The Face Genius Actor

Episode 029

Today’s interviewer for Si-joon was ‘Jung Dong-hyun’, a reporter from News Economy who had recently transferred to the entertainment department.

Originally, he was in the political department writing all sorts of dirty articles, but he got into trouble after accidentally offending a powerful presidential candidate.

He had published an article without verifying the facts, focusing too much on speed.

Naturally, the newspaper went into emergency mode, and the higher-ups transferred Dong-hyun to the entertainment department as a form of ‘diving’.

“Dong-hyun.”

“Yes, Director.”

“I’ll call you back, so take it easy for a few months and then come back. You’ve been running non-stop.”

“…Will you really call me back?”

“Kid, have you ever seen me lie? I know your abilities better than anyone, so don’t worry. Got it?”

“I understand…”

Despite having some questionable aspects, Dong-hyun was so skilled that the higher-ups protected him.

He was the person who had published the most exclusive articles in the political department last year, so it was understandable in a way.

After transferring to the entertainment department, Dong-hyun was engaging in passive activities such as writing review articles for current TV programs or interviewing rookie actors with low recognition.

News Economy’s plan was to have him lay low for a few months and then return him to the political department at an appropriate time.

Others might have envied the easy work and high salary, but…

‘Hah. It’s suffocating.’

For Dong-hyun, who only felt satisfied writing provocative articles, this was nothing short of torture.

A few days ago, he was so frustrated that he published a political article under a junior’s name, only to get scolded by the higher-ups when they found out.

‘Am I really going to just sit here twiddling my thumbs?’

Feeling pushed aside like a forgotten elder, Dong-hyun felt anxious.

This feeling was intensified by the stern attitude of the higher-ups who had strongly reprimanded Dong-hyun’s actions.

However, he wasn’t in a position to easily choose to change jobs.

When he was at his peak, media companies were clamoring to recruit him, but that wasn’t the case now.

Given how quickly rumors spread in the industry, Dong-hyun’s position had become extremely precarious.

‘Ah, this can’t go on. My livelihood… my money…’

Dong-hyun felt like the people who used to provide illegal entertainment or secretly slip him money were leaving while he was away from the political department.

It was just his imagination, but as work became less busy and he had more time to think, Dong-hyun’s mind was filled with negative thoughts.

After much deliberation, Dong-hyun concluded that he couldn’t continue like this.

He needed to show that he wasn’t finished yet, one way or another.

If that proved difficult, he had to survive in the entertainment department and carve out a new path for himself.

‘It would be pointless to mess with the political department, so should I try stirring things up in entertainment?’

With that determined mindset, Dong-hyun’s eyes fell on the interview questions prepared for the rookie actor he was scheduled to meet today.

The questions were written by a new entertainment reporter, and originally, he had planned to conduct the interview as is.

But now that he had made up his mind, he had no intention of conducting a normal interview.

He wanted to elicit provocative answers and write an article that suited his taste.

‘Alright. Now it’s time for thorough research for the perfect manipulation.’

With that, Dong-hyun began researching .

As it was a hugely successful drama in the first half of the year, he could easily find a lot of information with a simple search.

Among them were quite a few interesting stories related to Si-joon, whom he had thought was just an ordinary rookie actor.

But what stood out most was Si-joon’s photo.

‘What the… He’s incredibly handsome. What does one have to eat to look like that?’

Dong-hyun was lost in Si-joon’s photo for a while before coming to his senses.

Then he searched for Si-joon’s name on his favorite online community.

Even on this site known for indiscriminate attacks, praise for Si-joon was the majority.

However, there were occasional posts that seemed to express jealousy towards Si-joon.

Dong-hyun carefully examined these, planning how to deal with Si-joon.

To Dong-hyun, who had gone through thick and thin dealing with famous politicians, a rookie actor like Si-joon seemed laughable.

Soon after.

Dong-hyun arrived at the meeting place with the photo journalist.

Not long after, Si-joon also appeared with his manager.

At that moment, Dong-hyun was at a loss for words and stared blankly at Si-joon’s face.

‘Ah…’

He felt his mind go blank at Si-joon’s appearance, which was several times more handsome than in the photos.

“Hello, I’m Yeo Kyung-chan, acting as Si-joon’s manager.”

Even though Kyung-chan greeted him first, Dong-hyun couldn’t gather his thoughts for a while.

“Hello, reporter. I’m Lee Si-joon. I look forward to the interview today.”

Dong-hyun, who had been in a daze for a while, finally came to his senses at Si-joon’s greeting.

“Ah, yes, yes. Of course. I’ll write a good article for you, don’t worry. Shall we sit over here? Let’s start with photos first.”

At Dong-hyun’s words, the accompanying photo journalist began his work.

Dong-hyun, who had been momentarily captivated by Si-joon’s appearance, watched this and questioned himself whether it was right to write a negative article about such a person.

But he soon shook his head and decided to proceed with his plan.

‘I have to look out for myself… I can’t go easy on anyone…’

Click, click.

Now was definitely the time to write a provocative article somehow and make his name known.

So once again, Dong-hyun began to view Si-joon as prey.

As if in a reconnaissance battle, he slightly glanced at Kyung-chan’s impression standing to the side.

Fortunately, Kyung-chan had an appearance that strongly reminded one of a countryside youth.

Because of this, Dong-hyun easily judged Kyung-chan as a naive person.

‘It seems things will progress more easily than I thought.’

It was fortunate that Festa Entertainment hadn’t sent out a more experienced person, as that might have made things not go as planned.

As a reporter with considerable skill, Dong-hyun had already finished investigating Festa Entertainment.

