Top Star By Luck [EN]: Chapter 114

114. A Universal Rule

There’s a universal rule that applies in every era.

It goes like this.

“Hey, loser, look who finally made it big.”

For introverted students, school is a painful place.

“Hey, loser, remember? I got all the info and planned everything, so when you win the prize money, 70% is mine.”

“Hey, what about me then?”

“Just split what’s left from the 30%.”

Song Woo-dang bit his lip at the sound of the two arguing over their share.

‘Those bastards.’

The same guys who used to bully him are now trying to leech off him.

Indeed, school is a painful place for introverted students.

And even more so if that introverted student has an extroverted talent.

‘They bullied me for not knowing my place.’

Song Woo-dang was one of those who suffered from such bullying.

It started with bullying him for being good at dancing, and later they just played with him like a toy.

They were the ones who made him apply for the Treatment Challenge, the so-called Lee Min-ki Challenge.

‘Even if it wasn’t for you guys, I was going to prepare and apply on my own.’

Song Woo-dang clenched his fist in his pocket, feeling resentful.

Even if they hadn’t said anything, he was planning to apply anonymously on his own.

But these guys suddenly forced him to participate, made him film a humiliating video, and then threw him in.

Applications were limited to one per person, so he couldn’t even film a proper video.

The problem was that the video he sent.

[Hello, this is JC Entertainment. Thank you for applying for the Treatment Challenge planned by our company.]

Suddenly caught the eye of the judges.

They said they enjoyed his video and wanted to see his skills in detail, so they asked him to come to a nearby practice room for an interview.

Honestly, he was more embarrassed than pleased.

‘……Are their eyes okay?’

To evaluate that so positively.

He was forced to dance, you know.

Even then, he danced as comically as possible because he knew the bullies would harass him even more if he danced properly.

JC has quite a few celebrities under its belt, so what are they seeing in him?

Moreover.

“Song Woo-dang, look at this bastard dressed up for the interview.”

“He always likes to stand out. That’s why we can’t let go of Woo-dang.”

He doesn’t know why these two are following him.

“…….”

Honestly, he feels like dying.

Even if he wins the prize money from the challenge, it’s obvious these guys will try to take it.

He wants to die.

‘I want to graduate soon.’

One year left.

In just one more year, he can graduate and live alone.

From then on, he can live his life responsibly, regardless of school.

Let’s endure.

Song Woo-dang repeated those thoughts as he walked.

Anyway, he has to go to the interview.

“It’s a lot more shabby than I thought. Is this really where the interview is?”

The practice room that the three of them worked so hard to get to.

There was someone waiting for them that they couldn’t have imagined.

“……Lee Min-ki?”

Lee Min-ki.

He was sitting there confidently with two interviewers by his side.

* * *

‘I don’t really know why they came together.’

Next to Lee Min-ki.

Two people were sitting next to him.

One was obviously Manager Park Han-mo. He was the one who led this offline meeting, so of course he came along.

But the other one was unexpected.

[What? Judging? I can’t miss that. Min-ki, I’m going too! Give me the address!]

It was Trainer Kim Ah-sung.

As soon as he heard the story, he jumped right in.

He said he used to dance a bit back in the day, so he wanted to judge together.

‘Come to think of it, the trainer was surprisingly good at dancing.’

Maybe there’s a reason why he always wears a hoodie.

He would occasionally show off his dance moves during breaks after practice sessions.

Mostly flashy moves from the b-boy [breakdancing] scene.

Like windmills or Thomas flares [gymnastic-like breakdancing moves].

Looking back, he was definitely good enough to not be considered an ordinary person.

And he also likes watching audition interviews from the start.

[I can decide someone else’s fate with my own hands. It’s unbearably exciting.]

It must be a joke.

Or is it?

‘It must be a joke, right?’

Lee Min-ki was looking at the door with a doubtful mind.

“Min-ki, do you think that friend is really good at dancing?”

Trainer Kim Ah-sung spoke.

Sitting on the chair in a very casual posture.

“It’s just a feeling for now. But I have a feeling that he’ll be good if he dances properly.”

“Hmm.”

“Teacher, you saw the video too, right? What do you think?”

“Well? I won’t say. You’ll find out in a few minutes anyway.”

Trainer Kim Ah-sung just chuckled.

Whether he didn’t want to give a definite answer, or he also felt something from that short video.

“Let’s see first.”

That’s what was said.

Creak.

The practice room door opened.

But the people who came in after that.

‘Hmm?’

There were three people.

‘That’s a bit much.’

That’s strange.

He clearly only called one person, so why did three people come?

