Chapter 158
Chapter 158
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Exam
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The Management Bureau has a system for hiring full-time employees.
It's a system limited to those who entered as interns, but I've heard it's pretty difficult in its own way.
"Help me?"
"Yes."
In the cafe, Park Ye-eun looks at me while sipping her juice.
"Ugh, too sweet."
"Don't high schoolers like everything sweet?"
"No, did you only eat sweet stuff when you were in high school, oppa?"
"Yeah."
Back then, coffee was so bitter I couldn't even fathom how people drank it.
Now, I can't imagine living without it.
"I'm not like that. Life's too bitter already..."
"You're talking nonsense again."
I cut off Park Ye-eun's words sharply.
Of course, I know full well she hasn't had an easy life.
But as an adult, it's also true that I have a duty to stop her from putting herself down.
"You haven't seen much of life yet. Don't say stuff like that. Life can get really bitter for real."
"Oppa, sometimes you sound just like an old man, you know?"
"You called me an old man when we first met."
"Exactly. I almost called you that again."
Park Ye-eun props her chin up with a straight face.
"Anyway, I was hoping oppa could help me out a bit."
"What could I possibly help with?"
Maybe something like peer evaluation.
I've heard that stuff is mentally exhausting.
"Not that."
Park Ye-eun shakes her head.
"I have to take an exam."
"An exam?"
"Yeah."
What kind of exam?
"Should I help you study or something?"
It's been a while since I cracked a book myself.
"Huh? No, not that."
"Then what?"
Park Ye-eun waves her hand sharply.
"They said I have to bring along one reliable person and take the exam with them?"
"A reliable person?"
"Yeah."
"And that's me?"
"Honestly, by process of elimination, you're the only reliable one left."
What kind of talk is that.
"What kind of exam?"
"They said to think of it like a practical test. How you'd handle sudden situations as a Management Bureau employee—like, improvisational skills?"
"If it's just basic crisis response, wouldn't Chaeyeon be better than me?"
"She has no improvisation skills."
"Arin?"
"She'd definitely get super annoyed at me."
"Daon?"
"She's not great in actual combat situations, right?"
"So you picked me?"
"Yes!"
Park Ye-eun answers my question with the same innocent expression and smiles.
"For now... let's at least hear what the exam is."
If it sounds totally ridiculous once I hear it, I'll back out immediately.
"It's not like we're going somewhere dangerous."
"Well, yeah, obviously."
Would they send an underage kid into danger just for some exam?
I'd have already raised hell with the Management Bureau if they did.
"There's a course they set up inside the Management Bureau, and you have to clear it to become full-time."
"Pass rate?"
"38 percent, they said?"
It felt like an ambiguously tough number.
"What kind of exam?"
"Let's see."
Park Ye-eun mutters as she pulls a stack of papers from her bag.
"Situation assessment and improvisation. And a secret category."
"Secret category?"
"It's really written like that."
Park Ye-eun hands me the paper.
The paper titled [Exam to Become a Full-Time Employee] stated the following.
[The Management Bureau always welcomes those interns aspiring to become full-time employees.]
[However, to become full-time, you must prove a variety of abilities.]
[To verify these abilities, the Management Bureau conducts exams each time, and only those who pass can be promoted to full-time—thank you for your understanding.]
[The exam evaluates four main categories.]
[First, knowledge. This is covered by the written exam, mainly questions on containment procedures and responses.]
[Second, improvisation. To survive in the Management Bureau, knowledge alone isn't enough—you need improvisation as well. This checks yours and your partner's improvisation skills.]
[Third, situation assessment. You must properly judge situations and recall the correct procedures to be considered a Management Bureau employee.]
[Fourth, secret category. The most important one, and a virtue every Management Bureau employee must have, whether they realize it or not. Without this virtue, you can never become a full-time employee.]
"...What's the last category?"
"I don't know either."
Park Ye-eun shakes her head.
"I was hoping oppa might know."
"First time hearing about it."
"Eh, didn't you take the full-time exam?"
"Nope."
"...Weird? Isn't everyone supposed to take it?"
"Daon probably didn't either."
"Really?"
Park Ye-eun's eyes go wide.
"That sister too?"
"Not sure about the other two."
They didn't join at the same time as me, after all.
"Hmm..."
