Chapter 82: Japan (1)

Translator: Dreamscribe

What Moon Ji-a, the top of the top actresses, was reading was the 'Condensation: Euphoria' screenplay.

-'Condensation: Euphoria'

-Director: Kwon Sung-min

Director Kwon Sung-min and CEO Jeong Tae-woo looked over the eccentric-actor list and completed the Casting Board.

The Casting Board included the eccentric actors Jae-ha had sent along with An Ji-hee, and the moment the rest of the actors were sorted out, they circulated the 'Condensation: Euphoria' screenplay to them. Of course, not just the screenplay but also a brief rundown of the planning, the production schedule, and other information.

Which meant the package also folded in the fact that the lead and supporting roles in 'Condensation: Euphoria' would be contracted on a Running Guarantee, on a Deferred Payment basis.

As a result, regardless of the quality of the 'Condensation: Euphoria' screenplay, most of the actors simply ignored the casting offer.

It was understandable.

For actors, the Performance Fee, that is, the Asking Price itself, was the yardstick that sorted them into tiers. The market saw it the same way. On top of that, actors' Asking Prices were climbing nonstop. There were all kinds of reasons, but at the end of the day, 'Condensation: Euphoria' was offering contracts on nothing but a base Performance Fee plus a Running Guarantee, so there was no choice but to brush it off.

Signing a Deferred Payment contract was far too big a gamble.

It meant that if the project flopped, they'd barely get paid.

That was why actors haggled over their Asking Price in advance, so that even if the project bombed, they'd still collect that Performance Fee. Whatever the case, the actors who checked the details on 'Condensation: Euphoria' didn't even bother to read the screenplay.

That was the typical reaction.

But in very rare cases, a handful of eccentric actors took an interest in 'Condensation: Euphoria'. One of them was Moon Ji-a, the top of the top actresses. And that was despite her having already heard every last detail about 'Condensation: Euphoria'.

-Flip, flip.

"......"

It wasn't just her looks.

Top actress Moon Ji-a had a figure women called a wannabe goal too, which was why she'd had a monopoly on clothing-brand ad campaigns.

Watching her in the rearview mirror, her manager let out a small sigh.

Her eyes still on the screenplay, Moon Ji-a answered without much thought.

"Oh, I know that. But...... that's how you end up taking on these ridiculous projects too."

Rumor had it that Moon Ji-a, one of the few genuine top actresses, was an oddball. Part of it was her personality, but the bigger factor was her peculiar taste in projects. Naturally she appeared in blockbusters and big-budget productions, but out of nowhere she'd take on a One-Act Drama or an Independent Film.

Slowly crossing her legs, Moon Ji-a muttered curtly.

"There's no such thing as a ridiculous project. Every project has its own color."

"No, come on, kid, you can say that because you're Moon Ji-a. Every time you pull one of your oddball stunts, the CEO's sighs get longer and longer. Does it really make sense for Moon Ji-a to do an Independent Film for a few million won?"

"If I want to do it, I do it. Why fuss over the terms?"

Answering lightly, she changed the subject.

"Anyway, this 'Condensation: Euphoria', it's the expanded version of 'Condensation', that Short Film that took the Triple Crown at BIFF?"

"...Yeah. Looks like they remade the Short Film into a Feature Film."

"It took the Grand Prize in the short-film category, and two actresses won awards too, didn't they?"

"Right. Yoon Da-yeon and An Ji-hee. You know Yoon Da-yeon."

"Ah, Da-yeon. Hmm."

"Did you two fight back in the day?"

"We just don't click, me and Yoon Da-yeon."

Answering vaguely, Moon Ji-a slipped back into screenplay-focus mode.

"Anyway, I'm going to keep reading, so stop talking to me now."

Letting out another sigh, the manager narrowed his brow at Moon Ji-a's reflection in the rearview mirror.

'Don't tell me she's actually going to do that project??'

That same night, the 'MEG' conference room.

It was late at night, but the lights were on in the 'MEG' conference room. Kang Jae-ha could be seen seated at the head of the square conference table. Around him sat Lee Chan-hoo and Ryu Hyuk, who'd recently joined.

And right now, these men were.

"Oh! How long's it been since we had sashimi!"

enjoying a late-night snack. On the menu, a generous sashimi set. Both Lee Chan-hoo and Ryu Hyuk worked their chopsticks without pause, and since Kang Jae-ha loved sashimi too, he gulped it down piece after piece.

At this point Jae-ha asked Ryu Hyuk, who had thick, rugged features.

"What happened with that jeonse scammer?" [TL Note: jeonse is a Korean lease system where tenants pay a large lump-sum deposit instead of monthly rent; jeonse fraud cons tenants out of those deposits.]

Dipping a slice of sashimi in soy sauce, Ryu Hyuk smiled.

"I've got him properly screwed. Thank you again. You too, Lee Chan-hoo."

Jae-ha nodded and, laying a slice of sashimi on a lettuce leaf, changed the subject.

"You bring the thing I asked for?"

