NIS Agent Reincarnated as a Genius Actor - Chapter 133
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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 133. The Tiger’s Acting
“Hello. Please take care of me today.”
Supporting actor Jang Hyeon-woo, who had just entered the filming set, turned his head toward the greeting directed at him as soon as he walked through the entrance, then gasped in surprise.
“Huh? M-me?”
At Jang Hyeon-woo’s question, the man in front of him smiled brightly, nodded, and extended his hand for a handshake.
“Yes. Please take care of me during today’s filming.”
“Yes! P-please take care of me too.”
He mentally scolded himself for his stammering mouth as he grasped the hand extended by the man in front of him.
It was understandable that he would stammer, since the actor before him was none other than ‘Ryu Yeon-woo.’
Yeon-woo had arrived at the filming set earliest and was greeting every single person who entered, from actors to all the staff members.
Manager Kim Min-su, watching him from behind, shrugged his shoulders as if he couldn’t handle it.
“Really, we’ll have to write a biography about our actor later. How can someone be so consistent from their debut?”
“A biography?”
Kim Min-su turned his head toward the cheerful voice beside him.
He saw a young girl wearing a neat blouse.
“Ah, you’re actress Han Byeol, right? I’m Kim Min-su, actor Ryu Yeon-woo’s manager.”
“Hello! I’m Han Byeol.”
Manager Kim Min-su smiled at Han Byeol, who bowed with a bright expression.
This young actress had the trait of quickly making anyone who saw her feel good.
“Han Byeol, have you greeted actor Ryu?”
“No! I got lost with my mother and just came in through the staff back door. I’ll go greet him!”
Han Byeol bowed to Kim Min-su and then scurried over to Ryu Yeon-woo, who was greeting people at the entrance.
“Hello, senior!”
“Ah, actress Han Byeol.”
Yeon-woo also noticed Han Byeol and smiled warmly.
“Today’s the start of your first filming, right?”
Since they started filming with action scenes that Yeon-woo had to shoot alone, scenes with other actors were pushed back, making today their first filming together.
“Yes! It feels embarrassing when you call me an actress. Please speak comfortably to me!”
“Should I?”
Ella, the role Han Byeol played in the drama, was the first colleague to join protagonist Jeong Do-jin’s journey and also his closest cell(?) in the story, so it would be better for them to become friends as quickly as possible in reality too.
As Yeon-woo chatted with Han Byeol about various things, he suddenly had a thought.
She’s so sociable and chatters away like a sparrow, just like.
“She’d get along really well with my younger sibling.”
“Get along?”
Ah, maybe the current generation doesn’t use that expression much.
“You just somehow feel similar to my real younger sibling.”
“Really? I hope we get a chance to become friends! I have lots of friends.”
Yeon-woo nodded. Looking at how bright and spirited she was, that seemed likely.
Just then, another supporting actor entered through the filming set entrance, so Yeon-woo bowed his head in greeting again and approached to shake hands.
“Hello. Please take care of me during today’s filming.”
“Please take care of me too!”
Then Han Byeol scurried over and greeted alongside him.
“Hmm? You can go rest or look at your script if you want, Han Byeol.”
“No! It looks cool how you’re greeting everyone one by one, senior.”
Hearing Han Byeol’s words, Yeon-woo scratched the back of his head.
‘I’ve even started being called senior.’
Come to think of it, ‘Dong-ha’ from idol group XYZS, who played one of the main supporting roles, was also a year younger than Yeon-woo.
Jung Su-yeon was the same age, and Han Byeol was a middle schooler, so the average age of the main and supporting cast was under 20.
“This is totally a school lunch expedition team.”
“Huh?”
When Han Byeol questioned Yeon-woo’s muttering, he smiled lightly and shook his head.
“Nothing. Han Byeol, another person is coming in over there.”
“Yes! Hello!”
***
Before long, all the minor role actors had finished their makeup and entered the set.
‘Have I ever filmed a scene with this many extras appearing?’
Yeon-woo turned his head to look around.
Against a green chroma key background, long wooden chairs like those you’d see in a church were arranged in a semicircular formation.
It was completely different from modern courtrooms where seats lined on both sides face the judge’s bench.
Since it was designed to draw all attention to the prisoner positioned in the center, the set felt more like a one-sided judgment hall rather than a courtroom.
Above that, people packed tightly together wearing red clothes.
