NIS Agent Reincarnated as a Genius Actor - Chapter 98

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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 98. Pretending Not to Understand

Three days had passed since visiting Jin Yu-han’s musical theater company to show support.

Now Yeon-woo was back on the filming set in earnest, shooting “Sketch.”

 

“Today’s scene will be completely free-flowing, so it depends on your abilities. To borrow that documentary feel, I’m really not going to tell you anything, so think of it as if there’s no camera and just go on a trip.”

 

Yeon-woo nodded at Director Park Chan-hong’s words.

 

According to the scenario, a few days after Jay returns from the indie music festival, he boards a bus heading out of the city alone with just his guitar, seeking inspiration for working on a new song.

 

The only staff accompanying him were Director Park Chan-hong and one Camera Director.

 

“Good. No one recognizes you either. We can capture this realistically.”

 

They hadn’t chartered a bus for filming.

Since they were taking an actual bus heading out of the city during daytime from Seoul Outskirts, there weren’t many passengers, and they were mostly elderly people who didn’t recognize Yeon-woo.

 

The passengers just glanced curiously at the bearded man getting on with a camera.

 

Since these were scenes that would only capture visuals without dialogue, Yeon-woo sat curled up in the seat above the bus’s rear wheels, looking around with interest like a Korean-American who found the scenery outside the window fascinating.

 

‘Ah, this is the place.’

 

When the bus arrived at the suburban town center he’d been told about in advance, Yeon-woo pressed the bell and got off, and Director Park Chan-hong and the Camera Director followed him off as if they were really traveling.

 

Yeon-woo wore a mask, and Director Park and the Camera Director walked following him from a distance.

 

‘Scenic bicycle. Here it is.’

 

Yeon-woo moved naturally as if traveling alone, following the course Director Park Chan-hong had planned through advance location scouting.

There were no staff controlling the filming set, and no shops that had been arranged for filming in advance.

 

He bought a bicycle from an old bicycle shop run by a grandfather and came out, while the camera quietly zoomed in from across the street to film Yeon-woo coming out of the shop wheeling the bicycle.

 

Then Yeon-woo freely rode the bicycle with his guitar on his back, leaving the town center.

The camera captured Yeon-woo riding the bicycle as he naturally moved away in the sunlight.

 

Bzzzz─.

 

His smartphone rang in his pocket, and when he answered, Director Park Chan-hong’s voice came through.

 

– Okay, cut. Come back.

“Yes, Director.”

 

Yeon-woo turned the handlebars and chuckled as he pedaled back toward where Director Park Chan-hong was.

What a unique filming method, riding a bicycle alone and getting the okay signal through his smartphone.

 

If people knew that the nation’s top commercial film director and the hottest actor were filming on suburban country roads with just one camera in a way that even a film club probably wouldn’t use, with a bit of exaggeration, more reporters than the population of this neighborhood might chase after them.

 

 

Jay tied his bicycle in front of a hangover soup restaurant on an isolated two-lane national highway and came out after eating hangover soup.

 

Hangover soup was a Korean dish that Mr. Jeong had introduced to Jay when he came to visit first thing in the morning after Jay suffered from a hangover the day after participating in the indie festival dinner.

 

After devouring it as if enchanted by the taste, it became Jay’s number one favorite food in his Korean life.

 

Since he wasn’t yet familiar with Korean writing, Jay would look at the characters for hangover soup he’d photographed on his smartphone, and if the shape matched, he’d go in and only knew how to say “Hangover soup, please.”

 

This was the only part of today’s filming that had been arranged in advance with filming cooperation.

Jay came out after deliciously devouring the hangover soup.

 

Jay’s steps stopped as he walked with his guitar slung over his shoulder to get the bicycle he’d tied to the thin streetlight next to the shop.

 

Bewilderment quickly spread across his face.

 

The Camera Director captured that expression and naturally moved the frame to the streetlight where the bicycle had been tied.

 

“What the─.”

 

The gray streetlight stood forlornly with only the front wheel that had been tied remaining, while the frame and rear wheel had disappeared.

 

Chirp chirp─.

 

A moment of silence flowed, and only the birds sang mournfully.

 

The scene became ironically funny as Jay stood frozen in place with a serious expression looking at the lone remaining front wheel, contrasted with the peaceful sound of blue street trees and birds chirping.

