Translator: Dreamscribe
Director Kim Chul-joong, who had been glaring at Kang Jae-ha standing before him, lowered his gaze once more. The photos spread out right in front of him.
"......"
With a grim expression, Director Kim Chul-joong reached out and picked up the photos. He examined them slowly. One, two, three. No matter how many he flipped through, every single one starred himself, and the people photographed with him were the ones he'd been taking bribes from.
In other words, his financiers.
Connections built over many years. A deep-rooted asset all his own, maintained both before and after Director Kim Chul-joong had risen to his current position. Of course, none of the photos directly showed money changing hands.
But the man standing before him had said it.
'Must be nice, stuffing yourself fat on all those bribes.'
He didn't know exactly who this bastard was, but the man clearly knew everything. Director Kim Chul-joong needlessly studied the photos over and over, buying time. This was not a situation he could brush off.
'One wrong move and I'm finished.'
His mind raced. But nothing came. An unexpected crisis, a sense of danger closing in. This was the kind of moment where staying calm separated the real deal from the pretenders, but Director Kim Chul-joong was not the real deal.
'Fuck, fuck!'
His mind had locked up. All he could do was keep spewing curses internally. Who the hell was this guy standing in front of him? Did someone send him? Could it be CEO Han Tae-sung? No, Kim Chul-joong knew all of the CEO's people.
He had no idea.
The more Director Kim Chul-joong tried to think, the deeper he sank. That was when the man standing before him, Kang Jae-ha, smirked and spoke.
"I can hear the gears grinding in your skull from over here."
"......"
Director Kim Chul-joong stopped thinking and raised his eyes from the photos.
"Who the hell are you? I've definitely seen you somewhere."
"You'll find out soon enough."
Jae-ha, both hands shoved into his padded jacket pockets, continued. His tone was vaguely indifferent.
"That contest Leon held recently. You took bribes on that too."
He was talking about the 'Short Story Contest'. Director Kim Chul-joong's eyes went wide. Whether he reacted or not, Jae-ha didn't stop.
"First through third place, you ranked them by how much they paid."
"......"
"The meetings are all there in those photos, so don't even try to bullshit."
"Hey, you."
"You've got a mistress too, I hear."
"!!!"
"Does your family know? Probably not. Quite the busy man."
"H-hey, look."
"Is that how you climbed your way up to director?"
Around this point, Director Kim Chul-joong's hands began to tremble faintly. His hidden weaknesses were being dragged into the open, becoming exposed shame. Then Kang Jae-ha shrugged.
"I don't really care that you have a mistress. But."
He pulled out his phone from his jacket pocket. A few quick taps. Soon, men's voices came from his phone.
["Th-that's because Director Kim Chul-joong contacted us first!"]
["That's right! We just did whatever Director Kim Chul-joong told us to!"]
Nam Chul-jin's voice. Yoon Da-yeon's name came up, and so did the adult film. Even the scenario Director Kim Chul-joong had choreographed. By now, Director Kim Chul-joong's eyes looked ready to burst. Why were their voices coming from that bastard's phone?
How the hell?
On top of that, Nam Chul-jin was spilling everything about the scheme Kim Chul-joong had cooked up using Yoon Da-yeon. After letting him hear just enough, Jae-ha lowered his phone and let out a small breath.
"Whether you have a mistress or stuff yourself with bribes, that's none of my business. That kind of thing's common enough."
"......"
"But messing with me? That gets on my nerves."
"Wh-what do you want?"
Jae-ha's lips curled faintly.
"What I want? Nothing."
"...Nothing? That can't be. Just say it. Is it money?"
"Money? Sure. How about a hundred billion won?"
"Quit playing games."
"I'm serious."
The smile vanished completely from Kang Jae-ha's face.
"You don't have it, do you? A hundred billion."
Of course he didn't. Director Kim Chul-joong shut his mouth, and Jae-ha stared at him.
'Even a cornered rat will bite.'
Over eighteen years in the other world, Jae-ha had dealt with countless men like Director Kim Chul-joong. So he knew the answer. Whether they were rats or dogs, you always had to herd them toward a hole they could crawl through. Because even the most pathetic piece of shit would thrash wildly if pushed to the absolute edge.
And that would be a hassle.
Snapping Director Kim Chul-joong's neck, or any piece of shit's neck, was something Kang Jae-ha could do at any time. But killing him cleanly in one blow would be too neat. It was better to work him like a slave, like a dog, and then strip him of everything when the time was right.
Because the moment a tiny sprout of hope appeared, and then that hope turned out to be hell all along, the despair was a hundred times worse.
