1st Year Max Level Manager

Chapter 2
2. Return

D-30.

I died and came back to life.

Because of excessive bleeding from a stomach perforation, my heart stopped due to shock.

But when I barely survived, ridiculous news was waiting for me.

Terminal stomach cancer.

I only had one month left to live.

“H-Haha. Doctor, you’re joking, right?”

“I’m sorry. We did our best, but… there’s nothing more we can do.”

The doctor explained that, in a one-in-a-million chance, my nervous gastritis had rapidly turned into cancer.

I worked so hard to get here.

This can’t be real.

I shouted, demanding another test, but the doctors only said they would help me not feel pain.

Nothing was going the way I wanted.

Not my body.

Not my mind.

My life was down to just one month.

Was this God’s way of giving me time to say goodbye?

But that kindness felt like a cruel punishment.

D-29.

Only my team leader and a few coworkers visited me in the hospital. That was it.

Then, as my wife arranged the fruit basket, I asked her about what reporter Goo Minji had told me.

But she said nothing.

She just turned away and left the room.

It didn’t take long to get my answer.

D-25.

Divorce papers arrived.

Goo Minji was right.

Joo Yeogin was having an affair with Dogsu hyung. No—Kim Dogsu that bastard.

I was an idiot.

No. I didn’t do anything wrong.

She was the one who betrayed me.

But still… sending divorce papers to a dying man?

That was too cruel.

Was this what I worked so hard for?

D-14.

It was disappointing.

Not a single star I helped rise to the top came to visit me.

Their true colors.

I ruined my health taking care of these kinds of people.

What a waste.

D-10.

A group called ‘JungSilMo’ came to my hospital room.

It stood for ‘People Who Hate Jung Yunho.’

It was a group of actors and singers who refused to join hands with Dogsu and me back in Gulreongsoe Entertainment.

But why was my name on it instead of Kim Dogsu’s?

Their answer was simple.

They expected Dogsu to betray people.

But me?

They thought I would stay loyal to Gulreongsoe.

After we left, Gulreongsoe collapsed.

Struggling with debt, the company shut down.

And our old CEO passed away from a stroke shortly after.

So they hated me for it.

But even though they said they hated me, they were the only ones who visited me as I was dying.

They even said they understood why I left.

Then, with warm smiles, they told me:

“From today, we’ll change our name to ‘JungSaMo’—People Who Love Jung Yunho. So get better soon!”

My heart felt heavy.

I should have stayed by their side.

How much happier would I have been if I had?

I looked at each one of them, taking in their faces.

Yoo Eun-ah.
Kim Se-ri.
Lee Tae-poong.
Kang Ha-na.
Park Sang-gyu.
Choi Deok-bae.

But the first member of JungSilMo still hadn’t shown up.

Jung Yujin.

A famous actress whose life changed after losing her daughter, Miso, in a tragic accident at 23.

She still didn’t want to see me.

Well… after Miso’s death, both of our lives completely changed.

D-7.

My breathing grew shallow.

Now, I didn’t even have the strength to write in my diary.

I didn’t even have the energy to feel sad.

The breathing machine in my mouth felt awful.

I wanted to spit it out, but I had no strength left.

Death was right in front of me.

D-3.

I couldn’t feel anything.

I wanted to see Yujin one last time, but she still hadn’t come.

Even if she did, how could I face her?

D-1.

Christmas Eve.

For the first time in ten years, I wanted to visit Miso’s memorial park.

If I had ignored Kim Dogsu’s words that day…

Would Miso still be alive?

I still remembered her bright, smiling face so clearly.

Would I get to see her if I died?

D-DAY.

They gave me so much pain medication that I felt nothing.

Only silence and peace.

For a while, I resisted death.

But after receiving the divorce papers, I accepted it.

I spent all my remaining money.

I sponsored the independent films and plays run by JungSilMo.

I donated the rest of my money to other patients.

I left nothing for my ex-wife.

I had no religion, but I wanted to go to heaven.

And last night, I signed the divorce papers and sent them to the court.

By now, they must have been processed.

I was free.

Even if I was about to die.

Would that mean I’d legally die as a single man?

As I thought about it, I felt my life slowly fading.

My heartbeat slowed.

My senses dulled.

My breathing weakened.

And then—

I heard a voice.

“Oppa!”

Yujin’s voice.

33 years old now.

A legendary actress who won three consecutive Best Actress awards at the Hwangryong Film Festival.

A superstar who starred in five dramas with over 30% ratings and even broke into Hollywood.

Her voice rang through my hospital room.

Like a dream.

“What is this?! Oppa, why are you like this?!”

Her desperate voice shook the whole room.

She cursed me for not taking care of my health.

Then, crying, she whispered,

“The accident… wasn’t your fault. I was so lost back then that I blamed you… I’m sorry.”

“And Miso… she came to me in a dream yesterday.”

“She said she’s happy. She said she’s having fun.”

“So please… wake up.”

“Wake up, oppa! You can’t leave like this!”

…Thank you.

For saying that.

If that accident hadn’t happened…

Maybe we both could have been a little happier.

With the last of my strength, I removed the breathing tube and gasped,

“I’m… sorry. I’ll go first… I’ll take care of Miso… so you should live a long life.”

“We’ll see each other… later.”

After struggling to finish my words,

I took one last breath,

Heard the sound of my heart stopping,

And fell into darkness.

* * *

Brrrr.

A familiar vibration tickled my left hand.

Why?

I died, so why can I feel my phone alarm vibrating in my hand?

Ah, is it a waiting number bell for heaven?

I wanted to see what it looked like, so I tried to turn my head. But I couldn’t see anything.

Oh, right.

My eyes were closed.

“Ugh.”

I barely opened my eyes and saw the phone trembling in my left hand.

