Top Star By Luck [EN]: Chapter 169

169

There are times when you’re acting, and you think:

‘Ah, should I just go for it? Or not?’

You get this feeling that if you throw in a bold ad-lib at just the right moment, the work will improve dramatically. No, you have this gut feeling that it will definitely improve.

[Go for it!]

That feeling, far beyond a simple impulse, is close to certainty.

But at the same time, you’re also afraid. Afraid that your ad-lib might ruin the whole picture.

It was like being afraid to make a joke in high school because you might ruin the mood. It was like a jungler in an AOS [Arena of Strategy, a type of video game] game playing it safe without thinking. It was like keeping your mouth shut when the company asks for ideas.

These things happen countless times on various sets.

[No, what do I know? I’ll just blend in with what everyone else is doing and at least get a passing grade. Don’t be a show-off.]

Ad-libs were the product of courage and recklessness.

On the other hand, we were always used to zipping our lips for the sake of harmony and taking a step back.

Self-restraint. That was the way our society had been going on until now.

But.

‘I’m just a cameo anyway, so what does it matter?’

Sometimes, you’re in a position where you’re openly asked to be a show-off.

Lee Min-ki glanced at Director Moon Hyo-sung’s eyes.

‘The director’s not stopping me either.’

His eyes were sparkling above his stubborn aquiline nose. What should I call that look in his eyes, rather than displeasure at the script being twisted?

Yes, a deeper sense of anticipation stood out.

Lee Min-ki licked his dry tongue slightly and recalled Director Shim Sung-bo’s favorite saying.

[To stop is a mistake. But to move forward is a stroke of genius.]

Okay, that’s enough.

From now on.

It’s time to take action.

“Hey.”

With that one word, Lee Min-ki, who had completely transformed, looked at Chun Gun-joo as if he was pathetic and continued.

“Are you someone who’s only grown up in a room? Logically speaking, how many people in the world have no dirty secrets?”

“…….”

Chun Gun-joo’s eyes twitched. He didn’t seem to be used to Lee Min-ki’s ad-libs yet. His eyes, blank to the point of looking like a fool, were proof of that.

But what should I say?

‘He’s taking it well?’

Ironically, Lee Min-ki judged Chun Gun-joo’s bewildered eyes, which were caused by not being able to blend in with the ad-libs, as a reaction.

Even if it wasn’t, it didn’t matter.

Just when he thought that it suited the acting, Lee Min-ki smiled as if he knew it would happen and opened his mouth again.

“Our younger sibling, your uncle, the person who lives as if he’s the most righteous in the world. Everyone in our world knows him, right? Everyone respects him.”

“Ah, yes.”

Chun Gun-joo nodded quickly and said.

“He’s a member of the National Assembly. If there’s anyone as righteous as my uncle, they could really live without laws.”

“Bullshit.”

Lee Min-ki shook his head and said.

“That man is having an affair with our mother.”

“……!”

Chun Gun-joo’s eyes widened as if he was dumbfounded by the shock that far exceeded his imagination. He must be confused as to whether Lee Min-ki’s ad-lib was too much or not.

It wasn’t really Lee Min-ki’s business.

He knew better than anyone else that this ad-lib wouldn’t affect the original story at all, and what if he failed a little? They could just reshoot it.

“And your father.”

“Wait a minute, my father.”

“How many hidden siblings do you have?”

“…….”

Chun Gun-joo’s eyes twitched again. One step further than before.

It must be an unspoken protest that this was going too far, but of course, Lee Min-ki didn’t care at all.

‘This is what a male best friend from space is all about.’

He had already decided to go all out. Because it was a work that came out to go all out. Besides, it was a role optimized for going all out.

Since he was given a stage, what else could he do but dance?

‘I’m starting to run out of material to use for ad-libs.’

Now was the time to mix in a third element.

That thing that he learned from trainer Kim Ah-sung to use in case he ever had to do ad-libs on set.

[Ad-libs can’t be done with just a plan. That’s just for a few lines, and then it’s different. You have to mix in sincerity. Mix 50% acting with 50% your true feelings. Especially Min-ki, you’re too serious, so take it easy.]

Mixing in sincerity.

At this moment, Lee Min-ki, as a person, not as a character, tried to recall the advice he could think of.

Words that he could say as a relative to his younger sibling who was too conscious of others.

One, two, three.

An appropriate amount of time had passed. Lee Min-ki, who had finished planning rather than just thinking, opened his mouth.

