The Sacred Manager Life - Chapter 49

It seems like he has no intention of using polite language anymore.

His harsh words now carried the sting of a survival audition show’s brutal tone.

“No wonder that bastard Haram got so full of himself… You seduced him, didn’t you?”

“Seduced him? I offered fair payment for composition and royalties.”

“Bullshit! What composition fees and royalties for a bastard like that? Did he ever think about who fed him, housed him, and taught him everything? And now he wants to quit? That fucking bastard doesn’t even know gratitude.”

He kept twitching his lips with a look of utter contempt.

It took only a moment for a top-tier composer to turn into a thug.

“Even if I shoved the contract in his face, he wouldn’t listen, that son of a bitch. He dares to think about running away?”

Contract?

Why would you shove a contract in someone’s face just because they want to resign?

It’s not like he signed an exclusive contract or anything.

“Where is Haram right now?”

“Why are you asking me that?”

“Didn’t he come to the company to quit? He’s not at his one-room place and he won’t answer his phone.”

He’d said he was either at his one-room apartment or the company unless he was doing part-time work.

From Choi Hoseok’s reaction, it seemed like something had gone down at the company.

“He came, resignation in hand. But I’ve got no intention of accepting it.”

“So what happened?”

“I tried coaxing him, but he wouldn’t listen. Not worth wasting energy on a bastard like that, so I told him to talk to the co-CEO.”

“Co-CEO?”

“I run the company, but officially… Ah, fuck, why am I explaining all this to a little shit like you?”

Anyway, there’s apparently another CEO.

And Shin Haram must’ve met that person.

Something felt off.

“Where’s that co-CEO now?”

“Why?”

“Haram might be with them. Where can I find them?”

“You’ve been all formal and polite with me this whole time…”

He trailed off, then let out a sly laugh.

“Wait, wait. Knowing our CEO So’s personality… You, stay right there.”

“I’m not leaving until I meet Haram.”

He took out his phone and made a call.

“CEO So, it’s me. Not the guy we talked about—there’s another one…”

He mumbled a bit more and then hung up.

Cracking his neck side to side, he plopped down in front of me.

“Shit, what even is this… I saw you on the news—you look like you can fight? CEO So likes that kind of thing too, so give it your best shot. Hahaha.”

It was a familiar pattern.

A third-rate villain giggling like that… usually ended up getting their face smashed in.

*

There was some commotion outside, and the meeting room door opened.

Three big guys walked in one by one.

“Where’s CEO So?”

“He said to take care of it ourselves.”

“Damn it… I told him to come himself.”

Heat started rising from my head and spread through my whole body.

[They’re enemies.]

‘Looks like my Brute Strength Gift responds automatically.’

[If someone harbors hostility, you never know when they’ll attack. That’s why it reacts immediately.]

“That’s him?”

“Yeah. Take him out. Just don’t beat him up here in the office.”

One of them reached out toward me, but I grabbed his hand first.

Crunch.

It was like bending steel wire, but it seemed his body wasn’t as tough.

“AAARGH!”

He rolled on the ground, clutching his limp wrist.

I stepped on his neck and gently pressed down, and he flailed before going limp.

It felt like accidentally stepping on a cookie.

The two others squared up and came at me from both sides.

It was admirable—charging at an ancient warrior who could uproot temple pillars.

But mercy was not on the table.

A little later .

“Ugh… w-wait… I-it’s just that…”

I stepped past the three goons sprawled on the floor and walked toward Choi Hoseok, who was trembling in the corner.

“Where should I start breaking you?”

“Eeek!”

He looked like he’d spill everything if I just broke a single finger—but there was no need to go that far.

Outside the conference room, a long glowing trail stretched out like a guide rope.

It was the Signpost Gift, showing me where I needed to go.

[Should I punish that CEO?]

‘The Ten Calamities again?’

[We used that last time. I’m trying to give it a break. I’ve got plenty of others.]

One side of the conference room shimmered and split open like paper being torn.

And from the tear came… a lion.

ROOAARRR.

“Aaaaaargh!”

Choi Hoseok totally lost it.

The lion bit his leg and dragged him into the rift in an instant.

‘A lion, seriously?’

[One of the prophets of the Lord became a governor in Babylon. Jealous courtiers framed him and he was thrown into a lion’s den. But the Lord protected him from the starving lions. I recreated that den.]

‘So… there are starving lions inside that thing?’

[Yup. By now, he’s probably being thoroughly devoured.]

‘Didn’t you say you follow non-lethal rules? Why is he dying?’

[He comes back to life once he’s completely torn apart. Then he gets eaten again… You can set the number of repeats—how many would you like?]

I was just planning to break one of his fingers, but this divine being had no mercy.

I told him to let it happen ten times, then walked out of the conference room.

