Escaping the Mystery Hotel - Chapter 571
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EP.571 Episode 571 – The Management Bureau is an Elephant (1)
Episode 571 – The Management Bureau is an Elephant (1)
– Cha Jin-cheol
A person who entered the tiger’s den to understand the tiger.
That’s me, Jincheol Cha, a new agent at the Management Bureau.
One thing I recently realized.
Agents are the most arrogant people I know in the world.
This is a story that includes Ari.
I don’t think the silent agent is to that extent, though.
*
— Squeak!
I got off in front of a large single-family home near Seoul.
A picturesque mansion with a pretty garden, rock formations that look quite expensive, and even a small lake.
It’s quite luxurious for a place where less than 10 people live.
However, considering that it is the residence of the chairman of Taesung Group, one of the largest conglomerates in Korea, this is to be expected.
“Ah~! Junior Cha, why are you driving like this?”
“…”
“This is really too rough. Shouldn’t we start with driving training instead of shooting training?”
Agent Kim Ji-ho, who got off while grabbing my scruff of the neck, seemed to be dissatisfied with my driving skills.
Even I can see that it’s rough.
That’s understandable, because even in a hotel that has been through a lot, there was almost no need to drive.
Thanks to this, my driving skills did not improve, but rather decreased significantly compared to before I entered the hotel.
“I’m sorry, Senior Kim.”
“Oh, my! Okay. Let’s get to work.”
My shooter, Agent Kim Ji-ho, is truly an arrogant person, but he is also the type of person who quickly forgets minor annoyances.
This could be seen as one of his few strengths.
“Do you know what to do? Newbie, let’s get started.”
Just nodding your head and saying what you want to say.
I don’t see this part as being arrogant, but rather as a process of teaching new employees how to do their jobs.
For something like that, it’s a bit of an unpleasant attitude.
I approached the mansion and rang the bell.
— Dingdong!
“…”
“…”
“One more time -”
“No, no, Junior Cha. Do you think those humans don’t know we’re here?”
I contacted you in advance, so there’s no way I didn’t know.
“They are protesting in their own way. This is it. Who are we? Taesung Group, one of the top 10 conglomerates in South Korea!”
“…”
“Who am I? Jang Min-cheol, the CEO of Taesung Group! Then shouldn’t you also consider my circumstances? Ha! This isn’t even funny.”
Is it really necessary to speak so theatrically?
Is this also a strategy to pressure the Taesung Group?
“Just open it with force and go in -”
I thought it made sense and took a stance.
“Huh? Hey Inma, when you say strength, did you think you meant your arm strength? That’s not it -”
— Crunch! Crunch!
The door opened.
“Let’s go in.”
“- No, how did you open this by force?”
Normally, it would be normal to be shocked just by seeing this kind of power revealed, but since Kim Ji-ho is also an agent, he ended up just being dumbfounded.
At first, in order to hide the fact that he was from a ‘hotel’, he hid his heritage as well as the blessing of courage… .
At some point, he stopped hiding his brute strength.
Because in the world of the Administration and Agents, something this special wasn’t all that rare.
Kim Ji-ho in front of us also has his own set of rules.
Upon entering the building, as Ji-ho Kim had predicted, Taesung Group owner and Chairman Min-cheol Jang was waiting with his eyes wide open.
“What is this… What kind of outrageous act is this!”
“Isn’t that ridiculous? Are you talking about us? We did contact you though.”
“Contact me! Ha! Do you think you can just contact me while blatantly carrying out a kidnapping? If I, uh! contact you in advance and ask you to hand over your family, do you think you’ll just hand them over?”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Chairman, but I don’t have a family, so those threats are meaningless.”
Kim Ji-ho and I came to pick up Chairman Jang Min-cheol’s youngest son.
“Shut up! You, you bastards! Do you know where this is! We, we -”
It seems like he can’t come to his senses because his son’s safety is at stake.
The old lady next to him tried to stop the excited chairman, and then stepped forward with tears in her eyes.
“Everyone, please think about it. How much money has our Taesung Group donated so far? Seojin… . Seojin did a ‘little’ wrong this time, but if you give her a chance to atone -”
“You can do that atonement by coming to headquarters.”
“Lies! Do you think we don’t know! There’s no way you guys would let Seojin live -”
— Bang!
A single gunshot brought silence to the surrounding area.
— Bang! Bang!
Gunshots in succession.
Kim Ji-ho is destroying several sculptures decorating the mansion with a gun.
It was property destruction committed in front of everyone, but no one could even complain, let alone protest.
The Taesung Group Chairman and his wife, who had been speaking passionately just a moment ago, are seen now acting strangely, and the mansion security guards who do not even dare to approach.
Yes, that’s right.
They are terrified of us.
The chairman’s scolding is nothing more than the howling of a frightened dog.
“Okay, okay. Are you coming to your senses now?”
“…”
“We’re busy too. Let me say this one last time. Get out of the way! If you make one more noise, the news of Taesung Group Chairman’s death will probably be on the front page of the Hankook Ilbo tomorrow.”
There were no further obstacles.
Thanks to that, I was able to enter the mansion to find the chairman’s youngest son, Jang Seo-jin.
“Tea junior.”
“I’m listening.”
“There’s no need to listen to threats that are not common among ordinary people.”
“I just wanted to hear what you had to say….”
“Do you like horror movies?”
A horror movie out of the blue?
“I don’t really watch movies.”
“Come see me sometimes. There’s a lot to learn.”
“What do you mean…?”
“What’s special about a good horror movie villain is that he barely speaks.”