“What I’ve learned in my life is that the dirtier the guys are, the cleaner they pretend to be.”

Lee Min-ki’s sincerity.

It was the beginning of the next stage.

“Pardon?”

“People who always have something to hide tend to act righteously. Huh? People who strictly impose morality on others are already lacking in morality. They’re full of distrust. Because that’s how they’ve lived.”

“…….”

“Why do you think there are so many scammers among the people who criticize scammers? It’s because they’re the same, so they’re scared and take the lead. They’re trying to pretend to be on our side.”

It’s not just a story in a drama. These were also Lee Min-ki’s sincere words. None other than Lee Min-ki, the man who had always bowed his head in life.

“To live really confidently is the same as living moderately recklessly. Believing in yourself, looking at the world with that perspective. Because that’s how you’ve lived, you don’t have to be distrustful in ambiguous situations.”

Why are good people so exposed to scams? It was because they believed that others were as good as they were.

Lee Min-ki thought that such behavior was somewhat foolish.

But at the same time, he believed.

That you have to convince yourself to convince others. In other words, because you’ve lived with good intentions, you also have good intentions to expect from others.

“If you think there’s nothing wrong with you, then there’s nothing wrong. Just do what you want.”

Cultivate yourself, manage your family, govern the country, and bring peace to the world.

If you are upright, the world will be upright.

‘Oops.’

It was the moment when he realized that he had been caught up in the fun of giving a long speech and giving unwanted life advice after rambling on for dozens of seconds.

“Do what I want…….”

Chun Gun-joo muttered with a dazed expression and blinked.

‘What the senior said just now, it feels like it’s right for me too.’

He was persuaded.

While listening to Lee Min-ki’s acting, not acting, he accepted it without realizing it.

It wasn’t exactly intentional. But in the advice that Lee Min-ki made up on the spot, there was a context that coincided exactly with Chun Gun-joo’s current situation.

[Because that’s how you’ve lived, you don’t have to be distrustful in ambiguous situations.]

Was it because I was full of doubt about myself that I doubted others? Was it because I didn’t believe in my own acting that I couldn’t believe that others would accept it?

In a fleeting moment, the thought that his head happened to reach in the midst of countless worries was this.

‘What if that’s right?’

What if being moderately reckless is actually right?

What if the more you look at other people’s faces, the more the results are ruined?

Look at actor Lee Min-ki right now. How much does he do what he wants? Even acting that ignores the script and goes all out like that, it’s plausible because he’s confident. The director’s not even stopping him.

‘……Is that because of the actor’s class?’

He was hesitant for a moment, but Chun Gun-joo soon erased that thought from his mind.

Because he thought that you can’t doubt if you don’t doubt.

“……Hyung.”

Chun Gun-joo nodded and said.

“You said my father has other children besides me, right?”

* * *

When the short cameo acting was over, Lee Min-ki burst out laughing.

‘Wow, I really crossed the line.’

He got too caught up in the cameo and went a little too far. The words he had uttered belatedly became a wave of embarrassment that covered Lee Min-ki’s brain.

‘At this point, I think the director will ask for a reshoot.’

He might get angry. Even though he brought him in as a cameo, he said he crossed the line too much.

Lee Min-ki expected that.

But, ironically, the result in front of him was too different from what he thought.

“I think we can use it as it is?”

Director Moon Hyo-sung said in a gleeful voice.

“Pardon?”

“Everything from beginning to end. It was a great performance.”

Director Moon Hyo-sung, unable to hide his smile, said to Lee Min-ki, who had a surprised expression. It seemed that he highly praised Lee Min-ki’s long speech.

“Wait a minute, director. What do you mean.”

“Wow, as expected, a world-class actor is different? Even if you act spontaneously like this, the scene comes alive. Wow, I think it’s ten times better than the original script.”

What was the original script like?

‘Ah, I remember.’

It was a story about telling the main character about seesaws and how even the concept of a chair is so different in their planet and Earth, so why be bound by the original rules.

It seems like it will be a line that no longer exists, but anyway.

“Director, are you really okay with this?”

“Yes, I just like it?”

“The scripts might all be shaken later.”

It was the moment when Lee Min-ki tried to stop it to avoid any possible liability.

“Ah, it’s okay. This is all being written in real time anyway.”

“Pardon?”

A shocking statement popped out.

“I’m telling you this especially, but we haven’t even received the script for the shoot in 6 hours. Every day is no different from spontaneous acting, so what’s wrong with doing one scene spontaneously.”

