The Crazy Mercenary Commander Goes to Work in the Entertainment Industry

Pension: 24,781,890,000 won. A sum approaching nearly 25 billion won. It was the converted total of all the various currencies, items, and other assets Kang Jae-ha had amassed in the other world. Well, Jae-ha had hoarded anything and everything worth money over there.

He’d thought he’d be living there for good, after all.

Along with wealth, he’d steadily built up honor, reputation, and plenty more. All of it rendered pointless when he returned to the world he’d come from.

At least the wealth, thankfully, had carried over.

The problem was.

【A ’Reality Adaptation Project’ will now be applied for Kang Jae-ha-nim, in recognition of your 18 years of hardship in another world.】

【Kang Jae-ha-nim is required to remain employed at his current company for 3 years, and the pension of 24,781,890,000 won in his possession will be disbursed at 700 million won per month.】

The woman’s voice had mentioned a ’Pension’ or whatever the hell it was and shoved this asinine system in his face. ’Reality Adaptation Project’? What kind of deranged bullshit was that.

On top of that.

【Should you resign from your current company during this period, all pension funds in your possession will be forfeited.】

If he stepped out of line, the entire pension of nearly 25 billion won would vanish. If he’d never known about it in the first place, fine, but hearing about it after the fact made his blood boil, and Kang Jae-ha let the profanity fly.

”What kind of asshole...?”

The taxi driver must have heard, because he glanced at Jae-ha through the rearview mirror. Jae-ha couldn’t have cared less. He waited. It felt like the woman’s voice had more to say. And sure enough, it came again.

【The converted amount has been processed through cryptocurrency conversion to ensure there are no real-world complications, and Kang Jae-ha-nim may use the monthly pension without worry, as it is clean.】

【Your first month’s pension of 700 million won will now be disbursed.】

【Future pension payments are scheduled for the 15th of each month. This concludes the briefing. Now then, fighting!】

Fighting? This bastard, seriously. A vein bulged on Jae-ha’s forehead. That last bit was unmistakably mocking. He waited several more minutes after that, but the woman’s voice didn’t return, and Kang Jae-ha swept his hair back with a long, drawn-out sigh.

That was when he felt a short vibration from his phone.

-Buzz.

Kang Jae-ha pulled the phone from his padded jacket pocket. A notification had arrived. From the banking app. His eyes went slightly wide.

”Huh...”

Fair reaction. Just now, into his account:

-[Deposit/ 700,000,000 won]

The first pension of 700 million won the woman’s voice had mentioned had actually been deposited.

Just like that, over 700 million won had landed in his account. The woman’s voice hadn’t been a hallucination. Even staring at it, Kang Jae-ha half couldn’t believe it. It felt unreal. Well, he’d only just returned from rolling around in another world for 18 years, so that was only natural.

’...700 million. Insane.’

Still, seeing those 700-million-plus digits printed right there in his account, the old sensations from 18 years ago were slowly coming back. The rush that hit the moment you saw money in the hundreds of millions. A past so broke it was fucking miserable.

Right. He was no longer in the other world.

The currencies, items, wars, slaughter from over there, all of it had to be forgotten. He was back now as Kang Jae-ha, fourth-year manager, and he had to live accordingly.

At least the 18 years in the other world hadn’t been for nothing.

Coming back, he’d gained a pension worth nearly 25 billion won.

’The ”Reality Adaptation Project” or whatever the hell it is, that’s the catch, though.’

His thoughts growing a bit heavy, Jae-ha lowered the phone he’d been looking at.

’Damn it. Whatever. Let me sort this out.’

He retraced only the key points from the woman’s voice. A pension paid at 700 million won per month. The first month’s payment had already been received. Payments on the 15th of each month. Total amount: approximately 25 billion won. There was a condition to receive it all. He had to stay employed at his current company for 3 years without resigning.

Company. Meaning the entertainment agency Kang Jae-ha belonged to.

He ran the math on the 700 million won he’d just received over 3 years, and it roughly matched the total.

Jae-ha immediately checked today’s date on his phone.

-[February 16, 2020/ PM 13:22]

The next pension payment date was March 15th. If the woman’s voice was to be believed, Jae-ha’s monthly salary for the next 3 years would be 700 million won.

’700 million. Not bad.’

Around then.

-Screech.

The taxi stopped. Meaning it had arrived near Jae-ha’s place. He stepped out and silently surveyed his surroundings. Kang Jae-ha had been dropped off on the Suwon side. He smirked.

”This sight... strangely pisses me off.”

