NIS Agent Reincarnated as a Genius Actor

Han Hae-woon was tasked with creating a recruitment list to select field agents who would act as Yeon-woo and Han Hae-woon’s hands and feet in the fight against Baek Sol.

And that was a task that took quite a long time.

He had to thoroughly investigate the selected personnel until there was nothing more to uncover, and if there was even the slightest suspicion of a connection with Baek Sol, he had to dig in persistently and trace it.

And since that was mostly legwork, there wasn’t much Yeon-woo, who now couldn’t even walk freely outside, could do to help.

‘Hmm, what should I do in the meantime?’

Just then, Yeon-woo’s smartphone rang.

“Huh? So-hyeon?”

Not Han So-hyeon, but his younger sister Ryu So-hyeon.

“Yeah, So-hyeon.”

– Oppa, what are you doing?

“Nothing at all?”

– Then come home. Mom and Dad want to have dinner together after a long time.

It had been quite a while since he’d gone home due to filming “White Blood,” and he didn’t have anything particular to do in Seoul.

“Okay. Got it. Tell them I’ll come down today.”

After hanging up, he prepared to go to his parents’ home.

Though “preparing” just meant getting dressed and leaving, as there wasn’t much to pack.

===

**

===

While having a cozy chat over home-cooked food with his family after a long time, his sister So-hyeon grabbed his arm and shook it.

“Oppa! Get me an autograph, please.”

“Who? Jin Yu-han? Dong-ha?”

So-hyeon shook her head at Yeon-woo’s words.

“No. Ella!”

“…Han Byul?”

Yeon-woo tilted his head at the unexpected request.

Wasn’t she a Jin Yu-han fan before…?

It was surprising that she suddenly wanted Han Byul’s autograph.

“You like Han Byul?”

“Yes! She’s so cute, like a baby cat.”

“What’s a ‘baby cat’? A baby gangster?”

“…A kitten.”

Yeon-woo stroked his chin at So-hyeon’s words.

If she had asked earlier, he could have gotten it at the last wrap-up party.

He remembered the conversation Han Byul had with her mother during the script reading.

‘She said she wanted my autograph. It would have been perfect to exchange, what a shame.’

Well, they had become quite close now, but it was uncertain if she’d still want his autograph.

“Hmm, the filming is over and I don’t have any particular reason to meet her right now. But I’m sure I’ll see her sometime. If I don’t get a chance, I’ll call and get it for you.”

“Yes! Oh, and you need to sign about a hundred autographs too? For my school friends.”

“…A hundred?”

Then his parents, sitting across from them, chimed in.

“Dad needs about that many too.”

“Mom doesn’t need that many, just about fifty.”

===

**

===

The next day, after catching up with his family whom he hadn’t seen in quite a while.

“Hmm. What’s this? Even when I fired an automatic shotgun continuously, my forearm didn’t ache like this.”

Yeon-woo got up groggily, massaging his right arm which was slightly sore from signing autographs late into the previous night.

Soon after getting ready to go out, Yeon-woo left the house and headed to Jung Cheol-min’s academy.

He took the elevator up to the floor where the academy was, but being morning, there was no one in sight.

‘That’s a relief. I was worried about getting mobbed like last time.’

He recalled the time he came to get advice for his cameo in “Spring’s Lover” right after finishing “Summer’s Promise.”

It was evening then, peak time when students came to the academy after school, so he was surrounded from the entrance.

Yeon-woo passed through the quiet academy lobby and carefully opened the door to the principal’s office.

Creak─.

“Mr. Dipangdal, are you here?”

“Huh? Yeon-woo?”

Jung Cheol-min, who was looking at the suddenly opened door of the principal’s office, spotted Yeon-woo entering.

He was completely surprised as Yeon-woo had come without saying a word.

Seeing Jung Cheol-min like that, Yeon-woo grinned.

“I came down yesterday.”

“You brat. You could have at least said you were coming!”

“If I had said something, it wouldn’t have been a surprise, would it?”

