The Crazy Mercenary Commander Goes to Work in the Entertainment Industry

Kang Jae-ha, who had just pulled that insane stunt, glanced at Yoon Da-yeon. She was frozen, as if time had stopped. Yoon Da-yeon. Perhaps she was simply holding on. Raising her walls, protecting herself.

For all the good it did. Pointless.

The longer it went on, the more that meaningless pride would eat her alive. And that wasn’t even the half of it.

’She’ll run out of money too.’

For a brief moment, Jae-ha recalled the ’Deja Vu’ related to Yoon Da-yeon. A few lines among them.

『”You’ve been struggling without any income lately, haven’t you? I heard your younger sibling is in poor health.”

”Interest from the adult film side? That’s only possible while you still have some clout left, Da-yeon ssi.”』

Kang Jae-ha had gone through Yoon Da-yeon’s family details in Team 4’s internal files. Currently, she was the sole breadwinner, and he’d seen a note that her younger sibling was sickly and in and out of the hospital. Pressure from society, pressure from family.

And yet she was washed-up.

Things were already bad, but money would only tighten its grip on Yoon Da-yeon further. And reality showed no signs of improving. Reality was forcing her onto a train bound for hell.

’Given all that, it makes perfect sense she’d end up choosing adult films.’

When she was finally driven to the very edge, someone would extend a hand. Adult films, or erotic films. They’d soothe her heart with all manner of sweet words, and Da-yeon, briefly lost in the illusion, would stamp her seal on the contract.

That might let her breathe for a moment, but for the washed-up actress Yoon Da-yeon, that would be the end.

Recycled? A comeback? No, a fate far more wretched than being washed-up clearly awaited her. By that point, the people who’d lured her in would change their tune. They’d already made their money, so they’d discard Yoon Da-yeon. She would wither away until, perhaps, she reached the most extreme of choices.

If he hadn’t known, it wouldn’t matter. But since he did, Kang Jae-ha found Yoon Da-yeon hard to ignore.

’Why should I care?’

Jae-ha had been planning to drag Yoon Da-yeon down to rock bottom. Which was why the words that came out were:

”God... Quit your whining.”

Naturally, the atmosphere inside the van turned ice-cold. Kim Dae-yong, the General Manager sitting in the passenger seat, went wide-eyed, and Ryu Jin-woo, the road manager behind the wheel, let his jaw drop. Yoon Da-yeon, who’d witnessed Kang Jae-ha’s remark from the seat right beside him:

”......”

She wasn’t even sure she’d heard that right. It felt like being blindsided with a sledgehammer. Maybe that was why she couldn’t even react. She just sat there, staring blankly, as if her soul had left her body.

That lasted roughly ten seconds.

Barely managing to collect herself, Yoon Da-yeon swept her long, straight hair back. She steadied her breathing. Then she looked at Jae-ha and asked, composed:

”...What did you say?”

Kang Jae-ha yawned as if it was nothing and answered casually.

”I said you whine too damn much.”

Crystal clear. She’d heard right. Yoon Da-yeon’s face flushed red. Not from embarrassment, but from fury shooting up through her.

”Hey. Are you insane?”

”No. I’m considerably more sane than you.”

Kang Jae-ha’s voice was profoundly indifferent. That only made Yoon Da-yeon’s face burn redder.

”You, you just called me... a whiner??”

”Am I wrong?”

”......”

She was furious, yet the words wouldn’t come. Rage surged in waves, but there was nothing she could do. Because Jae-ha’s words were both dead accurate and an absolute shock.

At this point, General Manager Kim Dae-yong in the passenger seat seemed ready to intervene.

”J-Jae-ha ssi. Let’s stop there for now.”

But Kang Jae-ha cut him off.

”That goes for you too, General Manager nim.”

”What?”

”The coddling needs to stop.”

”Ah.”

”All it does is help her avoid the problem.”

General Manager Kim Dae-yong opened his mouth to reply, then swallowed his words. Yoon Da-yeon picked up where he left off.

”Hey, Kang Jae-ha ssi. A problem? You’re saying I’m the problem?”

Kang Jae-ha crossed his legs calmly and smiled faintly.

”A problem, yes. From top to bottom.”

”This guy, seriously.”

”Yoon Da-yeon ssi.”

”What!”

”You know where you stand.”

”...Yeah, I know!”

”No, you don’t. Not really. To be precise, you’re pretending not to know.”

”Me?? That’s not true.”

”Sure it’s not.”

Jae-ha let out a short breath and locked eyes with Yoon Da-yeon. It was time to draw the blade.

”An actress whose time as a has-been is far longer than the time she was ever active.”

”......”

