The Main Characters That Only I Know

Chapter 301:

The news of promotion that Celine brought was that Yu-hyun had been promoted to Deputy Director.

There was another good news as well: Celine had also been promoted from a regular employee to a deputy.

Yu-hyun and Celine, both of them had been promoted at the same time.

Celine said that this was all she knew for now, and she would tell them more when the official document came later.

She then left her seat.

Kwon Jia, who happened to overhear their conversation, quietly admired Yu-hyun’s rise to the Deputy Director position.

“Congratulations. You’re already a Deputy Director. You’re not far from becoming a director-level teller.”

The Deputy Director was right below the director.

And only the top 1% of all tellers could have the title of Deputy Director.

It was not just a matter of words, but a big event that deserved a grand party.

Kwon Jia looked at Yu-hyun’s reaction and was slightly puzzled.

‘What’s wrong?’

It was a good thing to be promoted to Deputy Director, but Yu-hyun didn’t seem very happy.

He rather looked like he was deep in thought, narrowing his eyes.

His reaction seemed more like worrying about what would happen next, rather than enjoying the fact that he had become a Deputy Director.

“Yu-hyun?”

“Oh, sorry. I need to get a grip.”

“Is there something bothering you?”

“No. It’s just that I was so immersed in the sudden promotion. Wow. Deputy Director. I heard that you have to play office politics and choose your side well to climb up from the Deputy Director level, but it’s a bit surprising.”

Yu-hyun hadn’t made any solid connections yet.

He barely had any meetings with the executive line of the central office.

If he had to name some acquaintances, they were only Galiaz and Celestina, the director of Celestial Ice who had retired from the front line.

On the contrary, he had to deal with the hostile Pentagram and other tellers from the Sihwa office who were wary and jealous of him.

It was almost a miracle that he had been promoted to Deputy Director.

Of course, Yu-hyun didn’t bother to tell her this.

After all, it was a good thing and what mattered more was what would happen next.

“Miss Jia. Whatever happens, I trust you with the task I asked you… I’ll leave it to you.”

“Yeah. Sure. Anytime.”

Kwon Jia didn’t press him on his subtle behavior.

The next day.

Yu-hyun made bracelets using fragments and distributed them to the rest of the people.

Kang Hye-rim, Seo Sumin, and Yoo Young-min wondered what the bracelets were made of and what they had to do with them, but they didn’t ask.

When they heard that Kwon Jia also agreed to follow him silently, the three of them decided to do the same without making a fuss.

As time passed, new events happened one after another in reality.

The most famous one among them was the appearance of ‘returnees’.

‘As expected, it’s faster than the previous history.’

Yu-hyun sat in the observer’s room and watched the situation outside.

Was it because the barrier between Earth and Hybrid World had weakened more than before?

The returnees who had vanished by vanishing started to show up one by one.

And their appearance was not exactly human, but not too far from it either.

They had reason and could communicate.

So the association focused on finding and gathering them with all their resources.

The returnees who had become stronger in another world were potential talents who would become a great force for the country in the future.

They couldn’t miss them with their eyes open.

‘The treatment of returnees is also much better than in my previous life.’

It was unfortunate for Kim Myungjun who followed Jin Cheongwoon and died by Yu-hyun’s hand, but the world was now swept by the returnee craze.

‘Well, it’s natural that returnees with reason would attract the attention of Earth people.’

What kind of world they went to and what they experienced there, what was there and how many different races existed there.

It was a world of difference between knowing that things that were only seen in fantasy or SF novels actually existed and hearing from people who actually experienced them.

Yu-hyun carefully searched for Choi Do-yoon among the returnees, but he was still nowhere to be found.

‘Even though the appearance of returnees is faster than I thought, his return is still not yet.’

He didn’t even know what Choi Do-yoon had gone through in another world and why he came back to Earth.

Even if the Earth changed, there was a chance that Choi Do-yoon would not delay his return as long as the world he lived in remained the same.

‘Anyway, that’s not what matters.’

Just then, Celine entered the supervisor’s room.

A few days had passed since the promotion ceremony was decided, and an official document had arrived with the details of who was promoted and when the ceremony would be held.

“Senior. Please check this. Here are the promotion certificates for you and me.”

“Hmm. That’s right. Congratulations, Celine. You can now officially call yourself a teller.”

“It’s all thanks to you, senior.”

Celine smiled faintly.

It was a fresh smile for Yu-hyun, who could tell that she was happy with the situation.

She had thought that her promotion was almost blocked and that she couldn’t do anything about it.

But who would have known that the place she reached after being chased and pushed away would become her lifeline?

“Hmm. By the way, now that you’re an assistant manager, can you move to a different department?”

“Ah. Senior. I had something to tell you about that…”

“You’re going to move, right?”

“…Yes.”

Celine answered after some hesitation.

She had been working hard to back up Yu-hyun from behind as a member of the support team, but her original goal was to become a teller in the visual department.

She couldn’t do it when she was still a regular employee because of her lack of skills, but she gained some recognition when she was promoted to assistant manager.

But what made her hesitate to answer was Yu-hyun.

He knew that and joked with her.

“Why? Are you feeling sad now that you’re leaving me?”

“What, what are you talking about? That’s not it.”

“Then why are you making such a sad face? You got promoted and got a chance to go to the visual department you wanted. You should be happy.”

“…Don’t you feel anything, senior?”

“Me?”

“…No.”

Celine turned her head away.

Yu-hyun smiled at her attitude, which revealed her true feelings.

“Well, I’m sorry to see you go. But thanks to you, my work became easier. But now I can’t have that anymore. And starting over with a new teller from the support team is also a hassle.”

