27 The Boss Is Working Part-Time

- I-I'll contact you next time!

“Customer? Customer? Hey, you son of a bitch?!”

The call had already been disconnected.

They were cursing because they knew it was already disconnected.

Those kinds of people tend to leave weird reviews if you annoy them.

“Heehee! To hear I look young! This maiden's efforts have borne fruit! What splendid news!”

Renea was so excited she was hopping around the office, while Kim Yang was busy practicing headbutts.

The important thing was that those headbutts weren't going to customers—they were coming at me.

In fact, it wasn't that I couldn't pay salaries.

If I cashed out my stocks right now, I could pay.

'But if I pull it out now, I'll really take a loss.'

It wouldn't just be a loss—it'd be so stupid that even if people pointed fingers at me, it wouldn't seem strange.

The market had temporarily dipped because of the natural disaster.

Even if I didn't know about Wolf Guard, the other stocks would normalize soon enough.

“Kim Yang.”

“What?”

“Could you delay payday just a little?”

“......”

“Ah, just a little. If I cash out now, I'll lose money.”

“B-ba, ba-se! Ba-seee!”

Kim Yang's headbutts got even fiercer.

I shut up and started skimming through the paperwork.

'No chance a matchmaking fee is coming in somewhere.'

Speak of the devil.

My phone rang right then.

“Ah, yes. Mr. Cheolsu.”

That was already my third wild-man introduction.

I had been hoping things would work out with this raccoon-like wild man, but—.

“Yes, yes, ah... I see. Y-yes. Something a little hairier, yes, yes.”

Click.

After hanging up, I let out a short sigh.

At this rate, shouldn't I just go to an abandoned-dog shelter and pick a companion?

“A more hairy wild man, huh—”

While I was leafing through the file folders, before I knew it, quitting time had arrived.

For some reason, Renea kept pacing around nearby, while Kim Yang was getting ready to leave.

Kim Yang, now in her coat with her bag packed, tilted her head at me.

“B-boss. You're working overtime?”

“I was out earlier today, so I thought I'd stay a bit and get some work done.”

And I need to make sure Kim Yang's salary is ready too.

“......”

After staring at me, Kim Yang said she was heading home and went out. I got up too, thinking I'd step out for a cigarette, and headed for the entrance—.

Tadadadak!

Renea suddenly blocked my way and rammed straight into me.

It wasn't even a hard hit, but Renea toppled onto the floor.

“Aaah!?”

“...What.”

What, are you trying to pull some kind of insurance scam?

“To think you could defeat this maiden so easily. I have no choice. By virtue of duel marriage, I shall wed you—.”

I stepped right over her and went outside.

Then Renea came after me, shrieking at the top of her lungs.

“Why not! Baek Yeonhwa accepted me when I did this! Then shouldn't this maiden be able to do it too?!”

“You've learned some strange things. And Ms. Baek Yeonhwa left a letter saying she'd introduce you to a man separately when she comes by.”

Whether I'd actually accept that was another matter.

“Please don't try any weird tricks. You know you're still F-rank, right?”

I warned Renea, who'd followed me all the way to the smoking area. There still wasn't anything about her that warranted a rank reassessment yet.

At most, she'd started a part-time job and found a room on monthly rent.

“Grr, ah, I know that.”

“Hoo.”

I blew out a plume of smoke.

Glancing at Renea fidgeting beside me, I offered her some advice.

“How about getting a proper job? Not part-time work—how about an office job?”

“Y-you'd have to use a computer. This maiden doesn't know how to use one.”

Come to think of it, she had only bought a phone recently.

“There are academies like that, too. Places that teach courses to help people from the 4th or 5th floors settle in.”

The 6th floor was so technologically advanced that I could skip over it.

There are also academies that teach various things for people from the 4th and 5th floors.

“Hmm, there was such a thing? I suppose I should try my best, then?”

“Hoo, right.”

Actually, there was one very simple way.

Renea could become a Hunter.

She'd taken down the Net Queen with one blow and earned a 200 million won bounty, and she'd even stopped the Blue Dragon with a single arrow.

If that happened, she could jump from B-rank to A-rank in no time.

The age issue couldn't be helped, but older people usually cover that with money.

“Grr, should I really go to a job-training academy?”

I glanced sideways at her as she thought it over.

Even though the need to work in society was depressing, there didn't seem to be any option of taking up the bow again.

Tap tap.

I shook the ash off and stretched.

“Hoo, I'm going to be working overtime, so please head in first.”

“......It'd be boring if I went home.”

“Is this a playground?”

“I still haven't heard all of the 22-line acrostic poem.”

“Ah, seriously.”

In the end, she came into the office with me.

“Come to think of it, didn't you say earlier that you had someone to introduce?”

“Ah, right. Look here.”

“Mm-hm.”

I pulled out one of the file folders and showed it to her.

Name: Kim Geun-bae.

Age: 46.

Origin: 3rd floor.

Occupation: Executive at Mirae Civil Engineering Construction.

.

.

.

.

This guy makes a lot of money, you know? But he doesn't really manage himself well—

“......”

Don't pretend you didn't see it.

“This maiden has standards too! I told you to find someone who looks like Cha Woon-woo!”

At 1,901 years old, you should be thankful to anyone willing to take you...

Well, if she refuses, it can't be helped.

We can't exactly force a match, after all.

While I was working, before I knew it, the sky had grown dark.

