The Sacred Manager Life - Chapter 39
“How have you been these days?”
“I’m living for the joy of raising my baby. The baby looks just like Hajin, it’s so cute I could die.”
‘Baby? Hajin?’
His thoughts couldn’t keep up with the conversation.
What on earth is going on?
“Soyeon, it looks like someone is next to you. You keep glancing over suspiciously.”
At Han Sora’s words, he quickly put some distance between himself and Cha Soyeon.
“The manager you mentioned before?”
“Uh, yeah.”
Cha Soyeon, unusually, seemed flustered.
“You never even showed me a picture, so I was curious. This is perfect. Turn the screen around.”
Now, she looked completely lost.
“If you don’t, I’ll say out loud everything you asked me about.”
“Ah, fine!”
What did she ask that made her surrender so quickly?
Cha Soyeon gestured desperately with her eyes.
It meant “come closer.”
A world star and a legendary girl group member wanted to see him.
He felt a bit nervous, but how could he miss such an opportunity?
As the screen turned, he immediately greeted them.
“Hello! I’m Shin Juwon, the manager of Pine Entertainment’s singer team 5!”
Just like on his first day at work, he greeted them loudly and bowed his head.
Then, he heard giggling from the screen.
“He’s cute, like scorched rice.”
‘Cute? Scorched rice?’
“Nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you from Soyeon.”
“I-It’s nice to meet you too.”
He was so nervous that he even bit his tongue.
“So this is Soyeon’s type. Well, he’s not as good as Hajin, but he does look manly.”
Suddenly, Cha Soyeon pushed me aside and stepped forward.
“What’s wrong with Juwon?! I think he’s way cooler than my brother-in-law!”
‘Brother-in-law? What is she even talking about right now?’
“Make a fair comparison. Hajin has a face that’s recognized worldwide.”
“So what if the whole world acknowledges it? What matters is the person looking at him. To me, Juwon is the most handsome!”
“Well, that makes two of us then.”
Oh Yujin kept provoking her.
No matter how I thought about it, it seemed like they were comparing my looks to actor Byun Hajin.
How did this even make sense?!
“Uh… Excuse me, but… are you really comparing me to actor Byun Hajin right now?”
“That’s right. Soyeon doesn’t seem to have any intention of backing down.”
Han Sora smiled softly.
Wow, so that’s the smile that has enchanted the entire world.
Even just seeing it through the screen gave me a dizzying feeling.
“Well… for me, just being compared to him is an honor. Where else would I ever hear something like this?”
“Juwon, why are you saying that too?!”
Today, I saw so many different sides of Cha Soyeon.
I never knew she could express her emotions like this.
“You’re very humble with your words. You and Soyeon suit each other well.”
It seemed like she misunderstood our relationship, but since it was a compliment, I just thanked her.
While Cha Soyeon and Oh Yujin kept arguing, Han Sora and I continued having a pleasant conversation, smiling at the absurdity of it all.
*
“Jeongah hasn’t woken up yet, has she? I don’t think I’ll be able to talk today.”
“Well, it can’t be helped.”
“I was going to help her step out of her room.”
Han Sora suddenly said something unexpected.
“You thought about that?”
“After talking to you, I looked it up.
They say that for people who have been stuck in their rooms for a long time, just taking a single step outside is really important.
That’s where they have to start if they want to return to normal life.
Jeongah hasn’t left her room for two years, right?”
I had just thought that since she wanted to become an idol, I could simply drag her out.
But Han Sora explained that even taking that first step required immense determination and effort.
While we were talking, I placed my hand on the forehead of the still-unconscious Jeongah.
I wanted to see how Han Sora would handle this.
“Uuhhh…”
Jeongah woke up, saw Cha Soyeon holding a phone, and let out a shriek.
“Kyaaa! Wh-What do I do…? Sora-nim actually spoke to me, and I… what have I done…?”
Cha Soyeon turned the screen toward her.
“Are you awake now?”
“Uuuuh… I’m so sorry… I showed such an unsightly side of myself in front of Sora-nim…”
She bowed deeply, as if she were paying respects to a queen.
And this girl was supposed to be a school bully?
It didn’t make any sense.
“Jeongah, you said you wanted to be in a girl group, right?”
“Huh? Y-Yes!”
“You made a good choice. If you lose weight, you’ll be pretty again, so don’t worry and just focus on practicing. I’ll be cheering for you until you stand on stage.”
“Sniff… Thank you… Thank you, Sora-nim…”
“But to do that, you’ll have to step out of your room, right?”
“Th-That’s right.”
“Can you do it on your own?”
She stared at the door and shuddered.
It seemed like she still wasn’t ready to step outside.
“…I’m sorry.”
“Have you ever tried to open the door and come out?”
“I tried when my mom wasn’t home. Last year, I managed to make it to the living room a few times, but after Jeongwon died… I got too scared and couldn’t do it anymore.”
