WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: LilGuyBlastoise
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Mistaken for an S-Class Employee ◈
Chapter 21: A Special Encounter
──────
I was carefully rereading the email when,
“Assistant Manager Baek!”
Part Leader Ryu called out loudly.
“Yes, Team Leader.”
“Book a conference room. We need to go over this.”
“Understood.”
“Everyone in the Original Part, please gather in the conference room.”
Inside the conference room, Part Leader Ryu put the email up on the screen.
“What is this?”
Assistant Manager Seong's eyes widened as he read the email.
It had been sent to the entire Content Team, and since we had been called in as soon as it arrived, they probably had not seen it yet.
“Ah, is this about what Manager Chu emailed yesterday?”
Assistant Manager Seong looked at me.
“How incredible must this idea be for them to request our attendance at a production meeting?”
Exactly. I had only offered a few casual thoughts, but Manager Chu was making a bigger deal of it than I had expected.
It felt like I had been serializing as usual, only to suddenly shoot up the rankings.
“Part Leader, this has never happened before, has it? I don't think I've ever seen us attend a face-to-face meeting with the production team.”
Assistant Manager Baek spoke with a smile.
“Right. We only ever passed our feedback along through the Distribution Strategy Team. Never to this extent...”
Part Leader Ryu spoke.
“That’s why I don’t think we can take this lightly.”
Since joining this company, Team Leader Kim was the only supervisor I had worked under. This was my first time working with a different superior.
The authority of a Content Team Part Leader was comparable to that of a typical Team Leader.
I watched closely to see how Part Leader Ryu worked.
“You know the feedback and materials we’ve accumulated on Original content every week?”
“...”
“Assistant Manager Baek, print all of it.”
“Understood.”
“And Assistant Manager Seong.”
“Yes, Team Leader.”
“The materials comparing and analyzing Nutflix Originals.”
“Yes, I’m organizing them now.”
“Print those too.”
Part Leader Ryu gave the orders, and the team moved with military precision.
Part Leader Ryu had a round, cute appearance and was usually the quiet type who worked without raising their voice.
But right now, they looked like a field commander.
“We don’t often get the chance to deliver our opinions directly to the people on the ground, with no buffer.”
“...”
“Stay sharp and prepare thoroughly.”
“Understood!”
Part Leader Ryu looked over the team.
“Manager Shin.”
“Yes.”
Manager Shin Se-ung.
He was the least noticeable person in the Original Part.
Other than greeting him when we came to and left work, I had not exchanged a single word with him yet.
And it was rare to see him talk to anyone else, either.
“You handle the backup work. The rest of the team will put aside our regular duties and start preparing for the production meeting.”
“Yes, understood.”
Could one person really cover an entire part’s work?
Yet Manager Shin accepted it as though it were nothing.
This was the first time since transferring teams that I had seen the whole part move as an organized unit.
It was very different from the atmosphere in the Operations Team.
No wonder the Content Team had become the center of power at GoPlay.
“If there are no questions, we’ll end here.”
It had not even been ten minutes, but Part Leader Ryu was already wrapping up the meeting.
Before leaving the conference room, they added one more thing.
“Oh, one more thing. We’re the team that represents GoPlay’s content. Remember that. I consider this matter very important.”
“Yes, understood!”
Without realizing it, I answered loudly along with everyone else.
* * *
The next morning.
One hour before the meeting.
“Manager Shin, we’re heading out. Contact us if anything comes up.”
“Yes, understood.”
Everyone in the Original Part except Manager Shin left early.
A few days ago, Assistant Manager Baek and I had walked this route alone. This time, there were four of us.
It was only a ten-minute walk, and I wondered if we had left too early.
“Part Leader.”
Assistant Manager Seong seemed to have had the same thought.
“If we arrive too early, it might make them uncomfortable. We still have plenty of time. How about we get coffee nearby first?”
Part Leader Ryu checked the time and nodded.
“We did leave a little early. All right, let’s get coffee.”
Ten in the morning.
We found seats in a cafe.
This was the busiest time of day for office workers.
The office district was desolate, and the streets were quiet.
There was no one in the cafe but us.
A brief moment of leisure before something important.
Maybe this was one of the little pleasures of office life.
“Wow. No matter how much I think about it, I can’t believe this is happening.”
Assistant Manager Baek beamed.
“Studio Tiger is a subcontractor that calls the shots.”
Assistant Manager Seong nodded in agreement.
“They’re in the same group, and the Chairman takes an interest in them, so it can’t be helped. Still, I can’t believe they’re the ones asking us to meet.”
“Who do you think that’s because of?”
Assistant Manager Baek patted my shoulder.
“You just transferred teams, and you’re already going to take off because of this, aren’t you?”
“Come on. It’s just a meeting.”
I waved it off, but Assistant Manager Baek grew excited.
“Studio Tiger is so calculating. They wouldn’t set up a casual meeting. They must have seen something in you, Assistant Manager. And you know the company cares a lot about Original content, right? Just wait until this goes well and takes off. It’ll be huge.”
Listening to Assistant Manager Baek and Assistant Manager Seong, I could tell that taking part in this production meeting was a very meaningful opportunity.
But I had little interest in office politics. I just wanted to enjoy it.
Part Leader Ryu drank coffee and gazed into the distance before speaking to me.
“Assistant Manager Go.”
“Yes, Part Leader.”
“The matter with Team Leader Kim.”
“Ah... yes.”
Anything about Team Leader Kim was uncomfortable for me.
“Why did you do it?”
“What do you mean?”
