Chapter 119: New Year (3)

Translator: Dreamscribe

Sensing, the 'Ability' Kang Jae-ha had newly acquired. The moment he used it, a human figure stained red appeared in Jae-ha's field of vision. Which meant the Sensing he'd cast out with no real expectations had snagged a new subordinate.

Soon Kang Jae-ha's eyes settled into calm, and he murmured under his breath.

"There's one, here."

When the Commander abruptly stopped walking, Lee Chan-hoo, who'd been a step ahead, turned and cocked his head.

"Commander? Somethin' wrong??"

After a moment of silence, Kang Jae-ha answered.

"There's a new subordinate, here."

Narrow-eyed Lee Chan-hoo opened his eyes as wide as they would go.

"...Huh? Where?"

Kang Jae-ha pointed upward with his index finger.

"Upstairs, I think."

"Upstairs?"

Lee Chan-hoo looked at Jae-ha, then tilted his face toward the ceiling. Was he saying there was a comrade on the ground floor? Slowly lowering the face he'd raised, Lee Chan-hoo thought to himself.

'Found him with the 'Ability', then.'

Some time back, Kang Jae-ha had explained his newly acquired 'Ability', Sensing, to his key subordinates, Lee Chan-hoo included. Already having a rough grasp of how Sensing worked, Lee Chan-hoo felt a slight tension rise in him.

'A comrade, after all this time. What kind of guy is he?'

It was the first comrade to surface since Sato Shota. Was he someone with his head screwed on straight? Or maybe his eyes had gone wild. Either way, it had been nearly a year since the Commander and the rest of the Mercenary Corps had opened their eyes again in this world.

'Adjustment's pretty much done by now, for better or worse.'

Of course, there had to be comrades still living on a knife's edge. Still forcing down the scent of slaughter that surged up in them moment to moment. Choi Ri-na alone was proof of it; her PTSD had held on for almost a year.

Just then, Kang Jae-ha murmured flatly to Lee Chan-hoo.

"We confirm, but we stay careful. No way to know what kind of man he is."

"Got it."

"You have a mask?"

"In the car."

"Wear it,"

"And you, Comman- ah, right, you can just change your face."

"That's right. Go put it on."

Lee Chan-hoo nodded and moved off at a quick pace. While he went to the car, Kang Jae-ha changed his face using the 'Ability', Mask. Not General Manager Kim Ha-jae. Just whatever came to mind, thrown together at random. He meant to change it back soon enough anyway.

Then.

-Swish.

Lee Chan-hoo reappeared wearing the mask, looked at Kang Jae-ha, and smiled faintly.

"Hm- nice. An ordinary face you'd see anywhere."

Leaving Lee Chan-hoo and his black mask behind him, Kang Jae-ha stepped off first.

"We're going up."

The two took the stairs instead of the elevator. It was a hotel, so plenty of people were using the elevators. Soon Kang Jae-ha reached the lobby floor and slowly turned his head.

He triggered Sensing once more.

In an instant, the red-stained human figure from before surfaced in his vision. Over toward the hotel entrance that led into the lobby. Kang Jae-ha's gaze came to rest on the entryway, where a revolving door stood alongside a set of automatic doors.

Even now, a steady flow of people came and went through the entrance.

'Not them.'

What Kang Jae-ha watched closely were the suited guards stationed around the entrance. Roughly four of them stood there, and Jae-ha fixed his eyes on the tallest man among them.

'That's him.'

He was facing away, so his face couldn't be confirmed yet, but there was no question that man was the one Sensing had caught. Tall, solidly built, shoulders broad as a doorframe. Set against the other guards, his physique stood out in a way that was hard to miss. Still, from the back alone, Jae-ha couldn't immediately pin down which of his subordinates he was.

Lee Chan-hoo pressed in close to Jae-ha and whispered.

"You found him?"

Kang Jae-ha nodded and answered in a low voice.

"Yeah. The biggest one of the guards at the entrance."

Lee Chan-hoo's eyes moved fast, and he picked the man out right away.

"His build's definitely different. Shorter than Go Chun-seok, but he looks more packed. The back of him seems familiar, too."

Jae-ha started walking again and gave Lee Chan-hoo an order.

"You stay here."

"Will you be all right?"

"I'm just going to get a look at his face."

