NIS Agent Reincarnated as a Genius Actor

Director Hwang Min-kwon was the first to speak.

“Hello, everyone. I’m Hwang Min-kwon, the director of 「White Blood」. Let’s create a unique and vibrant work without fearing failure.”

As the director expressed his aspirations, applause filled the conference room. His attempt to appear serious seemed quite awkward.

‘Director Hwang can be normal sometimes,’ Yeon-woo thought, smiling slightly. He wasn’t the only one struggling to hold back laughter; CG Director Jung Yo-han could be seen covering his mouth among the staff in the back.

Next, Writer Kim Jin-joo stood up.

“I’m Kim Jin-joo, the writer of this story. I have great confidence in this project.”

Wow─.

As Kim Jin-joo spoke confidently, applause and cheers erupted from those around her.

It was Yeon-woo’s turn next. He had planned to give a brief greeting and sit down, but seeing the writer and director express their confidence, he thought it would be better to boost morale as well.

‘Hmm, what should I say to lift everyone’s spirits?’

After a moment of contemplation, Yeon-woo slowly stood up.

“I intend to film this project with the determination to achieve the number one spot on Netflix worldwide. I look forward to working with all the senior and junior colleagues and the best staff.”

Ooooh─.

The attendees were impressed by his bold ambition and chuckled slightly. Lee Joo-mi, an actress playing a supporting role, clapped and whispered to a fellow actor she was close to.

“But you know, it really feels like he could do it, doesn’t it?”

“…Yeah, maybe it’s because of his aura. It really seems like he could hit number one.”

If anyone else had said this, it might have been dismissed as overconfidence, but coming from the first Korean actor to win the Golden Bear, it didn’t seem like an empty boast.

After Yeon-woo finished speaking and sat down, the youngest cast member, Han Byul, stood up.

“Hello! I’m Han Byul! My surname is Han, and my given name is Byul. It’s a single character!”

With her braided hair, she quickly bowed and sat down, causing everyone to smile.

Following that, the other cast members introduced themselves, and everyone took out their scripts.

“Alright, let’s get started.”

At Director Hwang Min-kwon’s words, the assistant director called out.

“We will now begin the script reading for 「White Blood」.”

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「A man wrapped in chains was dragged into a dome-shaped building crudely built from mud. Inside, the building was a mess, with puddles of water scattered everywhere.」

Although they were in the conference room of LN Entertainment, the actors immersed themselves in the scene described in the script.

A veteran actor playing a minor role, seated in the second row, started the reading.

“Silence! We will now begin the trial of the outsider.”

The room, which had been as noisy as a marketplace, fell silent.

Clang!

As the man, who appeared to be a prisoner, was dragged to the center, everyone inside the building focused on him. Aside from the man being dragged in, everyone else was dressed in red.

Instead of the red-clad erythrocytes, the supporting actors in the second row began their lines.

“Is that the outsider?”

“I’ve never seen an outsider before.”

“Well, Aunt Nora said that this flood was caused by that outsider.”

The veteran actor playing the judge raised his hand among the murmuring crowd. The script indicated that he raised a sword, so he mimicked holding something.

“The reason for the heavy rain in our village is because the outsider came here. Therefore, the outsider is sentenced to death!”

At that moment, a cheerful voice pierced through the murmuring of the supporting actors.

“Wait a minute! It hasn’t been proven that the outsider’s arrival is related to the flood!”

It was just one line, but the voice was strong and clear. Yeon-woo glanced at the young girl named Han Byul sitting next to him.

‘She’s young, but her voice is solid. Impressive.’

The character ‘Ella’ was a significant role that appeared from the first episode to the last, so they must have put a lot of effort into casting her. Hearing Han Byul’s voice as Ella, another supporting actor in the second row raised his hand, prompting the veteran actor to deliver the next line.

“Speak, the one with the raised hand.”

“Yes, Judge. I saw Ella bringing food to the outsider while he was imprisoned! She must have developed feelings for him.”

“Is that true?”

