WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: LilGuyBlastoise
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Mistaken for an S-Class Employee ◈
Chapter 23: I’ve Never Had a Leader Like This
──────
Part Leader Ryu went into the company first, and I blankly watched the spot where they had disappeared.
“Our Part Leader has presence, doesn’t he?”
Assistant Manager Seong said with a smile.
“Huh? Ah, yes.”
I answered in surprise, and Assistant Manager Baek smiled too.
“I don’t know if you remember, but when Assistant Manager Go first came, I said you were lucky to join the Original Part instead of Content Acquisition.”
“Yes. I remember.”
“I said that because of our Part Leader.”
Assistant Manager Baek chimed in from beside us.
“No matter what anyone says, I think our Part Leader is one of the best leaders in the company.”
It wasn’t easy for a subordinate to speak so highly of their superior.
Honestly, my heart had skipped a beat earlier too.
“There’s no need for words. You’ll see once you spend time here.”
Assistant Manager Seong said with a grin.
“Assistant Manager Baek is at it again. They’re our Part Leader’s personal promoter.”
I smiled at that, and Assistant Manager Seong said,
“I have a meeting, so I’ll head in first.”
After Assistant Manager Seong went inside, I asked Assistant Manager Baek,
“Aren’t we going in? Are we heading out again?”
These days, my assignment was to follow Assistant Manager Baek around and get a feel for the field.
They showed no sign of going inside, so I wondered what was next.
“No. We just got back from outside. We should work in the office this afternoon.”
“Ah, right. Then let’s go in too.”
“Before that.”
Assistant Manager Baek pointed to the chairs in the company lobby.
“Let’s sit down for a moment.”
“Okay.”
What was this person up to now?
Unexpected things had kept happening ever since I transferred, and it was making me nervous.
Once we were seated, Assistant Manager Baek held out their phone.
“You said it was <Aonhoe>, right? Show me how to read it. I’ve never read a web novel before.”
They must have been bothered by being the only one who hadn’t known during the meeting.
They raised an eyebrow.
“It’d be a little strange to take out my phone and learn in the office.”
“Ha ha, right.”
I showed them on their phone.
“First, install the app.”
“Okay.”
After installing the app as I instructed, they asked,
“Do I search for the novel by title?”
“No, there’s no need.”
I pointed to the title at the very top of the app’s homepage.
‘No. 1: The Office Worker from the Apocalypse’
Since it was currently ranked first, it was displayed in the most noticeable spot.
“You can just click here.”
“Oh. Well, it is the number one novel.”
After clicking the first episode, I showed them how to adjust the display settings to their preference.
“Oh... It’s similar to an e-book.”
“It’ll be released as an e-book once it’s complete.”
I pressed the Favorite button.
“If you favorite it like this, it’ll be easy to find later.”
“Okay.”
Then I pressed Recommend.
“And after you read it, please press Recommend too.”
Assistant Manager Baek blinked.
“Do I have to press Recommend? Like a YouTube like, I press it when I enjoyed what I read, right?”
I lightly nudged them.
“If you didn’t find it boring, please press it.”
“...”
“Even if it seems minor, it can be a huge source of encouragement for the author.”
“Ah... All right, then.”
* * *
Clunk.
The meeting room door opened, and Team Leader Jo entered. Part Leader Ryu stood from their seat.
“Oh, Part Leader Ryu. What’s so urgent that you wanted to see me?”
“There’s something urgent I need to discuss regarding Studio Tiger.”
“How urgent is it?”
“It may be something that comes straight down from above.”
Team Leader Jo’s expression hardened as he sat down.
“What is it? Go ahead.”
Part Leader Ryu explained that Min-hyeok had suggested an idea while giving feedback on Original content, and that Studio Tiger had responded enthusiastically.
“They want to turn Assistant Manager Go’s idea into a project.”
“No, Studio Tiger has plenty of writers and excellent producers. What are they going to do with the idea of an Assistant Manager who has nothing to do with that field...?”
Part Leader Ryu nodded.
“I had thoughts similar to yours until I attended the production meeting today.”
“...”
“Assistant Manager Go seems to have a rather unusual talent.”
“Even so.”
Part Leader Ryu remained expressionless. Team Leader Jo glanced at them before speaking.
“Well, you’re not the type to hand out empty praise.”
“...”
“Does Assistant Manager Go want to participate in the production process? It seems like his wishes are important here.”
“Yes. He seems interested, and I don’t want to stop him. This may be a good opportunity for Assistant Manager Go.”
“Hmm...”
Team Leader Jo fell into thought. After a brief pause, Part Leader Ryu spoke.
“I know this isn’t the situation you wanted, Team Leader, but I believe it could be a good opportunity not only for Assistant Manager Go, but for our team as well. I’d like you to permit it.”
“What opportunity could this bring the team?”
“Although we’re supposed to be involved in the production process for Original content, the reality hasn’t been like that.”
“...”
“We take pride in knowing what subscribers want because we provide so much feedback on distribution.”
Team Leader Jo listened silently as Part Leader Ryu continued.
“If this moves forward, one of our team members will be directly involved in production, so our team will naturally be able to take a more active role as well. And if we achieve a good result, we can use this as an opportunity to expand the Content Team’s scope.”
“A clear justification, and it has value too...”
Team Leader Jo nodded as he thought.
“But doesn’t this seem a little strange?”
