NIS Agent Reincarnated as a Genius Actor - Chapter 114

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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 114. Movie “Sketch” Reaction

The ‘Sketch Syndrome’ that began from the first day of release struck South Korea.

 

Originally in the film industry, there are cases where works that won awards overseas struggle at the box office instead.

 

When people hear that a work has won an award, they tend to think it’s more likely to be a difficult-to-understand art film rather than a commercial film focused on entertainment, creating a psychological barrier for the general public.

 

However, perhaps it was because Director Park Chan-hong was a director who had mobilized tens of millions of viewers multiple times with commercial films.

Or maybe it was the power of Ryu Yeon-woo, who has been hitting jackpots with every project he films these days.

 

From the first day, it became difficult to make reservations as prime time slots began recording sold-out shows.

 

And CEO Kim Ju-seong’s face was full of satisfaction as he came out after watching the movie.

 

‘As expected, I do have an eye for people.’

 

He was an actor he had marked early on from the “Summer’s Closet” audition hall.

He had trusted his eye for selecting projects.

And his ability to perfectly make it his own and bear fruit was flawless.

 

CEO Kim Ju-seong once again felt great trust in his agency actor ‘Ryu Yeon-woo’.

 

Ryu Yeon-woo was a goose that laid golden eggs even when left alone.

When he says he wants to do something, there’s only one best move the agency can make.

 

Beep.

 

Kim Ju-seong took out his smartphone from his pocket and made a call.

Soon the call connected.

 

– Yes, CEO.

“Team Leader Yoon. About the new series Yeon-woo has taken on.”

– Ah, I’ve been informed. You’re referring to “White Blood” planned for OTT, right?

“From planning to the entire process, pay special attention and personally oversee it so there are no disruptions in progress, Team Leader Yoon. And support whatever Yeon-woo wants.”

 

Even aside from the company’s position, CEO Kim Ju-seong was looking forward to Ryu Yeon-woo’s next work as a movie fan.

 

That’s why he gave direct instructions to Yoon Mi-yeon, the planning team leader who handles work most perfectly in the company.

 

– Yes, understood. I’ll report the progress monthly.

 

Nodding with a satisfied smile, Kim Ju-seong left the movie theater.

 

 

Meanwhile, at the same time, Hong Yu-ri and Kim Jun-su coming out after watching the movie were shedding tears and snot to their heart’s content.

 

“Huuung, Jay’s mother is so pitiful. Sob.”

“Ahem. Still, it’s fortunate they found each other even if it was late. I’ll go to the restroom for a moment.”

 

Kim Jun-su, who had been trying hard to hold back tears because he didn’t want to cry messily in front of Hong Yu-ri, hurriedly walked toward the restroom.

 

When he opened the door and looked toward the sink area, there was a line.

 

‘What, they’re lining up for the sink, not even the urinals.’

 

Looking at the faces of the waiting men, they all had reddened eyes and were sniffling while covering their noses with one hand.

 

And beyond that, seeing his own reflection in the mirror in front of the sink was quite a sight.

 

He was no better than the people in front of him, if not worse.

 

‘Damn it. I thought I was going to die from sadness because that guy Yeon-woo acted so calmly.’

 

If Jay had cried loudly from sadness on screen, the emotions would have been somewhat resolved, and such feelings wouldn’t have remained in the audience’s hearts.

 

Rather, because of Jay’s acting where he calmly restrained his emotions with a confused expression as if it were really his own story, that much unresolved sadness was entirely transferred to the audience.

 

That’s why sometimes a documentary that calmly tells a story can be sadder than a one-act play with peak facial expression acting and loud crying.

 

After waiting in line to blow his nose and wash his face, Jun-su came out to the lobby to find Hong Yu-ri sniffling while talking on the phone with her mother, as expected.

 

“No, Mom, what if you get dementia?”

– Hey, Hong Yu-ri. Your mom is only fifty now! What dementia? Who are you treating like an old lady?

“Jay’s mom got dementia in her twenties!”

– Who’s Jae-hee? You seem to be seeing a guy lately. Is his name Jae-hee? Bring him home sometime.

 

At her mother’s sudden words, Hong Yu-ri looked at Kim Jun-su walking toward her.

 

“What, how did Mom know?”

– I saw you two hugging at the playground when I was going home after buying tofu last time.

“Kyaaak. I don’t know. Hanging up!”

