NIS Agent Reincarnated as a Genius Actor - Chapter 232

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 232. Departure to São Paulo

Director Lee Yong-su was greatly pleased to receive the news that Hong A-yoon had been selected as the female lead.

 

For his first feature film production, he had cast both main characters with the actors he wanted.

And the production company had solid finances that didn’t require worrying about budget issues.

 

It couldn’t get any better than this.

 

Director Lee Yong-su set off on his commute to work with cheerful steps.

 

Though his commute was really just about twenty steps up the stairs from the first floor to the second floor, his steps were more lighthearted than ever.

 

These days he was working on polishing the dialogue in the script and gradually strengthening the story, and before starting work in earnest, he made some simple coffee and sat on the sofa.

 

Director Lee Yong-su was reading news on his smartphone to organize his thoughts when he clicked on an article that appeared simultaneously in both the social and entertainment sections.

 

‘Hmm? Plus Ten, isn’t that the company Hong A-yoon was at?’

 

Even though a CF director wasn’t directly in the industry, he wasn’t unaware of the bad rumors that had been spreading widely lately.

 

Director Lee Yong-su took a sip of coffee and clicked on the article.

 

 

「- Plus Ten CEO Byeon Hak-gyu flees to Philippines after embezzling public funds and tax evasion as investigation closes in.」

 

Plus Ten CEO Byeon Hak-gyu (54), who was indicted on six charges including solicitation of bribes, embezzlement of public funds, and tax evasion, has fled to the Philippines and his whereabouts cannot be clearly determined.

 

A police official explained, “We are checking as much as we can confirm domestically, but we have no choice but to wait for contact from Interpol.”

 

If the suspect who is currently on the red notice is arrested, Korea, which is a member of the Southeast Asia cooperation network, can receive custody of the overseas fugitive.

 

However, since suspect Byeon Hak-gyu’s whereabouts have been unclear since leaving the country, they plan to begin investigation in cooperation with local Philippine police.

 

 

It was just social section news that the public had little interest in, but it was quite a big issue in this industry.

 

Even in the cafe on the 3rd floor of Saebyeol, talk about the disappeared CEO Byeon Hak-gyu was coming up here and there among the staff.

 

Director Yoon Mi-yeon, sitting at Yeon-woo’s table, shook her head.

 

“Maybe we should have waited a bit. If we had known Plus Ten would collapse on its own like this, we wouldn’t have needed to pay Hong A-yoon’s penalty fee…”

 

Then Yeon-woo smiled.

 

“Since the investigation has already begun, if illegality is confirmed in the contract between Hong A-yoon and Byeon Hak-gyu, it means they defrauded us.”

“Hmm, that’s right?”

“Then at that time, our Saebyeol should file a civil lawsuit against Plus Ten for damages.”

“Will we be able to collect? I heard that Byeon Hak-gyu laundered all the money and transferred it overseas before fleeing.”

 

Actually, it wasn’t Byeon Hak-gyu who laundered it, but Baeksol who framed Byeon Hak-gyu and embezzled it.

 

There was no way they could find Byeon Hak-gyu in the Philippines when he might be sunk somewhere in the South Pacific Ocean.

 

But that was exactly what Yeon-woo was aiming for.

He had no interest in the money paid as penalty fees from the beginning.

 

No, rather, he hoped they wouldn’t be able to get it back.

 

Because what Yeon-woo ultimately wanted to get his hands on wasn’t money, but information.

 

“Then we should also apply for a compensation order and seize tangible assets. We need to take all the fixtures remaining in the Plus Ten office building. Let’s prepare in advance through our company’s law firm.”

 

He planned to proceed with a damage compensation lawsuit and legally secure Plus Ten’s seized computers or personal servers through forced execution.

 

Baeksol probably used various methods to erase their traces from Plus Ten’s computer network, but as mentioned before, there’s no perfect security when it comes to digital.

