Chapter 77
Chapter 77
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: Fearless Puppy
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Composer Kwak Chan-seok stated that the person who recorded the guide track wasn't a singer. All the singers at the dinner party heard his words through the speakerphone.
A few singers who had given up on competing for the song slyly raised their hands.
"Then I'll give it another shot too..."
SAH Entertainment President Seo Jae-hyun jumped in urgently.
"Hold on! So he doesn't have an agency either?"
- What are you talking about? I contracted that song with you.
"No, not the song—the person who did the guide recording. You said he's not a singer."
Kwak Chan-seok didn't know Na Gang-in's full situation.
- Uh... probably not?
Seo Jae-hyun's voice lit up with excitement.
"Chan-seok-ah. Give me his contact info. Let's sign him to our company."
Kwak Chan-seok didn't know much about Na Gang-in, but he'd heard some rumors floating around the industry.
- Sign him? That'd be tough.
Seo Jae-hyun bellowed.
"Hey. If we look just at our singers, we're not Big Five level, but add in our actors and we're right up there with them in scale."
- It's not that. I heard several places wanted to sign him, but he turned them all down.
Seo Jae-hyun was flustered.
"Huh? All the major companies already know about him? Then how come I didn't? Is our contracts team slacking off these days?"
- He wasn't a singer, so you wouldn't have heard.
Seo Jae-hyun felt like the conversation kept veering off track.
"Wait. So which companies wanted to sign him? One of the Big Five?"
- No. Actor agencies. Ad agencies didn't even get a chance to pitch—apparently not their league.
Seo Jae-hyun's face brightened instantly.
"Is this guy an actor by any chance? Whoa. Our company's actor lineup is stacked. Perfect for someone wanting to do both singing and acting!"
- No. He's a chef.
"Huh?"
- And a martial arts director. And an engineer?
That was as far as Kwak Chan-seok's intel went. He'd learned Na Gang-in could fix equipment during Kwak Yu-seon's electrocution incident.
"Hold up. This guy's got three jobs?"
- I heard even more, but I don't know the details.
Seo Jae-hyun decided to keep it simple.
"Ah, whatever. Who cares? I'll just go nab him for our company..."
Kwak Chan-seok cut in.
- Hey. Mind your manners.
"Huh?"
- He's our maknae's lifesaver.
"What? Is Yu-seon sick?"
Kwak Chan-seok went quiet for a beat, then exploded.
- You call yourself a friend? Forget it. I'm hanging up!
The call cut off abruptly.
Seo Jae-hyun stared blankly at his smartphone.
"What the hell? What did I do wrong?"
The next day, drama PD Choi Jin-wook showed drama writer Do Ju-hee Na Gang-in's phone number.
"Know what this is?"
"A phone number. Whose?"
"The martial arts director for 'Sunny Day'."
"Oh, that movie..."
Choi Jin-wook grumbled.
"Why the lukewarm reaction? I went through hell to get this number."
Do Ju-hee snorted.
"Just call the agency. Easy peasy."
"He doesn't have an agency. Hardly anyone has his contact."
Do Ju-hee frowned.
"What? So he's an amateur?"
"No way someone with that skill is an amateur. He just doesn't work full-time for personal reasons. But seriously, why the cold shoulder?"
Do Ju-hee muttered.
"I just don't see why our drama needs a martial arts director. It's light scuffles—bringing one in would overblow the action. And..."
"And?"
"We barely have shooting time as it is. When would we choreograph, sync up, and rehearse?"
Choi Jin-wook assured her.
"Think I'd overlook that? No need for any of it."
"That simple? Then why bother with a director?"
PD Choi Jin-wook grinned as he explained.
"I heard from some directors at a wedding reception. Every action scene in 'Sunny Day' was improvised on set—no rehearsals."
"Huh? How's that possible?"
"Swear it's true. That's why I busted my ass for this number."
"Hmm..."
Do Ju-hee remained skeptical. It sounded too good to be true.
Choi Jin-wook proposed.
"Alright, let's test him once. If it sucks, we scrap the footage."
"Fine. If we can cut it, I won't complain."
Choi Jin-wook dialed Na Gang-in while saying.
"No backing out later, got it? Here goes. Ring ring..."
- The user is unavailable. Connecting to voicemail.
"Huh?"
Na Gang-in eyed the unknown number on his smartphone.
"Spam call?"
He rarely picked up unknowns.
It rang again—this time Cheol-in Gih-gong design team member Cha Ji-hee.
"Hello."
- Team leader! Ten new Dragon Plate orders just came in!
"From the same country?"
- No! This time it's domestic!
Na Gang-in tilted his head.
"Ji-hee-ssi. I thought Dragon Plates had no government certifications, so we couldn't sell to them."
- We thought so too, but they insist on using them. Hehehe.
"Must be good."
- Of course! Important people from our country will wear what I made. Who could it be? Secret agents? High officials? Minister level? Oh! The Blue House? Eeee!
"You'll find out when we measure their sizes."
- Oh, right. Government folks want to meet you. What do I say?
Na Gang-in pulled the phone away and whispered.
"Having connections in government can't hurt, right?"
- In this era, Agent's identity is officially verified. Contacting local admins in op areas aids missions.
"I think so too."
Na Gang-in spoke into the phone.
"Tell them to come to the PC bang tonight—I'm selling food there."
