The Crazy Mercenary Commander Goes to Work in the Entertainment Industry

Translator: Dreamscribe

Ha Yeon-ji immediately grasped Commander Kang Jae-ha's instructions regarding the 'New Light Truth Church'.

"Ahh, so you want to drag the 'New Light Truth Church' out into the open first, plant a sense of alarm in the press and public opinion? And raise their profile while you're at it."

"Right. Those bastards are still being careful, keeping themselves buried deep, but once they're out in the open and getting chewed up from every direction, they'll hesitate even more. It'll put limits on their activities, too."

One of the weaknesses of a shady organization operating in the shadows was people's eyes and attention. They had to move as covertly as possible, but the moment their existence became known to large numbers of people, it was as if a colossal array of CCTV cameras went up in an instant.

Their movements and growth slowing exponentially was only natural.

And one way or another, restrictions and pressure piled on too.

"Of course, one round of going public won't bring the 'New Light Truth Church' down. But it'll take a hit. That much is enough."

Lee Chan-hoo chimed in.

"Oh, absolutely, absolutely. Just branding their existence into the public's mind would have them too busy watching their backs to function. Same goes for those moron followers wedged in there."

Ha Yeon-ji, arms folded, tossed out a question.

"But what if that just makes them hide even deeper?"

"They're already in hiding, and given the size of the organization, no matter how they try to bury themselves, can they really conceal all of it? From the moment it goes public, it's like trying to cover the whole sky with the palm of your hand."

"Oh, since when do you know fancy phrases like that?"

"I'm a bit more educated than you, Ha Yeon-ji."

"You still walking around with the price tag still on your suit?"

"I'll say it again: lose the chest padding."

Around the time war broke out between Ha Yeon-ji and Lee Chan-hoo, Cha Chung-hyeon, stifling a small yawn, spoke to Kang Jae-ha with a measure of gravity.

"Solid as they look... shady types like that can't have real cohesion. Mmm, once word of them spreads, confusion will brew internally. Even if they hide, it could be easier to catch their tail."

Go Chun-seok nodded solemnly.

"Agreed."

Kang Jae-ha looked around at his subordinates and nodded.

'And someone else will pull the trigger.'

In reality, the true mastermind was none other than Kang Jae-ha himself. Then Ha Yeon-ji, who'd sidled up beside the Commander, murmured.

"True, we were going to have to shake them up at some point anyway. You shake something, and that's when the froth rises and all that."

Jae-ha let out a small snort of a laugh.

"And when the froth settles, it leaves a stain."

Interest welled in Ha Yeon-ji's eyes as she jotted something in her planner.

"I'll make the rounds of the news outlets, dive right in, and within a few days I'll blow this thing wide open in spectacular fashion."

Midday, the 8th.

Now that the first round of investment funds had come in, the team behind Director Yu Gil-tae's new film, 'Mask of Murder', began to pick up the pace. They filled the spot left by Woo Jeong-cheol, who'd plunged to rock bottom, with a new top actor, and the master, Director Yu Gil-tae, dove straight into treatment and storyboard work off the screenplay.

All the while, he juggled set construction and location scouting as well.

Since there'd been that incident, the schedule had been delayed, so Director Yu Gil-tae split his time more finely than ever. On top of that, 'Dal Pictures', the film company producing 'Mask of Murder', gradually resumed its media play.

《[MovieIS] Master Director Yu Gil-tae's New Film: Has Production Begun in Earnest? Fans Already Buzzing》

《Top Actors Lining Up One After Another: Director Yu Gil-tae's Next Project Boasts a Star-Studded Cast / Photos》

That said, as promised, there was still no mention of Yoon Da-yeon. And the fact that 'MEG' was the solo investor was still under wraps. Well, it was only a matter of time. There was no way they'd waste a story this juicy. When the time came, they'd toss it to the press.

But here was the funny part: rumors were indeed already circulating throughout the film world.

"You know Director Yu Gil-tae's new film? There's talk the investment's a solo deal."

"What? A solo investment on a Yu Gil-tae project?? Does that even make sense? Which investment firm?"

"How would I know. It's just a rumor."

"Come on... gotta be baseless. We're talking the Yu Gil-tae here, not some random director. Solo investment, no way."

"I think so too, but there's something off. With a name as big as Yu Gil-tae, word about which firm's backing it would've spread ages ago, but it's been quiet, you know?"

Without the leisure to mind any of that, Director Yu Gil-tae, having checked on the progress of the set construction,

"Hmm."

pushed up his round glasses and weighed the future.

