WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: LilGuyBlastoise

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Mistaken for an S-Class Employee ◈

Chapter 15: Everything Happens for a Reason

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- No matter how I look at it, there’s something strange about Director Yoon’s actions.

- Do you think they’re trying to get rid of the Operations Team?

- I thought it was a good thing when they sent Team Leader Kim away...

- But even Assistant Manager Go...

Things had worked out exactly as I wanted, but the team reacted intensely to the transfer order.

Assistant Manager Jeon was especially worked up.

“How can they take away two people? Are they telling us to work or not? Seriously!”

As their voice grew louder, people from other departments started peeking over.

The transfer order had been posted on the company bulletin board, so everyone probably knew what had happened to the Operations Team.

I tried to calm Assistant Manager Jeon down.

“Keep your voice down. Team Leader Kim wasn’t doing anything anyway.”

“What about you?”

“...”

“Were you not doing anything?”

Unable to find an answer, I just looked at Assistant Manager Jeon.

Sigh...

They let out a deep sigh.

Patting Assistant Manager Jeon on the shoulder, I said, “They’ll hire more people. Director Yoon isn’t that thoughtless.”

“Will hiring someone really solve this?”

Assistant Manager Song spoke up in an agitated voice as well.

“Do you know what Assistant Manager Go means to our team? There are other people they could transfer. This is really not okay!”

I was the one who had asked to be transferred...

They were blaming Director Yoon, but seeing how strongly everyone reacted, I couldn’t bring myself to say anything.

Well, it wouldn’t hurt our relationship if Director Yoon took the blame.

Director Yoon was distant from the team anyway.

Nam Ha-neul spoke up.

“Now that I think about it, sending Team Leader Kim away feels strange too.”

“Right? I’m telling you, there has to be some kind of scheme.”

Rolling up their sleeves, Assistant Manager Jeon said, “Let’s request a meeting with Director Yoon. Or we can go to HR.”

I had intended to keep pretending I knew nothing, but my conscience was getting to me. Writers needed to have some basic morals.

“Wait. Everyone, please calm down.”

I stopped the team members who looked ready to leave the office at once.

“I’ll explain. I know what happened.”

Only then did everyone calm down and look at me.

“...”

Seeing the complicated mixture of anger, bewilderment, and resentment in their eyes, a lot went through my mind.

From here on, it was my responsibility.

I had to explain. Director Yoon’s responsibility was over.

How should I say it?

This felt much harder than confronting Team Leader Kim and Director Yoon.

Ah... Should I just let Director Yoon get cursed at so they’d live a long life?

* * *

I remembered the scene where Hyeok-su, the protagonist of my second work, <Goddamn Company Life>, quit his job.

The more uncomfortable the subject, the better it was to be honest.

I didn’t know whether I would be sent off like Hyeok-su or cursed at, but I had to tell the truth to the team members who had worked alongside me.

“The transfer... I volunteered for it.”

For a moment, silence fell over the Operations Team.

Everyone looked completely stunned.

They were probably wondering what this was all about and feeling betrayed.

Even if they said hurtful things, I was prepared to take it. I thought they had every right to.

“W-What do you mean...?”

Assistant Manager Jeon stammered as if they were panicking, but I calmly explained.

“I wanted to join the Content Team. I’d been interested in it for a long time.”

“...”

“An opportunity came up by chance, so I mentioned it, and that led to this. Director Yoon didn’t want me to go, but I pushed hard for it, and this is what happened.”

I felt terribly sorry for the team.

But saying I was sorry did not seem considerate of them, so I held it in.

“We couldn’t know until the transfer order came through, so I couldn’t tell you beforehand. They said they would fill my position soon. I know it’ll be inconvenient, but I hope you can bear with it for just a little while.”

No one said anything.

The four of us stood in the middle of the Operations Team like statues.

Sigh...

Assistant Manager Jeon let out a long sigh and finally spoke.

“If you’re transferring because you want to... I can’t exactly criticize you.”

“...”

“And since you’re going somewhere better, I can’t even try to stop you.”

Assistant Manager Jeon gave a bitter smile.

“You’re cruel, Assistant Manager Go.”

“...”

“I’m very disappointed.”

Assistant Manager Song and Nam Ha-neul remained silent with their heads lowered.

Then Assistant Manager Jeon forced a smile.

“We can’t send you off like this. How about a farewell dinner tonight?”

* * *

That evening.

I had planned to take everyone to a beef restaurant and buy them something good, but Assistant Manager Jeon stopped me.

“Assistant Manager Go! We’re paying for the farewell dinner. You’ve been treating us a lot lately, so I’m telling you in advance.”

“I want to pay.”

“I said no. What do you want to eat?”

“Blood sausage soup?”

I had lived relying only on my salary too. I wanted to save them even a little money.

“It’s not even lunch. Why blood sausage soup? Let’s get pork belly.”

We found seats at the restaurant.

After mixing soju and beer, Assistant Manager Jeon raised a glass high and said loudly, “I never thought suggesting a team dinner would turn into a farewell party. Ha ha.”

They had joined a year after me, so we had sat side by side and worked together for three full years.

A colleague I had spent more time with than my own family.

Once, they had said they could tell what I was thinking just by looking at my face.

Now I understood what that meant. I could tell just from Assistant Manager Jeon’s voice that they were trying hard to keep it together.

“To Assistant Manager Go’s continued success!”

“Cheers!”

The team members who had initially looked uncomfortable loosened up after drinking and gradually revealed what they really thought.

- The Content Team gets good performance bonuses, and promotions come quickly too.

- I’m jealous. Once you’re settled in, call me over too.

- You know how hard the Operations Team has it because of the Content Team, right? Please build a first-round review system for us.

