Condensation (3)
The woman who had tapped Kang Jaeha on the back among the reporters. The moment their eyes met, a woman’s voice rang out to both of them.
Comrade (subordinate) has awakened thanks to Kang Jaeha’s objective accomplishment on the other world side.
For Jaeha, it was old information, but the woman looked intensely focused, as if it was her first time hearing any of it. Especially when it got to the part about Absolute Obedience.
that comrade (subordinate) will die.
When the messages about betrayal, treason, disobedience, and harming him started appearing, her face went properly stunned. Her already large eyes widened even more. Why had the message about a comrade (subordinate) suddenly appeared after the woman’s arrival?
The answer was simple.
She had been one of the mercenaries under his command. Kang Jaeha, his expression unusually serious, reacted at once.
"You."
The woman, having heard every last word, glanced around and lowered her voice. It was the voice of someone trying her best to suppress shock.
"Oh my god, what? Commander, why are you here?? This is insane. I never thought I’d see you in this world."
"Neither did I."
"You’re way too calm for someone who just got surprised. Then again, you’ve always been like that, Commander. Ah - wait, does that mean I’m not the first??"
"......"
"So there are more than just me?"
For the record, there had naturally been women among the mercenary group, too. Jaeha sized her up in an instant. Her eyes, her manner, her mental state. Whether she was normal or not. Since even Kim Hoyeon had recently been a thing, better to be thorough.
Her eyes were similar to Lee Chanhoo’s, not to Kim Hoyeon’s. Which meant she was close to normal.
She looks fine at a glance, but - too early to tell.
Still, she was his third subordinate after Lee Chanhoo and Kim Hoyeon. Separate the assessment from the sentiment; Jaeha was genuinely glad to see her. He looked over at the cluster of reporters, then back at her.
"Reporter?"
The woman flashed a grin and took a business card from her pocket, holding it out to him. She was, in fact, a reporter.
Ha Yeonji.
As soon as he confirmed the name, Ha Yeonji looked back and forth between Jaeha and Leon Entertainment.
"What are you doing, Commander? Why are you going in there?"
Jaeha took the card, tucked it into his back pocket, and handed her one of his own as he answered coolly.
"I’m a manager. Four years in."
"No way. That’s wild. A manager? Here at Leon? You’re the commander??"
"Is that strange?"
"Well... maybe not? It kind of suits you. Anyway -"
As she spoke, Ha Yeonji glanced toward the reporters crowding together. Someone who looked like a colleague waved her over. A signal to come.
"I’ve got to go for now. I gave you my card, so call me, okay?? I want to see you again, Commander. I’ve got so many questions. Like who else is here, and what this so-called Absolute Obedience thing is, and all that."
With that, she finished in a rush and took off at a run.
A little later.
As Kang Jaeha entered Leon Entertainment, Ha Yeonji’s face from moments ago lingered in his mind.
Compared to Lee Chanhoo, she seems to have adapted pretty well.
Which meant she had blended into this world of the return reasonably well. Of course, it was still too early to be sure, but her color, her scent, were nothing like Kim Hoyeon’s.
Well, she was always the sort of woman who could pass for a chameleon.
For a moment, Jaeha recalled Ha Yeonji from the other world. She had never been one of the people who fought at the front. She had been a scout, responsible for gathering information in advance and reconnoitering. How she had ended up in the mercenary group, nobody knew.
That was true of most of the mercenaries, but Ha Yeonji in particular had been famous for never talking about herself.
She was always smiling, but there were plenty of times when that smile looked sad.
Ha Yeonji had died not in battle, but after being dispatched to investigate as a scout and having her identity exposed. Jaeha had been the one to confirm her body. In any case, he had met his third subordinate. This time naturally, not through Deja vu. And with that, a new question spread through his mind.
What had she thought when she saw me? Or what was her ability?
After getting off the elevator, Kang Jaeha took out his phone. He was about to call Lee Chanhoo. The line connected quickly enough.
"Yes - loyal and devoted."
Jaeha explained the Ha Yeonji he had just met to Lee Chanhoo on the other end. Chanhoo’s reaction was immediate and huge.
"What?? Her? She’s there??!"
"Yeah. Just met her."
"...You’re sure, right? You’re not mixing her up with someone else? Big eyes, pretty face. Kind of a sweet voice, too."
"What’s with that reaction? Did you like her?"
"Wha- what are you saying!!"
"Anyway."
Jaeha brushed it off and gave Lee Chanhoo an order.
"Her name is Ha Yeonji. Contact her and do a quick background check before you meet her again."
After giving the instruction, Jaeha ended the call and stepped into Team 4. Today, Team 4 was as quiet as ever, and as if he had been waiting, the solidly built Chief Manager Kim Daeyong greeted him.
