Returnee's S-Rank Management Guide

Villain (1)

【Did he sharpen his blade this time? Super Hunter K Baek Hojun makes his entrance】

【The prestige of the Big 3 management agencies that captured Hunters' hearts】

【Mentor participant Ji Yeon-hwa: "I'll do my best for my juniors."】

The very next day after rehearsal ended, the trailer for Super Hunter K aired.

None of the Hunters participating in SuHunK had expected that the rehearsal held before recording would end up being broadcast in the trailer raw and unfiltered, so they couldn't help but look startled.

"This is too much, I'm barely even mentioned, you know?"

"Is that so? Still, at least you had an article come out, but Unique didn't even show up at all."

Sitting in the car seat next to me, Shin Ah-yeon grumbled as she searched online news with her phone.

Just as she said, despite all the recent buzz, there were very few articles about Shin Ah-yeon related to SuHunK.

And even those few articles that mentioned her were mostly in relation to Ji Yeon-hwa.

【Clash of new and old generations. Who is truly Korea's top mage?】

【'You can't beat me anymore.' Ji Yeon-hwa gives Shin Ah-yeon a provocative smile】

Those were the general contents of most of the articles.

I wasn't sure if Ji Yeon-hwa's side was intentionally pushing out these kinds of articles, but it was quite the childish provocation.

Who would fall for something like this...?

"Does she seriously not have a mom?"

"Cough!"

Taken off guard by Shin Ah-yeon's sudden savage comment, I almost slammed on the brakes.

She quickly shut her mouth and furtively watched for my reaction at my abrupt behavior.

"... Hey, Shin Ah-yeon."

"Ah, no, I mean—I'm trying to be careful with my words lately, you know. But it's just too infuriating, what am I supposed to do? And it's not just these articles, you know? Even yesterday..."

"Yesterday?"

"Ah, never mind, it's nothing."

Certainly, she used to use all sorts of words that couldn't be aired before, but lately, she'd toned it down a lot.

Such language would only slip out in front of me, and elsewhere, she made a conscious effort to be careful.

Honestly, I wasn't sure whether I should find this endearing.

'But what happened yesterday?'

After the rehearsal, I'd talked with Soo-ah and didn't know what had happened afterward.

Seeing that she was waiting with Sung-hwan at the company, I figured she returned just fine...

"Uh, anyway, are you okay?"

"About what?"

"What if they ask you to try acting in today's meeting?"

Maybe she sensed my suspicious gaze, because Shin Ah-yeon hastily changed the subject.

It only made things more suspicious, but I didn't press further.

'It'd be a lie to say I'm not curious...'

Judging by Ah-yeon's reaction, something must have happened yesterday with Ji Yeon-hwa.

But I didn't really want to pry.

If it had really been dangerous, she would have told me.

"... That's not going to happen, so don't worry."

"Really?"

"If that were possible, they wouldn't have chosen a cafe for the meeting."

"True."

So, for now, I decided to play along with Shin Ah-yeon's words.

Part of a manager's job was to trust their Hunter and wait for them.

***

'World of Superhumans.'

That was the webtoon-based entertainment movie that had offered Shin Ah-yeon a role.

Since it was based on one of the most popular webtoons at the moment, it was being heavily invested in and planned as a blockbuster-scale production.

So, I assumed there must have been some top-level intervention to cast Shin Ah-yeon.

Otherwise, it made no sense for an unproven Hunter in acting to be cast for an A-rank movie like this.

To be honest, I didn't have any particular feelings even if she didn't end up in the film...

"To be frank, we sent this offer specifically at the original author's request, but honestly, I have my doubts."

I didn't expect the director to say something like that bluntly the moment we arrived at the café.

"D-Director, it's not necessary to put it that way..."

"No, this is as good a time as any to say it. Are movies a joke? I already dislike idols trying to be actors, and now a Hunter? What does that make all the other actors who have dedicated their lives to acting, huh?"

He was literally arguing with the man who was the original author, with us sitting right in front of them.

'Cha Jae-seok, was it?'

He was a film director who had recently produced a series of hits.

A young director in his late thirties, he was supposed to be well attuned to the young sensibility and latest trends, making him the right fit to direct this film... or so I thought.

