The Sacred Manager Life - Chapter 68
“How can the weather forecast be this wrong? What kind of typhoon is this?”
“But it poured like crazy in the early morning.”
“The wind kept me up all night.”
“Still, it’s a relief. They say the ferries are running as scheduled.”
The typhoon that had shifted course from Japan toward Korea suddenly vanished near Manwol Island.
The Korea Meteorological Administration, which had issued typhoon warnings everywhere, calling it a super typhoon, was left embarrassed.
The problem was that they couldn’t even figure out why the typhoon had disappeared.
Despite conducting on-site investigations, they couldn’t determine the cause and vaguely dismissed it as a meteorological anomaly.
“You’d never guess in your wildest dreams that Manager-nim was the one who got rid of it, right?”
Summer said with a bright smile on the ferry ride back.
Min A-young looked at the two of us with a displeased expression.
“59.3 kg!”
““Yess!!””
The kids jumped around, going wild.
Jung-ah, who had entered the dorm at 82 kg, had successfully lost 23 kg in just two and a half months.
Not only did she control her diet, but she also swam in the pool every other day.
She hit the gym daily and sweated it out with the kids in the practice room every morning and evening.
“I’ll adjust the meal plan, but don’t expect to be completely free until the comeback. Especially you, Rina—if you don’t lose at least 1 kg this month, you’ll be the only one dieting. Got it?”
“Gwaaah!”
At Summer’s warning, Rina collapsed to the floor in despair.
“Let’s reshoot the interview video. I’ll show it to Team Leader Baek and the visual team for approval before reporting it to the division head. I’ll get the audition schedule, so be ready.”
““Yes.””
I glanced at Jung-ah in her leggings.
Thanks to losing over 20 kg, her feminine curves were now fully accentuated.
Standing just 1 cm shorter than Summer, with a glamorous body that rivaled Chie’s bust and hips, and well-defined lean muscles—she was the kind of figure that set male hearts ablaze.
A visual member had been born, different from Summer but just as striking.
She’d play the role of a secret weapon during the comeback.
“Damn, seriously… They really pulled this off?”
Team Leader Baek Ha-kyung marveled while watching Jung-ah’s newly filmed interview video.
“She’s perfect for the uncle fans. Not as tall and slender as Summer, but with curves in all the right places. Doesn’t she give off that sultry vibe? The older you get, the more this kind of charm pulls you in.”
“Sounds like personal experience?”
“Well, at my age—wait, no! I’ve got Yuri! Don’t talk nonsense!”
Team Leader Baek’s wife was indeed a beauty.
“The audition will follow the same format as Chie’s. Just because you picked her doesn’t mean she’ll get special treatment. Half-hearted efforts won’t help Red Blossom at all. You know what I mean?”
“Yes.”
I’d already forwarded Jung-ah’s interview video to Team Leader Park Chan-hyuk.
By now, he was probably reporting it to the division head.
Chairman Park Beom-joon was watching the interview video sent by Team 5 of the singers’ division.
“Wow, where did they even find a girl like this? Was she also Juwon’s pick?”
“She was, indeed. And she’s got an unbelievable backstory.”
Division Head Yoon Sang-ho, who was watching with him, chimed in.
“An unbelievable backstory?”
The division head brought up the story of Han Jung-won, a former trainee from Team 3.
As he listened, a glint of interest flashed in the chairman’s eyes.
“Wait, so she’s the twin sister of the girl who died of cancer?”
“Yes. Han Jung-ah. Juwon found her and convinced her to join.”
“How did Juwon even know about her?”
“No idea. But what’s even more shocking…”
When he heard that the girl had weighed 82 kg before, the chairman’s jaw dropped.
“Are you serious? She was 82 kg just three months ago?”
“I wouldn’t have believed it either if I hadn’t seen this.”
The division head showed him Jung-ah’s first interview video from Team 5.
｢I’ll do everything the manager says to lose weight…｣
As he watched, the chairman’s mouth hung open, unable to close.
“Juwon, that crazy bastard…”
When the video ended, he burst into laughter.
“Pfft—ha ha ha! Man, oh man. If Team 5 opened a weight-loss center, they’d make a killing.”
“I’m not even joking—we could send all the trainees who fail weight management to them.”
“That guy Juwon always finds a way to shock me. Bad for my heart, seriously.”
“I told Team Leader Baek to proceed with the audition. Since she’s acted before, we’ll need to check her more thoroughly. But I’m sure Juwon’s already prepped her.”
“Division Head, you’ve changed.”
“How so?”
“You never used to care about the kids. You’d say, ‘Where can a bunch of rejects even go?’ But now, it feels like you’re paying more attention to them than the rookies in Team 4.”
