The Wise Cleaning Life Of A Returning Genius Hunter [EN]: Chapter 22

021

It was truly shocking news.

Barely five days after the joint project ended, Operation Team 2 underwent a massive personnel reshuffle.

Most of Teams B and C, who were excluded from the subjugation operation, were transferred to the Gyeonggi branch, and some were even sent to the Ulleungdo branch.

It was called a personnel reshuffle, but in reality, it was a complete overhaul of Team 2.

Even I thought it was an excessive measure for just one disciplinary action, but…

‘Well, how would I know what the higher-ups are thinking?’

I don’t really care what happens to those guys.

In fact, something else was much more shocking.

「Operation Team 2, Team Leader Lim Dong-bin is subject to the following disciplinary action.」

「Rank registration revoked」

Lim Dong-bin was also a Hunter with a rank from the operation team.

Deleting a Hunter’s rank was the same as revoking their Hunter qualification.

Of course, it didn’t affect his position as team leader.

He only lost his qualification for subjugation, but there was no problem with him running the team and planning operations as a team leader. Formally, he could remain in the team leader position.

‘But… saying he can remain is just a formality.’

Who would treat someone who is no longer a Hunter as a team leader?

More than that, would Lim Dong-bin himself want to stay while being treated like that?

Team Leader Lim Dong-bin’s resignation was virtually a foregone conclusion.

And in the vacant position of Operation Team 2 leader…

“Sis! Congratulations!”

“Wow~ I knew our Hunter would make it!”

“Noona [term for older sister used by younger males], can I brag about knowing the operation team leader to people around me?”

Kim Min-ju stepped up.

“The youngest team leader, huh? Looks good. Congratulations.”

“Everyone… thank you.”

Operation Team 2 office.

When I handed over the small bouquet of flowers I had prepared, Kim Min-ju looked uncharacteristically touched.

“Sis, are you crying?!”

“No, it’s not that. It’s because of the pollen…”

Sorry, but those are artificial flowers.

It seemed like we were the only ones who congratulated her.

“Actually, I should have visited you first, but I’ve been so busy… I’m sorry.”

“No, no! It’s nice for us to see the office.”

“So, you’re the boss here now, right?”

“Isn’t it obvious? She’s the operation team leader. She’s on the same level as Team Leader Lee Soo-yong!”

“That’s not true. Even if we have the same title, our seniority is different.”

Kim Min-ju smiled awkwardly.

Then, she led us to a small table inside the office.

“Please sit here for now. I’ll get you some tea.”

Kim Min-ju put water in the coffee pot.

An operation team leader personally serving tea to the cleaning team…

A month ago, it was something I couldn’t even dream of.

“The office is a bit empty, right? It’s a bit messy because it hasn’t been cleaned up yet.”

Kim Min-ju said apologetically as the team members were looking around the office.

“Well, it can’t be helped since so many people left at once. How many are left?”

“Seventeen. It’s practically a discarded team. I guess they couldn’t just disband it, so they passed it on to me.”

“Being too humble is a form of deception. Even if it’s a small team, do you think anyone can become a team leader? It means you’ve been recognized that much, so you can brag a little.”

“…Thank you.”

Kim Min-ju’s face turned red.

Even if she unfortunately took over a team that was about to be dismantled, she is still a team leader.

A position where she can move the Hunters belonging to the team with a snap of her fingers.

Of course, the number of people is ridiculously small compared to other teams.

But in other words, she, who was just an ordinary Hunter a few days ago, now has 17 combatants.

‘I didn’t become a team leader until I was thirty…’

Somehow, my lower abdomen started to ache.

“Honestly, I didn’t do anything. It’s all thanks to you, Teacher. Well, even if I’m the team leader… it’s still your team.”

“Hey, hey… even if you think so, don’t say that to the team members.”

“Why?”

Kim Min-ju tilted her head.

Is she really asking because she doesn’t know?