Familiar yet foreign. Like returning to a hometown steeped in filthy memories. And that wasn’t wrong. This was the neighborhood Kang Jae-ha had lived in. He’d come back after 18 years. No particularly good memories here.

No, if anything.

’It was shit.’

Nothing but disgust. Of course, the Kang Jae-ha of then and the Kang Jae-ha of now were different people. He stopped by a nearby convenience store and bought the energy drink he used to have all the time.

-Swish.

It went through without any issues. Stepping out of the convenience store, Jae-ha cracked open the energy drink and muttered.

”700 million, doesn’t seem to be any problems with it, so let’s spend freely.”

He cleared his mind. If the pension ended up being an issue, he’d deal with it then. Trudging along, Kang Jae-ha arrived in front of a shabby building.

”......”

The studio apartment building where he’d lived. With a short click of his tongue, Jae-ha stopped at the steel door at the end of the second floor and slowly punched in the door lock code. Before long, a cramped little studio welcomed Kang Jae-ha.

”Ugh... shit.”

It had been 18 years since he’d returned. But from the studio’s perspective, seeing its owner again after...

”Long time no see, you tiny excuse for a home.”

...had only been a matter of hours.

Next morning, the 17th. Near Hapjeong Station.

Tall buildings stood in a row at a spot with a clear view of the Han River. Among them, a sign hung proudly, catching the eye.

-’Leon Entertainment’

Leon Entertainment. A company of mid-to-major scale that stood at the forefront among the nation’s mid-tier and above entertainment agencies. It hadn’t yet cracked the top five names that came to mind when you thought of domestic entertainment, but the industry consensus was that Leon Entertainment could upend those rankings before long.

The employees of said Leon Entertainment were busy whispering among themselves right about now.

”I heard yesterday some manager from Management Team 2 went absolutely off on Ra Yoon??”

”What... which manager?”

Naturally, it was because of the bomb Kang Jae-ha had dropped.

”Kang Jae-ha, a manager on Team 2? Who even is that?”

”You know the one, right? The guy with zero presence. The total pushover type, always cowering around.”

”Oh oh oh! That, that, that glasses guy?? His name was Kang Jae-ha?”

”Yep, that guy.”

”Whoa, that dude seemed like a total softie though??!”

”That softie apparently told Ra Yoon to grow the hell up.”

Word of mouth spread through the employees at a breakneck pace.

Around this time, inside the CEO’s office at Leon Entertainment.

A sharp female shout rang out in the wood-toned office.

”CEO-nim!!”

A girl wearing a cap was fuming.

”Do I really have to put up with this kind of treatment??!!”

It was Ra Yoon, the Visual Center of the girl group Seriel, who’d gotten a thorough earful from Kang Jae-ha the day before. She must have stopped by before a schedule, because her face was nearly bare of makeup, yet she was so furious that both cheeks were flushed a deep red.

Ra Yoon wasn’t the only one in the CEO’s office.

Around her on the sofa sat roughly three men and one woman. Everyone aside from Ra Yoon was a team leader from Management Teams 1 through 4, and Ra Yoon’s agitation only grew thicker by the moment.

”Ahhh! CEO-nim! Are you even listening to me?!”

From where she was looking.

-Swish.

A middle-aged man in a fine suit walked over. Step by step. An ease and gravity that could be felt from his gait alone. A solid build visible even through the suit, hair swept back naturally despite a touch of gray, a respectable physique that looked well over 180 centimeters.

How to put it... the very picture of a distinguished gentleman in his prime.

He wouldn’t have looked out of place on the cover of a men’s lifestyle magazine.

This was Han Tae-sung, the head of Leon Entertainment. In the entertainment industry, he was known as the icon of the self-made man, having started from rock bottom to build Leon Entertainment into what it was today.

CEO Han Tae-sung settled into the seat of honor on the sofa.

”......”

He silently surveyed each person in turn, from Ra Yoon to the team leaders. An ostensibly warm gaze. But commanding. Proof of that: the team leaders quickly lowered their eyes. CEO Han Tae-sung’s presence was in a league of its own.

A single breath from him was all it took to chill the air in the office.

”So.”

Even his voice was low and rich.

”Go on.”

The moment permission was granted, Ra Yoon whined as if she’d been waiting for it.

”CEO-nim, you heard too, right?? About yesterday! God, I’m so angry I can’t even focus!”

”What exactly were you told?”

”I seriously can’t believe it. He told me to grow up, that manager Kang Jae-ha!! Does that make any sense??! Telling an artist to grow up! You need to fire a manager like that!”

”He told you to grow up?”

”Yes! After hearing something like that, how am I supposed to not be mad??!”