“…”
“There is almost no communication. They just use violence or do incomprehensible things out of the blue.”
A story about how ordinary people scare us.
I know this much thanks to my hotel experience.
Therefore, the difference of opinion between me and Kim Ji-ho lies in the following part.
“I know how to live in fear. I just wonder why it is necessary to become a scary monster.”
“I told you that it would be beneficial for us and the general public.”
“That’s your opinion, not mine.”
Even to me, this answer seems very arrogant for a new employee who has only been with the company for three months.
I feel a little sorry for Kim Ji-ho, but I want to see his reaction.
Because I became a new agent ‘to understand the management bureau’.
“…you will understand someday.”
Instead of forcibly persuading, the senior agent takes a step back.
Isn’t that the interesting part?
In a typical company, if a new employee says something like, “That’s your opinion, but I think differently” to a senior employee, their reputation will suffer.
The culture of the Administration, or more precisely the culture among the agents, is surprisingly horizontal.
This is because each and every one of the agents is a regressor, and they all have inflated egos comparable to medieval royalty.
I am royalty, but you are royalty too.
We don’t intend to tolerate ordinary people and commoners crawling up to us, but let’s respect each other as members of the same royal family.
It feels like this.
At that moment, Kim Ji-ho muttered in a whisper.
“Tea junior.”
“I’m listening.”
“I often feel like you wonder what kind of people ‘we’ are.”
“…”
I thought you were a fool, but did you have this kind of insight?
“It’s not bad. It’s helpful for both of us to understand the people we’ll be together with for a long time.”
“Someone you want to be with for a long time?”
“You still haven’t gotten used to it, have you? You and I will continue to meet in this life, the next life, and the life after that. We will spend more time together than any family or friend -”
“…”
“…”
Jiho, don’t you think this isn’t something that guys should be saying?
“Ah, shit. No, ah, I didn’t swear at you, junior -”
I think he felt it too.
“What made you say something like that? Anyway, what I mean is that it’s good to try to understand. But please know one thing.”
“What is it?”
“The administration is an elephant.”
“What do you mean?”
“Have you heard the parable of the blind man touching the elephant?”
“…”
“The administration you see and the administration you see from ‘above’ are completely different.
The way a newbie sees the management office is different from the way a veteran sees the management office.
So, what kind of perspective does ‘Ari’ have on the management office?
“Let’s go in. This place, this place seems to be that guy Jang Seo-jin’s room.”
*
– Kim Ari
Early one morning, when I woke up, there was a text message.
“…I can’t believe such a day has come.”
The content of the text was simple yet clear.
‘Agent Kim Ari, in consideration of your many years of dedication and achievements, especially your feat of escaping from the hotel, I hereby order your promotion.’
“…”
I get promoted today.
To rise to the core of the most powerful organization that rules the entire planet.
It can be said with certainty that the power of the silent leader of the Administration is incomparable to that of any worldly leader.
To put it a little childishly, from today onwards I gain the power to kill the President of the United States with a snap of my fingers.
“…”
It wasn’t as happy as I thought.
It might be because of the shocking experiences I had at the hotel.
It’s also because I don’t have much interest in things like wielding power.
However, a strong curiosity arose.
Because I was curious about the many secrets I would now be able to access.
*
As I came out, there was a black car in front of the house door.
As I got into the car, I saw a familiar face in the driver’s seat.
“You’re awake.”
“… It feels really awkward when I hear you speak formally.”
The driver is Park Hyeon-min, the head of the Korean branch of the management office.
I seriously think that a position of this level would be of a much higher status than the President of Korea.
It’s rare that I get to use formal language when I go somewhere, and it’s even rarer that I get to act as someone’s chauffeur.
“At the moment you receive this text, you are of the highest status under heaven.”
“What kind of king is this?”
“Can you compare me to a mere king?”
“…”
“I envy you. Really.”
“…”
“Also, it is an honor.”
“Let’s go.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
While I was leaning against the backseat, the car was heading towards a strange place that didn’t exist anywhere in the world, along a truly bizarre route.
Well, take it easy.
Of course, the head of the Korean branch of the management office would suddenly assassinate me.
It’s time to get lost in your worries.
What will I know and be able to do from now on?
Why did those who sat in the position of the silent one before me decide to promote me?
Some of those who remain silent are probably former participants?
Is there any chance of meeting the master of wisdom today?
…
My head is getting complicated.
So many possibilities were occurring at once that it was hard to tell what would happen.
“What are you thinking about?”
“A lot of thoughts.”
“… I wonder.”
“No. Focus on driving.”
It took less than two hours to reach our destination.
“… Isn’t this Australia?”
“you’re right.”
From Seoul, it’s a 2-hour drive, not even a plane, to Australia… .
Is this some kind of secret passage that only those who reach the level of branch manager in Korea can know about?
…
Let’s do that.
Anyway, sooner or later, everything that person knows, as well as many more secrets, will be in my hands.
“Over there, do you see something like a tower?”
“Show me.”
“You can go that way.”
I glanced back and saw Park Hyeon-min outside the car, bowing his head politely.
“I don’t have the qualifications. You do.”
“Thank you for giving me directions.”
“No. But….”
“but?”
“If you’re so kind, may I ask you a question?”
“…”
“What are you thinking about now?”
Hey, you’re secretly curious.
Well, once you get to the upper ranks of the management bureau, this kind of curiosity is probably one of the driving forces behind your survival.
“I’m curious like you too.”
“What do you mean?”
“The silent one.”
“yes.”
“What are you keeping silent about?”
“…”
I walked up to the tower.