The Face Genius Actor

Episode 153

After the Emmy Awards ceremony, the world media focused on “Toema Hwan Ya Dam.”

It was natural, as “Toema Hwan Ya Dam” had met everyone’s expectations by winning five awards.

And the ripple effect led to promotional benefits for “Toema Hwan Ya Dam” Season 2, which had only been in service for a week.

People who had watched Season 1 but hadn’t seen Season 2 yet rushed to access Netflix, and even those who hadn’t encountered “Toema Hwan Ya Dam” at all showed interest.

Even people who hadn’t subscribed to Netflix at all signed up to watch “Toema Hwan Ya Dam,” and Season 2 achieved a new record.

It surpassed the record of “Toema Hwan Ya Dam” Season 1 in just three days of service.

Of course, “Toema Hwan Ya Dam” Season 1 was bound to be ahead in total viewing time and total number of households watching.

After all, no one would watch Season 2 without seeing Season 1.

However, Netflix’s all-time ranking was based on the first 28 days of service.

That’s why “Toema Hwan Ya Dam” Season 2 was able to break Season 1’s record in its third week.

Season 2 surpassed Season 1 in both all-time viewing hours and all-time number of households watching.

It was a better result than expected, and only then could I feel at ease.

Just because I had been feeling comfortable didn’t mean there was no pressure at all.

‘Is it time to let go of “Toema Hwan Ya Dam” now….’

As I put down the burden of “Toema Hwan Ya Dam,” I felt grateful to the fans who had shown such enthusiastic support.

I always had a grateful heart, but I hadn’t had a separate opportunity to convey that feeling to the fans since the end of “Toema Hwan Ya Dam” Season 1.

I immediately called Kim Bo-mi.

-Already scheduling a fan meeting? Wouldn’t it be better to rest for a while?

“Meeting Syrup is rest. Of course, that doesn’t mean I won’t rest at all.”

-I see, so you mean to express gratitude and then take a proper break.

“Yes. That’s exactly what I mean.”

-Alright then. I’ll schedule the fan meeting and get back to you.

After finishing the call with Kim Bo-mi, I felt somewhat uneasy.

It felt like just having a fan meeting wasn’t enough.

In fact, as long as we were recruiting a fan club, fan meetings were just one of the events that would happen when the time came.

I wanted there to be some more special event.

‘Should I do more singing and dancing? This still feels a bit lacking….’

With these thoughts, I accessed YouTube.

I was planning to look for songs or dances that I could imitate at the fan meeting.

As I turned my gaze towards the YouTube search bar….

‘Oh?’

There was one YouTube video that caught my eye.

I immediately checked the video and nodded right away.

‘Whatever algorithm it is….’

This seemed like it would definitely be a unique way of fan service.

* * *

Kim Sol-ji was a first-generation Syrup.

She had been a fan since “I Will Cast Love” and was able to claim a spot as a first-generation Syrup because she was quite a long-time fan.

And for Kim Sol-ji, the title of first-generation Syrup was incredibly precious and proud.

The more people who called themselves Syrup due to the success of “Toema Hwan Ya Dam,” the more this was inevitably the case.

That’s right.

Recently, the number of fans joining Syrup had been increasing rapidly.

It was natural, as “Toema Hwan Ya Dam” had achieved great success and Si-joon’s perfect visuals had become widely known around the world.

‘I wonder how much the number of Syrups has increased again today…. It’s really getting crazy day by day.’

However, Kim Sol-ji couldn’t be entirely happy about the increasing number of Syrups.

As the number of fans increased, the probability of participating in fan meetings decreased.

Recently, Si-joon’s fan meeting schedule was released on Syrup’s official website, and Kim Sol-ji’s biggest worry lately was the possibility of participating in the fan meeting.

As Si-joon’s popularity had increased, this fan meeting was scheduled to be held at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena with a capacity of 15,000 seats.

It was an enormous scale for a typical actor’s fan meeting, but it was still woefully inadequate compared to the competition rate for tickets.

This was because Si-joon’s fans from all over the world were aiming for this fan meeting.

Come to think of it, it had been quite a while since the last fan meeting.

Originally, Si-joon tended to hold fan meetings regularly before and after his projects, but in the case of “Toema Hwan Ya Dam,” there had been no news even after the end of Season 1.

The voices of viewers requesting Season 2 service were too loud.

It was understandable from Syrup’s perspective as well.

If a fan meeting had been held at that time, they might have been criticized by fans worldwide for having such leisure time.

It was a time when so many people around the world were hoping for the service of Season 2.

But understanding didn’t mean there was no disappointment.

From Syrup’s perspective, the existence of fan meetings where they could see Si-joon in person was incredibly precious.

This was especially true because of the nature of the acting profession, which doesn’t involve regular broadcast stage appearances like current idol groups.

That’s why Kim Sol-ji was desperate to participate in this fan meeting.

However, the problem was that the Syrups who had newly joined with the success of “Toema Hwan Ya Dam” were also desperate for the fan meeting.

For the newly joined Syrups, it was their first opportunity to see Si-joon in person.

Moreover, at fan meetings, one could see aspects of the actor that couldn’t often be seen normally.

Usually, various events were prepared, including performances like dancing and singing, as well as direct communication with the actor.

