Perks (1)
I’m translating the chapter and preserving the in-universe system text as styled HTML blocks, while keeping the prose natural rather than literal.CHAPTER_TITLE: Bonus Perk (1)
Kang Jaeha had been thinking about it for a long time, practically since the moment he met Lee Chanhoo. There would be subordinates in countries other than Korea, too. From the start, the people in his mercenary unit had come in every shape and form imaginable.
There had even been mercenaries who weren’t human.
But Commander Kang Jaeha had never cared. If they were useful, if they could be put to work, if they had the will to do it, he used them.
In the end, those mercenaries had awakened once more in their own worlds when Kang Jaeha returned.
It had to feel familiar and strange at the same time, being back in the world they’d once lived in.
His subordinates were already gathering under him in Korea. But unless Jaeha went overseas, meeting his foreign mercenary subordinates would be nearly impossible.
And now.
Japan.
The possibility had opened up that he might meet one of his foreign subordinates. It was an offer that had come in from Japan to An Jihee.
Well, the main thing is obviously An Jihee, but if I happen to run into one of the Japanese subordinates while I’m there, that would be interesting too.
It wasn’t a certainty. He might not meet anyone at all. If that was the case, there was nothing to be done.
Come to think of it, language will be an issue even if I do meet the overseas subordinates.
Jaeha decided to deal with that when the time came and lowered his gaze. He reviewed the information Japan had sent over, then went back over the plans he had drawn up for An Jihee.
There were two projects I was going to attach to An Jihee.
One was the Netflix Omnibus Drama Project, and the other was Gyeollo: Heeyeol. If this Japanese project was confirmed as well, that would make three in total. For a rookie, that was a brutal schedule.
At the moment, An Jihee was already handling other schedules besides acting.
Going by the pace, Netflix’s Omnibus Drama Project will probably move the fastest, and Gyeollo: Heeyeol will take longer than that.
He figured the Japanese schedule would fit neatly between those two projects. The timing of the approach from Japan wasn’t bad. Right now, An Jihee’s filmography was just the short film Gyeollo. Even that hadn’t been a mainstream work.
She had gotten fairly hot, but at this stage, An Jihee needed to push even harder.
So even if it meant wearing her out a little, it was right to pack as many projects into this window as possible.
The entertainment industry changes fast. If you rest for even a moment in a place like that, the public forgets you in no time.
That was how has-beens were manufactured, and some of them would end up thrown into Leon’s Team 4. A moment later, Kang Jaeha finished sorting through his thoughts and picked up his phone. He called An Jihee’s team. She had an interview in progress, followed by a YouTube channel shoot.
There was a two-hour gap in between.
“Then come to the company. We’ll eat together and head out after that.”
An Jihee arrived at Leon Entertainment about an hour later. Jaeha was already seated in a meeting room when she came rushing in, looking rather flustered.
“Manager-nim! I’m here.”
Why was she running in like that? Jaeha muttered flatly.
“Were you being chased?”
“Huh? Ah- no, nothing like that. You said you wanted to see me.”
Probably because of the interview schedule, An Jihee was in full makeup, and her bobbed hair had been styled with a soft wave. Her cheeks flushed a little.
“H-have you eaten??”
“Not yet. Let’s talk for a bit and eat together.”
“Yes! I’d like that.”
Answering with bright confidence, An Jihee sat carefully across from Kang Jaeha. The moment she was settled, Jaeha got to the point in his usual calm tone.
“This isn’t confirmed yet, but we’ve received an offer from Japan.”
An Jihee made a small, involuntary sound.
“J-Japan?? Me??!”
“Yes. I only got it a moment ago too.”
An Jihee stared across at Jaeha, blinking, as though she’d wandered into a dream. Japan. Not even Korea, but Japan was reaching out to her?
Does that... make sense? No, it doesn’t.
For someone who had only just debuted, it was hard to feel like this was real.
“...No way.”
“I don’t lie.”
“No, no, no, I wasn’t saying you were lying, Manager-nim! I was just so shocked.”
Finally composing herself, An Jihee asked again.
“So you’re saying Japan wants to cast me?”
“It feels like they’re pretty interested.”
