The Sacred Manager Life - Chapter 117
`"Hyungnim, I heard you're with Executive Director Kim Tae-sang. I didn't show my face because I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. I’ve already told the kids, so enjoy yourself freely. The Ace is on standby—just say the word if you need anything. Your eternal little brother, Viper."`
The last line sent shivers down my spine.
So the musclehead must have reported to Viper.
Disgustingly obedient.
The waiter led us to a VIP room where ordinary people weren’t allowed.
Kim Tae-sang, seemingly familiar with the place, entered first and took a seat.
“The usual.”
“Yes, Executive Director.”
A woman more beautiful than most actresses entered with a bottle of soju.
She tried to sit next to Kim Tae-sang with a flirtatious smile, but he waved her off.
“Don’t bother. The owner of this place only loosens up when he’s surrounded by women.”
“Good for him. Maybe this’ll be his chance to fix that habit. What’s so great about some amateur trying to act like a succubus?”
He downed the soju in one gulp.
“Hah, now this—this I like. Just a hint was enough, and they perfected the flavor.”
He seemed pleased with the drink, downing three glasses in quick succession.
“What was that earlier? Why did they take your limbs?”
There were many things I wanted to ask, but why I’d been attacked was the most pressing.
Instead of answering, Kim Tae-sang’s eyes flashed.
The TV on the wall turned on automatically.
"What do I have to do… for you to love me?"
It was a scene from a drama that had been wildly popular in the latter half of last year.
Praised as flawless in direction, screenplay, and acting—except for one glaring flaw.
That flaw was the acting of the supporting actor now on screen.
“You know Han Ki-jin?”
“I do.”
He had many nicknames: Heaven-sent acting disaster, More robotic than a robot, Worse to watch than PPL.
“He’s the biggest headache in the acting team. If it weren’t for his father, that bastard wouldn’t even get a foot in the door.”
“The son of Hanseong Group’s chairman must be something special.”
Whenever he appeared, PPL, ads, and production funding from Hanseong Group followed like a parade.
The sums were so massive that despite his abysmal acting, he thrived as the go-to supporting actor for forced casting.
“Money talks. There’s a reason Mammon and Asmodeus are the top two among the Seven Deadly Sins.”
Mammon for greed, Asmodeus for lust.
With money and sex, nothing is impossible.
“People grovel for Han Ki-jin’s money, but the bastard himself is drowning in sex… Isn’t the world hilarious?”
His eyes flashed again.
The drama scene changed to something else.
A shaky, grainy video filled with noise.
The content was so shocking that the poor quality was almost a mercy.
Men drugged and mercilessly beating and raping women,
A man tying up a woman and torturing her with tools she’d never seen before,
Another forcing terrified women to take drugs while they watched these scenes,
The screen was filled with sadistic acts of torture-level depravity.
It was like witnessing the absolute limits of human degradation.
And in the middle of it all, Han Ki-jin, high and getting blown.
“Why show me this? You proud your actor’s this much of a psycho?”
“That psycho ordered the hit on me. Didn’t you just ask?”
“What?”
He hired someone to chop off the limbs of a company executive backing him?
“I stopped him from doing what he wanted, and this was his reaction. Simple-minded, I’ll give him that.”
He set his glass down and leaned back.
“You handle it. That’s today’s agenda.”
He’s definitely a bastard, but Han Ki-jin and I have no connection.
This is absurd, even for a sudden request.
“Why me?”
Instead of answering, he just stared at me.
His eyes changed color—one for the past, the other for the future.
“I see the past with one eye and the future with the other. The present, I feel with my body. Your incomplete gift of prophecy can’t compare. But that future eye… it told me you and Han Ki-jin will cross paths soon.”
Me and that human trash?
“I thought about handling it myself. Him and his father.”
“His father? Hanseong Group’s chairman?”
“Yeah, Han Kyu-seop. That viper of a son is turning everything into Sodom and Gomorrah to protect his own.”
A city so steeped in sexual depravity, moral decay, hedonism, and corruption that God judged it with fire and brimstone.
No chaebol has clean hands, but Han Kyu-seop is that bad?
“Who do you think the son learned from? It’s all stuff his father did in his youth. The two older kids grew up abroad, so they’re slightly better, but the father and youngest? You get it without me saying more.”
