The Sacred Manager Life - Chapter 66

My vision was blurry, so I went to the eye doctor, and they told me to get a detailed examination at a larger hospital.

"Retinitis Pigmentosa."

"What... is that?"

"It's a condition where pigment proteins accumulate as light and wavelengths entering the retina convert into electrical signals, leading to the loss of visual function..."

"I don’t understand the complicated terms. So, what’s going to happen to my eyes?"

"...It’s a progressive disease, so your vision will deteriorate, and you’ll experience vision gaps. Slowing the progression is somewhat possible, but..."

"But?"

"There’s no cure with modern medicine."

The doctor said I could go completely blind.

And so, Min A-young’s hell began.

When I opened my eyes, everything around me was hazy.

What the—nothing’s changed, I thought, but soon enough, everything became clear again.

The first thing I saw was Shin Juwon.

"You look kind."

"I get that a lot."

"And handsome."

"You don’t have to try so hard."

Next to Juwon stood a stunning beauty who made me gasp involuntarily.

"Yeoreum...?"

"Yeah, unnie. It’s me, Yeoreum."

"You’re pretty. So, so pretty. How did I not know about someone like you until now? You’re the prettiest idol I’ve ever seen."

"Hehe, thank you."

The blurry shapes in the ocean now looked vivid.

"A whale...?"

"They say it’s the divine being’s pet. I met the divine being inside it earlier."

"Ah..."

Without realizing it, Min A-young looked around and started naming everything she saw.

"That’s the walking path... So that’s what the cliff looks like... There’s a sandy beach too... And these are rocks..."

As she named them, tears streamed down her cheeks.

She had cried so much while trapped at home, but these tears were nothing like those.

"Sniff... I can see everything... It’s not blurry... I can see it all... I can see! Waaah~"

For the first time, A-young realized how good it felt to cry from happiness.

Leviathan’s tentacle reached toward Min A-young.

Seems like this guy can read the mood too.

The tip thinned out and gently wiped the tears welling under her eyes.

"Wow, it can do that too?"

"Right? I’ve never seen that before."

"But is it really a whale?"

"It’s Leviathan—originally a sea monster that wreaked havoc. The divine being tamed it and made it a pet."

"It’s ridiculously big for a pet, but I guess that’s expected if a god’s raising it. Does it have a name?"

"Call it Levi."

I told her the name the spirit used.

"Levi? So cute. Levi-yaaa~"

This time, the tentacle gently stroked Yeoreum’s cheek.

It felt like a giant dog nuzzling and licking her face.

"Ahahaha, that tickles~"

Somehow, Yeoreum had already adjusted and started playfully poking the tentacle.

If this weren’t an all-ages scene, things might’ve gotten steamy, but for now, it was just peaceful.

Honestly, the sight of a beauty playing with a pet is timeless.

"You’ll act again, right?"

"Yes. I’ll show those people who called me washed-up or overrated what I’m really made of."

Before the controversy over her acting skills, I’d seen clips of A-young’s performances, and her emotional acting was breathtaking.

There were countless videos comparing her acting to Cha So-yeon’s, and the two were so evenly matched that calling them rivals was only natural.

"I don’t even know how to thank you, Juwon-ssi. You’re really my lifesaver."

"If I hear that one more time, it’ll be the tenth. You can stop now."

Ever since she stopped crying, she hasn’t stopped thanking me.

I get why she feels that way, but it’s starting to feel overwhelming.

"No. If I’d gone blind later, I wouldn’t have been able to take it—I would’ve killed myself. I’m not exaggerating. You really saved my life."

As she said that, she tightly gripped my arm.

"I don’t know how to repay you."

"Just act well and live happily. You know I didn’t do this expecting anything in return, right? Just accept it as a genuine act of kindness."

"She’s right. That’s Manager-nim’s specialty. All of us received the same from him."

"...I think I’m falling for you."

Huh?

If you’re going to mutter to yourself, don’t say it so loud—everyone can hear you.

Yeoreum’s eyes widened, so she must’ve heard it too.

"Out of the things the divine being mentioned... about women. Juwon-ssi, do you have a lot of women around you?"

"Well, it’s not like..."

Yeoreum cut in immediately.

"Manager-nim has a lot of women. All of us like him, and So-yeon unnie likes him too. So, there’s no room left."

Am I a bus? No room left?

"Hmm, even So-yeon unnie..."

Smiling meaningfully, she got up from her seat.

"Let’s go up. I want to see what the house looks like properly."

