The Face Genius Actor

Episode 072

Come to think of it, it was already April, almost exactly one year since my regression.

I had been so busy rushing through consecutive roles in , , and that I hadn’t noticed the time passing.

Especially, I hadn’t had time to think about award ceremonies.

All the dramas I had appeared in so far were aired on cable, so I didn’t have the opportunity to participate in year-end award ceremonies.

Year-end ceremonies were originally a celebration for the three major public broadcasters, so this was natural.

As a result, my interest in award ceremonies had naturally faded.

I hadn’t even thought about the Baeksang Arts Awards until now.

If it weren’t for Kim Bo-mi, I would have remained in this state.

‘Hmm… The possibility of winning at the Baeksang Arts Awards… Maybe I could aim for the New Actor Award.’

Kim Bo-mi mentioned the possibility of winning an Excellence Award, citing the performance of .

But the chances weren’t high.

To begin with, it didn’t meet the Baeksang Arts Awards’ judging criteria.

Baeksang selected award nominees for works aired from May 1st of the previous year to April 11th of the current year.

Also, at least one-third of the work had to be aired during this period to be eligible for nomination.

Unfortunately, couldn’t air one-third of its episodes.

It would need at least another month for that.

In the end, only two of my works fit the Baeksang Arts Awards criteria.

Just these two: and .

And with these two alone, I couldn’t guarantee winning the New Actor Award.

In , I was the protagonist but played a high school student role.

And in , I was only the third male lead.

Both roles could be considered a bit small for winning the New Actor Award.

There were many nominees who had taken on true lead roles.

The one advantage I had was that both dramas had exceeded 10% viewership ratings and were considered masterpieces.

However, it was unclear if this fact would weigh more heavily than having played the lead role in a single drama.

Honestly, if I were judging, I would give the New Actor Award to someone else.

So, without high expectations, I decided to participate in the Baeksang Arts Awards.

Meanwhile, the second episode of aired, and the ratings were released.

Fortunately, the ratings recorded 4.91%, slightly higher than the first episode.

Although there wasn’t a big increase in ratings, this was a meaningful upward trend.

The online community’s reaction was still good, and it ranked first in terms of buzz.

The ratings seemed likely to keep rising.

Sure enough, the third episode’s ratings were 5.32%, and the fourth episode’s were 5.36%.

At this rate, it seemed possible to approach 10% ratings before the Baeksang Arts Awards.

The filming set was certainly more energetic.

Especially Director Yoo Sung-hyo, who had confirmed the viewers’ reactions, approached filming with confidence.

The fact that he prioritized Cindy’s and my opinions was proof of this.

Writer Jung Su-jin also supported our opinions, making this possible.

So I had been pouring my efforts into filming day after day.

This was natural since there was still quite a bit of filming left.

But recently, one more thing required attention.

“Actor-nim! How about this? It’s a style that makes you want to try it on right away, right?”

Song Jin-ah, my dedicated stylist, had become more proactive.

She was always hardworking, but recently it had intensified.

The fact that I was nominated for the New Actor Award at the Baeksang Arts Awards seemed to have greatly motivated Song Jin-ah.

“It’s nice. The breast pocket detail on the suit jacket is impressive.”

“I knew our actor would notice it right away. Shall we try it on for a moment?”

“Sure.”

I put down the script I was holding and stood up.

I had already received on-set direction from Director Yoo Sung-hyo and finished practicing.

So I had enough time to change clothes.

But having time to spare was just my misconception.

Once fired up, Song Jin-ah kept bringing new clothes endlessly.

“Actor-nim, how about this?”

“Isn’t this pretty too?”

“Wow, so cool!”

“How can everything suit you so well?”

“Oh no, I can’t decide what to choose.”

“Even this looks so good on you!”

The last outfit Song Jin-ah had me try on was a yellow suit with polka dots.

To me, it didn’t look good at all, but Song Jin-ah was moved, saying it suited me well too.

I looked to Yeo Kyung-chan for help.

But for some reason, Yeo Kyung-chan was also staring at me with a dazed expression.

Then he added a word, looking perplexed.

“Honestly, I thought it definitely wouldn’t suit you… As expected, the face completes the fashion.”

In the end, this was also saying it wasn’t bad.

I was momentarily flustered hearing those words.

Am I going to end up wearing this yellow suit?

I had a dizzy thought.

But fortunately, or should I say thankfully,

Song Jin-ah, who had been clasping her hands in admiration, came to her senses and said:

“But a polka dot yellow suit is a bit much, right?”

“…Yes, it is a bit much.”

“I’ll remove it from the final candidates. We have plenty of other outfits that suit you well anyway.”

So Song Jin-ah started to narrow down the final candidates while humming.

Seeing her hold the polka dot yellow suit in her left hand, it seemed the outfits in her right hand were the final candidates.

But she was holding more clothes than expected in her right hand.

