The Cult's Black Smoke
The rumor that Baek Hagyeong, the team leader who had tracked down the cult, had somehow changed spread like wildfire through the company.
Team Leader Baek was faithfully following my orders. On top of that, he had become my most ardent supporter.
“I analyzed their first and second album promotions. I came in after the second album dropped, so I didn’t know any of their history.”
“What do you think?”
“The first album wasn’t bad, but the timing was terrible. When they debuted, Rose Green and Prominence were doing their comebacks. If it were me, I would never have scheduled a debut at that time.”
Rose Green and Prominence were first-tier girl groups with massive fandoms. No matter how hard the company pushed, a brand-new group like Red Blossom couldn’t possibly compete with them.
“The second album was a complete failure in production. What kind of album has no theme and such childish storytelling? The visual team must have been possessed—they shoved those beautiful girls into that bizarre concept. There’s a limit to how avant-garde you can go.”
He gave favorable evaluations of the remaining three members.
“Yeoreum’s level of dance skill is more than enough to be the main dancer. I even dug up the monthly evaluation videos—her lines are insane. She won’t lose to anyone when it comes to dancing.”
“It’s such a waste that Sera is stuck in a failed idol group. If Red Blossom had even made it to second-tier, she would’ve been called the best vocalist among girl groups. A voice like that is impossible to find anywhere else.”
“I thought Lina would be weak at Korean rap since she’s a Korean-American, but after listening to the tracks on the second album, that’s definitely not the case. That girl was born with a silver tongue.”
He advised me to recruit at least one more sub-dancer and one more sub-vocalist. Through the Grace of Prophecy, the future version of Red Blossom I had seen had five members. Somewhere out there, two girls were waiting for my choice.
‘The question is how to find them…’
You remember their faces, don’t you? Anyone you saw through the Grace of Prophecy is destined to cross paths with you eventually.
‘That’s what’s amazing. I only saw them for a second on a screen—how could I not forget?’
I thought I would forget them quickly since the vision flashed by so fast, but the longer time passed, the clearer the images became. One was a visual member like Yeoreum, but with even better physique. The other had a baby face paired with a glamorous figure—the perfect fairy to make fans fall in love at first sight. The memories were so vivid I was sure I could recognize them instantly if I passed them on the street.
That is also a Grace.
‘Really?’
Yes. It is the Grace of Memory. It activates passively without any specific condition or intent, which is why you didn’t notice it, Master. It is an ability that transcends human memory, so any recollection connected to a Grace will never fade.
Another convenient Grace had appeared. It meant I would never forget any future I had once seen. I felt like I was gradually turning into an overpowered protagonist.
Hubris is dangerous. These abilities only manifest through pure goodwill and your sincere desire to help others. They are not tools you can use at will.
Since I had no intention of using them for myself anyway, it didn’t matter. As long as I could make the entertainers I managed shine, that was enough.
*****
“He’s here.”
“Welcome back, oppa.”
Lina was the first to run over and greet me. This house was nice in every way, except the distance from the front door to the living room was ridiculously long. They had invited me over for dinner, so I stopped by the mart and bought a bunch of things. Since Cha Soyeon was covering the filming costs, my bonus remained untouched. I planned to keep the fridge stocked for these girls who didn’t have much income yet.
“Let me take the grocery bag.”
Yeoreum came walking out from the kitchen, removing her apron. She was wearing a cropped top so short it barely covered her navel and dolphin shorts. Even though it was at home, the outfit was far too defenseless. I was a man too, after all.
“Don’t you think that’s a little too short on top and bottom…?”
I couldn’t hold back and said something.
“What’s the problem? You’re our manager.”
What? Did that mean she didn’t see me as a man?
I was staring at Yeoreum’s back as she returned to the kitchen when Lina spoke up beside me.
“She only dresses like that when you come over, oppa. Doesn’t unnie have pretty legs?”
“Yeah, they’re pretty.”
“Whoa! You answered without even hesitating for a second.”
“If they’re pretty, I say they’re pretty. What’s there to hesitate about when I’m just telling the truth?”
“Hmm, such a manly answer. It would be nice if you had a little more tact, though.”
She walked off muttering something about how she should wear dolphin shorts too. I just said something pretty was pretty—what tact did I need?
…….
Sera was sitting on the living room sofa. She was tapping away at her tablet, so she must have been working on a song. Lina said it was really good, but Sera would rather die than let me hear it.
“Hello, manager oppa.”
She greeted me, then quickly hid the tablet. She really didn’t want to show it to me. As she turned her head to avoid meeting my eyes, I noticed a red dot under her eye.
‘That’s the mark from the Grace of Relationships, right?’
Correct. It’s a hint that can help you strengthen your bond with her.
Out of the three, Sera was the one who found me the most difficult to approach. Lina was a super extrovert with insane social skills, and I had grown quite close to Yeoreum. But even though she saw me often, Sera never let me get within a certain distance. It seemed related to the dark energy the Divine Spirit had mentioned, but I still had no solid clues.
