The Sacred Manager Life - Chapter 11

It looks like the production company and Cha Soyeon exchanged edited versions several times.

The promotions team asked for the final version to upload, but they were refused.

“I’m not giving you the video with Juwon in it. If you see something off, you won’t upload it, right? I’ll handle it myself, so just watch it after it’s posted.”

That was the response from Cha Soyeon.

“Did you do something to get on Soyeon’s bad side? Why is Red Blossom’s video being uploaded from her side?”

“Ask her yourself.”

I sighed as I answered.

Because of that, the video was only seen after it had been uploaded.

*

“She wouldn’t budge when we asked her to appear on a variety show, but now she’s showing up here? She’s not even the main focus—it’s just a video of Shin Juwon showing off.”

Chairman Park Beomjun frowned as he watched the video.

“If I had known beforehand, I would’ve stopped it. Even the manager didn’t know what was going on. She said she was just meeting a friend.”

Yoon Sangho, the department head, sat on the couch watching the video with interest.

“Looks like they used a decent production company. It’s good enough to air on TV.”

The editing was sharp, the transitions were quick and engaging, the subtitles and captions were well-placed, and the background music and sound effects were carefully chosen.

“Department Head, did we get a production request for this? It must’ve cost quite a bit.”

“Juwon started it with his own money, but later, Soyeon covered the cost. He spent his bonus on this.”

Chairman Park narrowed his eyes.

“Who is this guy? What’s his connection to Red Blossom?”

“It’s in the video. His goal is to make Red Blossom shine. We even asked Soyeon about it, and she said he was being completely sincere. She keeps watching it herself, amazed.”

“Come on, is he some kind of saint?”

Red Blossom was a struggling group, and keeping them afloat was harder than debuting a new act.

“How did he even convince Soyeon? An apartment wasn’t enough, so now he’s making videos for them too?”

“It’s the other way around. Soyeon keeps sticking around because she wants to. Seems like saving her in the parking lot made a big impact.”

“If that were the only reason, she wouldn’t be this involved. She would’ve just handed him some money and walked away. Do you not know what Soyeon is like?”

“Is that so? Then… maybe she’s interested in Juwon.”

“Hmm, interested, huh….”

As the video ended, the department head picked up his coffee cup.

“Thanks to Juwon, my workload just keeps increasing. What kind of rookie goes around pulling stunts like this?”

The PR team had already put out multiple press releases due to complaints about the group’s run-down dorm.

There was also a flood of demands for clarification regarding the attack on Cha Soyeon.

Now, media outlets were reaching out everywhere, eager to interview Shin Juwon.

“You say that like you’re complaining, but you look like you’re having the time of your life.”

“Of course it’s fun. The company didn’t do anything, yet he single-handedly made them popular. Did you see the subscriber count?”

Their YouTube channel had barely scraped past a thousand subscribers before, but within a few days, it had skyrocketed to 100,000.

For a failing idol group like Red Blossom, 100,000 subscribers was an unimaginable number.

No new members, no comeback, no album—yet they had managed to grow their audience this much.

And the comments were coming in at lightning speed:Is this for real?

Why would she be in such a rundown place?

Are they even an idol group?

I’ve never heard of them.

Looked them up, they’re a second-album group.

Their songs are on Melon.

Their title track is actually decent.

Why did they flop?

I saw Yeoreum in a drama—she’s a great actress.

All three of them are gorgeous.

Someone post some clips.

Cha Soyeon’s smile is so pretty.

I watch this three times a day.

But seriously, Red Blossom’s manager—he’s an angel, isn’t he?

Can we see the full CCTV footage?

What does he look like?

I’m curious.

“Well, at least people know their name now. The response feels pretty good….”

“Are you changing your mind?”

“No. One video isn’t enough to turn things around. This is all because of Soyeon, not Red Blossom. Unless we get more viral hits, nothing changes.”

“You sound like you’re hoping for more of these moments.”

“Hah, as if. I’m just being realistic.”

Red Blossom wasn’t the reason people were watching—it was Cha Soyeon.

If they wanted this to continue, they needed more big moments.

“I like fun things too, just like you, Director. Especially Juwon—he feels different, right? If he shows me more, I’ll call him in and ask if he really wants to save them.”

“Juwon really is something. If even the Chairman is thinking this way.”

“I’ve been betting on this guy from the start. A normal person wouldn’t give off this kind of feeling.”

With that, he continued reading the comments.

He wanted to see for himself how strong the response was.

After downing the rest of my beer, I lay back on the bench.

I pulled out my phone and played the video again.

