The Face Genius Actor

Episode 069

Why was Ji Jung-hyun here?

I immediately wondered, but greeting came first.

I approached Ji Jung-hyun and bowed my head.

“Hello, senior.”

“Yes. It’s been a while.”

It really had been a long time.

It was natural since this was the first time seeing him since the wrap-up party for .

I heard he was taking a break and choosing his next project, so why was he here?

While I was pondering this, Goo Kyung-mo opened his mouth, fanning himself as if hot.

“Ah. The senior said he was passing by this area and suddenly thought of us, so he contacted us.”

Ji Jung-hyun nodded and continued Goo Kyung-mo’s words.

“We formed a connection, so it’s good to keep in touch occasionally. Don’t you think?”

Was it just my feeling?

It seemed like he was asking why we hadn’t contacted him even once until now.

I quickly responded to Ji Jung-hyun’s words.

“That’s right. We should have contacted you first. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it too much. I heard your junior’s drama is airing its first episode today?”

“Yes. That’s why we gathered like this. I-deum will be here soon too.”

“So the four of us will watch your junior’s drama together. Why don’t you sit over here?”

With Ji Jung-hyun’s words, watching the first episode of together became a fait accompli.

At the same time, he subtly acted like the owner of this house.

It looked so natural that for a moment, I wondered if I had come to Ji Jung-hyun’s house instead of Goo Kyung-mo’s.

But Goo Kyung-mo didn’t dare point this out and just nodded.

It was natural for Goo Kyung-mo to react awkwardly like this.

After all, Ji Jung-hyun was Korea’s top actor and a senior colleague.

Moreover, as Ji Jung-hyun said, we had formed a connection through .

Although it was a bit sudden for him to visit like this, it wasn’t entirely strange.

However, that didn’t mean it was okay for him to visit our house.

For a moment, I imagined Ji Jung-hyun showing up at our house without notice, and I felt breathless.

That’s how dizzying it was.

“Right. Sit here. I’ll prepare some food.”

With that, Goo Kyung-mo seated me on one side and rushed to the kitchen.

Then he busily clattered around, preparing something.

Ji Jung-hyun watched this with an expressionless face, half-lying down with his chin resting on the sofa’s armrest.

It was a stiff expression without any apparent purpose.

Suddenly, he turned his head towards me, and our eyes met.

Unable to bear the awkwardness, I called out to Goo Kyung-mo.

“Kyung-mo! Can I help with anything?”

Goo Kyung-mo’s reply came from inside the kitchen.

“No! It’s okay! I’m done!”

Fortunately, Goo Kyung-mo finished setting the table not too late.

On the living room table, there were place settings for four people and three chickens.

Fried, seasoned, and soy sauce flavored.

It was clearly a setting for one chicken per person.

Ji Jung-hyun seemed to notice this too and spoke first.

“It looks like we’re one chicken short. What’s the address here?”

Goo Kyung-mo quickly waved his hands and replied.

“No, senior. I’ll order it.”

Ji Jung-hyun put down the phone he had picked up and nodded.

“Is that so? Then I’d like BBQ’s ‘Bbu-ring-kkul’ flavor.”

Bbu-ring-kkul…

It felt somewhat out of character for Ji Jung-hyun.

But Kyung-mo and I just silently rolled our eyes and swallowed our words.

Just as another moment of silence was about to fall, suddenly the doorbell rang.

Goo Kyung-mo quickly got up to open the front door and started making a fuss.

Yang I-deum was standing at the entrance.

“Hey! How can you come so late!”

“What are you talking about? I came right on time. Anyway, here’s…”

Yang I-deum, who was handing over wine to Goo Kyung-mo, belatedly noticed Ji Jung-hyun and froze on the spot.

When Ji Jung-hyun lightly raised his hand to greet him, Yang I-deum finally came to his senses and bowed his head.

“Hello, senior. I’m sorry for being late.”

It was like seeing a private first class in front of a sergeant.

Watching this scene, I thought to myself.

‘No, I-deum. You’re not late.’

* * *

Fortunately, with Yang I-deum joining and another chicken arriving, the atmosphere quickly improved.

As explained earlier, originally I, Goo Kyung-mo, and Yang I-deum were friends who met regularly once a month.

We were also close enough to chat almost daily via messages.

So there was no reason for the atmosphere to be stiff just because Ji Jung-hyun was there.

It wasn’t a situation where we could keep the atmosphere awkward anyway.

It felt like we’d suffocate if someone didn’t speak.

“I had no idea Si-joon would be so active in variety shows!”

“Me too! Me too! Especially when he danced to MOST’s choreography to the Barley Field song, I nearly fainted!”

Both Goo Kyung-mo and Yang I-deum seemed to be exaggerating their voices.

The proof was that they were glancing at Ji Jung-hyun’s expression from time to time.

But there was nothing better than talking about variety shows to break the ice.

Ji Jung-hyun also seemed pleased that the atmosphere was lightening up, showing a faint smile.

Encouraged by this, Yang I-deum threw a question at Ji Jung-hyun.

“By any chance, have you watched the episode of , senior?”

Ji Jung-hyun seemed to think for a moment before nodding.

“By chance. It was satisfying to see him snatch the answer from Im Dong-seop. I had my answer stolen when I was on the show last time.”

