NIS Agent Reincarnated as a Genius Actor - Chapter 159

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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 159. Theater Company New Star

 

The interior design exuded luxury and modern sophistication at first glance.

 

Through the window, the panoramic view of LA from the hill spread out like a painting.

 

 

 

The scenery of this ultra-luxurious mansion made one think this must be what heaven looks like.

 

 

 

However, Jake sat in the middle of that heaven, holding his head in his hands.

 

 

 

“Damn it. This has become completely ridiculous.”

 

 

 

He had never once thought that “Alliance” would lose its number one spot.

 

It was supposed to be just a stepping stone to secure distribution rights for the subsequent films.

 

 

 

Naturally, Hollywood had several competitors besides Snobbish Mount.

 

 

 

But no matter which of those companies had handled it, “Alliance” taking first place should have been nothing more or less than the obvious thing to do.

 

 

 

Of course, from a general audience’s perspective, “White Blood” might be entertaining enough to deserve first place.

 

Just because “Alliance” came in second didn’t mean the original fans would be disappointed and stop watching.

 

 

 

But in the professional world, it wasn’t like that.

 

 

 

Maintaining rankings by any means necessary was the job of a first-class distributor, and the moment that symbolic first place crumbled, Snobbish Mount’s reputation would plummet into the abyss.

 

 

 

And for Jake, who had only been CEO for a few years, this was something that absolutely should not have happened.

 

 

 

He had already heard that discussions about Jake’s competence were circulating among shareholders and the board of directors.

 

 

 

Ring ring—.

 

 

 

Just then, Jake’s smartphone rang.

 

 

 

Jake, who had been holding his head due to a headache, gestured behind him.

 

 

 

“Bring it here.”

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

 

 

The executive secretary brought the phone from the table to Jake, who roughly grabbed it and checked the screen.

 

 

 

– Bernard Fenton.

 

 

 

Seeing the caller’s name, Jake’s face instantly turned into an expression like he’d eaten shit.

 

 

 

“…Yes. This is Jake.”

 

– Hahaha. It’s been a while. Almost a year, hasn’t it?

 

“That’s right.”

 

 

 

Fenton’s sly voice came through the phone receiver.

 

 

 

– How have you been lately? You’re still young, so no health problems, I hope? My back’s been aching lately.

 

“What are you calling about?”

 

– Oh, are you busy? I just called to check in on you.

 

 

 

As if he would call just to check in at this timing.

 

Fenton’s innocent-sounding voice made Jake feel even worse.

 

 

 

“We’re not exactly the type to exchange pleasantries with each other, are we?”

 

– Whoa, whoa. Why are you being so sharp? In this business, there are no permanent enemies or allies. Jake, your youthful vigor is an advantage, but it would be even better if you could develop the tolerance to cover it. Hahaha.

 

 

 

Jake stopped listening and ended the call, then irritably threw his smartphone at the wall.

 

 

 

“Ugh. That rat bastard Fenton!”

 

 

 

The executive secretary watching from behind quietly shook his head.

 

 

 

‘Rich people really are different, I guess. Throwing it at the wall. No matter how angry I get, I throw mine at the sofa or bed.’

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

The friends arrived at the address Yeon-woo had sent them.

 

 

 

“This is the right place, isn’t it?”

 

 

 

They had walked quite a bit after getting off at Hyehwa Station.

 

The app indicated that this was indeed the correct address.

 

 

 

It was an old building, and the gray granite walls were rusted, with patches stained orange here and there. The first-floor shop with “Engineering” written on it had been closed for a long time, with only dirty stickers attached and the interior completely empty.

 

 

 

Looking at the stairs leading down to the basement, which appeared somewhat gloomy from the outside, the friends hesitated to move forward.

 

 

 

“Do we go down to the basement?”

 

“The address is right. Let’s go down and see.”

 

 

 

Kim Jun-su took the lead, and Woo Seong-sik and Kim Ju-hyeong followed him down.

 

As they descended the stairs, they could hear Yeon-woo and Jin Yu-han’s voices.

 

 

 

– Ah ah ah.

 

– How is it? Is the sound okay?

 

– Yeah. It’s good.

 

 

 

Hearing the familiar voices from beyond the entrance, the friends felt relieved and continued down the stairs.

