Top Star By Luck [EN]: Chapter 49

49. Body Profile

Also known as BAP.

BAP refers to photos that focus on the aesthetics of the body. Originally, this was a domain largely reserved for professionals.

But, perhaps fueled by the recent fitness boom,

it became known to the general public and quickly gained popularity.

However, this trend also brought some negative side effects.

[BAP is about building a good physique and capturing it in photos, but some people damage their bodies in pursuit of the perfect BAP.]

[There’s a trend called ‘3-month BAP,’ where individuals drastically reduce body fat in a short period solely for photos, often suffering from adverse effects afterward.]

The core issue lies within the nature of BAP itself.

For the average person, achieving quick visual results through weight loss is often prioritized over the patient and consistent effort of weight training to build muscle.

Consequently, many ‘dried mackerel bodies’ [a Korean slang term for someone who appears lean but lacks muscle mass] have emerged.

President Park of Studio Muscle, a studio specializing in BAP even before it became trendy, disapproved of this trend.

‘There’s nothing wrong with pursuing beauty, but focusing solely on aesthetics while neglecting the essence is problematic.’

Most clients came in with only their abs protruding from their otherwise lean physiques, lacking overall muscle volume.

The photos might look impressive after retouching, but in reality, they’re often just skin and bones.

“Tsk.”

President Park clicked his tongue.

As a fitness enthusiast first and a photographer second, he couldn’t help but lament the situation.

However, he also acknowledged that this trend had not only saved his struggling studio but even provided a comfortable margin [余裕 – yoyu in Japanese, meaning leeway or surplus].

“Capitalism, capitalism, capitalism.”

He repeated this mantra to endure his conflicting feelings.

Among his clients today was someone of particular interest.

Was it Lee Min-ki?

He was a rookie actor who had recently gained recognition for his supporting roles in several projects.

He quickly gained popularity, partly due to claims of having a great physique.

He mentioned that this BAP shoot was also for promotional purposes.

President Park disliked Lee Min-ki’s approach even more.

“Hey, boss, what’s wrong?”

The part-time worker, who was sweeping the floor, noticed President Park’s crossed arms and disapproving expression.

“Customers are customers. I heard he has a good body, so isn’t that a good thing?”

“Looking at his pictures, that guy is also a ‘dried mackerel’.”

“Really?”

“I saw his abdominal muscles in the pictures posted online; they were typical muscles that come from being skinny.”

It reminded him of that scene from [Forever Green], a fictional movie.

That scene where he subtly revealed his abs while wearing a dress shirt.

Why did he take the picture like that?

In President Park’s experience, there was only one type of person who did that.

“His overall physique is unremarkable, but he wants to appear like he has something, so he just lowers his body fat and takes pictures. Any lacking volume must have been covered with makeup.”

He was a textbook ‘dried mackerel’.

The kind of body that genuine fitness enthusiasts despise the most.

The fact that his shoulders look broad is likely due to his natural frame.

Celebrities often have good proportions naturally, so they stand out even with moderate exercise.

“Haha, I understand your feelings, boss, but don’t say that in front of the customer.”

The part-time worker chuckled, amused by President Park’s strong opinions.

“He’s a celebrity. If a celebrity takes a BAP photo, it might inspire people to start exercising seriously. Then the market will grow, so isn’t it a win-win for everyone?”

“Hey, do you think I don’t know that? I’m just frustrated. Ugh, this damn Korea. People get so excited as long as they see abs.”

President Park voiced his second lament.

Clang.

The sound of the front door opening echoed from the entrance.

“Shh.”

It seemed a customer had arrived.

Probably Lee Min-ki, who had made a reservation.

‘Today, I betray my own beliefs.’

President Park sighed again and walked to the lobby.

He had to greet the customer, regardless of his personal feelings.

The studio needed to thrive so that more genuine fitness enthusiasts could benefit.

Let’s set aside personal preferences.

“Oh, you must be Lee Min-ki, who made a reservation, right? You look even better in person than in the picture. Your shoulders are as broad as the Pacific Ocean.”

After starting the business interaction, a few minutes passed.

President Park realized.

‘…….’

Is he really an actor?

* * *

After the last movie shoot, one thing lingered in Lee Min-ki’s mind.

It was that scene from [Forever Green].

That scene had made the public recognize Lee Min-ki as an actor with a good physique. Now, it might be the first thing people thought of when they heard his name.

But.

Lee Min-ki himself felt a burning frustration whenever he thought about it.

‘If I had more strength, real strength, I wouldn’t have had to compromise.’

Even his abs felt inadequate from his perspective.

It’s a good body by ordinary people’s standards.

But the bodies that Lee Min-ki was now accustomed to seeing were those of dedicated weightlifters, led by Director Kwon Jun-yong of [the gym near his house].

