NIS Agent Reincarnated as a Genius Actor - Chapter 227

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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 227. A Genre Never Attempted Before

With about a week of time before the concert in Brazil, he began making thorough preparations during that period.

 

There was quite a lot to do both as an agent and as an actor.

 

Han Hae-woon appropriately distributed the instructions Yeon-woo had given to the agents and moved busily herself.

 

Even when the agents arrived in Brazil, they couldn’t easily meet illegal weapons dealers like tourist guides waiting at the airport, so there was quite a lot to prepare in advance.

 

Of course, it was just a matter of giving appropriate instructions and detailed information about what to prepare, not something Yeon-woo had to run around doing himself.

 

“Hmm. The agents will do well on their own since Han Hae-woon is leading them anyway, but I really need to put in some legwork as an actor.”

 

The problem wasn’t Baeksol, but the movie.

 

Yeon-woo shook his head while reviewing the numerous scenarios placed on the living room table.

 

‘I definitely want to do at least one movie this year.’

 

As Son Jin-wook had said, he wasn’t aiming for simultaneous awards for both film and drama at next year’s ceremony.

 

He simply wanted to make a movie purely for the sake of it.

 

Of course, dramas were also interesting as they competed with rival shows from other broadcasters for viewership ratings during their run, and they had their own advantages in being able to tell longer stories than movies, but if Yeon-woo had to compare, he preferred movies over dramas.

 

‘The work of cleverly and appropriately arranging all visual elements within a limited running time and weaving them into a single picture is most appealing.’

 

Dramas had different parts to emphasize in each episode, and relatively lighter scenes for story progression, whereas movies had clear reasons for every scene and every line of dialogue.

 

When Yeon-woo watched movie scenes, he was reminded of the “one word for one thing” theory advocated by Gustave Flaubert, the author of “Madame Bovary” and a great French literary figure.

 

‘To express one thought, there is only one word.’

 

Well-made movies were the same.

 

‘Every scene has a reason for existing, and they interlock with the preceding and following scenes like an organism, seeming to breathe with life.’

 

He had felt this while filming “Master Plan” and “Sketch.”

 

So he planned to immediately start filming a movie once the production of the drama “Parabola,” scheduled from summer to fall, was finished, which meant he needed to start choosing a scenario soon.

 

Movies aren’t something you can immediately start producing just by selecting a scenario.

Even if production support and investment could be resolved through Saebyeol Media, the stage of selecting locations suitable for the scenario and pre-planning how to capture each scene also took quite a long time.

 

Therefore, to crank in this year, he needed to select and prepare works well in advance.

 

But there wasn’t a single work that caught his fancy.

 

‘Hmm, it’s not that there are no interesting stories…’

 

Among them were several works that were eagerly sending love calls, hoping for Yeon-woo to join right away.

 

Even movies that were about to start filming once casting was complete offered the condition that if Yeon-woo joined, they would wait indefinitely until the filming of the drama currently being prepared at Saebyeol was finished.

 

‘I can definitely tell the moment I see a work or role I really want to do.’

 

Jay from “Sketch” was like that, and so was the story of “White Blood.”

 

It didn’t matter if the genre was non-mainstream or if the original story was a mess that went off the rails.

Because he could see the solid core within it.

 

But the problem now was that even after reviewing dozens of scenarios, there still wasn’t such a work or role.

 

‘Should I contact directors as Jin-wook hyung suggested?’

 

He was planning to contact directors he had worked with before anyway, partly to exchange greetings.

 

“First, let me contact Director Hwang, who I worked with most recently.”

 

Yeon-woo picked up his smartphone and called Director Hwang Min-kwon.

After hearing the dial tone for a short while, the call connected.

 

– Ohhh! Isn’t this the superstar and mega-star, the hottest of the hot, actor Ryu Yeon-woo? What brings you to call me?

“…”

 

Yeon-woo, who had briefly considered hanging up due to the burdensome and excessive reaction, opened his mouth.

 

“Director, are you drinking by any chance?”

 

When Yeon-woo asked, sure enough, noisy sounds could be heard in the background.

Judging by Yeon-woo’s name being mentioned and the murmuring, it seemed Yeon-woo had called in the middle of a drinking session with other people.

 

– Hehehe. Oh, I just had a simple drink. Is our Ryu. Yeon. Woo actor at home right now?

 

Seeing how he continued to emphasize Yeon-woo’s name, it seemed he wanted to show off his connections to the people drinking around him.

 

‘Hmm, he’s already the director of a globally successful series, so is knowing me such a big deal?’

 

While tilting his head, Yeon-woo instantly caught on to what Director Hwang Min-kwon wanted.

 

“Director, I’ll call you back right away.”

– What?

 

Leaving behind the questioning Director Hwang Min-kwon, Yeon-woo hung up and this time called back with a video call.

 

Then on the connected screen, he could see Director Hwang Min-kwon’s face with a red flush of intoxication on his cheeks.

 

“Director, I called to say hello. At the awards ceremony a few days ago, it was so hectic that I couldn’t even greet you properly. I should at least see your face and greet you like this.”

 

The companions at Director Hwang Min-kwon’s drinking table seemed amazed by Yeon-woo’s face connected through the smartphone, their eyes widening, and Director Hwang’s shoulders seemed to rise almost to his ears.

 

– Wow, making a separate greeting call and all. How touching.

“Are you doing well these days? I’d like to say hello to the people with you too.”

 

At Yeon-woo’s words, Director Hwang Min-kwon’s mouth stretched from ear to ear as he turned the smartphone camera to the side.

 

– These are my classmates. Everyone, say hello to our Y-Yeon-woo.

