Chapter 89: Fireworks (1)

Translator: Dreamscribe

September ended and October began. On the morning of October 2nd, Choi Ri-na could be seen waking up in the studio.

"Huuaam! Slept like a log!"

She'd apparently dozed off in the studio while working again last night. Still, her face wasn't lacking in energy. If anything, it was overflowing with it. After all, these days she was buried in all kinds of music work. There was the composing she squeezed in whenever she could, of course, and on top of that, project-related pieces like the 'One-Act Drama Project', 'Moonless Village', and more.

It was a completely different level of energy from back when her vocals had been blocked by PTSD and she'd done nothing but busk in bleak monotony.

"I'll just splash some water on my face and get straight back to work."

Beyond composer, a job she'd never even imagined had been added to the list. Music Director, that is. In any case, after a quick wash Choi Ri-na sat back down in the studio, and about an hour later a hulking monster of a man appeared. It was Go Chun-seok, who hadn't shown his face in about a week.

"I'm back."

Choi Ri-na cheerfully welcomed Go Chun-seok, who'd tossed out the greeting in a solemn tone.

"Oh! Oppa! You're back from Japan??!"

"Yeah. Here, a present."

Go Chun-seok handed Choi Ri-na the snacks he'd bought in Japan, held in a hand like a pot lid. Then the two of them munched on the snacks while working on the music and catching up on all the conversation they'd let pile up. Well, the one doing most of the chattering was Choi Ri-na.

"How was Japan??"

"It was good. Needing to piss the moment the plane took off was a new experience."

"Huh! Why would you need to pee?? Ah! Anyway, I want to go to Japan too! The thing I want to do most when I get there is......"

For the record, Go Chun-seok said nothing to Choi Ri-na about Kamijo Yuu, the comrade he'd met in Japan. There had been no order from the Commander, but for some reason it felt like he ought to keep it to himself.

Then, on the morning of the 5th, after the weekend had passed, Choi Ri-na could be found at Netflix Korea.

She sat in a spacious meeting room walled in by glass.

'Ugh, I'm so nervous! Commander-nim! Give me strength!'

Around Choi Ri-na sat Netflix Korea employees, of course, along with the Key Staff tied to the 'One-Act Drama Project'. Roughly twenty-some people.

The reason Choi Ri-na was there was simple.

Director Baek Jeong-ha had selected her as the official Music Director for the 'One-Act Drama Project'. The contract was already signed.

In other words, Choi Ri-na was a bona fide Music Director.

Soon the Key Staff at the production meeting were stealing glances at Choi Ri-na without making it obvious. Whenever she swept back her violet hair, their eyes fixed on her all the more.

It was thanks to Choi Ri-na's striking looks.

'What the, they said she's the Music Director... but going by looks alone, she'd put actual actresses to shame??'

'Huh...... isn't she far too pretty to be wasted on Music Director work?'

Before long, Director Baek Jeong-ha and Executive Director Heo Seong-jin walked into the meeting room. And Director Baek Jeong-ha, her skin looking more haggard than before, smiled when she saw Choi Ri-na.

"Everyone, our team's Music Director is finally confirmed."

She introduced Choi Ri-na to the Key Staff. Getting hesitantly to her feet, Choi Ri-na called out loudly to them all.

"I'll cook up some delicious music for you all!"

After that, Director Baek Jeong-ha shut herself in the studio with Choi Ri-na. Since the Music Director had been picked so late, they had to clear away as much of the backed-up music work as they possibly could.

"What if an organ came in around here?"

"Oh! I think that'd work, hold on a sec."

"Yeah, that's nice. And do you have any singers picked out for the OSTs?"

"Not really, do you, Director-nim??"

"I've got a list I put together; let's take a look at it together."

"Yes, yes!"

Starting from the Guide Recording plan, Director Baek Jeong-ha and Choi Ri-na chose the singers who'd perform the OSTs, then jumped straight into reaching out to them.

Things had only dragged because there'd been no Music Director; once Choi Ri-na came on board, it all went off without a hitch.

