My First Day on the Job and I Already Got on My Senior's Bad Side

Since Gong Seung-yeon was the final candidate, the interview wrapped up naturally once she left the room. Then—

Thump.

“Ouch.”

The CEO’s knuckle flick landed squarely on the crown of my head.

“How could you just blurt out ‘you’re hired’ right in front of the candidate!”

“But… she was perfect. The others before her weren’t great, so I went ahead and said it.”

“Hiring results are supposed to be announced after the candidate leaves the building. If she hadn’t been the last one, what would the people waiting outside have thought?”

Now that she mentioned it, this really was my first time serving as an interviewer, and I had messed up.

“Ah. Right. I’m sorry.”

“…If you understand, that’s enough. It’s my fault for assuming you’d naturally do well from the start and not giving you proper training. Just be careful not to make a similar mistake next time.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

After saying that, I tilted my head. Next time?

“Will I be sitting in on interviews again?”

“Not immediately, but as the company keeps growing, the chance might come up again… Actually, since we’re on the topic, go with Manager Yeom right now and get some interviewer training.”

“Huh? Right now? I kind of wanted to take a nap—”

“Do it now.”

“…Yes, ma’am.”

HR Manager Yeom Hui-seong, who had been watching our exchange, gestured for me to sit. It seemed he planned to give me the rundown here once the CEO left. After she stepped out for her next schedule, Manager Yeom pulled a chair over and took the seat she had vacated.

“Well, to be honest, I don’t really have much to say to you today, Miss Jia. Just be mindful of what you did at the very end. If you give off any hint that guarantees acceptance, that person must be hired no matter what.”

“Ah. Understood.”

“For this round, the CEO said she’d be fine with anyone you liked, so I only checked to make sure none of them had character issues. The last candidate, Gong Seung-yeon, looked perfectly fine to me as well. So don’t worry too much. You did well enough.”

The truth was, I hadn’t liked any of the candidates except the very last one, so I had kept my mouth shut for most of the interview. Whenever the CEO prompted me, I only poked at them just enough to draw out their true feelings. That was why his praise felt a little embarrassing.

“I was still inexperienced since it was my first time. Thank you for the kind words.”

“Honestly, half the battle as an interviewer is just sitting quietly and observing the candidate. The CEO’s opinion is what ultimately matters most.”

“…I think that might have more to do with how intimidating your glare is, Manager.”

“Come on, I’m practically an angel.”

The HR manager who said that with a smile somehow still looked angry. Despite being only in his mid-thirties, the deep wrinkles from years of hardship and his prominently protruding brow ridge made every interviewee flinch the moment they entered the room and saw him.

Anyway, today I learned once again that the saying “stay silent and you pass three out of ten interviews” isn’t just empty words. In an unfamiliar environment, simply keeping quiet gets you halfway there.

I was nodding to myself when the HR manager spoke again.

“I’ll head back to my desk and put together a simple interviewer manual for you. Study it later, alright?”

“Are you making it because of me?”

Manager Yeom chuckled and stood up.

“For now, yes, it’s because of you. But there will be more promotions and new hires in the future. Setting things up properly now will make everything easier later.”

“I see.”

“I didn’t expect this from you, Miss Jia. Are you secretly a bit of a narcissist?”

“…No, that’s not it. I was just worried I might be causing you unnecessary trouble, so I asked.”

“Hahaha. That consideration of yours is exactly why the Operations Team Leader praises you all the time. Anyway, I’ll head out first. Enjoy your lunch.”

“Yes. Please enjoy yours as well, Manager.”

After bowing politely, I was left alone in the conference room. Let’s see… I should tidy up, but everyone put their chairs back neatly, so there’s not much for me to do. I just need to push the extra chairs I had moved aside for the solo candidate back into place.

Even after the interviews ended, HR Manager Yeom Hui-seong was browsing the community Mazia had told him about. He was checking whether any candidates casually spilled details about the interview process; if they did, he would put their acceptance on hold. After all, this wasn’t just any company—it was Parallel. The mystique surrounding VTubers’ real identities was incredibly important. If anyone talked about the CEO’s “red pill,” an immediate rejection would follow.

