Top Star By Luck [EN]: Chapter 122

122

Kim Tak.

When I thought of those three syllables, I couldn’t honestly say his image was positive.

‘Frivolous, short-sighted, unnecessarily loud. He always butts into other people’s business like he wants to stand out, and he doesn’t live up to his looks.’

He was what you’d call an attention-seeker.

For someone like Lee Min-ki, who preferred a calm atmosphere, he was a difficult personality to get along with from the start.

So, I might have been looking at him through tinted glasses.

Very dark tinted glasses.

[Hey, what’s with the rice? Oh, you like cup noodles! I should have cup noodles today too.]

I was having cup noodles for lunch at a convenience store in front of the academy because I didn’t have money, and he suddenly started talking to me and picking a fight.

[What was that acting just now? What were you thinking when you did that? Where are you going? Let’s have a discussion together.]

I was stressed out because I messed up my acting class, and he came and provoked me.

[Oh, you walk every day? You must like walking? Well, public transportation is a bit inconvenient.]

He always took a taxi—I don’t know where he got the money—and he made fun of me for walking to the academy.

I was annoyed in many ways.

Just thinking about it now makes my head feel noisy.

But.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from the life I’ve been given back.

‘At least he wasn’t a malicious person.’

He didn’t have a single ounce of malice in him.

I realized it after talking to him without avoiding him.

He was a person who spoke to me with pure goodwill, and it was more that his way of speaking wasn’t refined.

His personality is definitely attention-seeking if you look at it negatively.

But if you turn the glass 30 degrees in a different direction.

Yeah.

‘He tried so hard to talk to someone like me, even though he was ignored every day.’

He was sociable.

The problem is that he didn’t read the other person’s eyes.

That’s the kind of acting Kim Tak, who is still in Lee Min-ki’s memory, was showing.

“I’m still a college student!! Don’t go!!! Who’s going to pay for my living expenses if Dad leaves! I still have student loan debt!”

He was acting as a son who caused his parents a lot of grief.

It was what he had prepared as [melodramatic acting] for an academy class assignment.

I remember it very clearly.

Because.

‘I can’t forget this.’

It was the first acting I saw after he returned to the past.

I was surprised because his acting skills were worse than I thought.

It was acting of a son who was acting sad, but I only saw a son who was acting badly.

But now it was a little different.

“Really… why are you leaving already…? You should at least say something… I wanted to get a job quickly and buy you a car…”

I could clearly feel the sadness.

There was a crackling tremor in Kim Tak’s raw voice.

It was the detail.

Kim Tak had now learned how to express more in his acting.

‘He’s improved a lot.’

Improvement.

That’s what Kim Tak had gained over the past two years.

While Lee Min-ki was working as a professional actor in the field, Kim Tak was diligently practicing as an aspiring actor.

When I thought about it, it was true.

‘He never missed a single weekly practice session.’

Even when others were hinting that they wanted to skip practice due to unavoidable circumstances, Kim Tak practiced alone and went home without questioning it.

[Mr. Tak, your breathing is too shallow. Why don’t you try playing Go (a strategic board game) when you have time?]

Even though he was constantly criticized by Kim Ah-sung, he didn’t question or refute it.

[Kuaaaak!]

He screamed.

After screaming once, he continued his grueling training.

That was the result.

“I got a scholarship, why are you leaving today? You should at least give me a word of praise for doing well.”

Improvement.

Steady improvement eventually brought Kim Tak improvement.

There’s a saying in some cartoon.

The god of acting is such a miser that even if you practice until your voice cracks, he’ll only give you as much improvement as your parents wouldn’t recognize.

Kim Tak diligently gathered that speck of improvement.

“I’m done.”

He built a mountain.

The speck had become a mountain.

‘He’s good.’

That’s what I thought in my head.

I also wanted to work with him on a project.

It was a feeling I couldn’t feel for the previous three people.

I want to stay away from him outside of the set as much as possible.

Lee Min-ki organized his evaluation and opened his mouth.

