Top Star By Luck [EN]: Chapter 23

23.

‘Wait, isn’t this too fast?’

Lee Min-gi’s mind was ablaze with those words from Trainer Kim Ah-sung.

‘I knew I’d start with minor or supporting roles soon, but right from the first day? I haven’t even had my audition acceptance for 24 hours yet!’

But no matter what he thought, Trainer Kim Ah-sung wasn’t one to care much.

He simply yawned leisurely before continuing.

“Why? What’s wrong.”

“No, it’s just a bit surprising.”

“What’s surprising about it? Seeing what you usually do, Min-gi, there’s no reason you wouldn’t be able to handle it. It’s not like we’re throwing you into a huge production as the lead. It’s just a brief appearance as a minor role in a common drama, right?”

“…….”

“Min-gi, listen carefully. Being humble is good, but undervaluing yourself is a completely different story. From now on, have confidence.”

Who said anything about that?

It wasn’t about having or not having confidence; it was just that he was taken aback by the sudden offer.

Lee Min-gi squinted at him, but Kim Ah-sung was lost in his own world, as if he had just uttered a profound quote.

“The genre is a campus-based romantic comedy, a cable drama currently airing on TVM, and the trend isn’t bad. It’s quite popular.”

“Is it by any chance ‘Campus Story’?”

“Oh? You know it, Min-gi?”

Kim Ah-sung said with a slightly surprised expression.

“The viewership ratings aren’t great, and it’s mostly watched by female viewers.”

“Ah, I try to watch as many productions as possible.”

To be precise, he had seen it all a long, long time ago.

It felt like about seven years ago.

‘Campus Story, huh? The viewership ratings weren’t that high because it was on cable and mostly cast with rookies, but the quality was decent, so it’s been remembered as a classic for a long time.’

What was the story again?

It was about someone who joined the folk guitar club on campus, wasn’t it?

A male student lied about knowing how to play the guitar to get the attention of a female student he liked, so he urgently started learning the guitar, something like that.

It was a mild romantic comedy.

‘Rather than mild, it was a bit cheesy. There were quite a few cringe-worthy scenes, like the male lead laying out flowers and candles for a confession.’

The characteristic of this work was that it was very popular among female viewers in their teens and twenties, as Trainer Kim Ah-sung said.

Conversely, it was almost completely ignored by middle-aged and older viewers.

“Come to think of it, you said the same thing at the audition last time, didn’t you?”

Kim Ah-sung nodded as if he understood Lee Min-gi’s vague excuse in his own way, then said.

“So, are you going or not? They need someone urgently. If you’re not going to do it, you need to tell them so they can find a solution. They’ve already told the set they’re bringing a fresh rookie.”

Wow, that’s really something.

You’ve already finished the conversation without even consulting me.

But it’s okay.

It’s not like a rookie can afford to be picky about work.

‘If it’s Campus Story, it’s a work I enjoyed quite a bit too. It’s a good thing, in a way.’

And if it’s a minor role, there’s no pressure.

Lee Min-gi sighed almost imperceptibly and said.

“I’ll go.”

“Great, it’s within walking distance, so let’s leave right away.”

The two packed their things and rushed out of the practice room.

Before they knew it, two people were left in the practice room.

Yoo Seon-ah stared at the door of the practice room they had left through and muttered.

“……I’m envious, all of a sudden.”

“If you’re envious, pass the audition next time.”

“Tak, I told you to read the atmosphere, didn’t I?”

“Oops.”

* * *

Campus Story.

On the surface, it was a work that was getting a decent response and sailing smoothly, but the inside story was rather turbulent.

‘No time! No time!’

They were filming urgently, racing against the clock.

The pre-recorded footage had run out a long time ago.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that if they took one wrong step here, they would fall straight off a cliff.

‘Ugh, a no-show in the midst of this.’

To make matters worse, one of the minor roles was rushed to the hospital with acute appendicitis.

It was a minor role in name only, a character with a decent presence between a supporting role and a minor role.

In other words, they couldn’t just bring anyone and use them.

Thanks to that, the PD [Production Director] in charge of this production, Park Yoo-chan, felt like he was going crazy.

Why?

[Campus Story] was his debut work.

Securing actors is the most basic thing for a PD. If something goes wrong like this, it’s no different from announcing to the world that his abilities are lacking.

‘Ugh, I’m going crazy. At least JC said they’d bring a rookie.’

He managed to buy time by postponing the filming schedule, but that was also reaching its limit.

“It looks like we should start filming soon. If we’re going to the next scene, it’s now.”

The director was demanding that he proceed with filming.

Even if they finished filming, considering the time the editing team would need, they couldn’t delay any longer.

It would be nice if they could cut it out.

But it was also a suicidal act for a debut PD to arbitrarily revise the script of a famous writer.

‘The world is tormenting me.’

PD Park Yoo-chan was at a loss, just pacing back and forth.

“PD.”

A man suddenly walked up and spoke to him.

Just by looking at his appearance, he was an extremely cocky man, incomparable to anyone else in the world.

“I’m from JC Entertainment.”

It was Kim Ah-sung.

He shoved Lee Min-gi’s shoulder with his palm and said.

“I contacted you in advance, this is the guy.”

“Name?”

