The Kids Have Taken Over
Lee Shin’s vacation was decided with shocking abruptness.
“Dong-ha hyung, what are we doing about the guild members’ vacation?”
“Right… it’s already summer vacation season.”
“I guess doing something together like last season would be too much, huh?”
“What exactly are you trying to say?”
“No, hyung. Remember? Drinking soju in the middle of the ocean on a cruise. Man, that was great. So this time too—”
“……Stop. Absolutely not.”
“Come on, we could get an even bigger and more beautiful cruise than last time……”
“No. Even if you dragged the cruise grandpa here, it’s still impossible! One hundred percent no!”
Last season, Mir Guild’s vacation had been replaced with an official guild workshop. While other guilds were having their time off revoked to reinforce their rosters, Mir Guild had rented an extravagant cruise ship for a luxury workshop. It had been an unforgettable experience.
Perhaps that was why Lee Shin wanted to do something similar this year to build camaraderie. But after seeing Chae Dong-ha’s forehead wrinkle with what looked like a string of curses, he had no choice but to give up.
“Do you have any idea how many projects we’ve started? The phone rings every minute. You want the whole team to take several days off? Who’s going to control the field? Who’s going to handle communication with the Bureau and city hall? Can you handle the aftermath?”
“I know, I know. I’m not saying—”
“It is absolutely not allowed. Don’t even dream about it. If you try, you’ll have to step over my corpse first.”
There was the airport construction, the land reclamation project, investment negotiations with other corporations for the exchange, and discussions with the Bureau and Association about installing an auction house.
The workload was already at a torturous level. Sending the entire guild on vacation without any countermeasures? That would be like the whole group jumping into a sea of flames for immediate pleasure.
Desperate resistance!
Absolute opposition!
To minimize any operational gaps, vacation had to be taken in strict rotation!
“I plan to make the team leaders forfeit their summer vacation this year.”
“Won’t there be a lot of complaints?”
“I’ll take responsibility and forfeit mine first. Ah, you should rest, Representative. If even you don’t take a break, it’ll really feel like the guild is forcing everyone.”
“Yeah, yeah, that’s true.”
“Instead, how about sending them on an overseas workshop during the off-season? What do you think?”
“Won’t the off-season be busy too?”
“The World Raid that was postponed because of the South American incident has been scheduled for then. About two weeks after the Champions finals, right? At that point, we won’t be in the player market, and we won’t have any duties for the World Raid, will we?”
“Not bad. Not bad at all… but, hm. Are we really not jumping into the transfer market?”
“Sorry? What do you mean?”
“Never mind. Just talking to myself. Alright! We’ll follow your suggestion for the team leaders and above. How should we handle the rest of the guild members?”
“Well, in my opinion……”
After finishing the schedule adjustments and passing the vacation policy to the HR team, that part was done.
But there was no time to breathe. The real issue was still ahead.
The raid team. That was what remained.
“As for the raid team……”
“Tsk. Honestly, I want to tie them up tight and ship them off somewhere together.”
“See? That’s exactly why I brought up the workshop idea.”
Hunters on break were like mischievous five-year-olds.
It was a saying that floated around the front office.
From a guild’s perspective, managing hunters during the break period was extremely difficult. Once they escaped the front office’s control, hunters were the type who could go off the rails at any moment.
No trust? No faith? Just look at any hunter who makes weird political comments on social media or gets drunk and causes a scene, and those doubts would vanish.
At times like this, someone might ask: But Mir Guild has never had that kind of problem, right?
Then the other guilds, already bitter from constant comparisons, would let out a resentful scream.
That’s because it’s Mir Guild!!
That place is beyond common sense!!
Why would both the guild and the fans be so nervous during break?
It was all because of that cheat key called Lee Shin. Mir Guild was abnormally peaceful. Other guilds treated one or two incidents during break as the default.
Even Mir Guild had quietly had its fair share of accidents. It was just that Lee Shin, Chae Dong-ha, the strategic planning office, and the intelligence team had covered everything up so well that nothing ever leaked.
“Fortunately, Team 2 is less of a worry. Team Leader Lee Hye-jung said she’ll personally lead them on a training camp.”
“Damn it!! Hye-jung, how much more do you plan to move me?”
“Hunter Kang Mal-suk is going with them too. Apparently the two have gotten quite close. I heard Team Leader Lee Hye-jung asked her to teach the tanks a few things over drinks, and she gladly accepted.”
“Aaaah, Mamang. She really does everything. I’m straight-up worshipping her now.”
The training ground was in a high-risk gate zone in North Korea. When she requested bus support because she had a gate she wanted to tackle, how could Lee Shin possibly refuse?
Full expense coverage. All equipment and consumables provided. Of course he sent the Diablo MK suits—which cost money the moment they were worn—along with several test machines that were still in development.
Oh, and the secret distribution of one spiritual medicine per person was strictly confidential!
“Shin Yong-jae and Team 1 will mostly be taking personal time off.”
“Resting isn’t a bad thing. Don’t touch them unless necessary.”
