The Crazy Mercenary Commander Goes to Work in the Entertainment Industry

Translator: Dreamscribe

Ha Yeon-ji was a little startled by the Commander's mention of buying an entertainment company.

"You're... buying an entertainment company?"

Kang Jae-ha, on the other hand, looked completely unfazed.

"Yeah. An entertainment company. Gotta buy one."

Ha Yeon-ji's already large eyes widened further as she let out an incredulous laugh.

"Hold on, Commander? You talk about buying an entertainment company like you're buying a piece of gum at the corner store."

"That's pretty much my mindset on it."

Ha Yeon-ji had grasped what Kang Jae-ha meant by 'not letting someone else reap what he'd sown'. Still, she was inwardly floored. The Commander's mental blueprint was on a vastly larger scale.

'While working as a manager, he's growing 'MEG' and running it, sizing up and judging every single person who's tangled up in any of it. He's even giving us orders.'

And on top of all that, recruiting new subordinates. Setting the board was just a bonus. The Busan International Film Festival alone showed how cleanly Jae-ha had laid out his design.

Ha Yeon-ji thought once again that the Commander, Kang Jae-ha, was an absurd existence. She shook her head.

"Hah, seriously. You were like this in that other world too, but Commander, you really are a monster. In every way."

"Is that so."

The truth was, Kang Jae-ha had given Ha Yeon-ji and Go Chun-seok a rough idea of how 'MEG' would operate going forward and where it was headed, but he hadn't laid out every detail of his future blueprint.

It wasn't that he was hiding it.

The future design mapped out in Jae-ha's head was so vast and sprawling that he simply hadn't bothered to explain it piece by piece.

'It's actually better for them to peel back the layers one at a time.'

It had been the same back in his Mercenary Corps days. Simple commands were easier to give and easier for subordinates to carry out. Although he had told quite a bit to Lee Chan-hoo, the figurehead CEO.

In any case, Kang Jae-ha continued speaking to Ha Yeon-ji, returning to the topic of the entertainment company he intended to buy.

"Ultimately, 'MEG' will be the control tower."

Ha Yeon-ji answered quickly.

"Of course. The 'MEG' Group? Something like that? You'll be thinking about more than just entertainment, too. But are you going to buy them all the way you're buying the entertainment company?"

"Some I'll buy, some I won't. Things change as you go. I'll decide each one as it comes up. With entertainment, buying makes more sense, time-saving and all."

"Yeah, that tracks. The ones you've got your hands on right now, Yoon Da-yeon, An Ji-hee. There could be more added on top of them, right? Starting an entertainment company from scratch and slotting them in would be a hassle. The timing wouldn't line up either. Buying one that's already got its frame in place and running it makes way more sense."

As expected of Ha Yeon-ji, a journalist with decent intelligence, she caught on fast. Just as she said, starting an entertainment company from scratch would have been a poor choice for Kang Jae-ha. Setting up a new one wasn't a problem in itself, but the workload, starting from building the system, would balloon.

It was several times better to buy an entertainment company that already had its foundations laid and rebuild it.

'Yoon Da-yeon's contract is up this November, and An Ji-hee's was extended by a year, so she's up around early next year. Neither one has long left.'

Probably. No, it was a hundred percent certain. Riding the wave of this BIFF, Leon would offer Yoon Da-yeon and An Ji-hee renewed contracts. Or other entertainment companies were sure to start drooling over them too.

Of course, Kang Jae-ha had no intention of letting things play out that way.

A smile spread across Ha Yeon-ji's face as she asked Jae-ha,

"So then, the production company, film studio, agency, security firm, and so on that you mentioned in passing earlier, you're obviously going to set those up. Is there a chance you'll buy a media outlet too?"

"Why couldn't I."

From the start, Kang Jae-ha had pegged Ha Yeon-ji for that direction. As the one who would handle marketing and PR for the eventually massive 'MEG' faction. Watching Ha Yeon-ji brighten up, Kang Jae-ha thought to himself.

'It won't take that long. It's already been half a year since I started at Leon. At this rate, the three years that woman's voice mentioned will fly by too.'

That said, Jae-ha had no intention of staying tethered to the woman's voice or to Leon either.

'It's better to stay at Leon as long as it isn't a hassle, but it's up to me. I can quit whenever I want.'

Kang Jae-ha would gladly use the woman's voice or Leon or whatever else for all they were worth, but he was also a free spirit through and through.

In any case, Jae-ha was looking forward to seeing how big 'MEG' would have grown by the time he'd received all 25 billion won of his Pension. Ha Yeon-ji gave Kang Jae-ha a thumbs up.

"Anyway, I'll start looking into entertainment companies right away."

"How's it going with 'New Light Truth Church'."

