Returnee's S-Rank Management Guide

Omen of Disaster (2)

"Thank you so much for this. Thanks to you, journalist Kim, I was able to sort out my thoughts."

Since the Javelin Guild was entangled with the demons, it was impossible to know what kind of moves they would make through Jung Sun-hee.

However, just narrowing down the enemies even a little was incredibly helpful, and Ki-sung's information proved invaluable.

"No, no. We can't be sure that actress Jung Sun-hee's actions are due to pressure from the Javelin Guild, can we? It's all just circumstantial evidence."

"Still, just knowing that Jung Sun-hee's agency is connected to the Javelin Guild is enough."

The upcoming Jeju Island shoot.

It was necessary to keep a close eye on what Jung Sun-hee was planning to do at that time.

"And Journalist Kim, as I promised before, I'll try to arrange an interview as soon as Shin Ah-yeon-ssi's shoot finishes."

"Wha— Is, is that for real?!"

Ki-sung's face lit up with joy.

After all, all the research and obedience he had shown was solely because of his eagerness to interview Shin Ah-yeon.

"I'll also do my best to secure an interview with Hunter Lee Soo-ah as well."

"Oh my, even Hunter Lee Soo-ah! You know I really like you, manager Park, right? If you ever need this kind of information again, just ask me anytime. I'll find everything for you~~."

"Yes, I trust your ability, journalist Kim."

"Haha! Thank you."

As soon as I mentioned Soo-ah's interview as well, Ki-sung beamed with a happy smile.

In fact, he was the only reporter to get exclusive interviews with both Ah-yeon and Soo-ah.

Given Ki-sung's abilities, maintaining a good relationship with him from now on was important.

Excellent sources of information were as hard to find as S-rank hunters.

"Oh, right. Journalist Kim, could I ask you just one more favor?"

"A favor? Just say the word, anything. I'll get right on it."

I chuckled at Ki-sung, who thumped his chest as he spoke.

"This is just in case, but..."

Although I had already obtained most of the necessary information for now, I asked Ki-sung for a few more things.

Really, you can never have too much insurance.

***

The building of JM Management, located in the heart of Gangnam.

A woman examined her surroundings warily and gingerly stepped inside.

A beautiful woman dressed in splendid attire.

It was Jung Sun-hee, an actress from Shin-Dream Entertainment.

"Head to the meeting room on the third floor."

As soon as she entered the building, a man who seemed to have been waiting gestured to her with his chin.

Biting her lower lip at his manner, Jung Sun-hee silently followed his instructions.

That man was an awakener, a hunter. No matter how famous an actress she was, she was still just a civilian. As was typical at most hunter management agencies, non-awakened civilians were not treated well.

"So, Shin Ah-yeon will be joining the Jeju Island shoot as well?"

"... That's right. Director Cha Jae-seok wanted it that way."

Upon entering the meeting room, two men were waiting for her.

One was Bong Jun-shik, the President of JM.

The other was Shim Chun-hoo, vice-guildmaster of the Javelin Guild.

"Didn't expect this opportunity to come so soon. Not bad."

"Who would've thought that strict Director Cha Jae-seok would like Shin Ah-yeon so much?"

Bong Jun-shik grinned slyly at Shim Chun-hoo, who muttered to himself.

From an outside perspective, JM appeared to be a massive management agency on par with Javelin.

Just below the Big 3 management agencies.

But that was only a façade.

Javelin was, in reality, a far larger guild, so for JM—for all its size—there was no helping but watching for the vice-guildmaster's mood.

"... You really can take care of that woman for me, right?"

"As long as you play your part."

At Jung Sun-hee's words, Shim Chun-hoo answered in a sharp tone.

The chilly aura radiating from him made Jung Sun-hee tremble.

Shim Chun-hoo, an A-rank top-level hunter, exerted an intimidation the civilian Jung Sun-hee could hardly withstand.

'Why does that woman have to act in the film anyway...'

This whole situation was displeasing for Sun-hee.

She had been so happy when she first got cast in World of Superhumans.

She loved the original webtoon, and the director was the up-and-coming Cha Jae-seok.

Investment from Tae-yeong Group, the distributor, was pouring in without reserve.

The script was excellent; Jung Sun-hee had really staked a lot on this movie.

'But now Shin Ah-yeon is barging in.'

From a publicity standpoint, it wasn't a bad thing at all.

In fact, Sun-hee hadn't paid much attention to Ah-yeon at first.

After all, she wasn't an actress, probably couldn't act well, and was expected to finish as a supporting character with a modest role.

But the problem was, Shin Ah-yeon turned out to be far better at acting than expected.

Moreover, thanks to the director-pleasing new filming techniques utilizing magic, she became a favorite of Cha Jae-seok.

Not only did it save on production costs, but it produced scenes much more realistic and spectacular than simple graphics processing.

"All you have to do is keep bringing us information and drawing their attention, just like now. How did Manager Park Jung-woo react?"

"Of course, he looked at me with suspicion."

"That's to be expected. That's enough. He seems to be pretty sharp. We have other plans for them, so just keep his focus on you."

"Understood."

As an actress with genuine acting skills, drawing attention like that wasn't difficult for Sun-hee.

Still, she wondered why they were asking this of her.

No matter how you looked at it, it felt off.

'I really should've just refused back then.'

Sun-hee sighed to herself.

It was back when, thanks to Shin Ah-yeon's popularity, Jin Se-yeon's part grew larger.

