Chapter 125: Adaptation Period (1)

Chilly.

Hostility shaped like daggers flew straight at him and lodged deep. At this point, he could believe this operator account had “Hostility Provocation” as a passive skill.

“…….” “…….” “…….”

Otherwise, how else could they all shoot him looks of utter contempt the moment Lee Taebaek came into view?

If this world were a game, he would have invested some time in building affinity.

‘But the circumstances are different now.’

There was no reason to play the friendly newbie for these openly hostile pricks.

Isn’t the joy of office life just doing your job and clocking out? Sucking up to the boss was behavior that lagged behind the times.

These days, the trend was to treat assholes exactly like assholes.

Besides, the ones despising him as some “loser dude” were utterly pathetic. It was getting stale.

‘On Earth, just being handsome would net me all sorts of perks.’

This insane dystopia straight-up branded any good-looking guy as a loser. He wasn’t begging for praise or anything, but why was it always “loser”…

At least he’d learned how to deal with these types, so that was some small gain.

Drag.

Even the trivial act of pulling over a chair drew scrutiny from the security personnel.

‘Who’d think I came here to steal chairs?’

Whatever. Ignore it.

Lee Taebaek plopped down into the dragged-over chair. Amid the perilous silence, he plugged his ears with earphones.

“Ha, ha, haha.”

Perhaps dumbfounded, the Half-Shaved Woman let out a hollow laugh before muttering something under her breath.

“Hey, #$%!@#$.”

It was all Greek to his ears. Lee Taebaek calmly ignored the pouring attention and fiddled only with his device.

Forget that line about getting labeled trash on day one making the future rough.

In a one-eyed village, a two-eyed man was the mutant. Exactly the situation. These guys were the freaks—he was the normal one.

That was Lee Taebaek’s mindset for surviving at Daesung Group. He was practically an outsider anyway.

Security Team Break Room.

“That new guy who just came in? Total this vibe, right?”

The deputy manager pressed his index finger to his temple and twirled it. Both his fingertip and temple were pure steel.

For security under Executive Director Ryu Subaek at Daesung Group, cybernetic prosthetics were practically mandatory.

They were men who sold violence for pay. They preferred prosthetics they could swap out anytime over fragile flesh. No need to explain their importance in real combat.

But.

“Crazy’s an understatement. That guy’s arms and legs looked fine—no prosthetics at all. What the hell gives him the balls to show up without even one?”

As mentioned, in a megacorp’s muscle division, prosthetics weren’t optional—they were obligatory.

But.

By everyone’s visual estimate, this newbie was pure flesh and blood, not a scrap of metal in sight.

“Ah, he’s got one. The earphones.”

“You think that’s it? Like the ‘clear-eyed madman’ type?”

“Dude. Clear eyes would mean prosthetics. I’m telling you, that pretty boy had zero metal on him. What was Director Ryu Garyeon thinking, bringing in a guy like that?”

“Who knows. Prosthetics can run out of battery mid-night shift. Maybe better to keep him flesh-intact for that?”

Crude jokes mingled sweetly with the aroma of coffee.

“But why’s Team Leader Seong Hayun telling us to leave him alone? I wanna go rip those earphones out right now.”

“Give it a rest. If Director Ryu brought him, that’s a direct line to the Exec Director. Screw it up, and it puts Team Leader in a tough spot.”

Seong Hayun. The name of the security team leader whom Lee Taebaek had been calling the Half-Shaved Woman.

But never utter those three syllables in front of her. Do it wrong, and your waist might snap. The team leader hated her name—it sounded too girly.

…Let’s skip why a woman would hate a womanly name. Lake City was the kind of place that embraced even weirdos like that.

“She’s our direct boss and all, but looks like Exec Director Ryu’s water’s right up to his chin. How many hires for security this third month already?”

“What good does it do? Team Leader cuts ’em all. She’s picky about people, but lately it feels extra stringent.”

The deputy slyly rolled his eyes. Then he lowered his voice to a whisper.

“Heard from somewhere—Team Leader Seong Hayun’s got lines out elsewhere. She’s got the skills. We know she’s gotten scout offers plenty times.”

“Nothing new there. But if so, shouldn’t the Exec be focusing more on securing shares than beefing up security?”

“Bullshit. That’s impossible, so he’s fumbling around. Even swapped his brain for a prosthetic?”

That was when it happened.

“Party’s in full swing, huh!”

A thunderous roar made the gossips flinch. Coffee spilled everywhere in the chaos.

“…S-sorry!”

Seong Hayun was leaning crookedly against the doorframe. The dark break room contrasted with the bright outside, perfectly framing her half-shaved head.

“Instead of flapping your gums like this, plug your ears like the newbie! Babble where everyone hears again, and I’ll rip your limbs off clean—prosthetic or not!”

“Yes, ma’am!”

The break room sprang into frantic action under the stinging reprimand. After the security team scattered, the echoing room fell quiet. Team Leader Seong Hayun stood there blankly, brewing a cup of instant coffee.

