This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 526

Helping my sister with her work was definitely not as easy as it sounded.

My role was just to sift through the documents that came to her and categorize them based on predefined conditions, but the problem was the sheer volume of those documents coming in.

‘So this is why…’

It turned out that there was a reason for her daily overtime, which was more like an unending routine.

According to Secretary Kim, who was in charge of managing schedules right next to Chae-rim, there were fewer documents than usual that came in this morning.

No wonder.

I thought it was strange that someone as competent as Chae-rim couldn’t break free from the shackles of overtime.

“Seriously… I was saved by you coming back, Dogun. I thought I was going to die just sorting through the documents and managing the schedules all by myself…”

“Haha…”

“You might think I’m joking, right? I really thought I’d collapse! I even considered quitting!”

If even my sister, who usually kept things in check, was this worried, it must have been serious.

Originally, we handled this work together, but after the headquarters building was wrecked, the workload must have multiplied.

I inadvertently let out a wry smile, nodding along, as Secretary Kim sighed lightly.

“So just ignore whatever others say. Just ignore them, and please, let’s keep seeing each other for a long time. Okay? Got it?”

In the Association, Secretary Kim could be considered a social butterfly.

Chae-rim, who usually didn’t have anyone close to her, had kept her as her dedicated secretary for quite a while now, and that was why.

But if she was this concerned, it meant there were already rumors starting about my return within the Association.

And those rumors wouldn’t just be idle gossip; they’d probably border on outright personal attacks.

I wondered if, while pretending to be worried about a colleague, people were throwing shade at the “monster” that no one knew when it would explode.

Only the people involved would know for sure, but just the thought of it left a bitter taste in my mouth.

What exactly did I do to deserve this kind of exclusion?

If I was some kind of parachute landing here for some reason, I could grudgingly accept it.

After all, it would be natural for them to reject parachuters who came through normal channels.

But that applied only if I was underqualified, having gotten here through sheer luck. I was originally part of the Association’s workforce, right?

‘Well…’

Sure, I had just barely qualified as a manager, and it’s true that my connections with big players like Chae-rim and the senior helped me get those manager roles.

But I worked hard for my manager qualifications too!

Consider this: about half of the managers currently on duty earned their positions similarly. Honestly, nitpicking about that felt a bit unreasonable.

At the end of the day, having connections is a skill, right?

Of course, if I had just gotten the position and sat around doing nothing, that would be different. But instead, I did my absolute best for Chae-rim and the senior, who trusted me with their manager roles.

In the three years that I had worked as their manager, I had earned more than ten certifications and licenses! Some of them were so rare that fewer than ten people had even qualified for them.

All this effort was merely to shake off the notion that I had arrived through connections… Yet here I was, being accused of favor swapping just because I returned after a short break.

It felt like all the hard work I had put in was rendered pointless in an instant, and on one hand, I wondered why I had even bothered working hard if we were bound to reach this point anyway, leaving me feeling deflated.

For a moment, I chuckled bitterly, deciding to focus on the documents in hand instead of digging deeper into the problem that seemed fruitless.

‘Wait, by the way…’

Why on earth are there so many approval documents?

I knew well that a massive amount of materials were required to restore the headquarters building, which was practically in ruins, but still, we hadn’t even broken ground yet. Was it really right to start hoarding these materials already?

Ah, right…

If all materials were acquired at once after the construction starts, prices could skyrocket temporarily.

Perhaps they were thinking of gathering the necessary items ahead of time without impacting market prices.

Of course, if they purchased everything beforehand, it would pose storage issues, but surely the Association has at least one spare warehouse?

Materials gathered this way could easily be stashed away until construction began.

Well, I’d leave that aspect out of my concerns, but why the heck are there so many containers purchased…?

The materials are one thing, but why on earth so many containers?

These won’t even be used to restore the headquarters!

‘Are they for storing materials…?’

True, if left lying around on mere dirt, humidity could become a problem.

Still, wouldn’t it be cheaper to just build a new warehouse…?

As I skimmed the documentation sprinkled with financial jargon, that query popped into my head, but I decided not to overthink it.

The people working for the Association aren’t fools; if they spent the money, it’s for a legitimate reason.

And if, by any chance, there was some embezzlement involved, the Audit Team would handle it, and all I needed to do was sort these documents and present them to Chae-rim.

‘Just in case…’

Maybe I should prepare a summary.

Approval documents are usually dense with numbers, making them tough to grasp at a glance.

If I attached a simple note indicating how much was spent on what, it would help Chae-rim understand the contents of the documents.

Just as I had that thought, Secretary Kim returned, holding a drink from a nearby cafe, after saying she’d be gone for a moment.

Yet, her return didn’t feel welcoming at all because she was balancing what looked like piles of documents in her hand opposite to the drink.

“Wow.”

Could it be that her “errands” involved bringing back more documents?

The processing rate of the stack on my desk was barely over half, and already, more was piling up before I could even send those off to Chae-rim.

A new realization struck me.

I understood what it felt like to have your head swimming.

I could feel the back of my head getting warm and dull, as if caught in a sudden cramp.

Simultaneously, I came to another realization.

What Secretary Kim had mentioned earlier about contemplating quitting was definitely not a joke.

Although it had only been a little over a month, trying to handle all this alone would naturally lead one to feel like quitting.

I, myself, just got a taste of that feeling.

“Here, have a drink while you work.”

“…Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”

“Don’t mention it.”

As she handed over the drink, I sensed a hint of worry behind it—fearing that if my sugar levels dropped, my work efficiency might take a hit.

“Um…”

“Yes?”

“Do you usually receive this many documents?”

“Pfft, what kind of nonsense are you talking about, Dogun?”

Right?

Today really must be unusually document-heavy—

“This is just the morning batch.”

…Should I make a run for it after all?

It didn’t seem too late yet.