The Wise Cleaning Life Of A Returning Genius Hunter [EN]: Chapter 208

207

Near the headquarters, at a Korean beef restaurant.

The 5th Task Force’s *hoesik* [company dinner] was in full swing, buzzing with talk about the practical skills test from that afternoon.

Most were lamenting that they could have done better or spreading baseless rumors about who from the next team might get promoted.

But the real star of the show was someone else.

“Ah, right, Choi Jong-hyuk! What was up with you today?”

“Hey, are you going to get promoted because of this?”

“Seriously! When did you train in secret?”

“Are you going to become a team leader at this rate? Haha!”

It was, without a doubt, Choi Jong-hyuk.

All because of the performance he’d shown in the practical skills test that day.

He had surprised everyone with his undeniable skill.

It was an unusual event for them, who had been working as support without being initially deployed with the 4th Team, so it was only natural that attention was focused on him.

“Training? I just did what I usually do,” Choi Jong-hyuk said modestly, sipping his drink.

Of course, it wasn’t his usual skill.

It wasn’t something he could talk about here, but he had been lucky, in any case.

He never imagined such a good offer would come his way.

‘Fools… rot here forever.’

He internally sneered at everyone at the table as he downed his drink.

Of course, he was dying to brag and show off right away, but he wasn’t stupid enough to ruin things.

More than anything, he also felt a sense of unease.

The performance shown by Kim Min-ju, a junior fresh out of the gate.

And the fact that the representative, who came from being a cleaner, had openly called him out still lingered in his mind.

He wore that subtle expression for a moment.

“Sorry, I’m a bit late.”

“Oh, our intern is here!”

“Welcome, welcome!”

When Moon So-yeon belatedly arrived at the *hoesik* [company dinner], his face lit up as if nothing had happened.

“Ah, So-yeon, sit here.”

“Yes, yes. Thank you.”

Choi Jong-hyuk, having her sit next to him, immediately poured her a drink.

“It’s your first day today. Are you having a hard time?”

“Ah, it was okay because everyone helped me a lot.”

“That’s a relief. Feel free to ask me anything.”

“Yes, thank you.”

As soon as Moon So-yeon raised her glass, Choi Jong-hyuk immediately offered his own.

“Pour me a drink too.”

“Ah, yes!”

“So-yeon, do you… have a boyfriend?”

“Yes, yes?!”

“Hahaha, just kidding, just kidding! I’m more embarrassed because you’re so surprised.”

Choi Jong-hyuk couldn’t see anything else.

He focused all his attention on Moon So-yeon, continuing to talk to her for hours.

“Here, have another drink.”

He constantly offered Moon So-yeon drinks.

However, Moon So-yeon, who had plans later, waved her hand, expressing her refusal.

“Ah, no. I have to leave now…”

“Come on, take it quickly. Don’t refuse.”

“I really have to go…”

“Tsk. Are you trying to leave before your seniors in a place like this? This could be disadvantageous when you’re being considered for a full-time position…”

Choi Jong-hyuk squinted his eyes as he spoke.

Moon So-yeon was at a loss for words.

What kind of ridiculous threat was this from someone on the Rank Assessment Committee?

But Choi Jong-hyuk, who had no way of knowing that fact, continued to act important.

“In this day and age, shouldn’t you have someone reliable on your side? If I get promoted in this assessment, I’ll be a proper team leader.”

“…Do you have such a reliable person on your side, *sunbae-nim* [senior]?”

“…….”

Choi Jong-hyuk’s expression momentarily hardened at Moon So-yeon’s question.

How dare an intern say such a thing to him?

“Hey, hey, don’t do that. What age are we living in, forcing someone to drink?”

Team Leader Lee Tae-beom, sensing an unusual atmosphere, waved his hand, stopping Choi Jong-hyuk.

“So-yeon, if you have plans, go ahead. It’s okay.”

“Th, then I’ll take my leave first. Sorry.”

“No, no. People who want to eat can eat. Go quickly.”

“Then…”

Moon So-yeon bowed and left the room.

Choi Jong-hyuk clicked his tongue once, watching her leave the store.

He glared at her empty seat with a stiff expression and sipped his drink.

***

A cafe near the Seoul headquarters.

Just as I was sitting alone, drinking coffee, the person I was waiting for arrived.

“I’m sorry. Am I late?”

It was Moon So-yeon, in charge of the 5th Task Force for the Personality Assessment Committee.

“It’s alright. I just arrived too.”

The reason I called her was for a mid-term check-up, but the purpose of checking on Choi Jong-hyuk’s movements was a little bigger.

But somehow, her cheeks were quite flushed as she sat across from me.

“Did you drink?”

“Ah, yes. There was a *hoesik* [company dinner] for the 5th Team today.”

“There’s a meeting too. Shouldn’t you have excused yourself appropriately?”

“I was going to, but… my *sunbae* [senior] kept offering, so I couldn’t help it…”

“Tch, what age are we living in… Who was the *sunbae* [senior]?”

“Choi Jong-hyuk.”

“…….”

I knew it.

I don’t like that guy.

“Well, let’s put that aside for now. How’s the assessment going?”

“Yes, there aren’t any particularly problematic issues overall.”

She took out the assessment sheet from her bag and continued.

“Team Leader Lee Tae-beom is basically diligent and has a good relationship with his team members. He tries to take care of even the smallest details. Everyone else is also a good person. However…”

“However?”

“Choi Jong-hyuk is a bit…”

As expected, that name popped up again.

“Of course, he’s helping me a lot, and he’s not a bad person… but, how should I say it, he has a slightly coercive side.”

