The Face Genius Actor

Episode 096

Scene 91 wasn’t the actual last scene of .

There were still a few more scenes to shoot after this.

But there was a reason for postponing Scene 91 to the last shoot.

It was because Scene 91 was impossible to finish in just one day, no matter how it was filmed.

Even in the edited film, it was a scene that would run for over 10 minutes.

It was natural since various action scenes had to be captured in one scene.

There was also the constraint that all filming had to be done in the morning.

The scenes with artillery explosions were CGI, so this part had to be filmed separately.

In many ways, it could be said that it was a scene that required a lot of effort.

I went through a total of nine shoots within Scene 91.

The scene waiting for the Japanese army’s advance.

The scene of sniping the Japanese army.

The scene of confronting the cavalry while hiding behind obstacles.

The scene of sniping a rider when one of the cavalry jumps over an obstacle.

The scene of watching the obstacles being destroyed by artillery.

The scene of quickly retreating to get on the motorcycle.

The scene of facing the Japanese army while riding the motorcycle.

The scene of signaling Chang with a whistle.

The scene of turning around after confirming the big explosion.

All of these were shot separately.

It was impossible to capture in one take.

Also, the filming was prolonged because there were cases where stunt actors performed scenes in between.

As a result, we all focused solely on filming Scene 91 for a week.

“Okay! Cut!”

“Wow! It’s over!”

“Good work!”

“Thank you for your hard work!”

“Let’s not see each other again!”

Maybe that’s why.

When Director Kim Pil-sung gave the okay sign, the cheers from the on-site staff seemed louder than usual.

They seemed happy not only because the four months of hard work was coming to an end, but also because they could finally escape from Scene 91.

Even I, who split the scene in half with Ji Jung-hyun, was this tired, so how exhausted must the on-site staff have been?

I understood the feelings of the people bursting into cheers.

However, Director Kim Pil-sung watched this scene with a strange expression, neither smiling nor crying.

“This… Somehow I feel like I’ve become the only villain.”

Certainly, over these few days, Director Kim Pil-sung really acted like the villain of the set.

He made us shoot the same scene so many times that even spectators got tired of watching.

Perhaps thinking the same as me, Ji Jung-hyun responded to Director Kim Pil-sung’s words.

“You are the villain. I thought about giving up several times.”

In fact, Ji Jung-hyun’s face looked worse than usual.

It was because he had to jump repeatedly and roll on the ground several times in a place where dust was swirling.

Moreover, not just Ji Jung-hyun, but others also didn’t look good.

Ji Jung-hyun looked relatively fine because he had received makeup.

“If you put it that way, the villain isn’t me but Actor Lee Si-joon. Despite going through the same hardship, his face looks too fine.”

Director Kim Pil-sung complained like this, and naturally, everyone’s gaze turned towards me.

At the same time, exclamations of “Ah” burst out among the people.

“What? Why?”

As I tilted my head and asked, some of the on-site staff couldn’t help but mutter.

“He’s too handsome.”

“It’s unfair.”

“It’s annoying.”

Judging by the reactions, it seemed like I needed to wash my face with dirt to appease their anger.

Just as I was worrying if I really should wash my face, Ji Jung-hyun turned his head towards Director Kim Pil-sung and asked a question.

“How long will the editing take?”

“Some parts are already in progress. Since it’s not a work with a lot of CGI, we’re generously allowing two months.”

“So we can release it in November?”

“Yes, it seems so. The distribution company is already asking to set a date.”

That meant that Ji Jung-hyun and I would also have to start promotional activities around that time.

Especially from a month before the release, there would be a lot of busy work to do.

Ji Jung-hyun asked me.

“We’ll have to rest for exactly a month and then run around busily again. Will you be okay?”

I smiled and answered.

“Of course.”

* * *

For a month, I spent my time shooting commercials.

Although quite a few scripts had come in, they didn’t catch my eye, perhaps because I had been running non-stop for four months.

Because my bank account was empty due to investing in , commercial shooting was more important than ever.

No matter how little greed for money one has, being too poor makes one anxious.

I had to fill up my bank account balance, if only to regain confidence.

Also, with the help of Census, I held another fan signing event.

Originally, I was planning to hold a fan meeting instead of a fan signing event this time.

But my physical strength couldn’t support preparing dance or song performances.

So I had no choice but to hold a fan signing event.

However, I increased the scale, deciding to sign for 800 people chosen by lottery.

Fortunately, many people showed interest this time as well, and I was able to finish signing in a good atmosphere.

One peculiar point was that CEO Jung Yoon-seok, who has recently been calling himself “syrup” within Festa Entertainment, attended the fan signing event.

While fulfilling official schedules like this, I didn’t forget to take care of people around me.

There were many people I hadn’t seen for a while because I was focused on filming.

There were many people I needed to meet, such as Gu Gyeong-mo, Yang I-deum, Im Hee-joo, Park Jun, Cindy, Seo Myung-hee, and others.

I also met separately with writers and directors I had worked with.

In this process, I learned one new fact.

It was that Writer Jung Su-min of and Writer Jung Su-jin of were sisters.

