The Face Genius Actor

Episode 121

The atmosphere in Paris was distinctly different from Saint-Étienne.

While Saint-Étienne had a quaint charm, Paris exuded a big city vibe right from the airport.

There were so many people that it felt like you might trip over someone at every step.

Occasionally, Korean tourists would exclaim “Oh!” and “Ah!” in surprise.

One group of tourists even approached me to ask for an autograph.

Although I wore a mask and sunglasses, learning from my experience in Saint-Étienne, Jean-Drulot Meyère was quite famous in Paris.

Because of this, attention naturally turned to me as well, and some people recognized my face.

‘Fortunately, we managed to leave the airport before too much of a crowd gathered.’

Thinking this, I got into the car Jean-Drulot Meyère had prepared in advance.

We planned to stop by Louis Vuitton’s fashion house briefly before heading to the studio where the shoot would take place.

Jean-Drulot Meyère suggested resting at the hotel for a day before starting the shoot, but I declined.

I was starting to miss Korean food after staying in France for so long.

I wanted to finish all the shooting as quickly as possible and return to Korea to eat chicken soup.

The fact that I had to stay in Paris until tomorrow even if we started shooting today was distressing enough.

While I was longing for Korea, Jean-Drulot Meyère spoke to me with a surprised look.

“The tourists recognized you right away! I heard you’re more famous than Si-hwan in Korea, and it seems to be true!”

This was something I hadn’t considered.

It was true that I could now be considered more popular than my brother in Korea.

Before my regression, even when I had my first lead role in a drama, it was hard to say I was more well-known than my brother.

Even when I was criticized and given unflattering nicknames, my brother was still the more famous one.

That’s how solid his position was as a top model.

But now I could say it with certainty.

In South Korea, I was more well-known than my brother.

The fact that I recently helped my brother with a cameo appearance in “Love in 18” proved this.

Comparing it to the situation before my regression, this fact suddenly struck me as strange.

But I just smiled lightly and answered nonchalantly.

“I might be more famous in Korea. But it’s not a big difference. Above all, here, my brother is more famous than me.”

When I answered like this, Jean-Drulot Meyère nodded.

“Si-hwan often said his younger brother was a very modest person! Now I see why!”

I didn’t know what to say to Jean-Drulot Meyère’s attitude of adding praise at the end of every sentence.

I just smiled and thought to myself.

‘What on earth has my brother been saying in Paris?’

* * *

Shortly after,

We arrived at the fashion house, which could be considered the heart of Louis Vuitton.

Following Jean-Drulot Meyère into the fashion house, I could see that many people had gathered.

It felt like everyone from fashion designers and artisans to various employees with different roles at Louis Vuitton were all gathered.

I tilted my head at the sight.

‘Does Louis Vuitton always have this kind of lineup event whenever the chief designer returns from a trip?’

I was shocked that Louis Vuitton’s culture seemed more vertical than I had thought.

But soon I realized that wasn’t the case.

I noticed that the employees’ gazes were directed at me, not Jean-Drulot Meyère.

The employees were even whispering among themselves, unable to hide their surprise, and the interpreter standing next to me translated a few sentences.

“Wow! Is that Lee Si-joon?”

“He’s so handsome! Si-hwan wasn’t lying!”

“I thought Si-hwan was definitely lying when he said he had a more handsome brother…”

“The younger brother is definitely more handsome. My rankings have changed now.”

“Unbelievable! How can he be more handsome than Si-hwan!”

“Si-hwan was already the world’s most handsome man, how should we describe someone even more handsome?”

“When I saw him in photos, it didn’t feel like this… What’s going on?”

Thanks to the interpreter, I could read the atmosphere of the scene.

Louis Vuitton’s employees had gathered here to see my face.

Because of this, I couldn’t help but think again:

‘What on earth has my brother been saying in Paris?’

I felt a strange tension in my neck.

Jean-Drulot Meyère checked my expression, laughed awkwardly, then shouted at the employees.

“Why is everyone gathered here! Get back to work! Quickly!”

Jean-Drulot Meyère waved his hands as if shooing away pigeons, and only then did the employees reluctantly disperse.

“I’m sorry. It seems many employees were curious about your face because Si-hwan often talked about you.”

Hearing Jean-Drulot Meyère’s words, I was inwardly surprised twice.

Once at the fact that my brother really had been talking about me.

And again at the fact that my brother was so close with almost all of Louis Vuitton’s employees.

‘Someone who liked to be alone in Korea… What happened? Was he too lonely without friends in Paris?’

I couldn’t understand the reason, but I was glad that my brother seemed to have adapted well to life in Paris.

“It’s okay. I was a bit surprised, but… By the way, did my brother talk about me often?”

