NIS Agent Reincarnated as a Genius Actor - Chapter 115

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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 115. Class Reunion

“Oh my, it’s been way too long since you came out.”

“Yeah, well, life’s been keeping me busy.”

 

Yeon-woo’s mother, Lee Seon-ok, regretted coming to the class reunion the moment she sat down.

She glanced sideways at her best friend Han Kyung-mi, who had called several times to coax her into coming.

 

“You said the gossip wouldn’t be coming.”

 

Lee Seon-ok whispered while poking her friend’s side. But Han Kyung-mi also looked troubled.

 

“She definitely didn’t come for 3 years, so why is she here again? Who even contacts her anyway?”

 

Choi Suk-young, sitting across from them with that consistently frivolous laugh, had been consistently unlikeable since their school days.

 

Like a ‘gossip,’ she would poke around everywhere, spreading rumors and saying only the things people didn’t want to hear, making her unpopular even among classmates.

 

If someone was that consistently the same, it was almost admirable.

 

Sure enough, gossip Choi Suk-young couldn’t hold back and opened her mouth with gleaming eyes.

 

“By the way, I heard you moved to the countryside? Isn’t it inconvenient living there?”

“Where did you hear that from? Besides, Sejong City isn’t exactly countryside.”

 

Hearing Lee Seon-ok’s words, Choi Suk-young covered her mouth and laughed exaggeratedly.

 

“Oh my, ho ho ho. I have it stuck in my head that anywhere outside Seoul is countryside.”

 

Then, despite everyone looking uncomfortable, she began bragging about her son without a care.

 

“Our Young-jun got accepted to Yeonha University this time. Even when I told him to take it easy with studying, he wouldn’t listen and studied all night. I was worried his health would deteriorate.”

“Ah ha ha, well congratulations, Suk-young.”

 

Hearing the gossip’s words, her best friend Han Kyung-mi nodded and whispered to Lee Seon-ok.

 

“So that’s why she came. She didn’t show up for years while her son was taking the exam for the third time.”

“I guess so.”

 

Lee Seon-ok didn’t like that the gossip had come, but she was happy to see the other classmates’ faces after almost ten years.

 

“Take this chance to reveal that your son is Ryu Yeon-woo and shut that gossip’s mouth, Seon-ok.”

 

Looking at her friend Han Kyung-mi who kept poking her arm with expectant eyes, Lee Seon-ok shook her head.

 

“What’s the point of bringing it up? She’s the type who makes up stories that don’t exist, so it’ll just create unnecessary rumors about our son.”

“True. She’d definitely do that and more.”

 

While drinking beer and chatting with other classmates, a friend sitting at the table across from them looked at Lee Seon-ok and asked.

 

“By the way, isn’t your son around the age to go to university now?”

 

Then the gossip sitting next to her added quietly with an expression as if she was looking out for her friend.

 

“Why are you asking about that? If he got into a good place, we would have known by now.”

“Oh, is that so?”

 

Seeing this, Han Kyung-mi sitting next to her got fired up.

 

“Really, this kid’s son is…”

“Kyung-mi.”

 

Lee Seon-ok quietly called Han Kyung-mi to stop her, then smiled as she looked at the gossip.

 

“Yeah, he went to university last year. He’s attending Korea University now.”

 

Then gossip Choi Suk-young’s face hardened like she’d eaten something disgusting.

Friends around them made a fuss.

 

“Oh my, oh my, he goes to Korea University? That’s amazing. What department?”

“Seon-ok, you were good at studying when we were in school too. He must take after his mom!”

“Yeah, he got into the Economics Department. Ah, taking after me though…”

 

Before long, the center of conversation naturally shifted to Lee Seon-ok, and the gossip’s lips jutted out as her son’s Yeonha University topic got buried instantly.

 

“Is your husband still working as a civil servant?”

“Is it okay to support a family of four on a civil servant’s salary these days?”

“I heard housing prices in provincial areas are dropping rapidly after the bubble burst. Are you doing okay?”

“I’ve gotten into golf lately. Want to play together, Seon-ok? Ah, but the infrastructure in provincial areas is a bit lacking, right?”

 

The surrounding friends frowned at Suk-young’s appearance, constantly asking poisonous questions trying to find weaknesses somehow.

 

Lee Seon-ok tried her best not to pay attention to such gossip and got absorbed in conversation with other friends.

Since they were meeting friends after more than ten years, she laughed like she’d returned to her girlhood and lost track of time.

 

“Well, shall we get up now? Those who need to go home should head out.”

 

It was already almost ten o’clock, so everyone got up from their seats.

The gossip spoke up as they headed to the parking lot.

