Episode 61 – Workplace Manager Authority

“Finally, I’ve shaken off that newbie manager tag.”

Bronze, low-level, newbie, beginner. These are words that Korean men, who can tolerate being called a moron but not being told they suck at games, absolutely despise. Hyun-woo was also constantly bothered by the fact that he was a ‘beginner’ manager.

It’s funny when you think about it. Now, getting a promotion in the work system feels more important than getting promoted at the company.

But ironically, it’s actually much more important. What’s the point of becoming an Assistant Manager? Your salary only goes up by a pittance, and unlike the entry-level employees and staff, you just get a ton of work dumped on you because you seem capable enough to handle it. So, it was only natural that Hyun-woo was clinging to the manager authority in the work system.

“Hmm… the first promotion… yeah. It was when I banged Seo-jin-a.”

※ Work Order (Entry-Level)

[Use psychological messages to have sex with a female employee with a charm score of 7 or higher. Must be completed within one month from the date of the work order.]

[3 points awarded upon success]

[3-month salary reduction upon failure]

Thinking about it, it was a really shitty [Work Order]. Trying to squeeze blood from a stone by messing with a salaryman’s paycheck. A salaryman’s paycheck is something ‘small and precious’ that must be protected until the very end.

‘Could it be…’

A sudden feeling of unease. Does that… does that mean?

[Please check the Work Order items.]

Feeling the urge to mute the system notifications that were rambling on as if there was a system error, Hyun-woo activates the [Work Order] item. Then, a new order that he hasn’t seen in a while appears.

※ Work Order (Assistant Manager Level)

[Use psychological messages to successfully seduce a female employee with a charm score of 8 or higher. Must be completed within 3 months from the date of the work order.]

[1 point awarded upon success]

[Dismissal upon failure]

“Dis… Dismissal?!”

They give a slap on the wrist to those corrupt bastards in the neighborhood who embezzle billions through land speculation? Isn’t that a bit much? System-yangban.

“And why did the reward decrease? You clearly gave me 3 points when I was a beginner. Isn’t this [Work Order] obviously more difficult?”

[Beginner rewards are always better in games, right?]

“No, so is this a game or what?”

[Weren’t you enjoying it like a game?]

“…”

Silently closing the system alert that he couldn’t quite refute, Hyun-woo checks his [Status Window].

[User Lee Hyun-woo]

[Rank: Intermediate Manager] – new!

[Age: 29] [Height: 177] [Weight: 68]

[Stamina: 4/10] [Charm: 3/10] [Stamina (sexual): 7/10] [Leadership: 4/10]

[Remaining Points: 3] – new!

[Remaining Employment Contracts: 95]

[Monthly Additional Salary: ₩3,012,000]

[Employment Contract item has been unlocked.]

“Hehehehe”

He’s pissed off because of the shitty [Work Order], but Hyun-woo can’t help but smile with satisfaction as he looks at the [Remaining Points] he has left.

‘Should I dump it all into Stamina? I didn’t know I’d get my ass kicked like that by Choi Hyun-min back then.’

Hyun-woo, who realized the importance of [Stamina], that is, physical fitness, after being beaten by Hyun-min, is suddenly drawn to [Stamina].

‘No, is it Charm after all?’

Despite treating Kim Hye-ri well as a mentor, the reason he didn’t receive any attention was largely due to Hyun-woo’s appearance, which was so ordinary that it was beyond ordinary. But if he only had [Charm], he could seduce women without having to do pathetic [Psychological Message] manipulations.

‘No. What’s the fun in banging them like that?’

What’s the fun in banging women with a gigolo-like appearance? Hyun-woo had already used the work system to tattoo a lewd design on Seo-jin-a’s ass, and he made Kim Hye-ri masturbate in front of an anonymous man she didn’t even know through random chat.

Not only that, but he’s creating an illicit account and uploading nude photos of the haughty Eun-seol. Her face is covered, but her body is apparently quite hot among communities, to the point where it’s spreading everywhere.