“What Hunter would like to hear that their team is the same as the cleaning team? It almost feels like the whole team is going to be disbanded because of me…”

“They like it, though.”

“…What?”

At that moment, when I was wondering what kind of absurd answer that was.

“We’re back!”

“The subjugation near the exchange is a bit late, so we came first.”

“Ah, I’m hungry. Team Leader, how about delivery for lunch today?”

Just in time, the door burst open and several Hunters entered the office. Looking at their faces, they were the guys from Team A that I had encountered during the subjugation.

“Good work. Submit the subjugation report by tomorrow.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Oh, and the cleaning team is here, so everyone, please greet them.”

“The cleaning team…?”

“The cleaning team is here?!”

Soon, the team members’ gazes belatedly turned to us.

“Hello! I’m Lee Jin-ho from Operation Team 2!”

“Thank you for your hard work during the last operation! I’m Choi Jong-hoon from Operation Team 2!”

“Hong Ji-yeon here. Nice to meet you!”

Everyone’s backs bent in unison.

“Ah, hello… I’m Moon So-yeon…”

“I’m Han Sang-hyuk. We… well, nice to meet you. Hahaha…”

Unlike the vigor of the operation team, Moon So-yeon and Han Sang-hyuk were lukewarm. It seems they were still quite awkward receiving greetings from the operation team.

“Hey, think of them as the same team and treat them comfortably.”

“Oh, and if there’s anything we can help you with, please tell us anytime!”

“If… other team members act rudely, or mess with the dungeon like last time, we’ll just go and…!”

Moon So-yeon chuckled at the gesture of slashing her neck with her hand and sticking out her tongue at the same time.

With that as an opportunity, conversations gradually began to take place between the two teams.

Sincere, smiling faces.

I lowered my voice and quietly opened my mouth towards Kim Min-ju.

“Did you… beat the kids?”

“No.”

“Then why are they acting like that?”

“Reliable, right?”

“……”

She hasn’t been a team leader for long, but I can already see the hard road ahead.

The team members are all crazy.

“Anyway, the headquarters won’t be able to mess with the cleaning team easily now. You can focus on cleaning for the time being. I’ll take care of the troublemakers.”

“Should I say… thank you for that?”

Focus on cleaning.

A light chill ran down my spine at those terrifying words.

But, well…

‘It’s the same as my team…’

It’s good for us that the guys who looked down on the cleaning team are all gone, and only the guys who are friendly to the cleaning team are left. Besides, the team leader is Kim Min-ju.

If I can use all the guys here, the unlocking will be much easier in the future.

‘Well, I can be a little bolder from now on.’

Kim Min-ju, you…

You’ve finally become useful enough to be used as a tool.

“By the way, it’s almost time for them to come…”

Then, Kim Min-ju said, looking at the clock.

“Who else is coming?”

“The support team said that an aide would come today. I guess they’re assigning one since I’m a team leader.”

“Ah, I guess so. Now you’re a proper team leader.”

An exclusive aide only assigned to operation team leaders.

It was a detail that made me realize that she had really become a team leader.

‘An aide… well, I received a lot of help when I was a team leader too.’

Thinking about that, a face suddenly came to mind.

Chief Lee Ah-young, who was my exclusive aide during my active days.

The only employee who was with me the day I died, and undoubtedly the colleague I had been with the longest in the association.

‘Come to think of it, Chief Lee should be in the association around this time…’

Was she in the Hunter Support Team, Hunter Management Division?

Well, our team doesn’t have any interaction with that side, so it’s unlikely that we’ll run into each other by chance.

Or maybe…

“…Hey, what’s the name of the aide who’s coming today?”

“I don’t know yet. They didn’t really tell me their personal information.”

“Okay… I see.”

I licked my lips.

Yeah, what’s the point of asking?

Even if we met, we wouldn’t have anything to talk about, and there’s no way Chief Lee would recognize me.

“Oh, a guest is coming, so we should leave before then! Everyone, let’s get up.”

