The Sacred Manager Life - Chapter 122

[A fire broke out in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province. One house was completely burned down, and the flames were extinguished in about an hour. Authorities suspect there were casualties, but fire and police officials are only repeating that the investigation is ongoing. The location is known to be a villa owned by a chaebol…]

Cha Soyeon, wearing not a single thread, lay on top of me, listening to my heartbeat.

I, too, listened to her heartbeat while keeping an ear on the news.

As expected, they were thoroughly hiding the casualties.

Given that it involved the death of a chaebol chairman and his heir, they’d announce it when the timing was right.

“The two brothers above had nothing to do with Han Kijin’s depravity. Even so, being chaebol, they won’t get any sympathy—but at least they weren’t criminals.”

“I won’t care about Hansung Group anymore. Those two were the targets. Satan only marked them, too.”

“Did I pass the test?”

“I don’t know. There were no clear criteria for passing, other than being told to ‘clean it up.’”

“If they were human, I might’ve tried something, but since they were fallen angels, there was nothing I could do. I wanted to be of help to you, Juwon.”

“What could be more helpful than this?”

She hugged me tightly as she said that.

With a soft moan, she tapped her fingers lightly against my chest.

“You’re getting me excited again. I’m tired, so let’s stop for today.”

Despite her words, her hand kept fidgeting lower.

“You’re still in good shape. Should I use my mouth?”

“No, just keep letting me listen to your heartbeat. That’s more calming.”

“Hehe, I like listening to your heartbeat more, too.”

And so, we spent a while savoring each other’s heartbeats.

Later, I’d have to compare them with the other girls’ heartbeats.

Yuna came to the rooftop room.

I had planned to meet her to hear how she ended up there, but it became unnecessary.

“I heard everything from unnie. That oppa even killed someone to save me… Sob.”

Whatever she’d been told, she arrived pale and shaken.

I sat her down on the floor and calmed her by stroking her head.

“Even if you’d been kidnapped, I would’ve hesitated if they were ‘people.’ But those things were never human like us.”

Since I couldn’t lie, I told her the truth.

I explained step by step—what kind of monster Han Kijin was, what he had done to those women, and why I had to end him.

“It was Satan’s test. A test to deliver divine punishment in place of God. Even if I hadn’t killed him, someone else would have. So don’t feel guilty. He wasn’t worth it.”

“But because of me, oppa, you…”

“I’ve been through worse fighting cults. This was destined from the moment I received God’s gift, so don’t take it too hard. Unless… you hate me for it.”

She hugged me tightly.

“N-no! Why would I hate you?! You saved me twice—how could I hate you?!”

She buried her face in my chest as she spoke.

“Don’t you hate me, oppa. If you start hating me because I keep causing trouble… I won’t be able to live. If you hate me, I won’t be able to live!”

I sat the sniffling girl down and calmed her again.

I emphasized that a bond formed by divine grace wasn’t something to be broken carelessly.

“Then… you’re just putting up with me because you have to.”

She sounded hurt, pressing the issue stubbornly.

“Look closely at my light. You know I can’t lie to you.”

She scrutinized me carefully, searching for any hint of deception.

After staring for a while, she hugged me tightly again.

“Is it okay if I’m a burden?”

“I’ve never thought of you as one.”

“But you always have to come save me.”

“Don’t call two times ‘always.’”

“There might be more.”

“Then I’ll save you again, so don’t worry.”

“Even if you have to kill someone again?”

“If they deserve it.”

Our conversation volleyed back and forth like a ping-pong match.

I patiently fielded her persistent questions.

After a while, she seemed to run out of things to throw at me and suddenly changed direction.

“This is all your fault, oppa.”

“Mine?”

“I look like some girl with no owner, so random guys keep clinging to me.”

Huh?

“That’s… creative, but I need an explanation. What do you mean?”

“You’re always with unnie… then next is Yeoreum unnie… then Ayoung unnie… Since I’m last, other guys think they can swoop in. I look easy, but I don’t have a man.”

She pouted, glaring at me accusingly.

Her logic was so far beyond common sense that I was at a loss for words.

“I didn’t decide that order. Didn’t you all agree on it among yourselves? Soyeon said so.”

“But this is an emergency… Who knows what could happen next… Oppa has to fix this. I don’t mind squeezing in between Yeoreum unnie and Ayoung unnie.”

“Uh, well… That’s not for me to decide. Talk to them directly. Honestly, me even entertaining this conversation is… yeah, pretty messed up.”

