142 – Dragon's Tail Joey Noi #1
“Come out! Don’t forget to spritz on some cologne!”
At his mother’s shout from the kitchen, the young man named Nao gave his body a couple of spritzes of cologne. Just to be safe, he gargled one more time and double-checked his hair.
“Nao, make sure you listen well to your seniors when you get there. No mistakes, okay?”
“Mom, don’t worry. Who do you think I am? I was top of my class at the headquarters training program for new hires. Just think about how much luxury money I’ll bring home!”
Nao’s mother, Mrs. Mascara, let a few tears well up. It pained her to see her son still toiling for the family even after death.
“Alright, I’m off!”
Heading out for his first day at Soul Society headquarters—the so-called divine workplace—Nao stepped forward into society proper.
The hellishly packed underworld subway. Nao clutched his bag tight, terrified it might get swept away in the crowd.
Thump-thump. He hadn’t shown it in front of his mom, but honestly, he was way too nervous. After all, landing a job at Soul Society headquarters was basically a ticket to a successful afterlife. It was literally the gods’ workplace.
—Nao, I’m so jealous. Working at headquarters means you might run into Lady Nemesis.
—I prefer Lord Hypnos, though.
Memories of stories from his classmates who’d come to the underworld with him bubbled up. They envied him, and Nao felt immense pride at the thought of working alongside such mighty gods.
But his excessive nerves were the problem.
“W-wait! Hold on! I need to get off here! This is my stop!”
Rumble-rumble-rumble.
In the blink of an eye, he’d missed his station. Too many people getting on and off.
“Excuse me!”
—The doors are closing—
“Ah!”
He hadn’t expected it to be this crowded. First day jitters, naturally. In that instant, Nao’s mind flooded with nightmarish scenarios.
—A rookie shows up late on their first day? Ballsy.
—Don’t bother coming in tomorrow.
—Just stay home and chill forever.
“No! No way!”
How could he blow a hard-won job like this? His mom and friends had cheered him on so much. Staying put would ruin everything.
Nao bolted off at the next stop. He tried for a train heading the opposite way, but the arrival time was too late.
“Taxi!”
He waved frantically, but every cab was full for some reason. Tick-tock—Cronus’s wristwatch crept ever closer to 9 a.m.
“No!”
Nao sprinted with all his might. Luckily, running was his strong suit. If he pushed hard enough, maybe he could dodge being late.
“Huff! Huff!”
But Soul Society was vast. Time slipped away relentlessly.
Finally—
Ding-dong-dang.
“……”
Nine o’clock. Staring at the towering building in the distance, Nao collapsed. Tears streamed down his face.
“…Mom, I’m sorry.”
It was over. Wilted before it could bloom.
Whoosh.
Then, a ridiculously luxurious ghost carpet glided to a stop before him. So opulent, just looking at it felt like it cost money.
—Whoosh, whoosh…!
—Whoosh…!
Even in his despair, Nao couldn’t tear his eyes away. But then he spotted the man standing atop it, and the carpet suddenly didn’t matter.
“Y-you’re…”
“New hire, by chance? Looks like you’re running late. Can’t have that on your first day. But don’t worry—drop my name, and you’ll be fine.”
“Y-you’re…”
“Ah, I’m—”
Chief Entertainment Officer
CEO - Jo Iseo
Floooat. Mesmerized, Nao stepped onto the ghost carpet. After that, it all blurred together.
“Late on your first day as a newbie?!”
“Quit if you’re gonna be like that!”
“If you wanna slack off, do it forever—no need to commute!”
“Um, but Director Jo Iseo…”
“Ahem! Everyone’s late sometimes!”
“It’s all good as long as you do the work! The work!”
“Excuse me, Nao—was it? Any relation to Director Jo?”
The terrifying skeleton bosses, like hell’s wardens, instantly turned meek as lambs with smiles.
“Nao, how was it? First day vibes?”
“Spill! We’ll buy you a drink!”
On the way home, Nao met up with his friends and poured out his pent-up awe.
“Director Jo Iseo saved my ass! I’m gonna work harder, get promoted, and join the Entertainment Dept no matter what!”
“Jo Iseo?”
“Sounds impressive, sure.”
“But Entertainment Dept is kinda…”
“And director or not, he’s just a newbie exec with barely 1% Divine Share, right?”
“Yeah, dragon’s tail. Nao, for real success, you gotta cozy up to the other execs…”
“Nonsense! He’s not the type to settle for dragon’s tail.”
In that moment, Nao swore a lifelong vow. To worship Director Jo Iseo forever.
“He’ll surpass ‘ceo’ one day and become the true CEO!”
###
Achoo. A sudden sneeze hit me. Fall creeping in already? Getting chilly.
“But luck was on my side.”
Snagged another bottom-tier prodigy today. A newbie late on day one? Whooo! Guys like that shine golden from the start—better note their names early. What was it? Nao? Cat-Pokémon kinda name.