“…….”

Lee Min-ki was speechless in front of the shocking and absurd scene.

‘It’s only halfway through, but they shot it with a live script until the end?’

No matter how you look at it, live scripts are something that comes out in the second half. Was this the reality of a drama that hit world-class?

‘It wasn’t a planned absurdity, but the shooting environment itself was absurd?’

This is not easy.

Lee Min-ki was about to twitch his eyes at the reality that he didn’t want to accept as a fan, but Director Moon Hyo-sung chuckled and looked far away and said.

“Besides, do you know that actor Chun Gun-joo’s acting wasn’t very good either?”

“He was good?”

Lee Min-ki, who had regained his mind, said as if he was wondering.

“He matched my ad-libs well. His emotional expressions were good, and his gestures were natural. There was nothing wrong with it.”

“Puhahaha, was that so?”

Director Moon Hyo-sung patted his stomach and burst out laughing.

“Actually, he was only like that in front of the actor.”

“Only in front of me?”

“Originally, he was often discouraged. When he matched with other actors, he kept trying to give in? He was cautiously looking at people’s faces, and that was very unsettling.”

It was the opposite.

He was spitting out everything he wanted to say from A to Z. His face was even red.

Lee Min-ki still didn’t understand what he was saying, but he decided to just accept it because the director said so. There are also things that can only be seen through the director’s eyes on set.

“Well, I think it’ll be back to square one if we shoot it again.”

Director Moon Hyo-sung took a deep breath and said.

“Ah, I think what I asked of the actor is roughly finished, so are you going back as it is?”

“Um, no.”

Lee Min-ki shook his head and said.

“I want to see our junior actor acting.”

“Is that so? Were you curious? I’ve prepared a chair just for the actor, so please sit here and watch comfortably.”

Director Moon Hyo-sung soon brought a chair.

However, there was a huge letter written on the paper attached to the back of the chair with a marker pen.

[Global Star Actor Lee Min-ki Designated VIP Seat]

“…….”

It was a chair that he didn’t know whether to be happy about or to avoid.

‘I should sit down quickly and cover it up.’

Lee Min-ki hurriedly sat on it.

‘I should just take a look around the set for a while.’

After all, [Male Best Friend from Space] was a work that he especially liked. Isn’t watching the atmosphere of the set from a first-class seat the greatest luxury as a fan?

Lee Min-ki leaned halfway over with that feeling and looked beyond the camera with his hands folded.

‘Oh.’

He was soon impressed.

‘He’s really good at acting?’

That was Chun Gun-joo’s acting.

“If I have you, I don’t need anyone else.”

In the voice that confessed to the heroine, there was even a hint of spirit in the voice that was so confident.

Was it because he had been showing acting that lacked confidence until just now? When he became confident, the reverse reversal effect even became somewhat intense.

Was Chun Gun-joo originally an actor who was so good at acting?

He seemed to be just okay on TV, but was it all covered up by the production?

“Director, our junior actor is really good at acting?”

It was the moment when Lee Min-ki said it while even bursting out laughing.

“……Is that so?”

Director Moon Hyo-sung said with a bewildered look, shaking his mouth as if it was cramping.

“Why is he good? Huh, he’s not originally that kind of actor? What is it?”

“Director?”

“No, what if it was all acting? What if I didn’t have an eye for actors?”

An unbelievable sight unfolded.

‘Was he pretending to be bad while being good until now? Or was that all acting too? The person has changed too much? What is it? Am I seeing things?’

What was it that he had been trying to give Chun Gun-joo consistently since the beginning of filming?

It’s confidence.

He tried to give him confidence by praising him hard and building him up in front of other actors, but it didn’t work at all. But that suddenly gets resolved?

As soon as it’s the timing when he needs confidence? The person changes completely?

‘What, that’s scary.’

While Director Moon Hyo-sung was frowning to look at Chun Gun-joo’s appearance a little more, Lee Min-ki felt his tension relieved and said.

“I’ll go now.”

“Yes? You’re not watching anymore.”

Lee Min-ki looked far away and said.

“I think it’ll be a hindrance if I keep staying here.”

He’ll do well on his own if he sees what he’s doing.

If it’s like this, he’ll do well on his own.

I have to work harder so I don’t get caught up.

‘No, I should just go practice more without resting.’

It was the moment when Lee Min-ki gained the motivation to work even harder on his way to rest.