NIS Agent Reincarnated as a Genius Actor

“This bustling scene is like a major city such as New York or Seoul.”

Akhenaton, not knowing what ‘New York’ or ‘Seoul’ were, nodded in agreement.

“Yes, Trachea is indeed a major city.”

“What’s a major city?”

Ella, now switching her target of questions, shook Akhenaton with her bright, inquisitive eyes.

Having diligently answered her questions since they left the orbital elevator, Akhenaton now seemed visibly tired of the endless barrage and shook his head.

“Um, please step aside for a moment, Ella. First, we need to read the omens now that we’re in Trachea.”

With that, he took out a crystal ball and cards from his bag.

“…Reading omens? So, you are a fortune-teller after all.”

“It is to guide the divine on the right path.”

He floated the crystal ball and cards in the air, muttering something under his breath, and his eyes glowed blue.

“Hmm, over there. My Lord, you need to get into that car. Fate is guiding us.”

Do-jin tilted his head and pointed to a green vehicle parked on the roadside.

“Get into that car? Just like that? Do you even know whose car that is?”

“That car belongs to a worker who receives oxygen and takes passengers to their destinations. Let’s go. I will assist you.”

So, it’s a kind of taxi.

Given Akhenaton’s status as a prince, it seemed he had visited Trachea multiple times and knew quite a bit about it.

‘He sure makes a simple taxi ride sound complicated.’

Since he had no idea where to go in this city anyway, Do-jin decided to follow the confident Akhenaton.

With a hum, the car hovered slightly above the ground. Akhenaton opened the back door and got in naturally.

Do-jin and Ella followed, and the car door closed. The driver turned around with a friendly smile.

“Welcome! This Dipangdal will take you safely to your destination, dear passengers!”

As Jung Cheol-min appeared on the screen, Lee Si-yeon, a student at the academy, screamed.

“Eek! Director?!”

Recently, 「White Blood」 had become so popular that not watching it made it hard to converse with others.

Lee Si-yeon was watching the newly released episode on her laptop at home and was shocked by the unexpected appearance of Jung Cheol-min.

Jung Cheol-min had been cast suddenly and, feeling shy about it, hadn’t mentioned his appearance to anyone at the academy.

“So that’s why he hasn’t been coming to the academy lately. This is amazing!”

Naturally, she couldn’t keep this surprising news from her academy friends.

Just as she was about to capture the screen and send the photo to the academy group chat, someone beat her to it.

It made sense, as her friends were likely watching the episode as soon as it was released.

The show’s popularity wasn’t limited to the younger generation.

Manager Oh had felt a bit distant from his daughter since she entered puberty. However, after a colleague recommended 「White Blood」, he asked his daughter to connect the TV to watch it, and their relationship had dramatically improved.

“Huh? Since when does Dad like dramas? You always watch the news.”

“No, Dad likes fantasy too.”

In fact, fantasy had been mainstream in the global film market when Manager Oh was young, in the early 2000s.

Movies like 「Dwarves and Rings」, 「Magic Broom」, and 「Alice Chronicles」 were popular.

‘That was a time when fantasy novels, which could only be imagined, were being brought to life with the advancement of CGI technology.’

Manager Oh reminisced while watching 「White Blood」 with his daughter.

On the other hand, the recent trend of superhero movies, especially in Hollywood, was quite different from true fantasy.

Urban fantasy, featuring heroes with special abilities set in modern times, focused on the characters themselves.

Since the focus was on the ‘hero characters,’ it differed from traditional fantasy, which was based on curiosity about new worlds.

Manager Oh had even skipped a company dinner to rush home and watch the new episode released today.

“Dad’s home.”

“Welcome back! Dad, hurry up. Everything’s ready!”

As Manager Oh entered through the front door, his middle school daughter greeted him cheerfully.

The laptop was connected to the TV, and everything was set up so that all he had to do was press the play button.

“Wow, well done. That’s my girl.”

Manager Oh immediately sat down on the sofa after getting home, and his daughter pressed play.

Seeing her husband and daughter getting along so well, his wife chuckled as she came out of the bedroom.

“What a rare sight. The two of you getting along so perfectly.”

Both father and daughter shushed her while pointing their index fingers to their lips.

“Shh!”

「White Blood」 is about to start.

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***

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“Akhenaton, where are we going?”

“It’s the lodging where I usually stay when I visit for diplomatic events as part of the Liver delegation.”

Do-jin nodded at Akhenaton’s explanation.

The maglev taxi carrying Do-jin and his companions quickly entered the city center.

During the ride, the affable Ella struck up a conversation with Dipangdal, who seemed to enjoy a good chat and responded with a smile.

“Mr. Dipangdal, who is that person in the picture?”

Ella asked, looking at a photo hanging next to the driver’s seat.

“Hm? Ha-ha. That’s a picture of me and my friend Emilin in our younger days.”

Do-jin, who had been looking at the photo since he had entered the taxi, touched his chin thoughtfully.

It was the first time he had seen a photograph since entering the body, and the ride into the city center was somewhat dull.

“I thought it was your wife, but it’s not.”

