NIS Agent Reincarnated as a Genius Actor - Chapter 268

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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 268. Landing on the Island

“Well, it’s Ryu Yeon-woo.”

“Excuse me, Director, are you talking about the Ryu Yeon-woo I’m thinking of?”

“Yes. That Ryu Yeon-woo.”

“···What? All of a sudden?”

 

PD Yoon Chang-jun looked at the Director with an expression of disbelief.

 

Who was Ryu Yeon-woo?

The variety show department had long given up on him, and even though he was an actor, casting him was like plucking stars from the sky, even for the drama department.

 

He had always thought of him as a celebrity among celebrities who never even considered the concept of casting, since master directors like Park Chan-hong sent him love calls, and A-list production staff and actors who could already be called his ‘faction’ were positioned all around him.

 

Such an actor appearing on his variety show.

 

Moreover, his project was an extremely harsh variety show where they might have to roll around in mud fields and sleep fitfully without proper meals on an uninhabited island full of ruins.

 

“Try to make it well just once. Chang-jun, I told you after seeing the proposal that I thought this would do well, right?”

“Ah, yes···.”

 

It was complete nonsense.

The Director was someone who always threw proposals that consumed even a little budget into the trash without even reviewing them.

 

This survival project was something he had barely managed to secure by appealing to the end to try it just once, but he already strongly felt like someone was trying to take credit.

 

“You’re the best as always. I always trust you.”

“······.”

“First, run the articles right away so there’s no backing out. Provide basic materials too. Keep the variety show content brief, but make the news about Ryu Yeon-woo joining as big as a main gate.”

“Yes.”

 

 

And the next day, articles poured out on the internet.

 

– Ryu Yeon-woo’s long-awaited variety show appearance, what’s the identity of this new variety show?

– TVM’s new variety show 「Survival Island」 Ryu Yeon-woo joins!

 

Perhaps worried that Yeon-woo might change his mind and say he wouldn’t appear, TVM started releasing press materials and running articles even before filming began.

 

Meanwhile, the scheduled participants who learned about Ryu Yeon-woo’s joining through articles received countless calls from people around them that morning.

 

Jang Ju-won, who had been an idol trainee for a long time before switching to acting after completing his military service, was no exception.

 

– Kim Dong-hoon (Class of ’18): Ju-won hyung, isn’t the variety show you said you were cast for last time we drank Survival Island? Ryu Yeon-woo is appearing there? There’s an article out now

– Tae-jun hyung (Phil Entertainment): [Link] Did you see this? They say Ryu Yeon-woo is also joining the variety show you’re going on

 

Jang Ju-won grinned as he opened his smartphone and skimmed through the messages.

 

“This is really jackpot. I need to make my name known for sure with this opportunity. TVM must have spent some money. How did they cast him?”

 

It felt like a legendary quest that he absolutely had to claim first had appeared on the glorious path to victory prepared for him.

 

“I wonder if he’s ever shot a gun since he hasn’t done military service? Anyway, if I just take out Ryu Yeon-woo, becoming the main character of that episode is guaranteed, right? I should look for Ryu Yeon-woo as soon as it starts. Ha, just thinking about it is so sweet.”

 

Most of the other participants felt the same way.

 

Most were unknowns or people who had been wandering the fringes of the entertainment industry without any notable achievements, and as they aged and completed military service, many were essentially on the path to retirement from the entertainment industry.

 

Victory was one thing, but what they all commonly aimed for was being the first to eliminate Ryu Yeon-woo.

 

Then they would absolutely never be completely edited out.

 

“I’m glad I went through tough military service. Thanks to that, this kind of opportunity came up···.”

 

 

And Yeon-woo also encountered the pouring articles.

 

“They probably intend to drive in a wedge so you can’t back out.”

 

Yeon-woo nodded at Director Yoon Mi-yeon’s words.

 

It didn’t matter.

No, it was actually what he wanted.

 

Since he had no intention of backing out of the appearance anyway, the more promotion they did, the better it was for Yeon-woo and the 「Parabola」 team.

 

In the domestic variety show industry, the genre called ‘survival’ itself was a relatively unfamiliar genre while simultaneously being the most familiar genre.

