NIS Agent Reincarnated as a Genius Actor - Chapter 104

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 104. 「Sketch」 (3)

“When I was young, I experienced racial discrimination at school for being Asian, and I was sad about why my parents and I had different skin colors and facial features, and I hated the country called Korea. But isn’t it ironic? The path I’ve walked as a composer ultimately led me back to Korea.”

“···Don’t you have any memories of living in Korea?”

 

Jay pondered for a moment at Nari’s question.

 

“Well···, when I was about twelve, I still remembered my Korean name, but it gradually faded away. I only remember childhood memories of living with my mother in a very small single room and a downhill road with winding red brick walls.”

“Isn’t there any information left at the adoption agency?”

“No. They said she abandoned me without leaving any records. She probably didn’t want me to find her again.”

 

Nari quietly nodded at Jay’s words.

They didn’t offer each other awkward consolation.

 

They simply told their own stories calmly and listened to each other.

 

They sat quietly on the embankment, watching the flowing stream.

 

The screen showed them sitting quietly without saying anything for nearly 10 seconds.

But none of the audience watching felt uncomfortable or strange about it.

Rather, quiet sniffling sounds and audience members wiping away tears could be seen throughout the audience seats.

 

Having sufficiently emotionally immersed themselves in Jay and Nari on the screen so far, they were simply quietly reflecting on the conversation they had just had.

 

Then Nari looked up at the night sky that had somehow grown dark and spoke.

 

“Jay, do you know how big our galaxy is?”

“Galaxy? Well. I’ve never thought about it.”

 

Nari spread both arms wide and said.

 

“It takes 100,000 years to travel from end to end at the speed of light.”

“That’s huge. I heard it takes 7 minutes for light to travel from the sun to earth, so if the sun exploded, we wouldn’t know until 7 minutes later.”

 

Nari nodded at Jay’s words and continued with wide eyes as if telling him not to be surprised.

 

“But there are about 2 trillion galaxies like ours in the universe.”

 

Jay looked up at the night sky at the unimaginably enormous number.

 

“···Galaxies, not suns? We’re like dust.”

“Right. From the universe’s perspective, we, the earth, and even the sun would be things that briefly sparkle and then disappear.”

 

Though it was a random comment, Jay seriously nodded, agreeing that it was true.

Watching such Jay, Nari continued speaking.

 

“But you know what. Shakespeare must have known that fact too.”

“Shakespeare?”

 

When he asked back at the unexpected name, Nari looked at the grassland beyond the stream side and said.

 

“In one of Shakespeare’s poems, Sonnet 73, there’s a line that goes: ‘Love that well which thou must leave ere long.’ We, and even the earth and sun, are things that will soon disappear, so we must love passionately before then. I didn’t know my mother would leave so easily. That’s why I regret it so much.”

 

Jay quietly looked at Nari.

Then Nari also looked into Jay’s eyes and said.

 

“So I hope you find your mother. We’re things that will leave ere long, so there’s no time to hesitate.”

 

Normally, he would have immediately shaken his head at such a story.

 

But was it because of Lee Na-ri?

Did he borrow the power of the sunset?

Or was it because of the memories about the lullaby he recently learned?

 

Jay felt his heart shaking violently.

 

‘I want to know what kind of person she is. I want to meet her once. The person called mother···.’

 

***

 

He returned to the dormitory with many thoughts.

 

Perhaps sensing his complicated feelings, Nari didn’t bring up that topic anymore.

 

“Oh my, Jae-hee came.”

“Grandmother. Hello.”

“Oh my.”

 

The next day, entering grandmother’s house, Jay greeted grandmother with clumsy Korean pronunciation.

 

When Jay entered Nari’s studio, Nari hurriedly closed the internet window.

 

“Ah! Jay came. Oh, hello?”

“What? Were you looking at something weird?”

 

At Jay’s words, Nari’s face turned red.

 

“No way! I don’t look at those things.”

 

Jay, feeling mischievous, approached the computer, snatched the mouse, and opened the internet window.