General Manager Kim Dae-yong squeezed his eyes shut, as if he’d known this was coming. Jae-ha had no intention of stopping.

”Everyone tiptoes around it. You included. And that’s not all. Sure, you’re at a big company like Leon Entertainment, but the reality is you’re in Team 4, the team where they dump all the washed-up talent.”

What good was a fancy backdrop with nothing behind it? Yoon Da-yeon, taking blow after blow of pure fact to the face and gut, felt her pupils slowly dilating. Jae-ha followed up with a second and third hit, as if he’d been waiting for this.

”The supporting role you have, which is barely a step above a bit part, wraps up in a month. Your contract runs through November of this year. Does that not register? You can’t be that dense.”

”Stop it.”

”When the contract ends in November, do you think they’ll renew it? You already know, don’t you? That by now, talks about a contract renewal should already be happening. That’s why you’ve been on edge. General Manager nim, what do you think?”

”......W-Well, that’s.”

”I’m guessing Team Leader Jang already told you.”

Both Kang Jae-ha and Yoon Da-yeon turned to General Manager Kim Dae-yong in the passenger seat. His face was etched with discomfort. Because what Jae-ha said was true. In that instant, the words Team Leader Jang Hyung-su had said to him a few days ago flashed through Kim Dae-yong’s mind.

’Da-yeon’s name came up at the executive meeting this morning. The CEO himself brought it up directly. Yoon Da-yeon, once her contract’s up in November, we’re dropping her. Just so you know.’

Tagged as beyond reuse. If CEO Han Tae-sung had hinted at it personally, it was set in stone. His word was law at Leon. Jae-ha had pieced this together through educated guesswork, and since he’d hit the mark, General Manager Kim Dae-yong averted his eyes.

Yoon Da-yeon, her soul shredded to tatters, called out to General Manager Kim Dae-yong.

”O-oppa?”

”......”

In place of the silent General Manager Kim Dae-yong, Kang Jae-ha spoke. In an ice-cold voice.

”Now is not the time to play the victim, not the time to whine. What I’m saying is you need to find your own way to survive.”

It was already late. Very late. Yoon Da-yeon swept her hair back again and clenched her molars. She didn’t answer right away. If she opened her mouth, she felt like something wound tight inside her would come undone and tears would pour out all at once.

But holding it in didn’t stop her eyes from going red.

Kang Jae-ha let out a quiet sigh at the sight of her.

”Hit rock bottom. That’s what Yoon Da-yeon ssi needs to do right now.”

”...I’m already at rock bottom. What bottom is left to hit?”

”Some self-awareness at last? Good, now we can actually talk.”

”This guy, seriously!”

Jae-ha pointed his index finger at Yoon Da-yeon.

”Drop everything. What Yoon Da-yeon ssi needs right now is not some decent-sized production or whatever. Auditions? They’re never going to come to you. You have to throw yourself in, like a wild boar gone mad.”

More desperately, more urgently, staking everything on it.

There’s a saying: luck is seventy percent, skill is thirty. In the entertainment industry, luck dictated so much, even for those with talent. And conversely, that meant people with jack shit for skill could still make it big. In the jungle that was the entertainment world, ”good enough” was meaningless.

”Pride, insecurity, your ruined past, your defense mechanisms, your reputation as a crazy nutcase, all of it. Throw it all away and start over from scratch, purely as the actress Yoon Da-yeon.”

Da-yeon had calmed down somewhat, softened a little. She had no choice. Everything had been laid bare. Her inner feelings and her reality alike. Either way, she asked back:

”From scratch. Is that what you mean by hitting rock bottom?”

”Exactly.”

”H-how do I do that?”

”That’s not really the attitude of someone asking for help.”

It was a question she’d never asked before, and Yoon Da-yeon bit her lower lip slightly.

”I’m! Stupid, like you said, so I don’t know! Tell me!”

Whether he found the reaction amusing, Jae-ha smiled.

”Who knows. I don’t know either.”

In that instant, Yoon Da-yeon:

’Is this bastard actually insane??!’

She snapped.

”Hey!!”

”I’m Kidding.”

Then Kang Jae-ha looked at Yoon Da-yeon with deep seriousness. Da-yeon flinched.

”Wh-what.”

”Strip away all that ego, and try walking the path I point you down.”

”......”

”If you’re prepared to roll through filth worse than being washed-up, then there might just be a chance.”

Kang Jae-ha gave a sharp smile.

”So, are you in or not?”

But Yoon Da-yeon had nothing left to fall back on.

About two hours later.

Yoon Da-yeon arrived at the set of ’The Last Man’ and went straight into makeup. The atmosphere on set was noticeably more relaxed than before, and General Manager Kim Dae-yong glanced at Kang Jae-ha as he watched over her.

