The Face Genius Actor

Episode 013

A few days before the school violence incident.

Jung Su-min’s workspace in Sangam-dong.

Writer Jung Su-min was checking the rough cut of “Arrest” Part 2 with Director Kang Han-sung.

As soon as they saw Part 2 of “Arrest” starting with An Myung-hyun’s acting, Jung Su-min frowned.

“Ah… Is this all…”

Director Kang Han-sung couldn’t hide his devastated expression upon hearing that voice.

“I’m sorry, writer.”

At the director’s words, Jung Su-min quickly came to her senses and shook her head.

“No. No. I know you did your best, Director. It’s just a bit surprising. The acting is so different from the audition…”

Both Jung Su-min and Kang Han-sung were quite influential in the drama industry.

They weren’t the type to sit idly by even if FQ tried to bundle two lead actors together.

They had enough power to at least protect their own work.

Nevertheless, they cast An Myung-hyun as Shin Han-jae’s high school role because of his acting skills.

Clearly, his acting wasn’t bad during the audition.

Rather, he had noticeable acting skills for his age group.

It made them think, ‘Indeed, today’s idols are so talented!’

It was clearly like that, but…

“When it came to the real thing, it was completely different.”

“How could that be? Don’t tell me…”

“Yes. They made him practice repeatedly. To be able to do just one scene passably.”

“Ah. What I’ve only heard rumors about happened right before my eyes.”

“Besides the acting skills, we used An Myung-hyun for his popularity, but I’m not sure if this is okay.”

“If he can act well by practicing one scene repeatedly, isn’t there still hope?”

“I thought so too and kept reshooting the same scene and pushing him, but… this is the result.”

“Did he lose confidence from being constantly whipped?”

“Maybe. Anyway, even if we give him carrots now, it won’t help.”

“I guess so. An Myung-hyun has plenty to do besides acting.”

“This is why we need to be careful when bringing popular idols to the set…”

“Not all popular idols are like that, but this is really frustrating.”

It was as Seo Myung-hee said.

Not all popular idols lacked sincerity in acting.

Rather, because they were popular idols, they often tried their best to meet fans’ expectations.

But An Myung-hyun wasn’t that kind of person at all, and he seemed to have completely lost interest in acting through “Arrest”.

“These days, he doesn’t even try to admit that his acting is not good.”

“Have you talked with FQ?”

“I talked separately with a manager-level person, but they just shook their head and apologized.”

“They probably gave the usual excuse that our Myung-hyun tends to get bored easily.”

“They didn’t say it so bluntly, but the nuance was similar.”

Jung Su-min felt her insides boiling.

The content of Part 2’s rough cut didn’t register at all.

Then, along with the sound of rain, Yang I-deum’s voice, playing the high school role of Jung Bo-ra, was heard.

“Why are you here?”

“……”

“I asked why you’re here!”

“……”

With that, Jung Su-min’s head turned as if drawn to something.

At that moment, the screen of the rough cut showed Yang I-deum throwing an umbrella at Si-joon, who was playing the high school role of Hwang In-seop, while angrily shouting.

As the tip of the umbrella grazed past the ankle, Si-joon’s body began to tremble, and the tension heightened.

Jung Su-min unconsciously gripped her hands in suspense, immersed in the scene.

“Get lost. Before I kill you.”

Si-joon’s impactful line pierced through the sound of rain and stabbed Yang I-deum like a needle.

It wasn’t really like that, but it felt exactly that way.

That’s how powerful Si-joon’s line was.

Until Yang I-deum backed away and left the scene with a face pale with fear.

Jung Su-min was so immersed in this scene of “Arrest” that she could barely breathe.

After the screen changed, she exhaled a deep breath.

“Wow… This is amazing! How can someone with a face like that act so perfectly?”

By now, even Director Kang Han-sung had forgotten about An Myung-hyun’s existence and was smiling brightly.

“Indeed. I was very surprised on set as well, as he handled the difficult scene better than expected.”

“It’s like he’s completely possessed by Hwang In-seop? He expressed 200% of what I imagined!”

“He’s truly an actor without any flaws. And his personality is so good. He’s even more polite than the youngest FD.”

“Is this another one of sister Myung-hee’s picks? How can she only take in such amazing actors as disciples?”

“Seo Myung-hee’s personal acting skills are great, but her ability to nurture disciples is truly amazing. I’m already looking forward to filming Part 4 of ‘Arrest’.”

Director Kang Han-sung’s expression showed full anticipation.