“Zzz.”

Renea was sitting next to me, dozing off with her face on the desk. At this rate, I wondered why she didn't just go home and sleep.

'I'm hungry.'

Before the Blue Dragon came down, I would have ordered jajangmyeon right away. Now, unfortunately, I'd have to make do with cup ramen.

While I was filling the coffee pot with water for the cup ramen, the office door opened.

“Huh?”

Looking at the entrance, I saw Kim Yang in casual clothes standing there with a bag of old-fashioned fried chicken.

“B-boss. I brought overtime food.”

“Really? Wow, that's actually kind of touching.”

“Sniff, sniff! That savory smell!”

Renea shot to her feet.

Kim Yang was a little surprised to see Renea still here at this hour, but she said nothing and got everything set out.

“Oh, how'd it go? Did you get some done?”

“There's a stack organized on the desk, so just make the calls tomorrow. I've lined up about five couples.”

“Oh.”

Kim Yang didn't eat, just kept tearing pieces off the chicken and offering them to us. It looked like she had something to say.

“Why? Is it really because of your salary? I can pay you.”

“......A couple of days. It's okay if it's late. Y-you said it would be a loss if you cashed out your stocks now.”

“Well—that's true.”

Even if we're a small company, is it really okay to share the company's finances with an employee this openly?

“Tch, thanks. Kim Yang. Sorry your boss is so useless.”

“The boss isn't useless.”

“I am useless! I asked you for a Cha Woon-woo lookalike—!”

I stuffed some chicken into Renea's mouth to shut her up.

After taking a sip of the cola we'd bought together, I finally felt refreshed.

Maybe it was because Kim Yang said it was okay to delay payday, too.

“Haa, what a relief. If it really got pushed back, I was even thinking of going to work part-time for Ryu Seoram starting tomorrow.”

Aren't small-business owners or restaurant owners often doing part-time jobs elsewhere when they have no work?

“Huh?”

When I lightly explained Ryu Seoram's offer from earlier today to the puzzled Kim Yang,

“You wanna die?”

“......”

“T-tomorrow. Go to work there tomorrow.”

“No, I said it could be late—.”

“Pay up my salary—!”

The headbutt flew at me immediately.

* * *

What a truly bizarre life this was.

'Working part-time just to scrape together employees' salaries.'

For a company owner, wasn't this basically the textbook road to ruin?

Once the stock market stabilizes a bit, I need to keep at least a minimum amount in the bank no matter what.

Who would've thought my efforts to squeeze every last penny because I wanted to buy an apartment would come back like this?

The place I came to early in the morning was a 40-story high-rise in the city.

BLR (Black Line Risk), the Hunter management company Ryu Seoram belonged to.

Hunter management companies, unlike the Hunter Association which works for the public good, prioritize profit.

So Hunters usually work at these management companies during their prime, then move over to the Association once it's time to retire.

'If I'd become a Hunter, would I have worked here too?'

I could easily picture myself taking on requests and heading out with Ryu Seoram.

When I got to the entrance, Ryu Seoram was waiting there holding a file folder, wearing a varsity jacket from 'Daehung Bear Force.'

Brown hair and sharp teeth.

Her loose-fitting clothes showed she still hadn't clocked in yet.

The moment I actually showed up, she snorted a laugh.

“Honestly, I didn't think you'd actually come and say yes.”

“Same here.”

“What, did you have a change of heart?”

“Not a change of heart.”

I couldn't bring myself to say I'd come running because I couldn't pay my employees' wages.

“Let's just say reality pushed me along.”

“What nonsense. Fine, I already told them. Go to the 27th floor and you can get your clothes there. Change into those.”

“I have to change clothes too?”

“Today's job is security. You think you can do security looking like that?”

I did dress up a bit since I was coming to a big company.

“Since it's security work, even someone with no certification like you can do it as a part-time job. I parachuted you in, so do a good job.”

I took the temporary employee ID she held out. My name and photo were printed on it.

'When did they get this photo?'

The question flickered through my mind, but I let it go for now.

What I was more curious about was the job itself.

“The Owl from yesterday? We're guarding that guy?”

“That's right. Honestly, I do wonder why we're guarding just a singer. There's nothing dangerous about it, really.”

“Easy money, huh?”

“Easy money.”

Ryu Seoram grinned.

So that's why she told me to come do part-time work here.

Nine hours of work, so 900,000 won a day.

Three days, so 2.7 million won.

Even after taxes, I'd still have enough to pay Kim Yang's salary.

It felt a little unfair to compare it to a big company, but the difference was huge.

Sorry, Kim Yang.

If things go well for us, I'll make sure to give you a hefty raise.

“Go upstairs, change clothes, fill out the employment contract... ah, right. Have you renewed your passport?”

“My passport? Yeah, I have.”

Back when Meracle was just getting established.

I used to go back and forth to the 4th floor often for promotion, so it still had a long time before expiration.

“Yeah, that's a relief. The person you're guarding is going up to the 5th floor today because of their schedule, so keep that in mind.”

“The 5th floor?”

“Hold on. Nobody told me that.”

When I asked back in surprise, Ryu Seoram glared at me irritably and shot back.

“Do I need a part-timer's permission just to set the schedule?”

“Well, yes, but...”

“It's a free trip to the 5th floor, so think of it as a bargain and get moving.”

“Going to the 5th floor right now is a little dangerous.”