“I heard that for some people, the door feels like a wall blocking their way. Is it the same for you?”
“It’s similar. When I open the door, it feels like there’s another door beyond it, and I just can’t bring myself to open that one… That’s what it feels like.”
“Jeongah, I’m your ultimate favorite, right?”
She suddenly changed the topic.
“Of course! I even chose the acting department because I wanted to be like you, Sora-nim! You’re truly the best!”
There was no trace of the timid girl from earlier.
I guess meeting your idol really can transform a person.
“Then you’ll listen to what your favorite person says, right?”
“Yes! Just tell me anything!”
“Ask Soyeon for the phone and hold onto it yourself.”
Cha Soyeon, who had been listening to the conversation, handed over the phone without a word.
Jeongah took it with an expression of deep reverence.
“Now, look straight at me and walk toward the door while talking to me. If you don’t look at the door, it doesn’t matter how many there are. Just keep talking to me until you step outside. You can do that, right?”
At first, she looked surprised, but soon, her expression softened.
It seemed like just the fact that Han Sora was watching her gave her confidence.
“The door is open. There’s no wall blocking you. No one is stopping you from stepping out. Just keep looking at me and walk.”
Han Sora’s signature languid voice echoed like an incantation in the air.
Jeongah’s eyes became half-dazed.
Was she using some kind of hypnosis app?
Whatever it was, under Han Sora’s spell, Jeongah started walking toward the door.
I walked ahead, opened the door, and stood beside it, waiting.
“One step… two steps… three steps…”
She hesitated for a moment at the threshold but then took a step out into the hallway.
Han Sora had just gotten a girl who hadn’t left her room in over four months to step outside in mere minutes.
Was it really that easy?
“That’s my sister’s specialty—bewitching people with her drowsy voice. They say she can completely melt my brother-in-law just with her voice in bed.”
So that’s why sailors went mad for the voices of sirens.
“I learned from my sister. I’ll make sure to use it in bed for you later.”
I got goosebumps all over.
I wasn’t sure whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.
“Gasp!”
Suddenly, Jeongah snapped back to her senses.
She stood frozen in the hallway, staring at her phone in shock.
“You did amazing, Jeongah. Now, let’s keep walking a little more while we talk, okay?”
Han Sora’s hypnotic spell wasn’t over yet.
*****
“Drop me off at the company. I have somewhere to go.”
After saying goodbye to her mother, I left Jeongah’s house.
Her mother made a huge fuss, asking why I hadn’t told her about this, and I had to keep insisting that we weren’t dating.
“Oh my, he must just be really shy.”
Cha Soyeon’s one remark shattered everything like a bubble.
Yet, inside the car, she simply stared out the window in silence.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Yes.”
“Are Sora and Yujin married?”
“……”
“Yujin has a child, they live together, and… Hyungbu is actor Byun Hajin, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Who did he marry?”
“They didn’t get married. They just live together, the three of them.”
“…What?”
For a moment, I thought I had misheard.
“It’s not just Yujin unnie who has a child. Sora unnie has one too. Both of their children’s father is Hajin oppa.”
My brain struggled to process the information.
So, one man and two women were living together and had kids?
“Sora unnie and Yujin unnie couldn’t give up on Hajin oppa. It’s not a typical situation, but the three of them are really happy. Isn’t that what matters?”
“But still, a family should be… a man and a woman….”
“You mean the numbers should match?
That’s how it’s always been.
But what if you just can’t give up?
What if you feel like you’d die without that person—and there are two of them?
If you had two women like that, could you give one of them up?”
I was at a loss for words.
Not because I couldn’t give up, but because I had never even considered it before.
“I can’t answer that because I’ve never thought about it. Honestly, the idea of two women feeling that way about me at the same time doesn’t even seem realistic.”
“…You’ll have to take responsibility for those words later.”
With that, Cha Soyeon fell silent.
I glanced at the rearview mirror and saw that she wasn’t in the mood for more conversation, so I drove quietly.
When we arrived at the underground parking lot, her bodyguards were already waiting.
After parking, I headed up to the office to report the situation to my team leader.
*
A luxury sedan smoothly entered the parking lot and stopped in front of Cha Soyeon.
A dapper middle-aged gentleman, dressed sharply in a suit, stepped out of the driver’s seat.
“You came in person this time.”
“The elder told me not to just stay at home. Thanks to that, I got to enjoy a nice tour of the city.”
Cha Soyeon gave a faint smile and got into the car.
“You’ve been coming quite often lately.”
“It’s a request, so I have to come myself.”
“You could handle most things over the phone.”
“The person I’m dealing with is connected to the government. They’d probably dig into every detail. I’m not confident I could handle that over the phone.”
“I feel bad for whoever it is. They must have really messed up to anger you.”
“They angered someone even more powerful than me. Someone like that… doesn’t deserve to live comfortably.”