Reincarnated Hero Management Chapter 6: The Hero, Rice Shop Daughter Hyeon Ha-yeon (1)
“Uwaaaah! No!!”
After going through a story that wouldn’t even appear in a B-grade novel, I must’ve been under way too much stress lately. I fell asleep, but...
...My power is still too weak to influence you directly, but if you just push a little harder toward your goal, my influence will grow as well.
If you fall into deep sleep several more times, you’ll be able to see me in this space.
“No!!! I said no!!”
How many times must I confirm it before you accept it, Kim Cho-in?
If you keep avoiding this fate, you’ll only repeat the past...
None of the scenes were shocking in the slightest: my past self cooking and feeding each other our own thighs to some woman; another woman tying herself to me and jumping into the sea; a girl lovingly watching me regress to infancy after endless torture. Lifetime sound sleep was now out of the question.
*
Waking from my sixth dream, it was already dawn. The dream content felt long, but hardly any time had passed upon waking. Thinking it over, she’d only shown me one person so far. She had shown four once, but hadn’t even revealed the others besides the hero candidate. She was forcing me, showing snuff films of myself, saying I had to turn these women I’d never met into idols if I didn’t want to end up like that!
What if that “goddess” was actually a disguised evil god? What grudge did that damn evil god hold to curse even herself into eternal reincarnation for a mere human? Seeing cruelty damages brain cells, and that goddess must’ve fried hundreds already.
No matter how I thought about it, I got so mad I stomped my feet, but all it did was shake the innocent bed.
“Hngh...”
Exhausted, I lay still and thought again.
...Was I stressing too much over this ridiculous nonsense? The goddess told me to make them idols, but do idols just happen easily? Absolutely not. What is the entertainment industry? It’s a brutal battlefield where even the extraordinarily talented can barely hold their ground, where everything painstakingly built can crumble in an instant—whether you die trying or luckily hit the top.
People say you’re lucky if you don’t go insane and can at least shop at the corner store. And now this barely team-leader-level me has to gather members from who-knows-where and make them the world’s most beloved celebrities? There’s a limit to absurdity.
...I hadn’t seen the other candidates, but I remembered the presumed hero. The rice shop daughter with her pitch-black image—her deep black hair somehow made her bright vibe look dark too. The hero from the dream had similar coloring, so it probably wasn’t dyed. Pondering her appearance, she was definitely on the pretty side. No, her raw look was top-tier historically.
As the rice shop daughter delivering rice, she wouldn’t doll up for work or wear makeup. Black hair suited her flawless white skin, cute puppy-like face, bright personality, and that physical strength casually hoisting 40kg rice bags... Her untouched beauty had plenty of potential even in the cutthroat entertainment world.
...Before I knew it, I was evaluating this nameless girl as an entertainer.
In the dream, she’d slaughtered hundreds in one go and called their blood filthy. She was surely deranged somewhere. I couldn’t fathom a normal citizen like her doing that, but she was definitely a dangerous figure who could get tangled with me anytime.
And I had to go meet this potential hazard myself and turn her into a celebrity. Strictly speaking, it was just getting ahead on something I’d have to do eventually, for some unexpected reason. Conveniently, I’d soon have the team leader title to shove my business card in faces.
From what the goddess said, my real-world influence grows as I approach the goal, but she hadn’t shown pasts with the other candidates. So recruiting the rice shop hero might unlock the others? It felt like a game quest now.
‘Gather your companions and create the world’s top celebrity!’
It’d probably be hellish difficulty, doomed to fail, I thought.
*
I still had idols to manage, so I couldn’t drop frontline work to nurture new ones right away. So I called our company president directly for the first time in ages.
“Hey, Kim Cho-in calling himself—what’s up?”
“President, I have something to discuss, so I called.”
“...Is it important?”
“...Yes.”
“...By any chance..., something with Lee Ji-yeon?”
“No.”
“...Alright, good. Swing by before you clock out this afternoon.”
“Yes, I’ll drop off the Shining Boys kids and then come by.”
“Sure, see you soon.”
With the meeting approved, a strange confidence welled up. No clue if he’d listen, but I needed to gather info to pitch him. First, pick up the Shining Boys, then scout intel on candidate number one, the rice shop hero.
