The Wise Cleaning Life Of A Returning Genius Hunter [EN]: Chapter 258

It’s been a week since we arrived in Vietnam and began the cleaning support initiative.

The Cleaning Team 3 members, myself included, rotated through different teams each day. During this time, I completed performance evaluations for all the cleaners.

“Teams 4, 5, 8, and 10 are significantly lacking in skill and experience compared to the others,” I stated, handing the documents to Branch Manager Lee Ah-young in the cluttered cleaning management office.

“I think it would be best to reduce those four teams first.”

“…Okay,” she replied flatly.

Her mechanical tone and expression brought back memories of Chief Lee before the regression.

“What about the last one?” I asked, breaking the silence. I stroked my chin and replied to Lee Ah-young’s calm question.

“The last one… I’m torn between Teams 2 and 7. Both have similar skill levels, but they’re not very efficient.”

“…….”

She still avoided eye contact.

I paused. “Are you still uncomfortable with this?”

“…….”

“I told you, if you worry about every little thing, you might miss what’s really important…”

“I know, of course I know. But… I can’t help but feel uneasy.”

I held back my response, but only for a moment.

“If that’s the case… you can go back.”

I spoke those words deliberately.

If she’s forced to do something she doesn’t want to do, it will only be a hindrance. My intention was that if she continued with such an ambiguous attitude, she should leave. But…

For some reason, she slightly upturned the corners of her lips at my words.

“You don’t have to worry about me. I know you’re having a harder time.”

“……Huh?”

“It’s you, not someone else, who made the judgment and decision. I feel this way, so how much harder must it be for you? But you can’t show any signs of wavering… I know you’re upset, but you’re bearing with it.”

“…….”

I wondered what nonsense she was talking about, but her face seemed a little brighter, so I decided to drop it, assuming she was willing to proceed.

“I’ll make a list of the four teams first. When will you decide on Teams 2 and 7?”

“…Put Team 2 on the list.”

“Okay. Should I get approval to coordinate the schedule with the operations team?”

“There’s no need to do that in advance. As I said, our goal is to bring down the branch.”

“Okay.”

She forced a smile, took the documents, and left the management office.

I sighed deeply and prepared to leave. Afternoon work was scheduled.

As I was packing my things to head to the dungeon, Hoo-in found me, somehow knowing where I was.

“Team Leader Kim.”

“What brings you here? I heard you were busy.”

“I had some time. I heard you have work this afternoon… I got lucky,” he greeted me with a handshake.

His face looked quite haggard after the past week.

“It seems like the new position doesn’t suit you well.”

“What’s there to suit or not suit? It’s just busywork anyway. I don’t have any decision-making power, just endless document reviews.”

“They’re not giving you any authority and just taking your advice.”

He offered a smile instead of answering, which seemed to confirm my suspicion.

“How is the preparation going?” Hoo-in asked cautiously as we walked.

It seemed this was the main reason for his visit.

“It’s proceeding as planned. We’ll systematically dismantle support, control, business, and operations through the reduction of the cleaning team.”

“Then won’t that cause problems with the subjugation [dungeon clearing] itself? There’s a risk of losing control of the subjugation altogether…”

I shook my head at his concern.

“That won’t happen. If they realize there’s a problem, the International Association will pour money into it. The Hub [central point of dungeon management] is worth that much.”

“…I see.”

“But even if they pour money into it, if it’s not resolved, and if there seems to be no hope of resolving it in the future, they won’t have a choice,” I continued.

“Then they’ll have no choice but to reluctantly give up the branch. Of course, they’ll only hand over the operating rights and try to keep it as a branch… but that’s something.”

“They don’t want to take responsibility, so they’re passing it on to someone else.”

“That’s right.”

A branch that consumes money but doesn’t generate profit—giving it up is a loss, but holding onto it is an even bigger loss.

That’s the goal of this plan.

Hoo-in seemed to understand and spoke, “So the starting point is the reduction of the cleaning team.”

“Yes.”

“Have you decided on the number of people?”

“Yes, well, I’ve decided for now…”

I was speaking when we arrived in front of the work dungeon.

The Team 3 members and the local cleaning team spotted me and waved as if they had been waiting.

“Hey, Jun-woo! Luang here wants to treat you to dinner after work today. Are you coming too?” Chief Park Geun-tae announced unexpectedly.

“Yes… ?”

As I made a bewildered expression, Luang from the local Cleaning Team 2 smiled brightly and added, “Kim! I heard you’re going back next week. I definitely want to treat you before you leave. Please come!”

“…….”

I was speechless.

Then, Han Sang-hyuk shared another piece of news. “Oh right, did you hear? Doan from Team 4’s wife safely gave birth this morning. It’s a daughter.”

“See! I told you it would be a daughter! Don’t underestimate my 57 years of experience, you rascal.”

“Seriously, you’re just bragging about a 50 percent chance?”

“Should we get them a gift? He couldn’t even be there because he was working. We should at least do that much.”

“…….”

I silently watched them chattering and laughing among themselves.

After supporting all the teams for a week, I had grown quite close to the local cleaners.

Of course, the Team 3 members don’t know the full details of my plan.

It’s not that I deliberately hid it, but I didn’t think there was a need to say it in advance.

Well, if they had known about the restructuring, they wouldn’t have been so friendly.

“…….”

I felt conflicted. If I had known we would become this close, I should have told them from the beginning.

“Everyone is very grateful to Team Leader Kim. He’s like a benefactor who allowed those who lost their jobs overnight after the association was dissolved to make a living again,” Hoo-in said quietly beside me, sensing my regret.

