4
# Chapter 4
## 4
Flinch!
Do Gahee was standing in front of the car window.
I was so startled that I looked as though I'd seen a ghost.
What the hell?
Was she real?
I was extremely flustered.
And for good reason.
A woman who had done those things with me on TV a few days ago had suddenly appeared right in front of me.
The emotions I felt were impossible to put into words.
What the hell? Was she really here?
While I stood there dumbfounded,
a line appeared across Do Gahee's beautiful forehead.
Frowning, she crossed her arms and mouthed something at me.
'Come out.'
That finally brought me to my senses, and I got out of the car.
The woman I'd been thinking about and worrying over since yesterday was standing right in front of me.
"You're my manager?"
"......"
"...Are you ignoring me right now?"
"Ah, I'm sorry. I was just thinking about something for a moment."
"...Haa. Anyway, you are my manager, right?"
"...Yes. Somehow, that's how it turned out."
"......"
Do Gahee narrowed her brows and looked at me as though she couldn't believe this.
She really was pretty.
The public had high standards.
Celebrities made their living off their looks.
There was a reason she'd managed to rise to the top, surpassing countless talented people along the way.
Since this was my first time seeing someone from the completely different world of entertainment up close,
it felt even more fascinating.
A small face.
Clear, flawless skin without a single blemish.
Perfectly proportioned features.
She didn't even seem to be wearing particularly heavy makeup, yet there was no way to hide Do Gahee's beauty.
'She's really a celebrity.'
Calling her pretty somehow felt insufficient.
But that was that.
Her beauty alone wasn't enough to make me this shaken.
I couldn't stop thinking about it.
The woman standing right in front of me.
The woman who had shared such a passionate kiss with me on TV.
The fact that she'd made those expressions, those sounds, and looked at me with those eyes.
There was a huge difference between the vague fantasies that any man might have,
and actually seeing something with your own eyes.
I was realizing that firsthand right now.
"...Is there something on my face?"
"...No."
"Then stop spacing out and answer me when I talk to you."
"Ah. What is it?"
As I came to my senses and asked,
Do Gahee narrowed her eyes and glared at me.
Then, with absolute certainty and contempt in her voice, she said,
"The tires. You did that, didn't you?"
I could say one thing with certainty.
My first meeting with Do Gahee had been nothing short of the worst possible beginning.
---
A storm had swept through Management Team 2.
And it was understandable.
The vehicle of the top actress with the highest stock in South Korea at the moment—the company's biggest star—had been
deliberately sabotaged.
"...What on earth is going on? Where's Manager Baek Ho-cheol right now?"
"He's with the team leader, reporting to the CEO. I nearly had a heart attack when I heard about it too. Still, it's a
relief we noticed it beforehand. If we'd driven the car without knowing and an accident had happened..."
...It was horrifying just to imagine.
The female employee who had spoken shuddered.
What if Do Gahee had been seriously injured in the incident?
Who would have been responsible for that?
It was an enormous relief that it hadn't actually led to an accident.
"We really owe our lives to the person Manager Ho-cheol brought in."
"Tell me about it. Is he always that meticulous? Honestly, I thought he was just some parachute hire because he was
ex-military, so my first impression wasn't exactly great..."
"Come on, what parachute hire? What kind of parachute hire would take Do Gahee? Experienced managers are running away
from her left and right."
"True. Our company's biggest star she may be, but... Do Gahee is a bit much."
"Exactly. And if you're taking care of Do Gahee, you have to acknowledge that it's a parachute hire. Though really,
that's not a parachute unit. It's more like a bomb disposal squad? A mine-clearing team? Something like that."
"Haha... It's funny because I can't exactly disagree."
"Ugh, if they told me to take care of Do Gahee... I'd seriously consider changing jobs. I'd rather work part-time
somewhere."
The employees shook their heads.
By now, there wasn't a single person at the company who didn't know what Do Gahee was like.
It wasn't simply that she was extremely hysterical.
She was notorious for making everyone around her miserable.
Whether it was an ambitious rookie or an experienced veteran,
the people assigned to Do Gahee all ended up the same way.
