NIS Agent Reincarnated as a Genius Actor

A few days later, while filming, a welcome visitor arrived.

“Yeon-woo!”

“So-hyeon noona.”

“How long has it been!”

Han So-hyeon and Son Jin-yuk had come to the set to show their support. While Son Jin-yuk lived nearby and they saw each other often, it had been quite a while since Yeon-woo had seen Han So-hyeon. Yeon-woo greeted her warmly, and Son Jin-yuk slowly walked over, speaking as he did.

“It was too much trouble to plan a surprise like last time, so we just came.”

“Just came? I heard you even brought a coffee truck. Thank you so much.”

Son Jin-yuk waved his hand dismissively, as if it were nothing, and looked around the set.

“I heard it’s a fantasy project. How’s it going?”

“The filming is challenging and new, but it’s fun.”

Han So-hyeon, curious about the chroma key-covered set, looked around in amazement.

“What’s that equipment? Is it for flying with wires? I want to try it. I’ve never seen a set with so many special effects.”

At that moment, Director Hwang Min-kwon’s voice came from behind.

“Oh, hello, actors.”

Han So-hyeon and Son Jin-yuk turned around, and Yeon-woo introduced them.

“This is Director Hwang Min-kwon.”

After the introduction, Son Jin-yuk and Han So-hyeon shook hands with Director Hwang Min-kwon.

“Nice to meet you.”

“Hello, I’m Han So-hyeon.”

“Oh, I know you well. Who doesn’t know the two of you?”

With a friendly laugh, Han So-hyeon smiled and looked around the set again.

“I’ve never done fantasy or sci-fi filming, so this set is new to me. I’d love to try it sometime.”

Whether it was just a polite comment or genuine interest, Director Hwang Min-kwon’s eyes lit up with hope.

“Oh, would you be interested in a short cameo while you’re here?”

Although Yeon-woo didn’t have a wide network, he maintained excellent relationships with the actors he had worked with, and LN Entertainment had already budgeted for cameos. Just as Director Hwang Min-kwon looked at Han So-hyeon and Son Jin-yuk with hopeful eyes, another voice interrupted from behind.

“Well, look who it is.”

Yeon-woo looked past Director Hwang Min-kwon to see who had spoken. It was Jeon Ki-hoon, the actor playing ‘Dipangdal,’ whom Yeon-woo was keeping a close eye on, suspecting him to be Baek Sol’s pawn. Jeon Ki-hoon approached Son Jin-yuk with a forced smile.

“Jin-yuk, it’s been a while.”

“Oh, senior. You’re in this project too.”

Unlike Jeon Ki-hoon’s smiling face, Son Jin-yuk’s expression was not very bright. He wasn’t frowning, but he didn’t look particularly pleased either.

“We haven’t seen each other since we worked on that project together. You’ve been doing well lately.”

“No, not really.”

Son Jin-yuk shook his head and answered tersely. Jeon Ki-hoon, sensing the awkwardness, tried to change the subject.

“Keep in touch more often.”

“Yes.”

With another curt reply, Jeon Ki-hoon turned to Director Hwang Min-kwon.

“I’ve finished my scenes for today and have another schedule to attend to.”

“Yes, Actor Jeon, you can head out first.”

“Alright then, Director Hwang, I’ll be on my way. Jin-yuk, let’s catch up again soon.”

Jeon Ki-hoon bid farewell to Director Hwang and left. Noticing Son Jin-yuk’s less-than-pleased expression, Yeon-woo quickly spoke up.

“Director, I’ll take our guests around for a tour of the set.”

“Ah, sure. I need to prepare for the next scene anyway.”

Yeon-woo led Han So-hyeon and Son Jin-yuk to the next set. Once they were a bit farther from Director Hwang, Yeon-woo turned to Son Jin-yuk.

“Is there something going on between you and Actor Jeon Ki-hoon?”

“Hmm?”

“You didn’t seem too happy to see him.”

Son Jin-yuk scratched the back of his head.

“Did it show that much? I’m an actor and I can’t even manage my expressions.”

Han So-hyeon, who had been listening, chimed in.

“I’ve never worked with him, but everyone who knows him says Jeon Ki-hoon is a real piece of work.”

For someone as gentle as Han So-hyeon to use such strong language, it was surprising that Jeon Ki-hoon’s reputation hadn’t leaked out more.

Nodding, Son Jin-yuk added more context.

“When I was a rookie, I worked on a few projects with him. He has a knack for subtly bullying managers and complete newbies. He enjoys exploiting people’s weaknesses and dragging them down.”

“In other words, gaslighting?”

Son Jin-yuk nodded at Yeon-woo’s words.

“Exactly. From what I know, his managers change every three months.”

“He’s known to the public for his volunteer work.”

“That’s the image he uses to gain trust initially. Everyone starts to believe him easily. You should be careful too, Yeon-woo.”

Yeon-woo nodded at Son Jin-yuk’s concern. He didn’t just plan to be cautious; he intended to remove Jeon Ki-hoon from the set entirely.

“But how has he managed to last this long?”

“That’s the question. There are rumors he has some powerful backing.”

Son Jin-yuk’s eyes, usually filled with laughter, were now hard and serious, indicating the extent of his past experiences. After a moment of recalling the past, Son Jin-yuk shook his head and changed the subject.

