Secretary Gwanggong's Survival Diary-Chapter 4

“Hey! That’s enough, Team Leader. He’s about to piss himself.”

Crude laughter, utterly out of place in a luxurious house like this, erupted ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) from all directions. As I listened to their cackling and carefully assessed the situation, I realized... this wasn’t what I’d feared after all.

“...What the hell is this?”

“Geez... how did this guy even get into our company?”

With an expression of utter disdain, Kang Seokho ran his hand over my head. I smacked it away with a thwack. Who the hell pets a human head like they’re patting a damn dog? I’d been panicking, sure—because I’d committed plenty of sins—but judging by their reactions, I’d figured out the vibe now.

“I’m really busy, okay?”

“Exactly. So stay busy by yourself. Why’re you dragging us into it, huh, Secretary?”

Our secretary team... well, I hate to say it myself, but within the company, we’re kind of a privileged class. No one could look down on us. Just being the hands, feet, and mouth of Yoon Taeo made us objects of envy. I mean, we were the CEO’s closest inner circle. Of course, the reality was like walking on a knife’s edge where your neck could fly off at any second. But from one step back, it probably looked like a goddamn comedy.

The one exception being... Security Team 3.

“You lied to the CEO, didn’t you?”

“L-Lied? About what...?”

“You said you were sick. But you look pretty damn fine to me. Strange, huh?”

Ah, right. I had been repeating that line to Yoon Taeo like a damn broken record. I forgot and just slipped into housework out of habit.

“I am sick? But I’ve still got responsibilities, so I forced myself to keep moving.”

“Wow. Look at this guy lie without even flinching.”

“I am really sick, though...”

Well, I want to be sick now.

“A-And for the record, I never asked to be sent anyone, okay?”

“What?”

Now that I thought about it, this had to be a mix-up. Yoon Taeo did say—

“The CEO said he’d send over Secretary Team 3.”

Then why the hell is Security Team 3 standing in my house...? I don’t know if Yoon Taeo was bullshitting again, or if someone in the secretary department screwed up, but what the hell am I supposed to do with these meatheads?

“Do you guys know how to do laundry? Or... clean? Maybe cook?”

Their mouths, which had been cackling earlier, all snapped shut in unison. They even avoided my gaze.

“Where’s my phone... Is it lunchtime for the CEO yet...”

“Secretary—no, Secretary Baek! Hey! You’re not seriously calling the CEO over something this minor, are you?!”

The big guy urgently grabbed both my wrists. He was strong as hell—felt like I’d been tied with rope. That sealed it. These morons really were sent here by Yoon Taeo himself. I clenched my jaw to keep the smug smile off my lips.

“Team Leader Kang, would it be okay if I rested for a bit? I think I’m running a fever from the shock.”

“...Team Leader Baek. I think you’re misunderstanding something...”

“My phone is...”

Fine, go rest. Kang Seokho shoved me in the back like he didn’t even want to talk anymore. Then he plopped down on the sofa after me. Sure, I’d grasped the situation now, but what the hell was I supposed to do with these guys? With their giant, idiot limbs, could they even fold a towel properly?

“Not sure if you know, but the CEO’s kind of a clean freak.”

“...He does have that side to him.”

Look at that loyalty. Makes me sick. Honestly, “clean freak” is putting it mildly. He’s a damn obsessive-compulsive perfectionist with taste that’s so high it’s stupid.

“That’s why we have to clean every single day.”

Not that cleaning really matters in this place. Every door and window has a dust-proofing system that completely blocks out anything from the outside. The air’s purified by an internal system that maintains optimal quality—it’s practically cleaner than a semiconductor plant. The only dust around here comes from clothes and bedding.

“Not sure if you remember, but two weeks ago? The youngest from Secretary Team 1? I think he got dragged off by your team for leaving a handprint on the bed sheet.”

“...That so...”

Lie. He didn’t just leave a handprint—he mismatched the entire bedding set. And he set the room humidity to 100%. Yoon Taeo could’ve woken up feeling like he was swimming. Even I might’ve killed him for that one. But that little detail? I’ll keep to myself.

“Oh, but I’m sure you already know better than I do. Since your team was the one that helped ‘send off’ all my people.”

Yeah, it was Security Team 3 that dealt with the ones who made mistakes—big or small. That’s why my team of over ten had been reduced to just me. No wonder they didn’t fear the secretary division. They knew we were all just slabs of meat they could slice apart with a single swing.

“If you want to keep this team intact, you probably shouldn’t screw anything up. Not even the smallest thing.”

