NIS Agent Reincarnated as a Genius Actor

“A street vendor? So, does that mean there are snacks available?”

“Yes. I heard from another manager that the staff really like it. Since winter is coming, things like tteokbokki and fish cakes might be even better than coffee.”

Yeon-woo nodded in agreement.

“That’s true. They’ll definitely be popular.”

“Then I’ll look into that.”

Jung Cheol-min smiled as he poured beer into his glass.

“Our Yeon-woo has grown up, now sending support to other actors. Come on, let’s stop talking about work and have a drink. Cheers!”

“What shall we toast to?”

At Yeon-woo’s question, Jung Cheol-min stroked his chin.

“Hmm, how about to the debut of Manager Kim Min-soo?”

“Me?”

“You made your debut as an extra today.”

Hearing Jung Cheol-min’s words, everyone laughed.

“That’s right. Min-soo hyung has debuted.”

“Ha ha, is that so.”

The drinking session continued a little past midnight.

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***

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“Are you sure about this information?”

“Yes, the information is solid. I double-checked it.”

The middle-aged man with thinning hair stroked his chin while looking at the report he was holding.

“It’s not an investment from LN Media, is it? Ryu Yeon-woo is affiliated with them.”

“Editor-in-chief. Even so, there would be traces left behind. I’ve been in this field for 15 years, haven’t I?”

The man reporting also had a frown on his face.

The hottest news of Ryu Yeon-woo’s next project came last night from an extra actor.

A significant sum was paid to obtain the information exclusively, but it was vague.

“But why isn’t any information coming out? No word from investors or distributors, not even casting news, and even the staff are in the dark.”

At the editor-in-chief’s words, the man reporting also let out a deep sigh.

“Exactly. They’ve already started shooting, but how can there be no information at all?”

“Keep an eye on Ryu Yeon-woo and Park Chan-hong for now. If we follow them, something will come up.”

“And if nothing comes up, when do we release it? The others will surely catch the scent.”

At the man’s words, the editor-in-chief crumpled the report in his hands, pondering deeply before speaking.

“Two days. Just stick with it for two days, and if nothing comes out, then let’s just release the article. At least we have the fact that Ryu Yeon-woo was shooting with Director Park Chan-hong at the airport.”

“Phew, understood. I’ll set it up that way.”

“Hurry up. Other newspapers might have already assigned someone to it. There are no exclusive scoops waiting around for more than a day in this business.”

Meanwhile, at that time, Yeon-woo was on his way to drop off Jung Cheol-min at Daejeon after shooting an indie festival scene together. The scene they shot today was where Jay Miller goes to an indie festival with Mr. Jung and encounters Inari, played by Seo Ji-eun, for the first time.

Well, it’s not so much an encounter as Jay unilaterally watching Inari, the indie band vocalist who climbed onto the stage, from the audience.

The scene where Jay watches with interest as Inari, under the name ‘Mocha Band’, is the only one on stage without her band.

But in reality, Yeon-woo in the car now turns his head not to look at Inari but to stare intently through the rear window.

“What’s wrong? Yeon-woo.”

“It’s the black SUV behind us. It’s been following us from the set until here.”

“Really? I didn’t feel it.”

Yeon-woo, with habits from his past life, instinctively watches the cars and pedestrians around him like an occupational disease.

“Teacher, do you have some time before your train?”

“Yeah, we finished shooting early today, so even if we arrive as the navigation says, we still have about 40 minutes left.”

“Min-soo hyung. At the intersection ahead, can we make a right turn and circle one block back to our original position? I’m pretty sure we’re being followed.”

Upon hearing Yeon-woo’s suggestion, Min-soo checks the rearview mirror and nods.

“Okay. Understood.”

Min-soo’s car, which should have turned left to continue to Yongsan Station, changed direction to the fourth lane to make a right turn.

Then, the following car also changed lanes.

“Oh? It’s true? They’re following us.”

“Turn right.”

Min-soo smoothly turned the wheel, and as they made the right turn, the car behind also began to turn right.

And then at the next intersection, another right turn, and another right turn.

