Chapter 54
It’s My Heart, Got a Problem With That? (3)
6.
The next morning.
Early in the day, Deputy Manager Choi Sung-hoon came to meet me at the café near my place.
A refreshing iced Americano to start off a lively morning.
Maybe it was because he’d just pulled off a big event like a Korea–Japan match, but the weekend air was good — and so was my mood.
“I’ve spoken with Maru Guild’s player, Kim Yoo-jin. Everything’s settled.”
“Did she demand compensation?”
“No, not at all. Ah— she’s calling right now. Would you like to take it?”
“Sure, why not.”
Choi handed me his phone, and a deep, steady voice came through the receiver.
—This is Lee Tae-seok, Guildmaster of Maru Guild.
“This is Meteor.”
—First of all, I’d like to sincerely apologize for the disrespect shown by our executive, Kim Yoo-jin. I’d like to visit in person and deliver an apology directly. That’s why I’ve reached out.
Hmm.
I figured a guy who took in ex-gangsters would be similar himself — but surprisingly, the man was polite.
Wait, could “visit and apologize” be code for “stab me in the gut”?
That’d be pretty terrifying, actually.
“Well, sometimes fists fly during conversations between people. Is Kim Yoo-jin doing okay? Must’ve been quite the mental shock.”
For reference, I’d turned her into “the woman stuck in a wall” yesterday — and even torched her signature mustache clean off.
That mustache looked dangerous as hell.
Historically speaking, every man who’s ever worn a mustache like that has been trouble.
Like that German art student, for example.
Let’s just say, from a physiognomic standpoint, I did society a favor.
—We’ll handle the explanations on our side.
“You’re not planning to demand compensation, are you? For the record, Kim Yoo-jin threw the first punch. I’ve got video proof.”
—None whatsoever.
“That’s good to hear. If there’s no issue, there’s no need to trouble yourself with a visit. Let’s just grab a meal sometime instead.”
I’d literally knocked out one of Maru Guild’s top players and embedded her into a wall, yet they wanted to let it go?
No clue what was going on, but fine by me — I ended the call and turned to Choi.
“Did the Ability Management Bureau step in or something? This doesn’t make sense otherwise.”
“No intervention from us. But I can roughly guess the reason.”
“Oh?”
“The major guilds probably reached their own conclusions about the Goliath Basin incident. They’re aware of Kim Do-yoon’s capabilities.”
Choi took a sip of his iced Americano, looking a little tired, and continued.
“No matter how strong Kim Do-yoon is, he couldn’t have handled those Chinese assassins alone. So the only possible variable left…”
“Is me?”
“Exactly. The major guilds have likely classified you, Meteor, as a 6th-floor–level player. They’re not idiots.”
That explained it.
No wonder those brats clammed up the moment I walked in yesterday.
That wary look in their eyes made sense now.
“Then why did Kim Yoo-jin act like that?”
“Everywhere’s got its outsiders. That’s just how she lives. She’s got a few criminal records too.”
“And there’s no law that punishes criminals anymore?”
“Player Special Law was rushed through — people like her exploit its loopholes. Your brother, Attorney Yoo Jin-sung, has actually been campaigning for reforms for two years now.”
I didn’t know exactly what my brother was doing these days, but if he was doing it, it was for a good cause.
That’s just who he is.
Anyway, the fact that the one I punched was a criminal only made it feel better.
Should’ve broken an arm while I was at it.
“Now, on to business — I heard you’ll be personally participating in the friendly match against Japan.”
“They seemed happy to accept. You heard the format from Mirage Guild, right?”
“Yes.”
The Korea–Japan Friendly Match would determine five reward slots using a simple format:
5 vs. 5 — Winner-Stays-On.
Once all players on one side are retired, that team loses.
It’s a friendly, so killing the opponent is strictly forbidden — but no equipment restrictions apply.
In other words, gear-based advantage is fair game.
But that’s not really unfair, is it?
The monsters in the Abyss don’t care about your budget.
Wealth is power.
“And you’ll be joining the lineup yourself?”
“I’m the final player.”
“…You’re not starting off?”
“Where’s the fun in that? Gotta milk the content properly.”
Can’t start with the final boss, right?
I also wanted to see the skill gap between our rookies and theirs firsthand — and more importantly, this was a golden opportunity for content farming.
No way I was letting that slip by.
“The lineup’s set: one from Mirage, one from Maru, and two from Frontier.”
“Ah, and the Japanese side just submitted theirs too. All five are top prospects, fully backed by the Japanese government. But there are two in particular you should pay attention to.”
He placed two documents on the table.
Short dossiers summarizing the enemy team’s players.
I picked them up, and Choi added context.
“Kurogane Tatsuya. Disciple of Yamashiro Ren, the so-called Sword God of Japan. Ren’s a 7th-floor player himself — and apparently believes his disciple will surpass him. Weapon: katana.”
How poetic.
A Japanese swordsman using a katana.
Guess he’s going for the samurai aesthetic.
“In one-on-one combat, he’s said to be comparable to upper-floor players.”
“Noted — he’s dangerous.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t worry. A single hit to the head, and he’s done.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Next player is… whoa!”
