Top Star By Luck [EN]: Chapter 104

104

Time passed.

The day of Seoul Fashion Week arrived.

A man stroked the clothes, feeling the texture of the fabric, lost in thought.

‘I did my best.’

It was CEO Yoo Gyu-eon.

He touched the clothes Lee Min-ki would wear for his appearance and mused.

‘I wonder if these clothes will be properly appreciated. I can’t be sure yet.’

CEO Yoo Gyu-eon stroked the clothes again.

‘Indeed.’

Terminus.

It represented his design philosophy, meticulously cultivated since the beginning. [Terminus is Latin for ‘boundary’ or ‘end point’.]

Terminus means boundary in Latin.

Then, the boundary of what?

Exactly.

[terminus]

It marked the boundary between commerce and art.

‘I have always dreamed of art that can be worn in everyday life.’

It is always the plain clothes that dominate the market.

Bold attempts rarely become mainstream.

However, CEO Yoo Gyu-eon, like all fashion designers, aspired to push the envelope.

To be a little bolder than being completely plain.

Could Lee Min-ki truly embody this brand philosophy?

‘I don’t know.’

I don’t know.

It’s odd for the designer to be uncertain, but that’s the nature of design.

No matter how passionate the designer, a sense of uncertainty lingers just before the public’s evaluation.

Because it is natural for any designer to do their best to be recognized.

Whether my best can surpass everyone else’s best is a completely different matter.

“…….”

CEO Yoo Gyu-eon gazed at the clothes for a moment.

Soon, he shook off his doubts and stood up.

‘Let’s have faith.’

He wasn’t sure whether to trust Lee Min-ki or trust himself.

However, second-guessing wouldn’t change what was already decided.

It’s like whipping yourself in a room with no exit and praying for an exit to appear, only causing pain to yourself.

Then, let’s rather endure with composure until the moment we face the result.

Yoo Gyu-eon turned his head with that in mind and said.

“Actor, please try it on.”

* * *

Seoul Fashion Week dressing room (fitting room).

‘This is a different world.’

Lee Min-ki looked around, a chuckle escaping him.

‘Did I accidentally wander into Northern Europe?’

Everywhere he looked, people’s proportions were strikingly different.

A head the size of a fist was the norm, and arms and legs stretched long like those of game characters.

Lee Min-ki had always been told his proportions were good, but here, he felt like the underdog.

No, that was actually true.

There were only four people under 180cm [approximately 5’11”], and Lee Min-ki was the shortest of them.

‘I have to dominate the runway here and leave a lasting impression.’

Ominous.

He couldn’t quite picture it in his head.

However, Lee Min-ki banished the worry itself.

‘Well, no matter how much I worry, my arms and legs won’t magically grow longer.’

My head doesn’t get smaller either.

Rather, my posture will shrink.

Even small mindsets are soon revealed in the posture on the runway, and even contaminate the attitude of the clothes.

If you want to bring out even 1% more of the charm of the clothes in that short amount of time, be confident.

Lee Min-ki recalled the advice he had received from Heo Su-oh, who had become a close acquaintance.

[It may sound strange for a professional to say this, but in fact, they are all mediocre people. Min-ki, you will be able to do well.]

Yes, I learned a lot.

I received coaching directly from an experienced person.

‘Don’t be discouraged, do well!’

Lee Min-ki clenched his fist, while there were also people who were nervous looking at him.

‘Lee Min-ki?’

It was none other than the models themselves that Lee Min-ki made nervous.

‘Which brand is he walking for?’

‘How much money did they spend to get Lee Min-ki here?’

‘I think I’ll be overshadowed if I’m not careful.’

‘Ah, it’s unfair.’

They didn’t necessarily think Lee Min-ki would do well on the runway.

However, his existing fame was a force to be reckoned with.

Moreover, his aura was undeniably different, not to mention his body proportions.

Furthermore, his face was naturally striking.

‘Did he get plastic surgery or something?’

