The Manager Is a Gangster

28 – Living Like a Family (3)

1.

“You’re coming to my house?”

Doubting my ears, I asked again, and thankfully, Haan nodded vigorously.

“No.”

And Ms. Haan herself even went as far as denying it. It made sense to doubt her ears.

Indeed, right? Openly planning to stay overnight at the manager’s house, who is a stranger and, moreover, not just any stranger but the manager.

“It’s not my house, it’s our house, Manager.”

What…?!

To say “our house” implies that Ms. Haan, from now on, will not just live with me but will use my house as her own?

The moment I heard Ms. Haan, whom I met for the first time yesterday, saying that she would treat my house like her own, I felt a mix of great astonishment and a bit of joy.

Even among friends, to consider a friend’s house as one’s own, you really have to be close. Yet, Ms. Haan was already treating my house as her own.

The fact that Ms. Haan considered my house as her own felt like evidence that she perceived us as very close. It made me a little happy.

“Ha, Ms. Haan, isn’t it a bit unusual for an idol and a manager to live together alone?”

Of course, the surprise was much greater than the joy, so I had no choice but to reject with added words of refusal.

“Ms. Haan, you’re destined to become the top idol. If you live in the same house as me and get photographed, it will be a huge obstacle in your future idol activities.”

There is something called common sense in the world, and common sense is necessary to smoothly get along in the world.

And if you violate that common sense, you will be criticized by those who adhere to it. If you go beyond violating common sense, you will be isolated and undergo a terrible, long rehabilitation in the society of sensible people.

What Ms. Haan was hoping for was precisely going against that common sense, and in the broadcasting industry, it was as impactful as a serious crime.

“Living in the same house as an idol and manager is not acceptable, isn’t it, from a common-sense perspective?”

Having experienced firsthand how much suffering one goes through when isolated from society for violating common sense, even someone like me, who spent 7 years in prison, could understand.

Even an ex-convict like me who rotted away in prison could understand the common sense of the idol industry.

If I said all this, Ms. Haan would surely understand. It’s time to stop going against common sense and go back home…

“But it’s not like that.”

There’s no way I’m leaving. If she were someone who would give in to such words, Haan would not have survived until now.

Haan had been living alone for years, refusing to yield to the things that had plunged her life into despair, simply because she didn’t want to be controlled by them.

Not giving in meant she was that stubborn, and there was no way to convince Haan with common sense.

Even so, Haan’s stubbornness couldn’t be broken. I’d be willing to do anything she wants if it’s within reason, but this time it’s going too far. Letting her stay for a day or two is fine, but setting up a whole household is not something an idol should do.

Even if it doesn’t work out, common sense provides a pretext. To confront Haan’s insistence with reason, I opened my mouth.

“Haan, I’m…”

“Manager.”

‘I’m the manager, and you’re the idol. So what you want can’t be fulfilled. If commuting is difficult because your home is far and high, I’ll find a separate place for you to live.’ I was going to say that, but my words were cut off by Haan’s call.

In the sudden call, as I hesitated for a moment, Haan spoke to me with a voice that seemed so natural.

“Are you saying that you and I are too far away to be stopped by such common sense?”

“What?”

Such a thing as common sense?

Unable to understand Haan’s words, I tilted my head slightly, and Haan looked at me with an expression of disbelief, as if asking why I was questioning.

“Well, Manager, you’re someone far from common sense in the first place. A person who defeats dozens of gangsters armed with knives and pipes without a scratch. Why would someone like that be afraid of common sense?”

“Haan, that’s a bit different from…”

“And do you see me as someone who can’t be an idol just because I got caught in a few pictures at your manager’s house? You, who praised me directly for that. Does it look like I lack talent to the point of being kicked out before even becoming an idol just because I live alone in the manager’s house?”

“…”

Saying that, my words were blocked for a moment.

The talent Haan possessed, the brilliance of her era, seemed to me to be on par with that of a lady.

Would the popularity of a global superstar and the current top Hallyu star decrease just because she lived alone with me?

Even if it’s trimmed a bit, she wouldn’t descend from the top position.

In this era, Lady Nova’s name was elevated to the extent that it equaled Nova, the superstar. And now, before my eyes, Haan had the potential equivalent to Nova.

“Manager, both of us are beyond common sense. Since we’re people who don’t fit into common sense anyway, is there a need to adhere to it?”

