Gong Seung-yeon was the last interviewee. Once she left, the interview naturally came to an end.

    And then—thunk.

    "Ow."

    The CEO''s flick landed squarely on the top of my head.

    "What the hell were you thinking, announcing a pass right in front of the candidate?!"

    "But... she was perfect. And the ones before her weren’t great anyway, so I just went ahead and said it."

    "The results are supposed to be notified after they go home. What if she hadn’t been the last candidate? The others waiting outside would’ve heard and what do you think they’d feel?"

    Thinking about it now, yeah.

    I messed up.

    This was my first time sitting as an interviewer, and I screwed up.

    "Ah. Yeah. That makes sense. I’m sorry."

    "...As long as you understand. It’s my fault too—I should’ve given you proper training instead of assuming you’d naturally do well. Just make sure you don’t make the same mistake next time."

    "Yes, ma’am."

    After saying that, I tilted my head.

    Next time?

    "Am I going to be part of another interview panel?"

    "Not immediately, but as the company grows, who knows? Actually, since we’re on the topic—go get some interview training from Manager Yeom now."

    "Huh? Right now? But I was gonna take a nap..."

    "Now."

    "...Yes, ma’am."

    Manager Yeom Hee-seong, who had been watching our conversation, motioned for me to sit down.

    He meant, Sit tight. I’ll give you a rundown once the CEO leaves.

    After the CEO left for her next meeting, Manager Yeom slid over one seat, taking the spot where Momo had been sitting.

    "Honestly, Gia, I don’t have much to say to you. Just be careful about what you say at the end. If you make it sound like someone is guaranteed to pass, then you have no choice but to hire them."

    "Ah. Got it."

    "This time, the CEO already said it was up to you, so I was mostly checking for anyone with a shitty personality. And yeah, Gong Seung-yeon? She seemed fine to me too. So don’t stress. You did well."

    To be honest, aside from her, I didn''t like any of the other candidates.

    That’s why I spent most of the interview keeping my mouth shut.

    I only spoke when Momo prompted me, just enough to gauge the candidates'' actual thoughts.

    So now I felt kinda awkward.

    "It was my first time, so I was probably a bit rough. Thanks for saying that."

    "Honestly? Just sitting there quietly and watching the applicants gets you halfway there. In the end, it’s really the CEO’s opinion that matters most."

    "...I think it’s just because your eyes are terrifyingly sharp."

    "Hey, I’m an angel compared to others."

    He said that with a smile—but his smiling face still looked angry.

    Despite being in his mid-30s, the guy had clearly been through it.

    Whenever he changed expressions, his deep-set wrinkles became more noticeable, and his prominent brow ridge made his face look even more intense.

    It was no wonder the applicants flinched the second they entered the room.

    Anyway, today I learned another valuable lesson: Silence is survival.

    If you don’t know what you’re doing, just keeping quiet is already half the battle won.

    While I was nodding to myself, Manager Yeom spoke up.

    "I’ll whip up a simple interviewer manual for you later. Read through it when you have time, yeah?"

    "...Wait, are you making that just for me?"

    He let out a chuckle as he stood up.

    "Yeah, for now, it''s for you. But eventually, more people will get promoted, and more employees will be hired. It’s better to set things up early so it’s easier later."

    "Ahh."

    "You’re pretty self-conscious, huh?"

    "...No, that’s not it. I just didn’t want to make extra work for you because of me."

    "Haha! That thoughtfulness is exactly why the operations manager won’t stop praising you. Anyway, I’m heading off. Enjoy your lunch."

    "You too, sir. Have a good lunch."

    I bowed slightly, and then—

    I was left alone in the conference room.

    Alright. Time to clean up.

    ...Or not.

    Everyone had pushed their chairs back in neatly, so there wasn’t much to do.

    I just needed to move the extra chairs—positioned to the side—to their original spots.

    ... ─ — Parallel Gallery — ─ ...

    [Sharing my interview experience]

    So, there were three interviewers.

    Momo was sitting in the center, and there was one person on either side.