"Ah, yes, I brought it."

Chewing on his sashimi, Ryu Hyuk held out a clear folder he'd brought to the Commander. What he'd brought was the list of Wanted Criminals Kang Jae-ha had mentioned before, the one meant to turn Ryu Hyuk into a cop with real power.

For a moment Kang Jae-ha skimmed the list of Wanted Criminals.

From details like faces and names to charges ranging from masterminding Voice Phishing rings to murder, the offenses were varied. Setting down the Wanted Criminals he'd been looking over, Kang Jae-ha spoke to Ryu Hyuk.

"If you round them all up in one swoop it'll look weird, so space it out and play it by ear."

"I know. Nice and smooth."

"Start with this one for now. The Voice Phishing ringleader. He's the most recent, and his face is punchable too. Not a bad size for a starter, either. Bust him first and rip into him."

Ryu Hyuk nodded right away and asked Lee Chan-hoo.

"Lee Chan-hoo, does your 'Ability' work overseas too?"

His colleagues' 'Abilities' had already been shared with Ryu Hyuk, and Lee Chan-hoo, popping two slices of sashimi dipped in chili-vinegar sauce into his mouth, gave a narrow-eyed grin.

"Of course it does."

Kang Jae-ha passed the list of Wanted Criminals to Lee Chan-hoo.

"Find that Voice Phishing ringleader right now."

As if it were easy, Lee Chan-hoo skimmed the information for a bit, then closed his eyes. He'd used Search. When he opened his eyes, his answer came fast.

"He's holed up at a self-service motel up around Goseong. Living the good life, huh? Even guzzling soju."

Kang Jae-ha let out a snort of a laugh and gave the two of them an order.

"You two talk it over and put together a solid game plan going forward."

He was telling Lee Chan-hoo and Ryu Hyuk to join forces and crack cases or catch criminals. Next, this time Jae-ha passed a clear folder to Ryu Hyuk. It was the profile of CEO Seo Hyun-su of LN Entertainment.

"Ryu Hyuk, take a read on this pig's weak spot."

Ryu Hyuk's 'Ability' was Weakness Detection. Jae-ha was telling him to use it on Seo Hyun-su. Taking CEO Seo Hyun-su's profile, Ryu Hyuk murmured quietly.

"Seo Hyun-su, huh..."

He too knew of CEO Seo Hyun-su of LN Entertainment. Soon he focused on the profile. He didn't particularly close his eyes, and before long, as if he'd seen something, he met Kang Jae-ha's gaze.

"This guy's weakness is money. Looks like he's modified a car parked in the basement garage of the LN Entertainment building and uses it as a safe. Seo Hyun-su's biggest weak spot is that safe."

It was Lee Chan-hoo, chewing on his sashimi, who answered fast.

"The basement garage of the LN Entertainment building? Not bad. If it's his own building, he could shut off the CCTV and stuff whenever he needs to."

True. Kang Jae-ha agreed and tossed Ryu Hyuk a question.

"What's in that safe?"

"A fair amount of gold, and so on?"

"Guess he laundered his Slush Fund and stashed it in there."

"There's more than just gold. He might've bought crypto and parked it there too."

Meeting the Commander's eyes, Lee Chan-hoo asked.

"Commander, do we take all of it?"

"No."

Kang Jae-ha shook his head without much concern.

"If this were the Other World, sure, we'd have taken it all. But this is a different world, and around here, swallow dirty money like that and there's always blowback. Guaranteed."

"Fair enough."

Jae-ha wasn't particularly bothered about letting it go. Soon he glanced at Ryu Hyuk.

'Ryu Hyuk's 'Ability' to pick apart anyone's weaknesses on the spot, it really is useful.'

Muttering inwardly, Kang Jae-ha pointed his chopsticks at Ryu Hyuk.

"Ryu Hyuk. Soon there's going to be all kinds of nuclear bombs going off around Seo Hyun-su, so time it right and clean out that safe as if you found it yourself. Frame it like you got a tip, whatever, work out the game plan on your own."

"Yes, that part's easy."

"The timing is after the nuke goes off."

"When does the nuke go off?"

Kang Jae-ha smiled faintly and gave a short, clipped answer.

"Tomorrow."

Late morning the next day, Monday the 28th.

The location was the CEO's office of the major LN Entertainment. CEO Seo Hyun-su, his belly bulging grotesquely, sat in his seat, with a few employees standing before him.

The employees were nominally the strategy team, but in practice they were the ones who carried out CEO Seo Hyun-su's odd jobs.

Soon CEO Seo Hyun-su looked at the employees and spoke up.

"That Kang Jae-ha bastard, you dug into his background, so what came up?"

One employee answered right away.

"We're still looking into it, but... nothing that would be a major problem has turned up."

"Nothing at all?"

"Yes, though a few interesting things did come up."

"Such as?"

"First, we found that, unlike in the past, Kang Jae-ha has changed quite a bit in terms of personality and so on."

"Changed? How much?"