Out of the four people Mazia had interviewed, the three ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠she hadn’t liked wrote exactly what they saw:

However, the final candidate Mazia had chosen—Gong Seung-yeon—clearly tried to hide any descriptions or stories about the people she met. Most clumsy applicants probably didn’t realize that a company’s standards could be judged by such small details. But if you truly want to join, it’s best to research the industry’s unique characteristics in advance.

In a manufacturing company, you could analyze public pipelines and R&D status to offer suggestions on future direction. In a service company, you could cite past customer complaints or issues and propose better alternatives. Parallel, however, was a VTuber agency. In other words, anyone who couldn’t follow the unwritten rules of the VTuber industry had no business joining.

“Miss Jia really does have a good eye for people.”

This wasn’t the first time Manager Yeom had noticed her talent. It had happened during the first generation’s on-site auditions. Back then, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠she had handled miscellaneous tasks—answering questions from waiting candidates, guiding them to the restroom, and so on. Using only the information she gathered, she had advised the CEO, “This person seems like they’ll cause trouble later.” The candidate she flagged was rejected, later joined a small agency, and then sank together with the company after a school violence scandal and current-boyfriend controversy erupted. Since Manager Yeom had already been keeping an eye on her as a potential risk, Mazia’s warning had particularly caught his attention.

When he later asked her privately how she knew, Mazia answered that she had once watched a VTuber who accidentally showed the tan line of a couple’s ring on her finger during a stream. That person was eventually cornered by fans, confessed the truth, and graduated in disgrace. The person she had pointed out also had a similar mark on her ring finger, and when Mazia subtly probed, the woman’s flustered reaction was obvious. That was why she had been suspicious.

Her answer left the HR manager stunned. However, it seemed her radar didn’t activate for everyone. When the previous Operations Team Leader, who had quit after only three months, turned out to be a problem, even Mazia looked down for several days. It appeared her deadly radar was limited to internet broadcasters—especially VTubers.

Even with that slight flaw, Manager Yeom greatly valued that intuition. He even thought that when a successor eventually took over, Mazia might still be better than them when it came to VTuber interviews.

That was why, when he went to report the summarized interview results to the CEO, he spoke ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠without hesitation.

“By the way, CEO. What do you think about including Miss Jia as an interviewer for the second-generation hires?”

“…Jia?”

“Yes. She has quite a good eye for people. Especially when it comes to VTubers—no, not just VTubers. She seems exceptionally good at reading people in the broadcasting industry.”

“Hmm… Well, that makes sense. She watches so many streams, after all.”

Do-hee carefully read through the interview report she had received.

“So you’re suggesting we add Jia to the usual trio of me, the Planning Team Leader, and the HR Manager?”

“I think that would be best. If you feel there would be too many interviewers, we could assign her in a different capacity.”

“For example?”

“From what I understand, Miss Jia helped out here and there in the waiting room last time. We could officially assign her the role of Waiting Room Manager. As you know, quite a lot of conversation happens in the waiting room. If she takes the lead there, we might be able to uncover things the candidates try to hide during the actual interview.”

“Hmm.”

The reason large corporations often used young employees to manage interview waiting rooms was simple. Compared to the stiff, heavy atmosphere of the interview room itself, the lighter environment made nervous candidates more likely to let slip things they wouldn’t say otherwise. Of course, most conversations were just casual small talk with new hires, but the subtle questions from young HR staff were essentially an extension of the interview. While it might not be decisive, it could serve as a tiebreaker between two equally strong candidates.

Cheon Do-hee also remembered how Mazia had accurately singled out a dangerous candidate during the first-generation selection, so she took Manager Yeom’s suggestion very positively. Above all, Mazia’s appearance had an absurd destructive power that lowered people’s guard.

“The candidates probably wouldn’t show any wariness toward Jia.”

“Exactly. She caught it last time because she’s quick-witted, but normally that kind of thing is hard to spot.”