"Oh! Jaeha, didn’t you sleep well? You look tired."
For the record, Kim Daeyong’s energy had been high lately. Thanks to Yoon Dayeon, sure, but also because Condensation, even as a short film, had real on-set intensity for the first time in a while.
In any case, Yoon Dayeon and An Jihee were filming Condensation today.
So first, they had to pick up the two actresses. Jaeha looked around for the road manager, Ryu Jinwoo.
"Where’s Jinwoo?"
"Ah - Jinwoo’s helping Team 1 today. I’ll drive for you today."
Jaeha didn’t object.
"Then I’d appreciate that."
Just then,
-swoosh.
The team leader’s office door opened, and Team Leader Jang Hyeongsu, looking thoroughly exhausted, called out to Jaeha.
"Jaeha!"
When he turned, Jang Hyeongsu was standing with a rather rough-looking man beside him. He was tall enough, too. His face was harsh, his build imposing, and at first glance he looked like a gangster.
Jang Hyeongsu pointed at him.
"I’m handing the set over to Chief Kim for today. Jaeha, could you talk with Mr. Oh Jongman for a bit?"
The man he introduced as Oh Jongman was a face Jaeha recognized. He had seen him before on one of the lists under Team 4.
Which meant.
"Sure."
He was another has-been from Team 4.
Several dozen minutes later.
Kang Jaeha sat facing Oh Jongman, whom Team Leader Jang had introduced. They were in a cramped meeting room. Oh Jongman, with his gangster-like face, stared quietly at Jaeha.
"......"
To be blunt, he looked rough. His build was good, and his bearing was wild enough that he didn’t seem like a pleasant person. Then, suddenly, Oh Jongman burst out laughing. He scratched his head in a shy gesture, which only added to the effect.
"I guess it’s been so long since I came to Team 4 that I didn’t even know there was a new manager. Have we met before?"
For all his rough looks, his voice was smooth and deferential. Quite the reversal. Jaeha muttered to himself, then answered plainly.
"No. This is our first time meeting."
"That’s right?? Thank goodness. I was worried I’d met you before and just couldn’t remember. Then - I should introduce myself first. Nice to meet you. I’m Oh Jongman."
Rather than replying to the greeting, Jaeha first offered a business card.
"Team 4, Kang Jaeha."
Seeing that, Oh Jongman felt a chill.
He’s a little - cold.
Out loud, though, he said something else.
"Oh, Manager Kang Jaeha. How should I put it - you’re a little different from the managers in Team 4. Ah! I don’t mean that in a strange way. I mean your vibe is cool. Haha."
Oh Jongman laughed awkwardly. If he didn’t speak, he looked like a gangster through and through. The sort of face people instinctively kept away from. But once he opened his mouth, he was all manners and easy warmth, a man with courtesy woven right into him.
After the brief introductions, Oh Jongman spoke again.
"Um - do you happen to remember me? As an actor, I mean."
Of course Jaeha knew who he was. Not only because he’d seen him on Team 4’s list, but because Oh Jongman had once been a fairly prominent supporting actor.
"Of course. I enjoyed The Rule-Breaking Pastor."
"Oh! Thank you! It’s been a while since I’ve heard that title."
He hadn’t been top-tier, but in his prime Oh Jongman had appeared in quite a few projects. Not as a lead, but as a supporting actor. And among supporting roles, he sold well. He was the kind of actor the public would say they knew by face even if they didn’t know his name.
But then the scandal happened.
At around that time, an incident had struck Oh Jongman. Assault and sexual harassment. Since he had some name recognition, the article spread instantly, and public opinion followed soon after.
The comments were all the same.
-I knew that bastard was trash. He looks exactly like a criminal, doesn’t he?
People cursed at him and pointed fingers. The media kept fanning the public mood, and the situation only grew. But Oh Jongman insisted he had been wronged. He kept saying so to the media, to the public. The scandal still didn’t die down.
In an instant, Oh Jongman fell into ruin.
He was cut from every project he’d been confirmed for and expelled from the entertainment industry. It had taken years to build his name, and only a moment to bring it down.
And yet Oh Jongman kept fighting.
In the end,
The allegations of assault and sexual harassment against Oh Jongman have been found not guilty.
He was cleared. But it took too long. By then, Oh Jongman’s name had already been erased from the entertainment industry, and to the public he had become nothing more than an assault-and-harassment criminal. That was all. He had drifted for three years after that, until now.
A man who had once been an actor, someone nobody looked for and nobody remembered.
If someone mentioned Oh Jongman now, the other person would probably say something like:
Him? Isn’t he a criminal?
Even if you told them he’d been found not guilty, they’d just go, "Really?" and move on. So what if it was unfair? People like Oh Jongman were all too common in entertainment.
