How to Survive Restructuring

[Translator - Night]

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Chapter 103: New Employee Lee Eunho (3)

【The ‘Prince of the Investigation Bureau’ is standing there with his mouth wide open, wondering if the Director of the Administration Bureau has just acknowledged him!】

【The ‘External Affairs Department's Rookie’ is banging the floor in regret, saying they should have done whatever it took to watch in person!】

【The ‘Night Owl of the Audit Bureau’ is causing an uproar on the bulletin board!】

【A new observer has entered.】

【A new observer has entered.】

【A new observer has entered.】

……

After the private meeting with the Director of the Administration Bureau, the rest of the event passed in a blur.

[Alright, everyone— Sera will be back in ten minutes!]

[Stay tuned! You know the drill, right?]

Of course, this wasn’t the complete end.

"Congratulations, Eunho!"

"I can't believe I actually know the person who ranked first…! I feel so proud!"

"Proud? What’s there to be proud of? You didn’t come in first."

"What? You were just jumping up and down like crazy a moment ago!"

"W-When did I do that?!"

As soon as I returned, congratulations poured in.

People who knew me, people who didn’t, people who vaguely knew me, and even people who only knew of me—everyone had something to say.

"You must be Lee Eunho, right? Nice to meet you!"

"Ah, yes."

"Looking forward to working with you."

"Same here."

On top of that, strikingly good-looking people squeezed through the crowd, extending their hands for a handshake, saying they were looking forward to working together.

'They look familiar…'

I had definitely seen these faces before.

"S-Sola! That woman… isn’t she the idol, Ciel?"

"You're right! Whoa! That’s movie star Kang Dongil!"

"Kyaaa… Uncle, I’m so jealous…"

Yeojin and Sola, standing behind me, practically foamed at the mouth.

Oh.

Now that they mentioned it, I had heard about them.

"Wow~ Ciel is amazing. Six weeks at the top of the Billboard charts! Her new song is really good… Ah, I feel so proud as a fellow Korean."

"Oh, really?"

"What? You still haven’t listened to it? Are you some kind of spy?"

Hadn’t she been the first female idol to reach number one on the Billboard charts?

And that guy… wasn’t he a movie star and director who got nominated at the Cannes Film Festival?

'I didn’t even recognize them. I’ve been too busy making a living to keep up with the internet.'

Before I knew it, I was surrounded by world-class celebrities that most people wouldn’t meet even once in their lifetime.

"That bastard… what the hell did he do to climb all the way to world number one?"

All while feeling the piercing glare of a third-generation chaebol.

It was almost laughable.@@novelbin@@

Even in this situation, the only thought running through my mind was…

'What abilities did they unlock? Singing? Acting?'

I couldn't help but analyze how they had managed to survive and thrive with their talents.

Because I had already seen it before.

"Shot!"

I once saw a talented soccer player kick a stone barefoot and control it however he wanted.

As I watched these approaching figures with keen eyes—

"Whoa! Look over there…!"

"It’s Park Gongchan!"

"!!"

A murmur rippled through the crowd in the distance.

And then came Myung Seungtae’s composed yet calculating voice.

"Oh my! Running into Wembley’s hero in a place like this."

Myung Seungtae smiled.

"Wouldn't it be best for famous people to stick together? Why don’t you join my friends for a cocktail and a brief chat?"

It was both a greeting and an invitation for recruitment directed at Park Gongchan.

Judging by the urgency in his voice, he was probably desperate to make up for the humiliation he had suffered from me earlier.

But Park Gongchan, with his chin slightly raised, simply responded—

"Are you… my fan?"

Freeze!

The surroundings fell silent in an instant.

'That bastard…'

Myung Seungtae’s face stiffened.

He seemed to think of himself as the leader of this ‘elite’ group, but now he was suddenly being asked if he was a fan.

'He said the same thing when we first met at the training center.'

Honestly…

The guy sure was consistent.

"If not, forget it."

Step. Step. Step.

Park Gongchan turned his head away and walked toward me with a confident stride, as if he wouldn’t care even if the president himself showed up.

And then—

"It’s been a while, Lee Eunho."

"Were we close enough to exchange greetings?"

As soon as Park Gongchan spoke, all eyes were on us.

Even Yeojin and Sola, who had been buzzing with excitement just moments ago, shut their mouths in anticipation.

