An Office Worker Is Good At Exorcism - Chapter 208

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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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Episode 208
Part 2. What Emerged from the Earth (1)
A peaceful weekend had passed.
During that time, Kang Hyung-seok had done his best not to step foot outside his house.
There was no way to know when such precious time would come again.
Though I had certainly spent a weekend without envy, by Monday I couldn’t help but miss the days that had slipped away.
“Sigh…”
In the Underground Parking Lot, I boarded the Elevator and exhaled deeply before pressing the button for the Office floor.
When we reached the first floor, Shin Jung-ah stepped in.
Her expression, like Kang Hyung-seok’s, screamed that she despised Mondays.
“Did you rest well over the weekend?”
“Yes. How about you, Manager?”
“I wish I could rest more.”
“Perhaps it’s because the rest was so half-hearted.”
“Exactly. Why don’t working adults get vacations?”
Shin Jung-ah tilted her head back with a groan, and the moment the Elevator stopped, she wiped her expression clean like a ghost and stepped out.
“Good morning.”
“Hmm?”
Gwak Young-ho, holding a paper cup of instant coffee, looked at them with surprised eyes.
“How did you two come in together?”
“We ran into each other in the Elevator.”
“Good morning, Department Head.”
“Oh my, both of you look exhausted. Did something happen?”
“It’s just from resting.”
“That’s true—you feel more tired after a break.”
Gwak Young-ho laughed with an envious expression, and Shin Jung-ah, setting her bag down at her desk, cast a glance toward Kang Hyung-seok.
“Huh? Why? Is something going on between you two?”
“Would you like to go up to the Rooftop?”
“Scared?”
Gwak Young-ho joked casually and headed up to the Rooftop with the two of them.
Creak.
On the quiet Rooftop, Gwak Young-ho pulled out a cigarette and lit it, while Shin Jung-ah also retrieved an electronic cigarette from her pocket.
Click, click! Puff!
“Phew! So, is something wrong?”
It must be because of my tired expression.
That’s why Gwak Young-ho was asking with such concern in his voice.
Tap.
Shin Jung-ah lightly touched the tip of Kang Hyung-seok’s foot, and his gaze turned toward Gwak Young-ho.
“What is it? What’s going on?”
“Department Head.”
Gwak Young-ho’s eyebrows furrowed, no longer in jest but with genuine apprehension.
“We’ve come to know someone who can introduce us to business contacts. I wanted to mention it because it’s rather unusual.”
“What?”
Gwak Young-ho forgot even to bring the cigarette to his lips, staring blankly as he repeated the question.
“Just as Manager Kang said. The two of them stopped by Gangwon Province.”
“On a day off?”
“Yes. On the first day of our paid leave.”
Kang Hyung-seok and Shin Jung-ah, whom he’d sent to rest.
As Gwak Young-ho watched with astonishment, wondering if they’d gone out to scout new territory instead of actually resting, Kang Hyung-seok opened his mouth with a faint smile.
“Through someone I knew before, we happened to make a connection, and that person agreed to introduce us to several people who operate businesses.”
“…Really?”
“Yes.”
Scratch, scratch, scratch.
Unable to anticipate this development at all, Gwak Young-ho scratched his head so vigorously his hair stood on end, then shifted his gaze to Shin Jung-ah.
“Wait, you’re not joking about this, right? You actually found someone to introduce you to?”
“I don’t think you’ll need to worry much about this quarter. If things go well, perhaps the next quarter too?”
“No! What the—!”
Gwak Young-ho burst out laughing, blinking his eyes several times.
“I told you to rest, but how did you even think of doing something like that?”
“When do office workers ever truly rest?”
“Ha! I knew it right away. When you two came in this morning, you both looked exhausted—I had a feeling something was up.”
It was a period when the pressure and anxiety over performance targets were particularly intense, as the quarter had just ended.
There hadn’t been any major contracts closing, so they’d been focusing on maintaining existing clients and pursuing introductions.
To have uncovered someone who could introduce them to several business contacts was a situation that couldn’t help but bring joy.
“How? How did you find out about this?”
“Well, you see….”
Unable to tell the truth outright, Shin Jung-ah shifted her gaze to Kang Hyung-seok and brought the electronic cigarette to her lips.
Hearing the liquid in the electronic cigarette bubble with a soft hiss, Kang Hyung-seok opened his mouth.
“I mentioned before that I know a great Shaman, didn’t I?”
“Ah? Yes, yes. Back then at that Chinese restaurant when you were dining with the executives? That person?”
Gwak Young-ho’s voice grew louder as he recalled Lee Geum-kyung.
“No. It’s a connection I made thanks to that person.”
“Ah—!”
Gwak Young-ho’s eyes widened as if he’d understood completely, then he flinched in surprise at the heat from the cigarette’s glowing tip.
He then stubbed out the cigarette in the ashtray and opened his cigarette pack to take out a fresh one.
But without even removing a cigarette, he continued the conversation with Kang Hyung-seok.
“People in that world are naturally well-connected, you know. My wife goes to the Shamanic Temple constantly.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
“Didn’t Manager Shin know about this?”
“I knew she went frequently.”
“Don’t even mention it. I start coughing and I’m already on my way out. Anyway, you two really pulled off something incredible. Truly incredible.”
Shin Jung-ah lifted the corners of her mouth and gave Kang Hyung-seok a light nudge.
“It was all Manager Kang’s doing. I just got dragged along, really.”