‘I thought their names were similar, but to think they were sisters…’

It was an amazing connection.

For reference, Writer Jung Su-jin was the older sister.

Both of them showed great interest in me and my brother.

We were able to share a lot of stories about family members working in the same industry.

The month passed by like an arrow.

Finally, Ji Jung-hyun and I began full-scale promotion of the movie.

Our first schedule was naturally the production press conference.

“We’ll now welcome the director of and the two actors to the stage! Please give them a big round of applause!”

With Park Gyu-rim’s introduction, who was hosting today, the three of us went up on stage.

I felt a bit nervous because we were holding the press conference right after finishing the preview screening for journalists and critics in the morning.

Director Kim Pil-sung, for whom this was his first production press conference, looked particularly nervous.

In contrast, Ji Jung-hyun and I, who had experience with press conferences, were relatively relaxed.

I had experienced production press conferences twice through “I Will Cast Love” and “Let’s Live Together, Princess”.

Ji Jung-hyun had done so many that he couldn’t even count them.

‘Huh?’

Perhaps due to being very nervous.

Director Kim Pil-sung’s walk, as he was walking in front, seemed somehow awkward.

And soon I saw something falling out of Director Kim Pil-sung’s shoe.

‘What’s that?’

A suspicious black object.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be heel inserts for increasing height.

Ji Jung-hyun, walking behind, also seemed to have noticed the heel inserts.

He glanced at them and then turned his head, pretending not to have seen.

We weren’t the only ones who noticed the inserts.

There was a slight murmur from the press seats below the stage, accompanied by camera shutters clicking.

The cameras were aimed lower than usual, clearly capturing the heel inserts that Director Kim Pil-sung had dropped.

Originally, I was going to ignore it like Ji Jung-hyun.

However, seeing the reporters continuously pressing their camera shutters, it didn’t seem right.

I quickly picked up the heel inserts.

Then I naturally slipped them into my suit’s inner pocket.

At the same time, the somewhat tense atmosphere of the press conference suddenly erupted into laughter.

I wondered if I shouldn’t have picked them up, if I should have left them alone.

Various thoughts crossed my mind.

But it also seemed ridiculous to conduct the interview with the heel inserts lying there conspicuously.

Director Kim Pil-sung sat down with an expression that showed he had no idea why people were laughing.

Ji Jung-hyun and I calmly took our designated seats following Director Kim Pil-sung.

However, Park Gyu-rim, who was supposed to proceed with the conference, couldn’t open her mouth.

“…Ahaha!”

Park Gyu-rim barely held back her laughter as she put her mouth to the microphone, then burst out laughing again.

This triggered another round of laughter among the reporters.

This time, even Ji Jung-hyun couldn’t hold back and laughed while covering his mouth with his hand.

Only Director Kim Pil-sung and I sat with expressionless faces.

‘This is crazy…’

To be honest, I wanted to laugh freely too.

But I held back because I wasn’t sure if it was appropriate to laugh in this situation.

Above all, if I laughed here, it would be too embarrassing for Director Kim Pil-sung.

After a while.

Park Gyu-rim took a couple of deep breaths and started the interview again.

But the atmosphere was no longer suitable for a serious interview.

Perhaps that’s why Park Gyu-rim started the press conference with a completely different topic.

“Excuse me, Actor Lee Si-joon?”

I belatedly turned on my microphone and answered to the sudden call.

“Yes, hello.”

“May I ask what you picked up earlier when you were coming in?”

Park Gyu-rim’s question triggered another wave of laughter from the press seats.

Suddenly, everyone’s attention was focused on the heel inserts hidden in my pocket.

Realizing this, I thought for a moment and then answered honestly.

“…They’re heel inserts for increasing height.”

“Ahaha. No, why on earth did you pick that up? Do you know whose it is?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Whose is it?”

“Director Kim Pil-sung’s.”

Only then did Director Kim Pil-sung grasp the situation and check his shoes.

At the same time, the press conference venue erupted into laughter once again.

It was because the sight of Director Kim Pil-sung fumbling with his shoes was so comical.

That’s when it happened.

Director Kim Pil-sung quickly grabbed the microphone and addressed me.

“Actor Lee Si-joon. Please give them back quickly. That’s my pride!”

Should I say it was fortunate?

There was no embarrassment in Director Kim Pil-sung’s voice as he said this.

Rather, he had a smile on his face as if enjoying the situation.

And with that, I could understand Director Kim Pil-sung’s intention.

‘He’s trying to create an issue for the press conference with this.’

It wasn’t just once or twice that we had late-night dinner discussions over the past four months.

I could understand Director Kim Pil-sung’s intention immediately.

The same was true for Ji Jung-hyun.

Ji Jung-hyun grabbed the microphone and joined in our conversation.

“That’s right, Si-joon. Please return the director’s pride quickly.”

I scratched my head, took out the heel inserts from my pocket, and spoke as I returned them to Director Kim Pil-sung.

“I’m sorry. I thought it was a wallet.”

It was a brilliant ad-lib, and this time the press conference venue descended into chaos to the point where it was almost impossible to restart.

The laughter wouldn’t stop.