Top Star By Luck [EN]: Chapter 121

121.

“But, excuse me, haven’t we spoken before?”

“Huh? Yes, yes, yes?”

Eun Giju’s eyes widened at Lee Min-ki’s sudden question.

‘When?’

She didn’t remember at all.

What reason would she have to even exchange words with someone of Lee Min-ki’s stature?

‘Was it before my debut?’

No, that made even less sense.

Was Lee Min-ki’s appearance ordinary?

If someone had such a striking look, wouldn’t they leave an unforgettable impression, like autumn leaves fluttering on the street?

‘If I say I don’t remember, he might take it badly.’

He’s asking out of goodwill because he’s happy to see me, isn’t he?

I can’t afford to miss this opportunity.

Eun Giju chewed on her lip for a long time before saying,

“Ah, I think we might have talked before……”

Let’s just say it and see what happens.

Answer vaguely and try to get more of a reaction.

“Right?”

Lee Min-ki smiled even more brightly and said,

“Your SNS account is OGZ, right, Giju?”

“Ah!”

“I left a comment there once, before I debuted. Is it too long ago? I even remember what you said back then. I also sent a follow request.”

Eun Giju’s mind became even more complicated at those words.

Because she rarely responded to comments on SNS [Social Networking Service].

She maintained a detached image, so she responded in a detached manner.

Lee Min-ki smiled gently and said,

“Um, I was a little sorry for approaching you so suddenly.”

“……!”

Eun Giju was even more alarmed by those words.

‘Did I react sensitively to something?’

That was the difference between someone with anger management issues and someone with a bad personality.

Knowing that their own personality is bad, but being selective about who they show it to.

In other words, she knew her behavior wasn’t right.

She had just been doing it knowingly.

At least in the narrow world of SNS, she was used to being in a position of absolute power.

“Actor, if you could tell me now, I’ll follow you right away……”

Eun Giju was just about to say hastily.

“Haha, it’s okay. It’s all in the past. I’ve deleted that account now anyway.”

Lee Min-ki smiled and drew a line.

Thanks to that, only Eun Giju’s mind became as chaotic as a jeep stuck in mud.

With an important audition right around the corner, she should be focusing, but instead, her heart was racing like crazy.

‘It seems like they know each other, but they’re not very close.’

Director Seo Jeong-woo, having assessed the relationship between the two, said without delay,

“Let’s keep the small talk to a minimum and look forward to a good performance. Please come forward a little and start right away.”

“Ah, yes! Eek!”

Eun Giju twisted her ankle while stepping forward.

She almost fell but barely managed to regain her balance.

But that alone made a difference.

The judges in her eyes were clearly laughing at her clumsiness.

‘I’m screwed.’

Her face was burning.

Why is my condition like this today?

“Ahem, ahem.”

She took a deep breath.

Then, she began her free acting, and after 1 minute.

“Senior, wasn’t that person weird at the karaoke earlier? Why did they keep interrupting other people’s songs even when it wasn’t their turn? They weren’t even holding a microphone, just yelling. Like someone who swallowed a megaphone.”

Lee Min-ki’s heart, watching Eun Giju trying to calm herself and focus on her acting, was.

Extremely bitter.

‘Pathetic.’

That’s exactly what it was.

Her acting was pathetic.

“Besides, when the song ended earlier, they said to change it because they didn’t know the song. Does that make sense? Did they not learn any social skills? At their age?”

That’s not acting.

She’s just rattling off lines, and even the diction, which should be called the most basic thing, is all messed up. What kind of acting is that?

He told her to draw out the emotional lines, not to speak in a constant barrage.

It was a textbook case of insufficient monitoring.

‘What is JC thinking, calling that person to the audition?’

Of course, JC was just calling her with the thought of, ‘Here, take this and leave me alone,’ because it was a hassle.

At least her appearance is passable.

If she had that kind of appearance even at Jam Acting School, where there were a lot of trainees, she would have stood out quite a bit.

