Chapter 158: Moonless Village (3)

Translator: Dreamscribe

At first, praise had poured in for the OST 'Wolhyang'. But at some point, public opinion...

-The singer's vocal tone is insane...but Rina? Never seen that name before. Is she an unknown singer??

-I'm curious about the singer too, yeah.

-Moonless Village was fun as hell, and the OST is so good too!!!

-This is going on endless repeat for over a month....

-Is the singer a newcomer?

-Rina? If it's Rina, isn't she the Composer who made Seriel's latest comeback songs?

-Holy shit! I searched Rina, and it really looks like she's Seriel's Composer!!

Curiosity about Rina, the singer of 'Wolhyang', grew rapidly. Perhaps because of that, information about Rina began surfacing one piece after another before long.

-Rina is definitely the Composer who made Seriel's comeback songs, yeah.

-I looked her up, and Netflix's One-Act Drama Project lists Rina as the Music Director too??

-What the hell, so she's a Composer, a Music Director, and a singer too?

-No matter how hard I search, there are zero pictures of her and absolutely no previous singing activity ㅋㅋㅋㅋ looks like this is her first time as a singer.

-Wow.....but her vocals are fucking incredible....

-Did she work as a Music Director and Composer, then switch to being a singer this time??

The singer named Rina was unfamiliar to the public, but once they searched her, there was surprisingly quite a bit of information. First, Rina was the one who had composed 'Nyxtra' and 'My Page', the comeback songs of the top-tier girl group 'Seriel'. Both songs were still occupying the upper ranks of Korea's music charts.

On top of that, Rina was also the Music Director for Netflix's buzzworthy 'One-Act Drama Project'.

'Murder Impulse?', the main OST of 'Murder Is a Qualification Too' composed by Rina, was ranked fifth on the charts. She was even the Music Director for 'Moonless Village', which had exploded with attention the moment it opened.

-Rina looks like she only started working as a Composer and Music Director recently too?

-↑Yeah, there's literally no information on her from before this year.

-She's fucking unusual ㅋㅋㅋㅋ she's a Composer, a Music Director, and even a singer? But damn, those vocals are insane.

To the public flocking to the OST 'Wolhyang', Rina was a juicy topic. She had suddenly appeared out of nowhere this year, and everything she had done, whether as a Composer or Music Director, had been remarkably successful.

Given Rina's truly unusual career history.

-So she worked as a Composer and Music Director, and now she's debuting as a Faceless Singer? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Who cares if we don't know her face! Wolhyang is fucking amazing!!!

-Her vocals are insane, but I bet her looks are ugly??

-There's probably a reason she wants to work as a Faceless Singer ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-There've been plenty of singers before who were butt-ugly but talented, so they hid their faces while working.

-Gross. Look at them immediately judging her face.

-Like you're not curious too ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

The public's curiosity toward Rina began to intensify.

-Fuck, now I wanna know what she looks like.

At the same time, Tokyo, Japan.

The location was the Tokyo-based content production company 'Shiori Production'. A fairly large conference room was bustling. Even at a glance, there were more than thirty 'Shiori Production' employees and Japanese actors present.

They were the production crew and cast of the Japanese drama 'Spring at the Borderline'.

For reference, production of 'Spring at the Borderline' had been delayed because of the affair scandal involving A-class actress Towase Rino, who had been cast in the drama, and the case involving 'Matsuda Hideo', who had fallen from a legendary figure to a vicious criminal. Even so, they had somehow managed to finish pre-production, and the first shoot was scheduled for tomorrow.

Right now, the production crew and cast had all gathered for one final check before principal photography began.

Until the main PD arrived, they spent the time chatting casually.

Among all the actors gathered there was exactly one familiar Korean actress.

'Ugh, I really want to go talk to the other actors and get to know them, but it's hard.'

It was An Ji-hee, who stood out most of all for her beauty.

After recently finishing filming 'Condensation: Euphoria', An Ji-hee had wrapped up her domestic commitments and come over to Japan with her team. Of course, Kang Jae-ha had not come with her. An Ji-hee had been cast during the early stages of pre-production for 'Spring at the Borderline', but she had not had many chances to meet with the actors, production crew, and the rest of the team.