 

“Ah!”

“Oh···.”

 

What appeared in the internet window was a road view provided by a portal site.

 

It was a sloping road where red bricks curved downward.

There were about ten tabs in the internet window, all different pages but all showing brick roads.

 

“No, it just wouldn’t leave my mind, so I ended up searching for it···.”

“Thank you. Nari.”

 

Jay looked around the studio and then gazed up at the ceiling.

A ceiling full of glow-in-the-dark stars.

 

To Jay, it seemed like he could see not just the glow-in-the-dark stars, but galaxies beyond the universe.

 

“‘Love fiercely those things that will soon depart.’ I think those words are right. I want to try finding the person who gave birth to me.”

 

At Jay’s words, Nari’s face brightened.

 

“Jay! Then look at this. How about it? Doesn’t this look like the place? A sloping road with winding red brick walls!”

 

When Jay approached and looked at the monitor screen, it matched quite well with the road he remembered.

 

“Well, it does seem right…”

“Then how about this place?”

 

When she clicked on another tab, a similar road appeared again.

 

“Nari, just how many places did you find?”

“Hehe, it got surprisingly fun as I kept searching.”

 

***

 

The two took public transportation together and went around visiting the places they had seen on road view in person.

 

As footage of them casually playing guitar and singing on buses and streets during their travels was uploaded to the internet, they gradually began gaining subscribers.

 

‘Come to think of it, is that actress actually a real singer? Her vocal ability is quite impressive. The man is also quite skilled at handling instruments.’

 

 

It wasn’t just the subscribers within the screen who were captivated by the songs in the movie.

 

Film critic Franz Meyer was so absorbed in watching the movie at the theater that his thoughts turned to the songs that came out.

 

The fact that he was having these thoughts for the first time despite various songs appearing throughout the movie so far meant he was so immersed in the film that he had unconsciously started thinking of the characters not as actors, but as an actual young composer and indie band vocalist.

 

As the journey to find Jay’s childhood neighborhood where he lived with his mother in his memories progressed, increasingly high-quality music began to emerge.

 

“Jay. They said it’s okay to perform here.”

“Really? Then this is our stage for today.”

 

Weekday lunch.

They came to a park located in the suburbs.

 

The two rummaged through their bag, taking out equipment and setting it up in a corner of the park.

 

People who initially peeked out curiously wondering what was happening realized they were going to perform once they saw the equipment being taken out, and their eyes filled with anticipation.

 

“Honey, it looks like those people are going to sing.”

“You’re right. They have a lot of equipment. Should we film a video?”

 

The songs that initially started with gentle guitar accompaniment gradually began using loop stations to create complex harmonies with violin, guitar, and hand drums as they progressed.

 

 

Jake, who had been absorbed in “Sketch” at Theater am Potsdamer Platz, was genuinely amazed by what he saw on screen.

 

‘Wow. While editing might play a part, fundamentally that male actor is skilled at handling instruments.’

 

Jake works as a film music director in Hollywood.

 

In his view, this movie definitely wasn’t just pretending to play while dubbing music over it.

The actor’s hand positions actually matched all the notes.

 

‘Maybe the actors even did all the recording themselves.’

 

And as the performances continued during their travels to find that place in Jay’s memory, Jake’s mouth gradually fell open.

 

‘This is like a series of milestones.’

 

The first song that appeared in this movie was the one Nari sang when she went up on stage as a solo band at the indie festival.

The drums and keyboard were pre-recorded tracks, and Nari had clumsily played the guitar.

 

The second songs were the unfinished works Jay heard when he visited Nari’s studio after various twists and turns.

As Jay’s touch was added to them, the incomplete parts harmoniously found their place together.

 

The third were the songs Jay and Nari sang together when they went busking at the camping site.

Facing sad memories from the past, they ultimately couldn’t finish the song.

 

‘Then this would be the fourth section.’

