Top Star By Luck [EN]: Chapter 185

185. Why Don’t You Trust People?

[Why don’t you trust people?]

Lee Min-ki said in the video, pleading.

His voice was full of injustice, like a woman being witch-hunted. As if asking why they didn’t believe his story. He rawly revealed emotions as if resenting the world.

‘What is he talking about?’

‘Have we ever not trusted Lee Min-ki? What?’

Viewers were collectively confused.

They expected news of a new project with the sudden video upload. But this was the complete opposite.

Before the bewilderment could subside, Lee Min-ki continued with a voice full of resentment.

[I saw the sniper videos that came out last time. The ones saying I’ve always done music and pretended not to be good at it, that it was all a viral attempt. That I was deceiving you. You cursed at me.]

Ah, it was about the sniper videos.

Right, after the incident in Geoje Island, there were YouTubers who sought views in that way.

Mostly those called ‘reporters’.

‘But usually, they saw it positively.’

That opinion was only a part of it.

The majority of fans, no, the public, evaluated Lee Min-ki positively. They saw him as truly sincere about the movie. Enough to improve his singing skills to that level in a short period.

But the current Lee Min-ki seemed to be unaware of such opinions, his reason paralyzed.

[I clearly said it on the last broadcast. That I was a beginner. That I hadn’t practiced for long. Why do you make people out to be trash?]

His voice was thick with resentment.

A voice unable to handle the anger that had risen to the top of his head, fixated on only some trees without seeing the forest.

If so, that’s.

‘A sudden burst.’

It was a sudden burst.

Very clearly, that was definitely a sudden burst. An undeniable sudden burst. A level of sudden burst that was unbelievable for an actor like Lee Min-ki to commit.

The usual calm and friendly Lee Min-ki would never do that.

“Wow… that’s big.”

Even the fans muttered in confusion.

“This is going to be a mess. Is it okay to do that? Did JC [his management company] lose control of their actors?”

“Idiot, how can you control Lee Min-ki? JC would only lose if the contract is terminated.”

“What if he sues for damages?”

“Be quiet and watch. He must have a plan.”

Something’s strange.

It was the moment I thought the situation was clearly going wrong.

[Watch and judge. It’s a video with all the corrections removed.]

Lee Min-ki picked up the guitar.

And then, with clumsy movements, he still hung the strap over his Pacific-like shoulders, and soon took a stance.

‘He played the guitar this well too?’

He began to show off his insane guitar skills.

Guitar skills that seemed to have been steadily practiced for at least a few years. Skills that anyone could see were touching the realm of experts.

‘Crazy.’

‘I only knew he was good at singing.’

‘Is he really a musical genius?’

And when he started singing.

“Huh?”

Someone sensed a change.

“It’s a song I’ve never heard before.”

“It’s really good.”

That’s right.

It was a completely new song.

A pop song sung in English, with hooks in each melody like barbecue seasoning, stealing the listener’s soul.

It was a moment when I wondered if there was such a good song.

“Ah.”

The stimulating song ended in just over a minute.

So short that it was a shame.

‘The song was good.’

‘Ugh, if only he hadn’t had that sudden burst.’

It was around the time that Lee Min-ki’s sudden burst show, which left behind various emotions, ended in less than two minutes.

[I’ll stop here for today. Sorry for getting angry.]

Unlike the words coming out of his mouth, Lee Min-ki walked towards the camera with steps that still couldn’t calm his resentment, and suddenly turned off the broadcast.

Beep-

A blacked-out screen.

A moment as if claiming that the happening until just now was something that never existed in this world.

‘Could it be?’

Someone noticed.

‘The video isn’t over.’

That’s right.

If it were a normal broadcast screen, the video playback should have ended at this point.

Because broadcasting usually ends the screen output at the moment the broadcast is terminated.

But now Lee Min-ki’s screen was clearly playing, and the noise scattered here and there on the black screen was the proof. Because that is a byproduct that inevitably occurs in the process of compressing the video.

‘If so.’

My heart started racing.

It wasn’t a simple sudden burst. There is definitely a message that Lee Min-ki is trying to leave through this video.