“You played a big role in making him step down as Team Leader.”
I looked at Part Leader Ryu in surprise, but they continued as though it were nothing.
“Everyone knows. Anyone with some experience in company life can see what happened. The picture is obvious.”
I looked at Assistant Manager Baek and Assistant Manager Seong, and they were both nodding slightly.
“I don’t mean it badly. I’ve spent a few days with you, and you seem like a decent person. I thought there must have been a reason you had no choice but to do it.”
“...”
“You don’t have to answer if it makes you uncomfortable.”
“No, it’s fine.”
These were colleagues I would be working with from now on. I did not think there was any need to hide what was already known.
“To put it simply, the whole team was struggling.”
“...”
“I suddenly wondered who I was putting up with it all for. So I just stopped putting up with it.”
I smiled and added,
“Let’s leave it at that. If I say more, it’ll turn into gossip. Haha.”
Assistant Manager Baek and Assistant Manager Seong laughed, and Part Leader Ryu gave a faint smile.
“I have something I’m curious about too.”
Since we were sharing secrets, I wanted to ask something as well.
“Sure. Go ahead.”
“Is Team Leader Jo part of the royal family?”
Part Leader Ryu’s expression instantly hardened, and Assistant Manager Seong and Assistant Manager Baek’s eyes widened.
Why was the atmosphere like this? Had I asked something I should not have?
“I was just curious because I heard a rumor...”
“That’s not something you should say carelessly.”
After speaking, Part Leader Ryu stood.
“It’s about time. Let’s get going.”
* * *
“Hello!”
Studio Tiger, Distribution Strategy Team.
Manager Chu greeted us with a bright smile.
“How have you been? Thank you for making time for us.”
Her attitude was completely different from a few days ago. It was like she was a different person.
“Hello. Have you been well?”
I greeted her too, and Manager Chu introduced the middle-aged man beside her.
“This is your first time meeting Assistant Manager Go, right? This is Team Leader Kang Beom-gyu of the Distribution Strategy Team.”
I bowed politely.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Team Leader. I’m Go Min-hyeok.”
“Yes, Assistant Manager Go. I’ve wanted to meet you. Haha.”
Manager Chu continued.
“I think this is everyone else’s first time meeting him as well.”
She pointed to a man with a wolf cut.
“He’s one of Studio Tiger’s leading producers. This is Producer Seo Tae-seok.”
Gasp!
I was startled.
He was a fairly well-known producer.
He was not quite a star producer, but he had produced several hit works familiar to the public.
His signature work, <Microorganism>, in particular, was praised for broadening the workplace-drama genre, which had been nothing but romance, with its realism.
We took turns greeting him.
When it was my turn, I greeted him politely as a genuine fan.
“Producer Seo, it’s a pleasure to meet you. It’s an honor.”
“Oh, you know me?”
“Of course. I really enjoyed your latest work, <I Only Did My Best>.”
It had failed at the box office, but I had enjoyed it a great deal. It was my kind of show.
“You’re not taking a jab at me, are you?”
Producer Seo did not look pleased, and the Studio Tiger staff looked embarrassed as well.
I waved my hands.
“Not at all. I genuinely enjoyed it. The adaptation left a little to be desired, but I thought the directing was truly excellent.”
“...Yes.”
He must have sensed my sincerity, because he did not look any more offended.
Manager Chu spoke.
“All right, shall we head to the conference room and talk?”
We went to the conference room, and I quietly asked as I followed her.
“The producer changed, right?”
It had definitely been a rookie producer on <Veteran Intern>.
Manager Chu smiled.
“Yes. I think we’ll need to put a lot of effort into this one.”
* * *
Producer Seo was impatient.
As soon as we sat down in the conference room, he got straight to the point.
“I read your feedback document.”
“Thank you.”
“You wrote it yourself, correct?”
“Yes, of course.”
“The document did not include the work’s intent. Manager Chu gave me a rough overview, but I’d like you to explain it once more.”
My experience in the Content Team was short, but this was my specialty.
I nodded and spoke without hesitation.
“Yes. I was a little scattered when I explained it then, so I organized my thoughts again. Put simply, I think of it as a workplace version of <Stove League>.”
“<Stove League>? You mean the baseball drama?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
I smoothly laid out my thoughts.
“It’s the story of General Manager Baek, a ruthless competitor with warmth in his heart, rebuilding a last-place baseball club into the strongest team, isn’t it?”
“...”
“General Manager Baek values ability over reputation and data over gut feelings. In a way, that’s just common sense, but there are surprisingly many places in our society where common sense does not apply. That’s why I think viewers found the drama so satisfying.”
Producer Seo nodded, while Part Leader Ryu’s eyes widened.
“The protagonist of <The Reinstated Employee with a Scalpel> is similar to General Manager Baek. Cutting out problems without hesitation may look ruthless, but that’s how one survives. If a disease can be cured with surgery, who would choose death just because they’re afraid of it? Isn’t that right?”
“That’s right.”
“The key idea is a protagonist who does not do anything extraordinary, but boldly acts on common sense.”
Producer Seo nodded for a while, then murmured,
“I can roughly picture what it might look like.”
“...”
“Listening to you, Assistant Manager Go, reminds me of a popular novel I’ve been enjoying lately. The protagonist seems to have a similar disposition. Maybe that’s the trend these days.”
Curious, I asked,
“What’s the novel called?”
“It’s called <The Office Worker from the Apocalypse>. It’s really hot right now.”
“...!”
“The protagonist, Kang Hyeok, is quite compelling.”
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