“As if I would have given them any pressure. Honestly, they’ve been running too hard. Our guild’s training volume is much higher than it looks from the outside.”
In truth, a guild like Mir could afford to train at a moderate pace.
Legendary records, league championship, defending Asian champions.
Like a well-fed lion taking a break, they had proven enough to ease off a little. Many champion guilds actually did exactly that.
But.
Don’t forget who their raid leader is.
The old school of the old school.
Mountain King Kim Jong-pil. The word “take it easy” did not exist in Kim Jong-pil’s dictionary.
They were already Asian champions, so couldn’t they loosen up a bit? Where the hell did you grow up?
If such nonsense ever reached Kim Jong-pil’s ears, a mental re-education session would be immediately scheduled.
On the contrary, now that only one step remained! They had to squeeze out every last drop of strength they had!!
Training harder than real combat? Wrong! Because it was training, it had to be even harsher than real combat! At least in training, failure didn’t exist!!
The training volume that made even the iron-willed Kang Mal-suk vomit and caused the ever-cheerful Yu Ri-ra’s smile to disappear had been maintained by Mir Guild throughout the entire league season.
Lee Shin knew how hard they worked, which was why he had told them to relax unless they were leaving the country.
“Um, and the healer team…… um.”
“Why? What happened?”
“This is just ridiculous. They said the vacation is fine, but they want the latest training machines.”
“Huh? What machines?”
“Training machines. For muscles. Muscles.”
“……Approve it. I want to see how far Princess can grow.”
“Right. Seo Ye-na specifically said not to buy them for her……”
“Shh. You didn’t hear anything, hyung.”
“……What did I say?”
With everyone happily taken care of, it was finally time to move on to the real core members.
There was no favoritism in the guild, but there were priorities, and it was only natural for the representative to handle the starters personally.
“The old man said he’s going on a family trip this time.”
“Overseas?”
“Jeju Island. I told him he could go abroad, but as raid leader he refused, saying overseas travel during the season was inappropriate.”
“Should I tell the captain I love him?”
“Sorry, but I already gave him plenty.”
“Hah, too bad. Jeju Island, noted.”
“That’s about it for now.”
“Huh? That’s it?”
“Yeah.”
Park Su-bin and Baek Yeon-woo weren’t the type to go play during vacation, but Yu Ri-ra often spent time with her family.
Moreover, Kim Yu-shin was a national team loving husband. He was the kind of man who valued time with his family above all else. So Lee Shin had naturally assumed he would take a vacation, but apparently he had no plans!
The two were tilting their heads in confusion when the person in question appeared.
At a completely unexpected moment, the door to the representative’s office burst open with a bang.
Clang!
All eyes turned, and there stood a girl with twin tails, an adorable face, and eyes that were anything but cute.
“Pretty Uncle!!”
Having evolved from the Sunshine Class after a year.
Kim So-yeon, first grade, class one at Geumryong Elementary School.
“Let’s go camping!!”
Lee Shin’s vacation was decided with shocking abruptness.
All because of Kim So-yeon’s sudden appearance.
* * *
At the massive complex shopping mall, Royal Field on Yeongdo in Busan, an unexpected commotion was unfolding.
“Ooh……”
“I’m ascending……”
“What do I do? It’s real.”
“Wow, they really are here!”
“First time seeing them in person. I knew they came here often, but……”
“They’re actually bigger than I thought.”
“When did they get so big? On screen they just look like kids.”
“Haa…… that masculine beauty. What am I supposed to do? This is insane.”
“I like shorts now……”
“They grew up so well. I feel proud.”
“Can we get an autograph?”
Two female high school students covering their mouths. Men clasping their hands together like they were praying. Older sister fans staring without blinking as if watching their grown children. Middle-aged fans whose noses suddenly felt hot.
There were some who kept their cool, but—
“Excuse me, please stop taking photos.”
“Hey, put that down. Don’t you know about privacy protection?”
“Let’s have some manners, please.”
“Oh, are they buying something?”
“What?”
“What did they buy?”
“I want to buy it too……!”
……It was pointless.
Even those people still had their eyes glued in that direction.
Men and women, young and old. Everyone was shocked. Everyone was excited. Everyone’s hearts were racing.
The younger fans’ eyes sparkled with hope of getting an autograph.
The adult fans who looked like parents were no different. If anything, the ones stomping their feet were right here.
It couldn’t be helped. Those two were worth every bit of the fuss.
The geniuses of the century who had reached world class, not just in Yeongdo, not just in Busan, but across all of Korea.
“Hey, Bokchi. Do you really need this?”
Baek Yeon-woo and.
“Yeah. I need it.”
Park Su-bin.
The Children of God, Mir’s genius youngest line, were standing in the camping supplies section.
And the two geniuses wore extremely serious expressions.
In front of a camping grill.
“This is ridiculous! Why is a meat grill thirty thousand dollars? A simple burner and frying pan would be enough. And the meat—do we really need to eat meat for every single meal? We can’t even finish that much!”
The first strike came from genius Baek Yeon-woo.