This felt like the right moment, so I walked closer. Even though she had covered it with makeup, the thing under her eye… was clearly a bruise.
“Why is your eye like that?”
“Huh? W-what do you mean?”
“That under your eye. It’s a bruise, isn’t it? Did something happen?”
“Ah, th-this?”
She was panicking far too obviously. There was definitely something going on.
“I-it’s nothing. I just… bumped into something lightly. It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
“You got a bruise that bad from just bumping into something? How is that nothing? Let me see.”
“I said I’m fine!”
She shouted and ran into her room. The way she reacted so sensitively made it even more suspicious. When I turned around, the other two were frozen in place. From their faces, it was clear they had no idea either. Honestly, if the red dot hadn’t appeared, I probably would have let it slide too.
“Let’s talk for a second.”
*
“Has Sera been acting strange lately?”
“Hmm… After she went home last weekend, she’s been waking up late and going to bed early, but other than that…”
Waking up late and going to bed early was her way of reducing the time she had to see me. Since they each had their own rooms, this kind of avoidance was possible.
“But what’s with the bruise? Is Sera-unnie hurt?”
“That’s what I want to ask. She was perfectly fine when I saw her last time.”
During last week’s live stream, she hadn’t avoided eye contact. That meant the bruise hadn’t happened here—it had happened at Sera’s family home.
“You said her father passed away from a chronic illness, right?”
“Yes. He passed before she was picked for the debut team. She was going to quit being a trainee because of it, but she heard his last wish was to see his daughter on stage, so she trained even harder.”
This was the first time I’d heard it was a last wish, but she had mentioned wanting to succeed for her late father.
‘…We’ve been doing part-time jobs to help Sera-unnie. Her mom keeps donating tons of money to the church, so Sera-unnie has to give her siblings allowance.’
Lina’s words suddenly came back to me. How could I have forgotten that? This could be incredibly important for Sera.
“Can you tell me more about how you’ve been helping Sera with part-time jobs?”
Yeoreum’s eyes widened into perfect circles.
“Lina, you…”
“B-but unnie, there’s no need to hide it from oppa too, right?”
So Yeoreum had planned to keep it secret until the end.
“I’m not asking you to tell me every single personal detail. But if money is this involved, it could become a problem once the group starts activities. We should solve what we can before moving forward.”
“I’m sorry. You’ve already helped us so much, and now it feels like we’re burdening you again…”
“It’s not a burden at all, so just tell me. You said Sera’s mother keeps donating money to the church? That alone doesn’t make sense. A normal church wouldn’t do that.”
God desires faith, not material wealth. Any place that demands money first is not a place that serves God. It is undoubtedly a cult.
“Sera doesn’t talk about it much, so we don’t know the details. Honestly, we’re not even sure if it’s really a church. She said she wanted to give her siblings allowance, so we’ve just been helping out a little at a time.”
“Hmm… Then I guess I’ll have to ask Sera directly…”
It didn’t look easy. She hadn’t even properly told the girls she had lived with for years. There was no way she would open her heart to me when we were still awkward with each other.
I want to help that child.
‘Of course. If I don’t help them, who will?’
The current situation and your sincere heart have triggered a Grace. The Grace of Spiritual Discernment has appeared.
‘Grace of Spiritual Discernment?’
It is the ability to distinguish between true faith and false belief. If you use this Grace, you won’t need to ask the child directly.
‘How do I use it?’
First, go to a place where false faith resides. I will explain the details once you arrive.
‘Got it.’
The next day, I found the address through the company and headed to Sera’s house. If false faith was involved, it would be connected to Sera’s mother, so I figured her house would hold some clues.
‘What the hell is that?’
It is the mark left by false faith.
Black smoke was flowing out from beyond the door and stretching toward somewhere. The way it writhed and twisted looked extremely ominous.
False faith leaves traces like this. The Grace of Spiritual Discernment allows you to see those traces. If you follow it, you should find a clue. It isn’t far, so let’s walk.
I got out of the car and followed the black smoke on foot. After about ten minutes, a small commercial building appeared. The black smoke was connected to a door on the second floor.
‘It’s locked?’
One moment… There is no one inside. Try the handle again.
When I turned the knob this time, it opened.
‘It was definitely locked earlier.’
During the ten plagues, I opened every door in Egypt. This is nothing.
‘Wow, so you can even pick locks, Divine Spirit?’
I cannot open just any door. This ability only responds to your goodwill, Master.
Of course it wasn’t that simple.
*
I thought it was an office, but the inside was decorated like a church chapel. Bibles were placed between the long pews, and a cross hung on the wall in the center.
‘Isn’t this a church?’
No. It is filled with nothing but evil energy. We should figure out what this place is and leave quickly.
The Divine Spirit seemed to be in a bad mood. I carefully examined the space between the pews as I moved forward, eventually reaching the pulpit in front of the cross. I approached to see what was placed on top of it. It was a small sign whose purpose I couldn’t immediately guess.
Jinsaeng Sect Songpa Branch
Jinsaeng Sect?