Top Star By Luck [EN]: Chapter 13

13.

“No way, how could that *hyung* [older brother or male friend] be late? Is the sun rising in the west? What happens if the sun rises in the west? Is the Earth doomed?”

Kim Tak spewed out whatever came to his mind.

And surprisingly, Yoo Seon-ah, who usually argued with everything he said, agreed.

“……Right? Is the Earth ending? How could Min-ki be late?”

Lee Min-ki was late.

One person being late might not seem like a big deal, but that’s only for ordinary people.

If Lee Min-ki was late, it was a big deal.

“He’s always the first one here. Hmm.”

“I thought he lived and slept here.”

He was always the first to arrive and get free coffee.

Yoo Seon-ah, as if witnessing a rare phenomenon like the Earth rotating in reverse, sighed briefly and said.

“The only reason Min-ki wouldn’t be here today is that.”

Recently, there was a big topic of conversation among them.

And that was.

“I guess he was really shocked about failing the audition.”

It was Lee Min-ki’s failure at the Daon Entertainment audition.

Yoo Seon-ah slapped her cheeks with both hands and said.

“Well, he always wanted to go to Daon that much, even though the teacher always criticized him, and he worked so hard, so it’s not that strange.”

She was more shocked about someone else failing than if she had failed herself, muttering to herself.

Kim Tak, looking puzzled by her reaction, asked.

“But why aren’t you that affected, Seon-ah? You failed too.”

“…You always have to say things like that.”

“Ah, sorry.”

Kim Tak quickly shut his mouth.

Yoo Seon-ah glared at him as if he were annoying and said.

“From the start, I was okay with getting into Daon or not.”

“Why?”

“Because actors can make it anywhere as long as they have the skills.”

“Oh, I’m learning something from you again, Seon-ah.”

Kim Tak nodded, genuinely impressed by her mindset, and said.

“So, Min-ki is different?”

“For Min-ki… it was a chance that came after so long. He kept failing the document screening. He worked so hard since he first came to the academy.”

Yoo Seon-ah remembered Lee Min-ki on his first day at the academy. She was impressed by how hard he worked, even though his acting wasn’t great.

They didn’t really talk because they didn’t have much in common.

But she was always aware of how hard he worked.

When they finally came together with Daon Entertainment as the center, she was even happy as if she had succeeded herself.

“People who work hard should be rewarded in any era.”

It was natural to support him as a person.

Yoo Seon-ah added one more thing.

“Besides, he’s handsome.”

“That was important.”

“Of course. He’s an actor, isn’t he? Looks are also a skill. More than that, aren’t you sad, Tak? You were closer to Min-ki than I was.”

No.

They weren’t that close.

At least, that’s what Lee Min-ki thought, but that fact didn’t matter.

That’s how it looked to Yoo Seon-ah.

Even Kim Tak himself thought he was close to Lee Min-ki.

“Hey, of course, I’m devastated. I support Min-ki so much. Ha, our Min-ki has improved so much lately. Is Daon blind?”

“Don’t talk so jokingly about something serious.”

“I’m totally serious?”

Kim Tak was also serious this time.

As someone who had objectively looked down on Lee Min-ki, he couldn’t help but feel a subtle regret at Lee Min-ki’s failure.

‘What if he’s so shocked that he doesn’t come out?’

Then it’ll be boring.

What’s the point of going to the academy from now on?

It was at that moment, as the two were lost in subtle contemplation.

Creak.

The door opened, and a person revealed a sturdy figure.

“Hoo.”

It was Lee Min-ki.

He must have run again today, as his body radiated a slight heat.

With his appearance, the two people’s eyes widened.

“What’s wrong?”

Lee Min-ki, puzzled by their startled gazes, said.

“Is there something on my face?”

“No, it’s not that. We’re just happy to see you.”

“I’m the latest today. I’ll go buy coffee.”

“I’ll have a hibiscus *ade* [a Korean beverage, often fruit-flavored], sized up.”

“……”

Just hearing the name makes it sound expensive.

Lee Min-ki sighed inwardly and said.

“Yes, Seon-ah.”

“Ah, I can pay for my own.”

“It’s okay. I’ve always gotten it for you.”

“……Then I’ll have an iced Americano.”

“I’ll be right back.”

Lee Min-ki soon left the practice room after just putting down his bag.

The two people, surprised by his seemingly cheerful appearance, quickly put their heads together.

“Is that *hyung* really okay?”

Kim Tak whispered in an astonished voice.

“He seems too bright, I’m getting anxious.”

“Isn’t he acting like that because he’s too shocked? You know, how some people seem fine at first, but then it really hits them after a few days.”

“He’s pretending to be okay. Isn’t that a sign of depression?”

“I don’t know. But just in case, Tak, you should watch what you say today.”

“Why me again?”

“Weren’t you going to recommend a mental hospital or something?”

“Caught me.”

While the two were whispering, Lee Min-ki was thinking this.

‘I feel relieved.’

He didn’t feel that bad.

Failing the Daon Entertainment audition was just that.

But that didn’t mean his life had fallen into a pit.

‘I worked hard.’

He wasn’t weak enough to be discouraged by one failure.

He did his best.

He prepared good acting under a good teacher, and he grew in the process.

Lee Min-ki was satisfied with that one fact.

He failed the audition spectacularly, but he showed 100% of the acting he had prepared, leaving no regrets.

He had gained so much that he couldn’t just slump over because of one failure.

‘I’m used to failure.’

It was a shame.

But being disappointed and being miserable are two different things.