 

Han Hae-woon coming through blizzards to deliver reports by drone, and storing documents in paper files in cabinets rather than Windows folders and files wasn’t unnecessary trouble.

 

If there were clear keywords to search for, they could recover a considerable amount of the materials those guys had disposed of from the seized computers.

 

And while they had no idea that their identity was known, Yeon-woo and the agents had the clear keyword ‘Baeksol’.

 

‘Han Hae-woon is one of the top experts in that field.’

 

Watching Yeon-woo organize his thoughts, Director Yoon Mi-yeon tilted her head.

 

“But does Korea University Economics Department teach things like that too? Compensation orders, tangible… what was it?”

“…Um, they do teach it. The world is quite rough these days.”

“Actor Ryu only attended school for barely a year.”

“Ahem. Director Yoon. Then I’ll go prepare for the Brazil schedule.”

 

Yeon-woo quickly got up, leaving behind Director Yoon who was looking at him with suspicious eyes.

 

Well, what could he do.

She’d probably just think he was somewhat smart.

 

***

 

Hong A-yoon began receiving systematic acting lessons at Saebyeol Entertainment.

 

Of course, she had outstanding natural talent, but taking ‘real lessons’ that taught her theoretical details in depth made her feel her own improvement.

 

The lessons she received at Plus Ten when she was young and naive were lessons in name only, and she had no idea what kind of background the teaching instructor had.

 

She just learned because she was told to, but thinking about it now, it didn’t seem like proper acting lessons either.

 

The tuition paid by the company just kept snowballing in a rigged game between the hired instructor and the paying company.

 

In contrast, the lessons she was receiving at Saebyeol were on a different level.

 

The instructors who taught at Saebyeol were mostly established actors with familiar faces, and among them was Jeong Cheol-min, who was also an actor under Saebyeol.

 

And those taking classes together also had impressive backgrounds.

 

“I’m really happy that you came to our company, unnie.”

“···Su-yeon. I feel like I’m dreaming every single day too. When I wake up in the morning, my heart drops wondering if it was all just a dream.”

 

Su-yeon, who used to follow her around in middle school uniform calling ‘unnie, unnie’ when she was at Plus Ten, had already grown up so much.

 

“Do you keep in touch with Ju-young unnie too?”

“Hmm, no. We contacted each other often the year I left the company, but it quickly stopped.”

“Still, since Plus Ten collapsed, once the legal issues are resolved, don’t you think she’ll try the entertainment industry again?”

“I suppose so. Since Ju-young was a singer trainee, being an idol might be a bit difficult now due to her age, but if she goes solo…”

 

Besides Jung Su-yeon and Hong A-yoon, there were countless trainees at Plus Ten who had given up on their dreams.

 

Since Hong A-yoon was directly involved in the matter, she looked up all the numerous articles that were pouring out.

 

She had no problems since Saebyeol had cleanly handled her debt situation, allowing her to resume activities immediately, but for other trainees, even if it was illegal, there was no guarantee how long it would take for the matter to go to trial and be resolved.

 

It’s always the victims who are in a hurry, while the perpetrators leisurely delay handling the matter.

 

In reality, they had expanded into various fields like acting, singing, and modeling without any intention of actually developing talent, so there would likely be quite a few victims.

 

Just then, Han Byeol in her school uniform entered the lesson room.

 

“Unnies, do you want to go downstairs and buy something to eat after class?!”

“Should we?”

 

Hong A-yoon, who had quickly become close with the agency actors, smiled as she greeted Han Byeol.

 

“Seeing Han Byeol in her school uniform reminds me exactly of Su-yeon from before.”

 

But the foundation was different.

Even though she had only been living there for a few days, it seemed like Saebyeol could really develop her into a great actress.

 

“Unnie, unnie! What should we eat? The restaurant right downstairs will have long lines, so it’ll be hard to eat there.”

“Want to eat tteokbokki?”

