NIS Agent Reincarnated as a Genius Actor - Chapter 303

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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 303. Parabola Episode 5

‘I am sick.’

The mental illness that erupted after I entered high school changed everything completely.

No, now my memories were too hazy to even distinguish what had changed.

Mother had worked as a housekeeper since I was young, raising me alone with great difficulty.

Even repaying her for that wouldn’t be enough, but to make matters worse, I became sick too, and that fact seemed to drag me deeper into the mire.

Despite our meager means, she ran around everywhere trying to get me treated, making every effort possible, but there was no improvement, and the black shadow approaching our weak mother and child like it would devour us with its gaping maw wasn’t a dog or wolf, but simply credit card debt.

And in the summer of my second year of high school, Mother left me.

Of course, I don’t mean I was abandoned.

‘It was quite the opposite.’

The daughter of the family where Mother originally worked as a housekeeper was going to study abroad in America and needed a caretaker to look after her, so they offered Mother a fairly high salary to go with them, and Mother, unable to afford living expenses and medical bills, had no choice but to accept the proposal.

To protect her own child, she paradoxically had to leave behind the child who needed a guardian’s help and go care for someone else’s child.

Honestly, it seemed difficult to fully understand those feelings.

But as this life continued for over two years, even though I knew well that she left for my sake, I would sometimes feel resentment about Mother’s absence as she went to care for another family’s child.

Whenever such immature thoughts arose, I would blame and reproach myself even more.

Ring ring─.

Ring ring─.

When the yellowed, faded desk clock rang, I cleared my thoughts and got up from the old mattress.

You might wonder why I have a desk clock in this day and age, but I don’t like smartphones.

Since the world looks slow to me, I naturally perceive fewer images per second on smartphones or TV, making me feel much stronger dizziness than others.

Mother occasionally calls me through an international calling app, but other than that, I hardly use it.

“Sigh…”

I let out a sigh and fumbled to put on my clothes.

The only comfort I have these days is the street basketball I’m heading out to play.

For some unknown reason, while playing basketball, I can forget the pain even briefly, so it feels like I can survive.

***

Thud─.

“Yeon-woo!”

When Son Jin-wook shouted, sure enough, Yeon-woo stretched out his hand at the perfect timing and intercepted the opponent’s pass.

Then Yeon-woo ran straight ahead and mercilessly put the ball into the opponent’s goal.

‘Heh… At that level, wouldn’t he work even in the pros? As expected, overwhelming talent really does exist in this world.’

Jeong Cheol-min, who was watching that scene, shook his head in amazement.

Beep─!

When the sound signaling the end of the game was heard, everyone sprawled out carelessly.

The amateur basketball team from the neighboring area that had arranged the friendly match also had some members go get water while the rest sat down on the ground.

“Whew, that was intense. Uncle Cheol-min. Where did you recruit that guy? He’s no joke.”

The opposing team captain came over and sat next to Jeong Cheol-min, asking in a friendly manner.

Then Jeol-min grinned.

“Right? We just ended up playing together somehow, but he’s definitely something special.”

“Who was that guy? You know, that guy on your team who used to wear military pants. He seems ten times better than that guy.”

Jeong Cheol-min nodded at the opposing team captain’s words.

The “guy who wears military pants” he was referring to was all talk and always slacking off, but since it was so hard to fill the roster, he was a burden they had no choice but to carry.

But since the new face Ryu Yeon-woo appeared recently, they hadn’t called him even once.

“By the way, are you going to participate in the tournament that’s being held?”

“Tournament?”

“Haven’t you seen it yet? The announcement was posted in the cafe yesterday too. An amateur basketball tournament organized by the Professional Basketball Association and the Ministry of Culture and Sports. The prize money is big, and if you do well, they give you a chance for professional selection.”

Then Jin Yu-han, who was sitting behind them resting, suddenly stood up.

“They give selection opportunities? A rookie draft?”

“Well? I don’t know the exact method, but I guess it means if there are any prospects worth scouting, the pro teams will take them?”

Then Jin Yu-han immediately approached Jeong Cheol-min.

“Uncle! Let’s participate too!”

“Huh? I don’t mind. We’re always playing basketball anyway.”

Then Son Jin-wook, who had been searching on his smartphone behind them, raised his voice with interest.

“Oh? I just looked at the tournament outline, and they say if you just make it to the semifinals, they’ll take you to see an NBA game in America? Madison Square Garden! New York Knicks game! That’s amazing.”

“Come on, all the top amateur players nationwide will participate, so how easy would the semifinals be?”

Then Dong-ha, who had been talking on the phone with a woman during that brief moment, grinned.

“What’s there we can’t do? Let’s give it a shot. Our form has been insane lately.”

As he said this, he glanced at Yeon-woo who was quietly catching his breath in the corner.

Certainly, after Ryu Yeon-woo joined the team, it felt like the final puzzle piece had been put in place, dramatically raising the team’s quality.

Moreover, Ryu Yeon-woo’s speed of learning Basketball was incredible – when playing games together, it felt like he leveled up every other day.

“Yeon-woo hyung. You’ll participate with us, right?”

At Dong-ha’s question, Yeon-woo turned his head unnaturally like a robot with a loose screw and looked at him.

“I, I…”

Yeon-woo began speaking with slurred pronunciation and shook his head.

“I’ll just exercise in the Neighborhood. I don’t want to.”

Despite his frustrated way of speaking, his expression of intent was firm.

Then Jin Yu-han’s eyes, which had been sparkling at the news of pro selection, instantly narrowed like a flounder’s.

“What? I, the chosen one, spent precious time every single day giving you special training, and you’re going to bail like this? Show some gratitude, you bastard.”

