Returnee's S-Rank Management Guide

Riding the Flow (2)

The flow set off by the Dungeon Exploration Team was greater than I had expected.

Because of that, the number of urgent matters to handle suddenly increased, and together with Sung-hwan, I had no choice but to completely reorganize Ah-yeon's schedule.

First, the basics: appearances on GGN had been set at about once a week.

Outside of that, preparing for broadcast TV and activities as a Hunter became the default tasks.

More importantly, various advertisement offers, including CFs, started pouring in for Ah-yeon.

'The problem is that most of them are from completely insignificant brands.'

But for Unique, we're at the point where even those advertisements from unremarkable brands had to be seriously considered.

Money was one thing, but increasing recognition right now was an absolute necessity.

Especially, for the upcoming 'Super Hunter K'.

"Ah, should I get a new suit tailored? I'm going out there too, right?"

"Yes, well. You're the President, aren't you?"

"Why do you talk like that?"

When I answered nonchalantly, Sung-hwan looked at me with quite a displeased glare.

Smiling wryly at him, I added, "I meant that our President is handsome enough to look good in anything he wears."

"Ahem! You should've just said that outright."

Half of it was flattery, but Sung-hwan seemed pleased and started looking up places to have a new suit made.

'Well, there's no harm in dressing up.'

If I said half of it was flattery, then I also meant the other half seriously.

Sung-hwan was actually a young President with rather good looks.

If he showed up on a broadcast, he'd definitely leave a positive impression.

"Is everyone getting on TV with Super Hunter K except me...?"

At Sung-hwan's excitement, director Song spoke in a mock downcast tone.

That was because he was the only one this time not participating.

"Director Song, you're the pillar of Unique. With a sturdy pillar like you holding down the fort inside, the rest of us can be out and about."

"President, I know full well that the real pillar of our management is Manager Park."

"......"

At Director Song's self-deprecating words, Sung-hwan cleared his throat, looking slightly embarrassed.

Well, though it might sound over the top, I could understand how Sung-hwan felt.

This Super Hunter K was, in a literal sense, shaping up to be a proxy war between management agencies.

'What a bold plot. Didn't they say there were something like twenty-two agencies participating?'

I'd heard there would be a lot of agencies, but I never imagined it would be as many as twenty-two.

Naturally, not all of them would be in the spotlight.

In reality, Super Hunter K would not just be a competition between Hunters, but also between their agencies.

Moreover, Grand Nova, the industry's top player, was not attending.

That would ordinarily cheapen the brand value of Super Hunter K, but the response was surprisingly hot.

It was thanks to the unique 'rule' this season of Super Hunter K was introducing.

【Among the Hunters who pass the preliminary selection and make it to the main round, each can choose their management agency up to three times through a variety of evaluation rounds. The agency last chosen by the Hunter is given priority rights to sign them.】

In other words, this season of Super Hunter K could be seen as a contest for supremacy among agencies.

During the competition, the agencies would select and nurture the Hunters they liked most, competing to develop their talents.

'Most people will expect the Hunters picked by the top 3 management agencies to win.'

They didn't get to be the top 3 by accident; with their massive infrastructure, they could provide support far beyond what small or midsized agencies could offer.

No doubt, the Hunters who made it to the finals would aim for those top 3 agencies as their primary goal.

That way, after Super Hunter K ended, they could continue to receive top-tier support while pursuing their careers.

'Therefore...'

We absolutely had to win.

For Unique, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

If Unique could win against countless competitors— even taking down Hunters selected by the top 3 management agencies—!

Then, naturally, the value of the Unique name would shoot up overnight.

Of course, we wouldn't reach the level of the big 3 overnight.

But it would be enough to refresh our tarnished image and recover our Hunter intake pipeline, which had been cut off because of Grand Nova.

"Anyway, manager Park, so, when's the first filming? You're going with the President, right?"

"Yes, as far as I know, we have about three days left."

"That's much sooner than I expected. They already did the preliminaries, right?"