“Whether he’s a psychopath or a sociopath, he’s definitely something-path. Anyway, show us around the set. There are so many interesting pieces of equipment.”

Nodding, Yeon-woo guided them around the set, explaining as they went.

“This is the set for the gate that leads to other locations in the early part of the series. And over there…”

Like a curator guiding visitors through a museum, Yeon-woo explained the story and the scenes being filmed. Both Han So-hyeon and Son Jin-yuk, being actors at heart, felt a growing desire to try out the scenes themselves.

“This is fascinating. So, what scene are you filming today?”

“Hmm, today we’re filming a scene where we rescue red blood cells that have fallen from an orbital elevator.”

Han So-hyeon and Son Jin-yuk looked puzzled.

“An orbital what? Red blood cells?”

Yeon-woo knew how strange it sounded but could only scratch his head in response.

“This project is hard to explain in words. But I assure you, it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

====

***

====

While Yeon-woo was busy giving a tour of the set, the scheduled filming began. Han So-hyeon and Son Jin-yuk, eager to watch the filming, took seats next to Director Hwang and alternated their gaze between the field monitor and the set.

Meanwhile, Yeon-woo was deeply focused on the complex shoot, unable to pay attention to So-hyeon and Jin-yuk.

‘Right, then left behind. Incoming from both sides. Dodge this one and then the right.’

The detailed scenes he was filming lately felt like playing a game. It reminded him of the gaming console that Seong-sik had brought over during a housewarming party. Although he was terrible at games, acting was a different story.

Even though Yeon-woo was filming alone, he immersed himself in the scene, imagining Ella’s parts that would be added in post-production. He could almost hear Han Byul’s voice as Ella.

“Mister! Behind you!”

Following Ella’s direction, he saw large fragments of the orbital elevator hurtling towards his character, Jeong Do-jin. Floating in space, Do-jin narrowly dodged the fragments with minimal movement. Glancing at Ella, he saw she was relatively safe from the path of the debris.

Then, a large piece of debris, impossible to dodge, came flying towards him.

“Damn.”

He had no choice. Though it was on the verge of breaking, he drew his sword from his waist.

‘I’ll have to find a new sword somewhere.’

It was the sword that had fallen in front of Do-jin’s eyes six years ago when he first regained consciousness in his brother’s body. The sword had been a great help in many ways…

“But I can’t die here.”

He swung the sword horizontally with all his might at the incoming debris.

Thud─.

Crash─.

With a loud impact, the debris was deflected, but the sword shattered into pieces.

====

***

====

“Okay, cut.”

After moving frantically for a while, Yeon-woo heard Director Hwang Min-kwon’s call for a cut.

“Phew.”

Yeon-woo took a deep breath. Filming a fantasy genre was not only challenging but also physically demanding.

Han So-hyeon and Son Jin-yuk, watching Yeon-woo’s performance from the sidelines, were amazed by his movements within the chroma key set.

“Hmm… How should I put it? It’s strange but impressive…”

“…”

On the set, men in full-body tights, who would serve as motion markers for the spaceship debris, surrounded Yeon-woo with red gym balls. The sight was bizarre, to say the least, but Yeon-woo moved his upper body frantically while keeping his lower body fixed.

At first glance, it seemed like he was moving randomly, but upon closer inspection, it was clear that Yeon-woo was moving in sync with the rhythm of the approaching gym balls.

The scene being filmed looked ridiculous, but Yeon-woo was dead serious, and Director Hwang Min-kwon’s eyes were sharp as he watched the monitor.

Next to the actors, Director Jung Yo-han, who had unusually come to the set today, stood awkwardly.

“It… It may look strange now, but once edited, it will become a completely different action scene.”

“Ah, you’re the special effects director, right?”

Han So-hyeon looked at Director Jung Yo-han and spoke, causing his face to turn red.

“Y-yes! It’s an honor. I’m actually a huge fan.”

Jung Yo-han had heard that Han So-hyeon would be visiting the set and had rushed over, even getting a haircut for the occasion. The scene they were watching was one of the early action sequences, considered a highlight of the series.

“It might look a bit funny, but right now, Actor Ryu is busy dodging debris in space.”

Instead of nodding, Han So-hyeon tilted her head further in confusion.

‘Debris in space? Hmm…’

Even though she had received a brief explanation of the story while looking around the set, Han So-hyeon, who had been acting for nearly ten years, still found the scene in front of her quite unfamiliar.

‘I’ve seen Hollywood actors doing similar shoots on YouTube.’

Both Jin-yuk and So-hyeon watched Yeon-woo with eyes full of curiosity. The extras in tight suits reminiscent of a certain old tokusatsu show about Earth’s defense force, the gym balls that looked like they belonged in a gym, and Yeon-woo, twisting his body in mid-air with a serious expression, drawing a sword from his waist and swinging it desperately at empty space—none of it seemed normal, and they couldn’t quite grasp what scene was being filmed.

However, watching this, Han So-hyeon felt a growing desire to try special effects filming herself.

‘Is this what they call… that?’

It was bizarre, but strangely captivating. She recalled a meme often seen on the internet.

‘It looks kind of silly, but it’s cool…’