We talked about all kinds of things, using the team transfer, Team Leader Kim, Director Yoon, and more as conversation topics.

And since I was the guest of honor, I drank a lot.

I don’t think I’ll be able to finish my work today.

Even then, I thought about my writing. I had finished the draft, but I still had not revised it. Still, that would not take long.

“I’m going because it’s something I really want to do.”

When I began speaking in my slurred, clumsy voice, everyone stopped talking and focused on me.

“Everyone has at least one thing like that, don’t they?”

When I had first joined the Operations Team, there had been a deputy general manager directly under Team Leader Kim.

They had been an extremely negative person who constantly badmouthed the company. They had even said this to a new employee who had just joined.

“Want to hear a prediction?”

“...”

“You won’t last three years at this company. Two years probably won’t be easy either.”

“...”

“Because you’ve got a terrible superior and you’re working in a department that only does odd jobs.”

Every one of those predictions had been wrong.

I had passed three years long ago. The terrible superior had been driven out. And though the Operations Team did handle plenty of miscellaneous work, it had become a department GoPlay could not do without.

And tomorrow, I would be moving to one of GoPlay’s core departments.

Ironically, now that I no longer had a reason to stay at the company, I could finally live my work life in the way I wanted.

What would it have been like if I had worked in the Content Team from the beginning?

If I had done the work I wanted in a reasonable environment, could I have become a writer?

At the time, I might have lamented over why misfortune kept coming to me, but looking back later, everything happened for a reason.

Through my alcohol-clouded vision, I looked at the team members.

They would be deeply disappointed that I was leaving now, but I believed they would grow more because of it.

“Assistant Manager Song.”

“Yes, Assistant Manager Go.”

I looked at Assistant Manager Song.

“Working with you, I realized you’re an ambitious person.”

Assistant Manager Song raised her head and met my eyes.

“They just don’t say it out loud. Far more people admire you for balancing both your family and your work. I hope you go through your work life with confidence.”

“Thank you, Assistant Manager Go.”

I looked at Assistant Manager Jeon.

“Assistant Manager Jeon.”

“Yes, Senior.”

“You know, that secret thing we talked about.”

I mimed writing, and Assistant Manager Jeon snickered and nodded.

“I’m not just saying this. I can really help you a lot. Whenever you write something, bring it to me. I’ll read it with all my heart.”

“Yes. I definitely will.”

Nam Ha-neul spoke up.

“What are they writing and bringing to you? What does Assistant Manager Jeon do?”

Massaging Nam Ha-neul’s shoulder, I said, “Didn’t you hear what I just said? I said it was a secret.”

“Oh, right.”

Nam Ha-neul scratched his head and smiled. I patted his shoulder.

“You should hurry up and get yourself a pretty girlfriend too. You said that was your greatest goal in life.”

“Ha ha, yes.”

Assistant Manager Jeon smiled and lifted a glass high.

“Ah, this is nice! Come on, let’s have another drink!”

* * *

The next morning.

At Director Yoon’s request, the Operations Team gathered in the meeting room.

“You don’t need to attend this.”

“I haven’t cleared out my desk yet.”

It seemed to be a meeting about filling the vacancy I would leave behind, so I attended on purpose.

“Ahem. I’ll keep this brief. You all know Assistant Manager Go is moving to the Content Team, right?”

As expected, it was about replacing me.

The Merchandise Marketing Team was being disbanded, and someone from that team would be coming over.

Rather than hiring externally, the position would be filled by an internal employee who already knew the company culture.

That was at least a relief, but it was too early to relax. You never knew a person until you had worked with them.

“Assistant Manager Song Ahri is the senior one, right?”

At Director Yoon’s question, Assistant Manager Song answered.

“That’s true, but Assistant Manager Jeon has more experience in the Operations Team.”

“No. Being in the Operations Team for at least a year is enough. With your years at the company, you’re Manager-level.”

“...”

“From now on, I’d like Assistant Manager Song to help me a lot as the acting Team Leader.”

“Understood.”

I smiled at Assistant Manager Song.

“You’ll do well.”

“Thank you.”

After having one last lunch with the team, I deliberately spoke cheerfully.

“All right, shall I pack up now?”

It took less than thirty minutes to pack everything into a single box.

“What? Were you already preparing to leave?”

At Assistant Manager Jeon’s question, I smiled.

“You know my style.”

I disliked clutter, so I did not keep anything at my desk except what I truly needed.

Holding the box, I stood up from my seat.

“I’ll be going! Let’s eat together often and keep in touch!”

As I was actually about to leave, I felt strange, so I deliberately spoke brightly.

Assistant Manager Song sniffled.

I teased her on purpose.

“Are you relieved I’m leaving, Assistant Manager Song? You cried when Team Leader Kim left too. Ha ha.”

Assistant Manager Song gave me a light shove.

“Don’t say that. It’s different from then.”

Then Assistant Manager Song covered her face with a handkerchief and began to cry.

“I’m sorry. I’ve become more tearful since having my child...”

Choke.

Seeing her cry made my own eyes sting, and I swallowed hard.

The Operations Team, where I had been since joining the company.

Thanks to all the countless miscellaneous jobs I had done here, there was almost nothing at GoPlay I did not know.

I believed being in the Operations Team had not been bad luck. It had been a necessary process.

“We agreed to send me off cheerfully. Smile a little!”

Four years after joining the company, I was finally beginning the work life I wanted.

Until the day I quit, I wanted to actively take on the creative work I had always wanted to do.

Rather than remembering me, I hoped the team members would look toward the future.

Afraid I might start crying, I turned toward the door and shouted energetically.

“I’m leaving! Good work, everyone! Go, Operations Team!”

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