Top Star By Luck [EN]: Chapter 87

“A project related to fashion.”

Lee Min-ki said, as if emphasizing the point again.

“I’m still working as a fashion model, you know.”

“Yes, you’ve been working with CEO Kyu-eon all along.”

As he said.

Lee Min-ki was still working as a model under CEO Yoo Kyu-eon.

Although the number of projects had decreased compared to the past.

It was because his profile had grown too much while working on several projects.

‘The business is going well these days, so he said there’s no problem paying me.’

Anyway, he was very busy too.

Still working with CEO Yoo Kyu-eon.

“Because of that, I realized that I definitely have depth in this area. A depth that would be interesting even from the public’s perspective.”

He learned a lot.

How to look better in front of the camera.

How to adjust subtle nuances with just the tip of a finger.

“Also, clothing is said to be one of the longest-running businesses in human history, right? Even if they’re not interested in anything else, there would be few people who have absolutely no interest in fashion.”

“It’s a common subject.”

“Yes, so I wanted to film a project in this field. It’s this.”

Lee Min-ki took out his phone and showed a casting call for a movie.

The title of a project was written there.

[Fashion & Fashion]

As the name suggests, it was a project about fashion.

‘It’s a story about a protagonist who becomes a fashion star by chance.’

A protagonist with a natural talent as a fashion model.

The protagonist enters the industry, tastes the money, and gradually becomes corrupt.

The process of a human being succeeding and falling was vividly depicted, which became a hot topic.

He also enjoyed watching it.

But this work had one characteristic.

That was that it captured both commercial appeal and artistry.

‘It was a bit ambiguous in Korea, but the overseas response was good, so it belatedly joined the ranks of hit movies, right?’

Good.

It’s good because it’s unique.

He had filmed three consecutive commercial projects so far. So he decided it was time to film something artistic.

And also.

Something came to mind the moment he heard Yoo Seon-ah’s words.

‘It’s a project that can highlight my strengths.’

She said my body line was pretty.

Then I should make the most of it this time.

Of course, I don’t know if I’ll be able to make it as a model protagonist in a fashion movie.

Conversely, it’s not like fashion models are necessarily good at acting.

Lee Min-ki thought there was room to wiggle.

“The director is… Director Hwang Eui-seong.”

Director Seo Jeong-woo said, surprised, after checking the document.

“I’m personally a fan of Director Hwang Eui-seong, so I check all of his works, but he’s not really someone who pursues commercial projects.”

That was not wrong.

Lee Min-ki nodded as if agreeing.

“Yes, it seems like he focuses a lot on the artistic side.”

It’s not just focusing.

He’s completely leaning towards that side.

His preferences are so strong that people who don’t watch his movies pick him as the worst director.

“Actually, it’s difficult to recommend Director Hwang Eui-seong to new actors.”

Director Seo Jeong-woo continued hesitantly.

“Although the subject matter is attractive, you may have to give up on the box office results with this kind of project.”

“I’m prepared for that.”

The box office results weren’t entirely bad.

It had more than recouped its investment, unlike movies that emphasize artistry.

Of course, it was thanks to the low budget.

It didn’t reach the success of a full-fledged commercial movie.

Nevertheless, the reason why Lee Min-ki wanted to appear in Director Hwang Eui-seong’s movie.

That was because.

“It was always my dream to film a project with his team.”

He was a legend in some ways.

A genius.

He was arguably one of the best in the industry when it came to genius.

No, he was in the top three.

[Isn’t Hwang Eui-seong the best among the Big 3?]

[I heard he films endlessly until he gets a scene he likes, lol]

[Filming endlessly is proof that he’s not a genius]

[A true genius shoots one scene at a time and finishes it. He already has the composition in his head.]

[Everyone has different methods. Isn’t it more problematic for a perfectionist to rely on intuition?]

Of course, opinions differed.

Anyway, Lee Min-ki thought of Director Hwang Eui-seong as a training instructor.

He is already recognized now, but his future is much brighter.

There’s nothing more to say since he even won an Academy Award after digging into this one path for five years.

His work was a shock in itself overseas.

‘I don’t know what the commercial success will be like, but it’s an opportunity to grow significantly as an actor.’

He’s built up his profile to some extent, so he wants to mature slowly.

It was aging.

He thought Director Hwang Eui-seong could give him the aging he wanted.

Also, he is a director with recognition at overseas film festivals, so it would be nice if he could expand in that direction, even if only by chance.

“Yes, if you can endure it, I don’t think Director Hwang Eui-seong’s work is bad either.”

But Director Seo Jeong-woo nodded readily.

I thought he would object, but he said it quite refreshingly.

Surprised, Director Seo Jeong-woo smiled gently and said.

“But it will be difficult to get in.”

“……Ah.”

“Director Hwang Eui-seong’s stubbornness is famous.”

That’s right.

Director Hwang Eui-seong is famous for that.

He’s said to be very picky about choosing actors.

Which director wouldn’t be, but Director Hwang Eui-seong doesn’t even look at the actor’s reputation itself.

That’s why.

‘It’s a romance.’

There was a part that Lee Min-ki liked even more.

‘It’s an opportunity to be evaluated for my acting.’

It was said that good actors follow good directors.

Is he now a good enough actor to be suitable for Director Hwang Eui-seong’s work?

“I understand.”

Director Seo Jeong-woo nodded and said.

“I’ll proceed with the discussion.”

“Yes, please.”

It was the moment when he guessed that the story was roughly over.

“Oh, and.”