Just as he was feeling strange, Manager Park Han-mo made the first move.

“Which one of you three is the participant Song Woo-dang?”

“Um, that’s, me.”

There was a person who was particularly small.

He was small and lacked confidence, his posture was hunched, and his shoulders were especially drooped.

It was impossible to imagine him enjoying an extroverted hobby like dancing.

But that doesn’t matter.

The face on that small body was the face that Lee Min-ki remembered.

‘That’s right. Looking at it like this, I can definitely tell.’

It was Song Woo-dang.

It was definitely Song Woo-dang, who confidently roamed the stage and poured out all sorts of techniques after revealing his face.

“Are the other two his friends?”

“That is.”

Just as Song Woo-dang hesitated to answer Manager Park Han-mo’s question.

“Ah, of course.”

One of them smiled and grabbed Song Woo-dang’s shoulder, pushing him forward.

A cute and handsome face with a tall height.

His long limbs were impressive enough to make you think he could try to become a trainee if he did well.

He had the feeling of a typical handsome high school boy.

But at the same time, an awkward atmosphere lingered throughout.

What should I call that?

‘Ah, he must like to play around.’

Yes, it was that of a delinquent.

A character who looked like he had a cigarette in his pocket, he put his arm around Song Woo-dang’s shoulder and said.

“We’re not just Woo-dang’s friends. We’re the ones who submitted the application together.”

“Together?”

“Woo-dang danced because we didn’t have time, but we planned it all. We planned the submission too. Right, Woo-dang?”

At those words, Song Woo-dang nodded with a dejected expression.

“Y-yes.”

A relationship that felt more like a hierarchy than a natural friendship.

As if satisfied with that, the handsome student smiled brightly and said.

“Did you hear that? Only Woo-dang appeared in the video, but we actually applied as a team from the beginning.”

“That’s right. I filmed it with my camera.”

The moment he heard those words.

‘He filmed it with his own hands?’

Lee Min-ki chuckled inwardly.

Was that student’s voice the one that seemed to be teasing Song Woo-dang in that classroom?

The moment his thoughts reached this point.

Suddenly, a story came to mind.

‘Could this be that?’

It’s just an assumption.

Maybe Song Woo-dang applied after being teased by those two.

He probably didn’t even think he would get in.

‘If he actually gets in, I’ll review it myself and use it as a joke.’

But when he actually got in, he became greedy.

Under the pretext that they co-planned it, they would participate and take the award, or something like that.

It’s just a guess.

There’s no solid evidence that fits perfectly.

But for Lee Min-ki, who knew Song Woo-dang’s background in detail, the conviction was firm.

Moreover, it was also an accurate guess, as if measuring reality with a ruler.

‘The picture isn’t good.’

If necessary, wouldn’t it be better to find fault and send them back?

Lee Min-ki thought so and opened his mouth.

“Friends, what should we do? We called this student because we wanted to see him dance in detail.”

“Yes?”

“This is a bit sudden. We’ve already roughly selected the finalists, so it’s hard to increase the broadcast time.”

Internal circumstances came out.

Circumstances that not only those students but also co-planner Manager Park Han-mo didn’t know.

But Manager Park Han-mo read the situation and agreed silently.

Let’s send them back for now.

What’s needed is Song Woo-dang, not the other people.

That’s what he thought.

“Woo-dang, what should we do? They said we should just go without you.”

“Uh…….”

The student turned the topic to Song Woo-dang.

“Can you do well without us? We’ve been watching you until now, but now you’ll have to do it yourself.”

“That is.”

“Woo-dang, we came together, but it doesn’t look good if we just go back.”

Song Woo-dang’s shoulders drooped even more, and another person chimed in as if he had been waiting for it.

“Hoo, I told all the kids at school that we were going together, so how embarrassing would it be? Woo-dang, what are you going to do?”

“…….”

“Ah, it’s really embarrassing. I’ll have to bow my head to the kids in the classroom.”

It sounds like a joke at first glance, but you can instinctively tell.

That was a threat.

Help them, or quit together with them.

‘He’s cunning.’

After hearing a few words, it became clear.

Song Woo-dang is clearly being swayed by those two.

He’s probably worried about the school life he’ll have to continue, apart from the audition.

Lee Min-ki frowned.

‘The picture isn’t good.’

He doesn’t like it.

He was also a victim of all sorts of bad rumors at school, and he suffered especially from being targeted by bullies.

It’s been over 10 years since then, so some of it has been resolved, but the memories are still vivid.

‘Are you kidding me?’

But they were as clever as they were cunning.

They instinctively calculated that Lee Min-ki wanted to take care of Song Woo-dang.