'Is this how young old-timers act?'

Sure, late thirties isn't that young, but for him to speak like that...

The funny thing was, the person beside the brash Cha Jae-seok was the original creator of the movie.

Baek Dong-woo, the webtoon artist of World of Superhumans.

Listening to the conversation, it seemed the only reason Shin Ah-yeon had been offered a role was because of the author's request.

"Director Cha Jae-seok."

When I called out just a bit louder, Cha Jae-seok's gaze finally turned to me.

"What is it?"

"First, wouldn't it be better to give us a proper explanation?"

"Ha."

At my attitude, Cha Jae-seok scoffed incredulously.

"Listen, do I look like I'm on the same level as you just because I'm being polite?"

"But you should explain—"

Since we got here, there hadn't been a single proper conversation.

Even so, he just sneered at my words and raised his voice instead.

"Explain? Do I really need to explain you got the part by sheer luck? Besides, this is something a mere manager shouldn't butt into. Don't you know that?!"

Any semblance of politeness was gone. His tone now had an overwhelming authority.

And from his perspective, that was understandable—the director's word was final in film production.

For him, we were just the 'subordinates' and had to beg for any favor, no matter what we said.

"Director."

Well, that's the situation for ordinary actors and managers.

We didn't need to behave that way.

Like I always say, we are not celebrities.

We're Hunters.

"You've never had a meeting with a Hunter, have you?"

"... What?"

"If you had, you wouldn't be acting this way..."

As I said this with a bright smile, Cha Jae-seok's previously overbearing face twisted.

He seemed to be wondering what on earth I was saying.

"Ah-yeon."

"!!"

No sooner had I finished speaking, the atmosphere around us changed.

The noisy sounds died down, the air grew heavy, and gravity pressed down, making everyone's bodies feel heavier.

"Uh, urgh..."

A strangled groan escaped from Cha Jae-seok's lips.

All the pressure was focused on him.

His eyes grew bloodshot, and he couldn't breathe freely. His fingers trembled.

Cold sweat dripped from his forehead onto the table.

"Stop."

Crash!!

Whoosh, as if everything had been a lie, the suffocating aura suddenly disappeared.

The trembling Cha Jae-seok rolled backward with his chair, pale as a sheet the moment I finished speaking.

People glanced over briefly at his sudden tumble, but that was it—no one had any idea what had just happened.

"W-What did you just do to me...?"

"Well, we can understand your reaction to a degree. It is rare for a Hunter to even have a meeting for a movie, after all. Most Hunters who appeared before never did much either."

There's a common misconception among some TV producers:
That, just like in ordinary entertainment, they stand above the talent.

"As you say, director, there are levels."

With low-rank Hunters, acting like they're ordinary celebrities doesn't really cause problems.

The media can ruin them, and it's possible to manipulate them with TV appearances or advertising.

But not for a Hunter.

From A-rank and above.

Especially with S-rank Hunters, those at the very apex.

The relationship with broadcasters exists only because of the 'mercy' of the S-rank Hunters.

"Shin Ah-yeon, S-rank Hunter. She may have vanished three years ago, but her rank hasn't disappeared."

"D-Don't think you're above the l-law just because of some rank! I'll sue you all!!"

I shook my head at his shrieking tantrum.

"For what?"

"... What?"

"What exactly did we do?"

"..."

Cha Jae-seok fell silent.

Just as I said, we didn't do anything.

"These kinds of places are fitted with sensors to detect magic power as a safeguard against magic crimes. But there wasn't a single alert. So, what exactly do you think we did?"

"T-Then, what was that just now... supposed to be?"

"We just looked at you."

"!!"

A little chilling, but for high-rank Hunters, it was entirely possible.

It wasn't oppression with magic power, but a wave created from pure intent to kill and intense emotions.

That's what an awakened is.

They were created from the start as beings meant to fight aberrant monsters.

To face monsters, you need to be a monster.

That murderous intent that a monster exudes.

Even just that can put an ordinary person's life in danger.

Of course, in modern times, there's no way to prove such a thing.

"W-What do you want from me, exactly?"

Now frightened out of his wits, Cha Jae-seok stammered as he spoke.

"We want you to show respect."

