An Office Worker Is Good At Exorcism - Chapter 135

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 134
Part 6. Lee Deputy Manager, You Must Do Well (3)
“Manager Kang, what were you two talking about for so long?”
It was the next morning.
Gwak Young-ho, whom I encountered at the office, started speaking before I’d even set down my bag.
“Oh, just this and that.”
“Hmm.”
Noticing he seemed unusually preoccupied, I set my bag on my work desk and opened my mouth. “Is something the matter?”
“No, wait. Just a moment.”
Gwak Young-ho was muttering to himself when he reached for his phone.
The door opened and Lee Jin-pyung entered, prompting Gwak Young-ho to wave him over immediately.
“Lee Deputy Manager! Come here for a second.”
“Yes, sir.”
Lee Jin-pyung nodded and approached, and the three of us headed to the Break Room to grab coffee.
In the morning Break Room, heavy with the aroma of coffee, Gwak Young-ho handed me a cup.
“Actually, I got a call last night.”
“From where, sir?”
I asked, and Gwak Young-ho answered while handing Lee Jin-pyung his coffee as well.
“You know, the Furniture Factory. That prickly fellow.”
“Ah, yes, yes.”
“He asked me to send you two over.”
“What?”
Gwak Young-ho kept his gaze fixed on me while sipping his coffee, then yelped and pulled the cup away from his lips—he’d burned his tongue.
“Are you alright?”
“No, ah! Damn, it’s hot. Anyway, you know Kim Young-chan, the owner? He asked if I could send you and Lee Deputy Manager over.”
So it’s starting.
I carefully sipped my coffee while making sure my thoughts didn’t show on my face.
‘He said he’d create the situation himself.’
Kim Young-chan is the one in a tight spot.
He needs my help urgently, but he probably thought it would look strange to ask for just me alone.
“Didn’t he say he was shutting down the business?”
When Lee Jin-pyung asked in his blunt manner, Gwak Young-ho, who’d been blowing on his coffee, responded with “That’s what I’m saying!”
“Apparently he changed his mind. He was talking like he’d wrap it up immediately, but then he asked me to bring samples.”
“I see.”
“Ha, I don’t get it. I have no idea why.”
I chuckled and shook my head as if it were nothing. “People change their minds all the time. Maybe something personal came up, or he realized he needs to keep the business running.”
“I’m just worried it might be something bad.”
Gwak Young-ho had done his share of legwork in sales before.
“I was worried it might be something bad.”
Gwak Young-ho also used to do sales work running around on foot.
I must have experienced countless untold hardships along the way.
“I understand your concerns, but Kim Young-chan isn’t that kind of person, is he?”
“Well… I suppose that’s true.”
“Then there’s nothing to worry about.”
“You never know, Kang.”
Gwak Young-ho unconsciously reached for a cigarette, then caught himself—remembering he was in the Break Room—and stuffed it back into his pocket.
“He’s a good man, but you can never truly know what someone is thinking.”
In sales, you encounter countless people.
Some appear virtuous on the surface yet prove otherwise in reality, while others are the reverse.
There are those who approach with a benevolent facade, only to plunge a hidden blade into your back, or engage in exploitation and fraud.
That’s why Gwak Young-ho, having dealt with people for so long, rarely gave his trust to anyone he hadn’t thoroughly vetted.
“I’ll be careful.”
“Sigh, this sudden development has me saying things I normally wouldn’t. Anyway, you two coordinate your schedules and make the trip. The sooner the better. Today or tomorrow would be ideal.”
Gwak Young-ho locked eyes with Lee Jin-pyung.
Lee Jin-pyung raised his eyebrows in a questioning expression, but Gwak Young-ho waved his hand dismissively with a smile.
“Lee, I misspoke, so just go handle it without overthinking. And bring back the contract if you can!”
“May I ask why you’ve changed your mind?”
“Ah! Never mind that. Forget it, forget it. Even if that president has his quirks, he hasn’t done anything suspicious so far, so he’s trustworthy.”
Lee Jin-pyung murmured his acknowledgment.
“I have time this afternoon. How about you, Deputy Manager Lee?”
“I can make time this afternoon as well.”
“Don’t overextend yourself. We have time tomorrow too.”
“Really, it’s fine.”
Kang Hyung-seok smiled, his lips curving upward, and gestured toward his desk with the hand holding his coffee.
“Then I’ll have the samples ready. If there’s anything unusual, just let me know during lunch.”
“Understood.”
Lee Jin-pyung rose first.
Kang Hyung-seok and Gwak Young-ho finished their coffee and returned to their respective desks.
The steam rising from the coffee seemed to shimmer before my eyes, carrying with it the unmistakable sense that today would be a busy one for everyone.
***
Click.
With my seatbelt fastened, I started the engine with Lee Jin-pyung in the passenger seat.
The dormant engine rumbled to life with a heavy growl, and I navigated out of the cramped parking lot in hushed silence.
It was just past 1:10 PM.
“Why are you staring like that?”
I glanced toward the passenger seat and asked the question, prompting Lee Jin-pyung to lower the tablet he’d been holding and turn to face me.
“Company information.”
“Ah, that.”
“Yes. I thought I should familiarize myself with it.”
The tablet’s screen displayed information about the Furniture Factory.
True to the elderly Factory Owner’s operation, the homepage was little more than a perfunctory placeholder, but Lee Jin-pyung had supplemented it with a wealth of independently gathered data.
“You’ve prepared thoroughly, haven’t you?”
“Yes. I even ran through practice scenarios just in case.”