Kang Jae-ha's face was changed anyway. Whichever subordinate it turned out to be, he wouldn't recognize Jae-ha. Kang Jae-ha walked slowly toward the entrance. People brushed past him in numbers, but Jae-ha's gaze stayed fixed on the new subordinate's back.

And then.

-Swish.

Passing quietly through the revolving door, Kang Jae-ha turned his head to the right as if it were nothing at all. Four guards standing in a row, and among them Kang Jae-ha found the man who appeared to be his subordinate.

A square jaw, a sharp gaze, a blank expression that read as a threat.

The instant he saw him, Kang Jae-ha smiled faintly.

'It's him, all right.'

Because he was a Mercenary Corps subordinate, no doubt about it. For a moment, a handful of battlefields he'd crossed with that subordinate flickered through Kang Jae-ha's mind. The one who used to stand shoulder to shoulder with Go Chun-seok.

Then the man who looked to be the oldest of the guards spoke to Kang Jae-ha's subordinate. His tone was decidedly curt.

"Jang Tae-san ssi, are you angry about something?"

"...No, sir."

Jang Tae-san. Jae-ha now had the new subordinate's name, and the older guard went on.

"Look, a guard doesn't need to smile as a rule, but when a guest asks you something, you could at least soften your face. At a glance you look like you're about to pick a fight with the guests."

"I apologize."

"That damned apology of yours. You've been working here months already, Jang Tae-san ssi, and I've lost count of how many times I've heard you say sorry."

"...I apologize."

"Ugh, you're exhausting. Never mind, the shift change is almost here anyway, so go ahead and take your break, Jang Tae-san ssi."

"Understood."

Jang Tae-san bowed and turned a body that looked hard as stone. For a brief instant his eyes met Kang Jae-ha's, who stood by the revolving door watching him, but.

"......"

Naturally, he had no idea it was the Commander. He passed through the revolving door and moved away, and the grumbling older guard clicked his tongue.

"What good's a monster build if there's nowhere to use it? Gets under my skin every time I look at him."

The other guards around him snickered and took their own quiet digs at Jang Tae-san. Jae-ha watched them dryly, thought of Jang Tae-san, already out of sight, and murmured under his breath.

"A guard looking threatening isn't exactly a flaw. Well- something like bullying, I guess."

A short while later.

One of the several halls inside the hotel. Seventy percent of the hall was taken up by seats filled with dozens of reporters, and up front by the platform stood a long table with a huge poster for the 'One-Act Drama Project' hanging behind it. The Netflix Korea logo came as a bonus.

Soon the 'One-Act Drama Project' Production Press Conference began.

"Members of the press, please take your seats."

The MC with the handheld mic launched into his opening remarks, and the dozens of reporters with laptops and cameras at the ready licked their lips as they watched the platform ahead.

"Netflix Korea, and the 'One-Act Drama Project' has buzz of its own on top of that, and the cast lineup is stacked with juicy names."

"Right? Yoon Da-yeon coming back in style after being washed-up, An Ji-hee debuting at BIFF. Above all, Oh Jong-man."

"It's obvious everybody's going to treat the other actors as sideshows and zero in on Oh Jong-man. Me included."

Then, starting with Director Baek Jeong-ha, the main actors taking part in the 'One-Act Drama Project' filed in one after another. Among them were Yoon Da-yeon, An Ji-hee, and Oh Jong-man, of course.

-Swish.

Lined up in a row, the actors gave the reporters a brief bow. A barrage of flashes went off. Kang Jae-ha was watching the press conference from the back with Lee Chan-hoo. Once the actors' greetings were over, the MC put a question to Director Baek Jeong-ha, seated just to his left.

"Director Baek Jeong-ha, could we ask you for a brief explanation of the 'One-Act Drama Project'?"

Director Baek Jeong-ha nodded and briefed the reporters.

"The 'One-Act Drama Project' is a project that strings together fresh, entertaining One-Act Dramas and carries them over a long arc......"

Director Baek Jeong-ha's introduction to the work ran a few minutes. Next came the actors' turn. After the various actors had introduced themselves, the MC called for reporters with questions. All several dozen of them raised their hands.

"Yes, the reporter over there."

The female reporter who'd been called on spoke up.

