NIS Agent Reincarnated as a Genius Actor

CEO Jung Hyuk took the report submitted by Kong Min-jung and went down to the third-floor cafe with Yeon-woo.

The cafe was quiet, probably because it was nearing closing time.

They sat down in a corner of the cafe, and Jung Hyuk began to look at the report.

At that moment, Kim Joo-seong, who had made fresh fruit juice, put it down in front of Yeon-woo and Jung Hyuk and took a seat.

“It seems Actor Ryu is looking to do his next project?”

Yeon-woo looked up at CEO Kim Joo-seong’s words.

“How did you know?”

“Because it’s the first time you two have come down to the cafe alone.”

Jung Hyuk then turned to Kim Joo-seong and complained.

“Come on, Sir. When I came down, you told me it was a bother and to go back up quickly, but now that Actor Ryu is here, you’re sitting at the table?”

“Well, don’t come down during busy cafe hours. If you do come down, at least help with the dishes while you ask questions.”

Having played a joke and gotten more than he bargained for, Jung Hyuk naturally turned his gaze back to the report.

The report was explaining Actor Ryu Yeon-woo’s success by comparing it to business theory.

“First mover and Fast follower…”

As Jung Hyuk read the report and nodded, CEO Kim Joo-seong asked.

“Is it business theory?”

“Yes, that’s right. I instructed a new employee to analyze why Actor Ryu’s works have been successful.”

CEO Kim Joo-seong rested his chin on his hand, thought for a moment, and then nodded.

“That makes sense.”

“But you haven’t even read the report yet.”

“You just said it yourself, Hyuk. First mover.”

“You understood the entire content of the report just from hearing that?”

In fact, Yeon-woo had also roughly grasped what kind of report it was after hearing those words.

‘First mover, huh…’

Yeon-woo recalled the penguin story.

Antarctic penguins must eventually jump into the sea to find food.

However, because there are seals and various predators in the sea waiting for penguins, entering the water requires determination.

Most penguin groups hesitate, unable to decide whether to enter the sea or not.

At this point, one penguin throws itself into the sea first.

Then, numerous penguins begin to follow and enter the sea all at once.

‘They call that first penguin that jumps into the sea the “First Penguin.”‘

In business theory, it’s explained that when the ‘first mover,’ playing the role of the first penguin, takes risks and succeeds in pioneering the market, fast followers come after.

For example, when a company develops the first smartphone, other companies spring up one after another and jump into that market.

This report would be explaining Yeon-woo’s career path by comparing it to that first mover.

“Do you think so too, Sir Kim Joo-seong?”

“I think it makes perfect sense. Every time Actor Ryu succeeded with a new attempt, numerous fast followers tried to imitate similar genres and similar approaches. But the one who always achieves the greatest success is the first mover.”

Hearing Kim Joo-seong’s words, Jung Hyuk added.

“Looking at Actor Ryu’s career, it has indeed been a series of challenges, hasn’t it?”

He attempted a fusion historical drama with romance elements, “The Stars Beyond the River,” on KBC1, which mainly targets an older demographic.

And when he had become a fairly successful actor, he started filming a low-budget independent movie about overseas adoptees, a social minority.

A domestic fantasy drama that everyone opposed and thought had slim chances of success.

And now, even though he’s become an actor sought after by Hollywood, he chose a small theater stage.

Kim Joo-seong smiled as he looked at Yeon-woo.

“The viewers embrace not just the content of the movie or drama, but also the adversities faced from the production stage and the ‘courage to take the first step into unknown territory’ as part of a grand narrative.”

And that was the reason why Kim Joo-seong believed in the actor Ryu Yeon-woo and made a new start with ‘New Star.’

CEO Kim Joo-seong looked at Yeon-woo with interested eyes.

“But Yeon-woo.”

“Yes.”

“Is there still a market left to pioneer? I was thinking that the time to act as a first mover might be over now.”

Indeed, there were hardly any new markets left now.

It wasn’t that Yeon-woo had taken this path intending to pioneer new markets.

He had simply chosen works that appealed to him.

“Well, I guess I’ll have to think about that.”

Jung Hyuk nodded at Yeon-woo’s response.

“I’ll also give it some serious thought with Director Yoon Mi-yeon.”

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**

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After that day, Yeon-woo came down to the third-floor cafe every day, found a spot in the corner, and observed people.

Even when he was working as an agent, whenever he couldn’t find a lead on a target he was tracking or needed some creative ideas, he would go to crowded places and listen in on other people’s conversations.

“You know that PD from SBC’s variety department…”

“Sis, that guy I said I was meeting last time…”

“Did you see how that stock I recommended last time went up? Phew, my intuition these days…”

All sorts of stories reached Yeon-woo’s ears.

From work-related discussions to personal chit-chat.

Strangely enough, even though a cafe is an open space where anyone could easily overhear if they tried, the ambient noise created by multiple conversations gives people a sense of privacy.

Perhaps that’s why people tend to share personal stories more freely. By eavesdropping like this, he often heard conversations outside his usual thought patterns or lifestyle, which sparked new ideas.

“I ordered that coat. What do you think?”

“Wow, it’s pretty. But I have something similar too.”

“Really? They say this style is coming back in fashion for this S/S season, so you should wear yours again.”

