Top Star By Luck [EN]: Chapter 181

181. Geoje Gymnasium

A quiet neighborhood was suddenly thrust into the spotlight with the unexpected visit of celebrity Lee Min-ki. This unprecedented event drew an astounding crowd of 13,000 visitors in a single day.

13,000 people.

It was a crowd that could rival a small rock festival. While understandable for an idol, it seemed an excessive turnout for an actor’s first fan meeting.

“Wow, how many people are here?”

“I think we arrived just in time, but why are there so many people?”

“I should have skipped school early.”

There were simply too many people.

The crowd stretched from the bottom of the hill all the way to the top.

With no designated waiting area, people lined up in the parking lot, and many even spread out mats on the bare ground.

“They ordered chicken over there.”

“Should we order some *jajangmyeon* [Korean black bean noodles] or something?”

As evening approached, the weather turned pleasant and cool.

The locals, seeking a bit of excitement, embraced the event as a picnic, seemingly forgetting about Lee Min-ki himself. It was a picnic with an indefinite start time for the main attraction.

“When does it start?”

“I heard preparations are taking longer than expected.”

“Hmm, my legs are starting to ache.”

“It’s free. Who cares? I find your face more interesting than Lee Min-ki’s…”

“Honey, there are some things you just shouldn’t say, even if your life depends on it.”

They passed the time like that for a while.

Then, like a welcome rain in a drought, a voice boomed from the loudspeakers.

[We have an announcement.]

In that instant,

the ears of over 10,000 people perked up.

‘It’s starting.’

‘Finally!’

They had been waiting and waiting.

Some were even contemplating heading home, but at least something was finally happening. Good. I should quickly get the autograph and leave.

Just as they thought that, the organizers’ announcement took them completely by surprise.

[We would like to inform you that the location for the fan meeting of actor Lee Min-ki and the Maiyar team will be changed.]

The fan meeting location was being changed.

[Thank you for coming to the event. However, due to the gymnasium’s capacity, the location will be temporarily changed. We would like to repeat the announcement. From now on, the fan meeting location will be changed…]

The voice from the speakerphone, announcing the change of location, echoed more clearly than ever.

The more it echoed, the more bewildered people became.

“What?”

“Are they crazy?”

A few words.

A few words announcing the change of location were enough to ignite people’s anger.

“We’ve been standing in line here for hours.”

“No, they’re changing the location? After making us come all the way here?”

“They’re acting recklessly because it’s free.”

That’s how long they had made people wait.

Some people came because they were genuine fans of Lee Min-ki, but not everyone was like that. Some simply came out of boredom, seeing it as a local festival.

But to suddenly change the location? It didn’t make sense.

This was akin to waiting in line for two hours in front of a popular *pork cutlet* restaurant, only to be told that the ingredients were sold out and to come back in the evening and line up again.

“They’re crossing the line.”

“Are they trying to move it to Busan or something?”

Just as resentment began to bubble to the surface,

[Following the ushers’ instructions, we ask that you move from the front gate of the gymnasium to the Geoje Public Stadium in order.]

Ah, that’s a relief.

The stadium was only about 100 meters away from the gymnasium.

Unlike the gymnasium, which could only accommodate about 3,000 people, it was a large facility that could hold about five times that number.

At those words, people sighed in relief.

“Ah, I almost became an anti-fan.”

“You’re a fan, aren’t you?”

“I almost became a ‘panty’ [a humorous mispronunciation of ‘anti’].”

It’s right in front of us. This is within an acceptable range.

“Don’t cut in line there.”

“In order of the line.”

But.

There was something they had not yet anticipated.

Why was Lee Min-ki bothering to change the location? Why was he trying to move to the outdoors, abandoning the more comfortable indoors, even though it was a fan meeting?

Why were these people delaying the start time of the event until it was almost unbearable?

The reason was extremely simple.

“Hey, who’s on the stage?”

On the stage, where the lights were not yet on, three people were standing.

Lee Min-ki, Joo Ha-na.

It was the two people they had waited to see today.

And one more person.

“Son Hee-jeong?”

Son Hee-jeong was standing in front of her symbol, the grand piano.

* * *

Why don’t actors hold fan meetings often?

Why don’t many people come even if they do?

Why are fan meetings specialized for idols?

What’s the difference?

Aren’t they all in the same profession of making a living from popularity?

What is the difference between them?

The answer to this question was extremely simple.

“Actors don’t really have anything special to do at fan meetings.”

It was the difference in the content they could offer.

Behind the stage curtain, manager Park Han-mo calmly continued his explanation, making use of the time left until the event’s opening.

“What would an actor do at a fan meeting? It’s not like they’re going to put on an impromptu performance, or spend hours delivering behind-the-scenes stories about their work. At best, they’ll say thank you, give a small performance, but that’s not enough to justify holding a fan meeting and gathering people.”

It was the limitation of the acting profession.

The charm on the screen is second to none, but outside of that, it becomes relatively uninteresting. These two are fundamentally different realms.

Lee Min-ki nodded as if agreeing with his words.

“Indeed, there are stories about actors holding fan meetings, but there aren’t many articles about what they did there.”

“Yes, it’s because it’s boring to go. People really only go because of their deep affection.”

Singers can sing and dance, but actors have nothing.

Of course, there are actors whose faces themselves are the main attraction, drawing people in just to see them, but let’s consider that an exception for now.

