Goblin Library - Chapter 43

—————

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

—————

Chapter 43

Yu Tae-poong stood in front of the Grilled Pork Belly Restaurant. This was the meeting place he’d arranged with a friend today.
After entering the restaurant, Yu Tae-poong found a seat since his friend hadn’t arrived yet, and ordered meat and soju.
Thinking his friend would arrive once he started eating, Yu Tae-poong placed the meat on the grill and was pouring himself a light drink of soju when he heard someone call his name.
“Yu Tae-poong.”
Yu Tae-poong lifted his head. Then, seeing the young man approaching him, he froze.

「Oh Myeong-seok」

A name was displayed above the man’s head.
‘I thought he was someone with the same name, but it’s the same person.’
Muttering to myself, I gazed intently at the name Oh Myeong-seok.
Then….

「Oh Myeong-seok.
A new employee who appears in the Shoe Goblin’s book 【Lee Gang-hun】.
Though he still makes mistakes as a newcomer, he is working hard to adapt.
Though not in the same department, he has received help from Lee Gang-hun and thinks highly of him.」

I’m still a new employee and make mistakes from time to time, but I’m working hard to adapt.
“Although they’re not in the same department, she received help from Lee Gang-hun and thinks highly of him.”
Oh Myung-seok, who approached Typhoon, looked him up and down, smiled, and said loudly:
A new employee named Oh Myeong-seok had appeared in Lee Gang-hun’s book. By coincidence, Yu Tae-poong also had a friend named Oh Myeong-seok, but he’d assumed it was just a case of shared names. After all, Oh Myeong-seok wasn’t such a rare name.
Still, when the character appeared several more times in the book and seemed to struggle with company life, Yu Tae-poong found himself thinking of his friend and suggested they meet today—only to discover they were the same person.
Oh Myeong-seok approached Yu Tae-poong, looked him up and down with a grin, and spoke loudly.
“Wow, Tae-poong! That outfit is killer!”
At Oh Myeong-seok’s words, Yu Tae-poong felt a pang of regret. He’d come straight from work without paying attention to what he was wearing.
Yu Tae-poong handed Oh Myeong-seok a soju glass as he sat down and replied.
“It’s nothing special. Just a uniform, really.”
“What company has uniforms this nice? Look at that watch! Just from the design, it looks genuinely expensive. Does the company provide that too?”
Yu Tae-poong laughed and answered Oh Myeong-seok’s question.
“What does it matter if it’s expensive? It’s not mine—it belongs to the company.”
“Well, I heard you got a job somewhere, but where exactly did you end up?”
Oh Myeong-seok extended his glass, and Yu Tae-poong poured soju for him.
Glug, glug!
After receiving the soju Yu Tae-poong poured, Oh Myeong-seok asked again.
“Where?”
As the question came at him once more, Yu Tae-poong’s mind raced.
‘What should I say?’
After a moment’s thought, Yu Tae-poong made his decision and spoke.
“The Goblin Library.”
It would be strange for Oh Myeong-seok not to question why luxury clothing served as a uniform, but Yu Tae-poong didn’t want to lie unnecessarily.
Besides, Oh Myeong-seok was a hometown friend, and if he lied to him, he’d have to lie to all their other friends too.
One lie would breed another, so it was better to tell the truth. Of course, he’d have to keep anything related to the Goblins hidden.
“The Goblin Library?”
Oh Myeong-seok tilted his head in confusion and spoke.
“You said that outfit is a uniform? What kind of library has people working in such fine clothes?”
“Well… it’s a library that isn’t open to the general public—only to a select few. That’s why it’s a bit different.”
Even after hearing Yu Tae-poong’s explanation, Oh Myeong-seok remained thoroughly puzzled.
Watching him quietly for a moment, something seemed to occur to Oh Myeong-seok, and he asked.
“VIP?”
“VIP?”
At Yu Tae-poong’s question, Oh Myeong-seok explained.
“Yeah, VIP. Rich people, you know? Rich folks have exclusive membership bars where only they can go.”
Then, to confirm his theory, he asked.
“Is it a library for VIPs?”
At Oh Myeong-seok’s astute guess, Yu Tae-poong laughed awkwardly and replied.
“Not exactly, but something like that.”
It wasn’t wrong. You needed a Goblin membership to enter, and except for special cases like the Dung Carrier Goblin, most Goblins were wealthy.
The Pot Goblin was, the Bamboo Sword Goblin was—they’d all spent time accumulating vast fortunes.
Through land, paintings, ceramics, and the like.