But is it okay to pick someone based on looks alone?

‘There are plenty of people like that.’

Unfortunately, there were so many supporting actresses he had encountered in the industry who were just as good.

Moreover, she had a blandly pretty face.

Without editing, her personality wasn’t particularly outstanding, so it was hard to see her as an actress.

“Don’t call them in the future. If you’re going to call them, I won’t come either.”

The more the acting continued, the more empty Lee Min-ki’s heart became.

‘Was I held back because of someone like that?’

Such things had happened often since he was reborn.

Sometimes, someone he thought was nothing special seemed amazing this time, and conversely, someone who was like the sun in the sky now felt pathetic.

Eun Giju was a typical example of the latter.

If Kim Ji-hwan or Kim Tae-yang seemed great, and were actually great people.

Eun Giju was completely different.

A person who only shines within SNS.

She only shines under fixed lighting, a fixed camera, and fixed standards.

Once she comes out of that, she becomes someone with nothing special.

That’s why she might have ended up as just an influencer on SNS.

“Hoo, hoo.”

Moreover, she was even gasping for breath after finishing just one free acting performance that wasn’t even 2 minutes long.

That was probably possible because her amount of practice was insufficient.

‘Did she even do it properly? Did she?’

She herself was overly conscious of Lee Min-ki’s gaze and couldn’t perform as well as she usually did when practicing.

The agitation that arose from the first question gradually grew and turned into a snowball.

But that’s just an excuse.

There are many more times on set when you have to be conscious of other people’s gazes.

What would she do under Director Hwang Ui-seong right away?

Every word would mercilessly crush her mentality like smashing soft tofu with a hammer.

Compared to that, Lee Min-ki’s gaze was like warm sunlight.

“Good job.”

Director Seo Jeong-woo opened his mouth.

The next moment, Eun Giju looked at Lee Min-ki and hurriedly tried to say something, but.

“Let’s proceed with the next person.”

That opportunity did not come.

* * *

‘It was worse than I thought.’

After all three people were finished, Lee Min-ki thought, gulping down the bottled water on the desk.

‘Have my standards become too high?’

Eun Giju was definitely not good.

But the two people who acted after her weren’t particularly different either.

Before even considering the details of the acting, even the basics were full of flaws.

“How was it?”

At Director Seo Jeong-woo’s question, Lee Min-ki opened his mouth.

“Um, it was just average.”

“Is that so?”

At those words, Director Seo Jeong-woo seemed to ponder for a moment before saying,

“In what ways did you judge it that way?”

“Well, if I put them in the studio as professionals right away…… it feels like I wouldn’t be able to use them?”

That’s right.

That was the biggest thing.

“Even if all three of them have their own strengths, it feels like an accident would happen if I put them on set.”

They’re not good enough to put on set.

“You looked at it from that perspective, Actor?”

“Yes, since that’s what I know. I just can’t picture a scene where I’m acting with them.”

You might think that if they’re lacking, you can just raise them, but that’s not always the case.

The way agencies look at aspiring actors is completely different from the way they look at idol trainees.

Idols are raised and debuted by the company.

In contrast, actors prefer talent that can be put into the filming set right away.

That’s why the cost of education investment that the company puts in is also different.

The ratio is also higher for actors.

Since this is common sense, JC, which has a full-time trainer like Kim Ah-seong, is a special case.

“That’s unexpected.”

Director Seo Jeong-woo looked at Lee Min-ki with a slightly surprised gaze and said,

“I thought you knew the actor and would leave a good word, even if just a little.”

“Haha, we do know each other. Yes, I do know Giju.”

Lee Min-ki chuckled and replied.

“Of course, only from my side.”

“You unilaterally know the actor?”

“Yes, I left a reply on SNS a long time ago, but the reaction was a bit like that.”

“Hmm.”

After a while.

Director Seo Jeong-woo blinked as if he had a point and opened his mouth.

