The Face Genius Actor

Episode 086

When Ji Jung-hyun mentioned Si-joon’s name,

Kim Pil-sung was a bit taken aback.

“What? Really?”

He couldn’t help it.

Until now, while writing the script for “Escape”, he had never once considered an actor named Lee Si-joon.

Kim Pil-sung knew who Si-joon was.

Although he hadn’t seen the drama he appeared in, Si-joon’s face was so widely spread online.

As an industry person, he couldn’t help but know even if he didn’t want to.

To Kim Pil-sung, Si-joon seemed like the type who competed with his face rather than acting, just by looking at him.

The fact that a male actor who had only appeared in a few works was causing such a stir was proof of this.

There were talks about his good acting, but it was obvious that it meant he acted well for someone with that face.

‘But to recommend Lee Si-joon…’

Kim Pil-sung was certain that Ji Jung-hyun was recommending Si-joon for the buzz it would create for “Escape”.

He thought that otherwise, someone like Ji Jung-hyun wouldn’t recommend Si-joon.

In Kim Pil-sung’s current thinking, Ji Jung-hyun was a perfect person who was handsome, acted well, and even recognized great works.

From Kim Pil-sung’s perspective, he couldn’t help but think this way since Ji Jung-hyun had recognized him, an unknown name, and even invested in the film production.

In reality, Ji Jung-hyun was indeed a capable person.

‘No matter how difficult the casting for Kim Sung-yeon’s role is, I don’t want to set up a flower screen…’

While Kim Pil-sung was organizing his thoughts like this,

“Why? Do you not like him, Director?”

Ji Jung-hyun asked this with an expression of complete bewilderment.

Director Kim Pil-sung carefully chose his words.

In fact, it was common to use actors who were popular just for their good looks but not great at acting in movies.

They were commonly called flower screens.

And it was true that such flower screens helped with box office success to some extent.

But Kim Pil-sung, who had never tried this while shooting independent films until now, had an aversion to flower screens.

He truly thought there was no need to set up a flower screen to make a good movie.

Kim Pil-sung’s judgment was that it was better to cast an actor who acted well and would improve the quality of the work, even if it meant less buzz, rather than setting up a flower screen.

‘What should I do? Should I honestly say I don’t like it?’

Kim Pil-sung found it difficult to answer readily.

As Ji Jung-hyun was the main male lead and investor of this work, he didn’t want to go against his wishes if possible.

Even for Kim Pil-sung, there were times when he had to compromise with reality.

That’s when Ji Jung-hyun belatedly realized why Kim Pil-sung was reacting this way.

“Ah. You’re doubting Si-joon’s acting skills.”

Kim Pil-sung seized the opportunity and quickly answered.

“Yes! Honestly, I don’t think our movie needs a flower screen!”

“Hmm…”

“If actor Lee Si-joon joins, it will certainly create a huge buzz, but our movie already has actor Ji Jung-hyun, and also because acting skills are important for the role of Kim Sung-yeon…”

“You’re seriously misunderstanding.”

“What?”

“About Si-joon. He’s not just an actor with good looks.”

“…Is that so?”

“He’s a friend with decent acting skills. Probably the best actor among his peers.”

“Ah… I didn’t know that.”

“To call Si-joon a flower screen… Director, you might regret saying that.”

“Is that so…”

Kim Pil-sung answered while breaking out in a cold sweat.

Ji Jung-hyun was certainly a bit tricky to deal with.

He wasn’t someone who pretended to be tough just to overwhelm Kim Pil-sung.

Nor was he someone who bullied Kim Pil-sung by asserting authority.

But having been in this industry for a long time, he had a certain aura, and it was no joke.

“I think you’ll like Si-joon too if you meet him, Director.”

Ji Jung-hyun, who had been continuing the conversation calmly, suddenly chuckled as if something had occurred to him.

“Flower screen… It might be true in some aspects. Si-joon is certainly an actor with overwhelmingly good looks. Compared to his acting.”

Ji Jung-hyun laughed remembering Si-joon’s handsome face.

But hearing those words, Kim Pil-sung misunderstood again.

‘What? So he does compete with his face rather than acting after all.’

Director Kim Pil-sung responded with an ambiguous smile.

‘Actor Ji Jung-hyun is trying to put a suitable actor in the role of Kim Sung-yeon.’

He had heard that casting for the role of Kim Sung-yeon was difficult.

And in such a situation, it wasn’t bad to cast someone with buzz and decent acting skills.

But to Kim Pil-sung, Si-joon was an actor who was just too handsome.

The photo he saw in the articles was intense.

He presumed that even if his acting skills seemed decent, it was because of his handsome face.

Kim Pil-sung’s thoughts didn’t continue further.

Because Ji Jung-hyun, checking the time with an urgent expression, opened his mouth.

“Anyway, they haven’t said they like our script yet, so let’s move on to the next topic at this point.”

“Ah. Yes.”

So their conversation moved on to the next topic, and Kim Pil-sung gradually forgot about Si-joon’s existence.

His consciousness was intentionally erasing that existence because his desire for Si-joon not to be cast was so strong.

But a few months later.

When Si-joon became more famous with “Let’s Live Together, Princess”.

Ji Jung-hyun brought up Si-joon again.

“Ah. Director. Remember Si-joon I talked about back then?”

“What? Ah. Yes.”

“It seems he’s interested in our movie. I think it would be good if the three of us meet sometime this Wednesday, what do you think?”