’What the hell...... is he? I already thought he wasn’t ordinary after Da-yeon’s spitting incident, but the way he’s got Yoon Da-yeon wrapped around his finger is just the start. How did he even find out about what Team Leader Jang and I discussed about Da-yeon’s contract?’

The more he watched, the more baffling the guy became.

’He’s brazen and seems like a lunatic, yet he’s clearly sharp. Where exactly is he supposed to be weak? No matter how you look at it, the guy’s just a total cheat character. Well. Not quite. He’s just got a hell of a crazy streak.’

General Manager Kim Dae-yong cleared his throat as he mulled it over internally, then sidled up to Jae-ha. And abruptly apologized.

”I’m sorry.”

”Out of nowhere?”

”What you did back there, with Da-yeon. That should’ve been my job.”

Kang Jae-ha shrugged.

”Does it matter who does it? It’s fine. I’m good at that sort of thing. When someone’s good at something, they should be the one to do it.”

”...Thank you.”

General Manager Kim Dae-yong let out a long breath and looked at Yoon Da-yeon on set.

”I’ve watched Da-yeon for quite a long time, but all I ever did was look the other way. Then hearing what you said today, Jae-ha ssi, it was a real wake-up call. I was the worst one of all. Maybe the title of General Manager is meaningless on me.”

”I don’t know about that. Where there’s one kind of person, there’s another kind too. Everyone just has different roles. Things need someone like you, General Manager nim, to keep running.”

Somewhat moved, General Manager Kim Dae-yong gestured toward Yoon Da-yeon with his eyes and asked:

”But are you seriously planning to do something?”

”Well, I’ve been a bit bored, and lately I’ve been finding it kind of fun, hooking washed-up talent up to life support.”

”You throw the word ’washed-up’ around so easily, heh. I’ll help too.”

”Then I appreciate it.”

”That wad of papers you gave Da-yeon earlier, that was a screenplay, right? That’s what you’re going to use? You mentioned dragging Da-yeon down to rock bottom.”

Kang Jae-ha nodded.

One day later, the 27th. Late morning.

A meeting room at a film production company. This company primarily produced short films, and it was quite well-known in the short film and independent film circles. In the somewhat cramped meeting room, familiar faces were visible. Director Kwon Sung-min, looking nervous. Lee Chan-hoo, perfectly at ease.

Of the two, Lee Chan-hoo shook hands with the production company CEO with a smile.

”I look forward to working with you.”

Director Kwon Sung-min quickly bowed at the waist as well.

”Thank you, I look forward to working with you!”

As handshakes were exchanged, the screenplay for ’Condensation’ sat on the desk inside the meeting room. The production company CEO, whose face was broad but whose expression was warm, laughed heartily.

”It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a project this good. The pleasure is all mine. We’ll move full speed ahead to ensure production goes smoothly.”

Having finished his handshake, Lee Chan-hoo patted the shoulder of Director Kwon Sung-min, who was pushing his glasses up.

”Congratulations, Director-nim. Now pre-production officially begins. All that’s left is to pick up the pace.”

Director Kwon Sung-min’s past, filled with nothing but setbacks, flashed through his mind. And now, pre-production. He couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by this moment.

”Yes! I’ll work without sleep if I have to!!”

The production company for ’Condensation’ was finalized.

At the same time. A fairly cramped studio apartment.

Small but neatly organized, a living room with white-toned walls and a large actress poster hanging prominently. The actress in the poster looked familiar. It was Yoon Da-yeon. From considerably long ago, of course.

Why was Yoon Da-yeon’s poster hanging there? Simple. This studio apartment was the home of the washed-up Yoon Da-yeon.

She’d once lived in a spacious place, but now it was a studio apartment barely bigger than a single room. As the space shrank, she’d had to throw out most of her belongings, and that oversized poster was about the only thing she’d saved.

-Swoosh.

Yoon Da-yeon emerged, fresh from a shower, shaking moisture from her hair. Beige pajamas. Bare face without a trace of makeup, yet her skin was luminous. Indeed, washed-up or not, an actress was still an actress. For a brief moment, she gazed silently at her own image in the large poster.

”......”

-’Condensation’

-Director: Kwon Sung-min

-Written by: Kwon Sung-min

The screenplay was for the short film ’Condensation’, and as Da-yeon scanned the cover, a man’s face suddenly came to mind. Kang Jae-ha. Thinking of him made emotion swell in her for no reason.

”Damn.”

Yoon Da-yeon, lips pushed out in a slight pout, recalled the harsh things Jae-ha had said to her.

