The Crazy Mercenary Commander Goes to Work in the Entertainment Industry

Translator: Dreamscribe

A man with cold eyes looking down at Yang Na-hee. Yang Na-hee didn't recognize him, but he was Commander Kang Jae-ha, who had switched to Face A using the Mask, his 'Ability'.

The well-built woman he was looking down at. No, Yang Na-hee was of course a subordinate from the Mercenary Corps.

"......"

Jae-ha looked down at Yang Na-hee, whose heart had stopped, then turned to leave.

'Phew, damn.'

Sure enough, his mood was foul. It was no different from how it had been with Kim Ho-yeon. No. This time was even more bullshit for Kang Jae-ha. If it had been possible, if there had been an opening, Jae-ha would have tried to exchange at least a few words with Yang Na-hee. But there had been no time, and Yang Na-hee's eyes had already gone.

She was worse than Kim Ho-yeon.

The look in her eyes, one that seemed to crave nothing but war and slaughter, a look Commander Kang Jae-ha knew all too well.

On top of that, the situation and the setting were bad too. People had swarmed in. In other words, there were far too many eyes watching, and it was no place for a conversation. Above all, it had been far too urgent. If his judgment or his execution had been even slightly slower, if he had hesitated even for a moment, innocent people would have been dying left and right.

Saving lives had to come first.

In the end, Kang Jae-ha had put on the Mask, and Yang Na-hee hadn't recognized her Commander.

'Yang Na-hee.'

Back in the Mercenary Corps days, Yang Na-hee had been part of the Assault Squad, standing at the vanguard of war alongside Go Chun-seok. She was a woman, but she was well-built, and her strength was extraordinary too.

'Probably... Yang Na-hee's 'Ability' was a similar type to Go Chun-seok's.'

Some kind of strength enhancement, or an 'Ability' of that sort.

Yang Na-hee, she was a war fanatic. In the Mercenary Corps, that wasn't a bad thing. No, if anything she'd been a prized asset. It was just that, compared to Go Chun-seok, her temperament was no better than a thug's, and she wasn't bright either. She gave the impression of a woman born for nothing but fighting. That ferocity grew fiercer by the day, and she had become a mercenary who craved only war, only battle.

"Tsk."

Recalling his Mercenary Corps days, Kang Jae-ha clicked his tongue even as he climbed the stairs, step after brisk step.

Behind him, people's screams and shouts still surged.

"Kyaaaaah!!"

"Police! Somebody call the police!!"

"Is that woman d-dead??!"

Because of it, the people heading down the stairs faltered. Before long, the police, and then onlookers, would come swarming in. Having dealt with the situation, Kang Jae-ha didn't stop walking. With no particular destination, he simply walked.

Because he had a lot on his mind.

He didn't bother calling in Lee Chan-hoo or any of his other subordinates. Nor would he tell them about this matter. It might only stir up needless anxiety. Of course, when they moved together he would have to get them properly into formation and put them to work, but this time it had been far too urgent, and there had been no need to involve the subordinates.

Kang Jae-ha ran a hand through his hair as he walked.

He'd switched tracks on his thoughts.

'For sure, when I saw Yang Na-hee, the woman's voice didn't come.'

Things concerning the Mask, his 'Ability'. Just as he'd known in advance, there was no announcement from the woman's voice, neither for Kang Jae-ha nor for Yang Na-hee. On top of that, Yang Na-hee hadn't recognized Commander Jae-ha. And so Yang Na-hee had attacked Kang Jae-ha, and because of 'Absolute Obedience' she had died instantly.

In other words, 'Absolute Obedience', the Perk, had triggered without a hitch even while he wore the Mask.

He hadn't intended it, but it had served as a test of the Mask, his 'Ability'.

Soon Kang Jae-ha murmured under his breath.

"Kim Ho-yeon, and now Yang Na-hee. That's two who couldn't adapt."

Two. It could be few, or it could be many. Yang Na-hee had probably been living solo, failed to adapt, and finally snapped. Kim Ho-yeon had been fairly intelligent and his ability had backed him up, so he'd planned out his killings, but Yang Na-hee wasn't that type, so she'd simply gone off.

'Sooner or later, more of them like this are very likely to keep showing up.'

Whether subordinates who blew up on their own, or bastards who had already formed teams or built organizations and were putting their 'Abilities' to use, such people might well exist. The more that was the case, the more useful the Mask, his 'Ability', became.

'Keeping my information hidden as much as possible is the right call.'

