An Office Worker Is Good At Exorcism - Chapter 228

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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 228
Part 1. It’s Not Excessive Greed, Is It? (1)
Vroom.
Kang Hyung-seok drove with a sense of calm.
The thin jacket he’d worn in spring hung on a hanger in the back seat, and his trousers were slightly thicker than what he wore in summer.
Sip.
The coffee he pulled from the holder and drank was warm, not cold.
Autumn had arrived.
It was a pleasant season, one I wished would linger, yet lately it seemed to grow shorter with each passing year.
Whirr.
My leisurely gaze, drifting across the autumn sky as I drove, was suddenly captured by my phone.
Buzz.
“Yes, Manager.”
(“Hey! Manager Kang. Where are you?”)
“I’m heading back after finishing the meeting with the client.”
(“Perfect! How long do you think it’ll take?”)
“I should arrive in about ten to fifteen minutes.”
(“Then just head straight to the conference room! It’s nothing serious, so come up whenever you’re ready.”)
The conference room?
Kang Hyung-seok raised one eyebrow as he glanced at his phone mounted on the dashboard.
It was an odd day for a meeting, and even when they did hold them, they usually gathered casually in the break room or office, so the conference room was rarely used.
“Is something the matter?”
(“Nothing major. Sales Team 3 brought in some merchandise. I wanted to get your opinion on it.”)
Sales Team 3.
Daejeong Materials had three sales teams in total.
Team 1, where Kang Hyung-seok worked, and Team 2, their rival.
And Team 3, recently established.
It was created as part of business expansion and to venture into overseas direct purchasing, and judging by the fact that they’d brought merchandise, it seemed their efforts were finally beginning to bear fruit.
“Understood! I’ll head up as soon as I arrive.”
After ending the call, Kang Hyung-seok turned the steering wheel toward the company parking lot.
He parked, grabbed his bag, and stepped into the elevator.
‘Direct purchasing…’
A new revenue stream for the company.
Daejeong Materials managed business-to-business transactions, and there was always a sense of incompleteness in that model.
The management surely harbored the same regret—couldn’t they also sell directly to individual consumers?
Hum.
In the elevator ascending to the conference room floor, I leaned my back against the wall.
‘I hope it goes well.’
I couldn’t say it was a matter of survival.
Still, in these difficult times when everyone struggled, any additional revenue stream would be a blessing for all.
Whirrrr, ding.
While I was thinking how impressed the Company Representative would be if he knew, the elevator came to a halt, and I made my way toward the conference room.
Knock, knock.
“Manager, are you in?”
“Yeah, come in.”
As I opened the door and stepped inside, I saw a conference table pushed to the center, blue plastic boxes of the sort used for moving, and merchandise displayed in front of them.
“How did the meeting go?”
“Nothing particularly noteworthy. There are a few unusual matters I’ll compile and report to you later.”
“Got it. And Kang, take a look at these too.”
It wasn’t just Gwak Young-ho in the conference room.
The entire Sales Team 1 had gathered, and I stood beside the spot Namgoong Min-ah had vacated, examining the samples brought by Sales Team 3.
“There’s quite a lot here. I thought there would only be a few samples for a direct purchase agency, but this is more than expected.”
“You know how it is. In the early stages of a business, the direction changes constantly.”
Gwak Young-ho took a sip of the coffee in his hand and rubbed his chin with a contemplative expression.
“They asked us to sell just a few samples first to confirm market viability. Once the contract is formally established, they’ll manage the distribution network coming to Korea, and we just need to take orders and handle shipping from Korea.”
“Has the sales channel been decided?”
“Don’t even ask. Apparently they argued extensively against the idea of building a homepage first.”
My expression and those of the other team members became subtly amused at the same thought.
Pfft.
Then Namgoong Min-ah accidentally laughed, but immediately lowered her head and apologized in a hushed voice.
“Anyway, these days messenger apps have gift-giving functions, right? And there are also platforms run by portal sites.”
“Ah, so you’re starting with those first?”
“Since they have better accessibility.”
Gwak Young-ho took another sip of coffee and posed a question with his eyes.
What do you think about this, Kang?
So I reached toward the samples on the table with a careful expression.
Click.
The first thing I picked up was a keyboard.
“Huh? It’s better than I expected?”
“You use good keyboards, Kang. Seems decent?”
“Yes. If the price point is set right, it should sell well without any issues.”
Beyond this, I examined the other items one by one.
Somehow the focus on IT products strongly reflected Sales Team 3’s preferences, though there were also items of completely different categories.
‘It seems like there are multiple companies involved.’
Suddenly my gaze met Shin Jung-ah’s, and after looking at her for a moment, I picked up a ceramic piece that looked good as a vase.
“The executives seemed to like that one.”