Soon Oh Jongman got to the point.
"Actually - Team Leader Jang said he’d give me audition information, so that’s why I came. I’ve been going to auditions nonstop, but it’s not easy, haha."
His acting might not have been bad, but very few production companies or directors were willing to take on his frozen public image. On top of that, there were always younger actors clawing their way up. Jaeha thought about it coldly.
Getting back in is going to be hellishly difficult.
On the other hand, Oh Jongman remained positive.
"Still! You can’t give up! I’m not the only one having a hard time, and I’ve got a wife and kid, too."
"How have you been doing lately?"
"The kid keeps getting bigger, and - I’ve been taking whatever work I can, loading and unloading, anything at all."
"That’s not easy. Your situation."
"Well, no. Haha! Still, seeing my wife and kid smile is what keeps me going. I write when I’ve got time left over, and I just keep pushing through. If you keep at it, someday the sun’s bound to shine again!"
Kang Jaeha liked Oh Jongman’s mental state. As for the gangster face, well, to Jaeha it was almost cute. There were plenty of mercenaries whose faces were far rougher than his.
"Understood. I’ll sort through the audition information and send it to you. More importantly - can I see you act a little?"
"Pardon?"
He’d been out of practice for a long time, so Jaeha needed to gauge the current level of his acting. Oh Jongman was surprised, but he nodded quickly.
"Of course!"
He launched into an impromptu performance right away. Having attended so many auditions, the material came out smoothly. Watching seriously, Jaeha reached his conclusion in silence.
Not bad. But - he’s regressed.
His acting was worse than it had been at his peak. Understandable. He had been hit hard right when he should have been refining himself, right in his season as an actor. And the years of drifting afterward had been long.
No wonder he keeps failing auditions.
Acting was not something you could maintain with practice alone. Oh Jongman would keep sliding backward like this and eventually retire. That path had already begun.
When he finished, Oh Jongman glanced at Jaeha’s expression.
"How... was it?"
"Not bad."
A bitter smile crossed his face immediately.
"I know. I’m still lacking a lot. But thank you!"
"For what?"
"I haven’t even been able to get auditions lately, so it feels like I just acted in front of someone for the first time in ages! It gives me strength!"
......
Jaeha clicked his tongue inwardly. Oh Jongman had gotten under his skin.
Soon he changed the subject, choosing one of the things Jongman had said in order to shift the mood.
"You said you write when you’ve got time."
"Yes."
"What do you write?"
"Nothing special. Haha. I keep a diary, and I also write scripts lightly, thinking maybe it’ll help with acting."
"Scripts. Had you written them before?"
"No. I just learned by eye from scripts and screenplays I’d received before."
"Do you have anything written already?"
"I do, actually. Little short-drama stuff, and diaries, too."
With his legs crossed, Kang Jaeha picked up his phone. It was his way of engaging with the man’s hobby a little.
"Can I take a look at one?"
"Haha, that’s a little embarrassing."
"If it makes you uncomfortable, it’s fine."
"What’s there to be uncomfortable about? It’s just a little embarrassing, that’s all. I’d be grateful if you’d read it, Manager."
After that, Oh Jongman sent a file to Jaeha’s number and wrapped things up with a farewell.
"Then I’ll get going. I have to head to work right away."
"Yes. I’ll sort the audition information and send it over."
"Thank you!"
After parting ways with him, Kang Jaeha gathered the audition information Oh Jongman needed, then -
-swoosh.
He sat down and began reading the script. The one Oh Jongman had written. It had the rough feel of a short drama, a little unpolished. At first Jaeha read it without much thought, but then -
"Hmm -"
He started reading more carefully.
The next morning, early.
A huge logistics warehouse. Countless delivery trucks stood parked, and a great many workers were busy stacking boxes. It was unloading work, infamous for being brutally hard.
Among them, one man stood out.
It was Oh Jongman, sleeves rolled up. His build was already imposing, and with the focused look on his face, his features seemed even rougher. Enough that the people around him kept sneaking glances his way.
Whether they looked or not, Oh Jongman just kept going.
"Hhhup! Hup!"
He hauled cargo with fierce enthusiasm. Then a short break was announced, and Oh Jongman, wiping sweat from his face, checked his phone first.
"Hm?"
There was a text message. The sender was Manager Kang Jaeha, whom he had met yesterday. The content was simple enough. He was told to call after checking the message. Tilting his head, Oh Jongman called Jaeha.
"Yes, Mr. Oh Jongman."
At Jaeha’s blunt voice on the phone, Oh Jongman reacted at once.
"Manager, did you already finish sorting out the audition information??"
"I did finish sorting it out. But more importantly."
Then, out of nowhere, Kang Jaeha said something strange.
"Mr. Oh Jongman, did you know you’re good with words?"