Returnee's S-Rank Management Guide

Eye of the Storm (2)

I hadn't yet considered establishing connections with any journalists.

The media was always a double-edged sword.

In Unique's current state, it was a blade that was hard to wield.

"Well then, I look forward to working with you."

"Y-yes! Thank you so much!"

"If you can grant my request, I'll be flexible with the interview date."

For us, Kim Ki-sung, a journalist from Shindong Daily, was quite a good catch.

Coincidentally, he was a journalist from Shindong Daily, which could be called a rival to Today's Daily.

And after talking with him, it was clear he harbored considerable goodwill toward us.

'It's unusual that he requested an interview with me, too.'

There had been more than a few journalists requesting interviews with Unique so far.

Of course, all the requests were aimed at Shin Ah-yeon; this was the first time someone asked me for an interview.

'And the fact that he managed to find information about me and sought me out like this means his information network is exceptional.'

Even among the representatives from large management agencies, none had recognized me.

But Ki-sung recognized me right away.

That's why I decided to use Ki-sung.

To extract some information with the interview as bait.

'The connection between Today's Daily and JM.'

And the information about the artifact that Chief Manager Yu Dong-suk of the Dungeon Exploration Team had shown.

Neither was urgent, but both were things worth knowing.

The interview would be a bit of a hassle, but if I could move such a capable journalist with it as bait, it would be a great deal.

"But Jung-woo..."

Just as I was seeing off the delighted Ki-sung, who already seemed to think he'd secured the interview, Sung-hwan spoke up.

While I was talking with Ki-sung, he'd evidently been preoccupied with the recent Super Hunter K meeting, still wearing a worried expression.

"But is Super Hunter K really okay? To be honest, it doesn't look all that promising."

"To be honest, you're right. It's disadvantageous."

"Right?"

Sung-hwan's troubled look clearly calculated the risks and gains of participating in Super Hunter K.

Indeed, this round of Super Hunter K wasn't exactly favorable.

"For the other side, that is."

"... Huh?"

For a moment, Sung-hwan didn't seem to get what I meant, staring at me blankly.

But I was completely sincere.

This time, Super Hunter K was so advantageous to us that I almost felt sorry.

***

Just one week remained until the recording of the Super Hunter K finals.

In that time, we had no choice but to prepare extensively.

Since most of the agency's key members would be involved in the recording, we had to ensure business didn't falter.

Of course, managing all this was more Sung-hwan's and Director Song's responsibility rather than mine, just a lowly manager.

Still, that didn't mean I was just idling about.

Unlike with Shin Ah-yeon, there was a lot that Lee Soo-ah needed.

It was totally different to suggest a new path to someone who was already complete compared to guiding someone from the start.

"Manager Park, by the way, have you seen this?"

"Hm?"

As I was putting together what could be called a simple guide, director Song sneaked up to me.

Having freshly printed something, he handed me a warm sheet of A4 paper.

"It's an ad request."

"Yeah, but it looked pretty good to me."

"Oh, it sure does..."

The new ad proposal for Shin Ah-yeon was a pretty interesting one.

Plenty of ad requests had come in before, but most were meaningless, like simple food products.

The pay was abysmal, and it was obvious most brands just wanted to borrow Shin Ah-yeon's name value.

This new proposal, though, was rather intriguing.

'A cosmetics ad, huh.'

It wasn't a major brand, but it was a cosmetics agency popular among teens these days.

With recent buzz on community sites, and considering Shin Ah-yeon's appeal to young people, it was a good fit.

'With this, it'd be great to highlight Shin Ah-yeon's looks.'

Hunters don't make their living with their looks.

It was obvious—just because your rank is high doesn't mean your looks are exceptional.

So, it was notable that Shin Ah-yeon's striking appearance was often talked about.

'Frankly, she's unrivaled among hunters.'

Because of that, three years ago, Mirae Guild had limited Shin Ah-yeon's ad and TV appearances.

They were concerned that too much exposure as a celebrity would tarnish her image as a hunter.

Honestly, I didn't think that was a totally wrong call.

Her looks far outshone most celebrities, so making her media image all about her face could've cast her as nothing but a "pretty-face" hunter.

But that was just three years ago.

'Mirae Guild established her image firmly as a hunter, so for us it's no longer an issue.'

But this ad proposal didn't seem to be exclusive to Shin Ah-yeon.

Most likely, several candidates would be brought in, and after checking screen tests, a final choice would be made.

With such an attractive offer, I figured we should at least check it out.

"But the ad isn't the important part. Please look at the back page."

"The back page?"

"Yes, actually, that's the important one."

As I nodded, director Song gestured that there was another page.

The ad was already quite good, yet there was something even more important?

Curious, I turned over the A4 sheet.

"... What is this?"

And just like that, I saw why Director Song insisted it was important.

It was an offer that would never usually come to a hunter.

***

Nom-nom,

As she chewed her pizza, Shin Ah-yeon stole glances at Jung-woo, who sat across the table.

For some reason, he just stared at her without a word.

'Did I do something wrong?'

Jung-woo had come to Shin Ah-yeon's mansion at about eight o'clock.

It was just after she finished a raid and belatedly opened a pizza box that had arrived.

"..."

"... Would you like a slice of pizza?"

"..."

"Oh, come on, is it because it's pineapple pizza~~?"

Feeling awkward, Shin Ah-yeon took a big bite of her pizza.

