Chapter 11: The Too Handsome Ad Model (2)

What exactly does it mean to have a so-called handsome face.

A textbook handsome guy—the kind of chiseled face that looks like it was carved from stone. Sharp eyebrows, sharp nose, sharp eyes, sharp bone structure.

People usually call men with such distinct features and deep-set eyes a sculpted beauty.

On the other hand, there are also actors with gentle eyes, pale skin, upturned lips, and an expression that awakens one’s protective instincts. Faces that seem warm and approachable, yet so unreal you’d never see them in real life—that’s the current trend.

Some say that men generally prefer the former, while women go for the latter.

But true beauty always leads to one path.

If you reach the pinnacle of either style, your looks become something everyone acknowledges.

In that sense, Jeon Yeohu’s face was practically unreal.

How could his features be so striking without being overbearing?

No, and look at those broad shoulders.

A handsome guy… who even works out?

This is a breach of the peace.

Jeon Yeohu’s photos started spreading overnight to various Instagram accounts, and by the time I woke up in the morning, the account’s followers had skyrocketed to ten thousand.

And that’s without posting anything besides the profile.

*****

“What is this even…”

My SNS account, which suddenly exploded in popularity, didn’t just attract compliments in the comments—small controversies began to pop up too.

It was a truly bizarre debate.

– But isn’t this graphics? These days, companies create these fake people and make them go viral like this???

 └ I dunno, how would you know

– The pupils look weird. There’s something off, like there’s no focus, kind of creepy ㄷㄷ Isn’t there some theory about aliens or something…….

– LOL people are hilarious LOLLLLL ah… too dumb to even be funny honestly

– Or maybe actually an alien? The pupils look vertically long

 └ Hey lol this comment is so serious it’s funny lollllllllll

  └ Yeah, and the earth’s a square too

   └ Just found that out? Dumbass

    └ Wow, some people still believe the flat earth theory. It’s real, you know.

     └ Wait, are you guys actually serious???? Really??????

      └ But seriously, why IS the earth round? You ever been there?

I figured nobody would believe the idiotic stuff in the comments, but as the night went on, the conversation gained momentum and it looked like a fair number of people started to buy into it.

‘Do I have to explain myself…? This?’

– I’m telling you, it’s definitely graphics. This account is following only two other accounts, and both are corporate accounts. Why only follow corporate accounts?

└ Give me a reason why not lol You’re out of arguments so all you can say is he’s good looking or not

 └ Uh~ fake account goodbye~

– Let it go, I’m heading to virtual reality, another world

 └ Sure. No one’s stopping you

  └ LMAOOOO the comments here are killing me

   └ Dude, even if you go there, no one’s going to meet you

Before I knew it, the comments weren’t even about appearances anymore, but totally unrelated arguments.

Sometimes, fake accounts hurled insults at each other that made no sense.

Honestly, there was nothing I could do.

No matter what I said or on what topic, the conversation would get twisted instantly into something else.

‘Alright.’

So I made up my mind.

‘I’ll just ignore it and sleep.’

If I posted a comment, the conspiracy theories would definitely just spread further.

‘Jung Yunwoo, you deal with it.’

Luckily, by the time I woke up, the controversy had mostly died down.

That was thanks to Jung Yunwoo and his friends coming in and commenting.

*****

[(Photo of eating dak-gui)]

[He’s my real friend ㅠㅠ We’re classmates at Korea Art University.]

Since Jung Yunwoo even posted a picture of us eating grilled chicken together as proof, the comments went back to normal and my followers shot straight up to twenty thousand.

Still, on another account, someone put up a weird post with the ridiculous title: ‘A virtual character from TAM eating a meal?’

I was uneasy that things were blowing up even before the audition results came out, but in the end, I passed the audition.

In fact, TAM was even happier about the publicity, saying it would be great for advertising.

Three days after passing the TAM audition.

I went to the studio for the script and schedule meeting.

A female actor who had also passed was already waiting.

It wasn’t the one I’d acted with before.

“Hello.”

“Hello!”

I’m not great with faces, so I just remembered her as ‘the cat-like one with long hair.’

A little later, another male model arrived—the same guy who’d spoken to me first in the waiting room before.

