NIS Agent Reincarnated as a Genius Actor

As expected of a high school student, his sister replied almost immediately, glued to her smartphone.

– Ryu So-hyeon: Of course! What high school student isn’t interested in idols?

Seeing her message, Yeon-woo thought he should have brought her along today. He took a picture of the albums piled up in the corner and sent it to her. It seemed they had brought several albums, even for the staff, but there weren’t many staff members to share them with.

The albums signed with “To Ryu Yeon-woo” were gifts and should be kept out of courtesy, but the extra albums were a bit of a burden.

– Do you want these? I just got a bunch of them, but I have no use for them.

– Ryu So-hyeon: Wow! Amazing. Where did you get so many? There’s even one from Exis!

– Yeah, I’m on a music show today. They gave them to me in the waiting room.

– Ryu So-hyeon: A music show? What are you talking about?

Yeon-woo tilted his head in confusion.

‘Did I not tell my family?’

Well, he wasn’t the type to discuss his schedule in detail with his family.

– I got invited to perform on a music show as “Jae Inari” today.

– Ryu So-hyeon: What? But oppa, you’re tone-deaf!

The direct jab stung somewhere deep in Yeon-woo’s chest.

“Ahem.”

For some reason, his throat felt scratchy, and he cleared it.

– Didn’t you watch the movie? I’m only playing an instrument.

– Ryu So-hyeon: Oh, I see. I thought oppa were going to embarrass yourself nationwide. Got it! I’ll make sure to watch it live! Good luck!

Yeon-woo paused, his thumb trembling slightly as he typed.

– Yeah. This will probably be my first and last music show, so watch it with our parents. And by the way, no allowance for you for a while.

– Ryu So-hyeon: What?! Why all of a sudden!

Yeon-woo put down his smartphone and stretched.

“It’s getting a bit boring, isn’t it? Feels like we’ve been waiting forever.”

“Yeah, I think it’s about time for us to get ready.”

As if on cue, the on-site staff knocked and entered the room.

“Jae Inari team, please wait backstage.”

“Yes.”

Yeon-woo and Seo Ji-eun stood up. Following the staff’s guidance, they headed to the waiting area behind the stage.

Team Leader Jung-hyuk followed them, capturing their backs as they headed towards the stage for the making film. Upon arriving backstage, the floor director (FD) approached and began explaining.

“Your turn is coming up soon. The agency requested to skip the pre-stage interview, so you’ll just perform and then come down. Please pay attention to the floor markings.”

“Yes, understood.”

Watching the previous team’s performance on the monitor, time passed quickly.

“Jae Inari team, please get ready. You’ll go up while the pre-recorded video of the previous team plays.”

“Yes.”

Yeon-woo and Seo Ji-eun stood at the steps leading to the stage.

“Go up now!”

As they ascended the steps, they transformed from Yeon-woo and Seo Ji-eun into Jae and Nari, taking their positions on stage. Yeon-woo noticed that Seo Ji-eun, standing in front of the stand microphone, seemed slightly nervous.

“Inari. Fighting.”

When Yeon-woo called her Nari with a smile, Seo Ji-eun seemed to gradually calm down, embodying the singer-songwriter ‘Nari’ she had prepared to be for years. She looked at Yeon-woo’s fingertips and bit her lip.

“I’ll do my best!”

There was no point in telling him to be careful with his injured fingers. This stage had to showcase a perfect swan. Therefore, the only thing Seo Ji-eun could do was give her all to complete the performance.

As the spotlight fell on them, the prompter opposite the stage began counting down, and the music started.

“Ugh! It’s starting.”

Makeup artist Joo-hee had been a consistent fan club member since she did Yeon-woo’s makeup during the filming of ‘Spring Lovers’, where he made a cameo appearance. This time, she was lucky enough to win a lottery through the fan club to see Jae Inari’s one-time-only stage.

