The Wise Cleaning Life Of A Returning Genius Hunter [EN]: Chapter 55

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The same message had played on her phone for the umpteenth time.

“……”

Han Yoobin put down her phone with a grave expression.

Kim Junwoo had been unreachable since yesterday afternoon when the audit team had suddenly stormed in.

He wasn’t one to make personal calls often, but he always answered when she called him first.

Han Yoobin was genuinely worried that something might have happened to him.

“Um… Team Leader.”

Just then, Yang Jaewon from Cleaning Team 6 called out cautiously.

He was one of the guys who had been transferred from the Control Team when Cleaning Team 6 was formed.

“I think it’s best if you just drop it now.”

“Drop what?”

“Kim Team Leader. For the sake of the team members, it’s better not to get involved with him anymore……”

Yang Jaewon avoided eye contact, trailing off at the end.

But she understood immediately what he was trying to say.

Han Yoobin’s eyes narrowed sharply.

“Because of the audit?”

“Is it just the audit? They’ll be nitpicking at everything from now on.”

“Honestly, I don’t get it. Is it really that scary?”

“Team Leader. Most of us are from the Control Team or the Operations Team. We came over here when we saw Cleaning Team’s status rising… If this keeps up, it could be back to the old Cleaning Team in no time.”

Han Yoobin couldn’t believe her ears.

That was basically saying they’d only take the sweet and spit out the bitter.

But what disappointed Han Yoobin even more was that Yang Jaewon wasn’t the only one who felt that way.

“Being squeezed dry is only fun once or twice. There’s no end to it this way.”

“Didn’t you hear about Operations Team 2? They’re a complete mess just because they were close to Kim Junwoo.”

“Honestly, I want to jump ship before it spreads to us.”

Following Yang Jaewon, the team members chimed in one by one.

The fact that these words were coming from her own team, not some other team, made Han Yoobin chuckle in disbelief.

She slowly scanned each of her team members, then opened her mouth.

“Did you guys raise Cleaning Team’s status?”

“……”

“You were all happy to just put your spoons on the table someone else set, but now that the table’s about to collapse, you want to run away?”

The team members closed their mouths and began to exchange glances.

Of course, they didn’t seem to be backing down easily.

“Team Leader.”

Yang Jaewon spoke up again.

“You can call us selfish, but what else can we do? This isn’t a dungeon, it’s a company. We have to save ourselves first.”

“……”

“And even if we stick with Kim Team Leader to the end… what do you think the others will do?”

Han gripped her phone tightly.

“Alright. If you don’t want to get involved, then do that. But… I’m not.”

If she had been the type to do that, she wouldn’t have left the US branch in the first place.

“Turn my back now just because things got a little tough? I have my pride, I can’t do that.”

“T-Team Leader!”

“Don’t worry. If anything happens to our team, I’ll take all the responsibility. I won’t let anything splash on you guys.”

Cleaning Team 6 members kept their mouths shut.

They had seen her for a month, but this was the first time she had spoken so firmly.

***

After coming to work, she was swamped with tasks, leaving no room to think about anything else.

Han Sanghyuk and Moon Soyeon were either deliberately acting like nothing was wrong, or they really didn’t know anything, because they were the same as usual.

Above all, she didn’t want to hear any unnecessary noise, so she wasn’t taking calls from anyone else. Even though a storm had raged yesterday, she had no idea what the situation was at headquarters.

But when she came to headquarters herself on business, the atmosphere was more unsettling than she had thought.

“Are they out of their minds?”

“Who caused this mess, and they’re waltzing into headquarters?”

“Tsk, we shouldn’t have associated with that crazy bastard……”

“Did your team get hit too?”

“Yeah. Just because we provided operational support once.”

It was easier to deal with the guys who were openly badmouthing her.

What bothered her were the guys who didn’t know whether to pretend they didn’t know or to acknowledge her, awkwardly watching her.

Operations Team 2 was like that.

“Ah… O-Oh, you’re here?”

“W-Well, we have a subjugation mission, so we’ll be going……”

“Ah, I also have some business with the Control Team, haha.”

As soon as she entered Operations Team 2’s office, the team members started to leave in a hurry, as if they had seen a ghost.

It was obvious they didn’t want to get involved, but they had received help, so they were acting awkwardly.

Well, she understood.

In fact, that was the natural reaction.

Who would want to stick around when they were in a mess because of someone else? That would be even weirder.

“Sleeping?”

“Ah… you’re here?”

Kim Minju, who had been lying on her desk, slowly raised her head.

She looked very tired. It seemed like she hadn’t slept properly last night.

“Where’s the audit team?”

“They came in the morning and left.”

Her voice was low and subdued.

“Are you angry?”

“A little.”

“Because of me?”

She smiled faintly and shook her head.

“The bad guys are somewhere else, why would I be angry at you? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I don’t know. I don’t think other people will think that way.”

She glanced around the empty office.

“That’s why I’m angry.”

Kim Minju smiled bitterly.

“When you took the heat and took care of us, they were all over you, calling you the powerhouse of headquarters, but as soon as the pressure came from above, they all ran away……”

What was she saying?

Who took care of whom?

She was being too sentimental.

“Don’t worry too much. That’s normal. How can they care about others when they’re having a hard time themselves?”

“It’s all my fault. If I had handled things better, it wouldn’t have come to this.”

Seriously. She chuckled.

This girl was good in many ways, but she was too emotional.

“If you have time to say nonsense, get some more sleep. Or read this.”

“…This is?”

