Returnee's S-Rank Management Guide

Spectacular Comeback (2)

"Ah......"

Soo-ah, who had been cheering, suddenly froze up, as if she had only just realized the situation.

Then she fixed her gaze on my face for about two seconds, then on the chicken for about five seconds, before hurriedly shaking her head.

"S-sorry. I didn't mean to!"

"No, it's understandable."

Her favorite team had just hit a home run for a dramatic comeback; it's normal she got excited.

The problem was, she looked at me for less time than she looked at the chicken.

'Well, if I'd dropped the chicken, I'd probably do the same.'

It's only natural that chicken is more important than someone you've barely ever had a real conversation with.

I tried to convince myself of that.

"B-but why... me...?"

After sitting back down, Soo-ah glanced at the stadium, then finally spoke.

Her attitude suggested she couldn't believe I'd scouted her.

"As far as I know, Soo-ah-ssi, you don't currently belong to any agency, right?"

"That's right, but... I just don't understand why..."

Her lack of confidence reminded me of Shin Ah-yeon when I first saw her after my return.

No, it was even worse.

In Shin Ah-yeon's case, her self-esteem had died not so much from shyness, but from being forced into retirement and locking herself at home, which damaged her sense of community.

But in Soo-ah's case, her confidence had hit rock bottom, and she seemed wary of, and even frightened by, anyone who approached her.

'Wasn't it said her team play was the worst.'

It's extremely rare for a C-rank hunter to be a freelancer.

Especially since, to my knowledge, Soo-ah was only twenty-one—still young.

Given her potential for future growth, it wouldn't be strange if she belonged to a major agency, but there wasn't a single agency searching for Soo-ah.

This was all due to her catastrophic team play skills.

'On top of that, her physical condition is terrible.'

I'd caught glimpses before, but seeing her up close made Soo-ah's poor state all the more apparent.

Her body wasn't well managed for a hunter, and there were burns on her face.

They were hidden by her clothes, but she probably had scarring on her body too.

With the burns on her face, it would be tough for her to appear on TV, and with her body in such shape, it's likely people wrote off her future.

Solo play is only viable from the A-rank upwards, so Soo-ah—whose growth had stalled, and who couldn't do party play—was appealing to no one.

"Plus, as you can see, I have these burns on my face, so I won't be any use for broadcast. Even during this shoot, the camera barely focused on me. And these burns..."

Up to there, Soo-ah bit her lower lip and shook her head.

"...... Never mind."

"You don't trust me, do you?"

"......"

Soo-ah couldn't bring herself to deny my words.

After a short pause, she spoke softly.

"Someone like me... for you to come all the way out here to scout me, it's just impossible..."

"I don't think Unique is such a great agency either."

"Even if you're serious, I'm not the talent management wants. I'm sure Unique feels the same."

After a deep breath, Soo-ah continued.

"So, I'll have to decline... your offer."

With those words, an odd silence passed between us.

Uncertain how to react to my silence, Soo-ah furtively peeked up at me.

It seemed even though she refused, she felt bad about it.

"Understood."

"I'm very sorry."

Soo-ah bowed and apologized again, but I shook my head.

"It was a one-sided offer on our part, so there's nothing to be done."

"But still..."

"More importantly, looks like your team won? Wasn't this an important match?"

"Huh? Oh!"

Just then, the game ended in victory for the Duxuris.

I spotted happiness overtaking the self-reproach in Soo-ah's eyes from turning down my offer.

Her bright smile was a stark contrast to the gloomy Lee Soo-ah from just moments before.

"Well then, I'll head out first. Let's meet again next time."

"Yes. ... Huh?"

She nodded carelessly at first, then, noticing the nuance in my words, her eyes widened.

I just smiled at her.

She'd learn the reason soon enough without any explanation.

***

It was natural that Lee Soo-ah refused the scout.

Who would happily agree to be scouted by someone they just happened to meet during a shoot?

Even if I was carrying the title of Shin Ah-yeon's manager, the agency, Unique, was about to go under.

Only because it was Soo-ah did I get that much response; a typical hunter probably wouldn't have even engaged in a real conversation.

'Ah-yeon was a special case.'

Even three years ago, Ah-yeon had trusted me to a strange degree.

Whether that was mere affection or the intuition of a great mage, I didn't know, but it did make things go smoother.

'For now, I should frequent the stadium and raise her favorability.'

Watching Duxuris games at the stadium was one of Soo-ah's rare hobbies.

She didn't come often, probably for financial reasons, but if I watched every game, I could increase the chances of running into her.

"Isn't it still going to be almost impossible to scout her?"

Ah-yeon muttered while chewing on dried squid as I told her about Soo-ah.

"Wouldn't that just make her more guarded? Besides, she doesn't seem to communicate well."

"First, I need to build rapport and make her feel at ease. You know, getting my foot in the door, so to speak?"

"Why put it like that? It sounds gross."

Ah-yeon's tone was edgier than usual.

She chewed her dried squid with more irritation than usual, her eyes anxiously darting about.

"And anyway, that's just the prep—of course, I've got a separate plan for how to actually bring her in."

"A separate plan?"

Ah-yeon asked with a puzzled look, and I chuckled, showing her a message.

It was a message from PD Jung Jun-su I'd received a few days before.

"... Is this really true? But why?"

"Maybe he really liked what I did."

"Well, if it's you, I guess things will go fine anyway."

Ah-yeon's answer was more anticlimactic than expected.

Of course, that made sense.

Right now, Ah-yeon was much more nervous about the upcoming broadcast than she was about Soo-ah, who might or might not become a teammate.

"If you're that anxious, why not just watch it together at the office?"

For reference, I was currently sitting beside her in Ah-yeon's mansion, watching TV.

That was because I'd respected her wish to watch this broadcast at home no matter what.