 

Eventually Jay took out his smartphone from his pocket and called somewhere.

 

“Hey, Mr. Jeong.”

– Oh, Jay, what’s the matter?

“Last time at the cafe, you said Koreans don’t steal anything, right? That they don’t covet laptops or bags, but covet the seat where that person was sitting.”

 

Jay shrugged and spoke as if incredulous, and a voice came from the other end of the phone receiver.

 

– That’s right. We don’t covet other people’s things. Delivery packages are even left in front of houses.

“Then why is only the front wheel of my bicycle left? I only went in to eat for 30 minutes.”

 

After a brief silence, as if Jay had heard something from Mr. Jeong, Jay tilted his head.

 

“Eom-beok-deong? What’s that?”

– Ahem, there is such a thing. I’ll come pick you up for now. Where are you?

“Well, I have no idea where this is. I was planning to ride the bicycle back the way I came.”

– If there’s any shop nearby, take a picture and send it to me. I’ll look it up and use GPS to come.

 

Yeon-woo looked at the hangover soup restaurant in front and nodded.

 

“Okay. Thanks. Sorry for the trouble.”

 

Just as he hung up the phone and lifted his smartphone to photograph the shop, the battery died.

 

“…Ah, nothing’s going right. This damn Korea.”

 

Since he had come out to the suburbs and kept stopping his bicycle to take out his guitar and record on his smartphone whenever inspiration struck, the battery must have drained quickly.

 

“Okay, cut.”

 

With the director’s signal, Yeon-woo approached Park Chan-hong.

Seeing Yeon-woo, the director explained the next scene.

 

“You’ll walk up that hill along the shoulder, and we’ll film a long shot from here. Then when the truck stops, just get in. It probably won’t go according to the script.”

“That scene. Did you find a suitable actor?”

 

When Yeon-woo asked, Director Park Chan-hong smiled meaningfully.

 

“I found one. Now let’s start filming. I’m leaving this scene entirely to your improvisation.”

 

If this had been a typical shoot, they would have finished script reading before filming began, and even if he had missed it, since it was a supporting role with considerable weight, he would have heard in advance who was cast. But this film was outside the normal range in every aspect.

 

‘That’s what makes it interesting and exciting. Not knowing what will happen next and the story flowing improvisationally.’

 

Of course, there was naturally a broad framework, but each shoot sometimes changed improvisationally on set.

However, that aspect seemed to help him immerse more into Jay’s role of returning to the unfamiliar country of Korea.

 

Yeon-woo nodded and slung the guitar on his back, trudging along the narrow mountain pass where cars rarely traveled.

 

And the director quietly stood in place, capturing with his camera Yeon-woo walking alone up the hill in the sunset scenery.

 

Now he was far enough away that Yeon-woo appeared as a black silhouette against the sunset.

Then a white 1.5-ton small truck slowly followed Yeon-woo up the hill from behind.

From the vegetables loaded in the back, it seemed like someone returning from work after selling vegetables at the market.

 

The truck passed Yeon-woo, then stopped and slowly reversed back.

And the truck owner and Yeon-woo seemed to be having some conversation.

 

“Excuse me, could you take me to the nearest bus station?”

 

Immersed in Jay’s role of not speaking Korean, Yeon-woo wasn’t flustered by the appearance of the person before him and steadfastly spoke in English.

 

The truck owner tilted her head looking at Yeon-woo.

 

“Seeing this young man speaking foreign words, you must be from abroad?”

 

The person driving the truck was a grandmother.

 

‘In the scenario, it was definitely a young man who sold vegetables.’

 

Judging by the cameras installed in various parts of the truck, this was definitely the truck Director Park Chan-hong had mentioned.

 

‘Then this person must be the actor he cast.’

 

Although the opposing role had changed from a young man to a grandmother, thinking about the later content, he nodded thinking this might actually be more appropriate.

Then rather than being flustered, Yeon-woo immersed himself more into the ‘Jay’ role and approached the truck.

 

“Could you give me a ride to the nearest station?”

 

Yeon-woo asked in English while gesturing to himself and then pointing to the passenger seat.

Then the grandmother in the driver’s seat nodded.

