NIS Agent Reincarnated as a Genius Actor - Chapter 58

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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 58. Stars Beyond the Stream

“Aren’t you coming in?”

“Ah… yes?”

 

Han Hae-woon, startled, stammered his words.

 

“Please come in. You’re that person from back then, right? The one who collapsed.”

“Ah… yes, that’s right. I wanted to treat you to a meal as thanks…”

“Your body is okay now?”

“Thanks to you, I’ve gotten better.”

 

Jung Hye-min gestured toward the inside of the Pilates academy.

 

“Come in for now.”

 

Han Hae-woon scratched his cheek awkwardly and followed Jung Hye-min into the academy.

 

“There’s a CCTV at the counter that watches the front door, you know? At first I thought you were some strange person.”

 

Jung Hye-min had been watching through the CCTV as a man paced in front of the academy door, initially thinking he might be a male student who came to learn Pilates.

 

Since it’s an exercise that women do more often, there are occasionally people who hesitate at the door.

 

But when it went on for over an hour, she wondered if he was a strange person and was considering whether to report him, when she looked closely and the man on screen looked somewhat familiar.

 

“Oh, I’m not a strange person.”

 

Han Hae-woon took out a business card from inside his jacket and handed it over.

Jung Hye-min read the business card she received.

 

“Busan Western District Prosecutor’s Office, Prosecutor Han Hae-woon. You were a prosecutor?”

“Ah, yes, that’s right.”

 

Han Hae-woon, who had inadvertently introduced himself, scratched the back of his head.

 

The current situation of introducing himself to his wife from his previous life felt surreal.

 

“But why did someone from Busan come all the way to Incheon that day?”

“Ah, I was investigating something and was in the middle of inquiries.”

 

In fact, the subject of investigation was Jung Hye-min, his wife from his previous life, who was right in front of him.

 

“I see. What I did was really just call for you. You don’t need to treat me to a meal.”

“Still, I really want to repay you somehow…”

 

Han Hae-woon wanted to talk more with his wife from his previous life whom he met after 2 years, and also wanted to see his daughter who must have grown quite a bit by now.

 

“It’s really okay.”

“Still, I don’t feel comfortable…”

 

Jung Hye-min, who had been contemplating something while looking at Han Hae-woon, spoke up.

 

“Then forget the meal, could you give me a ride somewhere? You have a car, right?”

“Yes, of course.”

 

Jung Hye-min and Han Hae-woon closed the academy and went down to the parking lot.

 

Jung Hye-min took out her smartphone and called somewhere.

 

“Oh, Mom. Please watch Ha-yoon a bit longer. I think I’ll be a little late.”

 

After ending the call, Han Hae-woon asked Jung Hye-min.

 

“Where are you going?”

“It’s quite close by car. I’ll explain on the way. Thank you for giving me a ride.”

 

Han Hae-woon got in the car at the parking lot and drove according to Jung Hye-min’s directions.

 

Han Hae-woon’s expression, while driving, hardened stiffly when he saw the road signs.

 

Han Hae-woon’s car had arrived at the destination before he knew it.

 

“Thank you. I can call a taxi for the way back.”

 

Jung Hye-min greeted Han Hae-woon and got out of the car. Han Hae-woon followed her out.

 

“Will you be… long?”

“No. About 30 minutes or so?”

 

At Jung Hye-min’s words, Han Hae-woon opened the back seat door and put on his jacket.

 

“Since I’m here, I’ll pay my respects to the deceased and take you home. You said all you did was make a phone call, but to me, you’re a benefactor who saved my life.”

“…Let’s do that then.”

 

Han Hae-woon walked behind Jung Hye-min who was leading the way.

 

When they first set out, he never dreamed that the place she wanted to be taken to was the columbarium where his own ashes were enshrined.

 

Following the corridor with bright lighting but somehow feeling a cool atmosphere, they could see the enshrinement shelves containing countless urns.

 

Jung Hye-min went and stood in front of Baek Yu-hyeon’s enshrinement shelf, located at eye level in the center of the brightest spot.

Han Hae-woon quietly followed and observed a moment of silence beside her.

 

After staying silent for several minutes, Jung Hye-min spoke.

 

“My husband was someone who did dangerous work for the country.”

 

Han Hae-woon couldn’t make any response due to indescribable feelings and just listened silently.

 

“He used to say like a habit that if he died, I shouldn’t hesitate and should meet a good person again. Every time he said that, I wanted to sew his mouth shut.”

 

Han Hae-woon flinched at the cold voice and touched his mouth.

 

“He was so loyal to the country, but all that came back was just money. I didn’t need consolation money for the bereaved family—I just wanted to get my husband’s body back.”

“His body…?”

 

Han Hae-woon asked while looking at the urn inside the memorial altar.

Jung Hye-min answered with a forlorn voice.

 

“They refused to disclose both my husband’s body and the date of his death, saying it was classified information. Thanks to that, I don’t even know when he died, so I come on his birthday instead of his death anniversary.”

“…”

 

Come to think of it, it was the 23rd.

Different month, but today was his birthday.

Probably, after his death, every 23rd of the month, this woman who couldn’t even drive would have taken a taxi or bus to come all the way here.

 

What was that belief worth to cause such heartache to the people around him?

 

Seeing his past life’s wife grieving over his death right before his eyes, tears suddenly streamed down Han Hae-woon’s face like a broken faucet.

 

“…Are you crying?”

 

Jung Hye-min was flustered when the large Han Hae-woon suddenly showed tears, even though she herself wasn’t crying.

