NIS Agent Reincarnated as a Genius Actor

Upon hearing unexpected words as soon as the call connected, Yeon-woo responded with a questioning tone.

Then, on the other end of the line, Jeong Soo-yeon spoke again.

[I passed the first round of the announcer exam!]

“Oh? Really?”

[Yeah! I feel like I’m on cloud nine right now. Just got the call a moment ago.]

“Congratulations, truly. Should we gather with the others sometime?”

Even though they didn’t bring up the topic of the movie, the corners of their mouths lifted.

[The first round was a camera test, and I was so nervous I felt like I was going to die? Even though I’ve been acting in front of cameras my whole life, I was so, so nervous…]

Soo-yeon gushed about her experience. Originally, she hadn’t told her friends about it and had decided to take the exam just for the experience, but unexpectedly passing the first round and preparing for the second round made her excited. She talked about how she was still not even dreaming of passing until the final exam, which extends to the fourth round, but since she’s still in her twenties, she might pass before graduating if she continues to take the exams steadily.

“Congratulations. That’s really great.”

[Thank you, Yeon-woo. Let’s meet up with the others soon.]

“Yeah, sure. Go on in.”

After ending the call, Yeon-woo scratched his cheek and dialed the next contact.

[Yeon-woo? What’s up?]

“Oh, So-hyeon noona.”

When he explained the situation to Han So-hyeon, she showed interest.

[I really, really want to do it. But did you know I’m tone-deaf?]

“Really?”

[I’m totally tone-deaf, but I want to be a composer and you sing, Yeon-woo. But, oh well, I can’t even play an instrument. Ugh.]

“…I see. I’m tone-deaf too.”

It was an unexpected obstacle. Since he couldn’t sing at all, he hadn’t even thought about the problem, assuming that others were somewhat good at singing.

[Then, what about Ji-eun who acted in the drama with you this time? Is she busy? She played the role of an idol in her debut work ‘School.’ I heard she was really an idol trainee.]

“Oh, really? I didn’t know because I didn’t watch her debut work.”

While exchanging various greetings and conversations with Han So-hyeon, he hung up and searched for Seo Ji-eun in his contacts.

Although they were on good terms and even got married in the last drama, they didn’t get as close as Han So-hyeon, probably because they didn’t appear together in action scenes and political scenes in the drama as much as they did with Han So-hyeon.

‘There were stalking incidents, and there were dangers of falling. There were many incidents…’

As he looked at the wallet Seo Ji-eun had given him on the table, he pressed the call button.

[Oops, Yeon-woo! Ahh.]

Seo Ji-eun answered the phone loudly.

“Are you okay?”

After a moment of silence, Seo Ji-eun’s mother’s voice came from afar.

[This clumsy daughter spilled it again!]

Yeon-woo waited for a moment with his smartphone in hand, then hurriedly heard Seo Ji-eun’s voice.

[Sorry, Yeon-woo. I was carrying tteokbokki to the sink and accidentally spilled it.]

“Um, are you hurt?”

[Yeah! I had already eaten everything, only the soup was left.]

“Thank goodness. Noona, the reason I called was…”

As Yeon-woo was explaining about the movie, Seo Ji-eun interrupted loudly.

[I want to do it!]

“Huh? I haven’t even finished explaining yet…”

[I definitely want to do it! Please tell them! I want to do a musical movie!]

Yeon-woo, scratching his head in response to her unexpectedly enthusiastic reaction.

“I’m all for it.”

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***

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And then, Yeon-woo made another call to someone else.

[Oh, Yeon-woo.]

“Teacher. Everything alright?”

Yeon-woo’s first acting mentor, Jung Cheol-min, warmly received his call.

[Haha, nothing much. I was bored, so I had a drink with your dad yesterday. I thought I’d be busy with more students at the academy, but since we’re also hiring good teachers, there’s nothing much to do.]

“Really? Then, Teacher, can you memorize English fluently?”

[Why suddenly English?]

Yeon-woo proposed to Jung Cheol-min the role of a manager attached to the agency that appears in the early part of the scenario. No matter how much he thought about it, the role’s image fit perfectly, and he also wanted to appear in a frame with his mentor.

[Me in a Park Chan-hong movie? Whoa, is this for real? Yeon-woo, my heart is pounding like crazy right now.]

“Yes, the director said he wants to see me acting with the person I want.”

[Yeon-woo… What if this old man over forty makes a fool of himself? I’ll do my best to memorize the English lines perfectly.]

After calming down the deeply moved Jung Cheol-min, Yeon-woo hung up the phone, only to find missed calls and messages.

[Team Leader Jung Hyuk: Mr. Yeon-woo. It’s about Chairman Lee Han Group. Is tomorrow also okay? He said the sooner the better.]

‘Hmm, the sooner the better is what I think too.’

It would be best to finish the CF schedule quickly and shoot ‘Sketch’ before the Netflix audition schedule comes out. It would be good to finish it a day earlier.

[Ryu Yeon-woo: Yes, Team Leader. Then please schedule it for tomorrow. I’m okay with it.]

As soon as he sent the message, a reply came back immediately.

[Team Leader Jung Hyuk: Understood. Then Min-soo will pick you up for lunch tomorrow.]

And the next day, Kim Min-soo arrived to pick up Yeon-woo.

“Shall we go? Yeon-woo.”

“Well, there’s no need to dress up, right? It’s not an official schedule.”

“You look handsome even without dressing up.”

Getting into Min-soo’s car and heading towards the given address, they entered a luxurious residential area.

“I asked if it was Pyeongchang-dong, but it seems it’s not a restaurant but the chairman’s house that we’ve been invited to. Could it be that they want to introduce me to their granddaughter or something?”