 

Seeing Hong Yu-ri let out a small scream and hang up the phone, Kim Jun-su approached with a puzzled expression.

 

“What? What’s wrong?”

“Mom says she saw us hugging.”

“…Huh?”

 

***

 

– sangminkid(SVIP) : Wow. No villains, no makjang developments, but it’s continuously interesting from start to finish. Is this real?

 

– heungsue(RVIP) : Honestly, I went to see it because Ryu Yeon-woo is so handsome, but from the middle of the movie, there was no Ryu Yeon-woo on screen anymore, only the protagonist Jay. I recommend watching it.

 

– vpdls123(VIP) : Aegyo master. Already conquered all genres. Romance comedy, historical drama, crime entertainment, and now humanism too.

 

– henry0322(SVIP) : My dry eye syndrome was cured after watching this movie.

 

The theater application review section for the movie that opened in the morning was plastered with 10-point ratings.

 

In the afternoon, professional reviews from film critics began to be posted, and a single line from critic Park Gang-yeon, famous for his usually stingy film reviews, started heating up the internet.

 

– Critic Park Gang-yeon: The passionate collision of youth searching for someone who has already lost their youth. 「9/10」

 

– FrenchPie(kana70**) : Holy crap. There’s a movie Park Gang-yeon gave 9 points to?

 └ 조이스틱(jelly4***) : 국내영화 중엔 없음. 최초임.

   └ 녹용왕(yooonij0***) : 울 연우가 박강연 마음도 녹용.

 

Indeed, critic Park Gang-yeon had never given a 9-point rating to any domestic film until now, and only a few foreign films from the late 90s that were considered masterpieces of the century had received 9 points.

 

By evening, various communities began to be flooded with content about 「Sketch」, and as people excitedly spread these topics around, Yeon-woo’s fan cafe Woo’s also started receiving several times more posts than usual.

 

– CantForgetJay : This humble one is late. I’m only now joining the fan cafe.

 

– MakeupJuhee : During dinner tonight, my father asked me to go see the movie 「Sketch」 together for the first time in years. I already saw it as the opening day film, but I’ll pretend I haven’t seen it and go once more on the weekend.

 

– SeoHeesWife : I already watched it for the second time today. There’s a downside.

└ CarryCarry : A downside?

└ SeoHeesWife : On the second viewing, I start crying from the beginning of the movie. The person next to me looks at me like I’m weird.

 

– WaterCoolerUncle : I came home and was thinking about the content alone, when our home water cooler went ‘gurgle’ and cried, so I cried too.

 

– LinkExpert : Look at the article. Achieved 1st place in advance ticket sales in just one day!

└ DogThatBarksWhenHappy : Awesome! Woof woof woof woof!

└ JoyAndSorrow : This isn’t even surprising. It’s completely natural.

 

– OneWhoDontCry : I really cried my eyes out. After entering the hospital room at the end, tears blocked my view so I couldn’t see the screen.

└ StraightTalker : There might be people who haven’t seen it yet, so please refrain from content spoilers.

 

 

And it started becoming a topic in other areas as well.

 

– 사재기전문가(dhlee2***) : 영화에 나온 노래들 음원 발표 언제 하나요? 무한 스트리밍 대기중.

 └ 잡았다요놈(jeff20***): 레알 노래들 다 좋던데. 그런데 님 아이디 상태가···?

 

– JayNariSufferer(rlacoa**) : Please release the song they sang on the bus when going to Brick Wall Street as a soundtrack!

 └ 가즈아(tooker4***) : 나는 캠핑장에서 버스킹할 때 불렀던 노래가 최고인 듯.

 

Reading such reactions, LN Enter quickly released the soundtrack after consulting with ‘Chrissy Monroe’, the original composer of the original soundtrack.

 

The soundtrack released at 6 PM climbed to the top ranks faster than everyone expected.

 

“Huh? The soundtrack is in what place?”

– Well. It’s already 7th place! Our song is on the music charts!

 

Yeon-woo, who was thinking about the scenario for his next work in his officetel, tilted his head as he answered Seo Ji-eun’s unexpected phone call.

 

“7th place? Which song?”

– Right now ‘Watercolor’ is the highest, but several other songs are also in the top 20!

 

Hearing Seo Ji-eun’s excited voice, Yeon-woo chuckled.

 

Probably, given her background as a former trainee singer, she must have had some lingering attachment to singing activities in her heart.