Since the release of ‘Sketch’, the membership of Woo’s, the fan club, had skyrocketed. Winning one of the 50 tickets to the live audience was nothing short of a miracle.

Looking at the faces of the Woo’s members who had come with her, Joo-hee saw that they were all on the verge of tears. Though she hadn’t looked in a mirror, she assumed she was the same.

As the music played, Yeon-woo’s guitar melody seamlessly blended in. Having been repeatedly instructed not to scream during the ballad, Joo-hee covered her mouth with her hand to suppress the cheers that threatened to burst out.

‘This is amazing. He’s exactly like Jae from the movie.’

Unaware of the upcoming performance, the fans were already reacting fervently to just the guitar melody. Then, the voice of another star of the stage, Inari, joined in.

[♪ When I turn this corner,

I feel like I’ll see

The winding path with red brick walls.

Even if another path appears,

When I get tired of walking,

If you are a gray brick,

I’ll become moss with green paint.

If you dry up,

I’ll become raindrops with blue paint.

If the dark path scares you,

I’ll become a sunset with orange paint. ♪]

As Seo Ji-eun’s clear and cheerful voice filled the hall, Yeon-woo tapped the guitar rhythmically before placing it on the floor. He then picked up the violin, which had been hidden by the fog, as if pulling it out of the clouds.

The audience went wild.

“Kyah! This is insane.”

Fans screamed as they saw Yeon-woo remove his in-ear monitor and grab the violin. Members of Woo’s, compared to the fanbases of singers, had fewer opportunities to see their favorite celebrity and had less content to indulge in online. They were starved for such performances, so even small gestures made them ecstatic.

“Ah! Shouldn’t we have brought light sticks too?!”

“Oh my, we really should have!”

Even though this was a one-time performance before his retirement, Woo’s members couldn’t help but feel a bit envious seeing other fans entering with light sticks for their idols.

As Yeon-woo’s incredible fast-paced violin solo continued, the fans could hardly believe their eyes.

“…Amazing. Is there anything our actor can’t do?”

This reaction wasn’t limited to the audience. Yeon-woo’s family, watching the live broadcast at home, were equally astonished.

“Is that really Yeon-woo playing?”

“It seems so. Did oppa learn instruments when he was younger?”

“What instrument? He only ever played the recorder or tambourine.”

“Then how is he so good at this?”

Their parents, watching alongside his sister So-hyeon, had no answers. They had seen him play in the movie, but assumed it was just acting and that it had been managed somehow. Even when his grades had skyrocketed before he became an actor, they had simply thought it was a good thing and moved on.

But handling an instrument was a different matter. Though they were not experts, they knew that such skill couldn’t be attributed to mere talent alone.

At that moment, Yeon-woo’s father, Ryu Cheol-yung, who had been quietly watching the broadcast, spoke up cautiously.

“Maybe, just maybe, our Yeon-woo…”

His wife and daughter turned their attention to him.

“You know, like that Swedish guy on the ‘Surprising Amazing World’ show on Sundays? He got struck by lightning, almost died, and then became a genius at everything? Could it be something like that?”

At his outlandish suggestion, the two women turned their heads sharply.

“But Seo Ji-eun unnie sings really well too.”

“Our daughter sings well too.”

“Yeah, but why is oppa tone-deaf?”

At her daughter’s question, Lee Sun-ok chuckled and looked at her husband, who was still talking about the ‘Surprising Amazing World’ show.

“There’s a reason for everything.”

“Dad, are you tone-deaf?”

====

***

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“Phew! It’s over.”

Seo Ji-eun’s arms were trembling as she descended the stairs after the performance. Following behind, Yeon-woo chuckled at the sight.

“For someone who was nervous, you struck the ending pose perfectly.”

“You were even more shameless! Didn’t you wink at the end? Right, Min-soo oppa?”

Seo Ji-eun asked, and Kim Min-soo smiled and nodded.

“I thought you might have been an idol in a past life.”

Yeon-woo scratched the back of his head at Min-soo’s comment.

