WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: LilGuyBlastoise
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Mistaken for an S-Class Employee ◈
Chapter 3: Like the Protagonist (2)
──────
- Hurry! Hurry!
- Where to?
- The Curation Team! Something juicy just came up!
Rumors spread fast at the company.
It was the kind of place where even a secret affair got found out. There was no way people could miss a commotion loud enough to be heard outside the meeting room.
- What happened?
- You didn’t hear? Assistant Manager Go from Operations had it out with his team leader. He even went to the Curation Team.
- You think he went there to give him a piece of his mind?
Word spread by word of mouth, even to people who didn’t know him. Min-hyeok’s performance quickly spread throughout the office.
More and more employees gathered outside the Curation Team’s office.
- Why did he do that?
- Isn’t he usually the quiet, competent type?
- Exactly. I thought he was the sort who just did his work without drawing attention.
Min-hyeok wasn’t a bad employee.
In other words, he was at least diligent enough not to burden anyone else.
Despite writing early every morning before coming to work, Min-hyeok had earned that kind of reputation. That meant he had a certain amount of responsibility and competence.
- Team Leader Kim was being pretty awful.
- He’s a yes-man to departments he needs cooperation from, but he treats his own team like vermin.
- He should’ve kept his reputation management in check. What was bound to happen finally happened.
The employees gathered around the Curation Team’s office strained their ears, but it was surprisingly quiet.
- I thought there’d be a huge scene. It’s awfully quiet.
- They can’t make a scene in the Curation Team. It’s a core department in the Planning Management Bureau.
Expectant light flickered in everyone’s eyes.
Something unusual was happening in a quiet company, and few things were more entertaining than watching a fight.
‘Ha... That bastard, seriously.’
Of course, someone in Operations was anxiously biting their nails.
* * *
The Curation Team’s office.
Everyone stared at me in disbelief.
It was a quiet morning.
Of course they were taken aback when I suddenly walked in and loudly called for their team leader.
My back was a little damp with cold sweat, and it was embarrassing, but...
I raised my voice again.
“Team Leader Seo Jong-sik!”
Huff. Huff.
My breathing was rough. The effects of confronting Team Leader Kim still lingered.
Team Leader Seo came out of a meeting room, adjusted their glasses, and looked at me.
“Assistant Manager Go? What brings you here?”
I bowed deeply.
“Hello.”
“Ah, I thought something had happened.”
“Something has happened.”
Team Leader Seo looked puzzled.
It seemed Team Leader Seo had been in the meeting room since arriving at work. If so, they might not have heard about the commotion.
“Let’s sit down first.”
Team Leader Seo studied my face, then gave a short laugh.
“You look like a soldier heading into battle.”
When I remained standing, Team Leader Seo spoke again.
“I said sit down. Want some coffee?”
“No, thank you.”
“Have some. I’ll make it for you.”
Hmm... This was going a little differently than expected.
I could feel my excitement gradually cooling.
My fighting spirit couldn’t drop now...
No. I hadn’t come here to fight. I just needed to say what I came to say and get what I wanted.
“Thank you. I’ll have some.”
I accepted the coffee and thanked Team Leader Seo.
“So, what’s this about?”
Slurp.
I took a sip of the steaming coffee and spoke.
“About the QA server testing our team leader agreed we would cooperate on.”
At an OTT service, once the logic was complete, it went through QA testing. If there were no issues, it was put into commercial service.
“Go on.”
“Our team can’t handle it.”
“All of a sudden?”
“...”
Team Leader Seo thought for a moment, then asked,
“I’m curious about two things.”
“Yes, please ask.”
“First, why are you the one saying this? The matter was already settled with your team leader.”
“It seems Team Leader Kim temporarily forgot that our team doesn’t have the capacity to take on testing for other departments.”
“I’m asking why you’re the one saying it.”
“Team Leader Kim Se-jun said he felt awkward saying it himself, so...”
Badmouthing him outright wouldn’t benefit me.
For the sake of my image, I stayed cool.
“He asked me to pass it along.”
“...”
“I came in place of the team leader. You can confirm it if you doubt me.”
Team Leader Seo tilted their head.
“Okay. Second, why are you telling me about your team’s circumstances?”
“...”
“This isn’t cooperation. It’s something you should be doing anyway. It seems Team Leader Kim drew complaints from the team because of the lack of manpower.”
As expected, Team Leader Seo hadn’t reached that position for nothing.
I had only said a few words, but Team Leader Seo had already grasped the situation.
“That still doesn’t mean you can shove the work onto us like this.”
“Wasn’t it the Curation Team that requested development of the automated logic? The department that made the request should complete the testing before it goes live. Does the Curation Team make the request while Operations handles the cleanup?”
Team Leader Seo smiled.
“Haha, that isn’t the logic here, Assistant Manager Go.”
“...”
“Isn’t Operations responsible for everything from proactive management, reviewing content before it comes in, to reviewing it after it’s exposed?”
Our team’s work was so broad and unnoticed that it could be twisted to mean anything.
If the team leader was a yes-man, all kinds of work would inevitably get dragged onto us.
“What we requested was automated logic that would show each user content suited to their tastes when they accessed the platform. Fundamentally, this is operations-related work. In other words, asking for the logic was us doing your team’s work for you.”
“Wait a moment, Team Leader Seo.”
What a sly person.
Team Leader Seo was clearly skilled.
For a moment, I was at a loss for words, but I couldn’t remain silent at a time like this.
I thought of Hyeok, the protagonist of my novel.
