Chapter 104: Acceleration (6)

Translator: Dreamscribe

Articles about master director Yu Gil-tae's new film 'Mask of Murder' began piling up across the film press.

《New Yu Gil-tae Film Fully Funded by a Single Investment Firm, Industry Reaction "Highly Unusual"》

《[MoviePick] Yu Gil-tae Chooses Sole Investment Over a Bidding War Among Chungmuro Investors, 'Mask of Murder' Charting Its Own Course From the Start》

《On Reports of a Sole Investment Firm Going All In on Yu Gil-tae's New Film, Production Company 'Dal Pictures' Says "The Sole Investment Is Real"》

Part of it was media play started by master director Yu Gil-tae and the production company 'Dal Pictures', but this mood was rumors that had circulated through the film world for quite a while now finally breaking the surface.

The rumor that a Yu Gil-tae film, the kind investment firms lined up for, had exactly one investor.

In other words, this was about 'MEG'.

An investment firm that had poured money, alone, into a single film, and not just any film, but one by a director counted among the country's greats. Measured against the current state of the film market, this went beyond unusual; it was practically unheard of.

So naturally, it made noise.

'Dal Pictures', the production company behind 'Mask of Murder', had officially confirmed the sole investment. Articles were churned out fast after that, and the film industry was buzzing about nothing but 'Mask of Murder'.

"Man- the rumors were going around, but 'Mask of Murder' is really going with a sole investment??"

"Sole investment...... I was sure it was just a tabloid rumor, but it's real? Who the hell is it? I don't care if it's a Yu Gil-tae film, who funds a movie solo in this day and age?"

"When was the last sole investment I saw?? So long ago I can't even remember. If it flops they eat the whole thing. How much nerve does that take?"

"I'm curious, does it say anywhere which firm went all in??"

"No article says exactly who."

Still, the name 'MEG' hadn't yet clearly broken the surface. Which only made the film world more curious.

Just what kind of investment firm had bankrolled a Yu Gil-tae film all by itself?

Soon speculation was everywhere.

"Didn't Yu Gil-tae just set up his own investment firm and bet on himself?"

"No way. This is definitely a big investor-distributor tie-up. Guaranteed."

"No, no. Deals like this are usually foreign money. Chinese capital, something like that."

"Ah, Chinese capital. I'll put a vote there too. These days they're sniffing around everywhere, not just film."

In the end, even foreign money came up.

But it wasn't long before Yu Gil-tae's side overturned every guess on the market. They announced officially who the sole investor was.

《'Mask of Murder' Production Company Dal Pictures Says "The Sole-Investment Running Mate Is 'MEG', We'll Make a Good Film"》

With the name 'MEG' now out in the open, the film press moved even faster.

《The Investment Firm 'MEG' That Solely Funded 'Mask of Murder'... A Closer Look Reveals a 'Jackpot' Track Record!》

Mentions of 'MEG' began multiplying at a startling rate.

Meanwhile.

"Hello! I'm An Ji-hee, and I'll act my heart out so I don't drag the work down! It's a pleasure to work with you all!"

The actors' introductions were in full swing. Still, having Oh Jong-man's presence out in the open, the charged air lingered. Even as they delivered their introductions, the actors kept sneaking glances at Oh Jong-man, minding him.

'The second this reading ends I'm going to talk to Oh Jong-man!'

'What is this, what is this, this is way too interesting.'

Of course it would be a novelty.

Even a heavyweight like director Baek Jeong-ha was seeing a case like this for the first time; how much more the actors? In any case, the various introductions finished, and the turn came to Oh Jong-man, writer and actor both.

-Swish.

Oh Jong-man, whose harsh features looked even harsher for the excess trembling, spoke in a heavy voice.

Applause rang out. About half the actors clapping meant it; the other half were still working through the novelty or the shock. As he took his seat, Oh Jong-man was flooded with feeling.

'Oh, come on. What's this. My nose is stinging.'

