Prologue
Selected by World Famous Star 101, the #1 Most Handsome Man in the World!
For many years, the top spot of the World's Most Handsome Man has remained unchanged.
Because an impregnable fortress named Doyeonho holds it.
Was the keyword “World's Most Handsome Man” the only title that described him?
It was not.
Even if you erased the praise of being the most handsome man in the world, he still possessed the title of a heavenly actor.
Along with overwhelming visuals came demonic acting prowess.
This is a story about that monstrous actor.
It began on a certain day at age seventeen, when the first miracle occurred.
Episode 1) #1. I Want to Dream
The boy's name is Doyeonho. Though he was in the blooming age of seventeen, his appearance easily looked like that of someone in their mid-twenties.
“I’m really ugly…….”
In the mirror he gazed into after washing his face, there was a high schooler plastered head to toe with ugliness. A face heavily covered with acne and scar marks, eyes that bulged out from exophthalmos—disgusting even to look at.
Doyeonho had recovered from a thyroid disease, but.
The exophthalmos that had developed during that period had not been treated since. The abnormally protruding eyeballs were like a curse brought by that illness.
Still, he had been dieting throughout the summer vacation. He had expected that if his fat disappeared, perhaps even a little of this ugliness would fade, too.
They say a fat person is an unscratched lottery ticket. Doyeonho harbored that expectation and devoted himself to exercise. Having steeled his resolve, he endured eating only two meals a day of vegetables and chicken breast, and didn't even touch snacks.
He climbed the neighborhood mountain every day. Once he had built up some stamina, he even ran up it. As time passed, his pants grew loose, and the contours of his face hidden beneath the fat were revealed. He felt his health had improved, too, so he was refreshed.
On the last morning of summer vacation, Doyeonho raised his head after washing his face.
“It's the saaaaaame!”
Had he ever been this angry in his seventeen years of life?
He was so, so furious.
He had lost weight with all his might, yet his ugliness remained exactly the same.
‘Why does he look like that?’
‘His face got smashed.’
‘Like ET from outer space.’
‘Ugh, those eyeballs are disgusting. Is he a frog?’
The subtle hatred, the subtle disregard that had poured down on him. To think he had lived his seventeen years like that, and would have to keep living like that!
For a moment, his mind grew hazy.
A sense of inferiority gnawed at his heart.
And above all…….
“At this rate, I'll only ever get those kinds of roles!”
Being an actor was Doyeonho's long-held dream. Due to family circumstances, he couldn't attend an expensive acting academy, but he had joined the school theater club and was preparing to compete in a theater competition.
The Korean Youth Theater Festival is an authoritative festival held every July in which youth from across the nation participate. Since winning an award at this festival, hosted by the Korean Theater Association, could help with admissions to university theater and film departments, students who aspired to walk the path of an actor coveted it.
Doyeonho secretly harbored the desire to be cast as the protagonist. It was by no means a subjective thought—objectively speaking, there was no male student who could act better than him. But his appearance was the problem. The main character was a fifteen-year-old second-year middle schooler who had to express fresh first love!
Yet he was so ugly that there were people who said they felt extreme disgust just from looking at him!
Even the theater club advisor had drawn the line, saying, “Yeonho, your courage is admirable, but you don't suit this role.”
“You don't suit this role” had sounded like “You're too ugly, so no.” That was why he had dieted with all his might!
“Aaaaaargh!”
Tearing at his messy hair, Doyeonho tortured himself.
In the end, he would probably have to play the role of Duho, as urged by the other students and the teacher. In the play, Duho was a so-called loser who locked himself in his room like a hikikomori. He had the fewest lines and the least presence in the entire play, so becoming an individual award winner was out of the question.
‘I wanted to try playing a role that gets attention, too…….’
He had struggled desperately to change his casting somehow, but it was meaningless.
Even if he let this play slide, what about the days ahead? What if he couldn't get into a college theater and film department because he looked so unpleasant? When he became an adult, could he really establish himself as an actor?
Thinking of the future, only dark clouds gathered over his head.
Even the most talented people couldn't establish themselves as actors—could someone like him possibly do it?
But the biggest problem was that while giving up would be easy, he couldn't give up. Because the taste of acting he had experienced once was so sweet that he couldn't tear himself away from it.
The gazes of countless people directed at him, the concentration and immersion that dug into his every move. He could never forget it. It never faded.
After scrubbing his face roughly with a towel, Doyeonho went back out to the living room. Though it was called a living room, it was a studio apartment where the living room was also the kitchen and bedroom. He lived here with his mother and younger sister.
“Oppa, my homework is too hard. Help me.”
“Huh? What is it?”
Yeona, a first grader, was sitting at the table solving a math workbook. Unlike her brother Doyeonho, she was so brilliant that she was solving sixth-grade math problems!
Doyeonho's eyes trembled as he looked at the problem.
‘How is sixth-grade math this hard! I don't know any of it!’
Doyeonho, a math dropout, had built a wall between himself and math. No matter how elementary it was, he couldn't possibly solve competition-level problems.
“Yeona.”
“Yeah.”
A pretty, cute girl blinked her large eyes, unlike her brother. With her baby fat still not gone, chubby cheeks blinking like that—she was adorable to the point where anyone couldn't take their eyes off her.
“O-oppa had an appointment? I forgot! I have to leave right now so I won't be late!”
“Ah! Mom said you have to keep your promises on time. Hurry up and go.”
“Okay. Then I'll head out.”
Like that, he fled the house.
* * *
Doyeonho came out and blankly looked up at the villa he lived in.
A five-story villa. Its outer walls were yellowed and cracked. It was in stark contrast to the new apartment complex across the street.