 

“It’s popular because sister sings well. This is Seo Ji-eun’s voice.”

– That’s disrespectful to the band session members! A song doesn’t become popular just because of vocals. This is Jay Nari’s song.

“Is that so?”

 

Being tone-deaf and having lived completely apart from music throughout both his past and present lives, he had never thought about soundtracks.

 

– But, at this rate, aren’t we going to appear on music shows? That would be amazing!

 

She was already an actress who had made the drama 「Stars Beyond Garam」 a hit and won the Golden Bear at Berlin.

It seemed Seo Ji-eun still didn’t fully grasp her own position.

Yeon-woo scratched his cheek and spoke.

 

“Well, if we said we’d appear, wouldn’t they be the ones welcoming us with open arms? Sister is a famous actress now too.”

– Hey, I’m not you, what famous. Hmm…? Is that so? Anyway, check the music charts when you hang up!

“Mm, got it.”

 

After Yeon-woo hung up and tried to open the music streaming application, there was no need as many people around him started taking screenshots and sending them via messenger.

 

Among them, he clicked on a photo that his younger sister So-hyeon had posted in the family group chat.

 

‘Hm?’

 

8 PM Chart Rankings (8:03 PM)

 

1. Watercolor – Jay Nari (↑+6)

2. Loop Planet – FNX (↓- 1)

3. Clap – N-Boys (↓- 1)

4. Galaxy – Jay Nari (New)

 

The soundtrack was released at 6 PM, entered the charts an hour later, and finally achieved 1st place.

Yeon-woo scratched his head with a troubled expression while looking at the rankings.

 

– Younger Sibling : Ooh, then is oppa a 1st place singer now?

– Ryu Yeon-woo : What singer. All I did was play guitar. Did you watch the movie?

– Father : Of course I watched it. I took the day off today and we all went to see the first morning show as a family. I’m proud of you, son.

 

Yeon-woo smiled warmly while reading the messages.

Then he opened the music chart photo again and stroked his chin.

 

‘Hmm, there will definitely be talk about music shows, right?’

 

Objectively thinking, there was no way music show PDs would miss this good opportunity.

 

Of course, if it interfered with his acting activities, he had no intention of doing additional activities, but if he had to perform on stage for fan service and movie promotion purposes, there was no reason he couldn’t do a one-time performance.

 

‘Well, actually I don’t have much to do anyway.’

 

Anyway, Seo Ji-eun would handle all the singing, and while he could certainly do the instrumental performance himself, it was uncertain whether the broadcasting station’s music show system could provide live sound.

 

Bzzzz─

 

Just then, his smartphone vibrated.

 

– Team Leader Jeong Hyeok

 

“Yes, Team Leader.”

– Yeon-woo. Did I interrupt you while you were resting?

“No, not at all.”

– Well, we received a schedule proposal… Actually, we get countless schedule offers every day.

 

Even without hearing the rest, he had a feeling he knew what this was about.

 

“Is it a music show?”

– Huh? How did you know?

 

Yeon-woo chuckled softly.

It seemed people really did think alike.

 

“I checked the music chart performance too. An OST doing well would certainly be a huge help for movie promotion.”

– Wow, you’re like a mind reader.

 

There would certainly be variety show options as well.

In fact, the variety show offers coming to Yeon-woo right now could fill a truck.

 

However, even if not quite maintaining an air of mystery, if movie actor Ryu Yeon-woo, who hadn’t been much exposed on variety shows, appeared on one, image consumption would be inevitable.

 

And since this movie was a musical film that emphasized music codes, appearing on a music show would have another additional benefit.

 

In the film, Jay and Nari were depicted as gradually expanding their recognition and seemingly succeeding as singers, but it ended without a conclusion.

 

If they performed on a music show as Jay & Nari, it would essentially be a real-world spinoff debut of the movie.

 

After thinking through various considerations, Yeon-woo finished his calculations and nodded.

 

“You’ll need to coordinate with actress Seo Ji-eun’s agency too, right?”

– They contacted us first. They said they really want to do it.

 

He remembered Seo Ji-eun who had called excitedly just a few minutes ago.

She probably wanted to perform on stage purely for the joy of it, aside from movie promotion.

 

“I’ll do it, Team Leader. The music show.”

 

And so, the music show appearance was decided—one that would surely become an unprecedented frenzy when Fan Cafe Woo’s found out about it.

 

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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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