This was because when Part 4 filming begins, he could work with not only Seo Myung-hee but also Han Mi-rae, the female lead from W Acting Academy.

The situation was becoming interesting as Si-joon showed incredible acting skills that didn’t match his experience.

“If we had known this, we should have cast Lee Si-joon as the high school Shin Han-jae…”

“Indeed. It’s our fault for not finding an actor like Lee Si-joon earlier. In fact, if it was Lee Si-joon, we would have recognized him just by his face.”

“Sigh… That’s right. But we can’t help it. We’re not in a position to replace actors as we please.”

“I’ll use all directing techniques to make An Myung-hyun’s acting look plausible.”

“I believe you’ll do well, Director. You’re already doing enough.”

With that, the two turned their heads to continue watching the rough cut, leaving a bitter aftertaste.

Still, it was fortunate that almost all actors except An Myung-hyun were showing good performances.

* * *

Today’s filming location was Sinsa-dong, Eunpyeong-gu.

Finally, the day to shoot the last scene of “Arrest” Part 3 had arrived.

After shooting this scene, it would be difficult for the actors playing high school roles to gather in one place again.

There might be additional filming needed depending on the direction of the latter part of “Arrest” currently being written.

But the official schedule ended here.

Perhaps because of this, the expressions of the actors playing high school roles and the staff in charge of them were generally bright.

Of course, those who had become close while filming together showed bittersweet expressions.

And if I had to choose, I was feeling the latter mood.

I felt a bit sad that today was the last day, as I had made friends with other actors during this filming.

Goo Kyung-mo, who played the high school role of ‘Bae Han-bin’, the sub-male lead, also opened his mouth without hiding his regret.

“Today is officially the last day we’ll see Si-joon’s handsome face. I was always excited every time I came to the set.”

Yang I-deum, who was waiting together, responded to Goo Kyung-mo’s words with wide eyes.

“Why are you excited? Don’t tell me you…”

“No misunderstandings, please. I just tend to get swept up in the atmosphere.”

“What atmosphere?”

“The atmosphere where anyone would naturally like Si-joon. Look around. Is there anyone here who dislikes Si-joon?”

Listening to their conversation, I briefly forgot my regret and gave a slight smile.

Ironically, I had become friends with these two after shooting the problematic ‘Part 2 Hwang In-seop awakening scene’.

After finishing Part 2 filming, Yang I-deum approached me first, saying she was impressed by my acting.

Goo Kyung-mo, who was already close with Yang I-deum, joined the conversation.

Being the same age, we easily connected, and thanks to that, we were able to build a friendship like this.

While I was in the middle of a conversation with the two of them,

An Myung-hyun, who had been waiting in the van, arrived at the filming location.

An Myung-hyun walked straight to get his makeup touched up without even glancing our way, slightly lifting his chin.

Seeing this, Yang I-deum shook her head.

“There’s exactly one person. The oddball of oddballs.”

“Why does he dislike Si-joon so much?”

“The reason is obvious. Because Si-joon takes all the attention on this set. Right?”

Yang I-deum asked me this while looking in my direction, but I shook my head.

In fact, I thought An Myung-hyun was being prickly towards me for a similar reason.

But I didn’t want to voice that thought.

Originally, the more you speak ill of others, the larger and sharper it becomes.

And when it comes back as a boomerang, the impact becomes even greater.

That’s why I didn’t want to speak ill of An Myung-hyun even more.

“Everyone has their own circumstances. Anyway, it doesn’t feel real that today is the last day. We’ll have a chance to meet again, right?”

When I said this, Goo Kyung-mo nodded with sparkling eyes that seemed a bit burdensome.

“Of course! I’ll come running whenever you contact me, Si-joon.”

“Okay, thanks.”

“Instead of this, why don’t we set a proper date? When do you want to meet? Is next week okay?”

“Well…”

While I was mentally checking my available dates, Yang I-deum interrupted.

“Hey, Goo Kyung-mo. Stop bothering our Si-joon. Are you that sad about not being able to see Si-joon?”

“Of course!”

“Are you going to ask him to join your agency next?”

“Oh? That’s not a bad idea. Actually, our manager hyung was showing interest when he heard Si-joon doesn’t have an agency yet.”

“Like you? Come to think of it, our director was saying something similar… Why don’t you join our agency while we’re at it? Si-joon?”

“What! Yang I-deum! You acted like you weren’t interested in Si-joon, why are you getting clingy now?”

“I wasn’t pretending to be uninterested. I was holding back because I was afraid of getting tired of him like you.”