“Lee Min-gi. This is his first appearance in a production, right? Right?”

“Ah, yes. Not that, yes, that’s right.”

PD Park Yoo-chan’s forehead wrinkles deepened as he looked at the somewhat clumsy man.

‘Lee Min-gi? I’ve never heard of that name before… He looks okay, but why is he so awkward? Is he really a complete rookie? JC is famous for managing their actors well.’

The minor role they needed to cast right now wasn’t just any minor role.

It was a minor role close to a supporting role.

A character who held the key to this episode, the teaching assistant.

A role that scratched at the female lead’s nerves and gave room for her relationship with the male lead to improve.

They couldn’t just use anyone.

‘Ugh, no matter how I look at him, his face looks too innocent to play a villain.’

After hesitating for a moment.

PD Park Yoo-chan had to make a decision.

‘No. There’s no time anyway. It’s all or nothing. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll have to ask the writer to revise the script.’

Let’s go with this.

He handed Lee Min-gi over to the director as if grabbing him and said.

“Let’s proceed quickly. Have him familiarize himself with the script first.”

He doesn’t have high expectations.

He just hopes that they can get through one scene safely.

That’s all.

That was the level of expectation PD Park Yoo-chan had for Lee Min-gi.

And.

“Huh?”

It didn’t take long for his expectations to be betrayed in a good way.

* * *

The scene that the [Campus Story] production team was filming now was about this.

The female lead, ‘Kim Ha-na,’ is struggling to balance her college life with her poor financial situation.

If she misses a scholarship for even one semester, she’ll have to take a leave of absence and earn money.

That’s why she was on edge.

To make matters worse, her relationship with the male lead was strained.

The character ‘Lee Nam-wook,’ who plays the teaching assistant, was the one who pushed her to her limit.

But the actor who was supposed to play ‘Lee Nam-wook’ was rushed to the hospital with acute appendicitis.

Although it was a minor role, they couldn’t use someone without acting skills.

To plug in an unverified rookie in such a position.

No one expected anything from Lee Min-gi; they were just hoping he would do average.

‘What’s with that guy?’

A tectonic shift occurred on the set.

“I told you everything during the interview yesterday. If you need a letter of recommendation, you have to contact the professor directly. I have no authority.”

“But the professor is overseas and not receiving any calls.”

“Yes, so there’s nothing I can do.”

“Does that make sense?”

The acting skills of the rookie actor Lee Min-gi, who played the role of teaching assistant ‘Lee Nam-wook,’ were so outstanding.

Just a moment ago, he was an extremely innocent person.

But now he was.

“Haa… Honestly, is it my fault that the student can’t get a letter of recommendation? It’s not, is it?”

He had transformed into the most annoying person in the world.

The teaching assistant grumbled with an unfriendly attitude, as if everything in the world was a hassle.

“Am I going to write the letter of recommendation for you? What if I get kicked out for document forgery?”

“If you could just pass on a word to the professor…”

“So, how many times are you going to make me say the same thing? He’s not answering! I have a lot of work to do too. Yes? I understand your situation, I get it! But I can’t just be stuck with the student’s work. Does this solve anything?”

Every line was not like the acting of a rookie.

I want to punch him in the face.

Usually, even the slightest awkwardness in a rookie’s acting stands out, but Lee Min-gi’s acting was endlessly natural.

PD Park Yoo-chan could only blink in disbelief at the sight.

‘Is this his first time acting? How is he so stable? I thought it would be a relief if he didn’t make any mistakes in the lines.’

Moreover, it was villainous acting.

The completion of a drama is completed with the acting of the villain, and Lee Min-gi’s acting was already as skilled as a ripe apple.

This was only natural.

Because it wasn’t his first time in the first place.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that more than 90% of Lee Min-gi’s past unofficial acting experience was filled with minor roles.

‘This is a thank you.’

From the beginning, he was more than happy; he was ecstatic.

‘I thought it would be a brief appearance in one scene because it was a minor role, but it’s such a significant role.’

What were the roles he had originally played like?

In historical dramas, he would just run aimlessly through the middle of the battlefield and get stabbed by a sword.

He would chase the main character and get shot.

He would stand in line at a cafe before the main character and order a cup of coffee.

All of them were literally ‘passing by’ roles.

But even if this was a role that would only appear in one episode, at least he would be working with the main actors.

‘This is a total honey pot [jackpot].’

He’s just doing his best out of gratitude.

“And that letter of recommendation. Ha, if the application deadline was tight, you should have applied a few days in advance. Am I wrong?”

Of course, the acting is annoying.

The staff who were watching him thought.

‘……He’s subtly handsome.’

Even in the midst of annoying behavior, subtle handsomeness shone through.

What should I say?

If it’s that kind of annoyance, it might not be bad to receive it once.

No, it’s welcome!

Besides his face, there was a handsomeness that made the clothes he wore fit him strangely well.

‘If I had a teaching assistant like that when I was in college, I would have studied hard for the exam… That’s not it.’

‘He must have been very popular when he was a student.’

He’s definitely a villain, but watching his tired eyes makes you slightly mesmerized.

PD Park Yoo-chan, watching Lee Min-gi, who had suddenly become a savior on the set, thought.

‘It’s a bit of a waste to end it with just a minor character.’