EP.41
“Um… Ms. Sooah?”
“Yes?”
I couldn’t concentrate on my work at all. Lee Sooah was resting her chin on her hand, continuously staring at my face.
There aren’t many people who can solely focus on their tasks when someone is intently looking at them. Moreover, this person is S-rank Hunter Lee Sooah.
I could confidently say that no one in South Korea doesn’t know about Lee Sooah. She is that famous. And now, she was continuously watching me.
“Uh… aren’t you working?”
“I am.”
She had already pushed aside the mountain of documents piled on her desk. It looked like she had a lot of work to do.
“What exactly are you working on?”
“Managing team members.”
“Haha…”
I couldn’t help but let out a wry laugh in my mind. What kind of team management is this?
“Is this usually what you do?”
This was completely different from what I had heard earlier. Hyungseok said the same on the first day.
“Oh, don’t worry too much. You probably won’t even run into Hunter Lee Sooah. You don’t have to put too much pressure on yourself, and you shouldn’t get your hopes up too high. You’ll only get to interact with her after you’ve been here for about three years.”
This was not the case at all.
Lee Sooah was piercingly observing me right now. It was an incredibly uncomfortable situation.
“Yes, this is how I usually am. I tend to act like this when a new person joins.”
She was lying so nonchalantly. Everyone said it took time to engage in a conversation with Hunter Sooah.
After all, she was at least someone at the level of a small to medium-sized company CEO.
“What exactly do you do in team management…?”
I asked carefully. I was concerned about potentially offending her.
“Um~ first, I need to see what they look like. And I also have to check what abilities they have~”
‘What does that even mean by team management?’
Knock, knock.
“Yes. Come in.”
Her tone of voice suddenly turned icy. Just a moment ago, she had been chatting with me in a warm tone.
Now she had an expression that seemed annoyed as if our conversation was disturbing her.
Squeak.
“Haha… I-I’m sorry. Um… I’m here to give something to Hunter Baek Jihoon…”
Manager Cha scratched his head as he came in. He hurriedly approached me and handed me what I needed to prepare.
“That Baek Jihoon. There are things the rookie needs to prepare when going to the dungeon.”
“Um, wait a minute, Manager?”
“Yes?”
As Manager Cha was about to explain something, Sooah suddenly interrupted him. As a result, Manager Cha flinched.
“Baek Jihoon is still weak, right? Are you trying to send him to the dungeon already?”
“Uh… yes? He’s part of Team A, after all, and he’s from Hunter Class 6 as well.”
“Jihoon is weak, weak. You can’t put him somewhere dangerous.”
“Uh? Until now, all rookies…”
“Weak. Weak.”
She emphasized the word firmly.
“Then… what should we do…?”
Manager Cha was slightly trembling, looking to Sooah for guidance. While he had been quite frank among us, now he resembled a trembling mouse.
“Um. When going to the dungeon, don’t assign him to the attack group; please arrange for him to be always by my side.”
In the world of hunters, there is a concept of formations. It’s somewhat similar to military combat formations.
I sensed she was referring to that.
“Well, given that Baek Jihoon is the youngest, he would naturally be placed at the back…”
“Oh, that’s right~ But I still want him by my side. It’s too dangerous, you know?”
“Ah, yes.”
When Sooah raised her voice, Manager Cha couldn’t say another word and simply sealed his lips.
“Then, what should the youngest do…?”
“Manager Cha?”
“Yes?”
He was about to explain something while looking at me but got interrupted again.
“Ha… Manager Cha, seriously, you have no sense of awareness, do you?”
She shot him a glare.
“Uh… um… since he’s the youngest…”
“Why should the youngest take on all the unpleasant tasks?”
“Because that’s how it’s always been… and, of course, it’s important for him to learn… and the seniors are busy…”
“Ha… Are you really doing this in Team A? Shouldn’t you protect and cherish a rookie who just joined?”
“Ah… yes, yes. In that case…”
With a perplexed expression, he took a few steps back and simply left.
“Ha… I’m really sorry. It seems like our Team A is completely disorganized. They all need a bit of a wake-up call.”
She gave a bright smile.
“Um… but… as the youngest…”
I thought this was perfectly natural. It had been like this in the military as well.
“Baek Jihoon. You don’t have to worry about unnecessary things. I’ll guide you step by step.”
Her face brightened with a cheerful expression.
*
“Ugh.”
Manager Cha grumbled as he returned.
“Huh? What’s wrong? Are you coming back so soon?”
Everyone peeked over to look at Manager Cha.
“No. Why is it that every time I try to say something, I get interrupted?”
“Yes?”
“Our Team A has changed completely.”
“What do you mean?”
His bewildered look indicated he didn’t understand.
“Our hierarchy used to be strictly hierarchical and obeying orders, right?”
“Yes…?”
Since hunters risk their lives in dungeons, their nature is inevitably similar to that of a military structure.
