The Sacred Manager Life - Chapter 32

Before heading to work, I changed the bandage wrapped around my arm.

I wasn’t sure what had scraped me while dealing with Doksa’s men, but it had bled quite a bit.

It wasn’t something a simple band-aid could fix, so I applied medicine and wrapped it up with a bandage.

‘Why don’t I have the gift of healing?’

[Master, you have the ‘Gift of Recovery,’ but it only activates when your life is in danger, and it takes a long time to work.]

‘So, I have to hold out until the very last moment to use it?’

[It’s unavoidable because of the characteristics of those who receive divine gifts. A body imbued with a gift is extremely difficult to heal. To put it simply, it’s like being an ultra-precise machine, which makes repairs much harder.]

‘So, I have to handle minor damage myself.’

[Exactly. Time is also a factor. Think about how long it took for the Son of God to resurrect. He was only nailed to a cross and stabbed in the side with a spear, but it still took three days.]

That didn’t exactly seem like a minor injury, but since he was the Son of God, I let it slide.

[That’s why I’m protecting your body—to prevent you from needing to heal in the first place.]

‘Then you should’ve stopped me from getting scratched in the first place.’

[I’ve blocked dozens of sword and steel pipe attacks for you. You can handle the small stuff yourself.]

*

After greeting my team at work, I headed down to the basement practice room.

Lately, my daily routine started with checking in to make sure the kids were practicing comfortably.

“You’re all practicing well, right?”

“Oh, Manager-nim… What happened to your arm?”

Even though my sleeve covered it, Yeoreum noticed right away, like a ghost.

“It’s nothing. I just scratched myself at home while working.”

“How is it ‘nothing’ when you’ve got a whole bandage wrapped around it? Let me see.”

She pulled up my sleeve and examined the wound.

“Why is the bandage wrapped so sloppily?”

“Sloppy? I wrapped it carefully while looking in the mirror.”

“If you wrap it like this, it’ll come undone in no time. We need to redo it.”

With that, she led me to the dorm.

After sitting me down on the couch, she brought out a huge first-aid kit.

“You guys have something like this?”

“We get sprains and scratches all the time while practicing. If it’s not too bad, we just treat it ourselves.”

I didn’t even need to ask.

It was obvious—they didn’t want to burden themselves with hospital bills, so they took care of it on their own.

“Oh no, this is worse than I thought.”

She carefully disinfected the wound, applied ointment, and rewrapped the bandage with meticulous care.

I hadn’t realized it when I did it myself, but watching Yeoreum wrap it, I could tell the difference—her technique was on a whole other level.

I moved my arm, but the bandage didn’t budge or loosen at all.

“Until the scab forms, just ask me to do it. Don’t wrap it yourself.”

“Alright. Thanks.”

She fidgeted with her fingers as if she had something to say.

“Please don’t get hurt doing good deeds.”

“I told you, I scratched myself at home.”

“I know you’re lying.”

“How would you know that?”

The way she said it—like she knew everything—bothered me.

The Yeoreum I knew wouldn’t talk like that.

“I’m not sure if you’ll believe me, but the light behind you right now isn’t clear.

When I first saw you at the office, it was so bright.

But after spending time together, I’ve noticed that when you’re hiding something, the color becomes dull and murky—just like now.”

She was starting to say things I couldn’t quite understand.

Could she see light, just like Cha Soyeon?

[Hmm, this is interesting.]

“I can’t explain exactly what it is, but I just know when you’re not telling the truth. So if you got hurt doing something good, please just be honest with me.”

‘Is this some kind of ability to see gifts?’

[No, it’s not a divine gift. She just has an incredibly sharp sense. She can pick up on even the smallest changes in someone she cares about.]

So basically, she could tell when I was lying.

[Someone like you, Master, who has a kind heart, shows subtle emotional changes when lying. Most people wouldn’t notice, but she’s sensitive enough to pick up on them.]

‘And what do you mean by “someone she cares about”?’

[Figure that out yourself. I don’t give relationship advice.]

“I’ll work hard to succeed, so you won’t have to run around like this just to do good things. Until then, please be careful.”

“That’s a bit much…”

“Right now, I can’t even look Soyeon unnie in the eye, but I’ll make it up there. I’ll become someone who can help you. And when that time comes…”

I waited for her to finish, but she trailed off.

“…Never mind.”

She was hiding something too, but I couldn’t see any changes in her.

Why couldn’t I sense things like Yeoreum could?

[Divine gifts don’t expose a woman’s secrets.]

*****

I ran into Cha Soyeon in the hallway.

Usually, we just exchanged greetings and passed by, but this time, her eyes widened, and she rushed toward me.

“What happened to your arm?”

For some reason, a lot of women were interested in my arm today.

“Hurry up and tell me!”

She glared at the bandage, eyes practically burning with intensity.

For a second, I thought Samson had possessed her instead of me.