“Of course, they don’t seem to know that the current Team Leader Kim is that benefactor… but one’s true nature doesn’t go away. You’ll probably get the same reaction no matter how many times you visit with a different identity.”

“…….”

“That’s how much Team Leader Kim cares about the employees. You can’t hide it,” he forced a smile and continued. “Although you’ve made a difficult decision this time, I know that’s not your true intention. It’s just something that can’t be helped. It must be hard, but…”

“Not really.”

“……Yes?”

“What’s so hard about it? It’s not like anyone is dying.”

I smiled slightly and approached the group. “Actually, I have some news to share with you all today.”

“……Hmm?”

“What’s with the sudden serious atmosphere?”

I spoke in a serious tone, but everyone seemed to not have grasped the situation yet and laughed, making jokes.

Ignoring their reactions, I delivered the main point. “Due to branch operation and financial reasons, Cleaning Teams 2, 4, 5, 8, and 10 belonging to the Vietnam branch will be disbanded.”

“……?”

“……What, what?”

“The cleaners belonging to those teams will officially have their contracts terminated in a month. Please come to the management office for inquiries about severance pay and pensions.”

I continued slowly, watching their faces harden.

“Thank you all for your hard work.”

I bowed before them.

***

International Dungeon and Hunter Management Association, Vietnam Branch. Branch Manager’s Office.

“It seems like the new position suits you quite well,” Secretary-General Wesley said, opening the call with Branch Manager Sean.

“Haha, it’s all thanks to you, Secretary-General,” Branch Manager Sean replied with a smile.

“So, how is the work going?”

“There are no particular problems. The subjugation [dungeon clearing] is stable, and there are no issues with the Hub [central point of dungeon management] operation.”

“That’s good. Well, as you know, the Hub will be an important source of funds for our activities in the future. Please take good care of it.”

“Of course.”

The conversation between the two men was quite amicable, but only for a moment.

“By the way… is there any news from Korea?” Secretary-General Wesley asked in a low voice.

“Korea?”

“I’m talking about Karma Corporation. Ah… I heard that the name has been changed to an international organization this time. WDSO, was it?”

“Yes, yes… I know about that.”

“The Vietnam branch was also a very important economic stronghold for them. They must have made some moves since they were openly robbed.”

“Well… I’ve received a few calls, but I’ve rejected them all. I haven’t received any calls lately, and there haven’t been any special signs.”

“Hmm…….”

Secretary-General Wesley groaned, sounding unsatisfied.

Then, Branch Manager Sean added, as if to dismiss the concern, “They haven’t fully established themselves as an international organization yet. If they rashly confront us and end up losing, they could lose the trust of the branches and collapse. Considering the risks, they have no choice but to be upset.”

“…Well.”

However, Secretary-General Wesley’s reaction remained lukewarm.

“Of course, that’s the logical choice, but putting Kim Jun-woo on the line of common sense is already out of the ordinary.”

“……Is that so.”

“He’s definitely preparing something behind our backs. Don’t let your guard down.”

“I understand.”

Branch Manager Sean nodded and replied. In fact, he said he understood, but he didn’t really. Why worry about something that hasn’t happened yet?

He sincerely thought so. Of course, unlike others, he only worked in the office, so he didn’t know much about Kim Jun-woo. At best, he had only heard rumors and news that others talked about.

But it’s not good to idolize him too much. Isn’t he just a human being after all?

“Any other special notes?”

“Um…….”

Then, Secretary-General Wesley asked a routine question as if he was about to end the call.

Branch Manager Sean hesitated about mentioning the cleaning support, but decided against it. He judged it wasn’t important enough to report in detail. Besides, the cleaning support manager was Chinese. He heard the surname ‘Lee’ is common in China, so it’s likely.

“No. There’s nothing special.”

Branch Manager Sean, having made a quick decision, replied.

“Please continue your hard work in the future.”

“Yes.”

Branch Manager Sean hung up and leaned back in his chair.

As the Secretary-General said, now that he had the Hub [central point of dungeon management] along with the Vietnam branch, he could move more actively. The French government was also backing him.

He would be able to exert influence in all fields, including diplomacy, trade, and politics, beyond the subjugation organization.

The first goal was to build a perfect control system based on this. The Hub was just the first step.

And the rest was…

‘Taking over the WDSO’s branches one by one…….’

That would completely isolate them. Of course, this was already in progress. Now that he had the Vietnam branch, next would probably be…

‘Was it the Japanese branch…?’

Well, those guys wouldn’t be difficult either.

That’s when Branch Manager Sean muttered, “Branch Manager.”

Some employees entered the office. Like him, they were dispatched from the International Association headquarters.

“What’s going on?”

“The cleaning support manager dispatched from overseas has proposed reducing the number of cleaning team members in the branch.”

“…What?”

“They say they’re going to reduce it from the existing 10 teams to 5 teams…….”

Branch Manager Sean’s eyebrows twitched at the sudden news. But his surprise was temporary. Soon, the calculator in his head started working.

“Reducing the number of teams by half… that means we can save on labor costs?”

“That’s true, but is it okay? If the remaining staff can’t perform the work properly, there will be problems here and there…….”

Branch Manager Sean shook his head. “It’s not subjugation [dungeon clearing]. What’s the problem if the cleaning is a little late? They probably suggested it because 5 teams are enough to handle it.”

“Yes, well… according to the proposal, it certainly seems possible.”

“Then there’s no need to worry.”

Branch Manager Sean nodded, approving the reduction plan.

‘They’re more useful than I thought…….’

He had left everything to them because he didn’t want to pay attention, but they were helping him save the budget in an unexpected way.

This is really… should I give them a formal contract?

Branch Manager Sean muttered with a smile.