Kang Jae-ha stepped closer to the piece of shit and murmured, ice-cold.
"You just need to be a dog that wags its tail whenever it sees me."
"......!"
As if he had nothing more to say, Jae-ha turned around. He gradually walked away. The flustered Director Kim Chul-joong called after him.
"...Hey! Hey!!!"
Jae-ha blithely ignored him and eventually vanished from Director Kim Chul-joong's sight. There had been a process, but no satisfying conclusion. That was what drove Director Kim Chul-joong even crazier.
"Fuck... Fucking fuck!!"
He stood there, raking his fingers through his hair. It was part scream, part breakdown.
"What the hell even is that asshole?!"
The morning of the 3rd, one day later. Leon Entertainment.
Director Kim Chul-joong got out of his car in the parking lot. Dark circles hung heavy under his eyes. It wasn't surprising. After those hellish hours the night before, there was no way he could have slept.
"......"
Having spent the night wide awake, the face of the man he'd met yesterday still filled his mind. Along with everything the man had said and every vulnerability that had been seized. Director Kim Chul-joong was breathing, but he didn't feel alive.
Anxious, restless, and suffocated.
"Hah..."
Still, he had to go to work, so he tried his best to stay calm. He had just taken his first step when.
"Director-nim!"
Someone called out to Director Kim Chul-joong from behind. He flinched and turned around. A woman with a swinging bob cut was walking toward him. It was Song Sun-hee, Team Leader of Management Team 2, where Kang Jae-ha had once worked.
"Director-nim, good morning."
"...Yeah. Team Leader Song."
"Oh my? Director-nim, your face looks a bit... rough? Are you feeling okay?"
"No, I just didn't sleep well. Let's go."
"Ah... sure."
Of the two walking side by side, Director Kim Chul-joong stepped into the elevator first, and Team Leader Song Sun-hee followed. They each pressed the button for their floor, and the elevator doors closed. Team Leader Song glanced sideways at Director Kim Chul-joong. She'd been looking for a chance to score some points with conversation, but his condition was beyond words.
'Why does he look like he's dying?'
So she kept her mouth shut for now. Director Kim Chul-joong was silently staring straight ahead. Or more precisely, endlessly replaying the man he'd seen yesterday.
Then.
-Ding!
The ascending elevator stopped at the first floor. The moment the doors opened, a black-haired man came smoothly into view. Team Leader Song reacted first upon seeing him.
"Oh? Long time no see?"
Director Kim Chul-joong's reaction, his pupils suddenly dilating wide, was practically a seizure.
"...You!"
He was so startled he even started hiccupping.
"Hic!"
Team Leader Song, wondering what was going on, greeted the man who had just stepped into the elevator.
"Manager Kang, how's Team 4 treating you?"
The man was Kang Jae-ha, and he casually returned Team Leader Song's greeting.
"Yeah, well enough."
"Oh my, I heard Manager Kang had changed a bit, and you really do have a different air about you?? Did you go through some kind of training?"
At that point, Director Kim Chul-joong, whose eyes had been glued to Jae-ha, spoke up.
"Manager... Kang? Team 4?"
Team Leader Song turned her head and introduced Kang Jae-ha.
"Ah, I suppose Director Kim might not know Manager Kang. He never really had much of a presence. This is Manager Kang Jae-ha. You know, the one who snapped at Ra Yoon? He's on Team 4 now."
"Team 4... Manager Kang Jae-ha."
Director Kim Chul-joong, his breathing ragged, locked eyes with Jae-ha. Inside, his head was flooded with question marks. What the fuck is going on? Meanwhile, Kang Jae-ha, expressionless, greeted Director Kim Chul-joong.
"Good morning, Director-nim."
Around then, the elevator doors closed. A ringtone went off at the same moment. Team Leader Song's phone. As she took the call, Kang Jae-ha, standing beside Director Kim Chul-joong, whispered faintly. There was a trace of amusement in his voice, but the tone was cold.
"Not going to wag your tail?"
Only then did Director Kim Chul-joong realize it.
'Damn it.'
That a leash had been fastened around his neck.
After that.
Jae-ha was the first to step off the elevator. Even as he exited, he sent a glance toward Director Kim Chul-joong. The director wore the expression of a man whose soul had been evaporated, and Jae-ha turned on his heel without a second thought.
Walking down the corridor toward Team 4, Kang Jae-ha smirked.
"Entertaining, that face of his."
Between the washed-up talents and Director Kim Chul-joong, Leon Entertainment was growing more and more interesting to him. Before long, Jae-ha met up with Yoon Da-yeon. They were in the van, en route to the filming set for 'The Last Man'. General Manager Kim Dae-yong was on a call in the passenger seat, and Yoon Da-yeon, her long straight hair tied back, kept stealing glances at Jae-ha beside her.