Though their eyes practically screamed with curiosity.

"I’ll ask you again. Do you want to join us?"

"!!"

Myung Seungtae’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"Whoa… Does this mean Korea’s number one and two rankers would be on the same team?"

"Crazy, I wanna join too!"

"…You two knew each other?"

Amid the awed observers, Myung Seungtae gritted his teeth with a bitter expression.

"Amazing…! Mister, you know Park Gongchan?!"

"I just worked out with him once."

I quickly responded to Yeojin, who whispered the question to me.

I drew a line quickly to avoid unnecessary trouble, but Park Gongchan, who had been listening, frowned.

"It wasn’t once, it was three times..."

"Anyway."

Once or three times—who cares about that right now?

"I think everyone is misunderstanding something."

Hoo.

I let out a shallow sigh and made eye contact.

With Park Gongchan, and then with the others watching.

"We’re all on the same team."

Right now, this isn’t the time to split into ‘my group’ or ‘your group.’

Because—

"This… is a national competition."

"…?!"

"A national competition?"

The real enemy we need to face is outside this circle.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Think about it. Why do we have district representatives?"

[District representatives are given additional duties, but if they complete them successfully, they will receive special incentives, so please do your best!]

At a glance, it was obvious that only Koreans were in their district.

The two nearby districts were clearly filled with only Chinese and Japanese people sticking together.

The further the districts, the more varied the skin tones and hair colors became.

"!!"

"Th-Then, what are we supposed to do in this national competition?"

"Don’t tell me… only the districts that win the missions survive?"

"That can’t be…!"

Only now did the people start to grasp the situation, and their expressions turned grim.

Until now, they had been caught up in the excitement of the grand banquet and the presence of celebrities.

But in reality, we didn’t have the luxury to be enjoying this.

Just as tension spread across their faces—

[Now then, shall we get to the important part?]

A blonde-haired host delivered a cheerful remark.

‘The important part, huh.’

What could it be?

In situations like this, what’s being evaluated is usually obvious.

Teamwork, cooperation—those kinds of things.

But this damned company is unpredictable.

[The highlight of the initiation ceremony! A mission has been prepared for our new employees!]

[And that mission is—!]

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Gulp!

Someone audibly swallowed as the next words were spoken.

[A talent show—!]

"…What?"

An absurd announcement.

[In one hour, a dedicated channel for the talent show will be opened!]

[The talent show will be performed by district, but the theme is free! As long as it’s done on stage, anything goes!]

[Wow—Aren’t you all excited?]

"A talent… show?"

"At a time like this?"

Gathering the 0.001% of survivors among 7 billion people…

And what they want is… a talent show?

[Each district has a time limit of just 5 minutes!]

[The district that attracts the most donations within those 5 minutes will receive a special reward!]

[So, everyone, do your best—!]

‘…Are you kidding me?’

* * *

Let’s think this through.

Based on the trends so far, the viewers want to see a few specific things.

Violence.

Overwhelming force.

Or a dramatic reversal of the weak overcoming the strong.

X’s one-sided slaughter, Jaehyuk crushing the thugs, leading a thousand skeleton soldiers to defeat a golem—they all followed the same pattern.

‘There were also those who enjoyed the romance channel.’

But there’s no way we’re going to get on stage and act out a romance, so that’s out.

‘And we only have 5 minutes.’

Plus, considering the sheer scale of this initiation ceremony—somehow, instead of a simple platform, an enormous stage had appeared.

KUUUUGGGG—!

A massive circular stage, large enough to fit over a thousand people.

Surrounding it was a cylindrical 360-degree screen, ensuring that no matter where the audience was, they could see every detail.

It felt like an esports championship arena that an employee from another team had been watching earlier.

‘Something ordinary won’t cut it.’

【The ‘External Affairs Department's Rookie’ is excited to see the rookies show off their skills.】

【The ‘Intelligence Bureau’s Brain’ scoffs, saying it'll be all sword fights and singing, so don’t expect much.】

Even the viewers' reactions were like this.

Hmm.

"Should we try juggling?"

"Juggling?"

"Yes! If I juggle about ten daggers in the air, wouldn’t that be entertaining?"

While he was lost in thought, Jieun asked with a serious expression.

"I want to do something too! I’m really good at building sandcastles!"

