NIS Agent Reincarnated as a Genius Actor - Chapter 305

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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 305. Media Movements

While portal site entertainment sections were heating up with news about 「Parabola」, the society sections were hit by different news.

– [NewsPick] Mass Arrest of Drug Organization in Gyeonggi Province Area

– [Seoul Daily] Successful Raid on Drug Organization Using Smuggling Methods ‘Largest Scale Since Dangun Era’

– [KBC News] Prosecutors Draw Their Swords ‘Major Drug Organization Arrested’ Drug-Free Nation? That’s Now a Thing of the Past.

‘Hmm… Media coverage has begun.’

Yeon-woo stroked his chin as he looked over the articles.

Since no specific information had been released yet, the articles didn’t mention exactly how many people were arrested or how much drugs were seized in this investigation.

But naturally, Yeon-woo had already received a report through Han Hae-woon.

‘Seventeen arrested suspects alone, and a combined total of 4 tons of seized drugs and raw materials…’

Of course, the arrested suspects were merely decoys that Baeksol had organized into cell structures to easily cut off tails, so even catching dozens of them couldn’t be considered a direct blow.

However, the seized contraband was different.

If the seized items had been released into the domestic market, the estimated funds that Baeksol would have illegally earned amounted to a whopping 190 billion won.

This was also a somewhat conservative estimate of the losses.

The damage Baeksol suffered from this arrest would probably be such a major blow that it would be difficult to recover from in the short term.

Of course, the blow to Baeksol was important, but more than that, the greatest achievement was that the enormous amount of illegal drugs they had smuggled into the country ultimately wasn’t distributed.

‘They must be in emergency mode by now.’

SBC’s 「Daytona」, which was competing with 「Parabola」.

Right now, they probably couldn’t care less about dramas.

The incident that had already been reported in the media was being covered simultaneously by all news channels throughout the day, and it would become even more sensational going forward.

‘Once the firewood is lit, they’ll keep throwing in fuel to make sure it doesn’t go out easily.’

Even now, Han Hae-woon was using reporters he had recruited with scoops as bait to produce sensational articles.

Now even Baeksol had reached a point where it was difficult for them to do anything about it.

No matter who they had bribed, this was beyond the scope of what could be resolved.

‘They must also be desperately searching for the route through which they were detected, so they’ll have to stop their activities for a while.’

But it had also become difficult for them to operate easily going forward.

‘They’ll probably start by recovering the funds they’ve invested in the entertainment industry. After all, the entertainment business isn’t something you can expect short-term profits from, but a market you have to view long-term.’

If this damage reduced even slightly the evil influence they had extended into the entertainment industry, it would be a true operational success.

It all started with the codename ‘Hwang-geum’ obtained by hacking veteran actor Jung Tae-seon’s smartphone.

Tracking the route of this guy called ‘Hwang-geum’ led to Okinawa, and when their production facilities hidden locally were destroyed through the operation, Baeksol, with fire at their feet, began hastily moving contraband into the country.

Since they had exploited that gap to induce this arrest, it would be a distant prospect for them to reverse-track and identify all those routes.

Of course, he planned to gradually devour their reduced influence by putting Saebyeol at the forefront.

***

Yeon-woo watched two people signing contracts in the main conference room on the 2nd floor.

They were PD Joo Hyeon-seok and Director Yoon Mi-yeon.

“Well then, the business agreement between Wisestone Studio and Saebyeol Media has been concluded.”

“Please take good care of us going forward.”

Director Yoon Mi-yeon smiled and clasped hands with PD Joo Hyeon-seok, who was extending his hand for a handshake.

PD Joo Hyeon-seok, who had been attracted to Saebyeol while filming 「Saebyeol Family」 and 「Yeo-reum’s Dining Table Season 2」, had first proposed signing an MOU between his studio and them.

PD Joo Hyeon-seok wanted to continue working with Saebyeol, which had a large number of actors who were hard to meet in variety shows, but Saebyeol had nothing to lose since they owned Saebyeol Tube, a major YouTube channel.