Two employees looking at their smartphones and talking about clothes came into Yeon-woo’s view.

‘They must be from the PR team that’s been here since LN.’

They were absorbed in their conversation about clothes, unaware that Yeon-woo was watching.

“But while the design is similar, I bought mine a few years ago.”

“Oh, coats are fine. Fashion always comes back around, you know.”

Hearing this conversation, something occurred to Yeon-woo and he turned on his laptop.

‘Fashion comes back around, huh.’

He started searching for something on his laptop.

‘Hmm… 90s Korean dramas, recent Japanese animations, webtoons and web novels.’

After looking at trends through YouTube, Yeon-woo began searching for articles.

‘There’s been an explosive increase in female pro league fans in their 20s in Korea recently…’

As he compiled various data, he started to understand this genre.

‘If we use this as a base and season it well with current trends, it could turn out pretty good, right?’

Yeon-woo closed his laptop and stood up.

As he headed up to CEO Jung Hyuk’s office on the fourth floor, he took out his smartphone and called Director Yoon Mi-yeon.

– Yes, Actor Ryu.

“Ah, Director Yoon. Would it be possible for the three of us, including CEO Jung, to have a quick meeting?”

Director Yoon responded cheerfully to Yeon-woo’s request.

– Have you found a project you want to do?

“No, I’ve thought of a genre that might be good as a milestone for our company.”

After hanging up, Yeon-woo went to CEO Jung Hyuk’s office on the fourth floor, and soon Director Yoon Mi-yeon came up.

The three of them, seated at the round table in the CEO’s office, exchanged glances.

Then CEO Jung Hyuk spoke first.

“Actor Ryu, what’s this genre you mentioned?”

Yeon-woo picked up Kong Min-jung’s report from one side of the table and said,

“I’ve been thinking about first movers and fast followers.”

The two focused on Yeon-woo’s words.

Feeling their gaze, Yeon-woo continued,

“How about a ‘slow follower’?”

“Pardon? A slow follower?”

Yeon-woo nodded at Director Yoon’s question.

“While sitting in the cafe, someone said that fashion always comes back around. Don’t you think there must be someone who first pulls out that item from their closet for a fashion trend that hasn’t been worn for years to start coming back?”

Like the first penguin to dive into the water.

The two nodded after pondering for a moment, understanding what Yeon-woo meant.

“So you’re talking about genres that were popular before but haven’t been seen much recently?”

“Hmm, what could that be…”

New Star Entertainment had quite a lot of young actors now.

And for these actors to appear together in one drama, romance genres with few central roles wouldn’t work. To minimize potential issues from Baek Sol’s threats, they needed a genre that could proceed with minimal outside actors, so historical dramas or fantasy were also out of the question.

A genre where many actors could appear, and one that could make good use of young actors.

“A sports drama. For example, how about a subject like amateur volleyball or basketball?”

Jung Hyuk immediately understood what Yeon-woo meant.

“Ah, when I was young, basketball dramas were almost a syndrome. It was in the mid-90s, nearly 30 years ago now.”

I know well.

Yeon-woo’s previous life was also in high school during that era.

“Hmm, a sports drama… It sounds interesting, reminds me of those old popular basketball dramas, but it might feel outdated if not handled well.”

“Of course, I don’t intend to do just an ordinary sports drama. We should go with a sophisticated scenario that fits today’s sensibilities. Recently, sports-themed Japanese animations about volleyball or basketball have been quite popular among young people in our country, regardless of gender.”

Jung Hyuk nodded as if something occurred to him at Yeon-woo’s words.

“Animation… I’ve seen related videos on the internet too.”

“And before I came up, I did some research in the cafe, and it seems professional basketball and volleyball have become quite popular among young women in Korea recently.”

Hearing Yeon-woo’s words, Jung Hyuk and Yoon Mi-yeon started to consider the possibility of success.

Then Yeon-woo spoke again.

“Separately from that, I have one more proposal.”

“Yes?”

“How about running a YouTube channel at the company level? Let’s shoot our own YouTube variety show to help our actors get closer. We’ll feature all our actors.”

In fact, while the actors currently gathered were centered around Yeon-woo, there was a sense of awkwardness between them as Yeon-woo had met them in different projects.

While some actors like Han Byul and Seo Ji-eun had quickly become close, others like Son Jin-yuk or Jeong Soo-yeon didn’t have much interaction with the other actors.

“YouTube variety…?”

After pondering for a moment, Director Yoon Mi-yeon spoke up.

“From sports dramas to our own YouTube channel, both are outside the realm of what we imagined.”

“I didn’t intentionally look for just those things. I just wanted to try them.”

Then, looking at both of their faces alternately, Yeon-woo carefully opened his mouth.

“And also. I’d like to do a movie separately.”

At Yeon-woo’s words, Director Yoon Mi-yeon raised her voice and CEO Jung Hyuk shook his head.

“What?! You’re saying you’ll do a drama, variety, and a movie?”

“No, Actor Ryu. Did you die from overwork in your past life or something?”

Yeon-woo flinched at Jung Hyuk’s words.

‘I can’t deny it. But saying I died from overwork… That makes me feel a bit hurt…’

Yeon-woo gave an awkward smile.