The Crazy Mercenary Commander Goes to Work in the Entertainment Industry

The subordinate Ryu Hyuk, whom Ha Yeon-ji claimed to have found, was a detective. The police angle must have been something he hadn’t anticipated, because Kang Jae-ha rubbed his chin.

’A detective... Interesting.’

The timing wasn’t bad at all. In the other world, raw force was the closest thing to police power, but in this world, public authority had plenty of uses.

Around then, the faces of Kim Ho-yeon and Yang Na-hee flickered through Kang Jae-ha’s mind.

”Tsk.”

He clicked his tongue. Thankfully, this latest subordinate hadn’t gone off the deep end like those two. Well, he hadn’t met him yet, so he couldn’t be certain.

’Still, if he’s working as a detective, I’d think he’s got his mental state under control.’

No, if anything it might be even harder on him.

To spend his days in the other world waging war and slaughter, then come back here and have to work as a detective? The gap in environment might be far more severe than for any of his other subordinates. To go from living without law to having to uphold the law more strictly than anyone else.

’Well, maybe that’s exactly what’s kept him sane.’

There’s a saying that man is a creature of his environment. On his own, a person has to hold everything together by himself, but when an environment or some external force imposes structure on him, it’s sometimes easier to endure.

While Kang Jae-ha was musing about Ryu Hyuk for a moment, someone approached him.

”Manager-nim! Great work!”

It was An Ji-hee, her bob swishing as she bowed her head. Two members of her team were with her. Lowering his phone, Kang Jae-ha murmured a perfunctory reply to An Ji-hee.

”Good work.”

The two team members sidled up to Kang Jae-ha and whispered, keeping their voices low.

”Uh, but Manager Kang-nim. Is it really okay to come down that hard on the Japanese production company people??”

”Right. Wasn’t that a little too aggressive? If they decide to flip the whole thing over because of it...”

”They might’ve taken meetings with other actresses besides Ji-hee-ssi, too.”

Listening to them, Kang Jae-ha answered dryly.

”They’ve probably met with a few actresses besides An Ji-hee-ssi. At least five or so?”

”And you still went that hard...”

”Doesn’t matter.”

”Excuse me??”

To the two team members knitting their brows, Kang Jae-ha offered a faint smile.

”What I mean is, even if this deal falls through, An Ji-hee-ssi has nothing to lose.”

”B-but it’s her shot at breaking into Japan!”

”Another chance will come. It’s not like An Ji-hee-ssi has nothing else going on right now.”

”...”

”What I told the Japanese earlier, that An Ji-hee-ssi would have to push herself if she took this on, that’s the truth. Attaching a few conditions is perfectly fine.”

It was a given that a newcomer would pile on activities even if it meant overextending. But An Ji-hee didn’t need to push herself. After all, wasn’t she an actress managed by none other than Kang Jae-ha himself?

That said, there was no need to kick away an opportunity that had come knocking, either.

So Kang Jae-ha had laid out conditions, this way and that.

’Though I doubt the Japanese will flip on it.’

Kang Jae-ha was confident. The look in the eyes of Ogawa Sayaka, the leader among the Japanese side at the meeting, told him as much.

’They’ll have met with several actresses, but An Ji-hee was their first choice. No, their zeroth.’

Finding an actor who fits a project perfectly is, surprisingly, no easy task, and when a role’s setting or flavor is as distinctive as in ’Spring at the Borderline’, it’s even harder. After seeing An Ji-hee in person, their appetite had almost certainly grown.

Jae-ha turned his gaze to An Ji-hee with a smile, as if to say there was nothing to worry about.

”An Ji-hee-ssi, just forget about today’s meeting for now and prepare for the ’One-Act Drama Project’ audition. And keep reading the ’Condensation: Euphoria’ script, too.”

An Ji-hee, who by now practically worshipped Kang Jae-ha, smiled with her eyes and answered firmly.

”Yes! Manager-nim!”

Soon Kang Jae-ha, who had arrived in a separate car from An Ji-hee’s team, got into his own. Then, after recalling his subordinates’ schedules, he sent messages to several of them, Ha Yeon-ji included.

-Tomorrow night, at ’MEG’

The next night, the 28th, ’MEG’ conference room.

Kang Jae-ha and his subordinates gathered in the recently expanded ’MEG’ conference room. The members were Lee Chan-hoo, Go Chun-seok, and Ha Yeon-ji. Jae-ha had called only the three of them. Sitting with his legs crossed, Kang Jae-ha spoke to Ha Yeon-ji.

”Explain.”

Ha Yeon-ji nodded and briefed him, starting from where she’d spotted Ryu Hyuk to the part about him walking into a police station, and so on. Naturally, she covered Ryu Hyuk’s appearance and the mercenary corps as well.

”We were in the same scout unit, I knew him the second I saw him. It’s definitely him.”

After hearing the briefing, Kang Jae-ha propped his chin on his hand.

”Ryu Hyuk, huh.”

