NIS Agent Reincarnated as a Genius Actor

Yeon-woo decided to check the internet first and then get back on the call. He hung up and went to a portal site to click on the entertainment news section, and there at the top was an article that had just been posted.

‘3 minutes ago?’

It was indeed a freshly uploaded article.

[[Exclusive] Ryu Yeon-woo and Seo Ji-eun caught on a late-night date?]

The provocative headline was accompanied by a photo of two people wearing hats and masks coming out of a convenience store.

While his own appearance was somewhat unclear, the photo captured Seo Ji-eun’s face clearly enough as the convenience store’s light shone on her. Chrissy, who had cunningly followed behind, was not captured in the photo.

After ending the call, Yeon-woo was looking at his smartphone when Chrissy peeked over his shoulder.

“Ow? Isn’t this from when we just went out in front of us?”

“Right. It seems the paparazzi took it.”

“Wow, Jay and Nari. Were you superstars?”

Chrissy, who had been looking forward to the project after being offered a decent fee and hearing about the famous director and actors in Korea, was initially puzzled by the smaller-than-expected scale of the shooting.

Although Yeon-woo and Director Park had matched the pay for the outsourced work to industry standards, the actual shooting was conducted in the form of an independent film, so as a foreigner with little prior information about the two, she had been somewhat perplexed.

However, the fact that paparazzi had attached themselves and posted an article immediately after they had briefly stepped out made Chrissy feel their popularity was no less than that of any Hollywood movie star.

Just then, Seo Ji-eun entered with a somewhat serious face, having heard something from the agency.

“Yeon-woo.”

“Yeah, I heard it too.”

Yeon-woo, scratching his head and pondering for a moment, spoke again.

“But, isn’t this less of a big deal than we thought?”

Yeon-woo’s smartphone was ringing incessantly.

Ignoring the incoming calls from unknown numbers, Yeon-woo immediately called CEO Kim Joo-seong.

[Yeon-woo, I just received the report.]

“Yes, sir. I was aware that paparazzi had been following us since this morning, and it seems they took a photo when we stepped out for a bit because we were hungry during ‘Sketch’ practice.”

[I see.]

Yeon-woo continued as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“So, what I’m thinking is that I should personally…”

After listening to Yeon-woo’s explanation, CEO Kim Joo-seong seemed to ponder for a moment before his voice came through.

[Hmm… Certainly, it might be cleaner than just an official response from the company. But, we should probably get the consent of Seo Ji-eun’s agency beforehand.]

“I’m with her since practice isn’t over yet, so I’ll handle it.”

After CEO Kim Joo-seong asked him to call back if things went in an unexpected direction, Yeon-woo ended the call.

“Noona, you heard the call, right? What do you think?”

“Umm… I’m fine with anything.”

“Then, could you connect me with your agency’s CEO? I’ll explain.”

Seo Ji-eun called her agency’s CEO, and once the call was connected, she handed the phone to Yeon-woo.

“Hello, this is Ryu Yeon-woo.”

[Yes? Ryu Yeon-woo? Ah, yes, hello. This is Yoo Byung-su, CEO of Saerom Planning.]

The call was suddenly transferred to Yeon-woo, and CEO Yoo Byung-su was a bit flustered.

Yeon-woo briefly explained the situation to CEO Yoo, who after a moment of consideration, expressed his agreement.

[It sounds like a good idea after hearing you out. As you know, Seo Ji-eun is a bit careless, so please make sure she doesn’t say anything wrong.]

“Yes. Understood.”

After ending the call, Yeon-woo looked at Seo Ji-eun.

“Shall we start?”

“Yeah!”

Yeon-woo immediately posted on the fan cafe that he would be doing a live broadcast and turned on Star Live.

It was the second time since he had gone camping with Ma Seok-do during the shooting of ‘Master Plan’.

Actually, since that was Ma Seok-do’s live appearance, this was technically the first time he was doing it himself.

As he sat in a corner of the recording studio and started the live broadcast, viewers began to flood in instantly.

