The Wise Cleaning Life Of A Returning Genius Hunter [EN]: Chapter 53

052

“Where have you been? I couldn’t reach you! I’ve been looking all over for you!”

As soon as I stepped out of the office, Lee Ah-young spotted me from afar and rushed over.

“I was with the Audit Team Leader. It wasn’t a situation where I could answer calls.”

“Ugh… so they got to you too. What did you talk about? You didn’t say you’d take responsibility, did you?”

“Don’t worry. I’m quite selfish, you know. How are things in the other teams?”

Lee Ah-young shook her head.

“Not good. No… it’s more accurate to say it’s the worst. The only good thing is that it’s not enough to get fired, maybe?”

“That’s the worst kind of news. Not enough to get fired means they’ll torment you endlessly without actually firing you.”

Lee Ah-young’s brow furrowed deeply.

“This probably isn’t the end. They’ll come barging in at every opportunity and drive us crazy.”

“Why… Why are they going this far?”

Shrugging her shoulders, she said,

“Isn’t it obvious? They want me to not be able to stand seeing my colleagues suffer and leave on my own two feet.”

“……Is there no other way?”

“I can just leave.”

“Ugh, seriously! Are you kidding me at a time like this?!”

Lee Ah-young suddenly burst out.

I mean, she asked if there was no other way, so I told her, but why is she getting mad?

“I just meant a way to end things amicably!”

“There isn’t one. At least, not on my end.”

Lee Ah-young ruffled her hair.

“Min-joo and I are relatively okay. Honestly, we can leave here and go to a Guild, or there are plenty of places that would take us even if it’s not a Guild. But……”

Her voice caught in her throat.

“The cleaning team has to stay with the Association.”

She avoided my gaze and turned her head.

Knowing her personality, if she were to be fired, she would flip everyone off, smile, and walk out.

But with problems arising for her colleagues, Lee Ah-young can’t do that. She’ll become more passive, weaker, and more timid.

Like now.

‘Is being pathetic genetic?’

I scratched my head quietly.

Targeting the people around the person in question, like they’re doing now, is a method I used countless times in my past life.

Because you can see effects beyond simply kicking out the person in question. It’s good as an example, and it’s also good for instilling awareness in those around them.

But.

‘Now that I’m on the receiving end, it feels really… shitty.’

I took out my phone.

There were dozens of missed calls and messages, but I ignored them all for now and called that person.

“Yes, Director. This is Kim Jun-woo.”

「Why haven’t you been answering your phone! More importantly, it seems like it got into Seo Min-cheol’s ears! The headquarters is in an uproar right now! I’ll try to handle it somehow for now……」

“No. You can leave it alone. If the Director gets involved any further, you’ll be out before you even get to see the acquisition resolution.”

「……Then what are you going to do? Are you just going to take it as it is?」

“Director.”

I opened my mouth with a serious tone.

“If I hand you a knife, can you wield it?”

「…….」

Silence followed over the phone.

But that was only for a moment.

「Of course, I can.」

A confident answer came back.

I ended the call like that and let out a faint sigh.

As soon as I looked at Lee Ah-young, she seemed to have vaguely noticed what had been said, and her eyes had regained their vitality.

A faint smile appeared at that sight.

“Ms. Lee Ah-young. Do you happen to have some time right now?”

“……Yes, yes? Why do you ask?”

“I was hoping you could come with me somewhere.”

Her eyebrows furrowed.

It was as if she was asking, ‘At a time like this?’

“The Audit Team has left… so I do have time.”

“Then, first, get dressed up a bit. I’ll be waiting in the lobby.”

Saying that, I left first.

***

Two and a half hours by car from Seoul.

The sky on the mountain road in Gangwon Province was already getting dark.

The only reason I bothered to bring Lee Ah-young all the way here was because

I didn’t have a car yet.

“Ugh, this is so uncomfortable!”

A voice full of annoyance came from the driver’s seat.

Lee Ah-young kept fidgeting, as if the dress was bothering her while driving.

“Then why did you wear such clothes?”

“You told me to dress up! I wouldn’t have worn it if I knew we were coming to the middle of nowhere!”

She shouted, seemingly irritated from driving.

“But where are we going anyway? Can’t you at least tell me?”

“It’s better if you don’t know. We’re almost there. Let’s walk from here.”

As the car stopped, I grabbed the shopping bag I had prepared. Then Lee Ah-young asked cautiously.

