Ch. 165 America (7)

Translator: Dreamscribe

Kang Jae-ha gave a short laugh at Park Eun-jung's firm reply.

“Looking like that, it's hard to believe you when you say you're ready to put your skills to work.”

Park Eun-jung, who knew better than anyone just how much of a bum he looked like, scratched his head.

“Ah, well, yes. I think so too. But what matters isn't how a person looks, it's what they've got inside. I may look like this, but I'm damn good at what I do.”

“Says the guy who was getting the shit kicked out of him by those white punks back there.”

“That! I was holding myself back.”

“You did a good job holding back. You'll have to keep doing that from now on too.”

“Of course.”

After answering, Park Eun-jung glanced at Go Chun-seok and Ha Yeon-ji before meeting the Commander's eyes again.

“But strangely enough, the moment I saw you, Commander, I calmed down a little. The murderous urges and anger that kept surging up... I guess you could say they faded somewhat?”

The other subordinates who suffered from PTSD had said similar things whenever they saw Kang Jae-ha. Perhaps the Commander's very presence itself kept those feelings in check. There was probably a sense of relief and reassurance too. The world might be different, but for them, it was no different from returning to the Mercenary Corps where they had spent more than a decade.

Anyway.

“Okay, I'll establish a Legal Department at 'MEG', and Park Eun-jung, I'm putting you in charge as Chief Legal Officer.”

The establishment of MEG's Legal Department was decided right then and there. Naturally, a legal department was necessary. Large corporations didn't maintain separate legal departments for nothing. Kang Jae-ha had been considering establishing one for several months already.

'The bigger 'MEG' gets, the more clearly we need to establish its legal boundaries.'

But actually putting that plan into action hadn't been as easy as expected. Creating a legal department itself was simple, but finding someone capable of leading it was another matter. Normally, someone would be recruited from outside, but that meant whoever they brought in would have to learn every last detail of MEG's internal affairs.

Only then could the Legal Department function properly and decisively.

For 'MEG', which was made up of mercenaries, that had been impossible. If there were things that had to remain hidden, having a legal department would be pointless. And that was when Park Eun-jung appeared.

For Kang Jae-ha, it went beyond good news. It was enough to make him want to cheer.

'He looks like a bum right now, but Park Eun-jung is an ace as a lawyer.'

On top of that, Park Eun-jung had the advantage of being able to work in both Korea and the United States. For 'MEG', which was gradually starting to look beyond Korea and toward overseas expansion, the timing couldn't have been better.

Kang Jae-ha called Park Eun-jung over again while Go Chun-seok and Ha Yeon-ji were welcoming him.

“Had enough fun? Let's get straight to work.”

Park Eun-jung immediately nodded.

“Yes. I'm sick of lying on top of those boxes. I'm itching for action now.”

“You can go through everything related to 'MEG' once we get back to Korea. You'll need to meet the others too. For now, stick with me while I'm handling the schedule here in the States.”

“What do you need me to do?”

“First, get whatever belongings you need, and you can't go around looking like that. Let's clean you up first.”

“I was thinking the same thing.”

Apparently embarrassed by his homeless appearance now, Park Eun-jung laughed. Then he changed the subject.

“Ah! You and the others have 'Abilities' too, right, Commander?”

The subject of 'Abilities' came up. Go Chun-seok and Ha Yeon-ji answered almost simultaneously that they did, and after hearing what their 'Abilities' were, Park Eun-jung looked at Kang Jae-ha.

“I suppose I should tell you about my 'Ability' too. Mine is...”

“I know.”

“Yes?”

“I said I already know your 'Ability'.”

The heavily bearded Park Eun-jung blinked.

“You know? How... I've never told you about it.”

That was true. He had never told the Commander about his 'Ability'. But Kang Jae-ha could already see Park Eun-jung's Ability.

Thanks to 'Insight'.

-Possessed Ability: 'Restraint'

Furthermore, Park Eun-jung had no buffs or debuffs caused by an 'Ability'. Kang Jae-ha gestured toward him with his chin.

“Your 'Ability' is Restraint. Whenever you want, you can stop a target of your choice from moving for about ten seconds. But you have to be looking at them, and you can't use it on multiple people at once. Three people a day is your limit. Right?”

Park Eun-jung's eyes widened.

“...That's kind of creepy. How do you know that much detail? Come to think of it, Commander, you could change your face too, couldn't you??”

Ha Yeon-ji lightly patted the astonished Park Eun-jung on the shoulder.

