The Wise Cleaning Life Of A Returning Genius Hunter [EN]: Chapter 117

116

Early morning, the office.

As promised, someone to assist with management was sent over from Hanbyul Corporation.

“I’m Oh Jae-yeop, Head of Planning and Coordination at Hanbyul Corporation. I look forward to working with you.”

“I’m CEO Kim Junwoo. The pleasure is all mine. I look forward to working with you as well.”

With his salt-and-pepper hair, Head Oh Jae-yeop was a middle-aged man with a kind demeanor.

“These are our employees. This side is the administration team, and this side is the dispatch team… Ah, Teams 3 and 1 are currently out on assignment, so I’ll introduce them separately later.”

“Ah, yes. I look forward to working with you all.”

Head Oh Jae-yeop politely greeted the employees.

The wary employees seemed to warm up to him, and everyone welcomed him.

Meanwhile, Director Lee Ah-young whispered to me.

“Am I the only one who doesn’t get this? Why is the head of planning and coordination coming to help with management?”

“Do you think they’d send a genuine expert? They’re probably just sending someone who will act according to their wishes.”

“…Is it okay to entrust things to someone like that?”

“Are we in a position to be picky?”

As we were whispering, Han Sang-hyuk clapped his hands and raised his voice.

“Great, things are finally looking up! I honestly thought this place was going to go bankrupt, so I was about to send my resume to headquarters!”

It was a sincere welcome from him… but Head Oh Jae-yeop didn’t seem to see it that way.

Head Oh Jae-yeop approached him and examined his name tag.

“Mr. Han Sang-hyuk…?”

“Yes!”

“Even if you’re close to the CEO, shouldn’t you use formal language in professional settings?”

“Ah, ah… Yes, I understand.”

Han Sang-hyuk flinched.

I couldn’t help but be impressed.

Even I had given up on Han Sang-hyuk, but he brought him to heel immediately…

Is this what you’d expect from someone from a large corporation?

I’m actually quite pleased…?

“Not only Mr. Han Sang-hyuk, but everyone here needs to understand something.”

He continued calmly, with a friendly smile.

“For the company to grow, it’s crucial for each person to fulfill their responsibilities. The cleaning team should clean, and the managers should manage. Personal relationships shouldn’t interfere with that.”

“Yes, yes……”

“The strength of an organization comes from hierarchy, and if the hierarchy collapses, the organization loses its power. Horizontal structures and equal organizations sound good… but ultimately, they’re shortcuts to destroying the company.”

“……”

“Therefore, from now on, all employees should go through me for any suggestions or reports to CEO Kim Junwoo.”

A soft yet firm voice.

Perhaps overwhelmed by his charisma, the atmosphere in the office instantly turned cold.

Everyone fidgeted, unable to say anything.

“Ah, one more thing.”

Head Oh Jae-yeop raised a finger and said.

“It seems it will be difficult to leave work on time from today. Please keep that in mind.”

“……”

“……”

I was quite shocked.

I realized it only now.

That’s how business is done.

***

[Association in Crisis, Is This Okay?]

[‘Now Is the Time for the Government to Step In,’ Future Democratic Party Assemblyman Jung Hoon Proposes ‘Private Management of Subjugation Rights’ Bill.]

[Commonly Known as ‘Dungeon Privatization,’ What Is the Core? ‘Reducing the Burden on the Association.’]

[Former Operations Director Kim Says, ‘Dungeon Privatization Is a Necessary Bill for Both the Association and Citizens’—Exclusive Interview.]

[Until now, all subjugation rights nationwide have been unilaterally managed by the Otherworld Ability Association. Of course, operations have been carried out without problems through a systematic subjugation system and the nation’s top-notch personnel, but as the former operations director, I am negative about whether it can be maintained even now that a major crisis has struck.]

[If the ‘Private Management of Subjugation Rights’ bill is enacted, it will not only reduce the burden on the current association but also allow guilds and freelance hunters to be more active.]