‘Is it possible for such a face to be natural?’

It was hard to call him conventionally handsome, but the more you looked at him, the more captivating he became.

Like a soft, handsome young man.

In the presence of a truly born actor’s face, they couldn’t help but feel jealous.

Of course.

There were also people who were happy.

“Why is your skin so good?”

The makeup artist in charge of Lee Min-ki’s makeup.

“Wow, actor, your head shape is so perfect.”

And it was a hair artist.

‘Usually, before makeup, there are bound to be signs of skin damage, but Lee Min-ki is different.’

The makeup artist murmured inwardly, looking at Lee Min-ki’s nose.

Even celebrities who are rumored to have good skin often have noticeable pores in the T-zone (the area from the eyebrows to the nose).

How to handle the T-zone is often seen as a measure of a makeup artist’s skill.

But Lee Min-ki was different.

“Do you get treatments at a good place?”

He boasted skin that was truly on another level, without a single blemish.

“I don’t get that much special care.”

“Hey, don’t be like that, share the secrets. Where do you go for your treatments?”

“Um…….”

Whether it was to relieve tension or because she was naturally talkative.

Lee Min-ki hesitated and opened his mouth to the makeup artist, who was more chatty than he expected.

“Is it because I sleep well……?”

It was the conclusion he had come to himself.

“Hoo hoo hoo hoo, I understand. You don’t want to tell me, right?”

“That’s not it.”

“Everyone has one secret. Anyway, actor, your skin is so good, it’s easy to work with. It’s rare to see skin this good.”

Unfortunately, it was a misunderstanding.

Lee Min-ki himself was unsure, but his skin was entirely due to luck.

Being able to get deep sleep.

To be precise, the main reason was that he was not disturbed during sleep.

‘Come to think of it, I really have been sleeping better than before.’

There is also exercise here.

If you exercise steadily without missing a single day, waste products naturally escape from the skin and it becomes elastic.

Here’s one more feature of Lee Min-ki.

‘His head shape is a gift.’

He had a perfect head shape that reminded him of the mannequin head that hair artists use when practicing styling.

“It looks great from every angle. Hmm, actor, you could film a hat commercial later, right?”

“Haha, thank you.”

“No, really.”

Overall, Lee Min-ki’s strengths were undeniable.

The more you enhance it, the better it looks.

Laughter flowed freely from Lee Min-ki’s side.

There were also people who were repulsed by that.

“They think the fitting room is their living room.”

That’s what the rookie models who were finishing their makeup and waiting in the corner were like.

This stage was incredibly important to them.

It was to the extent that it could be regarded as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that would never happen again in their modeling career.

Even if Lee Min-ki himself didn’t mean to, the way he was laughing and joking in a space where nerves were on edge didn’t sit well with them.

“He’s not that handsome.”

“That must be a face made with plastic surgery.”

Several models agreed.

Very naturally.

Among them, there were also people who openly mentioned his connections.

“He thinks he’s a big deal just because he’s done a few projects lately. He’s only here because of his agency’s power.”

In fact, even without Heo Su-oh, it was common for models to harbor animosity towards actors.

Is it because the industry is so easy to get involved in?

There was competition for jobs, so the power struggle has been fierce since the past.

It’s roughly like this.

[Actor? Are they the ones who just strike a few poses and go home when they think they’ve taken enough photos for the article?]

From the models’ point of view, the actors were like that.

They are the ones who are intoxicated with self-admiration with bodies that are nothing special in their world, and only attract attention.

On the other hand, the models in the eyes of the actors were like this.

[They have nothing but a natural body, but their noses are unnecessarily high.]

Among models, there were often types who were so proud that they looked down on others.

It’s okay to see it as prejudice.

However, if that prejudice is so common, it tends to become empiricism.

[Don’t even associate with actor bastards.]

[They only know money.]

[Actors are all short and chubby when you see them in person, so they’re not that good.]