 

“Seon-ok has to go to the provinces. Are you taking the train down?”

“Yeah, I have to take the KTX now. I already booked tickets.”

“Should I give you a ride to Seoul Station?”

 

Wondering why she was being unusually kind, the gossip added more words.

 

“My husband got me a foreign car for our wedding anniversary. How about test driving it?”

“Uh, it’s okay.”

 

Just then, they could hear the classmates who had gone to the parking lot first making a commotion.

 

“Oh my, what? Isn’t that Ryu Yeon-woo? Is he filming around here?”

“It really is. Oh my, our daughter is such a huge fan.”

“Looks like you’re the fan though?”

 

Yeon-woo got out of the sports car and walked over with a grin, looking at the chattering ladies.

 

“Oh my, is he coming to this store?”

“This is amazing. Hey, we hit the jackpot. We’re seeing such a celebrity up close.”

“Didn’t he receive some bear award or something recently?”

 

Yeon-woo spotted his mother coming out through the store door between the ladies.

 

“Mother!”

 

Yeon-woo approached with a bright smile, waving his hand cheerfully.

 

“Huh? He said mother?”

“Ryu Yeon-woo’s mother was at this store?”

 

Lee Seon-ok stepped forward with an awkward smile.

 

“Son, how did you know to come here?”

“Father called me. I’ll give you a ride.”

 

The mouths of the nearby classmates dropped open.

 

“What the hell? What’s this?”

“Ryu Yeon-woo is Seon-ok’s son?”

“Then that son who got into Korea University is…?”

 

Then her friend Han Kyung-mi, now triumphant, put her hands on her hips.

 

“That’s right, it was all over the news last year. The actor who got into Korea University Economics Department through regular admission. He’s Seon-ok’s son.”

 

After hearing Han Kyung-mi’s words, the classmates finally seemed to accept the situation, closing their gaping mouths and crowding around.

 

“Oh my goodness! I’m such a huge fan. So nice to meet you.”

“This is incredible. Don’t you remember me? We met at a wedding hall when you were this little.”

 

Looking at his mother’s friends, Yeon-woo smiled brightly.

 

“Nice to meet you. I’m Ryu Yeon-woo, son of Lee Seon-ok.”

 

Seeing Yeon-woo like this, smiles naturally appeared on the classmates’ faces.

 

“Oh my, he’s so handsome.”

“Oh dear, Seon-ok, why didn’t you tell us earlier about having such a wonderful son.”

“Huh, I did brag about him…? Said he goes to Korea University.”

 

At Lee Seon-ok’s response, her friend glanced at her and lightly hit her arm.

 

“Hey, Korea University isn’t the issue. He’s now a great actor bringing honor to our country.”

“Haha, not at all. I’ve just barely moved past being a rookie.”

“Oh my, how can he be so modest too.”

 

She hadn’t mentioned it before in case some gossip spread on the internet, but now that it was revealed, she started introducing her friends to her son.

 

“This is Aunt Young-seon.”

“Hello.”

“Oh my, I even bought you toys when you were little, don’t you remember?”

“And this is, you know her right? Mom’s closest friend, Aunt Kyung-mi.”

 

After introducing them one by one, when only the troublemaker Choi Suk-young remained standing in the corner with a sour expression, Lee Seon-ok glanced at her and took out her smartphone to check the time.

 

“Oh my, there’s not much time left before the train.”

“Ah, then let’s hurry. I’ll see you ladies later.”

“Did I become Ryu Yeon-woo’s aunt today? Our daughter will faint when she finds out.”

 

After greeting them with a smile, Yeon-woo ran over and opened the passenger door of the red sports car.

 

“Oh my, our son has such good manners.”

 

Yeon-woo helped his mother into the passenger seat and started the car.

 

“Mother, what time is your train? Should I drive a bit faster?”

“Huh? No, there’s plenty of time. It’s the 11 o’clock train.”

 

Yeon-woo looked at his watch and spoke.

 

“What? You said there wasn’t much time left before the train…”

 

Hearing Yeon-woo’s words, his mother remembered the troublemaker standing there dumbfounded and chuckled.

 

“Well, there are times like that. It feels quite satisfying.”

 

In the car heading to Seoul Station, only Yeon-woo tilted his head in confusion.

 

***

 

After formally coordinating his music broadcast schedule and heading to the practice room to rehearse with Seo Ji-eun, Yeon-woo’s smartphone rang.

 

– +1 (213) 807-67···.

 

Yeon-woo looked at his smartphone screen and was about to decline the call thinking it was voice phishing due to the complex number, but then tilted his head.

 

“Country code 1 is America, and 213 was where again…”

 

As he pressed to accept the call, it came to him.

