NIS Agent Reincarnated as a Genius Actor - Chapter 92

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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 92. First Filming of 「Sketch」

“Yeon-woo, it’s so good to see you again.”

“It really is. It’s been a few months since we’ve seen each other, directors.”

 

The staff who came over to greet him were few in number, like a university film club shooting their graduation project, but when you looked at their credentials, they were actually quite impressive.

 

From the cinematographer to lighting, sound, and even the assistant director who had more on-set directing experience than most directors—only the elite of the elite from Park Chan-hong’s team had been deployed.

 

These were people who had already worked together and found their rhythm while filming 「Master Plan」.

 

“Alright, we don’t have that much time for filming cooperation here. Let’s get started.”

 

With Director Park’s words, they stood by near the departure gate, and Yeon-woo and the extras positioned themselves according to the assistant director’s guidance.

 

Since they were short on people at this point, manager Min-su and stylist Ye-eun were also walking around near the departure gate, playing the roles of a young couple.

 

“Ready, cue.”

 

As the departure gate doors opened and Yeon-woo walked out, the camera moved in close and began filming.

 

This was to capture the scene in a way that wouldn’t make the lack of extras look awkward.

 

‘Wow, but it would be a luxury not to capture this face and film something else instead.’

 

The cinematographer walked backwards while capturing a close-up of Yeon-woo’s upper body as he walked out.

 

As Yeon-woo walked out, he took off his sunglasses, looked around with indifferent eyes, and pulled out his smartphone.

 

“Yes, Mother. I’ve arrived.”

 

The New York accent flowed out fluently.

The staff, who had been amazed every time he acted in Italian in the previous work 「Master Plan」, nodded their heads at his perfect English as expected.

 

“You know how I feel. Honestly, I didn’t really want to set foot in this country. But it’s work, so I have no choice.”

 

After pausing for a while as if listening to nagging, he continued with a reluctant nodding expression.

 

“Yes, I understand. I’ll keep an open mind. It must already be night there, so get some sleep, Mother.”

 

After ending the call, Yeon-woo pulled his suitcase and moved out of the frame.

 

“Okay, cut.”

 

As expected, the okay sign came immediately without any NGs, and this time Jeong Cheol-min, who had been waiting, became nervous.

 

The role Cheol-min was playing was a supporting role as ‘Manager Jeong,’ who would briefly introduce Korea to Jay Miller, played by Yeon-woo, in the early part and provide the catalyst for the subsequent situations to unfold.

 

“Alright, if you’re ready, let’s move straight to the next cut.”

 

It was tight to film all the scenes within the two hours of cooperation they had received at the airport.

The staff and actors immediately moved in unison, finishing the setup and changing locations.

 

“We’ll blur the background, so extras, please keep walking by while changing clothes as much as possible.”

 

The extras nodded at the assistant director’s words.

Min-su and Ye-eun also looked at the various colored tops that had been prepared nearby, outside the frame, with somewhat tense expressions.

 

“Oppa, that spot where the clothes are placed won’t be caught by the camera, right?”

“They probably calculated it and put them there. Let’s hurry and walk by, just change our outer clothes and walk by once more.”

 

Ye-eun nodded at Min-su’s words.

Even though they were just walking far behind the actors as they performed, every step forward with their own two legs—legs they had always walked with—felt awkward and seemed to take forever.

 

“Yeon-woo is admirable. How can he be so natural?”

 

Min-su also nodded at Ye-eun’s words.

 

“High, cue.”

 

Then Director Park’s cue was heard, and Yeon-woo stood slightly with one leg bent, one hand in his pocket, looking around.

 

From his posture to his expression, anyone could feel the distinctive appearance and atmosphere of a Korean-American who had just arrived in Korea.

 

And Cheol-min’s voice could be heard from outside the frame.

 

“Hey, Mister Miller?”

 

Yeon-woo, who had been looking around, looked beyond the frame at that voice.

 

With the director’s okay sign, they changed the setup again and prepared to film Cheol-min in earnest.

 

“Cue for that scene again.”

 

Cheol-min also looked around and, as if spotting Yeon-woo, stood slightly on his tiptoes and waved his hand above his head.

 

“Hey, Mister Miller?”

 

As expected of a skilled actor, his expression contained the distinctive atmosphere of an office worker with a hint of hidden tension.

