Top Star By Luck [EN]: Chapter 26

26. Top Star Luck – Episode 26 (26/200)

“Hey, you wanna die!”

Park Tae-kyun’s expression twisted fiercely.

The shame of performing a slapstick routine in front of a rookie, combined with his dislike, turned him into a ticking time bomb on the verge of exploding.

Lee Min-ki’s thought as he watched him was:

‘Seriously, why is he acting like this when he was the one who fell first?’

He was dumbfounded.

When he first encountered him on set, he was somewhat pleased.

Park Tae-kyun.

He had retired or disappeared after only a few years of activity, but he had left behind some significant works during that time.

His acting skills were also quite decent.

Since their debut times were only about a year apart, he thought they could become good friends if things went well.

But what was this situation?

“You, are you making fun of me?”

He was pointing a finger.

“Can’t you lower your eyes?”

“…….”

“Do you think you can last long in this industry treating seniors like that?”

He didn’t know what he wanted him to do.

Why was he acting like this after performing ridiculous movements on his own?

Lee Min-ki really had nothing to say.

“Hey! You! Lower your gaze! Or not?”

Park Tae-kyun raised his hand, palm wide open, as if physically threatening him.

“Ha, does this look like I’m joking?”

The threats continued.

As if telling him to kneel down and apologize immediately.

But.

‘What does he want me to do?’

No matter how much the man in front of him was suddenly exploding, Lee Min-ki’s mind remained calm.

Because he was aware of the structure of this market, even if only superficially.

‘Anyway, rookies who debuted a year apart are all the same [meaning they are all on equal footing].’

Since the industry is small, it’s best to avoid unnecessary conflicts as much as possible.

But there was no need to bow down.

Besides, Park Tae-kyun was going to retire soon anyway.

Having comprehensively grasped all these facts, Lee Min-ki could confidently say.

“Me? Why should I?”

It’s your fault.

A vein on Park Tae-kyun’s forehead bulged even thicker at those words.

The next moment.

“You!”

Park Tae-kyun’s raised fist drew a huge arc towards Lee Min-ki’s face.

But.

‘Oh?’

It merely brushed through the empty air right in front of Lee Min-ki’s eyes.

An amateur’s ridiculous attack.

The world was not so easy that he would get hit by a telegraph punch [a punch that is easily anticipated] that even a kindergartener could avoid if they just opened their eyes properly.

“Why are you doing this?”

“You!”

Park Tae-kyun attempted to attack again.

But just like before, it only brushed through empty air.

A stable distance-keeping punch.

Despite Park Tae-kyun’s repeated attacks, the result was the same.

No, the situation only got worse after that.

“Uh, uh, uh?”

The moisture on the soles of his shoes hadn’t completely dried.

Park Tae-kyun’s figure slipped and tumbled spectacularly to the floor.

Thump!

His second knockdown.

“Argh!”

He was embarrassed to miss the punch and fell again.

He felt like crying at this point.

‘This is strange, why can’t I hit him?’

There was no need to look far for the reason.

Originally, it wasn’t easy for a person to land a punch on another person.

To successfully strike, you need a solid lower body, correct movements, and an accurate sense of distance.

None of which Park Tae-kyun possessed.

He was just unlucky.

In the end, Park Tae-kyun couldn’t contain his anger and screamed at the top of his lungs.

“Hey! You bastard! Why are you dodging!”

“I can’t just let you hit me. An actor’s face is their livelihood.”

Lee Min-ki replied in a calm voice.

But that calmness further fueled Park Tae-kyun’s anger.

‘Is this bastard making fun of me?’

Park Tae-kyun, with his anger reaching his head, rushed at Lee Min-ki with his whole body, as if he was going to cling to him.

But.

‘……Huh?’

He didn’t budge.

Lee Min-ki’s legs were firmly planted on the ground like the roots of a hundred-year-old tree, unshakenly receiving Park Tae-kyun’s tackle.

It was what is commonly called a sprawl [a defensive wrestling technique] in martial arts.

Complete it by pressing down on the opponent running towards your waist from the front.

A perfect technique to stop a tackle.

But it was easier said than done.

To successfully execute a sprawl, you need a solid lower body, correct movements, and proper timing.

And.

‘It’s surprisingly bearable?’

Lee Min-ki had two of these.

‘Is it because I’ve been working out lately?’

