Chapter 149. Public Opinion (1)
Gangnam District, a certain office. In the newly established branch office of the global guild American Dream, “Sis! Are you out of your mind?!”
The office echoed with the intense voice of a blonde man. And for good reason.
“Are you planning to suddenly pack up and fly back to America because you’re homesick?”
The news on his phone screen was filled with absurd reports. The man glanced at the silent, intellectual blonde woman.
“Are you just going to keep your mouth shut? At least tell me what’s going on!”
He flung his phone onto his sister’s desk. The screen displayed numerous mentions of “Kim Shimun” and “American Dream.”
Even so, “Team Leader Oliver, this is a workplace. Please keep personal and professional matters separate…”
Olivia maintained her usual composed demeanor.
“Damn it! To hell with personal and professional matters!”
Oliver finally exploded.
“Separate matters? Do you even have the right to discuss that now?”
He slammed a stack of papers on her desk. Normally, Olivia would have kicked him out immediately, but this time,
“…”
Olivia silently endured her brother’s outburst. Perhaps her calm demeanor only fueled his anger.
“Just yesterday. Yesterday! You personally took these documents to make an offer to Kim Shimun!”
He emphasized each word. Then he shoved the phone back at her.
“But what’s all this? Huh? ‘American Dream’s Side Already Concluded Negotiations with Kim Shimun.’
‘Kim Shimun to Immigrate to America Confirmed?’ What kind of nonsense is this!”
“…”
Reading through the screen her brother pushed in her face, Olivia closed her eyes briefly.
“Sigh… There’s a reason for all this.”
She sighed and responded calmly.
“A reason, my ass! You end the first meeting on a good note only to resort to this low-rank media manipulation? There’s a reason?”
Oliver clutched his neck in frustration, unable to rationalize the situation.
“Why did you do this? Have you gone insane from the heat? Sure, it’s only June but the heat is intense.”
“Team Leader Oliver, you know I hate the heat more than you do.”
“Yeah, I know that all too well! But I didn’t think you’d do something this stupid!”
Oliver flopped onto a nearby sofa.
He lay there lifelessly, then in a drained voice, he pleaded,
“Sis. Please, say something… I still can’t believe you would do something this idiotic.”
Olivia Denson. With her exceptional skills and matching insight, she was in the upper ranks of the Diamond tier. The current prominent members of American Dream, Andrew and Ron, were talents she had discovered.
Even before joining the guild, Andrew had made connections with the Constellation Athena, a truly outstanding prospect.
And before that, Olivia had been the one who identified many skilled individuals for American Dream.
Yet, someone as competent as her…
***
“What’s the reason for this ridiculous media manipulation? You always said that Kim Shimun was someone we had to approach cautiously, more so than any other player.”
It was driving Oliver mad that, despite his repeated questions, Olivia remained tight-lipped.
Doing something that could completely destroy any trust and goodwill with the target without any preliminary discussions?
“Please, sis! Say something! I’m going to lose my mind! AAAAAH!!”
Finally, his frustration exploded out of him.
“What’s all this wailing about, you lunatic!”
Olivia’s otherwise calm facade cracked instantly for the first time.
“Crap!!”
A sudden chill flew through the air.
“Sis, this is the office! We’re at work!”
Panicked, Oliver enveloped his hand in aura to deflect the ice shard flying at him. Barely regaining her composure at his mention of the office, “Sigh…”
Olivia took a deep breath and rubbed her forehead.
Then,
Click.
Olivia touched a small orb on her desk.
Instantly,
Woooom.
A low hum filled the room.
“As you can see from the use of the soundproof artifact, this conversation must not leak, understood?”
She slumped into the sofa opposite, issuing a warning. Oliver, straightening himself.
“Of course! I’m tight-lipped, you know that!”
He mimed zipping his mouth shut. Watching her brother with distrustful eyes, “You’re right, normally I’d never do something this stupid. Besides being idiotic, it’s beneath me.”
She narrowed her brow and bit her lower lip slightly. Noticing her habit during extreme discomfort, Oliver said,
“It just didn’t seem like you. Even the staff were freaking out, wondering if someone was impersonating you.”
He nodded fervently.
Then, “Wait a minute.”
Oliver, who had been nodding enthusiastically, suddenly froze.
“It sounds like you were forced into doing something you didn’t want to do.”
“Exactly. When I first heard the request, I rejected it outright.”
There were only two people who could force his formidable sister to do something against her will. One was Derick, the Guild Master of American Dream.
The other was…
“Wait. You mean…?!”
“Yes, just as you’re thinking. Moreover, the proposal they offered was impossible to refuse, so I had no choice but to accept.”