Because she had been too busy handling her schedule in Korea to come to Japan often.

Important matters had generally been handled through video meetings or phone calls. So of course this gathering felt awkward. On top of that, An Ji-hee was the only Korean actress there. She let out a quiet sigh and thought of Kang Jae-ha.

'I miss Manager-nim. Just having him here gives me so much strength.'

In any case, An Ji-hee gave herself a pep talk to overcome the awkwardness.

'No! I still have to do my best! I'm going to become stronger on my own without relying on anyone.'

She imagined the day when she would go to Kang Jae-ha and show him how much she had grown. With her morale boosted, An Ji-hee turned her gaze toward the seat on her right. It looked like she was about to speak to a Japanese male actor. Just then.

-Swish.

Someone pulled out the chair at the empty seat to An Ji-hee's left. Slightly startled, An Ji-hee turned her head. Sitting beside her was a Japanese actress with a faint flush on both cheeks and a smile in her eyes.

It was Kamijo Yuu, one of Kang Jae-ha's Subordinates and an actress who had joined 'Spring at the Borderline' almost at the very end.

An Ji-hee did not know it, but Sato Shota was also among the staff.

Then Kamijo Yuu greeted An Ji-hee, whose eyes had widened. In Korean.

"Hello. You're An Ji-hee-nim, right?"

Kamijo Yuu had apparently been studying Korean diligently. Though it was still imperfect, her Korean was quite good. Startled, An Ji-hee answered.

"Oh! Hello. But your Korean......"

"I practiced. Korean is still difficult."

"No! You're really good at it??"

"Thank you. My name is Kamijo Yuu."

"Ah!"

The moment she heard the name, An Ji-hee clearly remembered who she was. CEO Park Ja-hee of her agency, MEG Enter, had told her about Yuu before.

'Ji-hee-ssi, there's a Japan Branch of the Head Office 'MEG' called MEG Production, you know? There's a Japanese actress named Kamijo Yuu there. She was cast in 'Spring at the Borderline', so you'll probably meet her during filming.'

In other words, Kamijo Yuu was practically family to An Ji-hee under the same 'MEG'. Their nationalities and agencies were different, but they shared the same Parent Company, 'MEG'. Though this was their first time meeting, An Ji-hee's guard came down instantly thanks to that shared sense of belonging to 'MEG'.

"I've heard about you, Kamijo Yuu-nim! I was actually planning to look for you. We can speak in Japanese."

"Really?"

An Ji-hee nodded energetically and switched to Japanese. It was slightly awkward, but more than good enough for communication. She, too, had been studying Japanese whenever she had spare time.

"Yes! Please speak Japanese with me. I want to get better at it."

Kamijo Yuu's smile deepened as she nodded.

"All right. I've heard about you too, An Ji-hee-nim. You really are incredibly pretty."

"Kamijo Yuu-nim, you're incredibly pretty too??"

"Just call me Yuu."

Even as she answered, Kamijo Yuu recalled the instructions of the impassive Commander Kang Jae-ha.

'She's a Newcomer actress I care about. Make sure you take good care of An Ji-hee.'

Just hearing that from the Commander was enough for Yuu to feel an intense fondness for An Ji-hee. Well, if Kang Jae-ha cared about her, then naturally Kamijo Yuu was going to care about An Ji-hee too.

"Let's be friends. Okay?"

"I'd love that! I was actually nervous because I didn't know anyone well here."

"Our agencies may be different, but we're both still under the same 'MEG', so I'm really glad to meet you too."

Smiling softly, Yuu took something out of the bag hanging from her chair. It was a small, beautifully wrapped bear-shaped cookie. Kamijo Yuu handed the cookie to An Ji-hee.

"Would you like one?"

"Wow- it's cute. But is it really okay for me to eat this?"

"Yes. It won't make you sick."