[What? A live broadcast all of a sudden?!]

[The live melts my heart.]

[Wow. What happened, oppa? Did you see the internet?]

[Is it true you’re dating Seo Ji-eun unnie?]

[Are you the man in the photo?]

[Eh? Was there such an article?]

A flood of questions poured in.

The viewers joining the live broadcast included those who had seen the article, those who came after seeing the notice on the fan cafe, and even those who stumbled upon it by chance without knowing about the article.

Watching the chat window fill up rapidly, Yeon-woo just smiled until a sufficient number of viewers had gathered, and then he began to speak.

At that moment, on YouTube, Lee Cheol-ju was carrying rumors about celebrities and racking up views.

Known as the ‘Wrecker Man’, Cheol-ju, who was preparing to upload a video after seeing the big news that broke out that evening, was collecting information. He had entered Ryu Yeon-woo’s fan cafe, saw the notice, and immediately started watching the live broadcast.

[Hello, I’m actor Ryu Yeon-woo. It’s been a while since I greeted you on Star Live, and I’m glad to be here.]

As Yeon-woo started speaking, the chat was flooded with hearts and messages, making it impossible to read.

[I was also surprised to see my dating rumor in the article just now. First of all, I can confirm that I am the man in the photo.]

“Eh? He admits that he’s the man in the photo? Is he going for a public relationship?”

Cheol-ju tilted his head in confusion.

The live screen showed Yeon-woo smiling, and the chat was already too fast to read, but it sped up even more as messages started pouring in.

Then Yeon-woo began to speak, contrary to expectations.

[However, unfortunately, contrary to everyone’s expectations, the connection from ‘The Star Beyond the River’ has not carried over into reality. Seo Ji-eun?]

As Yeon-woo mentioned Seo Ji-eun, who was off-camera, she jumped in energetically into the frame.

[Hello! I’m Seo Ji-eun.]

Seo Ji-eun naturally joined in, and Yeon-woo continued with a smile.

[We are currently cast in a new movie and are practicing hard for the ensemble. This movie is a musical film. Aren’t you excited?]

“That’s what I thought.”

Cheol-ju, who had anticipated a big scoop, was disappointed that a quick live response had been made, leaving no angle for an attention-grabbing YouTube video.

Still, even though it wasn’t a dating rumor, the situation itself was interesting, so he focused on the screen, thinking about how to edit it for YouTube.

On the screen, Yeon-woo skillfully redirected the attention on him and Seo Ji-eun to anticipation for the movie.

But his ability to control the crowd in the chat was extraordinary.

Then Yeon-woo spoke to someone off-camera in English.

Soon after, a middle-aged white woman with blonde hair entered the frame of the smartphone.

[This is Chrissy Monroe, the music director for this movie.]

[Hello, Everyone.]

[The photo that heated up the internet for a while seems to have been taken when we briefly stopped by the convenience store because Director Chrissy wanted to try Korean triangle kimbap and cup noodles.]

Then Yeon-woo turned the camera to show the table where they had been eating triangle kimbap and cup noodles just before.

[How about we show them the combination of bibimbap-flavored triangle kimbap and spicy ramen next time? What other Korean food should we introduce?]

Yeon-woo’s question naturally shifted the chat’s focus from the dating rumor to the new movie they were working on, and then to Korean cuisine.

Asking for suggestions on Korean foods to introduce to foreigners, the chat was quickly plastered with various food recommendations.

[Samgyeopsal is good. Oh, and zee32 just suggested budae-jjigae, which is also great, right?]

Yeon-woo started to read comments appropriately and began interacting with the viewers.

“Wow, his handling of the chat room is like a pro internet broadcaster, isn’t it?”

The live broadcast, which started as a clarification of the dating rumor, quickly ended as a mere incident.

[Since we’ve started this live broadcast by chance, why don’t we take this opportunity to communicate with the viewers who have loved ‘The Star Beyond the River’?]

