Top Star By Luck [EN]: Chapter 60

“Café del Día! The first round of the press conference special event is over! All baristas, please prepare for the second round!”

The host’s resounding shout echoed in the air, and cheers erupted from the audience.

And then.

Standing on the stage, Lee Min-ki stared straight ahead with blurred vision, feeling incredibly conflicted.

‘Is a press conference usually like this?’

The pouring spotlights are making me dizzy.

Looking ahead, he could see the audience lost in a frenzy of excitement.

He glanced to his right and saw Kim Ji-hwan looking sour.

‘The problem isn’t on this side……’

It was to his left.

Two baristas.

The two men and women stood in a row on the same stage as Lee Min-ki.

Behind them were arranged the equipment needed to make coffee, including drip pots and grinders.

Feeling even more bewildered, Lee Min-ki chuckled dryly.

‘This isn’t a press conference; it’s more like a competition.’

No, in fact, his assessment was accurate.

This [Café del Día] press conference was indeed inspired by a barista competition.

[Who among the four baristas will claim the glory of victory!]

Even the host was like that.

Two professional baristas, along with the two leads, Lee Min-ki and Kim Ji-hwan, would make coffee.

They would then provide it to the three judges in front of them in turn.

The scores they received would be tallied to determine the winner.

‘There were two categories, too.’

Drip coffee and latte art.

That’s right.

Latte art (drawing pictures on coffee with milk foam) was included in the second round of judging.

[It’s hard to promote the taste of coffee with photos, right? It seems good to make a splash with visuals.]

It seemed like a reasonable judgment at first glance.

Publicity relies on visual information, doesn’t it?

That’s why wine experts try so hard to describe it visually.

Latte art appears in the drama from the start.

Considering that the purpose of this event is promotion, there was nothing to worry about.

The problem was elsewhere.

Namely.

Lee Min-ki himself wasn’t particularly confident in latte art.

‘Ah, I’m not really confident in latte art.’

Lee Min-ki looked at the empty space and groaned.

‘Why latte art of all things?’

Honestly, he wanted to avoid risks.

But the production team insisted on it several times, so as an actor of the agency, what could he do?

[This will be a good opportunity for Min-ki. These days, viewers are sensitive to this kind of thing. Who knows? If Min-ki shows off some great latte art, maybe they’ll sell it as the ‘Min-ki Latte’ in cafes across the country in the future.]

The production team’s hopeful words felt cruel.

‘Easy to say.’

Latte art may seem simple on the surface, but it actually requires extremely delicate skill.

It’s like knitting.

For a beginner, it would take a whole day to successfully create even the simplest pattern.

‘If only I had another month, no, even just one more week of practice.’

Perhaps because latte art appears in the drama.

Thanks to his efforts, Lee Min-ki’s skills were not bad for a beginner.

He might be able to imitate an expert among laymen.

Here, the second problem appeared.

Yes.

The people standing next to him right now were not laymen.

‘……Even if it’s for promotion, this is crossing the line a bit too much.’

Glancing sideways, the faces of the two baristas were overflowing with confidence.

They were truly genuine experts.

Kim Ji-hwan next to him had a perpetually dissatisfied expression.

‘The production team is hosting the competition, so they’ll give generous scores anyway, but it still has to look plausible, at least on the surface……’

Oh well, whatever.

What’s the point of worrying?

It’s not like he can suddenly get a stomachache and run away.

‘If I’ve come this far, all that’s left is to do it or not.’

It was the moment Lee Min-ki was steeling his wavering resolve.

“Sorry to keep you waiting!”

The host shouted with so much excitement that it seemed like his blood was boiling.

“The four baristas who fought fiercely with drip coffee in the first round! Who will be the ultimate winner―――!!!”

He shouted as if his throat didn’t hurt.

It was enough to hurt Lee Min-ki’s eardrums.

As Lee Min-ki resisted the urge to cover his ringing ears with his palms, the host repeatedly shouted in a loud voice.

“From now on―― we will start the second round! Ready―― Go!!”

It was that moment.

The three competitors rushed to the coffee machine with familiar movements, as if they had done it thousands of times.

Lee Min-ki also rubbed his eyes and moved his body a beat late.

‘First, the coffee.’

Wee-ing-

The coffee machine began to extract coffee, making the now familiar roar.

Listening to that sound, Lee Min-ki simultaneously prepared the steamed milk.

Boo-woo-woo-woong-

The milk in the steaming pitcher heated up, and the foam began to swell.

This foam was what was used for latte art, called milk foam.