Even if it wasn’t the Daon Entertainment audition, there would be plenty of other opportunities.

From now on, he would just prepare for that moment.

‘Okay, let’s work hard again.’

With that in mind, he was about to leave the building and walk to the cafe.

“Oh.”

“Huh?”

He happened to run into someone in the lobby on the first floor.

A man who looked more like an unemployed person than a teacher, trainer Kim Ah-sung.

“Oh, Min-ki.”

Kim Ah-sung waved first and then walked over, shuffling his feet.

“You seem better than I thought. I was worried you’d be all shrunken and limp like laundry.”

“……It’s all in the past now.”

“Right?”

Kim Ah-sung shook his head and said.

“Daon Entertainment isn’t that great. Just forget about it. What do they call it, a blessing in disguise? They say a bad car goes and a Benz comes.”

Was this comforting?

Lee Min-ki gave a wry smile at the sight of Kim Ah-sung, who had been consistently badmouthing Daon Entertainment since their first meeting.

‘It’s more comfortable than trying to comfort me with a serious face.’

He was thinking of buying one more cup of coffee since he was already going to buy some, when.

“So, I brought a Benz with me.”

A Benz.

Despite the somewhat strange analogy, Lee Min-ki had a glimmer of hope.

Trainer Kim Ah-sung said in a meaningful voice.

“Want to hear the story? While sipping coffee.”

* * *

After sitting awkwardly in the cafe for a while.

Buzzz.

The vibration bell rang.

“Ah.”

“I’ll get it.”

While Kim Ah-sung went to get the coffee, Lee Min-ki, who had barely caught his breath, sighed deeply.

‘A Benz.’

What on earth was he going to say that he had to call me out like this?

He was giving off a somewhat meaningful vibe.

The worries followed a chain of thought and soon reached one expectation.

‘Is he going to introduce me to a company?’

No way.

Lee Min-ki laughed at the thought, finding it ridiculous himself.

Was he mistaking them for being super close just because they had learned from each other for the past month?

Trainer Kim Ah-sung is a very successful person in the industry. He probably has so many students that he can’t even remember their names.

Yeah, let’s not get our hopes up too high.

The higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment. Disappointment comes because you expect something in the first place.

‘Yeah, maybe he’ll give me a gift or something. That’s enough. A phone case or a monthly subscription to Netplay [likely a fictional streaming service] or a movie coupon.’

Let’s lower our expectations.

Lee Min-ki entered self-defense mode with a short deduction.

Clang.

Trainer Kim Ah-sung, who had already returned to his seat, pushed a cup of coffee towards Lee Min-ki.

“Ah, thank you.”

“I don’t have time, so I’ll get straight to the point.”

I thought he would chat a little before talking, but he’s getting straight to the point.

After a few seconds of heart-pounding tension, as if time had stopped.

The words that came out of trainer Kim Ah-sung’s mouth were words that struck Lee Min-ki’s head like a hammer.

“Want to join JC?”

“Cough!”

It was an offer to join JC.

Lee Min-ki burst into a fit of coughing.

“Cough! Hack! Cough! Cough.”

He was coughing violently.

He hadn’t had a coughing fit since he got his luck back, but this was the first time. It seemed like it was a situation that luck couldn’t handle.

‘No, did he just ask me to join JC? Suddenly?’

It’s normal to be flustered.

He barely calmed his surprised heart and took a breath, but he couldn’t calm down.

Was Kim Ah-sung amused by Lee Min-ki’s reaction?

Trainer Kim Ah-sung laughed so hard that his belly button fell out, and even wiped away tears as he said.

“Min-ki, why are you so surprised?”

“No! Cough! How can you say that so casually without even signaling?”

“Signaling? What nonsense are you talking about? I clearly said it.”

“Yes?”

Kim Ah-sung frowned, picked at his ear with one finger, and said.

“Don’t you remember? I said a bad car goes and a Benz comes.”

“……”

“If Daon is a bad car, isn’t it obvious that the Benz is another company? I thought you were smart, Min-ki, but your logic is weaker than I thought.”

Well, yeah.

But does anyone usually call Daon a bad car?

Even at its worst, Daon is at least in the top three, isn’t it?

‘Let’s calm down. Calm down. You know what teacher’s personality is like. You’ll lose if you delve into this deeply.’

Lee Min-ki controlled himself.

Calming down by emptying his head quietly, as he usually does when relaxing in acting.

‘Yeah, it’s not working.’

It’s not working.

Every time he repeated just one word, his heart wouldn’t listen and beat like crazy.

JC.

It wasn’t just any agency, it was JC.

Is JC just any agency? In terms of pure capital and size, it would be rude to even say there are competitors.

It would be quicker to call it a media conglomerate rather than an agency.

He was suddenly offered to join such a place, so it would be stranger not to be surprised.

‘Am I dreaming?’

I thought I had ruined my luck by failing at Daon, but I guess not.

While Lee Min-ki was calming his surprised heart, trainer Kim Ah-sung sipped his coffee and said.

“I’ve said it many times, Daon isn’t a very good place.”

“Um, you did. I thought you were joking.”

“I don’t joke about things like that in front of aspiring actors. Do I want to be blacklisted in the industry for saying something wrong?”

Trainer Kim Ah-sung continued in a nonchalant voice.

“Of course, just because I introduce you to JC doesn’t mean you can sign a contract right away. There’s a process.”

“A process?”

I knew there was something.

The moment he suspected, trainer Kim Ah-sung twirled the coffee in his hand and said.

“Yeah, a process that even a great guy like me can’t touch carelessly.”