Chapter 158. Sub-Trial (6)
[You have a new message.]
- From: Choi Jae-Hyuk
- Message: No one's come over to our side at all! How about over there, Noonim?
Ji-Eun let out a long sigh at Jae-Hyuk’s frantic report. Then, a sharp dizziness struck her, forcing her hand to her temple.
Was it from using Psychokensis too long, or had she flown too fast and been blasted by too much cold wind straight to the head? Whatever the reason was, one thing was certain: Eun-Ho was not in the dire danger she’d imagined.
Of all places, she’d found him on a foreign rooftop, looking pristine. He was far too calm and clear-headed for someone supposedly abducted by a Ghost, and far too normal for someone rumored to be possessed.
“Eun—” Ji-Eun was about to call out to him when confusion washed all over her.
When Jae-Hyuk told her Eun-Ho had vanished and dragged off by a Ghost, she’d immediately rushed out, tracing faint remnants of his presence through the area. However, she hadn’t expected this.
“Thank you. We finished it perfectly because of you. It’s a gift,” he said.
Which kidnapped victim drew a detailed portrait and gave it to their captor?
A woman? She’s beautiful.
Even from afar, she could tell the face sketched on the page was stunning. The lady had a graceful jawline and bright eyes that were cool yet gentle. She had a beautiful nose and small, plush lips. The ghost with Eun-Ho had likely been the classic serene, delicate beauty.
However, what shocked Ji-Eun even more was that with only black ink, the woman’s face still seemed bright and radiant. Every loose strand of hair was rendered with painstaking detail that was too impressive to be a casual effort. She was certain that it was beauty one could only capture when painting with affection.
Did Eun-Ho always draw this well?
Suspicion would’ve been natural, but Ji-Eun’s mind was already drowning in the portrait.
How long had this taken? How delicately had each line been drawn? How long must Eun-Ho have stared at that woman’s face while capturing every strand of hair?
Ji-Eun felt something twist inside her.
Maybe I shouldn’t have cut my hair...
She’d never felt this much regret over her short bob before. It was Eun-Ho who had cut her hair, saving her life. Yet today, she felt strangely plain and unattractive.
Should I grow it out again? Yes, I must!
She steadied herself. There were more important concerns than hair length, like confirming Eun-Ho was truly safe.
She descended slowly, opening her mouth.
“Eun—” Before she could finish her sentence, she snapped her mouth shut again.
“I drew it in a rush. So it doesn’t fully capture the real beauty.”
Ding!
[You have a new message.]
The cheerful notification tone rang out, completely unaware of Ji-Eun’s emotional spiral.
- From: Choi Jae-Hyuk
- Message: Noonim! Someone here says they spotted Hyungnim!
He sent the message, unaware of the situation. Therefore, Ji-Eun replied saying she found him.
- From: Choi Jae-Hyuk
- Message: Where?! I’ll go right now!
Ji-Eun replied, You don’t need to. After all, Eun-Ho seemed happy where he stood. Then, she added an extra line, He’s busy.
- From: Choi Jae-Hyuk
- Message: Huh?
Then, she sharply shut the chat window, irritation pulling tight between her brows.
He must have had his reasons!
She could guess. Maybe he needed the Ghost’s help, or maybe there was a trial reward tied to it. Eun-Ho wasn’t the type to act without reason, yet she still felt awful.
She’d believed that as long as she pulled her weight, she could stay by his side. That if she simply reached him in the end, it wouldn’t matter who walked with him along the way.
I guess it matters a lot.
Her thoughts were tangled, heavy, and sour.
***
“Thank you,” Eun-Ho said.
“No. Thank you! I never imagined I’d get a gift like this. A drawing and also the date.”
“Haha, we mostly worked. It’s embarrassing to call that a date.”
The date with the Ghost ended on a surprisingly warm note.
[Ghost-Weep Liquor]
- A specialty of Ghost Valley Lodge, brewed from wailing spirits.
- Anyone who drinks it will see illusions chosen by the giver.
- Warning: it gets you drunk.
She’d also given him liquor since she couldn’t drink it herself.
[Team 25 - Sale Successful!]
On top of that, she had rewarded him with sales points as thanks for the portrait, as well as a handful of useful tips.
“Oh, right. Why was it me, though?”
“Mmm?”
“There was that tan guy there and that greasy-looking employee. Why did you choose me?”
“Because you look like him.”
“... Like who?”
“My first love.”
When they parted, she cast him a glance hovering between wistful and bittersweet, lingering just a heartbeat longer than it should.
It was 6:00 PM and the chaotic day finally ended.
[Team 25 - Sale Successful!]
[Team 25 - Sale Successful!]
[Team 25 - Sale Successful!]
...
The banner at the village hall worked like a magnet. Everyone came, including new customers and returning customers. Sales climbed and climbed.
[Total Sales: 2,505,000 Welfare Points]
With that staggering total, the OJT concluded. Hurried by end-of-day dismissal, Eun-Ho stepped through the Door back toward the banquet. His mentor was suddenly called away before he could even say goodbye. Eun-Ho returned to the familiar place.
[Welcome to the Banquet Hall for Strangers!]
“Uuuuncle!” Yul sprinted across the floor, grabbing onto his leg. Then she immediately turned to Wei and stuck out her tongue at him. “You dummy!”
“Why am I a dummy?”
“You never replied!”
“... I was busy.”
She didn’t look convinced. ”Hmm.“
Wei, avoiding Yul’s stare, muttered something under his breath, “... Here.”
He held out something small and Yul’s round eyes somehow grew even rounder.
“C-c-choco!” she stuttered, voice exploding.
