NOVEL NEXT Episode 169 - Identity
When Kim Hang-gon asked the writer what was going on, he shrugged, saying he didn’t know either.
Then, as if remembering something, the writer clapped his hands.
“Ah! Dong-ha from Axis recently filmed ‘White Blood’ with Ryu Yeon-woo, didn’t he?”
“Oh! That’s right. So it’s through that connection?”
Regardless, from PD Kim Hang-gon’s perspective, it felt like he had suddenly won the lottery.
And he hadn’t even thought about buying a ticket.
“These Axis kids are really something. Hahaha!”
“PD, did you know that Ryu Yeon-woo and Dong-ha recently went to film the ‘Friday Night Show’ on American NBS?”
Kim Hang-gon PD, who was typically uninterested in anything outside his own work, widened his eyes in surprise.
“Really? I had heard they were popular overseas, but…”
“Our show will be the first broadcast Ryu Yeon-woo appears on after the ‘Friday Night Show’.”
Hearing the writer’s words, it suddenly felt real again.
“Right, this is no time to be idle!”
PD Kim Hang-gon immediately picked up his smartphone to contact someone from LN Entertainment.
“But I don’t have LN Entertainment’s contact info…”
Since Kim Hang-gon had only been working on idol-related programs, he had no connections with LN Entertainment.
“Ah, how embarrassing. Do I have to call their main number?”
“Hold on. I’ll go ask the team next door. I think another actor might have been on a variety show before.”
The writer hurried out to the broadcasting station hallway and came back shortly after.
“Phew, here it is. It’s the number for Team Leader Jung-hyuk from LN Entertainment.”
PD Kim Hang-gon took the number and made the call.
And at LN Entertainment’s office in Gangnam, Team Leader Jung-hyuk nodded as he answered the phone.
“Yes, let’s proceed that way.”
– I apologize for the presumption, but… Given that it’s a program featuring various idols and it’s a special broadcast, it might be difficult to match the actor’s usual fee…
“Ah, you don’t need to worry about that. The actor is appearing out of loyalty, so please just match the fee to the level paid to other participants.”
In reality, compared to what Yeon-woo usually earned, it would be impossible to match his usual rate even for a special, let alone with the standard rate a variety show could offer.
Hearing Team Leader Jung’s words, a deferential and polite voice came through the receiver.
– Oh, yes, yes. Thank you. Regarding the matter of audience tickets you mentioned, I will personally secure them and allocate them separately. We’ve left plenty of open seats to prepare for any situation, so there won’t be any problems!
“I understand. Thank you for your hard work.”
Team Leader Jung smiled as he hung up the phone.
Originally, actor agencies were treated relatively well when dealing with broadcasting stations, but since the company acquired Ryu Yeon-woo, it felt like they were reigning in an almost absolute superior position.
It wasn’t simply because Ryu Yeon-woo was doing well, but because after the success of “White Blood,” they had gained the ability to provide services worldwide without necessarily going through broadcasting stations.
It was truly a complete reversal of the power dynamic.
Team Leader Jung called Yeon-woo again.
– Yes, Team Leader Jung.
“Ah, Yeon-woo. I just finished talking with the broadcasting station. The filming schedule is January 2nd, and it will air during the Lunar New Year holiday. I’ve also secured plenty of audience seats for Woo’s.”
– Hmm, so we have about ten days left. You’ve worked hard. Thank you.
Team Leader Jung smiled at Yeon-woo’s words.
“It’s nothing. I’ll hand over the proceedings to the PR team. They’ll probably make an announcement through the fan cafe administrators and distribute audience tickets through a lottery.”
– I see. Understood.
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**
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Cafe manager ‘Yeonujina’ Lee Jin-ah couldn’t believe her ears when she received a call from LN Entertainment’s PR team.
“Excuse me? Are you talking about that Idol Athletics Championship?”
– Yes, that’s correct. We’d like to work with you to distribute audience tickets through the fan cafe in a transparent and fair manner.
While it was surprising that he would appear on the Idol Athletics Championship, she first asked about the question that had arisen.
As the head of the fan cafe, she had to make sure to do her job properly.
Lee Jin-ah, who had been a long-time fan of other idols since middle school before settling on Ryu Yeon-woo, had of course experienced attending the Idol Athletics Championship as an audience member.
“But are we doing the lottery through the fan cafe? I thought it was usually done on the broadcasting station’s website?”
Originally, there was a system called ‘comment Olympics’ where people competed to post comments quickly at a set time to apply for audience tickets.
– The fans of idol teams officially invited to participate have already been selected through their official sites, so we’ve secured separate seats. The actor accepted the invitation as a special guest on the condition that he could get audience seats for his fans.
At the employee’s words, Jin-ah’s eyes welled up with tears.
“Oh my… Thank you so much.”
It wasn’t clear whether she was speaking to the employee on the other end of the line or to Yeon-woo, but Jin-ah bowed her head deeply to an invisible recipient.
After hanging up, Jin-ah’s heart started pounding heavily at the unexpected news.
“I can almost hear our members’ screams of joy from here…”
That evening, after coordinating with LN Entertainment officials, Jin-ah posted an announcement.
– [Notice] Information on Idol Athletics Championship Audience Ticket Lottery
Hello, this is Manager Yeonujina.
I’d like to inform you about the lottery for audience tickets for ‘Jay’ from the idol group J9’s participation in the “Idol Athletics Championship”.
Eligibility is open to all members who have been active on the cafe for more than 30 days since joining…
As expected, the cafe’s reaction was explosive once the post went up.