So they took Song Woo-dang hostage.

“Um…… I’m really sorry. Can’t we just do it all together?”

Finally, the moment a word close to a declaration of surrender came out of his mouth.

Lee Min-ki was trying to find an alternative again.

“That’ll be fun.”

Trainer Kim Ah-sung, who had been sitting in a posture that was always good for a herniated disc and watching the situation, chuckled and opened his mouth.

“Yes, all three of you do it.”

“Teacher?”

“Hey, it’s an audition. The more people who are good, the better. Min-ki, isn’t that right? Don’t just pick one person, let’s see all three of them. All three if they do well. Separately.”

Kim Ah-sung completely took their side.

He was openly giving in to their conditions.

Thanks to that, only Lee Min-ki’s expression, who had been racking his brains to find a solution, was filled with embarrassment.

‘Suddenly here?’

He insisted on following, so I thought he would cause some kind of incident, but I didn’t know he would intervene like this.

“They said they want to do it, so should we ignore their will? Students, am I right?”

“Ah! Of course!”

The tall and handsome student nodded at Kim Ah-sung’s words as if he had grabbed a lifeline.

“We’re not in the video, but we’re better than Woo-dang. I taught him how to dance. Hey, right?”

“…….”

“Hehe, you’ll be surprised when you see it.”

He’s not even trying to hide that he’s pressuring Song Woo-dang anymore.

But whether he’s ignoring it or what, Trainer Kim Ah-sung’s smiling expression didn’t change at all.

“Ah, good, good. The person who’s good should get in. Min-ki, auditions are originally for picking people who are good. Yeah, that’s right.”

He even clapped his hands.

Then he shouted arbitrarily.

“Okay, that tall student, go first. Good, start right away.”

“Yes!”

“Should I play some music too?”

“Thank you so much.”

Lee Min-ki sighed softly at the high-handed proceedings.

Is he doing this with a plan, or does he have other intentions?

‘Ah-sung isn’t a short-sighted person.’

He acts like a delinquent on the outside, but he’s secretly good at calculating things.

Could there be a trick?

‘Let’s just go along with it for now.’

With that thought, Lee Min-ki played the music.

With the thought of seeing if he does even half of what he says.

“Start!”

It was the moment when the student started dancing with Trainer Kim Ah-sung’s refreshing voice.

‘……That is.’

Lee Min-ki’s eyes widened slightly.

‘He’s actually good.’

His dancing skills are decent.

It’s not even comparable to a professional dancer, but he definitely showed potential.

Even if he had submitted normally, he might have been on the borderline of passing.

Is he doing as much as he talks?

Just as Lee Min-ki’s thoughts reached this point, only about 5 seconds after he started dancing.

“Cut! Cut! Cut!”

A loud voice erupted.

None other than.

“Teacher?”

It was Trainer Kim Ah-sung.

“I’ve seen enough, I’ve seen it all, so go back now.”

He allowed him to do it, but he stopped him only a few seconds after he started dancing.

Without even watching until the end.

Was it because it was so sudden?

Even Lee Min-ki couldn’t figure out the situation, but the student who had been frozen opened his mouth.

“Um, did I pass?”

“Huh? I’ll let you know the results later.”

Kim Ah-sung cut him off as if he wouldn’t give a definite answer.

Clearly a perfunctory attitude.

Kim Ah-sung is originally as light as a feather, but this time it was especially so.

Even his posture is like that.

Is it okay for the judge to put his legs on the desk while he’s dancing hard?

Was it because he didn’t like that attitude?

“Wait a minute. You have to watch everything and tell me.”

The student opened his mouth with a dissatisfied expression.

“We practiced a lot too. It was much better than what we showed you in the video. You should at least say something.”

Just as the protest continued.

Thud.

Trainer Kim Ah-sung put his legs down from the desk.

He leaned forward, clasped his hands together, and said.

“Huh? I’m just telling you to get out because you’re terribly bad at dancing?”

“Yes?”

“There’s nothing more to see here, so just go. The other two stay for now.”

“No, why do your words keep changing…….”

Just as the student protested.

“Ah, geez, you talk too much.”

The smile that was always on Trainer Kim Ah-sung’s face disappeared without a trace, and he said in a voice that was as stiff as could be.

“We promised to have each of the three of you audition separately.”

Since Lee Min-ki has known Trainer Kim Ah-sung, it was the first time he had seen him with such a serious face.

The moment he realized that his face was as sharp as a razor blade when he wasn’t smiling.

“Is your memory bad?”

The atmosphere in the room froze like an ice rink at the one word that followed.