The gift of prophecy.
The gift of healing (including repairs).
The gift of interpretation and translation.
And even a spirit that protects me.
After meeting a god and receiving these gifts, the unimaginable became reality.
At this rate, wouldn’t I be able to overcome even death like that one son?
“Just wondering… you know…”
[Yes, please speak.]
“After dying… is it possible to come back to life after a few days?”
[Are you talking about resurrection?]
“Yeah.”
[It’s possible, but I wouldn’t recommend it. You’d have to die in an incredibly painful way.]
“…….”
[Your entire body would be torn apart by a whip with hooks, you’d wear a crown of thorns, and then be nailed to a cross—]
“Stop!”
[That’s why I said I wouldn’t recommend it.]
“Okay, I won’t bring it up again.”
I definitely don’t want to be nailed to a cross.
*****
“Has that guy arrived?”
The department head asked as he closed a folder.
“Yes. He’s filling out his employment paperwork now. Should I tell him to come up when he’s done?”
“No need. He’s an employee now — the managers should handle him. Once the paperwork’s finished, inform the general affairs team to assign him to Team 5.”
“Team 5 for singers?”
The HR manager asked, clearly surprised.
“Yes. Is there a problem?”
“I just wondered why you’d send a new hire to a team that’s about to be dissolved. Does the chairman know about this?”
“He does. The team will be shut down — unless there’s some miraculous turnaround because of this guy.”
The HR manager glanced at Shin Juwon’s résumé again.
Graduated from a university in Korea, zero work experience, and aside from his solid physique, nothing stood out.
Yet they were sending this rookie to a failing team — and still expecting something.
“If nothing changes in three months, he’ll be the last new hire for Team 5.”
“Team 5’s Office…”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Team Leader Park Chan-hyuk ended the call with an incredulous expression.
“Where’s that call from?”
Song Seung-jun, the assistant manager sitting across from him, asked.
“General affairs. They’re sending us a rookie.”
“What?!”
Both Seung-jun and their junior, Kang On-yu, looked equally shocked.
“We’re on the verge of being shut down, and they’re suddenly sending a new recruit?”
“Exactly my point.”
Park opened his inbox and clicked on the attached file.
“His name’s Shin Juwon. On-yu, head to general affairs and bring the new guy over.”
“Yes, sir.”
Seung-jun took a sip from the canned coffee next to his monitor.
“Let me see his résumé — I want to know what kind of person we’re dealing with.”
“Not much to see. Graduated from Korea University, no job changes, and his self-introduction is just vague, dreamy talk. Something about wanting to make celebrities shine more.”
“Wow. Even for a team on the chopping block, this feels like a joke. They’re sending someone who knows absolutely nothing.”
“Exactly. Do we even have anything for him to do?”
“He can help On-yu manage Red Blossom.”
“We’d need schedules to manage them first.”
“Well, Yeoreum goes to the broadcasting station from time to time. They can accompany her. Plus, we sometimes get support requests from Team 3.”
Park opened Red Blossom’s schedule and sighed.
Aside from Ryu Yeoreum’s occasional minor acting gigs, the calendar was a barren wasteland.
*
First impressions are important everywhere.
Especially for a rookie — you’ve got to show enthusiasm and spirit.
So the moment I entered the office, I greeted them with a loud, confident voice.
“Hello! I’m Shin Juwon. I look forward to working with you!”
But the senior who brought me in beat me to it.
Before anyone could respond, they took the two people in the office and disappeared into a meeting room.
‘What’s going on? Is this their way of establishing hierarchy?’
[That person’s expression was strange the entire way here.]
They hadn’t spoken much and just walked ahead silently.
A little later, the three of them emerged from the meeting room.
The two people’s expressions had turned just as awkward as the senior’s.
“Uh… I’m Park Chan-hyuk, the team leader. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too, sir!”
“I’m Song Seung-jun, the assistant manager. Let’s work well together.”
“Yes, sir! I’ll do my best!”
“I’m Kang On-yu. Welcome.”
“Please speak comfortably, senior!”
‘I made sure to repeat their names in my head — remembering your coworkers’ names quickly is a good habit.
“Let me ask you something.”
“Yes, team leader?”
“I heard you were the one who saved Soyeon in the underground parking lot yesterday… is that true?”
News spread fast.
No wonder my senior had been acting so weird.
“Uh… yeah, that was me.”
I scratched my head awkwardly — no point in hiding it.
It’s not like I did anything wrong.
I just hoped this wouldn’t lead to people thinking I got in through connections.
But then the team leader grabbed my hand enthusiastically.
His eyes practically sparkled.
It was… unsettling.
