NIS Agent Reincarnated as a Genius Actor

“Ah! I’m so nervous.”

Seo Ji-eun repeatedly clenched and unclenched her hands. Watching her, Yeon-woo nodded.

“Yeah, this is a bit nerve-wracking.”

“Ugh, even you, who didn’t get nervous in Berlin, are saying you’re nervous, which makes me even more nervous!”

Yeon-woo found it interesting that he felt nervous too. Having experienced so much, it was rare for him to feel nervous about anything, making this emotion quite unfamiliar.

“Maybe it’s because this isn’t my usual field.”

Yeon-woo, who was tone-deaf and didn’t even go to karaoke, was suddenly about to rehearse for a music show, so it was only natural to feel a bit nervous.

“Jae Inari team, please come up to the stage.”

“Yes!”

Hearing the voice of the on-site staff, Yeon-woo and Seo Ji-eun walked up to the stage.

– Wow! –

More people were seated in the audience than Yeon-woo had expected.

‘Hmm? Have the fans already entered?’

He had heard that the main performance was scheduled for later in the afternoon, so he was surprised by the unexpected cheers and looked at the audience.

‘Ah, these must be the singers performing today.’

Even though idols were used to frequenting the broadcasting station, they rarely had the chance to see actor Ryu Yeon-woo, so they had come out to watch.

As Yeon-woo, with a large name tag reading “Jae Inari – Jay,” stepped onto the stage, the audience buzzed with excitement.

“Wow, look at the actor’s face. It’s like he’s from another world.”

“Actors really are different.”

At that moment, Do-jun, a member of Exis, who had been marveling from behind, chimed in.

“I go to the same salon as Ryu Yeon-woo.”

“Director Jung Haneul?”

“Yeah. But even among actors, he’s famous for being on a different level in terms of looks.”

Hearing Do-jun’s words, the idols sitting in the front row nodded.

“Seems like it.”

“I should go greet him with my album after the rehearsal.”

“What! I want to go too!”

As the excitement grew among the idols, Yeon-woo and Seo Ji-eun prepared themselves for the rehearsal, feeling the weight of the eyes watching them.

At that moment, Jae-yoon from N-Boys, who had been sitting with his legs crossed and a disinterested expression, frowned.

“But surely they won’t rig the music show rankings, right? It’s annoying enough that he took the top spot on the music charts.”

“Hyung, wasn’t FNX sunbaenim already holding the number one spot?”

Do-jun from Exis, sitting nearby, interjected, causing Jae-yoon to glare at him.

“It was a close race.”

Do-jun tilted his head, muttering to himself.

“Hmm, was it? I thought the tally scores were almost double…”

Jae-yoon was about to retort but noticed the attention of the girl groups around them and closed his mouth with a dissatisfied expression.

“Damn, Seo Ji-eun is the one singing anyway, so why is he even here? He’s not even a face model; at best, he’ll just pretend to play an instrument. It’s obvious the movie used a double for him.”

As Jae-yoon grumbled with his lips pouted, the stage check ended, and a voice came through the speakers.

– Hello, I’m Jay from “Jae Inari.”

– And I’m Nari! Please take care of us!

Yeon-woo greeted into the microphone in front of him, tilting his head slightly.

‘No way, do I have to deliberately speak awkwardly because Jay in the movie can’t speak Korean well?’

As he pondered this odd thought, the intro of the song began to play. Watching this, Jae-yoon smirked with a ‘figures’ expression.

“Why come on stage if you’re just going to play the MR?”

At that moment, Yeon-woo started playing the guitar over the background music. The melody from the guitar, amplified through the microphone in front of it, matched perfectly with the music coming through the in-ear monitors.

“Wow, unnie, is Yeon-woo oppa really playing right now?”

“When did you start calling him oppa? He’s probably younger than you.”

“So what? If he’s handsome, he’s oppa.”

As Seo Ji-eun’s voice joined in, the beautiful harmony filled the hall.

“Wow, she sings really well.”

“I heard she was a trainee too. Lena unnie mentioned they were in the same agency before debuting.”

