Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols – Chapter 549 – Resignation (2)

Author: LyraDhani

‘If I sign this, will the sync rate reach 100%?’

A heavy thumping, the sound of my own heartbeat, echoed in my head. Death, when viewed with a clear mind, was like the deep sea, so deep that I couldn’t see the bottom. Its impression had turned so cold and dark that it was hard to believe there was a time I had considered it my final sanctuary.

My sister wanted me to live a steadfast life. But I had already derailed from a track with no visible destination.

So, the system had snatched me, someone who would forever try to steer himself off the railway, and placed me back at the starting point. It forcibly operated the train, building stations one by one along the way.

I had been driven forward by force, by a system that sometimes overloaded the train with people and sometimes changed the routes. Throughout the trial and error, the train became worn and dirty. Yet, it had run all the way to the final stop without leaving the iron rails—right up to the last station where the passenger, my sister, was to disembark. Whether I wanted to return to the train depot or keep traveling farther, the journey agreed upon between the system and noona ended here.

[SYSTEM] A work instruction from the ‘Superior’ has arrived.

▶ Are you scared?

The system asked.

‘A little.’

[SYSTEM] A work instruction from the ‘Superior’ has arrived.

▶ It’s a good thing you’ve regained your instincts.

The system seemed pleased. It appeared proud that an entity that once might have bolted in any direction was now exhibiting normal behavioral patterns. It seemed deeply moved by its own achievement in finally fixing my mindset, considering that human resources were said to be the most difficult to manage.

‘Still, it’s fortunate that your role only went as far as receiving the wish. If your goal had been to repair me completely, it would have been a much bigger headache.’

[SYSTEM] A work instruction from the ‘Superior’ has arrived.

▶ If everyone had listened to their predecessors’ advice, the Earth would look very different than it does now.

In a good way, human society might have developed further; in a bad way, the gaps in power, such as status or wealth, might have become so entrenched that they could never be narrowed. I would give the system credit for at least trying to maintain some kind of balance.

‘Still, it’s a shame.’

Before, I had thought that if I had no purpose, there was no reason to keep living. Because my life had been a continuous series of regrets.

If I hadn’t existed, noona would have lived a much better life. If we hadn’t set up a meeting that day, maybe she wouldn’t have died. Those guys probably hadn’t wanted to debut with me either; they must have felt uncomfortable getting caught up in all sorts of rumors and controversies simply because they debuted with me…

But only now did I realize that noona had never once considered me a burden. I also finally acknowledged the fact that I actually liked being in Spark. There was no longer any way for me to deny that those guys had become an important part of my life.

And yet, it had to end here.

I felt regret. Truly deep regret.

I looked at the system window with a bitter heart. Then, it spoke.

[SYSTEM] A work instruction from the ‘Superior’ has arrived.

▶ I really can’t tell if Assistant Manager Kim is smart or just plain dim-witted.

The rascal hit me with a verbal jab out of nowhere. Then, it continued casually.

[SYSTEM] A work instruction from the ‘Superior’ has arrived.

▶ Sometimes you seem incredibly good at figuring out my intentions, yet at other times you completely miss the mark over the strangest things. For instance… you understand the principle of the ‘Opportunity’, yet you miss the most important core.

‘What does that mean?’

When I pressed for an answer, the system replied.

[SYSTEM] A work instruction from the ‘Superior’ has arrived.

▶ You thought to yourself: ‘Whether I seize the chance and fulfill noona’s wish is entirely up to me’.

[SYSTEM] A work instruction from the ‘Superior’ has arrived.

▶ And you still don’t see what’s strange about that?

Something is strange? Did I miss something?

I sat quietly, mulling over the words displayed by the system. Then, I began to review the things I had learned one by one.

Noona tried to give me an opportunity as my predecessor, but my sudden death caused the structure the system had designed to collapse.
Accordingly, to prevent the ‘Irregular’ from dying again before receiving the opportunity, the system turned back time to when my sister was born to eliminate the cause of the problem it identified—presumably the root of my depression. Even though that wasn’t actually the root cause of the problem.
My sister’s wish was for her ‘successor to escape the things that make him suffer and become happy’. Since ‘my sister’s death’ was included in ‘the things that make the successor suffer’, the System removed ‘noona’ from ‘Subordinate’’s life. After all, if she didn’t exist, there would be no reason to be sad over her death.

