"Kim Hye-soo, like a mentor"... Kim Jae-cheol's touching confession on 'Affair Now' [Interview ①]

*This content was translated by AI.

Actor Kim Jae-cheol shared his thoughts on acting alongside senior actress Kim Hye-soo in the series "Affair Now," following their first collaboration in his debut drama, "Hyena."

On the 10th afternoon, Kim Jae-cheol held an interview with StarNews at a café in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul. He played the role of Ju Bo-seong in the OTT Coupang Play series "Affair Now Is Not a Problem" (hereinafter "Affair Now"), delivering a powerful performance.

"Affair Now" premiered on July 31 and concluded as an eight-episode series on September 4. The show is a runaway chain-reaction black comedy in which the lives of popular influencer couple Park Kyung-hee (played by Kim Hye-soo) and Im Jae-hong (played by Kim Ji-hoon), who have sold their happy family life, become entangled with the secret neighbors' doctor couple An Su-jeong (played by Jo Yeo-jung) and Ju Bo-seong, who are in the midst of a messy divorce lawsuit—a secret so overwhelming that even an affair seems trivial.

Notably, Kim Jae-cheol once again portrayed Kim Hye-soo's "potential boyfriend" in the series, following his role in "Hyena" (2020), exuding a strong presence on screen.

Regarding this, Kim Jae-cheol said, "Kim Hye-soo senior was my co-star in my first drama. She is also the person who recommended me during the audition at that time and greatly contributed to me landing that role." He spoke of their relationship in a particularly special way.

He continued, "Even after 'Hyena,' we kept in touch from time to time, and she would occasionally treat me to delicious meals. I believe our relationship has been more affectionate than just senior-junior. To me, (Kim Hye-soo) is not simply a senior actress but someone like a mentor or benefactor. There's no other way to describe it: thanks to her, after appearing in 'Hyena,' I joined an agency, which eventually led to the million-viewer film 'Exorcism' and brought me to where I am today. 'Hyena' served as a major turning point for me. Even during my acting at that time, she provided great support and became my driving force."

When asked about his feelings on playing Kim Hye-soo's "potential boyfriend" role twice, Kim Jae-cheol replied, "I was very happy to reunite with her, but it's a pity that this time it didn't work out. So I sent her a message saying that in the next project, I would definitely steal the heart of her character. There's a saying called 'three-life fate,' isn't there? If we meet again, I will work hard to make sure our roles come true—whether by persuading the writer or through other means." He joked lightly, drawing laughter from the interviewer.

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*This content was translated by AI.