NIS Agent Reincarnated as a Genius Actor

“Hey, Soo-yeon, what’s up? Have you had lunch?”

Yeon-woo answered the phone as naturally as possible to make the conversation less awkward. However, there was silence on the other end for a few seconds.

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Sitting on a subway station bench, Soo-yeon waited. After a while, Yeon-woo answered the call.

[Hey, Soo-yeon, what’s up? Have you had lunch?]

The warm voice on the other end of the phone melted Soo-yeon’s heart. It was her ‘friend’, and for some reason, hearing her friend’s voice made her feel like she might burst into tears. She suppressed her emotions, took a deep breath, and finally spoke.

“…Yeon-woo, are you in the middle of shooting?”

[Is something wrong with you? Where are you?]

Soo-yeon was speechless at Yeon-woo’s response.

“No, I just called.”

[Wait for a moment.]

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Yeon-woo sensed that Soo-yeon’s voice was trembling subtly, and in this situation, receiving a call from someone who wasn’t a family member indicated a problem she couldn’t handle on her own.

“Wait for a moment.”

Yeon-woo muted the call, briefly explained the situation to Ma Seok-do, and then picked up his phone again.

“Soo-yeon, where are you?”

[…Yeongdeungpo Station.]

“Do you have any other schedules today?”

Yeon-woo told Soo-yeon to wait for him there, and he hung up, walking towards a secluded corner of the camping site.

“Min-soo hyung, I’m sorry, but I have a personal request.”

[That’s what managers are for. What is it?]

Min-soo, who was doing office work at LN Entertainment’s office, felt a rush of excitement. Yeon-woo explained the situation briefly.

[If it’s Yeongdeungpo Station, it’s right in front. I understand. Please share the address of the camping site.]

Min-soo immediately set out and, in less than an hour, arrived at Yeongdeungpo Station to pick up Soo-yeon. When he arrived, Yeon-woo and Ma Seok-do were already there to greet her.

“Hey, Mr. Ma. How are you?”

“Oh, Min-soo. Do you need to return to the company? Come and have some meat before you go. I brought a ton of it.”

Ma Seok-do, who genuinely enjoys crowded places, looked excited as more people started gathering at the camping site.

“Oh, then I’ll call the company and head back later. Taking care of the actor is the manager’s duty, right? Haha.”

Min-soo, who didn’t want to return to the company, and Ma Seok-do, who enjoyed the bustling atmosphere, got along surprisingly well.

“You’re here? Soo-yeon.”

“I’m sorry, suddenly bothering you.”

While riding in Min-soo’s car to this place, Soo-yeon had time to sort out her thoughts and had managed to calm down a bit. She felt embarrassed for crying on the phone so suddenly.

It had felt like the end of the world, but as she thought throughout the ride, she began to distance herself from her emotions and started feeling more composed.

Soo-yeon greeted Ma Seok-do with a bow.

“Hello, senior. I’m Soo-yeon, who played the child role in ‘Sunshine’.”

“Really? Is that you? You were just a little kid back then. You’ve grown a lot.”

Ma Seok-do shook hands with Soo-yeon. She shared a story about her childhood when they filmed in the countryside. Although the work didn’t achieve great success, the memory of playing a role as a detective in the rural village and working hard all summer had stuck with him.

As Soo-yeon came to the camping site and saw familiar faces, she felt a sense of relief, as if the unpleasant events from earlier in the day had been washed away.

“Let’s go for now. We haven’t even set up the tents yet.”

The four of them chatted as they headed to the camping place.

“Hey, have you only practiced setting up tents?”

“Haha, just a bit.”

Seok-do and Min-soo were surprised at Yeon-woo’s ability to quickly and easily set up the tents. Although he usually worked on building large military tents, setting up a camping tent was a piece of cake for him.

“I can’t stay still when I’m camping.”

Ma Seok-do began preparing the fire pit by igniting the fire.

“Is there anything I can help with, Mr. Ma?”

“Oh, today, Yeon-woo and I will handle everything. Soo-yeon and Mr. Min-soo, just relax.”

However, they couldn’t just sit around doing nothing, so Soo-yeon and Min-soo started helping organize the food from the cooler.

Soon, Yeon-woo, who had quickly set up two tents, came over.

Upon seeing him, Soo-yeon felt her mood improving.

“I’ve never done something like this before. It’s exciting.”

“What kind of thing? Camping?”

Soo-yeon nodded.

“Both camping and just doing spontaneous things with friends.”

“In the future, you’ll have plenty of opportunities for that. That’s what college life is for.”

Yeon-woo looked at Soo-yeon and chuckled.

“Later, when I have the chance, let’s go somewhere in the countryside with my friends.”

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

Yeon-woo thought it would be fun to go with Kim Junsoo, Woo Seong-sik, and Hong Yuri.

“Oh, I forgot to buy soju.”

When Ma Seok-do mentioned this, Kim Min-soo immediately got up from his seat.

Yeon-woo smiled at Min-soo.