Then Jeong Cheol-min shook his head.

Looking at him, it was hard to consider him normal, so he thought it might be too much to ask.

“Hey now, everyone has their own circumstances, so we shouldn’t force them. Let’s find other members for the competition.”

Then Son Jin-wook looked at Yeon-woo and smiled.

“Still, when we play Basketball in the Neighborhood like now, you can at least join us for practice games, right?”

“Yes.”

Watching Yeon-woo slowly nod his head, he gave a thumbs up.

“That’s good enough. Then would you like to join our group chat at least? It’s awkward to call you every time.”

“I don’t really use my Phone much, so the apps…”

Dong-ha bounced over and snatched Yeon-woo’s old Smartphone.

“I’ll install it and connect you to the group chat. Wow, but what era is this model from?”

Dong-ha examined the artifact-level device with curiosity and installed the app.

“Hm? But you do have an account? Just no app.”

“Probably Mother…”

“Ah, I see. There are so many messages that arrived in the meantime? Ugh, it’s lagging. Anyway, I’ve got you into the group chat, so now you can check this and come out to exercise.”

When Dong-ha returned the Smartphone, Yeon-woo nodded and looked at it briefly before getting dizzy and shoving it into his Bag.

***

Yeon-woo trudged past the communal Entrance Hall of the Multi-family Apartment with exhausted steps and climbed the narrow Stairs.

After arriving Home, Yeon-woo washed his body covered in sweat and dust, then sat leaning against the mattress, staring blankly into space.

It seemed to be raining outside, as he could hear the regular sound of raindrops flowing down the Window and tapping the boiler pipes.

‘It was incredibly humid and hot during the day. Good thing I did laundry yesterday.’

Bzzzz─.

Just then, Yeon-woo’s old Smartphone buzzed.

‘Is Uncle Jeong Cheol-min telling me tomorrow’s exercise start time?’

Yeon-woo picked up his Smartphone and launched the Messenger app.

– Sojung-dong Basketball group chat (1)

Tomorrow’s Basketball starts at 8 PM. The opponents are the A-Club club members we played last time, and please arrive at least 20 minutes early…

Yeon-woo read the message and nodded.

Although it was drizzling now, by tomorrow evening at eight o’clock, the ground would probably be dry.

He was about to quickly close the app because he felt dizzy, but Yeon-woo’s eyes caught a red circle with a number.

A message below the group chat.

– Mother (56)

’56 messages…?’

For a moment, it felt like his Heart dropped all the way to his navel with a hook.

The nauseous feeling from dizziness was hard to distinguish whether it was due to the Screen’s refresh rate or something else.

Yeon-woo moved his trembling finger and clicked on the messages from Mother.

– (View 52 more)

– My son doesn’t read messages so Mother is just going to use this like a diary [April 7th 2:11 AM]

– When Mother comes to Korea I’ll make seaweed soup and stir-fry meat deliciously for you [May 21st 7:14 PM]

– When Mother returns I’ll make Beef soup that my son likes [June 14th 6:02 AM]

– I miss my son [June 29, 12:14 PM]

After checking the message, my head started spinning.

Even though I was sitting still, it felt like the ceiling was spinning round and round.

How lonely must Mother have been in that distant land, not knowing a single word of English and without a single person she knew.

Suddenly my chest felt tight, so I struck it with my fist.

“Ah…”

Why am I so cruelly stupid and foolish?

Suddenly I missed Mother so much.

Even though there was nothing I could do, it felt like I could do something.

Then suddenly, Son Jin-wook’s voice from earlier in the day echoed in my ears.

– If we just make it to the semifinals, they’ll let us go see an NBA game in America in person? Madison Square Garden! New York Knicks game!

Yeon-woo shot up to his feet.

He staggered from dizziness, but without even putting on socks, he crammed his feet into his worn Converse shoes and opened the door.

He hurried down the narrow stairs of the multi-family apartment.

Yeon-woo’s stumbling figure as he went down the stairs contrasted sharply with how he had trudged up when entering the house earlier.

Yeon-woo’s appearance as he returned home after the basketball friendly match seemed like footsteps that had lost their destination, even though he was clearly heading home.

But now, though he was staggering and looked more precarious, his swaying steps seemed to have a clear destination.

Rain could be seen pouring down under the orange street lights.

A musty smell rose from the wet asphalt.

Yeon-woo ran frantically through the rain.

He looked pitiful, fragile, and infinitely lonely.

Yeon-woo, soaked to the bone like a drowned rat, knocked on a dark green main gate in some residential alley.

It was a common old house with a small yard.

Bang bang─!

“Hyung!”

Hearing the loud noise in front of the dark house late at night, Son Jin-wook opened the front door and came out.

“What, what is it? Who’s there?”

“It’s Yeon-woo!”

“Huh? Yeon-woo?”

Son Jin-wook walked toward the main gate wearing slippers and shorts.

Creak─.

“Oh my, look at you all soaked. What’s going on at this hour of the night?”

“…I want to enter that tournament.”

“…Huh?”

Yeon-woo shook his head.

Then he opened his mouth again.

“No. Please let me enter for sure. I’m going to win first place no matter what.”

In Ryu Yeon-woo’s eyes as he clenched his fists and squeezed out every bit of strength to answer, several conflicting emotions coexisted simultaneously: distrust in himself, fear of the challenge, and the intense fighting spirit and longing for his mother that covered it all.

The Wednesday broadcast of the third week ended with Yeon-woo’s final line.

At the same time, those who had questioned the protagonist Ryu Yeon-woo’s role in the drama and his acting ability naturally fell silent.

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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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