Welcome to the Interdimensional Supermarket - Chapter 1.1
“Hey, you bastard! What the hell is this?!”
The smartphone thrown by Jang Ki Hoon, the CEO of Geoseon Guild, grazed my face and smashed against the wall.
“Have you lost your damn mind?! Are you crazy?!”
On the shattered screen was an article exposing Jang Ki Hoon’s corruption.
Secrets that should’ve stayed buried were now out in the open, and that was entirely my doing.
Hunters risk their lives raiding dungeons. And the staff who support them do it with everything they’ve got.
I just couldn’t stand watching those sacrifices being exploited by someone like him.
And so, I leaked everything to the press.
“You think I wanted to cut the staff bonuses? The company’s been struggling! I didn’t have a choice!”
“Right. And yet, you’ve bought five sports cars this year alone. Not to mention all the company money you spent at bars on hostesses.”
“You little punk, you said everything you wanted to say, huh?!”
“No. Not yet. The gambling losses from company funds. The offshore accounts you made under the pretense of ‘foreign investment.’ All of it’s a crime. You’re a criminal.”
Jang Ki Hoon’s face turned pale.
He finally realized that if this additional information went public, there’d be no salvaging his reputation.
“Chief Choi… why are you doing this? Is it money? How much do you want? Fifty million? A hundred?”
“……”
I stared at him silently.
A third-generation chaebol[1] brat who had no ability of his own yet stole the company through his family’s power.
A piece of trash who wasn’t satisfied with inheriting a fortune and even embezzled the salaries of hardworking staff.
Even in this situation, all he could think about was covering up the truth.
There was no point wasting more breath talking to him.
“If you’ve got that much money to throw around, pay the employees’ overdue wages first. Got it? You piece of shit!”
I threw my resignation letter in CEO Jang Ki Hoon’s face and turned around.
“You son of a bitch! You think you’ll get away with this? I’ll ruin you! Mark my wordswork!”
I ignored his screaming and slammed the door behind me.
Bang!
As I stepped out of the CEO’s office, the memories of the past ten years flashed before my eyes.
Ten years have passed since I joined Geoseon Guild.
I started as a contract employee, became a full-time employee, then assistant manager, manager, and finally team leader.
I had given my youth to this company and now I’m walking away from it.
‘So this is how it ends.’
As I passed through the lobby, I felt countless eyes on me.
Some were filled with sympathy, pity, even respect… Multiple gazes on me full of mixed emotions.
At least that meant I hadn’t lived my company life entirely in vain.
Of course, not everyone was kind.
Some whispered that I’d gone too far, others mocked me for playing the righteous hero when I couldn’t even protect my own position.
They weren’t wrong.
For a shred of conscience and pride, I have lost almost everything.
I stepped outside, then turned around to look at the guild building one last time.
It felt like only yesterday when I first walked into that tiny 710 square feet[2] office.
Now, it was a sleek new building with a Hunter training facility on the 8th floor.
I’d watched the whole thing from the moment it was still a frame, to the moment it went up brick by brick with my own eyes.
Leaving it now felt like breaking up with your first love.
‘Still… I have no regrets.’
Ten long years. Not one day of that long stretch was wasted.
At least I’d never done anything I’d be ashamed of.
Just as I turned to leave all that regret behind…
“Kang In hyung!”
A voice called from the street.
A bright red sports car pulled up, and Woo Myung Je stepped out, a fellow Hunter from the same guild.
Truth be told, even though we belonged to the same guild, Woo Myung Je was an A-rank Hunter and I was just an ordinary person. The difference between us was as vast as heaven and earth.
But I’d been his first manager when he joined as a Hunter, and over time we became like brothers.
“I heard what happened! You really went and confronted the CEO? Let’s go back together. If he gives you trouble, I’ll deck him myself!”
He rolled up his sleeves, fuming. I shook my head.
“I appreciate it, but what’s done is done.”
“Already? How’d it go? There’s no way CEO Jang admitted anything.”
“Right. I threw my resignation in his face and walked out. He then started cursing like a madman.”
“For real? Damn, I wish I’d seen that. I should have brought popcorn, too.”
He laughed for a moment, then his expression turned serious.
“So… what now? You got another guild lined up?”
“Transferring? After this mess? You think anyone in the industry will take me? You know how small this world is.”
“Still, that’s not right. You helped build this guild from scratch, what are your stakes in it? Hell, I stayed this long because of you.”
“Thanks for saying that.”
“I’m not kidding. Just say the word. Any guild would kill to have you, especially if I go with you. You’d get a department head position at least.”
He wasn’t wrong.
I was just a regular worker, but Woo Myung Je was a top-tier Hunter.
But still…
“I can’t use my brother’s name just to land myself another job. And truthfully, I already know what I want to do.”
Note/s:
[1] ↩
[2] ↩