“Wow! The hero of the parking lot — here in our office! Welcome!”
“Hero of the… parking lot?”
“Didn’t you block a guy running at Soyeon with a knife? If that’s not heroic, what is?”
The story had clearly been exaggerated.
Supposedly, I’d coolly disarmed the guy, pinned him to the ground, and vanished like some action star.
All in the span of one day, the rumor had snowballed.
“Honestly, I’d freeze up just seeing a knife. How did you manage to face it head-on?”
“Well… to be honest… I didn’t realize he had a knife.”
Their barrage of praise was embarrassing enough to make my skin crawl.
I was grateful they hadn’t called me a nepotism hire, but this was a lot.
“But who was that guy anyway? Soyeon doesn’t seem like someone who’d make enemies.”
Honestly, I’d been wondering the same thing.
“You didn’t hear? That guy was Soyeon’s ex-manager who got fired recently.”
“What?!”
For top-tier stars like Cha Soyeon, at least three managers were always assigned.
One of the junior managers had been caught stealing from her and was promptly fired.
“Looks like the guy blamed Soyeon for his dismissal and came after her in revenge.”
Maybe I should have handled him more roughly.
“Anyway, it’s nice having a promising rookie join us for our final stretch.”
“Final stretch?”
At my question, everyone’s face showed that unmistakable look of realization — like they’d just said something they shouldn’t have.
After a brief pause, the team leader spoke up.
“Well, we were planning to talk about this anyway — guess now’s a good time. Everyone, let’s gather in the meeting room.”
An awkward silence settled over the room.
*
“I was pretty surprised when I got the call to take on a new hire. There’s a rumor going around that our team’s going to be disbanded in the next restructuring.”
What… what did I just hear?
They sent me to a team that’s about to be shut down?
“Let me tell you about the artist management teams. Think of it as an organizational briefing.”
The singer division had five teams.
They’d originally expanded by assigning teams to specific artists.
But now, only Teams 1 to 3 had popular acts.
Teams 4 and 5?
Practically ghost towns.
“Was our team always like this?”
“Not exactly. Have you heard of Red Blossom?”
“No… never heard of them.”
“That’s not surprising. Every album they released flopped.”
Team 5 had been created specifically for the girl group Red Blossom.
They’d launched two years ago with high expectations — only for their first two albums to tank.
To make things worse, last year, two members sued the company for breach of contract.
“Two members claimed the company neglected and failed to support them.”
Red Blossom had been a five-member group — now they were down to three.
If they’d been popular, maybe the company would’ve tried to salvage them, but… they weren’t.
“Half our staff left too. There’s talk of merging with Team 4, so the three of us are basically waiting for the axe to fall.”
“And Red Blossom… what’s going to happen to them?”
“What do you think? They’ve been stagnant for two years — disbandment is only a matter of time.”
A failing team—what a mess.
No way they’re going to add new members to a group like this.
“This is more impossible than Mission Impossible. Why on earth did they send me here?”
“Don’t worry too much. Even if the team changes, the company isn’t the kind to fire staff easily.”
That’s not the issue.
My first job, my first team—and it’s already about to collapse.
[I can feel it. You want to save the team, don’t you?]
“Of course I do. It’s my first job and my first team—am I supposed to just let it fall apart?”
[I thought humans just did what they were told when they start working.]
“But they’re saying the team’s going to disappear! If there’s no work to do, I’ll have to create it myself. I’m not going to sit back and watch it crumble.”
[You’re exactly the kind of employee companies want.]
“I just hope the chairman sees it that way too.”
I suddenly got curious about the three remaining members of Red Blossom.
“Team leader, shouldn’t I meet the members of Red Blossom? We’re on the same team, after all.”
“Of course. You’ll meet them tomorrow. Summer has a schedule today, so I’ll call the three of them in tomorrow for introductions.”
“Got it. Thank you.”
“…The next day…”
I came in early and cleaned up the office and the meeting room.
I hadn’t noticed yesterday, but there were already boxes piled up in the corner of the meeting room.
It really made the whole “this team is doomed” thing feel real.
They were already packing up.
“Is there any gift for saving a failing team?”
[Spiritual gifts require a clear and specific purpose. What you’re asking for is too vague.]
So I’d have to define exactly what I wanted for the gift to work.
Good to know.
I was sorting through my desk drawers when the office door opened.
“Team leader, we’re here!”
Three beautiful women walked in—long legs and striking looks, the very image of a girl group.
I didn’t recognize any of them… wait—no, the one at the back.
She noticed me too, her eyes widening as she pointed at me.
“It’s the driver guy!”
“Driver?”