Chapter 366 – First Day at Work. And the Day Before.
After successfully completing the interview, my start date was finally set.
An ambiguous date of May 4th.
Even though I had the interview at the end of April, they were forcing me to start work without any proper break.
It’s a large guild, yet their actions resembled those of a petty small guild like China.
‘You think being petty is a virtue? I already know all about it.’
[…But should you really say that, you idiot.]
‘Ah.’
But it didn’t matter much.
There’s a holiday, Children’s Day, on May 5th right after I start.
Most importantly, the sooner I can take down this guild, the better.
Especially before I sign that damned oath.
Anyway, even if it’s a guild, it operates like a company of sorts.
And it’s only polite to wear a suit for my first day at work.
At that moment, Hyeji was tying a tie around my neck.
“Shinwoo, have a good day.”
“…….Hyeji, thanks, but please tie it gently. I feel like I’m being choked.”
“Choking is my preference, so why do you care? Hand over that collar.”
“Just shut up already, please.”
After a lot of ups and downs, I finally dressed in my suit and was about to head out for work.
Suddenly, I remembered something I had forgotten and turned back to the heroines.
It was one of the things I absolutely had to do once I got a job.
Ayeon, who had noticed me first, spoke up in a slightly flustered voice.
With a look on her face that suggested she had just remembered something.
“You’re so careless. What if you forget to kiss before you leave?”
“I’m the only one doing it, so you all get lost, you idiots. Before I tear your lips off.”
“You’re just a deranged cat beastman. Speak properly.”
“Hmph! Feel free to try tearing off my lips! I still have my lower mouth left!”
[What the hell is this about calling her a heroine? In other novels, she’d just be a crazy girl.]
‘But in this novel, everyone else is fairly normal, right?’
[Shit.]
The heroines were looking at me with eager eyes.
I slowly approached them, wearing a slight smile on my face.
“This interview is ridiculously easy, right? No idiots failed, did they?”
– Bang!!
I slammed the door shut and bolted out of the house.
[You crazy bastard!!!!!!]
‘Honestly, I can’t help but brag about this.’
Let’s think about it for a moment.
In a good job, why do people suddenly post in group chats they hadn’t participated in when they get accepted?
Why do they desperately reach out to people they wouldn’t normally contact?
It’s all to show off.
This is an instinctual behavior rooted in human bragging DNA.
Whenever someone has something to boast about, like a record for fishing, a good college, a job, or buying a house, that gene kicks in.
After boasting about their superiority, the reactions from others usually fall into three categories.
They either force a congratulation, endlessly demean it, or retaliate in kind.
As for the heroines, they’d probably belong to the third category, which is why I hurriedly ran away.
[How exactly do you plan to handle the aftermath!]
‘I’ll trust my future self for that.’
[……Go ahead then, shit.]
Anyway, now that the must-do task was finished, all that remained was to get to work safely.
Since it was my first day, I left early in the morning.
Thanks to unexpectedly smooth public transport.
Before I knew it, I arrived in front of the guild building of ‘The Path of Excellence.’
‘It’s always amazing to see.’
[The guild itself might be dumb, but it’s quite a building.]
It was indeed a huge structure, just as Piece had said.
I’d only caught a glimpse when I came for the interview, but now that I was closely inspecting it, it was even more impressive than I remembered.
It was a high building in one of the few prime locations in a bustling neighborhood.
Except for the floors used for the guild, it was all potential money-makers.
A large convenience store open 24 hours.
A green coffee shop, symbolically located where only high traffic areas are allowed.
A fancy bakery to meet another demand.
Various restaurants that could be highlighted as food gems on a map, and even a hospital with a pharmacy.
Anyone seeing it would mistake it for a fancy shopping complex rather than a guild building.
‘I just don’t get why there’s a kindergarten and an elementary school nearby.’
[Well, there are a lot of apartments around, right?]
Anyway, I could explore later, so I gathered my thoughts and decided to enter the guild building.
For the short time I’d be living as a part of a large guild.
*
When starting at a new company or guild, how should one behave?
In truth, people don’t have very high expectations of newbies.
After all, they’re there to learn.
It’s not a position of initiative.
Of course, that doesn’t mean being lazy is the role of a newcomer.
On the contrary, newbies should be proactive.
They should do anything with enthusiasm and carry out their tasks without any complaints.
And most importantly, they should always wear a bright smile.
However, there are always some people who dislike such exemplary behavior.
People who irrationally harass exuberant newcomers for no reason, subtly gaslighting them to fit into the organization’s mold.
When a newbie hesitates, these individuals pounce on them, ruthlessly destroying their self-esteem.
These types can be found anywhere, and within ‘The Path of Excellence’ guild, Park Mira held this role.
Despite having no complaints about the guild, she was a lunatic who ridiculed newcomers for anything.