Quitting.
And then visiting a psychiatrist.
There had been no exceptions so far.
She wiped them all out.
Whether their mental strength was weak or strong,
Do Gahee had a talent for destroying people's sanity.
"Seriously... if that's a talent, I guess it really is a talent."
How could someone be so devilish?
She looked like an angel, too.
"I was tempted when I first heard about the conditions. They really were pretty outrageous."
"Right? I was surprised when I first saw them too. But in the end, didn't nobody apply anyway?"
"Isn't that obvious? What good are great benefits? After spending a few days with Do Gahee, you're obviously going to
end up seeing a psychiatrist."
"That's true."
In the end, when no one was willing to take responsibility for Do Gahee,
the company took drastic measures.
They offered a promotion, a salary increase, and unlimited use of a corporate credit card to whoever agreed to manage
her.
Truly outrageous conditions.
But the rumors about Do Gahee had already spread far and wide.
Even with those incentives, no one wanted to take her on.
But the company couldn't simply abandon the matter.
They couldn't leave the company's biggest star, South Korea's top celebrity, without a manager.
Someone had to take care of Do Gahee.
It just couldn't be me.
"Anyway, I was really startled when I first saw that Kang Taebaek guy. His impression was... whoa. Like the boss of some
organization? A wild beast? That's immediately what came to mind."
"...He was scary. His eyes especially... Are all UDT guys like that? Manager Ho-cheol has quite an intimidating face
too."
"Come on, he's just big. Isn't he kind of cute once you get to know him? But that Taebaek guy really does look like... I
don't know, like he'd casually bury someone without thinking twice. Honestly, this is embarrassing to admit, but I was
completely terrified when I first saw him..."
"Hehe... Same here. But aren't you curious?"
"About what?"
"What will happen when a new guy from the special forces who looks like that meets Do Gahee..."
"...Huh? Now that you mention it, I'm suddenly interested."
"Right?"
The employees continued chatting amongst themselves, happily exchanging gossip.
---
"The tires. You did that, didn't you?"
...What?
Her tone was filled with certainty and contempt.
For a moment, I didn't know how to respond.
Was she seriously accusing me of being the culprit?
"...Are you saying I'm the culprit?"
"That's right. What? Now you're getting nervous because I hit the nail on the head? Do you think I've only seen one or
two people like you?"
The corners of Do Gahee's mouth curled into a smirk.
Apparently, she hadn't said it on a whim.
She genuinely believed I was the culprit.
I had no idea why she thought I was responsible.
'She's showing her true colors.'
I could feel the corners of my mouth rising.
It was a habit of mine.
Whenever I got angry, I smiled.
"If you've seen one or two people like me, then what number am I?"
"...What?"
"I'm asking you. What number am I?"
Do Gahee's eyebrow twitched.
"...Are you crazy?"
"Maybe."
I really might have been crazy.
I'd been through one strange thing after another lately.
Suddenly inheriting 50 billion won.
Seeing bizarre things on TV.
Well, I'd been called a mad dog before.
In the military.
I'd lost my temper and exploded several times because I couldn't hold it in.
Apparently, my patience wasn't all that strong.
Still, the fact that I belonged to the military, a highly controlled organization, had made me endure it to some extent.
But this wasn't the military.
And this wasn't even my actual workplace.
I wasn't short on money anymore.
There was no reason for me to suppress my personality and grovel before some crazy woman who was openly picking a fight
with me.
The promise I'd made to Ho-cheol hyung?
I felt a little bad about it, but...
'I already prevented an accident, didn't I?'
I felt that was enough.
I'd done my part.
I took a step toward her, and Do Gahee stepped back.
"...What are you trying to do right now?"
"I'm not trying to do anything. I'm just curious."
"...What?"
"Let's say, hypothetically, that I really was the one who did that to your car."
"......"
I took another step forward, and she took another step back.
Why was she acting like that?
I wasn't trying to hurt her.
I was simply asking because I genuinely wanted to know.
"Aren't you scared? You have no idea what I might do."