So it was right for Producer Joo, who had more to lose, to come under Saebyeol.

From Saebyeol’s perspective, they needed to continue producing their own content going forward, and there was no reason to refuse Producer Joo, a renowned producer recognized in the industry, since all things being equal, red silk is better.

“We should be the ones asking for your favor. So the first content to proceed with is what you mentioned last time…?”

Hearing Director Yoon Mi-yeon’s words, PD Joo Hyeon-seok nodded.

“That’s right. After filming on Gaeyado Island this time, I found that Jin Yu-han’s cooking skills are quite considerable. This will definitely be a hit.”

Then Yeon-woo, who had been staring blankly from the side, raised his hand.

“Have you decided on a name for the content?”

“How about 「Ryu Yeon-woo and Jin Yu-han’s Chef Kitchen」?”

“Huh? Why is my name in there…?”

“I just threw it out there just in case.”

At PD Joo Hyeon-seok’s words, Yeon-woo broke out in a cold sweat and continued speaking.

“Um, I have a name I’ve been thinking about.”

Then it was Director Yoon Mi-yeon who became nervous.

“…Actor Ryu is naming it?”

Everyone at Saebyeol knew about Yeon-woo’s notoriously bad naming sense, so they had made up their minds to oppose anything unconditionally just for the sake of opposition.

“How about ‘Jin Yu-han’s This Way That Way Cooking Classroom’?”

But they tilted their heads at the surprisingly decent name that came out of Yeon-woo’s mouth.

“Who came up with that name?”

“I told you I came up with it?”

“…Really?”

Director Yoon Mi-yeon looked at Yeon-woo with suspicious eyes and muttered, “Has your sense gotten a bit better?”

Then PD Joo Hyeon-seok nodded his head.

“I think it’s good. Let’s go with ‘Jin Yu-han’s This Way That Way Cooking Classroom’.”

And so, without even knowing it himself, Jin Yu-han became a cooking classroom teacher.

Yeon-woo reviewed the documents placed on the table and asked Director Yoon Mi-yeon.

“Director, what happened with ‘Yeo-reum’s Dining Table’ that we filmed this time?”

“Ah, we’re doing final negotiations with JNBC. Of course they’re welcoming it with open arms, but we need some coordination regarding future OTT rights. It looks like JNBC will keep the rights to Season 1 as is, and we’ll bring over the rights to this season.”

Yeon-woo nodded after hearing Director Yoon’s report.

At a time when overseas demand for domestic content had grown tremendously, OTT service rights revenue could be even greater than the advertising revenue earned domestically.

It was definitely not something they could compromise on.

“If JNBC says they can’t give up, let’s immediately break off negotiations and just supply directly to OTT under a different name. For example, ‘Octopus Spanish Mackerel Sea Bass Yum Yum’ or something.”

“What? What yum yum…?”

She had thought his naming sense had gotten a bit better, but apparently it wasn’t a condition that could be easily cured.

***

Thanks to the efforts of Han Hae-woon and the other three agents, they had identified a considerable number of the money laundering companies operated by Baek Sol.

And by leaving this case entirely to the prosecution, they took a stance of watching the fire from across the river, but they weren’t just sitting idle.

The more urgent things became, the easier it would be for those guys to leave traces, so they were quietly tracking their money flow without being detected.

And then a variable outside their control occurred.

– [Hansae Daily] ‘Black Money’ The ugly truth of the entertainment industry? Prosecution says “Currently investigating the facts”

– [K-News] Did the money flow from the domestic drug organization arrested this time go to the entertainment industry?

‘Hmm?’

Yeon-woo picked up his smartphone after seeing the article.

There was only one place in the entertainment industry where money from the arrested guys had flowed.

Lake Film, which produced ‘Daytona’.

– Articles are coming out now, are they from our reporters?

– Han Hae-woon: No. According to the guidelines we established in advance, we didn’t provide information about money flow to reporters. I also just saw the article and am currently reverse tracking.