At Do-jin’s comment, Ella looked at him and started her questioning again.

“What’s a wife?”

“……”

Isn’t that a bit too much?

Given the differences in civilizations, it was understandable that there were things they didn’t know, but not knowing what a wife was?

Do-jin, too tired to explain, looked at Akhenaton as if to say, “You handle this.” However, Akhenaton’s face mirrored Ella’s curious expression.

“My Lord, what is a wife?”

“What are you talking about? A wife is a wife. A spouse. A partner. Someone you marry. Someone you love.”

But their faces still showed confusion.

“…Is there no concept of marriage in this world? Ella, you have parents, right? That’s how you were born.”

“Huh? I was just born on my own!”

Do-jin’s expression turned bewildered as he looked at Akhenaton for an explanation.

“What is she talking about, Akhenaton?”

“Well, most red blood cells do not know how they were born. I was taught that our great mother, Hematopoiesis, created us and sent us into the world.”

Hearing Akhenaton’s words, Do-jin quickly understood the structure of their world.

“I momentarily forgot that you are cells.”

Since entering the trade city of Trachea, which had a civilization level almost identical to modern society, he had momentarily forgotten.

It made sense that red blood cells wouldn’t marry and give birth to other red blood cells.

It was clear what Akhenaton meant by the great mother.

‘Hematopoietic stem cell (HSC).’

Located primarily in the red bone marrow at the center of bones, hematopoietic stem cells are the stem cells that generate all types of blood cells.

“So, this is a universe without love.”

Though not usually sentimental, Do-jin recalled a famous 21st-century sci-fi movie that said love was the only thing that transcended space and time.

“What is love?”

Seeing Ella ask the question, Do-jin shook his head.

“…Well. You have no idea how philosophical your question is.”

Ella’s question reminded him of his younger sister, who had grown weaker day by day in her hospital bed.

Perhaps it was because Ella and his sister’s images overlapped to some extent.

Despite being inside his sister’s body, paradoxically, it had been six years since he last saw her.

“True, love isn’t just about Eros. Love is wanting to see someone, missing them terribly when you can’t, and wanting to give them everything, even if it means sacrificing your own.”

“Huh.”

As he spoke, Dipangdal’s car arrived at the destination.

“We’ve arrived, guests.”

Akhenaton took out a few oxygen beads from his pocket in response to Dipangdal’s announcement.

“Thank you for the comfortable ride. I’ve added a bit more than the agreed-upon fare.”

“Oh, you didn’t have to do that. But it’s just like a noble from another country to be so generous. Thank you!”

Do-jin had noticed the respectful way Dipangdal addressed them and remembered that Akhenaton was a prince.

Observing the natural way he was treated with deference, Do-jin felt the novelty of the situation.

Stepping out of the car, Akhenaton led them to the grand entrance of a large lodging.

“Let’s stay here for now while I look into a ship heading to Cardiac.”

“A ship?”

At Do-jin’s question, Akhenaton pointed to the sky and nodded.

“To head to Cardiac, we must take a ship. Normally, you’d need proper identification, but I’ll see what I can do about that.”

Looking where Akhenaton pointed, Do-jin could see a procession of spaceships flying in the distance.

“…That’s the ship?”

It was indeed fortunate to have brought Akhenaton along.

How would he and Ella, who didn’t even know what a city was, manage to secure a spaceship on their own?

Following Akhenaton’s lead, they entered the lodging.

The size of the lodging was comparable to a modern 5-star hotel.

As they went inside to check in, a female red blood cell who resembled a hotelier approached with a smile and greeted them politely.

“Welcome back. It’s an honor to have you visit us again, Prince Akhenaton.”

Then, a male red blood cell wearing a red bellboy jacket came over and smoothly took the luggage from Akhenaton and Ella.

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***

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As soon as her Pilates class ended, Seo Ji-eun rushed home and became engrossed in watching the drama, only to be startled.

“Eek? Senior Han So-hyeon?”

The hotelier on the screen was Han So-hyeon.

“Gasp. Even Senior Son Jin-yuk!”

And the bellboy was, of course, Son Jin-yuk.

Seo Ji-eun had always admired Han So-hyeon as an actress, but after hearing that Han So-hyeon had recommended her for 「Sketch」, she became a complete fan.

“Amazing! Ah, Yeon-woo, why! I could have done a cameo too!”

Seeing Son Jin-yuk, Han So-hyeon, and Ryu Yeon-woo all on the same screen made her unbearably envious.

She grabbed her smartphone and began furiously typing.

Bzzz—.

Bzzz—.

As his smartphone buzzed continuously, Yeon-woo paused his monitoring of 「White Blood」.

“Hmm? Ji-eun noona?”

Yeon-woo clicked on the message and chuckled at its content.

[Seo Ji-eun: Why didn’t you call me!]

[Seo Ji-eun: I could have done a cameo too!]

[Seo Ji-eun: I want to act with Senior Han So-hyeon too!]

Yeon-woo lightly tapped his fingers on the screen and sent a reply.

[Let’s all do it together in the next project. Not as cameos, but as part of the main cast.]