This happened five days before I ever stepped foot into the Goddesses' place.
I still remembered it vividly—maybe because that phone call was the exact moment my life quietly derailed.
"What do you mean?!"
My voice echoed through my room before I even realized how loud I was being.
"You're so fucking loud…" she said on the other end of the line, her tone flat and completely unfazed. Like she hadn't just dropped a bomb on my life and walked away whistling.
"There's no way I wouldn't be loud!" I shot back. "You just casually told me you want me to become a Goddess Manager out of nowhere! You didn't even try to ease me into it! You just called me and said it like you were asking me to buy groceries!"
"You think a preamble is necessary for this?" she replied. "You just have to become the manager. Plain and simple."
"No. No, no, no," I said immediately. "I don't think this is simple at all. In fact, this might be the opposite of simple. And while we're at it—why me?"
There was a short pause on the line.
"Because you're the only capable person I know who can get this done."
I snorted. "That's… weirdly flattering, but don't you think you're mistaking me for someone else? Do you seriously think I can handle Goddesses? I haven't even studied how to manage them. I don't know their systems, their protocols, or whatever divine nonsense they're wrapped up in."
"Please," she said. "You've managed plenty of things before. You can do this too."
"That was for a game tournament," I corrected her. "And I was the team leader, not the manager."
"Same thing."
It really wasn't.
I rubbed my temple, already feeling a headache forming. It was painfully obvious that we weren't operating on the same wavelength here. It felt like she was already ten steps ahead while I was still trying to figure out how I got dragged into this mess.
"And another thing," I added. "If I actually became their manager, wouldn't that be bad for you? And for them? I mean, putting me as their manager could seriously damage their reputation."
"What are you talking about?"
"You know exactly what I'm talking about."
"I really don't."
I sighed loudly.
She absolutely knew. She just had that infuriating habit of playing dumb when it suited her. Acting like there was nothing wrong, nothing questionable, and nothing to worry about.
"Should I remind you," she continued smoothly, "who helped you during your little game tournament when you didn't even have the money to sponsor it?"
I froze.
"Should I remind you who spent a ridiculous amount of money so your team could train in the best facilities available? And who stayed with you when you lost and felt like shit?"
"Y–You don't have to go that far with the blackmail, Sis," I muttered.
"I'm not blackmailing you," she said calmly. "I'm reminding you."
That somehow made it worse.
"Look," she continued, her voice softening just a little, "I know this is a lot. And I know you have zero desire to do this. But the last manager quit, and we don't have a replacement right now. I want you to take the reins. I know how capable you are, Ren."
Hearing my name like that made my chest tighten.
For a moment, I didn't know what to say. My mind raced, weighing every excuse, every possible way out, every reason I could throw at her.
"Ren," she said quietly. "Please."
"…Ugh. Damn it," I groaned. "Fine. I'll do it, okay? I'll do it. Just please don't say things like that."
"Fufufu," she laughed. "I knew you couldn't resist me. I'll give you lots of loving when I get back."
I stared at my phone, feeling completely defeated.
I really had no idea how to say no to this woman.
Then again, if I was being honest, maybe that was my own fault.
And now—
Now it was the present day.
"You didn't tell me I wasn't going to manage Goddesses, Sis," I said flatly into the phone. "You didn't tell me I was going to manage a bunch of children."
"Hahahaha!" she burst out laughing. "Well, now you understand why the previous manager quit."
"That wasn't a one-time thing, was it?"
"Nope," she said cheerfully. "This is already their one-hundredth manager."
"…One hundred," I repeated slowly.
"To be honest," she continued, "I barely make any profit from them. I do earn money, sure—but I end up paying so much hush money to their managers so they won't talk about their personalities that it drains everything almost immediately. That's why I decided to hire you."
"So you're trying to fix this disaster by throwing me into the fire," I said. "Sorry, but this is impossible—even for me."
"Come on," she replied. "You've managed troublemakers before. Surely you can handle them too."
"As I said," I snapped, "back then I was managing teams and putting them into tournaments—and I couldn't even get a single win. And those people were just normal troublemakers. These Goddesses are literally trash."
"Okay, that's harsh," she said. "But you have to remember—they're still Goddesses. They're known as the most beautiful and powerful beings ever born. They protect the world against anomalies. They're figures meant to be revered. Calling them trash is basically a crime against humanity, you know?"
"I think," I said slowly, "you should've chosen someone a little more normal."
"Well, it's not like there are any normal Goddesses," she replied. "You already know this. They weren't born normal, so how could they grow up normal?"
She continued, her tone growing more serious.
"They were raised to become protectors of the world. They were deprived of love—even from their parents—because they were Goddesses. They weren't allowed to have relationships with men because fans don't like the idea of them dating. Management prevents it too, since they don't want fan numbers to plummet."
"People see them as divine," she continued. "Flawless. Untouched. And pure. That perception twisted their sense of normal. What they think is normal and what we think is normal are completely different. Their personalities turned out this way because of their circumstances."
She paused.
"And honestly… there's nothing we can really do about it."