Is There Any Benefit to Getting Close to the Team Leader?

She wanted to get close to me.

A woman overflowing with sex appeal. The kind who could bewitch any man. And yet a married woman — which only made her more alluring. That woman had just declared that she needed to get close to me.

But I couldn't detect any personal feelings in it.

On the first day, over lunch, I'd drawn a clear line myself — so Yun Seongyeon seemed to trust me a little. And that trust was now ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠growing into a "relationship" between us.

"What ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠exactly do you mean by getting close…?"

"I don't know how you see me, Jichan. Could I hear that part first?"

"How I see you… well, I think of you as our team's Team Leader."

Start safe. Keep it ordinary.

"And if you were to attach an adjective to that word — Team Leader?"

"Hmm…"

Setting aside how I actually felt about Yun Seongyeon, if I had to describe her based solely on what I'd seen in a single day…

"…A charismatic Team Leader."

"Charisma…"

"I'm not sure if you're aware of it, but you seem to have a firm grip on the atmosphere."

"Is that how it looked to you?"

"Yes. When you first appeared — and again when we went to the Finance Department. The moment you showed up, everyone shut their mouths. Of course, that can happen on a first appearance. But that state held, didn't it?"

"Isn't that just because it was my first day?"

"That's a different concept entirely. You arrived yesterday, and the team was quiet all through this morning as well. Nobody dared do anything but work."

The sex appeal Yun Seongyeon carried had turned into something venomous, and people were deliberately withholding their attention just to keep from being drawn into it.

From her perspective… well, that could be either a strength or a weakness.

The strength, of course, was the charisma I'd just mentioned. There was a natural distance that came from not being close to someone in a fairly high position like Team Leader. Because that distance existed precisely from a lack of familiarity, it forced the subordinates to treat her with deference. Conversely, for Yun Seongyeon, it gave her a kind of authority when she issued instructions.

But the downside of that same distance…

"That said, I wouldn't call it an entirely good thing. Because of the atmosphere that forms whether you want it or not, it's hard for the team members to bond. Or even if they do bond, they'll bond with everyone except you."

"Hmm…"

In a company where people gathered to work, excessive closeness tended to become poison — but being too distant created its own brand of discomfort. The sweet spot sat right in the middle. The previous Team Leader, whatever else you could say about him, had been easygoing enough that that part hadn't been bad.

‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Did Yun Seongyeon want to create the same kind of atmosphere as her predecessor?

"Why are you asking about that?"

"Ah, well…"

She looked embarrassed to say it. She scratched her cheek with a sheepish smile — and of course she did it with her left hand, the one wearing the wedding ring… which sent my thoughts somewhere else entirely.

I shoved those thoughts aside at once.

"Hmm… I know this is a delicate thing to say, but I want your help going forward with life at the company."

"My help?"

Yesterday, after lunch, she'd asked me to tell her without holding back if she showed any shortcomings. I'd heard that much. But the fact that she was bringing this up again now suggested she meant a different kind of help.

"When I was walking around yesterday morning, I realized you weren't just deeply involved with our team and department — you had your hands in other departments as well."

"I do… have a fairly wide network."

"Yes. So once I understood you were an important person on our team, I made sure to have lunch with you first. But all afternoon, rather than working, I was observing the team's atmosphere."

"And?"

"I saw that you weren't just important — you essentially have the team under your control."

Well. Even someone who wasn't steeped in office life could figure that out with a bit of observational sense.

"In your opinion, is the rank of Team Leader a high one?"

"It is."

Rank structures varied a little from company to company, but at ours, Team Leader sat effectively just below Department Manager. Employee, Assistant Manager, Manager, Deputy Manager, Team Leader, Department Manager, then the director-level positions.

Yun Seongyeon occupied one of those high ranks.

"Then why were the team members watching your face instead of mine?"

"That's…"

Because the moment I got fed up with this shit and walked out, they'd be the ones screwed.

But saying that literally felt a bit much.

"…Maybe because I provide that much help? As you said yourself yesterday, I serve as the central axis of the team."

"Exactly. And that's why I want to get close to someone like you."

…Ah.

She was just coming right out and saying she wanted to play office politics. Proposing a deal.