I Brought Him Here
I brought him here.
“Wow, what kind of officetel is this nice?” From the entrance, Chie couldn’t stop talking. Seeing that, Sera puffed out her chest with pride.
“It’s all thanks to Juwon. He kept pestering me, saying that if it’s a girl group dorm, it should at least be this good.”
Cha Soyeon’s abbreviated explanation left a question mark floating above Chie’s head, but it quickly vanished. She had to gasp again at the sight of the wide-open living room and kitchen.
“What kind of actress has this much free time? Don’t you work?”
“Didn’t you know? When I finish one project, I rest for months. I just wrapped up filming not long ago.”
“Then why don’t you actually rest? Why do you keep coming here when you live in a much nicer place?”
“Watching Red Blossom and Juwon is healing for me.”
She smiled faintly as she said it. These days, she often showed her emotions even off-camera. Was that genuine, or was it acting?
*
Sera and Lina took Chie around the place, showing her where everything was. Yeoreum was completely absorbed in the kitchen, determined to make a special meal to celebrate Chie’s discharge from the hospital. Her half-naked backside had been quite a sight, but since Cha Soyeon was here today, she was behaving herself.
[You complained it was too short, yet now you’re unhappy it got longer?]
‘Shut up.’
I was sitting on the sofa watching the kitchen when Cha Soyeon spoke to me.
“So you have a thing for women who cook, huh?”
“It’s pretty rare to see a girl group member cooking. And it looks good on her.”
“If all three of them were cooking together, that would suit your tastes even more.”
“Stop milking that. It’s not a crime to answer quickly, is it?”
“I was joking. I don’t usually joke around, but your reaction was so funny that I just… Sorry.”
So this woman knew how to tease after all. She took out her phone, checked something, then looked at me again.
“You haven’t heard the results of the Jinsaeng Sect investigation, have you?”
“No.”
When the police contacted me, I went in and told them exactly what my alibi was. I’d heard they would investigate as soon as the detained people regained their senses, but I had no idea what happened after that.
“Most of them can’t remember anything or are at a level where communication is difficult, so they weren’t much help. They’re investigating separately now, and besides the Sky Palace you found, there were two more places like that.”
So the one I found wasn’t the only one. Just how much had they been devouring to own two more estates of that size?
“How do you know all this so well, Soyeon? No one told me anything.”
“There are ways to find out. I looked into it because I thought it might help find Sera’s mother.”
“Did you find Sera’s mother?”
“Not yet. I mobilized people who are good at this kind of thing, but we still can’t catch their tail.”
She spoke like the boss of an organization. “Someone saw her with a man, but we’re not sure if he’s just an acquaintance or something more. Don’t say anything to Sera.”
“A man?”
The moment those words left my mouth, everything around me stopped. It was the Grace of Prophecy.
*
It started with an embarrassing scene. A man and woman were passionately making love on a bed. The woman straddling the man was sensually rolling her hips. I didn’t know who the man was, but I recognized the woman’s face.
‘That’s Sera’s mom.’
I had asked Sera to show me a photo so I could recognize her immediately when I went to the house. Even though she was in her mid-forties, her beauty made her look ten years younger, and I’d been impressed while looking at the picture.
‘So it’s true there’s a man.’
The scene changed. The man was now on the phone inside a car. He frowned as if in a bad mood and was angrily yelling at whoever was on the other end. I didn’t know what it was about, but the conversation bothered me. Because a name I knew came up.
As the scene disappeared, time began to flow again.
“What are you worrying about?”
Cha Soyeon asked with an expressionless face.
“How did you know I was worrying?”
“Normally your face is as gentle as a teddy bear, but when you’re worried, the character appears on your forehead. If it’s nothing serious, the side strokes get longer, but if it’s serious, the middle stroke gets longer too, like right now. Am I right?”
Whoa, how does she analyze someone’s face in such detail?
“Why do you know so much about my face?”
“I’m planning to become a Shin Juwon expert. Tell me what’s bothering you. Who knows? I might be able to help.”
I was going to ask her anyway. Since she seemed to have the police investigation details down pat, she clearly had connections on that side.
“About the believers who were detained at the estate.”
“Yes.”
“There’s someone among them I need to find.”
The man I saw in the future vision had said into the phone:
“Are you sure he can’t remember? Yeah. If Jongho opens his mouth, it’s going to be a massive pain in the ass. Once he comes out, we’ll take care of that bastard, so think of a way.”
“He’s an SN Entertainment manager. His name is Shim Jongho. He’s the one who kidnapped Chie.”
