Sealed in Ink: The Manager's Doom
Agreeing to the terms... carefully? Attorney Park finished jotting his note and spoke up. "This is the maximum we can push legally. Depending on interpretation, it could end up pretty binding."
"Perfect." Kang Haneul rose from her seat. "Then have it ready by tomorrow morning. Six or seven, whatever—call me the second it's done."
"Tomorrow... morning? It's already 5 p.m.—"
"Yes! It has to be. I'm in a huge rush. You can do it, right? By tomorrow morning."
"...I'll hurry as much as I can."
"Great. Please make sure it's done before tomorrow morning, Attorney."
Kang Haneul opened the door and left. Silence returned to the office as the door clicked shut. Left alone, Attorney Park leaned back in his chair. A sigh escaped him unbidden.
"...This is insane."
Awakeners were all such pains in the ass, every last one. People with power deluded themselves into thinking they could have whatever they wanted. Laws and morals be damned. And Kang Haneul took the cake. No female contact? Forced cohabitation? Lifetime contract? Yeah, right.
I really should have gone independent last year. Even if it meant taking on debt. As long as he stayed in the Awakener Association's legal department, he'd never escape crap like this.
The cursor blinked on his laptop screen. Time to draft the contract. Exactly as Kang Haneul wanted. As binding as possible. Sure, a victim with a high-priced lawyer might get it voided, but who would? Against an EX-rank Awakener.
Come to think of it, the guy's name was Moon Yujin, right? F-rank Awakener, twenty-two years old. No idea what story had made him her target, but honestly... poor bastard.
Not my problem, though... Still, he had a job to do. He'd already pocketed 100 million won.
But his conscience prickled anyway.
"Rest in peace, Mr. Moon Yujin." Attorney Park muttered under his breath and placed his hands on the keyboard. Then he started typing.
…………
Knock knock knock.
The sound of someone rapping on the door jolted me awake. ...What the hell.
Morning already? My eyelids felt like they weighed a ton. My body sank into the bed like it was quicksand.
Moon Yujin's routine had been hardcore nocturnal. Gaming all night, crashing as the sun rose, waking up late afternoon. Right now... I glanced at the clock. 7 a.m.
"Wh-who the hell at this hour...?"
Thud thud thud. The knocking—not rapping this time—came again.
"Yujin! You still sleeping—?!"
Kang Haneul's voice. She's already here?
To normalize Moon Yujin's schedule, I'd gone to bed as early as possible, but anything before 3 a.m. was impossible. Meaning I'd only gotten four hours.
"Haah..."
Annoyingly irritating, but no choice. Time to get up. I stumbled out of bed and shuffled to the door. The second I opened it...
"Yujiiiin—!!"
Kang Haneul charged in with arms wide open.
"Gah!?"
An unexpected impact launched me into the air. She'd scooped me up in a hug. More like hoisted me, really. Like picking up a kid or a puppy, she effortlessly lifted me into her arms.
Her body heat seeped through. Two warm, soft mounds smothered my face, cutting off my air.
This woman...
I twisted my head to gasp for breath. Kang Haneul didn't seem fazed by the contact at all. She just squeezed me tight and spun in circles.
"I missed you so much! Feels like we parted yesterday, but it's already today!"
What nonsense was that? Past Moon Yujin dealt with this every day?
His memories were full of scenes like this. At school, in hallways, classrooms. Kang Haneul would hug him, lift him, kiss his cheek whenever.
Yet Moon Yujin saw it as torment, pure horror. What kind of total nerd was he?
Hell, it could be kinda nice. Daily lucky sukebe moments, right? Wait—no. Not the point right now.
"From today, we can see each other every single day, right? For real real?"
"H-Haneul... can't... breathe..."
"Oh, sorry!"
She finally set me down. My feet hit the floor, and I wobbled. Oxygen deprivation plus the forced spins.
"So why are you here so damn early?"
"Brought the contract!" She shook the document envelope in her hand.
"...You already had it made?"
"Yup! Asked the legal team last night, finished at dawn. Picked it up this morning."
Arriving at 7 a.m., so yeah, straight from all-nighter central. Felt bad for whatever lawyer pulled that shift.
Kang Haneul pulled out the thick stack from the envelope. "Here!"
I took the contract. The cover read Employment Contract. Employer: Kang Haneul. Employee: Moon Yujin.
"Just sign, and it kicks in today! Job secured! No more NEET life!"
She threw her arms up in a V-for-victory pose. I sat on the bed and flipped it open. No more NEET life. Those words alone swelled my chest with emotion.
