Top Star By Luck [EN]: Chapter 54

54

‘How perplexing.’

That was the only way to describe it.

Who is Kim Tae-yang?

A rookie boasting a sophisticated appearance and overwhelming acting skills.

A monster who could easily be ranked within the top five rookies debuting around the same time as him.

‘I couldn’t even dare to stand next to him back then.’

The memory of feeling envious and burning with jealousy while watching Kim Tae-yang’s success was still vivid.

It was shocking when I encountered him at the Jam Acting School during an audition.

But now, there he was.

Sprawled on the sofa in the most comfortable pajamas.

“You two have met before, right?”

With the two of us between him, Manager Park Han-mo was busy smiling gently and spinning a yarn [telling a story, often embellished or untrue].

“Since you’re rookies who debuted around the same time, I think it would be good if you get along well with each other.”

“……”

“You can talk about acting-related things. It’s always good for celebrities to have many friends in similar fields.”

Yes, getting along is good.

It would be great to get involved with a successful rookie and do interviews together later.

Sharing stories and all.

But what should I say about the way Kim Tae-yang was looking at Lee Min-ki?

It was so nonchalant that it felt indifferent. Like looking at a background NPC [Non-Player Character, a character in a game not controlled by a player] in a game.

‘When I saw him before, I think he greeted me first.’

Did something change in his mind?

Amidst the dry atmosphere flowing between Lee Min-ki and Kim Tae-yang.

“Oh, my.”

Manager Park Han-mo awkwardly took out his phone from his pocket and checked it before saying.

“I have some urgent business to attend to. Then, I hope you two have a good day today.”

That guy ran away.

He looked like he ran away because it was too awkward.

Urgent business, my foot.

He has no talent for acting.

* * *

A week had passed while waiting for the audition results from [Cafe del Dia].

‘Isn’t it about time they contacted me?’

The production team’s reply was continuously delayed, perhaps due to their own circumstances.

It seemed that the judging process was taking longer than expected.

Do they have a lot to consider internally?

Meanwhile, Lee Min-ki was having a time of rediscovery.

That is, rediscovering the rising star Kim Tae-yang.

Weeeeeeng-

The sound of the vacuum cleaner is loud.

The sound of the vacuum cleaner echoed throughout the house several times a day.

Jing- Jing- Jing-

The sound of the water purifier too.

The culprit behind creating this harmony of cleaning appliances is none other than…

‘He’s obsessively clean.’

Kim Tae-yang.

He vacuums whenever he’s bored, and he was so clean that it seemed a bit excessive.

Swish, swish-

Scrub, scrub-

Clatter, clatter-

Just when you’re about to forget about it while at home, you hear the sound of cleaning, and it was hard to find even a speck of dust, not only on the floor but even on the shelves.

It was as if he was a germaphobe [someone with an extreme fear of germs].

‘It’s nice because it’s clean, it’s definitely nice, but it’s subtly making me feel self-conscious because he’s unilaterally cleaning.’

That’s how living together usually is.

Cleanliness is a relative concept, so if one person is excessively clean, the average person tends to become dirty.

Moreover, it’s not just about cleaning.

Cheeeee-

Sizzle!

Boil, boil-

Kim Tae-yang was also a person with considerable skill in cooking.

For the past three days, he had been cooking all three meals, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, which was amazing for Lee Min-ki, who usually sticks to a health diet because he’s too lazy.

‘Usually, when you live alone, aren’t you too lazy to eat anything other than ramen and frozen food? Or order delivery.’

Moreover, his skills were excellent.

He made everything from Korean to Western, Japanese, and Chinese food, and the dishes he made looked exceptional at a glance.

‘I’ve never seen anyone plating with sauce at home before.’

It wouldn’t be strange if he appeared on a cooking competition program.

What should I say?

It was as if Kim Tae-yang was claiming this.

[I am a person who lives this uprightly.]

His life is so upright that it makes you feel self-conscious.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with maintaining an upright life.

Lee Min-ki, too, would have thought of him as just an okay neighbor if it had only been up to this point.

The real problem was something else.

That is.

“……”

“……”

There was no conversation between the two of them.

There was literally no conversation.

“Are you having lunch?”

“Yes.”

“Looks delicious.”

“Yes, chicken breast?”

“Because of exercise.”

Even if he tried to start a conversation, it would always be cut off with a monosyllabic answer.

Of course, it’s not that there’s no interaction at all, just no conversation.

Lee Min-ki does bodyweight exercises at home, and when he does, he often sweats, makes a mess, or leaves equipment lying around.

If he leaves it like that for a few tens of minutes.

Weeeeng-

Kim Tae-yang would clean it up neatly.