What on earth is it? What is he trying to say? What is Lee Min-ki planning this show for?

There was no need to worry from afar.

Just a few seconds later, the answer appeared on the screen as it was.

[Actually]

Typing.

[Turns Out]

Tap, typing.

[A Musical Genius]

The title of the video, which had been forgotten before I knew it, came to mind first.

Followed by 1 second later.

[The most dramatic internet broadcast is coming to you.]

By the time the last sentence and the video stopped in the true sense.

Viewers all thought.

‘Lee Min-ki, you crazy aggro [provocation] master.’

* * *

Lee Min-ki sat on the sofa, staring at the ceiling, blinking his eyelids repeatedly.

‘I did it.’

I did it for now.

I uploaded a promotional video pretending to be a broadcast and watched it. I filmed it with the screen settings and quality exactly as seen on internet broadcasts, very thoroughly.

That doesn’t mean that it was simply a fake video for attracting aggro.

Because.

“It’s a scene from the movie, though……”

That’s because it was a scene that would be uploaded to the movie as it is.

‘But was the aggro too much?’

It was a time when aggro was needed. After all, it was a movie filmed with minimizing investors as much as possible.

Even though Manman-tu was a huge hit, he couldn’t eat much of the profits because it was a buyout work, so this time he tried to reduce the investment scale in reverse.

‘Still, was it a bit too much?’

I was too scared of the viewers’ reactions to even check.

“The number of views has exceeded 300,000 in 1 hour.”

Manager Park Han-mo said instead.

“The reaction is good. They say they were completely fooled.”

“……”

“Everyone is busy guessing the content. They say that the protagonist is caught up in a manipulation controversy while doing internet broadcasting, but there is no Conan [detective] separately. They say that the title [Actually Turns Out A Musical Genius] is also hooked.”

Yes, I used that title as it is.

[Actually Turns Out A Musical Genius].

It was a title that mixed and linked together the titles of some web novels that had recently started to gain popularity.

[Actually Turns Out] because I didn’t know that the protagonist was originally a musical genius, but I realized it late.

[A Musical Genius] because he is a musical genius.

It was a title that revealed the content as it was just by looking at the title. Furthermore, it was also a truly web novel-like title, and director Shim Sung-bo was hooked on Joo Hana’s strong argument and went with it as it was.

[No matter how much I think about it, this title is the answer. Isn’t it too sophisticated?]

[No, honestly, it’s a work aiming for the Academy Awards, so it should be a little calmer.]

[It’s all about getting hooked. Getting hooked and then having a lot of people watch it. The evaluation will naturally follow after that, won’t it?]

Yes, it was hooked.

Once you hear it, you can’t forget it. It’s hard to forget because it’s combined with aggro.

‘I don’t know.’

But no matter what Lee Min-ki thought, the public seemed to evaluate this video quite well.

-Lee Min-ki is real ㅋㅋㅋㅋ crazy ㅋㅋㅋㅋ He’s using what he was criticized for in his promotion ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Marketing genius 씹 ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ [Korean slang for ‘fucking’]

-If it was a company, I would have definitely written a letter of apology ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Anyway, it’s a good thing if everyone is laughing.

Moreover, that’s how people are. Once they’re hooked, they can’t stand being hooked alone.

If you fall into the water, you have to take others with you, and if stocks fail, others have to fail with you, and if you’re hooked, you have to be hooked together.

That’s right.

We have the qualities of a water ghost [someone who drowns others to have company in the afterlife].

[Title: Breaking) Lee Min-ki Uploads Apology Video]

[Title: Is Lee Min-ki having a sudden burst right now? ㄷㄷㄷㄷ [Korean abbreviation for ‘ㄷㄷ’ which represents trembling, indicating shock or surprise]]

[Title: Current Akplers [malicious commenters] are trembling]

[Title: I’m a current JC employee, and the president is extremely angry right now]

Fishing posts were densely spreading in every community.

There was even a fishing post that Lee Min-ki uploaded a sudden burst video and declared that he would sue the Akplers.