Even though Festa Entertainment was not a small company in the entertainment world, it seemed it wouldn’t be difficult to create a situation at this level.

It also seemed possible to write an article first and then deny it later.

“Alright! This is the last shot!”

Click.

Dong-hyun nodded as he watched the photo journalist press the shutter for the last time beside him.

Now it was time to start the interview in earnest.

“Alright. I think that should be enough for the photos. Shall we start the interview now?”

Jung Dong-hyun said this as he took out a questionnaire and recorder and placed them on the table.

Si-joon, who had been striking poses to show off his good looks, replied “Yes” and adjusted his posture.

At that moment, Yeo Kyung-chan quickly approached and took out his own recorder, placing it on the table as well.

Jung Dong-hyun frowned at the sudden situation and looked towards Yeo Kyung-chan.

“Ah, please don’t misunderstand. I didn’t take out the recorder with any ulterior motives.”

“Hmm…”

“The business planning team at our company insisted I record this. I’m doing this reluctantly too. You understand, right?”

Yeo Kyung-chan gave a friendly smile and joked in response to Jung Dong-hyun’s gaze.

He even showed his experience by looking at the photographer’s face while asking the last question.

The photographer fell for Yeo Kyung-chan’s experienced attitude and nodded.

“Yes, I understand. It’s not unusual these days for agencies to record interviews. It’s their legitimate right.”

Jung Dong-hyun wanted to snap at the photographer, asking why he was making that judgment on his own, but he held back.

As the photographer said, it wasn’t unusual for agencies to record interviews.

He was just irritated that Yeo Kyung-chan, who had seemed foolish before, was now acting so thorough and experienced.

‘This way, I can’t just write a sloppy article and back out of it…’

Jung Dong-hyun’s plan to easily manipulate Si-joon had fallen apart.

But Jung Dong-hyun tried to hide his flustered emotions and continued his thoughts.

‘It’s okay. Just because the situation turned out like this doesn’t mean I can’t write a provocative article.’

With that, Jung Dong-hyun modified his plan and began the interview in earnest.

To lull Si-joon and Yeo Kyung-chan into a false sense of security, he deliberately went through all the pre-agreed questions first.

Perhaps because he asked the questions in the exact order, Si-joon was answering smoothly.

“As it was my first work, there were many difficulties, but on set, the director and various staff members…”

Whether he had prepared diligently or Festa Entertainment had provided good model answers, Si-joon’s responses were quite impressive.

There were interesting parts that showed on-set experiences and the anguish of an actor named Lee Si-joon.

He could instinctively tell that even if he just wrote down these answers as they were, it would make for a pretty good article.

As it was an article about a rookie actor, it wouldn’t get much attention, but it was an interview that Si-joon’s fans would be quite satisfied with.

Yeo Kyung-chan seemed to be thinking the same thing, nodding with a satisfied expression.

Even the photographer who had arrived with Jung Dong-hyun was showing a positive reaction.

But Jung Dong-hyun wasn’t someone who would be satisfied with just this.

Rather, because of this situation, he thought an even more provocative element needed to be added.

Finally, the interview moved on to questions related to An Myung-hyun’s departure.

“Wasn’t there quite a lot of pressure taking on the role of high school student Shin Han-jae due to unfortunate circumstances? How did you overcome it?”

Again, Si-joon gave a plausible answer this time.

“It would be a lie to say there was no pressure. Because I was an unknown rookie actor, it was a bit more difficult in terms of experience.

But my mentor, Teacher Seo Myung-hee, encouraged me a lot, and thanks to that, I was able to gain strength. After that, I devoted myself solely to practice in order to live up to expectations.”

Although it could have been a sensitive issue, perhaps because he had prepared his answer in advance, his response flowed naturally.

‘Then let’s see how well you answer this question.’

Jung Dong-hyun thought to himself with a triumphant smile and immediately asked the question.

“Could it be the result of practice? Certainly, your portrayal of high school student Shin Han-jae received great acclaim.

Especially when leaked footage of the previous actor’s performance coincidentally emerged around the same time, there was a lot of talk that it was fortunate Lee Si-joon joined . What do you think about this?”

Asking a question that wasn’t agreed upon in advance.

This was Jung Dong-hyun’s new plan.

This way, even if the agency recorded the interview, it wouldn’t matter.

After all, since he had asked the question, it wouldn’t be a fabricated story.

‘Moreover…’

It didn’t matter even if Si-joon didn’t answer this question.

In fact, that would be an even better situation for Jung Dong-hyun.

In that case, he could write an article with a headline like “Rookie Actor Lee Si-joon Keeps Silent About An Myung-hyun’s Leaked Performance Footage”.

Jung Dong-hyun was confident that Si-joon and Yeo Kyung-chan had fallen into his perfect trap.

Sure enough, Yeo Kyung-chan rushed to intervene.

“Reporter, just a moment…”

He’s going to protest about the unagreed question.

The best scenario would have been Si-joon giving a strange answer out of confusion to Jung Dong-hyun’s question.

But as mentioned earlier, this situation wasn’t bad either.

As he was waiting for Yeo Kyung-chan’s next words, suddenly Si-joon raised his hand to stop Yeo Kyung-chan.

“Manager, it’s okay. I’ll answer.”

“But actor, this is…”

“Really, it’s fine.”

Si-joon said this and then took a deep breath.

Jung Dong-hyun’s eyes lit up at this sight.

He was excited to hear what nonsense Si-joon would spout.

But what came out of Si-joon’s mouth wasn’t nonsense.

“Your question, reporter…”