The one who was wrestling with the audio equipment in the practice room — was her name Rina?
I didn’t expect her to be a member of Red Blossom.
“You’re supposed to speak Korean at the company.”
The tall girl at the front said something.
“It’s fine. This guy speaks English well.”
[That was Korean. Seems like that kid knows how to speak Korean.]
‘Then why did she speak English with me?’
[It looks like your translation gift automatically kicked in when it saw her nationality. You spoke to her in English first, so she just assumed you were an English speaker and responded in kind. She knows Korean, but she’s not Korean.]
Why is this gift so unnecessarily detailed?
‘How do I even know what language someone’s speaking? It all just sounds like Korean to me.’
[That’s because you’re still not fully skilled in using your gift. As you get better, you’ll start hearing both their native language and Korean at the same time, like simultaneous interpretation.]
So only hearing Korean means my skills are lacking.
I learned one more thing about my gift.
“Why are you calling him a repair guy? Do you know him?”
“I told you about the guy who fixed the audio in the practice room. It was him. He just touched it, and the sound worked perfectly.”
Ah, so she meant a repairman — not a knight.
I felt the stares and turned my head to see three people in the office looking at me with shocked expressions.
Since yesterday, people have either been laughing at me or looking surprised.
“You spoke English with Rina? Then you must be really good!”
“Why didn’t you write ‘English conversation’ as a skill on your resume? You didn’t list anything.”
“Not only is he not afraid of knives, but he speaks English well too….”
It seems like they’ve gotten the wrong idea.
“Ah, it’s nothing impressive…just some simple conversation. In this global era, it’s not even worth putting on a resume, you know? Haha….”
But judging by their faces, this wasn’t something I could brush off with a laugh.
*
“Hello, Manager. I’m Ryu Yeoreum.”
This was Ryu Yeoreum, the leader and main dancer.
She’s also working as an actress, so she’s the only one with a busy schedule these days.
‘Perfect balance.’
There’s a difference between the beauty of an idol and the beauty of an actress, and she blends both perfectly.
She reminds me of Oh Yujin, who went from being a child actor to a top idol.
“Nice to meet you… I’m Song Sera.”
This was Song Sera, the main vocalist.
She seemed shy, avoiding eye contact.
I’d watched her singing video on Mutube yesterday — her voice was exactly my taste.
If the group had been more successful, she would have been one of the top girl group vocalists.
What a shame.
“Hello! I’m Rina from Red Blossom, as refreshing as the summer sea!”
Rina, the main rapper I met in the practice room, stood up and greeted me with a cheerful idol pose.
Her energy was great, but her sense of seasons was off.
“It’s autumn, though….”
“Ah, oops! Hello! I’m Rina from Red Blossom, as refreshing as the autumn sky!”
“Do you have a greeting for every season?”
“Yup! I made them all, but the other members think they’re weird and won’t use them.”
Seems like she’s a mix of high energy and a bit of a quirky personality.
Rina kept speaking English to me from across the table.
When I focused on her words with my spirit’s guidance, I started hearing bits of English mixed in — my gift seemed to be slowly leveling up.
“The leader told you not to use English.”
“But you speak English so well! It’s been so long since I’ve had a proper conversation in English — I love it. Please keep speaking English with me when we’re alone, okay?”
That face and that pleading tone were totally unfair.
“Alright, but for now, use Korean. There are other people here.”
“Hehe, finally! A conversation partner~ Korean is so hard.”
Yeoreum glanced at me and then spoke to the team leader.
“We’re not disbanding, right? We just got a new manager.”
“Where did you even hear that?”
“Everyone in the company is saying it. More than half of us have already left. We haven’t been on any shows or events for ages… I’m worried we’ll break up soon.”
“Don’t believe anything until the company makes an official announcement. If you react to every rumor, you won’t survive in this industry — got it?”
Despite the team leader’s words, the three girls didn’t look reassured.
Even after just two days here, I could feel the gloomy atmosphere — they must have it so much worse.
The team leader quickly changed the subject, but the mood didn’t really improve.
Looking at the empty schedule sheet, there wasn’t much point in talking about company matters.
With the team in this state, there was no real discussion to be had about future activities, new members, albums, or comeback plans.
We ended up spending the time making small talk and sipping drinks.
*
“On-yu, you sit next to him. Juwon, you drive and drop the girls off at their dorm. You’ll be going there often, so learn the route.”