"I'm embarrassed by the outfit I wore on the show."

"It looked good on you."

When I said that absentmindedly, Ah-yeon's chewing froze mid-squid.

"I-I told you, I'm embarrassed!"

"Why are you yelling?"

"Jeez, my stomach already hurts to begin with..."

So angry, her face reddened as she turned her gaze away.

'Well, I guess her stomach really would hurt.'

After all, the part 1 of Dungeon Exploration, the one Ah-yeon shot, was about to air.

Unlike the previous 'To the King Once You Log In', this was her first real airing on a proper broadcast network.

What's more, the usually short Dungeon Exploration was airing as an unprecedented two-parter.

Naturally, there was a lot of talk about it on the station's message boards and related communities.

'Are they featuring Shin Ah-yeon?'

'I heard Shin Ah-yeon was a reserve member, though?'

'They say there was an accident in the dungeon?'

'One hunter reportedly suffered a serious injury...'

Rumors spread, some true, some ridiculous.

"But it wasn't quite as big an issue as I thought. I figured, since something happened, it'd turn into noisy marketing."

Ah-yeon muttered, sounding a bit disappointed.

As she said, despite some chatter, the noise about Dungeon Exploration didn't amount to much.

In fact, this wasn't the first incident on Dungeon Exploration, and Ah-yeon's return to TV had already happened with 'To the King Once You Log In', so the name 'Shin Ah-yeon' didn't help much.

Thanks to the last incident, there was a bit of interest, but that was about all.

'That's probably because...'

There were no major victims, so it didn't pique people's interest.

No one realized just how serious the accident had been.

Also, PD Jung Jun-su's strict order to keep mouths shut about what happened in the dungeon was another reason.

"Look at this."

With a sulky expression, Ah-yeon showed me her smartphone screen.

She must have just searched Dungeon Exploration, and the latest news poured down the list.

【"Is Dungeon Exploration, with all its incidents and accidents, really okay?"】

【"A promising B-rank hunter loses their future."】

Several articles criticizing Dungeon Exploration were continuously being posted.

I glanced at the names of the journalists and laughed.

"Wow, looks like Chief Manager Yu Dong-suk must be really upset."

"Chief Manager Yu Dong-suk? That jerk from JM... I mean, that no-manners guy?"

"......"

"I-I really tried to say it nicely this time..."

If nothing else, I always worry about Ah-yeon's choice of words.

Hopefully, she doesn't slip up like that on live broadcast.

"And honestly, isn't he worth cursing at? Don't you agree?"

"Well, you're not wrong."

"See?"

I'd already told Ah-yeon what Yu Dong-suk did to Lee Sung-yun.

Thanks to that, Chief Manager Yu, who already left a bad impression on her, became irredeemable trash in her eyes.

"But how are these articles connected to Chief Manager Yu?"

"These journalists often write favorable articles about JM."

"Ah~."

Ah-yeon instantly got it, twisting her lips lopsidedly.

"So, they took money from JM, or they're connected somehow, right?"

"Probably. If they're being this blatant, they must really want Dungeon Exploration to crash and burn."

Given Sung-yun's visit, he probably hadn't told JM everything. These articles were probably just shots in the dark, hoping for something.

They didn't cover what actually happened inside the dungeon, just focused on articles about Sung-yun being injured and retiring.

"These will be meaningless once the broadcast airs... I'll look into these connections gradually, makes it easier to clean up."

At my mutterings, Ah-yeon looked at me as if I was some terrifying being.

"... Why do you have to sound so scary?"

"What?"

"N-nothing. Anyway, it's starting, so let's watch the show."

As Ah-yeon said, the long string of commercials ended, and Dungeon Exploration was beginning.

The real debut match of 'Shin Ah-yeon', returning after three years.

***

"Ki-sung-ssi, did you know Shin Ah-yeon is going to be on this episode of Dungeon Exploration?"

"Shin Ah-yeon?"

Kim Ki-sung, a journalist at Shindong Daily, smirked at his colleague's words.

"Of course. She stirred up quite a buzz when she appeared on cable last time."

"I heard her name has pull, and now she's filming Dungeon Exploration too. But something seems off this time."

"What do you mean?"

When Ki-sung asked, the journalist nodded.

"Normally, after Dungeon Exploration, rumors fly everywhere about what happened, but this time, it's all so quiet~. You'd expect hunters' names to leak and be able to prep articles in advance, but..."

"... Now that you mention it, that is strange."

Maybe it was because of Shin Ah-yeon? But he quickly shook his head.

Would all the agencies block promotions of their hunters just because of Shin Ah-yeon?

Was Shin Ah-yeon exerting control? But her agency, Unique, was on the verge of bankruptcy—impossible.

"You know Today's Daily? I heard JM already gave them an article. Apparently, something really shady is going on."

"So an incident happened and they're sweeping it under the rug... or something?"

"Maybe. Whatever the case, my gut tells me something's up."

Ki-sung agreed.

Something about Dungeon Exploration this time felt off.

"Definitely."

"I'll keep digging into what's happening inside Dungeon Exploration. If you find anything, let me know."

"Will do."

After talking to his colleague, Ki-sung looked around for rumors about Dungeon Exploration.

But to his surprise, he came up with absolutely nothing.

All he learned was that a hunter had become almost crippled and retired, and some nonsense about Shin Ah-yeon appearing in cosplay.

'As if Shin Ah-yeon would go to a dungeon in cosplay.'

In the end, until the day Dungeon Exploration was set to air, Ki-sung hadn't found anything.

"Let's see what they've been hiding that's supposedly so huge."

But he had low expectations.

It was rare for something so thoroughly hidden to actually be a real bombshell.

But sometimes—

"... What the hell is this?"

There are always exceptions.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】