NIS Agent Reincarnated as a Genius Actor - Chapter 116

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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 116. Snowball

“Ugh! I’m so nervous.”

 

Seo Ji-eun kept clenching and unclenching her palms repeatedly.

Watching Seo Ji-eun like that, Yeon-woo nodded.

 

“I know, this is pretty nerve-wracking.”

“Ugh, even you who wasn’t nervous in Berlin are saying you’re nervous, which makes me even more nervous!”

 

Yeon-woo found it interesting as he felt himself getting nervous inside.

 

Having lived through so many experiences, he couldn’t feel nervous about most things, so this emotion felt unfamiliar.

 

“It’s probably because this isn’t my usual field.”

 

Yeon-woo, who was tone-deaf and didn’t even go to karaoke rooms, let alone perform on stage, was naturally a bit nervous about suddenly doing a music broadcast rehearsal.

 

“Jay Nari team, please come up on stage.”

“Yes!”

 

Hearing the voice of the production staff, Yeon-woo and Seo Ji-eun went up on stage.

 

Waaaah!

 

There were more people sitting in the audience seats than expected.

 

‘Hm? Have fans already entered?’

 

He had heard that the main stage was quite late in the order and would be filmed in the afternoon, but hearing unexpected cheers, Yeon-woo looked toward the audience seats.

 

‘Ah, they’re the singers performing on stage today.’

 

Though these idols frequented the broadcasting station like their own home, they had no chance to see actor Ryu Yeon-woo, so they all came out to take a look.

 

When Yeon-woo came up on stage wearing a large name tag that read “Jay Nari – Jay” on his chest, the audience seats stirred.

 

“Wow, unnie, look at that actor’s face. He’s from another world…?”

“Actors really are different.”

 

Then Do-jun, a member of XYZS who had been equally amazed from behind, chimed in.

 

“I go to the same salon as actor Ryu Yeon-woo, you know?”

“Director Jeong Ha-neul’s?”

“Yeah. But he’s famous among actors for having unbeatable looks.”

 

The idols sitting in the front row nodded at Do-jun’s words.

 

“It seems that way.”

“I should go greet him with an album after the rehearsal.”

“Wow! I want to go too!”

 

Then ‘Jae-yoon’ from N-Boys, who had been sitting with his legs crossed and looking indifferent, frowned.

 

“But surely they won’t rig the music broadcast rankings too, right? I’m already annoyed that we lost first place on the music charts because of him.”

“Hyung. Wasn’t FNX sunbaenim already in first place anyway?”

 

Seeing Do-jun from XYZS challenging him from the side, Jae-yoon glared at him once.

 

“It was almost neck and neck, you know?”

 

Do-jun tilted his head and muttered to himself.

 

“Hmm, was it? The score difference seemed to be about double anyway…”

 

Jae-yoon was about to say something to the muttering Do-jun, but feeling the attention of the girl groups sitting around them, he closed his mouth with a displeased expression.

 

“Damn it, they say only Seo Ji-eun sings anyway, so why is he crawling out to make a fuss. He’s not even the face of the group, at best he’ll just pretend to play. The movie probably used a stunt double too.”

 

While Jae-yoon was muttering with his lips pouted, the stage check finished and a voice came through the speakers.

 

– Hello. I’m Jay from “Jay Nari.”

– I’m Nari! Please take care of us!

 

Yeon-woo spoke into the microphone in front of him for the greeting and tilted his head slightly.

 

‘Surely I don’t have to speak awkwardly on purpose because Jay in the movie has a concept of not being good at Korean, right?’

 

While he was having random thoughts, the song’s intro began to flow.

 

Watching this, Jae-yoon smirked with an ‘I knew it’ expression.

 

“If they’re just going to play the MR anyway, why come on stage?”

 

Then Yeon-woo began playing guitar over the background music.

Guitar melodies echoing through the microphone installed in front of the guitar, matching the music coming through the in-ear monitor.

 

“Wow, unnie, Yeon-woo oppa is really playing right now, right?”

“When did you see him to call him oppa? He’s probably younger than you.”

“Whatever, if he’s handsome, he’s oppa.”

 

Then Seo Ji-eun’s voice joined in, creating a beautifully harmonious melody that filled the public hall.

 

“Wow, he sings well.”

“He probably was a trainee too? Lena unnie said they were at the same agency before debut.”

