Goblin Library - Chapter 41

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

Chapter 41

“I’m doing well.”
Oh Jang-hyuk nodded as he read the text written in his phone’s memo app.
At the sight of this, Yu Tae-poong glanced at the Dung Carrier Goblin.
“It seems he can’t speak.”
The Dung Carrier Goblin smiled at Yu Tae-poong’s words.
“It’s not that he can’t speak—he can’t hear.”
“He can’t hear?”
“Since he can’t hear, he struggles to speak.”
Yu Tae-poong tilted his head in confusion.
“But he just responded to what Oh Jang-hyuk said, didn’t he?”
Now that I thought about it, it did seem like he had responded.
The Dung Carrier Goblin smiled at that.
“Oh Jang-hyuk speaks slowly, so he reads his lips to understand.”
“Ah….”
While the two were talking, Oh Jang-hyuk looked at the Young Man and spoke slowly.
“What certifications do you have?”
“I don’t have any.”
As the Young Man wrote, Oh Jang-hyuk squinted and gave his head a light tap with his hand.
“Get some certifications when you have time. What have you been doing?”
Though it was a gentle tap, Yu Tae-poong winced.
“He’s a full-fledged adult, even if young….”
Hitting an adult on the head, even lightly—it was called a flick, but still. If it were me, I would have felt terrible about it.
As Yu Tae-poong looked displeased, the Goblin smacked his lips and spoke.
“That’s just his personality. It’s a sign of familiarity.”
“Still….”
At Yu Tae-poong’s words with a wince, the Dung Carrier Goblin sighed.
“There’s nothing to be done about his personality.”
As they were talking, Oh Jang-hyuk looked at the Young Man as if to speak, then shook his head and extended his hand.
Oh Jang-hyuk received the Young Man’s phone and wrote on it.
Scratch, scratch!
“Is the work bearable?”
“It’s fun.”
As the Young Man smiled and wrote, Oh Jang-hyuk looked at him and let out a small laugh.
“Most people find inspection work tedious. I’m glad you find it fun.”
Oh Jang-hyuk showed the message and tapped his phone again.
“If anyone gives you a hard time, let me know.”
「It’s fine. I’m just happy to work.」
The Young Man hesitated for a moment before writing.
「My mother is pleased.」
Oh Jang-hyuk read what the Young Man had written and nodded at him.
「Don’t worry about people who criticize you. The sales team has been praising us lately—product defects have dropped significantly.」
「Really?」
「Since you arrived, complaints about defects have decreased a lot. So just keep doing what you’re doing.」
At Oh Jang-hyuk’s praise, the Young Man looked at him and wrote something down.
「Thank you for trusting me and giving me this opportunity to work.」
Oh Jang-hyuk cleared his throat once and then wrote a response.
「You don’t owe me thanks. I simply gave you a chance because you spoke so earnestly about wanting to do anything. And… truthfully, working at our factory isn’t anything particularly special.」
The Young Man shook his head slightly as he read what Oh Jang-hyuk had written. But he didn’t write anything in return.
Though the factory didn’t have strict hiring requirements… for someone who couldn’t hear, it was a door that didn’t easily open.
Moreover, he had no skills or certifications to speak of. And yet…

