Diffusion (4)
There was a lot in the luggage Choi Rina had brought with her: a laptop, a tablet, an external hard drive, USB sticks, an acoustic guitar, and more. What she kept shaking around were the hard drive and the USB sticks.
"It's all in here!"
She pointed at the laptop she had brought with a burst of energy.
"There's a copy on the laptop too, but I moved most of it onto the hard drive so it'll be easier for you to check, Commander."
Kang Jaeha gave a faint snort as he looked at the hard drive and USB sticks in her hands.
That means she's got a lot of work.
If it was manageable, everything would have fit on a USB. But since she had so many tracks and other pieces, she must have moved them over to the external drive. Jaeha nodded and murmured, "You finished organizing everything?"
"Yes! I pulled out the useless stuff and narrowed it down to the core pieces!"
"Looks like you narrowed it down a lot."
"There really is a lot. I think I spent days just organizing this?"
Choi Rina laughed sheepishly, and Jaeha praised her for doing a good job before he moved on.
"Let's take a look."
"Yes! Feel free to look however you want!"
Jaeha started with Choi Rina's laptop. Sure enough, the wallpaper reflected her meticulous personality exactly. The neatly arranged folders were ordered with almost obsessive care.
His mouse moved.
He opened the folder containing the songs Choi Rina had composed first. Inside were more folders, lined up in orderly rows. She had sorted them by genre: ballads, dance, pop, rap, and so on. Jaeha clicked through the genre folders one by one.
Every folder was packed.
"You composed all of these?"
"That's right! Some are rough, some are halfway done, and some are finished. A random mix. I made them whenever ideas came to me."
Honestly, Jaeha was a little surprised. There was a tremendous amount of work. There were even theme pieces and background tracks. He began playing the tracks that stood out to him, one after another.
-♬♪
Various songs filled the MEG office. After listening to quite a few of them, Jaeha let out a short laugh.
Every single one of them is high quality. They could be handed straight to a singer or idol group.
And that included the pieces intended for productions: OSTs, theme songs, background music, and more. Depending on who looked at it, this was no different from a treasure vault overflowing with gold. Judging by the amount, it seemed she had been composing steadily both before and after gaining her ability.
She must have had musical talent already.
After confirming Choi Rina's genius, Jaeha asked, "You said you used to compose whenever you had a spare moment back in the mercenary corps."
"Yes! Hmm, to me, conversation is music. Whenever I get an image or a feeling in my head, I usually jot it down right away or try composing it."
"You're a monster in another way."
"Ah, a monster? That feels a little much."
"It's a compliment."
"Then that's fine! Lately, maybe because I met you, Commander, I've been writing songs with the other world in mind too. Want to hear one??"
With a quick gesture, Choi Rina started one of the tracks.
-♬♪
It was a grand, tense piece. Jaeha thought it would be perfect as the opening track for a thriller film, and Choi Rina stopped it with a bright eye-smile, her doglike face practically spilling excitement.
"This one was written while I was imagining you pumping up the mercenaries' morale before going into battle! You were sooo cool."
For a brief moment, Jaeha pictured a massive war, then changed the subject.
"Can you still sing?"
"I'll try."
She exhaled, then opened her mouth. But no voice came out.
"...Sorry. Not yet."
"It's fine. Take it slowly."
"I'll show you my vocal video instead."
Choi Rina clicked the mouse and turned on a video. The background was a tiny practice room, and in the frame, Choi Rina stood alone. Then she began singing at once.
Listening seriously, Jaeha was impressed in silence.
Oh.
Ha Yeonji had been right to say, "Her singing tone is really beautiful." Before the PTSD, Choi Rina's vocals had been unique and far above average.
She could debut like this and wipe out most of the field.
Well, her vocal ability had already been proven by how thoroughly she had captivated the whole mercenary corps. Her tone wasn't just skilled; it carried a strange power that moved people's hearts. Jaeha knew that better than anyone.
That strange power would work just fine in this world too.
After roughly finishing his review, Jaeha gathered up the hard drives and USB sticks and spoke to Choi Rina, who was sitting beside him.
"I bought the entertainment company you're under."
"Yes! I know! It's MEG Entertainment now, right? I was totally puffing up my shoulders when I heard that!"