Kang Jae-ha, chin propped in his hand, murmured while gazing out the window.
"If you've got something to say, just say it."
Yoon Da-yeon puckered her lips slightly and scoffed.
"Say what? I've got nothing to say."
"Then don't."
"...I-I finished preparing for the Free Acting."
"Good job."
"That's it?"
"That's it. Want me to pat you on the head?"
"Piss off."
Yoon Da-yeon, having snapped her reply, debated internally whether or not to tell him about what had happened yesterday. That deliberation lasted roughly a few dozen seconds. In the end, she decided to keep it to herself.
'Forget it. If I tell this guy, something tells me it'll blow up into a bigger deal. It was shitty, yeah, but I can just tough it out.'
Her mental fortitude was solid. And.
'That kind of garbage is never happening again. They're all dead, for real.'
Her fighting spirit had multiplied several times over. Yesterday's incident had lit a fire in her.
"I'm going to roll through the cesspool for real, so watch me. Just try to run away because it stinks."
Jae-ha glanced at Yoon Da-yeon for a moment, then turned his gaze back to the window. His face was blank, but inside, he was quietly satisfied.
'That's right. That's how you should come at it.'
Yoon Da-yeon threw herself into filming 'The Last Man' as usual, and while Kang Jae-ha and General Manager Kim Dae-yong watched, the Assistant Director approached and spoke.
"Excuse me, it looks like Yoon Da-yeon ssi's scenes are going to wrap up faster than expected."
Part of it was that her acting was good, but the biggest reason was that the main PD wasn't nitpicking, which kept the filming smooth.
"At the earliest next week, latest the week after, it should all be done."
And so Kang Jae-ha finished his day. After showering, Jae-ha lay down in his studio apartment. Around 9 PM. He looked around the cramped little room.
'Should start thinking about moving soon.'
It hadn't bothered him before, but lately the feeling of being boxed in had been growing. He'd also been having frequent nightmares about his Mercenary Corps subordinates and the other world.
He was thinking he should look into a new place when he had time, and before he knew it, he drifted off to sleep.
Then he jolted awake.
"......"
His throat felt parched, so he sat up and gulped down some water, then checked the time. 11 PM. He'd dozed off for about two hours, it seemed. Once again, a nightmare had woken him. Kang Jae-ha clicked his tongue briefly.
"Tch."
He lay back down and picked up his phone. He opened an app he'd been logging into quite frequently over the past few days, ever since seeing the 'Deja Vu' that smelled like money. A securities app. He'd opened it without any real expectations, but.
"Oh?"
Jae-ha, who had been lying down, shot upright. A certain stock on the US Stock Market he'd been watching, the stock price of the company he'd poured nearly 700 million won into.
-BBMD $178.87 (+35.21%)
-Principal: $618,058 (679,863,800 won)
-Current Value: $835,680 (919,248,000 won)
-Profit: +239,384,200 won (Total: 919,248,000 won)
It had surged explosively. The current exchange rate was 1,100 won. His money had grown by over 200 million won. A smile gradually spread across Kang Jae-ha's face as he recalled a line from Ryu Jin-woo in the 'Deja Vu' that smelled like money.
『"'BBMD' stock price went through the fucking roof over two days!! Thank fuck I didn't pull out and waited! I'm a goddamn genius!"』
He muttered to himself in a low voice.
"A two-day surge. Day one has hit. Still one more to go."
The remaining push would be tomorrow night. The morning of the 4th arrived, and as an upbeat Kang Jae-ha was on his way to work, several news articles were being dropped into the world. Articles that Jae-ha and Lee Chan-hoo would both find interesting.
《[MovieTalk] Busan International Film Festival Organizing Committee: "This year's Busan International Film Festival will begin June 26th"》
The official opening date of the Busan International Film Festival had been announced.
At that very moment, in a conference room at a film production company, Leon Entertainment's name was being mentioned.
"...Director-nim. We just got word. Leon Entertainment has officially declined the investment."
The expression of the thick-eyebrowed director who heard this darkened sharply. It was Director Hong Man-seop, the one Kang Jae-ha had passed in the elevator, the one he'd seen in a 'Deja Vu'. He let out a long, heavy sigh.
"......No choice, then."
He thought of the option he'd desperately wanted to avoid.
'Is Chinese capital really the only answer?'
He spoke again.
"Contact 'Huayuan Partners'... and tell them we'd like to proceed with a meeting."
Never dreaming that his salvation was already at Leon.