NIS Agent Reincarnated as a Genius Actor - Chapter 229

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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 229. Leave It to Me

“Ah, no, why?!”

 

Her eyes widened at the sight of the top star who suddenly appeared in her father’s studio.

She rubbed her eyes and looked ahead again, but Ryu Yeon-woo was still there.

 

“Why?!”

 

For a moment, the situation before her eyes wouldn’t register in her mind.

 

Seeing his daughter scream and point at Yeon-woo with her finger, Director Lee Yong-su broke out in a cold sweat.

 

“Hey, Seo-bin! How can you rudely point your finger at daddy’s guest like that. I’m sorry, Actor Ryu.”

 

In fact, it was one of the common reactions from people who recognized Yeon-woo wherever he went, so Yeon-woo didn’t mind.

 

Lee Yong-su’s daughter Lee Seo-bin, who finally realized her mistake, quietly folded her finger.

But her surprised expression remained the same.

 

“Miss Seo-bin? You’re Director Lee’s daughter. I’m Ryu Yeon-woo. Nice to meet you.”

“Eek! Ah, hello…”

 

When Yeon-woo greeted Lee Seo-bin, who was wearing her school uniform as if she had just come home from school, she covered her reddened face with her hands, bowed her head in greeting, then turned around and ran away.

 

Her mind went completely blank at the fact that her name came out of Ryu Yeon-woo’s mouth.

The studio door opened and the sound of hurried footsteps running downstairs could be heard.

 

Bang─.

Mom─!

 

“Ahem, I think she’s embarrassed. She’s always said she’s a fan of Actor Ryu.”

 

Meanwhile, Lee Seo-bin, who had run down the stairs as if flying, burst open the door to the house on the first floor and looked for her mother.

 

“Mom! Mom!”

“What! Mom’s hanging laundry!”

 

Then Lee Seo-bin, who ran at full speed toward the utility room, opened her mouth.

 

“Mom!”

“You’re going to burst your mom’s eardrums. What’s all the fuss about?”

“Do you know who came upstairs?!”

 

At Lee Seo-bin’s words, Director Lee Yong-su’s wife shook out a towel and said nonchalantly.

 

“Well? I think he said a guest was coming earlier.”

“Ryu Yeon-woo came! Ryu Yeon-woo is upstairs to see dad!”

 

Then Director Lee Yong-su’s wife, who was hanging laundry, also stopped her hands.

 

Lee Yong-su didn’t know, but they were a mother and daughter who had recognized Yeon-woo’s potential early on from “Master Plan” and had been fangirling together.

 

***

 

He made a verbal contract with Director Lee Yong-su regarding film production.

 

More detailed matters would be handled by Director Yoon Mi-yeon, and for now, confirming the intention to produce and checking the scenario content was sufficient for what Yeon-woo needed to do.

 

He originally planned to return right away, but at the request of Director Lee Yong-su and his family to have dinner together since he had come such a long way, Yeon-woo and Kim Min-su somehow ended up sitting at the log table in the backyard.

 

Lee Seo-bin kept lifting her head to glance at Yeon-woo’s face and then fidgeted with her smartphone again.

She sent a message to the group chat with her four close friends.

 

– This is crazy, I’m really grilling meat with Ryu Yeon-woo in our yard right now

– This might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, hurry and come to my house

– Guys?

 

Lee Seo-bin felt like her heart was about to burst.

She was pouring out messages in the group chat, but none of her friends were checking them.

 

“Oh my, so you’re saying Yeon-woo will play the lead role in the movie our husband is making?”

“Yes, that’s right. As soon as I saw the scenario, I really wanted to make it, so I came to pester him.”

 

At Yeon-woo’s words, Director Lee Yong-su’s tongs moved cheerfully as he grilled meat over the charcoal fire.

Looking at Director Lee Yong-su’s back as he stood in front of the charcoal fire, his shoulders seemed to be raised high.

 

Originally, saving face in front of family is more important than anything else for a head of household.

 

His wife also looked at her husband’s back for a moment before continuing.

 

“It’s the glory of our family.”

“Not at all. You’re too kind.”

 

Yeon-woo turned his gaze back to Director Lee Yong-su, who was grilling meat.

