The Wise Cleaning Life Of A Returning Genius Hunter [EN]: Chapter 324

323. Side Story – Episode 1

“Hey, Kim Jun-woo!!”

Republic of Korea, Ability Dimension Management Association, Seoul Headquarters.

Specifically, Operation Team 1, known as the elite team.

A man’s voice echoed loudly through the team office.

“…Yes.”

I sighed inwardly and turned around.

For some reason, he was waving a piece of paper with an extremely displeased expression.

“Did you write this Yellow-rank subjugation plan?”

“…Yes, I did.”

“Are you out of your mind? A Yellow-rank, and you’re planning to form a team of only 10 people?!

“……”

“Besides, an estimated subjugation time of 3 hours? What, are you going on a picnic?”

A man who couldn’t be bothered with manners, yelling and getting angry.

Team Leader Lee Soo-yong.

The current leader of Operation Team 1 at the Seoul Headquarters, and a guy who snagged the team leader position through nepotism without any skills.

A useless bastard only interested in achievements.

As soon as I met his eyes, those thoughts came to mind, and I missed the timing to answer.

“Huh, what’s with those eyes? Are you going to hit me or something?”

Team Leader Lee Soo-yong made the first move.

I immediately avoided his gaze and answered.

“…No, sir.”

“If not, explain how 10 people are going to subjugate a Yellow-rank in 3 hours!”

“……”

I let out a small breath.

‘What a pathetic bastard…’

I swallowed those words and opened my mouth with a calm voice.

“The appearance of dungeons in Seoul this week has increased by about 15% compared to last week. Among them, 80% are Green and Blue ranks, and I judged that we wouldn’t be able to subjugate them all by the weekend with the existing formation.”

“……”

Team Leader Lee Soo-yong’s eyebrows twitched.

But only for a moment.

“So? What does that have to do with reducing the Yellow-rank formation?”

“I was thinking of minimizing the number of subjugation personnel for high-level dungeons and assigning those personnel to dungeons below Green rank.”

“What…?”

“Currently, C and D rank Hunters are almost exclusively in charge of subjugating dungeons below Green rank, aren’t they? But with the existing formation and the current number of personnel, it’s almost impossible for them to subjugate on their own. Support from higher-ranked Hunters is absolutely necessary.”

Team Leader Lee Soo-yong closed his mouth for a moment.

And then.

“Then what about the Yellow-rank? What if a problem occurs there?”

“That won’t happen.”

“What…?”

“I’m here, aren’t I? 10 people are enough. More than anything, that 3 hours includes lunchtime.”

“Ha, haha…!”

Team Leader Lee Soo-yong burst into laughter.

He looked like he was thinking, ‘Have I ever seen such a crazy bastard?’

He scanned me up and down for a moment.

“Hey, Jun-woo. Come here for a second.”

Suddenly acting friendly, he put his hand on my shoulder and dragged me out of the office.

A hallway with no one around.

Team Leader Lee Soo-yong looked around one more time and opened his mouth in a low voice.

“You know it too. Either way, Green rank and below aren’t very important. They’re not included in the performance record, and they don’t make money.”

“……”

“But if you mess up a higher rank while trying to help those guys… you won’t become a team leader, got it?”

“……”

I tried hard to hold back the rising corners of my mouth.

Team Leader Lee Soo-yong must have thought it worked, as he continued excitedly.

“You know, I’m pushing you a lot to the headquarters director, right? If you listen to me, you can really become a team leader next year.”

“Team Leader.”

But I opened my mouth in a calm voice.

“If you only invest in high-level dungeons because of those insignificant achievements, and an accident occurs in a lower rank…”

I stared at him intently and continued.

“You’ll have to take off your clothes [resign in disgrace], Team Leader.”

“……!”

At those words, Team Leader Lee Soo-yong’s brow furrowed.

It seemed like I had stabbed him properly.

“And frankly… if an accident happens, would it be me or the guys under me who get the blame?”

I said that and subtly brushed off Team Leader Lee Soo-yong’s hand on my shoulder.

Then, as I was about to return to the office.

“Ah, this bastard, I’ve been nice to you because you’re good…”

“……”

I heard that sound from behind.

“Hey, just because you’re an A-rank, do you think you have no superiors? Did you trade your respect for *yeot* [Korean taffy, implying he’s easily bought off]? How dare you talk to your team leader like that…!”

“Team Leader.”

I slowly turned my head.

“We haven’t even finished the damage recovery yet. Our personnel and equipment have been cut in half. Because of one Re-Gen Dungeon that disappeared 6 months ago…!”

And at that moment.

Thwack!

Team Leader Lee Soo-yong grabbed my collar and pushed me against the wall.

“I told you not to talk about that time, damn it.”

“……”

An expression filled with anger.

But his eyes seemed to be mixed with shame and fear.

‘So, he’s ashamed…’

Well, he should be.

If the so-called elite team leader was terrified and even gave up command.

“If you mention that time one more time… I’ll send you to the Ulleungdo branch [a remote island, implying exile]. Got it?”

“…I understand.”

When I lowered my gaze and answered calmly, he released the collar he was holding.

“Go in, damn it. I’m going to have a cigarette.”

“……”

Team Leader Lee Soo-yong said that and crossed the hallway.

I stared at his back for a moment, then straightened my clothes and entered the office.

At the same time, I felt glances looking at me.

“What are you looking at? Is there a show going on?”

“……”

“……”

With that one word, all eyes returned to their desks.

I also let out a sigh and returned to my seat.

“Oh, right.”

I looked at my teammate in front of me and opened my mouth as something suddenly came to mind.

“You’re also participating in this Yellow-rank subjugation.”

“……Pardon? Me?”

The guy asked back, seemingly quite embarrassed.

“Why? You don’t want to?”

