The Crazy Mercenary Commander Goes to Work in the Entertainment Industry

Translator: Dreamscribe

At Lee Chan-hoo's report, Kang Jae-ha asked back.

"A detective office?"

"Yeah, a detective office."

Lee Chan-hoo nodded and went on with more details about Sato Shota, whom he'd been watching for the past few days.

"Sato Shota's detective office was close to Kamijo Yuu's place, and it wasn't much of an operation. Big enough for one employee, and it kinda felt like the office is where he lives?"

"He eats and sleeps there?"

"Yeah."

"A detective office, huh..."

Having heard the report, Kang Jae-ha crossed his legs and rubbed his chin.

"Now that's an unexpected line of work."

The jobs his Mercenary Corps subordinates had taken up after crossing over to this world ran the whole gamut, sure, but Sato Shota the Interrogator running a detective office must have struck him as novel, because Jae-ha snorted out a laugh.

"Well, Interrogator or detective office, digging up information is pretty much the same thing?"

"It is. The only difference is whether you put a knife to the body or not."

Lee Chan-hoo, eyes narrowed to slits, heh-heh-heh. Anyway, a detective office was more or less what Koreans would call a private investigation firm. Having confirmed Sato Shota's occupation, Kang Jae-ha asked him something else.

"Any sign of a team or an organization?"

Lee Chan-hoo turned serious all at once and shook his head.

"I've only been watching for a short while, but so far there's no sign he's got a team or belongs to any organization. No associates hanging around him."

"So that's how it is."

Jae-ha switched which leg was crossed over the other, recalling the threats Sato Shota had made when they'd met in Japan.

'Don't even think about laying a hand on her.'

'Of course I have an organization. Keep that in mind.'

Just as predicted, the odds that the organization Sato Shota had mentioned was pure bluff had gone way up. He'd been puffing himself up to seem bigger, to intimidate. And the purpose, just like he'd said, would be to 'protect' Kamijo Yuu. Well, Sato Shota needed more watching; it was too early to call it.

"I already heard it from Kamijo Yuu, but Sato Shota and Kamijo Yuu don't seem to have any connection, right?"

"None at all. Set aside the Mercenary Corps days, and in this world there's zero overlap between them. They're not even acquaintances. Flat out, over here they're total strangers?"

And yet Sato Shota's weak point was Kamijo Yuu. More and more, Kang Jae-ha became convinced that his guesses were on the mark.

'Of course, I can't completely rule out that the guy's targeting Kamijo Yuu, either.'

But the fact that Kamijo Yuu didn't know Sato Shota existed meant that, from the time Sato Shota crossed over to this world until now.

'For nearly ten months, he's just been watching Kamijo Yuu.'

A month or two, maybe. But dragging it out for close to a year didn't add up. Flip it around, and what if, as Jae-ha suspected, Sato Shota the Interrogator was a genuine fan of Kamijo Yuu? What if, as a fan, he'd quietly 'protected' Kamijo Yuu for about a year without anyone knowing?

'Then this bastard Sato Shota is a hardcore fan for real.'

Even if Kang Jae-ha's read was right, Sato Shota wouldn't be living solely for Kamijo Yuu. He'd have his own work to do; at this point it was probably a routine, checking in on her a few times a week.

Whatever the case, maintaining that routine and that level of interest for a year was proof enough of a hardcore fan.

Kang Jae-ha thought back on Sato Shota's days as an Interrogator and smiled faintly.

'Things are getting interesting.'

Then he gave Lee Chan-hoo his instructions.

"Sato Shota. Keep watching him a bit longer, and once we've got an answer, we can reel him in."

The next morning, the 19th. Leon's training center.

Back in Korea from Japan, Kang Jae-ha reported not to Leon Entertainment that morning but to the training center where Leon developed its rookies.

The venue was a fairly large practice room.

Mirrors covered every wall, and Kang Jae-ha, in a black blazer, sat at the end of a long, straight table. A compact camera sat at the center of the table, and around Jae-ha were seated the training center's team-leader-level executives and key personnel.

