The Face Genius Actor

Episode 056

They say she confirmed the casting because the script was so good.

I could understand why Cindy chose “Let’s Live Together, Princess”.

At the same time, I could see how all of Cindy’s dramas have been successful up to this point.

Cindy clearly had the ability to distinguish good scripts.

The content of “Let’s Live Together, Princess” was that excellent.

It was incomprehensible why such a work failed before the regression.

The plot of “Let’s Live Together, Princess” was roughly as follows:

A parallel universe setting.

Princess Lee Young (female lead) of the Korean Empire, on the brink of death due to betrayal by a trusted subordinate, accidentally crosses over to the Republic of Korea.

Amidst the confusion, she is discovered by Ji-hoon (male lead), the top star and singer-songwriter in the Republic of Korea.

Surprisingly, Lee Young bears an uncanny resemblance to Ji-hoon’s first love who died five years ago.

Ji-hoon, shocked by the dimensional crossing effect, urgently takes the unconscious Lee Young to the emergency room.

But…

When Lee Young finally opens her eyes, her condition is a bit strange.

Not only does she not remember herself, but she keeps talking nonsense.

“Are you a new eunuch? But why aren’t you wearing official robes?”

“Eunuch? Did you just call me a eunuch?”

“You’re not a eunuch? Then you should just say so, why are you so bewildered and speaking so briefly?”

“Well, speaking briefly seems better than being rude… Your Highness?”

After much deliberation, Ji-hoon books a hotel for Lee Young after she’s discharged.

Lee Young continues to spout nonsense at the hotel, making things difficult for Ji-hoon.

Eventually, Ji-hoon has no choice but to bring Lee Young to his home.

And so begins the strange cohabitation of the Korean Empire’s princess and the Republic of Korea’s star.

Korean Empire and Republic of Korea.

Dramas dealing with parallel universe settings could easily expose flawed points.

It was natural, as the concept of parallel universes itself was scientifically impossible.

Therefore, this drama couldn’t carelessly handle even the smallest elements.

Even thriller elements commonly appearing in such dramas could look like major setting errors if they went slightly off track.

That was the reality.

‘But “Let’s Live Together, Princess” handles even the smallest details very well.’

If so, this drama had a significantly lower chance of failure.

Although the script was important enough for people to say that the drama genre is a “writer’s game”…

In the case of “Let’s Live Together, Princess”, it was packed with keywords that could attract viewers’ interest.

Parallel universe, Korean Empire, princess, dimensional travel, top star, first love, cohabitation.

The main keywords were so popular that viewers couldn’t help but be interested.

Moreover, the fact that Cindy, a guaranteed box office success, was playing the female lead role couldn’t be overlooked.

So I wondered why this drama ultimately failed to succeed.

‘Of course, a drama can only succeed when various experts play their roles in each field.’

But even so, I couldn’t understand how the drama collapsed to the point where I had no memory of it at all.

I wondered if perhaps the title had changed midway and that’s why I couldn’t remember it, so I read the script carefully, trying to recall if there was a similar plot.

However, I couldn’t find a script with the same content anywhere in my memory.

This drama seemed to be the only failed work among Cindy’s appearances.

‘Hmm.’

As I was lost in thought, stroking my chin…

There was a vibrating sound, and when I checked my phone, there was a message from Cindy.

Cindy and I had exchanged phone numbers before parting ways after discussing the script.

[Senior Cindy][13:52] Have you read the script?

[Senior Cindy][14:13] What do you think of the script?

[Senior Cindy][14:46] It’s interesting, right?

[Senior Cindy][15:09] Please say it’s interesting

[Senior Cindy][15:11] I’m sorry, I won’t be too clingy

It was time to decide whether to appear in the drama, putting aside the consideration of how “Let’s Live Together, Princess” ended up failing.

If I kept pondering, it seemed like Cindy might explode.

Fortunately, I didn’t need to think deeply about whether to appear or not.

As I had resolved while hiking with my father, I had decided to appear in works as long as the script was good.

Just as I was about to send a message to Cindy…

My phone started ringing again.

This time it was a call, and when I checked the screen, it showed “Father”.

‘What’s this?’

I was about to send a message when…

My father rarely called like this.

So, wondering if something had happened, I quickly answered the phone.

“I’ve answered the phone.”

-Son. Are you at home now?

“Yes. But why? Did something happen?”

-Ah… Well, if something happened, it would be…

My father trailed off.

Then I started to hear other people’s voices through the phone.

-Is that Si-joon? Tell him to come down. Let’s see his face.

-I’m so curious about him filming a music video with Cindy. Call him quickly.

-Wasn’t Si-joon a rookie? Did he really film a music video with Cindy?

-He looks handsome like Mr. Lee from the chicken restaurant. He looked the best even on TV.

I could roughly guess what the situation was.

It seemed my father’s friends from Mangwon-dong had flocked to the restaurant.

And I could guess why they had come.

‘Even when I appeared in “Arrest” and “I Will Cast Love”, my father’s friends never flocked like this…’

It was a testament to how great Cindy’s impact was in this area.

I spoke first so my father wouldn’t be more troubled.

