Hurry Up and Work! (1)
“Lee Kiyoung, sir, there you are.”
“Ah. Right, I definitely….”
“I’m Park Jungki from the support team.”
“Ahhh… Jungki, yes. I remember now. What is it?”
“The guild master has summoned the executives.”
“I see. Then go back first and tell them I’m on my way.”
“Yes, sir. Understood.”
For a support-team member, he seemed to have a surprisingly high agility stat; he vanished from sight in an instant.
That explained why he handled messenger duty.
The moment I took a glance at him with my trait, information began pouring out.
Agility stat: heroic grade or below…
“Not bad.”
“Pardon?”
“Ah… nothing, Priestess Heeyoung.”
“Do you need to go in now? I heard there was a meeting….”
“I think we can take our time.”
“Oh… that’s a relief. Then how about we have some coffee first?”
“Then let’s stop by a nearby café.”
It felt strangely like we were following the itinerary of a perfectly ordinary date, but I decided there was no need to rush off in a panic.
I already had a rough idea of what was going on.
Lee Sanghee, who had been effectively missing in action until now, had finally made up her mind.
The reason she’d called the executives together was probably because she wanted to discuss Blue’s future and the vacant position of guild master.
She must have been feeling the limits for some time now, so either way, making a decision was the right call.
Lee Sanghee was incompetent as a leader.
She probably understood that better than anyone.
I figured she had felt it even more acutely while I’d been away from the guild.
Just the fact that the entire administrative team had vanished in one fell swoop was, in itself, a situation that should never normally happen.
To put it bluntly, it wouldn’t have been an exaggeration to say the guild was already collapsing and sinking underground.
This wasn’t the kind of problem a half-broken Lee Sanghee could fix.
Kim Hyunsung seemed to be keeping a relatively clear head and preparing for whatever was coming, but I was sure his plans were riddled with holes no one could see.
He probably lived on sword food before regressing too, so it was only natural that he’d be awkward at this sort of thing. But that wasn’t what mattered.
The result doesn’t matter anyway. I can just make the result later.
What mattered was the fact that, in a time of crisis for Blue, Kim Hyunsung was doing something.
A capable leader who possessed both force and intellect—our Kim Hyunsung.
While I was briefly away from the guild, I could already imagine everyone in the organization nodding along to him.
Yeah, sorry for dumping all this on him and running….
He would understand what I was thinking.
That’s why he doesn’t say anything about it.
After shifting locations a bit and chatting with Sun Heeyoung while I took a small sip from the cup in my hand, I got the feeling time had passed rather quickly.
Honestly, talking to Sun Heeyoung was kind of fun. If I had to pick the woman I could talk to most easily among the ones I knew, Lee Jihye would obviously be number one, but Sun Heeyoung matched me in certain ways too.
She was infinitely better than someone like Cha Heera, who spoke before her brain got involved.
“I suppose it’s about time we headed in.”
“Ah. That’s a little disappointing. It felt like I was finally getting a rare moment of peace.”
“I feel the same way, Priestess Heeyoung. Well, let’s make time to relax once in a while from now on.”
“You’ll keep spending time with me occasionally?”
“Yes. Of course.”
Only after delivering that utterly standard service line did I finally begin walking down the street.
Even while I was with Sun Heeyoung, the only thing on my mind was whether Kim Hyunsung was doing well.
It might not be the best comparison, but it felt a little like sending an outsider who knew nothing about housework out to buy groceries.
I did wonder for a moment whether I should have helped more discreetly, but if it was Kim Hyunsung, I trusted he’d handled it well.
He did, right?
Kim Hyunsung wasn’t an idiot. He would have properly taken care of whatever he could.
“Then I’ll see you tonight after the meeting.”
“Yes. Let’s do that.”
Even though I’d walked at a leisurely pace, I reached the guild in an instant.
I must have unconsciously picked up my speed.
I was worried whether he’d handled things well.
After exchanging a casual farewell with Sun Heeyoung, heading straight to the guild meeting room was only natural.
After knocking lightly on the door, I could see the three people sitting inside with serious expressions.
“It’s Lee Kiyoung. I’ll come in.”
“Yes.”
Lee Sanghee looked a little glum, Hwang Jeongyeon let out a relieved breath, and Kim Hyunsung gave me a slight smile.
