NIS Agent Reincarnated as a Genius Actor - Chapter 19

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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 19. Wrap-up and Contract

At Director Kim Han-su’s call for the final cut, the restaurant lights dimmed and Yeon-woo, who had been hiding to one side, appeared with the staff carrying a cake they had prepared in advance.

 

The sound director quickly assisted by playing music through the connected speakers.

 

“What? When did you all prepare this!”

 

So-hyeon’s eyes quickly reddened and her nose tingled with emotion.

 

Her previous work, a historical drama, had certainly been a commercial success and even brought her awards, but the atmosphere hadn’t been particularly warm and friendly.

 

While ‘Summer’s Closet’ was a smaller production in terms of scale, the filming set atmosphere had been so good that So-hyeon’s affection for this project was even greater than for her previous work.

 

As the lights gently came back on, Director Kim Han-su stood up and held up his mobile phone, saying:

 

“Our three leads, please gather together. I’ll take a commemorative photo.”

“Oh come on, Director. With all these great cameras around, you’re going to use your phone?”

 

At Jin-wook’s words as he looked around the filming set, all the staff laughed.

 

“Commemorative photos are supposed to be taken with phones. Haha.”

 

Yeon-woo carried the cake over to the two of them, and the three stood with So-hyeon in the middle.

 

“Alright, here we go. One, two, three.”

 

Click.

 

Excited by the picture-perfect appearance of the three just standing there, the director requested one more shot.

 

“Let’s take just one more. One, two, three.”

 

Click.

 

“Kyaah!”

 

Along with the click sound, So-hyeon’s small scream rang out.

 

This was because Yeon-woo had scooped up a little whipped cream from the cake with his finger and dabbed it on So-hyeon’s cheek just as the photo was taken.

 

“You!”

 

The lively appearance of the lead actors brought laughter to the entire set.

 

“Wow, Director. This photo is so natural and great. We could have used it as our drama poster. Though it’s too late to say that now.”

“It really is. It was a good production. Thank you for all your hard work.”

 

Director Kim Han-su also nodded while looking at the photo and offered words of appreciation to the Assistant Director.

 

“Oh my, Director. I feel this every time we film, but I truly respect you.”

 

Director Kim Han-su smiled at the Assistant Director’s sincere words that didn’t feel like flattery.

 

The staff members also smiled and offered words of appreciation to their colleagues.

 

Then the youngest, Yeon-woo, shouted out.

 

“Directors! Brothers and sisters! Let’s take a group commemorative photo with the supporting actors too. Before we go drinking, let’s take one while we still look decent!”

“We can’t refuse our youngest’s request.”

 

Cinematographer Kang In-chan moved first, and as he gathered everyone, the staff began to move.

 

“Supporting actors, come over here too! Let’s take it together.”

 

The supporting actors who had been sitting at tables behind Seo Jun and Yeo-reum also hesitantly stood up and began gathering at Yeon-woo’s words.

 

They pushed the tables aside to clear space and began gathering – dozens of people in total.

 

In the center stood writer Choi Mi-hyeon who had visited for the final filming, the supporting actors, Director Kim Han-su, and the three leads, with staff and supporting actors forming ranks around them.

 

The filming team set up a tripod and connected a remote control to the field camera.

 

Then they quickly ran over and shouted:

 

 

“Alright, look at that monitor over there and we’ll take just one shot. Don’t close your eyes. I won’t take responsibility if photos of you with your eyes closed end up all over Star News.”

“One, two, three.”

 

Click.

 

And so, filming for ‘Summer’s Closet’ came to an end.

 

Ironically, the only person who closed their eyes during the commemorative photo was the filming team staff member who pressed the remote control.

 

***

 

It had been two weeks since finishing the final filming and returning to Daejeon.

 

Before they knew it, ‘Summer’s Closet’ had aired up to episode 6.

 

Due to the genre’s characteristics, ‘Summer’s Closet’ spread more through SNS than through ratings, with short video clips circulating everywhere and building popularity.

 

Of course, interest in Ryu Yeon-woo, who had appeared like a comet, grew along with it.

 

In his previous life, Yeon-woo had been a timid student who lived as if he didn’t exist, so throughout elementary, middle, and high school, there weren’t many friends he remembered clearly.

 

Even if they did know him, they couldn’t think that the post-weight-loss Yeon-woo was the same person, so the information that reporters could collect without digging deep was limited to his school life in Daejeon after transferring.

 

Stories about Yeon-woo being called a model student continued to emerge, with his excellent academic performance and good evaluations from classmates, and YouTubers covering issues excitedly spread these heartwarming stories.

 

These days, he had completely risen to blue-chip status, to the point where just putting the name ‘Ryu Yeon-woo’ in a thumbnail would guarantee basic view counts.

 

Since Yeon-woo didn’t use social media, Seong-sik’s StarStar account, which occasionally posted daily photos, was flooded with followers.

 

Empowered by the passionate support of Seong-sik’s fans(?), Seong-sik would come over to Yeon-woo’s house almost daily, taking various daily life photos and appointing himself as the exclusive photographer.

 

“Wow, this is so satisfying to photograph. Should I become a photographer while I’m at it?”

