Top Star By Luck [EN]: Chapter 177

177

A change came to the studio.

“I will be joining Maiar Pictures for all their work for the next three months of filming.”

Shim Sung-bo, the director, blinked in disbelief at Son Hee-jeong’s shocking declaration.

“Excuse me?”

‘Why are you following us?’

Isn’t it normal for composers to mostly stay home, occasionally come for meetings, and just exchange their work?

Why does she want to keep hanging around the studio? This is hard work. And how exhausting would it be to watch from the sidelines?

‘You’ve done movie OSTs [original sound tracks] before.’

This wasn’t something a veteran like Son Hee-jeong would normally do.

Her behavior, which defied industry norms, made his temples throb. Son Hee-jeong calmly said,

“It’s a necessary process to create good work.”

“Isn’t the schedule too demanding…”

“I always work like this.”

She was saying she always worked like this.

That’s all well and good.

‘Where do you think you’re sneakily pulling one over on me?’

Director Shim Sung-bo knew very well that this was a lie.

Who is Son Hee-jeong?

She’s famous for having a lot of work and a fast work pace.

People have to sacrifice one thing to gain another. In other words, it was impossible to produce so much work while working like a war correspondent.

“As expected of God Hee-jeong…”

Lee Min-ki had already completely fallen for the blatant lie.

‘As expected of a top-tier professional. To be this sincere.’

What could he do when a respected musician was acting like this?

“Director, is it okay if she joins us for filming?”

He had to open his mouth wide and swallow the luck that came his way.

Director Shim Sung-bo let out a small groan and said,

“There’s no reason it wouldn’t be okay. No, if you’re going to be this enthusiastic and work hard, I’m grateful. I look forward to working with you.”

“That’s what I should be saying.”

Of course, Son Hee-jeong’s thoughts were elsewhere.

‘If I keep observing from the side, maybe I can find the answer to my ennui [a feeling of listlessness and dissatisfaction].’

It was to observe Maiar Pictures, especially Lee Min-ki.

That example of the Odin Universe, it was quite interesting.

She realized from their conversation that it was dangerous for someone who makes a living from art to work with a finished product in mind.

But Son Hee-jeong herself had brought up that topic many times.

‘Artists know that originality is needed to create resonance.’

Whether to produce a large quantity of high-quality works or to create one outstanding work like a sharp thorn.

It was a common topic.

Son Hee-jeong had simply chosen the former.

But even so, the reason why she received a greater resonance from Lee Min-ki’s words was because of the speaker’s uniqueness.

“Now that the composer has joined, we don’t have to worry about the quality of this work.”

“That’s right. Lockhart with Son Hee-jeong? Just the name makes me want to run to the movie theater.”

“We might even get an Academy Award for music.”

“Is it a joint award?”

“It wasn’t in the past, but these days, they view the realm of musicians broadly, so if the award winner’s will is sufficient, they’ll recognize it. Especially because of the incident in 1973…”

“I see. I don’t know much about it, but I understand.”

“I haven’t even started saying anything yet.”

“I’ve heard enough.”

Lee Min-ki was burning with an unusually strong will whenever movie-related conversations started.

‘To think he would reinterpret the character in that way.’

Son Hee-jeong didn’t just look at his words. She focused on his actions.

The acting he briefly showed as an example after the meeting. That character acting with Lee Min-ki’s unique interpretation.

‘It was difficult.’

What should she say?

It was something she didn’t quite understand.

Could that be called good acting? No, would it be acting that would work?

Would the public accept such a character?

‘At least, it definitely felt alive.’

She wanted to see.

She wanted to see how the public would evaluate that acting, with her own eyes. If possible, one step faster.

That was also why she had expressed her intention to accompany Lee Min-ki’s filming activities.

It was an overreaction.

But she decided to entrust a little bit of her remaining composer life to this overreaction.

Suddenly, it became funny.

‘…When was the last time I seriously thought about my career?’

She couldn’t even remember.

From about three years after her debut as a composer, composing was no longer a means of expressing herself.

It may have just been a means of livelihood to maintain her social standing.

She may have craved recognition from others more than liking her own music.

This time it was different.

‘At least, at least this time, I want to try it too.’

That thought took root in Son Hee-jeong’s mind.

For the next few months, let’s go back to the basics, working as hard as we can.

Life is long. It’s not a waste to invest a few months to verify whether her thoughts were right or wrong.

Let’s think about the rest later.

Son Hee-jeong gathered her thoughts and opened her mouth.

“Then I’d like to start working right away from the next filming schedule, so could you share all the specific schedules with me?”

She would be following him around from now on, so she had to do this much.

It was at that moment.

“Oh, about that.”

Lee Min-ki flinched and said,

“Do you happen to get seasick?”

“Excuse me?”

Seasick?

What does seasickness have to do with filming a movie?

The moment Son Hee-jeong thought of the question, Lee Min-ki smiled shyly and said,

“We’re going on a boat tomorrow.”

“A boat? Where to…”

“Geoje Island.”

“Geoje Island?”

The opposite end of the Korean Peninsula?

Son Hee-jeong’s eyes twitched at the unusual destination.

In front of Son Hee-jeong, who was like that, Lee Min-ki smiled brightly and said,

“The main character rides a boat.”