After four right turns, they would have circled a block and returned to their original position.

A normal vehicle wouldn’t circle around like this just to return to the same spot.

“Yeon-woo. It seems like we are indeed being followed.”

“Hey, Yeon-woo, that must be it. Paparazzi.”

Yeon-woo, whose first thoughts of being followed were extreme categories like pursuit, assassination, and kidnapping, realized what Jung Cheol-min meant and went ‘Ah!’

“Ah… Paparazzi.”

“Yeon-woo, should we shake them off?”

Min-soo, who drives all year round as his profession, seemed capable of losing them if he resorted to aggressive driving through the alleyways.

“No, let’s just head to Yongsan Station. If their goal is to take pictures, it doesn’t really matter.”

Yeon-woo, who had instinctively become sharp due to experiences from his past life upon realizing they were being followed, relaxed again.

Min-soo’s car arrived in front of Yongsan Station.

“Yeon-woo, don’t get out. That car from before has followed and parked behind us.”

“Yes, teacher. Please be careful on your way down.”

“Alright. I’ll contact you when I get to Daejeon.”

Jung Cheol-min got out of the car, and Min-soo’s car headed to the recording studio where Yeon-woo had been practicing every evening.

As Min-soo’s car descended into the underground parking lot, the black SUV that had been following them passed by the entrance, apparently unable to follow any further.

Yeon-woo got out of the car and went up to the recording studio.

“Oh, Jay’s here.”

“Yeon-woo, did you shoot well today?”

Chrissy and Seo Ji-eun, who were looking at the music score and practicing something, smiled when they saw Yeon-woo coming in.

‘Hmm, really like a little Han So-hyeon.’

Yeon-woo chuckled at Seo Ji-eun’s tone, which reminded him of Han So-hyeon, and sat down.

“It was noona who did the stage shooting. I was just watching, wasn’t I?”

“Hey, you also shot the after-party scene afterwards.”

“Hmm, that ended quickly. I was a bit late because I had to take Teacher Jung Cheol-min to the train station.”

Yeon-woo continued speaking to Chrissy.

“Director, we were going to match the guitar today, right?”

“Hey, what director? Just call me Chrissy. The second song was quite difficult, you haven’t memorized it all yet, have you?”

“No, the song was fun, so I memorized it quickly.”

Yeon-woo stood up and took out a guitar from the corner.

“Shall we match it now?”

Chrissy looked skeptical, while Seo Ji-eun nodded with a bright smile.

Yeon-woo started playing the guitar from the first song, and Seo Ji-eun sang along.

Yeon-woo perfectly performed the harmonious melody of the first song and the considerably difficult second and third songs.

In fact, it was Seo Ji-eun who was not yet proficient with the third song and stumbled in the middle.

“Wow, you’re really good. Did you used to play the guitar before?”

“Ah, it’s been a long time since I learned. About 10 years ago?”

At Yeon-woo’s story, music director Chrissy tilted her head in confusion.

“Hm? So does that mean Jay has been playing the guitar since he was nine?”

“…Hm? Ah. Yes… right?”

“Wow! Yeon-woo, you were a prodigy?”

Yeon-woo was flustered by Chrissy’s question and fumbled for an answer.

Yeon-woo, who would be nine years old before turning ten by international age, had inadvertently become a guitar prodigy after carelessly speaking based on his past life’s standards.

The practice that followed proceeded smoothly and quickly.

“Ugh, I’m hungry.”

At Chrissy’s words, Yeon-woo and Seo Ji-eun turned their heads.

“Should we order something then?”

“Do you have that here? The triangular food and instant noodles.”

At Chrissy’s words, Yeon-woo and Seo Ji-eun looked at each other.

“You mean triangle kimbap and cup noodles, right?”

“There’s a place right in front of us. In Seoul, you’ll find one within 100 meters no matter where you go!”

Seo Ji-eun’s words made Chrissy’s eyes sparkle.

“I always wanted to eat that whenever I watched K-dramas back home.”

“Chrissy, it’s past 9 PM now, if you eat that, your face will puff up tomorrow, you know?”