– Where was it first reported?

– Han Hae-woon: Hansae Daily. I identified him as Kim Jun-kyung, an economics specialist reporter.

Yeon-woo fell into thought at Han Hae-woon’s immediate response.

Of course, it would be perfect if Lake Film, where those guys had invested quite a large sum, self-destructed by being linked to a drug organization.

But if they rashly touched Lake Film, there was a high possibility that Baek Sol would definitely realize someone was targeting them, so they had deliberately avoided touching it.

‘But what if a reporter uncovered it on their own?’

Just as Han Hae-woon had started investigating after seeing the article, Baek Sol’s organization members wouldn’t just sit still either.

By now, there was a high possibility that Baek Sol was thoroughly investigating everything about Hansae Daily’s reporter Kim Jun-kyung, from his past to his family relationships.

‘But still, to identify the money that flowed to Lake Film in such a short time, that reporter must have considerable ability?’

Yeon-woo and the agents were specialized in this kind of work, and they were in a position of digging traps and waiting from the beginning, so it was easy for them to track money flow.

But this reporter had uncovered it starting from scratch, so he seemed to be someone with exceptional ability in that area.

– Just in case those guys might cause harm, discreetly find out his current location.

Of course, Hansae Daily wasn’t a small newspaper company, and since they knew how much influence the group of journalists could exert when they joined forces after one of them was attacked, the possibility of Baek Sol causing direct harm was very low.

Still, you never know.

‘With consecutive blows, their poison would have risen to the max, so they might move emotionally.’

A response saying “understood” came back from Han Hae-woon to Yeon-woo’s instruction.

And another message came in.

– Kim Min-su hyung: I’ve arrived.

– Yes. I’ll come down right away.

Yeon-woo put on a casual jacket over black wide slacks and left the room.

***

The place they arrived at in Kim Min-su’s car was an upscale Korean traditional restaurant.

‘Ah, here it is.’

It was a restaurant where Yeon-woo had shared lunch several times with Kim Ju-seong, who was the CEO when Yeon-woo was under LN Entertainment.

When Yeon-woo was guided by the staff into the spacious private room in the inner area, Jin Yu-han, who had already arrived, waved his hand.

“Yu-han came early?”

“I didn’t have any particular schedule.”

“You’ll have a cooking variety show schedule coming up soon.”

Jin Yu-han nodded at Yeon-woo’s words.

“I actually heard about it from Director Yoon Mi-yeon this morning.”

“If you don’t feel like doing it, you can quit anytime.”

“No, I welcome anything involving cooking.”

While chatting with Jin Yu-han, other people began arriving one by one.

It was the day they were having a company dinner to celebrate achieving first place in viewership ratings.

“Alright then, no need for long speeches, let’s eat and drink.”

The company dinner began as Director Kim Han-su raised his glass high and shouted.

While they had been eating and drinking for quite some time, Yeon-woo’s smartphone vibrated.

Bzzzz─.

When he brought his smartphone under the table to check, there was a message from Han Hae-woon.

– Han Hae-woon : We’ve identified the current location of Hansae Daily reporter Kim Jun-kyung. It’s a restaurant called ‘Surachae’ located in Cheongdam-dong.

Yeon-woo’s expression changed strangely after checking the message.

‘Surachae?’

Yeon-woo looked at the napkin placed on the table.

– Premium Korean Cuisine Surachae

‘So he’s here right now.’

Since Hansae Daily’s office building was located on Dosan-daero, it wouldn’t be strange for him to have a meal here.

Originally, this restaurant was frequently visited for business entertainment purposes.

‘Hmm, I told the agents to maintain distance and conduct surveillance, but I’ve unknowingly ended up naturally infiltrating. Should I take a look at who he came with.’

The 「Parabola」 team’s company dinner had been reserved two weeks in advance, so there couldn’t be a more perfect alibi than this.

Yeon-woo quietly stood up from his seat.

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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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