The Crazy Mercenary Commander Goes to Work in the Entertainment Industry

Whether it was the three existing members or the two new recruits, the girls of ’Kisera’ were thrown for a loop. They had just heard something from Kang Jae-ha that they never could have imagined.

’A-a-aiming overseas right from the start??!’

That was the internal scream of ’Kisera’s’ leader. And it wasn’t just her; the rest of the members were equally floored, each in her own way. It made sense. ’Kisera’ had flopped hard domestically, never mind overseas, so having their comeback launch framed around foreign markets out of nowhere was bound to be a shock.

Meanwhile, Kang Jae-ha’s calm, expressionless face didn’t change at all.

In this moment, he.

’Pale skin, blonde hair, that’s the leader and Main Vocalist, Ha-rin. Her reactions are an open book. She’s the most startled one. Must be the type who can’t hide her expressions.’

He was studying the expressions and emotions of the ’Kisera’ members.

’The short cut with the cool image is Jay. Surprised, but not exactly shaken, it seems. And the one with thin arms and legs but a striking figure is the Sub-vocalist, Nia. Judging by how wide her eyes are, she’s short-circuited.’

Having scanned the existing members, Ha-rin, Jay, and Nia, Kang Jae-ha turned his gaze to the two newly added members. Their stage names had also been decided before they came to this practice room.

’The one with long limbs, tall, with red-tipped hair is Riv. And the one with the gloomy, blunt expression who’d probably get called an ice-cold beauty is Sion.’

Riv and Sion were, respectively, the Visual Center and the lead vocal and main dancer. Well, positions would settle into place over time. Having finished reading the ’Kisera’ members’ faces, Kang Jae-ha spoke.

”No need to be that shocked.”

Only then did the ’Kisera’ members snap out of it, and after exchanging glances, the blonde leader Ha-rin took one for the team and opened her mouth.

”T-Team Leader-nim.”

”Not Team Leader. Just call me Manager.”

”Yes, Manager-nim. Um......when you say we’re aiming overseas from the start, how exactly do you plan to do that? As you know, our numbers weren’t very good even domestically.”

”I know. Frankly speaking, you flopped. That’s why we’re rebuilding.”

”...Right. It’s just, you suddenly said overseas, so.”

Jae-ha, his eyes moving from the leader Ha-rin across the members, answered evenly.

”Like I said before, you’ll all keep doing what you’ve been doing while trying things you haven’t.”

”......”

”Of course we’ll pay attention to the domestic market, but at the same time, we’re going after overseas markets too. That’s what I mean.”

The plan Kang Jae-ha had in mind went like this.

’First, we hit the viral angle.’

At present, the route through the domestic idol market was more or less the same everywhere. Debut on music broadcast shows, and if the albums sold well, the schedules would grow, faces would start appearing on variety shows, and if the response got even better, they’d dip a toe into Japan and other countries.

But while Kang Jae-ha would keep that route, he intended to make ’Kisera’ go viral on content platforms that worked overseas, like ’TilTok’, and across every kind of SNS.

’Short-form over long-form.’

That said, what would decide the first battle wasn’t the ’Kisera’ members themselves so much as the songs they would perform.

’Viral. In other words, buzz absolutely requires a great song. One good enough to melt the ears of overseas audiences.’

The songs the ’Kisera’ members would perform. In a word, the songs composed by Choi Ri-na. Kang Jae-ha was picturing releasing those songs as teasers, so that overseas listeners who fell for the music, and for ’Kisera’, would come looking for ’Kisera’ on their own.

’Best case, we make them desperate to hear the full version.’

For the picture Jae-ha wanted to come together, the songs had to be of a quality that would enchant overseas audiences, and considerable effort had to go into the music videos too.

When overseas audiences discovered ’Kisera’ on a content platform or SNS, where would they search?

’Youtube.’

It was obvious they’d search on Youtube, which projected its power across the entire world, and by that timing, ’Kisera’s’ music videos naturally had to be ready.

’By then, we have to steal not just the ears of the incoming overseas audience, but their eyes too.’