When it reached 65 degrees Celsius [149 degrees Fahrenheit] and felt hot to the touch, Lee Min-ki stopped heating it precisely.

‘Okay, so far so good.’

Lee Min-ki, relieved by the perfect velvet milk (milk texture as smooth as silk), let out a small sigh inside.

Thanks to practicing hundreds of times, he could now succeed at this even with his eyes closed.

But this is nothing.

The real challenge starts now.

The stage of actually drawing pictures on the coffee.

How many times had he failed here?

Taking advantage of the brief moment before starting, he looked around and saw that his three competitors had already started their art.

‘No need to rush. I learned from the teacher. Just do as you practiced calmly.’

Kim Kyung-hee had devised a special pattern for him.

He just had to do it that way.

Lee Min-ki calmed his pounding heart as much as possible and tilted the steaming pitcher over the pre-extracted espresso.

Sreureuk-

The steamed milk flowed down calmly, and the black espresso gradually turned into a soft brown tone.

The problem was next.

‘Here we go.’

The stage of starting to draw pictures with foam.

At this stage, the result could be completely different with just 0.1 seconds of pouring the foam.

[The important thing isn’t your eyes. It’s the feeling in your fingertips. Trust your intuition. Remember that latte art is a miracle created by countless repetitions of training and a little luck.]

Lee Min-ki recalled the advice of barista Kim Hee-kyung and focused all his nerves on the tips of his fingers.

And then.

‘Huh?’

A miracle happened.

* * *

Lee Min-ki’s eyes widened, unable to believe the result that had occurred from his fingertips.

“……!”

A perfect, almost perfect blossom was appearing on the coffee.

Blossom.

It was an art specially designed for him by Kim Kyung-hee.

A pattern that resembled a flower blooming.

But it was as difficult as it was beautiful. That’s why even when he was practicing alone before the competition, this was the one that still looked clumsy.

‘That’s turning out like this here?’

His vision blurred.

“Oh! A wonderful pattern is appearing! It looks like flowers are blooming in all directions. What is he trying to create?”

As the host pointed to Lee Min-ki’s coffee cup, Lee Min-ki felt even more goosebumps down his spine.

‘If I just keep going like this.’

One step forward.

If he finishes well here, there won’t be any problems.

After all, it’s difficult to reach a perfect design at the level of a professional latte artist.

Instead, he just needs to show the best result he can within the limits of what he can do.

The blossom slowly being completed before his eyes was, at least in his view, more beautiful than any other latte art in the world.

‘Okay, this is the last part.’

The three people who started a step ahead of Lee Min-ki had already finished and submitted their results in turn.

All that was left was him.

But now it was the last part of the blossom, just gently pulling out the foam tail, and it would be over.

Thump, thump.

His heart was racing like crazy, and the fleeting moment felt several times longer.

‘10%, no, 5% left.’

It was the moment when Lee Min-ki’s nerves were perfectly focused on that finishing touch.

“Lee Min-ki, fighting――!!!”

A huge cheer erupted from the press section at the front of the press conference.

It was the voice of a fan cheering him on.

A voice that seemed unable to hide their affection for Lee Min-ki.

However, good intentions do not always work well for the person involved.

“……!”

The voice that cut through the air and pierced his ears like thunder and lightning instantly burned Lee Min-ki’s mind white.

‘Wait, what did they just say?’

It was just cheering.

But it was a sudden event that occurred in a moment of heightened tension.

It’s like the honking of a car passing by on the road on the day of the college entrance exam. It’s like a coin suddenly falling on the floor while playing a rhythm game.

Pick――.

It was enough to break the concentration of someone approaching the limit of their senses.

A time of only 0.5 seconds.

It’s an infinitely clear time, but is it just about the time it takes to close and open your eyes once?

But.

Latte art is something that can fall to the ground in just 0.1 seconds.

Therefore.

0. 1 seconds was enough to rise to the sky.

1 seconds.

Lee Min-ki’s hand trembled.

2 seconds.

The dropped milk foam trembled irregularly, drawing a delicate trajectory.

3 seconds.

The foam that fell into the brown sea finally contained a seed.

4 seconds.

The seed germinated, and a bird spread its wings.

5 seconds.

The bird’s tail pierced through the flowers of the blossom and wet the edge of the cup.

“…….”

“…….”

Lee Min-ki’s mouth stopped.

The cameraman also widened his eyes and illuminated the world inside Lee Min-ki’s cup.

One second later.

Surprised by the quiet atmosphere, the host, who belatedly approached, leaned in and said.

“I don’t know what to say about this.”