As Ji Jung-hyun engaged with Yang I-deum’s story, the atmosphere brightened even more.

Goo Kyung-mo, who called himself an maniac, quickly raised his voice to talk about Ji Jung-hyun’s appearance on the show.

I could also add to the conversation as I vaguely remembered Ji Jung-hyun’s appearance on .

As we were chatting and enjoying the chicken, finally began its first broadcast.

“Oh! It’s starting!”

The previously noisy living room of Goo Kyung-mo’s house fell silent.

But just like a quiet movie theater isn’t awkward, this silence wasn’t either.

It didn’t feel awkward at all.

It was natural since we needed to focus on .

The drama started with a solemn atmosphere, accompanied by a deep drum sound.

Soldiers with weapons opened the palace gates and advanced.

“What are you doing!”

Palace people tried to block the soldiers but were instantly killed.

The drama opened with Lee Young’s life being threatened due to the betrayal of a close aide.

‘The music certainly amplifies the tension.’

However, it didn’t feel like a traditional historical drama.

While the background was similar, using Korean-style palaces,

the composition of the shots and the editing speed created an atmosphere unique to romantic comedies.

Director Yoo Hyo-sung seemed to have improved his understanding of the romantic comedy genre.

It felt subtly faster than the last edited version I had seen.

At this rate, it seemed we wouldn’t have to worry much about the editing.

I glanced at Ji Jung-hyun.

He was watching with his chin resting on his hand, showing no particular reaction.

I thought he might have some interest in the drama I was appearing in, considering he suddenly showed up today, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

‘Did he really just happen to drop by here by chance?’

I shook my head at this thought.

Now was the time to focus on the drama.

Lee Young crossed over from the Korean Empire to the Republic of Korea and had her first encounter with Han Ji-hoon.

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

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

“Are you not a eunuch? If not, you could just say so. Why are you so bewildered and speaking so briefly?”

“Well, I think speaking briefly is better than being rude… right?”

The first exchange between Han Ji-hoon and Lee Young.

Goo Kyung-mo and Yang I-deum, who had only been making exclamations until now, immediately reacted.

“Wow. As expected of Si-joon. He doesn’t seem overwhelmed even when acting with senior Cindy.”

“Yeah. Their acting synergy is perfect. And their visuals are completely insane.”

“Oh! Wasn’t Si-joon’s expression just now when delivering his lines so good? I should practice that at home too.”

“Senior Cindy’s expressions are all so good too. As expected, she’s the textbook example of romantic comedy…”

Goo Kyung-mo and Yang I-deum’s conversation was bordering on fandom.

But I just smiled slightly, not minding much.

It wasn’t the first time they had reacted this way.

They tended to praise every bit of acting in dramas I appeared in.

As close friends, it was a natural attitude in a way, but it wasn’t always good.

Sometimes, one wants to hear objective evaluations.

That’s why I kept wondering how Ji Jung-hyun was viewing my acting.

But Ji Jung-hyun just watched the drama silently with his chin resting on his hand, as if not particularly impressed.

‘This certainly isn’t the best scene of the first episode.’

My chemistry with Cindy wasn’t bad from the early stages of filming.

I felt I had given my best performance, and I wondered if I had ever had such good chemistry with someone before.

It wasn’t spine-tingling like when I acted with Park Jun, but it felt much more stable.

The scene itself seemed to have turned out better too.

But the best scenes couldn’t be created simply by the two main leads.

They required high-quality scripts and perfect direction to support them.

Also, the best scenes could be born when the events themselves were more crucial than now.

‘While the first encounter between Han Ji-hoon and Lee Young is important…’

As with many dramas, the best scenes in appeared in the latter half.

The drama rapidly progressed towards the final scene.

“The pacing is insane. My heart’s racing because exciting scenes keep coming one after another.”

“I know. It’s already been over an hour. How can they do this?”

Director Yoo Hyo-sung seemed to have put more effort into the latter half of the editing.

It exceeded the pace I had in mind, but it didn’t feel excessive.

He had increased the speed to the highest level just right, and when the viewers’ expectations reached their peak, the final scene began.

“You and that doctor, neither of you believe me. You said this place is the Republic of Korea, right?”

“Yes. But you kept looking for the Korean Empire.”

“Because that’s where I came from. I don’t know how this happened either. So you’ll have to accept it. That what you’re looking for isn’t with me.”

As Han Ji-hoon was feeling confused, a call came from the hospital.

“Oh, hyung.”

-Hey, Ji-hoon. About what I asked you to look into.

“Yeah. Did you find out?”

-I did as you said, but there’s one strange thing.

“What’s strange?”

-It’s about Lee Young. Her DNA doesn’t match the existing one.

The drama ended with a contrast between Han Ji-hoon’s surprised expression and Lee Young’s relaxed face.

The ending music naturally made viewers exclaim in admiration.

Goo Kyung-mo and Yang I-deum simultaneously let out a “Wow.”

It was an exclamation where the heart reacted faster than the mind.

‘I wonder about this time too?’

With this thought, I looked towards Ji Jung-hyun.

Meeting my eyes, Ji Jung-hyun nodded and opened his mouth.

“Hmm…”