“So you’re definitely going through with that introduction, right? Right?”
“Yes. Since it’s personal information, we didn’t get the contact details right away. We’ll get consent from the person first, and then they’ll share the information with us.”
Snap!
Gwak Young-ho snapped his thumb and index finger sharply and grabbed Kang Hyung-seok’s shoulder.
“You did great. Really, really great.”
“Not at all.”
“Wait, I shouldn’t let this slide. Can I file a report on this later?”
“Huh? Cough, cough!”
Shin Jung-ah, who had been vaping, coughed in surprise and covered her mouth with her sleeve.
“You’re going to file a report?”
“You two went on your day off, didn’t you? The higher-ups would think it’s admirable.”
“Ah….”
“You have to take credit for things like this. That way the higher-ups will know.”
“Still, wouldn’t it be better to wait until after the first contract is signed?”
Gwak Young-ho’s eyes pleaded with Kang Hyung-seok to agree with me.
But Kang Hyung-seok felt the same way as Shin Jung-ah.
“I think it’s better to report it after we see results. If we get the higher-ups’ hopes up and things don’t work out, it could put you in an awkward position, sir.”
“Geez… really. Fine. Fine.”
Gwak Young-ho took a drag from his cigarette and continued with a smile.
“Then I won’t file an official report, but I’ll drop a hint or two when I run into the executives. Got it?”
He clearly couldn’t resist bragging about this.
The managers in our department were so dedicated and capable that they’d dash around even on their days off.
He seemed unable to bear not showing off about it.
“Yes, sir.”
Shin Jung-ah answered with a smile, and Gwak Young-ho said “Then I’ll head down first!” and descended the stairs.
“Sir! Your cigarette!”
“Right!”
Gwak Young-ho came back, stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, and went down the stairs again.
***
A few days later.
“Phew!”
Wednesday arrived.
After finishing their meal at the Company Cafeteria, Sales Team 2 gathered on the Rooftop and lit cigarettes, their expressions uniformly grim.
They wanted to crush Sales Team 1.
The thought burned like a chimney, yet none dared speak it aloud.
“This is driving me insane.”
“Did you see the look in the department head’s eyes when I requested time off?”
“He said they’re separate from us, that we should draw a line. Draw a line, he said.”
The Sales Team 2 manager smoking beside them wore an expression of pure contempt.
“The way he made me feel the pressure was just… wow. Now he’s comparing us based on this?”
“God, I want to quit. Seriously.”
It was the Sales Team 2 Head they had trusted.
But ever since Gwak Young-ho and Kang Hyung-seok resolved the Wallpaper Factory contract that Sales Team 2 had failed to secure, he had become a different person.
That day, what Gwak Young-ho took from him was far more than just a business card.
His pride was stripped bare, his standing collapsed, and rumors now circulated that he couldn’t even meet Gwak Young-ho’s gaze.
“This is petty. In a time when performance matters most, to pull something like that during paid leave?”
The rumors had already spread far and wide.
They had reached the Sales Team 2 Head’s ears, and now his subordinates had to tread carefully even when requesting time off.
Creak.
The door opened, and the group, momentarily frozen, quickly relaxed their expressions.
It was Lim Jin-gil from the Human Resources Department.
“Deputy Manager Lim.”
“Oh, hello.”
“Come here a second. Is that rumor really true?”
“Which one?”
Since it was already widely known that Lim Jin-gil and Kang Hyung-seok were on bad terms, Sales Team 2 spoke in hushed tones, revealing their true feelings.
“Manager Kang. Where did he find such a big client?”
“Ah.”
Lim Jin-gil’s face hardened as if the Grim Reaper himself had been mentioned, yet Sales Team 2’s tongue continued wagging.
“There’s a lot of talk about it. Some say it was to get Manager Shin promoted to deputy director.”
“I don’t know.”
“Come on, don’t be like that. Did any client lists get pulled? If so, just share them with us quietly.”
“I said I don’t know. I don’t know anything. Please, seriously.”
This was Lim Jin-gil, who used to light up and spew curses the moment Kang Hyung-seok’s name was mentioned.
Now he acted as though he wanted nothing to do with anything related to him.
“What happened? Why are you like this?”
It was then.
Creak.
Jo Tae-sik, the Human Resources Department Head, climbed onto the Rooftop with a cigarette in his mouth, glancing around to find Lim Jin-gil who had gone up first, and spotted him among Sales Team 2.
“…What?”
“S-Sir, good afternoon.”
Jo Tae-sik’s expression twisted like a tiger’s as he stared silently at Lim Jin-gil and Sales Team 2.
“No, no! I didn’t say anything. I really didn’t say a word!”
Lim Jin-gil spoke in rapid-fire succession, but Jo Tae-sik’s face grew increasingly menacing.
“You bastard.”
“No, sir! I swear on heaven, I didn’t say a single word about Sales Team 1!”
“I told you not to, and this idiot still hasn’t come to his senses….”
“This is so unfair, sir!”
Lim Jin-gil’s face drained of color, and Sales Team 2, sensing the atmosphere, began to quietly slip away.
Slam!
But when Jo Tae-sik kicked the door shut, they had no choice but to remain frozen in place.
“Didn’t I tell you not to talk behind Sales Team 1’s back? Huh!”
Jo Tae-sik’s thunderous rebuke echoed across the rooftop.
And it continued for quite some time.
Until lunch break ended.
On and on.

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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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