"I'd like to ask Oh Jong-man a question. There was quite a major incident in your past, and I'm curious how you feel about returning now."

The arrow shot straight at Oh Jong-man. Nerves had made his already harsh face twice as forbidding. And for whatever reason, he shifted his gaze past the female reporter to the back of the hall. He was looking at Kang Jae-ha, arms folded, expression flat.

Then what Jae-ha had said flashed through Oh Jong-man's mind.

'The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on.'

Emboldened, Oh Jong-man waved off the MC, who was about to cut the question short, and lifted the handheld mic.

"A great deal of time has passed, but I felt I could finally stand before the public with a clear conscience, so I chose to return."

Oh Jong-man paused a beat, then continued.

"I've done everything I could to put all the controversy to rest through my acting and my work. I intend to change the labels this incident has attached to my name."

Once again, a storm of flashes rained down on Oh Jong-man.

Afterward.

The 'One-Act Drama Project' Production Press Conference wrapped up to considerable success. The questions had piled onto Oh Jong-man from the very start, but thanks to his composed manner and confident answers, the reporters backed off. After that, plenty of questions went to the other actors as well, An Ji-hee and Yoon Da-yeon among them.

It wasn't long before the related articles were everywhere.

《Oh Jong-man, Yoon Da-yeon, An Ji-hee and Other Actors Appear at Production Press Conference/ Photo》

《[One-Act Drama Project] Oh Jong-man Appears at Production Press Conference, Tells Reporters 'I Wanted to Stand Before the Public with a Clear Conscience'》

《Oh Jong-man, the Object of Fierce Public Interest, at Production Press Conference, "I'll Change the Assault and Sexual Harassment Labels"》

Naturally, the articles about the 'One-Act Drama Project' Production Press Conference were full of Oh Jong-man. The other actors had their own talking points, but at the moment Oh Jong-man sold best, so the coverage inevitably tilted his way.

《Oh Jong-man Confidently Shares His Thoughts Before Reporters/ Photo》

'Cleared of Charges' was stamped all over the headlines and titles, but the public's opinion of Oh Jong-man was still split every which way.

Half of them were the ordinary sort.

-bet Oh Jong-man was fkn wronged.....poor bastard;;

The other half were still cursing Oh Jong-man.

-can't stand the sight of him seriously ㅋㅋㅋㅋ cleared of charges my ass, stop casting actors with baggage

Well, Kang Jae-ha had expected as much.

"The public only ever sees what it wants to see anyway."

What mattered here was that Oh Jong-man, and the 'One-Act Drama Project', were being fanned white-hot. Spit or curses, attention was attention, and the entertainment industry was a market that took even attention like that, called it noise marketing, and put it to work.

Whatever the case, Oh Jong-man and the 'One-Act Drama Project' burned hotter still.

《[Issue Pick] Interest Explodes for 'One-Act Drama Project', Opening Monday, February 1 at Noon!》

A few days melted away.

Before anyone knew it, less than two weeks remained until the official opening of the 'One-Act Drama Project'.

At this hour, Kang Jae-ha could be found in the 'MEG' conference room. Late afternoon or thereabouts. His subordinates were all gathered around Kang Jae-ha, who sat at the head of the table.

Every one of the subordinates had been briefed a while back by Commander Kang Jae-ha about their new comrade, Jang Tae-san. Kang Jae-ha had also ordered Lee Chan-hoo and the others to look into him.

Jae-ha met eyes for a moment with Go Chun-seok, who sat silently off to one side.

"......"

Because back in the Mercenary Corps, Jang Tae-san had been fairly close with him. At least, that was how it had looked to Kang Jae-ha.

Kang Jae-ha then drew his gaze back from Go Chun-seok and slowly crossed his legs. The look of a man ready to hear what his subordinates had dug up on Jang Tae-san. First, Kang Jae-ha called on Ryu Hyuk, with his sharply cut features.

"Ryu Hyuk."

"Yes, Commander."

"Jang Tae-san. What was his weak point?"

The reason Jae-ha asked about the new subordinate's weak point first was simple. A weak point let him gauge roughly what state Jang Tae-san was in now. Whether his eyes had gone wild, that sort of thing.

As if he understood that, Ryu Hyuk answered calmly.

"Jang Tae-san has a younger sister. One who has trouble walking."

*****

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