It was the kind sold in the intermediate-tier shop. If Eun-Ho remembered correctly, it boosted Stamina for a couple hours.
“Can I eat it? Really?!”
“Yup.”
I guess he remembered that Yul likes chocolate, Eun-Ho thought.
Back at the Training Institute, the chocolate snack she wanted to eat spilled on Myung Seung-Tae’s pants. Had Wei been watching even back then?
“This is sooo good! Where did you get it?!” asked Yul.
“... I got money so I bought it,” said Wei.
“You did?!”
Given Wei’s performance these last two days, he most likely had surplus commission.
“What’s going on here? Since when were you two so close?”
A warmth everyone hadn’t expected spread across the table and across every face around it.
[OJT at the Sales Department has ended.]
[The final performance results will now be announced.]
[Please check the current status board!]
Their rankings dominating the top like a clean sweep flashed across the board.
“Everyone did great. Good work.”
“Holy! Did we just take first through fifth?” the Swear-Master asked.
“Hehe, who’s we?”
“Shut it, you know what I mean.”
[Sales Performance Status]
1. Team 25: 2,505,000 Points
2. Team 10: 550,000 Points
3. Team 9: 495,000 Points
4. Team 3: 387,000 Points
5. Team 21: 370,000 Points
...
9. Team 2: 200,000 Points
Just as the Swear-Master bragged, they held the top slots. They had expected Dmitri’s team to place higher, but they only reached sixth. Contrary to expectations, Dmitri’s weird vitamins and Omega-3 supplements didn’t dominate the market.
“Aaah... I sculpted way too many pieces. I think my arm’s falling off now...”
“Same here... I used my skill all day and I’m feeling dead...”
It seemed like Yeon Bo-Ra and Yoon Sol-Ah burned themselves down to the wick. Judging from the state they were in, they were barely surviving.
“Come on! I sold a ton too! Didn’t you hear me on the megaphone?”
“... Which is why I’m exhausted. I swear my ears almost fell off.”
“What? You li—no I mean, I worked my ass off!” The Swear-Master almost cursed at Sol-Ah but caught himself, then glanced toward Ji-Eun for approval.
However, the person who normally blew her whistle every time he swore sat silent. She kept glancing at Eun-Ho, fiddling with the tips of her cropped hair in the corner.
Eun-Ho waved a hand in front of her absentee eyes. “Ji-Eun?”
Startled, she jerked like she had just seen a ghost. “Aaah!”
“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
“N-no! Nothing happened!
“Are you sure?” Eun-Ho asked again.
“I mean, it’s not nothing, but—” she finally mustered the words, when the announcement rang.
[Day two of Project OJT has officially ended.]
“Should we talk later?”
“S-sure. Let’s talk later.”
[OJT at Customer Satisfaction Center Team 25 of the Sales Department has ended.]
[Displaying evaluation results...]
***
Thud!
The heavy door of the executive office slammed open hard enough to splinter. Normally such rudeness would get someone fired on the spot, but today was an emergency.
Seung stepped forward, breathless. “Lady Harona, we have a problem! A big one!”
The girl behind the desk ground her teeth, face scrunched into pure irritation. “It’s about Lee Eun-Ho, isn’t it?”
“Did you already hear about it?”
She refreshed the floating forum post again. “I didn’t hear it. I saw it.”
[I Heard Something Weird] People say one of the new hires got an EXCEPTIONAL grade in OJT. Is that real?
She knew instantly. Only one idiot was capable of such a feat.
└Exceptional grade? That must be an S right?
└It’s not just an S. Apparently it’s double S.
└What the hell, two unhinged prodigies at once?
└It’s him right? The star rookie?
└Yeah, looks like it.
“Haa...” Harona exhaled a deep groaning sigh from her diaphragm. It was another impossible event. Getting an exceptional grade once was already unfathomable, but twice in a row was insanity. “Is he insane? How is this even possible?!”
OJT evaluations followed a strict grading rubric from HR. New hires weren’t expected to achieve results as most couldn’t. Therefore, the maximum possible grade was fixed at A. However, someone overrode it because Eun-Ho got two exceptional grades.
“Right?! I thought it was impossible too! But it’s true because I got confirmation just now!
“This is unbelievable. Exceptional status isn’t something a leader can hand out lightly! Top brass had to sign off on this! What the hell has Lee Eun-Ho been doing?!” Her voice spiked with outrage. Yelling wouldn’t fix anything, but not yelling would’ve broken something else, most likely a fountain pen.
“What should we do? The director said we must recruit Eun-Ho to our division—”
“I know that! So just be quiet!”
Seung shrank as her glare cut through him like a blade. He stayed still because sometimes that was survival.
After a long breath, she jerked her chin toward the sofa. “Sit.”
“Huh?”
“We have to make a plan. He got an exceptional grade. Two of them! We need a strategy to pull him to our side.”
Seung froze halfway to the seat, voice blank with disbelief. “Wait. Did Eun-Ho receive an exceptional grade?!”
“What are you talking about? We were just talking about this!”
“But... That’s not why I came here.”
Harona glared at him. “Then why?!”
Seung swallowed hard and forced the words out. “W-well, the Sales Department just changed their decision and Eun-Ho has been named the Employee of the Year.”
The room went silent.
“What?!”
Crack!
Her pen finally snapped in half between her fingers. “Damn! But that award is only for full sales employees!”
“Yes but the Sales Director said he’s never seen results like this, so he ordered that Eun-Ho be claimed for Sales at any cost.”
“That’s unbelievable!”
For the second time in days, she found herself staring up at a sky she never expected to compete with, and it terrified her.