Actress Eugene, best known as a member of S.E.S. and for her recent role in MBN’s drama First Lady, has gone viral after revealing a shocking behind-the-scenes story from her acting career — one that fans are now calling the “rotten smell incident.”
On October 15, Eugene and her husband, actor Ki Tae-young, shared a candid “Balance Game” video on their YouTube channel Eugene vs Taeyoung, where they discussed unusual on-set experiences.
When asked to choose between “a co-star with a sewer-smelling breath” or “a co-star who keeps forgetting lines,” Ki Tae-young answered carefully, saying he’d prefer the latter.
“I understand when actors forget lines — it happens out of nervousness,” he explained. “I even try to make them feel comfortable, sometimes pretending to mess up my own lines. But if it happens too often, it can be draining.”
He added that he doesn’t judge anyone for having bad breath: “Sometimes it’s due to health issues or stomach problems. It’s something I can understand.”
However, Eugene disagreed. “Honestly, I’d rather work with someone who forgets lines than someone whose mouth smells like a sewer,” she said firmly.
When the production staff teased her, suggesting it might be easier to just “hold your breath” for a short scene, Eugene quickly shut that down: “How can I act naturally while holding my breath? My face would look stiff on camera!”
Eugene went on to reveal that she had once experienced this exact situation during a drama shoot.
“I’ve never had that problem with male actors,” she said. “But one time, a female co-star’s breath smelled like rotten cigarettes. It was unbearable — I honestly couldn’t stand it.”
Her husband, Ki Tae-young, could only nod and laugh, commenting: “Everything in acting is about breathing together — literally.”
The clip quickly gained traction, surpassing 62,000 views in just four days, as fans were both amused and surprised by Eugene’s honesty.
The couple’s humorous back-and-forth sparked a flood of positive reactions from netizens:
- They’re so fun to watch — full of positive energy.
- Even when they bicker, it’s all love.
- I’ve learned so much about relationships just from their honesty.
Eugene and Ki Tae-young are often praised as one of Korea’s most stable and loving celebrity couples. The two met in the 2009 MBC drama Creating Destiny, started dating in 2010, and tied the knot in July 2011. They now share two daughters — Rohee (born 2015) and Rorin (born 2018).
Eugene is currently starring as the First Lady in MBN’s hit political drama First Lady, while Ki Tae-young appears on KBS2’s Stars’ Top Recipe at Fun-Staurant, showcasing his cooking and parenting skills — earning him the affectionate nickname “Ki-jumma.”
Sources: Daum