Everything after that was exactly as I experienced after regressing. The KPIs the System presented were a process to make me blend into Spark and achieve emotional recovery. In the end, just as the system wanted, I no longer wished for death…

Come to think of it, something was indeed strange.

Survival was a condition necessary to accomplish the objective, not the system’s original goal.

What the system wanted wasn’t my survival itself. Its role was to ‘provide’ me, while I was alive, with the opportunity my noona had left behind.

Conversely, I never had the chance to obtain the good fortune called an ‘Opportunity’. Not until the moment I died of overwork.

And now, I was facing a 100% sync rate.

If I passed this point, the exact same error would occur again, and the problem would return to square one……

[SYSTEM] A work instruction from the ‘Superior’ has arrived.

▶ I’m telling you this because you seem to be mistaken, Assistant Manager Kim, but I never said the target of synchronization was death~

[SYSTEM] A work instruction from the ‘Superior’ has arrived.

▶ I told you to return the ‘reused life’, I never told you to submit your life in its entirety. What use is there in keeping used scrap paper around? Once you’ve used something as much as you can, you should know how to throw it away.

To me, who was in agony, the system opened up a new possibility.

If synchronization didn’t mean death, then what did it mean? What happened to me after I returned the ‘reused life’ the system mentioned when I first regressed?

It wasn’t difficult to deduce the answer to this question.

I would be placed back at the moment I stood at the crossroads of choice.

Whatever decision I made there, everything from my previous life would come to an end. My relationship with my sister, who disappeared leaving a wish; the ill-fated connection with Manager Nam, whom I no longer had any business with. All that remained for me was the days to be lived in the future. Whether I pressed the play button or remained frozen in place would be up to me.

[SYSTEM] A work instruction from the ‘Superior’ has arrived.

▶ Is there any luck greater than being given a second chance?

The system flickered. It was a question asking how it would be if I, who hadn’t answered General Manager Ahn’s call back then, were given the chance to choose again now, after having come a long way.

If I answered the incoming call and asked for help, I might not die. If I didn’t voluntarily give up out of my own will, I might live.

As long as I was willing to accept the hand being offered to me.

However, the number I used back then had long been deactivated. Even if the system were to use its discretion to change the caller from General Manager Ahn to one of my acquaintances from my second life, there was no proper means of communication.

[SYSTEM] A work instruction from the ‘Superior’ has arrived.

▶ If Assistant Manager Kim submits a formal request, I can certainly consider it. Isn’t that why I’ve been laying the groundwork?

At the mention of ‘groundwork’, my gaze unconsciously drifted toward one of the boxes I hadn’t unpacked yet.

I had left all the belongings that weren’t daily necessities untouched. Even without opening the box, I knew very well what was inside.

Inside were personal items I took from the dorm, group t-shirts, my diary, and…

‘The pager.’

…The proper piece of equipment I had stubbornly brought along instead of throwing it away. It was a trace of my lingering regret.

[SYSTEM] A work instruction from the ‘Superior’ has arrived.

▶ If Assistant Manager Kim insists it’s an essential piece of work equipment, well, what other choice do I have? I have to provide it. But I can’t give you the exact same kind of personal item that’s sold commercially. You have to return the existing equipment, too. I’ll replace it with something available for purchase through our company mall, so keep that in mind.

The system could place objects wherever it wanted without being constrained by space or time.—just as it had given the ‘Kim Han school uniform’ to me early in my debut.

Once the premise that I had attended school under the name Kim Han existed, there had to be a school uniform with a name tag reading Kim Han, rather than Kim Hyoil, in order for the current world to make sense. Even if I, the person who should have owned that uniform, was unaware of it, if an object naturally ought to exist within reality, the system could materialize it.

‘Will the pager change like that too?’

[SYSTEM] A work instruction from the ‘Superior’ has arrived.