To Kang Jae-ha’s judgment, the songs Choi Ri-na had composed were more than good enough. Which meant the rest came down to the charm of the ’Kisera’ members.

That said, Kang Jae-ha figured ’Kisera’ didn’t need to know any of this plan.

’These girls just need to enjoy doing what they want to do. Setting the direction and everything that comes after, that’s on me and the company.’

Maybe the reason ’Kisera’ had flopped was that they thought and weighed too much, and the resulting burden and pressure had crushed them.

Soon, Jae-ha murmured to the ’Kisera’ members in a low voice.

”Setting the direction, drawing up plans, all that, you can leave to me. All of you just need to enjoy it.”

”E-enjoy it??”

As if hearing the word ’enjoy’ for the very first time, everyone from the leader Ha-rin to Nia, Jay, Riv, and Sion went wide-eyed. Either way, Kang Jae-ha’s calm energy held steady.

”Yes, enjoy it. While doing everything you can do.”

”Ah-”

”Support on the level of ’Seriel’ might be a stretch, but starting with the dorm, I’ll set you up with an environment as good as any decent debuting Girl Group’s.”

”......”

”So don’t worry about anything else and run. Right now, even top speed isn’t fast enough.”

Looking at Kang Jae-ha, the leader Ha-rin felt like she was looking at a different species of human.

’Wh-what is with this man?? I thought he was unusual the first time I saw him, but......he’s just different from people in this industry. The rumors said he’d changed a whole lot-’

The other members were having similar impressions.

’He’s the first person who’s ever told me to enjoy it. He seems so cold, yet he’s kind of warm underneath. This man is fascinating.’

’His eyes are so fierce......tsundere?? Is that what this is?? But he gives off this vibe of just overflowing with talent?’

And ultimately, they all arrived at the same conclusion.

’He’s scary, intimidating even...but he feels solid. Like someone I could trust.’

The gut feeling that if they put themselves in that cold man’s hands, something would come of it.

Then Kang Jae-ha moved toward a laptop set on one side of the practice room.

”First, let’s listen to the confirmed songs.”

Jae-ha had picked three of the songs Choi Ri-na composed, then dropped one to finalize the last two.

The songs quickly filled the practice room.

-♬♪

From the intro alone, the ’Kisera’ members were making a fuss on the inside.

’Whoa! This song is good, it’s totally good!!’

By the time they’d heard both songs in full, the girls of ’Kisera’ had fallen for them completely. To them, Kang Jae-ha explained in a gentle tone.

”Guide recording and Choreography production are already underway. Until those results come in, you’ll start with song practice, then move on to recording, then Choreography practice, in that order.”

That wasn’t all.

”Alongside that, you’ll also be training in vocals, Choreography, speech, languages, and more.”

Meaning the schedule would be quite grueling. Anyone might have flinched at the prospect, but with a faint smile, Kang Jae-ha laid it out plainly.

”You’ll have to work pretty hard. But it’s a hundred times better than sitting around as flops, isn’t it?”

Hearing that line, ’Kisera’s’ fighting spirit strangely blazed to life.

Afterward.

At the end of October, ’Kisera’ began running in earnest, and things on the ’MEG’ side proceeded smoothly as well. First, the acquisition of ’Neon Media’, the Japanese branch Kang Jae-ha had picked for ’MEG’, was completed.

From now on it would be called ’MEG Production’, and at the same time, Kamijo Yuu and Sato Shota finished signing their contracts with ’MEG Production’.

Now officially under ’MEG Production’, Kamijo Yuu and Sato Shota were scheduled to head over to Japan in early November.

In the meantime.

”Good, then-”

Locked in the first shooting day of the ’One-Act Drama Project’.

”We Crank-in on November 5th.”

Roughly a week away.

Meanwhile, things were moving briskly on the ’Condensation: Euphoria’ front as well. Riding the momentum of confirming top-of-the-top actress Moon Ji-a’s Casting, all of the long-stalled lead-level Casting had been finalized too.

