NIS Agent Reincarnated as a Genius Actor

“Oh my, isn’t success in this field even more enviable than a regular profession these days, Father? You’ve given birth to a son who looks like you and resembles such a charismatic figure. If he goes to waste in another field, wouldn’t it be a loss for the entertainment industry in Korea?”

Jung Cheol-min took a moment to catch his breath and continue speaking.

“As it happens, we’re currently running a promotion where you can receive free training for a month. Even if it’s just a hobby, why not give it a try? Learning acting can teach you how to express emotions and also help relieve the stress from academic pressures!”

The employee sitting in the inner office, who usually couldn’t help but speak out of line, marveled at how our director was able to spill words like a machine gun, and around that time, Ryu’s father, spoke up.

“Oh, as it’s happening during an event, is this also fate? It’s a great opportunity! How about you, Yeon-woo?”

“Yes, Father, I like the idea. I’ll give it my best shot and learn.”

Upon receiving the subsequent response, Director Jung Cheol-min rejoiced inwardly. The current Yeon-woo had lost even more weight since the beginning of the school year, and now he had reached a level where he could draw some attention from his surroundings.

“‘I have to personally teach this friend even if I have to pour my soul into it!'”

Jung Cheol-min, who is kind-hearted and good with people, continues to support the local small theater, maintaining stages for former students who haven’t yet left the local theater scene, using the monthly profits from the academy to cover the theater’s deficits.

In truth, he was more a passionate actor clinging to the love of acting than a skilled businessman.

So, rather than facing competition from larger academies in Seoul, he was struggling to maintain his place in the smaller marketplace of Daejeon. Ryu Yeon-woo’s presence could potentially serve as a foundation to revive the academy, not only for commercial reasons, but also because he had the looks that Jung Cheol-min wanted to nurture into an actor.

“In that case, Father, let’s proceed that way. Once I get to know him a bit through consultation, I’ll schedule his lessons!”

“Yes, let’s do that.”

Jung Cheol-min shook hands with Ryu Cheol-yung, Yeon-woo’s father, and internally celebrated once again.

‘Visuals like that are hard to come by, even among the aspiring actors in Seoul. It’s not just about needing a bit more life experience; it’s genuinely rare. Even if he lacks talent, with consistent nurturing of the fundamentals, he’ll stand out even in public auditions with hundreds of competitors.’

It’s the determination of Jung Cheol-min, who promises to kindle his passion once more.

A week has passed, and around Saturday lunchtime, Yeon-woo, who visited the academy again, made his way to the Director’s office.

“Teacher, hello. Starting today, I’m Ryu Yeon-woo, who will be taking lessons.”

Yeon-woo greets politely with a bow, and Jung Cheol-min, who had been waiting, opens his arms to welcome him.

“Oh! That’s right. Welcome, Yeon-woo. Wasn’t it easy to find your way here?”

“Yes, it’s right in front of the subway station, so it seems really easy to come here. The building is quite large, and it feels like a good academy.”

With a chuckle and a twinkle in his eye, Yeon-woo speaks.

The academy, which moved into a building with good location conditions, was, in fact, Jung Cheol-min’s pride. Hearing Yeon-woo mention it and praise the building, a smile naturally forms on Jung Cheol-min’s lips.

“Well then, how about we start with a light test today?”

“Yes, teacher.”

For a test in an unfamiliar field, even someone like Yeon-woo, who has experienced various trials and tribulations, felt a bit nervous.

Perhaps noticing that expression, Jung Cheol-min quickly added.

“Don’t be too passionate just because it’s a test. It’s about observing which muscles are used when making certain expressions, as the muscles and expressions vary from person to person. So, we’re not evaluating whether you’re good or bad at it.”

“Yes, I understand!”

At Yeon-woo’s enthusiastic response, brimming with determination, Jung Cheol-min’s smile already appeared.

“Shall we start with something simple then? Let’s try expressing anger, one of the emotions of joy and sorrow. Imagine I’m a troublemaker who’s picking a fight and try to threaten me.”

Jung Cheol-min probably thought of expressing gestures like a thug, picking fights, yelling, or using some profanity to represent the emotion of anger, which is relatively easy to imitate.

“Yes, I’ll give it a try.”

Threatening, an ability that he had always carried with him in dangerous areas during his past missions for survival… Will he be able to do it well with his new body as well?

Considering his somewhat rough image from his past life, he wondered if his present handsome face would hinder his expression. Yeon-woo’s determinedly angry expression met Jung Cheol-min’s eyes directly, seemingly undeterred.

Recalling the past and convincing himself that this is a dangerous area during an operation, and the target in front of him must definitely be dealt with, he controlled his mindset.

“Hmm!”

Jung Cheol-min’s eyes widened.

Suddenly, an immense sense of pressure enveloped Jung Cheol-min to the point where he almost forgot he was in the middle of an acting test with a high school student.

In that moment, a thought crossed Jung Cheol-min’s mind in his private practice room – amusingly, it was, ‘I might die like this. He’s a dangerous person.’