“Haa…”

As I thought.

That personality doesn’t go anywhere.

“Has he ever made any private requests or used his position to force you to do something?”

“He does sometimes… but, well, it must be a joke.”

“Moon So-yeon.”

I looked at her with a serious gaze.

“Whether it’s a joke or not is up to the listener to decide.”

“…….”

“So… was it really a joke?”

Her gaze turned to the floor.

Judging by her reaction and that bastard’s personality, it can’t be a joke.

If I leave him alone, he’ll cause trouble like he did before the regression.

I want to cut him off this time if possible.

“Are there any other factors that could lead to a deduction? Like verbal abuse or violence.”

“No. There was nothing like that at all.”

“Then, what else?”

“Nothing at all. Honestly, even if there is a coercive aspect, that alone wouldn’t be grounds for a deduction. Above all, work attitude, interpersonal relationships, etc. According to the assessment criteria, everyone is in the top tier.”

“Tch.”

I can’t kick him out even though I know he’s going to tarnish the name of the Hunter.

Do I have to wait until something happens?

‘No…’

Then what’s the point of all this suffering?

“Ah, come to think of it, he said something strange at the *hoesik* [company dinner] just now…”

“Something strange?”

When I asked back, Moon So-yeon nodded and replied.

“He told me that in this day and age, you should have someone reliable on your side.”

“And?”

“So I asked him if he had such a person, and… he couldn’t answer. What does this mean?”

“Well… it’s obvious.”

It means he has someone reliable on his side too.

‘Someone is backing Choi Jong-hyuk?’

Could it be that his high performance in the practical skills test was also related to that?

If the guy backing him gave him a heads-up in advance…

‘That means one of the Evaluation Committee members…’

Excluding the Lee father and daughter, there aren’t many people left.

One outside director and three inside directors.

One of them is related to Choi Jong-hyuk.

“Then wouldn’t he know that I’m in charge of the personality assessment?”

“No. I don’t think so. The personality assessment is being conducted by me and Chief Lee Ah-young. Even if he knows, it would only be the team leaders.”

If one of the Evaluation Committee members is really backing him, it becomes even more difficult.

Disqualification is secondary, he’ll finish all the assessments with high scores.

Tch, what’s so pretty about that bastard…

‘…Wait a minute.’

It was a word I said without much thought, but suddenly that word stuck in my head.

Why is someone backing such a guy?

Unless they like each other so much that they’re pushing him without any compensation, there must be something they’re giving and taking.

But he’s just a C-Rank Hunter.

He doesn’t have the ability or authority to give something that would be helpful to a director?

‘Or did they ask him to do something that only a low-ranking employee could do…?’

I racked my brain for a long time, but nothing came to mind.

“Let’s keep an eye on it a little more for now.”

In the current situation, there’s not enough information to make a judgment.

I have no choice but to find out more.

“We’ll find out who’s backing him, so Moon So-yeon, please continue with the assessment.”

“Yes, leave it to me.”

“Then let’s go. You look tired, go home and get some rest.”

I took the evaluation form she handed me and got up from my seat first.

Even as I headed home, the story from earlier kept swirling in my head.

Someone backing him.

And something you could ask a C-Rank Hunter to do.

What kind of deal was there?

***

“Ah, So-yeon! Can you come here for a second?”

Early in the morning, at the 5th Task Force office.

As soon as Moon So-yeon came to work, Team Leader Lee Tae-beom urgently called her.

“This is the draft of this week’s operation schedule, right? I have to go to a meeting urgently, so please finish this and hand it over to the control team.”

“Fi, finish it?”

“It’s not difficult. Just organize the dates, times, and locations and make them into a table. If you don’t know how to do it, ask Jong-hyuk.”

“Ah, I understand.”

“Then please. It’s urgent, so please send it before lunchtime.”

The team leader left those words behind and immediately ran out of the office.

Moon So-yeon returned to her seat and looked at the paper she had received.

‘…I can’t understand any of it.’

Letters scribbled in a handwriting that could be mistaken for hieroglyphs.

She tried to read it with her eyes wide open, but no matter how hard she looked, she couldn’t understand a single sentence.

In the end, Moon So-yeon gave up on deciphering it and looked around the office to get help from someone else.

But everyone had gone out for subjugation, and the only person left in the office was Choi Jong-hyuk.

Kim Jun-woo’s words were quite bothering, but… there was no other way, so Moon So-yeon eventually approached him.

“Um… *sunbae-nim* [senior], what does this say…”

“Can’t you see I’m working?”

Choi Jong-hyuk snapped sharply before she could even finish speaking.

Moon So-yeon was quite embarrassed by his appearance, which was the opposite of yesterday.

“Ah. I’m sorry, *sunbae-nim* [senior]. But if you could just take a look at this…”

“Ah, *ssi* [a mild curse]… Hey, why am I your *sunbae* [senior]? I’m not even a Hunter.”

“…….”

“And, am I someone who has to help you unconditionally if you ask me to help you? I was a little nice to you, and you’ve completely forgotten your manners?”

He spat out words haphazardly along with pointing fingers.

But Moon So-yeon was more embarrassed by the sudden change in people overnight than scared by the sudden scolding.

“Anyway, these days…”

Just as Choi Jong-hyuk was muttering like that, his cell phone rang.

“…….”

After checking the caller, he picked up his cell phone with a stiff expression and hurriedly left the office.

“…I can’t help it.”

Moon So-yeon, who had been staring blankly at the place where Choi Jong-hyuk had left, eventually returned to her seat without any particular gain.

Then, she started making the table as much as she could.