It’s like the saying: even if you’re third in the school, you’ll underestimate yourself if you only compare yourself to the top two.

Lee Min-ki sincerely felt his body was lacking.

So, after finishing filming, he dedicated himself to intense workouts to increase his muscle volume.

“Your muscle lines are really beautifully defined.”

The part-time worker commented while adjusting Lee Min-ki’s clothes.

“It’s not easy to build a body like this unless you’re an athlete. You’re also an actor, right? You must have worked out really hard while juggling both.”

At the part-time worker’s words, Lee Min-ki muttered in a weary voice.

“I trained with tears of blood.”

“Hehe, everyone who comes to take BAP says that. How many years have you been working out?”

“That’s…”

He hadn’t calculated it recently, so the answer didn’t come to him immediately.

‘I started exercising around the time I was preparing for auditions while attending acting academy, so how many months has it been since then?’

Lee Min-ki paused, counting on his fingers, and then muttered, almost dismissively.

“Um, has it been about 10 months now?”

At that moment.

A few meters away from the two.

“……10 months?”

President Park, who was checking the equipment, reacted sharply.

He turned his head towards Lee Min-ki like a jointed doll and muttered softly.

“Did you used to exercise before?”

“Yes?”

“Judging by how you don’t focus much on your lower body, I’d guess you were preparing for a physique competition. Were you planning to enter one?”

“No, I was originally weak, so I couldn’t even run well because I was afraid of getting hurt.”

“Hmph.”

President Park snorted softly to himself at Lee Min-ki’s words.

Because he thought it was a lie.

It’s not like people are inherently weaklings, so why wouldn’t they run because they’re afraid of getting hurt?

Even people who have torn their cruciate ligaments run to the gym barefoot because they can’t resist the feeling of tearing muscles.

“Then have you strictly controlled your diet?”

“Originally, I only ate ramen, curry, or spicy pork stir-fry for 3 meals a day.”

“Hmph, yes, yes. I understand.”

President Park quickly lost interest, assuming Lee Min-ki was joking.

How many people like that are there?

‘There are many people who work out like crazy and pretend they don’t.’

Should I say they want to show off?

That’s what people who have been exercising for 3 years do while pretending to be in their 3rd month.

Maybe they want to be told they have talent.

From the beginning, President Park considered himself an expert.

Right now, Lee Min-ki’s body, in his eyes, was that of a typical fitness enthusiast.

‘10 months my ass, that’s a body that’s been commuting to the gym for at least 2 years.’

It was the body of a full-fledged fitness enthusiast.

His weight exceeded 70kg [154 lbs].

His skeletal muscle mass reached 37kg [81 lbs].

His body fat was cut down to 6%.

It was hard to believe he had achieved that in just a few months.

‘Unless he set his schedule to the level of an athlete.’

It’s almost cute how he’s trying to deceive with that kind of body; it’s laughable.

But how much is that much?

‘Still, it’s much better than those ‘dried mackerel’. I’ll have some satisfaction in taking pictures.’

In just a few minutes, President Park developed some goodwill towards Lee Min-ki.

Because as much as he had prejudices about bodies, all of that was neatly washed away when he saw the physique.

But.

It was true that Lee Min-ki trained with tears of blood.

‘This is really working.’

There were words from Director Kwon Jun-yong.

[People say it’s difficult to increase skeletal muscle mass while cutting body fat, but that’s only because it’s difficult for ordinary people to exercise to the level of professional athletes.]

[I’m not a professional athlete.]

[Min-ki, if you get paid to exercise, you’re a professional athlete.]

[…….]

It was Director Kwon Jun-yong’s theory.

Under his 4 hours of close management a day, he tore apart the muscle fibers of his entire body with thorough split workouts.

Since he was taking a break from filming anyway, he thought he would go crazy about exercising.

But lifting weights is still decent.

The real problem was the diet.

‘I feel like I’m going to throw up just thinking about it.’

Lee Min-ki trembled at the painful memory.

He only ate chicken breast, sweet potatoes, and salad for 4 meals a day.

With 7 almonds on the side.

Even if the exercise was okay, he reached the point where he felt nauseous just smelling the chicken later on.

But the result is like this.

“Okay, look this way and smile brightly. Cheese.”

Click!

When combined with photo retouching, a sculpted body that was no less than any fitness model was completed.

‘Is this really me?’

When he received the lighting, a sculpted body popped out that even Lee Min-ki himself found hard to believe.

President Park was satisfied with the results to some extent, and after clicking the camera several times, he muttered softly.

“Let’s see, since you have broad shoulders, it might be good to try taking a physique pose?”

“Physique?”

“Ah, right, I asked you earlier and you said you haven’t tried it.”

He nodded to himself and said.