“What’s that?”

“Ramen.”

“……? Why ramen?”

“It’s a bit much to go empty-handed.”

“No… I don’t know where we’re going, but isn’t ramen a bit much as a gift?”

Instead of answering, I just smiled.

“Follow me. Watch your step.”

I left the road and started walking into the mountains, where there seemed to be a path.

After about 30 minutes, just before complete darkness fell.

A cabin with lights on appeared in the distance.

Arriving in front of it, we carefully knocked on the door.

“Hello?”

No response.

Just as I was about to knock on the door again.

Bang—!

“Kyaa, Kyaaa!!”

An old man rushed out, opening the door so hard it nearly broke. Then, without hesitation, he brought a weapon to my neck.

“……Who are you? How did you know to come here?”

“Hello.”

I greeted him calmly, but the old man’s eyes were truly fierce.

More than anything else, I was just glad to see him.

‘The old man is still the same.’

“Nice to meet you. I’m Kim Jun-woo, Team Leader of the Seoul Headquarters. I have something urgent to tell the Association President, so I apologize for intruding like this.”

“As, Asso…!”

Lee Ah-young covered her mouth.

Then she looked back and forth between me and the old man.

Association President Park In-beom.

50 years ago, in the era when dungeons first began to appear.

Back then, when there was neither an Association nor Guilds, he was the one who wrote the legend with 5 colleagues.

Afterward, he single-handedly created the current Association.

The head of the Otherworld Dimension Management Association.

This bald old man was the very person.

“I don’t know how you found out, but if you don’t want to die, get lost. And don’t breathe a word of this to anyone.”

Association President Park In-beom turned his back with a look of annoyance, as if my reaction wasn’t interesting.

I took out my secret weapon there.

“I brought ramen.”

“……What?”

“Spicy flavor.”

“…….”

Lee Ah-young turned to me with a dumbfounded expression.

A look as if to say, ‘What the hell are you talking about?’

“……Will it take long?”

“30 minutes is enough.”

“Come in.”

The door of the cabin opened wide.

The Association President led us to the living room, took the ramen, and headed to the kitchen.

“I’ll cook it.”

“No. I’d rather crush it and eat it raw than have someone else cook it for me.”

It was just a polite thing to say.

In my past life, he always cooked ramen himself.

As the Association President entered the kitchen, Lee Ah-young, who had been stiff, quickly turned her head.

“Wh, what are you?! I thought you weren’t on the Association President’s line! How did you know about this place?!”

“Is there any need to be so dramatic?”

“Of course! No one on the board knows the Association President’s location! Not even my dad, who’s a director!”

Lee Ah-young questioned in a lowered voice.

I was wondering how to answer when.

Thump—.

The Association President, who had cooked the ramen, placed the pot on the table.

Then, groaning, he sat down on the floor.

“Eat.”

“Thank you for the meal.”

“……Th, thank you for the meal.”

A meal time that came suddenly.

Everyone was slurping noodles without saying a word when the Association President finally opened his mouth.

“50 years ago, when I was risking my life with my colleagues to subjugate dungeons, I think I ate only this for a whole month. After coming here, I have to go all the way to the town to buy it… but my legs are like this.”

He said that he had severely injured his left leg in a subjugation 50 years ago in a certain dungeon, where he had lost most of his colleagues.

It was inevitable that walking would be difficult.

“But how did you know?”

The Association President glared at me and asked.

“Director Lee Doo-shik gave me a hint. He said you like ramen……”

“No. That I’m here.”

His eyes flashed.

It was a charisma that was hard to believe came from an old man.

“I can tell you… but you won’t believe it.”

“Who else knows besides you?”

“No one.”

He then took a deep breath through his nose.

“What kind of guy are you?”

“I’m Kim Jun-woo, Team Leader of Cleaning Team 3, Seoul Headquarters.”

“Cleaning…?”

“Yes.”

“Heh, damn it!”

He laughed as if he was genuinely dumbfounded.

Well, he couldn’t have imagined that a cleaner would find out his location.

“Who’s next to you?”

“I, I’m Lee Ah-young, Deputy Director of the Support Office.”

“Lee Ah-young… Lee Doo-shik’s daughter?”

“Yes, yes.”

Lee Ah-young answered in a stiff voice.

“So, what do you want to say to me?”

The Association President soon put down his chopsticks and met my eyes.

“The board is trying to proceed with a merger with the International Association.”