“What! Are you saying I’m the type to get tired of people?”

“You didn’t know?”

“Aish! Si-joon, say something. Am I really like that? Huh?”

I shook my head at Goo Kyung-mo, who was raising his voice enthusiastically.

“No, I like personalities like yours, Kyung-mo.”

“Oh! Then are you joining our agency?”

“I don’t know why the conversation is going in this direction, but…”

“Hey, Si-joon. Don’t go to Goo Kyung-mo’s company. Goo Kyung-mo is there. Come to our company.”

“You… Are you joking? What’s wrong with me being there! I’m the best thing about our company!”

I was about to ask about agencies since the topic came up…

But at this rate, it didn’t seem like a serious conversation would be possible.

Still, I thought there would be another opportunity since we had become quite close.

I could always ask again when we meet later if the time is right.

While we were having this noisy final conversation,

The staff announced that the preparation for filming the last scene of Part 3 was complete.

Coincidentally, the last scene of Part 3 was a one-on-one scene with An Myung-hyun.

“Filming preparation complete!”

“Okay. Actors, please standby in front of the camera.”

I stepped in front of the camera with a light heart.

What I realized while filming “Arrest” up to Part 3 was that excessive tension can actually be an enemy when trying to practice perfectly, especially in a setting where I couldn’t use the Method Mask.

There was no reason to struggle with the script unnecessarily.

Rather, such behavior only increased the pressure.

But An Myung-hyun seemed to find my attitude amusing, as he walked out with a sneering smile.

He seemed somewhat confident about this scene.

‘Did he practice well?’

Certainly, An Myung-hyun had been showing better acting towards the latter half.

Of course, it still didn’t meet the expectations for the role of high school Shin Han-jae.

It showed how much effort Director Kang Han-sung had put in.

“Ready, action!”

As Director Kang Han-sung’s signal dropped, An Myung-hyun grabbed my collar roughly.

“You bastard.”

A quite sharp, anger-filled curse flew out of An Myung-hyun’s mouth.

“You think it’s over if you run away like this?”

Shin Han-jae firmly believed that I was involved in the death of Jung Bo-ra’s father.

But no one except Shin Han-jae suspected me.

It was now difficult for anyone else to suspect me.

As Shin Han-jae said, I was about to leave this city.

I slowly turned my head towards An Myung-hyun’s face, who was showing anger while grabbing my collar.

An Myung-hyun showed even more anger seeing my blank face.

“Kugh!”

A scene where he had to intensify anger with just his eyes.

In such a scene, An Myung-hyun made a strange sound, and this scene faced a crisis.

But since Director Kang Han-sung hadn’t called cut yet, I continued acting.

At the same time, a bright smile began to spread over my blank face, like paint mixing with water.

Of course, I couldn’t see my own face, but I could instinctively feel it happening.

It was the effect of repeated practice.

“Running away…”

“Yes! Running away!”

“…don’t worry.”

“What?”

“It won’t be too late.”

“……”

“So… until we meet again… can you wait a little?”

A feeling that’s enjoyable just to imagine.

With that feeling, I drew an even deeper smile over my original smile.

An Myung-hyun looked at my smile, momentarily flustered, and then belatedly finished his line.

“Make sure to come back! I’ll make you taste hell then!”

The line delivery felt a bit lacking in power.

But at this level, the scene could be saved somehow through editing.

Perhaps because of this, I could see Director Kang Han-sung’s contemplative expression over An Myung-hyun’s shoulder.

And soon, the signal fell from Director Kang Han-sung’s lips.

“Cut! Okay!”

* * *

“An Myung-hyun. He was so confident, but he ended up getting overshadowed even in the last scene.”

“Honestly, he’s on a different level from actor Lee Si-joon. It was a problem that he tried to win in the first place.”

After the last scene was filmed, I heard two staff members talking.

But for me, there was no joy in overshadowing An Myung-hyun’s acting.

Rather, I only felt regret for not being able to complete the last scene more brilliantly.

‘Maybe… An Myung-hyun feels the same?’

Thinking this, I turned my head towards An Myung-hyun.

But the atmosphere among the staff gathered around An Myung-hyun didn’t seem right.

The manager in charge approached An Myung-hyun and whispered something, and An Myung-hyun’s expression noticeably hardened.

‘What’s this? Did something happen?’

An Myung-hyun hurriedly left the set with his manager and the staff in charge.

On set, voices criticizing An Myung-hyun for leaving without properly greeting Director Kang Han-sung grew louder.