At Yu Tae-poong’s words, Oh Myeong-seok looked at him, then at his wristwatch.
“So the watch came from there too?”
“That’s right.”
“Take it off and put it in your pocket. If you scratch it while drinking, all hell breaks loose.”
At Oh Myeong-seok’s words, Yu Tae-poong glanced at the watch and quietly unfastened it, slipping it into his inner pocket.
He wasn’t worried about scratches. Since it was made with a goblin’s club, he could simply craft a new one if it got damaged.
But with Oh Myeong-seok watching, he figured it was better to keep it tucked away for now.
“Anyway, these rich people are something else. Why would they create their own library just for themselves? Is the collection different there? What kind of books do they have?”
Watching the curious Oh Myeong-seok, Yu Tae-poong shook his head with a smile.
“They have all the standard books. The only difference is who comes in. The collection is pretty much like any other library.”
Of course, books written by goblins didn’t exist in ordinary libraries.
“Speaking of which, how’s the Trade Company treating you? Do you work a lot of overtime since it’s a trading firm?”
Worried that continuing to talk about the Goblin Library would lead to a slip-up, Yu Tae-poong changed the subject.
Oh Myeong-seok laughed and replied.
“Do trading companies work a lot of overtime? No, it’s just that working at any company means overtime. You… does that library not have overtime?”
“What overtime would there be at a library?”
“So what exactly do you do at the library?”
It seemed the subject change wasn’t going to stick. Seeing Oh Myeong-seok ask about the library again, Yu Tae-poong poured soju and spoke.
“I clean and serve drinks to customers based on their preferences.”
As he spoke, Yu Tae-poong snapped his fingers and added.
“I make great coffee.”
“Coffee?”
“Bean coffee, I mean.”
As Yu Tae-poong mimicked grinding beans, Oh Myeong-seok laughed.
“Well, if it’s a library where VIPs go, you’d better know how to brew coffee. That’s impressive, really. A place like that would be selective about hiring.”
At Oh Myeong-seok’s comment, Yu Tae-poong chuckled.
“Not just anyone can get in.”
You’d have to be a descendant of the Old Man with a Hump from the old folktales to even be hired.
“I’m good with tea too.”
“Tea? The kind you drink?”
“Yeah. Tea’s flavor and aroma change depending on the temperature you brew it at.”
Oh Myeong-seok looked at him with curious eyes.
“Really?”
“Why, are you interested in tea?”
“There’s a manager at our company who loves tea.”
Lee Gang-hun—that’s who he meant.
In the book, Lee Gang-hun always drank tea. Even when everyone around him had coffee, he alone sipped his tea.
“Tea is good for your health. You should try some.”
“I prefer a refreshing iced americano, honestly.”
“You can brew tea and add ice to it later too.”
Despite Yu Tae-poong’s suggestion, Oh Myeong-seok laughed and shook his head.
“You’re busy, so when would you even have time to brew tea and add ice? Just drink it as is.”
At Oh Myeong-seok’s words, Yu Tae-poong nodded and spoke.
“Is that manager person your direct superior?”
“No. He’s a manager from a different department.”
Oh Myeong-seok smiled as he spoke.
“Not long after I joined, I made a really big mistake, and he covered for me so I survived.”
“I see.”
“I wrote down the order number wrong. Back then, the quantity was….”
Yu Tae-poong chuckled at Oh Myeong-seok’s words, who shuddered as if still breaking into a cold sweat at the memory.
It was something I’d read in the book. Newly hired Oh Myeong-seok had placed an order for goods abroad but written down the number incorrectly.
So Lee Gang-hun had handled it by passing the mistakenly arrived goods to another Trade Company in the middle, and it had been smoothed over.
“…That supervisor guy cursed me out, asking when I told him to do it, why I was doing work he never asked me to do…. I almost punched him right then.”
“Really?”
“I’m telling you. He just said figure it out yourself and tossed a stack of documents this big at me, saying everything’s in there…. Anyway, he’s a young fossil, a real fossil.”
At Oh Myeong-seok’s words, Yu Tae-poong recalled what he’d seen in Lee Gang-hun’s book.
There were a couple of scenes where Oh Myeong-seok and the supervisor appeared, and Lee Gang-hun’s evaluation of that supervisor was poor.
When subordinates produced results or ideas, he’d steal them as his own, and conversely, he’d pin his own mistakes on his subordinates—he was the worst kind of boss.