“That was good.”

“Whew.”

“That’s an interesting performance. It’s a work I saw a long time ago, [Bad Son Goes to College], right? It’s a very old work.”

“Wow, you know it. I watched it so many times because it was so fun. Ah, it’s really fun.”

Kim Tak replied with a voice as clear as his brain wrinkles, as if he was proud.

Lee Min-ki turned his gaze to the side.

“I’d like to ask the director’s opinion as well.”

“Hmm.”

Director Seo Jung-woo scratched his chin as if he was thinking for a moment.

In fact, he was someone who had never had a proper conversation with Kim Tak.

He only got deeply involved with Lee Min-ki for work-related matters, and he rarely had private meetings.

He opened his mouth.

“I can’t say that there are no shortcomings. There are many unnecessary things.”

“…….”

Was it a rejection?

Lee Min-ki was feeling a little disappointed.

“But I can also feel a definite area of his own. I think it would be interesting to see on screen.”

“……!”

It was positive.

Kim Tak, who couldn’t hide his emotions despite the heavy atmosphere, smiled brightly and said.

“I’ve been honing my skills for the judges!”

“……!”

Lee Min-ki’s eyes widened at those words.

‘Kim Tak used a four-character idiom [a concise expression of Chinese origin]?’

I can feel the intelligence.

From the mouth of Kim Tak, who lives more like an animal than anyone else, a word that even feels intelligent popped out.

Has he improved?

Has his brain improved as well as his acting?

That’s what I thought for a moment.

“No, jeolchibu… sim? Jeolchabusim? Dokgotakma? Simgibujeon? Is that right?”

It wasn’t.

The intelligence that had lingered for a moment like a spring breeze left like gasoline drying up.

“Hehe.”

Even the judge who was quietly scribbling on the paper next to him was smiling quietly.

Now I know what everyone thinks.

Lee Min-ki also pretended to write something in his notepad and said.

“I want to ask you one more thing, with this much skill, you could have applied to other places. Have you ever thought about it?”

I was a little curious about this.

‘He didn’t seem to have gone to many auditions for the past two years.’

I was curious, but I held back.

Even though we were classmates, I hesitated because talking to Kim Tak, who remained an aspiring actor, about auditions could be stressful for him, now that he had become a successful actor.

I didn’t want to talk to Kim Tak privately.

Still, I asked because the opportunity was there.

Kim Tak stood there blankly for a moment, then smiled brightly and pounded his chest.

“Hyung [older brother or male friend]… The actor went to JC, so I have to go to JC too!”

Ah, that’s why.

What if you fail?

I don’t know what he’s thinking, but I don’t particularly hate that kind of character.

Lee Min-ki smiled and said.

“Yes, that was good. You can go out through the door on the right.”

* * *

After that, the closed auditions continued.

About ten people were prepared separately by JC.

And the three people Lee Min-ki requested: Kim Tak, Yoo Seon-ah, and Kim Ji-hwan.

Among the remaining two people.

“I thought about it every day. What should a proper media do? How should we look at the world?”

Yoo Seon-ah was naturally good.

“I am no longer proud of the job of a reporter.”

She was originally good.

But she was unlucky with the audition assignments.

I think I know why.

‘Seon-ah is definitely good, but her color was weak.’

I thought that there wouldn’t be many people with as much skill as Yoo Seon-ah among the current actors.

Why is that?

Why did Yoo Seon-ah become a long-term student?

Lee Min-ki knew the reason best.

‘She was too immersed in good acting.’

Good acting.

In other words, she was too caught up in acting without flaws.

It was the most typical trap that any long-term aspiring actor falls into at least once.

‘Having no flaws is not the same as having no personality. To put it bluntly, it’s just bland and tasteless.’

I don’t know about minor roles.

You can put them in any situation and use them effectively.

But the talent that agencies want is different from that.

They prefer people who have a definite character, even if they have some flaws.

[Um, what should I say about Seon-ah’s acting?]

That was what trainer Kim Ah-sung pointed out.