"Rumor within Leon is that he's basically a different person. We confirmed that he used to be clumsy and timid, but now he comes across as rough and unyielding."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"On top of that, it seems he also had trouble with Ra Yoon of Leon's 'Seriel'. Apparently Kang Jae-ha hurled some pretty scathing curses at Ra Yoon."

At this, CEO Seo Hyun-su's eyes lit up a little.

"Oho, Ra Yoon of 'Seriel'? If I work that angle right, it could be useful."

After that the employee rattled off more of the potential problems he'd dug up, on Kang Jae-ha as well as Yoon Da-yeon, An Ji-hee, and others. Listening to the briefing, CEO Seo Hyun-su slowly stroked his chin.

"Heh heh, that worthless little Kang Jae-ha. For starters, I could toss out that Ra Yoon business as a taster."

Rubbing his hands together as if relishing the idea, he suddenly felt the urge to hear Kang Jae-ha's voice. To be precise, he wanted to make him grovel. If he threatened him with this and that, wouldn't Kang Jae-ha come crawling?

'If he kneels for me or something, that'd soothe my sour mood a bit? First I need to get him in front of me.'

Intrigued, CEO Seo Hyun-su picked up his phone with the employees still standing before him, and dialed the cell number from the Kang Jae-ha profile laid out in front of him.

The ringing was short. Soon Kang Jae-ha's flat, dry voice came through CEO Seo Hyun-su's phone.

"Yes, this is Kang Jae-ha."

CEO Seo Hyun-su smiled nastily.

"It's me, Seo Hyun-su of LN."

Jae-ha's reply came at once.

"The hell are you on about, you Pig Bastard. Get lost."

-Click.

The call cut off instantly. What was this? CEO Seo Hyun-su blanked out for a moment. The rage welled up a few seconds later.

"...Th-that fucking son of a bitch!"

At that very moment.

-Clunk!

The CEO's office door flew open in a rush and someone who looked like a secretary came running in. A phone was clutched in his hand and his face had gone deathly pale. Glaring at the secretary, Seo Hyun-su snarled.

"You little shit, who said you could just barge in without knocking?"

The pale-faced secretary cringed and thrust the phone in his hand toward CEO Seo Hyun-su.

"I-I'm sorry. I thought you needed to see this right away."

"Tsk, what is it."

Clicking his tongue, CEO Seo Hyun-su fixed his eyes on the secretary's phone screen. His face crumpled at once.

No wonder.

"......And what the fuck is this now."

Because on the secretary's phone screen, someone was on the warpath against LN Entertainment, Seo Hyun-su included.

《[Exclusive] National Tax Service Launches Probe Into 'Tax Evasion Allegations' Against LN Entertainment CEO Seo Hyun-su, Including Offshore Tax Evasion》

About two hours later.

Kang Jae-ha, the one who'd called CEO Seo Hyun-su a Pig Bastard, had just arrived not in Korea but in Japan. To be precise, Haneda Airport.

He was with An Ji-hee and her team.

Naturally it was because of 'Spring at the Borderline', the Japanese drama An Ji-hee had been cast in. The Japan business trip had been scheduled for today, the 28th.

Soon, off the plane, Kang Jae-ha scanned his surroundings.

'Japan. I came here once, a long time ago, and that was it.'

As if it were her first time in Japan at all, An Ji-hee's eyes were full of wonder. In any case, Kang Jae-ha, An Ji-hee, and the team members headed for the Haneda Airport arrivals hall. Not visible for now, but somewhere a good distance off, Go Chun-seok would be trailing the Commander.

Before long, Jae-ha and An Ji-hee's team passed through the airport arrivals hall, and amid the dense crowd, one group welcomed Kang Jae-ha.

They were the people from 'Shiori Production' who had met with Kang Jae-ha and An Ji-hee in Korea before.

Roughly five of them approached Jae-ha, with Ogawa Sayaka, who held a production-manager-level role on 'Spring at the Borderline', at the front. Having seen Jae-ha back in Korea as well, she pushed up her glasses and, with a smile, offered Kang Jae-ha a handshake.

"Welcome, Manager Kang Jae-ha-nim. I trust the flight wasn't too uncomfortable for you."

Ogawa Sayaka rattled it off in fluent Japanese, and An Ji-hee, standing beside Jae-ha, swallowed hard with nerves.

'Ugh, I practiced Japanese so much...... but hearing a native speaker's pronunciation, I can't do it!'

Soon an interpreter from 'Shiori Production', there to translate the Japanese into Korean, stepped forward toward Kang Jae-ha.

That was when it happened.

【Hello, Kang Jae-ha-nim.】

In Kang Jae-ha's ear.

'Hmm?'

A familiar woman's voice began to sound.

【It has been confirmed that Kang Jae-ha-nim has arrived in another country (Japan).】

It was rather out of nowhere.

【Due to the activated 'Reality Adaptation Project', the 'Language Pack' that Kang Jae-ha-nim used in the Other World will now be restored.】

*****

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