Chapter 25 – Doubt (1)

A warm light enveloped me.

I was dazzled by the sky full of light, so I slightly covered it with my hand and looked around. It was a familiar place.

It’s in my dream.

But I couldn’t see what was supposed to be there.

I couldn’t see God.

Until now, there have been a few times when God has emptied this space.

I tried to shout out to God, but God did not appear.

If you receive a strong shock, you wake up from a dream.

This space is also a kind of dream, so if you roll hard or something, you will wake up from the dream.

I wanted to wake up from my dream by rolling on the floor, but since I usually have to wait a bit, I decided to wait a little longer.

No matter how long I waited, God soon appeared.

I was a little surprised to see God appearing and talking to me without any mouse or bird noticing. I asked him where he had been and where he had just appeared. After thinking for a while, God answered.

[I’ve been somewhere for a while.]

It was strange that he avoided talking even when I asked him where he had been, but I changed the topic, thinking that there might be something wrong with him.

“Okay… Then, would you like to show me the records?”

*

I had already fallen asleep when I felt the soft floor and the deep blanket.

A pleasant feeling of exhaustion was taking over my body.

As I rolled my body around to find a comfortable position, the material that touched my skin was very soft.

After rolling around in unfamiliar bedding for a while, I buried my face in the blanket.

The scent was strong, probably because a good fabric softener was used, but it wasn’t unpleasant.

Even if I closed my eyes, I couldn’t sleep anymore.

I felt a little nauseous and dizzy, probably because I hadn’t quite recovered from the alcohol I drank yesterday.

I took a deep breath and the pleasant scent made me feel a little more relaxed.

Apparently, after making a bet with Chairman Baek and drinking alcohol, Baek Ga-eun came to visit…

Uh? Baek Ga-eun?

I lifted the blanket, jumped up, and looked around the room.

The dark-colored wooden furniture looked luxurious.

A sweet scent filled the room and tickled my nose.

Even after looking around, it didn’t feel like an empty room or a man’s room.

The dressing table full of cosmetics placed in a corner of the room put an end to my guess.

The owner of this room is a woman.

···Whose room is it? Why am I here…

`Cheolkeok`

“···Are you awake?”

I was startled by the suddenly open door and unconsciously pulled the blanket over me.

Baek Ga-eun appeared in her pajamas.
She wore matching pink silk pajamas.

Baek Ga-eun, who seemed to find it funny how surprised I was, came over to me and handed me a small teacup and took a seat on the chair next to her bed.

“It’s honey water. “I’ve added this and that, so it’ll be a little better.”

“Ah, thank you.”

The way my voice cracks tells me how much I drank.

She took the tea she gave her and took a sip.
It was just the right temperature to drink, so it was perfect for soothing dry mouth and throat.

Baek Ga-eun looked at me and carefully spoke.

“···Do you remember yesterday?”

“···”

I almost spit out the tea I had in my mouth without thinking.

The film ended and the next day, the most hated phrase was asked, ‘Do you remember yesterday?’.

After swallowing my tea and feeling embarrassed, I cleared my throat and answered.

“Uh, what happened yesterday?”

Her voice trembled slightly, as if she couldn’t hide her agitated feelings.
Baek Ga-eun just smiled and stared at her, then said that nothing had happened and started telling her story.

“Do you remember the bet you made yesterday?”

“···Yes, I remember Miss Ga-eun coming around the third bottle.”

“If you drink alcohol recklessly like that, you could die.”

“… I’m sorry.”

She said it was difficult dragging me in when I was drunk.

“Do you remember when you stopped by and said I smelled good?”

“···S-you mean me?”

Did I have a drinking habit that made me cling to people?

She wanted to deny it, but her memories were vague from the time she arrived.
So, did you give up your room for me?

Her face became hot as she felt sorry for showing her shame and giving up her own room due to her drinking.

“I’m really, really sorry!”

“It’s okay~”

When I apologized desperately to hide my embarrassment, she just smiled generously and reassured me that it was okay.

Baek Ga-eun urged her to drink more honey water, and she eventually obeyed.

“By the way, I was looking for Lee Ji-yeon yesterday… Are you two dating?”

“···”

This time she asked a difficult question.
What on earth did a bastard like me do yesterday for being so obscene that I wanted to hit him?

It was a difficult question to answer, but Baek Ga-eun seemed to already have a vague idea of ​​her relationship with Lee Ji-yeon.
But right now, Lee Ji-yeon and I are not in a romantic relationship, so there was no reason to lie.

“···I’m not dating.”

“···Then your ex-girlfriend?”

She thought she had gotten away with it, but she had to give something back to her guess.
If you lie, you can’t control it if you get caught. Baek Ga-eun and I don’t have a special relationship, but I shouldn’t tell lies that would betray her trust.

“···We met briefly before. “Right now it’s just a relationship between a manager and an entertainer.”

“Ah… I see…”

She grinned and changed the subject, perhaps having her curiosity answered.