“I caught it from you, Chairman. There’s just… something about them. Feels like they’re about to explode. If they’ve got potential, of course we should nurture them.”
“Honestly, how far are they planning to go? Unbelievable.”
“That aside, what are we doing about A-young?”
Min A-young, the actress who had been inactive for two years, had proposed an exclusive contract.
“She’s officially done with her old agency, right?”
“They settled last year after paying the penalty. She only had a year left anyway.”
“Back then, it seemed like she’d quit acting for good… Was her appearance on Shin PD’s variety show part of a plan?”
“Must’ve been. She wouldn’t have gone on a failing concept unless she was serious about her comeback.”
“So, did you hear her conditions?”
“Yes. They’re negotiable, but there’s one odd request.”
“What is it?”
“She insists on having Juwon as her manager. If we agree to that, she’ll accept all other terms.”
The chairman’s expression turned strange.
“Does A-young… know Juwon?”
“They probably met for the first time on that show. She hadn’t seen anyone in two years.”
“Then why this condition?”
“That’s… I’m not sure either.”
“What the hell is Juwon doing outside to make women cling to him like this? And only top-tier ones, at that.”
Though she’d been on hiatus for two years, Min A-young was once considered a rival to Cha So-yeon—a top actress.
If she could bring back even half of her past acting skills, she could easily climb back to the top now.
“Juwon’s in the singers’ team right now. Should we move him to the actors’ division?”
“No way. If Juwon leaves, Red Blossom will collapse.”
Red Blossom’s comeback process had been so dramatic that even the chairman had high expectations.
Pulling out Shin Juwon, the team’s core, at this point made no sense.
“After hearing A-young’s proposal, I started thinking—now might be the opportunity.”
The division head steered the conversation in a different direction.
“What we talked about last time?”
“Yes. Even you agreed the company’s gotten too bloated.”
“True, but is splitting into labels really the right move for us? Even in the U.S., only Universal and Warner have succeeded with that model.”
“GJ went that route and is now a media empire. No agency has tried it yet, so why not us?”
“Hmm…”
“We need a game-changing moment. We can’t keep being called ‘Big 3 wannabes’ forever. Look at how SN’s struggling now. Dinosaurs are bound to go extinct.”
“So, we start with Team 5.”
“Exactly. They’re the pilot. With Juwon there, it’s the perfect time to make changes. Aren’t you curious what kind of magic he’ll pull this time?”
“That guy’s silver tongue… I don’t know how it works so well.”
“It’s his only talent, so cut him some slack.”
Chairman Park closed the interview video and spoke.
“By the way, does So-yeon know A-young’s interested in Juwon?”
“No idea. I don’t keep up with their personal lives.”
“Is that okay? She’s been pretty invested in Juwon since he joined.”
“Romantic affairs are their own business. The company shouldn’t interfere.”
“Long time no see, unnie.”
Min A-young greeted Cha So-yeon as she entered the living room.
“It has been a while. You’ve gained some weight.”
Cha So-yeon fired the first shot.
“Weight can be lost, but unnie’s wrinkles are age-related. That’ll be tough.”
Min A-young’s counter was just as sharp.
Ryu Summer, who had entered with them, looked flustered.
“A one-year age gap, and you’re calling it ‘age-related’?”
“Aging doesn’t care about numbers, does it?”
“Unnies, um… Could we sit down and talk?”
Summer had unwittingly become a helpless rabbit caught between two foxes.
“Right. Even a reckless thief eyeing someone else’s treasure is still a guest… Sit down.”
“Thanks. We’ll see whose ‘treasure’ it ends up being, but I’ll sit for now.”
They each took a seat on one side of the U-shaped sofa.
“Congrats on getting your vision back. You’ve had a rough two years. I mean it, so don’t nitpick.”
“I know. Unnie isn’t the type to mock something like that. Thanks.”
“Um… Didn’t you two say you were on good terms before? Visiting each other’s homes and all…”
“This is how we play.”
“This is how we usually talk, so get used to it, Summer.”
“Okay…”
Summer couldn’t tell if their relationship was good or bad.
“The person who really deserves congratulations isn’t here. Juwon-ssi did all the hard work.”
At the mention of Shin Juwon’s name, Min A-young’s eyes lit up.
“Right. It’d be nice if Juwon-ssi were here. Next time, I’ll bring him along.”
“Come over often. He and I aren’t just ‘ordinary’ acquaintances. You don’t even need to invite him.”
“‘Not ordinary’?”
“Yeah. A lot’s happened between Juwon-ssi and me.”
A satisfied smile spread across Cha So-yeon’s face, having claimed the upper hand.
“If it’s not ‘ordinary’… Did you sleep together?”
Min A-young dropped the bomb.