 

“Oh my. You’re lost. Hurry and get in. It gets cold quickly once the sun sets.”

 

Seeing the grandmother nod, Yeon-woo got into the passenger seat.

 

“Young man, how did you get lost? What’s your name?”

“Sorry?”

“What’s your name? Name. Don’t you know what a name is?”

“Are you asking my name? It’s Jay. Jay.”

 

Acting like he couldn’t understand his native language was more difficult than expected.

Work to express hyperrealistically by identifying himself with the character in the play.

 

In other words, it required tremendous method acting.

 

Of course, even in his previous life, he had never acted like he didn’t know Korean, but fortunately, when carrying out information extraction operations, it was frequent to pretend not to hear while understanding all of that country’s language.

 

After all, people are more likely to reveal secrets in front of someone who doesn’t understand.

 

Hearing Yeon-woo’s answer, the grandmother nodded.

 

“Your name is Jae-hee? That’s the same name as the granddaughter of the grandmother next door. You’re pretty and even have a girl’s name.”

“Yes, Jay.”

“Right. Jae-hee.”

 

To pretend not to understand, Yeon-woo kept thinking of other things internally and intentionally let the other actor’s words flow past him as much as possible.

 

Driving slowly along the country road at a leisurely pace, the grandmother spoke again.

 

“Young man, have you eaten?”

“Rice?”

“Right. Have you eaten rice?”

 

Yeon-woo stroked his chin, pondering.

 

‘Jay would have only understood the word rice from that conversation just now. What would he say if he heard rice?’

 

After thinking from Jay’s perspective, he opened his mouth.

 

“Hangover soup?”

“Oh my. You’ve been drinking. Have a bowl of hangover soup before you go. I’ll give you a bowl of radish green soup and rice when we get home.”

 

Though he couldn’t understand what was being said, Jay nodded when he heard the word hangover soup.

 

And the truck slowly headed toward Grandmother’s house, carrying the vegetables and Yeon-woo.

 

 

“Jae-hee. Grandmother will quickly make you some dried radish greens soup.”

 

Pointing to the old wooden dining table with her finger, Grandmother went into the kitchen.

 

Jay made a confused expression and followed the grandmother he was seeing for the first time in his life into the house with hesitant steps.

 

Behind him, Director Park Chan-hong and the Camera Director naturally followed inside.

 

‘Grandmother’s acting is extraordinary. She’s really doing hyper-realistic acting that fits the documentary format.’

 

It really felt like a grandmother who happened to meet a lost foreigner brought him home to prepare a meal.

Although the director and camera are clearly following behind Yeonwoo, he doesn’t spare them a single glance.

Yeonwoo also played along, convincing himself that he was the American ‘Jay Miller’ as he curiously examined the decorative stones displayed in the living room showcase from various angles.

Before long, grandmother emerged from the kitchen carrying dishes and began to speak.

“Come here. I’ve prepared it, so eat up quickly.”

Jay sat down with hesitant steps.

“You keep saying something in that foreign language. Just eat quickly.”

 

Jay tilted his head as he looked at the food placed before him.

 

“It looks different from the hangover soup I’ve seen before.”

 

Grandmother nodded after hearing Jay’s muttering.

 

“That’s right, it’s hangover soup.”

“Yes, hangover soup it is.”

“Thank you for providing the food.”

After expressing gratitude in English, Jay picked up his spoon and brought a spoonful of dried radish green soup with rice to his mouth.

Just then, Director Park Chan-hong shouted from behind.

“Okay, cut.”

Yeon-woo put down his spoon and bowed his head to Grandmother in greeting.

 

“Hello, senior. I’m Ryu Yeon-woo.”

“Hello, senior. I’m Ryu Yeonwoo.”

Then Director Park Chan-hong spoke from behind Yeon-woo.

 

“Yeon-woo. This is my mother.”

“Until 30 years ago, she was active in Hollywood as an Asian actress.”

“Yeonwoo. This is our mother.”

“···Huh?”

“Up until 30 years ago, she was working as an Asian actress in Hollywood.”

“My son thinks highly of his mother. It wasn’t anything grand like a major role – I was just a bit player.”

Today, Yeonwoo wasn’t the only one who pretended not to be able to speak or understand their native language.

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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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