“Min-soo hyung, take it easy. Soo-yeon and I will go to the supermarket in front.”

“Oh, now that you two are adults, you can buy alcohol, right?”

“Haha, that’s right. It’s a good time to try using our IDs.”

Yeon-woo explained where the supermarket was, pointing in that direction with his finger.

“Yeon-woo, when you leave the camping site and go about 200 meters in that direction, you’ll find a supermarket.”

“Okay. I don’t drink much, so should I buy a couple of bottles?”

Ma Seok-do nodded in agreement.

Yeon-woo gestured to Soo-yeon, and they walked to the entrance of the camping site.

As they left the camping site, it was already getting dark, and the streetlights were starting to illuminate the area.

They walked in silence for a while, and then Soo-yeon spoke up.

“I went to the office today.”

Yeon-woo listened silently as Soo-yeon shared what had happened today in a calm manner, as if telling someone else’s story.

Yeon-woo was feeling a mix of anger and frustration while hearing the story. He had seen the immoral behavior of the entertainment industry firsthand during his time as a special agent, dealing with danger zones, slums, and anti-government groups. He probably felt more empathetic and protective towards Soo-yeon because of that.

Yeon-woo felt that the least he could do now was lend a sympathetic ear and provide moral support.

“Is the story you mentioned before, about wanting to become an announcer, still valid?”

“Yeah, it seems so.”

Soo-yeon had been acting for a long time, starting with child roles due to her mother’s influence. For some reason, she didn’t seem particularly enthusiastic about it. However, despite being an actor, she had always admired announcers.

As they walked, they arrived at the supermarket nearby.

Suddenly, Soo-yeon stopped in her tracks.

“What’s wrong?”

Yeon-woo asked, looking at Soo-yeon.

“Yeon-woo, look at that.”

Soo-yeon pointed across the street, and Yeon-woo saw his own life-size panel and posters on the glass wall inside the ST Telecom store.

“Oh, right. It’s me.”

Soo-yeon read the text on the poster.

“Even if the direction changes, It’s okay as long as you don’t stop.”

Soo-yeon looked at Yeon-woo.

“I guess I’ll be like that too?”

Yeon-woo smiled at Soo-yeon.

“Of course.”

On their way back from the supermarket with three bottles of soju, Yeon-woo and Soo-yeon talked and joked. They were now comfortable with each other.

“Why didn’t they check our IDs? Do we look that old?”

“Yeah, it seems that way. Haha.”

Soo-yeon’s steps became lighter as they returned to the camping site.

When they reached the entrance, Yeon-woo handed a bag to Soo-yeon and said, “I have a place to make a call, so you can go ahead.”

As Soo-yeon walked away, Yeon-woo took out his smartphone.

– Doo-doo… –

The signal tone was heard, and the call was connected shortly after.

[Yeon-woo, what’s going on?]

Kim Joo-seong’s voice came through the phone.

“Sir, I didn’t expect to contact you so quickly, but I called just in case.”

Yeon-woo briefly explained what had happened to Kim Joo-seong regarding Soo-yeon.

[Soo-yeon is the one from ‘Spring lovers’, right? Plus Ten is represented by Byun Hak-gyu…]

Kim Joo-seong chuckled.

[He’s grown up a lot. He wasn’t even visible from the bottom before. I was already planning to step on him for another reason, but we can move the schedule up a bit.]

Kim Joo-seong respected Soo-yeon’s desire to become an announcer and said he would consider offering her a contract later.

“Thank you so much for your help, Sir.”

[No problem. I really despise people like that from the bottom of my heart.]

After expressing his gratitude, Yeon-woo ended the call and went back to the camping site.

On the other hand, in the LN Entertainment CEO’s office, Kim Joo-seong received Yeon-woo’s call.

Kim Joo-seong opened a drawer in his desk and stared at a photo of a woman inside.

He closed the drawer with a mixture of affection and pain on his face.

Kim Joo-seong, now a prominent figure in the entertainment industry, had once been a manager who had fallen in love with an actress he had represented. However, the actress had been pressured and manipulated, leading to her tragic decision to give up her career and life. She left him behind.

Since then, Kim Joo-seong had dedicated himself to building a transparent and clean company, LN Entertainment. He had worked tirelessly and steadily, growing the company to its current status.

After closing his eyes for a while to calm his emotions, Kim Joo-seong opened them again.

“That despicable kid… I have to step on him for sure.”

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“Oh, come on quickly. We’re about to go live.”

While Ryu Yeon-woo and Jeong Soo-yeon were running errands, the fire had burned down, and Ma Seok-do had already started grilling the meat. He had thoughtfully adjusted the camera tripod to focus only on him and Yeon-woo to consider Soo-yeon and Min-soo.

Yeon-woo, sitting across from Seok-do, looked at the delicious food and spoke.

“Wow, Senior Ma, it looks so delicious.”

“I have some skills when it comes to grilling meat. Haha.”

Ma Seok-do put down the meat tongs and operated the smartphone attached to the tripod.