Gathering Suspicions (2)

Yeah, that would make anyone lose it.

Once you hit five thousand rows, staring at them one by one was not going to cut it…

"Do you have other work when you clock in tomorrow, or is it just that?"

"I'll make it so you don't have to stay late."

One person's whole evening was on the line.

"First we need to figure out the structure. Since it's company data, uploading the file is obviously a no-go, so could you just jot down the rough layout?"

"So they came in split across the same number?"

"Then we total the received quantities by order number and subtract that from the ordered quantity."

What kind of questions were these…?

"Uh…."

Who was this person?

I hovered the cursor over the chat, and a nickname that had been hidden came into view.

TripleShotIcedAmericano?

…This person was insane.

"TripleShotIcedAmericano… thank you for the help."

Even if they were unhinged, they'd helped, so I had to say thanks.

No, when did it climb this high again…?

Even when I tried not to notice, the viewer count kept catching my eye.

This many people were watching every word I said.

The chat window was even busier than before, scrolling past at a frantic clip.

My throat went dry.

Where had I left off?

"J-just a second…."

"How do I give someone manager…?"

"Where is it… ahh… …ah?"

I missed it.

"Hold on. Don't move."

I clicked the nickname, and a small menu opened.

Temp ban, report, chat mute, assign manager, permanent ban.

This one?

"Did it work? Could you two type something in chat?"

I opened the settings above the chat window and found an option for Show manager ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠chat only.

The second I checked it, the chat that had been racing upward vanished.

"Ohh! This is actually readable!"

After staring at a chat window climbing like mad, watching messages roll in at a leisurely one or two at a time felt as good as downing a digestive tablet.

…Something, something was definitely happening…?

"Okay…. Shall we just knock out a simple example?"

I made a table with three order numbers and wrote a receiving list beside it.

All I showed was the process of summing received quantities under the same order number and subtracting that from the ordered quantity.

"From here, you just pick the numbers greater than zero. We can drop the formulas in all at once once we get to the end."

I stopped my hands.

"Ah. I'll start again from there."

I cleared the formulas and slowly retyped from the same point.

Every time the asker said they were done, I moved on to the next cell.

"Alright, if you do it like this you should get a difference — what number do you have?"

"Then forty units still haven't come in. Want to try the rest?"

"Yeah. Massively."

"More than earlier, anyway."

While I waited for the asker's calculations to finish, I hit the save button twice.

If the example files piled up later, that would only be a good thing.

This was all assets, after all.

"Well done."

I clapped my hands — clap clap clap — and kicked my feet in the air from pure joy, then wondered if I'd gotten a little too excited.

But how was I supposed to not be happy?

My very first graduate had finally appeared.

Ta-daa~!

"…Oh, fifty thousand won?"

The hands that had been clapping froze awkwardly midair.

"What am I supposed to do if you give me this much?"

The moment I unchecked Show manager chat only, the messages poured in all at once.

"Please don't convert everything into spicy pork."

"…Hehe."

I wasn't supposed to show it, but the corners of my mouth kept climbing.

At this rate, hadn't I successfully settled into Excel streaming?

"I should write this down."

Donor. Amount. Notes.

OrderMan. 50,000 won. First graduate.

I typed it all in and mashed the save button about five times.

…I must have hit it too hard, because the screen froze.

"Huh?"

Probably that little monster the entire planet feared, loathed, and shuddered at.

Not Responding, no doubt.

…Well, I'd saved, so it should be fine.

"Looks like that guy showed up. This is exactly why you have to save, see?"

"Ugh…. This Not Responding bastard is basically a toxic stalker."

Yikes.

…Our TripleShot was ruthless with that knife.

"Huuu."

Just as expected, the Excel taskbar flashed Not Responding.

I knew it.

"Give me a moment. I'll restart it."

I opened Task Manager, force-quit Excel, and opened the file again.

A little later, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a white circle spun in the middle of the screen, chasing its own tail.

"Alright, for the next lesson…."

"…Excuse me?"

What was this?

Ah. Don't tell me….

"No! I genuinely use the real thing!!"

"You have to use genuine software!"

As if I would use a cracked file when I had no idea what was in it!

This was for work!!

The monthly subscription fee hurt, sure, but it counted as a work expense, so I hadn't skimped on it!

"It is on auto-pay…."

I clicked Check Payment Info under the notice window.

A record of charges that had gone out right on schedule every year stared back at me.

Next to the registered card, bright red text floated.

"…Ah."

"I have one. One second."

I hit Change Payment Method, then opened the desk drawer.

Where was my wallet…?

I was sure I'd put it in here….

Ah, found it.

After hunting for my wallet for a while, I looked back at the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠screen and found the chat racing upward at a deranged speed.

"…Huh?"

"H-hold on. Please don't screenshot!"

I slammed the payment window shut.

The water was already spilled, but….