Surviving Restructuring

A magnificent throne lay beneath the glow of a massive chandelier. Before it, a man knelt, wailing.

“D-Director! I beg your forgi—”

“Silence!”

A dreadful grip seized the man’s throat mid-plea.

“To be brought low by insignificant rabble without even proper decorum.”

“Kuk...”

“So my orders were a joke to you?”

A pitch-black hand, forged of pure malice, drained the life from the man it held.

“P-please... Forgive me!”

His black hair turned white like an old man’s and fell out in clumps. The once well-maintained, glossy skin shriveled as deep wrinkles carved into it. The eyes that had always gleamed with intelligence turned toward the observer, blood-red tears streaming down his cheeks.

“After all I did... After serving you for decades!”

“W-wait! I—”

With a physique so rotten it looked ready to collapse at a touch, and with limbs twisted and broken as they slammed against the walls, a face contorted like a yaksha lunged right up close.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Blood spilled from wide-open eyes, dripping onto the observer’s cheek.

“Because of you, I followed you this far!”

“I-I was wrong! I was wro—aaaaargh!”

At the moment he was devoured by the man who had once been his line, his hands and feet, his right-hand man of decades, the division chief of Personnel Bureau jolted awake.

“Gah!”

Clatter!

He had been sitting perfectly fine, yet his legs kicked wildly as though he had fallen off a cliff.

“So it was a dream,” he muttered in a hoarse, cracking voice. “Of all times, why did I have to dream of that day?”

I guess I was harsh on myself lately.

With the director’s hysteria growing worse by the day, workloads rained down like bombs. The division chief had been pulling two consecutive all-nighters already.

“The internal network’s been noisy lately.”

“The internal network, sir?”

“That Labor-Management Cooperation Team. They’ve been awfully loud. If his head swells any more, it’ll be out of control.”

The director truly disliked the Labor-Management Cooperation Team and its leader, Lee Eun-Ho. At first, when the team had just been created, the division chief hadn’t understood why, but now he did.

“Assistant Manager! Did you see that? The Sales Pee Guy!”

“I did! Wasn’t it the Labor-Management Cooperation Team? They’re incredible.”

“They’re really good at their jobs. Why did the director want to shut them down?”

Eun-Ho leveraged the viral success of the Sales Pee Guy video to stir controversy and seize control of the media narrative. He even managed to wrap it all up as a personal win. On top of that, he moved fast, pushing promotions before the hype had a chance to fade. His capabilities weren’t something anyone would expect from a recent hire.

They say rookies are the scariest, he thought.

Rookies saw nothing, owned nothing, and therefore had nothing to lose. However, even that had limits. Meanwhile, Lee Eun-Ho had a team leader position, loyal teammates who trusted him, and a never-before-seen department that claimed to mediate between labor and management. He had even proven it with results. It was like giving a fearless puppy not only audacity, but a tiger’s fangs as well.

Lee Eun-Ho sure was a frightening man. If he grew any further, no one knew what kind of bomb he would set off. The entire Personnel Bureau could end up on edge.

Not that any of this really matters.

“Move quickly, but prepare thoroughly. Don’t miss a thing,” ordered the director.

The division chief obeyed. “Yes, Director.”

When both the Personnel Bureau division chief and manager positions had become vacant due to corruption, he had come running at a single summons, happy as a watchdog guarding its home. He had even brought along a junior subordinate and seated him as manager.

If only he had known things would turn out like this. If only he had known just how monstrous the evil hidden behind the Personnel Bureau director’s mask truly was. Then perhaps the junior he had shared hardships with wouldn’t have ended up a living corpse.

“If I put you in that chair, you’d better earn your keep.”

“If you don’t want to end up like that junior of yours, you must succeed.”

“Yes sir.”

“Think of your daughter and work harder. You understand?”

“Yes sir. I’m aware of that.”

Above all, he wouldn’t have had to endure the humiliation of his family being treated like hostages.

This is all my karma.

Crunch.

He clenched his fist.

“It’s useless now. So, please... stop coming.”

“I’m sorry.”