Can these actions be called raising [Charm]? Absolutely impossible. He’s lucky if he doesn’t end up at the police station.

So what if he gets beat up a bit because his physical fitness is lacking? So what if his impression is unremarkable? It’s better to be inconspicuous. That way, he can manipulate the female employees at the company as much as he wants.

In the end, [Leadership] was the answer to manipulating many female employees with the work system, and [Stamina (sexual)] was the answer to enjoying a variety of sex lives.

“Let’s go with [Leadership] and [Stamina (sexual)]!”

If there was a stat like [Intelligence] in the system that could upgrade Hyun-woo’s somewhat lacking brain, it would have been his top pick, but such a thing doesn’t exist in the work system.

After coming to a conclusion, Hyun-woo invests one of his remaining points in Leadership without hesitation.

[Leadership: 5/10] – new!

In order to carry out the new [Work Order] he received upon being promoted to [Intermediate Manager], the [Leadership] stat was absolutely necessary.

“Now I can register one more person in the [Female Employee] tab.”

Hyun-woo decides to leave the remaining 2 points for any unforeseen circumstances and checks the [Employment Contract] that was newly unlocked when he became an [Intermediate Manager].

[Employment Contract]

1. Work Cooperation – The subordinate must carry out all work-related instructions requested by the superior.

2. Provision of Money (5% of Monthly Salary) – The subordinate must provide a portion of their salary to the superior. (Contractable Personnel +10)

3. Private Life Report – The superior may request the subordinate to report on their private life, regardless of work.

4. Private Gathering – The superior may request the subordinate to attend private gatherings, regardless of work. (Monthly Possible Count +2)

5. Slander – Spreads unfounded rumors about other employees to the target. (Trustworthiness somewhat high) – new!

??? (Locked)

??? (Locked)

“Kyaa! That’s it. That’s the one. Why is this only coming out now?”

As he was promoted to [Intermediate Manager], the number of personnel for the existing provision of money and the number of possible private gatherings increased, but only the fifth [Employment Contract] catches Hyun-woo’s eye.

The newly unlocked [Slander] was like a cheat key for the hellish Joseon corporate politics. Isn’t this completely cheating?

The company doesn’t have that many employees, but dozens of rumors are born and disappear every day in the lunch cafeteria, tea time, smoking room, female employee lounge, and conference room. The company was truly a chaotic battleground for mouth fighters who never rested for a moment.

Of course, no matter what company you go to, there are always places where there are no slanders or unfounded rumors about certain people. However,

“Yeah. The backstabbing at our company has gone way too far.”

It’s not for nothing that Hyun-woo quietly stays out of the way at the company.

Due to the nature of public services performed by public institutions, people cannot be evaluated based on clear achievements or performance. Therefore, the main criteria for judging promotions are reputation and connections within the company. Civil servants also evaluate each other’s acquaintances when giving personnel ratings.

In the end, promotions at the company are

‘How is he?’ ‘Ah, his reputation is good.’ ‘Then let’s go with him.’

It proceeds in a baseless way like this. Sounds like bullshit? You think it’s the 21st century? Surprisingly, it’s true.

This shitty promotion system ultimately contributed to establishing a beautiful (?) corporate culture where all sorts of slanders and rumors never cease.

However, if he only has [Slander], he can create public opinion within the company as Hyun-woo wants. In other words, making anyone a moron is a piece of cake. Even Goebbels, who did all sorts of propaganda next to Hitler, wouldn’t be able to hold a candle to him.

“Good, good. I can grind their mentality into dust.”

In order to manipulate the [Psychological Message] of a female employee, you have to reduce their [Mentality] to the lowest level, so [Slander] is a very, very, very useful [Employment Contract].

“With this, new [Work Orders] are a piece of cake.”

Promotion to [Intermediate Manager], remaining points, and a new [Employment Contract]. Hyun-woo’s confidence skyrockets thanks to the successive rewards. Strike while the iron is hot, right? He immediately searches for only female employees in the [Manager] item to choose a female employee to target.

