The Sacred Manager Life - Chapter 40
I arrived at work early today and waited in the practice room with the others.
It was Chie’s audition day.
“If she seems like a good fit, we’ll have the rest of the team audition too, so stay on standby.
This isn’t just a comeback—if we’re changing members, it’s practically a re-debut.
We’re going to treat it like a debut group, so let the others know.”
That’s what Team Leader Baek Hakyung had said, so we were all gathered in the practice room.
If Chie passed, we’d have to show how well the four of us could perform together.
“Don’t be too nervous. I’ve watched you practice for the past two weeks, and you’re more than ready. Just do it the way you practiced.”
“But, you know that saying—‘A kappa can still be swept away by the river.’ What if I make a mistake?”
“What the heck is that?”
“It’s a Korean proverb. It means even a master can mess up sometimes.”
I just learned another random fact.
Is she a proverb enthusiast or what?
*
After Chie went in, we sat in the practice room waiting.
I smiled at the others when our eyes met, but their expressions were full of nervousness.
“This reminds me of trainee days. When I bombed a weekend evaluation, I seriously wanted to die.”
“Debut team days were worse. That weird concept… ugh, I hated it.”
“You seem fine, oppa. Your face looks the same as always.”
“My face is always like this.”
If I didn’t already know the result, I’d probably be nervous too.
Having the gift of foresight is pretty convenient at times like this.
The audition was taking longer than usual since there was an interview and a camera test.
Even though I knew it would take a while, time dragged on until I finally got a message.
It was from Team Leader Baek Hakyung.
Meet me on the rooftop.
He didn’t say to bring the others—just me.
That made me uneasy.
I rushed up the stairs to the rooftop.
After catching my breath, I opened the door.
Baek Hakyung was holding a cigarette between his fingers and sipping a canned coffee.
When I approached, he scrunched his face slightly.
Did something go wrong?
Then, with a serious expression, he gave me a thumbs-up.
“This guy….”
“You really brought in an amazing kid. She passed!”
If he keeps playing these kinds of jokes, I swear I’ll restore his receding hairline just so I can ruin it again.
And just like that, the fourth member was confirmed.
Now, only Jeongah was left.
*****
Seo Yeji, the one who had framed Jeongah as a school bully, was now an actress.
She was signed under SN Entertainment and had recently gained recognition after starring as a supporting role in a hit drama earlier this year.
Looking further into it, I found out that her father was Seo Dongsoo, the Vice Minister of Finance.
So he was the one who pressured the school.
Cha Soyeon had said she’d handle it, but I couldn’t shake off my concern over the school bullying issue.
It would take a while for Jeongah to lose weight and return to her former self.
Since that was something she had to do on her own, I didn’t need to focus on it entirely.
That meant I had time to deal with the bullying issue instead.
Where should I even start?
In the end, I didn’t need to worry about that.
Because the problem was resolved much faster than I expected.
*
The first target was the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education.
An internal whistleblower had reported corruption in private schools, leading to a special audit of Seorium Arts High School.
With no time to prepare, auditors stormed the school the day after the notice, leaving it in complete disarray.
[Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Conducts Special Audit on Seorium Arts High School]
[Another Whistleblower… A Repeat of the 2016 Nightmare?]
[School Bullying Disciplinary Decisions Overturned… Fallout Reaches the Entertainment Industry]
[Ministry of Education Considers Revoking Seorium Arts High School’s Special Status Due to Non-Compliance]
In less than a week, dozens of violations were uncovered, some of which led to police investigations.
One of the most shocking findings was the arbitrary handling of school bullying cases—nearly half of the past rulings were overturned.
[Reversed Rulings… Rising Star S’s School Bullying Controversy]
[From Victim to Perpetrator… What Really Happened Two Years Ago?]
[Exclusive: Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Audit Results Reveal SN Entertainment’s Seo Yeji’s School Bullying Allegations]
[SN Entertainment Investigating… Urges Caution Against Reckless Rumors]
Even before the audit concluded, the media had already zeroed in on Seo Yeji, extensively reporting on her alleged history of school bullying.
The entertainment news sections were flooded with the scandal, and soon it spread to general news outlets.
SN really stepped in it this time.
They were hyping her up like crazy last year.
Facial features don’t lie.
She looks vicious.
Wait, so the real bully framed the actual victim?
That b*** just proved women can be each other’s worst enemies.*
Suspicions about dubious disciplinary actions, external pressures, and the school principal’s involvement rapidly escalated.
As expected, SNS and online communities became hotbeds for further revelations.
“Seo Yeji was infamous since her first year.
And not in a good way.
She framed a girl just because her crush confessed to her.
That girl got beaten up at the disciplinary hearing and eventually dropped out.
She begged them to check the CCTV, but those damn teachers ignored her.”