It was a body forged by Director Kwon Joon-yong at the [Gym near his house].

His one-on-one coaching and natural frame combined to gradually create a body that was above average but below a full-fledged gym rat.

Especially since he had focused on strengthening his lower body, his stability was bound to be exceptional.

And timing.

This was more than made up for by sheer luck.

“Ugh, ugh……!”

No matter how much he pushed, he wouldn’t budge.

‘What the hell is this guy? He looks like a skinny anchovy on the outside, but he’s so strong.’

He was being pushed back by strength.

At this point, Park Tae-kyun felt like crying.

His attempt to intimidate had failed.

All the punches he threw missed.

He then tried to knock him down, but was stopped by force.

“……Um, are you going to stop? It’s a bit embarrassing.”

Moreover, Lee Min-ki was still calm, as if he was teasing him.

Park Tae-kyun shouted in anger at the even gentle voice.

“You bastard! Let go of me!”

“Then you’re going to hit me again.”

“Let go!”

“You need to take your strength off first, then I’ll let you go.”

The senior actor’s reputation was in tatters.

Of course, there was less than a year difference between the two, so there was no need to distinguish between senior and junior. But for Park Tae-kyun, who had experienced the hierarchy divided by one grade in the Department of Theater and Film, it was not the case.

“…….”

For a moment, the two remained in a stalemate, unable to do this or that, in the most embarrassing confrontation in the world.

“No, what’s going on that’s so noisy.”

Finally, someone who was bothered by the noise finally appeared in the waiting room and their expression hardened.

“Gasp.”

It didn’t end with just one person.

One, two, three, four.

“What’s going on.”

“Gasp.”

“What is it?”

They quickly gathered one after another, and soon there were seven people.

Among them, Park Yoo-chan PD [Production Director] broke through the crowd, looked around the chaotic room, and said.

“……Are you two doing an action scene?”

* * *

The situation was roughly calmed down.

Everyone else left, and only four people remained in the waiting room.

Park Tae-kyun and Lee Min-ki, who were involved.

And Park Yoo-chan PD, who was in charge of the scene, and Kim Hee-jin, the writer who happened to be visiting.

With the four people facing each other across a table.

“So, Tae-kyun-ssi is saying.”

Park Yoo-chan PD said, wiggling his eyes with a bewildered expression.

“Min-ki-ssi sprinkled water on the floor? So that the actor would fall?”

“Yes.”

“No, does that even make sense?”

“I mean.”

“And even if you fell, you should resolve it with words, why are you trying to resolve it with fists? It’s not even a children’s fight.”

“…….”

That’s exactly the right thing to say.

At those words, Park Tae-kyun’s head drooped down.

Once the head that had been heated up by his innate hot temper cooled down, he couldn’t help but feel how ugly this situation was.

He could only complain in a resentful voice, filled with shame.

“From the beginning, this guy was doing suspicious things in the waiting room.”

“Is that so?”

Park Yoo-chan PD sighed and said, looking at Lee Min-ki.

“Min-ki-ssi, what were you doing coming to the waiting room early?”

“I was memorizing the script.”

“Hmm, well done.”

There was nothing to say.

No matter how much Park Tae-kyun felt wronged, there was nothing to suspect separately in Lee Min-ki’s alibi.

In the first place, if anyone was wronged, it was normal for Lee Min-ki to be wronged.

But that wasn’t the case from Park Yoo-chan PD’s point of view.

‘The lead actor and the supporting actor fought. Does that even make sense?’

The drama’s evaluation had improved rapidly, and he had been feeling like he was flying above the clouds until just 30 minutes ago.

But what was this mess?

Even if he wanted to cover it up and move on, there was a part where it was difficult to take sides with anyone.

‘I can’t just throw away the lead actor, but Min-ki-ssi didn’t do anything wrong either.’

Kim Hee-jin’s gaze is also sharp.

She’s just sitting there quietly, one step away, without saying anything, but isn’t that just a look of utter contempt?

Managing people on set is entirely the PD’s responsibility.

He couldn’t help but look incompetent.

In the end, as the situation became so twisted, the only thing he could say was one thing.

“Should we just check the CCTV [Closed-Circuit Television]?”

Just to go over everything.

But there was someone whose face turned pale at those words.

“Yes? CCTV?”

It was Park Tae-kyun.

As he opened and closed his mouth, Park Yoo-chan PD pointed to the corner.