"I told Representative Park Zahi too. I said we'd raise you properly. That said, you don't need to feel pressured about it. Just keep writing the songs you want to write, and keep going busking if you want."
"That's it?"
"No. Still, we need to make some changes."
With his legs crossed, Jaeha tapped Choi Rina's laptop with one finger.
"Your destination will be singer-songwriter, but until then, let's start your filmography as a composer and music director."
"Huh?"
Choi Rina's eyes widened, a little stunned.
"I get composer, but... music director? Me?"
"Yes."
"Wow, I really never thought of that. Music director? Can I even do that?"
"Does it sound difficult?"
Choi Rina blinked, then quickly smiled again.
"No! I can do it! Making music is the same either way. I'll study!"
"It's nothing special. You make music that fits the work, just like composing. Keep your mind at ease. Hmm. For the time being, from singer-songwriter to composer to music director, it should be fine to just use Choi Rina as your unified stage name."
"Yes! I like that too!"
As always, Choi Rina answered as if anything her Commander said was automatically okay, and Jaeha let out a small laugh before asking, "So what do you want to do with the tracks you've made?"
"Huh? Ah, I didn't write them with any goal in mind. I just wrote them whenever I felt like I wanted to sing them, or when something came to me."
"Then sort through them and I'll send them around where they fit. If you've made songs, you should put them to use, and you need to start working as a composer."
Choi Rina, her long violet hair swaying, nodded.
"Yes, yes. I like that!"
That didn't mean Jaeha intended to scatter her songs around carelessly.
I'll only route them through places where they can earn real money and also raise Choi Rina's reputation as a composer.
For that, the artist singing the song would need to have a high enough profile. If he wanted fast buzz, idols were still the best bet. By then, one girl group from Leon Entertainment had already flashed through Jaeha's mind.
Then Jaeha pulled out the stack of papers he had set aside and spoke again.
"Next is the music director side. We said MEG has a fair number of projects running, right?"
"Yes, yes."
With a rustle, Jaeha handed the papers to Choi Rina. They were a synopsis and a script.
"Read these two works first."
The two works were Oh Jongman's one-act piece Murder Is Also a Spec and Director Kwon Seongmin's Gyeollo: Heeyeol.
"Try making music for them however you want. Be free."
At that same time, Director Kwon Seongmin, now officially under MEG, was focused on producing the final draft of the screenplay for Gyeollo: Heeyeol.
Of course, it was no longer Munbak Film; rather, since Kang Jaeha had bought it, it now had to be called Film MEG.
Jeong Taewoo, the representative of Film MEG, was also taking part in the final draft work for Gyeollo: Heeyeol. At present, Gyeollo: Heeyeol was still in the preparatory stage before pre-production, and once the final screenplay was complete, full-scale production would begin.
Pushing his glasses up, Director Kwon Seongmin suddenly had a thought.
Is there really a film produced in this kind of structure?
Gyeollo: Heeyeol was a highly unusual case.
It made sense. The project had begun after the short film took a three-award sweep at BIFF, with Kwon Seongmin from MEG as the director, Film MEG handling production, and MEG itself providing the investment as the command center.
Gyeollo: Heeyeol was a picture in which MEG was doing everything.
Director Kwon Seongmin asked Jeong Taewoo about the thought that had come to him.
"Representative, are there works where investment and production are all handled in one place, like Gyeollo: Heeyeol?"
With his broad, flat face, Representative Jeong Taewoo shook his head firmly.
"No. Large ENM companies often handle production and distribution, but a structure where MEG is driving the whole thing like this is pretty much the first of its kind."
"Then when Gyeollo: Heeyeol is released, won't the industry be buzzing?"
"Exactly. It'll probably make a real stir. On top of that, MEG isn't even one of those so-called giant companies yet, and we're still pulling off a project of this scale alone, so it'll be even hotter."
For some reason, Director Kwon Seongmin felt his heart start to race.
"I'm starting to look forward to the release date."
"Making films in an environment like this? We're insanely lucky. And on top of that... I can't help thinking we've landed on top of an enormous current."
Meanwhile, MEG Entertainment, newly joined to the MEG faction just like Film MEG, was busy too.
They were strengthening their foundation according to the orders sent down from headquarters.
What needed to be sorted out was sorted out, and what needed to be prepared anew was prepared. There was plenty to organize by team. Representative Park Zahi, more than anyone else, was focusing on the management team.