As he answered, Kang Jaeha casually handed over the script and casting information that had come from Japan.
“Read the synopsis and the first page of the script for now.”
The synopsis and script had a Japanese title along with a Korean one.
Borderline Spring
With trembling hands, An Jihee opened the script, and Jaeha continued.
“The role they’re offering you is a supporting character. She’s the kind of university student who comes to Japan to study, and from what I’ve seen, the part is solid. It has charm, and it’s cute. If you play it well, the public could easily love it.”
“Ah-”
“Especially in Japan right now, with the Hallyu wave in full swing.”
“B-but why would they make me an offer like this?”
At her question, Kang Jaeha answered without the slightest hesitation, drawing on the little information he had and the conclusions he had already reached.
“We’ll know for sure after the meeting, but they probably want someone who doesn’t look all that famous, yet has decent acting and a distinctly Korean face.”
“Ah...”
“So they would have turned their eyes to Korea, and there’s a good chance they checked you out after BIFF.”
Like a believer, An Jihee nodded over and over, and Jaeha responded with a calm question.
“An Jihee, how’s your Japanese?”
“Um... my Japanese? It’s a little- just a little?? I studied some when I was an idol trainee because they said I’d need it.”
“Good.”
“Huh? What is? It’s really just a tiny bit!”
Jaeha shook his head.
“Actually, the people contacting you would probably prefer that you’re not fluent.”
“Huh?”
“A Korean college student who’s a little awkward with Japanese. That’s the image they want. Still, keep studying Japanese and English, too. You never know when you might have to go overseas someday.”
“...Yes, yes! But if, and I mean if, this really works out and I get confirmed for the role- what about you, Manager-nim?”
Crossing his legs, Kang Jaeha answered the part he had already decided on.
“I’ll go with you for the Japan project too.”
In the afternoon, a fair number of people were gathered inside the studio that served as both Leon Entertainment’s workspace and meeting room. Roughly a dozen. Among them were members of the A&R team in charge of album production overall, and beside them were women so clearly idol material that no explanation was needed.
Five in total.
Beautiful as a given, each of them showcasing a different kind of appeal.
They were, without question, Leon Entertainment’s flagship idols and the girl group ranked in the industry’s top tier: Ceriel. Among them was a face Jaeha knew very well indeed. Full lips, sharp features, proportions that felt almost unfair. She might as well have been a doll.
Rayoon, Ceriel’s visual center and leader.
Ceriel, including Rayoon, was familiar to Kang Jaeha as well. Before he crossed over to the other world, the team he had belonged to was Ceriel.
On top of that, Jaeha had once torn into Rayoon, telling her to shut her mouth and behave herself.
Because of that, Leon Entertainment had once been thrown into uproar.
That was also why Kang Jaeha had been moved to Team 4.
Rayoon still hadn’t forgotten him, though. Whenever his name came up, she ground her teeth hard enough to make it obvious. These days, there was so much talk about Kang Jaeha inside Leon Entertainment that he’d been appearing in her life more often than she liked.
In any case, Rayoon and the other Ceriel members, along with the A&R team, were gathered here listening to tracks.
-♬♪
It was all for Ceriel’s next single album, the one from Leon Entertainment’s top-tier girl group. They were listening through the tracks they’d collected to choose the new song. The process had already been going on for quite a while, and among the members hearing the songs, Rayoon suddenly twisted her face in annoyance.
“Hah—this one’s bad too. Everything we’ve heard today has been bad!”
At Rayoon’s irritated verdict, the A&R team shut their mouths for the moment. No matter what they said here, it would only feed her mood, so there was no point. Soon after, Rayoon brushed back her long hair and asked the Ceriel members,
“What about you guys? Aren’t these songs all total trash??”
“Hmm... I wouldn’t call them trash, but they are pretty bad.”
“I actually thought the last one was okay.”
Exhaling a sigh, Rayoon got up from her seat.
“Can ‘okay’ be enough to satisfy the president? No way. Anyway, let’s take a break for a bit.”
“Should we??”
“How many more tracks do we have left?”
“About twenty?”
“What, are they all seriously this bad?? Ugh, I’m exhausted. My skin’s going to suffer.”