It was a judgment that considered cost-effectiveness, versatility, and even diet. As expected of the owner of the SSS-rank trait Cheon-an, it was cold and rational.
But his opponent was no pushover.
“Look carefully, Yeonu. This grill isn’t just some tool for grilling meat. It’s made of premium steel with exquisite craftsmanship. The heat distribution design. Look at this automatic temperature control. This is a machine. This is science.”
As expected of Colossus Park Su-bin.
He never got excited. Instead, with eyes full of pity that seemed to say ‘how sad that you don’t understand the beauty of machines,’ he calmly tried to persuade him.
The sword that pierces everything, the wall that blocks everything.
A fiery battle where neither side would yield an inch was unfolding right here!!
“Why are you suddenly bringing up machines, you crazy bastard!”
“Because it is a machine.”
“What machine? It’s just a few pieces of steel put together. Give me some iron and I’ll make one in two hours.”
“Then you’re an excellent machine lover too.”
“Stop talking nonsense, it’s just meat! Why do you need a machine to grill meat? Let’s just buy a grill plate.”
“Yeonu, machines are cool because they’re machines. Purpose is secondary. That’s the proper attitude of a machine lover.”
“What the hell is a machine lover, you damn nerd. You can be that by yourself!”
“No, you like machines too. Don’t deny it.”
“You…… you son of a bitch!”
“Hey! No swearing.”
“Aaaaaaaaagh!!”
“Yelling is also not allowed.”
“Just follow me!”
“Tsk, violence is even more forbidden.”
If Chae Dong-ha, the one in charge of the budget, had seen this scene, he would have clutched the back of his neck and foamed at the mouth.
Two people earning hundreds of millions in annual salary were screaming at each other over a grill that cost a few hundred dollars?
It was so absurd it made his chest feel tight.
The silver lining was that the fans watching the commotion from outside the store couldn’t hear what was being said.
“Are they fighting?”
“Fighting? Those two get along so well.”
“They must be having a really serious discussion.”
“Ah, I get it! It must be about that last team fight in the Kirin match where they both messed up and Ri-ra died.”
“Ooh…… that must be it. We almost lost that one.”
“That’s right. Their expressions were so dark when the game ended.”
“Ri-ra’s been going through a lot lately. Since those two are close with her, they must be really worried.”
“Anyone who underestimates them is a complete idiot.”
“……?”
“……??”
“……Heh!”
Dog. Shit. Idiot.
At the primitive insult, everyone’s eyes turned toward the voice. There stood a little girl smiling brightly.
A twin-tailed girl so short she barely reached the adults’ waists, yet she didn’t shrink at all under their focused gazes.
She was bold. And fearless.
That was this girl.
The big shot who had conquered her class in just three days.
The big boss who had all her classmates under her feet in ten days.
And.
“So-yeon! You have to go with noona!!”
“Noona is too slow!”
The only girl in the world who could call the hunter closest to the world’s fastest—Blitz Yu Ri-ra—slow. That was Kim So-yeon.
“Shh.”
Keep the bad words a secret, okay?
When Kim So-yeon put her finger to her lips, everyone was so overwhelmed they nodded in unison as if they had made a pact.
Soon after, Kim So-yeon and Yu Ri-ra entered the store and ended up hearing the two prideful geniuses’ petty argument.
“Fine, damn it. Just buy everything.”
“Buying it isn’t important anymore. I need to be acknowledged.”
“Ha, why did this guy change so much? Who are you? Give me back the Bokchi I know.”
“You’ll come to like machines too.”
“What are you two doing?”
“Oppa, what are you doing?”
“Noona. This guy’s gone crazy.”
“Noona, please listen to me.”
As Kim So-yeon and Yu Ri-ra listened to the situation, their faces went through dramatic changes before they both let out deep sighs.
Whether they bought it or not, did these guys not realize what position they were in?
And then they delivered their verdict.
“Just buy it.”
“Then Yeonu oppa can make it.”
“?”
“?!”
“?…Oh……!”
At the brilliant answer, all three pairs of eyes instantly turned downward.
Kim So-yeon spoke clearly and decisively.
“You don’t understand spending money on something like this? Then Yeonu oppa can just make one. Oppa’s really good at tinkering. And Bokchi oppa just needs any machine, right?”
Any complaints?
At Kim So-yeon’s answer, all three were stunned speechless.
Whether it made sense or not, could this really be an idea coming from a first grader’s head? They had heard she was a child prodigy, but was she really this much of one?
The three stared at her in shock.
But Kim So-yeon paid their gazes no mind. She put her hands on her hips and declared,
“But noona, oppas. You know we don’t have time, right? We have to buy clothes, swimsuits, a tent, you have to buy me a doll, and we have to go eat tteokbokki with the auntie.”
There was no time to dawdle!
“Camping has already begun!!”
Leader: Kim So-yeon
👤 Members: Space’s Greatest Dad, Lee Su-ji Mom, Pretty Uncle, Ri-ra Noona, Yeonu Oppa, Bokchi Oppa
Let’s go!!