Team Leader Park said, getting up.

The team members also got up from their seats.

“Ah, no. You don’t have to avoid the seat…”

“We can’t interfere with the team leader’s work. We should go and do our next job… We’ll be going now.”

“Goodbye!”

“Please come again. You’re always welcome!”

“We’ll visit you sometime!”

I turned my back, receiving the still vigorous greetings from the operation team members.

The moment I opened the office door.

“Ah…!”

I ran into a woman with a youthful face.

A rather startled expression.

Judging from the looks of it, she seemed to be Kim Min-ju’s aide who was supposed to come soon.

I stared at her face with a hopeful heart, but…

“Ah, hello! I’m Song Hye-yeon from the support team, who will be assisting Team Leader Kim Min-ju this time!”

A name I’ve never heard before.

…It wasn’t her after all.

“Oh, you’re here. Nice to meet you. But Kim Min-ju is me, not that person…”

“Ah, uh? Ah! I’m, I’m sorry! I haven’t been with the company for very long yet…”

Aide Song Hye-yeon’s cheeks flushed red.

Of course, it was no longer something to worry about, so I passed her indifferently.

“…Then we’ll be going now.”

“Yes. Be careful going back.”

I threw a light greeting to Kim Min-ju and left the office.

Trying to hide my disappointed expression.

***

Hunter Support Team, Hunter Management Division.

A place that manages the information of all Hunters in the association and analyzes their current status and necessary support.

“Haa…”

Song Hye-yeon, who had returned to the office after finishing her first day of work, sighed deeply.

To be an operation team leader’s aide only two months after joining the association. It was an undeserved position.

Everything was a series of tensions, so it was only natural that fatigue would come all at once.

“What’s wrong, Hye-yeon? Was your superior worse than you thought?”

“Ah, Deputy Chief.”

At that time, a woman with short hair approached Song Hye-yeon.

Deputy Chief Lee Ah-young of the Support Team’s Hunter Management Division.

A great talent who rose to that position in an instant despite her young age.

Moreover, she had a beautiful and alluring appearance that even women would fall for.

She was a role model for Song Hye-yeon, who was a newcomer.

“N, no, it’s not that. She’s a better person than I thought… but I think I was too nervous.”

“Really? That’s a relief. Team Leader Kim Min-ju, was it? I heard she took over the team that was about to be dismantled? Unfortunately, too.”

“Yes, that’s right. Well… it seems she’s definitely out of favor with the head of headquarters. To assign a complete newbie like me as an aide.”

Deputy Chief Lee Ah-young smiled.

“You don’t know yet. In the association, being out of favor with Seo Min-cheol means you’re doing a good job.”

“…Come on. There’s no such thing.”

“Really?”

It was an expression that was hard to tell whether it was a joke or the truth.

Aide Song Hye-yeon pouted.

“Anyway, keep up the good work in the future. I heard that team leader is very close to the cleaning crew who is in the association president’s line? The name was… Kim Jun-woo, was it?”

“Ah… I ran into him once today.”

Aide Song Hye-yeon said, narrowing her brows slightly.

Staring at a person’s face so intently at the first meeting, it felt like she was being ignored as a newbie, so she didn’t feel very good.

“Who knows? If Hye-yeon gets on his good side, she might get attached to the Kim Jun-woo line.”

“Come on, I hate that kind of thing. All the higher-ups only think about themselves. They don’t even see the lower ones as people… It’s annoying.”

“Hmm, but it seems like you’re quite enthusiastic about the cleaning team? Last time, you even got a budget, and you scolded the guys who ignored the cleaning team.”

“It’s all image management, that’s it.”

“…Really?”

“Of course! They’re pretending to help now because they’re thinking about their image, but if there’s even a slight problem, they’ll immediately turn their backs on you! I’m willing to bet.”

Song Hye-yeon said with a confident voice.

Nevertheless, Deputy Chief Lee Ah-young somehow became more and more interested in that cleaning crew.