NIS Agent Reincarnated as a Genius Actor

“Ugh… It’s been a while, so I’m really nervous.”

Joeng Soo-yeon sat in the waiting room, rubbing her cold hands together out of nervousness. Her last role was in the child actor project 「Spring Lover」, which was two years ago. After failing the second round of the announcer recruitment exam, she had been preparing for next year’s exam when she received a call from an acting academy instructor she knew.

[They’re looking for a female actress with good diction who can play an announcer role well. Would you like to give it a try, Soo-yeon?]

Although she had grown weary of the dark side of the entertainment industry due to bad management agencies, she hadn’t completely given up on her acting career. Soo-yeon was conflicted.

“…Should I give it one last try?”

Soo-yeon nodded, and as a result, she found herself at the audition today. She didn’t know much about the project since the details hadn’t spread yet, but she knew it was a rare fantasy genre in Korea and a major project to be distributed through Netflix. With LN Media, a company currently at its peak, handling both production and distribution, the audition venue was packed with hopefuls.

“The chances of getting in are slim anyway.”

Looking around, Soo-yeon saw a mix of familiar actors and new aspirants waiting for their turn.

“Hey, look over there. Isn’t that ‘Axis Dong-ha’? Amazing.”

“And next to him is ‘N-Boys Jae-yoon’, I think.”

Hearing the murmurs from behind, Soo-yeon glanced across the room.

“Senior Jae-yoon, are you here for the audition too?”

“Of course, I’m here for the audition. Do you think I came to hang out?”

Jae-yoon gave Dong-ha a once-over with a disapproving look. Ignoring Jae-yoon’s attitude, Dong-ha’s eyes curved into crescent moons as he continued to stare.

Jae-yoon was known for his nasty habit of bullying rookie male idols. The members of Axis had also suffered at his hands when they were new, so Dong-ha couldn’t help but retort whenever they crossed paths.

“You said it yourself last time, Senior.”

“What did I say?”

“When actors like Ryu Yeon-woo and Seo Ji-eun came to the music show as ‘Jay Inari,’ you said they should stick to acting and not steal our jobs…”

Dong-ha’s voice wasn’t loud enough for others to hear, but Jae-yoon quickly looked around and glared at him.

“Hey. Why are you bringing that up here? Keep your mouth shut.”

Dong-ha shrugged nonchalantly and continued.

“Well, we’re here to steal actors’ jobs now, aren’t we? According to your logic, that is.”

“You little…”

Jae-yoon’s face twisted in anger, but he turned away, feeling the stares from around the room.

“…Axis members are all so rude.”

At that moment, the assistant director closed the audition room door and called out loudly.

“The audition will begin now. Please come in the order your names are called and wait quietly in your seats.”

The audition began, and several people had already taken their turns. Soo-yeon’s heart pounded as she took deep breaths.

‘Why am I like this today? So embarrassing. Ugh…’

Despite having auditioned dozens of times since her child actor days, the thought of competing for a role after a two-year hiatus made her incredibly nervous.

“Next, Han Byul. Number 32, Han Byul.”

“Yes!”

Hearing the cheerful and loud response from behind, Joeng Soo-yeon instinctively turned around. A girl with a plain face, no makeup, and braided hair in a school uniform stood up abruptly.

‘A high school student… No, maybe a middle schooler.’

Seeing that she was alone with no guardian, Soo-yeon assumed the girl had come by herself. Since Soo-yeon had only received the script for the role she was auditioning for, she only knew that the character the girl named Han Byul was auditioning for was called ‘Ella.’

– Clap, clap! –

“Fighting! Let’s do this!”

The girl slapped her cheeks lightly and shouted energetically as she walked forward. The actors waiting around chuckled at her spirited display. Soo-yeon, who had been feeling tense, also found herself smiling.

‘She’s so cute… I used to be like that too.’

There was a time when Soo-yeon had big dreams about becoming an actor, analyzing and practicing her scripts until they were black with notes for every audition.

Of course, she still analyzed and practiced diligently now.

‘…Back then, I enjoyed it.’

As Han Byul approached the entrance of the audition room, Soo-yeon felt a surge of nostalgia and wanted to offer some encouragement.

“…F-Fighting.”

Han Byul turned to Soo-yeon and smiled brightly.

“Yes! You too, unnie!”

Han Byul entered the audition room. After a while, Jae-yoon from N-Boys and Dong-ha from Axis also took their turns and exited shortly after.

“Who do you think will get the lead role?”

“Not sure, it hasn’t been announced yet. There haven’t been any articles about it.”

“LN is doing really well these days, so it’s likely a famous actor will get it.”

Hearing the conversation behind her, Soo-yeon naturally thought of her only friend at LN Entertainment, who had now become incredibly famous.

‘I wonder if Yeon-woo knows who’s cast. Since it’s an LN production, he might.’

At that moment, a staff member called out.

“Next, Joeng Soo-yeon. Number 76, Joeng Soo-yeon.”

“Yes!”

“I’m going in.”

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***

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“It’s been a while since you’ve taken on a project, hasn’t it?”

“Yes, it has.”

Director Jeong Haneul and the team were busy working on Yeon-woo’s hair and makeup. Yeon-woo nodded slightly as he looked at his reflection in the mirror.

‘It has been a while. It’s been 10 months since 「Sketch」 ended.’

After wrapping up in October last year and returning from Berlin, he had focused on his school life. Although he had done some CFs and YouTube shoots in between, he had mostly been attending school without any other engagements until this new project.

“What’s this new project about?”

“Well, I’m a doctor, but I fight monsters and robots.”