The training center staff chatted among themselves, while Kang Jae-ha alone kept his mouth shut.

"......"

The reason Jae-ha was at the training center from the morning was simple. It was the audition to pick the two supplementary members for the 'Kisera' rebuilding project, the matter he'd already conveyed to CEO Han Tae-sung.

Soon the man seated beside Kang Jae-ha asked.

"Shall we begin?"

Jae-ha nodded, expression dry.

"Let's."

Meanwhile, in the waiting room next to the practice room where Kang Jae-ha sat.

A great many women were waiting. A little over twenty by the look of it, and naturally all of them Korean. Gathering only Koreans, no foreigners, had also been Jae-ha's request.

A few of them stood out.

A woman with the ends of her hair dyed red.

'This is the last time. The real last time. If it doesn't happen now...... I have to give up. Haa, but I really don't want to quit. I want to be one, I want to do it. An idol.'

And a woman whose blank face carried something gloomy in it.

"......"

All of them were beautiful, but their appeal came in every variety. The women gathered here had come to audition for a spot as an idol trainee, a process that could fairly be called hell, and only a few of them would survive it. Of course, all of them could be cut, too.

That was the reality of the idol market.

Only a tiny fraction were picked as trainees, and of those trainees, the ones who survived to debut didn't even make a handful. And yet, even at that very moment, there was no shortage of people gritting their teeth and taking their shot at becoming idols.

Which meant that no matter how much potential someone had, if no one recognized that potential, they'd simply fall by the wayside.

The women gathered here shared almost the same thought.

Today, someone would see me for what I am.

After that the women were called one by one and moved to the practice room next door.

They talked with the judges, Kang Jae-ha among them, and showed off their vocals.

-♬♪

They performed their choreography and unveiled whatever special talent they had. Some auditions ran less than a minute.

"All right, that's enough. Thank you for your time."

But some ran more than five.

Three, five, ten. Even as the number of participants who'd auditioned climbed, Kang Jae-ha said next to nothing. He barely asked them any questions. His face went past dry into barren. Enough to make the training center staff around him flinch.

'Wh-what's with him? He's kinda scary. What is he even thinking?'

'The CEO-nim gave the order, so we're just letting him run with it, but... no expression at all. Is he even actually watching?'

Of course, Kang Jae-ha was more focused than he'd ever been. He was measuring the look in each and every participant's eyes, their expression, their delivery, their flexibility, their aura, their color, their potential.

'Her face is a little grim, but she's a lot like Ra Yoon in her rookie days.'

Sizing up an opponent and spotting potential was something Kang Jae-ha had mastered back in his days as a mercenary Commander. His face gave nothing away, but his eyes never stopped moving.

'This one's good too. A little camera massaging and her visuals would jump several times over. Position, Visual Center.'

The full audition ran roughly two hours. When the last participant left the practice room, one of the training center's team leaders asked Kang Jae-ha.

"Anyone catch your eye? You didn't say a word the whole time. If you're torn, we could pull it together on our end and flag the good ones for you..."

"No need. I've decided."

Cut off mid-sentence, the team leader blinked.

"...Sorry?"

Kang Jae-ha handed the team leader two sheets from the profiles of the participants he'd auditioned. One was the woman with the red-tipped hair, the other the woman with the rather gloomy expression.

"Let's go with these two."

Same time, 'FilmMEG'.

With top actress Moon Ji-a's casting confirmed, production on 'Condensation: Euphoria' had picked up speed dramatically. On top of that, Director Kwon Sung-min and CEO Jeong Tae-woo were run ragged these days holding meetings with all sorts of actors.

The types of actors varied too, top tier, A tier, and so on.

Thanks to that, the casting that had been dragging was suddenly about 70% complete. And of course, every actor agreed to and signed contracts on running guarantee alone.

The supporting roles were nearly wrapped, leaving only the leads.

And even the leads were only a bit of fine-tuning away from being settled.