With her brow furrowed, Rayoon started moving toward the door as if to leave the studio. She reached out and pulled it open, only to find a man standing right outside. He seemed to have been about to enter as well.
“Huh?”
Rayoon casually checked the face of the man blocking her way. Black hair, an expressionless, indifferent face. Cold eyes.
It was Kang Jaeha from Team 4. Jaeha looked down at the woman standing before him with his usual composure.
“......”
The moment she saw Kang Jaeha, Rayoon let out a scream before she could stop herself. She was genuinely startled.
“Eek!!”
Thanks to Rayoon’s full-blown panic attack, the A&R staff and the Ceriel members all turned to look at her. Then, naturally, they noticed Kang Jaeha standing at the door.
“Ah.”
“Oh.”
Those brief reactions were followed by a short silence.
“......”
“......”
Jaeha and Rayoon were no different. Kang Jaeha merely looked at Rayoon, while Rayoon, still frozen in some ridiculous posture after screaming, snapped back to her senses. First she straightened herself out, then her face twisted sharply.
“Wh-what! Why are you here??”
There was no question that Kang Jaeha had come here with intention, with purpose. But right now...
Her expression is funny.
He even felt like poking at Rayoon a little. Before he returned from the other world, back when Jaeha had still been weak, this girl had been a serious burden. But now, to Kang Jaeha, Rayoon felt about as threatening as a small insect, or something of that sort.
Then Jaeha answered her in a low voice.
“I’m here because I have a reason to be.”
“Ha! Unbelievable. Oppa—no, you really have a thick face, don’t you??”
“Your makeup’s thicker.”
Just then, as Rayoon’s face turned red and she was about to shoot back another retort—
Suddenly, a familiar female voice rang in Jaeha’s ear. Ignoring Rayoon’s tantrum, Kang Jaeha turned his attention elsewhere.
-Swish.
Without another word, Jaeha turned and started walking away. Rayoon’s face froze in disbelief as she watched him leave.
“......W-what?”
The Ceriel members clustered around her in sympathy.
“Right? What was up with Jaeha-oppa?”
“He came all the way here and just left like that?”
“But wow, he really has changed a lot. His whole vibe, the feeling he gives off.”
Rayoon’s irritation surged.
“Don’t tell me- that psycho came here just to mess with me? Seriously??”
The meeting-studio was in an uproar, but Kang Jaeha had no interest in any of it. He was walking down the hallway, focused on the female voice he could hear now.
The seventh month’s pension of 70 million won will be paid to you.
A line he knew by heart. Then came the 70 million won in his account.
- Deposit / 70,000,000 won
By now, Kang Jaeha had received around 5 billion won in pension or salary. Confirming the 70 million, Jaeha smiled faintly.
70 million charged.
The female voice would now do what it always did, moving on with a cheerful “fighting” and telling him to see her again at the next pension payment. It had always been that way. Jaeha, expecting exactly that, started to head back toward where Rayoon was.
But then.
Kang Jaeha, you have maintained the Real-World Adaptation Project for over six months.
For some reason, this time the female voice delivered a different line. Kang Jaeha came to an abrupt stop. The Real-World Adaptation Project referred to working at Leon Entertainment for three years. Only then would the pension continue.
But had there always been a message like this?
No, there hadn’t. The seriousness on Jaeha’s face deepened in an instant, and the female voice went on.
Because you have maintained the activated Real-World Adaptation Project and Pension Program for over six months, you have met the conditions for Stage 1.
You are now entering Stage 2.
A bonus perk will be granted to Kang Jaeha.
The eyes of the listening Jaeha widened slightly.
Bonus perk granted?
If there was a perk, Kang Jaeha already had Absolute Obedience. But now they were saying he’d get another bonus perk on top of that. Sensing that this was no ordinary matter, Jaeha focused on the female voice.
From Stage 2 onward, as long as you continue to encounter comrades (subordinates) and maintain the Real-World Adaptation Project and Pension Program, additional bonus perks will continue to be granted.
1. Mask (ability)
2. Additional pension of 10 billion won
He had a lot to think about, but Kang Jaeha first turned over the idea of the bonus perk.
An extra 10 billion won is easy enough to understand, but... Mask?
Mask sounded like some kind of new ability.
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