A few more exchanges followed between Ella, who was defending the protagonist Jeong Do-jin, and the judge who wanted to execute him.

Finally, it was time for the protagonist, Jeong Do-jin, played by Yeon-woo, to speak. The doctor ‘Jeong Do-jin’ had entered the body to treat his sister’s leukemia and was fundamentally different from the cells inside the body. He had the strength to break free from the chains binding him and leave at any time, but he was deliberately staying for a reason.

‘The protagonist should feel that this trial is a nuisance, so his basic psychological state should be somewhat arrogant.’

To cure his sister, he needed to reach the highest point in this world, beyond the sky, to the central nervous system that integrated everything. He had to cross several dimensions to reach the brain of this world.

‘So, he should be somewhat angry inside. He’s busy and these nuisances are in his way.’

Arrogant and angry, but as the protagonist, he shouldn’t come across negatively on screen.

‘Jeong Do-jin would be somewhat intrigued by why the red blood cell ‘Ella’ is defending him, so I’ll use that to frame my lines.’

Yeon-woo quickly immersed himself in the character of Jeong Do-jin and began to speak.

“Village Chief.”

His voice was heavy and sticky, completely different from the usual image of Ryu Yeon-woo. It was a voice that instantly dominated the space. The unexpected tone naturally drew the attention of the other actors.

“You said my arrival caused the disaster. If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be best for me to quietly leave this place?”

Noticing that the script said ‘Judge’ instead of ‘Village Chief,’ Writer Kim Jin-joo nodded slightly and made a note in her script.

‘I see. To Jeong Do-jin in the story, it wouldn’t matter whether the elder of this small red blood cell village was a judge or a village chief.’

She was impressed by the boldness of starting the first scene’s first line differently from the script. Given the situation, calling him the village chief made more sense.

“What? That can’t be. If you go somewhere else, you’ll bring disaster to that place too.”

“Then this place will be where I die. That fact will remain unchanged for a hundred years, and this land will be cursed forever.”

Do-jin’s words caused the red-clad villagers to murmur.

“That’s right. If this is where the cursed outsider dies, won’t it be cursed forever?”

“Yeah, I think it would be better if he just quietly left.”

As the murmuring grew louder, the village chief, who had been twitching his eyebrows, drew his sword again.

“Silence! Are you being swayed by the cursed one’s silver tongue? That is not the will of the gods.”

Crack.

At that moment, as Jeong Do-jin exerted his strength, the chains wrapped around him shattered and fell to the ground.

“The will of the gods? Do you claim to understand the will of the gods? You, a mere village chief?”

“What are you all doing? Restrain him again!”

“You’re quite an amusing cell.”

An indescribable aura emanated from Do-jin’s body like a mirage as he broke the chains. The red blood cells, feeling the difference in his very existence, froze like rabbits before a tiger.

At that moment, a noise like static from a walkie-talkie and a woman’s sighing voice reached Do-jin’s ears.

Crackle!

It was time for Jung Soo-yeon, who played the narrator, to make her vocal appearance.

[You don’t have time to be idling with those low-level cells. Hurry up and leave! The White Blood Army is about to arrive.]

“Got it. I’m going.”

While making his way up to the femoral artery, Do-jin had evaded the pursuing White Blood Army, raising his wanted level. To reset it, he had deliberately gotten himself imprisoned in this remote red blood cell village.

At that moment, the assistant director shouted loudly.

“The wall on one side collapses! Boom!”

According to the script, this was the cue for the White Blood Army to make their entrance.

“Already?”

The androids, made of silvery metal, looked completely out of place in the surrounding setting.

“Ahhh! Run away!”

“Move! Open the door!”

The supporting actors’ screams created a chaotic atmosphere. Simultaneously, the android White Blood Army detected Do-jin and leaped to attack.

Clang─!

Do-jin blocked the arm of a flying White Blood Army soldier with his bare hand and grabbed another with his free hand, throwing it forcefully away from the red blood cells. Dodging the incoming attacks with fluid movements, he exited the courtroom through the hole the androids had made.

