NIS Agent Reincarnated as a Genius Actor - Chapter 112

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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 112. New Work, New Director

“Hmm, wouldn’t it be better for Yeon-woo to rest a bit? He’s already completed three works in a row.”

“It’s fine, CEO. I feel like I’ve rested for about 40 years, so I want to do a lot of work.”

 

CEO Kim Ju-seong tilted his head and chuckled at the incomprehensible joke from Yeon-woo, who was only twenty.

 

“Mr. Fenton. You don’t mind if those people from earlier join us, right?”

“Oh. Of course. I was happy to see Director Yo-han after such a long time.”

 

Beep─.

 

“Please tell the two people outside to come in.”

– Yes, CEO.

 

Soon the CEO office door opened and Hwang Min-kwon and Jung Yo-han entered.

 

“Thank you! Please just give it a review. I’m confident in the scenario.”

 

As Hwang Min-kwon entered, he kept bowing his head in greeting, then took out three printed scenarios from his backpack and distributed them to Yeon-woo, CEO Kim Ju-seong, and Bernard Fenton.

 

“Hmm, I don’t know Korean at all. I’ll just chat with Yo-han since it’s been a while.”

“Oh, Mr. Fenton, shall I explain the scenario to you then?”

 

Jung Yo-han’s eyes lit up as he spoke, and Bernard Fenton nodded.

 

“Hmm, alright. Let’s hear it then. Is this a work that Yo-han is participating in?”

“It happened to turn out that way. This guy is the director and he’s my bosom buddy.”

 

Yeon-woo took the scenario and began reading from the first page.

 

‘Hm? Medical action…?’

 

On the scenario’s cover, along with the working title ‘White Blood’, the genre was listed as medical action.

 

‘It’s interesting for now, but what exactly is medical action? Do they fight with scalpels and stethoscopes?’

 

Yeon-woo became absorbed in reading the scenario.

CEO Kim Ju-seong sitting in front was doing the same.

 

After more than 20 minutes had passed, Yeon-woo, who had skimmed through most of the scenario, looked up.

 

‘Hmm, this…’

 

Then CEO Kim Ju-seong also finished reading and looked up at Yeon-woo.

Yeon-woo opened his mouth toward CEO Kim Ju-seong.

 

“CEO.”

“Ah, I know what you’re going to say. But Yeon-woo, even if you take another leave of absence, you know you have to attend at least one semester this time, right?”

 

According to Korea University regulations, if you maintain a leave of absence for more than 2 semesters after enrollment, your admission gets canceled.

Since he was planning to apply for reinstatement next week, CEO Kim Ju-seong was preemptively reconfirming this with Yeon-woo.

 

“…Um, yes, that’s right.”

 

Unknown director Hwang Min-kwon, who was quietly sitting in the corner watching their reactions, felt like his nerves were burning up.

 

“Excuse me… how did you find it…?”

 

Looking at Hwang Min-kwon, CEO Kim Ju-seong spoke.

 

“I read the scenario well. The subject matter is fresh and quite interesting, but the composition and development are scattered and amateurish, so if LN were to produce it, we’d need to make major revisions.”

 

Most creators extremely dislike having their created worlds invaded.

However, Director Hwang Min-kwon’s eyes lit up even after hearing harsh criticism that could have wounded his pride.

 

“As long as you can produce it, you can revise it as much as you want! Haha, I’m good at picking subjects but my writing skills and composition abilities are terrible.”

 

Seeing Director Hwang Min-kwon foolishly scratching the back of his head and laughing, CEO Kim Ju-seong stroked his chin.

 

Yeon-woo thought while watching CEO Kim Ju-seong.

 

‘When the CEO strokes his chin like that, it’s when he’s unsure and contemplating.’

 

Yeon-woo, who had made his decision, looked at Director Hwang Min-kwon and spoke.

At times like this, he needed to drive the point home.

 

“Director, do you want to use me as the protagonist?”

“Pardon? Ah, yes! Of course! If it’s possible.”

 

Hwang Min-kwon nodded vigorously, and Jung Yo-han, who was still talking with Bernard Fenton, also widened his eyes.

 

If it’s Ryu Yeon-woo, who’s currently a box office guarantee, they should welcome him with not just both hands but both feet as well.

 

“Then my opinion is the same. Story revisions seem inevitable, and since I have to return to university soon, my filming time will be limited for the next 5 months – would that be okay?”

 

“Oh my, of course. We’ll adjust everything to fit Actor Ryu Yeon-woo’s schedule.”

 

Seeing Hwang Min-kwon nodding vigorously, Yeon-woo shifted his gaze to CEO Kim Ju-seong.