Shaking off the blackened face of the manager that filled his mind, the division chief rubbed his dry face and let out a long sigh. He had to sleep, because at this rate, something truly terrible would happen.

After organizing the mountain of documents, he stood up and pulled out a key. “Activate.”

In an instant, he had created a door leading to his home. He wanted to rest. He wanted to return to his warm house and sleep like the dead. Perhaps that desperate longing made him rush forward like a racehorse, blind to everything else.

Whoosh—

Thus, as he opened the front door and stepped inside, he didn’t notice the single gust of wind that followed.

They’ll all be asleep... Let’s not turn on the lights and just head upstairs quietly.

With that carefree thought, he moved cautiously, when a strange sound reached his ears.

Shing—

It was the sound of the scrape of metal, utterly out of place in a peaceful home. Before he knew it, a steel blade was already pressed against his throat.

A masked man stood there, his blade reflecting the moonlight. “Could we have a little chat?”

Confusion flickered across the division chief’s eyes. “Who are y—!”

The masked man clearly had no intention of giving him time to collect himself. He tightened his grip on the knife and added calmly, “For the record, this isn’t a request.”

“Let’s talk it out,” the division chief said.

***

Know the enemy and know yourself, and you will never lose a hundred battles. Even without the old saying, it was essential to understand an enemy—especially one so far above him that it was hard to tell if they were even human.

Sarah: Personnel Bureau manager is absent without leave.

Sarah: The division chief is keeping everything under wraps.

Eun-Ho: What’s the director’s abilities?

Sarah: Unable to confirm. Even that of the section chiefs’.

The Dissolution of the Labor-Management Cooperation Team project, which was important enough to warrant a forced competitive presentation, had failed. Was the director embarrassed by that? Or did he deem it a failure simply because he had entrusted it to his subordinates?

Either way, Sarah reported that the operation was now proceeding quietly, under the direct orders of the Personnel Bureau director. She had brought back some useful information, but there was clearly a limit to what she could uncover at her position. The higher-ups also planned to keep their discussions behind closed doors, speaking in hushed tones to ensure nothing leaked out.

Of course, it’s not like information never leaks just because they’re higher-ups.

“Let’s drop this bid. The competitor’s willing to take a loss.”

“What? Are you sure?”

“Yeah. The boss and their CEO went to the same high school.”

“Ah...”

Eun-Ho had seen information being exchanged over heavy drinks countless times. Secrets passed casually amid pleasantries and small talk among those at the top. Moreover, that information was always more accurate and on a much larger scale than anything rank-and-file employees could ever dig up.

That means I have to find someone close to the director.

Preferably, someone with access to critical information, yet unable to voice their grievances. There would be a clear Achilles’ heel he could exploit. After searching and narrowing it down, there was only one candidate: the Personnel Bureau division chief.

They said that section chief looked like all the life had been drained out of him.

If he was a man who had watched someone he personally brought in have everything robbed from them by his superior. If he was the kind of man who still cared for that junior even after the fall, he sure was exploitable.

“What is this supposed to be?” the division chief demanded. “What are you trying to say?!”

Holding a blade to his throat, Eun-Ho said calmly, placating the furious man, “There’s no need to get upset. If you just answer a few questions, I won’t harm you.”

If persuasion was possible, then he planned to persuade the division chief so he could be used again in the future. That was the plan.

However, instead of agreement, something else came out of the man’s mouth. “Lee Eun-Ho.”

The division chief had said his name.

Eun-Ho hadn’t expected to be identified so quickly. “Were we close enough that you could recognize my voice that easily?”

“It’s not your voice. It’s your eyes,” the man replied hoarsely.

“My eyes?”

“I stared at your photos twenty-four hours a day. I’d recognize those upturned eyes anywhere.”

Huh?

“I don’t think I’m handsome enough to be stared at all day. Unless that’s your type—”

“What nonsense are you spouting?!” The man snapped. “I had no choice! It was the director’s order!”

Okay, I got him.

“So the director ordered it,” Eun-Ho said smoothly. “You tore apart every document and report with my name on it. Hunting for weaknesses?”