Neatly and cleanly.

To the point where you feel self-conscious about even sweating a single drop.

Often, when he’s doing something and comes to his senses, Kim Tae-yang would be staring at him from afar.

With his eyes narrowed.

‘He’s giving me the eye. He’s definitely giving me the eye.’

As I said before, cleaning is a relative concept.

Lee Min-ki’s lifestyle was well above the average for a Korean in his 20s.

It’s just that Kim Tae-yang’s lifestyle boasts a pattern that is well within the top 0.1% of the entire human race, which is the problem.

‘Ah, it’s awkward. It’s terribly awkward.’

So, Lee Min-ki had been feeling uneasy even at home for a week now.

It was truly an ironic thing.

He moved because he was uncomfortable with the interference of outsiders, but now that he had moved, he was uncomfortable with the insider.

He keeps watching.

If he’s spacing out for a bit, he’s staring at him.

In the end, Lee Min-ki, cornered in silence, had no other choice.

That is.

“Puhahahahaha! That’s why you suffer if you live with someone carelessly!”

Consulting someone else.

JC’s company lounge.

Trainer Kim Ah-sung grabbed her stomach and burst into laughter before saying.

“No, why deliberately invite unhappiness? Doesn’t he know that living alone is happiness? Min-ki, are you perhaps that? The type who gets crushed by a self-inflicted disaster?”

“……Surely you didn’t know that I would be living with Tae-yang. More than that, I didn’t know that we wouldn’t be able to communicate like this.”

It’s unfortunate.

For Lee Min-ki, the only elder he could ask for advice was Trainer Kim Ah-sung.

It was because of his past when he was over thirty.

‘If I consult with people at the company, it seems like it would become a problem at the company level.’

Trainer Kim Ah-sung is also affiliated with JC, of course, but they had known each other since before joining JC, so it was a bit different.

Jerry doesn’t seem like he would be helpful.

CEO Yoo Gyu-eon is close to him, but isn’t he a client?

Choi Yu-chang is too high up to be comfortable with, and even if he made the effort to create a meeting, he would probably just want to drink.

Gym master Kwon Joon-yong?

This side is even more obvious.

[Member, what’s the reason why male animals fight? The answer is simple. It’s because they lack strength. If you build enough physique, they’ll all back down on their own, you know? I’ve never been picked on since high school. Got it? Let’s add two more sets of deadlifts today.]

He was a person for whom all the worries in the world were connected to muscles.

Since the people around him are like this, in the end, only Trainer Kim Ah-sung remains.

“Puhahahahak! Uahahahahahahahahahak!”

Not that she seems like she’ll be of any particular comfort.

If anything, she might even be enjoying it while munching on popcorn.

“Min-ki, there’s an old saying: If you don’t like the temple, leave.”

“No, logically speaking, I moved in last week, how can I leave already? The company would treat me like a crazy person.”

“Is that so? Then the uncomfortable person should do something first.”

“Ugh, it’s not as easy as it sounds.”

“There’s originally nothing easy in the world. But when you look at the rainbow that rises after a shower, there’s emotion.”

I don’t understand what she’s trying to say at all.

I really don’t understand at all.

‘Still, it feels a little better to talk to someone.’

If it doesn’t work out, time will solve it.

Even if it doesn’t, do you necessarily have to get along with your roommate?

It’s enough to get along like strangers.

It’s not like he’s causing any harm.

‘Yeah, when you think about it, he might be uncomfortable because of me too. He was probably living well alone until I came.’

It was the moment when Lee Min-ki took comfort in the fact that he had given up and let it all out.

“But still.”

Trainer Kim Ah-sung grinned and said.

“It’s probably not because he particularly dislikes Min-ki.”

“Yes?”

In the moment after those incomprehensible words came out, even more incomprehensible words popped out of Trainer Kim Ah-sung’s mouth.

“Maybe it’s because he’s too concerned.”

“……”

That’s being concerned?

No matter how you look at it, it looks like he’s looking at me like he’s looking at a cow, is that an action that comes from consideration in its own way?

It’s hard to understand the meaning of the words, but Trainer Kim Ah-sung continued.

“What was it? Back during the JC audition. Only Min-ki got in back then, right?”

“Um, was that so?”

I don’t know the details, but it doesn’t seem like they contacted several people.

So, I naturally thought that’s how it happened.

“Actually, Tae-yang also passed back then.”

“Yes?”

Unexpected words came out.

Lee Min-ki’s eyes widened, and Trainer Kim Ah-sung chuckled and said.

“He did pass, but he refused at first.”

“Wait a minute. He passed but refused?”

Lee Min-ki asked back with a surprised expression.