 

“Ah, I’m sorry. I’m quite sensitive.”

“…Thank you. For having someone shed tears for him.”

 

Seeing another person’s tears made Jung Hye-min’s heart well up, and tears formed in her eyes too.

 

After mourning for a while like that, Jung Hye-min spoke up.

 

“Let’s head back now. Thank you so much for today.”

“Oh, not at all.”

 

At Jung Hye-min’s request to be taken to the building where the Pilates Academy was located, Han Hae-woon drove the car in that direction again.

 

Then, as if something occurred to him, he asked Jung Hye-min in the back seat.

 

“Then is that urn empty inside?”

“…No. It contains paper cranes that my daughter and I folded, and a notebook he always carried around. It’s filled with content I can’t make out, but it was his cherished possession that he always kept with him.”

 

The moment he heard those words, Han Hae-woon felt he absolutely had to see that notebook.

 

‘Would opening my own urn be considered grave robbing?’

 

***

 

After the pension trip ended and he returned to his officetel in Seoul to rest, his phone rang.

 

“Yes, Team Leader Jeong.”

– Ah, Yeon-woo. This has become quite awkward.

 

It was Team Leader Jeong Hyeok with a troubled voice.

The only thing Team Leader Jeong would discuss with Yeon-woo was the historical drama he was considering for his next project.

 

“Did they reject me?”

– No. Of course not. When I first called, they welcomed it with open arms, but it seems another actor simultaneously expressed interest in the same role.

 

Team Leader Jeong paused briefly before continuing.

 

– So if neither side is willing to give up, they’re hinting they’d like to hold an audition…

“If that’s the issue, I’m fine with it. Both my first and second projects were cast through auditions.”

 

Although Ryu Yeon-woo was still a newcomer, his debut work had set the highest viewership record for JNBC, and he had already finished filming as the lead in Director Park Chan-hong’s movie, so once it was released, he would practically be guaranteed first priority for casting offers.

 

Broadcasting station officials couldn’t be unaware of this, and of course Ryu Yeon-woo himself knew it too.

 

Unlike foreign countries, the domestic entertainment industry hadn’t established an audition culture among established actors, so Team Leader Jeong Hyeok had been cautious, thinking Yeon-woo might feel his pride was hurt if he had to audition.

 

But Yeon-woo had no such thoughts at all.

 

There was one role, but multiple people wanted it, so competing for it was natural.

 

– There’s no filming scheduled recently, and thinking of actors comparable to you, I believe it’s probably actor ‘Jin Yu-han.’

“I see.”

 

Yeon-woo had been hearing the name of Jin Yu-han, an actor his same age, quite often lately.

 

– Then I’ll proceed with that understanding.

“Yes, thank you for your hard work.”

 

***

 

Team Leader Jeong Hyeok thought the other actor’s side might refuse the audition, but unexpectedly the audition schedule was quickly coordinated and audition scripts with the same content were delivered to each talent agency.

 

Yeon-woo received the script through his manager Min-su.

 

The audition script had two acting assignments, the first being dialogue from a scene where Seo Hee defies his father’s will for the first time when the family pushes for a political marriage.

 

Yeon-woo first read through the first dialogue lightly.

 

“If I must have a political marriage, wouldn’t that prove our family lacks that much power in this land of Goryeo? Father. I believe we, the family of a founding contributor, need not do such a thing. Please use my free marriage as an opportunity to display the dignity of the Seo Family.”

 

It was a scene where he cleverly projected his own goals onto the family’s honor, arguing that allowing him to freely marry whom he wanted would prove that Seo Hee’s family possessed strong power.

 

In the drama, he hadn’t even firmly decided his feelings for the female lead Hong Ui-yeon yet, but when talk of political marriage arose, he showed the qualities of a diplomat who gets what he wants through conversation—a comedic scene.

 

‘First of all, the genre isn’t an epic historical drama but a faction historical drama with romance.’

 

This part would suit better with a slightly comedic touch, persuading like a marketplace merchant, rather than the solemn feeling conveyed in the written content.

 

While filming Director Park Chan-hong’s movie this time, Yeon-woo had developed a habit of always making subjective interpretations when analyzing dialogue, different from what was written in the script lines.

 

Yeon-woo meticulously analyzed the intentions of the broadcasting station’s planner and the writer, writing down the feelings he thought of.

 

“The problem is this one.”

 

The second script lines.

While the first script lines were explained in quite detail, the second script lines had only a single line of dialogue written.

 

“Why are there no detailed background explanations in the second script lines?”

 

Was it because the writer was hastily writing the script and couldn’t write it in time?

Or was interpreting this dialogue itself the audition condition?

 

Yeon-woo lightly read through the content for now.

 

“How can you be so lacking in spirit and so powerless? Are you stepping back yet another step? If you step back one step, eventually you’ll have to step back ten thousand steps.”

 

Which part would this dialogue appear in? Only the dialogue was written without any narration or explanation.

 

At first glance, it seemed like a scene where Seo Hee was confronting the court officials who were advocating surrender.

 

Then what kind of feeling should he bring to life in his acting?

 

“Hmm, this…”

 

Yeon-woo fell deep into thought for a while.

 

Yeon-woo, who had been alternately looking at the treatment that briefly outlined the work’s content and the audition script, smiled as if he had realized something.

 

“I don’t know whose idea this was, but it’s a bit wicked.”

 

Soon he began writing down the thoughts that came to mind densely next to the script lines.

 

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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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