***

A group of people gathered in one place were reviewing resumes for factory part-time positions.
『If their limbs work fine, anyone can do it. Why are we even conducting interviews?』
At one person’s complaint, the Factory Manager beside him laughed and spoke.
『Even if it’s part-time, they’re someone we’ll be working with, and since they can be converted to full-time later, we should at least see their face before hiring.』
『Who comes to work at a factory these days… just hire anyone…』
The muttering person lifted his head at the sound of the door opening. He quickly stood up when Oh Jang-hyuk entered.
『Oh, Manager Oh has arrived.』
『I had to come see the new hires.』
Oh Jang-hyuk distributed the beverages he’d brought to the Factory Manager and the others.
『Please have a drink each.』
The Factory Manager nodded and accepted the beverage, then looked at him.
『By the way, Manager Oh, you seem a bit different lately.』
At the white-haired Factory Manager’s words, Oh Jang-hyuk scratched his nose lightly and spoke.
『Is that so?』
『When you used to come to the factory, when did you ever bring drinks like this? You always asked for a cold one.』
『Ah… haha! …That’s right.』
Oh Jang-hyuk smacked his lips. The Factory Manager was right—until now, Oh Jang-hyuk had never brought anything like this when coming to the factory.
Instead, he would demand from the office staff, ‘Get me something cold.’ That was more his style.
『Please, sit here.』
At the Factory Manager’s words, Oh Jang-hyuk smiled and sat down, then spoke.
『How many are you hiring?』
『Five.』
『How many applicants?』
“…Three of them.”
At the word “three,” Oh Jang-hyuk let out a sigh.
“Is the treatment at our Factory poor?”
“The benefits and salary are neither good nor bad—quite ordinary. But the working environment is noisy, so that’s not ideal.”
Oh Jang-hyuk nodded and asked.
“When will they start?”
“They’ll start soon.”
The Factory Manager gestured, and a Factory Employee stepped outside, returning moments later with three young men in tow.
The Factory Manager smiled at the three somewhat nervous candidates.
“Even though we call it an interview, we’re just going to exchange greetings. If there are no major issues, you can start working tomorrow. So don’t be too nervous.”
Then the Factory Manager looked over the résumés and spoke.
“Well… Go Gyeong-ha, your home isn’t far from here.”
The Factory Manager looked up from the résumé and saw the young man Go Gyeong-ha.
At that gaze, Go Gyeong-ha hesitated for a moment, then gently bit his lip. He then pulled a notebook from his pocket and opened it.
“I am deaf.”
“Huh?”
The Factory Manager read the words written on the paper, looked at Go Gyeong-ha with a bewildered expression, then checked the résumé.
Looking at Go Gyeong-ha again, he turned the page to reveal the next sheet.
“I will work hard.”
Go Gyeong-ha turned the page and bowed deeply. The Factory Manager hesitated, sighed, and looked at another résumé.
From the fact that he said nothing more, it seemed Go Gyeong-ha would be sent home.
Since it was a Factory, hearing impairment posed a risk of accidents.
Understanding the Factory Manager’s position, Oh Jang-hyuk looked at another résumé and turned his head toward the young man beside him. In that moment, he caught a glimpse of Go Gyeong-ha.
Go Gyeong-ha stood with his fists clenched, his head bowed. It seemed he had already sensed that he wouldn’t be hired.
Oh Jang-hyuk, squinting slightly as he watched Go Gyeong-ha for a moment, pulled out a piece of paper and picked up a pen.
Meanwhile, the Factory Manager continued talking with the other young men. As he had said, there were no questions about qualifications or credentials.
He simply asked casual things like “How old are you?”, “Where do you live?”, “Do you like alcohol?”, “What are your hobbies?”
When the interview ended and they were about to leave, Oh Jang-hyuk stood up.
With everyone’s eyes on me, I approached Go Gyeong-ha, who was still bowing his head.
I gently tapped his shoulder twice, and Go Gyeong-ha looked up.
I held up the paper to show Go Gyeong-ha.
It contained the questions the Factory Manager had just asked the young men.
“Where do you live?”
Go Gyeong-ha hesitated upon seeing what I had written, then quickly pulled out his phone.
He rapidly typed out a response and showed it to me.
“I live in Hyunjin-dong.”
“I live in Hyunjin-dong.”
I read the text aloud and showed him another piece of paper.
“Do you like alcohol?”
“I don’t like alcohol.”
“I don’t care for alcohol.”
“What are your hobbies?”
Go Gyeong-ha hesitated for a moment at the question before writing on his phone.
“I enjoy finding the differences in spot-the-difference puzzles.”
