The Rotation Begins
"Congratulations to all four of you on passing the training. Your rotation duty begins tomorrow, so please stay sharp."
I had barely managed to scrape through the training by thinking on my feet.
It was a miracle I even made the cut.
That was way too close.
If even a single thing had gone wrong, I would have been disqualified. I could feel myself letting out a quiet sigh of relief at having barely made it.
Still, Hwangbo Yeon is seriously impressive.
Despite her airheaded, flower-garden personality, she had breezed through every single mission during the training. It made me realize that a genius really is a genius.
"Yeri. I hope we get assigned to the same place."
Kim Yeri.
That was my current alias and cover identity.
I felt like I'd thrown the name together a bit too lazily, but regardless, I wasn't Ju Aeri right now. I was a rookie employee named Kim Yeri.
And I had to play the part perfectly.
"Yeah. It'd definitely be easier working together than being on our own."
"See you tomorrow, then."
Anyway, now that training was over, my rotation duty would begin tomorrow.
Wherever I ended up, I couldn't afford to mess around like I did during training. Instead of just "doing my best," I needed to make sure I absolutely crushed it.
Please, just let me get assigned somewhere easy.
Clinging to that hopeful delusion, I headed home.
The next day, I arrived at my assigned subsidiary.
H Mulsa, Management Support Team
I had been assigned to the Management Support Team of H Mulsa.
Isn't Management Support usually just a fancy name for doing all the grunt work?
"Management Support" sounded nice, but in reality, it was the department of corporate errand runners.
Colloquially known as the Pencil Sharpener Department.
Why the Pencil Sharpener Department? Because they burned through pencils doing grunt work for every other department in the company.
"Are you Kim Yeri?"
The moment I stepped into the Management Support Team's office, a woman with a sharp, strict-looking face called out to me.
"Yes, that's me."
"I'm Assistant Manager Han Yunseo. I'll be your mentor."
The woman, Han Yunseo, showed me to my desk and immediately began laying out the essentials.
"First, your priority in the Management Support Team is to memorize everyone's names and ranks. That's basic etiquette, so I assume you already know that?"
"Ah, yes."
"Next is mastering the internal extension numbers."
As she spoke, Assistant Manager Han transferred a data file containing a list of numbers to my device.
In this high-tech world, you didn't actually need to memorize anything, which made things incredibly convenient.
"Even if you don't have to memorize them, you still need to know which number belongs to which department and person. Get used to them quickly. Follow me."
I followed Assistant Manager Han to the supply closet.
"This is the storage room for all the office supplies H Mulsa's departments need. Remember where everything is, and deliver whatever is requested to the respective departments."
True to her sharp appearance, Assistant Manager Han was extremely meticulous with her instructions.
"Since it's your first day, I won't give you anything too difficult. Just do exactly what you're told. Got it?"
"Yes, I understand."
Corporate life is simple: just do what you're told.
I knew this rule of survival all too well, so I nodded obediently.
"Good morning, everyone."
It was well past 11:00 AM when a man who looked to be in his early to mid-thirties walked into the office.
Isn't it a bit late for a 'good morning'?
Judging by his demeanor, he seemed to hold the rank of Deputy General Manager. It appeared to be a common occurrence.
After all, that was exactly what Deputy General Managers did.
"Ah, Deputy General Manager Kang. You're here?"
Assistant Manager Han greeted the man, addressing him as Deputy General Manager Kang.
"Yeah, I had a quick morning meeting, so I'm a bit late. By the way, is that the new recruit assigned to us for rotation?"
Meeting.
What a magical word.
When someone of his rank used it, even a blatant late arrival could be beautifully packaged as "working hard."
"Hello, Deputy General Manager! I'm the new recruit, Kim Yeri!"
In corporate life, having a loud, confident voice gets you halfway there anyway.
I introduced myself to Deputy General Manager Kang with energetic enthusiasm.
"Ah, yes. Nice to meet you, Yeri. I'm Kang Yuchan, the Deputy General Manager of the Management Support Team. Well, having such a beautiful woman join us is certainly going to liven up the office atmosphere."
He laughed heartily, but his eyes swept over me with a strange, lingering gaze.
Ugh, he's a creep.
From that single look, I could tell Deputy General Manager Kang was a massive pervert who viewed women as objects.
Honestly, just looking at his sleazy face, he practically had "pervert" written all over him.
However, a Deputy General Manager had a massive influence on my performance evaluation scores. I kept my disgust hidden and offered him a bright, professional smile.