“Hmm, that could be.”

Yeon-woo stroked his chin upon hearing Min-soo’s words. Thinking about it, it wasn’t an impossible story. Considering his age, it was more likely that there would be a fan of Yeon-woo among the chairman’s family members rather than the chairman himself being interested.

“Are you becoming the son-in-law of a conglomerate?”

Seeing Yeon-woo chuckle at Min-soo’s joke, he chuckled too.

“I’m not interested in that.”

“Well, considering the money you’ll be making in the future, why bother…”

It was winter, passing through the age of twenty-one. With the income he had earned so far and the increasing value of his body in the future, there was no reason for him to meet people based on money, even if it was the house of a large corporation’s chairman.

“It looks like we’re here. It’s quite fancy.”

Looking out the window at Min-soo’s words, Yeon-woo saw a tall wall that would be embarrassing to compare with the upscale village where Son Jin-yuk lived, and a refined gate.

As they looked so high that they couldn’t see inside from the outside, Yeon-woo got out of the car.

As soon as Yeon-woo got out, the black door opened as if waiting for him, and a security guard approached.

“Hello. Thank you for coming. Please come inside.”

“Oh, yes. Hello.”

Yeon-woo greeted him, and followed the security guard inside with his manager.

Following the beautifully decorated stone staircase, a very well-kept garden reminiscent of a castle in Europe appeared.

“This is the garden that the chairman likes. He asked me to introduce it to you as you come in.”

“Oh, I see. The landscaping is well done.”

“He apologizes for not being able to greet you in person as he finds it a bit inconvenient to move around.”

“No problem. What are you saying?”

Passing through the garden, they finally arrived at the entrance after passing through a thick wooden gate made of luxurious wood and marble walls.

‘It’s decorated like a mansion of a European noble family. There’s such a house in Seoul too.’

Min-soo, who was following behind, looked around here and there, amazed at the extraordinary places.

Meanwhile, following the security guard who opened the entrance, they entered the house, and contrary to what they saw outside, a very Korean-looking interior greeted them.

It looked like a high-class Hanok hotel.

Min-soo stopped in the living room, which looked like a reception room.

“I’ll wait here.”

“Oh, then I’ll bring the meal over here.”

Min-soo nodded with a smile and sat on the sofa.

Then, the security guard who was guiding Yeon-woo gave some instructions to the resident staff and then led Yeon-woo again.

At first, he thought he was a security guard because of his large build and black suit, but now he seemed to be someone who also played the role of a butler, in addition to being a security guard.

“Mr. Ryu Yeon-woo, please come this way.”

Passing through the spacious living room and following the indoor corridor adorned with plants, they arrived at a table in the center of a spacious hall where Chairman Seo Tae-kwang and a young woman who appeared to be his granddaughter were seated.

As Yeon-woo took his seat, he couldn’t help but wonder if Min-soo’s words were true upon seeing them together, but Chairman Seo spoke first.

“Ah, you’ve arrived. It’s truly a pleasure.”

“Hello, Chairman. I’m actor Ryu Yeon-woo.”

Chairman Seo smiled warmly as he nodded his head in greeting to Yeon-woo.

“Yes, please have a seat in front. Sun-hye, you may go now.”

“Yes, grandfather.”

As Yeon-woo sat down, the young woman who seemed to be the granddaughter lightly bowed and greeted him before leaving the room.

“She’s my granddaughter. She’s full of spirit, and we’re expecting her to bear fruit in just two months.”

“Oh, congratulations in advance, Chairman.”

“Haha, thank you.”

Chairman Seo chuckled and gestured for the food to be brought over.

‘If it’s not his granddaughter, then what’s the purpose of inviting me?’

At that moment, Chairman Seo, who had been looking at Yeon-woo, spoke up.

“I bet you were surprised when an old man suddenly wanted to meet you.”

“Yes, it was quite unexpected, Chairman.”

Seeing Yeon-woo nodding obediently, Chairman Seo chuckled again.

“As expected, young people these days are straightforward without beating around the bush or showing false humility. Just call me grandfather instead of Chairman. You’re not one of my employees, are you? So I’m not your chairman either.”

“Then I’ll call you elder.”

“Haha, that’s fine.”

Taking a sip of the tea brought by the staff, Chairman Seo looked at Yeon-woo and continued speaking.

“I didn’t invite you here for anything else, would you like to take a look at the portrait behind you?”

Pointing behind Yeon-woo, Chairman Seo’s words made Yeon-woo turn around to see a painting in purple clothing hanging on the wall.

‘Hmm? Where have I seen this before?’

It was definitely a portrait he had seen before.

After a few seconds of silently admiring the portrait and pondering, Yeon-woo unknowingly clapped his hands.

“It’s the portrait of Seo Hee, a scholar at the Diplomatic Academy.”

“Oh? I didn’t expect you to recognize it. What’s hanging there is a fake, and this one is the original. Do you happen to know my name, young actor?”

Yeon-woo listened to Chairman Seo’s words, and everything seemed to fall into place.

“You’re the Elder Seo Tae-kwang.”

“That’s right. I’m in charge of the Jeonghoe’s annual festival.”

Nodding his head, Chairman Seo chuckled and continued.

“It’s a pity that our ancestors, who saved this country from crisis, have never been made into a drama or movie. But making it myself would be like gilding my own face.”

“I came to understand more about Seo Hee’s achievements while filming the drama this time.”

Upon hearing Yeon-woo’s words, Chairman Seo smiled softly and, seeing the staff bringing the food, invited Yeon-woo to eat.

“So, I wanted to treat you, who portrayed our ancestor, as a descendant. Please, enjoy.”