“It’s a summary of the Yellow-grade or higher dungeons that will appear until next year, and the operation plans. Well, you’ll do well on your own even if I don’t help you… think of it as a gift.”

She blinked.

Then she jumped up from her seat.

“T-Teacher……?”

“And Cleaning Team 3 will be reorganized. Well, Section Chief Park will take care of that, so just know that.”

“W-Wait a minute! Teacher, are you…!”

“The core of headquarters will change from now on.”

She continued calmly.

“Things will get a little rough internally… don’t try to help anyone unnecessarily, just focus on what you have to do.”

“……”

A bewildered expression.

She didn’t know if she had heard her or not.

At that moment, the office door burst open.

“Is your phone just for show?! Why aren’t you answering!”

It was Deputy Director Lee Ayoung.

As always, she was a noisy person whenever she appeared.

“What is it?”

Lee Ayoung shrugged, looking dumbfounded.

“The board of directors has been called!”

“…Why are you telling me that?”

“A motion to dismiss the association president has been put on the agenda.”

“……?”

A motion to dismiss the association president?

‘Ah… could it be?’

Was that it?

Was he going to leave like that?

Dismiss the association president and forcibly end Director Lee Doosik’s term?

No matter how she looked at it, it wasn’t Seo Mincheol’s idea.

It must be a plan made by Director Song Cheolshik behind the scenes.

He was surprisingly thorough, so he probably already secured a majority of the votes…….

“Oh, what should we do? If the association president is dismissed like this……”

“Well, we’ll have to hope it’s not too late.”

She said, checking her watch.

***

The hastily convened board of directors.

The executives and outside directors who filled the seminar room maintained a solemn atmosphere. Seo Mincheol was also present.

“So, in this board meeting, we will put forward a motion to dismiss the association president and a motion to remove Director Lee Doosik accordingly.”

Chairman Jang Daehyun opened his mouth.

“Association President Park Inbeom has not been in office for more than 36 months, and it has been confirmed that there is no way to contact him internally during that period.”

He put down the document he was reading and continued.

“Therefore, the board of directors has determined that Association President Park Inbeom has no intention of performing his duties in the future, and accordingly, we will proceed with a vote on whether to dismiss Association President Park Inbeom. Please come out one by one from the front row and put it in the ballot box.”

The voting began without any particular objection.

Director Lee Doosik glanced around.

Even if the association president had been away for a long time, there were definitely directors who supported him. Some of them had been with the association president since the early days of the association.

There was no way that those people would agree to the dismissal of the association president. Even if he was dismissed, it would not benefit them in any way.

Just in case, as soon as Lee Doosik heard that the dismissal motion had been put on the agenda, he contacted them.

However, most of them avoided contact, or even if he managed to get in touch, they changed the subject whenever the board meeting was mentioned.

At that point, Director Lee Doosik couldn’t help but notice something strange.

‘Song Cheolshik, that bastard must have done something……’

Whether he had persuaded them or threatened them.

As it stood, the vote was meaningless.

The result was obvious.

If the association president was dismissed, Lee Doosik would no longer be able to remain on the board of directors. And the next association president would probably be Song Cheolshik.

‘The core will change.’

Lee Doosik smiled bitterly.

The voting ended in less than 10 minutes.

Just as the vote count was about to begin.

“Thank you for your hard work, Director Lee Doosik.”

A greeting that made him doubt his ears was heard.

Lee Doosik turned his head and saw Seo Mincheol.

“……Yes. You’ve worked hard too.”

“Don’t be too discouraged. Even if you leave the board of directors, you can still stay in the association.”

“Ha… hahaha!”

A cheeky bastard. He was already above him.

Lee Doosik smirked.

“Seo Mincheol, do you happen to like… squid?”

“Excuse me?”

“There’s a famous squid restaurant I know… I’ll make a reservation for you soon.”

Seo Mincheol’s brow furrowed.

Squid restaurant out of the blue. Were they even close enough to have a meal together?

Suddenly, the platform became noisy.

It seemed the count was in.

“Then I will announce the results of the vote.”

Chairman Jang Daehyun picked up the microphone.

“32 in favor, against……”

“Wait a moment.”

At that moment, Director Lee Doosik suddenly raised his hand.

“……Yes?”

“I have a question, may I speak?”

Chairman Jang Daehyun looked flustered.

“Yes, yes. Please do.”

“If it is proven that Association President Park Inbeom has the will to perform his duties in the future, what will happen?”

The seminar room suddenly became noisy.

Of course, most of it was laughter.

“Well, according to the regulations, dismissal would be impossible, but… isn’t it too late? The vote count is already over.”

Everyone nodded.

“And how can someone who can’t be contacted prove that?”

“That’s right. Don’t waste time with useless talk and just be quiet!”

“Are you trying to grab at straws as you leave?”

“Hehehe.”

Jeers poured in from all directions, but Director Lee Doosik maintained a calm expression.

And then.

Bang—.

The tightly closed seminar room door was opened noisily.

At the same time, everyone’s eyes were focused on one place.

“I see…… So that’s how it is.”

The uninvited guest who entered the seminar room slowly opened his mouth.

“W-What……”

“What’s going on!”

“Did they get in touch?! Who called him!!”

“Was it you? Lee Doosik, did you call him?!”

All the executives stood up from their seats and began to raise their voices.

The seminar room instantly turned into chaos, and just as it was getting more and more heated.

“Quiet.”

The uninvited guest’s chilling voice echoed softly in the seminar room.

“Long time no see, everyone.”

Association President Park Inbeom, who had been out of contact for more than three years, had just returned to the association.