“Her grandfather asked us to have lunch with him. “She contacted the company, so she can eat together and go up.”

“···Yes”

Now it was time to receive payment for yesterday’s efforts from Chairman Baek.

*

There was nothing special about a chaebol’s table.

I just cooked and cooked most of the food myself, but somehow it tasted luxurious.

The menu seemed to have been planned with Chairman Baek and I, who drank a lot, taking into account clear soup and side dishes.

Chairman Baek lifted the spoon and put it back, then picked up the bowl, gulped down the soup, and let out an exclamation.

“Wow, that’s good”

Baek Ga-eun, who was used to her grandfather, was just chewing her food.
Even though I drank a lot of the honey water prepared by Baek Ga-eun, I felt like I was covered in greasiness from my mouth to my stomach.

Only after drinking the hot soup did my stomach feel refreshed.

Thanks to the skill of the staff, all the food prepared was to our taste.

“Now, would you like a drink?”

“Yes, I like it…”

“Grandpa, the manager goes to work in the afternoon.”

“Yeah… I can’t help it…”

“···”

Chairman Baek himself also fidgeted with Ga-eun Baek’s drink and finished her meal.
Although he was the head of a large company that no one could envy, in front of Baek Ga-eun, he was just a weak grandfather to her granddaughter.

Chairman Baek sipped the tea that came with dessert and brought up the topic of investment.

Only now was she able to receive compensation for all her hard work.

“···As I said yesterday, I will discuss the promised investment amount through the company.”

“Thank you!

Chairman Baek, who looked sullen until the time we left, probably didn’t go as planned and didn’t say anything else.

In any case, additional investment was secured.

Billion won is not even a dog’s name, so wouldn’t it increase your position in the company? I have hope.

*

I talked to Baek Ga-eun about various things throughout the ride in her car.
The main topic was about my identity and Baek Ga-eun, and I felt closer to her than when I first met her.

Recently, she thought she had become quite close to Baek Ga-eun, but starting yesterday, she felt like they were getting closer.
It wasn’t a good opportunity, but I think I earned points by sharing secrets about Jiyeon Lee and showing off my drinking.

In any case, isn’t good something good?

Baek Ga-eun was very amused by the story of her small deviation from her school days.
She said that since she was young, as the youngest member of the Baekil group, she never acted out or did anything that other children might have done.

“I… Stand out a bit even if I don’t do anything, right?”

“···”

Seeing her with a self-deprecating smile and stroking her hair gave me an idea of ​​what her life was like as a child.

Children hate children who are different from them.

The white hair, neatly tied up, would have made children think that it was different from their own.

Even if her friends didn’t make her mischievous or misbehave, they probably treated her just because her hair was a different color.
Isn’t Baek Ga-eun pretty?

Before eating her lunch, Baek Ga-eun brought up a story about her past, and she happened to pull out an album containing her childhood photos.

In the past, Baek Ga-eun always covered her hair with a hat or pulled it up to make it smaller, and even among the young children, Baek Ga-eun’s beauty stood out even among the photos taken of her wearing a school uniform.

She told me that she was as pretty as ever, and I was a little excited to see her smiling brightly.

The car drove for a while and dropped us off at the company.

She enjoyed listening to stories about the military and seemed to give off a pleasant scent every time she smiled.

*

I sent Baek Ga-eun to the lesson and went straight up to the representative office.

CEO Choi also seemed to have been waiting for me and welcomed me warmly.

“Kim Cho-in! “I knew I could do it!”

“···Thank you.”

When I saw CEO Choi, who always spoke with a heavy hand, smile brightly and give me a pat as soon as he saw me, I realized what kind of person I had met.

After all, money makes people happy.

“As expected, Chairman Baek, you’re so big! “30 billion, 30 billion!”

“···Yes?”

It turned out that the investment contract had already been signed while I was moving up to Seoul.

···They promised to charge me 1 billion every time I emptied a bottle of that strong liquor, but they already called the company 30 billion?

It is said that on average it costs about 100 million won to debut a celebrity.

Baek Ga-eun doesn’t even cost a lot of money.

There was no need to cut my face, and I heard that it was just regular skin care and that it cost almost nothing.

It is said that Chairman Baek could not have invested without knowing the circumstances of Baek Ga-eun, a trainee with the highest cost-effectiveness of all time, and invested 28 billion won just after seeing Baek Ga-eun.

Chairman Baek, who looked at me speechless at the ridiculous amount of money and laughed until my mouth was dry, consoled me for my hard work and gave me a small envelope, telling me to go home after work.

“···What is this?”

“Let’s buy something delicious to eat for dinner.”

It was quite heavy for the price of a meal.

I couldn’t refuse CEO Choi, who pushed me to go and get some rest.

Still, it was difficult to leave work right away because I had work to do.

If I don’t do what I need to do today, I will have to do it tomorrow.

I met Hyeon Ha-yeon on the way down from the representative office and heading to my seat.