“Right. The more someone tries to hide something, the more meticulously they prepare.”

“So if we assign Miss Jia as waiting room manager, we might catch quite a few slip-ups. That’s what I was thinking.”

It wasn’t a bad idea. The only downside was that it would add one more task to Mazia’s plate. But by then, the newly hired Gong Seung-yeon would likely be able to take over some of her workload, so it didn’t seem too bad.

“Looks like I’ll have to give Jia a big raise when she gets promoted. You’ll have to help me convince the Finance Director, Manager.”

“Oh, that? Well, buttering up the Team Leader is my specialty. One trip to the bar and it’s done.”

“But his liver isn’t in good shape…”

“What can we do? He’ll just have to take medicine and go to the hospital. Office workers are basically all patients anyway, right? Sure, it’s nice to use your salary to enjoy life, but one-third of it ends up being hospital bills. Hospital bills.”

Do-hee swallowed a bitter smile and signed the printed interview result report in the CEO field.

Gong Seung-yeon’s acceptance notice and first day of work came faster than anyone else’s. That was because Cheon Do-hee wanted someone to help lighten Mazia’s workload as soon as possible, and as a new graduate, she could start immediately. And so, on October 31st—the day of the first generation’s Halloween collab stream—Gong Seung-yeon, only two and a half months after graduating university and just two days after her interview, successfully took her first step into society!

“Huuu…”

How deeply moving it was. Seung-yeon arrived a full hour before the promised 2 p.m. meeting time when her senior was supposed to come greet her, busily taking selfies with the building in the background.

“Huuuuuu!”

She still couldn’t quite believe she had actually passed. Still, she thought that her excited conversation with Employee D-nim that day must have helped at least a little. She resolved that when she saw them again, she would definitely thank them properly.

She had been taking photos and fooling around for quite a while when—

“Gong Seung-yeon?”

“Eep!”

Startled, Seung-yeon spun around to find a girl who was a whole palm shorter than her, chewing on something with puffed cheeks and looking up at her. The legendary monster—Employee D, Mazia. For some reason, they seemed to run into each other quite often. A smile unconsciously spread across Seung-yeon’s lips.

“Hello! You’re eating taiyaki? It really is the season for it.”

“Want one?”

“Hup. If you’re offering, I’d gratefully accept.”

Suppressing the urge to poke the cheeks that kept inflating and deflating, Seung-yeon accepted the warm—no, scorching hot—taiyaki.

“Hot, hot, hot!”

“I bought it from the stall right over there, so it’s still really hot.”

“Th-thank you.”

“Follow me. We’re heading up.”

With that, Mazia trotted ahead, crossing in front of Seung-yeon and entering the building first. While Seung-yeon struggled to push open the heavy glass door, she caught up and asked,

“Um, but I was told to wait here. My senior is supposed to come out and meet me. I was instructed to go up together with them…”

“That’s me.”

After pressing the elevator button, Mazia looked up at her. Seung-yeon stared back down at Mazia. Huh? Did that mean she would be working with someone much higher up? Or maybe… Employee D wasn’t actually as high-ranking as she had assumed?

“Um… You’re… my senior?”

“Yes. We’ll be working together from now on.”

With those words, Mazia extended her small, delicate hand.

“I’m Mazia. I look forward to working with you.”

With her mind still in chaos, Seung-yeon quickly stuffed the taiyaki into her mouth and hurriedly grasped Mazia’s hand with both of hers in a polite handshake.

I’m really going to be working with Employee D?!

Without realizing it, Seung-yeon bit down hard on the taiyaki. The poorly sealed belly of the fish-shaped pastry burst open with a psshht, and scalding red bean paste poured out. The taiyaki was still blazing hot.

“Hhhhot! Hoooot!”

Unable to bear the burning sensation on her lips, Seung-yeon spat it out. The wingless taiyaki flew through the air and landed on the floor with a sad plop. Since it was already dead, it didn’t flop around. Looking at the rapidly cooling pastry, Mazia muttered,

“If you don’t like taiyaki, you could have just said so.”

“N-no! It’s not that!!”