Chapter 12: Manager Kim Jang-bung, is today your annual leave?

Jangbung’s phone rang as he sat on his couch.

“Yes, this is Manager Kim Jangbung.”

A voice crackled through.

“Oh, Manager Kim, I’m sorry you’re taking the day off.”

Jangbung shook his head.

“No, sir.”

“I don’t think I received the data in advance when you submitted the approval yesterday and left work.”

Jangbung frowned.

“I think I sent you the data by email a week ago and three days ago.”

“Oh, right. Why didn’t I see this? Okay. Get some rest.”

“Yes. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Another call came through.

“Yes, this is Manager Kim Jangbung.”

“Manager Kim Jangbung, today was your annual leave, right?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Did you use your annual leave after finishing the plan for the men’s web novel event?”

“Yes. I finished it yesterday. You should find it in the team folder.”

“Okay, I found it. Get some rest.”

“Yes. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

The phone buzzed again.

“Yes, this is Manager Kim Jangbung.”

“Mr. Jangbung, today was your annual leave, right?”

Jangbung sighed.

“Yes, Manager Park. It was your annual leave… right.”

“Where is the compiled Belso data I requested?”

“I put it in the team folder. The file name is ‘Latest Belso Data Compilation.’”

“Why don’t you just send it to me by email so it’s easy to find? I found it.”

“Okay.”

“Good job. Thank you. Get some rest. I’m on vacation tomorrow, so I’ll see you next week.”

Jangbung muttered.

“Yes.”

One more call.

“Yes, this is Manager Kim Jangbung.”

“Manager Kim Jangbung~”

“Yes, manager.”

“What’s your computer password?”

Jangbung blinked.

“Yes?”

“Does Manager Kim Jangbung have a list of warnings for male-oriented writers? It’s not in the team folder.”

“It’s on my computer desktop. The password is asdf12. But why do you need that?”

“The computer opens. I’ll tell you that tomorrow.”

“Yes.”

“Okay, this is the right data. Get some rest~”

Jangbung exhaled.

“Yes.”

At the office, Manager Kim waved a stack of papers.

“Jangbung. If you’re back at work, submit the approval for this month’s men’s event proposal.”

“Yes. I’ll prepare it right away.”

“Hurry up and submit it so the art team can review and proceed. Get it done this morning.”

“Yes, but sir. Are we doing the per-episode payment payback again this month?”

“Huh? Park is submitting the approval for that, so it’s happening. Why?”

“Well, there’s talk that the amount is too small.”

“Where?”

“On our free bulletin board or other communities.”

“You were off yesterday, and instead of resting, you were looking at that?”

“It’s part of my job, so I can’t avoid the internet.”

Manager Kim leaned back.

“Jangbung, are you upset about the event amount being small?”

“I’m not upset. It’s just that since our company’s event amount is small, the public opinion isn’t great, so I think increasing it a bit wouldn’t hurt. There’s a lot of talk on communities.”

Manager Kim scoffed.

“Those people are just greedy. They all want free handouts. They think we’re some big corporation that can throw money around. Tsk. Our per-episode sales aren’t much—how can we throw around tens or hundreds of millions?”

Manager Choi nodded.

“Exactly. Jangbung. Didn’t Jesus say the poor man’s offering is worth more than the rich man’s? In proportion, the money we spend on events isn’t less than what other platforms spend.”

Manager Kim grinned.

“Well said, Manager Choi. In proportion, we’re bleeding just as much!”

Manager Park chimed in.

“Hoho, exactly, sir. And Jangbung.”

“Yes.”

“Even if we increase the event budget tenfold, if we don’t get ten times the people, it’s a problem. If we spend ten times more and the paying users stay the same, you’ll take the blame, Jangbung.”

“It’s just a few tens of thousands of won—would they really complain if we increased it a bit?”

Manager Choi shook her head.

“Even if we hold events, the payment amount doesn’t increase, and if we just waste the budget by increasing it, do you think there won’t be talk?”

Jangbung nodded.

“I suppose so.”

Manager Kim waved a hand.

“Exactly. The point of these events is to show we’re offering benefits. It’s not a big deal—per-episode events are for extra revenue, not for giving stuff away.”

“That’s the main goal, yes.”

“Right. We don’t need to increase the budget, just keep it steady. Let’s proceed as is this month, okay?”

“Yes, I understand.”

Manager Choi leaned over.

“Jangbung, did you know Park said thanks for compiling the Belso data and took care of some of your work?”

“Yes, Manager? I didn’t hear anything from Park.”

“The warning list for writers you were asked about yesterday.”

“Yes.”

“Park sent warning emails to writers who left for other platforms and aren’t posting on ours, saying they’ll be deleted.”

Jangbung’s eyes widened.

“You mean our top work?”

“Yeah, that one.”

“I kept saying we should hold off on deleting it.”

Manager Kim interjected.

“That’s why you got chewed out by the boss.”

Jangbung pressed.

“Even for the sake of existing readers’ payments, we should make an exception…”

Manager Kim shouted.

“An exception? There’s no such thing!”

Manager Park gasped.

“Oh my, you startled me, sir.”

Jangbung turned.

“Sir.”

Manager Kim’s face reddened.

“If they took our company’s money, they should have some ethics! Leaving without a word, and now this month’s revenue goes to them?”

“But sir, if that work leaves too, we’ll lose a lot of drive to attract male-oriented readers.”

“There’s no exception to the rules! Is their work the only one that matters? And aren’t we holding the contest early to bring in writers? There’ll always be people chasing money!”

“But…”

“No buts! The warning’s already sent. If there’s no response, delete them all! They should feel ashamed after we treated them so well! That’s why you don’t trust those kinds. Tsk.”

Jangbung nodded.

“Yes, if there’s no further serialization, I’ll process the deletion.”

Manager Kim pointed.

“Jangbung, get your act together! You’re hesitating, so Park had to send the warnings instead! Always pretending to work but failing to keep writers, and taking leave when others are busy!”

“Yes, I’ll work harder.”

Jangbung’s phone buzzed as he slumped in his chair.

“Ugh, a call after hours. Yes, this is Manager Kim Jangbung.”

“Hello, Mr. Kim Jangbung. This is the new web novel platform you applied to.”

“Yes! Hello!”

“I’m calling to inform you that you passed the interview.”

“Passed? Really?”

“Yes. But I’m sorry, we have something to tell you.”

“Go ahead.”

“Well, since we’re hiring continuously, not just through open recruitment, we’ve had more applicants than expected after you.”

“Yes.”

“Among them, many fit our ideal candidate profile, so we’ve decided to hold an additional executive interview.”

“An additional interview? Wasn’t it just one?”

“Yes. I’m sorry for the inconvenience. Since we’re a new company, we’re being extra cautious with hiring. We’ll offer a much higher interview fee than last time. And since this is an extra step, you’re free to withdraw if you prefer.”

Jangbung paused.

“No, I’ll attend the interview.”

“Thank you. We’ll contact you again once the interview date is set with the other successful candidates.”

“Yes, understood.”

Jangbung sighed, collapsing onto his bed.

“Ha~, time to sleep.”