Against the Clock: The Team Leader’s Pursuit of Glory

Chapter 29 - Those Who Are Afraid Will Break First

From mainstream media to individual streamers.

Various media and forums were bustling with news and discussions about the Guild Leader system that had been resurrected after 20 years.

However, before the shock of this could subside, people's attention was diverted from the guild by a piece of exclusive news the next morning.

Bang!

"What the hell is this about? The Taesung Guild is moving? And to Myeongseong City? Where on earth is that?!”

Upon hearing the news about the guild's relocation for the first time, Tae Soo-cheol banged his desk in frustration.

It wasn't the guild's move that upset him. It was his own ignorance about this information that infuriated him.

Seeing Tae Soo-cheol's face redden with anger, his secretary cautiously spoke up.

"Actually, it's for the better. If Guild Master Ju Se-ah, who was a thorn in your side, is pushed to the frontier, won't she naturally fall from the chairman's gaze?"

"Will she, really? The youngest is the one you worry about more when she's out of sight."

"Surely the chairman won’t go to that extent…"

"If it were my father from the past, maybe not. But he's grown weak these days. There's no guarantee that he won't be swayed by affection."

Tae Soo-cheol was discontented with the situation he couldn't control. He believed that everything excluding himself was merely a pawn. If he couldn't make a direct move, he at least needed the pawns to move within his sight to be satisfied.

Known to the world as a cool and rational person, he had been acting until he could secure the chairman's seat. His true nature was that of a tyrant, a man consumed by the desire to destroy anything he couldn't possess.

'Is all of this the trick of that Kang Mu-hyuk guy? He came out of nowhere. He's really getting on my nerves.'

Tae Soo-cheol checked the time.

"Hasn't he arrived yet? It's almost 10 o'clock."

"Would he dare be late? He has an appointment with you."

"I don't like him at all."

The person Tae Soo-cheol was waiting for was Kang Mu-hyuk.

As soon as the article about the new Guild Leader was released yesterday, he had called him to the group, but Kang Mu-hyuk only promised to visit the next day citing various reasons and then abruptly cut off contact.

Even if he had agreed to postpone the meeting until the next day, shouldn't he have come and waited 30 minutes early?

It was hard to stomach the insolence of a mere Guild Leader of a subsidiary guild, ignoring the potential next owner of Taesung.

Just as the clock struck ten, the intercom rang.

"Vice Chairman, Guild Master Kang Mu-hyuk from Taesung Guild is here."

"Send him in."

He was disgustingly punctual.

It wasn't a good first impression.

The man who entered the Vice Chairman's office had neatly combed hair, sharp eyes, and a cold impression, but otherwise, he looked quite ordinary.

There was no particularly outstanding feature, but there was a strange atmosphere about him that couldn't be ignored.

"I am Kang Mu-hyuk, the Guild Leader of Taesung Guild."

Tae Soo-cheol sent his secretary away, sat down on the sofa, and gestured for Kang Mu-hyuk to sit.

"Sit down."

Kang Mu-hyuk sat down on the right side of Tae Soo-cheol, who was seated in the host's spot. Then, he slightly leaned his upper body towards Soo-cheol. He didn't meet Soo-cheol's eyes but lowered his gaze to the chin of Soo-cheol, displaying a posture of readiness to listen to anything. The way he sat, as though he was an extension of Soo-cheol's right arm, felt so familiar and natural.

'Look at this guy,'

Tae Soo-cheol, who initially intended to start aggressively, had a change of heart.

Where else could he find such a clear demonstration of surrender?

With his whole body, he was asserting his position beneath Soo-cheol.

'Is he cunning, or is he a deeply dark character?'

It was inevitable to have doubts, but one couldn't simply reject a person who entered with a bowed head.

In order to manage the vast territory of Taesung, one needed to clearly distinguish between friends and foes.

Even someone who was neither friend nor foe had to be used if they seemed useful.

While Soo-cheol was mulling over this, Kang Mu-hyuk opened his mouth.

"I apologize for my rudeness yesterday. There were many watching eyes, so it was difficult to move immediately."

"Well, it happens. One can't always make time when working. So, you've taken up the position of Guild Leader? It must be noisy around you. Any difficulties?"

"While Taesung is not treated well among the guilds, we are still part of a large conglomerate. We can't be ignored, even if we are looked down upon. I didn't realize when I was outside, but the shadow of Taesung Group is large enough to block the harsh sun when we're powerless."

'Does he acknowledge that the guild is an organization under the group?'

Soo-cheol interpreted the core of Mu-hyuk's words and slightly tilted his head.

'So, he moves the guild without informing the head office? To the provinces, no less?'

Soo-cheol was about to heighten his guard due to the contradiction between words and actions, when Mu-hyuk abruptly pitched his next words.

"I did inform Director Tae Soo-man... As you must have heard from the report, this could be a great opportunity to topple Guild Master Ju Se-ah."

Soo-cheol flinched.

‘Did they plot this just a while ago? Was this the content they exchanged? Why is he telling me this?’

Rapidly putting together his thoughts, Soo-cheol reached the easiest conclusion.

'Ah, he's a newbie to the world of corporate power structures since he's been living off guild crumbs.'

From an outsider's perspective, Tae Soo-cheol was the confirmed successor of Taesung Group.

It was known that the succession dispute had ended long ago, and the crown prince had already been decided. The reality was that it was right before the rebellion of the second prince.

An outsider couldn't possibly know this.

Upon reaching this point, Soo-cheol felt a new resentment toward Tae Soo-man.

It was a favorable act to suppress Ju Se-ah, but attempting to capture the Guild Leader and turn the guild into his appendage was intolerable.

To verify his thoughts, Soo-cheol looked at Mu-hyuk.

"Director Tae Soo-man must have promised you something good. He told me to handle that part myself."

