The Sacred Manager Life - Chapter 118
Gentle sunbae went to Artist Team 1, while I joined Artist Team 2.
The artists assigned to Team 2 are Min A-young, Red Blossom, and Honey Pops.
Honey Pops kept their existing manager, so I was assigned to handle Min A-young and Red Blossom.
Since Min A-young is still in the process of selecting her next project, my main focus remains on Red Blossom.
Art Cube Basement Practice Room —
“Can we talk for a second?”
“Yes, oppa.”
Yuna sat quietly beside me.
This was our first conversation since she caught me with Dasol at the playground.
I came down to the practice room on purpose, thinking I should clear up any misunderstandings.
“Do you still feel like you’re being stalked?”
“I keep feeling eyes on me, but nothing’s happened at home. None of my things have been touched.”
“Then maybe you’re just being overly sensitive? The CCTV hasn’t caught anything, and I’ve been watching the area for days—nothing suspicious.”
“You’ve been watching the area for days?”
“Yeah. Last time, you saw me at the playground, right?”
“Ah.”
She quickly turned her head away.
Guess she’s still bothered by seeing me with Dasol.
“About that girl…”
“I didn’t see anything.”
Good girl, playing dumb for me.
“Thanks for saying that. I’d appreciate it if you kept pretending you don’t know her. If all three of you found out, it could cause misunderstandings. Our relationship is already one-to-many—if another girl gets involved, things could get messy for me.”
I made it clear she shouldn’t dwell on it.
“But, oppa…”
Yuna was about to say something when the door opened.
It was the choreography trainer I’d exchanged greetings with a few times.
“Oh, you’re here with Juwon. Were you two talking?”
Must be practice time.
Yuna checked her watch, startled, and flustered.
She apologized to the trainer and stood up.
“Let’s talk later.”
I shouldn’t take up their practice time over something trivial.
Turns out, I was wrong to think Dasol would come back.
Even though I lingered around the same time every day, she never showed up again.
“Everglow? Never heard of them. I’ll ask around and call you back.”
I called Park Chan-hyuk, who had moved to Nova Enter.
He said he’d never heard of them but would look into it.
“Well… the debut lineup was finalized, and press releases went out, but it got scrapped last minute. No idea why. The whole team handling it was dissolved. All the staff quit.”
Weird.
Producing a girl group isn’t cheap, yet a group that was on the verge of debut vanished without a trace.
Like it was deliberately covered up—no records left in the company, no staff who worked on it.
While I was lost in thought, my phone rang.
It was Cha So-yeon.
“Where are you?”
Her voice sounded uneasy.
After hearing so many of her emotional moans, I could picture her expression just from her tone.
“In front of Honey Pops’ dorm. I was checking the CCTV angles.”
“I’m in the lounge. Come here. We need to talk.”
“The lounge?”
“The company lounge. Yuna’s here too, so hurry.”
Something felt off.
Did she hear about what happened at the playground?
Company Lounge —
Cha So-yeon, her face full of displeasure, and Yuna, her head hung low, sat side by side.
I cautiously took a seat, and Cha So-yeon immediately spoke up.
“Yuna says you’re sexually frustrated, Juwon-ssi.”
Huh?
“Me?”
“Yes. She says one woman isn’t enough for you, so all three of us need to step up.”
A dozen question marks floated above my head.
How was I even supposed to respond to this?
“I’m seriously hurt. Three times a day isn’t enough? Was it that hard to go a few days without me because of that regional shoot?”
Wow, this is insane.
“Yuna!”
“Yes, four!”
“What did you say to So-yeon? What kind of nonsense did you spout to make her act like this?”
My voice rose unintentionally.
And as it did, the tears welling in Yuna’s eyes grew bigger.
“Sniff… I just asked unnie if she knew about your weird behavior.”
“Why are you making her cry?!”
“No, I just—”
Yuna’s words stuck in my mind.
Was talking to a girl at the playground really that strange?
“About what happened at the playground…”
“Yes. She said she saw you sitting alone on a bench, talking affectionately to an imaginary girlfriend.”
An imaginary girlfriend?
“What are you talking about? I was with Dasol. I was just asking why she was lurking around the dorm.”
In my haste, I blurted out the name.
They wouldn’t even know who Dasol was.
But their reactions were odd.
“See, unnie? The light isn’t flickering.”