[The requirements for purchasing subjugation rights can also be made available to companies and individuals, and the effect of economic circulation can also be expected.]

The Planning Director’s office, temporarily relocated to the Operations Headquarters after the Administration Headquarters building was blown up.

“…What is this?”

Team Leader Pyeon Chang-hyun asked Director Lee Doo-shik, whom he was meeting privately.

“What else could it be! The Future Democratic Party is trying to kill the association, thinking this is their chance!”

“No… that’s not the point……”

What bewildered Team Leader Pyeon was not the government’s position or the contents of the bill.

He was simply shocked that Kim Junwoo had given such a statement.

“Why did CEO Kim Junwoo give such an interview about this bill? There’s no way he would ever support such a bill……”

Team Leader Pyeon couldn’t understand it at all.

Kim Junwoo knew better than anyone that if this bill passed, the association would collapse.

But why?

“Could it be that the Future Democratic Party lobbied him…?”

“Do you think Kim Junwoo is the kind of guy who would be swayed by that?”

“…Absolutely not.”

“Anyway, it’s true that the association is on its last legs. Frankly, I’m not sure if we can rebuild it ourselves.”

“……”

Team Leader Pyeon was silent.

It was a silent agreement.

A very chaotic situation both inside and outside the association.

Director Lee Doo-shik called back the key figures who had been scattered across the country to try to manage the situation, even a little.

As such, Team Leader Pyeon Chang-hyun of the Control Team and Kim Min-joo of the Operations Team, who were once called the ‘Dream Team,’ returned to headquarters…

But that alone was not enough to resolve the current situation.

Above all, the absence of the Administration Headquarters was too significant.

As budget allocation became difficult, elements necessary for operations, such as weapon supply, hunter care, and equipment support, began to cease one after another.

Naturally, the impact was concentrated on the Operations Team.

The association is currently in a state where it cannot carry out operations.

“That guy sincerely thought this was the way to save the association. Rather than protecting his pride and going bankrupt, he’s saying we should survive even if we lose power.”

“Even so… without even consulting us……”

“If we had consulted, would we have agreed?”

Team Leader Pyeon shut his mouth when Director Lee Doo-shik snapped.

“It’s obvious that he proceeded unilaterally because he knew we would desperately oppose it.”

“I understand your feelings, but… isn’t this too harsh on us?”

“Who says it isn’t? I feel the same way.”

Because the association was having a hard time, all sorts of bastards started crawling out, thinking this was their chance.

Director Lee Doo-shik didn’t like it.

“As you know, if this bill is enacted, we won’t be able to use our power anymore. The lower guys will be running sales instead of subjugation to get one more dungeon somehow. Shit… maybe we should change the name from the Operations Team to the Sales Team this time.”

“Then what do we do now?”

“What else can we do? Since that Kim Junwoo guy is sticking to it, even the opposition parties who were desperately opposing it are now watching us, thinking it’s no use.”

A deep sigh echoed again.

“There’s no choice. Even if it hurts our pride, the situation has become like this… we have no choice but to follow.”

“……”

“Anyway, tell the employees well. It seems like it will be even harder than now in the future.”

“…I understand.”

Team Leader Pyeon still had an unpleasant look on his face, but he didn’t have a proper solution either.

He left the office without saying anything more.

Director Lee Doo-shik picked up his phone as Team Leader Pyeon left.

「Yes, Director.」

Soon, Kim Junwoo answered the phone as if he had been waiting.

“I managed to get things done here somehow.”

「Thank you, I know it must have been difficult to persuade them.」

“If you knew that, you have to make that overseas branch project or whatever a success. If this goes wrong, we’re all going to be screwed.”

「Of course. I’m planning to proceed with it as soon as this matter is resolved.」

It was last night that Kim Junwoo contacted him.

He was already on the verge of a mental breakdown because of the election of the association president.