“Ah, no. It’s not that… it’s just that this is my first time with a Yellow-rank…”

“You got promoted to B-rank this time, right? Then that’s enough.”

“The date is…”

“Monday in a week.”

When I said that, the guy nodded slightly.

“You guys just have to follow along anyway. I’ll take care of the subjugation. You just take charge of mapping and clearing the surrounding monsters.”

“……”

For some reason, she lowered her gaze and didn’t answer.

I called out again.

“Hey, answer me. Kim Min-joo.”

“Ah, yes, yes.”

I clicked my tongue once at her awkward appearance.

‘Ugh, damn it…’

I grabbed the documents and left the office.

***

“Ah, I can’t do this~.”

Operation Team 1 office.

As soon as Kim Jun-woo left the office, Hunter Geum Se-young stretched out and made a noise.

“The team leader is a stupid *kkondae* [Korean slang for a condescending older person], and the team ace is a psychopath… What a great teamwork.”

Geum Se-young.

Kim Min-joo Hunter’s classmate, and one of only two B-rank Hunters in the team along with her.

“But why is Kim Jun-woo’s personality getting worse and worse? Why is he taking it out on you when he got chewed out by the team leader?”

She said, looking at Kim Min-joo.

“……I don’t know.”

But Kim Min-joo answered calmly while working on the report.

“It’s gotten worse since the Re-Gen Dungeon. All of his close classmates and seniors died at that time. The vice team leader must be very heartbroken.”

“Ha, he didn’t even attend the funeral, what heartbreak! He’s just a sociopath. I really don’t understand how a guy like that has a girlfriend.”

Geum Se-young brought up personal attacks and private life, but no one in the office stopped her.

“If a bastard like that takes a position, he’ll be worse than Lee Soo-yong. I’m going to quit if Kim Jun-woo becomes the team leader, so keep that in mind.”

“…Whatever.”

Kim Min-joo’s voice was still calm.

It was as if she didn’t care what the superiors were like.

Geum Se-young seemed to have lost interest in her usual uninteresting reaction and returned to her seat.

But only for a moment.

“Hey, do you want to have a beer after work today? A new *kkochi* [Korean skewers] place opened in front of here.”

“Ah, sorry… I have a night subjugation today.”

“What? You had a subjugation yesterday too. Are you doing it for two days in a row now?”

Kim Min-joo nodded instead of answering.

Then Geum Se-young said with a dumbfounded expression.

“Hey, no matter how much you like money… you’re going to die, you idiot. You’ve been saying your shoulder hurts a lot these days.”

“It’s okay. It’s a Blue rank.”

“Really? Don’t you know that the dungeon with the most deaths last year was the Blue rank?”

Geum Se-young blinked and said.

But Kim Min-joo just smiled instead of answering.

“Ugh, I don’t know. It’s your body, so you do what you want. If you don’t have time today, please take some time on the weekend.”

“Okay.”

Kim Min-joo said that and checked the time.

Then she hurriedly packed her things and got up from her seat.

“It’s almost time. I’ll go first.”

“Okay~.”

After saying goodbye like that, she was about to leave the office.

“Hey, if your shoulder hurts a lot, go to the hospital!”

“Okay!”

She answered Geum Se-young’s nagging words in a perfunctory manner and went out into the hallway.

At the same time, she kept spinning her left shoulder as if it was very uncomfortable.

***

“Is everyone here?”

“Yes, yes.”

“Everyone is here.”

Cheongdam-dong, Blue-rank dungeon.

When I arrived at the entrance, all the team members participating in the subjugation were already ready.

I scanned each of the 8 participants one by one.

While doing so.

“Uh…? Vice Team Leader…?”

I made eye contact with Kim Min-joo.

“Was the Vice Team Leader the leader of this subjugation…?”

“What, didn’t you check?”

“It was a *jaego* [Korean for ‘stockpile’] dungeon, so it was an immediate formation…”

She lowers her head.

“Why did you participate here? You had a night subjugation yesterday.”

“…The incentives are high.”

“Geez.”

B-rank doing a Blue-rank night subjugation for just a few bucks?

It’s better to save your strength and aim for a high-level dungeon.

“But why is the Vice Team Leader…?”

“……”

I hesitated to answer her sudden question.

Then I avoided her gaze and turned to the other team members.

“Did you check your equipment?”

“Yes, it’s done.”

“Then let’s have a short operation briefing and go in.”

Soon, I opened my mouth in front of them.

“Blue rank, building-type dungeon, and the monsters are Crazy Rats. As you know, it’s a *akseong jaego* [Korean for ‘malignant stockpile’] dungeon, so I don’t think it will be that difficult.”

*Akseong jaego* dungeon.

A dungeon that has been neglected after exceeding the scheduled subjugation period due to reasons such as budget or lack of personnel.

It was originally a dungeon with subjugation rights held by Team 2, but the subjugation was postponed due to the sharp decrease in personnel after the Re-Gen Dungeon.

Fortunately, there were no major problems yet because the risk level was low, but according to the control team’s report, the monsters were starting to escape, so we had no choice but to subjugate it.

Of course, most *akseong jaego* are handed over to private guilds, but…

‘Lee Soo-yong told me not to hand it over…’

The operation headquarters has always had a lot of friction with private guilds, hasn’t it?

It seemed like he was trying to establish discipline again and was being difficult.

“Well, it won’t be difficult, but still be careful. Dozens of Hunters died last year because they didn’t concentrate just because it was a Blue rank.”

“……Yes.”

“I understand.”

It was a word to maintain tension, but somehow the answers weren’t very good.

Everyone had a sullen expression, but…

‘……’

Only Kim Min-joo didn’t even flinch.

I glared at her once.

“Then… let’s start the operation.”

Soon, I entered the dungeon first.