At least I remembered him, since he’d helped me out back then.

He approached me with a big smile, just like last time.

“You passed too, sir!”

“Thank you for your help back then.”

“Oh, no problem! I’m Lee Youngbin. You’re Jeon Yeohu, right? And this person here is…”

With his fresh face, Lee Youngbin was sociable, like someone used to working with people.

The other actor, who had been sitting quietly, reached out for a handshake.

“I’m Kim Unyul. Nice, nice to meet you.”

We’d barely finished introductions when the PD for the commercial came in to greet us.

“I’m Jeong Seomyeong from TAMTAMTAM Studio, the chief PD for this commercial. We’re planning a total of 10 minutes of ad footage, and what I’m handing out now is the script. We’ll shoot in the order of first meeting, first date, then first confession. We’ll arrange a separate reading session, but the schedule might be tight. We’ll probably shoot just a few days after the reading. I’ll notify you with details, but if your schedules conflict, please let me know in advance…”

Thanks to the PD’s clear explanation, the meeting was short.

“Well, I’ll be going first! I’ve got an evening part-time job. Next time we get a chance, let’s all grab a meal together.”

“Sure.”

Lee Youngbin was pretty outgoing and wasn’t shy at all.

In contrast, Kim Unyul didn’t speak much aside from what was needed.

But she didn’t seem unfriendly either.

I found my place somewhere between these two, who in other circumstances would have been my juniors, both with easy-going personalities.

At this rate, the shoot should go off without much trouble.

*****

First day of the commercial shoot.

Lee Youngbin, who arrived first, greeted everyone with a booming hello.

“Hello!”

“Oh my, Youngbin! You’re here first?”

He messed up his already messy hair and smiled sheepishly at the warm reception from the staff.

“Haha, I couldn’t sleep for some reason. Also, I felt like I messed up the script reading a bit.”

“As long as you do well during the shoot, it’ll be fine. Makeup team is over there.”

“Yup!”

Youngbin knew as well.

Even if they said that, if the shoot dragged on because of him, he’d get chewed out big time!

‘Ugh, I’m nervous.’

At the script reading, Lee Youngbin was so nervous he kept biting his tongue.

It was to the point where just being told, “It’s okay as long as you do well during the shoot,” wasn’t really reassuring.

– That’s what-! S-sorry.

– That’s not what I meant.

Normally, his pronunciation was very crisp, but whenever he got nervous, his speech became choppy.

– It’s okay, it’s okay. There aren’t that many lines, so just prepare like you did for the audition.

– Yes…

“Hello.”

The next to arrive was Kim Unyul.

Already affiliated with an agency, Kim Unyul arrived at the set with her makeup done at her usual shop. She greeted each PD and staff member individually, then left to change.

Having finished his makeup, Youngbin glanced around.

The one who’d received glowing praise at the reading still hadn’t shown up.

That was when—

“I’m Jeon Yeohu.”

He was visible, walking from afar.

“What the, Yeohu~ You’re late.”

The staff member who’d ignored Youngbin when he arrived now spoke to Jeon Yeohu.

“If you’re new, you should show up a bit earlier.”

Gasp. Isn’t he going to get scolded?

While Youngbin surreptitiously watched, Yeohu checked his watch and answered calmly.

“I did come at the time you texted me. Was the time moved up without me knowing? If so, I can fix—”

“No, no! That’s not what I meant~.”

The staff, who’d intended to lecture the new model, faltered.

It was the first time someone had responded so politely, rather than with sarcasm or pushback.

In such a dry tone, too—and offering to fix it if he was at fault.

His gaze was a bit intimidating, and the staff member couldn’t get the words out like usual.

“Well, you never know what might come up on set, so if you come a bit earlier~.”

“Stop it. Don’t act like some old fogey.”

PD Jeong Seomyeong cut in, unable to listen anymore.

“We gave plenty of time in the schedule, there’s no need to come early. Why write a time in the text if we want people to show up sooner? Yeohu, go ahead inside and get ready.”

Jeon Yeohu bowed as if it were nothing and replied.

“Yes, I’ll go in, then.”

