The Crazy Mercenary Commander Goes to Work in the Entertainment Industry

Translator: Dreamscribe

The purple-haired Choi Ri-na had brought a lot of luggage. A laptop, tablet, external hard drives, USB sticks, an Acoustic Guitar, and so on. Among them, what Choi Ri-na waved around were the external hard drives and USBs.

"It's all in here!"

Choi Ri-na, who shouted with bright energy, pointed at the laptop she had brought.

"It's on the laptop too, but I moved most of it to the external hard drives so it'd be easier for you to check, Commander-nim."

Kang Jae-ha glanced at the external hard drives and USB sticks in her hands and let out a small laugh.

'So that means there's quite a lot of material.'

If there were only a little, it would all fit on USBs. There were so many songs and other works that she must have moved them onto external hard drives. Kang Jae-ha nodded and muttered.

"You sorted everything?"

"Yes, yes! I cut out all the useless stuff and only kept the essentials!"

"Looks like a lot, even after you trimmed it down."

"It is a lot. I spent days just organizing this, I think?"

Choi Ri-na giggled, and Kang Jae-ha praised her for doing well before moving.

"Let me take a look first."

"Yes, feel free to look through it!"

Kang Jae-ha first examined Choi Ri-na's laptop. Sure enough, the laptop's desktop clearly reflected Choi Ri-na's meticulous personality. The folders were neatly aligned and organized.

Jae-ha moved the mouse.

He first opened the folder containing the songs Choi Ri-na had composed. Inside the folder were more folders, neatly arranged. Ballad, dance, pop, rap: folders made by genre. Kang Jae-ha clicked through each genre folder one by one.

Every folder was packed full of songs.

"You composed all of these?"

"That's right! Some are rough drafts, some are half-finished, some are complete. It's random. I just made them whenever an idea came to me."

Honestly, Kang Jae-ha was a little surprised. The sheer volume of songs was considerable. There were even things like Theme Songs and Background Music. Jae-ha started playing the tracks that caught his eye.

-♬♪

Several songs rang through the 'MEG' office. After listening to quite a few of the tracks, Jae-ha let out a small laugh.

'Every single one is high quality. Any of these could go straight to a singer or idol.'

That, of course, included tracks that could be used for productions. OSTs, theme songs, background music, and so on. To the right person, this was no different from a treasure vault overflowing with gold. Looking at the volume, she must have been composing steadily both before and after gaining her 'Ability'.

'She must have had musical talent to begin with.'

Having confirmed Choi Ri-na's genius, Kang Jae-ha asked.

"You said you composed every chance you got, even back in the Mercenary Corps."

"Yes! Um, for me, music is conversation. Whenever an image or feeling comes to mind, I jot it down or try composing it right away."

"In that respect, you're a monster."

"Ah, monster? That sounds a bit off."

"It's a compliment."

"Then that's fine! Lately, maybe because I met you again, Commander-nim, I've been writing songs while thinking about the Other World. Want to hear what I've made?"

With quick movements, Choi Ri-na played one of the tracks.

-♬♪

It was a piece that felt grand with an added layer of tension. The kind of track that would fit perfectly as the opening of a thriller film, Jae-ha thought. Choi Ri-na stopped the song and explained with a beaming smile. Excitement spilled across her puppy-like face.

"This one, I wrote while thinking about how you looked, Commander-nim, when you were rallying the mercenaries' morale before going into battle! It was suuuper cool."

Kang Jae-ha briefly recalled a great war before changing the subject.

"Is singing still hard for you?"

"I'll try."

She let out a breath and opened her mouth. But no voice came out.

"......I'm sorry. I still can't."

"It's fine, take your time."

"Instead, let me show you a video of my Vocals."

Choi Ri-na clicked the mouse and opened a video. The background was a small practice room, and the angle showed Choi Ri-na standing alone. She immediately began to sing.

Listening seriously, Kang Jae-ha was inwardly impressed.

'Oh.'

Sure enough, it was no wonder Ha Yeon-ji had said, 'Her singing Voice Tone is really pretty'. Choi Ri-na's Vocals from before her PTSD were unique and well above average level.

'If she debuted as is, she'd chew up the average kids out there.'

Well, Choi Ri-na's Vocal skills had once melted the entire Mercenary Corps, so the verification was long since done. Beyond her sheer ability, her Voice Tone carried a strange power that moved people's hearts. No one knew this better than Kang Jae-ha.

That strange power would more than translate over to this world too.

Having mostly finished checking, Kang Jae-ha gathered the external hard drives and USBs and turned to Choi Ri-na beside him.

"The agency you belong to, I bought it."

"Yes! I know! It's 'MEG Entertainment' now, right? When I heard that, my shoulders shot up like crazy!"