’Yoon Da-yeon ssi, give this short film called ’Condensation’ a try. Naturally, the role isn’t something that’s going to be handed to you. You’ll have to win it yourself. And it’s not even a lead, you’ll be going for a supporting role. Well, if you don’t want to, you don’t have to.’

Though Kang Jae-ha wasn’t in front of her, Yoon Da-yeon answered quite fiercely.

”I’ll do it, I said I’ll do it! You already know I’m going to, so stop playing it cool.”

Phew. In any case, a short film? And not even the lead, but a supporting role. It was practically the same as treating Yoon Da-yeon like a nobody.

”What the hell. Washed-up or not... I’m still currently on a daily drama.”

Kang Jae-ha seemed intent on dragging Yoon Da-yeon not just to rock bottom, but into the abyss below it. Honestly, it was frightening. That was Da-yeon’s thought. What would people think? Then Da-yeon let out a small laugh.

”People? Like hell. Who gives a damn about me? They’ve probably all forgotten me by now.”

Perhaps because she’d been slapped with the truth by Jae-ha a day ago, Da-yeon’s heart seemed considerably lighter. She then adjusted her posture and turned to the first page of the screenplay, ’Condensation’.

-Flip, flip.

Yoon Da-yeon’s eyes moved faster as she read.

’A story about women driven to the gutter, and a quiet revenge.’

She hadn’t finished it all, but having grasped the gist of ’Condensation’, she murmured with genuine feeling:

”...What is this? Why is the quality this good?”

Desire began to surge more fiercely than ever before.

Around this time, Kang Jae-ha was meeting with Team Leader Jang Hyung-su at Leon Entertainment’s Team 4. Team Leader Jang Hyung-su still looked like he hadn’t slept in days.

”Yeah, Jae-ha ssi. What is it?”

Jae-ha skipped the preamble and got straight to the point, with a touch of nonchalance.

”I’m thinking of putting Yoon Da-yeon ssi into a short film.”

Team Leader Jang Hyung-su paused, his eyes widening slightly.

”Yoon Da-yeon?”

”Yes. Oh, and An Ji-hee ssi too.”

”An Ji-hee... she was a trainee, so fine. But Yoon Da-yeon? That crazy nutcase we all know?”

”Yes.”

Team Leader Jang Hyung-su blinked a few times, then narrowed his brow.

”A short film, out of nowhere? More importantly, Da-yeon agreed to a short film?”

”She will.”

”...What role?”

To the follow-up question, Jae-ha feigned ignorance.

”No idea. It’ll be decided after the audition.”

”An audition...? Yoon Da-yeon is auditioning for a short film?”

”Yes.”

Team Leader Jang Hyung-su, who knew the usual Yoon Da-yeon well, genuinely wondered if this was real.

”Huh.”

He also got the distinct feeling that Team 4 was creaking and grinding into motion.

And then the next day, Friday the 28th.

It was early morning, but in Leon Entertainment’s wood-toned CEO’s office, a briefing was already underway. The one delivering the report was a Department Head with a chiseled jawline, and CEO Han Tae-sung in a full suit listened quietly as he reviewed the report.

Soon the Department Head’s briefing reached its end.

”Lastly, there’s news from Team 4.”

CEO Han Tae-sung reacted with a handsome smile.

”Team 4?”

”Yes.”

”What is it.”

To CEO Han Tae-sung, whose expression said this was unexpected, the Department Head recounted:

”It seems they’re planning to put Yoon Da-yeon into a short film. Apparently she’s preparing for an audition.”

CEO Han Tae-sung slowly crossed his legs and folded his arms.

”That Yoon Da-yeon, auditioning for a short film.”

”I was rather surprised myself. How they managed to convince that prickly Yoon Da-yeon.”

”Is it confirmed?”

”Yes. Team Leader Jang verified Da-yeon’s intentions as well. Additionally, they’ve redirected an idol trainee who was slated for contract termination toward an acting career.”

”Interesting.”

CEO Han Tae-sung unfolded his arms and tapped the desk with his index finger. Tap, tap, tap. As if organizing his thoughts. After a few seconds, he spoke again.

”Team 4, which has been stagnant for so long, is showing a slight shift in momentum. Is it Team Leader Jang? No, it wouldn’t be him. Someone more unexpected.”

CEO Han Tae-sung smiled faintly.

”The only recent change in Team 4 is one guy, isn’t it?”

He recalled a hazy someone.

”The name was Kang... Jae-ha? He’s the one pulling the strings?”

The Department Head didn’t seem to agree.

”Ah, it wouldn’t be him. As you’ve heard from the other team leaders’ assessments, he’s apparently quite weak-willed.”

But on CEO Han Tae-sung’s face, a small but unmistakable spark of interest had already settled.

”We’ll see. Bring him to me. Kang Jae-ha.”