His face, of course, but if possible it was best that for now the subordinates not even know that the Commander existed at all. Even if they vaguely sensed it, being certain and merely suspecting were as far apart as heaven and earth. If there were any among the subordinates who had formed an organization, and if they were doing illegal things, or worse, in this world, that would become a bit of a headache.

Because the one who would be the biggest obstacle to them right now would, without question, be Commander Kang Jae-ha.

'As long as they don't turn hostile toward me, it's fine, but...'

Assuming they were out there committing slaughter and other violent crimes, they'd move to take out the Commander the second they laid eyes on him.

Kang Jae-ha had already brought a fair number of subordinates into the fold.

Taking them in was the baseline, and beyond that, he had them work at 'MEG' so he could manage their mental state. Of those, the combat-capable ones came down to about Lee Chan-hoo, Ha Yeon-ji, and Go Chun-seok. Well, the impact of Commander Kang Jae-ha himself, with his Perks and all, was devastating enough, but he couldn't do everything alone.

Kang Jae-ha stopped walking and murmured in a low voice.

"Right... the more combat manpower, the better. Or someone in that line of work."

And then Kang Jae-ha clenched his back teeth a little. Then he thought of Yang Na-hee. Then he was speaking to 'Deja Vu', or to the woman's voice.

If there was even a slight chance.

"Damn it, send the 'Deja Vu' a little earlier. So I can at least try to talk to them, whether they've lost their minds or not."

Because Jae-ha did have it in him to save any of his subordinates.

The next morning.

The Yang Na-hee incident that Kang Jae-ha had stopped broke into quite a few news articles the moment morning came.

《[Breaking] Knife Attack Occurs at Sinsa Station / Photo》

That said, fortunately, since there were no victims, the coverage didn't explode. Still, perhaps because it was a fairly shocking incident, reporters quickly relayed the news to the public.

《Nearly a Major Tragedy, Sinsa Station Knife Attack Suspect Dies at the Scene》

The incident that had nearly produced fatalities made the rounds quite a bit on social media and online communities. Thanks to the people who'd been at the scene, eyewitness accounts of Yang Na-hee spread fast, but there was no mention of Kang Jae-ha. To everyone, he'd probably come across as nothing more than a dangerous Bystander #1.

After checking the articles, Jae-ha returned to work once more.

At this same hour, over in the film world, news of 'House of the Daytime Moon' was making its way around.

《'House of the Daytime Moon' Finally Tops 6 Million Audience Count!》

《Another Record Broken! 'House of the Daytime Moon', Audience Count Tops 6 Million / Photo》

Because 'House of the Daytime Moon' had broken past 6 million in Audience Count. Well, it had given up the number-one Pre-sale Rate spot, and the film world generally projected the final figure for 'House of the Daytime Moon' to settle in the mid-to-high six millions. 'House of the Daytime Moon' was slowly losing momentum, but as a domestic animated film it had already posted a staggering record.

From here on, 'House of the Daytime Moon' would be talked about in the film world for a long, long time to come.

Around this point, Netflix Korea, in connection with the 'One-Act Drama Project' that was deep in pre-production, fired off audition calls to a host of agencies, Leon included. Naturally, calls reached Yoon Da-yeon and An Ji-hee too, and Kang Jae-ha passed the audition details along to them both.

"No need to put a lot of pressure on yourselves; just prepare a light bit of Free Acting. They'll be looking at acting ability, sure, but this is the kind of audition that's more about checking whether you fit the texture of the role."

Yoon Da-yeon and An Ji-hee each began preparing for the 'One-Act Drama Project' audition.

'This is good. It'll work not just in Japan but in Korea too.'

Next was 'Moonless Village', the animated film Director Hong Man-seop had newly brought to the table.

Kang Jae-ha was satisfied with this one too. No, not just satisfied.

'This one I absolutely have to make.'

It got him itching to produce it. 'Moonless Village' was a spin-off version of 'House of the Daytime Moon', yet the screenplay had been crafted so well that it could be enjoyed even without having seen 'House of the Daytime Moon'. And at the same time, it firmly held on to the flavor of 'House of the Daytime Moon': the action, the strong characters, the occult, all of it.

Kang Jae-ha's anticipation swelled.

'The quality of all these new projects to produce is seriously high.'

Because the future of the various works set to pass through his hands was exceedingly bright. Well, and there were things he already knew in advance through 'Deja Vu', too.

Meanwhile, over at Netflix Korea, the same place that had sent out the audition calls, Oh Jong-man's contract had been finalized.

