Goblin Library - Chapter 48

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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 48

[What if that guy doesn’t achieve an awakening?]
At the Shoe Goblin’s words, Yu Tae-poong paused to consider before responding.
“If we follow the typical narrative flow from novels, awakening would seem like the right direction… but since this involves real people, I can’t say for certain what will happen.”
Though it was a novel, it was ultimately the story of an actual person, so the outcome remained uncertain.
[Right.]
The Shoe Goblin fell silent for a moment, lost in thought, before asking Yu Tae-poong a question.
[Any good suggestions?]
“It seems you’re asking for material… but honestly, nothing comes to mind for me either. And this requires inserting circumstances into the situation, doesn’t it?”
Goblin writers had no direct way to influence the protagonist within a novel. At best, they could only weave circumstances into circumstances—like how the Dung Carrier Goblin made Oh Jang-hyuk pass by in the novel Cha Im-beom.
After that, all they could do was watch to see if the desired situation would unfold.
“For now, let’s just observe. It seems he hasn’t quit the Company yet.”
[Ah! The Company is… right now!]
“Yes?”
[He just submitted his resignation. It looks like Lee Gang-hun was disliked even more than I thought. The fact that they’re telling him to leave immediately without even a handover period… wait.]
The Shoe Goblin’s words suddenly stopped. A moment later, his voice came through, brimming with excitement.
[I need to go see this myself. Let’s talk again next time, and think about what I said.]
“Yes, understood.”
The Shoe Goblin said nothing more after that. Yu Tae-poong set down his book and rose from his seat.
He turned his head to look at the Dung Carrier Goblin, who was reading a book across from him.
The Dung Carrier Goblin was absorbed in his reading, his expression one of fascination, so focused that he didn’t even glance Yu Tae-poong’s way.
Yu Tae-poong walked to the counter and gently opened a drawer, peering inside.
Within, coffee beans and tea leaves were arranged by variety. Yu Tae-poong selected coffee beans and dew tea from the collection.
While the water in the pot came to a boil, Yu Tae-poong ground the beans.
Whirr, whirr.
As the coffee beans were ground, their rich aroma spread throughout the Goblin Library.
‘What a lovely fragrance.’
As Yu Tae-poong inhaled the coffee aroma while grinding, the Dung Carrier Goblin leaned against the counter.
“That smells wonderful.”
“Did the sound of grinding disturb you?”
“No, no.”
Watching the Dung Carrier Goblin shake his head, Yu Tae-poong finished grinding the beans.
“I’ll make you dew tea instead.”
At Yu Tae-poong’s words, the Dung Carrier Goblin broke into a bright smile.
“Coffee is nice too, but… it’s bitter for me.”
“That’s why I made it dew tea.”
Dew tea had a refreshing initial taste with a subtle sweetness lingering on the palate.
This gave an unusual sensation. It was different from a sweet beverage from the moment you took a sip.
Dung Carrier Goblin enjoyed that distinctive quality of dew tea.

