NIS Agent Reincarnated as a Genius Actor - Chapter 85

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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 85. Michelangelo

A man making a phone call with a disgruntled expression inside the editing room.

 

A dry man’s voice came through the phone receiver he was holding.

 

– Even so, we can’t create something that doesn’t exist, can we? We’re not those kind of extreme people.

“No, but didn’t you invest quite a bit on your end? Rather, carelessly throwing away one ambiguous supporting actor ended up being a blessing in disguise for them with a cameo appearance.”

 

The man’s voice on the other end of the receiver turned cold at the continued whining.

 

– …Hey. PD Kim Seung-gwan. So you should have directed well from the beginning. Is that something to say to those who invested? You must think we’re a joke. I guess you’re acting up like this because you don’t even want to do that trivial job of making dramas?

 

PD Kim Seung-gwan, who had been venting his frustrations, snapped to attention at the man’s words.

PD Kim Seung-gwan, the chief director of MBS’s “Baldur,” recalled the influence these people of unknown identity had on South Korea’s entire political and business circles and the terrifying rumors he had heard.

 

“No, no, that’s not it. CEO. I must have gone crazy for a moment because I was so frustrated.”

– People, you see, always regret the past only after losing something. How nice would it be if they did well in advance? Be careful not to regret it.

“…Yes, I’m sorry.”

 

Kim Seung-gwan answered quietly with a distorted expression that he understood.

 

– Anyway, this matter is difficult to handle because that Kim Ju-seong CEO guy over there has a tight grip on it, so understand that and let go of your lingering attachment. …So he should have made the drama well from the beginning.

 

Click─.

 

“…Ha.”

 

PD Kim couldn’t remove the smartphone from his ear after being unilaterally notified and hung up on while hearing humiliating words, and he sighed while frozen in place.

 

 

Meanwhile, the man who had been hurling harsh words at PD Kim Seung-gwan roughly hung up the phone in his office.

 

“I’m sorry, senior.”

 

In front of his desk, a subordinate was stretching his neck out like he was on a guillotine and bowing his head.

The man who had ended the call picked up the black name plate in front of him that read “Department Head Kim Gye-sik” and tapped the subordinate’s neck with it as if executing him.

 

“Don’t report this matter separately to the chairman. There’s no need to make him uncomfortable by reporting such trivial matters. Do you understand what I mean?”

“…Yes, senior.”

 

The subordinate bowed his head even deeper.

 

“…We’ll have to find some weakness in that Kim Ju-seong guy somehow.”

 

***

 

The audience count for “Master Plan” sailed smoothly, maintaining the momentum from its strong start.

 

Entering the second week, it broke through 6 million viewers and had already surpassed the break-even point of 4.7 million early on.

Some of those audiences naturally flowed into “Stars Beyond Garam,” where Yeon-woo was starring and currently airing, and Yeon-woo’s market value skyrocketed.

 

“Hmm, what would be good?”

 

Yeon-woo was contemplating while spreading out various advertisement storyboards in his officetel.

 

Having returned to Seoul from his trip with friends, Yeon-woo had no particular schedule set and was thinking of doing activities outside of acting work like CFs and fan signing events, as CEO Kim Ju-seong had suggested.

 

More money is unconditionally better.

 

He had no intention of living miserably while just hoarding money like in his previous life, and even if personal wealth and glory weren’t the goal, if he were to face the mysterious organization called “Baeksol” in the future, war funds would be essential even with Old Man Baek’s support through Han Hae-woon.

 

“But it’s also not good to do too many.”

 

Objectively thinking, his value was likely to rise higher the more work he did.

 

Then, if he signed an advertising contract for one product, he would have to give up advertisements that competing brands might offer at higher amounts even if his market value increased during the contract period, so eagerly taking on all incoming advertisements would be foolish.

 

“I’ll fix these for now.”

 

He set aside the car and carbonated drink advertisement storyboards.

For these, he was confident he could perform even better than the concept content they had sent when he looked at the storyboards.

 

For the others, he had plenty of time until the Netflix audition started, so he should think about them slowly for now.

 

Bzzzz─.

 

Then Yeon-woo’s smartphone rang.

 

“Hm? Director Park Chan-hong?”

 

Yeon-woo swiped his smartphone screen to answer the call.

 

“Yes, Director.”

– Hey, Yeon-woo. Are you busy?

“No. I was resting. I saw the news today about breaking through 6 million viewers. Congratulations.”

 

Director Park’s hearty laughter could be heard through the smartphone at Yeon-woo’s congratulations.

 

– It’s thanks to you. I should congratulate you too. A blue-chip actor who conquered both screen and television simultaneously.

“Not at all. Thank you, Director.”

 

Yeon-woo smiled awkwardly and expressed his gratitude, listening to Director Park Chan-hong’s unusually playful words that didn’t match his image.

 

Then Director Park Chan-hong’s voice continued through the receiver.

 

– I called today because of what I mentioned when leaving the premiere hall that time.

“Ah, I’ll prepare the dinner meeting.”

– No, since I have a favor to ask, naturally I should prepare it. I’m free anytime from today. Could you tell me when it’s convenient for you?

 

‘What kind of favor could it be?’

 

Yeon-woo tilted his head at Director Park Chan-hong’s unexpectedly humble attitude, which he was seeing for the first time.

 

“I’m free today as well.”

