NIS Agent Reincarnated as a Genius Actor

“Yeon-woo, it’s so nice to see you again.”

“Indeed. It’s been a few months since we last saw the directors.”

The staff approaching to greet them were few in number, resembling more a university film club shooting their graduation project, but upon closer inspection, they were impressive. From the director of photography to the lighting, sound, and even the assistant director with more on-set directing experience than most directors, it was a select group from the elite within the Park Chan-hong Troupe.

These are people who already worked together while filming ‘Master Plan’.

“We don’t have much time for us to cooperate. Let’s start.”

Following Director Park’s words, Yeon-woo and the extras were guided by the assistant director to their positions near the departure gate.

Currently short of one person, Manager Min-soo and stylist Ye-eun were also walking around as a young couple, playing their roles.

“Ready, cue.”

As the departure gate opened and Yeon-woo walked out, the cameras swarmed around him, capturing his every move.

There weren’t many extras, so the cameramen were trying to make sure that the scene didn’t look awkward.

‘Ugh, but it’s a waste not to capture that face and instead focus on something else.’

The director of photography, backing away as he filmed Yeon-woo’s upper body close-up, muttered to himself.

Yeon-woo took off his sunglasses and scanned his surroundings with weary eyes before pulling out a smartphone.

“I’m arrived, Mother.”

His fluent New York accent was met with approving nods from the staff, who had perfected their English during the filming of ‘Master Plan’.

“You know, I really didn’t want to set foot in this country. But it’s for work, so I had no choice.”

After a brief lecture-like pause, he reluctantly nodded with a resigned expression.

“Okay, I understand. Take care of yourself. It must be late there, so go to sleep, Mother.”

Ending the call, Yeon-woo pulled his suitcase and stepped out of frame.

“Okay, cut.”

As expected, there were no retakes, and the scene moved on to the next, where Jung Cheol-min, who had been waiting, looked nervous.

Jung Cheol-min played the role of Manager Jung, who introduces Korea to Jay Miller, played by Yeon-woo, briefly setting the stage for the subsequent developments.

“Let’s move on to the next shot if you’re ready.”

To shoot all scenes within the two-hour cooperation time at the airport was pressing.

The staff and actors quickly finished setting up and moved to the next location.

“Focus will be on the background, so extras, change your clothes as quickly as possible while passing by.”

The extras nodded at the assistant director’s instructions.

Min-soo and Ye-eun also looked at the various outfits prepared for them around, with a somewhat stiff expression.

“The clothes over there won’t be in the camera frame, right?”

“They probably calculated and placed them there. Let’s quickly pass by, change our outerwear, and pass by again.”

Min-soo’s words made Ye-eun nod. Just walking past where the actors were performing, her own legs felt awkward and every step forward seemed long.

“Yeon-woo is admirable. How is he so natural?”

Min-soo also nodded at Ye-eun’s words.

“Hi, cue.”

At that moment, Director Park’s cue was heard, and Yeon-woo lightly tapped his leg and put one hand in pocket, looking around. From his posture to his expression, anyone could see the typical appearance and atmosphere of a Korean immigrant who had just arrived.

And then, the voice of Jung Cheol-min from outside the frame.

“Hey, Mr. Miller?”

Turning towards the voice, Yeon-woo looked beyond the frame. With the director’s okay sign, they changed the setup again and prepared to shoot Jung Cheol-min’s scene.

“Just replay that scene.”

Jung Cheol-min, as an experienced actor, raised his hand slightly and waved it above his head as if he had noticed Yeon-woo.

“Hey, Mr. Miller?”

His expression contained the typical atmosphere of a working professional, with a hint of hidden tension. In fact, Jung Cheol-min’s expression was born out of concern about how his pronunciation would sound in English, but ultimately, it gave off the feeling of an ordinary office worker who had come to meet a foreigner for work.

Then, Yeon-woo quickly walked out of the frame in the direction of his voice.

“Okay. That was good too.”

And now, the two of them were in the same frame.

“I’ll stick to the script without any ad-libs, teacher.”

“Yeah, you memorized it perfectly, so it has to be exactly the same.”

Yeon-woo nodded and smiled.

It was a strange feeling to stand in the same frame with her teacher and shoot a movie.

“Ready, cue.”

With the cue, Yeon-woo reached out his hand first.

“I’m Jay Miller. You came from A-Music Company, right?”

Imitating the gestures of a Korean salesperson, Jung Cheol-min lightly touched his suit jacket and politely shook hands with Yeon-woo.

“Please call me Manager Jung comfortably. I’ll take you to the company right away.”

“Thank you. Then I’ll call you Mr. Jung comfortably. It feels awkward to call you a manager when I’m not even a celebrity.”

“Oh, I see. Let’s go this way. The car is ready.”

Pointing to the right in the frame, Jung Cheol-min guided Yeon-woo, adding a natural gesture to indicate the direction, although there were no specific action descriptions. In fact, the actual airport entrance was on the front where the camera was set up, but they cleverly calculated and aimed for a wall that was actually empty, adding a natural movement.

Meanwhile, the extras, Manager Min-soo, and stylist Ye-eun were busy going back and forth behind them, changing clothes and passing by when they were out of the frame.

“Alright, okay.”

Due to the limited time, as soon as the cut was called, the staff quickly moved the equipment and set up according to the actors’ movements.

“Let’s go again. Cue.”

Yeon-woo followed Jung Cheol-min, with the director also following them, capturing their backs.

“Have you ever been to Korea?”

“It’s my first time.”

“I see. It’s a warm country. I’ll help you get comfortable during your stay.”

“…Thank you.”