But she'd bitten off too much and started choking, so she gulped down some Budion she took from the fridge.

Watching this, Jung-woo said in disbelief,

"... Do you actually drink Budion with pizza?"

"Director Song gave me a lot. Oh, and you're finally talking?"

"Watching you drink that Budion makes my worries feel ridiculous."

As he sighed, Shin Ah-yeon glanced sideways at the can in her hand.

Was this really that strange? She actually enjoyed it, but every time, Jung-woo looked at her like she was some mystery.

"I always wondered who eats pineapple pizza— I guess it's people like you."

"Am I 'people like that' now?"

Shin Ah-yeon knew well enough what people thought of pineapple pizza.

But still, wasn't he being a bit much?

"... First of all, you got an ad offer."

"An ad? You told me there was nothing but junk last time."

"It came in today. It's a cosmetics ad."

"Oh."

A cosmetics ad—something she never expected.

After all, cosmetics endorsements usually went to celebrities famous for their looks.

'Is it really okay when I've been staying up playing games all night?'

Even if Shin Ah-yeon was blessed as a human, with her looks guarded by magic and magic power, she couldn't help but worry a little.

"But it's rare for a hunter to get an ad like this, right?"

"Rare. Word has it another hunter, Ji Yeon-hwa, landed one from a different brand recently."

"Ji Yeon-hwa? And who's that?"

Shin Ah-yeon chewed her pizza, looking genuinely clueless.

She looked so absolutely uninterested that even Jung-woo was taken aback.

According to what he'd heard from Director Song, Ji Yeon-hwa seemed to be keeping a close eye on Shin Ah-yeon's return.

"She's a mage like you. She was active three years ago—they called her the Witch then..."

"I don't really know any mages besides myself."

"... Really?"

Annoyed by Jung-woo's disbelieving look, Shin Ah-yeon retorted,

"Do you know other managers? Can you even name five managers from Mirae Guild?"

Of course, Jung-woo couldn't.

He did think that hunters and managers were a bit different, and Ji Yeon-hwa was a fairly well-known hunter, but it wasn't important, so he dropped it.

"Anyway, that aside..."

"Was there something else you wanted to talk about besides the ad?"

"If there wasn't, I wouldn't be worrying like this."

"So what is it?"

Curious, Shin Ah-yeon paused mid-bite and blinked at Jung-woo's troubled face.

"... Well..."

Jung-woo hesitated a moment under her questioning look, then asked in a low voice,

"Can you act, by any chance?"

"I can make a scene, if that's what you mean."

"I knew you would say that."

Even the bit of hope he'd held seemed foolish.

"W—wait!"

Seeing Jung-woo give up so quickly, Shin Ah-yeon scrambled over on her knees and grabbed his collar.

"D-don't just give up out of nowhere! At least explain it to me before you quit!"

"... A movie."

"What?"

"You got an offer to appear in a movie."

A movie, a movie... Shin Ah-yeon wondered if this was the kind of movie she was thinking of.

"Is it for special effects, maybe? To save on CG costs?"

"No, as an actor."

"Then I'd have to act?"

"If you don't act, it's not a movie, it's a documentary."

"That's true."

A movie offer. Thankfully, the role wasn't the lead but a supporting character, though it was still sizable. In other words, Shin Ah-yeon, who had never acted in her life, got an absurd invitation.

'Honestly, there are only a handful of cases where hunters have ever appeared in dramas or movies.'

And those too were usually hunters who'd been celebrities or actors before, and it just happened by chance.

And even then, neither as hunters nor as actors were they considered particularly talented, so it didn't make much of a splash.

As such, it was rare for a director to cast a hunter—especially a non-professional—in dramas or movies.

And what hunter would want to go to acting school and waste their time doing that?

They'd make far more in the time it took to clear a dungeon.

'For most hunters, broadcasts are just a bonus.'

Hunters who relied on broadcast income mostly had the looks, but lacked the rank, so their earnings lagged behind; so there were virtually no hunters seriously aiming to appear in dramas or movies.

That's why this offer to Shin Ah-yeon wasn't just rare—it could honestly be called 'the industry's first'.

"Still, isn't it worth trying?"

Unexpectedly, Shin Ah-yeon spoke those words.

"... What?"

"I mean, I've never acted before, but surely they know that? Maybe it's just a role where I stand there looking pretty... Or who knows, I might turn out to be a genius actor, right?"

"Hmm."

That was possible. Shin Ah-yeon did have hidden talents in unexpected areas.

Besides, surely they hadn't cast a hunter with no acting experience for a reckless role.

"Then how about going to an acting school for a test tomorrow?"

"T-tomorrow already?"

"No time like the present."

"Ugh, now that you say it, I'm getting nervous..."

But as they say, strike while the iron's hot.

Since testing wouldn't take long, I wanted to confirm as soon as possible.

So the next day,

Shin Ah-yeon and Jun-woo got up early and visited an acting academy for a few tests.

Who knew, maybe she did have some hidden talent for acting after all.

"I really suck at this."

Of course, reality is cruel.

So, she turned out to have no hidden acting abilities, but we decided to go ahead and schedule a meeting anyway.

Just as Shin Ah-yeon said, it was hard to believe they'd offered her a movie role without a thought.

A few more days passed like this.

And the day for the Super Hunter K recording was just a day away.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
I like easy-going chapters like this. The plot is still moving, and we know regardless of what they do there will be an incident that follows. It's like the calm before the storm.
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】