Top Star By Luck [EN]: Chapter 2

Episode 2

‘This is insane.’

Cold sweat trickled down Min-ki’s forehead.

‘I passed the audition?’

Though it’s called passing, it’s just the first stage of document screening.

If you just apply, it’s normal to pass unless there’s a serious disqualification.

From the second audition onwards is the real deal for actors.

Therefore, assuming you’d fail the document screening is ridiculous.

But if the subject is Lee Min-ki, it’s not ridiculous at all.

Why?

‘I definitely failed this audition in the past.’

Because he originally failed.

[Sender: Daon Entertainment]

[Hello,

This is Daon Entertainment.

Congratulations on passing the first stage of the open audition document screening.

We will contact you later with additional information regarding the second practical skills test.]

Daon Entertainment.

It was the company he had dreamed of.

But in the past, he failed miserably from the first document screening.

He doesn’t know why.

He just assumed that he was lacking something, whatever it was.

‘Could this be because of luck too?’

His head spins.

In truth, it was like this:

[Oops, my hand slipped]

Lee Min-ki’s document screening was properly submitted to Daon Entertainment, and he should have passed if everything went normally.

However, during the review process, the person in charge accidentally missed only his application.

Because of that, he couldn’t even get to the screening stage, let alone fail.

Lee Min-ki, unaware of the truth, blamed his skills.

‘Oh my god.’

He unknowingly squeezed his eyes shut.

He really went back to the past.

That lion trial or whatever, it wasn’t all a pipe dream.

At least something has changed.

Then, what to do next is decided.

‘Let’s try acting again.’

That’s all there is to it.

Lee Min-ki opened his eyes wide and made up his mind.

But there’s still time until the audition, so there was something to do before that.

He has to go to acting school today.

‘Let’s be fully prepared before the audition.’

Min-ki recalled his schedule for the day and got out of bed.

And the moment he stepped on the floor.

‘Ah, damn it.’

His eyebrows twitched at the second jinx.

His second jinx, that was stumbling as soon as he woke up in the morning.

How many times had he had to skip auditions because he hurt his ankle?

But.

“……Huh?”

That didn’t happen.

He just felt the soft texture of the wooden floor with his soles.

Nothing more, nothing less.

‘No way. Did my luck really get better?’

To be exact, this was embarrassing to even call it luck getting better.

Min-ki felt his head spinning at the unbelievable reality, but he calmly went through his morning routine.

Every time, he couldn’t help but be shocked.

‘The shower temperature was set to the right temperature at once?’

A miracle happened.

‘There’s no frost in the refrigerator.’

Another miracle happened.

‘The zipper didn’t get caught when I put on my clothes?’

Continuously.

Miracles, things that could only be called miracles, happened one after another as if they were everyday occurrences for him now.

In the end, Lee Min-ki had to admit it.

That luck had really come to him.

Thump, thump.

His heart beats like crazy.

But Lee Min-ki slapped his cheeks with both palms and muttered to himself.

“……Calm down, Lee Min-ki. Other people have been living like this all along. Don’t get excited about every little thing.”

The fuss is too much.

Isn’t it still trivial?

The real thing hasn’t appeared yet.

Also, it was still too early to rest assured.

‘There was always a big misfortune on days when I felt lucky.’

That was one of the symptoms Lee Min-ki had experienced throughout his life.

Whenever a day came when he felt lucky, an incident would occur as if in reaction.

That’s how it always was when there was a big misfortune in his life.

The day his motorcycle was stolen was the day he found two pieces of kelp in the ramen bag he opened in the morning.

‘Yeah, it’s too early to rest assured.’

He can’t rest assured until he passes the audition.

Lee Min-ki calmly suppressed the trembling in his chest and prepared to go out.

* * *

On the way to acting school.

Lee Min-ki had made all sorts of preparations to prepare for any possible misfortune.

He wrapped his body in thick clothes to prevent getting scratched anywhere, and wore practical sneakers.

