Chapter 135: Mastermind (3)

Translator: Dreamscribe

An Ji-hee, whose distinctly East Asian beauty stood out even more today, was startled. General Manager Kim Ha-jae, who had just climbed into the van, had suddenly offered to scout her for an Exclusive Contract.

An Ji-hee, her short hair tied back, widened both eyes.

'That startled me.'

She stared intently at General Manager Kim Ha-jae for several seconds. Apparently, she hadn't expected him to bring up scouting her. After collecting herself, An Ji-hee spoke.

"When you say I should become the face of 'MEG'."

Jae-ha, wearing General Manager Kim Ha-jae's face as a mask, answered with a faint smile.

"Yes, I'm proposing that you Transfer to 'MEG'."

"Wow-"

"Were you surprised."

"Yes. I didn't expect this at all."

In truth, An Ji-hee had quite a deep connection with 'MEG'. Starting with 'Condensation', 'MEG's first investment, then Netflix Korea's 'One-Act Drama Project', and now 'Condensation: Euphoria'.

Well, that was only natural, since Kang Jae-ha had been the one steering all of them.

Of course, An Ji-hee didn't know that General Manager Kim Ha-jae sitting in front of her was Kang Jae-ha.

In any case, Jae-ha looked at An Ji-hee sitting before him and delivered the line he'd prepared.

"Your contract with Leon expires soon, doesn't it? As I understand it, you haven't signed a Contract Renewal yet."

That was right. An Ji-hee didn't have much time left on her contract with Leon Entertainment. The Contract Renewal Kang Jae-ha had offered when he turned An Ji-hee into an actress had been for one year.

That year was almost over, but An Ji-hee still hadn't extended her contract with Leon.

An Ji-hee was surprised once again and asked.

"How did you know that."

Kang Jae-ha, the very person who had offered her that one-year contract, answered immediately.

"It wasn't difficult. This is an industry where word gets around about everything."

"Ah."

"Leon must have already offered you a Contract Renewal too, but judging by the fact that you still haven't signed, you must be having doubts. Right?"

"......"

He was exactly right. That was why An Ji-hee couldn't answer. In truth, if possible, she wanted to stay at Leon, where Kang Jae-ha was. She wanted to continue receiving Jae-ha's guidance and remain within his orbit.

Leon itself didn't really matter.

Whether Kang Jae-ha was there or not was what mattered most. An Ji-hee had previously asked Jae-ha about renewing her contract. She'd told him she wanted to stay at Leon. Kang Jae-ha's answer had been concise.

'Frankly, An Ji-hee-ssi, you'd be better off leaving Leon.'

An Ji-hee continued recalling Jae-ha's calm words from back then.

'The same goes for Yoon Da-yeon-ssi, but you too, An Ji-hee-ssi. If you stay here at Leon, you'll stagnate until you rot. I can't keep handling you forever, especially with Kisera to deal with too. Of course, if that's what you want, you can stay at Leon, but now that you've spread your wings, somewhere new would be better.'

An Ji-hee had expected it too. Kang Jae-ha wasn't someone who managed only An Ji-hee in the first place, and Jae-ha, whose abilities were outstanding enough for even CEO Han Tae-sung to acknowledge, was growing busier by the day.

That would only become more true in the future.

So she had to become independent from Kang Jae-ha.

'......Still, I want to stay where Manager-nim can keep an eye on me.'

However, although she had started appearing in productions and her recognition had risen sharply, An Ji-hee was still a Newcomer. On top of that, she felt deeply grateful to Kang Jae-ha. She wanted to repay everything he'd done for her.

At that moment, Jae-ha, watching An Ji-hee with his changed face, spoke.

"Is Manager Kang Jae-ha what's making you hesitate."

"!!"

An Ji-hee's eyes widened slightly when he saw through what was on her mind, and Kang Jae-ha continued casually.

"Well, I understand. It's fairly well known that Manager Kang Jae-ha discovered you, An Ji-hee-ssi."

"...Yes. People see Manager-nim as extremely cold and aloof, but to me, he's someone I'm incredibly grateful to."

Cold and aloof? Hearing what people around him thought so directly made Kang Jae-ha wonder whether he'd really been like that. Not that he particularly cared, but still, he thought he was only a little dry, not that bad.

"I see."

Unaware of any of this, An Ji-hee smiled faintly.