Director Seo Jeong-woo raised his head as if he had something left to say.

“It was time for the actor to start thinking about a new project, but there was no need to decide so quickly.”

“Yes?”

It was an unexpected word.

Wasn’t it Director Seo Jeong-woo who first recommended that he look into projects?

Lee Min-ki continued, looking puzzled.

“The sooner the better. I feel like I’ll lose my touch if the break is too long. It’s time to row the boat while the water’s good.”

“That’s usually the case, but.”

Director Seo Jeong-woo sighed softly and said.

“If you’re conscious of what I told you last time, I’d like to add that I laid the groundwork in advance because I was worried that you might be resting for too long.”

“If it’s groundwork… Ah.”

“Yes, I have to keep repeating the story so that I don’t forget my main job.”

Is that it?

If you want to buy something that’s marked as 7,000 won [approximately $5 USD] in the market for 5,000 won [approximately $3.50 USD], you have to bargain for 3,000 won [approximately $2 USD].

“Sometimes, there are people who do one project and then take a complete break, so the company is recommending that they work regularly. That’s the case everywhere.”

“Hmm, I see. I was surprised because it was the first time I heard that.”

“Yes, you’ve just debuted. In fact, it will be the same no matter which company you go to.”

No.

The company I used to work for really made me work as much as possible.

What is the maximum?

After boiling the bones until the broth was thick and selling it, they even processed the remaining debris into powder and sold it.

He told me to go to some cheap minor role and earn even a penny.

When the boss told me to go to an action set in the countryside at my own expense, where I wouldn’t even get the minimum wage, I thought he was really crazy.

[Hey, Lee Min-ki, you, you’re not supposed to be picky about minor roles. You’re not appearing because you’re giving them a favor. They’re giving you an opportunity. You should be grateful for the position that I worked so hard to get through connections.]

Unlike what he said, he appeared for exactly 4 seconds.

I thought that was normal.

‘After all, normal agencies are different.’

Lee Min-ki was feeling the infinite gap between normal and abnormal when Director Seo Jeong-woo continued.

“The company will want the actor to work without resting, but in the end, it’s the actor himself who does the work. Always consider work-life balance.”

It felt like advice filled with endless sincerity.

And it was actually sincere.

‘There are people who have worked like crazy in a short period of time and then collapsed mentally and left.’

As a company executive who has to think about profits, it is right to make people work as much as possible.

But before that, as a member of the audience, he wanted the actor to film works for a long, long time.

“It’s a little early to say this, but I hope the actor stays healthy for a long, long time. As a fan.”

Health.

Lee Min-ki, who started taking care of it for the first time in this life, smiled brightly and replied.

“Yes! You too, Director.”

* * *

A few days later.

A dark room.

“Ugh.”

Lee Min-ki yawned for a long time, bending his arms as if throwing them into the air.

“Hoo, I barely finished it all.”

It’s over.

As a result of devoting himself to data classification work for several days, even skipping the gym, he barely managed to finish the work.

‘At this rate, I can accuse the suspect while minimizing the number of victims.’

It was the classification of the [Kim Do-ha Phone] that he had recently obtained.

It’s called the Kim Do-ha phone, but it’s not actually Kim Do-ha’s phone.

The data had accumulated for almost two years, so even simple classification was not an easy task.

The fact that he had to do it all alone due to the special nature of the case was also the case.

‘If it’s leaked to someone else by mistake… there’s a high possibility that only the victims will be buried in society.’

It was a part where he could feel why the law was designed to focus on not creating victims rather than catching perpetrators.

But this is roughly the end too.

He had also roughly found a way to report it.

The method Lee Min-ki chose was.

‘Sprinkle it all over the media.’

It was to spread anonymous tips all over the place.

Including ten major domestic media companies and small media companies.

And even to institutions with legal investigative authority and freelance reporters.

Even overseas wikis.

He had completed the procedure to report the data with all anonymous accounts.

There was only one reason to make such a fuss.

‘Looking at the fact that it was vaguely buried in the past, the media must have already been colluding.’

From the beginning, he didn’t trust the media either.

Actors and institutions are not the only ones involved, but would they have properly revealed a third of them?

No, it’s hard to say that they revealed it properly.

Rather than seeing that, he decided to blow it up completely since he was going to blow it up anyway.

‘banchango, this account will become quite famous later.’

Lee Min-ki smiled bitterly.

There may be a better way.

But the more he postpones the time to find such a method, the more victims will be exposed to the incident.

He judged that it would be right to blow it up first, even if it was clumsy.

Lee Min-ki made another decision here.

‘Once this is over, I should go back to my normal acting life without getting involved in complicated things.’

It was going back.

To acting life.

He’s been so busy lately that he’s starting to doubt what his main job was.

Fortunately, he succeeded in deciding on a project he wanted to film.

Moreover, it suits his aptitude very well.

[He says to come to the audition first. He said he would decide after seeing it. But the nuance was good. He added that he was a actor he had been watching closely these days.]

It seems that Director Hwang Eui-seong’s side also gave a good evaluation.

Everything is set.

Let’s just have a headache outside of work until here, and from now on, let’s just have a headache with work.

It was the moment when Lee Min-ki, who had completely solidified his decision, was about to click the mouse.

Weeing-

A sudden phone call came.

[Unknown caller ID].

“What is it?”

Lee Min-ki frowned.

He’s been getting strange calls a lot lately, so he made a new phone for his personal life.

This phone was also like that.

He already gets a lot of strange calls on his work phone, so he made a separate one just to contact his acquaintances.