‘First of all……the traffic isn’t bad.’

Maybe it’s because he left home early.

The road to Hapjeong [a district in Seoul], where the academy is located, seemed deserted.

Even at the bus stop he stopped by, the number 505 bus going there was marked as [Arriving in 2 minutes].

This is also a rare miracle in his life.

It would have been okay to take the bus as it was, but that’s an amateur’s way.

“Heh heh.”

Lee Min-ki chose another way.

“I’m going to walk.”

It was to walk on two legs.

Tying his shoelaces tightly, Lee Min-ki drew the route to the audition venue in his head.

‘I left home early. It’s worth walking about an hour. If I take the bus, the road might be blocked by traffic.’

Traffic jam.

It was too common in his life.

Whether there was an accident in front and the road was blocked, or the bus broke down.

He was often late in some way.

For him, the road was always a place that was blocked when there was something important.

‘I’d rather walk than suffer that.’

Moreover, the act of walking on two legs has great advantages.

It’s good for loosening up a stiff body.

He returned from the body of a thirty-two-year-old to twenty-five. There were still awkward parts like someone else’s body.

Of course, even if you run, you don’t just run.

The trick is to be careful not to twist your ankle in case.

Here’s one more.

‘Be careful not to untie your shoelaces.’

Shoelaces are beings that can come undone at any time.

If it comes undone, is that the end?

Those shoelaces are designed to be stepped on and tripped over.

Don’t underestimate it. You could lose your life if you’re not careful.

In Lee Min-ki’s world, shoelaces were such beings.

‘Safety is the best.’

So power walking, that’s enough for now.

He thought it would take an hour, but 40 minutes later, faster than expected.

Lee Min-ki was able to arrive at the place he had in mind near Hapjeong Station after walking along the Han River.

‘It’s nice to be back in a young body, it’s light. I should run as much as possible in the future.’

A refreshing sweat flowed down his forehead.

His body was properly heated up, and he felt like he wanted to devote himself to acting right away.

‘Wait a minute.’

Just as he was about to enter the academy, a convenience store on the first floor caught his eye.

He often ate simple meals there.

When he was really in a hurry, he often replaced his meal with a piece of sweet bean jelly.

But what caught his attention now wasn’t such food.

[Instant Lottery Power Again]

[Become the lucky winner in 3 seconds!]

[Maximum prize – 100 million won [approximately $75,000 USD]]

It was an instant lottery.

That instantly caught Lee Min-ki’s attention.

‘I said my luck got better.’

He saw the man who took the luck that should have originally been his in the lion trial.

He definitely won the lottery too.

If he also received that much luck in this life, what would it be like?

‘Can I win the lottery too?’

Gulp.

Lee Min-ki swallowed briefly and bought it inside the convenience store.

“Please give me a lottery ticket.”

“Which one would you like?”

“Um……Power Again. Instant lottery.”

“Yes, that’s 1,000 won [approximately $0.75 USD].”

Lee Min-ki, who bought a lottery ticket for 1,000 won, held the lottery ticket.

A short tension flows for a while.

Tear.

A look of bewilderment flashed across Lee Min-ki’s face.

‘5,000 won [approximately $3.75 USD]?’

It was a win.

5,000 won, an ambiguous amount.

It’s too ambiguous to be truly happy.

Strictly speaking, it’s a small amount of money.

But if the owner of that win is Lee Min-ki, then this is a different story.

‘No way.’

He was literally shocked.

Because he had never won a lottery in his life.

He, who breaks the back of his head even if he falls forward, had won the lottery.

A thrill ran down his spine for a moment as he experienced something he had never experienced in his life.

“Um, please give me one more.”

Lee Min-ki picked up the next lottery ticket with boiling greed and scratched it too.

You never know.

He won 5,000 won right from the start, so maybe he can win at least 100,000 won [approximately $75 USD] next time, if not first place.