 

In fact, it was an expression stemming from Cheol-min’s worry about how his pronunciation would sound, since he wasn’t confident in English, but as a result, it perfectly conveyed the feeling of an ordinary office worker who had come to meet a foreigner for work.

 

And he walked with slightly quick steps toward where Yeon-woo was, exiting the frame.

 

“Okay. This side was good too.”

 

And now both of them were in the same frame.

 

“I’ll stick to the script without ad-libbing, sir.”

“Right, I memorized it word for word, so you need to do it exactly the same.”

 

Yeon-woo nodded and grinned.

Standing in the same frame as his mentor to film a movie felt strange.

 

“Ready, cue.”

 

With the cue sign, Yeon-woo extended his hand first.

 

“I’m Jay Miller. You’re from A Music Company, right?”

 

Then Jeong Cheol-min mimicked the characteristic body language of Korean salespeople, rubbing his hand once on his suit jacket before politely clasping it.

 

“Please feel free to call me Manager Jeong. I’ll take you straight to the company.”

“Thank you. Then I’ll comfortably call you Mr. Jeong. I’m not a celebrity, so ‘manager’ feels awkward.”

“Ah, understood. This way please. I’ve prepared a vehicle.”

 

Jeong Cheol-min guided Yeon-woo by pointing to the right side of the screen with both hands, based on the frame.

 

There were no separate action descriptions, and while the actual airport entrance was toward the front where the camera was installed, he skillfully calculated where he and Yeon-woo would enter the frame, naturally pointing toward a wall where there was actually nothing while adding natural movements.

 

Meanwhile, the extras, manager Min-su, and stylist Ye-eun busily moved back and forth behind them from a distance, putting on different clothes over their outfits when they moved outside the frame before passing by again.

 

“Good, okay.”

 

Since there wasn’t much time, the staff busily moved and set up equipment again according to the movement as soon as each cut was made.

 

“Alright, let’s go again. Cue.”

 

As Yeon-woo followed Jeong Cheol-min who was leading the way, the cinematographer also followed, filming their backs.

 

“Have you been to Korea before?”

“This is my first time.”

“I see. It’s a warm country. I’ll help you adapt comfortably during your stay.”

“…Thank you.”

 

Though it was a back view, Yeon-woo’s acting conveyed a feeling of reluctance through slightly hesitant steps and delayed responses.

 

The airport scene was quickly finished filming.

Still, since they filmed Yeon-woo and Jeong Cheol-min separately in multiple cuts, quite a bit of time was consumed in setting up.

 

“Alright, then we’ll move to LN Enter headquarters and film the in-car conversation scene and scenery all at once.”

 

***

 

“Composer, do you happen to like indie music as well?”

 

At Mr. Jeong’s question, Jay looked toward the driver’s seat.

 

“I listen to music regardless of genre.”

“Oh, then would you like to stop by the company and go to a festival together? There’s no album work that would take a month or two anyway, and they said to give you time to adapt.”

 

Looking at Mr. Jeong who was actively trying to take care of him, Jay nodded.

 

“Sounds good. Let’s go. I’m curious about Korean indie music, not K-POP.”

 

Jay turned his gaze back to the car window.

His face clearly showed the unfamiliar and subtle emotions he felt while looking at the land of his birth, which he barely remembered anymore.

 

In his eyes, he could see the lively blue Han River and an unknown gray bridge with heavy traffic congestion.

The contrasting sight seemed to represent his current state of mind.

 

The parents who abandoned him and Korea that sent him to America.

And Korea that recognized his dream of composing, which he had started since high school, and gave him the opportunity to build his career.

 

While conflicting emotions swirled within him, the car steadily moved forward and arrived at the company.

 

“Okay. Cut!”

 

After that, they briefly filmed at the LN Entertainment office building and finished today’s shooting.

 

“Wow, it still feels like a dream. I can’t believe I’m appearing in Director Park Chan-hong’s movie.”

“Let’s celebrate at home today, teacher.”

“Should we? Let’s buy some beer on the way in.”

 

Jeong Cheol-min was staying overnight at Yeon-woo’s house to continue filming the indie festival scene tomorrow.

Yeon-woo looked at Cheol-min with a smile, then asked Min-su who was driving in the front seat.