“Father. I’d like to eat some chicken. Is it okay if I come down to the restaurant for a bit?”

My father brightened up and replied.

-You will? Then come down in 5 minutes. I’ll prepare the chicken.

“Okay. I’ll be there.”

After hanging up, I sent a message to Cindy as I had resolved.

[Si-joon][15:15] The script is interesting

[Si-joon][15:15] I will inform the company of my intention to appear

Then I changed clothes appropriately and went down to the restaurant.

Inside the restaurant, my father’s friends who ran businesses in the area were gathered.

“Si-joon!”

“Kid! It’s been a while!”

“I think this is the first time seeing you since you were discharged!”

“I watched your drama well! You looked great on TV too!”

My father’s friends who spotted me each threw out a remark excitedly.

The restaurant quickly became boisterous.

It was fortunate that there weren’t many customers since it was past lunchtime.

Just as the commotion inside the store was about to cross the line,

Mr. Jung, the Mangwon-dong neighborhood representative who runs Pumpkin Jewelry, stepped forward.

“Come on now. Everyone’s voice is too loud. Our Si-joon is no longer just a friend’s son, but a celebrity. We shouldn’t embarrass him like this. So let’s just ask the essential questions. How about that?”

“Sounds good!”

“Alright!”

“Yeah! We just need to ask about Cindy!”

Thanks to Mr. Jung, the commotion could be subdued.

As the store quieted down, the expected question came, just as I had anticipated.

“Si-joon. I heard from your father. Did you really appear in Cindy’s music video? Is it true?”

I looked briefly at my father, who was holding a chicken takeout bag with an awkward smile, before answering.

“Yes. I appeared in the music video.”

Once again, the store interior began to get noisy.

“Wow! It must be true!”

“Our Si-joon has heard the new song!”

“How was it, Si-joon? It was good, right?”

“You’re not like, personally in contact with her or anything, are you?”

“They could be, since they’re both celebrities. But man, this is really amazing!”

But my story didn’t end there.

“And I’m planning to appear with Senior Cindy in a drama titled ‘Let’s Live Together, Princess’.”

As soon as I finished speaking, silence fell over the store.

And what broke this silence was a surprisingly loud cheer.

“Woooow!”

“Si-joon is going to be in a drama with Cindy!”

“The pride of Mangwon-dong! Lee Si-joon!”

“Let’s hang a banner!”

“This is incredible!”

My father’s face also filled with pride.

‘It’s good that I decided to appear in the drama.’

I found myself thinking this without realizing it.

* * *

Festa Entertainment welcomed my intention to appear.

They had no choice but to.

“Let’s Live Together, Princess” seemed like a drama that would succeed no matter who saw it.

Not only was the script itself good, but the fact that Cindy had confirmed her appearance greatly increased the probability of the drama’s success.

‘Moreover…’

This would be my first leading role through “Let’s Live Together, Princess”.

So there was no reason for Festa Entertainment not to welcome this news.

‘First leading role… Come to think of it, I wonder if it’ll be okay.’

I had momentarily forgotten, but I actually had some pressure about appearing as the lead in a drama.

This was because the drama where I was first cast as the lead in the past was embroiled in controversy over my acting skills and received harsh criticism.

However, after going through “Arrest” and “I Will Cast Love”, my acting skills were quite well recognized.

For that reason, I didn’t tremble just at the mention of my first leading role like in the past.

Above all, the existence of the Method Mask was calming my mind.

So right now, I was feeling a mixture of pressure and slight excitement.

Even though I had chosen the work based solely on the script, I found myself hoping that this drama would be successful.

‘Although my future has changed positively several times after the regression, can I make “Let’s Live Together, Princess” successful too?’

Honestly, the possibility wasn’t great.

It was different to slightly increase the ratings of a drama that was originally successful versus making a completely failed drama successful.

But since I had decided to appear in “Let’s Live Together, Princess”, I really wanted to make the drama successful.

So I decided to do my best for its success.

‘There’s a lot to look into – the production company, direction, other cast members, etc. But among these, what I can do first is…’

Of course, it was acting.

So right now, I was heading to W Acting Academy with the script of “Let’s Live Together, Princess” in hand.

When I arrived at the academy, Seo Myung-hee greeted me warmly.

“You’re here, Si-joon?”

* * *

A little while later.

After carefully reading the script of “Let’s Live Together, Princess”, Seo Myung-hee spoke.

“The script is interesting. As expected, Si-joon, you have a different eye for these things. Has the female lead been cast?”

“Senior Cindy confirmed her appearance first.”

“Oh? Come to think of it, didn’t you also film a music video together this time?”

“Senior Cindy was the one who first offered me to appear in the drama.”

“Ah, I see. That’s how it connected. That’s great!”

“Things worked out luckily. Though the male lead role is a bit burdensome.”

“You’ll do well, Si-joon. So, you want to proceed with lessons using this script now, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. Is that okay?”

Seo Myung-hee thought for a moment and then slowly opened her mouth.

And what followed was unexpected.

“Normally it would be fine, but… What should we do? I don’t think we’ll be able to continue our lessons together anymore.”