”Watch your tone.”

”How am I supposed to not be mad, sir??!”

CEO Han Tae-sung watched Ra Yoon snap back to formal speech in an instant, then calmly crossed his legs.

”Interesting.”

He turned his gaze to the team leaders.

”Who is this guy?”

Before the head could even finish speaking, the Team 1 leader handed over a profile. It was Kang Jae-ha’s.

-Flip.

CEO Han Tae-sung opened the clear file and skimmed the profile for a moment. No further comment came. Understandably so.

”Nothing noteworthy.”

Kang Jae-ha’s profile was utterly unremarkable. Management Team 2, fourth year. But nothing stood out. No track record to speak of. Nor had he ever caused any problems. Zero presence.

To put it bluntly, a person whose presence or absence made no difference.

The kind of labor perfectly suited for plugging in as a stopgap here and there.

CEO Han Tae-sung closed the profile.

”Can’t tell much from this.”

He propped his chin on his hand and looked at the woman on the adjacent sofa. The Team 2 leader.

”Team Leader, give me the rundown.”

The message was clear: this Kang Jae-ha guy was on your team, so brief me. The Team 2 leader swept her bobbed hair back, swallowed hard, and answered.

”Manager, Kang Jae-ha. He was always quiet. Mild-mannered. Not much backbone.”

”Don’t sugarcoat it. Be honest.”

Here, Ra Yoon cut in.

”He was just frustrating! And dumb as a rock!”

CEO Han Tae-sung let a small smirk slip and turned back to the Team 2 leader.

”Is that so.”

The Team 2 leader gave a small cough.

”Dumb as a rock... it wasn’t quite that bad, but he wasn’t exactly sharp either. He was on the meek side, and as Ra Yoon-ssi says, there were quite a few times he was frustrating.”

The Team 1 and Team 3 leaders chimed in.

”Well, he’s not the kind of guy you’d remember.”

”From what I saw now and then, he seemed pretty timid too. I figured he’d bolt early on, so it’s almost impressive he stuck it out.”

Ra Yoon cut in again after hearing the team leaders’ assessments.

”So what if he stuck it out! He’s completely useless at his job!”

CEO Han Tae-sung, who had been tapping the sofa armrest with his index finger expressionlessly, called out to Ra Yoon.

”Ra Yoon.”

”Yes! CEO-nim!”

”Quiet. Don’t interrupt.”

”......”

Soft but ice-cold. Ra Yoon quickly began reading the room, and a frigid silence hung over the office for several minutes. It was CEO Han Tae-sung who broke it.

”You need to look at the fact that he stuck it out for 4 years.”

”Pardon?”

When the Team 2 leader asked again, CEO Han Tae-sung met her eyes. He was smiling, but his gaze was merciless.

”I’m saying you need to consider the fact that someone that meek lasted 4 years.”

”Ah... yes, CEO-nim.”

”He’s got tenacity.”

Unremarkable, meek as he was, the fact remained that Kang Jae-ha had survived in the jungle that was the entertainment industry. CEO Han Tae-sung had zeroed in on that point.

”It’s people like him that keep our Leon Entertainment running.”

Ra Yoon’s eyes widened slightly and she opened her mouth. Her energy, of course, was weaker than at the start.

”W-wait... CEO-nim? You’re not going to fire Manager Kang Jae-ha?”

CEO Han Tae-sung’s gaze lingered on Ra Yoon for a few seconds, then landed on the Team 1 leader. The Team 1 leader, instantly reading the boss’s intentions, gestured to Ra Yoon.

”Ra Yoon, let’s step out.”

”Huh? Wha, what?”

Ra Yoon shuffled out of the office, clearly reluctant. At the very end, she could be seen biting her lip, and the moment she was gone, CEO Han Tae-sung let out a quiet breath.

”Team Leader Song.”

The Team 2 leader answered immediately.

”Yes, CEO-nim.”

”Why do you think that meek guy did what he did?”

”......”

”It wasn’t out of nowhere. Was it because of Ra Yoon?”

”Ra Yoon does tend to speak rather harshly on a regular basis.”

”An emotional dumping ground. Bottled it up until it overflowed.”

”Most likely.”

CEO Han Tae-sung crossed his legs again as if he’d heard enough. Then he made his decision.

”Now that things have blown up, keeping the two of them together doesn’t seem wise.”

His eyes landed on the man sitting at the very end of the row of team leaders. A scrawny figure who looked like he hadn’t slept in days. The Team 4 leader.

”Team Leader Jang, let’s put him in Team 4. That guy.”