"Hahaha, thank you."

"Yes, I look forward to working with you."

The one running the show was Lee Chan-hoo, and the one shaking his hand was the bald Executive Director Heo Seong-jin. Oh Jong-man's already harsh features had grown even more severe, not from scowling, but out of sheer astonishment.

'Th-this contract actually went through??'

Because most of the terms Kang Jae-ha had negotiated for Oh Jong-man, triple the Writing Fee and Performance Fee, a Next Work contract, and so on, had been accepted. And of course, Jae-ha's plan for how to unveil Oh Jong-man to the public had been adopted as well.

"I'm really looking forward to the day the 'One-Act Drama Project' is revealed, you know?"

"So am I."

Then, having finished shaking hands with Lee Chan-hoo, Executive Director Heo Seong-jin turned to a dumbfounded Oh Jong-man with a request.

"Writer-nim, let's get started on your Next Work, the full-length drama."

Oh Jong-man also had to appear in the 'One-Act Drama Project' as an actor, so acting practice came as a bonus on top of it all. But. Nodding hard, as if to say he could pull it off, Oh Jong-man answered.

"Yes, I'm already working on the Synopsis as it is!"

27th, around lunchtime.

The place was the inside of an officetel with roughly two rooms. Two rooms, but overall it wasn't a particularly large space, and into an officetel like that, a crowd of people came pouring in. [TL Note: An officetel is a Korean studio-style unit used as both a residence and an office; here it serves as the group's dorm.]

The ones who entered were five women.

Every one of them had her own distinct charm, and they all looked young. The moment the women came into the officetel they set down their bags, and after them, a man standing by the shoe rack spoke up to them.

"Good work today, and since there's nothing on the schedule this week, get some rest."

"Huh? I thought you said we had a Music Show tomorrow?"

"...Ah, that got cancelled. And we'll be clearing out this dorm before long, so start packing your things."

"We're moving dorms?"

"Yeah. I'll let you know again once it's confirmed."

His piece said curtly, the man left the officetel. By the feel of it, the five women looked like idols. And in fact they were a newcomer Girl Group. 'Kisera', the newcomer Girl Group that Leon Entertainment had just debuted.

'Kisera', the name that had come up from the mouths of Leon's executives and CEO Han Tae-sung, was none other than these women.

This was Kisera's dorm.

In any case, once the man left the dorm, the 'Kisera' members gathered around the living room table. None of their faces looked good. Among them, a member whose long blonde hair made her skin look all the whiter spoke up. She was Kisera's leader.

The member beside her widened her eyes into circles.

"What??! Where'd you hear that?"

"I happened to overhear the General Manager talking with Jun-mo oppa while he was having a smoke. They said the higher-ups are going to cut us loose."

"No way......"

Just as the mood turned sharply cold, two members who had been sitting there expressionless, wearing looks of plain indifference, rose smoothly to their feet. One had brown hair, the other a black short cut. Without bothering to say a word, the two members slipped off into separate rooms.

They were Kisera's Japanese and Chinese members.

The blonde leader, who had been watching the Japanese and Chinese members, let out a sharp sigh.

"Haah... don't those two even worry about it?"

The member next to her got teary-eyed.

"We just debuted......are we really just going to be thrown away?"

"Don't cry. What I overheard isn't even for certain."

"But...but, Jun-mo oppa just said they're taking the dorm away from us too."

The members did know that 'Kisera' had flopped. They knew, too, that the reactions of everyone from the General Manager to the manager teams had turned cold. The staff were probably weaning themselves off any attachment. Even so, the blonde leader, who had come all the way up from a Leon Entertainment Trainee to the debut lineup,

"It's okay. Let's try a little harder."

still had the look of someone who hadn't yet given up hope.

"Then they'll give us a real chance."

It was because she still didn't know how cold the world could be.

At this same hour.

A woman in a car cranked the wheel. It was Ha Yeon-ji, her brown hair twisted up and tied back. For some reason, she was tailing the car ahead of her. Shadowing someone? Or chasing a story? Either way, her expression was quite serious.

"......"

Keeping a close eye on the black SUV a few cars ahead, she followed it into a left turn. Soon the black SUV pulled, with practiced familiarity, into a cluster of enormous buildings. Stopping for a moment, Ha Yeon-ji read the large letters mounted on one of the buildings.

-Seoul Gangseo Police Station.

The moment she saw it, Ha Yeon-ji smiled faintly.

"Huh? So that one's a cop?"

She had just found a comrade.

*****

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