Moon Yujin had been jobless for three years after Awakener training school. Scraping by on game streaming pennies, no future in sight, day by day.
That ended now.
"Let's see..."
Legal jargon crammed every page. Party A, Party B, term, duties, compensation. Complicated.
Normally I'd scrutinize every line, but sleepy eyes made the words swim. I skimmed.
[Duties: Manage Kang Haneul's schedule, assist external affairs, handle administrative tasks.]
[Term: Until mutual agreement.]
Mutual agreement. Even if she wanted to fire me, no dice if I said no. No unilateral dismissal? Not bad.
[Hours: Flexible due to job nature.]
Lots of overtime, probably frequent. Fine, expected it. EX-rank manager gig.
And finally—
"Salary's right here!" Kang Haneul pointed.
[Article 5 (Compensation): 5,000,000 won per month]
"...Huh?"
I rubbed my eyes and double-checked. Five million won. Yep.
"Th-this... for real?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Can you really pay this much? No experience, F-rank."
"Hours are flexible. Might be all-day shifts. Gotta compensate."
Made sense. At 70 hours a week, that's... about 18,000 won an hour? Way above minimum wage. And infinitely better than scraping by on streams. A miracle for someone with 120,000 won in the bank.
"What do you think? Good, right?"
No reason to hesitate. Had to work anyway. Couldn't stream forever. And I'd already decided to be her manager. Now with serious cash.
Alright. Let's do it.
I grabbed a pen. Last page, signature line. Employer 'Kang Haneul' was already signed. Employee 'Moon Yujin' was blank.
Pen tip to paper. Moon Yujin. Signed it neatly.
The moment I finished, I caught Kang Haneul's lip curling up beside me. Oddly, unnaturally high. A smile. But not her usual bright, playful grin. Deeper. More... satisfied.
What the...?
Couldn't tell what it meant. Probably nothing. Shook it off.
"There. Done."
"Yay!" She snatched the contract, slipping it tenderly into the envelope like prized treasure.
"Now Yujin's all mine!"
"Yeah. Your manager."
"Right, manager. My manager."
She clutched the envelope to her chest. "Take care of me from now on, Yujin."
"...You too."
And just like that, Moon Yujin became Kang Haneul's manager.
"Start today? First day on the job!"
"Now?"
"Yup! Gotta hit the Association. Got a schedule today."
Awakener Association HQ. Where she was based. Where I'd work as her manager.
"Got it. Gimme a sec to wash up."
"Hurry hurry!"
Into the bathroom. Cold water on my face sharpened my senses. Mirror showed Moon Yujin's face: rabbit eyes, pale skin, slight build.
Here we go.
Kang Haneul's manager. First step to seizing control.
Drying off, I muttered, "I can do this."
…………
The Awakener Association building towered in central Seoul, smack in Gangnam. Glass-clad exterior, over 50 stories tall. A massive stone slab engraved with the Association logo stood at the entrance.
"Whoa."
Standing before it, awe hit automatically. Moon Yujin's memories found it overwhelming too, but only from afar. Up close? Insane.
"Impressive, huh?" Kang Haneul grinned. "You're working here now, Yujin."
Her hand grabbed mine. Entering the lobby, stares prickled. Not at me—at her. Staff, other Awakeners. Everyone knew her. Some bowed greetings, others sidestepped.
A few glances my way too. Who's the kid? Holding hands with Haneul?Cute, but isn't he underage?
No words needed; faces said it all. Curiosity, confusion.
Ignore it. Prove my worth over time. Show what Moon Yujin could do.
Elevator to the 35th floor. Her dedicated office level. Past the hall into a room—spacious, pristine.
"This is my private office. You'll work here too from now on."
Desks, sofa, wall crammed with trophies and plaques.
"So what's on for today?"
"Ad shoot. Energy drink commercial." She pulled out her smartphone, showed the screen. Schedule app.
Wait. Wasn't I supposed to manage that?
"Uh, anything to prep?"
"Nah. They handle clothes and makeup. Just show up."
So my job was... tag along and watch? What even does a manager do?
Maybe like an idol manager from my old world? But Awakeners weren't idols. They fought. Warriors, not celebrities.
"Time to kill, so let's chill." She flopped on the sofa, patted the spot beside her. "Sit."
I sat. Instantly, her head lolled onto my shoulder.
"Yujin."
"Yeah?"
"Being together like this every day... I love it."
606 days of waiting, yeah. Of course she did.
But me? Still adjusting. Kang Haneul was pretty. Approachable type. Bright personality.
But also superhumanly strong. Uncontrollable. Dangerous.
Still. Gotta adapt. This was my job now.