《[MoviePick] Following Moon Ji-a, ’Condensation: Euphoria’ Casts a String of High-Profile Actors》

《The Next Film from Director Kwon Sung-min, Who Struck Gold at BIFF...Just How Good Is It, That Moon Ji-a and Other Top Actors Signed On?》

Around this time, Director Kwon Sung-min was in a ’FilmMEG’ conference room, meeting the woman he’d been longing to meet. Choi Ri-na herself. Of course, CEO Lee Chan-hoo and CEO Jeong Tae-woo were in the conference room as well.

The reason they had gathered was simple.

The matter of the Music Director for ’Condensation: Euphoria’.

At the sight of Choi Ri-na appearing as the Music Director, Director Kwon Sung-min’s jaw simply dropped.

’Whoa- what is with those looks? She’s insanely pretty, for real.’

He’d fallen for Choi Ri-na at first sight. She was excessively pretty for a Music Director, that was the problem. Having briefly taken leave of his senses, Director Kwon Sung-min barely managed to pull himself together.

”Ah......ah! My apologies. Music Director ’Rina’-nim. I’ve been dying to meet you. Your music is truly, truly wonderful.”

”Thank you for the kind words!”

”Could you tell me how those pieces came to be?”

To Director Kwon Sung-min, who pushed up his glasses as he pleaded, Choi Ri-na answered with smiling eyes.

”Of course! First, I read the Screenplay for ’Condensation: Euphoria’ about twice before working on it. For the opening track, I thought a rhythm that’s upbeat yet slightly unsettling would work, you know? It’s meant to capture the current situation of the female lead, ’Ji-su’. Living in hell, but pretending everything’s fine.”

Choi Ri-na went on explaining the music she’d made for ’Condensation: Euphoria’. Gradually, his lips parting slightly, Director Kwon Sung-min was deeply moved.

’It’s far more detailed than I expected......to think her understanding of ’Condensation: Euphoria’ runs this deep.’

At this point, Director Kwon Sung-min could hold back no longer.

”Music Director ’Rina’-nim, I beg you, please take on the music for ’Condensation: Euphoria’.”

He was asking her to be the Music Director for ’Condensation: Euphoria’, and Choi Ri-na grew a little cautious.

”But this would be my first film. Would that be all right?”

In film, the Music Director works with the director to decide where the music goes, its timing, its mood, and so on, all to maximize the work’s emotional impact.

Composing the music goes without saying.

Music Directors across different kinds of content go through roughly similar processes, but small differences existed between mediums, film, drama, and so on.

Normally, a Music Director begins creating music after being confirmed for a project, but Choi Ri-na had made her music in advance.

And with that music, she had bewitched Director Kwon Sung-min.

This meant a significant saving of time. Among directors, film directors included, it was all too common to burn months on end because the music didn’t sit right.

In short, if ’Condensation: Euphoria’ secured Choi Ri-na, one of its major pillars, ’music’, would be solved.

Director Kwon Sung-min, who knew this well and had already fallen for Choi Ri-na’s music, smiled as if it didn’t matter in the slightest.

”This is my first Feature Film since my Short Film days too. I think it’d be great if we talked it through and figured it out together.”

At that moment, Choi Ri-na pictured the face of her Commander, Kang Jae-ha.

’What a relief. I’ll be able to take the Music Director role for all the works he mentioned! Time to earn more praise!’

Her smiling eyes deepened.

”Yes, then let’s keep the conversation going and make it work!”

The Music Director position for ’Condensation: Euphoria’ went to Choi Ri-na.

A few days later, the morning of November 5th.

The place was a shooting set. On a set dressed up like an office, dozens of staff, along with multiple cameras, were focused on a single actress.

It was An Ji-hee, dressed in a neat, refined shirt.

Then, seated in front of the monitor, Director Baek Jeong-ha, her skin looking rougher than ever, shouted at the top of her lungs.

The first work of the ’One-Act Drama Project’.

”Ready- action!!”

’Murder Is a Qualification Too’ had its Crank-in.

*****

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