‘Surely… she’s not going to ask me to try all those on again?’

As I was thinking this, someone knocked on the door of the waiting vehicle.

“Yes!”

“Ah, Actor Lee Si-joon. Filming is about to start. Please stand by.”

At the same time, a look of disappointment flashed across Song Jin-ah’s face.

“Ah…”

Seeing her reaction, I thought, ‘So she was planning to have me try them on again,’ and quickly replied:

“I’ll be right there. Immediately.”

* * *

But it wasn’t possible to avoid Song Jin-ah forever.

Eventually, I started changing clothes again at Song Jin-ah’s request.

At least all the finalists were decent outfits.

The fact that I thought they were still fine after trying them on again showed that Song Jin-ah had chosen the clothes well.

As expected, Song Jin-ah was a capable stylist.

‘She worked hard to get sponsorships, and all the clothes are good. Impressive.’

With these thoughts, I opened my mouth towards Song Jin-ah.

“They’re all nice. I like them overall.”

“That’s what makes it harder. Which one should I choose in the end? Which one do you like best, actor-nim?”

“Well… There are too many finalists now, so it’s hard to choose.”

“Hmm. Then I’ll narrow it down to three for now. Just a moment.”

So Song Jin-ah looked over the outfits and picked the final three.

It sounds a bit odd, but these were the finalists of the finalists.

I started to carefully examine the three outfits.

First was a khaki-grey ‘reverse pleat one-button suit’.

It was a style that emphasized dandiness with a black shirt and black tie.

As expected of an Ermenegildo Zegna product, it had a characteristic sense of dignity.

Next was a neat ‘houndstooth check regent-style suit’.

This too was planned to be matched with a black shirt and black tie.

It well expressed the sharpness unique to Brooks Brothers.

Lastly was a ‘pinstripe cashmere suit’.

It was the only suit planned to be matched with a white shirt and black tie.

An impressive piece with the intricate and detailed features characteristic of Brioni…

“Huh?”

As I expressed doubt, Song Jin-ah responded.

“Yes? What’s wrong, actor-nim?”

“About this pinstripe suit. Is this really Brioni? The lines seem a bit different…”

“Ah, no. It’s from a different brand. There’s a designer who’s becoming popular in Korea these days. We got it from them.”

So Song Jin-ah started explaining who made the last suit.

At the same time, my heart increasingly leaned towards the ‘pinstripe cashmere suit’.

Not only was the craftsmanship of the ‘pinstripe cashmere suit’ the best, but I thought its future value was even more amazing.

‘A suit by Designer Lee Si-hoo…’

I couldn’t help but be surprised when I finally heard the name from Song Jin-ah’s mouth.

Designer Lee Si-hoo was still known for street fashion brands like Tempus.

But he would later launch a high-end brand and become a globally renowned figure.

Honestly, if it weren’t for this timing, it would be impossible to wear Lee Si-hoo’s clothes.

‘It will become clothes that only the celebrity of celebrities can wear…’

After hearing all of Song Jin-ah’s explanation, I decided on the outfit without hesitation.

“Let’s go with this one.”

Song Jin-ah’s eyes widened in surprise.

“What? Really? You’re going with this?”

It couldn’t be helped.

At this point, Lee Si-hoo’s suit had the lowest commercial value among these.

But I answered regardless of such reactions.

“Yes. I like this one the best.”

* * *

And so time passed.

Finally, the morning of the Baeksang Arts Awards ceremony dawned.

I rode in a freshly washed car to KINTEX in Ilsan.

Upon arriving at the venue, I could see the red carpet outside the car window.

Alongside it, numerous reporters were lined up.

They all held large cameras, which made the scene feel a bit intimidating.

‘Will I receive any attention…’

I worried for a moment seeing this sight.

I thought I might not receive a warm welcome, having barely made it as a nominee for the New Actor Award.

At that moment, Yeo Kyung-chan got out of the car first and came to my side to open the door.

“Actor-nim. Let’s get out.”

Yeo Kyung-chan’s voice trembled slightly, perhaps from nervousness.

Flustered by this, I nodded a beat late and answered.

“Yes. Let’s do that.”

But my voice didn’t reach Yeo Kyung-chan.

As soon as my answer fell, tremendous cheers erupted.

“Wooow!”

“It’s Lee Si-joon!”

“Wow! He looks so handsome today!”

Click. Click. Click. Click.

It wasn’t just cheers.

Reporters were busily pressing their camera shutters.

Such a welcome before I even got out.

Feeling my body stiffen slightly, I slowly walked out of the vehicle.

I didn’t like this state of myself.

‘This isn’t right… As a professional, I should show a cooler image to the fans…’

Though I had these thoughts, as someone who had been terribly uncoordinated, I couldn’t easily hide my nervousness.

Just as I was about to step onto the red carpet.

“Huh?”

For some reason, I could no longer hear any cheers.

The camera shutter sounds had also stopped.