"Yeah, apparently those were already happening nationwide for a month."

Considering previous seasons of Super Hunter K had run their preliminaries for months, it seemed things were being rushed this time. That was probably because of the scenario change after Grand Nova dropped out, and the resulting unexpected delays.

"Hm... I see. Oh, by the way, hunter Shin Ah-yeon will be participating too, right?"

"Yes, after all, the only reason Unique managed to get in was because Ah-yeon is participating as a mentor."

Hearing this, director Song's face grew thoughtful.

His expression made me curious.

Was there some sort of problem with Ah-yeon's participation?

"Director Song, you look like something is bothering you?"

"Ah, yes. It's just a rumor... But I've heard that Ji Yeon-hwa will be joining as a mentor, too."

"Ji Yeon-hwa?"

The unfamiliar name made me tilt my head, and Director Song looked surprised.

"You don't know Ji Yeon-hwa?"

"I... I feel like I've heard it somewhere, but I can't recall..."

Even though I'd been gathering information on various Hunters lately, a lot of my knowledge still stopped three years ago.

Director Song studied me curiously, then continued.

"Ji Yeon-hwa is the mage who filled the void left by Hunter Shin Ah-yeon during those three years she was away. I've heard she's expected to become a Great Mage within two years. She's S-rank, but I guess her magic is so specialized in annihilation magic that she hasn't fulfilled the requirements for Great Mage yet."

With Director Song's explanation, suddenly a certain Hunter came to mind.

A mage who had always been overshadowed by Shin Ah-yeon's light three years ago.

"Ah, maybe... 'Witch'?"

"Yes, yes, she was called that. But these days, if you say that, her fans will come after you. That nickname has been long-abandoned over the past three years."

After that, director Song gave me even more info I didn't desire, like how Ji Yeon-hwa's fan club is called 'Hwayang-yeonhwa.'

'Ji Yeon-hwa, huh. That does give me an idea.'

With that, I finally recalled who she was.

If my memory was right, she was only A-rank three years ago.

Probably about ten years older than Ah-yeon? But as an Awakener, her appearance looked like a woman in her early to mid-twenties.

Even among Hunters, she likely counted as top-tier, with a very attractive face and solid magic skills—particularly in splashy, large-scale attack magic.

'But she wasn't anywhere near being a Great Mage back then.'

Could she really have advanced her skills that much in just three years?

It wasn't impossible, but it was surprising.

"Come to think of it, hunter Ji Yeon-hwa did regard Ah-yeon as a rival."

"Yeah, well, three years ago that was just bluster. But now public opinion sees Hunter Ji Yeon-hwa as being on top. Apparently she did not like seeing Hunter Ah-yeon making headlines recently. There's talk she's started spreading rumors of her own participation as a mentor in Super Hunter K."

"Hmmm."

Three years ago, Ah-yeon would have crushed her, no contest.

But if she really was near Great Mage level now, then she might have the edge over Ah-yeon, whose condition still wasn't perfect.

Of course, only if her skills truly matched the 'Great Mage' title.

"So please, I'm counting on you. Well, I probably shouldn't say this to the President, but you always seem a little unreliable..."

"Ah, yes. Well, don't worry about that."

I hurriedly agreed to Director Song's worried request, though I felt a bit put out inside.

'Didn't Director Song also get our Hunters into some coin stuff back in the day?'

Of course, I didn't ask how that had turned out.

Watching him grow more gaunt these days was answer enough.

***

Two days later, at the HSN broadcasting station's conference room.

With the Super Hunter K preliminaries finished and the main broadcast approaching, a casual discussion had been arranged on how the show would unfold.

The participants were representatives of the twelve management agencies who had agreed to take part in Super Hunter K.

Originally, there had been more, but this was the final, selected group.

Though these were supposed to be Korea's top management representatives gathered together, not many could hold their heads high.

"Haaa, HSN really is scraping the bottom of the barrel. We have to share a table with these types now."