Park Ye-eun furrows her brow and mutters.
"Well, I get the gist anyway."
"When does it start?"
"It's already started."
"What?"
Park Ye-eun blinks at me.
"I already passed the written part."
"What. You should've said so earlier."
"You guys were all busy. And it felt weird taking up your time with work stuff."
"What kid worries about consideration like that."
"I'm quick on the uptake."
Park Ye-eun replies coolly once more.
"Anyway. I'll need oppa's help for the practical part."
"Date?"
"Tomorrow."
"If you're so quick on the uptake, can't you tell me earlier?"
"No. I didn't know it'd be the day after results came out either."
Park Ye-eun mutters like she's the wronged one.
"I'm fine with going."
"Really?"
"Let me make a call."
I turn away from Park Ye-eun, who's looking at me with a face full of questions, and dial.
"...Nothing happened, right?"
The branch director picks up soon after the phone rings.
"Yeah. But I think something might happen soon, so I'm calling ahead."
"Don't tell me you're dragged into something again."
The branch director's voice turns serious right away.
"Nah. I'm participating as a partner in this full-time promotion exam."
"Partner? Oh, Park Ye-eun from the new HR Team hires?"
"That's her."
"Does it have to be you, Kim Jaeheon? I hear Team Leader Heo Chan is pretty talented too."
"It's not my fault she insists on me."
A deep sigh flows from the smartphone.
"I'll observe this time, then."
"Thanks."
The branch director pleads over the smartphone.
"Can't you just not go? Why do you always have to pile on more work?"
"If you skip, someone from Gangdong Branch who does reality checks well will call you there—"
"Upon second thought, as an HR Team member, watching an intern grow is one of my essential duties too. Hurry back."
"Thanks."
"For real. If something blows up this time, I'm not holding back?"
The branch director emphasizes before hanging up.
Click. The call ends.
"Who was that?"
"The observer."
"Huh?"
Leaving Park Ye-eun tilting her head in confusion, I start making another call.
*
...
Eom Donghan, the newbie in the Management Team, couldn't believe his eyes.
Back when he took it, the full-time exam wasn't such a big deal.
Sure, the failure rate was high, but failing didn't cancel your internship, so you could keep trying until you passed eventually.
But now.
"That's him, right?"
"The one who kept suppressing anomalies and anomalous objects non-stop after Butterfly's Dream..."
"Yeah, that HR Team guy..."
A tired-looking man appeared in the hall with a kid in a school uniform who looked a bit too young to be an adult.
Everyone's eyes turned to the two.
"HR Team's Kim Jaeheon..."
"The field ace who even surpassed the Containment Team's recent performance..."
Murmurs spread.
"But who's the kid next to him?"
"She's pretty."
"Yeah."
The girl in pink britches next to him stood tall with a proud expression, the complete opposite of his uncomfortable look.
"Is that guy famous?"
The intern he's in charge of this time looks up at Eom Donghan.
"They say he's the best lately."
Eom Donghan glances at the man.
At a glance, just an ordinary office worker who looks worn out, but
"His eyes are different."
Eom Donghan saw it.
How he quickly scanned the crowd the moment he entered.
"He has sharp eyes."
And how he walked straight to the front without a second thought.
"The branch director's giving the speech for this full-time promotion, right?"
"He knows the director's coming and still stands up front..."
Either way, the branch director was an object of fear for everyone.
No one knew exactly who she was, but rumors said she was an old monster over 300 years old, ran faster than a sports car, and had strength greater than a crane.
No one thought getting tangled with her would end well.
HR Team's rising ace, Kim Jaeheon, stands confidently at the front.
The branch director steps out.
Her usual dignity and confident smile.
She turns her gaze to Kim Jaeheon.
For a moment, Eom Donghan thought he saw 'fear' on her face.
But after he blinked, she started speaking with a calm expression like nothing happened.
"Everyone."
Silence falls over the hall as the branch director opens her mouth.
"The most important thing is safety."
And for exactly one hour, the branch director desperately lectured on safety.
*
After the speech ended, the branch director looked at her paper and spoke.
"First exam: Survive the waterway improvisation test. Begin."
Waterway?
Eom Donghan's head fills with question marks for a moment,
Whoosh!!!
A loud noise echoes as water pours out.
"What the..."
The hall starts filling with water.