Realizing the situation now, “Damn! I intended to use this media storm at the next meeting, but to think they’d strike first like this.”
He watched his sister grinding her teeth in silence.
“We need to heighten Kim Shimun’s value even more. Contact the guild to reallocate more shares for him. I’ll get in touch with Derick separately.”
***
『Breaking News! Kim Shimun Moving to America?』
『American Dream Confirms, ‘Negotiations with Kim Shimun Concluded’』
『Kim Shimun Immigration Rumors!』
Bang!
The desk took a harsh blow. Considering the desk had been replaced not long ago, its lifespan wouldn’t last much longer either.
But, “Choi Changwook!”
“You called, President-nim.”
The cold-eyed man seemed unbothered by such things.
“What’s all this nonsense about Kim Shimun immigrating!”
He was furious at the flood of recent news. And for good reason.
“What does my position become if he moves abroad now!”
Kim Shimun, the hero of the recent finals and Korea’s most promising youth, was the center of attention.
Although some guilds, including Scorpio Guild, were causing a stir over corruption in the National Championship, there was a growing public opinion to forgive him, deeming him a prodigy comparable to the Sword Saint and Saintess.
They were indeed driving the narrative in that direction. Led by Kim Muyeol, the media under his influence was working hard. But if Kim Shimun fled to America now?
“That sly bastard! After all the work I’ve done to cover for him, he’s stabbing me in the back?!”
It would make him look like a fool for aligning the media narrative in Kim Shimun’s favor.
Worse yet, people would criticize him for failing to retain a talent like Kim Shimun within the country.
The Scorpio Guild and other wretched groups’ propaganda would tear him apart.
‘If it comes to that, even I…!’
Kim Muyeol bit his lip. Kim Shimun’s future as a top-rank ranker was as good as confirmed. Losing such a talent and even sending him to another country was unthinkable.
Public opinion would become uncontrollable, even for Kim Muyeol.
“Contact him immediately! No, I need to see him face to face!”
Kim Muyeol stood up abruptly.
“Um… President-nim, Kim Shimun actually just contacted us.”
“What?”
Choi Changwook, who had been standing straight, presented his phone instead of answering.
On it, 『Kim Shimun: Uncle. Since you’ve been shielding me a lot, here’s a little gift for you. Use it well.』
The message from Kim Shimun was displayed. Kim Muyeol stared at it for a moment before asking.
“… What’s this all about?”
“It’s a text sent by Kim Shimun right after the article about his move to America came out.”
Kim Muyeol pondered this for a moment.
“Have you found anything else?”
“Yes, yesterday the recruitment team from American Dream visited Ranker’s Palace.”
“The recruitment team? Right, there was the matter of American Dream’s branch too.”
Remembering something, Kim Muyeol nodded thoughtfully and sat back down, looking at Choi Changwook.
“Has it been about two weeks?”
“Yes, it’s been exactly two weeks since the paperwork for establishing their branch was submitted to you, President-nim.”
“Right. And I granted them permission.”
Usually, when a large foreign guild establishes a branch, it’s viewed negatively. This was true even before the arrival of Galaxy Arena.
Foreign corporations would enter the country, putting local businesses out of operation, or there were numerous claims of domestic funds being siphoned overseas.
It’s a complex matter, but in the end, the claims were both correct and incorrect. Especially the notion of domestic funds being drained was more nuanced.
Domestic funds didn’t just flow out without any return.
‘Even foreign companies have to invest locally by establishing branches, hiring employees, and paying taxes.’
It was more accurate to say they generated income through legal channels set by the state. In fact, many Korean companies earned money overseas through similar means.
And this structure didn’t change much after the appearance of Galaxy Arena.
“The terms proposed by American Dream were quite generous, weren’t they?”
“Yes, beyond taxes, you were particularly satisfied with the item clause: except for SS-Rank and above items, everything from the Korean server would be sold domestically.”
“Indeed. There were several other appealing conditions as well.”
Normally, even with such terms, granting permission so easily would’ve been unlikely.
‘Their intention to establish a branch was too obvious.’
After the Age of Stars, for several years, American Dream showed no interest in Korea but suddenly wanted to establish a branch?
There was clearly only one thing in Korea recently that caught American Dream’s attention.
‘Kim Shimun. They want to recruit that troublesome boy.’
And as expected, American Dream reached out to Kim Shimun. Granting the branch establishment permit so easily was less about the terms they offered, and more about Kim Muyeol’s belief that Kim Shimun wouldn’t be swayed by money.
‘He’s not one to be tempted by money. Just look at Kim Shihyuk and Lee Yujeong; he wouldn’t leave Korea.’
Kim Muyeol had a certain confidence that Kim Shimun wouldn’t be persuaded to join them.