– Is that so? Then I’ll send you the location and time. Sorry for making such a sudden appointment.

“Not at all. Director, I’ll meet you at the scheduled time once you contact me.”

 

After hanging up, Yeon-woo fell into deep thought.

 

‘What could the director want to ask of me other than appearing in a movie? That would actually be something I’d welcome with open arms, not something he’d need to ask so humbly for.’

 

Shortly after, a message with the location and time arrived on Yeon-woo’s smartphone.

 

 

Slide─.

 

Following the staff’s guidance, he opened the sliding door and entered to find Director Park Chan-hong standing up to greet Yeon-woo.

 

“Welcome, Yeon-woo.”

“Director. Hello.”

 

Director Park Chan-hong smiled and patted Yeon-woo’s shoulder as he grasped the hand that Yeon-woo had extended in a respectful handshake with both hands and a bow.

 

“Have a seat. I just prepared a course menu. Is there any food you can’t eat?”

“I eat everything well.”

 

The two men sat down and faced each other.

 

“I heard the drama filming went well.”

“Ah, yes. Thanks to what I learned from you during ‘Master Plan’ and the growth I experienced, I was able to finish well.”

“Haha, you say all sorts of things to make this old man feel good.”

 

Director Park Chan-hong looked at Yeon-woo with a satisfied expression and continued speaking.

 

“When people talk about the persona of my film career, they often mention actor ‘Jung Ha-gyun.'”

“Yes, I know.”

 

Persona refers to an actor who is like ‘the director’s alter ego’ who has always been with them throughout their filmmaking career.

 

Looking at the career of actor Jung Ha-gyun, who played the villain and target Park Gang-woo excellently in this ‘Master Plan,’ one can see that he has worked on numerous projects with Director Park Chan-hong until now.

 

“This time I wrote a scenario, or actually, I’ve been cherishing it for a long time since I entered the film industry.”

 

Director Park Chan-hong took out a yellow document envelope from under his coat beside him, placed it on the table, and continued speaking.

 

“Until now, I was actually intoxicated by the success of commercial films, thinking about how to attract more audiences and what would make things look more grand and spectacular while making my works. It was the same when directing this ‘Master Plan.'”

 

Director Park Chan-hong picked up the water glass in front of him, moistened his throat, and looked at Yeon-woo again to ask a question.

 

“Do you happen to know how the media evaluates me?”

“…As a master of commercial films.”

“That’s right.”

 

Park Chan-hong nodded at Yeon-woo’s words and continued with a bitter smile.

 

“That’s putting it nicely, but some evaluate me as a director of mindless entertainment films who only chases money.”

 

Yeon-woo just looked at him silently after hearing Director Park Chan-hong’s self-deprecating words.

 

“But you see, while filming this movie, watching you countless times within the frame, it felt like this scenario I had written before was calling out to me strongly.”

 

Director Park Chan-hong pushed the yellow envelope on the table toward Yeon-woo and continued speaking.

 

“Michelangelo said he discovered angels trapped inside marble and sculpted until he freed those angels. This might sound too grandiose, but watching you act within the frame, I discovered this scenario like Michelangelo. Directors call this a persona.”

 

Unlike what the media talks about, for directors, a persona doesn’t simply refer to an actor who has appeared in many of their works.

 

Did they find an actor through casting who fits the role in that scenario?

Or did the scenario come to mind after seeing that actor?

 

This is a big difference, and Director Park Chan-hong had never encountered such a persona before, so he had never attempted art films suited to that.

 

Yeon-woo stared intently at the yellow document envelope that Director Park Chan-hong had offered.

 

Director Park Chan-hong today felt distinctly different from how he had always appeared before.

Usually, he wasn’t someone who talked this much, nor someone who expressed what he wanted so openly.

 

Throughout his past life, Yeon-woo had seen countless people from numerous countries, and while infiltrating political and business circles of various nations, he had met many successful people in different fields.

 

Looking at Director Park Chan-hong now, Yeon-woo made up his mind.

 

After a few seconds of silence, Yeon-woo finally opened his mouth.

 

“I’ll do this movie.”

 

Director Park Chan-hong’s eyes widened as he watched Yeon-woo agree immediately without even reviewing the scenario.

 

“No, listen to the explanation first. I’m thinking of making this as an independent film with my own money, and I can’t pay much. The genre is also humanistic drama, and it’s intended for film festival submission, but whether it can win awards or not…”

“Director.”

 

Yeon-woo called out to Director Park Chan-hong, who was giving various explanations, and continued.

 

“While doing ‘Master Plan,’ I felt myself growing. I want to film another movie with you, Director. Instead, I won’t take any pay, and I’d like to invest in this film as well.”

“…I wasn’t planning to accept any investment, but if that’s your thinking, I welcome it too. We’ll be making this film together.”

 

Right now, Director Park Chan-hong was frantically giving various explanations about accepting without even reading the scenario, but Yeon-woo could strongly feel that his eyes were filled with confidence about success.

 

People who fail talk about the sweetness of success with their mouths, but their eyes lack conviction and are filled with fear.

 

However, conversely, people who succeed speak with the worst-case scenario in mind, but their eyes are always filled with conviction.

 

Whatever content the scenario contained, it would be successful material, and if Director Park Chan-hong had discovered a scenario from looking at him, it would be a role that fit him perfectly like a custom-made outfit.

 

There was absolutely no reason to refuse.

 

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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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