Chapter 11: When the Team Leader is Obsessed, There’s a Lot of Overtime-3
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 11: When the Team Leader is Obsessed, There’s a Lot of Overtime-3
After leaving work early, I managed to make it home after a few hours of fumbling around.
How did I find the place?
I looked up the delivery address on an online shopping site.
As for the door lock, I tried combinations of the numbers that looked particularly worn and shiny. It turned out the password was my birthday, so I got in easily.
I’d realized something after a few dimension transfers: it seemed like my body was restored whenever a possession took place.
It made sense. According to the rules of dimension transfer, the original owners of these bodies were either already dead or in a vegetative state.
The fact that I’d woken up from a coma, or that a body that had died from overwork at a company had been resuscitated, was ultimately because I had possessed them.
I seemed to be living alone, and judging by my phone records, I didn't get in touch with my parents very often.
I lay on the bed in my studio apartment, which was sparsely furnished, and kicked my feet idly as I thought.
"Ah, wait. Am I screwed?"
Setting aside the obsession of the opposite sex or whatever, I didn't inherit memories every time I possessed someone. I didn't know a single thing about the job. How was I supposed to adjust?
I’d taken a look at the work I’d done so far in this life, but I couldn't understand any of it. I felt completely lost.
"Should I just keep hopping dimensions until I land in a 'silver spoon' family...?"
I was at the point where I felt like I needed to do a real-life reroll.
I stared blankly at the ceiling, worrying about the future, and time slipped away. I felt like I’d only laid down for a moment, but it was already dinner time.
Growl. My stomach let out a loud cry.
"Come to think of it, I haven't eaten anything today."
I’d been so distracted that I hadn't even realized I was hungry.
I changed into comfortable clothes and headed to a convenience store. I habitually reached for a Triangle Gimbap, then hesitated.
'This was the deceased's favorite food.'
Maybe because it was the last thing I’d eaten before dying in my previous dimension, but the thought of it left a bad taste in my mouth.
"Fine. Since I'm out anyway, I might as well get some rice soup."
I decided to find a Sundae Rice Soup place nearby with decent ratings.
*
Sundae Rice Soup is one of my favorite foods. It’s great value for the money, but more than that, mixing rice into that hot, spicy broth really revitalizes the body.
The effect is usually doubled in the winter, but that doesn't mean it tastes any worse in the early summer like now.
I added a generous amount of rice to my "Special" Sundae Rice Soup and stirred it, pressing down with my spoon.
I also placed a plate of Assorted Sundae in front of me. It was a lot of food even for an adult man, but today, I felt like eating until I burst.
It was because my soul was famished after traveling through three dimensions.
"Uf-ha."
I shoved a spoonful of rice into my mouth. It was so hot I couldn't swallow it or spit it out, so I had to huff and puff to cool it down inside my mouth.
Then, a glass of water.
The roof of my mouth was scalded and tingling, but I liked the sensation.
Sundae Rice Soup truly is a delicacy across all dimensions.
"Now... for the Assorted Sundae."
I picked up a piece of pyeonyuk with my chopsticks and dunked it deep into the ssamjang.
Munch, munch.
The gloomy mood felt like it was clearing up instantly.
This is true healing. This is the life.
If anyone saw me, they might have pitied a decent-looking guy sitting alone and grinning while eating rice soup, but I didn't care about keeping up appearances.
Besides, who cares about appearances in a rice soup joint? You just eat however the hell you want and leave.
Just as I was savoring the soup with a few more spoonfuls, the shop's bell chimed as someone walked in.
"I didn't expect to find you in a place like this. I also didn't know you liked rice soup."
Someone sat down across from me, and I instinctively sensed that I was screwed.
"Cough... Team Leader Lee Mina."
There she was, looking exactly as she had at the office today, her black bob-cut framing her face perfectly.
She stared at me with an expressionless face.
Startled by her sudden appearance, I choked on my food and started coughing. She naturally handed me a glass of water.
"Thank you."
It took a few more coughs before the fit subsided. I caught my breath and thanked her.
"Don't mention it."
"But what brings you here? Did you come to have rice soup too, Team Leader?"
At the word 'Team Leader,' her eyebrows twitched slightly.
"No. I saw you while I was on my way home. I just decided to come in."
"I see. I guess you live nearby?"
"I believe I told you that before."
"I must have forgotten."
"Is that so? By the way, In-ho."
"Yes?"
Leaning forward, she asked, "Why are you calling me 'Team Leader'?"
"Ah... well."
What is it? Did I call her something else in private? What did I call her to make her react like that?
I quickly racked my brain for information about the company I worked for. If we were on a first-name basis in private, we must be fairly close.
We probably weren't dating, and her age... she didn't look like she was the same age as me.
Well, I’ll just throw it out there and say it was a joke if I'm wrong.
"Then... Mina Nuna?"
When I said it with a tilt of my head, her usually expressionless face turned beet red in an instant.
Poof. As if an sound effect had played, she averted her gaze with a crimson face.
"N-No. Our company doesn't use titles. We just attach '-nim' or '-ssi' to names. That's what I was trying to say."
Looking at her as she spoke in a tiny, crawling voice, I doubted if this was the same person who had been radiating such a cold aura in the meeting room earlier.
"I was just joking."
"It was a joke?"
As I went back to shoveling rice soup into my mouth, her face returned to its expressionless state as if nothing had happened.
"In-ho, if you're doing that because you're embarrassed, it's fine. I mean, you could call me 'Nuna' outside of work."
I popped a piece of pyeonyuk into my mouth as I watched her start talking while trying to sound logical.
Aw, dammit. I flipped the wrong switch again.
It seemed I had no luck when it came to guessing.