The morning came quickly. Dayo, who barely slept, had a rough night calculating and planning ways to reduce the impact of Michael's attack.

He had already accepted that he couldn't fully stop him. After all, the people behind Michael — and Michael himself — had been in the industry for a long while, and it hadn't even been up to a year since Dayo came into this world. He was lacking in influence. If it were his old world, none of this could have happened. But that was then. Now, he had to focus.

He forced himself to stand, dizzy but determined. He woke up early like it was a biological clock and did his normal routine — jogged and streamed like nothing was happening or about to happen.

Upon reaching home, he had already told his family what was going on so they could be prepared if they saw or heard anything.

He quickly made breakfast; it was Monday, so his siblings would be going to school while his parents went to the restaurant. After eating, he left immediately.

While he was on his way, he received a call.

– Min-Jae –

"Haha, my friend, how was your trip? Hope it wasn't too stressful?"

Min-Jae, on the other line, stayed quiet without saying anything.

"Huh? Min-Jae, are you there?" Dayo was forced to ask — this was weird.

"How?" That was all Min-Jae said.

Confused, Dayo asked, "How what, Min-Jae? Talk to me."

Dayo could hear a deep breath from the other line before he spoke again.

"How did you get what was in the flash drive?"

"Oh, you mean the content of the songs? Of course, they're mine."

"DAYO!!! Talk to me — how did you get those songs?" Min-Jae's voice was laced with surprise, confusion, and disbelief.

"Haha, okay, calm down, bro. I already told you — they're mine," Dayo answered coolly.

"But how? I haven't even gone through all fifty. I've only checked seven, and I'm not going to lie — they're top-notch."

"Hehe, and you're this shocked?" Dayo smirked before continuing. "You should probably check everything before calling me."

"What do you mean?" Min-Jae swallowed a huge gulp before asking, "Are you saying all the songs are of this quality?"

Dayo smiled. "Just check and let me know when you're done."

"Hmm, okay… And Dayo, thank you," he said quietly.

Dayo smiled. "Don't thank me yet."

It didn't take thirty minutes before he saw Min-Jae's call again.

"BROOOOOO! WHERE DID YOU SEE THESE SONGS?" Min-Jae asked, this time sounding completely overwhelmed.

Before Dayo could speak, he heard someone — maybe Min-Jae's neighbor — shouting in Korean for him to keep his voice down.

That made Dayo laugh.

After calming down, Min-Jae asked again, "Where did you see these songs, Dayo?"

"If I told you that I wrote them, would you believe me?"

"Hmm… I'd have to say that's a lie. First, you're not Korean-born and never lived here. The tone, language, everything in those songs — they're not something you'd just know. Secondly, the quality doesn't even drop — it increases. These songs are the kind that stay on playlists for months. Songs that could be called generational."

"So no, I wouldn't fully believe you're the sole writer of these songs."

"Haha, seems you don't believe me, huh? Well, check the copyright online — that should be enough to reduce your suspicion."

Min-Jae did just that while they were still on the call, and the results glared back at him.

"But… how? Why? When?" Min-Jae couldn't even form proper sentences.

Dayo smiled. "Leave the 'how' and 'when' for now. First thing's first — the why. I already knew your label dropped you because of me, so I did the needful. As for why — well, I'll be pushed out of the U.S. circle soon."

"So I want to start building something that's never been built before. And that's where you come in. You're the first person I'm telling this."

Min-Jae took time to reply. "Bro… is this what I'm thinking?"

Dayo laughed. "Haha, I can't read your mind, bro. What are you thinking?"

"You're planning to build an empire — to isolate and dominate the music industry?"

"Haha, I like the way you think, but think deeper."

"Wait… don't tell me—" Min-Jae paused, realizing what Dayo meant.

"Haha, yes. Not only the music industry but the entire entertainment industry," Dayo laughed.

Min-Jae swallowed for the nth time that day. "Dayo… your appetite is bigger than I expected."

"Haha, the bigger, the better," Dayo said, his confidence fueled by the new feature of the system that allowed him to learn any skill and have it appear on the system dashboard.

"But how do you plan on doing that?"

"A step at a time, Min-Jae. You'll be in charge of the Asia continent."

"Eh?! Wait, Dayo, calm down — can you explain?" Min-Jae sounded flustered by everything happening.

"Hmm, okay. Let me break it down for you. I want you to be in charge of the Asian entertainment industry. We'll start small — first Korea. I'll be sending you funds to start something that'll more than sustain you. I'll also give you a 10% share as the CEO."

"Dayo… this— isn't 10% too much?" Min-Jae asked. He knew what it meant to own that much of something.

Dayo laughed. "Haha, you think it's too much? Once you start working, you'll realize I've actually given you less than you deserve."

"Haha, alright, I hear you. So what about the name of the label and the structure?"

"Calm your horses, Min-Jae. I'll send you all the details soon. For now, just go through the songs and arrange them first."

"Hmm, okay. I'll be waiting for you."

Dayo looked ahead and saw he had arrived at JD Records. "Alright, bro. I'll call you once I have the structure complete."

He cut the call and immediately called Valery. "Call the heads of departments for a meeting."

"Alright, I'll do that now," Valery answered quickly — she could tell from his tone that it was urgent.

The whole lable could feel the change in the area and they knew something was coming.

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