"At this pace, we should be able to crank in (start filming) within December."

Meanwhile.

Over at Leon Entertainment, Kang Jae-ha sat at his desk, studying something with considerable focus. It was the profiles of the 'Kisera' members. He'd already watched their stage performances and had a rough grasp of their skills. He'd drawn up the rebuilding plan, too.

Now all that remained was execution.

'To start with... it begins with swapping members out.'

Murmuring inwardly, Kang Jae-ha sorted the 'Kisera' members' profiles. Splitting them into a survival group and a release group. Three for survival, two for release.

They called it release, but it was as good as a death sentence.

A death sentence? Kang Jae-ha, who already had experience with this, once again volunteered to play the villain. Well, he was the right one to do it, anyway. After all, it was Jae-ha who'd taken on the role of interim team leader for the 'Kisera Rebuilding Project'.

Soon, Kang Jae-ha summoned to Leon the two 'Kisera' members on whom he'd pass the death sentence.

They were the Japanese and Chinese members.

Meeting each of them separately with an interpreter, Kang Jae-ha spoke to the two members straight, with no beating around the bush.

"'Kisera' is going to go through a lot of changes from here on. But it's been decided that we won't be continuing together with you."

The mood of this death sentence was heavier than the ones he'd delivered before. The Japanese and Chinese members weren't trainees, after all; they'd already debuted as 'Kisera'. But Kang Jae-ha carried on with the death sentence, unfazed.

'With something like this, a straight pitch beats talking in circles.'

He cut out the rotten branches first. Of course, Kang Jae-ha wasn't passing the death sentence on the two of them based on that one stage performance alone. He'd taken everything into account, from Kisera's activities to the reactions of what few fans they had.

'At some point, these two lost their drive.'

Outside of music shows, live streams, and fan interactions, the Japanese and Chinese members' expressions were poor. They didn't give their best to the fans they did have, few as they were. That current carried all the way to the stage, dragging the energy down.

'They must've sensed Kisera was going to fail.'

As proof of that, the Japanese and Chinese members showed little emotion upon hearing the death sentence. The Japanese member was a bit surprised but soon took it in stride, while the Chinese member wore an expression of complete indifference.

Whatever the case, the death sentence for the two members ended just like that.

Now 'Kisera' was three instead of five, and Kang Jae-ha would have to fill the gap left by the missing two himself. On his way back to Team 4, Kang Jae-ha thought about what came next.

'I should pay the training center a visit.'

Leon's training center, where the New Talent Development Team raised its idol trainees. Jae-ha planned to swing by there before anything else, soon enough.

Back in Team 4, Kang Jae-ha had no sooner sat down than,

-Swish.

he began running through Choi Ri-na's songs again. Naturally, this was part of the work for Kisera's rebuilding. His plan was to set aside at least three tracks for the next single.

That was when it happened.

-Buzz, buzzzzz.

Kang Jae-ha's phone, in the middle of all his work, spat out a long vibration. It was a call, the caller ID showing an unknown number. Jae-ha picked up, thinking nothing of it.

"Yes, this is Kang Jae-ha."

A man's voice came through from the other end.

"Hello, Manager Kang Jae-ha-nim."

"May I ask where you're calling from?"

"This is LN Entertainment."

LN Entertainment? It was an agency Kang Jae-ha knew well. How could he not? It was a major conglomerate agency ranked in the country's top five. But why on earth would an agency like LN Entertainment be calling him? Just as Kang Jae-ha was mulling it over, the man on the other end of the phone spoke again.

"I'll get straight to the point. Our CEO Seo Hyun-su-nim of LN Entertainment wants you, Manager Kang-nim."

CEO Seo Hyun-su. Like CEO Han Tae-sung, he was a well-known figure in the industry. Jae-ha asked back, a touch dryly.

"Is this a scouting offer?"

"That's right. I'd like to meet and talk it over."

A scouting offer, arriving from the conglomerate LN Entertainment. Kang Jae-ha gave his chin a slow scratch.

'CEO Seo Hyun-su over at LN Entertainment, huh...'

The offer itself wasn't all that surprising to him. After all, he'd been getting similar calls here and there lately. Right now, more than the offer itself, Jae-ha found himself curious about LN Entertainment as a company.

'I had a feeling we'd brush up against each other at some point.'

Leon Entertainment's current growth was a boon to Kang Jae-ha. And the word was that Leon was right on the verge of breaking into the top five. Looked at that way, LN Entertainment was naturally a direct competitor to Leon.

And to 'MEG', of course.