[Models? They don’t earn much, but they act like A-list celebrities.]

[They think the clothes they wear are their worth.]

[They get so hysterical about managing their bodies, and they think it’s natural to accept it, right?]

This power struggle has been going on since ancient times.

In the midst of all this, there was no way that there would be no one who would look at Lee Min-ki, who suddenly participated in Seoul Fashion Week, with displeasure.

“His legs are shorter than they looked in the pictures. Did he use a lot of editing?”

“That’s because of the camera lens.”

“If you hear people calling him a handsome actor even at that level, if I debut as an actor, won’t I become more popular than that?”

Was their reasoning clouded by their backhanded comments?

Their voices had become so loud that they couldn’t be ignored.

Even considering the 50-pyeong [approximately 1,778 square feet] size of the fitting room, Lee Min-ki’s ears started to ring.

‘……It’s so pathetic. This power struggle.’

It was a situation where only sighs came out.

However, it was also impossible to go and refute them right away just because he was annoyed.

Because even if you refute someone who has animosity without any basis, it is only refreshing at the moment.

What good would it do to give them a basis for their antipathy?

They would be even more excited to say that he was abusing his power in the fitting room.

‘Let’s be patient, be patient.’

As Lee Min-ki was trying to shut out the noise, CEO Yoo Gyu-eon, who was watching the makeup next to him, murmured softly in his ear.

“Don’t worry about it. They are mayflies who won’t even be left in the industry in a few years anyway.”

“…….”

Thanks for the words.

Words.

But thinking that mayflies are hovering around makes me more nervous.

‘Ah, I wish I could just say one word.’

Let’s be patient because of CEO Yoo Gyu-eon’s image.

That’s how Lee Min-ki was trying to ignore it.

“Didn’t you give the designer some kickbacks?”

“……!”

Words that were difficult to overlook finally burst out.

“Hey, he’ll hear you. Be careful.”

“No, it’s strange. What is he suddenly doing at a fashion show? He has no experience.”

A rookie model who didn’t know his place had crossed the line.

It often happens.

Some people mistakenly believe that they are the main characters in the world just because they have risen to some extent quickly.

This time, that person was like that.

The rookie model who boasts 70,000 followers on SNS, Yoo Jun-chan, was the main character.

“Hey, Jun-chan, he’s really going to hear you if you keep doing this.”

“It’s not like I’m talking to him, so what? Well, I’d like it if it became noise marketing [a marketing strategy that involves creating controversy to generate publicity]. Who loses more if Lee Min-ki and I have an argument?”

He gave a mean smile.

That’s right.

From the beginning, he may have been hoping to be noticed.

There are people in the world who avoid controversy, while there are also people who welcome controversy itself.

But he didn’t know.

Right now, the words he spat out struck a nerve in Lee Min-ki’s heart.

‘I don’t care if you curse at me, but you’re implying CEO Yoo Gyu-eon is a designer who accepts bribes?’

This is crossing the line.

It was the moment when Lee Min-ki, who couldn’t bear it any longer, was about to get up from his seat.

“That’s funny.”

Behind Yoo Jun-chan.

A person spoke in a stiff voice.

“These days, they even know how to make noise in the fitting room. The world has really changed.”

A veteran model with overwhelming proportions.

A man who also has rare, deep features among traditional models.

It was Heo Su-oh.

Recently, he participated in director Hwang Eui-seong’s [Fashion and Fashion] as a minor role, and is an anticipated star who is fully demonstrating his talent as an actor.

He also naturally participated in his main job as a model.

He expressed his unique hot temper and said, bringing his head right in front of Yoo Jun-chan’s face.

“Only pigs can see pigs, hey, Yoo Jun-chan, did you give kickbacks to get your spot?”

Hot temper.

That was not a matter that was selectively applied only to Lee Min-ki.

Heo Su-oh was truly a person who could not control his anger.

“……Sunbae-nim [senior]? That’s not it.”

“Shut your mouth.”