    Momo (y’know, the CEO) asked most of the questions,

    but the person on the left asked way more than I expected.

    Somewhere in the middle, I just clicked with that interviewer,

    and we started geeking out over Komari’s streams.

    Like, they were super into it.

    And honestly, I never thought I’d end up talking about my favorite VTuber during a job interview.

    But somehow, it totally calmed my nerves.@@@@

    So... maybe... good news coming?

    [Comments]

    — Parallel874: Congrats in advance.

    ? Parallel067 (OP): Haha, thanks!

    ? Parallel743: I read somewhere that if the interview feels too fun, you’re actually less likely to pass.

    ? Parallel067 (OP): ...Wait, what.

    ? Parallel874: Oh crap, really?

    ? Parallel067 (OP): No, don’t do this to me...

    — Parallel385: What do you guys think about Momo’s red pill?

    — Parallel224: Good luck.

    ? Parallel067 (OP): Thanks, thanks.

    Even after the interviews were over, the HR manager kept checking the community boards.

    The acceptance notice came faster for Gong Seung-yeon than for anyone else.

    After all, Cheon Do-hee wanted to get someone in as soon as possible to share Gia’s workload, and Seung-yeon, as a fresh graduate, was ready to start immediately.

    Thus, on October 31st, the day of the first-gen’s Halloween collab,

    just two and a half months after graduating, and only two days after her interview,

    Gong Seung-yeon officially took her first step into society!

    “Kuhh...”

    The sheer emotion of it.

    Arriving an hour early, before her senior was supposed to meet her at 2 PM,

    Seung-yeon was busy taking selfies with the building in the background.

    “Kuhhhhhh!!”

    She still couldn’t believe she got accepted.

    But she was sure that her spirited conversation with Staff-D that day must have helped.

    The moment they met again, she was determined to thank her properly.

    And so, while she was still playing around, taking more pictures—

    "Gong Heung-yeong-hee?"

    "Oof."

    Startled, Seung-yeon turned around—

    Only to see a small girl, about a palm’s width shorter than her, chewing on something as she looked up at her.

    The legendary monster.

    Staff D, Gia.

    ‘Aren’t we running into each other a little too often?’

    The thought brought an involuntary smile to Seung-yeon’s face.

    "Hello! You''re eating fish-shaped buns? Well, it is the perfect season for them."

    "Want one?"

    "Oh—yes, thank you very much!"

    Suppressing the overwhelming urge to poke at Gia’s puffed-up cheeks,

    Seung-yeon accepted the warm, no—scorching hot bun.

    "Ah, hot—hot, hot!"

    "Just bought them, so they’re still fresh."

    "Th-Thank you."

    "Follow me. Let’s head up."

    Without another word, Gia trotted off ahead, stepping through the building’s entrance.

    As she struggled to push open the heavy glass doors, Seung-yeon caught up and asked—

    "Oh, wait. I was actually told to wait here. My senior is supposed to meet me."

    Gia pressed the elevator button before turning to look up at her.

    "That’s me."

    Seung-yeon blinked.

    Oing.

    So, was she going to be working directly under a bigshot?

    Or... was Staff D not as high-ranking as she had thought?

    "Umm... So, you are my senior?"

    "Yep. We’ll be working together from now on."

    Gia extended a small, delicate hand.

    "I’m Gia. Looking forward to working with you."

    Still mentally reeling, Seung-yeon hurriedly bit into her fish bun, then clasped Gia’s hand with both of hers.

    ‘I’m really going to be working with Staff D?!’

    She subconsciously clenched her lips, and—

    From the poorly baked, half-split belly of the fish bun—

    A stream of molten red bean filling burst forth.

    The fish bun was still hot as hell.

    "Zzib-dduhaaa—Thuaat!!"

    Overcome by the burning pain, Seung-yeon spat it out—

    And, without wings, the fish bun soared through the air before hitting the floor with a soft thud.

    It was a dead fish, so it didn’t even flop.

    Staring down at the gradually cooling bun, Gia muttered—

    "If you hate fish buns, you could’ve just said so."

    "No, no! That’s not it!!"