A man with sharp features spat out his words icily, causing a few nearby people to shrink back.

It wasn't just because he held a high position—the murderous intent exuded by an Awakener was more than a regular person could bear.

"Looks like Vice-guildmaster Nam Ho-seung isn't in the best of moods..."

"Of course, Unique is participating today."

Nam Ho-seung was the vice-guildmaster of Mirae Guild, one of the top 3 management agencies.

As you could tell from the name, Mirae Guild was originally founded as a 'Hunter Guild'.

It was one of the few guilds to survive into the age of management agencies.

They understood the Hunter ecosystem better than anyone, and had the biggest edge in matters directly dealing with Hunters. In terms of influence, you could say that in the Hunter world, they were second only to Grand Nova.

'It looks like Unique is seriously on Mirae Guild's blacklist now.'

That's what everyone thought, looking at Nam Ho-seung.

And they all mentally offered a small condolence for Unique's continued misfortunes.

It was widely known that Unique had been half-ruined after crossing Grand Nova.

Now, they'd even turned Mirae Guild into an enemy.

All because they had managed to bring in Shin Ah-yeon, who had in effect already terminated her contract with Mirae Guild.

"Haha, now that Shin Ah-yeon is making a comeback, you seem to be quite jealous, 'Hunter' Nam Ho-seung."

"What did you say, you bastard?"

"There are plenty of eyes on us—do you really have to speak so coarsely? That just makes Hunters look bad. Also, you're a vice-guildmaster now, aren't you? If you're here as a management representative, you should act accordingly."

At these words—uttered with a sly smile—everyone held their breath.

He'd just addressed Nam Ho-seung not as vice-guildmaster, but merely as a 'Hunter'.

'He's not wrong.'

Nam Ho-seung's rudeness was pretty over the top, surely unacceptable at any normal meeting between agencies.

The only reason he could act this way was because he identified more as the "vice-guildmaster of a Hunter guild" than as a member of management.

"...... I'll keep that in mind."

Perhaps recognizing this, Nam Ho-seung could only grind his teeth rather than pick a fight.

The other man was an equal both in strength and influence as a management rep.

He was Director Jo Chang-woo of Upstream Management, one of the top 3 agencies.

That was the identity of the man smiling slyly with narrowed eyes.

"Ji Yeon-hwa, who couldn't even see the light next to Shin Ah-yeon, sure has been getting a big head lately."

"Oh, you think so? Well, if that's the case, I have to thank Mirae Guild. If you hadn't thrown Shin Ah-yeon away, there'd be no reason for her rival to shine."

At Jo Chang-woo's unyielding words, Nam Ho-seung took a deep breath.

He knew continuing the conversation would only damage his own side.

Then, it happened—

The conference room door opened.

"Sorry for being late."

Two well-dressed men appeared at the door.

One of them, by coincidence, was Choi Sung-hwan, Unique's President, who had just been the subject of discussion.

The other was an unfamiliar face.

"...... And who is this with President Choi Sung-hwan?"

"Must be that Director Song guy. From what I know, he's the only staff left at Unique."

"No, I've met Director Song. No way he's that young."

Hearing the muttering, the man standing behind President Choi Sung-hwan stepped forward and bowed.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Park Jung-woo, manager at Unique Management."

At the word 'manager', interest immediately faded from the group.

His identity was unexpectedly ordinary.

Still, they wondered why a mere manager was present.

This was supposed to be a gathering of only those who would represent their companies 'on TV'.

In other words, the faces of the companies.

Small agencies would send their CEOs, and even the big 3 sent executives.

But a mere manager on TV?

'Could it be...'

A thought struck some of them. They glanced at him with uncertainty.

And as if to answer that expectation, the man smiled softly and spoke.

"I have the privilege of being Hunter Shin Ah-yeon's manager."

Shin Ah-yeon's manager—at the eye of the current whirlwind.

To them, he was a target that must be taken down.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Bitter people being bitter.
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】