“What do you mean?”
“Assistant Manager Go Min-hyeok.”
“...”
“Even his sudden transfer after Team Leader Kim, who had been a thorn in his side, disappeared was suspicious. And now he’s standing out as soon as he arrives...”
“Didn’t you test him?”
“I did. But that was just to see whether he met the minimum standard to join the team.”
Team Leader Jo thought for a moment.
Then his eyes turned cold as he lowered his voice.
“You can quickly tell whether someone has talent, but it takes time to find out whether they can be trusted.”
Team Leader Jo was no ordinary Team Leader.
Thinking of the faction within the group that wanted to bring him down, he lowered his voice even further.
“What if that bastard is pulling something?”
Even when they were alone, they never said the person’s name in the company.
“Such as?”
“Sending in a talented employee to shake up the team, then stabbing us in the back later...”
Since he was deeply involved in office politics, he couldn’t help being suspicious.
Team Leader Jo had thought of Min-hyeok as an ordinary employee who had spent four years being run ragged in the Operations Team before luckily transferring to the Content Team.
But seeing how things had been unfolding lately, it suddenly occurred to him that Min-hyeok might be a highly capable asset sent by the opposing faction.
“Didn’t you see his résumé? Even his university background is completely ordinary.”
“Yes. Seeing as he spent four years in the Operations Team, I know my reasoning is a stretch. But you know what that bastard is capable of. He may have been preparing ruthlessly for a long time.”
After thinking for a moment, Part Leader Ryu said,
“It’s too early to reach a conclusion, but Assistant Manager Go didn’t seem like someone who plays petty tricks.”
“...”
“I think we should trust him for now and watch what happens.”
Part Leader Ryu was on Team Leader Jo’s side and effectively his right hand.
“If you feel that strongly about it, then...”
Team Leader Jo made his decision.
“All right. Make it happen. I’ll take responsibility for what follows.”
“Thank you.”
* * *
I returned to the office.
I had only just transferred, and things were already chaotic. What was all this?
It felt like I had come to the beach to see the waves and run into a tsunami instead.
I was confused, and part of me felt intimidated.
‘After-tax settlement amount: 110,034,022 won’
I turned on my phone beneath my desk and looked again at this month’s payment.
As expected, I felt at peace.
If the situation became too complicated to bear, I could quit. I’d keep at it for as long as I could, and if the stress became too much, I could leave.
After steadying myself, I was reviewing content for the Paramount Original acquisition matter when I heard a sound.
Thump!
Part Leader Ryu had taken their seat.
They had just met with Team Leader Jo. I felt like they were about to say something, so I was on edge.
“Assistant Manager Go.”
“Yes, Part Leader.”
I answered loudly, sprang from my seat, and went over to them.
“Why did you come over? You could listen from your desk. It’s nothing important.”
Only Manager Shin and I were in the department at the moment.
“No matter what we do, everything done here is Original Part work.”
“...”
“Do you understand what I mean?”
Could they sense my confusion?
It was strange, like they had looked into my mind before speaking.
“Yes, Part Leader.”
“If we’re doing something because we need to, there are no boundaries to the work. Don’t get confused.”
“Yes, understood.”
“That’s all. Go back to your desk.”
“Ah, yes. Understood.”
* * *
Even while I worked, I kept wondering when Studio Tiger would contact me.
They had seemed ready to start something immediately at the production meeting, but one day passed, then two, without any word.
Still, I could sense that the matter hadn’t been halted and that work was continuing behind the scenes.
“We can’t give up any authority over the employee.”
“I believe a separate secondment allowance should also be provided.”
I could often hear Part Leader Ryu on the phone, despite them usually not making many calls.
Sometimes they spoke in such an agitated voice that I was surprised.
“What do you mean, there’s no such case? At whose request did this begin?”
“Then don’t do it.”
I could tell it was about me, but Part Leader Ryu never said anything about it to me.
They seemed to be sorting out the tasks and responsibilities before starting something that had never existed before.
I was grateful, but I also felt sorry that they were doing work they wouldn’t have needed to do because of me.
Once, I let some of that discomfort show when speaking to Assistant Manager Baek.
“It’s fine. That’s just our Part Leader’s style.”
Assistant Manager Baek smiled.
“They believe it’s a Part Leader’s natural duty to let team members focus solely on their work without feeling responsible.”
“...”
“It’s true, isn’t it? I think it’s strange that you feel uncomfortable about it, Assistant Manager Go.”
I had never met a leader like Part Leader Ryu, so of course I felt uncomfortable.
Experience couldn’t be ignored. I was used to Team Leader Kim’s patterns.
I kept feeling like I might be stabbed in the back one day.
There was still no contact on the third day after the production meeting. As the hour hand neared four in the afternoon,
Bzzzt. Bzzzt.
I checked my phone at the sound of its vibration.
‘Mega Media Editor Kwon Yu-jun.’
It was a call from my editor.
They rarely called before sending a message, especially during work hours.
Thinking something might be wrong, I hurried outside the office and answered.
“Hello?”
[Author!]
“Ah, yes, Editor. What is it?”
[This is huge! Huge!]
My novel was already a huge hit. Could it get any bigger?
“What is it? Catch your breath and tell me.”
[Huff. Huff.]
The editor caught their breath, then shouted into the phone.
[We received an inquiry about the screen adaptation rights!]
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