Si-joon’s fan meetings were known to be particularly substantial among these.

Also, Si-joon had previously gifted a special goods set at a previous fan meeting.

It was a goods set containing handmade macarons and handwritten cards.

It would have been touching enough if he had just written the same message by hand, but amazingly, there were 3,000 cards with different messages.

A gift worthy of everyone’s envy.

In fact, when the existence of this goods set became known, it made even fans of idols envious, beyond just fans of actors.

Naturally, this led to an increase in the number of Syrups wishing to participate in Si-joon’s fan meeting.

It was only natural, as the fan meeting itself was already greatly beneficial, and on top of that, they could receive a memorable goods set.

‘Of course, this time….’

It was difficult to expect 15,000 cards with different sentences.

But it was clear that Si-joon would prepare a substantial goods set.

That’s how much Si-joon cherished his fans, and even ordinary people knew this fact.

A fan meeting with tremendous competition expected.

Kim Sol-ji was stressed out as much as the expected competition rate.

The stress was so severe that she could barely eat.

And finally, Kim Sol-ji….

Smack!

“Eat your food!”

She ended up getting smacked on the back by her mom.

Kim Sol-ji shouted with tears in her eyes.

“Ah! I said I’m not eating!”

“Why aren’t you eating? Is it because of that guy, Si-joon or whatever rascal he is?”

“Si-joon! Lee Si-joon! Why are you changing our oppa’s name!”

“Are you crazy, girl…. How dare you speak to your mother like that! Huh?”

Kim Sol-ji was very displeased with her mother.

Kim Sol-ji’s mother, perhaps because she was older than mothers of the same age group, wasn’t interested in Netflix.

As a result, she hadn’t watched “Toema Hwan Ya Dam” and naturally didn’t know about Si-joon’s existence.

She learned his name belatedly because Kim Sol-ji was so enthusiastic about Si-joon, but her reaction was still lukewarm.

Even though his name was mentioned in the newspapers every day and Si-joon’s face appeared whenever the TV was turned on, she sighed and complained.

“Oh my… What’s so good about such a gigolo-like guy… Not even studying…”

It was clearly a comment targeting Kim Sol-ji.

Certainly, it was true that Kim Sol-ji had neglected her studies because she was so absorbed in Si-joon.

But from Kim Sol-ji’s perspective, it was unfair and angering that Si-joon was being insulted along with her.

As a result, the relationship between Kim Sol-ji and her mother had recently deteriorated.

Their relationship had become so bad that it wouldn’t be strange if someone mistook them for mortal enemies.

“Are you really going to be like this! Should you be like this because of some guy named Si-joon!”

“What’s wrong with me! You should pay attention to the world! Everyone in the world likes our oppa, why are you the only one making a fuss!”

“I’m making a fuss because I’m your mother! What mother would stay quiet when her daughter isn’t studying and is obsessed with some worthless celebrity, missing the most important time of her life!”

“Please just leave me alone! Whether I study or like Si-joon oppa, just let me be! I’ll leave you alone even if you never watch Netflix or know the five letters of ‘Toema Hwan Ya Dam’ for the rest of your life!”

“Why wouldn’t I know the five letters of ‘Toema Hwan Ya Dam’! He even went to America and received an Emmy Award! Oh my. While her oppa received an award for serving his Emmy well, his sister doesn’t study and just talks back to her mother.”

“That’s not what an Emmy Award is! Please know what you’re talking about before you speak!”

The conversation between Kim Sol-ji and her mother was heading to extremes.

It felt like they were pouring out their emotions without knowing what they were saying.

Just when it seemed like something serious might happen…

Knock knock knock.

Someone knocked on the apartment door.

Simultaneously, Kim Sol-ji and her mother’s voices subsided.

It was obvious that a neighbor had knocked on the door because it was too noisy.

“You girl! This happened because you raised your voice! You go open the door!”

“Why should I open the door! This happened because you hit my back without knowing anything about the world!”

“You…”

As her mother raised her voice again, about to start round two.

Knock knock knock.

Once again, someone knocked on the apartment door, and finally Kim Sol-ji stepped up.

“Ah! Really!”

Of course, she didn’t just go quietly without saying anything.

So, Kim Sol-ji, who hadn’t fully calmed down, opened the door with the safety chain still on.

“Who… Huh?”

But Kim Sol-ji couldn’t finish her sentence after opening the door.

Her mother, who was watching this, sensed something unusual and stood next to Kim Sol-ji.

At the same time, her mother’s eyes widened and her mouth gaped open.

A perfect appearance that was hard to believe existed in the human world.

A smile that matched that appearance yet was beyond the description of beautiful.

Surprisingly, the person standing in front of the door was….

“…Sol-ji’s oppa?”

That’s right.

It was Si-joon.

* * *

Meanwhile.

I couldn’t help but feel perplexed standing in front of Kim Sol-ji and her mother.

“…Sol-ji’s oppa?”

Sol-ji’s oppa?

I didn’t know how to handle this development.

‘I came thinking it was a fan’s house… Is this the house of someone I know?’

I seriously pondered and looked to the side, where several cameras were filming.

A YouTube content where I unexpectedly visit a fan’s house for a surprise event.

That was the gift I chose, wanting to convey my feelings to fans in a special way.