 

The songs that emerged during the journey to find Jay’s memories gradually increased in completeness, and no matter how complex the harmonies Jay built by alternating between various instruments using the loop station, Nari’s voice blended through them like a single instrument.

 

From a clumsy solo band to a fantastic duo.

 

‘It represents youth gradually growing up.’

 

The moment Jake understood the music code that ran through this entire movie, goosebumps rose all over his arms.

 

***

 

“This is the last one among the roads we found, right?”

“Yeah…”

 

Nari nodded at Jay’s question and became slightly dejected, but then lifted her head again and spoke while trying to inject energy into her voice.

 

“Even if this isn’t the place, we can just keep looking, so let’s not give up!”

“Right. Even if we can’t find it, it’s okay. It’s been fun.”

 

Jay chuckled at Nari’s appearance and replied.

 

I don’t know how many times this has been already.

 

Who would have thought there would be so many ‘sloping roads where red walls wind down’.

 

“I found out that many Official Residences and old Schools have red brick walls built around them.”

 

Jay nodded at Nari’s explanation.

 

The two got off the bus that had arrived at their destination and wandered through the alleys, holding their Smartphones to find their way.

 

“I think this is it! What do you think, Jay?”

 

Nari cautiously examined Jay’s face.

After looking carefully, Jay shook his head.

 

“I don’t think this is it. Honestly, even if I found the road I remember now, I’m not sure I’d recognize it. Sorry, Nari.”

“It’s okay. Let’s look for it again.”

 

Jay started out confidently at first, but no matter how much they searched, nothing came up, so he felt increasingly sorry that Nari seemed to be struggling in vain.

 

He peered into the alley, wondering if this might be the right road.

As expected, it wasn’t.

 

Jay was Reading the Room, worried that Nari might be tired, and Nari was Reading the Room, worried that Jay might be disappointed.

 

During a moment of silence.

Nari clapped her hands and took out her Smartphone as if she had a good idea.

 

“Jay!”

“Yeah?”

“By any chance, would you hate it if your story became known to others?”

“No? I’m not ashamed at all about being adopted. My Parents are wonderful people. I don’t mind.”

 

Nari took out her Smartphone and held it out.

 

“We already have 60,000 subscribers?! Honestly, we probably can’t even be considered famous, but still, shall we trust in the power of collective intelligence?”

“Hmm. Well, I don’t mind asking for help, but would people really go to the trouble when it’s not even their own business?”

 

Nari looked at Jay and held up her index finger, waving it.

 

“Jay really doesn’t know anything about Koreans yet. Koreans show incredible unity at times like this.”

 

Jay looked at Nari with skepticism.

 

“Think long, act fast!”

 

Nari took out her Smartphone and started filming a Video.

 

“Hello, subscribers. This is the first time I’m speaking directly like this after always meeting you only through Singing videos. I’m Nari and this man next to me is Jay.”

 

Although the channel name was NariJay, this was the first time they introduced who was who.

It was amazing that 60,000 people subscribed to such a channel.

 

“The reason I’m filming this Video today is to help Jay.”

 

Starting with a simple introduction, she explained the story.

 

“That’s how the NariJay Channel was created. We’ll provide reference photographs and an email address through the community tab, so if there’s a road like this near you, please send us a tip!”

 

Nari bowed her head, and Jay, who was standing next to her not understanding what was being said, stood there blankly until Nari poked his ribs, then bowed his head together.

 

And Nari ended the Video filming.

Next to her, Jay tilted his head and said.

 

“Will people really help if we do this?”

 

Looking at the skeptical Jay, Nari grinned.

 

The next day dawned and the two gathered in front of the Computer in Nari’s Studio.

 

“Now, let’s see, drumroll!”

“Drumroll?”

“In Korea, we originally say ‘drumroll’ at times like this.”

“Okay. Drumroll.”

 

When they opened the mailbox, it showed that “99+” new emails had arrived.

 

“Wow, 99 emails?”

“No. It means 99 or more. Looking at 30 per page, up to 5 pages, it’s almost 150!”

 

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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