Yeon-woo smoothly transitioned from introducing the movie’s staff to increase credibility to naturally shifting the topic to ‘The Star Beyond the River’, which had a special episode aired last weekend.

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***

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Oh Ju-gwan felt like he was on cloud nine, having snagged a big scoop today.

“Those T News guys. They suddenly showed up this afternoon and were hanging around. Heh heh. Scoops come from heaven. I’ve already marked my territory with Ryu Yeon-woo.”

Oh Ju-gwan, a reporter from Star Enter News, had been persistently waiting on Ryu Yeon-woo’s movements for several days.

He had quickly sent the exclusive photos he took of Ryu Yeon-woo and Seo Ji-eun today, and the article was already out.

Elated by his achievement that shot up to the top of the entertainment news on the portal site, he walked into the headquarters with a triumphant step.

As the elevator opened and he entered the office, despite the late hour, there were already several employees gathered around a monitor.

‘Heh heh, what are they all gathered around to see? My article hit number one within 5 minutes of posting, so of course, they must be envious.’

Oh Ju-gwan approached with a grin plastered on his face.

“Hey, what’s everyone doing gathered here instead of going home?”

At his words, a colleague reporter, with whom he had a competitive relationship, looked back and smirked.

“There’s so much news pouring in, where’s the time to go home?”

“Ha ha. What do you mean pouring in? News like dating rumors is a market where the first report takes it all.”

“Hm? The dating rumor flew away a long time ago, buddy.”

Oh Ju-gwan frowned at his colleague, who had recently been getting on his nerves.

‘Even if they’re jealous, it’s disgraceful to say that the big scoop I finally landed flew away.’

With a scowl, Oh Ju-gwan approached the other colleagues gathered around, and just then, the reporters looking at the monitor began to jot something down.

“Oh, so Son Jin-yuk’s cameo appearance was because he happened to visit with a coffee truck to show support that day? This is a huge scoop.”

Curious about what everyone was so intently watching, Oh Ju-gwan peered at the monitor and his eyes widened at the sight of Ryu Yeon-woo and Seo Ji-eun live broadcasting.

“What? Did they admit to it while I was driving here?”

“Huh? Team Leader Oh. That issue was buried 30 minutes ago. They’re just practicing for a movie shoot.”

His colleagues didn’t even bother to look at Oh Ju-gwan, busy typing up the flood of behind-the-scenes stories pouring out from Ryu Yeon-woo’s live broadcast into articles.

He hurriedly took out his smartphone and clicked on the entertainment news on the portal, but the article he had rushed out as an exclusive scoop had long since been buried by other articles and disappeared from the rankings.

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***

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The dating rumor was quickly resolved, and after communicating with fans for about an hour since the live broadcast had started, the broadcast was ended.

“So, what did you find the most interesting?”

“Hmm. Maybe 「Your Name」?”

Seo Ji-eun was chatting with Chrissy, asking her various things, when the conversation turned to Korean movies and dramas.

Yeon-woo’s interest was piqued upon hearing Chrissy’s words.

“「Your Name」 is Jin-yuk hyung’s work.”

“Oh? Right. It is, isn’t it?”

Seo Ji-eun agreed and then said to Chrissy,

“Chrissy, did you know that Jay is really close with the lead actor of 「Your Name」? They’re like brothers.”

“Really? Oh my gosh.”

Seo Ji-eun picked up her smartphone and began showing Chrissy photos starting from the legendary three-shot of Ryu Yeon-woo, Son Jin-yuk, and Jin Yu-han from ‘The Star Beyond the River’ to their debut work ‘Summer Promise’.

“Jay. You look different. Of course, you were amazing from the first time I saw you, but now there’s this aura behind you…”

“Ha ha. Jin-yuk hyung’s power is incredible.”

Yeon-woo, scratching his head, seemed to have a fun idea and smiled slyly.

“Chrissy. Do you know what ‘bunshik’ is? It’s Korean food, like tteokbokki or odeng.”

“Tteokbokki?”

Chrissy tilted her head at the unexpected question.