If he let his guard down for a second his eyes would go red. It wasn't strange. In that moment, everything from the incident in his past through the hellish years since had flashed by like a panorama.

'This is a moment that never would have happened if I hadn't become a writer.'

Oh Jong-man could predict it all too easily. If he hadn't turned to writing, he'd still be shut out completely by the industry and the public, living days like torture with fingers pointed at him. And yet here he was, being applauded as the writer, and the actor, of a project launching on Netflix, no less.

It was, without exaggeration, a moment out of a dream.

Forcing back the redness in his eyes, Oh Jong-man thought again of Kang Jae-ha.

'He's my savior. A manager like that is hard to find in this world. No, he doesn't exist.'

Shifting his gaze slightly, Oh Jong-man met eyes with Jae-ha, who sat off to the side clapping plainly. Kang Jae-ha answered with a faint smile. Oh Jong-man dipped his head a little.

'Thank you, truly. For seeing what I was.'

Once the actors' introductions were over, director Baek Jeong-ha called a five-minute break, apparently having something to go over with Oh Jong-man and Executive Director Heo Seong-jin.

That was when new figures entered the reading room.

Slit-eyed Lee Chan-hoo, there as Oh Jong-man's agency, and a woman in a mask. The woman with the long, purple-tinted hair was Choi Ri-na, the music director on the 'One-Act Drama Project'.

'What is this! What is this! This is so cool!! Ah! It's the Commander!'

She fired a look at Commander Kang Jae-ha with those sparkling eyes. But Kang Jae-ha didn't spare so much as a glance for his subordinates, Lee Chan-hoo or Choi Ri-na.

"......"

At that, Lee Chan-hoo let out a small laugh.

'Glad to see us and pretending otherwise.'

He swept his eyes once around the reading room. Among the many actors and key staff, certain figures stood out. Oh Jong-man, An Ji-hee. And himself and Choi Ri-na. Those four were indispensable to the 'One-Act Drama Project'.

'Every one of them touched by the Commander's hand. At this point the Commander is practically running this 'One-Act Drama Project' himself.'

It was Kang Jae-ha who had pushed the 'One-Act Drama Project' hard in the first place.

'Everything's in the palm of the Commander's hand, isn't it?'

Just then, director Baek Jeong-ha, her skin dry and dull, came over to Choi Ri-na with a faint smile.

"Music Director, once the reading's done let's go over the tracks you've finished recording."

"Ah! Yes!"

"They melt your ears. The public's going to love them, no question."

While the two of them talked, Oh Jong-man walked over to Kang Jae-ha, the man ignoring his subordinates. With so many eyes around they exchanged the appropriate pleasantries, and before Oh Jong-man returned to his seat, Kang Jae-ha murmured low and plain.

"You're here as an actor too, sure, but being the writer is the main thing, so throw your weight around as a writer properly. Don't read the room."

"......Yes, understood."

She seemed nervous, but the moment the acting started An Ji-hee sank straight into a world of her own.

"I, I have a talent for murder? Wait, what kind of nonsense is that?? Do you even know me?"

An agitated line. But she took the force out of the stresses and worked in just enough wit. Even in a reading, she stayed attentive to expression and delivery. It had been the same at the audition; watching An Ji-hee act, director Baek Jeong-ha was impressed all over again.

'No matter how many times I watch, this girl can act. She feels grounded and somehow you never tire of her, she pulls you in. And an actress like that spent years bouncing around as an idol trainee.'

'The one manager who spotted An Ji-hee's potential while she was left to rot and pulled her out. He's a godsend. A real godsend.'

'It wasn't a fluke. Yoon Da-yeon too, he's got a sharp eye. It's been quite a while since I've seen a manager who actually does the job.'

Then An Ji-hee's scene ended and the lead actor playing opposite her delivered his line.

"Ji-hyun, pull yourself together. What's with you lately? You're like a ghost."

