Getting Approval from Otherworld Clients - Chapter 14

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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 14.
Mercury’s Orbit
Touch and.
The man who had returned after a long leave appeared to be around my age.
He cut quite a striking figure. Beneath his brightly dyed hair, dark roots showed through in a half-up style.
‘Ash beige with the faintest hint of pink.’
How many rounds of bleaching had it taken to achieve that shade?
But what stood out most was the Hawaiian shirt he wore.
An otherworldly Agency with a freewheeling organizational culture, as they said—yet this was by far the most brazenly casual being I’d encountered at the company so far.
“Hena, you must be feeling lonely as the sole woman now. Try getting Yeonwoo to come back from her resignation~.”
“Actually, we have someone new on the adjacent team, so I’m fine. Just as long as you stop giving me headaches!”
Hena and the man addressed each other with intimate familiarity rather than formal workplace honorifics. They seemed close.
They exchanged a few more pleasantries, and at Hena’s suggestion, the stranger approached my desk to introduce himself.
“Hello there~ I’m Seo Gwanryul. I’d been hoping we’d have another man around my age in the design department, so this works out great.”
“I’m Choi Ihyun. It’s a pleasure to work with you.”
Seo Gwanryul shook my hand enthusiastically, pumping it up and down with evident delight.
Aside from the tattoo visible on the inside of his arm, his hand was identical to mine—no webbing, no beast’s claws.
‘Could it be…’
Was he actually human?
Was I finally going to have a human colleague?!
‘No, don’t get ahead of yourself.’
How many times had I thought someone was human only to be disappointed?
I wasn’t going to harbor false hopes this time—
“You came from World #000255 as well, didn’t you? Meeting another human—it’s wonderful.”
Wait.
So he really was human?
I was finally getting a normal colleague!
As I basked in this revelation, a familiar voice drew near.
“Gwanryul, how was the vacation? Good to see you after so long.”
It was Pascal, just returned from his meeting, greeting his team member.
He’d come back remarkably quickly. I hoped he hadn’t abandoned his office out of sheer restlessness.
“Pascal~ Did you manage alright without me? You didn’t feel something missing somewhere, did you?”
Seo Gwanryul moved over toward Pascal’s desk, inquiring cheerfully.
It was remarkable to witness someone who could be so irreverent even before our expressionless team leader.
‘His height is as striking as that distinctive personality of his.’
Standing side by side with Pascal, the difference in their builds became apparent.
I’m around six feet, Pascal appears slightly taller—probably just under six-two. Accounting for that, Seo Gwanryul seemed to be somewhere around six-three.
Apart from the non-human beings I’d encountered at the Agency, he appeared to be the second-tallest person I’d seen!
“Hope everyone’s been well~?”
Seo Gwanryul completed his rounds like a performer on a circuit tour, greeting everyone desk by desk.
Then he settled into his own seat. Right next to mine.
He tapped at his computer for a moment before leaning his head over the partition divider and speaking in a low voice.
“Ihyun~ Now that I’ve become a senior, I’d like to buy my junior some coffee. If you’re not too busy, how about a coffee break?”
That’s right—humans had that custom of seniors buying coffee for juniors.
I’d forgotten about it since the CEO was the only person in this company I’d seen actually drinking coffee.
Delighted to finally experience such a normal convention, the two of us headed to a café to grab morning coffee.
* * *
We both scanned our Employee Cards and entered the Human World, making our way to a café in the Shopping District.
“Having a human colleague really is nice~. We can even use cafés outside the office together.”
That was true.
For the first time since joining this company, I was enjoying an ordinary break during my workday!
“We look about the same age. How old are you?”
When the subject came up, he answered with a note of hesitation in his voice.
“I’m twenty-nine.”
“Oh~ We’re the same age! Wow, human, same gender, same age! That’s genuinely rare in this company. I’m so happy~.”
With all manner of species from various worlds gathered at this Agency, finding so many points in common wouldn’t be easy. If things went well, I might actually have a comfortable colleague.
“Ihyun, then let’s speak comfortably with each other, yeah? Just call me Gwanryul.”
…Ah.
I was taken aback by his unselfconscious suggestion to drop formality.
The pace at which he was trying to grow close felt faster than I’d anticipated.
‘I don’t usually stay in close touch with people I’ve met at work.’
Things can get awkward when you’re tangled up in business together.
But finding someone like myself in this bizarre Agency felt like a gift.
That’s why I decided to accept his proposal.
“All right, let’s stay close from now on.”
After coffee break, I returned to my desk and began organizing files from previous projects to upload to the company homepage.
It was basically portfolio work.
“Between projects, whenever we get a gap, our team chips away at it bit by bit.”
So all the team members divided up the tasks among themselves. Everyone except Seo Gwanryul.
‘He just got back, so his work schedule must be all over the place anyway.’
He hadn’t participated in the two tasks before this, after all.
Without even these small odd jobs to fill his time, he was probably enjoying himself. Lucky bastard.