“Ugh, what a loose mouth,” the division chief muttered. He clicked his tongue, clearly irritated with himself, then added, “You’ve become a team leader and now you’re pulling thug-like stunts like this. You should know how to tell ambition from recklessness.”

“I did,” Eun-Ho replied. “That’s why I came here.”

“... And you’re shameless, too.” The division chief closed his eyes slowly, as if he didn’t want to speak any further. At last, he asked, “So, what do you want?”

“I want information.”

“Information?”

They were both busy men, so it was best to get straight to the point.

“I know you’ve been preparing hard for a fight.”

The division chief flinched.

“The exact date. The location. The forces involved. And the Personnel Bureau director’s abilities. Tell me everything.”

The man froze for a brief moment. Only then did he seem to notice the killing edge of the blade at his throat.

He glanced down, steadied his breathing, and responded carefully, “That’s an expensive set of information you’re asking for.”

“If you think it’s worth more than your life,” Eun-Ho replied calmly, “then I suppose that can’t be helped.”

If Eun-Ho couldn’t acquire a long-term piece on the board, even a disposable pawn would do.

“If I get caught telling you that,” the division chief said, “I’ll pay with my life either way.”

“Then don’t get caught,” Eun-Ho answered lightly.

The division chief let out a hollow laugh through his nose. “The director is... You don’t know anything.”

He trembled out of instinctive fear and of a desperate urge to flee.

I knew it.

In that case, it was time to change tactics.

“I don’t know anything...” the man repeated weakly.

Eun-Ho waited until the shaking subsided, then said carefully, “I heard you were especially close with the Personnel Bureau manager.”

“... Why bring that up all of a sudden?”

Instead of answering, Eun-Ho held something out. “Here.”

[Skin Regeneration and Elasticity Enhancement Agent]

- A compound created by combining regressive cells extracted from regenerative monsters with rare elixirs.

- When applied to damaged skin, it restores cellular function.

- Severe damage cannot be fully reversed in a short time; continuous application is required.

“I can give it back,” Eun-Ho said softly. “Youth.”

That was the bargaining chip he had brought with him, the one and only key capable of opening the tightly sealed door of the division chief’s heart.

***

The division chief was speechless—not out of gratitude, nor from outrage at the man’s audacity in placing the cream before him.

Why?

What welled up from the pit of his stomach was closer to bewilderment.

“If you don’t want to end up like your junior, you must succeed.”

“Yes sir.”

The superior he had trusted had severed his own limbs and warned that he could be next, his words sharper than blades.

“I can give it back. Youth.”

Yet the fledgling he had unquestioningly believed to be his enemy offered a miraculous drug for free.

Faced with that irony, the aging division chief let out a hollow laugh. “Hah.”

“It won’t return you to normal overnight,” Eun-Ho said evenly. “But if you apply it consistently, it’ll definitely get better.”

The division chief remained speechless.

“You can tell at a glance how much this would fetch if I sold it outside. And yet I brought it here.”

Clearly, I backed the wrong horse.

That thought crossed his mind, and his mouth opened of its own accord. “A week from now. We advance into the Wailing Forest.”

“How many troops?”

“One thousand.”

“... That’s more than I expected.”

Even now, he had no intention of siding with Eun-Ho. This was nothing more than a lament over his own foolishness.

“You’ll never win.”

This fledgling’s first war was, by definition, doomed from the start.

“The director isn’t an ordinary being.”

“Then what is he?”

Gulp.

The division chief swallowed dryly. “A hundred years ago, he was the one who turned the land you’re standing on into the Death Forest.”

“So that’s how it was.”

“That’s not something you can brush off so casually!” the man snapped. “No one knows how much stronger he’s become since then!”

Yet Eun-Ho remained unfazed. “Oh well.”

This lunatic.

If not for the blade at his throat, the division chief would have loved nothing more than to grab the madman by the collar.

After a moment’s hesitation, he added, “This time, the director himself will go. He says it won’t be anything like the last battle, meaning he won’t hold back.”

Run away, or kneel and beg.

The warning was his final gift for the man who had, in his own way, tried to help.

“The director himself...”

However, the madman smiled with the eyes of a gambler watching the stakes rise. “That’s good.”