He had clearly said the person couldn’t remember during the call. He must be among the believers detained by the police. The moment Cha Soyeon mentioned the man, the Grace of Prophecy had activated. The reason it showed me the future at this exact timing was because Cha Soyeon’s involvement was necessary.
[Now the Master’s head is working properly. The situation has unfolded exactly as you thought, creating the need for Grace. Grace doesn’t activate randomly.]
‘You could’ve just told me instead of making me agonize over it.’
[The one who does not work shall not eat. You should handle at least this much yourself.]
It never wanted to lose even a single argument.
“The guy’s mentally unstable. What are you going to do by meeting him?”
“I’ll take care of that, so just arrange the meeting for me. If you can.”
She crossed her arms and stared at me for a moment before standing up. She walked over there and made a call somewhere. Watching her, I grew even more curious about who this woman really was.
Twenty-five years old. Top-class actress. I didn’t know much about Cha Soyeon. Her grandfather sending bodyguards suggested she came from an impressive family, but I had never seen any articles about where she was from. Even now, the moment I asked her to find out about someone at the police station, she immediately called somewhere. Just how far did this woman’s influence reach?
“It doesn’t look like you’re worrying anymore. What are you thinking about?”
She was suddenly beside me.
“I was thinking about you, Soyeon.”
“You’re coming on strong all of a sudden. At least put on your turn signal.”
A blush appeared on her cheeks. That wasn’t what I meant.
“I realized I don’t know much about you.”
“Same here.”
“You even know my home address. Didn’t you look at my resume?”
I had put pretty much everything on my resume.
“There are far more things in this world that can’t be written on a resume. What I’m curious about isn’t on there.”
“What are you curious about?”
“Will you tell me everything if I ask?”
“If it’s something I can answer.”
She smiled faintly again, just like before.
“I won’t ask right now. It feels like I’ll end up asking you something difficult to answer soon.”
What? What could be so hard for me to answer? That day, Cha Soyeon never fully resolved my curiosity.
*****
When I got to work, my senior looked like he was dying of happiness. His mouth was practically hanging from his ears.
“Is my coming to work that good?”
“No, it’s not that… Wahahaha! I received tribute for the first time in a year!”
“Tribute?”
“Go to the conference room.”
The conference room was piled high with gifts wrapped in colorful paper.
“What is all this?”
“What else? Gifts from Red Blossom fans.”
“Red Blossom has fans?”
“That’s harsh. No matter what, that’s not something their manager should say. The girls would be hurt if they heard.”
“Yeah, we’re hurt.”
Gasp! I turned around to see the three of them standing with their arms crossed, looking triumphant. It felt like the villainess and her two maids were glaring at me.
“The director told us to come quickly, so we ran over, only to hear our manager say something like that…”
“No, that’s not… it just slipped out… you haven’t been active for a long time… your fandom is practically nonexistent… so without thinking, I just…”
I started babbling without realizing it. Their eyes said, Go on, keep talking. In times like this, honesty was the only answer.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that even when you weren’t around… I was wrong.”
I bowed my head. There was nothing worse than hearing someone dismiss you. Especially saying something like that to a girl group that lived off popularity. It was a situation where even if they cursed me out, I’d have nothing to say.
As I reflected on my mistake, the three of them came closer and gently hugged me. What was this?
“We know you didn’t mean it. After how you’ve treated us all this time, how could we believe that? We were just teasing you.”
“Still, don’t say things like that. Even if the whole world ignores us, I can’t stand it if you do, oppa.”
“We’ll work even harder so that kind of thing never comes out of our manager oppa’s mouth again. Please watch over us.”
They really were too good for me. Truly wonderful girls.
“Sorry. I won’t say anything like that again. I must have lost my mind for a second. To think I said something like that to you girls who are about to make a comeback and tear up the stage.”
The girls who had entered the conference room clapped like seals, overjoyed. Of course they were—unexpected gifts had arrived.
“Oppa! We’re taking them to the dorm, so help us out!”
“You’re going to open them at the dorm?”
“Of course! We’re going to turn on the broadcast and open them one by one. Contact the studio too.”
“Got it.”
Thanks to the video with Cha Soyeon, they had gained some attention, but there were also occasional comments praising their songs. In particular, many people recommended the title track from their second album, Love Connect. Old fans who had quietly listened to their music like this had sent the gifts.
That day’s livestream was filled with laughter and happy tears—a truly blessed and heartwarming broadcast. Though the beginning was humble, Red Blossom’s recognition was slowly starting to sprout, destined to grow great in the future.
A few days later—
My phone rang. When I checked the screen, it was Cha Soyeon.
“I brought that manager. I’ll send you the address, so come right now.”