At that, someone cut his acting off.

"Hold on."

It wasn't director Baek Jeong-ha. It was Oh Jong-man.

"That's not the emotion."

"Sorry??"

"There's too much interest loaded into the line. It has to be blunter, colder, more like he's dealing with a stranger."

"......Ah- Yes, sunbaenim. I mean, Writer-nim."

At being told his analysis was wrong, the mood in the reading room dropped in an instant. But director Baek Jeong-ha, apparently in agreement, didn't touch Oh Jong-man about it, and Kang Jae-ha, chin still propped on his hand, lifted the corner of his mouth where no one could see.

'Not bad. He's starting to look like a writer.'

Somewhere along the way, just as Jae-ha had advised.

"A little more dry with the emotion, please, from the top."

"Yes, Writer-nim."

Oh Jong-man had begun giving off the air of a proper writer.

That same night, an empty lot near 'MEG'.

An empty lot with little foot traffic. A familiar place. Kang Jae-ha and Ryu Hyuk had met here once before. Into that empty lot stepped a big-framed man with piercing eyes. Thud, thud. His stride was calm and confident.

It was Sato Shota, who had recently landed on Kang Jae-ha's radar.

The reason Sato Shota had shown up at this lot was simple. He'd arranged to meet the extraordinary man from yesterday's call, the one who claimed to be a comrade from the Mercenary Corps.

"Hoo-"

Letting out a small breath, he walked slowly into the lot, scanning his surroundings. Then he stopped short.

"......"

He'd spotted a woman standing over by the wooden bench. As he approached, she turned at the sound of him. The instant he saw her face, Sato Shota's eyes widened slightly.

"Ah-"

Because it was a face he knew, no question. The woman was a comrade from the Mercenary Corps. A skilled comrade from the Scout Unit. It was Ha Yeon-ji. She greeted Sato Shota in Japanese.

"Hey there?"

Slowly taking the hand she extended lightly, Sato Shota answered with a grim face.

"So you're one of us on this side too."

For a moment, Sato Shota recalled the Mercenary Corps days, when a fair number of mercenaries had swarmed around Ha Yeon-ji for her considerable looks.

'Pretty face, sure, but she's culled a truckload of targets with that face and sent them straight to the grave.'

To him, Ha Yeon-ji's image was a sharp blade inside a beautifully decorated scabbard.

'A dangerous one right out of the gate. Besides her, how many more are there......'

Tension surging, Sato Shota raised his guard to the maximum. Beyond Ha Yeon-ji standing before him, he ran quickly through who else might have crossed over into this world.

That was when it happened.

"You came."

From the bench behind the smiling Ha Yeon-ji came a flat male voice. Looking over, he saw the man who had called him out here, seated with his legs crossed. It was Kang Jae-ha, masked, wearing face A.

"Sit. Don't just stand there."

At the fluid Japanese thrown his way, Sato Shota shook his head.

"I'm fine here. No problem talking like this."

"Fine, then."

While Sato Shota glared at Jae-ha with all the gravity in the world, Kang Jae-ha, legs still crossed, spoke as if it were nothing.

"Before I get to the point, let me ask you one thing. It's simple."

"What."

"Sato Shota, you're a Kamijo Yuu fan, aren't you. And not just any fan, a hardcore fan."

"......?"

What did he just hear? Sato Shota blinked, systems crashed. Then, snapping back all at once, he shouted in a voice drenched in panic.

"Wh, wh-wh-what are you talking about! That's ridiculous! It's not true!"

Watching Sato Shota stammer, Kang Jae-ha turned his gaze to Ha Yeon-ji. Ha Yeon-ji, having used her 'ability', grinned and shook her head. Meaning Sato Shota's words were a lie. Then, meeting Sato Shota's eyes again, Kang Jae-ha let out a small laugh.

"So it's true. A hardcore fan."

Sato Shota's face went red, and he took a step back.

*****

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