He knew without anyone pointing it out. That he was a very poor person. On top of that, he was ugly, his health was poor at this age, and his dream was something as lofty as becoming an actor—he felt this more than anyone else.
‘I'm really a hopeless case…….’
With a depressed heart, Doyeonho trudged along. Walking down the main road and turning into an alley, a restaurant appeared. A fairly large restaurant specializing in duck meat—the place where his mother worked.
He had occasionally stopped by to help his mother. He had opened the shop door with that purpose now as well.
But the moment he opened the door, the sight of his mother bowing her head repeatedly came into his eyes.
“Owner, I'm really sorry…… it was so sudden. Can't I work just one more month? I'm the head of the household, so if I lose my job like this, our children will…….”
“Doyeonho's mom, I said it won't work.”
“Is it really impossible……?”
“Sigh, why is this person like this? Once I've spoken, you should understand.”
For someone mentioning same-day dismissal, the owner's gaze was not kind.
“I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I spoke rashly because I'm so desperate…….”
“I understand your situation, Doyeonho's mom, but I'm not someone who does volunteer work. Right?”
“Yes, you're right.”
His mother's shoulders, never able to hold themselves high, were hunched even more than usual today.
“Hey, aren't you Doyeonho?”
It was then. He met eyes with the owner.
Clack!
Hastily closing the door, Doyeonho ran.
Tears streamed from his eyes the entire time he ran.
When he finally stopped, regret washed over him.
‘I should have argued with that lady! I should have said something!’
The bus had already left, but thinking that made his chest feel tight.
Why had he missed the timing to shout?
Why had he run away, leaving his mother all alone there?
Doyeonho punched his own head with his fist.
Then he sighed as if the ground would give way and walked, and walked again. Before he knew it, the sun was setting, and his steps reached an empty playground.
Sitting astride a swing and looking up at the sky, the setting sun was sinking, leaving an orange afterimage. Looking at it, he felt as if he himself were sinking, too.
“Why does a young lad have such a deathly face?”
Out of nowhere, a voice was heard from close by. Doyeonho was startled and turned his head.
“How long have you been there?”
“You can see me?”
“Huh? Of course I can see you.”
“It seems your spirit is pure.”
A man was sitting on the swing next to him. How could a person be so silent? He was a gentleman dressed in a black suit. A strange man who gave off the feeling of being detached from the world.
“Who are you, mister?”
A bizarre sensation welled up, and Doyeonho asked.
“Me? Even if I explained, would you understand?”
“Hmm…….”
“Ah, I see it. Your worries.”
“Huh? What do you mean you see?”
“You want to do something that gets attention from many people? Yet your appearance is severely lacking, causing you difficulties?”
“Huh? How did you know?”
Smiling faintly, the gentleman rose from the swing and stood before Doyeonho.
“Your name is Doyeonho. Even in such circumstances, your spirit is this pure.”
“Uh……uh? How do you know my name?”
But the man did not answer Doyeonho's question.
“A jewel-like heart is sparkling within you. It is more beautiful than you imagine. Not just anyone can possess it.”
“Huh? What are you talking about right now…….”
“In life, there are good times and bad times. Now is the time for fortune to find you.”
When the gentleman opened his clenched fist, a coin appeared. A gesture like a magician.
“You are more than qualified to become the protagonist of fortune. Now, hurry and take this gift.”
“G……gift?”
A glittering silver coin.
Doyeonho was drawn by an unknown force and grasped it.
“Don't forget. The moment you let go of that pure, jewel-like heart and passion, that fortune will end.”
Suddenly, a translucent status window rose before Doyeonho's eyes. Something similar to a game system flickered before him!
“Wh-what! What is this!”
[The World's Most Handsome Man Project is commencing ^___^]
[As a bonus for the project's commencement, one skill will be granted at Lv. 7. The max level is Lv. 9, so this is an incredible bonus! Which skill you draw depends on luck!]
Toot toot, tok.
The sound of dice rolling could be heard in his head.
[Congratulations!]
[Skill, Dazzling Bare Face is activated at Lv. 7!]
[Dazzling Bare Face (Lv. 7) and other passive skills cannot be canceled once selected. Will you activate all passive skills?]
“Huh?”
Without realizing it, Doyeonho had agreed in his heart.
It was bewildering, but having a dazzling bare face was a good thing, right?
* * *
“Haa!”
Doyeonho shot up.
It had been such a vivid dream that the first thing he did upon waking was open his hands. The silver coin he had received moments ago was nowhere to be found.
“Sigh.”
For some reason, it was disappointing. Because the moment he had grasped the coin, a pleasant warmth had enveloped his whole body.
‘I wish I had really received that coin as a gift.’
Anyway, a dream was just a dream.
A familiar place unfolded before Doyeonho's eyes.
It was his home.
“Oppa? Why did you suddenly scream? Did you have a nightmare?”
Yeona, who had been watching TV, tilted her head.
“No. It wasn't a nightmare. But Yeona. When did I come home? I don't remember coming home. Suddenly I'm lying here?”
“You came in earlier.”
“M……me? Hmm, I really don't remember. Strange.”
Giggling, Yeona tilted her head again.
“Does your memory go poof when you wake up from a nap?”
“What the heck is this…….”
It was so strange that he even felt a chill.
“But oppa. The mold on your face suddenly all disappeared. What did you do?”
“What?”
From Yeona's perspective, the mold on his face referred to the acne that densely covered her brother's face.
Hastily, Doyeonho felt his own cheek. The bumpy, protruding pimples…….
“They're gone?”
In an instant, his spine went rigid.
Staggering, Doyeonho opened the bathroom door. And looked into the mirror above the sink.
“My face! Why is my face like this!”