Lee Min-ki’s latte art was broadcast on the venue monitor via the camera.

A scene where a magpie was soaring leisurely through the blooming flowers.

It was as if a landscape painting was contained in Lee Min-ki’s cup.

“Wow…….”

One audience member exclaimed.

“Pretty.”

Another audience member muttered.

The tremor of the fingertips born from a momentary coincidence, a 0.5-second coincidence, created art.

Luck.

It was a situation that could only be seen as luck.

Of course, it was luck that only Lee Min-ki himself knew.

* * *

“Now, we will announce the results of the judging.”

The press conference special event was successfully completed.

All that was left was the judging, and the method was for each of the three judges to give 5 points each.

The results were divided into three categories: technical score, taste score, and artistic score.

[No. 1. Kim Jin-man 5/4/3 = 12 points]

[No. 2. Seong Ha-eun 4/5/2 = 11 points]

[No. 3. Kim Ji-hwan 3/3/2/ = 8 points]

Although there was a slight difference, professional baristas Kim Jin-man and Seong Ha-eun took 1st and 2nd place.

Kim Ji-hwan was pushed to the back with a significant gap.

And then.

[No. 4. Lee Min-ki 4/2/5 = 11 points]

Lee Min-ki scored 11 points, tying for second place with barista Seong Ha-eun.

There was a comment from the judge here.

“I have seen many latte arts so far, but the latte art of actor Lee Min-ki that I saw this time was special among them. Therefore, I will give it 5 points.”

He was the only one among the four participants to score 5 points in the artistic score.

“…….”

Lee Min-ki, who checked the results, still held his wildly beating heart and let out a sigh of relief.

‘I did it.’

He thought he would fail, but he made it.

The event that he thought would be the most difficult among today’s events has just been resolved.

‘Am I a barista or an actor?’

I’m never doing this again.

Lee Min-ki, who had slipped into the rest area behind the venue, was chuckling to himself.

“Min-ki, congratulations.”

“Teacher.”

Barista Kim Kyung-hee, who had approached him, said with a proud smile on her face.

“I didn’t know you would show such wit at the last minute. You made a lot of mistakes in the meantime; did you practice a lot in the back?”

“Um, yes, that’s right. I was lucky.”

Lee Min-ki coughed dryly.

He did put in effort, but the last bird pattern was largely due to luck.

“That’s right, it could be luck.”

Barista Kim Kyung-hee said as if refuting Lee Min-ki’s words.

“But they say luck is also a skill, right?”

Luck is also a skill.

Even the expert says so.

Lee Min-ki decided to accept her kindness with pleasure and opened his mouth.

“That’s right, I’m lucky.”

“That’s…….”

“Especially in that I met a good teacher like Teacher Kyung-hee.”

It was the moment when words of gratitude flowed from Lee Min-ki’s mouth with a faint smile.

“…….”

Barista Kim Kyung-hee blinked in surprise and said.

“Do you know that? You speak so beautifully, Min-ki.”

“Yes?”

“Just know that. I’m going to go congratulate over there too. You should be thinking about whether to eat beef or sushi.”

“Yes?”

No matter what Lee Min-ki answered to the empty air, barista Kim Kyung-hee walked step by step to one corner.

At the end of it, a man was leaning against the wall with a very uncomfortable expression.

It was Kim Ji-hwan.

His face, who had taken last place in this judging, was very sullen.

Even though it was an event, he seemed very unhappy with the results.

‘Still, it seems like he practiced quite a bit in the back.’

Recently, he even had burn marks on his hands.

He didn’t show it on the outside, but it was probably a wound he got while practicing coffee.

Lee Min-ki knew the history of the wound, so he admired it inwardly.

‘He’s secretly a hard worker.’

He felt it while filming recently.

Kim Ji-hwan was talented, but more than that, he was an incredibly hardworking person.

When director Noh Ho-yeon pointed out even a small flaw while filming, he would work hard to fix it by the next filming.

‘There’s a reason why his skills are improving so rapidly in a short period of time.’

Kim Ji-hwan is a competitor.

But he was a competitor worth keeping an eye on.

A competitor that he shouldn’t be complacent about just because he had overtaken him once.

Anyway, there won’t be any problems in the remaining stages.

The biggest hurdle has already been overcome.

“Now, only the Q&A is left.”

There shouldn’t be anything difficult about the Q&A.

He would talk about the work and share stories within the general common sense about coffee.

“Heave-ho.”

Lee Min-ki got up from his seat with a much lighter heart.

But he didn’t know yet.

That there are always unexpected variables in this world.