* * *

What kind of environment did the main character of Lockhart (tentative title) live in?

It was quite special.

“Wow, the sea.”

It was a life with no connection to music.

‘The father, who played music, died in poverty, and the mother went out on a boat every day to raise her child.’

She was a typical woman of valor. She was also quite taciturn and not skilled at communicating with her child.

But she was full of responsibility.

Thanks to that, the child, who was the main character, naturally helped with their parents’ work.

“No, the main character is a college student.”

Son Hee-jeong muttered with a pale face.

Her face looked like she was about to throw up at any moment. Lee Min-ki smiled and said,

“He’s a college student. A college student who goes out to sea to catch fish on the weekends.”

“Where does such a college student exist?”

“You’re so prejudiced. I also rode boats in my early 20s.”

“Min-ki, weren’t you a high school graduate?”

“I never said I was a college student.”

“What kind of sophis… Uwaaaaaaack!”

In the end, Son Hee-jeong, unable to bear the seasickness, grabbed the bucket on the floor and started throwing up.

‘Wow, she’s really weak.’

She’s suffering at a late age.

She said she wanted to come, so I brought her, but still, as a fan, I don’t feel comfortable… Just kidding.

I’m secretly enjoying it.

As Lee Min-ki was looking at her from behind with a pitiful expression, Director Shim Sung-bo looked at Lee Min-ki with a puzzled expression and asked.

“Now that I think about it, it’s amazing that you don’t get seasick, but have you ever been on a boat?”

“Yes, I almost died though.”

“You’re joking.”

“I’m not joking. I really almost died. A fire broke out on the boat.”

When was that?

It was in his early 20s.

He wanted to help his family, but as Lee Min-ki, who had no qualifications, there were few things he could do.

So he looked for a job that could earn money without qualifications, and that was a deep-sea fishing boat.

‘Accidents happened every day for two weeks.’

Fortunately, there were no major accidents.

A fire did break out, but they managed to put it out in the early stages and survived.

Later, he thought it was because he was unlucky and said he would quit, but the captain was such a macho man.

[Maknae [youngest member of a group], this isn’t the Renaissance, accidents don’t happen because you’re unlucky. That’s all superstition. A boat is a product of science. Once you’re out at sea, you don’t go back until you catch a fish.]

So, since the contract period was one month, he told him to fill the month, so he was working hard.

[Maknae, I’m starting to believe in superstitions these days.]

Thanks to the captain, who had become a middle-aged man, Lee Min-ki was able to return in two weeks.

‘I didn’t think I was that unlucky.’

Looking back now, it’s just funny.

He sprains his ankle whenever he walks on flat ground, what confidence did he have to ride a boat?

It must have been because of the recklessness of his early 20s.

He felt like he would be crushed by luggage or have a limb cut off if he went to a factory, so he went to a convenience store, which was relatively safe.

‘Even then, the frequency of troublesome customers was several times higher than others.’

Still, how fortunate he was not to be stabbed with a knife.

At most, a homeless person broke a soju [Korean distilled spirit] bottle and threatened him to hand over the soju. If he slowly looked back at Lee Min-ki’s entire past life, it was only a crisis that couldn’t even be counted on ten fingers.

“I lived a hard life. I almost died several times. I went to a construction site and was hit by a cement bag and fell from the third floor, but I barely survived.”

Director Shim Sung-bo looked at Lee Min-ki, who was smiling contentedly, with squinting eyes and said,

“Min-ki, your past is quite unusual.”

“I was unlucky.”

“Unlucky? You?”

It was an incredulous voice.

I know.

I lived a bit strangely.

It’s fortunate that my luck has been improving since I came back to life after almost dying.

‘Actually, I feel the disappearance of misfortune more than the creation of good fortune.’

Life is really worth living.

Lee Min-ki was laughing at the gap between the past and the present.

“We’ve come far enough.”

The captain of the fishing boat jumped onto the deck.

His face was tanned black with a yellow complexion, and even his teeth were yellow, giving him a rough impression. He had lived a hard life.

But the most impressive thing was his eyes.

‘I can’t get used to it.’

He was one-eyed.

Lee Min-ki had seen less than three one-eyed people in his life, and one of them was the captain in front of him.

“What are you talking about so happily? The weather is nice too.”

He shouted something that was hard to understand, and he was holding something in his hand.

Lee Min-ki narrowed his eyes, feeling that the shape was somewhat familiar.

‘That.’

It’s made of stainless steel.

The shape that stretches straight to the end drew a cool straight line. The handle is black, and it looks like it’s made of a matte material, considering the grip.

It felt like it would sell for about 20,000 won [approximately $15 USD] per piece if you bought it from Coupang [South Korean e-commerce company].

And decisively.

‘If you get stabbed with that on a boat, it’ll pierce through your back.’

The material looked quite dangerous.

“A knife?”

It was the moment Director Shim Sung-bo said the word.

“Have you never seen something like this before? You must have lived a good life.”

The one-eyed captain smiled and opened his mouth.

“I have a lot of gambling debts, can’t you help a poor person?”

“…….”

Lee Min-ki let out a hollow laugh.

He said he hadn’t been stabbed with a knife at a convenience store, but now he’s about to get stabbed with a knife on the sea.