“You see it there, right?”

There, a black CCTV was peeking out, quietly keeping its place.

“Since it’s a broadcasting station, accidents sometimes happen in the waiting room. So we try to save as much as possible.”

“…….”

In an instant, Park Tae-kyun’s momentum shrank.

It’s not like taking care of a kindergartener.

He’s the one who caused it.

Park Yoo-chan PD sighed as if he knew this would happen and said.

“To be honest, we’re all here to work. We still have footage to shoot in the future. If we argue over who’s right and who’s wrong with just one emotional fight, we’ll all lose, right?”

“That’s right.”

Lee Min-ki nodded.

There was nothing to be ashamed of, so it didn’t matter if he went over everything, but he didn’t want to start his acting career by smearing himself with *doenjang* [Korean soybean paste, metaphorically meaning ‘shit’] to stab a dog covered in poop [meaning to make a bad situation even worse].

If he could cover it up nicely, it wouldn’t be so bad.

Strictly speaking, this was also a way to leave a good impression on Park Yoo-chan PD and Kim Hee-jin writer.

“Yes, then let’s do this. That commotion earlier didn’t happen. No one saw it either. Let’s all just forget it cleanly.”

Park Yoo-chan PD sighed and said.

“Min-ki-ssi, do you agree?”

“Yes.”

“Tae-kyun-ssi?”

“…….”

“Tae-kyun-ssi?”

“……I understand.”

Park Tae-kyun nodded with a humiliated expression, as if reluctantly accepting.

His gaze was fixed on Kim Hee-jin writer.

‘Even in this situation, he comes and looks at other people’s eyes.’

Anyway, I’m tired of dragging it on any further.

Park Yoo-chan PD finally felt relieved that the situation was roughly settled and opened his mouth.

“Okay, then the reading will start in a bit, so go and prepare. Min-ki-ssi, let’s have a chat for a moment before you go.”

“Yes.”

Park Tae-kyun left the waiting room first.

With footsteps still seething with anger.

Park Yoo-chan PD stared blankly at his back as if he was pathetic for a moment, then turned his gaze to Lee Min-ki and said.

“You’ve been through a lot.”

“No, PD-nim [PD honorific] has been through more.”

“Let’s have a drink later.”

“Ah, I’m controlling my diet these days.”

“……Min-ki-ssi also has a bit of a character.”

Kim Hee-jin, who had been folding her arms and saying nothing for a long time, also chimed in.

“I’ll remember what happened just now.”

That’s how the situation in the waiting room roughly passed.

* * *

There’s an old saying that a gentleman’s revenge is never too late, even after 10 years.

Park Tae-kyun was a petty person, so his revenge came in a matter of minutes.

“Then let’s start scene 23.”

Script reading.

It was a moment to clash as actors, regardless of physical differences.

Among them, scene 23 was a scene where Park Tae-kyun and Lee Min-ki acted together.

It was even a scene where the two were in conflict.

‘I’ll crush him properly.’

Park Tae-kyun gritted his teeth.

He couldn’t possibly move on without resolving the sense of defeat he had felt earlier.

He felt as if the gazes of the actors densely packed in all directions were mocking him.

He said he would remain silent, but everyone who needed to hear it would have heard it.

Of course, the gazes of the surrounding actors were focused solely on Lee Min-ki, regardless of him.

‘Is that the person from last time? The situation was a bit urgent back then, but this is good.’

‘His impression is softer than I thought.’

‘I wonder if he’s good at script reading as well as on-site acting?’

With everyone’s attention focused.

Park Tae-kyun clenched the script paper so hard that it crumpled and said.

“Are you that bastard? The guy who said something he shouldn’t have to Hana (female lead)? You’re such a nerd.”

The tone was much thicker.

A voice filled with deep animosity.

Since this scene was where the sub-male lead was testing the teaching assistant, there was no need to come on so strong, but Park Tae-kyun’s personal feelings were mixed in.

‘Try to take it.’

It was also a common misconception among rookies.

They tend to mistakenly believe that speaking passionately is the same as expressing emotions well.

But.

Lee Min-ki’s response was calm.

“Who are you?”

A voice that was devoid of emotion and utterly bewildered.

Just four letters.

That alone was enough to completely erase Park Tae-kyun’s presence.

‘Good diction.’

‘Clean.’

‘He has a character.’