So 'FilmMEG', where 'Condensation: Euphoria' was being produced, was bustling beyond belief. In the middle of it all, Director Kwon Sung-min could be seen sitting alone in a workroom inside 'FilmMEG'.

Much of the boyishness had worn off his face by now, replaced by a good deal of the air of a film director.

Understandable enough, since it had been quite the forced march from the short film 'Condensation' all the way to now.

Whatever the case, Director Kwon Sung-min pushed his glasses up and went on listening to a range of music.

-♬♪

He'd already been at it in this workroom for over an hour. The music was varied. Everything from assorted sound effects to character themes, the opening track, the ending track, and the main OST.

Anyone could tell they were film scores meant to be laid into a movie.

"......Th-this is killer??"

The more he listened, the wider Director Kwon Sung-min's eyes got. His heart pounded like it might burst. Not from nerves; this was a heartbeat born of anticipation.

"Th-this is almost exactly the music for 'Condensation: Euphoria' that I'd thought up, that I'd imagined."

Goosebumps rose on Director Kwon Sung-min. Naturally, since the music he'd imagined while writing the 'Condensation: Euphoria' screenplay was spilling out one track after another right here in this workroom.

Who on earth had captured 'Condensation: Euphoria' so magnificently in music?

Director Kwon Sung-min quickly scanned back through the information that had come with the tracks. The music director was using a stage name.

-'Rina'

Just then the workroom door clattered open. In walked the broad-faced CEO Jeong Tae-woo.

"How's the music feel, Director-nim?"

Director Kwon Sung-min answered without a second's hesitation.

"It's killer. Of everything we've received so far, this is the best. The tracks just are 'Condensation: Euphoria' itself!"

"Th-that good??"

A smile had spread across every inch of Director Kwon Sung-min's face, and he immediately asked CEO Jeong Tae-woo.

"The music director goes by 'Rina', and this person was recommended by CEO Lee Chan-hoo-nim and General Manager Kim Ha-jae-nim, right??"

"That's right."

"Of course!"

"Of course?"

"I just mean they're incredible. Both of them."

Director Kwon Sung-min shot up from his seat and made a swift request of CEO Jeong Tae-woo.

"This 'Rina' person, can I meet them right away? There's no one else, period. That's the music director for 'Condensation: Euphoria'!"

About a week later.

Inside a room with a bed, a table, and other ordinary furnishings. In that room sat a man with a familiar face.

Close-cropped hair, piercing eyes, and quite a large build.

It was Sato Shota, who had served as Interrogator in the Mercenary Corps. Seated in the chair by the window, he wore a grave expression.

"......"

Whatever he was thinking about, his gaze fixed on empty air.

It was then.

-♬♪

His phone spat out a ringtone. A call, and without much thought Sato Shota put the phone to his ear and spoke in Japanese.

"Yes, this is Sato Shota."

From the other end of the line came a low, composed man's voice.

"Sato Shota. Is the protection of Kamijo Yuu going well?"

"...You."

"Yeah, it's me."

From the voice alone, Sato Shota knew who it was. The utterly extraordinary man he'd faced not long ago at the cafe in front of Kamijo Yuu's place, the one his 'Ability' didn't work on. Recalling those cold eyes, Sato Shota turned grave in an instant.

"What do you want."

"I told you we'd be seeing each other again soon."

The man on the other end spoke plainly.

"That protecting Kamijo Yuu you're doing. How about doing it officially instead of off the books?"

An offer out of nowhere. Naturally, Sato Shota wrote it off as insanity.

"What... are you talking about."

"I'm asking if you'd consider doing it out in the open instead of in secret."

Protect her out in the open? And why does this bastard get to decide that? Who the hell do you think you are? Sato Shota's brow furrowed, and then the man's voice came through the phone again.

"Well, let's hash out the details in person. Korea won't be familiar to you, so take a taxi."

"......Korea?"

"Don't play dumb. I know everything."

The man murmured, laughter mixed into his tone.

"You're in Korea right now, aren't you."

*****

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