In the thick of the music work, Director Baek Jeong-ha stole a glance at Choi Ri-na. Looks that could put any actress to shame, and the musical talent to match.

'What in the world is this kid even made of? I can't wait to see how far she grows.'

Director Baek Jeong-ha gave a soft chuckle and felt an odd shiver run through her. It was good to finally have a Music Director, but watching Choi Ri-na, it felt as if she were there for the very moment a rough stone turned into a gem.

'This right here is why I can never quit directing.'

Night. The 'MEG' conference room.

Around Kang Jae-ha, seated at the head of the square table, a good many of his subordinates had gathered. Lee Chan-hoo, naturally, plus Cha Chung-hyeon, Ha Yeon-ji, Choi Ri-na, and Ryu Hyuk. Only Go Chun-seok was nowhere to be seen.

Meanwhile, Jae-ha was in the middle of hearing out his subordinates' reports.

It began with Figurehead CEO Lee Chan-hoo, then passed to Cha Chung-hyeon and on to Ha Yeon-ji.

"Just like you ordered, Commander, I leaked the affair info to a Japanese press outlet. Well, to be exact, I should probably call it a famous weekly rather than a press outlet? Anyway, that was already a few days back, so I figure we'll start getting nibbles before long?"

"If the weekly you leaked it to stays quiet, you'll have to work it yourself and blow it open, so stay ready."

"Got it."

Next was the turn of Ryu Hyuk, who was gripping a small notebook.

"On the LN Entertainment side, looks like everything that was going to break has broken, so I'll go for the finale soon."

"Good. Pick a day and clean out Seo Hyun-su's safe."

Once the weighty reports had been traded, Choi Ri-na, who'd been waiting, shot to her feet.

"Commander-nim! I became the Music Director for the 'One-Act Drama Project'! And I even got to sit in on a production meeting! They said the singers for the OSTs will be cast soon, too!"

Choi Ri-na was firing praise-me beams at him with her eyes, and Kang Jae-ha gave a soft chuckle.

"Yeah, you're doing well."

"Thank you! Hehe, I'm having so much fun lately. Everything just feels brand new."

At this, Ha Yeon-ji switched the subject.

"By the way, Commander, who's this new comrade you say you found in Japan??"

Kang Jae-ha, who'd let his subordinates in on the matter of Kamijo Yuu, not all of it but a little, checked the time.

"She'll be here any minute."

Go Chun-seok showed up about five minutes later. He wasn't alone, of course. Trailing behind him was Kamijo Yuu, the blush on both her cheeks deeper than before.

Kamijo Yuu's eyes went wide when she saw the comrades gathered inside the 'MEG' conference room.

"Heeeh."

She let out that distinctly Japanese exclamation. And no wonder, since there were more Mercenary Corps comrades than she'd expected. The first to react at the sight of Kamijo Yuu was Choi Ri-na.

"No way! Incredible!!"

Choi Ri-na came scampering over to Kamijo Yuu and wrapped her in a fierce hug. Eyes wide, Yuu felt a warmth bloom in her chest.

"......"

Her eyes grew red. The two of them, mid-hug, were then folded in by Ha Yeon-ji, the oldest sister of the group. Soon a tableau of three women piled together had formed, and the squinty-eyed Lee Chan-hoo, welling up over something, spread both arms to embrace the huddled trio. The one who blocked him with a slap to the shoulder was Ryu Hyuk.

"Get a grip, dumbass."

"Ah, whoops. Got so choked up I forgot myself for a second."

In the middle of all this warmth, Kang Jae-ha, still seated, introduced Kamijo Yuu.

"Kamijo Yuu. You all know who she is. Met her in Japan."

Hemmed in by Ha Yeon-ji and Choi Ri-na, Kamijo Yuu introduced herself in clumsy Korean. Then Jae-ha sat her down. An explanation of 'MEG' followed. He laid out the blueprint for the future as well. Now and then, Lee Chan-hoo and Ha Yeon-ji chimed in.