"As the first non-Hunter Guild Leader in the industry, I am satisfied. I'm grateful for such a good offer."

"No need for such formalities. If you work with me, everything you do will be solid from now on."

"I look forward to it."

Tae Soo-cheol decided he should appease, rather than anger, Kang Moo-hyuk in order to wrestle him away from Tae Soo-man's grasp.

The Taesung Guild might be an ugly duckling in its own industry, but it had the potential to turn into a swan, depending on how it was utilized in the corporate management game.

Of course, his father, the chairman, was not too keen on the guild and had been avoiding it.

But Tae Soo-cheol, who was to become the next owner of Taesung, had a different perspective.

'A joker that could simultaneously eliminate Ju Se-ah, that would be killing two birds with one stone. Maybe this guy could be the wild card I need.'

He had intended to lay down the gauntlet when he summoned him, but seeing Kang Moo-hyuk's potential usefulness, Tae Soo-cheol swiftly changed his approach.

"Why not explain your future plans to me? Rather than bothering the busy Executive Director Tae Soo-man again to listen."

"If I had known that I would be speaking directly to the Vice Chairman, I would have prepared a presentation."

"There's no need to be so formal. Just speak openly and honestly."

"Very well. I will speak 'openly and honestly.'"

—

At the same time, the employees of the Taesung Guild were in a state of panic.

The sudden news of the guild relocation.

No one inside knew about it, which meant it had been conducted secretly. Or it could have been fake news.

The employees were desperately hoping for the latter.

"A company announcement just came out!"

"Ah, please let it be a mistake!"

With trembling hands, the employees checked the announcement that had been posted on the guild's intranet.

<Regarding the relocation of Taesung Guild.>

The information inside was no different from the news.

The relocation was already a confirmed matter.

"North Pocheon... Do we really have to go there? Do we have to?"

"What the hell! Is this even possible? A sudden relocation? And to a Special Activities Zone? That's a monster den!"

"They're accepting resignations here. They say only those who want to go will go."

"Do they want us to be jobless?"

"Let's hold a strike. We can't just accept this relocation."

As the employees' mental states were torn apart, the Hunters belonging to the guild were equally flustered.

Choi Mi-ran covered her face and groaned.

"Damn, if we go there, the only advantage of this guild will disappear, right?"

"Did we have an advantage?"

"Being a Seoul guild."

"Ah, right."

Kim Seong-hyun nodded in agreement.

"So, what if we don't go?"

"Are you planning to quit?"

"Just hypothetically."

"If you quit, you'll become jobless. Are you going to be a freelancer?"

"That's a bit..."

"Do we have any other place to go?"

"No."

"Then, we have no choice but to be dragged along."

While most of the other Hunters' reactions weren't much different from these two, there were some who took it quite differently.

"What on earth is going on? Guild relocation on top of the surprise appointment of the new Guild Leader? Hyeonggyu, what do you think?"

"It should be interesting, right? Our guild has been too quiet until now. Besides, this new Guild Leader is an interesting fellow. We haven't even seen his face yet, but this audacious driving force, I like it."

"What about going to North Pocheon?"

"People live there too, don't they? All places where people live are the same."

"There aren't any people there. Only monsters live there."

"Hmm. All a Hunter needs are monsters, right?"

Hunters like Baek Hyeonggyu and Na Dongpa, who did not belong to any particular factions, generally showed interest in the guild's relocation.

On the other hand, Hunters who had formed power bases, like the assault team faction, had their minds crowded with their own calculations.

"This is going to be a problem. Leaving Seoul."

"Is there any word from above?"

"They just told us to wait and see. I don't like this."

In response to Lee Gi-young's question, Noh Song-rin sighed.

"We don't have enough information. I can't understand the intention of moving to North Pocheon."

"Should we poke around the Guild Master's secretary office?"

"With Jang Deuk-goo there, do you think we could? Even if we could, they wouldn't know much. Look at how this issue was pushed. No one knew about it until it came out in the news. This must be the work of the new Guild Leader, right?"

"That's the rumor."

"I guess I'll have to see the Guild Leader myself. I can't just ignore him when he keeps creating these strange situations."

"What about Jang Deuk-goo?"

"He only said it wasn't allowed outside the guild. Inside the guild should be fine. I need to have a very constructive conversation."

—

"There are a lot of resignation applications. It's only been a short time since the announcement was posted. There's no loyalty, no decency."

Ju Se-ah grumbled. Beside her, Jang Deuk-goo skimmed through the list of resignation applicants that were coming up in real time and replied, "It's less than I thought. I thought everyone would quit immediately."

"There are indecisive people too. They'll probably all quit soon, don't you think? What surprises me more is the small number of Hunters submitting withdrawal applications."

"Is that surprising? Isn't this a guild where you can collect a salary without hunting? This is a divine workplace that even public corporations would envy."

"It's sad that I can't deny that. Guild Leader Kang was right. We can't work with these people. We need to flip the guild upside down before we can do anything."

Ju Se-ah wasn't particularly worried about this part.

Everyone was just holding their breaths and looking at each other for the moment, but she already anticipated that there would be more defectors in the future.

What she was really worried about was something else.

"My former workplace is strangely quiet. I thought they'd immediately come and make a mess. I didn't expect the old man from the association to be the first one to nag."

"If it's Guild Master Sa, he wouldn't act haphazardly. If he's determined to attack, he'll wait for the right moment to strike when he can bring you down, Guild Master."

"I know that man is more thorough than anyone. I should probably stop stirring things up for a while. I think I've already overstepped my limits."

"It's probably too late. Guild Master Sa is a person who takes everything to heart because he is petty."

"I know that too. Who do you think taught him to hold grudges? If he bites me, I bite back. The one who's scared will let go first."