The Face Genius Actor

Episode 082

‘Is this really such a surprising matter?’

That was my first thought upon seeing the articles plastering the internet.

When Yeo Kyung-chan urgently delivered the news, I thought something serious had happened.

Because in the entertainment industry, where there’s smoke, there’s often fire, like when the scandal with Cindy broke out.

I always had to be mentally prepared.

But compared to that, the content of the articles I checked directly was absurd.

‘Why is my brother being my brother such a big deal?’

I wasn’t the only one thinking this way.

A message arrived from my brother.

[Short Answer Man][20:38] What’s this? Why are they like that?

[Si-joon][20:38] I know, right…

[Si-joon][20:39] Did you commit some crime, bro?

[Si-joon][20:39] Be honest

[Short Answer Man][20:40] Yeah, I did

[Si-joon][20:40] What is it?

[Short Answer Man][20:40] The crime of having you as a bloodline

[Si-joon][20:41] …….

[Short Answer Man][20:41] Sorry

[Si-joon][20:41] Yeah, that was too nonsensical

[Si-joon][20:42] Anyway, what’s really going on?

[Si-joon][20:42] Is it a crime to call one’s father and brother by their proper titles?

[Si-joon][20:42] I didn’t know

[Short Answer Man][20:42] Thought you were Hong Gil-dong

[Mountain Man][20:43] Two sons!

[Mountain Man][20:43] I think my phone is broken

[Mountain Man][20:43] Your two names keep popping up for no reason

My brother, I, and our father couldn’t understand the current situation at all.

But unlike our family, the reactions from others were intense.

First, Cindy, who I was talking with.

“How can brothers… Wow. Is Lee Si-hwan really Si-joon’s older brother?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Now I see why you didn’t even blink when seniors Ji Jung-hyun and Park Jun were courting you so much.”

“What? Courting? Ah. I think there’s some misunderstanding…”

“Anyway, the entertainment industry is going to be turned upside down. Prepare yourself mentally. Your phone might catch fire.”

Cindy was just saying what she wanted to say, not listening to me at all.

Next were Yeo Kyung-chan, who delivered this news, and Song Jin-ah who followed him.

“Really… Is Lee Si-hwan… I mean, model Lee Si-hwan really your older brother?”

“No wonder our actor… I thought you knew too much about fashion, there was this secret…”

“When you mentioned your older brother before, you didn’t say much, so I thought he was an ordinary person… To think it was model Lee Si-hwan!”

“I was surprised to see you becoming friends with athlete Kang Yoon-ah right after meeting her, but you already had a world-famous celebrity in your family!”

The two of them kept exclaiming, leaving no room for me to interject.

Especially, I wanted to explain that I didn’t immediately become close friends with Kang Yoon-ah, but I didn’t get the chance.

Lastly, Director Yoo Sung-hyo, who I exchanged words with for a farewell greeting after finishing the filming of Part 16.

“I saw the articles. It’s a shame. If I had known earlier, I would have tried to get model Lee Si-hwan to make a cameo appearance.”

“My brother?”

“Yes. It would have been good publicity, right? I bet quite a few people are thinking the same as me. The genius face brothers. It’s just the kind of material that’s good for packaging in broadcasts. It’s already creating a buzz.”

“Ah, I see.”

Thanks to Director Yoo Sung-hyo, I could understand why the reactions around me were so intense.

Certainly, even to me, it seemed like good material to put on broadcast.

First of all, I was one of the most talked-about actors at the moment due to my appearance in “Let’s Live Together, Princess”.

It was natural since “Let’s Live Together, Princess” recently surpassed 10% in viewership ratings.

This trend was likely to continue until the drama’s finale.

In fact, I was receiving quite a lot of advertising offers.

I was also getting casting offers from various variety shows.

My brother was also one of the most notable models recently.

Especially, he was attracting a lot of attention on the world stage.

My brother’s work as a model for Louis Vuitton at Paris Fashion Week became quite a topic in Korea.

Since then, he had been consistently working with various brands in Paris, so his recognition was steadily increasing.

Now, it could be said that my brother was more popular overseas than in Korea.

As if to prove this fact, he recently ranked second in the “Most Attractive Model” category in a survey conducted in France.

He probably would have taken first place if he had mixed soju and beer.

My brother shone the brightest when mixing soju and beer.

Anyway, when put together, my brother and I had a tremendous synergy effect.

Individually, there were more famous actors and models.

But there weren’t any cases of an actor and a model being brothers like this.

It was a combination that could certainly pique interest in the broadcasting world.

The fact that the media was already catching on and churning out articles was proof of this.

“You’re going to be even busier from tomorrow, aren’t you? I was going to suggest that you rest well and have fun until the wrap-up party, but I guess that’s not possible now.”

Director Yoo Sung-hyo said this with a playful smile, and I scratched my head as I replied.

“Well… It’s certainly a good opportunity… But I’m not sure if things will work out as planned.”

* * *

By the time we finished filming Part 16,

“Let’s Live Together, Princess” had aired up to Part 14.

Part 14 finally broke the 15% viewership barrier.

It was much faster than I had anticipated.