Even the cocky mouths of Security Team 3 clamped shut. Kang Seokho, sitting on the sofa across from me, was no exception. I mean, if anyone knew best, it was him. Just how unstable Yoon Taeo really is. The more you understand that even a minor mistake can get you killed, the more terrified you become.

“Tch. Are we seriously struggling over this? It’s just housework, and you’re acting like it’s rocket science.”

Tch. There are always idiots who’d rather take the hard way. Seemed like Kang Seokho got a little salty over what I said, because he started moving with his team. I was going to be nice about it—let them owe me a small favor down the line. Since, let’s face it, we’re bound to need each other again eventually.

“Do your best, then. I’m going to take a nap. My head hurts.”

I already knew how this was going to turn out. But either way, if they messed up, they’d be the ones paying the price. I haven’t been in this world long, but I already found myself thinking like them—feeling numb to the value of life. I’ve seen too many people vanish without a sound.

Maybe it was because I’d burned through way too much mental energy dealing with Yoon Taeo this morning, but the moment my head hit the couch, sleep came crashing down on me. Even as I drifted, the annoyed muttering of Security Team 3 filled the air like a lullaby. Their pain was my sedative.

Just as I was teetering on the edge of sleep, my phone buzzed on my stomach.

Team Leader of Secretary Team 2

The name lit up the screen, and suddenly I was wide awake. Since we were responsible for different domains, we often had to exchange info, so contact wasn’t unusual. But calls during the day were rare. Usually, we just messaged updates. So when the phone rang, my heart immediately started pounding as I hit the call button.

“Hello...?”

— Team Leader Baek, we’ve got a problem.

Ah. The familiar, tragic setup. A line that should never, ever appear in a drama. Especially this drama.

— The beta ran away.

Shit... now we’ve really got a problem. My vision spun so fast I must’ve been on the verge of fainting. Honestly, I wanted to just let go of consciousness entirely.

❖ ❖ ❖

The biggest reason the drama Madman was branded a total disaster had everything to do with its Alpha protagonist, Yoon Taeo. His violent tendencies weren’t that unique—even bloodier dramas existed. But despite marketing itself as a romance, so many betas brushed past him. Through the first half, the story moved from beta to beta, each time framing it as “not true love.” It came off looking... well, like he had zero loyalty.

And Kim Daehyun. The beta Yoon Taeo had recently become obsessed with. One of the many beta side characters I barely remembered, there were so many. The real beta protagonist wasn’t supposed to show up until later anyway, so I hadn’t bothered memorizing the rest.

Most betas eventually ran away from Yoon Taeo, out of fear. Kim Daehyun wasn’t the first, is what I’m saying.

“I’m gonna head home.” ƒreewebɳovel.com

Thanks to Security Team 3 hanging around with me, we were able to quickly split up and act. No one knew where Daehyun had gone, so Kang Seokho and I headed one way, and the rest of the team fanned out across Seoul.

“Man, I knew something felt off.”

“...Yeah, didn’t it seem that way?”

Looks like Kang Seokho had the same gut feeling I did. Strangely, when Yoon Taeo’s beta is too obedient and passive, it makes the rest of us more anxious. Yesterday and the day before, Kim Daehyun had been unnaturally compliant, keeping everyone at peace. Guess that was all just buildup for this.

“Which team was assigned to him this time?”

“Security Team 2. They’ll probably be gone now...”

If Daehyun vanished while Team 2 was in charge of monitoring him, the people involved weren’t going to make it out unscathed. Wasn’t Yoon Taeo practically giddy this morning about having lunch with his beta? If the guy ran off mid-lunch, then yeah—there were going to be a few people not making it home tonight.

“It’s locked.”

“Step aside.”

Daehyun’s place was a basic officetel. I think he was a university student who worked part-time at a café? Bet he had the usual pitiful, underdog backstory. For some reason, every beta that got tangled up with Yoon Taeo had a pathetic past like that.

“Team Leader Baek, what’re you doing?”

“What’re you doing, Team Leader?”

God, how do we never see eye to eye? While I was fishing out my universal key from my pocket, Kang Seokho had gone and grabbed a fire extinguisher from the hallway. Truly a classic Security Team 3 move—brute force before brains.

“Trying to announce to the whole neighborhood that we’re breaking in?”

“What’s your background, Secretary Baek?”

Trade secret, asshole.

I ignored him and slid two tools into the keyhole—one thin, one slightly thicker. Feeling out the grooves through my fingertips, I aligned the lock and twisted. Thankfully, it wasn’t an electronic lock. Small mercies.