 

 

 

“This must be the right place. Let’s go in.”

 

 

 

Click—.

 

 

 

The friends opened the door and entered the small theater.

 

 

 

Yeon-woo had arrived a bit earlier with Jin Yu-han to inspect the internal facilities and look around beforehand.

 

Seeing his friends enter, he waved his hand.

 

 

 

“You’re here? You found it pretty quickly?”

 

“Oh, I was hesitating to come in at the entrance, but it’s pretty neat inside?”

 

 

 

Kim Jun-su nodded as he looked around.

 

Since this was his first time visiting a place called a small theater, he still felt somewhat nervous.

 

 

 

Watching his friends like this, Yeon-woo smiled.

 

 

 

“Look around here and there. This is the place we’ll be using for the next six months.”

 

 

 

At Yeon-woo’s words, his friends’ eyes widened.

 

 

 

“Huh? Six months?!”

 

 

 

The friends who thought he had only rented it for today after seeing the group chat message were shocked.

 

 

 

“To practice and even put on a play, we need at least that much time to be safe. Since I rented the whole place, we can practice whenever we want. The 1st floor is also empty, so even if we practice at night, there shouldn’t be any noise issues.”

 

“…Wow. Is this the flex of a world star? It hasn’t been long since this came up, but you immediately went for six months?”

 

 

 

At Woo Seong-sik’s words, Yeon-woo grinned.

 

 

 

“If we’re going to do it, we should do it properly.”

 

 

 

In fact, taking a break before choosing his next project was partly due to CEO Kim Ju-seong’s recommendation, and there was also the reason of wanting to do theater with his friends, but there was one more reason besides that.

 

 

 

‘Anyway, while filming “Stars Beyond Garam” and “White Blood,” I ended up blocking all of Baek Sol’s sabotage operations directed at LN Enter. So I need to stay off their radar to some extent before they become interested in me.’

 

 

 

Of course, it was naturally impossible for Baek Sol to figure out Yeon-woo’s identity.

 

 

 

The premise of being ‘reborn’ in a different body didn’t make sense in the first place, and the process of cleaning up the spies they had planted showed no trace of Yeon-woo’s involvement from the outside.

 

 

 

‘They’ll still think they were just unlucky.’

 

 

 

However, if the actor ‘Ryu Yeon-woo’ started catching Baek Sol’s attention and they began to keep him in check, or conversely, if they tried to recruit him to use and discard him as their pawn, either situation would be troublesome for Yeon-woo.

 

 

 

‘I can’t just sit back and fall for their obvious schemes, but on the other hand, it would be strange for a mere actor in his early twenties not to fall for the tricks they seriously deploy.’

 

 

 

From that perspective, spending about six months enjoying hobbies wasn’t bad either.

 

 

 

During that time, focusing on controlling things in progress through Han Hae-woon to get them on track was also a good choice.

 

 

 

After all, this theater production had more time flexibility compared to entering projects like movies or dramas.

 

 

 

Since he didn’t have to move according to a fixed filming schedule.

 

 

 

In that spare time, he had to steadily pursue tracking and preparing countermeasures against Han Hae-woon and Baek Sol according to plan.

 

 

 

‘Of course, that doesn’t mean I plan to half-heartedly do the theater.’

 

 

 

While Yeon-woo had broadly enjoyed acting since his previous life, if he had to compare, theater and musicals were a bit closer to his taste than dramas or movies.

 

 

 

When he was stationed in European countries, he attended performances every week.

 

 

 

Yeon-woo looked at his friends who were looking around here and there with awkward expressions.

 

 

 

“First, Yu-han and I came earlier to check, and it seems we won’t need to use the sound facilities except for special effects.”

 

 

 

At Yeon-woo’s words, Jin Yu-han nodded in agreement.

 

 

 

“Even though it looks shabby from the outside, the interior was quite carefully made. It seems like an architectural acoustics expert designed it with detailed delay adjustments. If we project our voices properly, we won’t need to wear microphones.”

 

 

 

Since the other three didn’t know what was what, they just nodded.

 

 

 

“This space is originally the small theater of the theater company where Teacher Jeong Cheol-min was active in his youth.”

 

“Ah, Uncle Dipangdal?”