“If you're with the Commander, every single day will be fresh and exciting.”

Kang Jae-ha gave a short laugh as he used the 'Ability' Defense to cast a Protective Barrier on Park Eun-jung, then spoke.

“Your 'Ability', Restraint. It's useful. There's a reason you survived so long on the battlefield. Looks like brains weren't the only thing you had going for you.”

In fact, depending on how it was used, Park Eun-jung's Restraint was an absurdly powerful Ability. Kang Jae-ha briefly recalled a battlefield drenched in blood.

'Ten seconds with Restraint. When life and death hang in the balance, ten seconds is more than enough.'

With ten seconds of Restraint, it was incredibly easy to subdue an opponent without even tying them up. Killing them was just as easy. But none of his subordinates could afford to let their guard down.

“Don't rely on your 'Ability'. When it comes to vigilance, there's no such thing as too much.”

Kang Jae-ha watched Park Eun-jung nod seriously, then stood up from the bench.

“Let's go.”

“Where are we going?”

Kang Jae-ha pointed at Park Eun-jung with his index finger.

“To make you look human again.”

Several hours later, Korea.

It was the afternoon of the 21st in Los Angeles, but already the morning of the 22nd in Korea. Around this time, Korea's entertainment media were focusing their attention on a girl group that hadn't even been around for a full month since debuting.

《Rookie Girl Group 'Kisera' Enters 'Spotimy' Global Chart Right After Debut, Who Are They?/ Photos》

《[Star Talk] 100 Million Combined Views on TilTok, Reels, and More! Rookie Girl Group 'Kisera' Draws Attention from 'Spotimy'》

It was 'Kisera'.

News about 'Kisera', which had entered the 'Spotimy' Global Chart a few days ago, had spread rapidly throughout the media. Of course, Leon Entertainment had fired the opening shot with its media play, but other outlets quickly jumped on the story.

《Barely Known in Korea, Yet Suddenly No. 188 on the 'Spotimy' Global Chart? Will 'Kisera' Cause a Sensation?》

There were quite a lot of articles. Well, it made sense. Even top-tier idols struggled to enter the 'Spotimy' charts, yet the newly debuted and barely known 'Kisera' had managed it.

For the entertainment media, curiosity was swelling around 'Kisera', a group that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

“'Kisera'? Who the hell are they for everyone to be making such a fuss?”

“Sunbae, you didn't hear? They got onto the 'Spotimy' Global Chart just a few weeks after debuting, and everyone's losing their minds over it.”

“They got on the 'Spotimy' chart?? A completely unknown rookie Korean girl group? What company are they with?”

“Leon. Leon.”

“Huh... Leon finally pulled off something big.”

And among the reporters, Kang Jae-ha's name also came up.

“I heard the manager from Leon's Team 4 was the one who planned the whole thing. Heard it from an employee at Leon.”

“The manager from Leon's Team 4?? Who's that?”

“You know, back when the short film 'Condensation' blew up at BIFF. The day it won three awards, Yoon Da-yeon and everyone else who won for 'Condensation' kept mentioning this guy... Was his name Kang Jae-ha?”

“Ah! I remember. I was wondering why some manager was getting so much attention. You're saying he was the one who planned Kisera's whole setup??”

“Yeah. What was it again? Apparently, even before their domestic debut, he prepared a massive overseas viral campaign and launched it. The timing and everything lined up perfectly.”

In any case, the impact of entering the 'Spotimy' chart was tremendous. 'Kisera', which had practically no recognition in Korea, was being mentioned like crazy not only in the media but across all kinds of online communities.

-Who tf is Kisera and why are there so many damn articles about them?

-They're the new girl group Leon launched this time ㅋㅋㅋㅋ but apparently they randomly got onto the Spotimy Global Chart

-Holy shittttt the Spotimy Global Chart?? How'd they do that? Is that even possible without a domestic fandom?

-What the hell is the Spotimy Global Chart, you fucking nerds

-Just think of it like Billboardㅇㅇ except it's a worldwide chart and way more real-time

-FYI: Kisera hit No. 188 on the Spotimy Global Chart, and fewer than five KPOP girl groups in history have ever made it onto this chart

-↑Seriously;; so this was actually fucking huge

Mentions had gradually been increasing over the past few days, and now, even at a glance, the buzz was considerable.