Is this an alarm telling me to work even after death?

Wait a minute.

Why am I holding a Galactica Note 10?

This is an old phone from 10 years ago.

Even the date in my diary was strange.

[Everyday V1]
[Date: December 12, 2019]
[Current time: PM 12:25, Guri, Gyeonggi Province, Set Location]

–PM 12:30 Guri, Gyeonggi Province, Set Location. Jung Yujin’s first appearance in episode 21. (Alarm set)

–PM 04:00 MBS Entertainment Quiz Quiz Set. Jung Yujin guest appearance.

–PM 08:00 Jung Yujin’s acting lesson.

2019?

Did I see it wrong?

I rubbed my eyes, but the numbers didn’t change.

And why is it December 12, 2019, of all days?

This was the day that incident happened to Yujin and her only family, Miso.

I heard that in the afterlife, people relive their worst memories over and over.

Am I in that kind of state?

Or is this like a flashback before death, where past memories come rushing in clearly?

Just then.

A scent of lily-scented shampoo tickled my nose.

“Yunho oppa?”

A soft, pleasant voice made me turn my head naturally.

In front of me was Yujin’s face, looking as she did when she was about 23 years old.

Her lips, wearing only lip gloss, had a pink glow.

Her thick, wavy hair shimmered like a shampoo model’s.

“Ahhh!”

I flinched and stepped back.

Her face was too close to mine.

Yujin pulled her red winter coat tightly around her and tilted her head.

“Oppa, do you have a cold?”

She stepped closer and put her long fingers on my forehead.

At that moment, my mind cleared.

What is this feeling?

This isn’t a dream.

This temperature.

This cold December wind is blowing through the film set.

I didn’t know how, but I was alive.

Alive, sitting pathetically on a concrete block, not even on a waiting chair, 50 meters away from the filming set, with no heater.

“You don’t have a fever.”

Yujin touched her own forehead, then checked mine again, tilting her head.

Looking at her up close, I noticed her cheeks were bright red from the cold.

I quickly put my hand in my coat pocket.

“Yujin-ah. Here, a hand warmer—”

But there was no hand warmer.

At that moment, I was completely sure.

I have returned.

Back to the early days of my first year as a rookie manager, when I couldn’t even prepare something as simple as a hand warmer.

* * *

The Burger Girl of Cheonho-dong.

That was Yujin’s nickname when she worked part-time at Burger Queen’s Cheonho-dong branch a year ago.

So many people came to see her that the store’s sales increased by 500% compared to the previous year.

Because of this, many entertainment agencies sent their managers to recruit her.

But she rejected all offers—

Until she suddenly accepted the contract from Kang Gamchan, the CEO of Gulreongsoe Entertainment.

Since she was already famous, everyone thought she’d debut right away.

But for some reason, CEO Kang made her train for a full year.

When I asked why he didn’t let her debut immediately, he said,

“A frog crouches before it jumps far.”

That’s how strict he was about keeping her out of the public eye.

Now, a year later, nobody even remembered the Burger Girl of Cheonho-dong.

And today, for the first time, she was going to act in a real scene.

“It’s fine. I’m just a little sleep-deprived.”

I barely calmed my trembling hands and gently lowered Yujin’s cold white fingers from my forehead.

It was so hard to hide my emotions.

Yujin nodded, relieved, then spoke in a bright voice.

“Oppa, today’s lunch truck has a special fish cake soup made only from pollock meat! Ahh~ If we put lots of red pepper powder in the broth, it’ll taste amazing! Right?”

The freezing cold air made the idea of hot soup even more tempting.

Yujin gulped, imagining the taste.

But I suddenly remembered something.

At this time, she was on a strict diet.

“Wait. You’re on a diet.”

Yujin smiled awkwardly.

“Uh… Well… I can start dieting tomorrow. You know the saying, ‘Diets start tomorrow’?”

She stuck out her tongue playfully.

For a moment, I almost gave in.

Her eyes shined with desperate hope, but I couldn’t allow it.

“That only works for normal people. Celebrities are always on a diet.”

“Wow. That’s so mean. We’re working to make money so we can eat, right?”

She pouted and lowered her head.

Even though she was already so thin that her blouse looked too big, she still had to lose weight.

Yujin was 165cm tall and weighed 52kg, but TV cameras always made people look at least 5kg heavier.

So as her manager, the phrase I had to say most often was—

“Lose weight!”

It didn’t feel good, but celebrities live in front of cameras. There was no other choice.

“Ahh… But I really want to eat the fish cake soup today… I promise I’ll diet properly starting tomorrow…”

Yujin whined.

I answered firmly.

“Eat it. But no broth. No sauce.”

Yujin glared at me.

“You’re a devil! That’s like telling me to eat tteokbokki without the red sauce!”

A devil?

Come on. At least I’m letting you eat.

That makes me a saint, right?

Seeing her pout like a child, I couldn’t help but smile.

Because the Yujin I dreamed of seeing—

The bright, happy Yujin—

Was right in front of me.

* * *

50 meters away, the filming set for MBS’s Monday-Tuesday drama was getting ready.

This drama was written by Lee Jiyeon, a legendary screenwriter, and was the top-rated show in its time slot.

Yujin had been cast as Lee Seolran, a friend of the main character, appearing in episode 21 and 22.

BEEP—

A sharp sound rang out from a loudspeaker.

Then came the harsh voice of Director Park.

“MYUNGSIK! Hold the light properly! Are you looking at the actor’s face or his body?”

“JUNGHOON! Keep that boom mic out of the shot! I can see it shaking!”

“Alright, we’re starting the shoot! No noise! Ready… ACTION!”

Even though the set was far away, the sound echoed through the mountains.

But I wasn’t listening.

Because I knew what was coming next.

Soon—

An event would change both Yujin’s and my fate forever.