“Ho ho. Why should I care about that? My husband is in the US anyway.”

Hearing Chrissy’s words, Seo Ji-eun stood up.

“Yeon-woo, shall we all go out for a bit then?”

“Yeah. Let’s put on masks and hats and go out for some air.”

Following Seo Ji-eun, Yeon-woo and Chrissy got up.

They took the elevator down and entered the convenience store right in front of the practice studio building.

– Ding-dong. –

“Welcome.”

Chrissy excitedly went to the refrigerator with fresh food and said,

“Wow. There’s a convenience store on the first floor of the hotel I’m staying at, but there’s nothing left when I go back after practice because there are so many foreigners. It’s very popular among them.”

Seo Ji-eun approached the excited Chrissy with a smile.

“Chrissy, try this. This is the tastiest. It’s bibimbap flavored. Oh, and this too!”

Seo Ji-eun recommended various items, sharing the convenience store’s best combinations.

After picking out enough for a quick snack at the convenience store, they paid and went back up to the practice room.

“I’ll put some water in the coffee pot! Yeon-woo, what are you going to eat?”

“Hmm, I’ll just have a sandwich.”

“Heeeng. Then should I diet too?”

Seo Ji-eun, who was holding a spicy cup noodle with a bright expression and heading to the pantry where the coffee pot was, became sullen and worried after hearing Yeon-woo’s words.

“Eh, no. I had some leftover kimbap in the car after the shoot, that’s why.”

“Is that so?”

Seo Ji-eun headed back to the pantry with a bright expression again.

“Jay, could you take a look at this?”

Chrissy approached with her smartphone to show a video.

“This is the reference video I showed to ‘Director Park Chan-hong’, in the middle of the busking scene…”

Chrissy explained the scene she had envisioned while showing the video.

Watching the video and thinking about how it would fit into the movie, it seemed quite cool and attention-grabbing.

“That looks good, doesn’t it?”

“Doesn’t it?”

Just then, the pantry door opened, and Seo Ji-eun returned, holding a cup noodle in each hand.

“Ta-da! Chrissy, just wait 2 more minutes. You haven’t eaten the triangle kimbap yet, right? It tastes better when you eat them together.”

“Wow. I really wanted to eat this while watching dramas.”

Then, as Seo Ji-eun sat down, she asked Chrissy,

“Which K-dramas have you watched, Chrissy? Have you seen ‘The Star Beyond the River’ that we are in?”

“Oh, I’ve been wanting to watch it, but I’m waiting for the subtitles to come out. I wouldn’t understand it anyway if I watched it now.”

Yeon-woo nodded. From what he heard at the wrap party, the show might launch overseas as early as next month.

– Drring. –

– Zzzing. –

Just then, both Yeon-woo and Seo Ji-eun’s smartphones began to ring at the same time.

“Uh? I need to take this call for a moment!”

“Hm, I’ve got a call too. Who could it be at this hour?”

Seo Ji-eun stood up to take the call, and Yeon-woo looked at his screen.

[Team Leader Yoon Mi-yeon]

‘Hm? What does Team Leader Yoon want at this hour?’

Team Leader Yoon Mi-yeon, who is in charge of planning and promotion, last called when Yeon-woo got accepted to Korea University earlier this year.

Mostly, things are handled through Manager Kim Min-soo, and important matters are communicated through CEO Kim Joo-seong or Team Leader Jung Hyuk. Wondering what it could be about, Yeon-woo answered the phone with a puzzled look.

“Yes, Team Leader Yoon?”

[Yeon-woo, have you seen the internet recently?]

The internet? Yeon-woo was puzzled.

“No, I’ve been practicing. Is something wrong?”

[I know you’ve recently started a new project, and I know it’s probably not true but…]

Team Leader Yoon hesitated, speaking cautiously.

[There’s a dating rumor about you and Seo Ji-eun on the internet right now?]

“What? With whom?”

[With you, Yeon-woo.]

“……”

After a moment of silence, Yeon-woo spoke again.

“Me?”