“Hmm…”

“Hmph…”

“Huh…?”

“…”

Hyun-woo examines the charm scores of each female employee one by one. However, his confident face gradually turns ashen.

– Tak!

And Hyun-woo, who continued to look through the list of female employees, throws his smartphone onto the bed with a touch of annoyance.

“Shiiibaal!”

“Isn’t this a completely buggy, fucked-up game?”

He even starts shouting at the top of his lungs, spewing out profanity.

That’s right.

There are no female employees with a [Charm] score of 8 or higher at Hyun-woo’s company.

* * *

“Shibalshibalshibal….”

“Buggy fucked-up game… fucked-up fucked-up….”

“Dismissal dismissal destruction destruction destruction~”

“AHAHAHA now I’m free in 3 months~”

The dream of quitting, which every office worker holds in their heart. For Hyun-woo, that dream is now just 3 months away.

“Hey. How am I supposed to clear this?”

He asks the work system, holding his smartphone in his hand.

But the message that had been annoyingly chattering away just a moment ago disappeared as if it were a lie. This situation feels like a dream to Hyun-woo.

‘Is this how the karma stack I’ve been building up until now explodes? The world is still worth living in. To receive such divine punishment. Good triumphs over evil, good triumphs over evil.’

“I should have lived a good life… It’s too late to regret it now, isn’t it?”

What if he had postponed Kim Hye-ri’s virginity opening a little? And what if he had targeted her while she was still a virgin? Hye-ri was the only female employee with a charm of 8 that existed within the work system. Of course, she’s clearly a thing of the past now.

No. What if he hadn’t known about the work system in the first place? He could have just watched porn after work and lived happily ever after with his right hand-yang.

Should he look for a job at another company now? He’ll be thirty next year, but will there be a sucker-like company that will accept a liberal arts major who isn’t an engineer?

– Gulp gulp

“Haa”

Hyun-woo, who had lost his mind due to the shock, drinks cold water in gulps to regain his senses. Only then does he regain some sanity and start looking for ways to achieve the terrifying [Work Order] of dismissal upon failure.

“Should I tell Kim Ji-young from the HR team to only hire pretty girls no matter what?”

That’s impossible. What kind of world is it these days? If you hire based on appearance, it’ll be splashed across the front page of the newspaper the next day. And you can’t hire a new employee in 3 months. You have to put up a job posting for a month while talking about fair hiring and whatnot.

“I’ll hire hundreds of interns. Wouldn’t one of them get caught?”

Interns are also unlikely. Again, what kind of world is it these days? Interns also have a hiring process, and in a world where they’re eliminating photos and even gender distinctions from resumes, how can you hire a woman with a charm of 8?

“If her charm is 8, she’d be prettier than Seo-jin-a, Eun-seol, and Kim Hye-ri no matter what, so wouldn’t she have to be at least a semi-celebrity level?”

“How do I get a woman like that into the company? And within 3 months?”

He sits on the bed for hours, muttering and looking for a way, but no realistic method comes to Hyun-woo’s mind. In the end, the method he chooses is.

* * *

– Seo-jin-a, I clearly told you to show the tattoo to your husband and send me a video of his reaction, didn’t I?

– My husband’s been on a business trip every day lately. He’s coming home tomorrow, so I’ll definitely do it then…

– It’s until tomorrow. If you don’t send it by then, I’m barging into your honeymoon home whether Byung-joo is there or not. Got it?

– Yes…

The order Hyun-woo gave after tattooing a lewd wing shape on Seo-jin-a’s back. He realizes that she still hasn’t sent the video after several days, so he immediately sends her a message and threatens her.

That’s right.

If you can’t clear the quest, isn’t it better to just enjoy it in the game until you game over?

“Yeah. Let’s enjoy the last 3 months. There’s no way I’ll ever have this opportunity again in my life. I’m going to do everything I can’t do. Hahahahahaha”

Hyun-woo, who had no choice but to enjoy it, had entered enjoyer mode.