I couldn’t help but realize the matter had ended successfully.
Nice.
“Sorry I’m late. There was a minor accident in the middle….”
“No, it’s fine. The meeting was rather sudden anyway.”
“By the way, what’s this about…?”
Kim Hyunsung answered.
“We were discussing how Blue should move forward from here. Lee Sanghee expressed her wish to step back from the front lines, so we were talking about that.”
“Ah….”
Good.
“I’m lacking in many ways, but for the time being, it seems I’ll be taking charge of the guild. Of course, Lee Sanghee will remain with us as an advisor and continue teaching us many things.”
I nodded to myself.
Not bad.
Keeping Lee Sanghee on as an advisor was a brilliant choice. She might be lacking as a leader, but that didn’t mean she was incompetent.
The problem was that she seemed far too competent in every other area.
Her general usefulness had probably hidden how poor she was as a leader.
He seemed to have thought carefully about the wary support-team members and the people around them, who would be confused by such a sudden shift in power.
Besides, Lee Sanghee clearly wasn’t the type to interfere much, personality-wise.
Wasting talent like this would make no sense.
Shake it off, get up, and get back to work. That’s our Sanghee.
It felt like Kim Hyunsung had swallowed everything I’d handed him without complaint.
I was more than satisfied.
“You’ve made a difficult choice. Lee Sanghee, too….”
“Not at all, Kiyoung. It felt like I’d been wearing clothes that didn’t fit me for a long time… but now it feels like I’ve finally shaken them off. So, shall we head out?”
“Pardon?”
“I need to inform the other guild members. Jungki, the guild members….”
“Just as you instructed, they’re all gathered in one place.”
“Then let’s go at once.”
From the way she was speaking, it seemed she had prepared thoroughly.
It really must have weighed on her, being forced to wear the hat of guild master.
My mouth naturally curved upward.
I couldn’t hear exactly what Kim Hyunsung was saying as he kept talking with Lee Sanghee, but he was probably asking her a number of questions about the announcement.
When I glanced toward the auditorium, I saw quite a few people gathered there.
Park Deokgu and Kim Yeri, whom I hadn’t seen in a while, were there, and Sun Heeyoung was seated in the very front row.
I wouldn’t need to go up on the stage today.
After all, the point was simply to tell the guild members that the handover had been completed.
“Hyung.”
“You’ve been well?”
“You’ve been way too busy lately, haven’t you?”
“There’s been a lot going on. There’ll be more time to spend together soon. Once we get through the guild’s recovery, things should calm down a bit.”
“I’d like that day to come quickly… more than that, is the lady doing all right?”
“Yeah. She was even talking in her sleep yesterday, so.”
“That’s a relief.”
“Heeyoung said she should be able to get back on her feet soon too, so there’s no need to worry too much. More importantly, focus on the news we’re hearing today.”
“I was already surprised when everyone was told to gather here… is there some interesting news or something?”
“You’ll see for yourself.”
Not just interesting.
It would be the moment I saw, with my own eyes, the reward for all the suffering I’d endured here.
After a little time had passed, Lee Sanghee and Kim Hyunsung appeared on the stage.
Honestly, it would have been fine if they’d just done the handover and tossed the seat to him.
The fact that they’d set up a ceremony like this was proof Lee Sanghee wanted to wrap things up properly.
When she slowly opened her mouth, her calm voice—one I hadn’t heard in a while—reached my ears.
“The reason I’ve called all of you here today is to more effectively discuss the direction Blue needs to take from here and the situation we currently find ourselves in. To get straight to the point, I’ve decided to lay down the position that had come to feel like a heavy burden.”
She looked composed enough.
But this was not something the people seated here could receive calmly.
Voices filled with anxiety and sighs of disbelief rang out, as if they feared that one of Blue’s founding members was leaving the guild for good.
“We have judged that Blue’s new guild master should be Kim Hyunsung, who served as the party leader of the Seventh Squad, and Blue’s leadership has unanimously agreed. I understand that these are confusing times. Showing myself before you all like this is humiliating as a former leader, but I sincerely ask that you help us weather this crisis together.”
Soft applause followed.
It was a good speech.
Short and powerful.
The reason she hadn’t dressed it up with excessive flourish was probably because she wanted to give Kim Hyunsung a little more room to step forward.