Oh Jang-hyuk looked at him with a puzzled expression at such an unexpected hobby.
“Spot-the-difference puzzles?”
At Oh Jang-hyuk’s words, Go Gyeong-ha quickly wrote a response.
“I’m just good at it… so I enjoy it.”
After reading Go Gyeong-ha’s answer, Oh Jang-hyuk started to move on to the next question but paused. Then he asked with confusion.
“You can understand what I’m saying?”
He had just muttered under his breath without writing anything, yet Go Gyeong-ha had answered him in writing.
“I can tell what you’re saying by reading your lips.”
“You have good eyes.”
At Oh Jang-hyuk’s comment, the Factory Manager spoke up.
“Director Oh, surely you’re not thinking of hiring him?”
“Our company isn’t that large… and since he’s come this far, he deserves the same opportunity as the other candidates to be interviewed fairly.”
“That’s true, but…”
The Factory Manager looked at Go Gyeong-ha with a worried expression.
“In a factory, if he can’t hear, there could be accidents.”
There were countless situations where accidents could occur in the factory due to hearing problems—such as not hearing the sound of forklifts moving and walking into their path.
Whether Go Gyeong-ha read the Factory Manager’s lips or not, he quickly typed on his phone.
“I’ll be careful to prevent accidents. I’ll work hard.”
After reading Go Gyeong-ha’s message, Oh Jang-hyuk, who had been lost in thought, turned to one of the Factory Employees.
“Bring me a box of our products.”
“The products?”
At the Factory Employee’s question, Oh Jang-hyuk nodded.
“And bring a few defective ones too.”
“Ah… yes.”
The Factory Employee left and returned shortly with a box.
“I’ve brought them.”
“The defective ones?”
“They’re here.”
The Factory Employee pulled out several metal products from his pocket. Oh Jang-hyuk took the defective items and tossed them into the box.
Clink! Clink!
After mixing the products, Oh Jang-hyuk pulled out one that wasn’t defective and handed it to Go Gyeong-ha.
As Go Gyeong-ha took it, Oh Jang-hyuk spoke.
“Look at this and find the ones in the box that have a different shape.”
Oh Jang-hyuk continued, enunciating slowly so Go Gyeong-ha could read his lips.
“Like finding the differences in a spot-the-difference puzzle… find the ones that are different from this.”
Go Gyeong-ha looked at the box and the metal product in his hand, then nodded.
I began pulling metal products from the box one by one.
The Factory Manager approached me.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m giving him a chance since he’s good at finding differences in pictures.”
“With these?”
“Yes.”
“Are you thinking of the quality inspection department?”
“That’s not relevant to his background… If his eyes are decent, there’s no reason we can’t put him there, is there?”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
The Factory Manager looked at Go Gyeong-ha with hesitation.
Oh Jang-hyuk spoke in a soothing tone to the Factory Manager.
“Besides, is our company in a position to be picky about people? If someone wants to work hard, we hire them.”
Then he turned to look at Go Gyeong-ha, who was handling the metal products.
“Let’s see how it goes. Since he’s seeing our products for the first time, it’ll be difficult for him to spot defects.”
At Oh Jang-hyuk’s words, the Factory Manager nodded. As he said, someone unfamiliar with the products would have difficulty distinguishing between defects and genuine items.
‘It’s different from a game.’
Though he was good at finding differences in pictures, reality was different from games.
The Factory Manager thought this as he watched Go Gyeong-ha, who was dividing the products into two categories.
After finishing the classification, Go Gyeong-ha stood up while examining what he had sorted. The Factory Manager smiled wryly and spoke.
“Just as I thought—it’s different from a game.”
The Factory Employee had brought three defective products. But among what was now classified into two groups, Go Gyeong-ha had separated seven as defects.
Oh Jang-hyuk, who had personally placed the defective products in the box, bent down to examine the items.
He held the defective products in his hands and looked at Go Gyeong-ha.
“These three are definitely defects, but why did you pick these four?”
As Oh Jang-hyuk spoke slowly, Go Gyeong-ha quickly bent down and pointed to several spots on the four products he had selected.
Oh Jang-hyuk examined the products once more and handed them to the Factory Manager.
“They’re defective.”
“What?”
The Factory Manager took the products with a puzzled expression. As he examined them, his eyes narrowed.
“They are defective.”
Oh Jang-hyuk nodded and spoke with a confident voice.
“I’ll take responsibility. Let him work.”

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