 

“Then we’ll need to scout locations for filming in advance.”

 

Finding suitable spaces for outdoor filming takes longer than expected and is also an important task that must be carefully selected as it determines the visual beauty of the film.

 

Because it must match the image conceived in the director’s mind, that work alone can sometimes take several months.

 

The movie “Moon” is a story about a male protagonist whose life is completely shaken by a female protagonist who accidentally visits a quiet mountain village.

 

The key was to find the mountain village that would serve as the starting point and main stage, as it needed to capture the advantages of romantic comedy while simultaneously containing a story that unfolds on a scale beyond imagination.

 

But Director Lee Yong-su answered with a grin.

 

“Hmm, as for locations, I’ve already found them all. The problem is the beginning and ending parts. It looks like there will be quite a lot of CG, and even if we shoot most of it in a studio, I wonder if we can properly implement it in Korea…”

 

At Director Lee Yong-su’s story, Yeon-woo’s eyes lit up.

It seems he has been steadily working on it, not knowing when his scenario would be made into a movie.

 

Since he had already found all the locations, they could start filming immediately once casting was complete.

The sports drama “Parabola” didn’t even have a completed scenario yet.

 

‘Hmm, if we crank in the movie first…’

 

Yeon-woo roughly calculated the schedule in his mind.

 

Once drama filming started, he could just take a break from movie filming during that period.

 

Since this movie’s scenario required capturing both summer and winter scenes, they would have to break and resume filming anyway.

 

If the timing worked out well, it seemed possible to alternate between filming the movie and drama to complete them around the same time.

 

“If you’ve already found all the location sites, it’ll be much easier to produce.”

“We do have plenty of time. The problem is areas like music and graphics.”

“Leave the CG for the beginning and ending to me. I’m quite close with the world’s best CG director. Oh, and please let me handle the music too. I’m also quite close with the world’s best music director.”

 

Yeon-woo thought of Director Jung Yo-han and Chrissy Monroe.

 

At Yeon-woo’s words asking to be entrusted with everything, Director Lee Yong-su tilted his head, and his wife spoke up.

 

“Then, is that friend going to play the female lead?”

 

Director Lee Yong-su was the first to react to his wife’s words.

 

“Hmm, honey. That friend would probably be difficult to use. The production company would need to consider casting from various angles.”

 

And Yeon-woo, who had been listening to their conversation, tilted his head.

 

“The female lead?”

 

Then Director Lee Yong-su answered as if it was nothing, waving the meat tongs around.

 

“Well, there was an actor I had in mind when writing this scenario, but as far as I know, it’s been quite a while since she stopped acting… You don’t need to worry about it.”

 

At Director Lee Yong-su’s words, Yeon-woo stroked his chin.

 

An actor he thought of while writing the scenario meant a persona already melted into that work, just like how Director Park Chan-hong discovered Yeon-woo within “Sketch.”

 

And Yeon-woo knew better than anyone how much synergy could be created when that work and actor melted together, having experienced it firsthand.

 

“Hmm, who is that actor? If you have someone in mind, it would be best to cast them.”

“Well, you probably wouldn’t know even if I told you, but it’s an actress named Hong A-yoon…”

 

Director Lee Yong-su began explaining about the actress Hong A-yoon.

 

Hong A-yoon was an unknown actress he had used several times as a model about five years ago when Lee Yong-su was gradually gaining fame as a commercial film director.

 

At that time, she had outstanding looks and good acting ability, but at some point, she couldn’t even get a decent role, suddenly had problems with her agency, and left the entertainment industry.

 

Since she was an actress Director Lee Yong-su had been saving to cast when he eventually made a movie, he later inquired about her situation out of regret, and fortunately heard that she hadn’t gone down a bad path but was working part-time while attending university after retiring from the entertainment industry.

 

When the story about Hong A-yoon came up, Lee Yong-su’s wife nodded and added her thoughts.

 

“I also liked the commercials with that friend the most among the ones my husband filmed. Her bright and fresh atmosphere seemed to bring the entire scene to life.”

“By now she’d be in her mid-to-late twenties, so she’d be perfect for the role in the drama.”

 

From the moment Yeon-woo heard the name Hong A-yoon, he had been trying to remember who it was, certain it was a name in his memory.