“Weird.”
“What is?”
“Isn’t Sodom and Gomorrah your ideal? Why destroy the humans creating it? Shouldn’t you be helping them?”
Satan clicked his tongue.
“You only see half the picture. I create Sodom and Gomorrah to corrupt humans—why should humans do it themselves? That’s backwards.”
What a ridiculous answer.
“Your kind might care about results, but for demons, motive and process matter more. I don’t recognize Sodom and Gomorrah made by others. If I see it, I tear it down and rebuild it myself.”
“Then tear it down. Don’t drag me into it.”
“I already told you. You’ll be involved. Before I tear it down, I have to step in. So I’m giving you a heads-up while showing off a little. I want to see how you handle it.”
“…….”
“I don’t leave enemies alive, but I’m curious about you. Will you forgive? Or erase them like I would? So, I’m testing you.”
“A test?”
“Yeah, a test. I’m the one who tests you, aren’t I? Deal with that bastard and his father however you choose. Kill or spare them, do as you like—but whatever you do, you’ll need a reason convincing enough for me.”
“What if I refuse?”
“The chosen being tested is divine providence. I’ve told you before—that’s my role.”
He grinned viciously.
“You have free will, so you can refuse. But from that moment, I’ll intervene, and things will get much more complicated. You might lose something precious. Maybe.”
“Something precious?”
“Like the woman who loves you….”
CRASH!!
The marble table between me and Satan shattered into pieces.
My boiling rage triggered the gift of superhuman strength first.
“Good expression. Now you’re motivated.”
“If you touch my woman… I won’t forgive even the King of Demons!”
As my fury surged, a dark aura began rising from Satan’s back.
My threat had landed.
“Calm down. I’m not the one touching her. I don’t mess with humans connected to gifts. Bad ROI.”
“Then why bring it up?”
“I told you. You’ll cross paths with him. It’ll happen soon, but I’m giving you a heads-up to show off.”
He downed the rest of his drink.
“That’s all from me. Anything else?”
“One question.”
“Go on.”
“Han Ki-jin and Chairman Han Kyu-seop could be useful for your goals. Why kill them? No matter how I look at it, this just seems like you’re helping humans.”
“You could see it that way, but they’re in the way.”
“In the way?”
“They keep interfering with your test. I’m preparing ingredients for a delicious meal, and they’re shitting on it before I even cook.”
He leaned in close.
“Not a single flaw is allowed in the soul I covet. The mere attempt means they won’t die clean. If I’m not satisfied with how you handle it, I’ll step in myself.”
His chilling gaze promised to tear even a fragment of their souls to shreds.
Han Ki-jin’s Second House —
Yong-ho, the boss of an international faction, frowned as he checked his phone.
Across from him, Han Ki-jin swirled his drink.
“No contact from any of them?”
“Right. Ten men sent, vanished without a trace. We combed Scarlet’s area—not a drop of blood. These aren’t guys who go down easy.”
They were elites, far beyond the bodyguards protecting Kim Tae-sang.
Not one or two, but all ten had been out of contact for days.
“Kim Tae-sang’s walking around fine. Says he wiped out my whole team. Does that make sense?”
“What can I do if they’re not answering? Even the security team’s in chaos.”
Yong-ho, exhausted from scrambling to replace the lost men, grumbled.
Of course, Han Ki-jin wasn’t listening.
He turned to the manager sitting quietly beside him.
“Keep talking about that earlier thing.”
“Her name is Seo Yu-na, 20. Debuted last year under Mirinae Entertainment, which recently rebranded as Arte Cube.”
“Arte Cube?”
“Yes, a new label launched by Fine Entertainment—merged with one of their teams. The one affiliated with…”
“Enough. Bring her here.”
“Uh, Young Master. The chairman strictly warned you to lay low for now. The last incident isn’t resolved yet…”
“Fuck, that’s why! Just bring her quietly. Find a way, damn it!”
As Han Ki-jin roared, the manager flinched before forcing out a reply.
“Then… if you could just call Joo-hee once.”
“Joo-hee? Who’s that?”
“The BJ you messed with last time. They trained together for about a year. If she helps, we can bring her quietly.”
“You had this ready and still waste my time? Hand me the phone.”
He glared at the manager with a vicious look as the man searched for the number.
Licking his lips slightly.