What would Hyeok have done right now?
“So who benefits from this?”
* * *
Hyeok’s words always caught people off guard.
Readers often admired that about Hyeok.
There was no reason I couldn’t be like Hyeok, too.
After all, every line Hyeok said in The Office Worker from the Apocalypse had come from my own head.
“Hmm...”
Team Leader Seo was flustered.
It seemed my words had landed.
“Once the automated logic is in place, isn’t the Curation Team the one that benefits the most? You won’t have to curate content manually.”
“...”
“But testing isn’t part of your remit, so another team has to do it? Is Operations your servant?”
I raised my voice, and Team Leader Seo flinched.
“Responsibilities aside, let’s think about this reasonably, Team Leader Seo. This isn’t right.”
“...”
“You’re developing this to make your own jobs easier. Aren’t you?”
Had I gone too far?
No. When it was time to act, I had to act.
Once you drew the sword, you had to thoroughly subdue the other side, just as Hyeok... No, that was a line I wrote.
Anyway.
“You didn’t even discuss it with us from the initial development stage. You went off and put it together among yourselves without saying a word, then tell us testing is our responsibility? What the...”
For a moment, I almost said, “What kind of shitty situation is this?”
This wasn’t a novel. It was reality. Some filtering was necessary.
“Hmm. Does that answer your second question?”
I looked Team Leader Seo straight in the eye.
“If you have more questions, ask them. A third, a fourth, however many you like.”
This was something reasonable. As long as I didn’t retreat, it could work.
I stayed on edge, ready to fire back at anything Team Leader Seo said.
“I have no more questions. I think you’re right.”
“...”
“The Curation Team will handle the QA server testing.”
* * *
That easily?
It was the outcome I wanted, but I was stunned.
It actually worked. Thanks, Hyeok.
“I’ve given you the answer you wanted, so would you leave now? I need to save face too.”
The Curation Team members were typing busily, but they must have heard every word between Team Leader Seo and me.
“Thank you for understanding.”
“Not at all. Go on now.”
“You’ll send the email right away, correct?”
I couldn’t go soft now.
I had to drive the blade in firmly until the end, just like Hyeok had said.
“... Do I need to send an email too?”
“Wouldn’t it be better to make the task assignments clear? Since we’re doing it anyway.”
I planted both feet firmly on the floor and didn’t budge.
Team Leader Seo must have sensed that I wouldn’t move until I got what I wanted.
“Fine. I’ll send it now.”
“Then I apologize for disturbing you so early in the morning.”
I bowed and left the office.
Whew.
Once outside, I took a deep breath.
A moment ago, I had heard lots of whispers around the office. Now there wasn’t a single person there.
Step. Step.
I slowly started walking.
What had I just done today?
Only now did my hands begin to tremble faintly.
I wondered if people would avoid me because rumors would spread that I was crazy.
But then again, what did it matter?
‘Operations Team.’
I saw our team’s sign.
What impact would acting according to my convictions have?
Would I end up having another confrontation with Team Leader Kim as soon as I returned to my desk?
Before entering the office, I turned on my phone.
【Mega Media: ₩100,643,231】
Peace settled over my heart. It was fine.
“Team Leader, I have a report.”
As soon as I arrived, I went straight to Team Leader Kim.
“I saw the email.”
Without even looking at my face, Kim spat out the words.
Had Team Leader Seo already sent it?
When I sat down, Assistant Manager Jeon approached and spoke quietly enough that Team Leader Kim couldn’t hear.
“Senior, just a moment.”
I followed Assistant Manager Jeon to the break room, where Assistant Manager Song, the working mom, was waiting.
“Oh, what’s going on?”
“More importantly, what happened with you? How did you do it?”
“Did an email come from the Curation Team?”
“Yes. It was sent to the whole team. I’m asking how you did it.”
Team Leader Seo was someone who kept their promises.
I shrugged.
“How did I do it? I just said what needed to be said based on common sense.”
Assistant Manager Jeon’s eyes shimmered while looking at me.
“Thank you. That was so cool.”
Assistant Manager Song gave me a thumbs-up from where she sat.
How long had it been since I had seen the two of them smile?
For a moment, my chest grew warm.
‘This is fun.’
The wall I had thought impossible to overcome was not as sturdy as it seemed. Breaking it down brought a strange thrill.
‘It really wasn’t a big deal.’
I even found myself wondering what it would have been like if I had handled office life this way from the beginning.
* * *
The next morning.
Ding.
Sender: Director Yoon Hyeon-su
Recipient: Assistant Manager Go Min-hyeok
[Come to my desk when you get in.]
The moment I turned on my laptop, I received a one-line email.
I glanced at Team Leader Kim.
So it had come. After the scene I caused yesterday, it was only natural.
I would probably get an earful. Or maybe be told to submit a written explanation.
Would they go as far as firing me over something like this?
Well, if I got fired, I got fired. It didn’t matter.
“Team Leader, Director Yoon wants to see me. I’ll be back.”
“Director Yoon? Ah, okay.”
As if Kim didn’t know.
For a moment, I wanted to say something because it irritated me, but I held back.
The director’s office.
After knocking, I announced loudly,
“Assistant Manager Go Min-hyeok!”
[Come in~]
Click.
When I opened the door and entered, Director Yoon greeted me with a smile.
“Hello.”
“Ah, welcome. Sit down.”
I sat stiffly on the sofa.
Director Yoon sat across from me, wearing a bright smile.
“Why do you look like that? I called you in for something good.”
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