“After seeing your selfies? You’re not taking photos of Yeon-woo, Yeon-woo is just being captured in the photos.”

 

Jun-su naturally couldn’t let Seong-sik’s self-praise slide and called him out.

 

“I should take several shots and release only the ones Yeon-woo approves of, one per week.”

 

Seong-sik listened to Jun-su’s criticism with one ear, or rather didn’t listen at all, completely absorbed in photography.

After hanging out at Yeon-woo’s house for a while, Seong-sik and Jun-su went home, and the next day arrived.

 

Today was the day he had to visit LN Entertainment with his father.

 

After the drama filming ended, Jeong Cheol-min and Son Jin-wook attended the wrap party, whispered to each other, and immediately sat down to drink and chat with LN Media representatives.

 

After some discussion, they finally decided to sign with LN Entertainment, and Jeong Cheol-min, who had been given authority by Yeon-woo’s father, was set to help with Yeon-woo’s first contract.

 

Of course, this was possible because Yeon-woo trusted the character of Jeong Cheol-min, his first acting mentor.

 

Son Jin-wook willingly wanted to help the kind and pleasant junior actor he had met through the project, checking for any problematic clauses.

 

Through this series of processes, even when compared to offers from other talent agencies, they reached an agreement with LN Entertainment on quite favorable terms, and today was the day to sign the contract.

 

Traveling together in Jeong Cheol-min’s car, the three arrived at the LN Entertainment building, where Yeon-woo soon met with Kim Ju-seong, the agency’s representative.

 

“So I get to meet the hottest actor these days. It’s my first time meeting both father and actor Jeong Cheol-min as well.”

 

A middle-aged gentleman with a neat appearance and well-groomed pomade hair stood up from his seat, bowing respectfully and extending his hand for a handshake.

 

Satisfied with the good first impression, they greeted each other and smoothly concluded the contract.

 

“It’s an honor for our agency to have such a talented actor join us. Since Mr. Ryu Yeon-woo is still young, won’t he continue to grow from here on?”

 

Ryu Cheol-woong responded to Representative Kim Ju-seong’s words.

 

“You’ve taken care of him in various ways even during his first project filming, and now you’re offering him a contract with good terms. As the father of a son just entering the entertainment industry, I’m truly grateful.”

 

“Haha. Since our agency is directly operated by LN Media, one of the nation’s leading production companies, we have no intention of generating excessive profits from managing our actors. That would be like cutting open the goose that lays golden eggs.”

 

Once you belong to LN Entertainment, while it’s not mandatory, you inevitably appear more frequently in projects planned by the parent company.

 

From LN Media’s perspective, this allows them to exercise that much more influence in the industry, so it’s mutually beneficial.

 

In fact, for Yeon-woo as a rookie actor, this could be an advantage since he could easily access projects whenever he wanted.

 

“Well then, as specified in the contract, I understand you’ll be taking a brief break from acting activities until you become an adult to focus on your studies.”

“Yes, thank you for accommodating this.”

 

Yeon-woo responded to the representative’s words.

 

“Since the actor has such excellent academic performance, from the agency’s perspective, we welcome this with open arms in terms of the actor’s image.”

 

‘Summer’s Closet,’ which had just begun, would end on March 1st, including the Lunar New Year holiday break in between.

 

Even if Yeon-woo didn’t do any acting work until the college entrance exam, it was only about 8 months.

 

Even if he took an average break period like other actors before starting his next project, it wouldn’t be significantly different.

 

“Well then, if you need anything during your break period, you can make requests through Team Leader Jeong, who was originally in charge.”

 

Everyone stood up with the representative and shook hands, and the three men returned to Daejeon in Cheol-min’s car.

 

From the next day, Yeon-woo immediately returned to his daily routine, combining exercise and studying.

 

Of course, the internet was in chaos, especially among young people, and even when going to the mart in front of his house, many people would recognize him without a hat and mask.

 

However, his sincere and regular lifestyle habits carried over from his previous life hadn’t gone anywhere.

 

Bodyweight exercises and regular study habits just like before his debut.

And occasionally meeting school friends, and above all, acting practice that he consistently did with time and dedication.

 

The only difference from his previous life was that he watched more dramas for acting practice.

 

‘Summer’s Closet’ had already aired 10 episodes and the ratings continued to rise, reaching 13.7 percent. Compared to JNBC dramas that aired last year, this was already the highest rating.

 

The drama team’s group chat only brought good news of breaking their own records with each weekly broadcast.

 

Unlike that atmosphere, Yeon-woo, who maintained a regular life, had planned to go to Jeong Cheol-min’s acting academy today for various practice sessions, as he normally would on a Saturday afternoon.

 

His parents had gone out since morning for a couples’ gathering, and So-hyeon had also left early in the morning for plans with friends.

 

Yeon-woo was waiting alone at home for the gas inspection visit.

 

Beep beep.

 

Yeon-woo, who was slowly getting ready to leave in his room, heard a sound from the entrance and wondered if the inspection had arrived, but realizing it wasn’t the doorbell but the door lock opening, he went to the living room.

 

“Huh? So-hyeon, you’re back already?”

 

His younger sibling entering through the entrance. But behind her, two more friends came in.

 

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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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