 

‘From ordinary people’s talent shows to idol survival shows, band auditions, even dating programs where people appear to find partners. There’s nothing that isn’t competition.’

 

In a broad category, all of this is survival.

 

On the other hand, the sport of conducting mock combat using airsoft guns, which is literally called ‘survival games,’ had never been covered in variety shows.

 

And in this industry, ‘new attempts’ always result in only a very few achieving mega-hits while most of the rest fail and disappear without a trace.

 

And achieving mega-hits with new attempts was Yeon-woo’s specialty.

 

“Since Actor Ryu, who’s hard to see on variety shows, is appearing, they should be able to draw temporary attention right up.”

 

Though if he gets eliminated and leaves, that attention would immediately fade away.

 

Understanding Director Yoon Mi-yeon’s omitted latter words, Yeon-woo grinned and answered.

 

“Since I have absolutely no intention of getting eliminated anyway, it’s fine.”

 

He had no confidence.

Confidence in getting eliminated.

 

***

 

The internet was buzzing with the news that Ryu Yeon-woo would suddenly appear on a variety show, specifically a reality show featuring survival individual combat on a remote uninhabited island.

 

Of course, fans showed positive reactions, but not all community opinions were favorable.

 

– (IP 76.432) : Honestly, Ryu Yeonwoo is basically a core member of the host club now so I’m hesitant to criticize, but didn’t he cross the line this time?ㅋㅋㅋ He hasn’t even done his military service yet

└ (IP 132.4) : The fact that someone in that position would even think of appearing on such a program shows he’s world-class lol, bring down the top star status

└ (IP 26.41) : Stop talking nonsense, you need to drop it before you can bring it back up. This one’s just gonna be embarrassing anyway, it’s a reckless choice. Just go to the military first ㅇㅇ What kind of military program is this

 

Gong Min-jeong, who was checking the community reactions, felt anger rising and almost wrote a curse word in reply but barely held back.

 

Gong Min-jeong, who had formed a connection through a surprise camera-style YouTube variety show while at Plus Ten, had now become core personnel at Saebyeol Media.

 

One of the things she was best at was sniffing out the smell of money.

 

The merchandise business she had conducted by fully utilizing her long experience in fan cafe activities had grown well as a cash cow and was responsible for one pillar of sales, and the company cafeteria she had worked on with CEO Kim Ju-seong had also been successfully and cleanly completed.

 

Gong Min-jeong checked not only the malicious users posting hate comments but also the comments of users who had become interested in the variety show “Survival Island” itself due to Ryu Yeon-woo’s appearance.

 

– [Author] : But this must have cost a fortune in production costs, right? I don’t know what scale it is, but if survival takes place across the entire island, battles will occur simultaneously everywhere

└ [Anonymous1] : That’s true, do they install tons of cameras all over the island? I’m so excited hehe

└ [Anonymous3] : The fighting contestants? Celebrities? What should we call them, anyway how do we know how many are left now or who eliminated whom

└ [Anonymous8] : That’s solved by shouting status window ㅇㅇ

 

‘Status window?’

 

While checking the comments, Gong Min-jeong tilted her head at the incomprehensible words, but at the same time her mind started working.

 

“Our Actor Ryu and ‘Survival Island’ and SL Electronics. Hmm, if we do this well, we might be able to score something?”

 

Gong Min-jeong caught the scent of money coming from somewhere.

 

She immediately jumped up from her seat and knocked on Director Yoon Mi-yeon’s private office door.

 

– Yes. Please come in.

 

Hearing Director Yoon Mi-yeon’s voice from beyond the door, Gong Min-jeong opened the door and entered.

 

“Director. I’ve thought of something additional we can extract regarding the ‘Survival Island’ matter.”

“Huh? Something to extract?”

 

***

 

Meanwhile, PD Yoon Chang-jun, who was making final preparations for filming, was dumbfounded by the contact he received from Saebyeol.

 

“Uh, you said Team Leader Gong Min-jeong…? So SL Electronics is willing to sign a main sponsorship contract and smartwatches will also come in as PPL?”