Director Jeong Haneul broke into a sweat at the unexpected answer to his polite question.

“…Oh, really?”

“Haha, it might sound strange, but it’ll be fun.”

Given that everything Yeon-woo had done so far had been a hit, Director Jeong Haneul nodded, thinking that it would be interesting even if he couldn’t quite grasp the concept from the explanation.

“Alright, all done.”

Looking in the mirror, Yeon-woo saw a professionally polished appearance for the first time in a while.

“Yeon-woo, try this on first.”

Stylist Lee Ye-eun handed him a deep purple suit.

“Isn’t this too much? It’s just a script reading.”

“Nonsense! You need to match your appearance to your stature now.”

This was the lead role in a high-budget fantasy blockbuster. Although he had played lead roles before, this time he was the sole lead, which carried a different weight.

“Alright, I’ll trust your judgment, noona.”

Yeon-woo took the suit and went into the dressing room. When he came out, he asked, “How do I look?”

“Perfect… Perfect…”

Lee Ye-eun smiled proudly, while the makeup staff gave him a thumbs up with dazed expressions.

“With this, Hemeko are perfect.”

“Hemeko1?”

“Yes, Hair, makeup, and coordination.”

Yeon-woo shook his head at her response and stood up.

“People abbreviate everything these days…”

“That’s everything.”

“…Ahem, shall we go? Min-soo hyung, I’m ready.”

They left the shop and got into the car to head to the script reading venue.

“Alright, let’s go.”

The car smoothly set off towards the LN Entertainment building.

Meanwhile, on the third floor of the LN Entertainment building, preparations for the script reading were in full swing.

“Hehehe, it’s the script reading. I’m so nervous I could die.”

“Hey. Please maintain some dignity as the director.”

Director Hwang Min-kwon was bustling around excitedly, while CG Director Jung Yo-han followed him, clutching the back of his neck.

Writer Kim Jin-joo watched them from behind, shaking her head. She had been roped into this project by Ryu Yeon-woo, but writing the script had been challenging due to Director Hwang Min-kwon’s unpredictable imagination.

Whenever she had a portion of the script ready, Director Hwang would come up with outlandish ideas that were completely unrelated to the existing storyline. Ignoring them wasn’t an option because, despite their absurdity, they often made sense.

“Thanks to that guy, I’ve rewritten this script countless times.”

Director Hwang was a fountain of innovative ideas, but without Writer Kim Jin-joo, those ideas would never have seen the light of day.

Kim Jin-joo shifted her gaze to the script in her hands.

「White Blood」

Despite the challenges, she felt the script was perfect.

Just then, actors began to trickle into the script reading room. Kim Jin-joo smiled brightly as she saw a young girl walk in.

“Oh my, Han Byul, you look so pretty today!”

“Yes! Hello, writer-nim.”

The girl ran over and bowed to Kim Jin-joo.

“Writer-nim, I have a question!”

“Hmm?”

“Who is the main character of our project?”

Was this the MZ generation she had heard about, or was it just Han Byul’s unique personality? New actors usually felt timid at their first script reading, but Han Byul was looking around curiously and asking questions non-stop. Kim Jin-joo nodded, amused.

‘She definitely suits the character of Ella perfectly. Good choice.’

Kim Jin-joo thought as she smiled and spoke.

“It’s a secret! But you’ll find out soon enough.”

Shortly after, Joeng Soo-yeon and Dong-ha from Axis entered, along with other key supporting actors, each greeting and taking their seats.

Typically, when a broadcast station handles casting, the news is often reported in advance. Even in movies, the main and supporting actors usually have separate meetings. However, this time, the casting was completed so quickly that there had been no reports about it, leaving the actors busy introducing themselves to each other.

“Hello, I’m Joeng Soo-yeon.”

“Ah, I’m Dong-ha from the boy group Axis. Nice to meet you.”

As Soo-yeon and Dong-ha exchanged greetings, a cheerful voice chimed in from the side.

“Unnie, you’re the one who cheered me on last time, right?”

“Oh? You’re that student.”

While they were exchanging greetings, murmurs from the other supporting actors and staff near the entrance caught their attention. Naturally, they turned to see the source of the commotion. Entering through the door was the lead actor of the project, exuding an aura of presence in a deep purple suit.

“…Huh?”

Soo-yeon was so surprised that she let out a foolish sound without realizing it. Han Byul, standing next to her, also gaped in astonishment.

“Amazing! I’m a huge fan of Ryu Yeon-woo oppa! Is he the lead in our drama?”

The making-of cameras turned to capture Yeon-woo, who was smiling and greeting the staff. As he approached the center of the table, he spotted Soo-yeon. Since he hadn’t asked the production team about the casting to avoid any bias, he was equally surprised to see a familiar face.

“Soo-yeon? We’re working on this project together.”

“Yes, it seems so.”

Thinking back, Yeon-woo realized that during 「Spring Lover」, he had only made a cameo appearance as a one-day helper, so this was essentially their first project together. Soo-yeon felt a mix of excitement and bewilderment at Yeon-woo’s sudden appearance.

Recalling that Soo-yeon had been preparing for an announcer exam recently, Yeon-woo guessed her role.

“Ah, you’re playing the narrator?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

At that moment, greetings poured in from around Yeon-woo.

“Hello! I’m Han Byul!”

“I greeted you once at a music show before, I’m Dong-ha from Axis.”

“Nice to meet you, Han Byul, Dong-ha.”

By then, everyone had arrived, and the assistant director closed the door and called out.

“Alright, let’s begin.”

Note:

헤메코 = Hemeko, This the pronunciation for the first word of Hair, makeup, and coordination in Korea.