“May I ask for a brief explanation?”

“Well, you see.”

Was it because he had finished one round of judging?

Lee Min-ki continued his explanation relatively comfortably.

Things like the behavior that Eun Giju showed on SNS.

Director Seo Jeong-woo, having heard the short but to-the-point story, nodded with a serious expression.

“I see. This will be difficult to overlook.”

“Did I say too much?”

“It’s different.”

He shook his head and said.

“Actors should basically have a sense of gratitude to all audiences. To those who love me, and to those who hate me.”

“Even to that extent?”

“Of course. Because they are potential customers. If anyone gives me attention, I must have a sense of gratitude and make an effort. This is basic. Just like basketball players, if there is no audience, it is just a game of their own.”

It was a commonly known mental attitude.

If you are someone who lives off the public’s attention, you must be kind to everyone.

That goes for sports players too.

“A person who shows such a sharp reaction even to a single comment, to be clear, does not have the qualities of an actor. Even if they become an actor, they will habitually curse at the audience.”

“…….”

“Someone who doesn’t know gratitude to fans is only fit to write malicious comments from their room.”

That’s a bit aggressive.

Lee Min-ki was surprised in reverse, but Director Seo Jeong-woo had enough reason to judge it that way.

‘It’s better this way.’

Because he had no intention of picking her from the start.

But since he had a good reason, wouldn’t it be even better?

“Let me make it clear. Even if they have the skills, putting someone like that in the company is bound to be toxic.”

An actor is not someone who is only responsible for themselves.

An actor is the face of the work and the face of the company.

If they misbehave, they can ruin the livelihoods of many people at once.

‘There was even a Hollywood actor who caused a boycott with a single racist remark and lost hundreds of millions.’

Therefore, if their personality is bad, it is right to say that they are not qualified, regardless of their skills.

He’s not picking her.

“In the future, please feel free to tell me if there are people with such personality problems. This is not a personal matter, but the most important issue.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Director Seo Jeong-woo, having made a conclusion about Eun Giju, spoke to Lee Min-ki again.

“In that sense, you are different, Actor.”

“Yes? Me?”

“Yes, you are different. You are truly an example of an actor.”

“Haha…….”

“I’m not saying that as a joke.”

That’s how they were continuing their meaningless small talk.

Soon, the audition members for the next order after Eun Giju and the two others entered.

The person who entered this time was.

A person Lee Min-ki couldn’t help but be surprised by.

‘It’s Kim Tak.’

It was Kim Tak.

It’s hard to tell whether he’s ignorant or his brain wrinkles are straight [meaning he’s simple-minded], but at least he’s not malicious to humans.

He was looking at Lee Min-ki with wide eyes.

‘Wow, bro, why are you here?’

Normally, that gaze would have been annoying.

But was it because the person he had seen earlier was Eun Giju?

‘When I think about it, that person at least didn’t show an aggressive side to others.’

Lee Min-ki’s gaze towards Kim Tak was quite different from before.

‘This person has changed a lot too.’

He thought for a moment.

Lee Min-ki shook his head and shook off his thoughts.

‘No, it’s me who has changed.’

It’s my perspective on people.

He looked at Eun Giju like she was a phoenix of the sun, but he knew she was a fly.

Conversely, he originally looked at Kim Tak like he was a fly, but he knew he was closer to a roe deer.

‘Okay. Selfishness is forbidden.’

From now on, he just needs to look at the acting and figure it out.

If the actor’s personality is the preliminary round, then their skill is the main round.

“You can start.”

“Yes!”

Kim Tak walked forward with a loud voice.

Then, the acting he showed was.

“Ah.”

It was an acting that Lee Min-ki couldn’t possibly not know.

“No. I don’t want to. Don’t go. I’m still here. How am I supposed to live if even Dad leaves?”

That’s because.

A long time ago, it was the melodramatic acting that Lee Min-ki had underestimated when he was attending the academy.