Because of this, every newcomer who joined after Park Mira had faced her at least once, experiencing the harsh taste of society.
So much so that she earned the nickname “Newcomer Cutter.”
Some might question this situation.
“Why don’t they just leave?”
That’s a valid point.
However, it’s impossible to just leave in ‘The Path of Excellence’ guild.
It has something to do with the insane oath.
It forbids any internal information from leaking outside.
And no matter how terrible it may be, you have to stay in the guild for at least a year.
If you want to leave, you have to return not only the salary you’ve received but also pay back extra amounts.
Otherwise, you will lose your physical freedom for half your life as a price of the oath.
And on top of that, you might lose a significant portion of your memories.
That was the oath that had to be taken in ‘The Path of Excellence.’
But that doesn’t mean there weren’t any new members joining.
Many people were attracted by decent welfare and the guild’s unique guidelines and activities.
Be it newbies or experienced members.
Park Mira was one of them.
Despite being a hunter for quite some time, she switched jobs immediately after learning about this guild.
Especially when she found out about the guild’s special activities, she even took the oath before applying for the job.
Thus, hiring hunters in ‘The Path of Excellence’ guild is generally done through recommendations.
They are sworn in and join the guild once the recommendation is confirmed.
It was quite rare for someone to join through a public recruitment process.
Now, back to the main topic, it was May 3rd.
The day before the newcomers of ‘The Path of Excellence’ guild were to start their first day.
Park Mira was counting down the days.
She had been bored without any newcomers to harass for a while.
But tomorrow, her prey would arrive.
“Please come soon. Cry so you can prove you’re the newbie.”
How long had it been since she gripped her pen in excitement, staring at the paper?
Before long, the team leader approached her and handed her a sheet of paper.
“Mira, here’s the list of newcomers who will be joining the guild tomorrow.”
“Oh, yes. Got it.”
She must have to take care of a newbie, so this was to inform her in advance.
“By the way, team leader, have these newbies taken the oath?”
“Everyone except one came in through recommendations, so they’ve already taken it. It’s noted on that paper.”
“So, does that mean the newbie who hasn’t taken the oath is my responsibility?”
“Correct. I’m counting on you.”
“I have no choice then. Alright.”
For Park Mira, it was a bit disappointing.
The previous newbie she’d managed was already through the oath, and she recalled how she’d made him cry in the guild supplies room.
He was doing okay now, but seeing him all depressed compared to when he first joined delighted her.
But this time, since the newbie hadn’t taken the oath, if she did that, he’d run away quickly.
Thinking she had to torment him subtly, she looked at the paper, but as soon as she saw the name of the newbie she was responsible for, she couldn’t help but doubt her eyesight.
She even involuntarily cursed aloud.
“W-Why the hell is this idiot here!!!”
“Mira?”
“Oh… I’m sorry, team leader.”
The name was none other than Kim Shinwoo.
At that moment, she quickly apologized to the team leader, but inside her head, she couldn’t calm down.
Kim Shinwoo.
The one who had goofed off back when he became the student council president, and single-handedly caused a mess at the academy.
Of course, publicly, all the blame fell on the chief.
But the guild members belonging to a large guild were half convinced it was caused by Kim Shinwoo.
In Park Mira’s case, she found out due to connections from the previous large guild she’d been in.
However, the human resources department and other staff had yet to learn of this matter, which was likely a problem.
‘No, shit. Why the hell is this guy here without filtering out?!’
While she complained to herself as hard as she could, she simultaneously thought there was no helping it.
Fundamentally, information among large guilds isn’t shared with small guilds.
As a result, even if blacklists were set up among large guilds to screen applicants.
Such blacklists aren’t always updated among small guilds, leading to hiring slips now and then.
The rapidly growing ‘The Path of Excellence’ guild was no exception.
Despite its staggering guidelines and unique activities that had made it grow quickly in less than a year.
Gaps were bound to appear in places like this, so it felt like the road ahead was still long.
“H, this idiot.”
Even though she thought that, actually outing him was a bit difficult.
Other newbies had taken the oath in advance and joined through recommendations.
However, Kim Shinwoo had just come in through regular means.
Coincidentally, today was May 3rd.
So he wouldn’t take the oath until after the guild’s special activity on May 6th.
Afterward, she’d give him trouble starting from the oath onward.
Of course, that didn’t mean she couldn’t do anything now.
She could subtly mess with him, causing different kinds of embarrassment.
That was the core ability she confidantly wielded as the Newcomer Cutter.
– Creak.
“You’re already dead, you shit.”
While grinding her teeth, a sadistic smile slowly crept onto Park Mira’s face.
But he didn’t know.
What kind of events were about to unfold.
Especially if it involved Kim Shinwoo, even more so.