"I already told CEO Park Ja-hee. That I'll raise you properly. That doesn't mean you should feel pressured about anything. Just keep doing what you've been doing: write the songs you want to write, go busking, whatever."

"That's it?"

"No, there has to be some change."

Kang Jae-ha, who had crossed his legs, tapped Choi Ri-na's laptop with his index finger.

"Choi Ri-na, your final destination will be as a Singer-Songwriter, but until then, let's start your filmography as a Composer and Music Director."

"Eh?"

Choi Ri-na's eyes widened, a little startled.

"Composer I get, but, Music Director? Me?"

"Yes."

"Wow, I really never even thought about it. Music Director? Am I allowed to do that?"

"Does it seem hard?"

Blinking, Choi Ri-na soon broke into a smile.

"No! I can do it! Making music is the same thing. I'll study!"

"There's nothing to it. You're just creating music to fit a work, the same as composing. Take it easy. Hmm. Going forward, from Singer-Songwriter to Composer to Music Director, just unifying your Stage Name as Choi Ri-na should work."

"Yes! I like that too!"

Choi Ri-na seemed to OK anything the Commander said, answering immediately. Kang Jae-ha let out a small laugh at the sight and tossed out a question.

"So, what do you want to do with these songs you've made?"

"Eh? Uh? I didn't write them with a particular goal. I just wrote them when I wanted to sing them or when ideas came up."

"Then would it be alright if I trimmed them down and shopped them around appropriately? If you've made songs, they need to be put to use. And you need to start working as a Composer too."

Choi Ri-na nodded, her long purple hair swaying.

"Yes, yes, I'm all for it!"

That said, Jae-ha had no intention of scattering Choi Ri-na's songs carelessly.

'I'll only route them in ways that bring in real money and raise Choi Ri-na's standing as a Composer.'

For that, the artists performing these songs needed to be of a high caliber. For quick visibility, idol Girl Groups would naturally be the way to go. At this point, one of Leon Entertainment's Girl Groups flashed through Kang Jae-ha's mind.

Kang Jae-ha then took out a stack of papers he had set aside and opened his mouth again.

"Next is the Music Director side. I said our 'MEG' has quite a few productions running, right?"

"Yes, yes."

-Swish.

Kang Jae-ha handed the stack of papers to Choi Ri-na. They were a Synopsis and a Screenplay.

"First, read through these two works."

The two works were Oh Jong-man's One-Act Drama 'Murder Is a Qualification Too' and Director Kwon Sung-min's 'Condensation: Euphoria'.

"Then try making music however you want. Freely."

At this same time.

Director Kwon Sung-min, now officially affiliated with 'MEG', was focused on producing the final draft of the screenplay for 'Condensation: Euphoria'.

Of course, 'Moonbak Film', no, since Kang Jae-ha had bought it, it should now be called 'FilmMEG'.

CEO Jeong Tae-woo of 'FilmMEG' also joined in on the final draft work for 'Condensation: Euphoria'. Currently, 'Condensation: Euphoria' was in the preparation stage before entering Pre-production, and once the official screenplay was finalized, production would begin in earnest.

Pushing up his glasses, Director Kwon Sung-min suddenly had this thought.

'Is there even another film being produced like this?'

The case of 'Condensation: Euphoria' was extremely unusual.

And with good reason.

'Condensation: Euphoria' had originally started after the Short Film took a Triple Crown at BIFF, with the director being 'MEG'-affiliated Kwon Sung-min, production handled by 'FilmMEG', and investment from the Command Center, 'MEG'.

'Condensation: Euphoria' was a setup where 'MEG' was eating up the whole thing.

Director Kwon Sung-min voiced his thought to CEO Jeong Tae-woo.

"CEO-nim, are there other works where investment, production, and everything happens in one place like 'Condensation: Euphoria'?"

CEO Jeong Tae-woo, with his broad face, firmly shook his head.

"There aren't. There are cases where Mega Corporation ENM handles production and Distribution, but a setup like this, where 'MEG' is running everything, you can safely call it the first of its kind."

"Then when 'Condensation: Euphoria' releases, won't the industry start buzzing?"

"Exactly. It'll probably blow up. On top of that, 'MEG' isn't even what you'd call a Mega Corporation yet, and they're pulling off this kind of scale alone, so it'll be even hotter."

For some reason, Director Kwon Sung-min's heart began to race.

"I'm starting to look forward to the release date."

"Producing a film in an environment like this? We are seriously lucky. And on top of that... I keep getting this feeling. That we've climbed onto some massive wave."

Around this time, 'MEG Entertainment', which had newly joined the 'MEG' Camp like 'MEGFilm', was also busy.

They were shoring up internal foundations according to the instructions handed down from headquarters.

What needed to be sorted out was sorted out, and what needed to be newly prepared was prepared. Each team had plenty to tidy up. On top of that, CEO Park Ja-hee was focusing on the Management Team more than any other.