– OMG LOL Is this for real? When I first saw the notice title, I thought I entered the wrong cafe
– J from J9!! Yeonu’s side character working overtime ㅠㅠ And I’m hopeless at fan activities anyway
– I’m so happy I punched the wall and now my house is a studio apartment
– Wow, the Idol Athletics Championship… We’re gonna get sued by the telecom company because the fan service is GIGA blocked
– Even if I don’t win, I can still fangirl to my heart’s content at my grandparents’ house during the Lunar New Year holiday
– I’m holding my breath from now until I win…
Jin-ah smiled as she watched the reactions coming in real-time.
“Whew, I hope I win too.”
Her chances were much higher than regular members.
There were six cafe administrators in total, and one of them would go as the group leader, so it was 6 to 1.
Jin-ah also wrote a comment with her wishes.
– Please! I want to go too!ㅜㅜ
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**
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At that moment, Yeon-woo was on the phone with Han Hae-woon while returning home after finishing theater practice.
“So the list is almost complete?”
– Yes. I think we should start making secret contact attempts soon.
The list of field agents Yeon-woo had instructed Han Hae-woon to recruit was completed.
“Did you buy the equipment?”
– For now, I’ve prepared the video equipment.
He nodded, then chuckled.
“Then I guess it’s time to disguise myself after a long while?”
– Not after a long while, it’s the first time for this body.
“Do you have prepared identities?”
– Yes. I have a few. We’ll have to choose an appropriate one.
Originally, field agents don’t have records in the National Intelligence Service database and only keep a few secret personal information profiles known only to themselves.
The personal information in the envelopes is never opened until it’s used, so while it exists as data in South Korea, it’s not actually a real identity.
Of course, neither Baek-sol nor even the NIS director knows about these identities.
“Ah, it would be useful if I could use mine too.”
– …Team leader, your face would be recognizable no matter how you disguise it.
“Hmm, in that sense, my ordinary face from my past life was better.”
After a moment of silence following Yeon-woo’s words, Han Hae-woon’s voice was heard.
– Saying that with that face is asking for divine punishment.
Yeon-woo chuckled at Han Hae-woon’s words, then made an expression as if he had just thought of something.
“Hae-woon.”
– Yes?
“Don’t you look a bit older?”
– …Ahem. Are you suddenly teasing me?
Yeon-woo shook his head.
“No, that’s not it. I have a useful identity, you know? It should be thirty-nine this year. With a disguise, that age is possible, right?”
– Ah, your identity, Team leader? It’s possible. If it’s around thirty-nine.
Yeon-woo turned the car he was driving home around and changed direction.
“I’ll contact you again later.”
– Yes. Understood.
Yeon-woo drove straight to Hanam.
“I didn’t expect to go looking for that in this life.”
Yeon-woo’s car drove for quite a while, and upon arriving at the destination, Yeon-woo got out wearing a mask and hat.
‘Hmm, from here on, there’s no path, so I’ll have to walk.’
He began hiking at an unusual time in the middle of the night.
It was a suburban mountain with not a sign of life as he climbed.
After climbing for about 30 minutes, Yeon-woo looked around.
‘This is the place.’
It was a bit confusing in the dark, but it was better since he didn’t encounter anyone.
Yeon-woo suddenly left the hiking trail and started climbing up where there was no path.
‘A place where the terrain never changes.’
Buildings could be demolished and rebuilt in just a few years depending on their age.
Even barren land, when revisited after 10 years, could have new buildings standing on it.
Even land tied up in greenbelt eventually gets released and developed as time passes.
‘But not this place.’
Yeon-woo looked at the low steel tower rising above the mountain.
Transmission towers usually transport power between regions by hanging high-voltage wires on tall steel towers like the Eiffel Tower.
However, this area had a military airfield used in the 1970s, so when the transmission towers were installed, they couldn’t be built high enough due to height restrictions.
As our country developed and required more power, they eventually started burying high-voltage wires underground only in this section.
“So this area is absolutely impossible for blasting or excavation.”
Yeon-woo carefully observed the surrounding terrain as he climbed the mountain.
‘Hmm, it’s there.’
He saw a rather uniquely shaped flat rock.
Since neither blasting nor excavation was possible, this area was impossible to develop and any kind of cultivation was prohibited.
Yeon-woo approached the rock, picked up a suitable stone, and started digging at one spot.
‘I should have brought a shovel.’
It was quite difficult to dig as the ground had hardened due to winter.
Clang─.
There was a sound of something hard hitting the stone. It wasn’t a material that should naturally be there.
After digging a bit more around it, an aluminum box revealed itself in the dark mountain.
Yeon-woo carefully took out the box and turned the dial lock.
Click─.
When he opened the box, there were several faded yellow envelopes inside.
These were files containing fake personal information that Yeon-woo from his past life had buried himself.
Come to think of it, it felt strange to touch something connected to his past life for the first time in this life.
‘There are quite a few useful identities in here. Identity information that Han Hae-woon can use from now on.’
From now on, there would be more occasions to act directly while hiding his current life.
After starting a new life, he thought he wouldn’t be able to use these identities because the age difference with his past life was too great.
So he had naturally excluded them from his mind.
Of course, apart from age, Yeon-woo couldn’t use another identity now because he was a figure known to the entire nation, but Han Hae-woon was different.
A spy’s abilities are maximized when they can freely hide their identity.
And the identities Yeon-woo had were the most difficult to trace as they were accumulated while working as a black agent, and even if somehow traced successfully, they were identities that Baek-sol couldn’t easily touch.
“The restrictions on our activities will be considerably reduced from now on.”