And.

‘This time it’s 50,000 won [approximately $37.50 USD]?’

The amount went up one level.

He felt a little embarrassed.

It hit 2 times in a row.

This time it’s a higher amount, so he’s definitely lucky.

The winning probabilities listed on the back of the lottery ticket were as high as 1/40 and 1/500, respectively.

Winning 2 tickets in a row is 1/20000, unbelievably good luck.

But something was subtle.

The man he saw in the trial won much bigger.

‘I don’t know yet.’

Lee Min-ki opened his eyes wide and said.

“Um, please give me 3 more.”

“Okay.”

A look of pity flashed in the eyes of the part-time worker looking at him.

But it doesn’t matter.

Min-ki’s gaze was entirely focused on the 3 newly received instant lottery tickets.

Intoxicated with anticipation, he scratched them all at once.

But.

‘What is this.’

All 3 tickets were duds.

“…….”

Rather, the amount decreased.

Did his luck suddenly run out?

Lee Min-ki was briefly disappointed and held the lottery ticket for a while.

‘Should I do more?’

Desire suddenly raised its head in Min-ki’s heart.

But he hesitated for 5 seconds.

Lee Min-ki put down the lottery ticket and shook his head.

‘No. There’s no point in being greedy.’

He confirmed that his luck had definitely improved compared to before.

That’s enough.

His dream is to succeed as an actor, not to make a fortune.

Then there was no need to be overly attached to money.

Rather, he even felt uneasy that he might lose his essence if he went too far in this direction.

‘In the first place, there’s no reason why luck has to be about money.’

He passed the first screening of Daon Entertainment, which he should have failed in the first place.

It’s like having a chance in your hand that you can’t get even if you pay for it.

Yeah, that’s enough.

Just because your luck has gotten better, don’t rely too much on luck.

“Hoo.”

A short sigh.

With that, Min-ki, who had neatly shaken off his desires, said.

“Where can I exchange this?”

“Oh, you won. Let’s see.”

A small surprise flashed in the eyes of the part-time worker who had been looking at Min-ki with pity.

“……You won two?”

He muttered in a slightly surprised voice.

“Sir, you’re very lucky. What’s the probability of this?”

“Where can I exchange it?”

“Ah, I’ll give it to you here right away. We give less than 100,000 won [approximately $75 USD] at the issuing office.”

Lee Min-ki enjoyed his small fortune and came out of the convenience store.

Acting school is urgent.

* * *

Jam Acting School, a famous acting school in Hapjeong.

Every year, it has produced several actors who have been accepted into famous entertainment companies.

It is also characterized by employing many industry people working in the field.

As such, the tuition is also expensive.

Is it a consolation that the practice room is open 24 hours a day?

The first thing Min-ki did when he went up there was to look around to see if there was anyone around.

‘Good, no one’s here.’

Maybe it’s because he came early in the morning.

There was no one in the academy’s practice room. He was the fastest to arrive.

It’s always like that.

He always came first.

This was a small but Min-ki’s biggest pride.

‘I may not have luck, but I won’t lose to anyone when it comes to effort.’

With that mindset, haven’t I been devoted to practice so far?

Min-ki’s heart pounded as he stepped on the smooth floor of the practice room after a long time.

How long has it been since I’ve acted properly?

Okay, let’s do as much as we can.

“Ah, ah.”

When he goes to the Daon Entertainment audition, the acting he will do at the audition venue was already decided 7 years ago.

“Ah, um, uh, Mami Memo, Mami Memo [nonsense syllables used for vocal warm-ups].”

Vocalization training that has been repeated more than tens of thousands of times.

Lee Min-ki lightly loosened his throat and shouted in a thick, rough voice towards the glass in front of him.

“You son of a bitch!”

Min-ki soon began to concentrate on acting.

There was one fact that he didn’t know.

‘That student is really working hard.’

Really by chance.

Today, there was someone watching his acting from the outside.