▶ It’ll become a little more old-fashioned. I know Assistant Manager Kim’s colleagues bought equipment with their own money to make work more convenient, but the company can’t keep providing the exact same things indefinitely. Let’s act within the bounds of common sense.

That meant…

‘I can live.’

My heart beat rapidly.

[SYSTEM] A work instruction from the ‘Superior’ has arrived.

▶ I wonder whether someone as impatient as Assistant Manager Kim will even be able to stand how frustrating it is. The performance is much worse than the store-bought version, so you might die of frustration before you even adapt to the new supplies.

The system warned me. But I steeled my heart. I thought of the reward I had saved just in case—considering the final accident that could happen at any moment. As long as I didn’t give up and collapse, the reward would be maintained as long as I was breathing.

Reading my thoughts, the system asked.

[SYSTEM] A work instruction from the ‘Superior’ has arrived.

▶ I think Assistant Manager Kim has forgotten, but enduring something like that is pretty damn hard, you know?

Pain from the past inevitably became hazy with time, so perhaps, just as the system said, once I actually experienced it again, I might want to surrender immediately.

It wasn’t like I wasn’t afraid at all. I had endured in the past because I knew it would end soon, but if I had to bear an indefinite agony, I might give up halfway.

Even so, I had to endure. Especially because I knew what it had taken to obtain this opportunity.

I wrote my name in the final box. The moment I finished signing, an excruciating pain struck my chest, as though a car had driven over my body.

My hand unconsciously clutched at my clothes. I couldn’t breathe, and a harsh, ragged cough escaped me.

Because I had fallen onto the floor, I had to lift my head to see the system. It shone loftily above me.

[SYSTEM] A work instruction from the ‘Superior’ has arrived.

▶ Is there anything you want to ask the company for as a final request?

The system asked. Forcing my trembling lips into a smile, I looked at it with eyes that must have been bloodshot and answered.

‘Unused welfare… I’m going to use it before I leave.’

I remembered asking myself what I was supposed to live for after saving noona and completing every KPI. After much wandering, I had decided on my own answer.

Even while scratching the floor with my other hand, I did not bow my head. I did not look away.

‘Time Stop. Use it on me.’

The busy members of Spark might not notice the signal the system sent right away. Even if they heard about me, they might not come because they were angry at what I had done. There was also the chance that even if they rushed over, I wouldn’t be able to hold on and would die.

Nevertheless, as long as there was even a sliver of a chance, I decided to cling to it. I would hold on tenaciously, no matter how agonizing it was.

Because I didn’t want to give up on the miracle of ‘just in case’.

[SYSTEM] A work instruction from the ‘Superior’ has arrived.

▶ Assistant Manager Kim certainly has guts. Do you think it’s easy to continue your next career at a new workplace? You don’t even have your predecessor to back you up anymore. I can’t tell if you’re brave or just ignorant.

Perhaps due to the lack of oxygen, my vision grew increasingly blurry. It felt as if the world in front of me was gradually darkening.

Still, the thought of closing my eyes didn’t occur to me.If I could just see them coming, I didn’t care if this suffering continued forever.

[SYSTEM] A work instruction from the ‘Superior’ has arrived

▶ Haha!

The system laughed, shining brilliantly. I rolled on the floor and laughed too. Anyone watching would have thought I had lost my mind. But what could I do when my heart was exploding with pain, yet I felt so exhilarated?

My consciousness drifted. Making a sound that was somewhere between a groan and a cough, I desperately gasped for breath, but nothing entered my lungs.

The system bid me farewell.

[SYSTEM] A work instruction from the ‘Superior’ has arrived

▶ You’ve worked hard all this time, Mr. Iwol.

[SYSTEM] ‘Time Stop’ is initiated.

Starting from the tips of my toes, my body began to stiffen. I couldn’t tell if it was due to the lack of oxygen or the influence of the system.

But I was no longer afraid.

[SYSTEM] A work instruction from the ‘Superior’ has arrived

▶ Congratulations on your resignation.

With the final greeting I had longed for, my memory was completely cut off.