*****

Inside, Youngbin had finished getting ready and was reading the script.

He kept muttering and fiddling with the script by himself—just like a rookie actor.

I sat on the sofa waiting for my turn at makeup, and Youngbin stopped practicing to speak to me quietly.

“You were pretty amazing back there?”

“…What do you mean?”

“When they said you were late! Honestly, we rookies get nervous about that stuff. But… you really weren’t late, Yeohu.”

“Yes, I know.”

You shouldn’t apologize for something that isn’t your fault.

That was a lesson I’d picked up living in this world.

“Whew. I feel like you’re much more composed than the rest of us, Yeohu.”

“No, I’m a rookie too. It’s not really like that.”

“Still.”

…Is this guy not going to practice.

Why does he keep trying to talk?

Is he going to mess up again?

A bunch of sharp words flashed through my mind, but I held back for now.

After all, after returning, refusing the quest, and with nothing really settled yet, there’s no need to make enemies for no reason.

“Yeohu! Your turn for makeup!”

Just in time, it was my turn for makeup.

“Your face is small, so makeup shouldn’t take long.”

“Why is your skin so nice?”

The makeup was finished even quicker than expected.

There weren’t many seats available for rookie actors, and with the production crew busy around the set, I just sat next to Youngbin, who was memorizing the script again.

A while ago I thought he was just slacking off, but now he’d turned into a memorization machine.

Mumble mumble mumble.

‘…….’

Mumble mumble mumble.

Now that the shoot was close, he must be getting desperate too.

He didn’t say a word and just kept practicing.

‘So annoyingly noisy.’

…But still.

His pronunciation.

“Hey, Youngbin?”

“Ah! Yes! Yeohu!”

“Is the practice going well?”

“Oh, well… ha ha. Ah, you’re older than me, right? You can just speak casually.”

“That’s alright.”

“Oh, okay. I practiced until dawn, but when I get nervous or talk fast, my pronunciation gets all tangled up.”

Youngbin gave a sheepish smile.

‘It’s not that he’s a bad actor.’

If he was terrible, I wouldn’t have bothered.

But that’s not the problem.

What’s worse, if he keeps messing up, the takes will drag on.

And what I hate most is wasting time for no reason.

“Haa…”

“…?”

“Do you have a favorite idol or actor, Youngbin? Or maybe a role model?”

“Role model?”

Jeon Yeohu nodded.

“None?”

“Um… I respect senior Jung Taesik the most. I once went to see him perform in a play, and that’s when I wanted to become an actor!”

“What kind of play was it?”

“It’s a famous one, so you probably know! It’s a play called . The story’s about the main character who dies in an accident and goes to hell, looking back on his life along the way. The most memorable part is Act 2, his childhood monologue. He recalls stealing for the first time to survive, and then how he couldn’t do anything out of guilt throughout his teens, regretting it all.”

Youngbin spoke excitedly.

Even as he sped through the story, he never once tripped over his words.

Yeah. Talk all you want about what you like.

Not like I’m listening.

After a few minutes of Youngbin’s rambling, I finally said,

“…Is that so. But your pronunciation was perfect just now.”

“Huh? My pronunciation? Wait, what?”

“Have you ever failed an audition because of your pronunciation?”

“I, I tend to sound tongue-tied when I talk fast. Wait, why was I fine just now?”

“It’s because you were nervous and your tongue stiffened. Up until now, you probably started shooting without relaxing first. In the future, practice loosening your tongue like this before you shoot. You’ll probably still mess up once you’re shooting, but this kind of exercise will help you improve.”

That was actually the same trick I’d used when I first acted as a child actor.

Back then, the one who listened was my mom. What was I rambling about…?

Dinosaurs, maybe?

Youngbin gripped the script, moved.

“Yes! Thank you! I don’t think I’ll be nervous in front of you, hyung.”

Since when was I your hyung.

“That’s good to hear.”

“Even though you don’t have a lot of acting experience, you’re like a veteran with twenty years under your belt! I guess real entertainers are people like you, hyung!”

No, I made a lot of mistakes too.

How bad was it…

– I, I, grah… gehk! Cough cough!! Hrk!

Yeah.

…Let’s not think about that anymore.