What Yuu meant by getting sick was that the cookie did not contain the Mind Destruction 'Ability'. Of course, Kamijo Yuu was also carrying grenades imbued with that terrifying 'Ability'. Oblivious to this, An Ji-hee was deeply moved.

"Thank you! It's so cute, how am I supposed to eat it? But I didn't bring anything for you."

"It's fine. To celebrate becoming friends."

Having gained a friend from the Mercenary Corps, An Ji-hee kept taking photos of the bear-shaped cookie with her phone, while Sato Shota, who had been watching the two from afar, uncrossed his arms and chuckled.

"She was so worried about how to start talking to her. Looks like it went well."

And so An Ji-hee somehow managed to fit into the 'Spring at the Borderline' team without much trouble, and the day after the final meeting ended, filming for 'Spring at the Borderline' began on set.

"All right, we're starting! Hai- action!!"

The first scene was An Ji-hee's.

Late afternoon on the 15th, Korea. MEG conference room.

All of the Subordinates had gathered in the conference room around Commander Kang Jae-ha. These days, both Jae-ha and his Subordinates had become so busy with work that it was not easy to get everyone together like this. That was why, whenever they did manage to gather like this, Kang Jae-ha...

"Then Lee Chan-hoo, you start."

"Yep! Commander."

...caught up on the reports that had piled up. Lee Chan-hoo, who oversaw the entire 'MEG' Head Office and its Subsidiaries, Safe-keeper Cha Chung-hyeon, Ha Yeon-ji, who oversaw the press operations, and so on.

Kang Jae-ha carefully listened to his Subordinates' reports and the latest developments.

'SecurityMEG, which handles manpower and security, has hired quite a few bodyguards and is finally running properly, and News M keeps growing by landing scoop after scoop. 'MEG Story' is picking up speed too after recruiting Director Baek Jeong-ha. Overall, not bad.'

The other Subsidiaries were growing explosively as well.

After listening to reports for roughly an hour, Kang Jae-ha changed the subject.

"I told you beforehand, but next Monday. I'm going on a business trip to the U.S."

Only three days remained until that U.S. business trip.

Meanwhile, inside the CEO's office at 'HG ENM'.

A woman with shoulder-length hair neatly tied back was there. Her expression was quite serious. It was CEO Seok Ji-yeon.

"......"

She stared into empty space, deeply lost in thought. Just then, after a knock, a fairly handsome male secretary entered the CEO's office.

"CEO."

The secretary greeted her as he entered, then first brought up the matter concerning 'K:FESTA'.

"Preparations are proceeding smoothly for the U.S. business trip on the 21st."

"Mm, good. There's a high chance we'll meet Director Kim Ha-jae in the U.S., so keep that in mind."

"Yes. I'll account for it in the schedule just in case."

The secretary said that, then changed the subject.

"Next is Director Lee Dong-hak. Director Lee Dong-hak has been making some concerning moves lately. He's been meeting frequently with the other Directors, and recently it seems he's also been making contact with people from the Head Office, 'HG Group'."

As the secretary continued his report, CEO Seok Ji-yeon's expression grew darker and darker.

"......Hmm."

"It seems we'll need to make a move as well."

"All right for now. You can go."

"Yes."

The secretary bowed and left the CEO's office. After remaining silent for a while, CEO Seok Ji-yeon let out a long breath.

"Director Lee Dong-hak-"

CEO Seok Ji-yeon recalled the gorilla-like Director Lee Dong-hak. She muttered to herself in a troubled tone.

"I can commit to an all-out war if I have to......but I'd rather not have our side bleed."

But it was not something she could avoid either. Before long, CEO Seok Ji-yeon remembered Director Kim Ha-jae, who had brought up the subject of 'Mercenaries'.

"I don't know which way this will go, but- should I give it a try?"

She took out her phone, hesitated for a moment, then made a call. A dry male voice came through the phone, and CEO Seok Ji-yeon spoke seriously to the person on the other end.

"That 'Mercenary' matter you mentioned back then, is it still on the table?"

The person on the other end was Director Kim Ha-jae. In other words, Kang Jae-ha.

*****

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