Though it was attire symbolizing red blood cells, seeing them all dressed like that as a group made it look somewhat like an occult gathering of a cult religion at first glance.
Given the set composition and the scene involving a large number of extras, Yeon-woo was a bit concerned about whether the young actor standing beside him might be frightened.
“Aren’t you scared, Han Byeol?”
At Yeon-woo’s warm question, Han Byeol’s eyes actually lit up.
“No? This is fun!”
“Oh, really?”
Yeon-woo’s worry seemed unfounded as Han Byeol’s eyes truly showed she was enjoying herself.
This time he looked up at the Veteran Actress on the high platform in front of him.
“Senior, please take care of me today.”
“Hehe, yes. To think I’d be doing this kind of filming in my later years.”
The Veteran Actress on the platform who would play both judge and Village Chief today was a veteran who had been active in the theater world for decades.
Though it was a one-time appearance, it was a role where acting ability was crucial since it involved dialogue, and seeing how well they found and cast suitable veterans, Director Hwang certainly seemed to have an exceptional eye for actors.
‘I just need to do well myself.’
Just then, the Assistant Director’s voice was heard.
“Alright, let’s get ready.”
Yeon-woo looked at Han Byeol and thrust out his clenched fist.
“Fighting!”
“Yes. Fighting!”
Since Jeong Do-jin in the drama had to be dragged out by the Red Blood Cell Village youths while bound tightly in iron chains, Yeon-woo stepped outside in advance.
As he walked out and saw the extras playing red blood cells sitting around in chairs, he could feel their bodies were quite tense.
‘Well, I was nervous before filming too in my past life, even when playing roles that might appear for just one scene.’
He remembered how even though he felt no fear on battlefields where artillery shells exploded, he had trembled during extra filming he secretly participated in during leave.
Then Director Hwang’s voice was heard from beside him.
“Yeon-woo. You know you shouldn’t look like a criminal when being dragged, right? Please be like a tiger ready to devour everyone.”
Yeon-woo smiled gently and answered Director Hwang’s direction.
“Understood. Should I go with the momentum to devour how many people?”
“Uh, huh? Well. Enough to be full?”
Hearing the conversation between Yeon-woo casually throwing out jokes and Director Hwang giving an unexpected answer, light laughter broke out among the extras.
Yeon-woo nodded slightly seeing that.
‘It seems their tension has been relieved somewhat.’
Perhaps understanding Yeon-woo’s nod as a signal that he was ready, Director Hwang brought the microphone to his mouth.
“Alright, everyone get ready and let’s start filming. High action.”
At Director Hwang’s cue signal, the extra actors in red clothes began murmuring.
Then the Veteran Actress struck the wooden platform a couple times with her dry hand.
“Quiet! We will now begin the judgment of the Stranger. Bring him here!”
When the Veteran Actress shouted, the noisy venue was suddenly filled with silence.
Clank─.
Yeon-woo appeared in the frame, breaking the silence with the regular sound of iron chains clashing.
When Jeong Do-jin, played by Yeon-woo, appeared, the atmosphere changed dramatically.
The attention that had naturally been focused on the Veteran Actress, who was the only one with dialogue in this scene, instantly moved toward Yeon-woo.
Like a stronger magnetic field instantly stealing iron filings, Yeon-woo absorbed the gazes of the extras.
The presence emanating from Yeon-woo as he walked with only one corner of his mouth slightly raised, his back straight, and slow, heavy steps, filled the entire filming set and more.
‘…He really is like a tiger.’
Jang Hyeon-woo, an extra actor sitting along the aisle where Yeon-woo was walking, felt his neck instinctively shrinking.
‘How can the atmosphere change so drastically like that…’
It was hard to believe this was the same Ryu Yeon-woo who had greeted him with a polite expression at the filming set entrance.
Looking at the wildness coming from his slightly disheveled hair and intense eyes, it really felt like he might be devoured.
This was the presence that had stood firm even among the fierce mercenaries of private military companies, having been an agent who had rolled around in danger zones crossing battle lines.
Clank─.
The rhythmic sound of chains suddenly stopped.
Before anyone knew it, Yeon-woo had walked to the center of the courtroom, no, the Judgment Hall.
Director Hwang, who had been nodding continuously while watching the monitor, spoke up.
“Okay, cut! We’ll go for a tight shot.”
