Fifty Percent Incentive Changes Everything
The single bed was pressed flush against the wall, with a tiny window above it.
A small two-person sofa and a low reception table sat where the partition met the wall.
On the opposite side was the bathroom door. Naturally, it was a women-only bathroom, and the condition was that I wouldn't use it.
I had no desire to anyway.
Still, even on a deserted night like this, having to go outside to use the building's shared bathroom on the first floor was a bit inconvenient.
I'd considered sneaking in once or twice but ultimately gave up on the idea.
I'm not a pervert, after all.
The one cabinet in the room held several unfamiliar hero bodysuits. Since I didn't want to touch them, I shoved my own belongings underneath.
The silver lining was that this whole mess had happened right after I'd moved into the officetel and was just starting to furnish it bit by bit. As a result, I basically had nothing but the clothes on my back.
That's right. The day my sweet home got blown to bits was exactly that day.
All because of Fortune Girl...
No, to be precise, it was that fixed-turret guy. Or was it Cannon-Fixed Man? Whatever. That bastard was the problem.
I replayed the earlier situation in my head.
"I-I'm truly, deeply sorry, Jiwoo-nim."
Fortune Girl had gone deathly pale as she bowed ninety degrees before me.
Her waist stayed down for a long time.
When she finally straightened up, her eyes were rimmed red.
Just remembering that moment made rage flare up inside me all over again.
My perfectly fine job.
And the home I'd finally managed to buy with the fruits of that labor.
The day everything vanished in a single afternoon was exactly that day.
And the person who clearly wasn't entirely blameless for it had spent all this time opposing me and treating me so coldly?
I collapsed into my seat like a robot whose power had been cut.
I felt pathetic for having worked so hard to boost sales.
What was the point of raising sales? It wasn't even my money.
Besides, the salary here was lower than my previous job. How long would it take to save up for another house at this rate?
And one of the main culprits behind losing my home was right here.
The situation was twisted beyond belief.
As Fortune Girl kept apologizing over and over, Hye-ryeon noona—who had been scolding her so fiercely just moments before—comforted her by stroking her back.
I almost said, 'How about stroking mine first?'
Before I could, everyone started approaching me one by one, each offering a word.
I don't remember the exact words, but they all seemed warm and kind.
The only conversation still vivid in my mind was the final private talk with Hye-ryeon noona.
"Aren't you heading home, noona? Everyone else is leaving."
"Hmm... Well. I have something else I need to tell you, Jiwoo."
"Yes?"
I thought she was going to offer some special consolation, but what she said was something else entirely.
"Even if Joo-young isn't a hundred percent at fault, she can't escape responsibility. And as the agency representative, neither can I... So, regardless of the outcome, I'd like to offer you an additional incentive of thirty percent of net sales on any requests you bring in from now on."
I ran the numbers in my head instantly.
Popular requests usually ranged from five to ten million won.
After subtracting expenses and labor costs, net sales were roughly one-third of that—about one and a half to three million.
Thirty percent of that would come out to roughly five to nine hundred thousand won per job.
Not bad.
No, this was actually incredible.
Whoa.
I almost accepted on the spot.
Of course, disaster compensation or insurance wasn't completely out of the question.
But that could take several months at minimum, and there was no guarantee of full coverage.
It wouldn't even begin to cover the loan interest starting next month or my immediate living expenses.
Time to test the waters.
But first, a little grumbling to set the stage.
"Um... I really appreciate you looking out for me. But I'm sorry, a house isn't exactly pocket change..."
"That's true. But Jiwoo..."
Maybe that was a bit too obvious.
Just throw it out there.
"Haha. If it were fifty percent instead of thirty, I'd be confident I could really hustle and do a great job!"
Surprised by the unexpected haggling, she paused for a few seconds before answering coolly.
"Deal. But make sure you keep the girls' morale up while you're working them, and this stays between us two."
I almost replied, 'Yes, noona. I love that it's our little secret!'
Anyway.
Yahoo.
And so...
I was finally left alone in this dark lodging.
I scanned my new personal space once, then lay back down to sleep, but sleep refused to come.
Why?
Because of that incentive, obviously.
My house was gone, but some compensation would probably come through eventually.
If I got just half of the two hundred from the net sales on In-seo's last mission—like a hundred per job—and the four of them handled one request each per month, that'd be four hundred.
Wait, what if they handled two each?
Then, excluding salary, how much would that be?
Eight hundred at night.
Hoo.
Hoo.
How could I possibly sleep?
I got up again, pulled back the partition curtain, and sat down at the table in the center.
The food we'd been eating had all been cleared away and was neatly arranged by the trash can near the entrance.
Suddenly, I noticed something inside one of the bags.
Sigh. They must've just tossed it in carelessly.
I should sort the recycling.
Yeah. If I don't do it, who will?
I picked up the bag and looked inside.
Huh?
There was something that looked like a doorplate with a long string hanger.