CEO Kim Ju-seong looked at Yeon-woo and shook his head as if he couldn’t handle him.

 

Beep─.

 

“Please tell Team Leader Jeong to come up to the CEO office.”

– Yes, CEO.

 

CEO Kim Ju-seong called Team Leader Jeong Hyeok for precise schedule coordination.

Not long after, there was a knock and Team Leader Jeong Hyeok entered the CEO office.

 

“CEO, did you call for me?”

“Yes, Team Leader Jeong. What’s scheduled on Yeon-woo’s calendar?”

“We don’t have anything immediately available since we’ve kept it clear due to university issues, but there’s additional filming for an Ihan Tech advertisement in May.”

 

After hearing Team Leader Jeong Hyeok’s words, CEO Kim Ju-seong stroked his chin again.

 

“Hmm, but they’re already scheduling for May?”

“Ah, since June is the Month of Patriots and Veterans, we contracted to film a special advertisement before then.”

“Month of Patriots and Veterans. I see. So there’s nothing else besides that?”

“Yes. We get dozens of casting requests every day, but as you instructed, we’re rejecting them all.”

 

Hearing Team Leader Jeong Hyeok’s words, Hwang Min-kwon and Jung Yo-han’s eyes widened.

 

Of course, everyone in the country knew that Ryu Yeon-woo was doing well these days, but hearing the inside story directly hit them even harder.

 

Thinking that an actor who rejects countless casting requests could become the protagonist of the movie he would direct, Hwang Min-kwon’s heart began to beat rapidly.

 

While they were discussing his schedule, Yeon-woo, who wasn’t showing much interest, was concentrating on the scenario he had received earlier.

 

Yeon-woo stared intently at the scenario, pondering deeply before opening his mouth.

 

“But you know, no matter how I think about it, this scenario can’t fit the story within a movie’s running time.”

“Hmm, I think so too. Even with major revisions, it doesn’t quite fit a movie format.”

 

CEO Kim Ju-seong also nodded after hearing Yeon-woo’s words.

 

Director Hwang Min-kwon, who had been hunched over like a shrimp in the corner listening, tilted his head as he opened the scenario.

 

“Excuse me, sorry, but which parts do you think would be good to change?”

 

At Director Hwang Min-kwon’s question, Yeon-woo opened his mouth with a troubled expression while holding the scenario.

 

“Hmm, would it be okay if I tell you honestly what I’m thinking?”

“Yes! Of course.”

 

Yeon-woo opened his mouth while flipping through the scenario.

 

“First, I think we need to cut out all the parts where alien warships suddenly appear out of nowhere.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Same goes for the parts where dinosaurs pop out.”

“…Ah, yes.”

 

Yeon-woo continued speaking while quickly flipping through the scenario.

 

“First, I don’t think we really need the worldview related to the protagonist acquiring SSS-grade skills.”

“…Yes.”

“About the supporting character that appears in the middle. Depraved, obsessive, yandere? I’m not sure what this means, but my instinctive feeling is that we absolutely need to change this setting… it gives me a strange feeling.”

“Ahem, understood.”

 

While listening to the conversation between Yeon-woo and the man sitting across from him, Team Leader Jeong Hyeok’s expression became increasingly bizarre.

 

“Alien warships, dinosaurs, and some kind of skills…? What on earth is this scenario about…?”

 

Seeing Team Leader Jeong Hyeok’s expression, which looked like he couldn’t understand from the conversation alone, Yeon-woo smiled brightly.

 

“Team Leader Jeong, don’t worry. I’ll definitely get rid of all that stuff. If we just cut out those parts, the material is actually very good.”

 

If a scenario with such strange elements could still look good, Team Leader Jeong Hyeok couldn’t even guess what kind of material they had brought, so he looked at CEO Kim Ju-seong instead.

 

But CEO Kim Ju-seong just nodded from the side, showing his agreement.

 

Then Bernard Fenton, who had been listening to the conversation content through Jung Yo-han’s interpretation, spoke up.

 

“You said earlier that this scenario is too long to fit into a movie, right? Then what about Netflix?”

“Netflix?”

 

Although today’s gathering was meant to discuss Netflix-related matters, it was outside their original field, so it was beyond their usual thinking.

 

With this new topic, everyone in the room focused their attention on Fenton.

 

“As far as I know, LN Media has sufficient self-production capabilities for both movies and dramas, and I can handle the connection with Netflix.”

 

After hearing Bernard Fenton’s words, Yeon-woo seemed to have an interesting thought and opened his mouth.

 

“Mr. Fenton, when is the scheduled Netflix release date for the project I was originally going to audition for?”

“Well, it’s not certain, but we’re roughly looking at the end of this year or early next year.”