This blessed man, apparently bored by all his idle hours, leaned over the partition and loitered around my desk.
“Hey Ihyun, whatcha doing? Oh—company portfolio work. Right, what was your portfolio like when you first got hired? I’m curious, let me see it~.”
…Hmm.
People don’t usually ask to see your portfolio on a first meeting, do they? It feels like you’re being judged, so I didn’t want to show it….
It was awkward, but we weren’t comfortable enough yet to outright refuse him. After hesitating for a moment, I plugged in the USB I usually carried around and showed him my portfolio.
It’s not like it wears out or anything.
“Whoa.”
…And then.
Seo Gwanryul snatched my mouse and began scrolling rapidly through the PDF files, skimming them fast.
“This portfolio is seriously impressive. You’ve got such a wide range of styles, and the quality is top-notch—you’re a hexagon talent. If you’re this good, why did you join this place? Let me see your resume too.”
“…….”
This wasn’t sitting right with me at all….
But my resume file was also on the USB, and he’d already spotted it.
With the mouse in his hand, Seo Gwanryul opened the file on his own.
“Ah, I see. Just minor specs, no meaningful work experience. That’s why you got screened out before they even opened your portfolio—these days, you need solid experience to get into a big company.”
…….
Wow, free job-hunting consulting. How generous.
And who does he think he is?!
My motto at work is to live smoothly without faking anything, but I got irritated enough to let something slip out.
“…You sure know a lot about job hunting. So why are you working at this Agency?”
“Me? I didn’t have any meaningful specs either. At least you did contract work at a startup somewhere, but this place is my first job.”
Unbelievable—the guy’s got nothing to brag about and he’s still running his mouth!
“And most importantly, I came here hoping I might spot an Alien~.”
?
The shocking statement that followed made my head feel like it rang like a gong.
…What was this flower-garden nonsense sprouting from his brain?
Only then did I notice all the miniatures on his desk were UFO and space-related.
‘Now that I think about it….’
This is a human who voluntarily works at a mad Agency like this.
Yeah, there’s no way he’s a normal person…….
My hopes for a human colleague shattered, but I decided not to engage with weird people anymore. Avoidance was the smarter play.
I sent him packing with the excuse that I had work to do and focused on my tasks.
…But not long after, messages started piling up.
-Ihyun
-You busy?
-I just got back from vacation ㅋㅋ went on a South America trip?
-There’s this thing called the Nazca Lines in Peru, and there’s this conspiracy theory that Aliens made it, y’know?
-Flight tickets suddenly went on sale cheap. Getting everything ready for a trip in just a week was rough though.
…….
What am I supposed to do about this Alien otaku?!
I’m not even curious!
Does he have communication addiction or something?
How is he worse than Blaire?!
Come to think of it, taking a whole month of long-term vacation right when I started wasn’t normal either.
That was when the Research Team had just gone missing, and Yeonwoo was quitting too.
‘The company atmosphere must have been chaotic and we were short-handed.’
Especially the Brand Design Team—if he took time off, there would’ve been only the team lead and Hena left.
“…….”
Right, any sensible person wouldn’t have taken a sudden extended leave at a time like this!
‘Besides, for an emergency leave like that to be approved, someone had to sign off on it.’
It wouldn’t be Pascal—he’s always complaining about the shortage of staff.
…It has to be the CEO. The man’s so out of touch with how things actually work on the ground!
Argh!! Negative one thousand points on peer review and CEO evaluation both!!
Not that it meant anything, but she mentally docked the villains in her head a hefty sum.
Why isn’t there a single normal person in this place? Yeah, any sensible human would have quit like Yeonwoo did. Such wisdom!
‘I can’t take this…!’
If she didn’t vent this pain somewhere, she felt like her body would crystallize from the pressure.
The CEO mentioned before that Bantabot had a counseling function.
‘Fine, Bantabot doubles as an internal messenger anyway.’
He won’t even notice if she uses it during work hours.
She pulled up Bantabot from the employee directory, opened a chat window, and began typing.
-Bantabot ㅠㅠ A teammate on my team is being rude and making things difficult for me
-Yes, I’m sorry to hear that. That must have been upsetting. Could you tell me more about what happened?
-We’ve only known each other for a day, but they keep asking personal questions, and while I’m trying to work they complain they’re bored and pester me.
-That sounds like quite an uncomfortable situation. Your feelings that they were being rude are completely justified.
The familiar, somehow comforting tone soothed her.
It was generic advice, but that’s exactly what she’d wanted—a predictable bamboo grove of wisdom. She actually felt better.
-Still, you’re not alone. I’m here. I’ll always be with you.
The artificial intelligence colleague offered far more comfort than any human coworker, and after a good conversation, even had the good sense to know when to wrap it up gracefully.
That’s how office small talk should work—strike and retreat at just the right moment.
Not like that bleached-blonde one, firing off messenger bombs left and right!
With a considerably lighter heart, she finished typing and looked up to hear Pascal’s voice once again.
“Listen up, we’ve got a new request. Get to the meeting room.”

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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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