Letters written in marker and colored pencil were visible.
[Operator-nim's Personal Space]
Knock Required. Caution Upon Entry!
Ah.
Did Joo-young make this and that's why she came back late earlier?
Why would she throw away something so precious?
I gently hung it on the curtain rod between the partitions.
Then I stepped back a little to examine it carefully.
It was a bit crude.
Anyway, they're going to come in whenever they want to use the bathroom. Tsk.
Still.
It's not bad.
**
The next morning.
It was before work hours, but I was already sitting at the operator desk.
It was nice not having to waste time on commuting.
Not that anyone had threatened me or anything.
This was exactly the problem with having a combined rest and work space without clear boundaries.
I'd already watched the footage dozens of times, but no answer was coming.
The publicly available CCTV recordings accessible via internal lines were clear enough to identify everything.
No matter how many times I looked, it was exactly as Fortune Girl had described.
The only difference was that the Rocket Charger Man—or whatever his name was—looked far more grotesque in person than in her description.
If she hadn't stopped that thing, it definitely would have hit the bus, and it would have been a catastrophe with far more than just a few casualties.
Of course, the problem was that the building it destroyed instead was my officetel, but it was pure luck that no one inside had been hurt.
If even I had suddenly felt unwell that day, taken the day off, and stayed home... ugh.
I wouldn't be of this world anymore.
Fortune Girl.
Fortune.
Was this what her so-called fortune looked like?
If it were truly incredible luck, then the moment that rocket thing launched, a flock of flies flying far away in a group should've gone down in a perfect three-cushion billiard shot, right?
Anyway, I needed to talk about this. Anyone could see this was an action that prevented a disaster. It was strange to nitpick it and demand compensation.
And in the final scene of the footage, just as Fortune Girl had said, there was a clip of her talking to the rocket guy in front of the destroyed officetel.
The guy scratched his head, then held out that same hand to Fortune Girl for a handshake. He said something before running off in the opposite direction.
I couldn't hear it, but if the content matched what she'd said...
He said he'd take responsibility and then stabbed her in the back like this?
Even if the insurance company or agency said something, a man should take responsibility out of his own pocket.
She'd prevented a major disaster that could've been catastrophic.
While I sat there stroking my chin, lost in thought, I heard the door open behind me.
Huh?
I don't think I heard the door lock turn.
It was Fortune Girl. Joo-young.
I shot up from my seat, glanced at the clock on the wall, then looked back at her.
"Oh. It's still early...? Ah, hello."
"Yes, hello. I felt awkward just staying at home, so I came in early."
She seemed a bit awkward as she looked around here and there.
Then I saw her gaze stop on the doorplate hanging on the curtain.
"Huh?"
She walked over, reached up, and touched the plate, turning it this way and that.
She straightened the crooked part, then stepped back a little to look at it again and whispered.
"It looks even shabbier than I thought..."
"No? I like it. It's not shabby at all."
Joo-young looked at me with wide, round eyes.
Did you not hear? Should I say it again?
"I said I like it. If you made it, you should've given it to me. What a waste to throw it away."
"Ah, that's not what I..."
Never mind. That's not important right now.
I gestured for her to come over.
"That's not the important part. I've been watching the footage since earlier. Here, take a look."
I scrolled through, showing her the key scenes. It was CCTV from every possible angle.
I showed her for quite a while.
This time, she followed along obediently with whatever I showed or asked.
You were this meek, huh?
Only after watching all the footage did she raise her voice as if feeling wronged.
"See? I told you everything yesterday. I didn't do anything wrong."
"Yes, yes, that's right. I never said you did anything wrong. I'm just wondering why it's being handled this way."
At that single remark, she deflated again.
I guess she really couldn't say anything.
Still, I had to do what I had to do.
"Above all, when combining all the footage, it's clear that the one who directly struck was that rocket guy, and it's also true that Joo-young redirected its path. However, whether its original trajectory was aimed at the bus is ambiguous from the current camera angles."
I pointed at one of the CCTV cameras mounted on a utility pole visible in another frame.
"This CCTV in the frame has the perfect angle. We just need to check this one."
I tilted my head and looked at Joo-young again.
"But this one isn't publicly available. I don't know why. It doesn't seem broken..."
She suddenly jumped up from her chair.
She picked up the chair she'd brought over and put it back in its place as she spoke.
"I'll go find out and come back."
"Yes, I'd appreciate that. Contact me if you find anything."
"Okay."
"You have my number, right?"
She must, right?
"Ah? Ah, no, I don't."
Hmph.
This woman.
When I unconsciously narrowed my eyes, Joo-young slowly held out her phone toward my face.
We really should share emergency contacts among the office staff in advance.
"Then I'll be going."
"Yes, take care."
As soon as Joo-young left, Hye-ryeon noona and Ho-eun entered together.
They said In-seo had used up a lot of power yesterday, so they'd given her the day off to rest.