But Kim Junwoo told him a story that poured oil on the fire.

The story that the International Association has a secret organization under its umbrella and is assassinating people who are interfering with them.

Information about PB Corporation.

The truth about the attack on Director Choi Ho-sung and the terrorism at the Administration Headquarters.

The identity of Deputy Hwang Dong-hui.

At first, I thought this bastard was talking nonsense after drinking at night.

But as the story went on, Director Lee Doo-shik had no choice but to believe him.

Things that he couldn’t understand until now were all explained.

-So I’m going to destroy the existing International Association and make the Korean Association the second International Association.

When I heard those words at the end, I didn’t even have the strength to be surprised.

In addition, Kim Junwoo explained the specific plan.

It was the story about the overseas branch project.

Only then did I know that Karma Corporation was a secret organization under its umbrella for this purpose.

There were many things I wanted to say, but the only thing that came out of my head, which was already white, was the question of why he was telling me now.

Kim Junwoo said about that.

-You’re going to be the president of the association soon. At least the person in that position should know about it.

He answered coolly.

I knew that the position of association president would have more disadvantages than advantages in this situation……

If I had known that this top-secret project of such an absurd scale was in progress, I probably wouldn’t have run for the candidacy.

‘Tsk, no wonder he suddenly resigned while he was doing so well…… The secret story he had with the association president was this.’

Yeah, it’s worth keeping secret at this scale.

So much so that I’m regretting that I’d rather not know even now.

‘Oh, well, I don’t know. That guy isn’t going to talk nonsense. He’ll do something about it.’

Director Lee Doo-shik shook his head and decided to stop worrying.

***

“As expected, experts are different.”

I said, sounding more cheerful than I had in a while, as I checked the financial statements.

Sales had increased by nearly 30% in just one week since Head Oh Jae-yeop arrived.

If you add up all the contracts that haven’t been settled yet, it looks like it will be over 50%.

“Ha, I feel like I can finally breathe a little.”

“It seems like the employees’ breathing is being blocked.”

Director Lee Ah-young snapped, sounding very sharp.

Why is she so down in the dumps this morning?

“Why are you being so grumpy again? The situation has improved quite a bit, and it’s going well without any major problems.”

“It’s going well only if you look at the numbers.”

Then is it not going well in other areas?

“The average time employees leave work is 4 a.m. It’s been like that for a week. One team works on more than 7 dungeons a day. Even the former headquarters cleaning team didn’t do this much.”

“……”

Come to think of it, that’s true.

“But… everyone doesn’t say anything in particular. It’ll be okay.”

“They’re holding back because it’s your company.”

“Hey, even if it were someone else’s company, the Han siblings aren’t the type to do that. If they have any complaints, those guys will tell me.”

“Well, I don’t know……”

Director Lee Ah-young shook her head with a sigh.

“So, how long are you going to keep Head Oh Jae-yeop?”

“Well, I should keep him for at least a month, right?”

“A month… I don’t know if *I* can last until then.”

“Are you talking about the employees?”

“No. The company.”

I knew what she meant, so I didn’t respond.

But Director Lee Ah-young didn’t seem to want to drop the subject.

“Head Oh Jae-yeop is involved in almost every task. Honestly, I don’t even know who the CEO is anymore. Above all, it’s not a good sign that he’s attracting investors from all over the place.”

“……”

“You know that all those investors are affiliates of Hanbyul Group, right? If you’re not careful, you could be fired and the company could be taken over entirely.”

She showed a sincere sense of anxiety.

It’s more serious than when the company was on the verge of going bankrupt due to poor profits.

“Well, don’t worry too much.”

“How can I not worry! If Hanbyul Group’s stake exceeds the majority……”

“Lee Ah-young.”

I cut her off and spoke firmly.

“Do you think I’m the kind of guy who would be taken advantage of with my eyes open?”

“……”

Only then did Director Lee Ah-young shut her mouth.