However, there was one exception at this fan meeting.

“Hoo, it’s fortunate that we’re filming a music movie.”

The new film by Maiyar Pictures was a music movie.

“It’s also fortunate that the composer came with us.”

“There’s no need to thank me. I came because I wanted to.”

Also, the fact that Son Hee-jeong, a prominent musician, unusually participated in the location scouting for this work.

And.

‘I never imagined it would be helpful in this way.’

Even the fact that Lee Min-ki was a huge fan of Son Hee-jeong.

Several lucky coincidences overlapped.

As a result.

“It’s Lee Min-ki.”

“Is he going to sing?”

Lee Min-ki was suddenly going to sing in front of an audience of 13,000 people.

Even in collaboration with Son Hee-jeong.

Lee Min-ki muttered in a reluctant voice.

“Um, can I do well? This is my first time doing a performance like this.”

In Lee Min-ki’s voice, which lacked confidence, or rather, it was natural that he lacked confidence, Son Hee-jeong said matter-of-factly.

“It will be difficult.”

“Ugh, I guess so?”

I’m going to be embarrassed.

Just as he thought that, Son Hee-jeong cracked her fingers one by one and said.

“But this is an actor’s fan meeting.”

“Oh.”

“Since the expectation is of an actor, if you show a moderate performance with sincere effort, wouldn’t they be moved?”

Since the expectation itself is low, there’s no need to perform as well as professional singers, she meant.

“And one more thing.”

Son Hee-jeong smiled and said.

“The actor’s singing ability itself is only slightly better than an amateur’s, but that’s a fact.”

“…….”

“At least, as far as *balseong* [vocal projection/diction] is concerned, you can barely deceive them to a certain extent, even if you claim to be a professional. You’ll get caught if they listen closely.”

“I prepared hard in my own way, so it’s a shame that I can only deceive them.”

To the extent of deceiving them.

It meant that it wasn’t really that good.

But there is an absolute limit of time. If anyone could become a professional level by preparing for a few months, anyone could have done it.

‘But that’s still amazing.’

Son Hee-jeong tried to temper her words.

There was one fact that the actor Lee Min-ki didn’t know.

‘He doesn’t seem to realize what he’s capable of.’

There is something called talent in this world. And people with that talent are more common than you think. Discovering and cultivating it is up to the individual, but the talent itself is quite common.

Simply having the talent to be strong.

Or being smart.

Or being good at sports.

But having those talents in multiple areas was extremely rare and precious.

‘There are quite a few people who are born with talents in different directions.’

Like a psychiatrist who was born with the talent for soccer at the national level.

But one step further from here.

What if you have multiple areas that are connected to each other, going beyond simply having multiple talents?

Like a soccer player with both the talent of strategic thinking and physical skills.

It existed in the entertainment industry. Occasionally, really rarely, once every 10 or 20 years, a person was born with both talents and swept the industry.

We used to call such people by this name.

‘He might become a multi-entertainer.’

Multi-entertainer.

It meant an entertainer who excels in all aspects of acting, music, and entertainment.

What if Lee Min-ki could reach this level? What if a person who had already reached the pinnacle as an actor revealed his potential in music late in his career?

What if that opportunity was this movie?

‘Starting from the top of the charts, he would be criticized for marketing at first, but he would gradually be recognized, and eventually, music might even become his main profession.’

Son Hee-jeong briefly entertained the thought in her head.

It’s still too early to tell.

But the important thing was that Lee Min-ki had the qualities to suggest such a possibility, and it began to shine so brightly that Son Hee-jeong could see it.

And one more thing.

‘I didn’t think there would be two in one place.’

There was one more person.

“Ha-na, aren’t you nervous?”

Joo Ha-na smiled brightly at Lee Min-ki’s question.

“Are you worried about me now?”

“Just as a courtesy.”

“I’m fine. I’ve been told that I have a stage personality since I was young.”

That’s what Joo Ha-na was like.

Since her school days, she liked to be in a position to lead people. As a result, she was almost ostracized because she captivated people too much, but in any case, the charm of captivating people was an undeniable talent.

It’s the same in this movie. She was hired for her skills, not her connections.

In other words.

“I’ve always been in the *acapella* club since middle school. I also played in a band in college.”

It also meant that she was exceptionally good at singing from the beginning.

“Rather, I’ve been feeling stifled these days because there aren’t many places to sing? I love it!”

“Still, there are more than 10,000 people in front of you.”

“Straighten your shoulders. They came to see Min-ki, not me.”

“You’re suddenly full of energy.”

“Did it show? Hehe.”

Lee Min-ki smiled at Joo Ha-na’s 활발해진 모습 [suddenly energetic demeanor].

‘Yeah, they came to see me.’

He had the elements to put on a good show. All that was left was to produce results.

To the 13,000 people standing over there, beyond that curtain. They must have waited a long time, so he had to repay their expectations.

“Then I’ll go first. Composer.”

“Yes.”

Soon, Lee Min-ki and Son Hee-jeong pushed aside the curtain and went up on stage.

At that moment.

“Waaaaaaaaaaaa!!!”

“Lee Min-ki!!!!”

A roar that seemed to overturn the earth and tear the sky became a huge wave and washed over Lee Min-ki’s body.

Lee Min-ki muttered for a moment.

“……Not bad.”

I’ve been thinking about it since I went to see the baseball performance.

‘Maybe I have a stage personality too.’