“It does appear so. The finish is a bit rough, but it still looks quite nice for decoration.”
“They’re asking for fifty thousand won as the selling price.”
“This?”
“Yeah, so it doesn’t make sense. I’m not sure if it’ll sell well though.”
Kang Hyung-seok examined the ceramic vase with a look of mild surprise before setting it down.
In that moment, Shin Jung-ah nodded silently, and I could sense the reason without her needing to speak.
It was a piece of pottery with such refined proportions it could easily serve as a decorative item.
Noticing Shin Jung-ah’s concern about whether anything strange might be inscribed on it, I shook my head briefly, then picked up the next item—a ring.
“This one is a bit much, don’t you think?”
“That’s thirty thousand won.”
“This is?”
I meant it in a different sense than with the pottery.
It looked like a cheap ring, yet the price difference from the luxury-inspired ceramic was merely twenty thousand won.
“Even you’d agree it’s a bit off, wouldn’t you, Manager?”
At Namgoong Min-ah’s words, Kang Hyung-seok responded with a nod.
It happened immediately after.
Warang.
The Shaman’s Bell in the bag chimed of its own accord.
Simultaneously, Shin Jung-ah’s eyes widened at the subtle shift in Kang Hyung-seok’s expression, and Gwak Young-ho’s voice continued from beside me.
“They said it’s something with shamanic properties. There’s a Buddhist sutra written inside, and supposedly it’s a ring that brings good fortune.”
“I see.”
Kang Hyung-seok examined the ring without revealing anything.
Indeed, the inside of the ring was densely inscribed with small Chinese characters.
“What did they call it again? The Mantra Against Demons?”
“Yes.”
Lee Jin-pyung answered, and Kang Hyung-seok studied the characters inside the ring intently without speaking.
‘It’s not the Mantra Against Demons.’
I knew of several similar products.
They’re sold on Korean shopping malls too, and those have properly written sutras.
Usually they’re meant to ward off malevolent energy or summon good fortune.
But the sutra inscribed here felt different from the Mantra Against Demons, even though it was too small to read clearly.
“Still, since we’re just putting it on the product page for now, management’s opinion was to proceed together anyway.”
No.
That cannot happen.
This ring must not spread to people.
I couldn’t explain why, but an eerie premonition crashed over me like a wave, clawing at my mind with unsettling intensity.
“What’s your take on this, Manager Kang?”
Kang Hyung-seok placed the ring on the table and rubbed his fingers as if he’d touched something filthy.
“I don’t think we should.”
“Huh?”
Not only Gwak Young-ho but all the other team members’ gazes fixed on him, and Kang Hyung-seok continued with an awkward smile.
“I majored in folklore studies, remember?”
“Oh! That’s right.”
“Wait? You majored in folklore studies, Manager?”
Namgoong Min-ah’s eyes went wide with surprise, while Kang Hyung-seok simply gave a brief nod in response.
Then he shook his head toward Gwak Young-ho and opened his mouth to speak.
“So I have some knowledge about this, sir.”
Gwak Young-ho wore an expression of ‘What on earth is he trying to say?’, while Shin Jung-ah swallowed hard with a look of ‘Could it be…?’
She wondered if Kang Hyung-seok was about to reveal his true identity.
“This is a defective product, Manager.”
But at Kang Hyung-seok’s immediate follow-up, she released a silent sigh of relief.
“What? A defective product?”
Kang Hyung-seok laughed bitterly.
“Yes. This isn’t a demon-repelling incantation. It seems they tried to pass off a defective engraving from their manufacturing process onto us. Or it could be some cheap, shoddy product where they just randomly input whatever characters from the start.”
“Really, truly?”
“Yes. I’m certain of it. If people who don’t know any better buy this and search for it later, it’s going to cause all sorts of problems.”
“Wow…”
“And it’s thirty thousand won. It’s not worth that price. I can’t even tell what the material is.”
“Ugh!”
Gwak Young-ho grabbed the back of his neck as if his head was pounding.
Then he gave Kang Hyung-seok a firm nod and immediately pulled out his phone.
“Got it, Kang. I’ll report this right away and contact Sales Team 3 as well. Just take care of the cleanup for me.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good work. Thanks to you, Kang, we stopped this before it hit the market. Man, those bastards are really something.”
It could have become a major problem.
Of course, what Kang Hyung-seok and Gwak Young-ho considered a major problem were different things.
Still, we managed to prevent a potential disaster by catching the defective product before it could cause trouble—extinguishing the flames before they could spread.
That didn’t mean getting caught up in such a situation was acceptable.
Gwak Young-ho clearly seemed to think that way.
Beep, beep, beep, beep!
As he left the conference room, Gwak Young-ho let out continuous sighs.

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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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