I thought about sending a separate message like, 'In-seo, you worked hard yesterday. Rest well.'
But I left it.
That would be way too much.
Hye-ryeon noona and Ho-eun said they'd already heard the general story from Joo-young on their way in.
Ho-eun pulled the chair over again and sat down next to me.
Hye-ryeon noona leaned against the wall with her arms crossed and said,
"Usually, CCTV information comes from the police, right?"
That's correct. It's normally under police jurisdiction first.
"Yes, besides the public CCTV, it's usually handed over from the police."
Hye-ryeon noona tilted her head side to side and continued.
"That information goes to the association's adjudicator."
"Yes, and then the adjudicator contacts the insurance company."
Still leaning against the wall, she pointed at me with her finger.
"So you're saying there's a problem at one of those points, right?"
"That's why I told Joo-young to go check with the police side first..."
Hye-ryeon noona pushed off the wall with a bounce.
"Alright. Then I'll go check with the association."
"Ah, is that possible?"
She immediately picked up a document and headed for the door.
"Yeah. There's actually something that's been bothering me anyway. Good work, Jiwoo. I'll head out right now."
"Ah, yes."
Ho-eun, who had been squatting on her chair watching us, raised her hand toward Hye-ryeon noona.
"Should I come with you?"
"You stay here."
At the blunt order to just stay, Ho-eun looked disappointed and rocked her chair slightly left and right.
"Okaaay~"
Then she stopped the chair and turned her head toward me.
"But isn't that too dangerous? It's just the two of us now!"
"Huh? What would I even do... Dangerous how?"
Ho-eun hopped down from her chair.
She scurried right up to me, bent at the waist, and looked up from below.
"Aww, it's the opposite. You're the one in danger, oppa! Heehee."
For a moment, beneath Ho-eun's face, the soft skin inside her jumper was faintly visible.
Whoa.
My eyes moved on their own.
No.
She's right. She's right.
I'm the dangerous one.
I quickly turned my gaze back to the monitor.
I said whatever came to mind.
"Ah. Haha. Yes. Then please do so."
I heard Ho-eun hop back onto her chair and laugh.
"What are you even saying. Heehee."
Hye-ryeon noona, who must have seen the scene from the doorway, let out a single sigh before opening the door.
"Yeah, yeah. You two behave yourselves or whatever. I'll be back."
Thud. The sound of the door closing rang out.
She didn't catch me rolling my eyes earlier, did she? Damn.
I spent a long time looking through various documents.
Then I suddenly remembered Ho-eun was next to me.
Why is she so quiet?
I whipped my head to the right.
Ho-eun was squatting on her chair, leaning back and looking at her phone.
She was wearing white short pants instead of the leggings she usually wore.
Her pale thighs instantly caught my eye.
If it's not her usual outfit, then it's not. Why do my eyes keep locking onto it?
Ah. I'm in danger again.
Whatever. Let's just turn my eyes away.
At that moment, Ho-eun lowered her phone and looked at me.
"By the way, Operator oppa."
"Ugh. W-what?"
Her expression seemed to say, 'Why is this oppa acting like this?'
Why? Because I was afraid she'd caught me staring secretly.
Luckily, it seemed she hadn't.
She showed me an article on her phone screen.
When I glanced at it, it was all gossip articles.
But why show them to me?
"Why this?"
It's not like it's been just a day or two.
"Wasn't it really unusual that so many insect-type fly entities swarmed into the city the other day?"
"Y-yeah, that's right."
"Then why isn't the news saying anything about it?"
"W-well..."
That's true. Buildings were destroyed and homes were lost.
Yet there were hardly any articles about it.
"Look at this. Tsk tsk. They're all just talking about the female heroes' figures or whatever."
She showed me another article screen.
This one was about Pop-up Girl.
It was a photo she'd taken herself.
The angle was dizzying.
It looked like a shot from when she'd jumped toward the final scoring point during the last entity herding operation.
Taken from below, it clearly revealed the curves of her body.
She even seemed aware of the camera, striking a cute V-pose.
How could she make that pose in mid-air?
It was definitely something the media would fight to cover.
Plenty.
...
Did I stare too long?
No.
That's not it.
I cleared my throat and answered as calmly as possible.
"Yeah, it's strange."
"What's strange?"
"Uh, well..."
What was strange that made me say it was strange?
Idiot!
Ho-eun in front of me was looking at me with sparkling, expectant eyes.
What conversation had we been having that made me say it was strange?
After seeing that photo, I couldn't remember anything. Damn.
"Ah, yes. It's strange how I've been spacing out a lot lately. Haha."
"Huh?"
There it was again. That expression.
That 'Why is this person like this?' look.
Then who told you to show me a photo like that?
Crackle.
『...Jiwoo. Jiwoo...』
Huh?
Hye-ryeon noona's voice came through the headset.
What is it? It's not even a mission.