“It’s one of the bodybuilding categories. You don’t focus on growing your lower body much, and you wear shorts. Instead, you focus on making your upper body frame look wide.”

Physique.

It was a category established with the motto of a great body to see on the beach.

The key to this category is a well-balanced ratio overall.

Unlike other bodybuilding styles, a body with restrained volume was key.

If you have broad shoulders and latissimus dorsi [the large, flat muscles covering the width of the middle and lower back], it’s the icing on the cake.

That’s right.

Right now, Lee Min-ki’s body was the optimal body for a physique beginner.

“Do you know how to pose?”

“Yes? No.”

He doesn’t know.

From the beginning, he only knew the term physique, but he didn’t know specifically what kind of exercise to focus on.

There’s no way he would know a professional area like posing.

President Park snorted at Lee Min-ki’s attitude and said.

“You’re doing that again, yes, yes, I’ll believe you. First, I’ll tell you how to pose, so try it.”

Why does this person keep doing this?

Either way, it was the moment when Lee Min-ki took a physique-specific pose as vaguely as he was told.

President Park burst into laughter inside.

‘As expected, 10 months is bullshit.’

Just looking at how he poses, he’s been doing it for at least 2 years.

The angle is perfect.

I’m going to get cut, I’m going to get cut [a bodybuilding term for achieving very low body fat].

It’s clear that he’s been preparing for physique, so why is he lying?

That’s it.

President Park decided to laugh it off to this extent.

Either way, it’s better than ‘dried mackerel’.

He was the kind of person who didn’t care about moderate 허세 [heose – Korean for bluffing or exaggeration] as long as it wasn’t ‘dried mackerel’.

Yes.

As long as it’s not ‘dried mackerel’.

* * *

A few days later.

Several photos were distributed on the Internet through JC [likely referring to a media outlet or agency].

That was right.

[Actor Lee Min-ki’s Body Profile Project]

It was Lee Min-ki’s BAP photo.

Photos full of him changing into various kinds of clothes and showing off his upper body muscles.

Unlike his delicate face, each one was full of intense wildness.

[Jackpot]

It was enough to surprise the public.

[I knew he had a good body, but was it this much?]

[I think he really likes to exercise]

[Isn’t he almost at the athlete level?]

[lol, athlete level is an overstatement, but he’s definitely in the top tier of ordinary people]

[Looking at it, I think he was filmed more 멋지게 (meotjige – Korean for stylishly or coolly) because he has a good frame]

It was a body that was good from the beginning.

A body that is greatly affected by the frame, regardless of skeletal muscle mass.

Here, combined with the fact that he trained even more fiercely after the filming of [Forever Green] and the retouching of Muscle Studio.

[It’s beyond 멋진, it’s art]

He succeeded in reaching the realm of pictorials [high-quality, artistic photoshoots often seen in magazines].

[Is this possible in 3 months?]

[ㄴ It’s possible if you exercise while shitting blood for 3 years]

[ㄹㅇㅋㅋ (short for 리얼 ㅋㅋㅋ – Real LOL)]

[People who haven’t exercised much don’t know, but to do that much, you really have to exercise all day long from the beginning.]

[But you never know. Someone did that much in 3 months?]

[That’s all a lie]

The views of fitness enthusiasts were not much different from those of President Park.

They estimated Lee Min-ki’s exercise career to be at least several years.

In this process, ‘luck’ intervened.

[ㅋㅋㅋㅋ What, is that kind of body possible in 1 year? Please stop ㅈㄹ (ㅈㄹ is an abbreviation of ji랄, meaning nonsense)]

[You can really tell that you haven’t exercised, right?]

[Just by looking at it, it’s a body that has been preparing for physique ㅇㅇ (short for 응 – yes) I know because I’ve done it too. Look at the silhouette. Don’t you see the clean V shape from the waist to the shoulders?]

[Please distinguish between having a good frame and having a lot of muscle ㅎㅎ (short for 흐흐 – hehe);]

[Just by looking at it, it’s a body that has cut body fat to the limit, what good body ㅋ (short for 크크 – keke)]

[↑ A highly obese helbung [Korean slang for someone who is overweight and lazy] is arrested while boiling 2 bags of ramen at home at once]

Opinions were divided.

Debates were held about his exercise career in fitness communities and other places. That continued for two or three days.

In this process, 화제성 (hwaje-seong – Korean for topicality or buzz) naturally bloomed regardless of the results.

It was truly something that could only be seen as luck.

So, in the middle of the battlefield.

[Title: I found out the name of the supplement Lee Min-ki is taking.]

[Q. How did you exercise?]

[A. I paid a lot of attention to my diet, and I changed it several times to find a supplement that suits me. The director I was attending recommended it, and this is what I’ve recently settled on.]

Marketing has begun.

[Real Protein?]

[What brand is that?]