Just 1 hour after the video was uploaded, the era of great fishing had arrived in the Korean community.

[I watched the video and I really don’t know why he did that……]

[I’m disappointed in Lee Min-ki. Celebrities have severe depression, and Lee Min-ki is no different]

[I’m quitting Yamu fans [Lee Min-ki’s fan club name].]

[I understand Lee Min-ki’s feelings…]

[? Are you guys having fun with this? It’s just a viral video for promoting a new work]

[ㄴ Hyung [older brother/male friend], get a clue]

[ㄴㄴ The rest are serious, but they’re trying to fish like that,,,, sigh,,, tsk!]

[ㄴㄴㄴ No matter how excessive your desire for drip [style/swag] is, that’s not how you live in the world]

[ㄴㄴㄴㄴ I don’t know well, but I think I did something wrong]

The topic was hot enough for now.

No, it’s more than enough, it’s crazy.

Could there be anything else that would have such a promotional effect compared to the budget spent?

“I think you overdid it a bit.”

“Marketing originally needs to be overdone sometimes. Look at Tesla. Elon Musk attracts aggro every time, so they say there is almost no marketing expenditure.”

“Are you indirectly pointing out that I attracted aggro just now?”

“That’s a sense of inferiority. I never said that.”

When Lee Min-ki glared at him, Manager Park Han-mo looked at the sky with a brazen gaze.

‘It seems like you’re getting more playful these days.’

Was he originally like that?

He’s sly. Since when was it? Ah, right, it seems like he’s changed somehow since he came back from Geoje Island.

Lee Min-ki’s suspicion was accurate. In fact, Manager Park Han-mo was subtly addicted to teasing Lee Min-ki these days.

Besides, he’s not just teasing.

“But the song evaluation is also good.”

His characteristic was that he would say something nice enough to listen to after teasing.

“William Lockhart made the song, and composer Son Hee-jeong refined it, so it’s bound to be good. Besides, I requested the guitar from a very successful person.”

“By the way, what was the name of the person who played the guitar?”

“Kim Han-young.”

Kim Han-young.

He was the person I got for this video.

There is no one else these days who plays the acoustic guitar as deliciously as Kim Han-young.

I was introduced by Son Hee-jeong, and he decided to take charge of everything in the scene where the protagonist plays the acoustic guitar in the work.

Performance outsourcing.

It was a decision made because I couldn’t acquire the guitar in a short period, even if I could learn the song.

“The folk song was really amazing. Huhu, each hand movement is very delicate. Since he’s a person who became famous through internet broadcasting, it seems like it would be good for future promotions.”

“That’s true. Composer Son Hee-jeong recommended him, so I should see his skills as verified.”

It’s not like I proceeded roughly because it was a relatively low budget, but I put a lot of effort into the details in various ways.

‘Rather than a low budget, it’s closer to efficient filming.’

Now all that’s left is to wait for the results.

The outline of the video has been revealed. Even the topicality has been secured. Maybe the investors who have been eyeing it are waiting in line.

I don’t know, but like a mountain.

But the real deal hasn’t come in yet.

‘The moment a big catch appears, aim for that moment.’

Mayaar Pictures is a production company, not a distributor.

To distribute it widely, you can’t avoid the investment of the distributor itself. So that’s what I was waiting for.

[We’re not in a hurry.]

The moment when Jin Joo-yeon, the director who has the decision-making power outside of film production, makes a decision.

“What are you doing for the time being?”

It was the moment I was about to wait like that.

[Mus-Mus-Mus-Mus-Muscle. This summer is muscle. Let’s all muscle together.]

The ringtone of the cell phone rang.

“What is that ringtone?”

“It’s a CM song [commercial song].”

“CM song?”

“Director Kwon Jun-yong expanded his franchise this time. It’s used as background music there, and it’s subtly good to listen to.”

“You didn’t get paid to set it as a ringtone, did you?”

“Yes? Yes.”

What’s wrong?

Ah, more than that, the cell phone.

Lee Min-ki hurriedly turned his head and saw the name he had been waiting for on the LCD screen.

[Director Shim Sung-bo]