 

Although it was still uncertain how Director Hwang Min-kwon’s scenario would be revised, considering Yeon-woo’s return to school timing and the filming speed afterward, it was roughly similar.

 

“That would be interesting. Doing it through Netflix too.”

 

CEO Kim Ju-seong also nodded.

 

“It’s too long for a movie, and the material is too innovative to be scheduled as a regular drama. But it doesn’t fit the scale for general programming or cable either…”

 

If they could open the floodgates to launch their own productions on OTT (Over the top) services that can directly provide media content like broadcasts and programs through the internet, it would open up another option and allow them to occupy an advantageous position when negotiating with broadcasting stations for other projects in the future.

 

If LN Media could pioneer the OTT market, it would be a powerful weapon for the company.

They could become an all-round production company that could directly distribute content even if they had conflicts with broadcasting stations.

 

CEO Kim Ju-seong, having finished his calculations, made his decision.

 

“Let’s do it. This project.”

 

Then Yeon-woo looked at Hwang Min-kwon.

 

“How do you feel about this, Director? This way, it won’t be a movie after all.”

“Yes, yes? Everything’s fine!”

 

With the story progressing at breakneck speed, Hwang Min-kwon felt like his soul was leaving his body.

 

‘This is incredible. But did actor Ryu Yeon-woo just call me Director…? This is crazy! I should have recorded it.’

 

Just a few days ago, Hwang Min-kwon was at home eating cup noodles and beer while scratching his butt.

To him, Ryu Yeon-woo was a superstar who brought honor to the nation, someone he could only see on monitors.

 

Hwang Min-kwon wasn’t the only one who couldn’t keep up with the sudden progression of the conversation.

 

Team Leader Jeong Hyeok, who kept tilting his head in confusion, opened his mouth.

 

“By the way, I’m curious after listening to this. What genre is the work you’re currently discussing?”

 

Although they said they would exclude it from the story, the fact that words like alien warships and dinosaurs came up meant it wasn’t an ordinary genre, which sparked his curiosity.

 

After hearing Team Leader Jeong Hyeok’s words, Yeon-woo flipped the scenario he was looking at back to the first page.

 

“It’s a medical action film.”

“Ah, a hospital drama… Excuse me? Action?”

 

If it’s medical, then it’s medical, and if it’s action, then it’s action.

What on earth is medical action supposed to mean? Team Leader Jeong Hyeok’s expression became strange again.

 

***

 

Of course, they don’t just sign contracts because a scenario is novel.

 

After saying they would review it positively and sending them away, LN Media’s experts analyzed the works that Director Hwang Min-kwon and Director Jung Yo-han had participated in to assess their capabilities.

 

The next day, CEO Kim Ju-seong attended a meeting to hear a briefing about it.

 

“…For the reasons explained earlier, this is how we assessed it, CEO.”

 

Looking at the various analysis contents displayed on the screen, the planning team employee finished the briefing.

 

“Hmm, so there were no particular problems with the technical aspects of directing, but all the works had stories that went off track in the middle?”

“Yes. That’s correct.”

 

He alternately looked at the analysis content on the screen and the written report on his desk, tapping one name with his finger.

 

“The director aside, you’re saying this CG director named Jung Yo-han is such an amazing person…”

 

Hearing CEO Kim Ju-seong’s murmur, the planning team employee nodded vigorously.

 

“Until last year, he was such a super rookie in Hollywood that even with money, schedules were so backed up that people couldn’t even think of commissioning work from him.”

“Is the individual skill gap that severe in the CG director profession?”

“Yes, CEO. Not only technical aspects but also individual sense like directing plays a big role, so there are cases where they deliberately adjust release schedules by over a year just to get work done by skilled teams.”

 

These days, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find works that don’t include CG.

 

As technology advances, massive-scale classic science fiction novels that were previously only possible in imagination are being made into movies, and as the demand for increasingly novel and stimulating stories grows, the supply tends to follow suit.

 

In that sense, it was natural that CG teams would occupy a larger portion of a film’s overall quality.

 

“I suppose this work will be almost entirely CG too…”

 

In a way, you could say the important person wasn’t Director Hwang Min-kwon, but CG Director Jung Yo-han.

 

“Okay. Let’s proceed with this project. Dismissed.”

 

As the CEO’s approval came down, the planning team members quickly stood up and scattered to handle their respective tasks.

Going into a new project with in-house production meant their workload had exploded.

 

 

Meanwhile, Yeon-woo, who had been reviewing the scenario again and pondering improvements, heard the news that final approval had been granted and invited Director Hwang Min-kwon and CG Director Jung Yo-han to headquarters for a meeting about the scenario.

 

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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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