the meaning of 'Flam.'
"The time I come to work is morning! Here, shove the coffee and sandwiches in your mouths. If we just get through today, we get to work from home all next week. So let's go hard. Right? Meeting starts right now! (Clap clap!) Everyone raise your energy!"
The tiny shop that started by buying clothes from the Dongdaemun wholesale market at dawn and selling them had grown purely on the strength of burning passion.
From socks to T-shirts, steadily building from the basics, it had now become a proper shopping mall that ran its own factory and sold its own brand.
The early morning commute was Bae Ji-ae's way of never forgetting that original spirit.
"That damn original spirit! Original spirit! We don't even need to have dawn meetings anymore!!"
"Kang Chan, do you want to go to the truth room with Noona?"
"I'm sorry. President. Let's start the meeting."
They began the meeting while stuffing coffee and sandwiches into their mouths.
What was interesting was the topic.
This was clearly a clothing shopping mall, yet the subject written on the whiteboard was 'Second Half of the Season League Keywords.'
At first glance, one might wonder 'Why?', but looking at the reality, it made perfect sense.
What keyword currently dominated this country? Without question, it was the league.
Thanks to the Mir Guild and Lee Shin, the league had become more than a trend — it had become culture itself. There was no way the fashion industry, which was more sensitive to trends than any other, wouldn't be affected.
Among them, Bae Ji-ae and Flam were the most proactive in embracing trends and had even reached the point of leading the 'fashion' itself.
"The lettering T-shirts that Unnie came up with are still selling like crazy. Scarves, gloves, hats, and the keyrings we released the day before yesterday are all getting explosive reactions."
That's right.
Bae Ji-ae had created and sold T-shirts and fashion accessories with lettering that expressed what fans wanted to say to the guilds they supported.
The trigger had been a coincidence. One day she went to a pub with her boyfriend, and some fans were badmouthing their own guild. Dogs, cows, horses, every curse word imaginable was flying.
In that vulgar scene, Bae Ji-ae and her boyfriend recalled old memories. Back in the day, in a time they could barely remember now — when their beloved Mir Guild had been in such a miserable state.
At that moment, Bae Ji-ae's senses tingled. This is money!
This was the era of mass communication. Fans who wanted to raise their voices! The emotion of wanting to beg the front office and the guild to please do better! This had to make money!
And just as she predicted, the item became a massive hit. If we pick out just a few examples:
1. The Sword Derby's 'OUT' series.
"The day before yesterday at the stadium, thirty thousand fans wearing our T-shirts all shouted 'Representative OUT!' at the same time. I almost lost my mind."
"The Baekgeom Guild is no joke either. They even parked a truck in front of the guild building. If you're going to act like that, just get lost."
"Both guilds failed to properly reinforce their rosters during the Breaking Season. After getting beaten that badly, they have nothing to say."
The Baekgeom Guild and the Royal Sword Guild.
The two guilds that had been the protagonists of Korea's most famous derby were falling like a lie. What was interesting was that their directions were similar.
Both had failed to reinforce their power for some reason, and both had core hunters expressing dissatisfaction with the team.
"Guardian is pressuring the front office in every interview by repeating 'victory' and 'victory.'"
"The Sword Master is even worse. He straight up posted on social media, 'I don't think I'll be happy,' using that out-of-body speaking style. That guy really doesn't hold back."
The T-shirt with a character screaming 'OUT!!' while holding a knife to these complaints had recorded record-breaking sales.
On the other hand, the next example was the complete opposite.
2. The Challenger Guild's 'DO IT' series.
"They really came out swinging. Five straight wins in the rivalry matches. When they beat the Royal Sword Guild the other day, my heart was honestly bursting with pride."
"Because of their uniforms, hats and scarves sold better than the T-shirts here."
"The guild subtly offered a collaboration a few days ago. They called again yesterday to set up a meeting date."
The Challenger Guild that had emerged as the nuclear storm of the second half.
In the world of competition, there are always people who love the underdog. A value often expressed as 'romance.'
And the Challenger Guild was soaring by properly stimulating that very romance.
"Romance makes money."
"They're really popular with teenagers. Is it because the whole team is so young?"
"Hehe, teenagers these days have a lot of money."
"Honestly, they've had a lot of luck too. If those 'guys' hadn't turned out that way, it would've been fine."
"Who? Ah... those guys."
If that was the 'money-making' topic, there was also an extra that became more of a hot issue than the previous two but 'didn't make money.'
3. The Sea Fog Guild's match-fixing incident.
"It's such a shame. We even designed products targeting their fans."
"It's a relief we didn't have any inventory left. We almost got stuck with a ton of stock."
"But is this for real? I still can't believe it. No matter how low they were in the rankings, they're still a major guild."
The Sea Fog Guild had withdrawn due to a match-fixing scandal.
It was such a huge incident that the usually invisible department head came out to give a briefing himself. As a result, the Sea Fog Guild received penalties including suspension from competition, point deduction, and relegation next season, and essentially disintegrated.
Since they had been one of the main players in the second-half storm along with the aforementioned Challenger Guild, the shock was even greater. The incident was so sudden that all kinds of rumors were spreading.
"If it's that representative, even if his management is lacking, he has a sense of loyalty. His training ability is pretty good too."
"That might be why. He had a good relationship with the hunters. Match-fixing isn't something one representative can do alone."
"Couldn't it be that something else is going on? I heard the police showed up and it was total chaos."
"I'm a bit suspicious too. The fact that they're still controlling the inside and even the identities of the guild members..."
"It's probably because the representative resisted. Why would the Bureau do something like that when they have nothing to gain?"
"True."
"Yeah, that makes sense."
Rationally, it was an absurd story.
After all, the Bureau was the one that suffered the most damage. Why would they be crazy enough to destroy a perfectly fine guild?
Still, because it was such a sensitive matter, all sorts of rumors continued to be produced right up until yesterday.
However—
"Well, that should be over now too."
"Right. That 'thing' is coming out soon."
Even this shocking incident was being buried because of the upcoming 'that thing.'
The meeting that had started at dawn had already reached lunchtime, and the idea organization and final review meeting had come to an end.
"President, I think we can talk about that now."
"If we finish with that, it'll be the end."
"Aaaagh, let's finish quickly and go. We're going to rest for a while."
"You guys, it's not vacation, it's work from home. Work from home!"
Here, the flame president Bae Ji-ae had called a meeting since dawn, and only 'that thing' remained — the one the entire staff of Flam had been waiting for so eagerly (read as: vacation).
Bae Ji-ae smirked and said.
"Alright, let's finish this."
The time that made even the media and the fashion industry where Bae Ji-ae worked tense up.
A super big event that stopped both criticism and praise, burying even the most shocking incidents.
The protagonist of this league, the one who paralyzed all the scattered topics of the Breaking Season in a single moment, was about to appear.
"Next week, let's talk about the Competitive Conquest."
* * *
"Hello everyone! This is Park Ye-jin from 'GWL Gameday,' your league study guide presented together with YouTube TV. The day has finally arrived."
"We will be conducting a special preview show for the Competitive Conquest between the Mir Guild and the Kirin Guild!"