The Sacred Manager Life - Chapter 37
“Uwooooah, Soyeon-nim is in my hoooouse!”
With a scream, Jeongah threw herself to the floor in front of Cha Soyeon.
She looked like a barbarian warrior bowing before the queen of a civilized nation.
At the threshold of the door, I stood in the hallway with Cha Soyeon, while Jeongah remained inside, prostrated.
It was a bizarre sight.
“Could you lift your head? I have something to talk about.”
“Y-Yes….”
She immediately sat on her knees right in front of the door.
Her attitude was completely different from when she talked to me.
But the fact that she still wouldn’t step outside proved that she was a true recluse.
“I don’t really enjoy having conversations in the hallway. Can I come in?”
“U-Um… My room is too dirty for Soyeon-nim to enter… I-I’m so sorry…”
She even looked like she was about to cry, which caught me off guard.
This wasn’t how things were supposed to go.
I needed to fix this quickly.
[There’s no other choice. I’ll put her to sleep.]
Suddenly, Jeongah toppled over like a felled tree.
‘Why’d you put her to sleep all of a sudden?!’
[What are you waiting for? Hurry up and take all the trash out.]
Oh… So that’s what they meant—clean up.
“What happened to her?”
“I put her to sleep for a bit. We need to clean her room.”
“Is that another power from the divine?”
“This is something the spirit helps with.”
“Put me to sleep sometime too.”
“Why? What would you do?”
“I want to know what it feels like. And if I’m asleep, you can do whatever you want with me. Don’t you like that?”
Her eyes sparkled like a child who had just found a new toy.
It was terrifying how serious she sounded.
I asked Jeongah’s mother for some large trash bags and started stuffing them with the garbage in her room.
It took three full bags before the place looked remotely livable.
As I wiped the floor with a cloth, I glanced at the hallway and saw Cha Soyeon sitting there, smiling brightly.
I had grown so accustomed to her expressionless face that I could now recognize even the slightest smile.
“Why are you smiling like that?”
“You can tell I’m smiling?”
“I’ve seen it often enough to get used to it.”
“That’s good. I was worried you wouldn’t be able to read my face in bed.”
Lately, Cha Soyeon’s remarks had become increasingly bold.
Did someone coach her or something?
“I was smiling because I liked watching you clean. If you cleaned my house like that, I’d be willing to do anything for you.”
See?
Definitely bolder.
After thirty minutes of hard work, I finally managed to make the room presentable enough to welcome her majesty.
*****
“Huaaah!”
Jeongah shot up with a scream.
“Why did I suddenly pass out? That scared me!”
“You fainted.”
As soon as Cha Soyeon confirmed it, Jeongah immediately accepted it without question.
For her, Soyeon was like a cheat code.
“Now I can come in, right?”
She pointed at the room.
Jeongah turned around, her eyes widening in shock.
“W-What the…?”
“Juwon cleaned it all up while you were out. Now I have enough space to sit comfortably. If you still won’t let me in, I’ll just leave.”
With the queen’s decree, Jeongah had no choice but to step aside.
*
“Everything I said in that interview was true. Juwon didn’t even know it was me, but when a guy came at me with a knife, he ran straight toward him. Staged? Scripted? Not a chance. Juwon would never fake something like that.”
“……”
“And it’s true that he stormed into that cult to rescue Sera and Chie. I went down to Busan and saw it with my own eyes. Do I look like the type to lie just to promote my company’s idol group?”
“…No.”
With an unreadable expression, Soyeon laid out the facts one by one.
Jeongah hadn’t been able to lift her head for a while now.
It seemed I wouldn’t even need to call Han Sora to convince her.
“I came here myself to tell you this because I wanted you to understand that Juwon would never lie. So from now on, listen carefully to what he has to say. Juwon.”
Cha Soyeon passed the baton to me.
“You heard Soyeon, right? Everything I’m about to say is the truth, so trust me. I actually came here to scout you as the fifth member of Red Blossom.”
Jeongah’s eyes widened to an almost ridiculous extent.
Silence filled the room, broken only by the sound of our breathing.
“…Liar.”
Jeongah was the one to break the silence.
“I told you, it’s not a lie.”
“Liar! You’re lying! Look at me! How can I be in a girl group looking like this?!”
She clutched her head and screamed like a madwoman, her hair a tangled mess.
“Why are you freaking out all of a sudden?”
“Even Jeongwon, who practiced like her life depended on it, didn’t make it to the debut team!
But me?
I dropped out of arts school and have been a shut-in for two years!
How the hell are you going to turn me into a girl group member?
You crazy scammer son of a—ugh!”
She clutched the back of her neck and collapsed backward.
“Did you seriously just knock her out again?”
[She fainted from getting too worked up. It looks like vasovagal syncope—her blood pressure dropped suddenly. Touch her forehead for a moment.]