'It wouldn't hurt to meet up and dig out some information while I'm at it.'

This was an approach Kang Jae-ha had always employed back in the mercenary corps as well. Before any war, whoever the opponent might be, lock down as much intel as possible first.

'Sure, I'm not about to wage war on LN Entertainment, but information always finds a use down the line, one way or another.'

The corner of Kang Jae-ha's mouth curled up slightly as he gave a rough answer into the phone.

"Understood. Let's meet, then."

Seemingly satisfied, the man on the other end answered right away.

"Oh, great. How about today?"

"No. I'm a bit busy these next few days, so it won't work."

"...Sorry? Manager Kang-nim, you did catch that we're LN Entertainment, right?"

"I heard you. This week's tough, but next week works. If that's a problem, then there's nothing to be done."

"......Understood. We'll see you next week, then."

Kang Jae-ha felt no particular loss either way.

The next morning, Seoul Gangseo Police Station.

A man with short hair walked into Criminal Investigation Team 2. Heavy facial lines, a solidly built frame, on the whole. It was Ryu Hyuk, the new comrade Ha Yeon-ji had recently discovered.

He let out a small sigh and dropped heavily into his seat.

"Haa..."

Documents from his recent investigations lay scattered in a jumble across his desk, and he picked one photo out from among them. Looking at the slick, shifty-faced man in the photo, Ryu Hyuk clicked his tongue.

"Where the hell is this bastard."

The fellow detective beside him snickered.

"Still haven't found him? That jeonse fraudster." [TL Note: jeonse is Korea's lump-sum rental deposit system, paid up front instead of monthly rent.]

"Yeah."

"Bastard must've buried himself good."

"Did this bastard skip the country??"

"If he did, that's a real headache."

Just then.

-Thwack!

An older-looking man appeared out of nowhere and smacked Ryu Hyuk upside the head with a wad of papers in his hand.

"You little shit! You still haven't caught that bastard??!"

"......"

"Slow as molasses, the lot of you. Catch him already, chop chop. How long are you gonna keep dragging your feet on that one bastard's case? We're drowning in cases here!"

He gave Ryu Hyuk's head another whack with the wad of papers.

"This Ryu Hyuk, huh, used to be such a hard worker, but lately you've gone completely slack?? Get your act together, you little shit."

In that instant, Ryu Hyuk felt something black surge up in his chest. Then he glared at the old man who'd hit him over the head. It had been this way for a while now. To be exact, ever since he'd opened his eyes again in this world. Craving something, fiercely, ferociously.

Beatings, slaughter, that sort of thing.

But as always, Ryu Hyuk reined himself in. He lowered his glaring eyes and calmly pushed down the black surge. But.

'The frequency's gone up a bit lately.'

The number of times something like that desire surfaced had been rising recently. It was as Ryu Hyuk took a small, deep breath.

Someone entered Criminal Investigation Team 2.

-Swish.

It was a man, his eyes cold. He spoke toward the detectives.

"Is Detective Ryu Hyuk here?"

Ryu Hyuk, mid-breath, turned to look, while the old man and the fellow detective slipped out of Criminal Investigation Team 2, saying they were going for a smoke. Looking at the cold-eyed man who'd just walked in, Ryu Hyuk cocked his head inwardly.

'What, who's this guy.'

For the moment, Ryu Hyuk answered offhandedly. His tone dead stiff.

"What brings you in?"

The man, who'd moved up in front of Ryu Hyuk before he knew it, tossed out another question.

"Detective Ryu Hyuk-nim?"

Increasingly thinking, 'What's with this guy?', Ryu Hyuk furrowed his brow.

"Yes, that would be me."

Then the cold-eyed man's expression shifted ever so slightly. A faint smile.

"A mercenary who used to hack and tear, working as a detective. How amusing."

"!!!"

Ryu Hyuk's eyes went wide, as if they might burst.

It was then.

To the cold-eyed man. No, to Kang Jae-ha, a woman's voice came. Quite out of the blue.

【Hello, Kang Jae-ha-nim.】

But his expression barely changed. He was keeping it in check. Inwardly, though, he was fairly startled.

'Out of nowhere?'

Whether he liked it or not, the woman's voice, hushed yet gentle, went on echoing by Jae-ha's ear.

【You have encountered your 8th Ally (Subordinate) within the Segment 2 you've entered.】

【You have been continuously maintaining your encounters with allies (subordinates), and an 'Additional Perk' is hereby granted to Kang Jae-ha-nim.】

After the 'Ability' Mask, yet another Additional Perk had popped up.

*****

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