Chapter 64
Chapter 64
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: I'll Take Responsibility
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I'll take responsibility.
I'd flawlessly completed my first day at Amore Trading.
"This new hire, if you have any questions, come straight to me, got it? I'll teach you everything."
"Thank you."
All the way to the office, Manager Kim explained the company's facilities, his attitude toward me friendly and affable—a model superior.
"But what's that around your neck?"
"It's a Polaroid camera. Photography is my hobby, so I always carry it."
"Haha, what a refined hobby!"
With my enhanced dynamic vision, I could tell his eyes kept lingering on the luxury brands draped over me whenever he looked my way.
"For now, wait in the office. We do morning exercises before work starts here. But you can't do them in a suit. Until we get your gym clothes tailored, you're excused."
If you're hungry, grab something from the break room.
With those words, Manager Kim left me behind.
"Hey, this new guy's insane!"
I could hear Manager Kim chattering from down the hall.
"A Bugatti! And he's decked out head to toe in designer labels—must be a chaebol heir!"
"Really?"
"Whoa, that Bugatti in the parking lot was the new guy's? I thought some big corp chairman had dropped by!"
It was more attention than a mere employee deserved, but for me—someone who needed to build rapport with everyone—it wasn't a bad thing.
"The new guy was super handsome. Wonder if he's single."
"Why? Got your eye on him? Dreaming of becoming a chaebol wife?"
"It wasn't about the money—I was eyeing the guy. Hot guys are usually nice and talented, right?"
"Oh please, Miss Kim! You can't throw yourself at a kid young enough to be your little bro!"
The favorable comments kept coming, but plenty voiced outright hostility.
"Pfft, Bugatti my ass! It's all fake! He's 25, right? No 25-year-old can afford a Bugatti."
"Exactly! And if it were real, why would a rich guy like that join our company? As a newbie, no less!"
"Those clothes are probably knockoffs too. They make fakes as good as the real thing nowadays."
"And even if it's all legit, is it normal for a new hire to show up plastered in pricey designer gear?"
Some even started speculating about my background.
"What if he is a chaebol heir? He's no ordinary 25-year-old."
"Yeah, probably a chaebol kid living like a NEET at home, pissed off his parents, so they kicked him out and said get a job or you're out of the family register!"
"I bet his parents sent him here on purpose to taste real society."
"Isn't he that fixer guy, Lee Seung-hoon? Same name."
"Why would a fixer join our company? Get real."
Some called me a chaebol heir.
Others dubbed me an attention-seeking MZ-gen poser covered in fakes.
One said I was a crypto whale bored enough to slum it here for kicks; another called me a must-befriend super-newbie.
"I haven't even shown them anything yet."
Based on appearances alone, I'd already become a multitude of imagined figures in their minds.
"Both favor and enmity decided by the price tags on my gear."
With the empty office as backdrop, I snapped a selfie, then wrote a title on the back of the developed photo.
[The Solitude of Penny Capitalism]
Then I headed to the break room.
'This is the break room, huh.'
Unlike what I'd imagined, it only had bulk cheese balls, instant coffee mixes, and a coffee pot.
'No black tea, I see.'
I pulled a black tea teabag from my suit's inner pocket, dropped it in a paper cup, and brewed it.
"No milk is a shame, but this'll do."
Soon after, exercises ended, and Manager Kim entered with the staff.
"Alright! This is Lee Seung-hoon, starting today in General Affairs! Everyone, clap!"
"Woo!"
Amid applause from the office staff, I gave a brief intro, chatted, and finally got my seat assignment.
"Newbie, I'm your mentor."
"Pleasure to work with you again, Assistant Manager Lee."
My mentor was Assistant Manager Lee Seok-du, who'd handled my interview with Manager Kim.
"First up, I'll show you how to fill out forms."
He kindly explained form procedures, the internal system, staff KakaoTalk groups, and more.
"Next, the fieldwork."
There was a ton to do here.
"This is the chairman's dog, right? Feeding it daily is the newbie's job."
"See that machine? Checking if it runs right is on you."
"Signing here as final safety officer every day? That's you."
"Break room cleaning? Obviously the newbie."
"Proofreading teammates' reports for typos and format? You."
It was endless.