Yu Tae-poong, who had brought a chair to sit by the window, sipped his coffee and savored the sunlight.
“This is nice.”
At Dung Carrier Goblin’s words, Yu Tae-poong nodded and spoke.
“Should we get a small tea table?”
“A tea table?”
“You and I sitting like this drinking tea has become part of our daily routine… I thought it would be nice to have a small tea table between us.”
Dung Carrier Goblin looked at the space between himself and Yu Tae-poong, then nodded.
“It would certainly be convenient. We could set down teacups and books.”
As Dung Carrier Goblin spoke, he pulled out the cloth hanging from his waist and unfurled it.
Fluttering!
The cloth suspended in mid-air stretched out long, forming a lowercase ‘n’ shape between Yu Tae-poong and Dung Carrier Goblin.
Dung Carrier Goblin placed a teacup on top and examined the shape.
“This would certainly be convenient.”
Then Dung Carrier Goblin placed his hands on either side of the cloth and gently twisted it.
The fabric’s shape changed. Where it had been rectangular moments before, the top now became rounded while the bottom extended downward, creating a shape like a large pushpin.
“This shape looks good too, doesn’t it? Oh! What if we do this here?”
As Dung Carrier Goblin spoke and moved his hands, a small groove appeared on the top surface, followed by a small plate-like protrusion.
“What is this?”
“A phone stand.”
When Dung Carrier Goblin placed his phone on it, it fit perfectly.
“Oh!”
Yu Tae-poong also placed his phone on it. Dung Carrier Goblin had carved out a longer groove to accommodate both of them.
“This is nice. I like it.”
Then Yu Tae-poong played music from his phone. When he put on a gentle ballad, the atmosphere became perfect.
“Definitely… sitting like this really does bring a sense of ease to life.”
Though the chairs were somewhat uncomfortable, sitting across from each other at the tea table, bathed in sunlight and gazing out the window, felt truly healing.
After gazing leisurely out the window for a moment, Yu Tae-poong spoke to Dung Carrier Goblin.
“You know…”
Yu Tae-poong began and shared the conversation he’d had with Shoe Goblin. Dung Carrier Goblin listened quietly, then laughed awkwardly and scratched his head.
“I’m not sure about that.”
Watching Dung Carrier Goblin shake his head, unable to think of anything relevant, Yu Tae-poong nodded.
“I don’t either.”
Yu Tae-poong couldn’t think of anything specific either.
“Ambition and innocence, huh…”
As Yu Tae-poong murmured, Dung Carrier Goblin spoke.
“Don’t think about it hastily. Think slowly. After all…”
Dung Carrier Goblin held up a book as he continued speaking.
“This is real-time, after all.”
Dung Carrier Goblin laughed as he spoke to Yu Tae-poong.
“In ordinary novels, time skips forward by years with each page turn….”
Dung Carrier Goblin squinted as he spoke.
“What’s wrong?”
“Now that I think about it, this book works the same way—if there’s no interesting episode, the author doesn’t write, so time still jumps forward by years when you turn the page.”
“That’s true enough.”
The Goblin’s book records a person’s entire life as it unfolds, so the narrative follows chronological order. But that doesn’t mean every trivial detail the protagonist experiences gets written down in real-time.
Uninteresting stories aren’t recorded, so sometimes several months would whoosh past in just one or two pages.
In that respect, it was no different from a novel.
“Anyway, what I’m trying to say is, Lee Gang-hun—that guy’s been through something now, so whether he awakens to it or whatever, he’ll need some time. People don’t change completely in just a few days.”
“That’s a fair point.”
“Think about it slowly.”
Yu Tae-poong nodded and pulled out Lee Gang-hun’s book. Since it would only contain events up through yesterday, there probably wouldn’t be much new content, but he intended to read through everything anyway.
Besides, he was curious why Shoe Goblin had suddenly left.