-Kisera's official SNS is getting fucking flooded with people right now

-Listened to Kisera's songs and they're fucking good ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Fuck ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ one Spotimy chart entry and they already leapfrogged most girl groups

-I heard Kisera rebuilt the member lineup and redebutedㅇㅇ They originally had foreign members too, but replaced them all with Korean members

-Holy shit ㅋㅋㅋㅋ they're all Korean members? That's fucking unique??

By this point, the members of 'Kisera' themselves felt like they were walking on clouds.

“Aah!! This is insane! Our MV passed two million views!! The two songs combined are over four million!”

“The comments on our SNS keep coming too! The photo we posted yesterday from the music show waiting room has over a thousand comments!”

Ha-rin, Jay, Nia, Riv, and Sion couldn't put down the team phone while sitting in the van. For reference, the 'team phone' was a shared phone used by all the members. Right after debut, individual phones were prohibited for any idol group.

“There are even more English comments!!”

“Wow...... We actually made it onto the Spotimy Global Chart... Can you believe this??”

“No? This is a dream. It has to be a dream.”

“No! It can't be a dream!”

With things going like this, the domestic chart rankings of Kisera's two songs were steadily soaring, while Leon Entertainment's PR Team was being bombarded with calls asking to book 'Kisera'.

“Yes, yes, ah... 'Kisera'? One moment, please. Let me check their schedule.”

But the PR Team was holding off on Kisera's bookings.

“I'm sorry. Kisera's schedule is completely full this month, so we'll contact you again later.”

The reason was simple. Kang Jae-ha, the temporary Team Leader of Kisera's rebuilding team, had requested it.

“Assistant Manager Kim. 'Kisera' is finally starting to gain momentum, so why are we being told not to book anything?? Shouldn't we be grabbing schedules as fast as possible?”

“I heard it from the Team Leader too. Apparently Manager Kang Jae-ha told them not to book anything.”

“Huh? Is he going for some kind of mysterious image? Does that even work these days?”

“I don't think that's it. Something about them blowing up even more overseas from here, so there's no need to rush and overexpose them.”

“What?? CEO-nim actually approved that?”

“No idea. Lately, it feels like CEO-nim really has Manager Kang Jae-ha's back.”

“......What if 'Kisera' suddenly drops off the 'Spotimy' Global Chart and the buzz dies?”

“Then we're screwed.”

It had all been part of Kang Jae-ha's plan.

Back in Los Angeles. The next morning, the 22nd.

The location was the hotel. Kang Jae-ha, settled into his room, was currently.

“Hmm...”

Sitting with his legs crossed and looking down at his phone. He was monitoring the reaction to 'Kisera'.

'The number of articles and the public buzz aren't bad. The songs are shooting up the domestic charts too. I can let this simmer for a few more days.'

To put it plainly, when it came to 'Kisera', Kang Jae-ha was more concerned with overseas results than Korea for the moment.

Just then.

-Knock, knock.

A knock echoed through Kang Jae-ha's room, and a neatly dressed man in a suit entered. At the sight of him, Jae-ha smiled faintly.

“Who are you?”

“It's me, Commander. Park Eun-jung.”

“I know, asshole.”

The man was Park Eun-jung. His thick beard was nowhere to be seen, and his long hair had been cut short. His watch, shoes, and everything else he wore were all expensive. His skin was still tanned, but he was no longer the bum-looking Park Eun-jung from that morning. Kang Jae-ha soon rose from his chair.

“Now you actually look like a lawyer.”

“I'm MEG's Chief Legal Officer now, so I can't half-ass my appearance either. A lawyer's job is about selling trust too, after all. Ah, and thank you for the suit, the watch, and everything else.”

“Forget it. At least you've got your head in the game now.”

Kang Jae-ha handed Park Eun-jung several clear folders.

“These are the urgent materials for now. You can read them on the way. Today, it's enough for you to just stand beside me and watch.”

“Understood.”

Even if he didn't step in directly, there was a huge difference between having a lawyer present and not having one. As Jae-ha prepared to leave the room, he continued speaking to Park Eun-jung.

“We're going to meet CEO Seok Ji-yeon of 'HG ENM' now.”

Park Eun-jung, who had been looking through the materials he'd been handed, raised the corner of his mouth.

“My first assignment as MEG's in-house counsel.”

It happened at that moment.

【Hello, Kang Jae-ha-nim.】

A woman's voice suddenly sounded in Jae-ha's ears. And for some reason.

'Nice.'

Kang Jae-ha smiled.

*****

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