“Then why’s the deal? Baek Jihoon is the youngest, so he has to be protected, right~ that’s what you’re saying!”
He slammed the stack of papers down on the desk with a mix of annoyance and confusion.
“Huh? Protected?”
“Yeah. Baek Jihoon is the youngest, so they’re saying he needs protection. So he’ll be pulled from the formation and kept close to Hunter Lee Sooah. And the youngest won’t have any tasks.”
“Excuse me??? Then what about me…????”
Suddenly, someone shot up from their seat. It was a Hunter who had joined three months ago.
He looked quite happy at first since he had just been relieved of his position as the youngest.
‘Hehe. Finally escaping from being the youngest. It was tough, but now I can breathe a little easier.’
That was just a few days ago.
“What should I do? I just have to keep being the youngest?”
After hearing Manager Cha’s words, he slumped back down into his chair with a defeated expression.
“Huh? So I’m being pulled from the formation? Doesn’t that mean I’m doing rear support?”
“Yeah. Ugh… Reorganize the combat formation again.”
“Oh wow…”
Everyone looked baffled as if questioning what the hell was going on.
“Hey~ Manager Cha, everything going well?”
The Hunter Class 5 manager entered with a sly smile, poking his nose in.
“I heard a new rookie joined?”
“What do you want now?”
“Just trying to remind you that even with a new rookie around, it won’t change things for us in Class 5.”
“Get out of here. Don’t annoy me.”
They were bickering back and forth.
After finally sending the Class 5 manager off, Manager Cha sighed in frustration.
“Ugh, I seriously thought with a new rookie, we might finally have some real competition. But now? This is practically like not having any reinforcement at all.”
“Yeah… I guess you can’t even make any sound during the managers’ meeting now…”
“Oh dear…”
Manager Cha wore a somewhat awkward expression. He had hoped to turn things around with Baek Jihoon, but now he was caught in a strange situation instead.
“Manager, now that it has come to this, how about we just make use of Baek Jihoon?”
“Huh? Make use of him?”
“I mean, I think Hunter Sooah really likes Baek Jihoon, don’t you think?”
“Come on, that doesn’t make sense. We joked about that before, but why would that happen?”
Everyone thought it was utterly absurd that Hunter Sooah could have feelings for someone. Of course, they all desperately hoped it could be true, but it was generally unreasonable to think someone would fall for a newbie so quickly.
“Look, Manager Cha. Project A isn’t just a mere hope; it’s a necessity. We need to push Baek Jihoon so that Hunter Sooah will lend us her support.”
Everyone nodded slightly in agreement.
Maybe they could turn this crisis into an opportunity.
“Hey, everyone, get a grip! You’re taking a joke way too seriously!”
Manager Cha seemed to think everyone was taking the lighthearted talk about Project A far too earnestly.
“Seriously, Manager Cha, you don’t get women at all. You talk about them all the time, so just wait; we’ve got this.”
The female assistants huddled together and started giggling.
*
“Uh, Ms. Sooah…?”
“Yes?”
“Isn’t this a bit too close?”
She had moved from merely staring to sitting right next to me.
“Are you really working?”
I sneakily glanced at the documents piled on the desk, subtly prompting her.
‘Get to work… why are you glued to my side?’
I was both bewildered and frustrated by the absurd situation.
“Why? I’m just getting to know Baek Jihoon. Don’t they do things like this in the military? Chief Warrant Officers observe new recruits—it’s normal!”
She said this as if there were nothing wrong.
“Well, that’s true, but…”
‘But I don’t think the Chief Warrant Officer would lean on the table, staring at your face while smiling like that…’
I couldn’t possibly concentrate on my work.
Ding, ding, ding.
Lee Sooah’s smartphone rang.
“Yes, yes. What is it?”
Once again, her voice turned irritated.
That feeling again of why am I being disturbed?
“What? What do you mean…? Yes??? No, why!!!!!”
Suddenly, she shot a glance at me.
Then she stood up abruptly.
“No way. I object. Baek Jihoon is on my team. Who allowed this to happen?!!!!!”
‘What’s going on? Why is she reacting like this?’
From her reaction, it seemed something related to me had come up.
“I’ll go up right now!”
With an expression filled with anger, she stormed out of the office.
Author’s Note: Whoa. I woke up to some support that came in!
Thank you, JIN Y, for your donation.
I know I still have a long way to go and there are many areas for improvement, but I’ll do my best to get better going forward.
*
It seems there have been many comments about my pacing being a bit slow, and I’ll be working hard to pick up the speed. I apologize for any discomfort caused.
I read all the comments diligently and am trying my best to incorporate your feedback.
Of course, there’s already a flow laid out, so I can’t make sudden changes, but I want to assure you that I’m paying attention to the points you’ve raised.
I’ll do my utmost to improve so that you feel less discomfort going forward.
Thank you.
See you in the next chapter.
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