“Tteokbokki!”

 

Just then, Jeong Cheol-min entered the lesson room to conduct acting lessons.

 

“Alright, let’s start. Kids.”

“Teacher! We’re going to eat tteokbokki after this, want to come with us?”

 

At Han Byeol’s words, Jeong Cheol-min pointed downward with his finger.

Not at the floor, but indicating the floor below.

 

“A company cafeteria opened on the 3rd floor starting today, have you guys been there? It’s amazing.”

 

At that, the three actresses’ eyes sparkled brightly.

 

“Really?!”

 

***

 

While the trio of actresses who would become Saebyeol’s future were taking classes, Yeon-woo was packing his luggage.

 

“Yes. So I’m going to Brazil for about a week for a schedule.”

– I see. Since it’s a big corporation doing it, they’ll probably protect you well, but the news only shows dangerous stories, so I’m worried. Always be careful. And gochujang is…

“I packed it.”

 

Yeon-woo answered with a smile at his mother’s words.

Such consistent love for gochujang.

 

– Then people will probably crowd the airport again.

“Hmm, this time we kept the departure schedule private, so I’ll probably be able to leave quietly.”

– Is that so?

 

 

It wasn’t.

 

The next day, when Yeon-woo arrived at the airport, he had to face fans and reporters who were somehow waiting there.

 

“It’s fortunate that we contacted SL’s security team just in case.”

“That’s right.”

 

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

 

Men in black suits approached Kim Min-su’s car and knocked gently.

 

Whirrrr─.

 

When the window rolled down, a man who appeared to be the security team leader spoke politely.

 

“From here to the destination, we’ll continue to provide security. Let’s go.”

“Yes. Understood.”

 

When Yeon-woo and Kim Min-su got out of the car, one of SL’s security team staff took Kim Min-su’s van and headed to the parking lot.

 

When Yeon-woo raised his hand to respond to the reporters and fans pressing camera shutters, cheers erupted.

 

‘Hmm, it seems our agency actors will increasingly have occasions to travel abroad, so Saebyeol should form a separate security team too.’

 

While walking to go through boarding procedures, Yeon-woo made rough plans.

 

Creating a security team within Saebyeol would probably be inefficient, and there wasn’t anyone suitable to manage it either.

 

‘I should separate one of the agents from the 5th floor and have them create a security company.’

 

Operating with Saebyeol subcontracting to that company would definitely make management much easier.

 

While having these various thoughts, Yeon-woo finished the boarding procedures and entered the gate.

 

Meanwhile, at that same time, Lee Kyu-jin and Park Jung-hyeon, who had likewise arrived at the airport, tilted their heads in confusion as they pushed through the crowd and moved forward.

 

“Hey, it looks like some idol came to the airport or something? Why are there so many people?”

 

It wasn’t an idol but their actual employer, but Lee Kyu-jin, who didn’t know this, just tilted his head in confusion.

 

“There are too many people here, so we need to hurry. We’ll be cutting it close to boarding time.”

“Then we can’t eat the airport yukgaejang?”

“···We just ate before leaving.”

“Still, when you come to the airport, you have to eat yukgaejang.”

 

Watching Park Jung-hyeon skillfully weave through the crowd with his large frame, Lee Kyu-jin sighed and shook his head.

 

Thinking about performing an overseas mission with that glutton made the future seem foggy.

Of course, his abilities were outstanding, but spending time with him somehow drained his energy.

 

“Sigh, I miss Team Leader Kim Su-hyeok. Or it would be great if Alpha Beta came with us···.”

 

Though he didn’t know it yet since he hadn’t received word, just as Lee Kyu-jin wished, Kim Su-hyeok was also moving from Hawaii to São Paulo, and the real Alpha Beta, not Han Hae-woon, was going through boarding procedures at this same airport.

 

Thus, the agents who had departed separately were all heading to São Paulo.

 

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————