"Factory 1's mostly foreign laborers. During night shifts, supervising so no issues pop up? Newbie duty. Duh, rookies pull OT every day. You weren't planning to clock out on time, were you?"
"If another team calls for backup 'cause they're swamped, newbie goes."
"No backup call? Finish your work, then check other teams for stuff to do. Basic rookie manners."
"Canteen ladies get busy sometimes and call backup? Help out. After, dishes—even without a call, it's polite."
Truly overwhelming; a packed future loomed.
"There's more, but start with basics: typos and format checks. Remember the forms I showed?"
"Yes."
"They'll send reports to your PC in that format. Try it. Call me when done."
After Assistant Manager Lee left, I activated my smartphone.
『You called?』
"Yeah, seems the company's wasting time on inefficient systems. Mind making a program?"
『What kind of program?』
"One that auto-fixes formats and typos."
『Understood.』
Sarang's battery was at 62%.
2% drained as an auto-format checker and typo inspector installed on my PC.
'Perfect.'
Running it, reports sent my way got auto-checked, fixed, and finalized on the spot.
"Huh? Newbie? I sent that report less than a minute ago—already bounced back?"
"Yes, revisions done."
"No way."
"Feel free to check."
"Alright, let's see..."
The staff who received them were skeptical at first but soon marveled at the polish.
"Whoa, for real?"
"This fast?"
"Were you already working here?"
As people crowded my desk, I showed them the program.
"Auto-typo check and format fixer?"
"When'd you make this?"
"Right after Assistant Manager Lee taught me the ropes."
I'd prepped excuses on tools and speed, but they didn't dig that deep.
"Haha, impressive! As expected of Lee! Future ace of our department! Knew it!"
"Whoa, Lee knows programming? Amazing!"
"Looked like ace material from his face alone."
And so the day ended. Thanks to Sarang's program, I barely had anything to do.
"Newbie, smoke break."
"Sure."
I headed to the smoking room with Assistant Manager Lee.
"You handle programs too? Not on your resume."
"Not that well."
"Figured. Interface sucks. Good functions are useless if the UI isn't user-friendly. Too focused on features."
After griping about the program, he lectured me.
"And don't rely on that stuff too much. It's just a machine. Overdepend, and your skills stagnate. Gotta eyeball it, double-check manually, do mental math—that builds ability. Let machines do it all? You'll get lazy, fall behind, no promotions, can't even jump ship. Got it?"
"Yes."
Back in the office, Manager Kim was beaming, bragging about my program.
"Lee! Shared it with other depts—they love it! Haha! Everyone's thanking you! First day and you changed company culture!"
"Haha, thank you."
While soaking up Manager Kim's praise, I eyed Assistant Manager Lee's face.
"......"
It was red as a ripe jujube.
Day 4 on the job; my routine hadn't changed much.
"Yo! Lee's here?"
"Good morning, Manager."
Early arrival, greet Manager Kim. Finish newbie morning tasks, change into issued gym clothes, join exercises.
"Alright! Energetic day ahead! Fighting!"
"Fighting!"
No interest in newbies, zero connection to the chairman with his reserved spot.
Per Sarang's intel, the current chairman—a chaebol heir who'd inherited from his parents—only cared about morning exercises, company dinners, and hikes.
『Search results and call logs indicate he's recently aimed to sell the company and go world traveling.』
Anyway, days spent on Assistant Manager Lee's assigned tasks.
One issue, though.
"Assistant Manager Lee, you look awful lately."
"Sigh, this newbie's driving me nuts."
My mentor's attitude toward me.
"Teach him one thing, forgets two. Thinks making programs makes him smart, but zero common sense elsewhere, memory like a sieve—teach, forgets, teach again, forgets. Losing my mind."
"Really? Thought he was sharp."
"Smart kids often hyperfocus one area. He's like that—genius at programming only."
"Hmm, the chaebol heir rumor? Got tutored just in that?"
Except that first-day finale of rage, he'd never shown hostility. Good senior up front, teacher extraordinaire—but behind my back, rumor mill extraordinaire.
"Nah, not chaebol heir. All his stuff's fake, he admitted."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah, told me himself. Clothes, shoes, watch—bought in China 'cause they looked real. Car? Customized junk from a dropout high school buddy's used lot scraps."