Jung Cheol-min had actually seen Yeon-woo at the wrap-up party, but he was still glad to see him after just a few days.

“Teacher, how’s the academy these days?”

“What’s there to say? It’s at its peak. There are even students coming down from Seoul.”

While it was the fate of provincial areas to fall behind in competition with Seoul, the title of being the academy that produced Ryu Yeon-woo was causing a reversal.

After chatting about this and that, Yeon-woo looked at Jung Cheol-min and asked.

“Teacher. About the small theater run by the academy. There are days when the members don’t use it, right?”

“Small theater? Why the sudden interest in the small theater?”

“Well…”

Yeon-woo explained the whole story of what had happened.

“…Hmm. You’re saying you want to do a play in a small theater at your current stature? And even with Jin Yu-han?”

“Is it too much?”

When Yeon-woo asked, Jung Cheol-min thought for a moment and then shook his head.

“No. It sounds completely fun.”

Right now, to add a little exaggeration, the world was clamoring for Ryu Yeon-woo.

His value was skyrocketing, but because he had contracted for “White Blood” with a ‘running guarantee’ that would bring him profits proportional to its success, there was absolutely no need to accept other offers for financial reasons.

Therefore, apart from pre-contracted advertisements, he wasn’t doing any additional filming at all, and the same went for variety shows.

He was thinking of doing one variety show soon as fan service, but it was certainly not for money or promotion.

And while he was still young enough to build up his filmography plenty more in the future, his status had already risen so high that it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say his career high had begun.

‘But from here, he wants to do a play in a small theater, which could be considered the very bottom?’

And not with a theater company, but with just amateurs?

Of course, there’s no high or low in acting, but from a social and economic perspective, it was going from the highest position to the lowest path.

Paradoxically, it was a choice possible only because he had achieved everything socially and economically.

“Thinking about it again, it’s going to be so much fun. Suddenly, Ryu Yeon-woo and Jin Yu-han are doing a play in a small theater.”

“Right?”

“Then are you going to promote it and all that?”

Yeon-woo shook his head at Jung Cheol-min’s question.

“No. It’s still a long way off, but we won’t even put our names or faces on the posters or tickets.”

Hearing Yeon-woo’s words, Jung Cheol-min smiled as he imagined future audience members who would suddenly see Ryu Yeon-woo and Jin Yu-han appear on stage in a small theater they had stumbled upon by chance.

“Youth really is something else. You’re doing quite an innovative thing.”

Then Jung Cheol-min scratched his head as if troubled and continued.

“But there’s a problem.”

“A problem?”

“Our small theater, you see. Since the flood last summer, there’s been a leak in the ceiling somewhere, and we’re currently under repair, but we can’t seem to fix the leak properly.”

That’s why even the academy students couldn’t perform plays right now.

“Is that so? Hmm. Then I guess we’ll have to rent one in Seoul.”

Hearing Yeon-woo’s words, Jung Cheol-min clapped his hands.

“That’s right! If you’re going to rent in Hyehwa-dong, I have a place to recommend.”

“A place you’d recommend, sir?”

Jung Cheol-min nodded.

“The theater company where I first started acting. It’s on the verge of closing down now, so you could say it’s almost disbanded.”

The theater company ‘Myeongseong’ where Jung Cheol-min first started acting had, contrary to its name meaning ‘fame’, lost almost all of its reputation, and for the past five years, it had been in such poor condition that it was difficult to maintain.

This year, they hadn’t even put on a single performance on stage.

“But the small theater itself is quite decent, you know? It’s a small stage with less than 150 seats, but the lighting and sound systems are quite usable.”

“Then I’m fine with it. We can pay the rental fee and lease it long-term.”

===

**

===

After spending a few days at his family home, today he came up to Seoul with Jung Cheol-min.

“So you haven’t been there since two years ago either, sir?”

“Yeah. But it shouldn’t have gone out of business yet.”

Following Jung Cheol-min’s directions, they parked, and while it was indeed Hyehwa-dong administratively, it was quite far from what one would imagine when thinking of Daehangno.