Yeon Bora made a hand gesture as if stacking something.

Hmm.

An active attitude is good, but I doubt the observers would sponsor such tricks.

Just as I was about to politely reject her suggestion—

“You idiot, who would even watch that?”

Myung Seungtae, who had been nowhere to be seen, confidently returned and bluntly shot down the idea.

“Isn’t that right, Gongchan?”

He sought agreement from Park Gongchan, who had followed behind him.

‘Gongchan?’

Did he still not understand the prideful Park Gongchan?

I was about to click my tongue when—

“I wouldn’t watch it.”

Park Gongchan nodded with a blank expression.

‘Huh? Something feels… off.’

Seemingly satisfied with that response, Myung Seungtae let out a hearty laugh and smacked Park Gongchan on the back.

Smack!

The slap was loud enough to be heard through the sportswear, but Gongchan showed no reaction.

“When did those two get so close?”

“Were they acquaintances from before?”

People around started murmuring.

As if enjoying the rumors, Myung Seungtae laughed even louder and smacked Park Gongchan’s back once more.

Smack!

The sound made me instinctively furrow my brows, and as I watched in silence, Myung Seungtae suddenly walked toward me and spoke.

“Hey, Lee Eunho. Got a minute?”

“As you can see, I’m busy.”

“Oh, come on. This talent show or whatever? Forget the kid stuff and talk with me.”

He shamelessly shoved his face closer.

“…Huh?”

“I mean, we might’ve had some misunderstandings earlier, so let’s settle this like men. What do you say?”

He even went as far as to put an arm around my shoulder.

“Think about it. There’s no reason for us to fight, right? We’re ranked first and fifth. Oh, and with Gongchan here, we’ve got second place too.”

From “Gongchan-ssi” to just “Gongchan”?

His unnervingly fast social adaptability made me glance sideways, but Park Gongchan remained unresponsive.

“If we team up, we’re basically the Avengers, aren’t we?”

As I let him prattle on just to see how far his shamelessness would go—

“What a load of bullshit.”

A quiet mumble slipped out.

“If someone comes, w-we could… I mean, we can win.”

It was a hushed voice.

A swear word, muttered uncharacteristically timidly.

“Damn, you sure talk a lot just to say you wanna hitch a ride.”

“B-Bus?! Who the hell are you?”

Myung Seungtae, now visibly irritated, glared around, scanning the crowd.

The swearer didn’t even try to hide, instead exuding a sharp gaze from under a cap.

Myung Seungtae spotted him immediately.

“…Oh?”

Recognition flickered across his face.

‘Huh?’

“What are you doing here?”

‘Do they know each other?’

Myung Seungtae looked far too certain for this to be a simple case of mistaken identity.

The sharp-eyed guy grimaced before spitting out his reply.

“So what? Am I not allowed to be here?”

Hmm.

What are the chances that he knows the third-generation chaebol?

“You survived? Out of all those people?”

“What, like a bastard like you didn’t?”

What are the chances that they absolutely despise each other?

And then—

“How’s uncle doing? Never mind. Guess you wouldn’t know, since you’re the discarded kid.”

“……”

‘Uncle?’

Just then, Jieun, who had been deep in thought, murmured to herself.

“If he’s talking about his uncle, that means MS Electronics’ Vice President… Oh!”

She suddenly gasped and covered her mouth.

“There was a rumor about the VP having an illegitimate child! But since he had no stake in the company and there were no follow-ups, I thought it was just gossip… But could it be…?”

A memory flashed through my mind.

“Fuck, I didn’t know Seoul had a place like this.”

“You’ve never seen it from the bus? You must’ve at least caught a glimpse crossing the Han River.”

Back when we flew to Bam island to rescue the elders—

“I don’t take the bus.”

He had said it himself.

“You don’t take the bus? Then what, the subway?”

“…I don’t know. Fuck it, don’t ask.”

At the time, I brushed it off as nothing.

Did he have a personal driver?

And the day restructuring began, he was at MS Tower—was that to meet his father?

Ha.

One guy’s the youngest son of a chaebol family.

The other’s an illegitimate child from another chaebol family?

But…

“Hah, seriously. What a bunch of garbage people managed to survive.”

“Shut the fuck up.”

‘What the hell is up with all of them?’

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]