Kim sat back in his office chair, staring at the glowing screen of his laptop. The message he had just opened made his heart skip a beat. He blinked a few times to make sure he had read it right.

The competition, which had originally been set for three months away, was now scheduled in just four weeks. The new schedule, with such a short notice, seemed impossible to comprehend. He had barely registered the information when his phone buzzed, alerting him to a new message.

It was from the ...