Top Star By Luck [EN]: Chapter 27

Full-scale filming for [Campus Story] continued.

With Lee Min-ki brought in as a scene stealer when only five episodes were left until the finale.

A change that appeared when the drama was nearing its end.

A situation where it was difficult to receive good reviews under normal circumstances.

But the reaction was.

[Min X Min Acting]

[Who is rookie actor Lee Min-ki?]

It was proven in the articles.

[Let’s find out about the hot supporting actor, Lee Min-ki]

[He boasts a pure mask, but transforms into a commoner when he starts acting]

[Is this actor the same guy who was cheering at the baseball stadium last time?]

[A maturity that is hard to believe for a supporting role]

[I heard from the set]

[Revealed as JC’s next-generation rookie actor, as expected of JC, just as I thought]

The reviews themselves are good.

It’s not just good for a supporting role, but considering that most rookies’ first acting experiences are a dark history, it’s the best debut a rookie actor could have.

But Lee Min-ki, the person in question, was feeling some pressure.

‘……Why does it feel like my screen time keeps increasing?’

It was because his screen time had increased.

Of course, there’s no reason to dislike having more screen time.

As an actor, it was something to be so happy about that he could fly into the sky.

Screen time leads directly to an increase in value.

But the amount of camera time is fixed, and Lee Min-ki’s increased screen time meant that someone else’s screen time had decreased.

The problem was where this screen time came from, and Lee Min-ki knew it well.

‘It’s that guy.’

It was Park Tae-kyun.

The actor who had recently engaged in a farce with Lee Min-ki, or rather, unilaterally picked a fight with him.

His screen time was being significantly cut in each episode.

Other people might not know.

But Lee Min-ki couldn’t help but recognize it.

‘My screen time is increasing more and more compared to my past life.’

This was because his mind contained the original footage of [Campus Story].

‘Why? Why is this happening?’

The overall framework was similar, but the details were completely different.

Along with the sub-male lead becoming air.

“…….”

But Lee Min-ki was just embarrassed by all of this.

‘This scene, this isn’t what it was originally.’

There is a scene to be filmed from now on.

Assistant Instructor Lee Nam-wook (Lee Min-ki) receives a Park X’s [a popular Korean energy drink] gift for solving the female lead’s scholarship recommendation letter problem.

But if Lee Min-ki’s memory is correct, this was a scene that was considered a masterpiece in [Campus Story].

However, it was a scene that the sub-male lead was originally supposed to take, not Assistant Instructor Lee Nam-wook.

‘Why am I in charge of this?’

He’s embarrassed.

On the one hand, it’s also clear.

It was clear that writer Kim Hee-jin was subtly revising the script.

By making the existing sub-male lead into air and pushing Lee Min-ki into that spot.

‘He probably doesn’t know? He shouldn’t know.’

Lee Min-ki’s eyes met Park Tae-kyun’s among the staff.

He sat on a simple chair and trembled all over like a wounded dog.

As if he couldn’t bear it unless he expressed his animosity somehow.

Then, he quickly turned his head away.

Lee Min-ki was secretly impressed by his appearance, which revealed all his emotions.

He must be quite hot-tempered.

‘I think I know a little bit why that person disappeared from the industry so quickly.’

I wonder if he had a big fight with someone.

That’s what he thought.

A female actor asked him with a worried voice.

“Nam-wook, are you free later?”

“…….”

“Nam-wook?”

“Oh, I was just thinking about something for a moment.”

Lee Min-ki flinched and replied.

He was filming.

He couldn’t come to his senses because he was distracted by Park Tae-kyun.

‘Are we filming again?’

That’s a nuisance.

He wondered what would happen if the staff didn’t like him, but the female actor in front of him.

So, actress Han Min-seo, who played the female lead ‘Kim Hana’, continued with a worried voice.

“Aren’t you getting enough sleep these days? I saw you dozing off during class earlier.”

It’s not ordinary worry.