“Right. It’s steady, and the color’s normal. He really thinks he was talking to a girl.”
Their expressions instantly turned pitying.
“Sigh… I guess I’ll cancel my schedule and stick by your side starting today. I’ll increase the frequency, so just hang in there. For our sake, snap out of this delusion, okay?”
What kind of nonsense is this?
I was alone at the playground?
“Yuna, you… didn’t see a girl sitting next to me on the bench?”
Pressed, she opened her mouth with a frightened look.
“No… you were alone, oppa.”
Ah.
I blankly stared at the ceiling.
The two kept talking, but I heard nothing.
Now I understood why the café staff looked at me strangely, why people whispered.
I was the crazy guy who ordered two drinks and talked to himself.
Dasol… was a “supernatural being” only I could see.
“So, you were talking to a girl only you could see?”
“Yes. You know I can’t lie to you two. I wasn’t acting weird—I was talking to her. I don’t know why only I can see her.”
I spilled everything, from the stalker incident onward.
Halfway through, even Yuna was listening intently to details she hadn’t known.
“…That’s it. I don’t know why Nova Enter scrapped Everglow, but the girl I met didn’t know either. She still thought this was her dorm.”
If it were our company, I’d dig deeper, but it’s another agency—I can’t pry.
“So… is a ghost attached to you, oppa?”
Yuna asked nervously.
Honestly, I was wondering the same thing.
“There is a spiritual gift that lets you see supernatural beings, but I don’t know if Dasol is one. I might’ve just hallucinated.”
Maybe I mistook a vision from the gift of prophecy for reality.
“But it’s true Nova Enter was planning to debut that girl group.”
“That’s right. Team Leader Park confirmed it.”
I don’t know about the other members, but Dasol was definitely in the press release.
The fact that the group almost debuted is real.
“Then we just need to find this Dasol girl. If she’s alive, she might be a ‘vision’ trying to tell you something. If she’s dead, she’s a spiritual being only you can see.”
“U-Unnie… that’s scary.”
Yuna pouted and clung to Cha So-yeon.
“I’m stuck there too. The team disbanded, and all the staff quit.”
“Hold on.”
Cha So-yeon made a call.
Now that I think about it, I’ve got a cheat key right beside me.
When I had to pull Chie’s former manager out of the police station,
When I resolved Jung-ah’s school violence scandal,
When I took down that perverted congressman,
A single call from Cha So-yeon always unraveled the solution.
A few days later, I met Cha So-yeon in the conference room.
“Two members withdrew, so the debut fell through. The other three switched agencies and debuted in different groups.”
True to her cheat key nature, she dug up the behind-the-scenes details.
“The three didn’t know the full story. Their contracts were terminated without conditions, and they debuted elsewhere, so they’re fine. They just assumed the group couldn’t debut as five.”
“Why did the other two quit?”
“Still checking. The best way is to ask them directly, but I can’t reach them. The company’s records are suspiciously empty.”
It’s not uncommon for groups to disband right before debut.
But since it’s not a scandal, there’s no reason to hide it.
Yet the lack of records is suspicious.
“I’m looking into it, so don’t interfere. I’m dying of anxiety because I can’t see her. Who knows where she might take you?”
Cha So-yeon’s expression was desperate.
If she can’t see the other party, she can’t protect me.
She’s terrified I’ll vanish without warning.
I hugged her tightly.
“I’m not going anywhere, so don’t worry. Just locking eyes with you makes me want to hold you. How could I live without you? I want to stay by your side just as much.”
As I fondled her chest, her whimpers turned seductive.
“You’re the worst. Making me flustered anytime.”
She whispered sticky words into my ear.
“Let’s take the car. I can’t wait till we reach the bed.”
I might not be able to keep my promise to Cha So-yeon about being careful.
Because I found Dasol near the dorm again.
I raised my hand to greet her but hesitated, scanning the area.
I knew only I could see Dasol.
I approached to talk, but she didn’t look at me.
She acted like I wasn’t there, staring off to one side.
Following her gaze, I saw a guideline on the street.
It resembled the sign from the gift of guidance.
‘What is this?’
[It is a gift, but it’s reacting to her. It seems like the gift of memory has evolved.]
‘Gift of memory?’
The ability to retain visions from the gift of prophecy.
A passive skill unrelated to others.
[It’s gained the ability to see others’ memories. Like how Satan sees the past with one eye.]
You can see the past?