But then, ‘Suddenly, there’s news about him moving to America, and now he’s talking about a present?’
Tap, tap.
Kim Muyeol tapped his arm with his folded hands.
Then, “Hah… Is that how it is? That cunning guy.”
Kim Muyeol smirked, stroking his sharp chin.
“Yeah. If he’s the type to mock me, he’d be capable of setting up such a complex scenario. But I’m curious.”
He glanced at Choi Changwook and asked,
“Who was the American representative who met with him and joined in this ploy?”
“According to the report, it was the Denson siblings.”
“Oh.”
Kim Muyeol’s sharp eyes glinted.
“The Winter Queen herself made an appearance? This gets more interesting.”
Olivia Denson. A top-rank Diamond player and a very rare magic-class woman. Having shared several arena experiences with her in the past, Kim Muyeol was rather intrigued.
“Given her personality, she’d never agree to such ploys… What kind of persuasion was used to get that haughty Winter Queen on board?”
“I haven’t gotten that far… there seems to have been no further meetings since, so it must have involved personal communication.”
“That’s likely. He wouldn’t want to spread rumors while orchestrating such a significant move.”
Kim Muyeol’s brow furrowed and then relaxed repeatedly. His fingers incessantly tapped the fine fabric of his suit.
“I think I understand the picture.”
Kim Muyeol unfolded his arms and looked at Choi Changwook.
“It’s time to contact Kim Shihyuk as well. Prepare for the announcement to go out this evening.”
“Yes, President-nim. But…”
Choi Changwook hesitated for a moment before asking,
“Shouldn’t we investigate what kind of deal Kim Shimun made with Olivia Denson?”
“Hah!”
Kim Muyeol scoffed. He shook his head slightly.
“Do you think we can find out if I order an investigation?”
“… I apologize.”
“As long as he doesn’t leave the country, it doesn’t matter what deal he makes.”
Kim Muyeol took out a cigarette. Choi Changwook, accustomed to this routine, lit it for him.
“We’ll just enjoy the stage our troublesome nephew has set for us.”
—
That evening.
『Breaking News! Kim Shimun Immigrating to America Due to Retaliation from Expelled National Team Guilds?!』
『American Dream Offers Over 5% Shares! ‘Hero Honored in America, torn Down in Korea’』
『‘Sick of Organized Witch Hunts’ A Sigh from the Night Hunter』
『Kim Shimun’s Immigration, a Coordinated Takedown?』
『All the Corruption Allegations Against Kim Shimun Were Reported by Specific Media?』
Fuel was added to the already blazing portal sites centered on Kim Shimun. No, it was more like pouring gasoline.
『Visit to American Dream Branch by Association President』
『Shock! ‘We Tried Our Best, Just Deeply Sorry to the Nation’ Ironwood King’s Bowed Head』
『Despite Efforts, couldn’t Break Long-standing National Team Cartel? Official Statement of the Association』
『Sword Saint’s Lament, ‘Fully Understands Kim Shimun’s Feelings, Must Be Mentally Exhausted’ 』
Of course, the public reaction was immediate.
-What’s this about? National Team Cartel? Manipulation?
-Something felt off all along… Oh, come on!
-And those who were just blindly cursing, you must feel great now, right?
-Seriously, LOL. This is hell. Come out, couch warriors!
-Damn it! I knew those bastards were frauds from the beginning.
-That’s why Platinum-rank is always critiqued for being weak!
-Even the finals team got eliminated in the Round of 16 this time.
-Without Kim Shimun, they wouldn’t have even made it to the Round of 16 LOL. They’d have been knocked out in the preliminaries.
Online communities and social media in Korea were ablaze.
-Those Scorpion trolls even pulled that crap at the National Team.
-I heard the guild leader is a former thug?
-The expelled guilds are no better LOL. Those in the know, know.
-Scorpio Guild has always been nasty, notorious from the 1st generation.
-And now even Kim Muyeol bows his head LOL. They must be in deep trouble.
-It’s the world’s top guild we’re talking about. They offered over 5% shares. What’s left to question?
The online fervor translated quickly into real life.
“Hey, did you see the article?”
“Of course! Unbelievable! The world’s top guild is offering shares, and here they just try to tear him down!”
“Even the Sword Saint is considering immigrating.”
“Who would want to stay after seeing what Kim Shimun’s going through? I fully understand.”
“If it were me, I’d leave too. Didn’t you see the preliminaries? Total national embarrassment.”
Early June.
Although the weather was still a bit cool for summer,
“This is infuriating! I can’t stand it anymore!”
“Let’s protest or something!”
“Where’s that guild’s house?!”
“Hey! There’s a petition! A petition!”
Korea became as heated as midsummer.