I couldn’t help but exclaim when I saw the next profile.
The name alone was explosive.
“Bokusei Jun.”
“Yeah…”
“Now this is interesting! He’s that guy, right? The one who defected to Japan recently?”
“Yes, correct.”
“So he renounced his citizenship but came crawling back for the raid? What a piece of work.”
Bokusei Jun.
Korean name: Park Se-yoon.
Once known as Korea’s greatest prodigy, now freshly naturalized as Japanese.
“Jackpot.”
A perfect piece of kindling had just walked itself right into my fire.
Thanks, Lucky Matryoshka.
Good job.
7.
“Park Se-yoon, Korea’s top prodigy, returns as Bokusei Jun?”
“Japan’s Guild Union: ‘We merely selected the best players for the best results. No hidden agenda.’”
“Japan’s star-studded rookie lineup — can Korea even win?”
“All eyes on ‘Meteor,’ the man at the center of the storm.”
“The match will be broadcast exclusively on Meteor’s MiTube channel.”
Amidst all the hype, the weekend flew by — and the long-awaited day of the match finally arrived.
Only two days had passed, but it felt like an eternity.
What did I do in the meantime?
Not much — played with Ian, tossed almonds to Peanut, annoyed my brother, and helped Nuna Bitna with house chores.
Busy days, really.
Oh, and one notable milestone —
my fan café just surpassed 5,000 members.
I used to envy big-name streamers chatting with their fans on café posts…
and now, I could do that too.
Title: Day 3 of Praying for Bokusei Jun’s Public Humiliation
Post: Can’t wait to see Meteor give Bokusei Jun the beating he deserves today. Win or lose, I just wanna see him destroyed.
—(Link) Bokusei Jun: “Korea is my birthplace, but Japan is my homeland as a player.”
—Still makes my blood boil LOL
—Didn’t he take all the Korean government support before defecting??
—He was one of the few born “magic-spoon” talents too…
—Meteor will humble him for sure.
—When’s the stream again?
—1 PM!!!!!
—Our company’s grilling pork belly for lunch and watching the stream LOL
—This scale’s insane for a mid-tier streamer. Hope it runs smoothly.
—Don’t worry, Inseop’s whole production team’s backing him today.
Every forum, every café — everyone was talking about the Korea–Japan match.
With a big-name “villain” like Bokusei Jun involved, the hype was nuclear.
Up till now, I’d only streamed Abyss raids — this would be my first large-scale event on MiTube.
An international one, at that.
Naturally, I sent an SOS to Inseop.
“Hey, you know that crypto betting site that does U.S. election odds?”
“Yeah, what about it?”
“Checked it this morning. More bets on Japan winning.”
“What, a Korea discount?”
“…Not exactly how that term’s used, but yeah — Japan is an Abyss superpower.”
We were at the Seoul Western Gate, a place I’d grown quite used to by now.
Standing on Platform 3, designated for players, I chewed on jerky while chatting with Inseop.
His crew was busy prepping for the live broadcast.
“Double-check all drones!”
“Bring spares too, just in case!”
Kinda a shame, honestly.
If China had joined in, this could’ve been legendary.
A full-blown Korea–Japan–China showdown — just the name alone sells itself.
International events are always the best kind of content.
“Man, if only I were a 3rd-floor player, I could’ve joined too.”
“Don’t they have an event for the strongest players from each country?”
“Above the 6th floor, every player’s basically a tactical weapon. A match like that wouldn’t stay ‘friendly.’”
Humans really are primitive creatures.
Just look at the popularity of UFC.
Now that superpowered beings exist, those primal instincts are even stronger.
Come on, admit it —
you’re curious too, right?
Who would win: the strongest player from China or the strongest from the U.S.?
“Some creators already specialize in that kind of content — ‘Fire mage vs. water mage,’ stuff like that.”
“They’re not Korean, are they?”
“Nope. American. Dude’s got like 30 million subscribers.”
…Damn.
Different league entirely.
Guess it’s still the bear dances, and the merchant takes the money.
“You’re up last, right? Japan’s first player is that Park Se-yoon guy?”
“Say Bokusei Jun, if you don’t wanna get canceled.”
Public sentiment toward Bokusei Jun was rock-bottom.
The press had crowned him the #1 traitor of the 21st century.
Not that he defected for some noble cause —
he just said Japan offered better perks and growth boosts for players.
And now, he had the audacity to join a Korea–Japan raid?
The guy had no shame.
“You actually know him?”
“Yeah, he’s even been on my stream before.”
“Was he really Korea’s top prodigy?”
“You probably don’t realize just how good he was.”
Inseop paused for a moment, then nodded.
“Honestly, he could probably solo the other four players on your team — except you.”
Korea, Korea…
How far have you fallen?
But don’t worry.
“As Admiral Yi Sun-shin once said — ‘I still have twelve ships left.’”
“…What?”
The spirit of Admiral Yi will watch over us.
Ah, speaking of — time to post the stream notice.
Title: Going Live in 10 Minutes
Content: Korea–Japan Match ON
The perfect appetizer before the main raid.
Everything’s ready.