 

 

 

At Woo Seong-sik’s words, Yeon-woo nodded with a smile.

 

Then Kim Jun-su looked around and said.

 

 

 

“To think this space is just for us. It feels exciting, like we got a hideout?”

 

“Oh. Right? Thinking of it as a hideout makes it feel somehow cozier too.”

 

 

 

Hearing Kim Jun-su and Woo Seong-sik’s words, Yeon-woo chuckled.

 

 

 

“Hey, calling a sacred stage a hideout. We have a separate hideout though?”

 

“Huh? There’s a separate one?”

 

“Follow me.”

 

 

 

Yeon-woo led his friends up to the 2nd floor.

 

 

 

The office that was originally used by Yoo Ho-cheol, Jeong Cheol-min’s classmate and the representative of this small theater.

 

 

 

Since they decided to rent the whole place for six months anyway, and he had no work to come in for, Representative Yoo Ho-cheol gave Yeon-woo the 2nd floor to use as well.

 

 

 

Creak─.

 

 

 

Opening the door and entering, they found an office with a view of the quiet streets of Hyehwa-dong through the window.

 

 

 

In the center of the office where warm sunlight streamed in, there was a fairly large sofa, and in the corner there was a single-person cot and a refrigerator, making it perfect as a hideout for five college students to gather.

 

 

 

“Here, this is our office.”

 

“Ooh! Awesome!”

 

“This really feels like a hideout? Yeon-woo, you’re the best.”

 

 

 

Kim Ju-hyeong, sitting on the sofa, looked at his friends excitedly.

 

 

 

“Then shouldn’t we decide on a group name or something?”

 

“A group? Like some kind of organization?”

 

 

 

Kim Ju-hyeong shook his head as if Woo Seong-sik’s words were absurd.

 

 

 

“No! We’re a theater company now too.”

 

“Hmm. That’s true, isn’t it?”

 

 

 

It was still a tiny theater company with only five members and had a time limit of six months before it would disappear, but since they had decided to put on a play, it was still a theater company.

 

 

 

“Then since it came up, let’s decide now. What should we call it?”

 

 

 

At Yeon-woo’s question, Jin Yu-han thought for a moment before speaking.

 

 

 

“They say people follow their names. Names have power, so rather than something pretentiously stylish, I think it’s better to go with the best possible meaning.”

 

 

 

Hearing Jin Yu-han’s words, Yeon-woo chuckled as he remembered that this theater company’s original name was ‘Myeongseong,’ but ironically, the fame had disappeared.

 

 

 

Everyone agreed with the idea of choosing a name with good meaning.

 

Kim Jun-su pondered before opening his mouth.

 

 

 

“A name with good meaning… Then something that makes you feel good when you hear it? For example, happiness or joy.”

 

“Happiness Theater Troupe, Joy Theater Troupe? The names sound pretty mediocre. Somehow they sound like they’d be in North Korea.”

 

 

 

Woo Seong-sik shook his head.

 

Then Kim Jun-su looked at Woo Seong-sik and asked.

 

 

 

“Then what words make you feel the best when you hear them?”

 

“Me? Hmm. Well? ‘ADC carry totally agreed’?”

 

“…”

 

 

 

At Seong-sik’s answer, Jun-su shook his head with an expression that said he shouldn’t have asked someone like that.

 

 

 

“Don’t you have anything but games in your head? Yeon-woo, do you have any words you like?”

 

“Words I like…”

 

 

 

Since his debut, countless articles had been written about Yeon-woo, but there was one article that remained in his memory.

 

 

 

– New Star! A new star rises. Rookie actor Ryu Yeon-woo sets out to capture hearts with JNBC’s “Summer’s Wardrobe”…

 

 

 

Since his previous life had ended as a nameless star on a desert hill that no one visited, seeing the title ‘new star’ had made him realize he was living a new life.

 

 

 

“New star?”

 

“Oh? That’s good!”

 

“But four syllables is too long, so how about shortening it to ‘New Star’?”

 

 

 

Everyone seemed satisfied with Yeon-woo’s suggestion and nodded.

 

 

 

“It has a nice ring to it! So we’re ‘Theater Troupe New Star’?”

 

 

 

It was the birth of a tiny, time-limited theater company that would soon shake South Korea.

 

 

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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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