“…If you want me to stay, I can’t refuse.”

“Huh?”

When Yu-hyun asked back, Celine answered with a slightly flushed face, trying to control her expression desperately.

“You’re a supervisor now, aren’t you? You’re the first one to become a supervisor without belonging to any department. Working under someone like that is a career for me in itself. So, please don’t misunderstand.”

“Celine.”

“There’s no other teller who can do your work for you except me. Yes. I’m competent. So I do want to go to the visual department, but it doesn’t have to be right now. I can postpone it.”

“No.”

Yu-hyun shook his head.

“You don’t have to postpone it. No, don’t postpone it more than you have to.”

“Don’t postpone it?”

“It’s an opportunity that you earned by working hard. You made it possible to grab that opportunity. You shouldn’t give it up because of me. Celine. Why did you join Celestial Corporation?”

“…To show off my visuals, my amazing visuals.”

“That’s right. Then focus on that. Don’t let me sway you and don’t weigh your dreams against me. If there’s something you want, go for it. Show me the story you want to tell.”

“Senior…”

Celine’s face showed guilt and Yu-hyun waved his hand to reassure her.

“Hey hey. What are you going to do if you feel sorry for me? You don’t have to feel sorry at all. You’re doing well and getting promoted, and I’m telling you to go for the path you wanted from the start. Why are you making such a face? And what, are you never going to see me again if you go to the visual department?”

“Me? No, no. That’s not it.”

“When you come to the art room, you should get more help from me. Do you know how to do art and how to choose a collector to contract with?”

“…I don’t know yet.”

“That’s right. You are now at the starting point as a teller. You can’t act like you’re already done.”

At that remark, Celine made a blank expression for a moment, then returned to her usual cold face.

“…You’re right. I guess I was too ahead of myself.”

“That’s good to know.”

“But if I go to the art room, I have to give back your library authority first…”

“Ah. About that.”

Yu-hyun cut off Celine’s words.

He had something he wanted to say to Celine about the library authority.

“Just leave it as it is.”

“Excuse me?”

Celine asked what he meant.

Celine had received some of Yu-hyun’s library authority in order to perform the duties of the support room teller.

Even if she had received some of the ownership, the owner of the library was clearly Kang Yu-hyun, and she had no say in taking it back.

Rather, if she moved to the art room, the library authority would have to go back to Yu-hyun.

But Yu-hyun told her not to give it back, that it wasn’t necessary.

“You don’t have to give it back right away. No, maybe it’s safer for you to have more of it.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Hmm. I can’t tell you why. Not right now.”

“Right now… Does that mean you’ll be able to tell me later?”

“By then, you’ll realize why I said this without me telling you.”

“…I don’t understand.”

Celine couldn’t accept Yu-hyun’s behavior.

He said he would give her more of the library ownership.

Did he have feelings for her and wanted to do her a favor?

‘No way. He’s not the type to do this just because of his feelings.’

The Kang Yu-hyun teller she saw was definitely a warm and very human teller. But he wouldn’t give her the library authority just to show his kindness.

Especially since it was a large library with over 10,000 existing viewers. He couldn’t have been unaware of its value.

Yu-hyun was a teller who would teach someone how to fish instead of just giving them a fish.

And he said he would entrust her with the library authority.

‘There’s something going on.’

Celine realized that something was happening and that Yu-hyun had a plan and nodded.

“I understand.”

“You’re quick to understand. That’s good. I did well with one junior.”

“Then, should I keep the library authority as it is for now?”

“Well, I’m thinking of leaving it as a rental for a period of time.”

“How long is the period?”

“It might be long. At least a month or three months.”

That was longer than she expected.

Even though he was about to be promoted to deputy manager, he said that, which meant he was looking at something after that.

“Oh, and when you get promoted to deputy right away, leave the support room and go straight to the art room. Don’t look back at me like you’re not going to do anything with me and be firm. Got it?”

“Is this… for show?”

Yu-hyun just smiled and didn’t answer. But his smile gave Celine confidence in her question.

“I understand. If that’s what you want, I don’t mind doing it.”

“It’s not coercion. It’s good if you do it, but it’s not a big deal if you don’t.”

“But, if I do, it might help you a little bit, right? Then I’ll do it.”

Celine’s voice was firm. Yu-hyun felt that he couldn’t stop her when he saw her upright eyes.

When he first saw her, she looked neat on the outside but her eyes were rebellious.

Now there was no sign of that at all."

“Fine. Let me see some of your talent, junior.”

“Haven’t you seen enough already?”

“I want to see more, that’s what I’m saying.”

“You don’t have to whine so much. You’ll see plenty when I go to the painting room. I’m going to follow in your footsteps and become a great teller, and present a splendid painting that will put my name in the hall of fame.”

“What? You knew about the hall of fame too?”

“I dreamed of it since I was a kid.”

I see.

Yu-hyun felt like he understood why Celine wanted to be a teller, and why she was obsessed with painting.

She saw the light in that brilliant story.

The light that emanated from the process of a beautiful and excellent being advancing with all their will.

It was so dazzling and beautiful.

Anyone who could see it would be captivated by it.

‘And from your appearance too.’

Celine did not say the rest. She was still too lacking to say that.

“Fine. If you have a dream, I have nothing to say.”

“So, will you go to the headquarters for now?”

“Yeah. Let’s go. It’s a promotion after all. I have to attend the ceremony. It’s better to go sooner rather than later.”

Yu-hyun said with a smiling face, but his eyes sank deeper.

‘Yeah. It’s better to go sooner.’