"Ah, makes sense! Too fishy for chaebol. Why our company?"
"Team leader, even novels wouldn't sell that plot."
"Right? Haha!"
I snuck his photo through the break room window.
[Saul, King of the 21st Century]
Tucked away my artwork and worked with him as usual when new work came up.
"Newbie, speak English?"
"Yes, I do."
"Translate this Korean from here to here into English for an overseas buyer email."
"Got it."
Handled it, clocked out normally.
"What the hell is this!"
Next day, Manager Kim flew into a rage for the first time.
"Why aren't these approvals done? Deadlines missed, overseas deal tanked! Who handled it!"
"Uh, that one..."
Assistant Manager Lee raised his hand.
"Was gonna do it, but newbie said he knew English, so I handed it off."
"What!? Why give it to a newbie!"
"He insisted it was fine, begged to take it..."
Eyes turned to me.
"Looks like the newbie botched the email address."
I'd entered it correctly.
"Common newbie mistake; my fault for not double-checking."
He'd given me the wrong one.
"Thought he was an ace, trusted him. My bad. Sorry!"
"Sorry fixes everything!? How you gonna take responsibility!"
He took the heat, but glares drilled into me repeatedly.
'Human jealousy is something else.'
Undermining his own rep just to trash mine.
"This ain't a slap on the wrist! How you gonna make it right!"
Fascinating.
His baseless envy toward me.
The current mess.
Manager Kim screaming for accountability.
Staff just watching.
All of it.
"I'll take responsibility."
So I shouted reflexively.
"What?"
"I messed up, so I'll take responsibility."
Exposing his scheme was impossible. No CCTV, verbal instructions whispered out of earshot— no way to clear my name.
"To resolve this, I'll step out briefly. Might not return today—apologies."
"Wait, hold on! Hey! Where you going!"
Loosened my tie, strode the hall.
'Maybe the catastrophe here stems from stress.'
Overstress triggers entity intervention, human extinction—classic cliché.
'Most efficient way to shoulder blame and fix future issues.'
Knocked on the chairman's door. Luckily, he was in.
"Who is it?"
"Hello. Lee Seung-hoon."
From here on, I'd catch two rabbits.
"I'd like to buy the company."
"Huh? What?"
"I want to buy the company."
Blunt offer to buy out of nowhere? Unbelievable—he froze mid-motion.
"Started as an employee, but I like the place, and I have responsibilities to own up to."
"What? Employee? Hey! You think this is a joke with me...?"
As he bristled, I held out my smartphone.
[Balance: 19,482,315,206,233 KRW]
Of course, Sarang was a finance wizard. Handled taxes, dodged audits, multiplied assets tenfold short-term.
"Still look like a prank?"
After 20 straight 125x coin leverage wins, money no longer bound me.
"......"
Meanwhile, the balance grew.
[Balance: 20,232,385,246,200 KRW]
The chairman bowed slightly.
"Let's sit and talk."
"Newbie still not in?"
"Nope, absent again."
Five days since Lee Seung-hoon vanished. His car remained parked, but he'd ghosted—folks figured he'd caused trouble and fled.
"See? Told you it was fake. Would he ditch a real Bugatti?"
"Sigh, couldn't last a week. Non-regulars only? When's a real full-timer starting?"
"Tall and handsome don't mean shit without responsibility."
Staff trashed Lee Seung-hoon.
"Heard he was trouble from day one. Talked down to seniors."
"Thick-headed about work."
"Mine said he was a total glutton."
Most rumors originated from Assistant Manager Lee.
"But... all his stuff was real... didn't seem incompetent... aside from that last mistake, he was fine..."
Manager Kim and a tiny few resisted the rumors, but they stayed mum, too few to sway opinion.
"Alright, exercises off—got an announcement today."
Next day, the chairman shared news.
"I'm no longer chairman. Haha! Always wanted to retire and travel! Good buyer showed up, so sold."
Old rumor; no surprise. Post-hike dinners, he'd chant "Sell and travel!" nonstop.
"Introducing the new chairman!"
But seeing the new one, one thought hit everyone.
"Hello. Lee Seung-hoon."
What?
"Starting today, Amore Trading's newbie employee兼chairman."
Candid camera prank past its prime?
"Pleasure working with you all."