HSGG 01

Chapter : 01

When You Stare Into a Workplace With Fewer Than Five Employees, It Stares Back at You Too

I could say this with absolute confidence:

No matter what company rejected me, I was certain I could survive.

Because I had once worked at a workplace with fewer than five employees.

That alone explained everything.

For those fortunate enough not to understand, let me elaborate.

In principle, businesses with fewer than five employees are exempt from certain provisions of labor law to reduce the burden on small employers.

Unfortunately, some companies interpret that exemption as an invitation to become the most hellish sweatshops imaginable.

They shatter every shred of common sense, commit acts so absurd they defy logic, and redefine what it means to be the worst workplace on earth.

“So this is…”

I looked around in bewilderment.

The last thing I remembered was dozing off while working overtime at my miserable excuse for a company.

So why did my body feel so… light?

After climbing out of bed and thoroughly inspecting both my surroundings and my reflection in the mirror, I arrived at one conclusion.

Just like every cliché romance-fantasy novel…

I’d transmigrated.

“Alright. This isn’t so bad.”

There wasn’t much tying me to my previous life anyway.

My parents had passed away shortly after I became an adult.

After getting a job at that awful company, my personality had gradually soured, and I’d drifted apart from all my friends.

So maybe…

Maybe this was simply a chance to start over.

I closed my eyes and searched through the memories of the body I’d inherited.

Fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—faint memories remained.

“Audrette Lavendel. Twenty-one years old.”

Sadly, she wasn’t some noble lady.

She was an ordinary commoner.

Still, she owned a tiny little house in her own name.

And she had a steady job she reported to every day.

She worked for an information guild.

Just like me, Audrette Lavendel had lost her parents early, inherited only a small home, and found work at an information guild, where she spent every day buried in work.

Until she literally worked herself to death.

And somehow, my soul had slipped into the body she’d left behind.

An information guild…

I don’t know the first thing about that kind of work.

Then suddenly—

Wait.

A realization struck me.

What if… this is the world of a romance fantasy novel I’ve read?

Most people who transmigrate end up inside the world of an existing novel.

Maybe I simply hadn’t recognized it yet.

If this world had an original story…

Then I’d possess knowledge of the future.

Which meant…

I’d be the perfect employee for an information guild.

That’s it.

I can help this guild become the greatest intelligence network in the entire world.

The memories were still hazy, so I couldn’t even remember the guild’s name.

But I was certain I could make it the best.

After all…

An information guild was supposed to be something like—

“One martini. With a single olive.”

“…How do you know the password?”

After slipping through a secret entrance like that…

“I’d like you to investigate someone.”

“I’m afraid… even we can’t touch that person.”

The crown prince.

The Grand Duke of the North.

The Saintess.

People like that.

Surely information guilds were organizations that secretly dealt with powerful figures and became indispensable behind-the-scenes allies.

Perfect!

First I’d identify which novel this world belonged to.

Then I’d use my knowledge of the original story to my advantage.

And even if this world wasn’t based on any novel…

Well, romance-fantasy clichés alone should still give me a huge head start in gathering information.

Sure, it was a shame I couldn’t enjoy the luxurious life of a noble heroine.

But honestly?

As long as I never had to go back to working at one of those tiny nightmare companies…

I was thrilled.

Time for work.

Following Audrette’s memories, I dressed simply and headed toward the information guild.

…It isn’t very secretive.

Unlike the mysterious intelligence organizations from romance fantasies…

This place had its name proudly displayed right above the entrance.

Global Information Network Guild

…Why does that sound so lame?

It sounded less like an underground intelligence organization and more like a startup desperately trying to look modern.

Tilting my head in confusion, I stepped inside.

Three people were already seated beneath the dim lights.

Are these my teammates?

As I searched my fuzzy memories, wondering how I should greet them—

A furious shout exploded through the room.

“Why are you only getting here now?!”

“…Guild Master?”

Thankfully, the moment I saw his face, everything clicked.

The Guild Master.

Middle-aged.

The walking, talking embodiment of an old-fashioned workplace tyrant.

“Um… I’m still ten minutes early.”

“And you think it’s acceptable for a rookie to arrive after me?!”

“I’m sorry…”

“And the first thing you do is put your bag down?”

“…What?”

“Have you already forgotten what you’re supposed to do?”

“Um… what exactly do you mean?”