I had lost count of how many times I’d watched it today.

[It’ll hit ten million views soon. Is that a lot?]

“Yeah. Most videos don’t even hit a million in three days.”

[Then that means your goal of making the group known has been achieved.]

“It’s more than achieved. I never expected this kind of reaction. Cha Soyeon really is something else.”

[I don’t think it’s just because of her. Looking at the comments, half of them are about you.]

I had been stuck reading comments for days, but the spirit read through them instantly and even summarized them.

Its analysis skills were on par with the most advanced AI.

[It’s been centuries since I last came down to the human world, and you guys have created some interesting things. Show me more if you have them.]

It was like watching a superhero waking up from hibernation to relearn human civilization.

The spirit was right—at least half of the comments mentioned me.

From people wondering why I was so dedicated to a failing idol group to disbelief that I had stopped a knife-wielding attacker with my bare hands, many seemed skeptical.

I didn’t think much of it, but if Cha Soyeon saw this, she probably wouldn’t feel great.

She had put a lot of effort into shining the spotlight on Red Blossom, yet people were reacting like this.

I tossed my phone aside and stared at the night sky.

A streak of light cut across the darkness, leaving a long tail behind.

A shooting star.

“Looks just like the one I saw before. That means a god is passing by, right?”

[Seems like it. Maybe they’re bored lately.]

Even gods get bored, huh?

Watching the star, a thought suddenly popped into my head.

“I have a question.”

[Go ahead.]

“I feel like I’ve changed since receiving the divine gift, but I don’t know why.”

[How have you changed?]

“I’ve become… desperate. Before, I would stop helping once I felt I had done enough. But now, there’s no such thing as ‘enough.’ Without even realizing it, I just keep giving. Right now, all I’m thinking about is what more I can do to make Red Blossom shine.”

[That’s salvation. You received it from the gods.]

“But you called it a gift before.”

[A gift is just a tool. Salvation is the goal. If you were just an ordinary person, how could you save others? Salvation can only flow when the gift overflows.]

“Is that how it works?”

[Yes. People struggling in life will gather around you because of your gift. Your role is to help them shed their burdens so they can fly freely. That’s the salvation you can give to others.]

I had thought I was just helping, but this was something else entirely.

Could I really handle it?

[Of course, you can. You received the greatest divine gift possible. I’ve told you before—you underestimate yourself. That’s not humility; it’s arrogance.]

There it was again—another lecture.

[Your desperation comes from the gift. Humans only act when they feel desperate. That’s why this feeling keeps welling up inside you—to push you forward.]

So that was my mission from the gods—to use my abilities with a desperate sense of purpose and good intentions.

Since the day the video was uploaded, we had been gathering in the meeting room daily to monitor the situation.

Maybe it was because the group was finally getting attention, but the whole team was buzzing with excitement.

“This would be the perfect time to announce a comeback and introduce new members. The momentum is insane, but we have nothing ready. Damn it.”

The manager and senior staff looked frustrated.

It was a golden opportunity, but we had no way to capitalize on it.

“If the A&R team got involved, we might be able to do something. But with just us, there’s not much we can do.”

“A&R team?”

“You don’t know what that is?”

“No.”

I had heard it mentioned in company briefings, but I didn’t really understand what they did.

“It stands for Artists and Repertoire.

Their role varies by company.

Some only handle album production, while others oversee everything from talent scouting to planning, production, promotion, and marketing.

Either way, they’re the most important team when it comes to launching an idol group.”

So they were the ones responsible for creating content that the company could sell.

Definitely a key department.

“Then if they back Red Blossom, it’ll be easier to convince the department head or the chairman, right?”

“Of course. Our A&R team is so influential that even executives tread carefully around them. If they take our side, things could move surprisingly fast.”

“Tell me who I need to talk to. I’ll go ask them myself.”

There was a way forward.

Instead of running around outside the company, I needed to seize an opportunity from within.

“Hah… You think I haven’t tried? There’s no opening for Red Blossom.”

“What do you mean?”

“We have one boy group and two other girl groups. Even the weakest of them is mid-tier. They rotate their comebacks, so the A&R team is fully booked. They don’t have the time or resources to help us.”

“Aren’t we all on the same team? If they won’t help internally, we could outsource and just have A&R oversee the results.”

“Red Blossom isn’t worth that kind of investment. The A&R team is even harsher than the executives. They only care about market success.”

I understood their reasoning, but how can you fail or succeed if you’re never even given a chance?

“You look like you’re ready to kill someone.”

“I’m not. Just tell me who to talk to—I’ll go beg if I have to.”