The recent articles seemed to have had a positive impact on the ratings of “Let’s Live Together, Princess”.

‘The ripple effect is more significant than I thought.’

It wasn’t just the ratings that increased.

The topic of actor and model brothers seemed to have definitely caught the interest of the broadcasting world.

Casting offers were pouring in every day.

The places that had already made offers revised their content, making joint appearances with my brother a condition.

With the issue, new proposals also started coming in.

Especially, variety show offers came from broadcasting stations that had no particular connection to “Let’s Live Together, Princess”.

It was the first time I received variety show offers from places other than tvM after appearing in “Let’s Live Together, Princess”.

Among them was SBC’s “Battle Man”.

“Wow! Battle Man? That’s huge!”

Yeo Kyung-chan exclaimed after receiving the casting call.

I was also pleased with the “Battle Man” offer.

“Battle Man” was undoubtedly one of the best variety shows in South Korea.

It was even a program with tremendous popularity throughout Asia.

But the joy was short-lived.

I soon shook my head.

There was no way my brother would accept an appearance on a variety show like “Battle Man”.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure if he would accept even if an offer came for a variety show where you just sit in a studio and solve quizzes.

And now “Battle Man”, which is famous for physical activities.

There was almost no possibility of him accepting the offer.

I made a bitter expression and opened my mouth towards Yeo Kyung-chan.

“Please politely decline the offer from the Battle Man production team.”

Yeo Kyung-chan was surprised and asked back.

“What? Really?”

“I’m personally a fan of Battle Man…”

“Yes. Then we should definitely appear. It’s Battle Man after all.”

“My brother probably won’t accept the offer. He doesn’t like physical activities.”

“What? Isn’t modeling a profession that’s used to physical activities?”

“I thought so too, but not my brother. He says walking and running are different.”

“Ah… For that reason… Then how about ‘Solo Life’? We got an offer from them too.”

I lived with my father, but my brother lived alone in his own place.

It seemed like it would be good to film “Solo Life” with my brother as the main character and me visiting his house.

But as I thought of one fact, I had to give up this plan too.

“…Please politely decline the Solo Life offer as well.”

“Solo Life too? Why? Didn’t you say model Lee Si-hwan lives alone?”

“He does live alone. But his house is too messy. He lives with clothes piled up like mountains.”

The mountain man living in our house gave up climbing after checking my brother’s room.

It would damage his model image.

My brother said he just couldn’t tidy up because he was a bit busy, but I couldn’t believe it at all.

“It’s too bad to miss out on Solo Life too… Then how about ‘Dogs are Splendid’?”

“‘Dogs are Splendid’? Isn’t that a program only for dog owners?”

“Didn’t you say he has a dog last time?”

“…No. I don’t think so.”

I gave an evasive answer like this.

I remembered saying there was a dog when my brother had passed out drunk.

“That’s a shame. It would be good to appear on a nice variety show now and make an impression on viewers.”

I was disappointed too.

If we missed this opportunity now, we might forever be distant from variety shows.

Appearing too often on variety shows and consuming one’s image wasn’t good as an actor either.

But not appearing on variety shows at all was disadvantageous in its own way.

These days, it was also important to secure a somewhat friendly image by being active in variety shows.

‘But I can’t force my brother to go on broadcasts…’

It was when I was half giving up on appearing on variety shows like this.

Suddenly, a message arrived from my brother.

[Short Answer Man][15:21] Want to appear on a variety show together?

I checked my brother’s message and rubbed my eyes.

It contained content that I couldn’t believe my brother had sent.

[Si-joon][15:22] Are you serious?

[Short Answer Man][15:22] Why, don’t you want to go with me?

[Si-joon][15:22] It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s just so unexpected

[Si-joon][15:23] You always rejected all variety show appearance offers before

[Short Answer Man][15:23] I did, but we have to go on this one. We don’t have a choice

[Si-joon][15:23] Why?

[Short Answer Man][15:23] Because Yu-nim is on it

Yu-nim?

Yu Seok-jae?

Could it be that this brother is thinking of going on “Battle Man”?

Feeling a sense of urgency, I quickly typed a message on my phone.

[Si-joon][15:24] Don’t tell me you’re going on Battle Man?

[Si-joon][15:24] You’ve thought it through well, very well

[Si-joon][15:25] You should expand your reach to Asia now too

[Si-joon][15:25] Don’t just be confined to Europe like a gloomy frog

But the situation didn’t unfold as I had hoped.

[Short Answer Man][15:26] ?

[Short Answer Man][15:26] Why would I go on Battle Man

[Short Answer Man][15:27] I hate exercise

[Si-joon][15:27] You said you’re going on Yu-nim’s show!

[Si-joon][15:27] What other show is there besides Battle Man!

[Si-joon][15:27] Don’t tell me it’s Why So Serious? Did that get offered?

“Why So Serious?” wasn’t bad either.

In fact, it was right to think positively about any program hosted by Yu Seok-jae.

But my brother gave an answer different from my expectations until the end.

[Short Answer Man][15:28] Nope

[Short Answer Man][15:28] New Quiz on the Block

[Short Answer Man][15:28] Let’s go on this one