 

But no one came to mind.

 

“Hmm, would she show up if I search on a portal site?”

“I doubt it? She probably won’t appear. She only filmed a few commercials and retired immediately, so she should really be considered a complete newcomer. I heard she appeared in a few short films for film festival submissions…”

 

Yeon-woo searched for Hong A-yoon’s name, but only a violinist with the same name appeared.

Since she retired due to trouble with her agency, she probably didn’t have the capacity to worry about things like character information.

 

Then Lee Seo-bin, who had been repeatedly eating a piece of meat and glancing at Yeon-woo’s face, spoke up.

 

“Father, then couldn’t we see that sister’s face by searching for the commercial on YouTube?”

“Hmm, that’s right.”

“What brand advertisement was it?”

 

Curious about the father and daughter’s conversation, Yeon-woo took out his smartphone.

 

“I filmed several with that friend, but the first one that comes to mind is the commercial for SL Electronics’ laptop X-7 that was released six years ago.”

“Hmm? If she was a model for SL Electronics, wasn’t she quite famous?”

 

As Yeon-woo typed ‘SL Electronics X-7 laptop commercial film’ into the search bar, Director Lee Yong-su shook his head.

 

“At that time, we deliberately used an unknown newcomer because we wanted to focus on the laptop’s features in the advertisement.”

 

Yeon-woo found a video and showed it to Director Lee Yong-su.

 

“Is this the right commercial film?”

“Yes, that’s right. This friend is Hong A-yoon. I’m seeing her after a long time too.”

 

Yeon-woo watched the commercial film playing on his smartphone.

 

An actress playing a university student using a laptop in a lecture hall and studio apartment appeared, but since the laptop was the focus, there weren’t many scenes showing her face.

 

Still, whenever she appeared briefly, her distinct features and calm-looking appearance were quite similar to the female lead image Yeon-woo had imagined while reading the scenario.

 

But it was definitely a face he was seeing for the first time.

Yeon-woo was famous for never forgetting anyone he had seen even once since his agent days.

 

‘Hmm, then where did I hear it? Hong A-yoon…’

 

If he didn’t recognize her face, they probably hadn’t met even once, and he likely just saw her name somewhere.

 

“Min-su hyung doesn’t know her either, right?”

“Huh? I don’t know her. Before I managed actors, I handled idol friends. I know quite a few unknown idols pretty well, but honestly, I still don’t know actors very well.”

 

Yeon-woo nodded at Kim Min-su’s answer.

 

Then he picked up his smartphone and sent a message to Han Hae-woon.

 

– Could you look up any information about an actress or aspiring actress named ‘Hong A-yoon’?

 

A reply came back immediately.

 

– Han Hae-woon: Team Leader, I found her. Hong A-yoon. She’s in our database.

 

Yeon-woo tilted his head as he read the message.

 

– Our database?

– Han Hae-woon: Yes. She’s on the list of people who received unfair demands from Plus Ten Entertainment, refused them, and were forced to retire from the entertainment industry. She’s listed together with actress Jung Su-yeon.

 

Only then did Yeon-woo remember.

 

She was among the people they had investigated to use when getting rid of Plus Ten Entertainment’s CEO Byeon Hak-gyu.

 

‘If my memory is correct, she probably attended university and did plays or musicals at a small theater company…’

 

– Then please attach the materials about actress Hong A-yoon via secure messenger right now.

– Han Hae-woon: Understood.

 

Yeon-woo smiled slightly as he skimmed through the materials Han Hae-woon sent.

 

‘Plus Ten Entertainment…’

 

She happened to be in the database that Yeon-woo and Han Hae-woon had investigated while also being Director Lee Yong-su’s persona.

When you think about it, she was an actress—no, an aspiring actress—with quite a connection.

 

Whether she would join the film and whether she had the necessary skills was still unknown, but if they worked together, it would be the best conditions.

 

Someone who gave up their dreams because of Baeksol could contribute even a little to bringing down Baeksol.

 

‘A commercial film director making his first feature film and his persona, who happens to be an unknown commercial model who was unfairly forced to retire…’

 

This romance film had quite an interesting composition from the start.

 

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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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