At the Director’s okay signal, the extras who had felt like prey animals let out their breath.
“What kind of presence does that person have…”
“Phew, you felt it too.”
Among the murmuring extras, the staff moved busily with their equipment.
The one-take action scene that announced the crank-in as the first scene was a special case.
Originally, filming basically involves repeatedly shooting the same scene using various angles and techniques.
Before long, the setup had changed and Director Hwang picked up the microphone again.
“Let’s go. Get ready and… ready, action!”
Though they could have gotten tired from the repeated filming, the intense presence that Yeon-woo exuded showed no signs of diminishing.
“Good. Let’s move on to the next scene.”
Now it was time for Han Byeol, who played Ella, to make her first appearance.
“High cue.”
At Director Hwang’s starting signal, the Veteran Actress drew the sword from her waist and raised it high.
“The reason for the great flood in Our Village is because this Stranger has arrived. Therefore, we sentence the Stranger to death!”
At that moment, Han Byeol shot up from her seat.
“Wait a minute!”
Her cheerful voice echoed throughout the filming set.
The Veteran Actress gazed intently at Ella, played by Han Byeol, before speaking.
“Ella, what are you doing in this sacred Judgment Seat? This is no place for children to interfere.”
However, undaunted, the girl Ella in red clothes walked down the aisle and continued speaking.
“It hasn’t been proven yet that the Stranger’s arrival and the flood are related!”
“The Stranger appeared, and the very next day, unprecedented heavy rain began falling like we’ve never experienced before. If this isn’t heaven’s wrath, then what is it!”
Ella glared up at the platform with an expression that showed she was sick and tired of the Village where the Village Chief held absolute power.
“Okay! Cut!”
When Director Hwang shouted, the extras murmured quietly among themselves.
“She doesn’t even look like she’s in high school yet, but her acting is so sharp.”
“Well, that’s why she got cast. Has she appeared anywhere as a child actor? Her face seems unfamiliar.”
“I don’t know. I’m not that familiar with child actors either…”
After finishing her lines, Han Byeol looked back at Yeon-woo standing behind her.
With an expression like a student getting their homework checked by a teacher, Yeon-woo quietly nodded at her.
“Good. You did well.”
“Hehe.”
Han Byeol smiled brightly, seemingly delighted by Yeon-woo’s praise.
Then she scurried over to her Mother who was in a corner of the filming set.
“Mother! Senior Ryu Yeon-woo complimented my acting.”
“Really? Our Han Byeol must be so happy. You’re such a fan that you even put up a big photo of Ryu Yeon-woo in your room. You said you were going to get his autograph.”
At her Mother’s words, Han Byeol glanced nervously at Yeon-woo in the distance.
“Oh, Mother! What if he heard you? That’s embarrassing. I still haven’t gotten his autograph yet.”
He had already heard everything.
He thought she had a confident personality that wouldn’t know embarrassment.
‘Hmm, should I ask her first if she wants an autograph…’
Since Ella would be filming with Do-jin until the end, they would naturally become close like siblings, so he wondered if an autograph would be such a big deal.
Meanwhile, at the time when filming was in full swing, LN Entertainment’s main conference room in Seoul, which was usually used for script readings and auditions, had been packed with people in suits since morning.
Team Leader Jeong Hyeok was astounded watching the board meeting that had been going on since morning.
‘Really, they doubt the CEO’s management abilities? People who do nothing are making ridiculous complaints…’
Today’s main agenda was about appointing additional outside directors, and the board was demanding to increase outside personnel to weaken CEO Kim Ju-seong’s internal influence, with both sides in fierce opposition.
The man who had requested to question the CEO let out a thoughtful sound while mentally calculating what to do.
Since Kim Ju-seong had been running things so well, there wasn’t much to find fault with.
‘Still, we somehow need to install our prepared person as an outside director. Let’s start with what we’ve prepared.’
The man who stood up began addressing CEO Kim Ju-seong.
“CEO Kim Ju-seong invested a considerable amount in the production of ‘White Blood.’ I question the appropriateness of the process and whether this excessive investment was decided unilaterally.”
CEO Kim Ju-seong, who had been watching from the head seat of the Main Conference Room while stroking his chin, heard the Board of Directors’ remarks and opened his mouth with a slight smile as if finding it interesting.
“Hmm, reckless investment…?”
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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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