Pointing to a basement in a secluded area, Jung Cheol-min said,

“It’s here. In the old days, there used to be quite a few theater companies around here, but now only the ones on the main street have survived, and the rest have fallen by the wayside.”

Yeon-woo looked around and nodded.

Given the conditions, it was understandable why business wasn’t good.

“That’s even better. For amateurs to start with.”

“With you and Jin Yu-han there, what do you mean amateurs?”

“Come on, I’m an amateur too when it comes to theater. Oh, I wonder if Yu-han is a professional.”

Chatting away, Jung Cheol-min went down the stairs with familiar steps, and Yeon-woo followed.

“What’s this? There’s no one here. Yeon-woo, take a look around the theater first. The office is on the second floor, you know? I’ll go up first.”

“Okay, sir.”

Jung Cheol-min went back up the stairs, and Yeon-woo looked around the theater.

The seats installed along the slope looked to be in better condition than expected.

Thinking that the facilities were quite decent for being in such a secluded place, Yeon-woo stepped onto the stage.

“Ah-ah.”

When he made a sound, his voice resonated loudly, reflecting off the rounded shape of the ceiling.

“At this level, we might not even need to use separate sound equipment.”

After all, the less equipment used by amateurs, the better.

Standing in the center of the stage and looking at the seats, he felt some inexplicable power from the space itself.

As he had felt at the last awards ceremony when people looked at the stage, there was a special power to a stage.

It was a distinctly different feeling from acting in front of a camera.

“Hmm, but he’s not coming down.”

Quite some time had passed while he was looking around, but there was no sign of Jung Cheol-min.

Meanwhile, Jung Cheol-min, who had gone up to the second floor, was chatting excitedly with a theater company colleague he hadn’t seen in a long time.

It was a colleague who had started theater life together and shared all sorts of hardships.

This colleague had given up on his acting dreams before Jung Cheol-min and gotten a job at a company, but he hadn’t expected to see him here.

“Hey man, it’s been so long. I never dreamed you’d end up buying the theater company.”

“I know, right? I retired early and had nothing to do, so I’m just sitting here. The old memories keep making me nostalgic for some reason.”

The colleague, who had been staring out the window, turned to Jung Cheol-min and spoke again.

“By the way, I’m glad things are going well for you these days. You little rascal. Living the good life thanks to your talented student, huh? You’re going to become a celebrity yourself.”

At his colleague’s words, Jung Cheol-min scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

“What celebrity? I just played a small role, that’s all.”

“By the way, you taught Ryu Yeon-woo? I still can’t believe it. The guy who used to get beaten up with me all the time. Heh.”

“Why are you bringing up ancient history? What beatings?”

“How’s Ryu Yeon-woo? His acting is killer in both movies and dramas.”

It was then that Jung Cheol-min remembered he had left Yeon-woo in the basement.

“Ah, right. Just a moment.”

Creeeeak—.

At that moment, the door opened and Yeon-woo entered.

“Ah, sir. I was waiting downstairs, but you didn’t come down…”

“Huh.”

Seeing Yeon-woo, the colleague jumped to his feet.

It was natural to be surprised when the hottest star in Korea right now suddenly opened the door and walked in.

Looking at his startled colleague, Jung Cheol-min chuckled.

“He came with me, actually. Yeon-woo, say hello. This is my theater company colleague and the current president of this company.”

Hearing the introduction, Yeon-woo bowed his head in greeting.

“Hello, I’m Ryu Yeon-woo.”

“Oh my, yes, yes. Of course I know you. I’m Yoo Ho-cheol, running the theater company ‘Myeongseong’. Well, when I say running, it’s more like we’re just barely keeping the lights on.”

Yeon-woo grinned as he looked at Yoo Ho-cheol.

Was there really any need to say anything more?

For the president of a struggling theater company, this was the best news possible.

“Well, this works out perfectly then. I’d like to rent this theater company for about half a year.”

“Ah, yes, yes. …What?”