"Let's put our energy into the management team first."
As Lee Chanhoo had said, there was likely to be an actress transfer soon.
In any case, both MEG Entertainment and Film MEG were functioning properly, and the weekend disappeared before anyone noticed.
Then came the weekday that followed, Monday.
Around lunchtime, Lee Chanhoo arrived at a Korean restaurant. Inside the VIP room, a familiar face was seated. The master director Yu Giltae. But today, Yu Giltae was not alone.
"Hello, Representative Lee Chanhoo. I'm Kim Cheolwon from Dal Pictures, the film company producing Mask Murder."
The representative of the film company handling Yu Giltae's new project was there as well: Kim Cheolwon, the head of Dal Pictures. The first thought that came to Lee Chanhoo's mind the moment he saw him was simple.
His face is huge.
Separate from the size of his face, Kim Cheolwon's Dal Pictures was a mid-to-upper-tier player among film companies. It had many hits under its belt, and it was a proven company with a long-standing relationship with the master director Yu Giltae.
Kim Cheolwon checked again with Lee Chanhoo.
"Director Yu Giltae has already passed the message on. If you're thinking about making this a sole investment, we can proceed without any issues. We can also sign the contract today."
"Then let's sort it out today and not drag this out."
"...It's not confirmed yet, but the estimated production cost for Mask Murder is about 7 billion won. Of course, with promotion and marketing, it could go higher. Would that be possible?"
Seven billion won or more? Lee Chanhoo was screaming internally, but on the outside he stayed calm.
We should probably be thinking up to a maximum of 10 billion. Well, for a master director's work, it's actually on the modest side.
He nodded nonchalantly.
"Of course."
Kim Cheolwon exchanged a look with Director Yu Giltae, then held out his hand to Lee Chanhoo.
"Please take good care of us, investor."
MEG. No, Kang Jaeha, was becoming the sole investor in Master Director Yu Giltae's new work.
Meanwhile, at Leon Entertainment.
Because it was lunchtime, Management Team 4 was empty. But one familiar figure was visible. Kang Jaeha. Since he wasn't particularly hungry, he had skipped lunch, and now he was wearing earphones and listening carefully to several tracks.
They were the songs Choi Rina had handed over.
...
Quietly listening to the tracks, Jaeha selected them according to his own judgment.
Just then, someone entered Team 4.
Jaeha noticed the footsteps and pulled out his earphones. What came toward him was a female employee from another team, a stack of papers and a tablet in her hands.
"Mr. Jaeha! I sent it by email too, but it seemed urgent, so I came in person."
"Yes."
"And honestly, it was a little surprising too."
"Surprising?"
She handed Jaeha the papers and tablet and said, "We've received a casting offer for An Jihee."
A casting offer? An Jihee had already been receiving quite a few scripts and screenplays. That alone wasn't especially surprising. But the female employee wasn't finished.
"But it's from Japan, not domestic."
"Japan, you say?"
"Yes! I've organized the details we received from the Japanese side on this tablet, so please take a look. It's not deep yet, still pretty rough. They're supposed to come into Korea soon, and I already passed along your contact information just in case."
After hearing Jaeha's thanks, the female employee left Team 4, and Jaeha let out a small laugh, as if he hadn't expected it.
Japan? Hmm. So BIFF had a big influence after all? Well, there were plenty of Japanese figures at BIFF too.
Whatever the process, it was surprising that Japan had reached out first to rookie actress An Jihee. Jaeha crossed his legs and opened the tablet, scanning the information sent from Japan.
She's not the main lead, obviously. She's a supporting lead. The role is a Korean college student who came to Japan to study.
The part was one of those "supporting" roles that people usually said existed to make the main lead shine. It was the kind of role that often showed up as the main character's friend or a coworker, so it was easy enough to imagine.
Not bad. A supporting role can absolutely swallow the lead and become hot.
For now, Jaeha checked An Jihee's current status. She was in the middle of an interview with a media outlet. After confirming that, he thought to himself,
Hmm.
While reading the script that had come over from Japan, a thought crossed his mind.
There should be mercenary subordinates in Japan too.
Thinking of the subordinates he had in other countries, Jaeha stroked his chin.
This might be the excuse I need to meet them.