“So.”

There wasn’t really any particular reaction.

It was a tone as if to say, ‘What do I care?’

“I hope you’ll stop it.”

“Why should I?”

“Isn’t it the Association that the Association President built? It shouldn’t be handed over to a third party……”

“Hmph. I thought you were someone who knew something since you came to find me.”

The Association President scoffed.

“I don’t care anymore whether the Association goes to hell or not.”

“…….”

“50 years ago, when I was in my prime, there was no such thing as an operations team or anything like that. System? Information? There was nothing like that. It was lucky if you lived after entering the dungeon, and it was over if you died.”

It was a story I had heard every time I drank with the Association President in my past life.

If you count the number of times, this is the 121st time.

The conclusion of the story was ultimately, ‘The current Association was established to lay the foundation so that we could subjugate dungeons even a little more safely.’

“I worked so hard to create it, but now they’re full of themselves. Fighting for positions, fighting for money, damn it. It’s ridiculous.”

The Association President smiled bitterly.

“Anyway, I don’t care what you guys do anymore, so if you’re done talking, leave now.”

He waved his hand while sitting down.

Of course, I’m not one to obey so easily.

“Then hand over the position of Association President?”

“……?”

The atmosphere froze in an instant with that one word.

“What did you say just now?”

“You said you don’t care, so why are you holding on to the position of Association President? You could just hand it over to a suitable person and spend your retirement comfortably. Are you just greedy for the position, but don’t want to work? Is that it?”

“Ju, Jun-woo……? Are you crazy…?”

Lee Ah-young pulled on my sleeve.

But I didn’t care. I didn’t really say anything wrong, did I?

“Are you out of your mind? Just because I’m a cleaner doesn’t mean I don’t know my place, is that it?”

“It’s not me who’s crazy, it’s the Association. What’s the Association’s top priority? The safety of citizens and subjugation [conquering dungeons], isn’t it? But look at the Association now. The guys who are silently working for the citizens have become eyesores, and the guys who are pulling strings without any means or methods have become the powers that be. After seeing this, are you still saying that I’m crazy?”

I never thought I would say these words in my life.

Still, well… if I want to persuade the Association President, I have to say things I don’t mean.

“If that’s really what the Association President wants, I understand. I won’t say anything more. I won’t come back again. But isn’t that right? What’s the reason why you’re still wearing that heavy crown? Isn’t it because you think you might be able to put it back in its place later?”

“…….”

“But now you don’t care how it turns out? Stop saying things you don’t mean. If you really don’t care about the Association, go back tomorrow and proceed with the Association President’s resignation process.”

As I poured out all the words I had prepared, the Association President, who had been listening quietly, let out a faint sigh.

The venom that had lingered in his eyes disappeared.

All that remained was the appearance of a senile and lethargic old man.

“I’m old and tired now. I’m a tiger without teeth, and the board is constantly eyeing my position. What can I do by joining them? I wouldn’t know if there was someone I could trust.”

I hid my smile at the Association President’s words.

He, who had lived in dungeons his whole life, was not a person who fit in with organizations. Because of that, he tried to follow the influence of those around him in most decisions, and that’s why he always kept someone he could trust by his side to get advice.

Before the regression, that was me.

Thanks to that, I was able to move the Association around as I pleased… but that’s all in the past.

“Why isn’t there someone you can trust?”

I opened my mouth in a calm voice.

“Ha! What, are you going to say it’s you? I acknowledge your guts……”

“Not me, Director Lee Doo-shik.”

As soon as I said that, Lee Ah-young’s eyes widened.

But the Association President had a calm reaction instead.

“If you side with Director Lee Doo-shik, the Association will come back into the Association President’s hands. In the first place, didn’t the Association President think he was trustworthy, so you handed over all the power to him?”

“…He’s still a clueless guy who thinks he’s a high school student. The board won’t leave him alone.”

“Don’t worry about that. If you just lend a hand, Director Lee Doo-shik will take care of it.”

There’s an agenda that Lee Doo-shik will push forward as soon as he gains power, isn’t there?

‘Headquarters reform…….’

If I just push him a little, he’ll accomplish everything the Association President wants.

“Association President Park In-beom. Take Director Lee Doo-shik’s hand. That’s the only way to put the Association back in its place.”

It was truly ironic.

In the past, I was the one who put pressure on him to get rid of Director Lee Doo-shik, but now I’m telling him to reach out to him.