"If Manager Kang Jae-ha-nim hadn't been there, I wouldn't be who I am today."

"You would've made it one way or another, An Ji-hee-ssi."

"Excuse me??"

"And if you're thinking of repaying Manager Kang Jae-ha, I think the right answer is to become a much bigger actress than you are now. And our 'MEG' is confident we can guide that process better than Leon."

"......"

Once again, An Ji-hee recalled something Kang Jae-ha had told her before.

'Even if you leave Leon, stay in touch, I can still help point you in the right direction like I do now.'

She'd always planned to become independent someday, but she hadn't expected it to happen this soon. Soon, General Manager Kim Ha-jae spoke again.

"Of course, An Ji-hee-ssi, with the momentum you have now, you'll stand out wherever you go, even if it isn't 'MEG'. But at 'MEG', where you already have ties, the synergy would be much greater."

He also brought up the senior actresses.

"Above all, Yoon Da-yeon-ssi and Moon Ji-a-ssi are there, they'll be a great help to you, An Ji-hee-ssi."

On top of that, Kang Jae-ha even guaranteed her the freedom to take on any project she wanted. An Ji-hee slowly nodded, then bowed deeply to the masked Jae-ha sitting across from her.

"Thank you! I, I-I'll give it serious consideration."

"Please do."

Soon, Kang Jae-ha handed An Ji-hee General Manager Kim Ha-jae's business card and stepped out of the van, while An Ji-hee, left alone, let out a small breath and stared blankly ahead for a moment.

A Transfer. For someone with little experience like her, it wasn't an easy decision.

'But things like this are going to happen all the time from now on.'

She couldn't keep whining forever, trapped behind the word Newcomer.

'Manager Kang Jae-ha-nim told me to leave Leon because he'd thought about that too.'

After thinking for a few minutes, An Ji-hee seemed to reach a decision and picked up her phone. She took a deep breath and sent Kang Jae-ha a message.

Around then, the masked Kang Jae-ha was walking toward the shooting area for 'Condensation: Euphoria'.

A short vibration came from his phone.

It was An Ji-hee.

-Manager-nim, I'm leaving Leon.

A little while later.

Director Kwon Sung-min's shout rang across the set of 'Condensation: Euphoria', where preparations for filming had been completed.

"Action!"

It meant filming had begun. Kang Jae-ha, arms folded, glanced at Director Kwon Sung-min sitting in front of the monitor. He had grown considerably thinner, but his eyes were brimming with feral intensity as he watched the screen.

'He's grown even more.'

There was no trace left in Director Kwon Sung-min of the youthful air or rookie feel he'd had during the Short Film 'Condensation'. A director commanding the set. That authority showed in his eyes.

Accordingly, the dozens of crew members followed Director Kwon Sung-min's lead without hesitation.

'Has he developed charisma before I knew it?'

Things were flowing well. Perhaps renowned Director Yu Gil-tae's recent Transfer to 'MEG' had spurred him on. In any case, following Director Kwon Sung-min's cue.

-Swish.

An actress stepped in front of the cameras that had been set up. It was Moon Ji-a, the cream of the crop even among Top Actresses. The Female Lead who would carry 'Condensation: Euphoria'. Moon Ji-a wore makeup that made her look worn down by the world, in keeping with her Role.

"......"

Without a word, she stared into the camera directly ahead, then sat down on a nearby wooden bench. A scene carried by nothing but her gaze and emotion, with no dialogue. Moon Ji-a's acting was enough to leave Director Kwon Sung-min in awe.

'She's incredible, seriously.'

Even Kang Jae-ha let out an inward Oh- of admiration.

'As expected. People don't go on and on about Moon Ji-a for nothing. She's in a different league from most Top Actresses.'

A short while later, Director Kwon Sung-min raised his voice into the megaphone.

"Cut!! OK!! That was really good!"

Moon Ji-a gave Director Kwon Sung-min a small bow.

"Thank you-"

Then she approached the director's station where the monitor sat.

"Was that last one all right?"

"Yes. The way you portrayed those dead eyes was especially amazing. Would you like to take a look?"

"Yeah, I do."

Director Kwon Sung-min and Moon Ji-a reviewed the scene they'd just shot on the monitor. The two then exchanged their opinions candidly. Watching them while standing stiff as a telephone pole was a hard-faced man.