Kang Jae-ha called up his newly found subordinate’s days in the mercenary corps. The Ryu Hyuk that Ha Yeon-ji had found had been in the same scout unit as her. Well, the focus on intelligence-gathering was the same, but compared to Ha Yeon-ji, Ryu Hyuk had been a scout unit member weighted toward combat.

’He was a guy with firm convictions, and capable. Did he volunteer for the scout unit himself?’

While the Commander was recalling his subordinate, the narrow-eyed Lee Chan-hoo stroked his chin.

”Ryu Hyuk, wasn’t that guy’s weapon dual-wielding?”

Ha Yeon-ji was quicker to answer.

”Yeah, he preferred short, thin blades.”

”You were close with him, weren’t you.”

”Not really? We talked a bit when we got deployed on the same investigation. He was kind of... a pervert.”

”A pervert? That’s not how I remember him. You know what they say, it takes one to know one, so aren’t you the pervert?”

”You wanna die?”

Ha Yeon-ji shot back roughly, then leaned toward Kang Jae-ha and asked.

”Commander, you remember, right? He was kind of like that, wasn’t he? How do I put it, investigative? He was obsessed with information-gathering especially.”

”He did have a single-minded streak.”

”That’s it, that’s it!”

As Ha Yeon-ji clapped her hands together as if he’d nailed it, Jae-ha, in the middle of revising his blueprint for the future, changed the subject.

”A detective, huh. Promoting him fast and planting him as a police figure with real authority isn’t a bad move.”

The quick-witted Lee Chan-hoo agreed too.

”Right, if he climbs up to a high-ranking officer with real pull... things get a lot easier for us.”

Ha Yeon-ji joined in.

”True. And it’s not like the Commander’s going to go around doing anything illegal anyway.”

”No need for that. Just a background. In other words, ’MEG’ needs to fill out its background.”

Commander Kang Jae-ha’s plan was simple. He would keep promoting his new subordinate, Ryu Hyuk, as a detective, and ultimately give him a fitting amount of power. On top of that, he’d have him work his actual profession rather than ’MEG’ business, just like Ha Yeon-ji or Choi Ri-na.

Like soldiers dispatched overseas.

Well, Kang Jae-ha had no intention of squandering that public authority on pointless things. He just needed to first get a firm grasp of Ryu Hyuk’s situation.

”Ha Yeon-ji, you step away from Ryu Hyuk. Lee Chan-hoo, you watch him closely for about a week.”

”Yes, yes, I’ll shake him down thoroughly.”

”While you’re shaking him down, look carefully at whether he’s alone, whether he’s got a team, whether he’s formed an organization with other mercenaries, all of that.”

Letting out a low hum, Ha Yeon-ji folded her arms.

”A team, maybe, but would the mercenary comrades have gone as far as forming an organization??”

Lee Chan-hoo answered.

”The odds are high. Look at us, we’re falling neatly into place under the Commander, aren’t we?”

”That’s fair. What if their scale is way bigger than ours?”

Expressionless, Kang Jae-ha answered flatly.

”Scale doesn’t mean anything. What matters is substance.”

Lee Chan-hoo chimed in after him.

”Right, and besides, we’ve got the Commander. Always grateful for it, sir”

To Lee Chan-hoo and Ha Yeon-ji, Jae-ha gave a dry warning.

”Don’t get complacent. Always plan for the worst and keep your minds sharp.”

Lee Chan-hoo, formerly of the assassination squad, smirked.

”Somehow... my blood’s starting to boil for no reason.”

After that.

About two days later, the recently acquired ’Cheong-yeon Studio’ changed its name to ’FrameMEG’. It then plunged into production on ’Moonless Village’, the spin-off version of ’House of the Daytime Moon’, with Director Hong Man-seop.

Of course, the investment funds came entirely from ’MEG’. In other words, Kang Jae-ha was footing the bill.

If there was one difference from the days of ’House of the Daytime Moon’, it was that investment and production were now wholly ’MEG’. Maybe that was why Director Hong Man-seop burned with several times more fighting spirit than he had on ’House of the Daytime Moon’.

In the midst of all this, a ’Deja Vu’ surfaced for Kang Jae-ha.

Not a Deja Vu tied to a subordinate, but a Deja Vu with a counterpart in it. For the first time in a while, it was a ’Deja Vu’ that reeked of money. This time it was a stock on the Domestic Stock Market. The timing was apt. Kang Jae-ha was rapidly growing his fortune through ’House of the Daytime Moon’ and the like, but the money going out across various projects was no small amount either.

’A money-scented Deja Vu is always welcome.’

A smile on his lips, Kang Jae-ha immediately tossed the Domestic Stock Market Deja Vu to Cha Chung-hyeon. The stock was due to surge in about two weeks. All Kang Jae-ha had to do was wait, full of anticipation, for his wallet to fatten up.

Then came Monday, the 31st, the last day of August.