It’s a line.

It seems that she has no intention of stopping acting.

Lee Min-ki, who quickly grasped the situation, scratched his eyes as if he was annoyed by her attention and said.

“That’s what assistant instructors are all about.”

“Here. Take this.”

Actress Han Min-seo grabbed Lee Min-ki’s hand and handed him something.

It was Park X’s, a Korean energy drink and an eternal friend of office workers.

Of course, it’s a PPL [product placement] product.

Lee Min-ki felt the cold sensation, and actress Han Min-seo smiled brightly and said.

“Thank you for last time.”

“Yes?”

“I heard that the assistant instructor persuaded the professor?”

“Me?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know. I’ve already heard everything. I heard you got scolded a lot?”

“……How did Hana know that.”

“Birds listen to daytime words, and mice listen to nighttime words [an idiom meaning secrets always get out]. Then I’ll go because I have a class.”

Kim Hana left with quick steps as if she had finished saying everything she wanted to say.

Lee Min-ki stared blankly at the Park X’s he received from her, and then alternately looked at the place where she left and the bottle for a while.

He smiled and opened the lid.

“Cut!”

PD [Production Director] Park Yoo-chan shouted.

With that voice, the tension was released and filming was stopped.

‘Ike [an exclamation of surprise or relief].’

Lee Min-ki finally came to his senses.

He somehow managed to finish filming, but he was worried about the time he had wasted because he was spacing out earlier.

‘You idiot, even supporting actors need to focus on filming. What are you going to do if they don’t like you?’

His heart was pounding like crazy every time PD Park Yoo-chan took a step towards him.

The moment he walked closer and closer, and his shadow fell on Lee Min-ki’s face.

“Min-ki.”

He opened his mouth and said.

“Wow! Your eye acting was amazing earlier!”

“…….”

It was a compliment.

Lee Min-ki was stunned, but PD Park Yoo-chan didn’t care whether people around him were watching or not, and he was busy pouring out what he wanted to say.

“That’s exactly it. Lee Nam-wook is that kind of character. He pretends to be indifferent, but he’s actually considerate of those around him? You have to control this well, and Min-ki is perfect for it. Haha!”

“That’s right. Min-ki, you were great just now.”

Actress Han Min-seo, who played ‘Kim Hana’, even came over and gave him a thumbs up, saying that he was standing there blankly.

“Actress Min-seo.”

“Strangely, when I work with Min-ki, I feel like everything is going smoothly. It seems like you’re used to matching your acting.”

“…….”

“When I was a rookie, I had to reshoot each scene more than 10 times. Hehe, of course, it’s not much different now.”

You wanted to compliment me.

Even though Lee Min-ki didn’t say anything, PD Park Yoo-chan and actress Han Min-seo were busy talking back and forth, leaving him standing in the middle like a mannequin.

“Min-seo, you’ve been good at acting from the beginning.”

“As good as Min-ki?”

“I’ll have to see about that?”

“Huh? Really? You said I did well.”

Lee Min-ki’s head, caught in between, was just confused.

No matter what people around him said, Park Tae-kyun’s sub-male lead acting was still in his head.

‘Is it okay for me to be here like this?’

It wasn’t a matter of roles.

He didn’t care about the resentment that Park Tae-kyun might be feeling.

Rather, he was worried about the overall completeness of the work.

If the screen time of the original sub-male lead was cut and he replaced it, wouldn’t the viewers feel awkward?

Wouldn’t he become an unwelcome guest who took out a stone that was stuck in place [a Korean idiom for being an unwanted presence]?

As a result, Lee Min-ki’s worries were of no use at all.

‘It definitely looks better with Min-ki in it.’

It’s not for nothing that writer Kim Hee-jin is a successful writer.

When she’s busy, she draws big pictures even with script sides [meaning she can handle complex tasks efficiently]. There’s no way she can’t change the role a little while the flow is caught.

This is everyday life.