‘What am I doing, getting nervous over a high school student?’

Having spent over 20 years in theater in Hye-hwa, he had seen all sorts of situations, and Jung Cheol-min didn’t think of himself as someone who would get scared or overwhelmed anywhere.

“Teacher?”

Yeon-woo called Jung Cheol-min’s name.

Startled, Jung Cheol-min quickly responded, “Huh? Oh, right. Yeon-woo, even with your innocent face, you can make quite a frightening expression, surprisingly.”

“Is that so?”

‘Acting…? Or could it be that he… fooled around somewhere? He did say he was the top student in the school.’

Jung Cheol-min momentarily imagined strange scenarios.

“Well, this time, should we try a more difficult emotion from joy and sorrow? Sometimes students get confused, but it’s not a loving emotion, it’s a mournful one.”

“Yes, understood.”

“Should I help you set the stage for the emotion? Or do you happen to have any sad memories to draw from?”

Jung Cheol-min, willing to assist, wondered if there could be any significant sad events in Yeon-woo’s eighteen-year-old life.

Yeon-woo thought back to his past life, which had been filled with twists and turns, and nodded. Surely, there must be something that could evoke his own emotions.

“I’ll give it a try first. If I struggle, please help me.”

Jung Cheol-min was enthused by Yeon-woo’s proactive attitude.

“Sure, Yeon-woo. If it’s not going well, let me know. For someone who hasn’t learned acting, bringing out sad emotions forcibly is not as easy as it seems.”

In fact, even in variety shows, when asking actors to perform emotional scenes, they often ask how quickly they can induce tears. Regular people quickly focus and say that the actors who can evoke tears easily are good at acting.

“Yes, I’ll give it a shot.”

Yeon-woo closed his eyes and concentrated.

Would he become sad if someone left him?

There was never a family to begin with.

As for friends…, he hardly had any close friends.

Colleagues who had gone ahead in the past?

Dying during an operation is indeed an extraordinary event, and in fact, in Yeon-woo’s previous life, he had been too busy surviving in a life like a hamster’s wheel to deeply experience connections with those around him. As a result of a challenging life, Jeon Soo-hwan’s emotions had eroded and hardened over time, forming a tough surface.

An impenetrable emotional wall that had become so hard that you couldn’t even find a hole to stick a needle into. Despite focusing on his misery, Yeon-woo couldn’t find true sadness.

“Teacher, I’m not sure what to do.”

In response to Yeon-woo, Jung Cheol-min said, “Well, then…” and took out a candle from a cabinet in the corner of the practice room.

Changing the position of the flame and lighting one of the candles, Jung Cheol-min asked Yeon-woo to look at the flame.

Among Jung Cheol-min’s fellow students from drama school, there was even a therapist who used acting as a form of emotional therapy. He learned skills from this classmate, which involved a kind of meditation therapy that encouraged self-reflection. With repetition, it proved effective in guiding students who were awkward in expressing emotions.

Following Jung Cheol-min’s guided prompts, Yeon-woo looked back not only on his short present life but also on his past life. He reflected on himself, not as someone else in his life, but as Jeon Soo-hwan.

He looked back at the lonely and rough life itself.

Considering his previous life as “Yeon-woo,” almost as if he were a separate person from himself, viewing Jeon Su-hwan from the perspective of an outsider, he felt more objectively and deeply experienced the pain and loneliness piercing into his heart like a blade.

Despite the eroded and worn-out emotional wall hardening, paradoxically, there seemed to be a precarious situation where it wouldn’t be strange for it to crumble. If he hadn’t died during the operation in his past life, his mental state would have soon collapsed.

What softened and lubricated that heart, in retrospect, seems to be the pure and innocent heart of the original owner of this body, “Yeon-woo.”

Though his spirit had weakened due to torment, within that inner self lay a heart that was kinder and brighter than anyone else’s. As he peeled away that struggling heart, the barren deserts of the Middle East seemed to appear.

“This is where I was.”

Why was I born and died so alone?

Why did I never give my heart to anyone or receive it?

Did anyone attend my funeral?

No, the fact of my death must be a closely guarded secret.

Did anyone feel sorrow and hold onto it because of my death?

A poor soul.

After Yeon-woo closed his eyes for just a few seconds, tears as big as chicken eggs rolled down his cheeks, surprising Cheol-min. He hadn’t expected Yeon-woo to break down so quickly, and he had simply intended to help him find a channel to express his emotions.

Soon, Yeon-woo fell to his knees, pouring out tears and snot, and his shoulders started shaking with sobs. Unexpectedly, in this moment, Yeon-woo managed to shake off the darkness from his past life that had lingered in his heart. In its place, the kind-heartedness and innocence that the original Yeon-woo possessed settled in.

Ironically, through the method of expressing emotions that Cheol-min had introduced as a means to persuade Yeon-woo’s father, Yeon-woo managed to shake off the remnants of the dark emotions that had clung to his heart.

“Oh my, Yeon-woo? Ryu Yeon-woo?” Cheol-min exclaimed in surprise.