 

“Min-su hyung, do you have any plans after work today?”

“Huh? Not particularly.”

 

Then Jeong Cheol-min’s eyes lit up.

 

“Oh, then how about the manager joins us for a drink? It might be boring if just Yeon-woo and I drink together.”

“Oh, should we?”

 

Although Min-su usually liked alcohol, due to the nature of his manager job requiring him to drive day and night, and because Yeon-woo usually didn’t drink, he had been restraining himself.

 

Knowing this fact, Yeon-woo nodded with a smile.

 

“Min-su hyung, let’s drink together today and sleep at my house. Tomorrow’s lunch shooting, so let’s cure our hangovers and go out together.”

 

 

“Wow, so you found the lighter gun at the claw machine arcade then?”

“Yes, hyung-nim. I was breaking out in cold sweat so much back then.”

 

Kim Min-su, whose stories poured out once alcohol was involved, quickly became close with Jeong Cheol-min.

Watching the two chattering noisily, Yeon-woo smiled and picked up his smartphone.

 

Yeon-woo searched about Master Plan.

 

With about a month left in theaters, it was entering the countdown to ten million viewers.

 

– 「Master Plan」 breaks through 9.5 million on its 33rd day of release. Will it really hit the ten million mark?

– 「Master Plan」 shows its staying power, drawing 500,000 viewers over the weekend.

 

The production company and distribution company are determined to dominate screens until they reach ten million viewers.

At this rate, Yeon-woo thinks they’ll break through ten million viewers within this week, even by conservative estimates.

 

‘Hmm, let me see how the special episode of 「Stars Beyond the Stream」 was received.’

 

Riding on the success, they got an additional week’s programming for two special episodes edited from the making film.

 

Those episodes aired this past weekend.

 

– Special episodes scheduled to ease the regret over the ended 「Stars Beyond the Stream」.

– 「Stars Beyond the Stream」 drives viewership ratings with director’s cut special episodes.

– What’s next for the 「Stars Beyond the Stream」 trio Ryu Yeon-woo × Son Jin-wook × Jin Yu-han?

 

‘Hmm? What’s next?’

 

Yeon-woo clicked on the article that caught his eye.

 

What’s next for the 「Stars Beyond the Stream」 trio Ryu Yeon-woo × Son Jin-wook × Jin Yu-han?

 

The recently ended 「Stars Beyond the Stream」 is enjoying hot popularity.

Among them, three men who captured the hearts of many viewers.

Jin Yu-han has chosen the musical 「Deyandir」 as his next project, creating buzz.

Meanwhile, Son Jin-wook is set to return with the drama 「Prisoner」 directed by Lee Young-hwan.

However, Ryu Yeon-woo still has no concrete news about his next project.

Of course, since he dominated both screen and television this year with amazing performances, he’s still…

 

Yeon-woo nodded as he scrolled down and read the article.

 

Although they keep in touch quite frequently, they usually don’t talk much about work-related matters, so he learned about Jin-wook and Yu-han’s next projects through the article.

 

‘Ah, Yu-han did mention doing a musical last time. But I didn’t know it would be 「Deyandir」.’

 

The musical 「Deyandir」 was Yeon-woo’s favorite musical from his previous life and the connection that allowed Han Hae-woon to find him in this life.

 

‘I guess they adapted it in a Korean style.’

 

It’s a work he’d love to do if given the chance, but Yeon-woo, who’s terrible at singing, naturally shook his head as he recalled his singing skills.

 

Jeong Cheol-min was chatting busily with Kim Min-su when he noticed Yeon-woo quietly looking at his smartphone.

 

“Yeon-woo, what are you looking at?”

“Oh, articles about Jin-wook hyung and Yu-han. Articles about both of their next projects came out.”

“Our movie is an independent film, so reporters probably haven’t gotten wind of it yet, right?”

“Right. The articles about me just say they’re curious about my next project.”

 

After finishing his words, Yeon-woo looked at Kim Min-su.

 

“Min-su hyung. Since I received a lot of help this time too, I’d like to send coffee trucks to both actors.”

“Oh, got it. How about snack trucks instead of coffee trucks? I heard they’re popular these days.”

 

Yeon-woo shows interest in Min-su’s recommendation.

 

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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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