I lifted the corners of my mouth in a silent smile.
‘He understands. Why the Manager brought him along yesterday.’
He’s looking out for Lee Jin-pyung.
He wants to secure a solid achievement to report upstairs, to create a success that will benefit Lee Jin-pyung’s promotion prospects.
And the fact that Lee Jin-pyung doesn’t let on about knowing this—that’s so very like him.
And this effort to repay the Manager’s consideration in turn was equally characteristic of Lee Jin-pyung.
“Once we arrive, I’ll be conversing with the operational staff. You’ll handle the briefing entirely, Deputy Manager Lee.”
“Me?”
Lee Jin-pyung’s eyes widened in surprise as he watched me focus on driving.
“I’ll be talking with the Factory Owner to verify whether he truly intends to continue the business. If he does, I’ll also need to confirm whether there’s anything else he requires.”
And I need to ensure the business can be sustained.
Since he mentioned his son weighs on his mind, resolving that alone should allow the Factory Owner to continue operations.
Vroom.
I braked at the red light and offered Lee Jin-pyung a faint smile.
“I’m counting on you, Deputy Manager Lee.”
I spoke with a smile.
Though I couldn’t reveal everything, my hope for Lee Jin-pyung’s success was genuine.
Lee Jin-pyung—someone whose character has long gone unrecognized.
Yet I know what kind of person he is, so I genuinely wish for his success.
I suspect everyone in Sales Team 1, including Gwak Young-ho, feels the same way.
“Yes.”
Whether or not he understood my sentiment, Lee Jin-pyung responded with his usual taciturn expression and tone.
-Woof woof woof!
But the Spitz Victim Spirit sitting on his lap seemed to grasp my feelings.
Judging by how it barked brightly at me while wagging its tail.
***
Thud.
Kang Hyung-seok and Lee Jin-pyung stepped out of the car and immediately made their way toward the Furniture Factory.
It was a place they had visited yesterday as well.
No new buildings had appeared, no unfamiliar dogs were tied up, yet the atmosphere felt distinctly different from before.
“Oh, hello there.”
The Afflicted Man, his face dusted with sawdust, approached while peeling off gloves with black rubber coating around the palms.
“It’s our first meeting. I’m from Daejeong Materials….”
“Yes, I know. Please, come in.”
The Afflicted Man cut short Kang Hyung-seok’s greeting and gestured toward the factory interior with the utmost courtesy he could muster.
“The Factory Owner mentioned it to me. You’re interested in signing a contract with us, correct?”
“Ah, yes.”
“Feel free to look around, and since I’m the Client Manager, we can discuss things together. The Factory Owner is in that container over there.”
Kim Young-chan, the Factory Owner, had already set the stage.
With that understanding, the Afflicted Man led only Lee Jin-pyung into the factory.
Then Lee Jin-pyung turned his head to look at Kang Hyung-seok, and his eyes gleamed with determination.
‘Do your best, Lee Deputy Manager.’
I’ll do my best too.
Kang Hyung-seok nodded heavily, and Lee Jin-pyung entered the factory with the Afflicted Man, the space filled with the noise and vibration of machinery.
Still, Kang Hyung-seok lingered for a while, watching Lee Jin-pyung compare existing products on a tablet and deliver his briefing.
“Phew!”
Lee Deputy Manager was working hard too.
Kang Hyung-seok exhaled deeply, puffing out his cheeks, then slung his bag over his shoulder and headed toward the container.
‘Something tangled in the family, the reason for seeking the Shamanic Temple, my son under threat.’
I had to find the root cause and resolve it.
At the container door, Kang Hyung-seok closed his eyes quietly, silently recited a brief prayer, and then knocked.
“Factory Owner, are you inside?”
Creak!
As if he’d been waiting, the door swung open and Kim Young-chan poked his head out, glancing around. Confirming that only Kang Hyung-seok was there, he ushered him inside with the courtesy reserved for an honored guest.
Plop.
He settled onto a sofa with worn leather, the coffee pot began releasing hot steam, and Kim Young-chan standing before it tore open two packets of instant coffee into a paper cup.
“Thank you for coming so promptly.”
“Has anything unusual occurred?”
“Well, actually, there is one thing.”
An air of discomfort.
Anxious eyes.
A voice trembling faintly.
Kim Young-chan’s lips quivered as he poured hot water into the paper cup, then set the finished coffee before Kang Hyung-seok.
Kang Hyung-seok picked up the paper cup and met Kim Young-chan’s gaze.
“What is the matter?”
“As you know, my son is coming tonight.”
Kim Young-chan’s lips were parched, so he rubbed them with his dry fingers and interlaced his rough hands.
“I told my son what you taught me yesterday, but the stubborn fool refuses to do it no matter what.”
What Kang Hyung-seok had taught Kim Young-chan was a ritual incantation.
He sucked air through his teeth.
Kang Hyung-seok drew in a breath through his mouth and took a sip of coffee.
There had to be a reason for this.
Perhaps his son couldn’t sense what was happening, or maybe he’d developed resistance to frequenting the Shamanic Temple. It was even possible that his years overseas had solidified his belief that all of this was mere superstition.
But something was definitely there.
Watching Kim Young-chan fidget with anxiety, Kang Hyung-seok exhaled a hot breath through the gap between them.
“What… what should we do?”
“There doesn’t seem to be another way.”
In that moment, Kim Young-chan’s face darkened.
“Pardon?”
“I’ll meet your son directly this time.”
Unfortunately, there was no time to drag this out any longer.
Unfortunately, there was no room to drag things out.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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