“Uh! Manager! Hello!”

“Hello”

“You haven’t been able to see the fortress much lately, so I guess you’re busy…”

I only found out later that I heard from other employees that Hyeon Ha-yeon kept looking for me.

She said there was no special reason.

“···Manager, you’re tired these days…”

“···No. Wouldn’t it be better to be busy?”

Hyeon Hayeon looked downcast despite my words, but she seemed to wake up and started rummaging through her pouch.

“Oh! Please wait for a moment! By any chance, you don’t have to go in a hurry, right?”

“No. But what are you looking for…”

“This!”

What she gave me were a real strawberry flavored vitamins.

··· Of course, when Hyeon Hayeon gave me this, it reminded me of something that happened in her room café.

She received it carefully, hiding her shame.

“···Thank you. “I will eat well”

“Eat now! “This is effective!”

When I saw her looking at me with a bright smile, as if telling me to eat, I felt strange.
Although I am a 20-year-old adult who knows everything, seeing her innocent and bright appearance sometimes made me feel much younger.

As I was eating vitamins that looked exactly like a condom wrapper, I saw the pharmaceutical company’s name written on the wrapper.

[Baekil Pharmaceutical]

···Hyeon Ha-yeon was a customer of Baekil Group.

“How is it. Does it taste okay?”

“Yes, I like it sweet. Thank you.”

Hehe, she laughed and left to take lessons, saying she would take care of it later.

Since she received investment money from CEO Choi, she expressed her wish that Hyeon Hayeon’s song would be selected quickly.
CEO Choi himself said that he wanted to quickly pick a song he liked and give it to Hyeon Hayeon, and that he was working hard on her work, but he clicked her tongue, saying that composers these days are very poor.

She headed to her seat, looking forward to Hyeon Hayeon’s early debut and thinking about the things she had to do in advance.

*

She returned home after work and checked the envelope that CEO Choi had given her.
I thought it must have been quite thick, but it contained twice as much as my monthly salary.

I thought it was a large amount, but considering the incentives I received when I was Lee Ji-yeon’s manager, it wasn’t that big of an amount.

Of course, no one hates money, but I felt like this was the only way people could be greedy.

“What should I do with this money…”

Coins or something are popular these days. Should I give it a try?

Since the entertainment industry is sensitive to the latest trends, there is a need to catch it quickly if it seems to be trendy.

After looking around, it seemed a bit complicated, so I didn’t try it.

In the end, she decided to go to bed early and meet the goddess.
After she recruited Baek Ga-eun, the number of days she met the goddess decreased significantly.

Because she moved around, there were many days when she was tired and couldn’t meet the goddess, but because she thought she was in a stable state, she stopped looking at her past records.

My past records are filled with cruel scenes and are like watching a snuff film.

When you see me screaming, I feel pain for no reason, even though I didn’t actually get hurt.

Of course, if you watch it, you may become numb and watch disgusting scenes calmly, but it is not good for your mental health.

If you want to meet the goddess, you can easily meet her, so I shouldn’t look at the past today.

I got ready for bed and closed my eyes.

As I thought back to the thought of wanting to meet the goddess, I quickly lost consciousness.

*

[···It’s been a long time···]

“I’m so busy these days that it’s hard to see you.”

“Still, I’m glad I brought Hyeon Ha-yeon and Baek Ga-eun.”

[···Yes]

“···What’s wrong?”

The goddess looked listless today.

I knew he had emotions like humans, but today he seemed like he was in a really bad mood.

What goddess changes depending on her condition?

[···What do you mean?]

“No, it’s just that I look a little lethargic”

[···Sigh··· No···]

···No matter who sees it, it is not that it is not.

No matter how many times I questioned her, she slowly changed the topic and was reluctant to talk.

She said it wasn’t good to force herself to ask something she didn’t like, so she finally brought up the topic.

[···The influence of my abilities has increased this time.]

“Uh! Really?”

It was a good sign.

Recently, the debuts of Baek Ga-eun and Hyeon Ha-yeon have begun to be seen.

It seemed like the goddess’s power had returned.

[···You have been ‘very’ close to the Demon King recently.]

“I feel a little closer”

The goddess’s face was obscured by the light, so I couldn’t see her clearly, but she seemed to be looking at me pitifully.
She sighed deeply and continued her words.

[···While you were not here this time, I interfered with past records and obtained a lot of information.]

“···”

[···However, due to the curse of the evil spirit, I cannot provide much information.]

[I believe you can guess well, and I will give you the minimum amount of information.]

I felt frustrated with the goddess who kept sighing and dragging her words.
What kind of information is this that makes it so difficult to talk about it?

She also said that when she wasn’t meeting with me, she took care of her backlog.

I couldn’t imagine processing documents or anything, but there must be things that need to be done.

What happened before you met me?

The goddess, who had been choosing her words for a while, finally began to carefully open her mouth.

[···Be careful of Lee Ji-yeon]

An unexpected name popped out.