I wanted to counter and say, ‘But common sense is made to be followed…’ However, just today, I had a record of confronting violence with violence.

Forcing common sense onto Haan, who, like me, didn’t act sensibly in the first place, was against reason.

But no matter how true that was, if Haan had talent comparable to Lady Nova and still had yet to bloom, stepping on her before the talent bloomed would only crush it. It’s better to be careful; there’s no harm in that.

Even if it doesn’t make sense, even if it doesn’t fit into common sense, engaging in actions beyond common sense is inevitably risky.

For Haan, who hasn’t even become a trainee yet, such unconventional actions could be fatal. So, I solemnly looked at Haan.

“And Manager, your residence is in the agency building. If you live there, it might not look like you’re just commuting to and from the agency, right?”

“Huh?”

And from Haan’s mouth, an idea I hadn’t considered popped out.

Come to think of it, is that really true?

From the beginning, on the 4th floor of the Bargun Gil Entertainment building, except for those I’ve allowed, it’s restricted access. Few people know that an entire floor is my home.

Even during my gangster days, only a few trusted colleagues knew that I lived there, aside from my hyung and Lady. Security was at a level where I didn’t have to worry.

Having accommodation in the agency building might be a bit unusual, but it wouldn’t be strange, and there wouldn’t be a big problem with the manager eating there on the same floor. After all, no one would think that the entire floor is one house.

From the beginning, the house itself is not sensible.

Thinking this way, it felt like there was no problem living under the same roof as Haan.

No longer did the thought that living with Haan could be a significant obstacle in my idol life cross my mind. Living with Haan started to become very appealing.

Living with Haan means I can greet her every morning, wish her good night every evening, and even cook for her. Can I watch TV and movies with her after work?

Oh my. What a happy life. Living with the person I fell for at first sight.

Managing the idol is also one of the manager’s biggest tasks, and if you live with the idol, management becomes much easier.

There was no reason not to live with Haan if there was no risk.

“Well then. Let’s live together!”

“Wow!”

2.

“So you’re living together?”

“Yes.”

“You crazy bastard!”

Hwoong!

The wind split as the fist of an adult male fell on top of the head.

Usually, it’s a considerate act to let it happen at times like this, but getting hit by Hyungnim’s fist hurts.

The gentleman in disguise as a bear.

So, I lightly twisted my body to dodge it, frowned, and complained.

“Against violence! Hyungnim, you need to know how monstrous your punches are. People can die from a punch like that!”

“It wouldn’t hit you anyway! If not you, do you think I’d do this?”

“That’s true.”

Hyungnim doesn’t even spar with his company subordinates unless he wears protective gear reminiscent of a bomb disposal team.

The reason Hyungnim can swing his fist like this is probably because he believes I won’t get hit by that fist.

Since the trust between me and Hyungnim is so strong, and it’s a well-known fact, I asked Hyungnim with no particular surprise.

“But why am I a crazy bastard? Isn’t it convenient for a manager to live with the idol they’re in charge of?”

I don’t have to drive to pick her up at her house anymore, and I don’t have to worry about where she goes when she’s not working.

Look, it’s so convenient.

But it seemed like my brother didn’t think so.

“You were a mistress before becoming an idol! And you’ve only been dating for less than a week!”

“So what?”

“Why, you punk! Don’t you know how scary the world is these days? Do you even know what MeToo is?”

“MeToo? Me too?”

“Ugh!”

I’ve known that the world is scary since I was young, but Ha-an’s reaction was not expected when he came home. Why is he suddenly so upset?

Unable to understand my brother’s words, I tilted my head, and he expressed his frustration by pounding his chest with his fist.

“Damn it. Where should I start teaching this punk? The prison messed up my brother’s life!”

“Upset.”

My brother was on the girl’s side, and the girl would never tolerate another woman living in my house. I understood why he was acting this way, but it was too much.

If everything had gone as usual, there would have been no need to worry because nothing bad would have happened. But now, I was very busy.

Ooong-

“Oh, I must have finished writing the contract.”

Today was the day Ha-an officially joined our company.

After checking the message from Ha-an, I greeted my brother.

“Anyway, brother, I have to go now, so let’s talk later. By the way, don’t ever tell the girl about this, okay?”

“I won’t, damn it. I want to live long too.”

“I do too. Well then, goodbye!”

Leaving my frustrated brother behind like that, I headed to the office where Haan was.