"I'm still gathering intel, but nothing juicy has turned up yet. There hasn't been anything worth reporting, which is why I haven't."

"Won't be easy. If they were sloppy, they'd have been exposed long ago. Think long-term."

After murmuring this, Kang Jae-ha added another instruction.

"Also, I'll be telling Lee Chan-hoo this too, but the three of you should work together to dig up dirt on an actor."

Ha Yeon-ji's eyes sparkled.

"An actor? Who?"

"Woo Jeong-cheol."

The moment she heard Woo Jeong-cheol's name, Ha Yeon-ji tilted her head.

"Woo Jeong-cheol? That top-tier actor Woo Jeong-cheol?"

"Yeah. While you're digging into him, if anything fishy turns up, let me know right away."

Jae-ha nodded and continued, recalling the 'Deja Vu' he'd seen of Woo Jeong-cheol's drug scandal through Director Yu Gil-tae.

"Drugs, for example."

Several hours later. Inside a van running down the road.

Inside the speeding van, three familiar faces were aboard. In the driver's seat, the narrow-eyed Lee Chan-hoo. In the passenger seat, Cha Chung-hyeon. In the back, Go Chun-seok.

The mood was quiet.

"......"

"......"

Kang Jae-ha's subordinates weren't really making conversation. Meanwhile, Cha Chung-hyeon, gazing out the window, wondered what on earth this situation was. Out of nowhere, the Commander of a Mercenary Corps from another world had appeared, and now he was on his way to see the mother he'd been searching for all this time. Until that morning, it had been a turn of events he hadn't even imagined.

'Anyway.'

Scratching his chin, Cha Chung-hyeon shot a sidelong glance at Lee Chan-hoo, who was driving.

'How did he know my mother was on Jeju Island?'

When Jae-ha had asked where Cha Chung-hyeon's mother was, Lee Chan-hoo had given his answer in just a few seconds. Cha Chung-hyeon casually asked Lee Chan-hoo,

"...Hey, my mother. Is she really on Jeju Island?"

Lee Chan-hoo, eyes still on the road, answered with composure.

"Just go and see for yourself."

It wasn't a satisfying answer. Cha Chung-hyeon pressed with a more specific question.

"That, that's the 'ability', right?"

"Who knows. Just focus on seeing your mother."

Lee Chan-hoo was firm. It was the Commander's instruction. Don't give Cha Chung-hyeon any specific information. Either way, Cha Chung-hyeon decided, for now, to trust Kang Jae-ha and this situation. And then his heart began to pound.

'On Jeju... Island, then.'

He still wasn't sure, but if his mother really was on Jeju Island, what should he say to her the moment he saw her? It was less anticipation than something else. Something subtle that he couldn't put into words. He was both apprehensive and afraid, but he had no thought of stopping.

It felt like the only way he could keep moving forward was to actually meet that woman whom he could barely call mother.

And so Cha Chung-hyeon, Lee Chan-hoo, and Go Chun-seok arrived at the airport and boarded a plane. Before long, the three of them were flying through cloud-filled skies, and roughly an hour later, they touched down on Jeju and rented a car.

Even up to this point, the three of them, Lee Chan-hoo included, hadn't exchanged a word.

The closer they got to their destination, the more Cha Chung-hyeon's listless air hardened into something taut. Lee Chan-hoo drove for about two hours, and the three of them passed along a coastal road in the Seogwipo area with the sea in view. The car came to a stop in front of a quaint house with a clear view of the ocean.

-Whoosh.

Lee Chan-hoo parked the car and pointed out the window with his index finger.

"Over there."

"......"

Cha Chung-hyeon, expressionless, looked in the direction of the pointing finger and let out a small sigh. It was strange. Just moments ago his heart had felt like it might burst, but now that he'd actually arrived, he was surprisingly calm.

"I'll be back."

After murmuring this curtly, Cha Chung-hyeon got out of the car. He walked slowly toward the modest house surrounded by stone walls. Up close, he could see a middle-aged woman sitting in a small garden. She was wearing a hat to block the sun, so he couldn't make out her whole face, but the moment he saw her, Cha Chung-hyeon knew instinctively.

'It's her.'

That she was the mother who had abandoned him. She'd aged enough that her face was deeply lined with wrinkles, but somehow he just knew. Cha Chung-hyeon didn't say anything to her right away. As though time had stopped, he simply stood there looking at her.

By this point, Lee Chan-hoo and Go Chun-seok were watching from the car.

It was Go Chun-seok who spoke first. For some reason, his eyes had gone slightly red. As though he were watching a sad movie.

"What do you think he'll say."

Lee Chan-hoo flinched at the look on his face and pulled his head back slightly.

