Top Star By Luck [EN]: Chapter 134

134

The Last Man Standing competition had dwindled to just three contestants.

And there they were, at the final stage.

“I will personally present the final question.”

The moment Leonard Moore barged in and dropped that bombshell of an announcement.

A single sentence.

That single sentence sent the audience into a frenzy.

“Leonard Moore?”

“The original host of Last Man Standing.”

“Is that era returning?”

The reaction was akin to believers witnessing an impossible miracle.

The shocked gazes were extraordinary.

Why did that one statement—the producer himself would present the question—carry so much weight?

The reason was simple.

“Could it be that no one will win at all?”

Leonard Moore was notoriously wicked as a question-setter.

While the audience members murmured with worried expressions, some seemed puzzled and asked,

“Is it really that big of a deal?”

“You don’t know the half of it. Back in the day, episodes with no winner were, without exaggeration, half of the total.”

“Right, they say people were satisfied with just reaching around 10th place and voluntarily gave up.”

Indeed.

Last Man Standing, now relatively tame with a changed host, used to be infamous for its brutally difficult questions, almost like a battle royale.

Why else would Last Man Standing have a mid-competition withdrawal system?

It was because the higher you climbed, the more extreme the difficulty became.

It was more advantageous to take some money and drop out midway rather than give up the prize money and continue.

It was different from now, where a winner usually emerges.

‘Well, this is all according to my plan.’

Leonard Moore smirked, seemingly satisfied with the uproar.

As the original host and producer, he had been the behind-the-scenes power, controlling the overall direction.

Hosts and presenters could change, but the lowered difficulty of the questions was entirely his intention.

“Well, it seems no one is opposed, so let’s begin the final question.”

Leonard Moore spoke in a voice that sounded like grinding metal.

“Since it’s the last question, we’ll make it a bit difficult. Difficult enough to make a crying baby stop.”

* * *

Lee Minki was momentarily thrown into confusion by Leonard Moore’s sudden intrusion.

‘A twist like this here?’

It was utterly perplexing.

He had been riding high on his past memories on the show, or so he thought.

‘I was so close to winning.’

So, luck doesn’t just hand everything to you on a silver platter, huh?

Well, I was getting it too easily.

Along with a hint of regret, he also felt a sense of relief.

‘If I’m going to face the end with my real skills, then so be it.’

Besides, he had already achieved his initial goal, hadn’t he?

Recognition.

He had gained attention several times while climbing to 3rd place.

Thanks to the MC’s skillful hosting, the incident on the plane was brought up again.

This alone was as good as promoting to millions of people.

And if the media picked it up, it would be like spreading the news to tens of millions.

‘But no one remembers the silver medalist. Even less so the bronze medalist.’

In the end, it’s all meaningless unless you win.

From that perspective, you could say the real competition starts now.

Zero or one.

As Lee Minki, standing between the binary divide, broke out in a cold sweat, Leonard Moore opened his mouth.

“Well, the contestants are here, but I don’t know what question to ask. If I were the boss, I would have fired an employee like me. I’m glad contract workers don’t get severance pay.”

After a long pause, with a sly comment flowing from his lips.

At the most opportune moment.

The question emerged like a highwayman on a dark mountain road.

“Fashion shows are fun these days, aren’t they? I watch them often. Not that I’m going to wear the clothes, though.”

A small chuckle escaped as the question was posed.

“2016 was a year of significant growth for the American lingerie market, wasn’t it? And there was a model who became a superstar that year. A model who became famous for being in a relationship with a famous soccer player. She also walked the runway for Dolce & Gabbana, didn’t she? Now, let’s guess together. What is this model’s name?”

Difficult.

It was an openly difficult question.

A person who walked the Dolce & Gabbana runway and is famous for being the lover of a famous soccer player.

“As a hint, it was recently reported in LE [Likeness Entertainment, a fashion magazine]. Surely there’s no one here who doesn’t read LE, right?”

What a load of crap for a hint.

‘Who would know that?’

That was the common thought among the audience members.

‘Shouldn’t they give multiple-choice options for a question like that?’

‘They’re really trying to knock them out.’

‘Leonard Moore is truly evil.’

Even the MC standing on stage and Jeffrey Rogers watching in the monitor room were shocked.

‘What is that old man thinking?’

‘Could it be….’

The only guess Jeffrey Rogers could make was this.

‘Did he take some money under the table?’

Under-the-table money.

It was something he knew but pretended not to know.

There was no way Jeffrey Rogers, who had been hosting the show, wouldn’t know.

Whenever Richard Moore excessively interfered with the show, strange winners were always born.

And those winners invariably became celebrities.

‘So, this time the winner will be that model from Argentina, and his bad habits have struck again.’

He could only grind his teeth.

And his guess was indeed accurate.

‘Kid, be satisfied with 3rd place and step aside.’

Richard Moore had indeed presented a question that was blatantly favorable to that model.

‘Georgina Rodriguez, Cristiano Ronaldo’s girlfriend.’

That was the answer.

No matter how ignorant that Argentinian model was about quizzes, there was no way she wouldn’t know.

Why?

Because Georgina Rodriguez is an Argentinian model.

Moreover, she was a person with a legendary success story in the modeling industry.

‘If they’re from the same country, there’s no way she wouldn’t know.’

It was a question that was practically given away.

But there’s no way that kid, Lee Minki, would know.

How many models are dating soccer players?

There must be hundreds of people who have walked the Dolce & Gabbana runway. There’s no way he could accurately pick out the Argentinian among them.

‘How would an Asian know?’

Richard Moore wore a relaxed smile.

‘Too bad, but this is the end for you. Now, it’s about time for the answer to come out.’

He expected the answer to come soon, and everything to return to normal.