The narrator’s voice came again.

[You mustn’t kill the White Blood Army! If your danger level rises again after it has been lowered, it will be troublesome.]

Although the script described this scene, the conference room remained silent. However, Yeon-woo’s voice, sounding as if he were genuinely out of breath and fighting, filled the room.

“I know! Huff, huff, I’m going!”

Hearing Yeon-woo’s precise control of his breathing, the other actors could vividly imagine the scene described in the script.

As Do-jin urgently headed towards the center of the village, a voice called out from behind. It was Han Byul, playing Ella.

“Mister! This way! The iron horse you rode in on!”

Turning around, Do-jin saw Ella frantically gesturing. Changing direction, he accelerated towards Ella, who led him through the alleyways.

“It’s in that stable!”

This scene was one Yeon-woo had practiced during some spare time before a housewarming party. Sitting on a stool in his home practice room, he had immersed himself in the scene as if riding a levitating bike captured from the White Blood Army.

As he hurriedly mounted the bike and tried to start it, Ella quickly climbed on behind him.

“What? Why are you following me?”

“Take me with you!”

Do-jin frowned at Ella’s abrupt demand.

“I’m in a hurry. I can’t take any extra baggage.”

“Hey! I gave you food! I should at least get something in return.”

Yeon-woo and Han Byul delivered their lines seamlessly, like well-oiled gears meshing together, drawing admiration from those around them.

Boom.

The White Blood Army, which had been pursuing them, broke through the stable wall, leaving no time to waste.

Whirr─.

With the sound of the engine igniting, the bike lifted slightly off the ground. Reluctantly, Do-jin set off.

“Hold on tight!”

“Yes!”

The bike carrying Do-jin and Ella zigzagged through the village, dodging the red-clad villagers and the attacking White Blood Army as they quickly escaped.

“But do you even know where we’re going?”

“Up there!”

Ella pointed to the sky, and Do-jin shook his head.

“Where did you hear that?”

“I overheard some guys at the tavern talking about a man coming up from the Fibula and going against the sky while delivering oxygen to the Femoral.”

In reality, the man coming up from the Fibula, or the shinbone, was indeed referring to himself. However, Do-jin had come from even lower, from the very bottom of this world, the tip of the toes.

Sighing, Do-jin looked up at the sky and spoke to the narrator, who was somewhere up there, or even higher.

“Narrator. So, there’s a direct path to the heart once I get past the thigh, right?”

[Cardiac.]

“Cardiac means heart.”

In this world, all names were like this. The heart was called Cardiac. The thigh was Femoral. The shinbone was Fibula. Thanks to these medical terms being used as place names, Do-jin, a doctor by profession, could easily tell where he was.

Seeing Do-jin talking to the narrator, Ella, who was sitting behind him, tilted her head in confusion.

“Mister, who are you talking to?”

“Why do you keep calling me mister?”

“If it’s the path to Cardiac, I know the way.”

“What? You know it?”

At that moment, the assistant director shouted.

“Alright, let’s take a break here. Good job, everyone.”

The actors, who had been deeply immersed in the world inside the body, returned to reality. They stretched and began chatting with the actors next to them.

“Wow… Ryu Yeon-woo is really something else. Even though my lines were done, I couldn’t breathe and just watched in tension.”

“That girl, Han Byul, is no joke either. Could you keep up with Ryu’s back-and-forth like that?”

“No way, I think my timing for lines would be completely off.”

There weren’t any CG effects yet, nor was it even a set. It wasn’t a shoot, just a script reading, so the actors had thought it would be hard to immerse themselves in the unfamiliar fantasy genre. But just sitting there reading their lines, they experienced the scenes vividly in their minds.

“Honestly, I thought doing fantasy in our country was a reckless challenge, but maybe it could actually work…”

Hearing the voices of the supporting actors, Jung Yo-han, the rising CG director from Hollywood, who was sitting in the back, adjusted his glasses and smiled broadly.