[She’s definitely good. She’s good. She’s damn good. Oh, she’s the best actor I know among the aspiring actors. But hmm, when I watch her acting, it’s good, but when I look back on what she did, I can’t remember it.]

That’s right.

Yoo Seon-ah was someone who didn’t leave an impression on the judges.

She may have had high standards as much as she had skills.

But.

“Reporters must be righteous. Reporters must be honest. Reporters must be objective. Reporters must be bold.”

Now she has a color.

‘She’s become brave.’

Since when?

She threw away the good acting.

She learned to act like she wanted me to see only her, even if she was criticized.

Suddenly, Lee Min-ki caught a glimpse of Kim Tak in her acting.

‘Ah, is that so?’

Why didn’t I know?

Kim Tak’s personality is excessively strong, but his acting skills were lacking.

On the other hand, Yoo Seon-ah’s acting skills were excellent, but her personality was faint.

These two.

Didn’t they share each other’s shortcomings in half?

‘What?’

While Lee Min-ki was wondering, Director Seo Jung-woo said as if he was taking it away.

“There were few good female actors these days, but I think I found one.”

There’s no better gesture than that.

The moment those words came out, Yoo Seon-ah’s legs seemed to tremble.

Lee Min-ki, who was watching the atmosphere to avoid showing his personal feelings, smiled and said.

“I want to act with you.”

“Thank you!”

Lee Min-ki asked Yoo Seon-ah, who couldn’t hide her joy.

“I want to ask you something, what were you thinking about while practicing?”

“Um.”

Yoo Seon-ah thought for a moment and said.

“I was thinking about becoming the best rookie actor as much as Lee Min-ki.”

Puhut.

This time, Director Seo Jung-woo burst into laughter.

It was a compliment that anyone could feel was flattering, but objectively it wasn’t a compliment.

“There are a lot of applicants who like actor Lee Min-ki today. Don’t you think so?”

“No comment.”

With that light joke, Yoo Seon-ah’s turn ended.

Next is Kim Ji-hwan.

Lee Min-ki couldn’t help but be nervous this time.

‘It’s been a long time.’

It was Kim Ji-hwan who hadn’t been coming to practice, saying that he was going to half-hide after the last Daon incident.

In fact, I barely thought he would refuse this audition offer.

His family is rich and he has a lot of money.

He doesn’t have to insist on being an actor even if he covers up the public’s criticism and dishonor.

No, he’s not someone who’s eager for an audition.

If you look at his skills, he’s more than enough.

If it wasn’t for the Daon incident, the agency would have been trying to recruit him in all directions.

In a way, it was a situation where being called to an audition could be humiliating.

‘The atmosphere is unusual, will he be able to show his skills?’

Lee Min-ki was a little suspicious.

Kim Ji-hwan’s skills.

“The furthest you can go is Seomyeon [a bustling district in Busan, South Korea].”

From the first word, it aroused Lee Min-ki’s vigilance.

Ossa.

Lee Min-ki raised his hairs at the acting that was clearly different from other participants.

It’s not acting that can be analyzed with character and skill.

‘He was originally good, but he’s leveled up much more.’

Kim Ji-hwan.

He didn’t crouch down during his hiding life.

He honed his skills with the determination to wash away his dishonor.

‘If I’m not careful, I’ll be caught up.’

Maybe Daon collapsed, so Kim Ji-hwan had a chance to grow.

The strong backing disappeared.

The world no longer looks at him positively.

All the accumulated careers have become dishonor.

All of this has become a reason for Kim Ji-hwan to grow as an actor.

“People like us have to live like wild animals. Like animals. With the mindset that if we fail to hunt, we die.”

It was no longer a place for evaluation, but a place for appreciation.

It was around the time when the 2 minutes of silence passed.

“That was good.”

The third judge, who had been quiet for a long time, finally opened his mouth.

“I’d like to talk to you for a moment on your way home.”

It was too good to dismiss him as an actor with Daon’s dirt on him.