Minor weight adjustments were easier for her than eating cold porridge [an idiom meaning something is very easy to do].

Rather, she thought it was fortunate that she had a card to use.

‘I was worried that it would end up as just an ordinary work, but it seems like the work tastes better with Min-ki in it.’

At least better than Park Tae-kyun.

He tried to do his own acting, not acting that matched others.

You could say he doesn’t know how to see the big picture.

It was a typical rookie actor’s dilemma.

There would also be a problem with his desire for screen time due to his innate personality.

‘Min-ki is good because he doesn’t have any unnecessary greed. He doesn’t try to bury others. Yeah, the chemistry is alive no matter who he’s with. And unlike someone else, he has a sense of humor, and I want to film another work with him, hmm.’

His favorability had reached its limit.

But writer Kim Hee-jin was in a position where she couldn’t show it on the outside.

The sub-male lead replacement was something that had to be done quietly without anyone knowing.

Of course, there is also someone who perfectly understood her intentions.

‘Why does the script keep coming back to me?’

It was Lee Min-ki.

He knows because he saw it.

But even if he knew, he couldn’t show it.

‘Am I really not a rolling stone [someone who doesn’t fit in]?’

It was difficult to accept the reality that he, a supporting actor, had become the center of the filming set.

He can’t show it.

Actress Han Min-seo stuck to him and kept talking to him.

“I’m going to go to a cafe and chat with everyone after filming, how about it? Would you like to come with us? We met like this, it’s a fate.”

The more she did, the more Lee Min-ki could only smile.

“……I have a gym appointment in the evening.”

“Actor, do you also get PT [personal training]?”

“No, it’s not PT, but something similar.”

* * *

The broadcast of [Campus Story] continued.

Originally, it was a work that people who watched it watched, but it was a work that received high praise only among those who watched it.

A work with a mediocrely low viewership rating that continued.

It was subtle that they had brought in a famous writer named Kim Hee-jin.

But as Lee Min-ki was put into the role of ‘Assistant Instructor Lee Nam-wook’, the situation gradually reversed.

[Campus Story Viewership Trend]

[2.44% -> 2.51% -> 2.7% -> 2.89%]

It increased gradually with each episode.

The beginning of a reverse run.

It was thanks to Lee Min-ki’s acting being talked about in the internet drama community.

[Title: Today’s Lee Min-ki Appearance Scene Collection]

[Comments (41)]

[I think I can switch my favorite]

[How old is he??]

[I heard he’s in his mid-20s now?]

[He looks so much younger than his age. He must have taken good care of his skin]

[ㅋㅋㅋㅋ I think he’s just good at acting young]

[Isn’t it just similar because he’s an assistant instructor?]

[I don’t care because he’s handsome]

[That smirk acting is the best……I wish he would smirk next to me every day]

[Can someone make an edited version of just the smirk scenes?]

The viewership rating gradually increased and reached the final episode.

[3.13%]

It succeeded in settling in the 3% range, which can be said to be a measure of a smooth success for a general cable Friday-Saturday drama.

Of course, it’s just breaking even for the writer’s name value.

But Lee Min-ki’s value increased even more because he made it break even.

In that way, [Campus Story] became the declaration of a new actor who would bring tension to the loosened actor industry.

[What are you filming next?]

Meanwhile, there was also someone who was upset as much as Lee Min-ki rose.

‘We should have taken him.’

Daon’s Director Kim Jong-hyuk.

He checked the viewership rating every episode and reached the point where he wanted to vomit blood.

“Wow, that friend is a hit.”

Daon’s CEO Hwang In-gu said next to him.

“Director Kim, come to think of it, did that person say he applied to our company?”

“Yes, in the last audition.”

“Really? But why didn’t you pick him?”

“…….”

I told you several times, but you didn’t listen.

Feeling the bitter water rising from his stomach, he bit his lower lip, and CEO Hwang In-gu waved his hand and said.

“Hmm, well, this is already past, so let’s get ready too?”