“Lee… Tae… baek…”

She chewed on the name at the edge of her paper cup.

“Guess I need to check him out.”

Were the fruits of playing trash?

No one bothered Lee Taebaek all the way to lunch. Right after clocking in, some guys had poked around, but for some reason, they’d vanished into thin air.

And so, Lee Taebaek killed time in isolation amid the office that looked drawn straight from a textbook illustration.

He’d thought a security team’s office would reek of roughness and violence.

Instead, it was utterly corporate. Pointlessly running a humidifier included.

‘Was I too hasty?’

The act meant to leave a strong impression had instead cornered him into isolation.

‘With this uncooperative vibe…’

His freedom of movement was guaranteed, but his room to maneuver shrank.

Paradoxical, but true. Security teams got deployed externally often, and a trash like Lee Taebaek would likely get left out every time.

Truth was, he’d been iced out from day one.

‘I brought it on myself in a fit of anger—no helping it.’

Lately, Lee Taebaek struggled to rein in his emotions. Especially after taking Goeun and Rock’s curses to the body—it had gotten worse.

His temper was already fiery thanks to his [Concepts], but recently it had intensified. Even he thought he was disregarding fire and water too much.

Lee Taebaek leaned the chair back far, pondering. The creaking parts drew glares from a few.

‘Let’s think of this Daesung Group adaptation period as prep before full upper-layer ops.’

Daesung Group was literally a temporary stopover for Lee Taebaek.

‘Resistance was an accident.’

Daesung was different. Both he and Ryu Subaek had crystal-clear goals.

Lee Taebaek was borrowing Daesung’s nameplate to legally root out bugs in the upper layers. Made handling things smoother in every way.

Ryu Subaek had hired him to snatch succession rights. According to him, that fight was drawing near.

‘TV shows the Chairman still hale…’

He shook his head.

No point fretting over a stranger’s face. Worry about your own hide first, Lee Taebaek. Who’s worrying who? A megacorp chairman at that… Passing dogs would laugh.

“…Sigh…”

Bored. So bored.

If day one was like this, daily life ahead would be even stuffier.

As he regretted fumbling the first button.

“Lee Taebaek.”

He turned his head.

As expected, the Half-Shaved Team Leader.

With a sinister smirk, she strode toward Lee Taebaek. Each step rustled piles of papers.

“Looking pretty bored.”

“…….”

…It was true, but.

With relations already soured by his own doing(?), her sudden friendliness made his neck stiffen instinctively.

“Don’t be so guarded.”

“……?”

“I was stiff earlier too. One of my subordinates died on the job yesterday. And the next day, Director Garyeon brings in a fresh face. From the team leader’s seat, I had to pull out the thorns first.”

She swept her gaze across the office.

By their reactions, it didn’t seem like a lie. A thread of gloom passed through everyone’s eyes.

Even in this parched corner of Lake City where affections dried up, some camaraderie lingered. Or maybe they were just projecting onto the dead comrade. Either way, Seong Hayun was telling the truth.

“No plans to bitch about the earphones. This is Lake City. Prove your skills, and nobody cares what you do. Seducing women for pantry hip-thrusts or rolling in bed with the boss every night.”

Sounded kinda scratching?

‘Still.’

Seong Hayun’s intent came through clear.

Screech.

Lee Taebaek slowly pulled his upper body forward and stood. Then, at eye level with her, he spoke.

“Stuff’s gonna get half-wrecked all over. You cool with that? All this furniture looks pricey.”

The team members blinked at the sudden remark. Only Team Leader Seong Hayun burst out laughing.

“Hahaha!”

Then she stomped the floor twice with loud thuds.

“What do you think you’re standing on? This is Daesung Group. We’ve got six training rooms assigned to security alone, all lined with top-grade alloys. Won’t even scratch easy.”

He’d prepared the answer.

But it was the kind of thing you couldn’t say sober, so he’d buffed [Mental].

“Mistake to think I’m easy.”

“…Ha, haha, ha.”

The laughter soon turned hollow.

After a good while.

“Let’s go.”

Seong Hayun turned, baring her back to Lee Taebaek.

“See what your confidence is worth.”

Seong Hayun walked off the way she’d come. Lee Taebaek ruffled his hair and took a step.

A beat late, the security on standby grasped the situation and hurriedly followed.

A stickler boss schooling the trash newbie. Just imagining it popped dopamine like popcorn.

They quickened their steps. All while grinning with malicious schemes on how to torment the ragdoll Lee Taebaek.

This was a variable.

“…Groooaaah…”

A shrill groan leaked from within the dented wall. Lucky it was cybernetic—if flesh, he’d have crossed the Jordan long ago.

The eyes of the defeated victor turned to the onlookers. He spoke lowly.

“Next.”

Five minutes.

It took less than five minutes for Lee Taebaek to shatter everyone’s expectations.