‘Hmm, I was a spy in a past life…’

Despite the unfamiliarity of the activity, he was relieved that they had successfully completed the performance without any mistakes.

Back in the waiting room, the tension released, and Seo Ji-eun collapsed onto a chair before suddenly springing up.

“We’re done now! Your fingers! Your fingers!”

At her exclamation, Kim Min-soo approached with the medical supplies that Team Leader Jung-hyuk had brought.

“Let’s start with the disinfection!”

Yeon-woo couldn’t help but laugh as he watched Kim Min-soo solemnly declare this while applying disinfectant to the gauze. It was as if they were in a battlefield tending to a gunshot wound.

After the commotion, Yeon-woo’s fingers were treated and wrapped tightly with bandages. With his relatively unscathed left thumb, he accessed a portal site on his smartphone. He wanted to check the audience numbers for the movie that had been released a week ago.

“Ah…”

But what caught his eye first on the smartphone screen was his own ending pose, prominently featured on the main page.

– Ending Fairy Ryu Yeon-woo’s cute wink melts fans’ hearts.

‘They’re even using it in headlines now.’

When Yeon-woo clicked on the article, the comments were indeed flooded with puns about ‘melting hearts.’

“I should probably avoid fan meetings and autograph sessions for a while.”

“Huh?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

Seo Ji-eun, who had been sprawled out, only lifted her head to inquire, and Yeon-woo waved his bandaged hand dismissively.

In the morning, Yeon-woo drove himself to LN Entertainment’s building. The first draft of the screenplay for ‘White Blood’, which was scheduled to launch on an OTT platform, was ready, and writer Kim Jin-joo had requested the first meeting.

After parking, Yeon-woo headed to the meeting room, where director Hwang Min-kwon, CG director Jung Yo-han, and writer Kim Jin-joo were already present.

“Everyone’s early, I see?”

“Long time no see, Yeon-woo.”

“Welcome!”

Yeon-woo was greeted warmly by writer Kim Jin-joo and the strictly disciplined director Hwang Min-kwon. The reticent CG director Jung Yo-han simply nodded in greeting.

“Take a seat, Yeon-woo. Everyone, please sit down. I’ll distribute the screenplay.”

Writer Kim Jin-joo took out the printed A4 pages of the screenplay from her briefcase and handed them out.

“Please read through it. Once everyone has read it, we’ll proceed with the meeting.”

Yeon-woo nodded and began to read the screenplay.

‘Hmm.’

The core storyline had not been touched. The ‘worldview,’ the main reason Yeon-woo had chosen this project, remained intact. Writer Kim Jin-joo’s unique attention to detail had enriched the screenplay, adding depth to it.

After some time had passed and everyone seemed to have finished reading the screenplay, they all looked up.

“…How is it?”

Receiving feedback on one’s creative work is always both thrilling and terrifying. Writer Kim Jin-joo’s eyes were a mix of anticipation and anxiety as she looked at them. Almost in unison, director Hwang Min-kwon and CG director Jung Yo-han gave a thumbs-up.

“It’s excellent.”

“Our screenplay has been completely transformed.”

Seeing their reactions, Kim Jin-joo turned her gaze towards Yeon-woo. He nodded quietly before speaking.

“You’ve managed to enhance the reason I chose this screenplay while making the story richer. It’s very well done.”

“Thank goodness,” Kim Jin-joo sighed in relief before continuing. “However, I want to collaborate with the lead actor, director, and CG director to make it even more robust. That’s why I called for this meeting.”

“Hmm, understood!”

“I’ll review any suggestions you have to ensure they can be handled within the scope of CG.”

“Director, do you have any ideas?” Kim Jin-joo asked Jung Yo-han, who scratched the back of his head.

“I’m a science major.”

“What? I’m a science major too…” Kim Jin-joo tilted her head, puzzled by his response.

At that moment, Yeon-woo raised his right hand.

“I have a suggestion.”