 

The singers watching from the audience each shared their impressions with each other.

 

Though new artists debut every week, most of them know each other’s faces from their trainee days.

However, today’s stage by “Jay Nari,” a combination of two actors, was a fresh source of entertainment in their hamster wheel-like activities.

 

Moreover, it’s ‘Ryu Yeon-woo’.

 

Although she didn’t have time to watch dramas or movies due to her busy activities, it was still hard not to know Ryu Yeon-woo in South Korea right now.

 

He debuted in an adult role while still in high school, made the drama a hit, and his next work was the blockbuster “Master Plan” that drew ten million viewers. Not even a supporting role, but the lead.

 

Then he recorded soaring ratings in a historical drama, and his next movie won the top award at the Berlin International Film Festival.

 

Lena, who was searching for information about Ryu Yeon-woo on Plant Wiki through her smartphone, was amazed by his filmography that was even more impressive than she had thought.

 

“Looking at it all together like this, it’s unbelievable. He became an A-list actor in just 3 years since debut…”

“Yeon-woo oppa? He’s not A-list, he’s S-list.”

“He’s younger than you, you know?”

“Well, if he’s handsome, he’s oppa, right?”

 

Then Yeon-woo began tapping the side body of his guitar to the beat.

 

As the first chorus of the song ended and the instrumental part flowed out, Yeon-woo put down his guitar, stood up from his chair, and grabbed the violin that was placed on the floor.

 

‘Hmm, the in-ear wire is caught on the violin’s shoulder rest and it’s uncomfortable.’

 

Eventually, he removed his left in-ear, placed the violin on his shoulder, and began playing.

 

Waaah!

 

As the violin solo came out, cheers naturally erupted from the audience seats.

Seo Ji-eun nodded her head to catch the beat, watching Yeon-woo’s performance to time her entrance.

 

“That’s so cool! Taking out the in-ear and grabbing the violin is so sexy.”

“Hey! Lee So-jin. I told you not to use profanity.”

“Ah, but how else can I react to seeing that? I can’t just say ‘Wow, truly excellent’ like a machine.”

 

Then Yeon-woo began fast playing, moving his bow rapidly.

This was the part that Chrissy Monroe said might be difficult.

 

As she said, it was definitely not easy.

 

While others thought he was a versatile and perfect person, he was someone who didn’t have particularly outstanding talent in any field, even counting both his past and present lives.

 

He simply tried endlessly with determination, splitting his time when there was work to be done, trying again and again.

 

Yeon-woo performed perfectly, having practiced diligently for days until he got it right.

 

“…So sexy. This is crazy.”

“Unnie! You said not to use profanity!”

“I think you’re right. Honestly, this requires profanity.”

 

After that, the song reached its climax with Seo Ji-eun’s clean vocals, and soon the rehearsal stage ended.

 

“Thank you. This was ‘Jay Nari’.”

 

After greeting and coming down, Manager Kim Min-su, who had been watching through the monitor set up behind the stage, applauded.

 

“Actors, you were so cool. Amazing.”

“Thank you, Min-su hyung.”

“Especially taking out the in-ear right before the violin performance was the highlight.”

“Hmm, really…? I just took it out because it was uncomfortable. Then I should do it as a performance on the main stage too.”

 

Then the eyes of the staff member who was removing Yeon-woo’s in-ear and microphone widened.

 

“Huh? Are you hurt?”

 

Among Yeon-woo’s ten fingers, quite a few fingertips on both left and right hands had blood on them.

His right hand was even dripping blood drops onto the floor.

 

“Ah, I’m fine.”

 

Yeon-woo smiled brightly and put both hands in his pockets as if nothing happened.

Then Manager Kim Min-su approached, grabbed Yeon-woo’s arm, and pulled his hands out of his pockets.

 

“…Actor?”

 

The hands he pulled out showed most fingers had blisters that had formed and burst repeatedly, bleeding, and his right hand was covered with numerous band-aids.

 

His left hand didn’t have band-aids not because it was in better condition than his right hand.

Rather, his left hand fingers were in worse condition. He just couldn’t put band-aids on because he needed to press the strings.

 

The only clean finger was his left thumb, which didn’t press strings.

 

Kim Min-su’s eyes demanded an explanation for the shocking condition of his fingers.

Yeon-woo smiled awkwardly.