‘Told him to use my name as his lateness excuse, so my rep probably took a minor hit. Perfect case study in power abuse.’
Flawless! Gotta have brains like that to snag a director spot in this divine hellhole, Soul Society.
Director. Director.
“Directooooor!”
What the Happy World. This hellish—
A week since that nightmare of a shareholders’ meeting, the worst in my life. A week as director.
My existence had been pure torment. Congratulatory messages everywhere, Channel 666’s Jo Iseo Station running “Jo Iseo Director Special Broadcast Schedule! A Look Back at His Life!” nonstop for a week.
Part of me wanted to bolt to the surface world. But constant visitors and media swarms made escape impossible.
So I accepted it. My executive position.
Damn it all. Hair’s gonna fall out. Stomach’s burning a hole through.
But? I’d mastered total positive thinking.
“Better this way. The higher you climb, the more your flaws get exposed. Falling from the top hurts the ass more, after all.”
Low spots mean petty screw-ups. But high up, with big responsibilities? You can unleash major disasters.
“Plus, being the dragon’s tail is actually a win.”
I’d rocketed to director on cursed luck, transcending mortal limits. But among mortals only. Against real execs? I was a newborn babe.
Like this: A one-star general lords over privates like a god. But at the officers’ academy? He’s nobody—no salute, strips the star plate off his car.
Me? Dragon’s tail. Exactly that.
Tail.
“Feels better framing it that way.”
Positivity’s key. Feeling lighter, I headed to my office.
Headquarters basement, sub-sub-level. A repurposed storage multipurpose room. Home to my department: Entertainment Dept.
This mystery unit. Inside, Crowzer strummed a guitar in greeting.
“Well, if it isn’t my brother, Director Jo!”
“Director! We’ve been waiting! For the upcoming Hellmike, we wanna set up an Entertainment Dept booth—your thoughts?”
Hedone waved wildly too. I shut the door again.
“Maybe just head home.”
The mindset boost I’d hyped myself up with crashed instantly. Fine, accept it. I was Entertainment Dept director thanks to 1% Divine Share.
‘That share Melinoë absorbed—why’d it show up in me…?’
Weird stuff abounds here. Abnormal’s the norm in Soul Society.
Anyway, rooftop breeze sounded good. I hit the elevator button.
“Out of the way.”
“Rookies.”
Thud-thud-thud.
Black-suited men commandeered the elevator first. It was so packed, the folks inside had to get off.
“Get out. Mortals. This elevator’s exec-only from now on.”
“S-sorry! Lord Geras!”
Geras. 30% Divine Share, Titan-grade exec. God of old age.
Beside him, skeleton-faced god Charon’s eyes gleamed.
“Jo Iseo Director. Ride? You’re an exec—mortal or not, I’ll allow it specially.”
Underworld ferryman Charon. One of the oldest primordial gods. 41% share—straddling Titan and Protogenoi.
That instant—
Rooooar.
The air shifted.
“The great executive VP approaches!”
“Bow your heads, lowly staff!”
Step, step.
A black-suited man brushed past, hands in pockets. His face? A black-hole abyss instead of a head—sign of his otherworldly power. He peered into me with abyssal depths.
“Jo Iseo. Care to. Join us. In the elevator?”
“Lord Erebos, how could a mere mortal like me presume to share an elevator with exalted execs?”
Erebos. 66.6% Divine Share. True Protogenoi-grade exec. With wife Nyx, they dominated Soul Society. Kids like Geras, Charon, Alecto, Moros—all heavyweights. CEO’s family just ruled atop their empire.
“I still think. Your exec status. Was a mistake. Remember. Dark shadows. Always watch you. Jo Iseo Director.”
Erebos boarded with those words. As you saw, he opposed my promotion hardest. Still does. A primordial like him chafes at a mortal exec peer? Whatever. Good for me!
‘Only one I can trust in this Soul Society is Lord Erebos!’
Then—
“Ooh, it’s the princess.”
“Erebos and Princess Melinoë?”
“Big shots today.”
The elevator crowd buzzed again. Looking over, Princess Melinoë approached with sharp click-click heels.
“Heard she’s dating Director Jo Iseo.”
“For real?”
“Nah, no way. A 1% rookie exec and the underworld princess with 44%? Please.”
Melinoë stopped before me. All eyes locked on—
“Jo Iseo Director. A newbie exec with barely 1% share—surely you’re not thinking of riding the same elevator as me?”
“Of course not. After you.”
Step aside.
The staff gawked in fear.
“Whew, scary. Ghost Princess lives up to the name.”
“Colder and stricter than Executive VP Erebos.”
“Them dating? Impossible.”
Ding. Elevator ascended. Simultaneously—Beep-beep-beep. My terminal pinged.
This is gonna be a pain. How’d it come to this—