13. New Employee Public Recruitment (4)
Point 1. We'd arrived at Jangseung Forest.
"Team One, Team One. This is Team Two, Team Two. Team Two has reached Point 1. Please transmit Team One's position."
[...Stand by. We've got a tail. Maintain radio silence for the next five minutes.]
"Tail" meant the exam proctors from HR and Training.
They had no idea we'd entered here. And not everyone in the company knew each other's faces...
'Meaning guys like the section chief draw suspicion easily.'
In simple terms, it meant we were getting treated like spies.
What could we do? That's why we'd split into elder and younger teams.
'The assistant manager doesn't seem old so much as mature, but whatever...'
Still, he didn't look young.
"What'd they say?"
Choi Soo-jung, the deputy manager, spoke up just as I was internally reconciling the differences between Section Chief Jo and Assistant Manager Ham.
"They've got a tail. We need to wait about five minutes."
"...Yeah?"
"Yes. The section chief will shake them off soon enough, I'm sure. Best to hold position here for now."
"Hmmm..."
Choi Soo-jung dragged out her response in a rare show of hesitation. Her eyes were fixed on the trail we'd taken up here.
"A tail, huh. Looks like it."
"Yeah, definitely."
Song Joo-im jumped into the conversation. She nodded along, staring in the same direction as the deputy manager.
One person left. Ko Kyung-min.
"Vibing?"
He said it while clenching and unclenching his fist in the air.
His gaze matched the other two.
Why?
Something there?
Wild animal?
Whatever was behind the bushes, it wasn't a wild animal. That became clear seconds later.
"No need to vibe. It's a proctor. Ko Kyung-min, take the left path and block the escape route. Song Joo-im, stick behind me. And Oh Sung-jin..."
The deputy manager jerked her chin.
"Long-range support. Draw your pistol."
Her "tail" meant one stuck to us, not Team One.
I drew my pistol, tense. It was tactical, something I'd never handled in the military.
The weight was real. Heavy. I slowly aimed at the bushes.
'...This is tense. My heart's pounding like crazy.'
Once we were set, the deputy manager gave the hand signal. Kyung-min circled to block the rear, and Song Joo-im formed up with the deputy manager to surround the trail exit.
They exchanged signals. Then crouched like a big cat about to pounce...
And that's when the bushes started shaking violently.
Rustle.
Rustle rustle.
Rustle rustle rustle.
"..."
Rustle again.
Rustle rustle again.
Rustle rustle rustle again.
And then.
"H-Hiiik!"
A man burst from the bushes. Hands shot up high, knees nearly dragging on the ground.
"Don't shoot!"
He yelled. Voice cracking like he was about to cry. I felt a pang of pity.
"Spare me! I won't follow anymore!"
And pathetic. Also a familiar face.
...Kim Moon-ho, the prospective qualifier.
Kim Moon-ho had a trauma with guns.
Due to the pathetic circumstances that dragged him into the underworld.
The moment he saw the gun, he could only flop flat on his face.
'Shouldn't have followed them!'
What was that guy's qualification worth anyway!
Deep in regret and trembling, a voice came from above.
"...Why'd you follow us?"
"I-I! Uh! Well...!"
"Well...?"
"Th-the exam, hehe..."
Kim Moon-ho explained in detail why he'd tailed them.
"...That's how it happened."
"Oh, so you wanted to cheat the exam? Do you know who we are?"
"Th-they're... the exam study group folks?"
"Study group?"
Not it? Kim Moon-ho peeked up cautiously. The group he'd thought were elite pre-study qualifiers for the exam wore subtle expressions.
"Go-eun, did we have study groups when joining the company?"
"Uh... not sure myself."
"Choi Dep-- I mean, Soo-jung?"
As the man muttered, the scary woman's sharp face softened a bit.
"Dunno... Heard there might be something like that."
"Really?"
Then the scarred scary guy chimed in.
"Freelancers with good records sometimes form study groups. The ones who survive long enough to get scouted know it's pointless, though."
"Ooh, interesting! Kyung-min, you're ex-freelancer, right?"
"Yeah. Heard it back when I was active."
"Hehe... Kyung-min, wanna be friends?"
"..."
From the conversation flow, they definitely weren't a study group.
Normally, he'd laugh it off as a misunderstanding.
Not this time. They were armed. Suspicious folks with guns weren't something you laughed off!
'Then what are they! What do they do!'
Kim Moon-ho's vision went dark!
Meanwhile, talk continued.
"So what now?"
"What do you mean?"
"Vibe?"
Vibe? Kill?
Kim Moon-ho looked up. The scarred guy held a longsword.
"Fewer variables the better, right?"
"Oh, yeah!"
"Hmmm, true..."
Ah.
I'm dying here. Kim Moon-ho thought.
Thoughts tangled, survival instinct screaming.
Suddenly, his vision cleared.
His mind raced.