“Yes, Team Leader.”
When we got to the parking lot, there was an old, beat-up van waiting for us.
After seeing those shiny celebrity vans, this one really showed me the kind of treatment these girls were getting.
“It was fine before two members left, but after they quit, the company made us use this. At least it still runs.”
My senior must have noticed my expression and gave me an awkward explanation.
[This is painful to see. Just touch the hood in passing — it’ll run fine for a while.]
This is driving me crazy.
Seriously.
When the engine started, my senior set the navigation.
“The address is saved, so just follow it when you go alone. The route’s a bit tricky, so you’ll need a few tries.”
The dorm was pretty far from the company.
“Isn’t the dorm usually close to the office? So you can walk back and forth easily?”
“We used to live closer, but after the two members left and we stopped performing, they moved us. We’re not exactly a money-making group, you know.”
Yeoreum answered from the back seat.
“Our living expenses got cut too — only housing, food, and basic necessities are covered now. So we take turns working part-time jobs. There are still things we need to spend money on… it’s too much.”
Her complaints kept coming.
The others and my senior just stared out the window in silence.
I was really struggling to adjust to this atmosphere.
“Things are tough now, but you never know what’ll happen. I’m new and don’t know how much help I’ll be, but I’ll do my best.”
They were the first celebrities I met after joining the company.
I may not have been able to shine myself, but I wanted to help these girls shine.
I didn’t know how yet — but I knew I had to find a way.
Gripping the steering wheel tightly, I made a silent promise.
“Manager.”
“Yes?”
“You don’t have to be so formal with us. You can speak comfortably.”
“Yeah! It’s weird when you use honorifics with me.”
Rina cut in.
“More than that, I think Rina should be the one to fix something first. He’s not old enough to be called ‘Ahjussi.’”
“How old is he?”
“27.”
“He’s seven years older than Rina, so he is an Ahjussi.”
“I thought he was over 30….”
Sera’s small, timid voice was the most shocking part.
Do I really look that old?
[……]
‘Don’t stay silent!’
“Rina, stop calling him Ahjussi from now on. Call him Manager-nim or Manager Oppa. And Manager-nim, please speak casually with us — the formal speech makes us uncomfortable.”
Yeoreum, ever the leader, stepped in and sorted things out.
*
I lost count of how many tight turns we had to take, just like my senior had warned me.
We finally arrived at an old building where parking was a nightmare.
The apartment was a run-down studio with two small rooms, a cramped bathroom, and a living room that blended right into the kitchen without any clear separation.
After hauling their bags out of the van, I let out a quiet sigh.
This space was way too small for three people.
“We mostly just sleep here on weekdays, so it’s not that uncomfortable. The kitchen’s enough for us to cook, too….”
“Do you cook often?”
“We have to save on food and living expenses. We never know when the support might get cut off.”
She didn’t sound like a girl group leader — more like a tough, responsible eldest daughter taking care of her family.
How could they focus on their activities when their lives were like this?
This was just too much.
Suddenly, the entire world around me froze.
[This time, it’s ‘anger.’ Properly directed anger can become the foundation for growth.]
‘Save the riddles. This is the gift of prophecy, right? Hurry up and show me.’
[You’re growing, Master. This vision reaches much further into the future than the last one.]
As I became more familiar with my abilities, it seemed like I could see farther ahead.
A familiar scene appeared before my eyes.
*
A whirlwind of entertainment news headlines flashed by at breakneck speed.
“All-Kill on Music Charts,”
“17-Time Music Show Winner” — every word practically screamed success.
Then, a music show performance played out in front of me.
Five dazzling muses commanded the stage, the powerful intro and brilliant lights wrapping around them.
Their synchronized choreography struck a perfect balance between sharp precision and fluid grace, filling the entire screen.
One moment they were all bubbly charm, flashing bright winks and cheerful energy — the next, they seamlessly shifted to a sultry, captivating performance that took the audience’s breath away.
‘They’re incredible. Now I see why they made it big.’
I recognized some familiar faces — and my jaw dropped when I realized it was Red Blossom.
Wasn’t this the group everyone said was on the brink of disbanding?
And now they were topping charts and winning 17 music show awards?
But… wait. There were five of them on stage.
Red Blossom only had three members right now.
The last thing I saw was Yeoreum standing on stage, holding a mic and crying.
‘Is this really Red Blossom’s future?’