– Yes. That’s correct. Actor Ryu Yeon-woo is currently the main model for SL Electronics smartphones and has a good relationship with our company, so this was specially arranged. Apart from advertising costs, they said they’ll support as many smartwatches as needed.

 

After reporting to Yoon Mi-yeon, Gong Min-jeong had directly contacted SL Electronics to secure the PPL, so a significant portion of the advertising revenue would go to Saebyeol rather than the broadcasting station.

 

First, Saebyeol and SL Electronics would conclude a sponsorship deal, and under that, Saebyeol and TVM would sign a separate contract.

 

PD Yoon also quickly turned his mind to the story he heard through the receiver.

 

It was easy to naturally incorporate smartwatch PPL.

 

Previously, they had planned to deliver various information such as news of someone being eliminated, special orders, or remaining time and survivor status to each person’s smartphone.

 

If such battlefield information was sent in real-time to the smartwatches worn by participants, they could eliminate unnecessary scenes like taking out smartphones from pants pockets to check them.

 

After all, fighting with guns and then fumbling to take out a smartphone from a pocket to check it and then fighting again would harm viewer immersion.

 

“Th, thank you. SL Electronics…”

– We’ll organize the related documents separately, so when you have time, please visit our company to conclude the contract.

 

Translated, it meant come and sign if you want to receive money, but since he could get a sponsorship contract with SL Electronics, who came and went didn’t matter to PD Yoon.

 

“Oh my, of course. I’ll come visit you right away, even today.”

 

***

 

Time passed and the filming of “Parabola” was running through the middle stages, and the actors began appearing on their respective variety shows for drama promotion, taking out a three-day schedule in between.

 

“Yu-han is appearing on a program where he reviews movies with experts, and Jin-wook hyung probably had it tough, right?”

 

At Yeon-woo’s question, Kim Min-su nodded.

 

“Yes. I heard Actor Jin Yu-han is going on ‘Rooftop Movie Theater’ and Actor Son Jin-wook is going on ‘Dawn Market’.”

 

Son Jin-wook was said to be appearing on a variety show that had ‘labor healing’ as its main concept, involving activities like boarding dawn fishing boats with a national MC or working on farms.

 

“Whew, going to work from dawn? Just hearing about it sounds tough? Take it easy.”

 

When Yeon-woo shook his head, Kim Min-su looked at Yeon-woo with an incredulous expression.

 

“······?”

 

The person himself was about to board a boat to a remote uninhabited island and soon engage in a breathtaking war until only one person out of 30 survived, so who exactly was worrying about whom.

 

“Um, this is an obvious thought, but won’t you have the hardest time…?”

“Me? What? Come on, physical labor is much harder. Getting up from dawn to board a fishing boat and working all day until your back breaks.”

 

At Yeon-woo’s words, Kim Min-su thought ‘Is that so?’ for a moment but then shook his head left and right.

 

“Ah! Are you perhaps thinking of getting eliminated early? Then actually your filming would just involve some interviews and be over…”

 

Then this time Yeon-woo tilted his head.

 

“Huh? Didn’t Min-su hyung say you wanted a massage chair last time? They give a massage chair as a prize for eliminating five people, so I was going to get it for you…? You know I’m good at shooting, right?”

 

Of course he knew.

 

Because he had seen Yeon-woo’s fantastic shooting skills with his own eyes at the Hawaii shooting range.

He also knew well from directly witnessing Yeon-woo’s physical abilities while filming “Stars Beyond the Stream” and “White Blood,” where he perfectly executed high-difficulty action acting.

 

‘Hmm, even so, would that work in a survival game? He’s never received this kind of training before, so I just hope he doesn’t get hurt…’

 

If even Yeon-woo’s closest associate thought this way, the production team, cast, and the majority of viewers who heard about his appearance didn’t expect Yeon-woo to achieve anything at all.

 

However, only Jin Yu-han, Kim Ju-hyeong, Woo Seong-sik, and Kim Jun-su, who had experienced it firsthand, nodded their heads.

 

Just then, the ship cabin door opened and PD Yoon Chang-jun entered with a pale face, having thrown up extensively due to seasickness.

 

“We’ll be arriving at the island soon.”

 

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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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