As Lee Sanghee quietly stepped aside, I could clearly see him rise and head for the podium without hesitation.
Of course, once Kim Hyunsung stood on the stage, he didn’t look especially nervous or awkward.
On the contrary, he looked completely at ease.
Maybe….
He must have stood in a similar place before, in the past.
“I’m honored to be entrusted with such an undeserving position. As many of you have likely worried, Lee Sanghee did not step down suddenly. She has been thinking about this for a very long time, and she spoke to me at length about it as well. Since she only recently joined us, Lee Sanghee, who was there when Blue was first founded, will continue to remain with the guild as an advisor.”
Good. Very good, our Hyunsung.
“Blue has suffered a great wound. I’m sure many of you here today—whether support staff or guild members—have spent a long time with Blue. That is why I understand why the recent incident has shaken you so deeply.”
He was doing remarkably well.
“Let’s think of this as a new beginning.”
No, he was doing exceptionally well.
“Let’s think of it as starting over from scratch, from an empty plain with nothing on it. Blue will change. And I can tell you now that change begins this very moment. It’s sudden, but I’d like to speak to you about our introductions and our plans for future development.”
I hadn’t expected him to be prepared for even this.
When I stole a glance at Lee Sanghee, she seemed to have known all along.
I couldn’t say when the two of them had spoken, but the timing was certainly a little early—perhaps even too early.
People aren’t used to change.
There might even be resistance. Of course, their resistance wouldn’t matter much, but still, I thought it was wise to tread carefully at first.
But Kim Hyunsung didn’t seem to think so. Watching his mouth slowly open, I felt my heart start thumping for no reason.
Honestly, to say I wasn’t looking forward to this would have been a lie.
It was only natural to expect Kim Hyunsung to secure me a proper position.
Given everything I’d contributed to the party and to Blue so far, he was probably going to usher me into a spot where honey would just drip into my mouth.
For a moment I looked at him with a slightly tense expression, and then Kim Hyunsung’s voice began to ring out.
“First, I’m appointing Lee Kiyoung as Deputy Guild Master.”
I love you, Hyunsung!
My eyes snapped wide open.
This was exactly what I’d been waiting for.
No, honestly, I hadn’t even imagined he’d go this far.
Second-in-command of the Kim Hyunsung Kingdom.
I knew he valued me, but Hyunsung thought even more highly of me than I’d expected.
It was only natural that my lips would curl upward.
I felt like standing up and dancing around.
And the next words that reached my ears made me even happier.
“I’ll also temporarily appoint Lee Kiyoung as the guild’s chief administrator.”
Taking control of the guild’s finances meant being handed real power.
Not just deputy guild master, but chief administrator too.
It would make me busier, sure, but this was still a load I could easily carry.
“To ensure the most important personnel expansion, we’ll temporarily establish a personnel committee, and Lee Kiyoung will serve as its chairman.”
That was good too.
Being able to choose the people I wanted was definitely an advantage.
“We’ll also create a Dungeon Conquest Strategy Team, which Lee Kiyoung will temporarily head.”
It was only after some time had passed that I realized something was going oddly wrong.
“We will establish the Guild Future Strategy Headquarters and the Damage Countermeasures Committee, and Lee Kiyoung will serve as the inaugural chairman for the time being.”
Hold on.
“I’m temporarily appointing Lee Kiyoung as executive chief administrator, to oversee all general administrative tasks. He’ll remain in that role until the situation stabilizes.”
Enough.
“We’ll create a Pension Strategy Planning Office, and Lee Kiyoung will be appointed the head of that office.”
Stop it.
“We’ll establish a Public Relations Strategy Team, and Lee Kiyoung will temporarily be responsible for the guild’s publicity.”
Please stop, you bastard!
The problem was that Kim Hyunsung kept throwing my name out there.
Sure, Hwang Jeongyeon and Sun Heeyoung’s names were tossed in from time to time too, but in between all that, my name kept getting attached to absurdly random positions I couldn’t make sense of.
Even those who’d initially looked confused were now staring at me with pitiful expressions.
At this point, it was hard not to suspect that Kim Hyunsung was deliberately trying to bury me in work.
I mean, there was no other way to put it.
“I’m appointing Lee Kiyoung as interim committee chairman.”
I get it already, so stop….
A silent scream.
That was the moment Kim Hyunsung first became truly resentful to me.