Chapter 32
I quietly stared at the man in front of me. Damn it, I shouldn’t have gotten involved from the start.
Whether I thought that or not, the man continued to speak.
“Of course, you may have a close relationship with your personal manager. But even so, there are so many limitations that a personal manager simply cannot overcome. Especially in Reina’s case, we at Mirinae are also prepared to offer the best possible conditions.”
Reina gazed at the man silently and then shook her head.
“I’m quite satisfied with things as they are now. There may be inconveniences, but I don’t feel the need to abandon my current manager and sign with a large management company. I appreciate the offer, but I’d like to decline.”
At that, the man grinned slyly.
“Hmm, are you sure about that? Magical girls ranked B or higher require care in ways you might not have even imagined. You may not feel the need for it now, but once you experience it for yourself, your thoughts might change.”
I cut him off.
“That’s enough. I understand that you want to sign with Su-hui, but isn’t this going too far?”
The man stared at me as if he were assessing me. His gaze was unsettling. Soon, he let out a small chuckle and spoke.
“I understand. If that’s how it is, then there’s nothing I can do. But please keep this in mind: The value we can offer Reina is at its highest right now. If you miss this chance, you might come to regret it later.”
Hearing that, I ground my teeth.
“That’s something we’ll handle ourselves. Thank you for your advice. Su-hui, shall we get going?”
Su-hui nodded in agreement to my words.
“Yes, let’s go.”
With that, the two of us left the scene.
…Even as we walked away, I could still feel the man’s gaze on us.
…
“You son of a bitch.”
I spat out a curse as I read the text displayed on the screen.
So, Mirinae really is using the dirtiest tricks, just as Hong-ryeon had said. I didn’t expect them to act so petty just because we refused to sign with them.
[Magical Girl Reina, rumored to be in a relationship with her manager? The suspicious closeness between the two.]
[Who is Reina’s manager? Living together with a handsome personal manager.]
[The rising star caught up in a romance – does she still have what it takes as a magical girl?]
Even a quick glance at the headlines was enough to make me scowl. All of the articles were linking me romantically with Reina.
It was no surprise, really. No matter how much we deny being in a relationship, how many people would actually believe us?
A magical girl dating isn’t inherently a problem.
After all, just because a magical girl is in a relationship doesn’t mean her abilities weaken. But the issue is that the public doesn’t see it that way. People think that magical girls, who exist to protect them, won’t be able to do their job properly if they’re tied down by too many personal matters.
Plus, it hurts their popularity. One of the selling points of magical girls is the fact that young girls themselves go out to fight. In some ways, they serve as idols, too. For an established magical girl, this wouldn’t matter as much, but for Reina, who is just starting to gain popularity, it could be fatal.
I clenched my teeth. For me, such rumors wouldn’t be much of a problem, but for Reina, it’s different. The internet is where people’s raw malice comes out, and she could end up getting emotionally hurt, or worse.
Yeah, thinking about it, Mirinae was always like this in the original story. The focus was so much on obvious threats like the New Humanity Association that they completely lacked common sense about dealing with things like this.
I glanced over at Su-hui, worried. Contrary to my expectations, she was blushing slightly, staring at her phone screen.
“Excuse me, Su-hui. If you don’t mind… Are you okay?”
When I asked, Su-hui was startled and let out an “Ah,” before responding.
“Yes. I’m fine. I’m really okay.”
But is she really? It was just a dating rumor between her and her manager, someone she had no real romantic connection with. Even if she says she’s fine, there’s no way she wasn’t hurt by it at all.
“Then why do you look like that…?”
At my question, Su-hui fell silent for a moment, then finally spoke after some deliberation.
“I just thought, ‘Ah, I guess that’s how people could see it,’ that’s all. Ha, well, if people see a man and a woman living together, I suppose it’s hard not to think that way, right?”
Her face was a little flushed as she spoke. I tried to console her, opening my mouth to offer some comfort.
“Yeah, I didn’t think of it that way either. But in reality, it’s nothing like that, right?”
At this, Su-hui’s expression hardened slightly, and she answered.
“…Yeah, sure.”
Then, pouting a little, she stood up.
“I’m going to bed now.”
“Huh?”
“I said I’m going to sleep. Don’t disturb me.”
With that, she went into her room, shutting the door behind her. …Did I say something wrong?
Pondering this, I turned my attention back to my phone screen.
Fine, let them think what they want. I’ll turn this petty media manipulation around in no time.
…
Su-hui had been shocked when she saw the dating rumor involving her and Baek Seung-hyun. It wasn’t that she felt particularly offended, though she knew the articles were written to attack her.
What she felt was more along the lines of, “Oh, I guess people could see it that way.” Come to think of it, it made sense. She and Baek Seung-hyun had been living together for months now. If she saw a man and woman living together, she’d think they were dating too.
Would the public now see her as being in a relationship with her manager? Su-hui imagined herself walking arm in arm with Baek Seung-hyun, exchanging sweet words, sharing delicious meals, watching movies together… and then, eventually, kissing.
Pop! Her face flushed bright red, and she quickly stopped thinking about it. Anything beyond that was far too inappropriate for a high school girl to be imagining. She fanned her now burning face with her hand, trying to cool herself down, while recalling Baek Seung-hyun’s image.
…Well, to be fair, he is pretty handsome. His face, his body. Any woman would be tempted by someone like him, wouldn’t they?
Suddenly, she remembered the time she had let him touch her chest. Her face grew even hotter, and she started fanning herself even more vigorously.
While lost in thought, she also remembered something else he had said: “Yeah, I didn’t think of it that way either. But in reality, it’s nothing like that, right?”
…Did he really have to deny it that strongly? Was he not interested in her at all?
Feeling slightly disappointed without knowing why, Su-hui eventually drifted off to sleep.
…
Meanwhile, at the management company ‘Mirinae,’ they were optimistic as they watched the media storm unfold.
This was precisely the kind of tactic Mirinae specialized in. Manipulate the media to attack a rising magical girl, forcing her to eventually sign a contract with them.
They had worried that there might be some interference from Guren* of ‘Dawn,’ since Reina was known to be close to her, but luckily, the Dawn group had remained quiet. It seemed they didn’t feel the need to interfere since Reina wasn’t officially contracted with them. *(Guren- Another name of Hong-ryeon)
Mirinae had a reputation for strong-arming magical girls with no management company or those affiliated with smaller agencies into signing contracts with them.
And Reina was particularly tempting prey for them. After all, she had been praised by none other than Guren, who was notoriously hard to impress. Even Bing Seol Hwa had acknowledged her talent.
At this rate, the newly rising star Reina seemed destined to fall into their lap. And thanks to the recent scandal, her value had dropped slightly, so they could probably lower her price a bit.
—Haha, that underage magical girl sure is something khikhi..
—Yo, her manager must be getting with her, right? Must feel pretty superior lol
—What a slut, she’s trash. Bye!
Netizens, as Mirinae had planned, were already hurling stones at Reina. However, Mirinae maintained their vigilance, striving for perfection until the end.
“Send Reina another contract offer. Tell her this is her last chance; if she rejects it again, it’s over for her.”
Yes, they were confident. But what they didn’t account for was that there existed forces beyond human understanding—forces as unpredictable as a natural disaster.
[S-rank Monster ‘Black Knight’ clashes with magical girls in downtown Seoul… All participating magical girls defeated.]
A natural disaster had rampaged through the heart of Seoul.
The South Korean stock market plunged nearly 20 percent.
—
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