"Well, let's get along during your time here, Yeri."
With those words, Deputy General Manager Kang patted my shoulder a few times before heading to his desk.
Except it wasn't just a pat—his hand lingered with a slimy, stroking sensation. If I had followed my instincts, I would have slapped him across the face right then and there.
But I had to endure.
I couldn't let personal feelings ruin my mission.
The breakroom after lunch.
In corporate life, being quick on your feet is important, but having sharp social intuition is even more crucial.
And what was the best way to show that intuition?
"As expected of a mega-corp. Even the coffee machine is top-of-the-line."
Serving post-lunch coffee to my superiors, of course.
Doing this was a surefire way to get praised for being a proactive rookie.
Accumulating these small points would build a great impression and guarantee a generous evaluation score.
Squeeze!
As I was brewing the coffee, I suddenly felt someone grope my butt. Startled, I whipped around to find Deputy General Manager Kang standing right behind me.
"Did I scare you? I was just curious about what you were doing and felt a bit playful. Don't take it personally."
"Ah... yes."
This bastard is really going to be this blatant about it?
"By the way, Yeri, did you say you graduated from H University? I'm an H University alumnus myself. Look at us, we're alumni."
He suddenly brought up college, trying to manufacture some cheap sense of camaraderie.
"Haha, yes. You're my senior, then."
"Graduates of H University are all highly intelligent. Not to brag, but I'm quite the elite myself."
I forced myself to listen to his self-aggrandizing chatter, swallowing my disgust.
Endure.
I have to endure this.
There's a saying that if you endure three times, you can even avoid murder.
Patience, patience, patience.
"Ah, right. Yeri, we're having a welcome dinner tonight to celebrate your arrival. I almost forgot to tell you. Since it's a dinner in your honor, make sure you don't miss it."
With that, he gave my butt another lingering pat before sauntering out of the breakroom.
I swear, I wanted to cave the back of his skull in so badly...
When the workday ended, the welcome dinner commenced just as Deputy General Manager Kang had promised.
True to mega-corp standards, the venue was a high-end beef restaurant. The people here might be sinful, but the food was innocent, so I decided to enjoy the meal.
"Everyone, turn your nanomachines OFF and let's get drunk tonight!"
Hera, can you fake it?
It is possible.
I instructed Hera to spoof my nanomachine status to show "OFF."
If I actually got drunk here, I could easily guess what that perverted Deputy General Manager Kang would try. In fact, he'd probably go even further.
Once Deputy General Manager Kang confirmed everyone's nanomachines were supposedly offline, he raised his glass and shouted a toast.
"Yeri, eat up! Here, let me pour you a glass."
"Ah, yes. Thank you."
He pressed himself uncomfortably close to my side, pouring alcohol into my glass with a greasy smile.
"This is why I love fresh new recruits. They're so much better than gloomy old maids like Assistant Manager Han."
He must have downed a massive amount of alcohol in a short time, as he was already openly insulting Assistant Manager Han.
Despite his crude remarks, Assistant Manager Han's expression didn't even flicker.
It seemed she was either completely used to it by now, or she was simply ignoring him because engaging with someone like him was a waste of energy.
"Here, have another."
I drank the alcohol Deputy General Manager Kang poured for me.
Right then, Hera spoke to me.
An aphrodisiac substance has been detected in the alcohol you just consumed.
I knew it. Is this crazy bastard out of his mind?
When did he even slip that in? Is his hand faster than the eye?
But I had already anticipated something like this.
This was exactly why I had asked Hera to spoof my nanomachine status.
I can't let this slide. This guy needs to be taught a lesson. No, actually, I should just get him kicked out of H Group entirely. Hera, you said you're good at hacking, right? Search for any corruption or dirt on this guy.
Understood.
A guy like Deputy General Manager Kang was bound to have a mountain of dirty laundry.
Chairman Hwangbo of H Group absolutely loathed corruption, but since he couldn't personally monitor every single subsidiary, bad apples were bound to exist.
However, once exposed, Chairman Hwangbo's absolute rule was to crush them without mercy.
I decided this guy needed to be purged from H Group immediately.
Besides, he was bound to become an annoying obstacle in my future plans anyway.
Found it. There is quite a lot. Embezzlement and breach of trust are just the baseline. The illicit profits he has amassed over the years are jaw-dropping.
Oh, really? Well, since he's eaten his fill, he shouldn't have any regrets about leaving.
And so, the curtain rose on the downfall of Deputy General Manager Kang—no, Kang the Creep.