“Yes, very often. Of course, I’m the one who passed those words on to the employees.”

“Ah.”

I could roughly picture how the situation had unfolded.

My brother had only happened to mention me to Jean-Drulot Meyère, whom he had become close to in Paris.

It seemed Jean-Drulot Meyère had then spread this to all Louis Vuitton employees.

‘Of course, our Short Answer Man wouldn’t do that.’

I thought this to myself, and Jean-Drulot Meyère cleared his throat once as if to change the atmosphere, then guided me inside.

Even as we moved, persistent gazes observing me followed.

Honestly, it was something I found hard to fully understand.

In my opinion, my brother and I had similar levels of looks.

I had often been asked questions like this before:

‘Who do you think is more handsome, you or your brother?’

My answer was always the same:

‘Aren’t we both handsome?’

I sincerely thought about this.

If we were talking about mass appeal, I might have had more of that feeling, but my brother had his own very strong individuality.

There was a kind of decadent beauty in my brother’s appearance that could be felt immediately even without knowing his original personality.

And I greatly envied this unique characteristic of my brother’s.

Because of this, I had sometimes thought that my looks might be too ordinary.

Of course, as soon as I looked in the mirror the next day, these thoughts immediately vanished.

So, organizing my thoughts, I moved into the inner space of the fashion house.

Unlike the lobby, it was a bit cluttered with design materials spread out.

At a glance, it looked like the place where Louis Vuitton’s works were completed.

“Ah! Here they are! The outfits Si-joon needs to pull off!”

The outfits were matched in three different versions.

First was the denim-style “Trunk One-Button Stripe Jacket” with “Chino Pants”.

This match, incorporating Louis Vuitton’s unique pattern, was styled with “Ankle Boots” and a “Cruiser Bag” to enhance the look.

Also, three pins diagonally inserted along the jacket’s collar nicely expressed Louis Vuitton’s unique street feel.

Next was an outfit matching a “Multi-check Leather Jacket” with a “Flocked Classic Black Shirt” and “Straight Classic Pants”.

Because the jacket’s pattern was so vibrant, it was styled with a bright yellow “Keepall Bandoulière Cowhide Acetate Chain Bag” as a point.

Lastly, there was a classically styled outfit with a “Wave Cutting Detail Coat”, “Red Grid Pattern Jacket”, and “Red Grid Pattern Shirt”.

As if to show that Jean-Drulot Meyère wasn’t intent on sticking only to street fashion, he mixed in classic outfits, and this was one of them.

The only accessory matched with this outfit was a “Porcelain Tumbler” that captured Louis Vuitton’s unique pattern, showcased in their gift collection.

Looking at these three outfits, I could immediately understand what Jean-Drulot Meyère wanted.

Even if I didn’t want to know, I couldn’t help but know.

The moment I saw the three types of outfits, my brother’s image came to mind.

In my imagination, my brother pulled off the three types of outfits spectacularly, staring straight ahead with his unique gaze.

‘Jean-Drulot Meyère wants me to take on my brother’s role.’

In fact, I had guessed Jean-Drulot Meyère’s thoughts.

I had been able to see photos of the three types of outfits I would have to wear before accepting the modeling proposal.

And I had already practiced for today’s shoot the night before using the Method Mask.

Of course, what I focused on in practice was my brother’s decadent beauty.

I did my best to capture this feeling through the Method Mask.

Because of this, I had no doubt that I would pull off the outfits as Jean-Drulot Meyère wanted.

‘But…’

Was it really right to just imitate my brother’s appearance?

A fundamental question arose in me.

It couldn’t be helped.

No matter how excellent a performance I gave, I couldn’t become my brother.

This was different from acting a role based on a non-existent person or a real person I didn’t know.

I had to substitute for a person who actually existed.

This was something that even the most talented actor couldn’t achieve.

‘Moreover, there are too many people at Louis Vuitton who know my brother, including Jean-Drulot Meyère.’

So acting out my brother’s decadent beauty was even more burdensome.

No matter how I acted, it was obvious that flaws would be found.

‘Then is there only one way…’

Just as I was deeply contemplating how to approach the shoot,

Jean-Drulot Meyère looked at me and spoke.

“Shall we move to the studio and start the shoot?”

Jean-Drulot Meyère’s eyes were already full of anticipation about how I would handle the shoot.

I looked at those eyes quietly and asked.

“Where is the studio?”

“We’ve booked an external studio for this shoot, but it’s not far from here. We should arrive in about 10 minutes, comfortably.”

Ten minutes was too tight.

I needed at least 15 more minutes for new practice.

Because of this, I opened my mouth towards Jean-Drulot Meyère.

“Could you possibly give me 15 more minutes?”