Having roughly grasped where 'MEG' was headed, Kamijo Yuu murmured in Japanese, amazed.

"You really are incredible, Commander-nim. To think you could pull off something like this the moment you got back."

Kang Jae-ha asked, like it was nothing.

"You could join us too."

"Yes... I'd love to be part of it. But, as I mentioned, I do have an Agency."

"I'll take care of clearing that out of the way. All you have to do is say whether you're in or out."

"I want...... in."

Kang Jae-ha nodded and spoke to all his subordinates.

"We're setting up a 'MEG' Japan branch. And we'll do it by acquiring an Agency already operating in Japan, naturally."

Then Jae-ha brought them up to speed on Kamijo Yuu's situation in Japan. The troubles facing the actress Kamijo Yuu, the things her Agency 'Mirai Stage' had been pulling, the pressure to push her into becoming an AV Actor, and so on and so on. The first to react was Ha Yeon-ji, grinding her back teeth.

"Those fucking bastards."

Lee Chan-hoo and the rest let show something close to rage as well. Even the ever-smiling Choi Ri-na huffed and puffed, apparently angry too.

"Commander-nim! Going after one of our comrades is the same as striking 'MEG', and that means they've attacked you, Commander-nim!"

It was a sound point, but for whatever reason, hearing Choi Ri-na shout it loosened the mood a touch, and Kamijo Yuu, who couldn't follow the finer Korean but caught the gist well enough, was moved. The surge of strength she drew from it was a bonus.

She had always been alone.

'So just being together with others like this...... is enough to give me this much courage.'

Because just like that, she'd suddenly gained this many friends.

Kang Jae-ha met her eyes and switched his speech to Japanese.

"Kamijo Yuu, you stay in Korea until this is all settled. The others will look after you well."

"...Yes. Thank you."

Jae-ha gave a plain nod and signaled Lee Chan-hoo with his eyes, a cue to hand out what he'd prepared. Lee Chan-hoo moved at once, passing clear plastic folders to the comrades. Inside each folder was information on a behemoth Japanese Agency.

As his subordinates skimmed the material, the Commander went on.

"This is 'Mirai Stage', one of the top three Agencies in Japan. The old man in that photo is the CEO. His name's 'Matsuda Hideo'. He's known as a legendary figure in Japan's entertainment world, and his influence is every bit as big."

Having laid it out in brief, Kang Jae-ha tossed instructions at each of his subordinates one by one.

"Ryu Hyuk, you start by digging into that old man's weak spots, Matsuda Hideo's. Cha Chung-hyeon, you trace every detail of Mirai Stage's money pipeline. Lee Chan-hoo, you gather intel by digging up Matsuda Hideo's whereabouts and circumstances."

At the sight of it all falling neatly into place, Kamijo Yuu's eyes went wide. Kang Jae-ha, by contrast, the man who'd knocked over LN Entertainment as casually as robbing a corner shop, was cold and clear-headed.

"We'll wreck 'Mirai Stage' and pull Kamijo Yuu out legitimately, right by the terms of the contract. 'Mirai Stage' going under is just a bonus."

Yuu still had time left on her contract with 'Mirai Stage'. The force of a contract was formidable, no question, but things would be different the moment Kamijo Yuu had legitimate grounds to demand its termination. For that, 'Mirai Stage', or its CEO 'Matsuda Hideo', would have to be brought to ruin.

He wasn't sinking 'Mirai Stage' on some mere whim.

That the Agency had driven Kamijo Yuu to the brink of taking her own life was reason enough on its own.

-'Spring at the Borderline'

It was 'Spring at the Borderline', the very project An Ji-hee had been confirmed to join. Jae-ha even pinpointed the role for her as he murmured to Yuu in Japanese.

"You just keep practicing for that role."

"......'Spring at the Borderline'? As far as I know, the cast for this one is already completely filled?"

Kang Jae-ha glanced at Ha Yeon-ji, then offered Yuu a faint smile.

"It's fine. A spot will open up soon."

*****

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