Then, Shim Chun-hoo, vice-guildmaster of Javelin, contacted Shin-Dream.

'Report everything that happens on set. Attract the attention of Park Jung-woo and Shin Ah-yeon. Then I'll help get Shin Ah-yeon off World of Superhumans.'

That had been Shim Chun-hoo's request to Jung Sun-hee.

It didn't seem all that difficult, so she accepted without much thought.

Not to mention, Javelin Guild held a huge amount of shares in Shin-Dream, so it was hard to decline.

'No, I was foolish from the beginning.'

It had been a hard-won leading role.

Blind jealousy had gotten the better of her.

So much so that she'd accepted this suspicious request from Javelin.

'What are they really after?'

She had agreed in the heat of the moment, but it seemed this was no ordinary matter.

She acted docile for now, but their idea of Shin Ah-yeon "leaving" the set clearly didn't match her own imagination.

'Surely, they wouldn't...'

No matter how much she resented Shin Ah-yeon's growing role, she never wanted to harm her. She was an actress, not a murderer.

"Then, I'll be going. How will you contact me in Jeju?"

"We'll send our employee to you there. Don't use your phone. Something unnecessary might latch on if you do."

"Got it."

With a simple answer, Jung Sun-hee left the meeting room, feeling the vice-guildmaster's eyes on her all the while.

'... For now, I'll just keep watching.'

If she acted strangely, her own life could be in danger first.

She'd been foolish to get caught in their scheme, but she wasn't so stupid as to not distinguish that much.

But there was one thing that worried her.

If what they planned went far beyond her imagination...

She was already in the same boat as them—what choice could she make?

That thought alone churned Jung Sun-hee's mind.

***

Jeju Island.

Once, it had been devastated as a hotbed for monsters.

But, dispatching countless hunters, they'd barely managed to restore the island's beautiful appearance.

That's why, with many traces of past incidents remaining, the location was often used for shooting hunter-themed films.

This time, the scenes of "World of Superhumans" being filmed were those where a gate incident occurred on Jeju, and the protagonists Kim Do-yeong and Cha Min-ah stopped it.

It was a climax in the film, so the entire crew was on edge.

"The actual shooting starts tomorrow, so everyone, keep in shape. We're pressed for time, so we have to shoot quickly."

At Director Cha Jae-seok's words, one staff member turned to another in puzzlement.

"We're pressed for time? Did something happen?"

"Oh, there are rumors of a possible gate occurring. You know, Jeju is a frequent gate area."

"Well, most of them are small, right? And there are so many hunters living on Jeju."

Perhaps because of previous incidents, gates were particularly likely to occur in Jeju.

Accordingly, defenses were excellent, and many hunters resided there.

The monsters emerging from gates were often ones that didn't appear in regular dungeons, so rare materials were frequently dropped.

"Yeah, that's true. But there's no harm in being careful, right?"

"Haaa, I was hoping we could do some sightseeing if we finished shooting early..."

His grousing drew small chuckles from those around him.

Quite a few shared those feelings.

"Do they have PC rooms in Jeju too?"

Of course, there was at least one person who didn't care about Jeju sightseeing at all.

Ah-yeon, who had been looking bored since the flight, said this the moment we arrived.

"Of course Jeju has PC rooms. That's sounding like regional discrimination."

"If gates happen so often, maybe there aren't any."

"Jeju is still a place where people live..."

Admittedly, with frequent gates and monsters, Jeju was also the best defended region in Korea.

Hunters constantly flocked to Jeju, so if you were to consider the number of hunters relative to the land area, Jeju would probably rank only behind Seoul.

"Did you never come to Jeju back when you were a hunter?"

"I made good money without having to come to places like this."

Well, that's true.

Hunters usually came to Jeju for quick cash, so Ah-yeon probably never had any business here. The gates were frequent, but that didn't mean powerful monsters or high-level dungeons appeared.

If high-level dungeons or gates appeared often, Jeju would've become hell itself by now.

"So, since filming is tomorrow, today I'll just...go to a PC room..."

Ah-yeon was yawning slightly as she spoke, but for some reason, she trailed off.

She glanced at me, lost in thought.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, it's just... I suddenly remembered that you said you went to a baseball game with Soo-ah that time."

"Baseball game?"

That must've been when Soo-ah and Ju Ji-sang faced off at the Super Hunter League final.

"Ah, right. But why bring that up now?"

"Thinking about it... I realized I've never really gone out somewhere with you to have fun."

"Well, that's..."

There was a simple reason I hadn't gone anywhere in particular with Ah-yeon.

Unless it was a special situation, her range of activity was within 100 meters of her own mansion.

That "100 meters" was literally the distance to the convenience store.

She ordered all her food via delivery, did her exercise and training inside her mansion.

The mansion being so large and well-equipped—that was its own problem.

"Uh, ahem! I know that much, okay? Anyway, what I mean is, isn't this a pretty rare opportunity? That suddenly occurred to me."

Sensing what I almost said, Ah-yeon hurriedly offered an excuse.

Thankfully, she at least understood.

"So...since we're in Jeju and all, how about this?"

"This, meaning...?"

Feigning ignorance, I asked, and Ah-yeon blushed and got annoyed.

"Ah, seriously! If you think about what I just said, obviously I'm suggesting we go sightseeing in Jeju together!"

"What?"

That was...something I never would have expected.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
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