But.

“…….”

As time passed.

“…….”

“…….”

The answer he desired.

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

Never came.

Even the doctor from the prestigious university.

Even Lee Minki.

Even the Argentinian model, who he blatantly told to get the answer right.

All of them were just hesitating, unable to give any answer.

‘Could it be?’

Richard Moore looked at the model with eyes filled with bewilderment.

But all he could see was.

‘I’m going crazy.’

Just the sight of her fidgeting and looking from side to side.

As if she were expecting the answer to fall from the sky.

‘Ugh.’

Richard Moore smiled brightly while biting his lip inside.

Could it be that she doesn’t even know the name of a supermodel from the same country?

He blatantly gave it away, but she doesn’t even know this.

What does she have in her head?

Right here, right now.

Richard Moore’s first mistake was revealed.

‘What should I do?’

It was because she could think of too many people.

‘Amara Simpson? Gabriela Samuel? Claire Mint? Georgina Rodriguez? Which one is it?’

She knows too many Argentinian models who have married soccer players.

She knows too many models who have walked the Dolce & Gabbana runway.

That was her problem.

It’s not that she doesn’t know, but rather that she knows too much.

If the question was just this, she could have said one of them and made something up.

But Richard Moore set up an obstacle.

[As a hint, it was recently reported in LE.]

It was a word he threw out as a hint.

She didn’t read it.

She hadn’t read [LE] recently.

Unfortunately, since LE is a mass-oriented fashion magazine, its trends are different from the field in which she mainly works.

One hint became a checkmate.

‘Who was in LE? If I say the wrong thing here and get eliminated…….’

That would be a disaster.

Because the agency had told her for sure that she would win.

She couldn’t move because she was afraid of making a mistake.

Bang!

Suddenly, someone rang the bell.

Among the three participants here, the one who had been particularly quiet.

That is.

“I have something to say.”

The doctor from the prestigious university.

He rang the bell with a calm expression.

‘Could it be? He doesn’t look like it?’

Richard Moore’s eyes revealed an unmistakable bewilderment.

But this time it was different.

“I will withdraw.”

The doctor’s words were different from his expectations.

Richard Moore opened his mouth as if he was relieved by the unexpected answer.

“……Alright. You will take the accumulated $10,000 in prize money. That will be enough for research funds.”

“It’s not for research funds.”

“Thanks to the doctor, humanity will develop further. Congratulations. Everyone, please applaud.”

In just a moment, one person voluntarily withdrew.

Before they knew it, only two people remained.

In this desperate situation, relying on a single rope to cross a precarious bridge, there was still someone shining brightly.

That is.

‘Could it be that?’

It was Lee Minki.

‘I think that’s right?’

Less than 24 hours from now.

When he was still entrusting his body to the business class seat of the plane heading from Korea to the United States, there was a book he was reading.

[LE]

That’s right.

Lee Minki read LE in the airplane seat.

It was an obvious thing to do without having to explain it.

Because he will be shooting a pictorial with LE soon.

It’s basic to check the products of the company you’re going to have a meeting with.

For preparation enthusiasts like Lee Minki, it was no different from sprinkling salt on meat.

‘Is there anyone else?’

Lee Minki thought of other answers while prioritizing.

But not at all unfortunately.

‘I don’t know.’

It didn’t come to mind.

Who would memorize such things in the first place?

He doesn’t even know 50 models by name in Korea, so how could he memorize all the models from Argentina?

This is rather, at this moment.

‘Anyway, there’s only one name I can say.’

It emerged as an advantage.

That you can reduce the candidate group.

If there are too many weapons, you have to choose one from them.

But conversely, if there is only one answer you can take out, shouldn’t you take it out anyway?

Before that Argentinian model next to you throws out the correct answer as if to show off.

‘Oh well, I don’t know.’

Lee Minki, who had made up his mind, rang the bell with a resigned heart.

Bang!

Following that, his reverberation spread through the solemn hall.

“Georgina Rodriguez, Georgina Rodriguez is the correct answer.”

A very clear voice.

A pronunciation that seemed to tremble slightly, yet was natural.

Before that name, there was only one answer Richard Moore could give.

“…………A winner has emerged.”

A voice that suppressed the unwillingness and the annoyance at the complaints he would hear from the model agency, along with a small sigh.

“Congratulations. K-Pop Star.”

His face was contorted in the face of the uncomfortable result.

But if you don’t want to ruin the atmosphere, you have to congratulate him.

“I would like to hear your winning comments.”

Lee Minki, who was standing in front of him, smiling brightly, said to Richard Moore, whose face was flushed.

“Can I ask you for a picture together?”

“…….”

Richard Moore answered with a deeply furrowed face at the innocent voice.

“……Let’s see each other after the shoot.”

Last Man Standing.

Lee Minki stood at the end.

Shortly after.

Cheers poured down like a shower, as if to fill the hall.

* * *

In a quiet warehouse.

“……What is that actor?”

A man, CEO Yoo Gyu-eon, muttered in a dumbfounded voice.

“He saved someone on the plane on the way, and as soon as he arrived, he won a quiz show?”

His eyes were fixed on a news article on his phone.

[K-Pop Star Lee Minki, Final Winner of Last Man Standing]

An absurd situation had occurred.

He asked him to work in the United States first and come at the right time.

But what is this?

‘It’s like farming in a rural field and picking fruits one by one [easily].’

Is that a human life?

Why does he experience things that others would be proud of for the rest of their lives for two days in a row?

It’s not like he’s the main character in a novel.

“I’m going crazy.”

He was muttering to himself in disbelief.

Another man, who was looking at clothes in the warehouse with him, suddenly approached him and said.

“As expected, my eyes were accurate.”