The Face Genius Actor

Episode 033

“Um… Well… That’s how it turned out.”

“You should have told me sooner! I was so surprised! Anyway, to think that a junior from my theater troupe would be my co-star in my first drama…”

“Is that strange?”

“Huh? No! It’s great! Don’t tell me you’re not happy about me being your co-star? You don’t like it?”

“Of course not. I’m happy to be working with you, senior. It’s reassuring.”

“Right? I thought so.”

I had a good conversation with Lee Joo-yeon.

I was briefly worried that she might be uncomfortable acting as my love interest, but it was just an unfounded concern.

Instead, we talked about hoping to showcase good, professional acting.

I felt the same way.

In fact, there was nothing to be awkward about between me and Lee Joo-yeon.

There wasn’t even a common kiss scene between the third lead couple, Kim Won-young and Lim Hee-joo.

It seemed that the other couples had more significant roles than us.

Even if the three couples had different types of kiss scenes, it could become repetitive for viewers.

If done poorly, it might feel like the same scene was being repeated.

Moreover, overusing kiss scenes wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

Even for the main couple, a kiss scene needed to be impactful to capture the audience’s hearts.

Anyway, for these reasons, Lee Joo-yeon and I focused on emotional acting as a couple.

And because of this, there was no reason to feel burdened.

Rather, as Lee Joo-yeon said, knowing each other could be a big advantage.

It was human nature to feel reassured when there was at least one familiar face, like when we first met at the script reading.

After having a good conversation with Lee Joo-yeon, I built rapport with various actors at the dinner that followed.

Since official filming hadn’t started yet, nobody was drinking excessively like at the wrap-up party for “Arrest”.

But we were able to finish the dinner in a sufficiently enjoyable atmosphere, not too late, around the second round.

“Alright! This concludes the official schedule! Good work everyone!”

“Everyone did well, and if anyone wants to go for a third round, please come this way!”

“It’s not mandatory to attend! Please get home safely!”

Some people seemed to be gathering separately for a third round, but I didn’t bother.

I didn’t want to tire out Yeo Kyung-chan, who was waiting to take me home.

Unless there was an unavoidable situation like Director Kang Han-sung insisting, as happened at the “Arrest” wrap party, I intended to be considerate of Yeo Kyung-chan.

There was no particular ulterior motive.

I just didn’t want a colleague to struggle because of me alone.

Even without these dinner gatherings, managers had many difficult tasks, like accompanying early morning shoots.

For this reason, I didn’t selfishly go for a third round for my own enjoyment, but returned home.

It had been a satisfying day, so after showering and setting an alarm for early morning exercise, I was able to fall asleep right away.

* * *

“Actor, Director Kang Han-sung is asking when you might be available next week. What should I tell him?”

“Is it another script reading? We can’t skip practice. Manager, please set a suitable date.”

Even after the public script reading, Director Kang Han-sung regularly called the lead actors.

It seemed he wanted to maximize coordination before official filming began.

Thanks to barely making it into the lead actor line-up, I was able to participate in several more script readings.

Except for Lee Joo-yeon, who had just transitioned to dramas, everyone was a notable actor in this field, so there was a lot to learn.

Especially watching the acting of ‘Gong Hyung-jun’ and ‘Lee Mi-hwa’, who played the supporting leads, was mind-blowing.

It was natural, as they showed acting skills that wouldn’t be out of place for main leads.

“Is your name really Kim Jung-min?”

“Y-yes, it is.”

“Then why do you stutter?”

“I-it’s just a habit.”

“Your habit is stuttering?”

“Why? Is that not allowed?”

“For a habit, you didn’t stutter just now?”

“I’m trying to break the habit. Anyway, why so many questions? Are you a question serial killer?”

“Calling someone who diligently pays taxes a serial killer. Then are you a counter-question serial killer with all your rebuttals?”

“Ah, how annoying. Why don’t you just give up already?”

“I’ll concede if you’re honest. Is your name really Kim Jung-min?”

“I’ve told you it is! If that’s all you have to say, whether you win or not, I’m leaving.”

While Kim Hee-soo’s script was excellent on its own…

The two showed great chemistry just through their dialogue banter, preparing to draw in many viewers.

It seemed that after “I Will Cast Love” airs, these two would receive higher evaluations in the industry.

After their passionate performance, the script reading moved on to Part 3, Scene 22.

But after the simultaneous sound of turning pages, no one spoke.

Kim Hee-soo, who had been smiling contentedly at Gong Hyung-jun and Lee Mi-hwa’s acting until then, suddenly frowned.

“Today too… Actor Park Jun couldn’t make it, I see.”

Director Kang Han-sung replied awkwardly to Kim Hee-soo’s words.

“Yes. Apparently, he still has some final shoots left for ‘The Night is Dark but the Morning is Bright’.”