SN Entertainment was in complete chaos.
SN Entertainment Executive Office —“How the hell did the bullying ruling get overturned?!”
Executive Director Geum Taesang furiously berated the team leader of the actors’ division.
“The audit results came out way too fast, and the media started reporting on it two days before the official announcement. No one from our usual contacts gave us any advance warning. I only found out from the news.”
“The Education Office? Those sluggish bastards suddenly worked fast? And the people who knew I was backing Yeji didn’t say a damn thing until the articles dropped?”
“As far as I know… yes.”
SN had heavily relied on public sympathy to boost Seo Yeji’s image.
They had carefully crafted the narrative of a strong-willed girl who persevered despite being a school bullying victim.
But now that the truth had come out, that very image had turned into a weapon against her.
“F***, do you know how much effort I put into getting close to her father…?”
For Geum Taesang, Seo Yeji herself wasn’t the issue.
His real target was her father, Seo Dongsoo, the Vice Minister of Finance.
Publicly, Seo Dongsoo had a pristine reputation and excellent political maneuvering skills, making him the frontrunner for the next Minister of Finance.
But behind closed doors, he was a typical corrupt official, greedy for money and women.
A guy like that is easy to control.
Bribe him with cash, supply him with women, and he’d stay loyal.
For business, he was the perfect political backer.
To win him over, SN had fast-tracked his daughter’s career, securing roles and appearances for her before she even graduated.
She was finally starting to rise when this school bullying scandal suddenly blew up.
I just need to make sure this doesn’t spill over onto her father.
Geum Taesang’s expectations crumbled in no time.
[Prosecutors Investigating Whistleblower Report on Ministry of Finance… Political Fund Scandal Unfolding?]
[Two-Year-Old School Bullying Case Resurfaces… Was There External Pressure on the Disciplinary Decision?]
[Vice Minister Seo Dongsoo Resigns… The Fall of a Strong Ministerial Candidate]
[Prosecutors to Continue Corruption Investigation into the Ministry of Finance Despite Seo’s Resignation]
It only took two weeks to reach this point.
Shin Juwon had unintentionally delivered a massive blow to Geum Taesang.
*****
“I didn’t touch Executive Director Geum Taesang. That’s your job, Juwon.”
Cha Soyeon, looking smug and self-assured, explained the situation so far.
With chaos erupting from every direction, it had been hard to keep track of everything.
But after listening to Soyeon, things became much clearer.
The real issue was that she had completely crushed not just Seo Yeji, but her entire family.
“Seo Yeji is finished. It’s beyond the point where SN can even attempt to cover for her. She’ll disappear soon.”
“……”
“Vice Minister Seo Dongsoo will spend a long time in prison.
Once we started digging, we found way too much dirt on him.
Normally, people like him manage to get out once the administration changes, but I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen.”
“Is it really that easy to take down a vice minister?”
“I didn’t take him down—he stepped down on his own.”
“You just made it impossible for him to stay.”
“Well, yes. But still, plenty of shameless people try to hold on no matter what. He just lacked the resilience. Of course, if he had resisted, things would’ve gotten even uglier for him.”
“……”
I silently reminded myself never to cross Cha Soyeon.
She studied my face for a moment before speaking again.
“But don’t think of me as some scary woman. I only said it like that because I wanted to brag to you. My grandfather was the one who actually handled everything. I just gave him the reason to act.”
There it was again—her grandfather.
Just who was this man that he could bring down a vice minister so easily?
“Since we’re on the subject… what kind of person is your grandfather? I’m curious.”
“Ask him yourself. He’ll probably want to meet you soon.”
“Me?”
“He takes a keen interest in whatever his granddaughter likes.”
She smiled shyly, but behind that expression, I could almost see something mischievous, something… ominous.
I had the sinking feeling that I was about to step into a world I couldn’t escape.
*****
While Cha Soyeon (and her grandfather) were going on a rampage, I was busy with my own work.
“How far did you go today?”
“About 50 meters from the front gate.”
“You called Sora again, didn’t you?”
“…I’m sorry.”
Jeongah’s range of movement was slowly expanding.
It had taken three days for her to come down to the living room, and within a week, she had started walking around the garden.
Today, she made it 50 meters beyond the front gate.
The problem was that she was relying too much on Han Sora.
“If you get scared while you’re out, call me. I’ll check the time difference, so don’t call when I’m asleep.”
“Sniff… Thank you, Sora.”
Having received permission, she now called Han Sora whenever she got scared.
So far, Han Sora had been understanding, but Jeongah couldn’t rely on her forever.
After her favorite person, her next choice would be Cha Soyeon, but that would be just as much of a burden.
Since this was a Red Blossom matter, it had to be solved within our group.
So, I gathered the four of them at the dorm.
“I need you all to help.”