“Wherever you go, there’s always one or two bad people. But there are good people too, like that manager you mentioned.”
“That’s true.”
Glug glug!
Oh Myeong-seok poured soju into his glass and spoke.
“If the manager quits, who will I rely on now?”
At Oh Myeong-seok’s words, Yu Tae-poong paused and looked at him.
“What, he’s quitting?”
“It seems like he will.”
“Why?”
At Yu Tae-poong’s question, Oh Myeong-seok laughed.
“Why are you so interested in our manager?”
It was a sharp observation. Yu Tae-poong flinched slightly but answered with feigned composure. His concern for Oh Myeong-seok was genuine, so there was no need to affect his tone.
“I’m worried about you. If that guy leaves, won’t you be fired soon after?”
“Ah….”
Hearing Yu Tae-poong’s words, Oh Myeong-seok let out a melancholy sigh.
Watching Oh Myeong-seok like that, Yu Tae-poong became curious about the contents of Lee Gang-hun’s book. Lee Gang-hun had indeed considered quitting the company, but through a conversation with his wife, he’d abandoned that idea.
But I don’t know what happened after that. I hadn’t read Lee Gang-hun’s book because I was reading Oh Jang-hyuk’s book.
‘Something else must have happened afterward.’
So Lee Gang-hun, who had given up on quitting, must have changed his mind again.
Thinking such thoughts, Yu Tae-poong studied Oh Myeong-seok’s expression. Oh Myeong-seok really seemed to dislike the idea of Lee Gang-hun quitting—his face had turned ashen.
Yu Tae-poong poured soju and spoke.
“Work can be tough but bearable, but when it’s people that are difficult, it’s hard to endure.”
“Exactly. Especially my supervisor—I really hate him.”
Then Oh Myeong-seok began venting to Yu Tae-poong about his supervisor.
“He dumps all his work on me. Especially when he scatters documents across my desk demanding I verify the materials—I swear I want to strangle him.”
“Really?”
“I’m telling you. I have my own work, but he wants me to check those materials, summarize them, and hand them back. And he claims this is the fastest way to learn the job? The bastard!”
Yu Tae-poong chuckled softly at Oh Myeong-seok’s words.
Though I disliked the supervisor’s methods, Lee Gang-hun had said the same thing when watching me work.
Even now, exhausted and frustrated, I understood it was the quickest way to grasp how the Company actually operated.
The supervisor may have been dumping work out of laziness, but it was genuinely the fastest method to learn.
Of course, without proper guidance, the path would be unnecessarily long and winding.
Oh Myeong-seok sighed and muttered quietly.
“Our Company makes even department transfers difficult. I have no idea how much longer I can work with that assistant manager.”
Watching Oh Myeong-seok sigh while drinking soju, Yu Tae-poong’s thoughts drifted to Lee Gang-hun.
‘Lee Gang-hun has integrity and a sharp business mind.’
Reading his book revealed what a good person he was. His ambition for success was strong, but that wasn’t a flaw.
He never harmed others in pursuit of success.
After a moment of reflection, Yu Tae-poong spoke.
“That manager—what’s he planning to do if he leaves the Company? Find another job?”
“I’m not certain, but he mentioned he’d start his own company.”
At Oh Myeong-seok’s words, Yu Tae-poong spoke with concern in his voice.
“Leaving the Company will be tough.”
“It will be.”
Oh Myeong-seok stared blankly for a moment before speaking.
“Should I just go with him?”
Yu Tae-poong looked at him and answered.
“There’s a saying—leaving home brings hardship.”
At Yu Tae-poong’s words, Oh Myeong-seok sighed.
“You’re right, it would be tough.”
He poured more soju into his empty glass. Seeing this, Yu Tae-poong spoke.
“Think it through carefully.”
“Think it through….”
Oh Myeong-seok nodded, turning over Yu Tae-poong’s words in his mind.
“It’s either working hard with someone I can trust and rely on, or working frustratingly with someone who infuriates me just by looking at him. One or the other.”
At Oh Myeong-seok’s murmur, Yu Tae-poong raised his soju glass.
Oh Myeong-seok lifted his glass as well, clinking it lightly against his.
Oh Myeong-seok laughed quietly.
“Friends are nice. We even complain about our bosses together.”
Then Oh Myeong-seok looked at Yu Tae-poong.
“If you have any complaints about your boss, go ahead. I’ll listen.”
At Oh Myeong-seok’s words, Yu Tae-poong chuckled.
“That would be trouble.”
“What’s the big deal?”
“A hump will form.”
“A hump?”

—————

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

—————