- Huh? There?
"If they don't like it, tell them no."
- Got it. I'll pass it on.
Drama PD Choi Jin-wook tried calling again.
"Busy? What? Is he dodging me?"
Drama writer Do Ju-hee said.
"Just give up."
"No way. Now I'm determined. Gotta meet him in person."
"Our schedule's tight."
"We've got a gap today. I'll be quick."
Na Gang-in finished a new bulletproof vest at his fabrication outpost.
"Fits perfectly."
But the slim waist meant he couldn't wear it himself.
AI Jeon Ji-in spoke.
- Providing military Dragon Plates to civilians risks regulation violations.
Na Gang-in eyed the vest on the mannequin. It perfectly hugged the wearer's sleek figure.
"Local collaborator."
- Shin Eun-ha's combat prowess is dismal for a collaborator.
"That's why she needs it. How many close calls has she had with bullets?"
- Two.
"See? Lose a collaborator over red tape? No way."
- Seems Agent has ulterior motives.
Na Gang-in wiped his hands and changed the subject.
"Time to head to the PC bang."
- Visitor arriving.
A black sedan parked in the outpost's outer lot. Two people—a man and a woman—got out.
They rang the fabrication outpost door. Na Gang-in opened it.
"Who are you?"
The man said.
"Here for the Dragon Plate commission."
"Government reps, then. But I said PC bang."
The male agent grinned.
"Official orders go through channels—someone else'll handle it. Ours is off-books; can't leave records. Can we talk inside?"
Na Gang-in let them in for now.
The female agent spotted the Dragon Plate vest on the mannequin and her eyes sparkled.
"Oh! Women's sizes too?"
"Yeah, whatever."
The male agent swallowed hard.
"Whoever the model's based on, killer figure."
It was made for Shin Eun-ha.
"That's the model. Just a test piece."
The male agent nodded slightly.
"Figures. No real body like that."
Na Gang-in frowned at that.
AI Jeon Ji-in griped too.
- They're overrating Shin Eun-ha's figure.
"Not over— just strangers judging."
Na Gang-in asked them.
"So, what's the deal?"
The male agent replied.
"Custom vests for two. Us. Came in person."
"Government's ordering ten officially, but two more off-record..."
Na Gang-in sized them up.
'Intel agency?'
Affiliation didn't matter. He couldn't stop the government reallocating the ten official ones.
But no proof yet they were legit.
Na Gang-in asked.
"Your agency?"
"Call me Manager Kim. This is Manager Lee."
"I asked for agency."
"Can't say."
"Then leave."
"What?"
"Can't make for just anyone. What if you rob a bank in them?"
The male agent lowered his voice.
"You know who we are and still? You'll regret this big time."
"Oh ho. Threatening with state power? Gotta ID yourselves first."
The male agent clenched and unclenched his fists a few times.
"Said it's off-books."
"Where you from really? Doesn't look like a legit outfit."
"Hey! Na Gang-in! You'll get hurt!"
The female agent yanked the male agent's arm.
"Stop. You're overdoing it."
"Look at his attitude! Offering a chance to serve the nation and he—"
"Enough."
Na Gang-in waved them out.
"Out. If you're real state, order through Cheol-in Gih-gong. They'll sort it."
"You're messing up!"
"Scram."
Na Gang-in shooed them out. Then he grumbled.
"Freaking randos picking fights. Should sprinkle some salt."
- Could be scammers. Apprehend and hand to police.
"Probably state. Knew to come here. Few civilians know the location."
- Then why press for their agency?
"Attitude rubbed me wrong."
- Fair. Good call.
Back at their agency, the female agent vented.
"Embarrassing as hell. Why'd you start a fight?"
The male agent was still fuming.
"He was rude to customers. And we're just customers? Korea's top—"
Their boss, the real Manager, interrupted.
"Hey. What're you two yapping about?"
They spun around, startled.
"M-M-Manager."
They'd used "manager" with Na Gang-in to hide ranks.
Their department's actual manager asked.
"Shouldn't you be getting sized for Dragon Plates? Why here?"
"W-Well..."
He caught on and scowled.
"What? Booted? Man, rookies these days. Not some big op—just buying custom vests and you fail?"
They'd trained a year but been agents less than a month. Still probationary.
The male probationary agent defended.
"Na Gang-in treated us like bank robbers..."
"How incompetent to get treated like that buying stuff?"
"So we argued..."
The manager paused. Recalling the earlier words.
"Argued? You didn't fight, did you?"
The male probationary agent said proudly.
"No. I never hit civilians on duty."
The manager asked the female.
"You tell me. Fight?"
"No. Resolved before it escalated."
"Order placed?"
"Yes, but they refused."
The manager facepalmed.
"Why'd they refuse? Did you stop him from fighting?"
"Yes."
The guy who smashed Jackal's gang in a Gangnam high-rise? Classified. The one who nabbed the Nakgwi Pirates at the sea party? Also sealed. Few knew.
Fewer knew he headed Cheol-in Gih-gong's Dragon Plate team.
But the manager attended joint task force meetings on both. He knew how Na Gang-in took down mercs and pirates.
He'd sent the rookies because test dummies were needed for plates. Greenhorns were perfect cannon fodder.
But they'd screwed up.
The manager dropped his hand from his face.
"Unbelievable. This fearless pup came back alive by sheer luck."