Since standing in the hallway like this would only lead to misunderstandings, I pulled her into a meeting room.

“I scratched myself at home while working. It’s nothing serious.”

I deliberately lied.

I wanted to confirm something.

As expected, her eyes narrowed.

“You’re lying.”

“How do you know that, Soyeon?”

She silently pointed behind me.

I turned around, but there was nothing there.

“You said you could see a white light behind me, right?”

“I did.”

“I really love that white light. It’s pure, honest, and represents how you help others without expecting anything in return. But right now, it’s faded a little. That means you’re not being completely honest.”

Just like Yeoreum, Cha Soyeon immediately sensed that something had changed in me.

“Don’t even think about lying to me. What happened?”

It seemed like Cha Soyeon and Yeoreum were special connections in my life.

I shouldn’t lie to either of them.

“I got into a fight near my house after work yesterday.”

I told her everything honestly—from getting ambushed to wrecking an entire bar.

As she listened, her expression shifted to one of growing frustration, and before I knew it, she was running her hands over my body, checking for injuries.

“S-Soyeon…”

“Where else are you hurt besides your arm? You said there were dozens of them!”

“Is my light still faded?”

She finally lifted her head and looked at me.

Her eyes were shining—she was holding back tears.

“This is the ability given to me by the one who saved both of us, Soyeon. Do you really think I’d lose to guys like that? I made sure they won’t try anything again.”

Only then did her expression relax, and she pulled me into a hug.

The steady rhythm of her heartbeat was strangely comforting.

“You’re impossible. Why do you keep making me worry? Do you really want to keep getting hurt just to do good things?”

“This doesn’t even count as getting hurt… But fine, I won’t get scratched next time. So stop worrying, okay?”

“You don’t need to see a doctor?”

“I put medicine on it and wrapped it properly. It’s fine.”

“Well, Yeoreum did a good job with the bandage.”

“…Wait.”

“How do you know that?”

“I can smell her all over you. You must have been really close together.”

What the… Is she part bloodhound?

“That’s… possible?”

“Of course. I’m a Shin Juwon expert, remember? Anyone close to you is automatically part of my research.”

‘Are we sure she doesn’t have a divine gift?’

[It doesn’t seem like it, but… I have no idea where that level of sensitivity comes from.]

She really was an extraordinary woman in more ways than one.

*

“So, SN Entertainment’s Executive Director Geum Taesang is the biggest problem right now.”

“For now, yes. He was involved in Sera and Chie’s kidnapping.”

“We need to get rid of him.”

Her expression barely changed, but… that emotion I sensed—

It was rage.

A deep, immeasurable fury.

“Soyeon, don’t get involved. He’s connected to the mafia, and we still don’t know his exact relationship with Jinsegyo. We don’t even know who’s backing him.”

Money laundering, mafia funding, frequent high-profile bribes…There was definitely something bigger behind him.

Rather than moving recklessly, it was better to wait for the perfect moment to wipe them all out at once.

Even the divine spirit had sent me signals to hold back for now.

“For the time being, I just want to focus on Red Blossom. If something happens to you while you’re digging into this, then everything—both your work and mine—will fall apart. So just leave it to me, please.”

This had nothing to do with Cha Soyeon.

If she got hurt because of me, I’d regret it for the rest of my life.

“Then promise me one thing. If anything happens, talk to me first.”

“…I promise.”

We linked pinkies to seal the deal.

With that, I finally managed to calm Cha Soyeon down.

*

Cha Soyeon went down to the parking lot, where her bodyguard opened the car door for her.

She sat in the backseat and made a call.

“Hey, it’s me. I’m going to meet Grandfather, so set up an appointment.”

After hanging up, she opened her photo gallery.

A separate folder was dedicated to Shin Juwon’s pictures.

As she flipped through them one by one, a faint smile appeared on her lips.

“I’m just keeping an eye on things. I’m not interfering, Juwon.”

*****

Chie’s audition date was set.

“There are two weeks left, so give me daily updates on your progress. Don’t overdo it—we need to manage your condition. If you get injured, that’s the worst-case scenario.”

“Yes, I’ll be careful.”

“The format is the same as an individual evaluation. They’ll be judging rap, dance, and vocals. There’s also a camera test.”

“What song should I do?”

“You choose. Go with whatever you’re most confident in.”

After summarizing the key points from the meeting, I headed down to the basement practice room.

Unless they had a special schedule, the trainees spent their mornings practicing there.

They were so focused on training that they didn’t even notice when I entered.

I leaned against the wall and waited for the song to finish.

“When did you get here?”

“Just now.”

Yeoreum walked over, wiping off her sweat.

Beads of sweat ran down her neck—so enticing I almost wanted to lick them.

“…Is there something on my face?”

“N-no.”

I quickly chased away my indecent thoughts and called the rest of the team over.

“Chie’s audition date has been set.”

Just as I was about to go over the details from the meeting.

Time suddenly stopped.

It was the gift of prophecy.