“Our relationship was never normal to begin with.”

“That’s true.”

“Then just accept it. I’ll talk to the unnies. Do you hate the idea of all three of us?”

“No, it’s not that… It’s just hearing it directly from a girl makes me feel like, well, a piece of trash.”

“You’re a cool piece of trash, so don’t worry.”

“The ‘piece of trash’ part is non-negotiable, huh?”

She hugged me tightly.

“I’m more confident than anyone in satisfying you. So even if it’s all three of us, it’s fine.”

Before meeting me, she must’ve been a normal girl. Now, swept up by the other three, she’d changed.

Whether this relationship was right or wrong was no longer Yuna’s concern.

Red Blossom’s mini-album promotions had wrapped up.

All four tracks charted on music sites for three weeks, and the title track, Butterfly, held the #1 spot for seven weeks.

With seven music show wins, they filled two display shelves with trophies, and their event fees skyrocketed nearly tenfold.

They toured nationwide during the May and June festival season, and I lost count of how many morning and afternoon schedules they handled.

Between occasional ads, interviews, and radio appearances, the two months passed in such a blur I barely remembered them.

“Pant… We’re rich thanks to you, Manager-nim.”

The director kept his promise to me.

All profits from the mini-album were distributed to the members.

Each earned about 700 million won, and Summer, Rina, and Sera received special bonuses from the company as thanks for their perseverance.

And then, they were granted a dreamlike week-long vacation.

“Congrats. Must feel good getting it all at once?”

“Yeah. It might be nothing to you, unnie, but I trembled looking at my bank account. I can’t believe I earned this much.”

Cha Soyeon and Ryu Yeoreum were on a video call.

“Even for me, getting 1 billion at once isn’t common. The company really went all out this time.”

“Manager-nim made a bet with them. He said if they did it right, they should reward us for our hard work.”

“That’s so like Juwon. He wouldn’t take a dime for himself, but he goes all out for others.”

“I’m so grateful. Without Manager-nim, this would’ve been impossible. I don’t know how to repay him.”

“He wouldn’t accept anything even if you bought it for him. Ayoung and I tried, but he said he didn’t need it. He’s the kind of man money can’t sway.”

“That’s why he’s even better, right?”

“Yeah. Just like Sora unnie said, having someone to love feels so good. That he only wants me makes it even better. That he doesn’t care about my background or status makes it even better. That he’s happy just having me… I just—I really, really love it.”

“Unnie, are you crying?”

“I just feel so happy thinking about Juwon. The way he makes me feel good in bed is just… too much.”

“That’s why I want to feel good, too. We’re on vacation now, after all.”

Rina and Chie were visiting their hometowns (America/Japan) for the first time in a while.

Sera planned to spend time with her grandmother and younger sister.

Jeongah would stay home with her mom.

“I’ll spend a day at home, then go on a 1-night trip with oppa.”

“Where to?”

“The hot spring hotel unnie told me about. I want to cling to Manager-nim in the water.”

The place Soyeon recommended was Muwonjae, a hot spring hotel in Suanbo, Chungju.

An exclusive high-end hotel with only 16 rooms, a couple’s suite cost 1.5 million won per night.

“The breakfast is fine dining, so it’s perfect for couples. Though after tasting Juwon at night, you might not even think about morning.”

“I want to bathe with Manager-nim in the private hot spring. From the website, it looks just right for two.”

“Stop drooling.”

“Ah, sorry.”

“Tell me how it goes when you’re back. If it’s good, I’ll go too.”

“I will, unnie.”

“Make the reservation for me?”

“No. I’ll do it. Since Manager-nim earned this money, I want to spend it on him.”

“Alright. Good luck.”

“Yes, unnie.”

I met Satan at Scarlet.

It seemed time to wrap up the Hansung Group matter.

“I received those two bastards. The demons in the Abyss are happily tearing them apart. That level of wickedness is rare even in Hell.”

“What about Hansung Group?”

“I attached demons to the two sons. They’ll turn on each other soon—spoiled brats who fall for temptation too easily. I’ll play with them a bit before sending them down.”

“And the company?”

“Once it’s broken up, others will take the pieces. Want any subsidiaries? I can spare a few if you’d like.”

“In exchange for bowing to you.”

“You catch on quick. Easy, right?”

“I’ll look elsewhere. I won’t bow to you.”

“We’ll see about that. I’m not an easy demon to refuse.”

He poured expensive liquor down his throat as he spoke.

Then he grinned at me.

“So, how does it feel to kill someone?”