"First, let's put some weight behind the Management Team."

Because, just as Lee Chan-hoo had said, an actress's Transfer was scheduled to happen before long.

Either way, both 'MEG Entertainment' and 'FilmMEG' were operating properly, and the weekend disappeared in no time.

The following weekday, Monday.

Around lunchtime, Lee Chan-hoo arrived at a Korean restaurant. Inside the VIP room sat a familiar face. The Master, Director Yu Gil-tae. However, today it wasn't just Director Yu Gil-tae.

"Hello, CEO Lee Chan-hoo-nim. I'm Kim Cheol-won of 'Dal Pictures', the Production Company handling 'Mask of Murder'."

The CEO of the Production Company in charge of Director Yu Gil-tae's New Work was there as well. CEO Kim Cheol-won of 'Dal Pictures'. The first thing that came to Lee Chan-hoo's mind the moment he saw him was this.

'His face is freaking huge.'

Face size aside, CEO Kim Cheol-won's 'Dal Pictures' was above Mid-tier among production companies. They had many hits to their name and a long-standing connection with the Master, Director Yu Gil-tae: a proven, reliable production company.

That CEO Kim Cheol-won confirmed once more with Lee Chan-hoo.

"I've been briefed by Director Yu Gil-tae-nim. If you're indeed considering Solo Investment, we can proceed with no issues. The contract can even be signed today."

"Then let's not waste time and wrap it up today."

"......It's not entirely set yet, but the projected Production Budget for 'Mask of Murder' is around 7 billion won. Of course, with promotion and marketing and all, it could go higher. Would that be feasible?"

Over 7 billion? Lee Chan-hoo screamed internally.

'I should be prepared for up to 10 billion max. Well, for a Master director's work, that's actually on the lower end.'

Outwardly, he nodded calmly.

"Of course."

CEO Kim Cheol-won exchanged a glance with Director Yu Gil-tae and extended his hand to Lee Chan-hoo.

"We're counting on you, Investor-nim."

It was the moment 'MEG', no, Kang Jae-ha, was confirmed as the sole investor.

"Likewise."

On the Master Director Yu Gil-tae's New Work.

Meanwhile, Leon Entertainment.

Perhaps because it was lunchtime, Management Team 4 was completely empty. However, one familiar figure was visible. Kang Jae-ha. He had skipped lunch since he wasn't particularly hungry, and right now Jae-ha was wearing earphones, calmly listening through various tracks.

They were the songs Choi Ri-na had passed over.

"......"

Kang Jae-ha quietly listened to the songs, sorting them by his own judgment.

It was then.

-Swish.

Someone entered Team 4. Sensing the presence, Kang Jae-ha removed his earphones. The one approaching him was a female employee from another team. In her hands were a stack of papers and a tablet.

"Jae-ha-nim! I sent it by email too, but it seemed urgent so I came in person."

"Yes."

"And it's a bit surprising too."

"Surprising?"

She handed Kang Jae-ha the stack of papers and the tablet as she spoke.

"A Casting offer came in for An Ji-hee ssi."

A Casting offer? An Ji-hee had already received quite a few Screenplays and Scripts. Meaning it wasn't all that surprising. But the female employee's words didn't end there.

"But it's not domestic, it's from Japan."

"Japan, you say?"

"Yes! For now, I've put together what's been relayed from Japan on this tablet, so please check it. It's not in depth yet, still feels rough. They said they'd be coming to Korea soon, and just in case, I gave them your contact info, Jae-ha-nim."

After hearing Jae-ha's thanks, the female employee left Team 4, and Kang Jae-ha let out a small laugh as if he found it unexpected.

'Japan? Hmm, so BIFF really did make a difference. Then again, there were quite a few Japanese figures at BIFF.'

Regardless of the process, to think Japan would be the one to first show interest in the Newcomer An Ji-hee. Crossing his legs, Kang Jae-ha turned on the tablet. He skimmed through the information sent over from Japan.

'Naturally, not the Lead Role. Sub-lead. The Role is a Korean university student who came to Japan to study.'

The Role was what people commonly called a 'sub', a supporting character who made the lead stand out. Easiest to think of it as the friend of the lead, a coworker, that kind of feel.

'Not bad. There are quite a few cases where the sub overshadows the Lead Role and gets hot.'

Kang Jae-ha first checked An Ji-hee's current location. After confirming she was currently in the middle of an interview with a media outlet.

"Hmm."

While reading the Script sent over from Japan, a thought suddenly struck him.

'There must be Mercenary Corps subordinates in Japan too.'

Thinking of his subordinates who would be in other countries, Kang Jae-ha brushed his chin.

'Maybe this'll be a chance to meet them.'

*****

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