*
After dropping the Shining Boys at the salon, assigning another staffer, and sending them to their schedules, I called home.
“Hello?”
“Hey~ son~ what’s up, calling like this?”
“That rice I got last time,”
“Yeah yeah.”
“Can you tell me where you bought it?”
“Rice?? If you need some, I’ll send it~”
“Not for me, the kids’ dorm is out.”
“Oh, your kids~ Got it. Sending the number.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
“Sure~ Hang in there, son~”
Lying to my parents stung a bit, but who knows what else I’d have to lie about later? No choice.
‘Kka-dok’ Mom sent a business card scan.
Saeng Saeng Rice Shop
Gyeonggi-do XX-gun XX-myeon XXX-XX Beonji
031-XXX-XXXX
It wasn’t far from my parents’ place.
*
With nothing else to do, I headed straight to the rice shop. Seoul’s skyscraper-blocked sky opened wide and clear here. Parked in the public lot, I walked over. It was a typical rural township you’d see heading to the countryside.
Asking locals, I found it amid ancient, rundown shops: a relatively less weathered sign.
The shop was a small single-story building, seemingly long inside. Praying she was there, I knocked.
‘Knock knock’
“Anyone home?”
“Yeees...”
A voice younger than the hero’s I remembered came from inside. The door opened to a girl with light brown hair.
“Here for rice— is the owner in?”
“Wait a sec~ Mom! Customer!”
The kid called, and her mom emerged from the back—probably the hero’s mother.
“Oh my... here for rice?”
“Yes, hello.”
I greeted politely, glancing over, but she didn’t resemble the hero at all. As her potential entertainer’s mom, best to be on my best behavior.
“My mom recommended your rice, so I came to buy some myself.”
“Ah~ You’re that Seoul lady’s son? She just called.”
Mom must’ve tipped off her regular supplier—things were going smoothly.
“The rice she always sends must be from here. We always enjoy it.”
“Heh heh, anyway, how much do you need?”
“Just two 40kg bags, please?”
“Whoa, heavy—got a car?”
“Yes, parked in the public lot.”
“Public lot? That’s far... hold on.”
“Sure.”
While she went inside, I scoped the place. No mill here—just rice bags stacked.
“Ha-yeon~ come out a bit.”
“...”
There was a room inside; she called someone. Ha-yeon? The little girl’s name?
The door opened, and the girl came out.
“Mom, sis went to the bathroom.”
“Tell her to hurry.”
“Okay!”
The girl went back to fetch “sis.” Did I need sis to buy rice?
“Mind waiting? My daughter’s strong—she’ll help carry to your car.”
“Strong” confirmed it: her daughter was the hero. A 40kg bag in one hand monster. But waiting might give a bad impression, so I told the lady,
“No need, I can handle this much.”
“Oh dear, still heavy.”
“It’s fine. Let’s settle up first—how much?”
“Alright, we don’t take cash—send to this account~”
The card back had the account. I transferred via phone and showed her.
“Fast too... yep, matches. Take those two over there.”
“Got it.”
Same bags as last time. As I grabbed them, I planned to casually ask about her daughter—
‘Drag’
“Mom, customer? ...Huh?!”
Perfect timing—the door opened, and the hero appeared, recognizing me. Thinking good impression, I smiled faintly and greeted.
“Hello?”
“Ji... no, Manager!”
“That’s me.”
“Whoa, here for rice!?”
“Yeah, didn’t toss that signed pic, right?”
“Of course not!”
First impression was iffy, but Lee Ji-yeon buried it—she greeted back warmly.
“You two know each other?”
The lady looked surprised at our friendly exchange with her daughter.
“The other day! When I got Ji-yeon’s autograph... eep!”
Remembering her promise not to tell, she clamped her mouth and eyed me.
“Haha, family’s fine.”
“Ah! Thanks!”
She grinned awkwardly. The watching lady timed it perfectly:
“Ha-yeon, two bags to the parking lot.”
“Got it! These?”
She dashed over, hoisting both bags effortlessly. So light I wondered if they were empty, but the sagging on her shoulder confirmed 40kg each.
“Uh... let me take one.”
“No need, I’m super strong!”
“Yeah, it’s fine. Enjoy the rice.”
“...Yes, see you later.”
“Bye~”
With her and the lady insisting, I left empty-handed.