Yeon-woo’s acting, with slight hesitation in his steps and a delayed response, gave off a reluctant feeling even though it was from behind, adding to the atmosphere.

The airport scene was quickly filmed. However, setting up multiple shots of Yeon-woo and Jung Cheol-min separately consumed quite a bit of time.

“Let’s move on to the scene of the conversation in the car while moving to the LN Entertainment headquarters.”

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“Mr. Miller, do you also like indie music?”

Jay looked at Mr. Jung in the driver’s seat.

“I listen to all genres.”

“Oh, then would you like to stop by a festival after visiting the company? They said they’ll give you some time to adapt since you won’t be working on the album for a month or two anyway.”

Looking at Mr. Jung, who was actively trying to take care of him, Jay nodded.

“That sounds good. Let’s go. I’m curious about Korean indie music, not just K-pop.”

Jay looked out the window again. His face showed a strange and subtle emotion as he looked at the land where he was born, which he hardly remembered. His eyes showed the lively blue Han River and the gray bridge with heavy traffic, which he didn’t know the name of. The contrasting views seemed to represent his current state of mind.

Korea, which abandoned him and sent him to the U.S., and Korea, which recognized his dream of composing since high school and gave him a chance to build his career. While conflicting emotions swirled within him, the car steadily moved forward and arrived at the company.

“Okay, cut!”

After briefly filming at the LN Entertainment headquarters, they finished shooting for the day.

“Wow, it still feels like a dream. I’m appearing in Director Park Chan-hong’s movie.”

“Enjoy your celebration at home tonight, Teacher.”

“Should I? Let’s buy some beer when we go back.”

Jung Cheol-min, who stayed overnight at Yeon-woo’s house to film the indie festival scene the next day, smiled at Yeon-woo and then asked Min-soo, who was driving in the front seat.

“Min-soo hyung, do you have any plans after work today?”

“Hmm? Not really.”

Jung Cheol-min’s eyes sparkled.

“Oh, then how about having a drink together? It might be boring if it’s just Yeon-woo and me.”

“Um, should I?”

Min-soo, who usually liked drinking, had to refrain from drinking because of his job as a manager, which required him to drive day and night, and also because Yeon-woo didn’t drink much.

Yeon-woo smiled and nodded, knowing that too.

“Min-soo hyung, why don’t you join us for a drink tonight and stay at my place? We have a lunch shoot tomorrow, so let’s hang out after recovering from the hangover.”

“Oh, so that’s why you found a toy gun in the claw machine that day?”

“Yes, I was sweating like crazy back then.”

As they drank, Kim Min-soo, who opened up, quickly became friends with Jung Cheol-min. Watching the two chat lively, Yeon-woo smiled and picked up her smartphone.

He searched for ‘Master Plan’. With the movie now in its fourth week of release, it was entering the critical phase of reaching ten million viewers.

[33rd day of ‘Master Plan’ release, surpassing 9.5 million viewers. Will it hit ten million?]

[‘Master Plan’ draws 500,000 viewers over the weekend, showing resilience.]

The production and distribution companies are determined to dominate the screens until they reach ten million viewers.

Feeling optimistic about the momentum, Yeon-woo thought they might hit ten million viewers within the week.

‘Hmm, I wonder how the special episode of ‘The Star Beyond the River’ is being received.’

Thanks to its success, the special episodes edited from behind-the-scenes footage received an additional week of airing.

The broadcast happened over the weekend.

[Special episodes of ‘The Star Beyond the River’ air to ease the disappointment of its conclusion.]

[‘The Star Beyond the River’ director’s cut special episode boosts ratings.]

[What are the next projects for the trio Ryu Yeon-woo, Son Jin-yuk, and Jin Yu-han of ‘The Star Beyond the River’?]

‘Hmm? Next projects?’

Yeon-woo clicked on the article that caught his attention.

The recent popularity of ‘The Star Beyond the River’, which recently ended, is soaring.

Among them, the attention is on three men who captivated the hearts of many viewers.

Jin Yu-han is making headlines by choosing the musical ‘Dayendor’ as his next project.

On the other hand, Son Jin-yuk is scheduled to make his comeback with the drama ‘Prisoner’, directed by Lee Young-hwan. However, there is no news yet about Ryu Yeon-woo’s next project. Of course, he has been astonishingly active this year, dominating both the big and small screens, so there’s still no news…

As Yeon-woo scrolled through the article, he nodded. Although they often kept in touch, they usually didn’t talk about work-related matters, so he learned about Son Jin-yuk and Jin Yu-han’s next projects through the article.

“Oh, Yu-han mentioned doing a musical last time. But I didn’t expect it to be ‘Dayendor’.”

The musical ‘Dayendor’ was the musical Yeon-woo loved the most from his previous life, and it was the link that allowed Han Hae-woon to find him in this life.

‘It seemed to have been adapted with a Korean twist.’

It’s a piece he will love to try if given the chance. But thinking about his singing skills, Yeon-woo involuntarily shook his head.

Jung Cheol-min, who had been chatting away with Kim Min-soo, glanced at Yeon-woo when he noticed him quietly looking at smartphone.

“What are you looking at, Yeon-woo?”

“Oh, articles about Jin-yuk hyung and Yu-han’s next projects. They’ve both been featured.”

“Our movie is an independent film, so maybe reporters haven’t been able to get the scoop yet?”

“Yeah, they’re just curious about my next project.”

After finishing her sentence, Yeon-woo looked at Kim Min-soo.

“Min-soo hyung, since I’ve received a lot of help this time, I’d like to send a coffee truck or something to both actors.”

“Oh, I see. How about a snack truck? They’re popular these days.”

Yeon-woo showed interest in Min-soo’s suggestion.