We hosted another guest for lunch, and dinner was just the cast members.

After staying one more night, we’d leave for Mokpo in the morning once the boat arrived.

"Ta-da! Oppa, leave today to me!"

Rina beamed, showing off her haenyeo diving suit.

She said she’d follow me down the cliff to gather turban shells and abalone.

We’d already used the sea bream and octopus over the past two days, so today’s seafood focus was shellfish.

"Have you ever worn that before?"

"Nope. But I’m confident in diving. I was a swimmer until middle school, remember? I’ll show you what I’ve got."

I’d seen her swim at Cha So-yeon’s place.

She was like a seal, but that was in a pool—who knew how she’d fare in the ocean?

[Don’t worry, Levi is here. It can make the water as calm as a swimming pool.]

‘I’d rather it gather turban shells and abalone. Aren’t the ones stuck to rocks tough to get?’

[It was once the dragon of the sea—how hard could it be? Just ask it later.]

I quietly asked Levi for help when we descended the cliff, out of the camera’s view, and the results were insane.

"Whoa, oppa! The ocean floor is covered in nothing but turban shells and abalone!"

She clicked her tongue, amazed at how endless the supply seemed.

There were so many that even the rocks near the waves were packed with them.

We brought up several more bowls and filled them to the brim.

"Shouldn’t your group rename yourselves Mermaids? From the manager to the members, why are you all so close to the ocean?"

Shin PD looked dumbfounded at the bowls overflowing with abalone and turban shells.

The second guest segment wrapped up neatly, and the cast gathered for dinner.

"I suffered through the smell of butter-grilled abalone at lunch. Damn, this is incredible."

The chewy, savory seafood with a hint of garlic was phenomenal.

Paired with steamed turban shells, a spicy salad of cucumber, onion, and minari, and buckwheat noodles mixed with turban shells and sesame—it was heaven.

But despite the delicious spread, I couldn’t help but make a troubled face.

"Juwon-ssi, I made this for you. Say ‘ah~’"

"Juwon-ssi, let me mix the noodles for you. Eat the abalone before it gets cold."

"Juwon-ssi, let me add more sesame to your bowl..."

"Juwon-ssi, here..."

"......"

"Was A-young-ssi always like this?"

"Right? She’s taking care of Juwon-ssi like crazy."

"PD-nim, this scene is going to be way too lopsided..."

"You’ll have to do a lot of editing."

The men’s eyes were wide, while our girls glared daggers.

Regardless, Min A-young kept smiling sweetly as she handed me food.

Her face was practically dripping with honey—I’m not sure if we can even air this.

After filming wrapped, we had a drinking party at the guesthouse since it was our last night.

The cooking team, who’d killed it at lunch and dinner, passed out early, leaving staff members, Park Seung-ho, and me.

"Our problem-solver! Here, have a drink."

"Why am I the problem-solver?"

"You fixed it in one day! A-young said she’d act again. We worked on her for months and couldn’t even get her to say the word ‘acting,’ but you did it in a day!"

"Glad it worked out. Did you hear why she couldn’t before?"

"Her health was bad... Her mental state hit rock bottom... She just couldn’t recover... She went on and on, but who cares? She’s acting again now, hahahaha!"

Shin PD was a die-hard Min A-young fan.

She told him everything except the specifics of her illness.

It was an incurable disease cured by divine grace—she couldn’t exactly mention the symptoms.

But in the end, we succeeded in saving her.

[What a shame. If she’d been born in an era close to the divine being, she’d have been a great prophet. It’s been a while since we’ve seen someone so good at saving others.]

‘Back then, prophets were like heroes who led their people, right?’

[You can’t compare them one-to-one, but they did guide people. Some became mentors to kings and their subjects, or even kings themselves.]

‘That’s too high a position. Even if I’d been born then, I wouldn’t have made it.’

[Fate brings people and roles together. Before meeting the divine being, you were just a job seeker, but now you’re saving others. If more women like you or people like that PD keep appearing, you’ll become as significant as the prophets of old.]

‘Thanks for saying that. Feels good to be acknowledged.’

[Spirits don’t just talk.]

Just then, the cinematographer, who’d been checking his phone, spoke to Shin PD.

"A typhoon’s coming tomorrow. The one headed for Japan suddenly changed course. What if the boat can’t sail?"

"It won’t happen in one day, right? We’re leaving early in the morning, so it’ll be fine."

Our schedule stayed tight until the very last day.