"... What?"

"I'm talking about showing the appropriate manners for a formal setting."

At my signal, Shin Ah-yeon lightly raised her hand.

Then Cha Jae-seok and his chair, which had fallen, floated up and settled back neatly in place.

"Director."

"Uh... ah, n-no, yes, yes."

"Are you ready to have a proper conversation now?"

As I asked this with a gentle smile, Cha Jae-seok grew even paler and nodded hastily.

Seeing this, I nodded in satisfaction.

Now that he'd learned his manners, he wouldn't make the same mistake with another Hunter.

***

While Jung-woo and Shin Ah-yeon were at the film meeting.

Soo-ah was swinging her sword alone in the park.

"Haah, haah. I think I'm dying."

There were still about three days left before the main shoot began, but Soo-ah didn't have any time to rest.

She had a 'promise' made with Jung-woo at the end of rehearsal.

'Finish this book completely before the main shoot. And... this.'

'What is this?'

'As you can see, it's a dagger.'

'I mean, I know that... But why a dagger when I use a longsword...'

'You'll understand when you read the book. And for the first Super Hunter K mission, you'll solve it using only that dagger.'

'What??'

Even recalling it, it was a ridiculous demand.

He'd handed her a book and a dagger out of the blue, then said the first mission would be solved using only the dagger.

For reference, Soo-ah had never fought with a dagger in her life.

From the very moment she became a Hunter, she'd always wielded a Western longsword and had no experience with any other weapon.

"Is this really going to be okay...?"

With an uneasy feeling, Soo-ah opened the book Jung-woo gave her again.

It looked like a translation or a handwritten copy by someone.

The problem was, even after reading the book, she couldn't figure out why Jung-woo wanted her to use a dagger.

To start with, the booklet wasn't about swordsmanship.

It read more like a guide on using magic power—a magic power usage guide.

The reason she thought of a 'guide' is because it explained things in a way she'd never even heard of before.

"So you make mana-holes in your chest and head, not your abdomen? Is that even possible?"

In the modern day, mana-holes only exist in the lower abdomen.

The prevailing theory was that creating them elsewhere put your life in mortal danger.

'Come to think of it, I heard some Hunters who read martial arts novels tried something similar.'

The upper dantian and middle dantian, that's what they called it.

Since the mana-hole location coincided with the lower dantian, some Hunters sometimes tried creating 'other' mana-holes after reading martial arts novels.

Sadly, every one of them ended up disabled.

No matter how hard you tried to create mana-holes in your chest or head, you'd only end up incurably handicapped.

So the 'dantian concept' from martial arts novels was no more than a writer's wild delusion.

'But this feels just like that.'

Chest and head.

Didn't they seem like they were referring to the middle and upper dantian?

Of course, the booklet simply called them the 2nd and 3rd mana-holes, using concise names instead of dantian.

Apparently, Jung-woo wasn't interested in martial arts novels.

'He said he'd explain in full once the show began.'

At any rate, until then, it was better to avoid contact as much as possible—according to Jung-woo.

He said it would look like cheating if they saw them together too often.

Soo-ah wondered if even this was a bit suspicious, but decided to let it go.

'It's not like I'd be going anywhere else anyway.'

It would be a lie to say there was nothing suspicious about Jung-woo or Unique.

But, even so, no one had ever wanted her this much before.

'So for now... I'll try.'

Soo-ah followed the instructions in the book and slowly moved her magic power.

Guiding magic power from her mana-hole along an unfamiliar path was quite difficult, but for Soo-ah, it wasn't that hard.

'Huh?'

But something was off.

According to the book, she should have hit an obstacle or felt intense pain midway through.

'... It doesn't hurt at all?'

There were no blockages, no pain.

Instead, her magic power flowed smoothly, as if she'd discovered a shortcut.

She felt exhilarated rather than pained.

'Is this working right? This is ridiculous, isn't it?'

Though she had her doubts, she decided to follow the instructions for now.

Even if she wasn't sure about the effect, the fact she felt so refreshed was undeniable.

But Soo-ah didn't know.

That the contents of the booklet only applied to ordinary people—

And, more importantly, that she herself was nowhere near ordinary.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
I like how they dealt with the director.
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】