***

Lee Gang-hun, having submitted his resignation, packed his writing implements into a cardboard box.
Beside him, an employee from the Audit Department was examining his laptop.
They were checking whether any company materials were stored on his personal device. Normally they wouldn’t go this far, but because Lee Gang-hun had fallen out of favor with the higher-ups, the Audit Department responded with excessive caution.
Lee Gang-hun spoke in a passing tone as he watched the Audit Department employee.
『I’m not an idiot. If I’d wanted to take company materials, I would’ve put them on the laptop.』
The Audit Department employee glanced at Lee Gang-hun at his grumbling, then spoke awkwardly.
『I think the same way… but the people above don’t see it that way.』
Then the employee checked the laptop’s memo and nodded.
『You’ve formatted it quite cleanly.』
『I prefer things clean anyway.』
『And there’s no record of downloading materials from the company server either…. We’re all set.』
『Thank you for your trouble.』
Lee Gang-hun tossed the laptop into the box and offered a farewell greeting, to which the employee nodded and replied.
『Good luck out there.』
『Yeah. I’ll need it now.』
The remark carried weight, and Lee Gang-hun let out a quiet laugh as he lifted the box and raised his head.
Flinch!
The moment Lee Gang-hun lifted his head, his teammates hurriedly lowered theirs. These were colleagues he’d worked alongside for years since being assigned here, yet not a single one of them met his gaze.
But Lee Gang-hun felt no resentment toward them. If anything, he’d already exhausted his capacity for resentment when his trusted teammates rejected him not long ago.
Those guys had refused him too…. Even if they’d shared meals together as teammates, there was no point feeling hurt toward people who’d distanced themselves from him once Director Kim had marked him as an outsider.
Lee Gang-hun offered his farewell with an expressionless face.
『Anyway… everyone’s worked hard. If we run into each other on the street next time, let’s exchange greetings.』
Without another word, he turned and left the department.
As Lee Gang-hun moved toward the exit, puzzlement flickered across his face.
Oh Myeong-seok was standing in the corridor.
He had thought the man might simply pass by, but instead he stood there, looking directly at him.
‘Well, at least someone came to say goodbye.’
Thinking Oh Myeong-seok had come to bid farewell, Lee Gang-hun smiled and approached him.
『If you greet me, you’ll get in trouble.』
At Lee Gang-hun’s words, Oh Myeong-seok pointed to his chest. Lee Gang-hun glanced down.
『?』
Seeing Lee Gang-hun’s confusion, Oh Myeong-seok spoke.
『I’m not wearing my employee ID.』
Oh Myeong-seok’s words only deepened Lee Gang-hun’s bewilderment.
『Why aren’t you wearing it? You’ll get scolded if you don’t have it on.』
With so many employees at the Company, it was impossible to know everyone in each department.
That’s why everyone wore their employee ID around their neck—so strangers could verify whether someone was an outsider or not.
『I quit the Company.』
『What?』
『I’m going to follow you, sir.』
At Oh Myeong-seok’s resolute words, Lee Gang-hun stared at him in shock.
『Were you… close with me?』
Instead of asking “why,” the question “were you close with me?” caught Oh Myeong-seok off guard, and his face showed a moment of confusion.
『Uh… weren’t we close?』
『You and me?』
『Yes.』
After Oh Myeong-seok’s response, Lee Gang-hun looked at him, then glanced through the glass partition toward Oh Myeong-seok’s department.
Inside the office, Jung Deputy Manager was rummaging through Oh Myeong-seok’s desk with an irritated expression.
Noticing Lee Gang-hun’s gaze, he held up an envelope with an angry face.
Despite the distance, the characters written on the envelope were unmistakably clear.

「Letter of Resignation」

『Ha!』
Lee Gang-hun let out a hollow laugh as he looked at Oh Myeong-seok.
『You should have told me beforehand. How am I supposed to react when you shove a resignation letter in my face like this?』
『Then you would have tried to stop me.』
『That’s… but did you really submit your resignation without thinking it through?』
『I’ve given this a great deal of thought before making this decision.』
『Really? That much thought?』
At Lee Gang-hun’s question, Oh Myeong-seok paused for a moment before answering.
『I thought about my parents too—how happy they were when I first got this job.』
Hearing that Oh Myeong-seok had even considered his parents, Lee Gang-hun found himself with nothing more to say on that front. Instead, he asked something else.
『What’s the real reason? Besides thinking we’re close.』
『I’d rather work under a superior I can trust than one I cannot.』
『So you’re saying I’m a trustworthy superior?』
『I know what happened. The investigation you started this time—it was because of the documents I showed you, wasn’t it?』
『How did you figure that out?』
『I’m not an idiot. I didn’t know at first, but after hearing the company rumors, I realized it was the company I had discovered. You said it was nothing back then to protect me.』
At Oh Myeong-seok’s words, Lee Gang-hun squinted at him before letting out a sigh.
『So you want to come with me?』
『Yes.』
『I might not be able to pay you.』
『I can manage for three months.』
At Oh Myeong-seok’s willingness to wait three months, Lee Gang-hun looked at him, sighed, and casually lifted the box he was holding to show him.
『What about your belongings?』
『My body is all the baggage I need.』
Lee Gang-hun looked at him, then thrust his own box toward Oh Myeong-seok.
『Then let’s go.』
As Lee Gang-hun walked ahead, Oh Myeong-seok picked up the box and followed behind him.

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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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