The singers watching from the audience shared their impressions with each other. Although new rookies debuted every week, most of them were familiar faces from their trainee days.

However, the stage of ‘Jae Inari,’ a combination of two actors, brought a fresh excitement to the routine activities. And then there was ‘Ryu Yeon-woo.’

Despite their busy schedules, making it hard to watch dramas or movies, it was difficult not to know Ryu Yeon-woo in today’s Korea. He had debuted as an adult in a high school role, making his drama a hit, and his next project, the blockbuster “Master Plan,” had drawn ten million viewers. And he wasn’t just a supporting role; he was the lead.

Following that, his historical drama recorded soaring ratings, and his next film won the highest award at the Berlin International Film Festival.

Lena, who had been searching for Ryu Yeon-woo on her smartphone through PlantWiki, was left speechless by his impressive filmography, even more remarkable than she had imagined.

“Seeing it all together, it’s unbelievable. He became an A-list actor in just three years since his debut…”

“Yeon-woo oppa? He’s not just A-list; he’s S-list.”

“I told you, he’s younger than you.”

“Well, if he’s handsome, he’s oppa.”

At that moment, Yeon-woo started tapping the side body of the guitar in rhythm. After the first chorus of the song, he put down the guitar, stood up from the chair, and picked up the violin that was lying on the floor.

‘Hmm, the in-ear wire is getting caught on the violin’s shoulder rest.’

He ended up taking off the left in-ear monitor and began playing the violin.

– Wow! –

As the violin solo began, the audience erupted in cheers. Seo Ji-eun nodded her head to the beat, watching Yeon-woo’s performance to catch her cue.

“That’s amazing! Taking off the in-ear monitor and grabbing the violin is so sexy.”

“Hey! Lee So-jin, I told you not to use vulgar language.”

“Ah, but how can you react to that? You can’t just say, ‘Wow, that’s really impressive,’ like a robot.”

At that moment, Yeon-woo started playing a fast-paced solo with the bow. This was the part Chrissy Monroe had mentioned might be difficult. As she had said, it was far from easy.

People often thought of him as a multi-talented, perfect individual, but in both his past and present lives, he had never been particularly gifted in any specific field. He simply had a relentless drive to keep trying and trying again until he succeeded.

Having practiced diligently for days, Yeon-woo executed the solo flawlessly.

“…That’s insanely sexy. This is crazy.”

“Unnie! You told me not to use vulgar language!”

“I think you’re right. Honestly, this deserves some strong language.”

The song reached its climax with Seo Ji-eun’s clean vocals, and soon the rehearsal stage ended.

“Thank you. We were ‘Jae Inari.'”

As they stepped off the stage, Manager Kim Min-soo, who had been watching from a monitor backstage, clapped his hands.

“Actors, you were amazing. That was fantastic.”

“Thank you, Min-soo hyung.”

“Especially the part where you took out the in-ear monitor right before playing the violin was spectacular.”

“Hmm, really? I just removed it because it was uncomfortable. Maybe I should include that as part of the performance on the main stage.”

As Yeon-woo was removing his in-ear and microphone, the staff’s eyes widened.

“Oh? Are you hurt?”

Several of Yeon-woo’s fingertips, regardless of left or right hand, were dotted with blood. Even more concerning, droplets of blood were falling from his right hand onto the floor.

“No, I’m fine.”

Yeon-woo grinned, trying to dismiss the concern as he slipped his hands into his pockets. However, Manager Kim Min-soo approached and firmly pulled Yeon-woo’s hands out of his pockets.

“Yeon-woo?”

The hands he revealed were in a dire state; most of the fingers had blisters that had burst open to the point of bleeding, and his right hand was heavily bandaged. His left hand was in a better condition not because it was less injured, but because it was necessary for playing the violin, so bandages would have been impractical.

The only fingers that were unscathed were his thumbs, which did not press against the strings.

Kim Min-soo’s eyes demanded an explanation for the shocking condition of Yeon-woo’s fingers.

Yeon-woo chuckled awkwardly.