The moment Monday arrived, ’MEG’ fired off 3 billion won in first-round investment funds into master director Yu Gil-tae’s ’Mask of Murder’. The second-round funds were scheduled to be delivered around the mid-to-late stage of pre-production, and Director Yu Gil-tae was wholly absorbed in filling the void left by Woo Jeong-cheol, the top actor who’d gone down in flames over drugs.

”Oh! Director-nim! Hello!”

”Haha, yes. Yu-hyeon-ssi, you’ve been well?”

Fortunately, those who knew that top actor Woo Jeong-cheol had been tangled up with ’Mask of Murder’ were exceedingly few, and nearly every male top actor that Director Yu Gil-tae met wanted in on ’Mask of Murder’.

Filling the empty seat didn’t look all that difficult.

On top of that, ’Mask of Murder’ was already picking up speed in pre-production. It had only stalled briefly because of Woo Jeong-cheol; with the key staff and everything, the framework had long since been locked in.

At this hour, Kang Jae-ha was in the Leon Entertainment CEO’s office.

CEO Han Tae-sung sat in the head seat of the five-person sofa, with Kang Jae-ha seated beside him. Watching Jae-ha’s characteristically flat, dry face once again today, CEO Han Tae-sung crossed his legs.

”An Ji-hee. The contact that came in from Japan. I hear the meeting went well.”

”Yes.”

”How was it, think it’ll work out?”

To the calm CEO Han Tae-sung’s question, Jae-ha nodded.

”Probably.”

”Probably?”

”I laid out a few conditions. If An Ji-hee-ssi appeals to them, they’ll meet those conditions.”

”And if they don’t.”

”Then there’s nothing for it. Nothing to regret, either. There are plenty of production companies in Japan.”

”True.”

CEO Han Tae-sung let out a chuckle and smiled. Kang Jae-ha’s answer was right up his alley.

”My Leon should always square its shoulders like that.”

It wasn’t as if Kang Jae-ha had set out to flatter CEO Han Tae-sung, but Jae-ha figured, well, if it pleased him, then so be it? CEO Han Tae-sung continued, slipping off his suit jacket.

”Back when you took on ’Seriel’, how was it. Was it fun.”

”I’m not sure. It wasn’t bad.”

”How would you feel about taking on a girl group again.”

”...”

Watching the silent Kang Jae-ha, CEO Han Tae-sung’s smile deepened.

”You know ’Kisera’, right?”

How could he not. No matter how much of an isolated-island Team 4 he was, Kang Jae-ha heard everything that concerned Leon.

’Debuted them with grand ambitions and they bombed completely, right? Well, they deserved to bomb. The songs were garbage to begin with. With low-grade songs, the choreography quality dropped too. And the concept was lousy.’

Having briefly recalled what he knew about ’Kisera’, Kang Jae-ha nodded.

”I know them.”

After meeting Jae-ha’s eyes for a few seconds, CEO Han Tae-sung propped his chin on his hand.

”That ’Kisera’, why don’t you try rebuilding them.”

Rebuilding? Kang Jae-ha was a little puzzled inwardly. The timing was out of nowhere. The incident with Ra Yoon made it all the more so.

’Was it that big a deal that I gave ’Seriel’ a song?’

And surely several reasons had piled up. Lately, the most conspicuous figure at Leon was, without question, Kang Jae-ha.

’Anyway, Kisera...’

CEO Han Tae-sung had told him to rebuild ’Kisera’. In other words, not to polish and grow them as they were now, but to tear them down and remake them from start to finish. Songs, concept, everything. Even, at the very least, swapping out members was on the table.

’Put simply, he’s telling me to make a new Kisera.’

Well, it wasn’t bad. The idol market was a brutal red ocean, but that very fact meant the market was vast, and KPOP already enjoyed high recognition not just in Japan but across various countries overseas.

Before long, an idol that would command the world might emerge.

Of course, having one killer idol at ’MEG’ wouldn’t be bad either. It was one of Jae-ha’s plans, though he hadn’t intended to move on it this fast.

’But given the situation, I’ll have to revise the blueprint.’

Murmuring inwardly, Kang Jae-ha answered CEO Han Tae-sung.

”If you give me full authority over the rebuilding, I’ll do it.”

CEO Han Tae-sung nodded lightly and pointed at Jae-ha with his index finger.

”Of course. You said you didn’t want a promotion, so just for the ’Kisera’ rebuilding project, you take on the role of temporary Team Leader. Full authority is yours as well. As for reports, depending on the situation, you can report directly to me.”

”Understood. Is there any deadline.”

”No, none. Do it however you want.”

”Just to confirm, I’m asking, but even if I replace the current ’Kisera’ members.”

”Doesn’t matter. Swap out a few or swap out the whole lot.”

In the blink of an eye, Kang Jae-ha, now temporary Team Leader of the ’Kisera’ rebuilding project, murmured inwardly.

’First things first, I’d better go meet the ’Kisera’ kids.’

CEO Han Tae-sung asked.

”When can you start.”

Kang Jae-ha’s reply was short and to the point.

”Right away. I should go meet ’Kisera’ first thing.”

*****

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