“I told you the moment I arrive, my coffee comes first!”

“Oh… Right. Sorry.”

I bowed immediately.

So much for the cool, mysterious master of an information guild.

The Guild Master was simply a cranky old boss.

“Audrette! You’re finally here!”

“Y-Yes?”

A man who looked slightly older smiled brightly at me.

Digging through my memories…

Ah.

“The Assistant Manager… Do you need something?”

“Haha! Today is the day our information guild begins its great revolution! I’ve scheduled three meetings today, so let’s stay agile and get everything prepared ASAP!”

“…Right.”

He was another villain entirely.

The passionate middle manager.

The type who loved creating mountains of work and leaving his subordinates to clean up the mess.

To make matters worse, he fancied himself young and trendy, constantly stuffing awkward English buzzwords into every sentence.

“Three meetings today!”

“…Wonderful.”

I quietly backed away toward the coffee machine.

Then the last person in the office called out.

“Chief Audrette!”

“Ah… Susan.”

Susan.

She’d joined the company at the same time I had.

She was…

“Hehe. You’ll make mine too, right? We’re friends—we started together!”

“…Sure.”

“And judging by today’s mood, I bet the Guild Master will leave early. But I don’t think I’ll finish my work before then, so you’ll handle it for me, okay? I plan on leaving exactly on time!”

“…What about me?”

“Hm? That’s not important. The important thing is that I leave on time!”

“…”

Hold on.

Something felt very wrong.

At that moment, Audrette Lavendel’s memories suddenly became crystal clear.

A tyrannical Guild Master.

An overzealous Assistant Manager.

An obnoxiously “MZ” coworker.

And me.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

You’ve got to be kidding me.

Now I remembered.

This wasn’t just my team.

This guild had only four employees in total—including me.

Which meant…

This was another workplace with fewer than five employees.

No…

Don’t tell me I’m stuck at another one.

And surrounded by these lunatics?

No wonder Audrette had worked herself to death.

She’d been a complete rookie with absolutely no experience.

That’s right.

According to her memories, she’d never even completed compulsory education.

She had no qualifications that would get her hired anywhere decent.

That’s why she’d ended up in this dump.

Trying to deny reality, I turned to the Guild Master.

“Um… how many paid vacation days do I have left?”

“Paid vacation? What nonsense are you talking about? Dreaming while you’re awake?”

“…”

“What about weekly holiday pay? Overtime pay? Minimum wage?”

The Guild Master clicked his tongue.

“Pull yourself together, Audrette. You looked exhausted yesterday. Did you eat something strange?”

Then he answered matter-of-factly.

“Our guild has fewer than five employees.”

“So none of that applies.”

“…!”

No way.

It finally hit me.

Even in this world…

I was working at another legally underprotected workplace with fewer than five employees.

“If you wanted those benefits, you should’ve gotten hired by the main contractor instead of whining while working for a subcontractor.”

A subcontractor?

A miserable little company… subcontracted?

Whoever the main contractor was, they were probably dumping impossible workloads on us while looking down on everyone here.

“Ah… yes…”

“My coffee.”

“Chief Audrette, don’t forget mine too!”

Half my soul already gone, I brewed coffee for both the Guild Master and Susan before dragging myself back to my desk.

“…”

A mountain of work the Assistant Manager had enthusiastically volunteered me for was waiting.

I stared blankly at it.

Should I just quit?

But…

I’ve only been here for two months.

If I quit now, the experience wouldn’t even count on my résumé.

“Aaaah…”

I buried my face in my hands.

Another tiny company?

Another sweatshop?

Not some glamorous intelligence guild from a romance fantasy…

But a guild overflowing with workplace nightmares?

Then—

My eyes snapped open.

“Hey… ever since you joined that weird company, you’ve become kind of strange.”

“Isn’t that way too selfish toward your coworkers?”

“Wait… you actually behave like that at work? That’s insane.”

In my previous life…

I had survived two whole years in a workplace with fewer than five employees.

And during those two years…

I’d learned one undeniable truth.

When you stare into a workplace with fewer than five employees…

…it stares back into you.

A smile slowly spread across my face as I remembered the owner of the terrible company from my previous life.

Park Geoseong.

The man who had shaped eighty percent of the monster I’d become.

Very well.

Human Sweatshop… reporting for duty.

I had every confidence…

That I could adapt perfectly to this utterly insane little guild.