"Push them even harder?"
"Yeah..."
Assistant Manager Cha was grinning so widely it was almost unsettling, practically vibrating with excitement.
‘What’s going on with him?’ I couldn’t help but give him a suspicious look.
“Assistant Manager Cha, are you... a sadist by any chance?”
“Huh? No!”
His face immediately turned serious, as if I had accused him of something heinous.
“What makes you say that?”
“Well, you’re asking me to push Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Hana even harder… doesn’t that seem a bit… extreme?”
It was a reasonable question. After all, they were the top Hunters in the Blue Guild, and suggesting to push them further seemed borderline reckless.
“No, no, you’ve got it all wrong! What I mean is, look at how Lee Soo-ah is performing. The harder you push, the more potential she shows! It’s like she thrives under pressure!”
His eyes sparkled with anticipation, clearly convinced that this was the right move.
“So, you’re suggesting we press even harder... to see how much further we can push their abilities?”
“Exactly! Think about it. The S-rank Hunters have been sitting idle, claiming they’re weakened or held back by all this status condition nonsense every time they enter a dungeon. Now’s the perfect chance to break through that.”
It was true. For a while now, most of the S-rank Hunters, not just Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Hana, had been stagnant. Dungeons had become a bottleneck, especially when they started complaining about debilitating status effects.
Not just Blue Guild, but all guilds had hit a wall, stuck at A-rank dungeons with little to no progress. Cha’s idea seemed to be about shaking things up.
“Alright, Assistant Manager, I get your point. I was actually already planning on increasing the pressure. Hyung-seok and I were putting together something similar.”
I showed him the plans we had been working on.
“This should be challenging enough, don’t you think?”
“Oh...”
Assistant Manager Cha seemed impressed.
"But... what are you doing this for exactly?"
"Oh, just, you know... trying to push Lee Soo-ah to her limits."
“Hmm. Sounds like we’re on the same page. Why don’t we team up? Let’s really push this thing.”
He extended his hand, and though I wasn’t entirely sure why, I shook it.
“Let’s make sure we crush it. We’ll push them until they can’t help but admit defeat,” he said, his eyes gleaming with mischief.
“Man, this plan will definitely make Lee Soo-ah freak out! She won’t be able to handle this without pulling out all the stops.”
Cha had prepared a detailed plan for dungeon assignments. Normally, the instructions would fit on one page, but what he handed me was a mountain of paperwork—at least 20 pages thick, filled with meticulous details.
“Assistant Manager, this is... impressive.”
“Haha! I’ve been in this industry for years, you know. This is nothing.”
His pride was evident, beaming as if this were his crowning achievement.
“This should be enough to make Lee Soo-ah back off, right?”
“Back off? She might start begging for mercy at this rate. She can’t handle the pressure you’re putting on her, Baek Ji-hoon.”
“Hmm… well, I’ll give it a try. Hyung-seok, what do you think?”
Hyung-seok, who had been reviewing the plan, whistled in admiration.
"This is practically torture. If I were a Hunter and saw this, I’d quit on the spot."
"Alright, let’s go with this."
Meanwhile, Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Hana were enjoying a light-hearted tea break, clearly basking in their earlier victory.
“Hana, the longer this takes, the more I think Ji-hoon must be panicking. He probably realizes we’re not the pushovers he thought we were. We’ve got to make him pay for everything he’s put us through. We’ll show him what we’re capable of, take back our positions, and make him regret ever underestimating us. You were demoted unfairly, remember?”
“Exactly! You have no idea how much I’ve agonized over it. I tried everything to get Ji-hoon’s attention, but he wouldn’t even look at me. I started thinking I’d lost my charm!”
“Same here. I mean, I’m an S-rank Hunter. If I follow a guy home, he should be flattered, right? How could he just ignore me like that?”
The two of them vented their frustrations over the past few weeks. Completing Baek Ji-hoon’s mission had restored their confidence, and they were eager to settle the score.
Knock knock.
“Yes?”
Lee Soo-ah answered with a cheery voice, her mood still lifted from their earlier success.
“It’s me, Baek Ji-hoon. I’ve got a new mission for you.”
His voice was sharp, his expression even sharper as he entered the room.
“Hmph. Fine, give it to me.”
Lee Soo-ah snatched the papers from his hand, still irritated with him.
‘Let’s see what this traitor has planned for us this time…’
But as she read through the new mission details, her eyes widened in disbelief.
“What… what is this?”
Yoo Hana, noticing her reaction, quickly joined her in reading through the documents.
“We’re supposed to do all of this?”
“Yes. You said you could handle it, so I raised the difficulty a bit,” Ji-hoon said nonchalantly, as if he were discussing the weather.
‘W-what… what is this guy thinking?!’
Lee Soo-ah was stunned, but she quickly gathered herself, refusing to show any weakness.
“We’ll… we’ll do it. It’s not that hard… we can handle it,” she said, though her voice shook slightly.
Despite her bravado, she knew this was far beyond her capabilities. It would take her months to complete this mission, maybe even longer.
“Great. I look forward to seeing the results,” Ji-hoon replied, turning on his heel and leaving them with the monumental task.
“What did they say?”
Assistant Manager Cha was waiting for me when I returned to the office, an eager look on his face.
“Well, she’s got a lot of pride, that’s for sure.”
“Right? She’ll never back down without a fight.”
“She said she’d do it. Shaking all over, but she accepted the mission.”
“Haha! That’s what I expected from her. She’ll do anything to avoid admitting defeat.”
Cha patted me on the shoulder, clearly thrilled by the outcome.
“Haha, Baek Ji-hoon, you’re the guild’s treasure. Blue Guild’s been stagnant for years, but with your help, we’re going to grow stronger. Thanks a lot, really.”
With that, he left the room, still chuckling to himself.
“Hey, isn’t this basically workplace bullying?” Hyung-seok chimed in, looking worried.
“She accepted it, didn’t she? She even said she’d do it, shaking and all. If she gives up halfway, we win, right?”
“True. I don’t think she can handle this. She’ll probably quit before it’s over. Let’s just sit back and watch how this unfolds.”
Hyung-seok seemed excited by the prospect of watching Lee Soo-ah struggle.
“Didn’t you like her at one point?” I asked, curious about his feelings.
“Yeah, I did. But she needs to be taught a lesson. She didn’t appreciate what she had, so maybe this will help her realize the value of the people who support her.”
‘Maybe more than just Lee Soo-ah needs to learn a lesson...’ I thought, as things spiraled further into chaos.