 

Seeing Director Hwang Min-kwon call him by name familiarly while stuttering nervously for a moment, Yeon-woo smiled slightly.

 

“Hello. I’m Ryu Yeon-woo.”

– Oh my, what a windfall this is. I’m an auntie fan who’s always cheering for you from afar!

– Really, what an honor thanks to Min-kwon. You truly shine even just through the screen.

 

It seemed like he had called right during their class reunion.

 

“Thank you all. Then Director, I’ll contact you again next time. Please don’t drink too much, think about your health.”

– Did you all see that? Our Actor Ryu is even worried about my health. Hehehe. Got it. Actor Ryu, you go inside too!

 

After hanging up with Director Hwang Min-kwon, Yeon-woo scratched his cheek.

 

‘There wasn’t really any gain from that…?’

 

Well, it wasn’t like he was calling to get something out of it, just to check in.

 

Yeon-woo shook his head left and right once and looked for the next director to call in his contact list.

 

Ring ring─.

 

The dial tone sounded and a low baritone voice came from the other end.

 

– Hmm? Yeon-woo, it’s been a while.

“Director, I’m sorry if I disturbed your rest by calling so late.

– Not at all. It’s not even eight o’clock yet, so what do you mean late. I was just resting after having dinner with the family.

 

The person who answered the phone was Director Park Chan-hong from “Master Plan” and “Sketch”.

 

At Director Park’s words, Yeon-woo nodded and continued speaking.

 

“I called to check in on you. Are you doing well these days?”

– Haha. What could be happening with me. I’m slowly thinking about my next work, but nothing particularly comes to mind, so I’m just quietly cultivating myself.

 

Laughter could be heard, showing he was pleased by Yeon-woo’s unexpected call, and Yeon-woo’s eyes lit up at the mention of ‘next work’.

 

“I see. Director’s next work… I’m already curious about it.”

 

Yeon-woo lightly tested the waters, but a troubled response came back.

 

– Are you putting pressure on this old man? Haha. I might know if I had at least a simple synopsis, but I haven’t even decided what genre to shoot yet. If I had written something, wouldn’t I have shown it to you already?

“Director, then you should also film a sequel to our ‘Master Plan’.”

 

The existing “Master Plan” had ended with a feeling that hinted a sequel might come out.

 

– Hmm, that’s right. A sequel…

 

Director Park Chan-hong seemed intrigued by Yeon-woo’s words.

But even if he started working on the scenario now, it would be next year at the earliest.

 

What Yeon-woo was looking for right now was a movie to film this year.

 

‘Master Plan 2 is too far off. I’ll look for the work after next later, but first, as Jin-wook hyung said, directors share scenarios with each other a lot, so I should ask about that.’

 

Remembering Son Jin-wook’s words, Yeon-woo asked Director Park Chan-hong, who had gone quiet as if thinking about the sequel.

 

“Director. I’m also looking for a movie to start filming in the second half of this year. If there are any recommendable scenarios among works that haven’t gone into production yet, could you introduce me to some?”

– Oh. Recommendable scenarios? Hmm, well. Let me think for a moment.

 

Yeon-woo had never doubted Director Park Chan-hong’s capabilities.

 

In terms of scenario writing ability, he was someone who would be hurt to be called second-best in South Korea, so his eye for others’ scenarios would also be industry top-level.

 

After a brief silence, Director Park Chan-hong broke the quiet with his baritone voice.

 

– Aha. There’s one that comes to mind, but I don’t know if they still have plans to produce it.

 

Yeon-woo’s eyes lit up again at Director Park Chan-hong’s words.

 

“Who wrote the scenario?”

– That person isn’t a writer, and hmm, he’s not exactly a film director either…

 

Yeon-woo tilted his head at Director Park Chan-hong’s words.

 

‘Then what does he do.’

 

Just as he was wondering, Director Park Chan-hong continued.

 

– Do you know Director Lee Yong-su? He mainly shoots commercials and music videos. He’s quite famous in that field.

 

Only then did Yeon-woo nod.

 

The director who handled the telecommunications company commercial that Yeon-woo first filmed and the Patriots and Veterans Month commemorative commercial for Ihan Tech that featured fighter jets.

 

“Ah, yes. I also worked on two commercials with him.”

– As I thought. That guy originally worked and learned at my film company. Two years ago, he said he wanted to make a movie too and showed me a scenario, and hearing you mention it reminds me of that.

 

Yeon-woo found it interesting that an unexpected name came up.

 

Since he had only thought of Lee Yong-su as a successful commercial director in the industry, he hadn’t considered that he dreamed of making films.

 

‘Come to think of it, Director Lee Yong-su is also a director I worked well with. Twice, even.’

 

A feature film made by the industry’s top director who specializes in shooting short videos like commercials and music videos…

 

Yeon-woo was already feeling interested, and the corners of his mouth slightly turned up.

 

“Director, about that movie scenario. What genre is it?”

– Genre… It’s romance.

 

Yeon-woo let out a small exclamation at the unexpected answer.

 

“Ah…?”

 

Actually, it wasn’t an unexpected answer.

Romance is the most common genre in South Korea, whether in movies or dramas.

 

But thinking about it, Yeon-woo had never filmed a romance before.

 

Crime entertainment, humanism, fantasy, mystery theater.

 

If he had to categorize them, “Summer’s Wardrobe” and “Stars Beyond the Stream” had romantic elements, but their essence was youth campus drama and historical drama respectively.

 

And Director Park Chan-hong’s voice could be heard.

 

– I just imagined it, and it would suit you perfectly. That romance scenario.

 

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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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