“Why?”

“I don’t know. Maybe he wanted to go somewhere other than JC.”

“Then how did he end up at JC now?”

“Was it around the time when Min-ki was filming Campus Story? It seemed like he was very concerned while watching that. He’s been in a bad mood every day lately. It’s because someone who auditioned around the same time as him has already achieved results.”

“……Ah.”

Is it impatience?

He’s standing still in the same place, but if someone who started around the same time is going too far ahead, he gets impatient.

I knew the feeling.

No, I had no choice but to know.

Originally, all the peers who were with Lee Min-ki had surpassed him.

‘When I look at it now, it doesn’t seem like much, but I also hated it for no reason.’

I think I roughly understand the situation, but Trainer Kim Ah-sung said as if to confirm.

“He was gritting his teeth, saying he would debut quickly and beat Min-ki. He’s never shown that kind of behavior before. Hehe.”

“……”

You seem to be having a lot of fun.

Trainer Kim Ah-sung leaned comfortably on the chair, took a deep breath, and said.

“So, I recommended him to the internal audition, asking him how about coming to JC.”

“Not another company, but JC?”

Lee Min-ki asked back as if it was unexpected.

“Wouldn’t that cause trouble?”

“No, Min-ki, that’s not it.”

Trainer Kim Ah-sung waved her finger in the empty air.

“Actors, you see. There’s nothing better for improving their skills than putting them next to each other under similar conditions and fueling their rivalry.”

It was the moment I heard those words.

Suddenly, I felt like I could understand Kim Tae-yang a little bit.

“What I want to say is this.”

Trainer Kim Ah-sung drove in the wedge [made a point forcefully].

“He’s a rival. It’s natural to be wary of what the other person is doing.”

That’s right.

Kim Tae-yang was also silently observing Lee Min-ki.

‘It wasn’t just me who was conscious. He was the same.’

He must have been conscious of what kind of life I lead and how I practice acting.

Was the awkwardness due to unconsciously fueling the competition?

It’s not strange to be uncomfortable.

It was natural.

“Well, if you’re really uncomfortable, try watching a movie together and having a conversation.”

Trainer Kim Ah-sung, who had been talking for a long time, shrugged and said.

“Originally, talking about work is the best way for people working in this industry to connect.”

Is that so?

Lee Min-ki, who felt relieved by Kim Ah-sung’s words, smiled and said.

“There’s a reason why you’re a teacher.”

“Hey. Student, what strange things are you saying?”

Trainer Kim Ah-sung laughed as if she was dumbfounded.

“I’m always a teacher. Of course, I’m also the most outstanding teacher in Korea.”

“……”

“Min-ki, you’re so lucky. To be able to learn from a top-tier instructor like me.”

There’s no solution.

She’s a person you can’t praise even with a single word.

* * *

That evening.

Lee Min-ki finished exercising late in the evening and returned to the dorm.

‘Moving is good in other ways, but it’s a shame that the gym is farther away.’

The distance has increased.

Still, it’s fortunate that I’m jogging on the way back and forth.

But the real problem starts now.

‘Hoo, dialogue, communication, peace. Communication creates peace.’

I was thinking of trying to have a conversation with Kim Tae-yang.

Beep beep, beep.

Lee Min-ki opened the door and entered the house with a sense of tension that was out of place for his own home.

But something was a little strange from the entrance.

[You know what? Old man said that there is angel with a shotgun.]

A familiar voice was heard from the living room.

It was definitely a familiar voice and a voice I had heard a lot, but it was a voice that couldn’t possibly be heard in this house.

‘Could it be.’

With a hopeful heart, Lee Min-ki reduced the sound of his footsteps and looked at the living room.

It was that moment.

‘That movie is…’

In the living room, Kim Tae-yang was watching a movie on TV.

But that movie was a work that was so familiar to Lee Min-ki that it stuck in his eyes.

[Painkiller]

Painkiller.

It was a movie that Lee Min-ki had watched repeatedly dozens of times, and at the same time, it was a minor work that was hard to find someone who had seen it around him.

A work that flopped so badly that it didn’t even mobilize 100,000 viewers in Korea.

Kim Tae-yang was leaning forward and watching that work with such concentration that even a serious movie buff would only know the name of.

‘He’s watching that?’

It was a sight I was seeing for the first time in my life.

“Old man said that there is angel with a shotgun.”

The sight of someone muttering a famous line from the play as if they were deeply impressed was even more so.

A sight that could not happen in reality.

Nevertheless, Lee Min-ki, who was shocked by the reality unfolding before his eyes, muttered inwardly.

‘He’s watching that and enjoying it so much? Is he crazy?’