Things unseen came into view.
All three gazes converged on one spot.
On Oh Sung-jin, the colorless man he'd dubbed.
'He's the leader!'
Leaping logic, but close to the truth.
'Then...!'
Decision swift.
"Aigoo, big bro! Please spare me this once!"
Kim Moon-ho rolled determinedly across the ground, clinging to Oh Sung-jin's pant leg.
A textbook example of a desperate grab.
Trouble. Kim Moon-ho was clinging to my pant leg.
I got it. Our vibe was intimidating even to me.
The problem was...
'Why me, of all people.'
I glanced around. Everyone stared at me. No idea why.
'I am kinda in charge, but I didn't plan for this.'
Who'd expect a sharp-eyed exam taker to tail us amid the chaos those cicadas caused?
"Sung-jin, what now?"
Kyung-min fiddled with his sword hilt and asked. I thought a moment, then replied.
"No issue, right?"
"...Pardon?"
"This stems from a reject, not a qualifier."
Why, even my future self's report said as much.
Preemptive scouting of unknowns planted by irregular groups is impossible. Different people appear at different times and methods each round.
But their appearances are limited to after new hires are selected.
And new hire qualifiers aren't industrial spies.
Prospective qualifier Kim Moon-ho isn't a suspect in this containment failure scenario.
"Plus, security regs... Once today's done, we were never here, right?"
"So? Keep going."
I nodded silently to the interrupting deputy manager and continued.
"And this guy... doesn't seem to know what we do..."
I flashed a grin at the trembling Kim Moon-ho.
"Screw it, let's do it."
"...Do it?"
"Entrance study group."
Team faces went weird for a second. I ignored it and addressed Kim Moon-ho.
"Kim Moon-ho-ssi?"
"Y-yes?"
"Sadly, our study group isn't taking outsiders anymore."
"Y-yeah..."
He didn't buy the study group bit.
No matter. I'm good with words.
"And our group is, say, a secret study club. I'd prefer you not mention us anywhere else."
I beckoned Kyung-min. He smartly half-drew his sword.
Shing--!
"Hiiik--!"
Solid reaction. I smirked.
"...Haha. Get what I'm saying?"
"..."
"You get it... right?"
"Yes, sir!"
Good. One down.
"Handled."
I muttered to the team. But their expressions were off.
"Sung-jin... ever done this kind of thing before?"
"Whoa! Totally scary!"
Ridiculous misunderstanding. But helpful now.
Kim Moon-ho trembled harder.
"Yeah, sure. Haha."
I didn't confirm. Team bought it on their own; Kim Moon-ho just shook in fear.
'Good. Now wait for radio.'
Right on cue, Section Chief Jo's transmission came.
Team Two, Team Two, this is Team One. Team One. Respond, Team Two.
"Team Two here. Tail shaken?"
Tail resolved. Team Two, assembled at Point 1?
"Encountered wildlife during assembly and handled. Team One?"
Here, "wildlife" meant exam taker.
[...Team Two too?]
Huh?
'Too?'
I furrowed my brow. Section Chief Jo's voice returned.
Team Two, one wildlife heading to Point 1 now. The one we bypassed. Heavily influenced by the cicada--handle per manual on contact.
"Pardon? What do you--"
Team One, arriving shortly. Handle it.
"Wait--!"
Before I finished.
Rustle--! And rawr--!
A person shot from the trail, leaping straight at us.
Twisted face, mouth ripped wide, gleaming fangs... and a familiar face.
Joo Han-ul, another prospective qualifier like Kim Moon-ho.
"What the..."
Heavily cicada-influenced, her aggression zeroed on my neck.
"What's this now!"
Just before Joo Han-ul collided with me. I didn't pull the trigger, didn't kick her away.
Because in that instant, Deputy Manager Choi Soo-jung stepped in front.
Her fist cocked at her hip. Waist twisted slightly. Screech--. Her shoe sole gouged the dirt, sliding back.
And...
Boom--!
The moment the Follow-up Special Duty Team encountered Joo Han-ul, Kim Moon-ho spotted her too.
'That girl who tried to one-up me earlier!'
A shocking thought flashed. Thanks to vampire senses, her airtime felt endless.
The study group leader was in danger.
"Hup--!"
...If Deputy Manager Choi Soo-jung hadn't intercepted and sent her flying in one hit.
Crash--!
Seeing her crumple, Kim Moon-ho thought:
'Ah, I was nothing after all...'
He wasn't special.
Deputy Manager Choi Soo-jung's straight punch shattered the cicada stuck to Joo Han-ul's back.
"So... you woke up here?"
"Yes! I'm so sorry!"
Regaining her senses, Joo Han-ul bowed ninety degrees. I alternated glances between her and Kim Moon-ho.
"Hmmm..."
Kim Moon-ho hunched, tense. No clue why, and I didn't care.
'Tired.'
Just wanted to go home.