”...Understood, CEO-nim.”

Transfer to Team 4. Kang Jae-ha’s placement was decided. Of course, to the current Han Tae-sung, Jae-ha was less than a speck of dust.

”Keep an eye on him for a while.”

A thoroughly insignificant existence, nothing more.

Meanwhile.

Kang Jae-ha appeared in the lobby of Leon Entertainment. He’d come to work. Hands stuffed in the pockets of his padded jacket, he let out a short sigh.

”Phew... I seriously almost ditched.”

Honestly, he’d planned to take the day off. He could have used his stockpiled vacation days. Rest up and start adjusting to a reality that still didn’t feel quite right.

But Kang Jae-ha had come to work.

【Should you resign from your current company during this period, all pension funds in your possession will be forfeited.】

Because the woman’s voice had been nagging at the back of his mind.

’I already got the 700 million, and I could live off that while looking for something else, but... 25 billion is hard to walk away from.’

Just endure 3 years and the payoff was a whopping 25 billion won. 700 million dropping in every month. What kind of idiot would throw that away? Then again, Kang Jae-ha wasn’t the type to let himself be dragged around on a leash either.

’If they make it a headache, I can always quit clean.’

Being tied down by money wasn’t worth staking his life on. In 18 years of rolling through the other world, Jae-ha had learned many things. Among them, the one that stuck was: ’The more money the better. But too much always invites disaster.’

’For now, just keep things smooth.’

As long as nothing major went wrong, it was better to take the pension they were offering. Skipping work for any reason could become a stepping stone toward resignation. He’d already caused an incident, so could he get fired today? Well, if so, nothing he could do about it. Anyway.

-Swish.

Having given the company a cursory once-over after 18 years away, Jae-ha stepped off the elevator. His destination was the Management Team 2 office. The amusing part was that every employee he passed was whispering without exception.

The people inside the Team 2 office were no different.

’Tch, nosy bastards.’

A hundred percent the Ra Yoon incident from yesterday had spread. Kang Jae-ha ignored the stares and sat down at his desk. Since he’d been working almost exclusively in the field, the desk was bare.

That was when it happened.

”Hey, hey, Manager Kang!”

A man called out to Jae-ha. Legs crossed, Kang Jae-ha turned to find a man with a face that practically screamed troublemaker grinning at him. The man slapped Jae-ha’s shoulder with casual familiarity as he spoke.

”I heard you told Ra Yoon to grow up? Pfft, what the hell. The problem soldier actually pulled off a real stunt, huh??”

”......”

Still seated, Kang Jae-ha regarded the man with an indifferent gaze. Seo Jin-su, General Manager on Team 2. A college junior of the Team 2 leader. In other words, firmly in the Team 2 leader’s inner circle.

’Right, this bastard used to pick on me a lot?’

Recalling his pathetically weak former self, Jae-ha let out a derisive snort. Either not catching it or not caring, General Manager Seo Jin-su kept running his mouth.

”Dude, what the hell are you gonna do now? You should’ve stuck to what you’re good at, keeping your head down. What’s with the sudden meltdown, huh??”

Here, Seo Jin-su had an expectation. The Kang Jae-ha he knew should have been grinning sheepishly and groveling by now.

’Cocky little shit, acting like he’s not scared stiff after causing a scene. As if someone like Kang Jae-ha could pull that off.’

That was how it had always been, and how it should still be. But Kang Jae-ha rose to his feet without so much as a sheepish grin.

”General Manager-nim.”

He moved in close to Seo Jin-su and murmured quietly.

”Your breath reeks of shit. Maybe lay off the cigarettes.”

”......What?”

Seo Jin-su stared back with a dumb expression, not sure he’d heard right. Jae-ha, on the other hand, didn’t miss a beat.

”It reeks like shit. It’s nauseating.”

”Why you crazy...!”

Seo Jin-su was about to blow his top when his words were cut short. Someone had called out to Jae-ha.

”Manager Kang.”

The one who had shuffled over was a noticeably scrawny man. Kang Jae-ha recognized him.

’Management Team 4 leader... his name was Jang Hyung-su?’

The Team 4 leader. Team Leader Jang Hyung-su, his face steeped in exhaustion, spoke to Kang Jae-ha. In a drowsy tone.

”Follow me. Manager Jae-ha, you’re on Team 4 starting today.”

Kang Jae-ha already knew about Management Team 4. The team primarily tasked with recycling Leon Entertainment’s various failures, nobodies, unknowns, and ruined entertainers.

’Though I don’t think the recycling actually works all that well. Anyway, Team 4, huh...’

Management Team 4.