 

“The arrangement was too high-level for me to handle. Since I didn’t seriously learn violin…”

 

Seo Ji-eun already had tears welling up in her eyes seeing Yeon-woo’s fingers.

 

“Then you should have gotten a new arrangement through the company, why go this far…”

“Hey, fingers heal completely in a week. Anyway, after performing just once today, I’m retiring immediately, right?”

 

Kim Min-su shook his head seeing Yeon-woo throw out a joke with a grin.

Actor Ryu Yeon-woo, whom Kim Min-su manages, was always like this.

 

If something didn’t work, he would try until it did.

If the target was himself, he never backed down and didn’t know compromise.

 

Looking at Yeon-woo, Kim Min-su was reminded of the saying ‘A rolling stone gathers no moss.’

 

Since he first started managing him until now, he really rolled without rest.

And not only did moss not gather, but the stone that Yeon-woo rolled kept getting bigger.

 

Looking back now, I think what actor Ryu Yeon-woo had been rolling since the day we first met wasn’t a stone, but a snowball.

 

And that snowball gradually grew larger, transforming him from a high school boy into a universally acknowledged blue chip.

 

Kim Min-su felt a clear emotion toward the actor much younger than himself, his assigned actor ‘Ryu Yeon-woo’.

This thought didn’t suddenly occur to him upon seeing the blood drops flowing from his finger.

It was a thought that had gradually accumulated over the past few years of being his manager.

Like a snowball.

 

Soon, Kim Min-su bowed his head and greeted Yeon-woo to faithfully express that thought.

 

“I respect you, actor.”

“Huh? All of a sudden?”

 

Though flustered by the sudden greeting, Yeon-woo also nodded after seeing Kim Min-su’s eyes.

 

“Thank you. Min-su hyung.”

 

The public didn’t need to know about Yeon-woo’s hard work.

 

Everyone just does what they need to do in their respective positions.

The profession of entertainer is one that shows the completed form from the beginning.

 

Still, if someone acknowledges that hard work, it becomes a small comfort, so Yeon-woo expressed his gratitude.

 

Soon, after guiding Yeon-woo and Seo Ji-eun to the Waiting Room, Kim Min-su went outside to manage the fan cafe members who had won the public audience lottery, and Team Leader Jeong Hyeok took over the care in the meantime.

 

He had stopped by the Medical Room installed in the Broadcasting Station and brought everything that might be helpful, but since he still had to perform once more on the Main Stage, it was ambiguous how to treat his hand.

 

“Ah, I’m really fine. Just sit and rest.”

“Oh my, just looking at it makes my fingers feel numb.”

 

The weight of the years Yeon-woo had lived was too heavy to make a fuss over some blood from his finger, so he just smiled watching Team Leader Jeong Hyeok and Seo Ji-eun stamping their feet.

 

While endlessly passing time in the Waiting Room waiting for the idol teams doing pre-recording, someone knocked and carefully opened the door.

 

At first, he thought Manager Kim Min-su had returned after finishing his work, but several men came rushing in while bowing in greeting.

 

“Hello! We’ll introduce ourselves. We are EXIS!”

 

Yeon-woo and Seo Ji-eun quickly stood up from their seats at the sudden appearance of the boy group.

 

Team Leader Jeong Hyeok, who had been fiddling with his Smartphone in the corner, also hurriedly picked up the Camera he had brought to film the making film.

 

“Hello. Nice to meet you. I’m Ryu Yeon-woo.”

 

When Yeon-woo bowed in greeting, Seo Ji-eun beside him also bowed her head.

 

“I’m Seo Ji-eun!”

 

Seeing the two of them, Do-jun, who was the leader among them, came forward and held out an Album.

 

“This is our Album. We came to give it to you two and greet you. We really enjoyed watching ‘Stars Beyond the Stream’ that you two appeared in! We watched the live broadcast at our dormitory.”

“Ah, thank you. We’re rookies debuting today, but we should have gone to greet you first. Sorry about that.”

 

Though he was planning to retire at the same time as debuting today…

 

The members who knew Yeon-woo’s words were a joke laughed.

 

After that, several other idols visited to greet them and hand over Albums, and idol Albums piled up in one corner of the Waiting Room.

 

‘Hmm, what should I do with these?’

 

He took out his Smartphone and pondered for a moment before opening the Family Group Chat.

 

– So-hyeon, do you like idols?

 

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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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