"What the, are you crying?"

"No. My nose just stings a little."

"What for, all of a sudden."

"Just. It made me think of my grandmother."

Go Chun-seok was a monster on the job, but in private he seemed surprisingly soft, and Lee Chan-hoo, finding that side of him a novelty, turned his eyes back to the front and answered.

"I really can't imagine what he'd say. It's not even like he can comfortably call her... 'mom'."

It was at that moment that Cha Chung-hyeon spoke to the woman who was his mother.

"Excuse me."

The next afternoon. Seoul. The 'MEG' office.

Kang Jae-ha could be found at the 'MEG' office. He stepped into the still-empty office where none of his subordinates had arrived yet. Today he wore a hat. Once he reached the office, Jae-ha sank into the seat by the window, the one usually occupied by Lee Chan-hoo. Soon he was looking out at the view.

"Feels like it's been a while, doesn't it. Seoul."

In fact, it really had been. It was nearly ten days since he'd been back.

For reference, Kang Jae-ha had returned to Seoul from Busan that morning. The Busan International Film Festival schedule had wrapped up. The same went, of course, for the 'Condensation' team and Yoon Da-yeon and An Ji-hee. The BIFF schedule had been long and grueling, so everyone, Kang Jae-ha included, had been given about two days of leave.

That would have been Leon Entertainment's doing. Or rather, CEO Han Tae-sung's instruction.

Even so, Kang Jae-ha had no intention of resting. Even in this moment, his mind was busy turning, and there was plenty he had to take care of.

It was then.

-Bzzzt, bzzzzzt.

The phone he'd set on the desk gave off a long vibration. Checking the caller, it was a recently saved subordinate. Cha Chung-hyeon, no less.

A faint smile crossed Jae-ha's face as he brought the phone to his ear.

"Yeah."

On the other end, Cha Chung-hyeon's voice was noticeably lighter than before.

"Commander, the vault manager's back in Seoul... Where should I head?"

Around this time. Oh Jong-man's rented workspace.

The fierce-looking Oh Jong-man sat in his chair, staring intently at his laptop screen. His expression was a mix of many emotions. There was joy and surprise, but also something like envy.

"Incredible."

It was understandable. What he was looking at were articles about the Busan International Film Festival, which the press and public were still buzzing about. There were plenty of names he recognized.

Yoon Da-yeon, Leon Entertainment. And even Lee Chan-hoo.

Above all, Kang Jae-ha had left the strongest impression on him.

'As expected of Manager-nim. He really is different from the managers I know. His instincts, his eye for things.'

Whatever the case, the 'Condensation' team had walked away with three awards at BIFF, no less. Oh Jong-man, originally an actor, smiled bitterly for some reason.

'This kind of thing...... was what I'd wanted for myself.'

His past, when he'd been actively working as a supporting actor, flashed through Oh Jong-man's mind. The Busan International Film Festival. To one day stand on a stage that big and take home an award had been Oh Jong-man's goal as an actor. But the incident had shattered everything to pieces.

Even now, having pivoted to being a rookie writer, the scent of the actor still lingered on Oh Jong-man.

It couldn't be helped.

He'd lived far more days as an actor than as a writer. Even so, Oh Jong-man, who now had to walk the writer's path, forced himself to shake his head and tame the feelings rising up in him.

"It's still a stretch, but I just have to make it to the big stage as a writer instead of an actor. I can do it."

Steeling himself, Oh Jong-man closed the article he'd been reading and let out a long breath. He was trying to refocus on writing. At that very moment.

-♬♪

His phone, sitting next to the laptop, let out a ringtone. With a writer's eye now back on, Oh Jong-man picked up the phone without much thought, and the screen showed an unsaved number. Tilting his head slightly, he brought the phone to his ear.

"Yes, hello."

On the other end of the line came a high-pitched voice. It was a woman.

"Hello, Writer Jong-man-nim?"

"Who??"

"Huh? You're not Writer Jong-man-nim?"

Writer Jong-man? For a moment, having forgotten that 'Writer Jong-man' was himself, Oh Jong-man snapped to attention.

"Ah! Ah!!! Yes, I'm Writer Jong-man, that's me."

"Pleased to meet you! We're Netflix Korea!"

The instant he heard "Netflix Korea", Oh Jong-man shot to his feet.

"Yes, Netflix??"

The woman on the other end of the line answered with energy.

"Huh...... really?"

"Yes! Writer-nim!"

The woman on the other side of the line spoke again to Oh Jong-man, whose face suggested he was wondering whether this was a dream.

"You'll need to come by Netflix Korea. When would be a good time for you, Writer Jong-man-nim?"

It was his first meeting, not as an actor, but as an unknown writer.

*****

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