She even kindly gave me a medical diagnosis.
I could feel healing energy flowing through me.
So she really did pass out.
“Did the spirit put her to sleep again?”
Soyeon’s voice was calm, but her eyes burned with intensity.
She was on the verge of launching into an angry performance.
“No. She fainted on her own from excitement. I’ll wake her up now.”
As I touched Jeongah’s forehead, I felt warmth draining from her body.
After a moment, she woke up with a dazed expression, like someone who had just been sleeping.
“Jeongah, you! You didn’t listen to me properly, did you?!”
“Eek!”
At Cha Soyeon’s thunderous roar, Jeongah cowered in the corner, trembling.
Even I took a step back—her presence was that overwhelming.
How could such a small body produce such a terrifying voice?
“Did I or did I not say that Juwon never lies?! How dare you ignore my words?!”
With the continued barrage of scolding, Jeongah was completely overwhelmed.
Her usual expressionless face had vanished, replaced by a fury so intense that even knowing it was acting, I felt a chill down my spine.
“S-Soyeon… I was wrong. I… I was wrong. Hwaaah~!”
Jeongah buried her face in the floor, surrendering completely.
I couldn’t help but admire Soyeon’s rage-filled performance, so I leaned over and whispered.
“Soyeon, you’re a born actress. I’ve never seen such terrifying acting before.”
“DOES THIS LOOK LIKE ACTING TO YOU?!”
Huh?
“You swore at Juwon?! Do you want to die today?! I’ll tear you to pieces and grill you over a fire, you wretched—!”
I had never heard such vicious insults in my life.
Soyeon’s rage was completely real.
*
“I’m so sorry… Soyeon… I’m really, really sorry…”
She had been groveling like this for a while now.
She had gone from a ferocious beast to a helpless little fish in an instant.
“Alright, that’s enough. Now listen carefully. Juwon, go on.”
With the atmosphere forcibly calmed, I continued where I had left off.
Jeongah no longer lashed out, but her face was still full of skepticism.
Her expression said, I’ll let you talk, but I don’t believe a word of it.
This wasn’t going to work.
I needed to set up the final blow.
“I know. Getting you on stage won’t be easy. You’ll have to lose weight, and you’ll have to make up for all the time you lost with intense training. That’s not going to be easy, is it?”
“…….”
“But you know, the Red Blossom members thought the same way.
Yeoreum got a barista certificate because she planned to work at a café if the company kicked them out of the dorm.
Rina was thinking about going back to the U.S. And Sera was writing songs for her seniors.”
That’s what they said before moving into their new dorm.
“They made it here through all sorts of struggles. It wasn’t all because of me, but it’s true that a lot has changed since I arrived. Now, we’re just a little bit away from our comeback, and we need you to get there—as the fifth member.”
“But why me?”
I expected that question.
“Pine Entertainment is a big company. There must be a lot of trainees better than me—no, better than Jeongwon. Why are you picking someone as messed up as me?”
“Because of Jeongwon.”
“…What?”
“You said there must be a lot of trainees better than Jeongwon, right? Absolutely not. From what I’ve seen, Jeongwon was the best trainee. And she fit in with the Red Blossom girls better than anyone.”
“But… you’re just a manager. How would you know that?”
“I’m not just any manager.
I’ve been recognized by the company president and the best A&R team leader in the industry.
That’s why, even as a road manager, I’m out here scouting members.
I pick talent better than most casting managers.”
I explained who Chairman Park Beomjun and A&R Team Leader Baek Hakyung were.
Park Beomjun was famous, and as soon as I listed a few songs Baek Hakyung had composed, Jeongah nodded in understanding.
“I can vouch for Juwon’s eye for talent. He’s helped me a few times too.”
Right on cue, Cha Soyeon backed me up.
With her support, Jeongah’s expression softened significantly.
“Okay, so you’re a skilled manager. But Jeongwon’s gone now. Even though we’re twins, we have completely different abilities. I’ve never even trained as a trainee.”
At the mention of Jeongwon, her eyes turned red.
“Even if I lose weight and look like her, I’ll never be her. We’ve lived different lives for years—how am I supposed to perform at her level?”
“That’s not something you need to worry about. If you agree, we’ll take full responsibility for everything—helping you lose weight, training you until you’re skilled enough for Red Blossom. You just have to say yes.”
At that, cracks finally appeared in her ironclad resistance.
There’s nothing sweeter than an offer that promises to take care of everything if you just say yes.
She must feel like Faust standing before Mephistopheles.
But Jeongah, the young beast, wasn’t that easy to tame.
“No. That was supposed to be Jeongwon’s spot. How could I take it? She’d never forgive me. Hic… I really can’t do it.”
“What if Jeongwon gives you permission?”
“…What?”
“If Jeongwon allows it, will you join the group?”
“W-what do you mean…?”
Finally, it was time to reveal my last trump card.