The office was completely empty—probably cleared out by the sounds of fighting.

I followed the guiding line on the floor and stepped outside.

If they sent thugs like the ones before, Shin Haram was definitely in danger.

*

The guide line ended at a building in the Gangnam nightlife district.

A sign at the entrance read Mirae Capital.

‘Doesn’t feel like a real finance company.’

It’s common for gangs to slap “Capital” on shady loan operations.

Sending someone like Haram to a place like this meant things weren’t normal.

While climbing the stairs, I bumped into someone coming down.

“What the hell?”

Instead of answering, I grabbed his neck and dragged him into a corner.

“Keghk! K-Kill m—don’t kill me…!”

“How many of you are upstairs?”

He said the third floor, so I threw him down the stairs.

I leapt up a flight and flung open the office door.

And it was a real sight.

‘So much for “Capital”.’

One guy was puffing a cigarette, another was giggling at something on his phone, another was snoring on the sofa.

It was a textbook gangster hideout.

As I walked inside, all eyes locked onto me.

A few guys in the back cracked their necks and stood up.

[There are more of them than I thought. I’ll take care of it.]

A pillar of fire shot up in the middle of the office and began to burn everything around it.

“Gyaaaaah!”

“Aaaagh! Save me…!”

“It’s hot! So hot—GRAAAH!”

The guys inside were going berserk.

They desperately tried to escape, but couldn’t get beyond a certain radius.

It felt like they were trapped behind an invisible wall.

‘What is this?’

[Remember that prophet who became the governor of Babylon? He and his two friends were thrown into a fiery furnace for refusing to worship idols. God sent Elohim to save them. This is a recreation of that furnace.]

‘Do they keep coming back to life again?’

[Yes. Once they turn to ash, they return to normal. But it’s going to hurt like hell—just like being burned at the stake. Want to set it to 10 times?]

‘Y-yeah, sure.’

I had to find Shin Haram, but everything was in flames and I couldn’t get inside.

‘How am I supposed to get in? I need to find Haram.’

[I’m like Elohim myself, so just go in. You won’t burn, Master.]

“The hell is going on in here?!”

A door on the other side opened, and someone stepped out.

Looks like there’s a separate room inside.

“Aaaah! Wh-what the hell?!”

The door slammed shut again.

If he had a private room, he was probably the one in charge here.

Most likely the co-CEO that Choi Hoseok had mentioned.

I opened the door and walked in—he was on the phone.

Probably calling in the fire.

Our eyes met, and both of us froze in shock.

“Aaaaaaaagh! H-Hyung-nim!”

“It’s you again?”

It was the Viper whose finger I had broken back at the bar.

*****

“Sit down. I’ve got questions.”

“S-sorry, Hyung-nim. I need to make an emergency call—”

“It’s not a real fire. I said sit down.”

“B-but…”

“You got wrecked by a flock of birds and you still don’t believe me?”

Only then did he nervously shuffle over and sit across from me.

“Um… Hyung-nim, what exactly are you? I mean… you control birds, conjure fire that doesn’t burn, and your punches are insane…”

“I’m a psychic.”

“…Huh?”

“A psychic. So just don’t worry about it.”

“Wait, but—”

“Wanna get roasted too?”

“Eek! N-no, sir!”

Finally, he shut up.

“Choi Hoseok was on his way from the company. Did you send those guys after him?”

His face turned pale, and he immediately dropped to his knees.

“Hyung-nim, I’m so sorry! I didn’t know it was really you!”

“Save it. Those guys are sprawled all over your office, so make sure you clean that up later.”

“Y-yes, of course!”

“So, you’re the co-CEO Choi Hoseok mentioned.”

“Hyung-nim, about that…”

The Viper started running his mouth.

*

Choi Hoseok was a regular at the tenpro club run by the Viper.

Not just a regular—he was completely hooked, to the point where he was sponsoring two of the top girls there.

“There are just so many pretty girls there. Hoseok’s totally obsessed with that stuff. If you ever come by, I’ll hook you up with a top-tier girl, Hyung-nim.”

He really knew how to suck up.

“Keep going.”

“To be honest, the entertainment agency is part of our turf. The Gangbuk gang has two agencies too. I heard that studio was getting popular, so I threw in some money when they were building it.”

Then they offered him the co-CEO title.

Basically, it was an honorary position given to an investor.

“I don’t know jack about that business. Hoseok runs the company, and I just watch his back and take a little cut.”

Most likely, his role was beating up anyone who got out of line.

So Choi Hoseok, just like Executive Director Geum Taesang, was tied to the underworld too.

The Viper(or Doksa) also had a few businesses unrelated to gang activity.

For a thug, he had a decent head for money.

The fact that he was the co-CEO actually made things easier.

Especially when it came to rescuing Shin Haram and dealing with Choi Hoseok.