“The Night is Dark but the Morning is Bright” was a Wednesday-Thursday drama currently airing on KBC.

Park Jun, who was also the main lead for “I Will Cast Love”, was playing an active role in “The Night is Dark but the Morning is Bright”.

That’s why he couldn’t participate in these script readings.

‘Everyone’s busy indeed…’

With the opening of various internet platform original markets beyond regular and cable broadcasting stations, there was a significant shortage of lead actors.

It was common for actors who gained even a little popularity as leads to have contracts for their next and even next-next projects, so it was natural.

For this reason, such incidents were becoming more frequent recently.

It was becoming a trend.

However, from Kim Hee-soo and Director Kang Han-sung’s perspective, it was inevitably worrying that the main lead kept missing script readings.

Especially Kim Hee-soo seemed very worried about not being able to break the 10% viewership barrier once again with this project.

‘Hmm.’

I sighed inwardly as I watched the scene.

I wanted to say, “Don’t worry, ‘I Will Cast Love’ will easily break the 10% viewership barrier,” but of course, I couldn’t do that.

As the atmosphere was about to darken, Director Kang Han-sung quickly stepped in.

“Let’s skip Part 3, Scene 22 for now and move on. Please proceed to the next scene.”

Once again, the sound of turning pages was heard. Part 3, Scene 23.

But for some reason, no one spoke this time either.

Kim Hee-soo’s low voice broke the silence.

“…It seems Actor Jung Se-hee couldn’t come due to filming as well?”

The main female lead, Jung Se-hee, was currently starring in a weekend drama called “Escort” airing on ITBC.

She was in a similar situation to Park Jun when she confirmed her appearance in “I Will Cast Love”.

As a result, both the main male and female leads were absent from the script reading.

The reason I had been impressed by the supporting leads earlier was due to this circumstance.

Since I couldn’t see the main leads’ acting at all, my attention naturally went to the next best performers, the supporting leads.

It was impossible to even confirm if the main leads had better chemistry than the supporting leads.

Although their skills were confirmed to be decent at the public script reading, the current supporting leads showed a higher understanding of their roles than the main leads did then.

“Sigh.”

Finally, Kim Hee-soo couldn’t hold back and let out a sigh.

As the writer, she seemed frustrated that she couldn’t check the acting of the main leads who were supposed to carry the drama.

Seeing this, the other lead actors also seemed displeased, their expressions hardening.

Judging that it would be difficult to continue the script reading in this state, Director Kang Han-sung quickly spoke up.

“I apologize for not properly assessing today’s participants and making unreasonable demands, which has disrupted the atmosphere. Let’s take a 15-minute break and then resume practice.”

It definitely seemed like a good idea to take a break now.

With that, the actors participating in today’s script reading began to leave the practice room.

As I was also leaving, I unconsciously looked back and saw Director Kang Han-sung and writer Kim Hee-soo having a serious conversation.

Seeing that, I felt like I was on the verge of remembering something.

Just then, someone called out to me.

“Si-joon.”

“Ah, yes, Senior Joo-yeon.”

“Don’t just stand there, let’s go out. I’ll buy you a coffee.”

Only then did I realize I had been staring too intently at Director Kang Han-sung and writer Kim Hee-soo, and I nodded.

“Coffee sounds good. Shall we go to the cafe in front?”

* * *

And so, Lee Joo-yeon and I moved to the rooftop of the production company building.

We asked Lee Joo-yeon’s manager separately to bring us our coffees.

It was unavoidable.

If we went to buy coffee ourselves, we would surely attract attention.

“I’ll enjoy the coffee, senior. And thank you for saving me earlier when I was spacing out.”

“It’s nothing. I understand. To be honest, I was curious about what the writer and director were talking about too.”

In reality, it was obvious what they were talking about.

Director Kang Han-sung was probably taking care of Kim Hee-soo’s mental state.

It was clear that Kim Hee-soo was struggling with the pressure of her new work.

But the issue with Park Jun and Jung Se-hee was a recent trend in the industry and unavoidable.

Moreover, there was still plenty of time until the actual filming of “I Will Cast Love” began, so there was no need to worry.

Director Kang Han-sung was probably comforting Kim Hee-soo with these reasons.

‘Still, it’s unfortunate that the atmosphere isn’t good.’

I felt this even more because I knew “I Will Cast Love” would do extremely well.

After all, the best thing for everyone is to achieve good results without stress.

“I’m sure the two of them are having a good talk. They’re experienced in these matters.”

When I said this, Lee Joo-yeon nodded.

“You’re right. But why do I keep feeling uneasy? There won’t be any conflicts between the main leads and the writer, right?”

“Come on, that couldn’t possibly…”

I was about to refute Lee Joo-yeon’s words, but something came to mind and I couldn’t finish my sentence.

Among the stories I had heard by chance before my regression, there was a rumor that “I Will Cast Love” had experienced significant internal conflicts.