“The arrangement turned out to be too challenging for me to handle. Since I haven’t seriously studied violin…”

By now, Seo Ji-eun had seen Yeon-woo’s fingers and tears welled up in her eyes.

“Then why didn’t you request a new arrangement through the company instead of going this far…”

“Ah, fingers heal in a week. Besides, it’s just one performance before I retire, right?”

Yeon-woo joked with a smirk, causing Kim Min-soo to shake his head in disbelief.

Kim Min-soo, who managed actor Ryu Yeon-woo, knew him well. Yeon-woo was relentless; if something wasn’t possible, he would keep trying until it was. He never backed down when it came to himself and knew nothing of compromise.

Watching Yeon-woo, Kim Min-soo thought of the saying, “A rolling stone gathers no moss.” Since he had started managing him, Yeon-woo had never stopped rolling.

And not only did he gather no moss, but the stone Yeon-woo was rolling seemed to grow larger with time. Reflecting on it now, he realized that what Yeon-woo had been rolling since the day they met wasn’t just a stone—it was a snowball. And that snowball had grown larger and larger, transforming from a high school boy into a universally recognized blue-chip talent.

Kim Min-soo felt a clear emotion towards his much younger actor, Ryu Yeon-woo. It wasn’t a sudden thought triggered by seeing the blood on his fingers; it was a sentiment that had gradually built up over the years of managing him. Like a snowball.

To express this sentiment sincerely, Kim Min-soo bowed his head to Yeon-woo.

“Yeon-woo, I respect you.”

“Huh? All of a sudden?”

Though surprised by the sudden gesture, Yeon-woo saw the sincerity in Kim Min-soo’s eyes and nodded.

“Thank you, Min-soo hyung.”

The public didn’t need to recognize Yeon-woo’s hard work. Everyone had their own roles to play. The profession of an entertainer was to present a polished image. Still, having someone acknowledge his efforts provided a small comfort, and Yeon-woo was grateful for it.

After guiding Yeon-woo and Seo Ji-eun to the waiting room, Kim Min-soo went outside to manage the fan club members who had won the public viewing lottery. In the meantime, Team Leader Jung-hyuk took over their care. He visited the infirmary within the broadcasting station to gather anything that might help, but it was unclear how to treat Yeon-woo’s fingers since he had to perform again on the main stage.

“Really, I’m fine. Just sit and rest.”

“Oh dear, just looking at your fingers makes mine feel numb.”

Yeon-woo laughed, seeing Team Leader Jung-hyuk and Seo Ji-eun fretting over his bleeding fingers. The weight of his past experiences made such concerns seem trivial.

While waiting endlessly in the dressing room for the idol teams to finish their pre-recording, someone knocked and cautiously opened the door. At first, Yeon-woo thought Manager Kim Min-soo had returned, but instead, a group of young men entered, bowing.

“Hello! We are EXIS.”

Startled by the sudden appearance of the boy group, Yeon-woo and Seo Ji-eun quickly stood up. Team Leader Jung-hyuk, who had been fiddling with his smartphone in the corner, hurriedly grabbed the camera he had brought to film the making-of footage.

“Hello. Nice to meet you. I’m Ryu Yeon-woo.”

As Yeon-woo bowed, Seo Ji-eun followed suit.

“I’m Seo Ji-eun!”

Seeing them, Do-jun, the leader of EXIS, stepped forward and handed over an album.

“This is our album. We came to give it to you and say hello. We really enjoyed ‘The Stars Beyond the River’ with both of you in it! We watched it live at our dorm.”

“Ah, thank you. We’re debuting today as rookies, so we should have come to greet you first. Sorry about that.”

Though he was debuting and planning to retire on the same day…

The members, knowing Yeon-woo’s words were a joke, laughed. After that, several other idols visited to greet them and hand over their albums, and a pile of idol albums gradually accumulated in one corner of the waiting room.

‘Hmm, what should I do with these?’

Taking out his smartphone, Yeon-woo pondered for a moment before opening the family group chat.

– So-hyeon, do you like idols?