In this life, there was only one person in Los Angeles who would call Yeon-woo so far.

 

“Chrissy?”

– Oh, how did you know? You know my number?

 

Yeon-woo smiled at the cheerful voice of Chrissy Monroe, the music director of 「Sketch」.

 

“Area code 213. Chrissy is the only person who would call me from LA. How have you been?”

– Congratulations-! First, congratulations. About Berlin.

“Thank you. It’s all thanks to you giving me such a good song.”

– Actually, when I heard that Jay Nari was going to perform on a real stage, I did some arrangement work.

 

Chrissy explained that the existing song wasn’t quite suitable for a broadcast performance, so she had arranged it by adding a brief guitar solo in the middle.

 

The contract had ended when filming wrapped, and the movie had already been released, yet Chrissy was working on this as if it were her own project, which made Yeon-woo feel grateful.

 

“Thank you, Chrissy. When I get to America, I’ll definitely treat you to a meal.”

– A meal? Korean food would be great. I actually made Korean tteokbokki for my daughter when I got home, and she loved it. She’s totally into K-POP these days.

“Oh, really? The program Jay Nari is performing on is a music show mainly featuring K-POP idols, so your daughter would probably love it when a song composed by her mother comes on.”

 

As Yeon-woo and Chrissy were chatting and laughing, a somewhat worried voice came through the receiver.

 

– By the way, I got so excited while arranging that the solo parts became quite difficult. Hmm, but if it’s Jay, he should be able to handle it. He’s done it all before.

“You think so?”

 

Just from listening to the phone conversation with Chrissy, Yeon-woo couldn’t get a sense of how the arrangement felt.

 

Min-su’s car had arrived at the building where the practice room was located, and Yeon-woo got out of the car and took the elevator up.

 

“Producer, it’s been a while. Hmm, Sister isn’t here yet.”

“Ah, yes. Seo Ji-eun said she’d be about an hour late.”

 

After greeting the mixing engineer and producer who had worked on 「Sketch」, he played the arrangement file that Chrissy had sent.

 

The existing song ‘Paint’ was sung simply with an acoustic guitar and a simple melody from the back seat of a village bus in the movie, so it was a bit plain for a music show performance.

 

The arrangement filled out the composition more while preserving the feel of the original song.

 

“Hmm, this is good.”

 

The producer who was listening along with Yeon-woo also nodded.

 

Then the solo section began in the middle, with strong guitar sounds, followed by dull tapping sounds matching the beat.

 

“Hmm?”

 

Both the producer and Yeon-woo tilted their heads simultaneously.

It didn’t sound like drums…

 

“Is that the sound of tapping the guitar with hands?”

 

At Yeon-woo’s words, the producer read the attached instructions and clapped his hands.

 

“That’s right. After tapping the guitar, the next part involves taking out a violin…”

 

As the producer spoke, violin sounds began to play.

 

“This part wasn’t in the original at all.”

 

It seemed like she thought the original was a bit plain for a music show performance, so she added solos that would make Yeon-woo stand out.

 

“But is it possible to actually play the instruments live? I heard that even bands usually just play recorded tracks and only pretend to perform…”

“Ah, bands can’t do it because multiple sounds overlap and it’s hard to capture them all with the noise from the venue and audience cheering. Since you’ll be performing solo, there shouldn’t be any problem. I’ll definitely check that part with the music show staff.”

 

Yeon-woo nodded and checked the changed parts while looking at the sheet music for the arranged version.

The producer looked at the same sheet music on his monitor and clicked his tongue.

 

“This is quite high-level difficulty.”

“Hmm, it certainly is.”

 

Yeon-woo picked up the violin while looking at the sheet music.

 

“Still, if I practice hard, there shouldn’t be anything I can’t do.”

 

From the still-playing audio, notes that went up and down with quite fast and technical flourishes could be heard through the speakers.

 

‘This is going to be tough. I’ll have to live in the practice room for a while.’

 

It would be difficult to do this kind of practice in the officetel where he currently lived. He’d have to pour all his energy into it whenever possible.

 

He took a deep breath and gently pressed the strings with his fingers while looking at the sheet music.

Of course, it would be laughably easy for someone who majored in violin, but for Yeon-woo, it was definitely an arrangement that exceeded his skill level.

 

Yeon-woo soon became absorbed in practice, and watching him, the producer fell into thought.

 

‘This actor… Director Chrissy Monroe probably thinks the same as me.’

 

After just a few days, seeing how much he had practiced and how he accomplished everything requested, as someone in music, she probably became increasingly ambitious.

 

As the night deepened, the first practice for a stage that would surprise fans began.

 

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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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