Kim Pil-sung hadn’t checked Si-joon’s acting yet.

He was busy preparing for the start of filming “Escape”.

Of course, it was an excuse.

It would be more accurate to say he had been deliberately avoiding it.

He felt that if he checked the acting, he would really have to cast Si-joon in “Escape”.

And Ji Jung-hyun seemed determined to push Si-joon into the role of Kim Sung-yeon somehow.

If it was going to happen anyway, he didn’t want to get upset by watching the acting in advance.

‘I think Yoon Hee-chul would be better…’

Yoon Hee-chul was an actor known for his acting skills that Kim Pil-sung had been keeping an eye on recently.

After finding an actor who seemed to fit the role of Kim Sung-yeon, he didn’t even want to turn his head towards Si-joon’s direction.

However, Kim Pil-sung couldn’t honestly express his opinion because he felt uncomfortable with Ji Jung-hyun.

So Kim Pil-sung received Ji Jung-hyun’s call while still having an even more negative opinion about Si-joon than before.

“I understand. I’ll keep Wednesday open then.”

This won’t do.

Kim Pil-sung thought he should go out on Wednesday and have a frank discussion.

Suddenly, Ji Jung-hyun had a schedule come up, and Kim Pil-sung inwardly rejoiced.

‘I’ll ask to see his acting tomorrow. If I say his acting is terrible and I couldn’t confirm the casting, won’t Actor Ji Jung-hyun change his mind too?’

If Ji Jung-hyun had been present, it would have been difficult to make such a request.

Because Ji Jung-hyun was the one who recommended Si-joon.

But if Ji Jung-hyun wasn’t there, this kind of demand was entirely possible.

After all, he was the director of “Escape.”

So the next day came.

Kim Pil-sung couldn’t help but be surprised when he saw Si-joon’s face.

‘What? Why is he so handsome?’

For a moment, he wondered if “Escape” might need a flower boy too.

It was beyond what he had seen in photos.

Si-joon’s humble personality, which didn’t match his handsome face, also shook Director Kim Pil-sung’s heart.

‘Is it okay to be rude to someone like this?’

But Kim Pil-sung quickly composed himself and opened his mouth towards Si-joon.

“…I thought this would be an opportunity to see Actor Lee Si-joon’s acting separately. So, I was wondering if we could see your acting here?”

And he couldn’t help but be surprised.

Because, unexpectedly, a smile appeared on Si-joon’s lips after hearing his words.

* * *

An unexpected turn of events.

But I found myself smiling without realizing it.

Director Kim Pil-sung was flustered when he saw my smile.

“Ah. Did I perhaps offend you?”

I shook my head.

Director Kim Pil-sung hadn’t done anything wrong.

If his nature was wrong, that would be one thing, but Director Kim Pil-sung was originally this kind of person.

So it was right for me to adapt to Director Kim Pil-sung.

Because I knew that Director Kim Pil-sung was this kind of person.

‘Besides, I wasn’t keen on joining a project like “Escape” without verifying my skills either.’

For these reasons, I couldn’t help but smile when I heard Director Kim Pil-sung’s words.

But Director Kim Pil-sung seemed to think differently.

“Ah… I… If I’ve offended you, I’m sorry. Please forget this happened.”

Director Kim Pil-sung’s personality was certainly a bit different from what I knew.

Perhaps because he hadn’t yet achieved success with commercial films, he seemed to lack confidence.

In this state, it would be difficult to work together going forward.

After all, problems tend to arise when a director can’t control the set.

So I opened my mouth to reassure Director Kim Pil-sung and boost his confidence.

“Not at all. If you want, it’s right to verify my skills. This is your project, after all.”

“Well, that’s true, but… I wonder if it’s right for me to do this to you, Si-joon…”

“I may be fortunately receiving undeserved love recently, but popularity in this industry can disappear as easily as flipping your palm. Don’t worry about that and trust your judgment, Director.”

Hearing my words, Director Kim Pil-sung seemed to have made up his mind.

“Alright. Then please, show me your acting.”

It felt like a proper audition was about to begin.

To think I’d be getting a one-on-one audition with Director Kim Pil-sung.

I suddenly felt that I had grown a lot.

But more important than that was gaining Director Kim Pil-sung’s approval and confirming my casting in “Escape.”

Taking a deep breath inwardly, I asked Director Kim Pil-sung.

“Which part should I act out?”

Director Kim Pil-sung was slightly surprised and asked back.

“Which part… Don’t tell me you’ve memorized the entire script?”

“I had some time after finishing drama filming, so I did.”

“…I see. Then please do scene 89. Start when you’re ready.”

“Alright. I’ll do that.”

Scene 89 was where Kim Sung-yeon breaks down crying after seeing the lifeless bodies of the siblings whose lives he had coincidentally saved.

It was a crucial scene where he decides to point his gun at the Japanese soldiers just as they were about to cross the border into Gando.

Among various scenes, this was the most difficult one for Kim Sung-yeon’s acting, but I didn’t panic and focused on the emotions.

I had been certain that he would ask for this scene’s performance since the audition was mentioned.

Even if Director Kim Pil-sung had said any scene would do, I was planning to act out this scene.

That’s how central scene 89 was in showing Kim Sung-yeon’s identity.

So I slowly closed my eyes to focus on the emotions, counted from 1 to 3, and opened my eyes.

“…So-jung.”

As I uttered this single word, a tear streamed down from my eye.