It was Jang Tae-san, Moon Ji-a's exclusive guard.

'Come to think of it, Director Kwon Sung-min and Moon Ji-a-ssi are both with 'MEG'.'

The director leading an entire film and its Top Actress Female Lead. The central figures on the set were all 'MEG' people. An Ji-hee wasn't yet, but it was only a matter of time.

In other words, 'MEG' practically had the entire set under its control.

Jang Tae-san could vaguely grasp the future the Commander had envisioned.

'I still don't really know, but this must be the picture Commander-nim wants. Though it'll be on a much bigger scale.'

Then he looked at Commander Kang Jae-ha, standing quite some distance away.

'Mm. I'm still not used to Commander-nim having a different face.'

After that, the filming of 'Condensation: Euphoria' progressed at a fairly rapid pace. Director Kwon Sung-min hardly called for any retakes, and they were tearing through the Storyboard at a remarkable pace.

That didn't mean the quality of the filming suffered, either.

The acting from Moon Ji-a and the other actors, the director's direction, the rapidly adjusted shot compositions, the coordination among the key staff, and so on.

The pace was fast, yet the quality was remarkably high.

Kang Jae-ha, who had been watching the shoot the entire time, smirked to himself.

'Who would believe this is a movie with a 1.5 billion won Production Budget.'

'Condensation: Euphoria' was being made on a Production Budget of 1.5 billion won, just as had been discussed early in production. Thanks to that, the production timeline, from Pre-production through filming and Editing, was considerably shorter.

Kang Jae-ha could feel it just by looking at the current filming pace.

'When I first heard the Production Budget was 1.5 billion, I wondered how this was going to work, but as expected, there doesn't seem to be any major problem.'

Well, since the Production Budget was only 1.5 billion won, aside from the sets, they had to cut costs everywhere they could. Even so, in the 'Deja Vu' Kang Jae-ha had seen, 'Condensation: Euphoria' had an Audience Count of over 5 million.

At that moment, Director Kwon Sung-min approached Kang Jae-ha, who had been looking over the entire set.

"General Manager Kim Ha-jae-nim."

"Yes. Director-nim."

When Jae-ha turned around, Director Kwon Sung-min pushed up his glasses and lowered his voice slightly.

"It looks like we'll finish filming a little sooner than expected."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. Thankfully, the actors and staff are all giving it their all, and thanks to that, as of today, we're already past the halfway point of the shooting schedule."

Director Kwon Sung-min took out his phone, checked the time and date, then continued.

"'Condensation: Euphoria', we might be able to Release it before summer begins."

Compared to ordinary films, that was practically the blink of an eye.

"Of course, it could be even sooner."

Two days later, the morning of the 17th. Leon Entertainment.

When Kang Jae-ha arrived at Team 4, Team Leader Jang Hyung-su came out of the team leader's office and relayed a message to him.

"Jae-ha-ssi, CEO-nim wants you."

CEO Han Tae-sung had called for Kang Jae-ha first thing in the morning. It was the first time he'd ever summoned him this early, so Jae-ha found it a little strange.

'I don't really want to see that old guy's face first thing in the morning.'

And he wasn't just some old guy, either. He was a man connected to the 'New Light Truth Church'. Kang Jae-ha, who had recently taken a much deeper interest in CEO Han Tae-sung, left Team 4. Ten minutes later, Jae-ha entered the CEO's office with its wood-toned interior.

CEO Han Tae-sung stood looking out the window with both hands shoved into his pockets.

As always, an aura fit for the cover of a men's magazine.

"You're here? Sit."

CEO Han Tae-sung pointed Kang Jae-ha toward the five-seater sofa, and once Jae-ha sat down, CEO Han Tae-sung took the seat at the head and crossed his legs.

Then CEO Han Tae-sung stared steadily at Kang Jae-ha for a while.

Jae-ha didn't avoid his eyes either.

CEO Han Tae-sung smiled faintly and spoke.

"There's something subtly different about the way you look at me."

As expected, he'd caught it uncannily fast. Well, this was something Kang Jae-ha had intended.

"Is that so? I think I'm the same as usual."

It was a subtle tease, if anything.

"Is that so? Must've been my imagination."

Then, before CEO Han Tae-sung could say anything else, Kang Jae-ha beat him to it.

"I'm thinking of taking a business trip to the U.S. soon regarding 'Kisera'."

*****

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