Top Star By Luck [EN]: Chapter 61

61. Q&A

Q&A.

In Korean, it translates to ‘question and answer.’

Even shorter, it’s ‘질답’ [jildap].

Commonly, a Q&A might seem like a chance to ask genuinely curious questions, but at press conferences like this, the dynamic is a bit different.

[It’s all staged.]

Exactly as it sounds—predetermined questions are asked, and answers are given accordingly.

Before inviting the reporters, the organizers circulate the questions to key entertainment news outlets.

[If they ask this question, we’ll answer like this. Please memorize it to avoid mistakes during the actual event.]

It’s like having an answer sheet and solving subjective questions.

If a question seems even slightly complex or plausible, you can assume the answer has been predetermined from the start.

You might worry it would seem awkward, but the professional moderator controls the pace, creating a natural atmosphere.

This event, the [Cafe del Dia] press conference, was no exception.

“Mingi-ssi, as a rookie actor, you’ve made significant strides in the entertainment industry, quickly becoming a hot topic.”

“Haha, thank you.”

“Moreover, you’ve recently gained a lot of attention for your masculine physique, right? Will we see that charm in Cafe del Dia as well?”

“Um, well…”

Lee Mingi mentally flipped through his answer sheet.

‘What am I supposed to say here?’

Having distributed the question list in advance, he had also reviewed and checked the answer list.

Lee Mingi had spent the last few nights staying up late, memorizing the answers.

‘Here, I’m supposed to tilt my head with a bright smile and say this.’

Lee Mingi reproduced the smile and posture he had practiced in front of the mirror until his facial muscles cramped, exaggerating it by 140%.

“As an actor, I always want to show the audience my best side, but this time, I’m aiming to show a more composed charm.”

“A composed charm, you say? Like what?”

Lee Mingi scratched the back of his head, as if embarrassed.

“Would it make sense if I said a man with the scent of coffee?”

The answer was a bit cheesy.

If he said that in a school classroom, his friends would beat him up during break time.

But.

The reporter was a professional too.

“Ah! A man with the scent of coffee! In my mind, I picture a man who looks good in a dress shirt and apron! Haha, I want to push for a ‘one Mingi per household’ policy.”

A true professional.

The reaction was so flamboyant that even Lee Mingi, who had set it up, felt his hands and feet curling.

No, they really were curling.

‘…Just hang in there.’

The conversation sounds cheesy when you hear it live.

But in text, it’s a witty answer, and in edited videos, it’s a highlight.

“Now, I’d like to ask Kim Jihwan-ssi. If you could describe Lee Mingi, your rival, in one word?”

“Rival?”

He frowned.

‘Ah, he messed up the acting,’ Lee Mingi thought, but then Kim Jihwan regained his composure and said.

“Lee Mingi-ssi is a competitor on TV, but on set, he is someone I respect.”

He did it.

He managed to pull it off.

There was a bitter taste in his smiling face from the slight failure, but it was still something that he managed to do.

Lee Mingi knew that Kim Jihwan had done his best.

‘You were a pro too.’

But this is almost over.

It was about time for the Q&A session, as well as the press conference itself, to end.

The photo session was over, and they had finished talking about the work.

Now, there was only one thing left.

‘The audience Q&A.’

It was time to hand over the interview to the audience.

A small bead of sweat formed on Lee Mingi’s forehead.

Usually, the moment that actors find most difficult at a press conference is this very moment: the audience Q&A.

Trainer Kim Ahseong had said this:

[It’s easy to pull out predetermined answers. They can be agreed upon in advance, or you can just memorize them. But audience questions? Ugh, that’s improvisation. Mingi-ssi, you’re going to have a hard time. Hehehehe.]

How can a person make such a laughing sound?

Just as he was about to feel disgusted by the image in his head, an unusual glint flashed across the host’s face.

“Now, we will take questions from the audience. If anyone has a question they would like to ask the production team, please raise your hand high!”

The process that would now begin was as follows.

When an audience member raised their hand, the host would pick a winner from among them.

The host’s technique was to filter out anyone who might cause trouble.

Using their past experiences as big data, the host carefully scanned the audience’s expressions and shouted in a loud voice.

“Yes! The person wearing the checkered shirt!”

At the end of his finger, a man was sitting with a disgruntled expression.

He looked to be in his 30s.

A person with a plump build, an ordinary face, and a backpack on his lap.

He looked like an office worker who had rushed over straight after work.

‘Usually, that kind of person asks pretty safe questions.’

In his experience, that type often asked about the work itself.

That was better than personal questions.

That was the moment the host made his first move.

“I.”

The selected audience member, still with a blunt expression, raised his hand and said in an indifferent voice.

“I would like to ask Lee Mingi-ssi.”

“Yes.”

Lee Mingi swallowed his nervous sweat and pulled his chair forward a little more.

‘They said there wouldn’t be any big problems if I just played it safe.’

But the question that flowed casually from the audience member’s mouth in the next moment was, unfortunately, a landmine of all landmines.

“I would like to ask about the risks of the current coffee industry and how to improve them.”

“……”

So, it was literally a landmine.

Kim Bawee Cham.

The named user of [Coffee or Tea] confidently threw a landmine.

‘He said he knows a lot about coffee, right? Let’s see him answer.’

* * *

What is this?

Lee Mingi felt a momentary dizziness in his head.

‘Instead of a question about the drama, he asked about coffee? And even the market?’

He thought he would only get questions about his relationship with the other actors on set.

Or how he practiced his character in the work.

But unfortunately, everything missed the mark.

‘What is an industry risk? What is an improvement plan?’

This is a terrible ball, a terrible ball.

What bad luck to have that kind of person as a questioner.

It was misfortune.

“Haha, well.”

The host, realizing that the situation was going wrong from Lee Mingi’s reaction, said urgently.

“That’s a very good question! Wow, you must be very interested in coffee. But since we’re here, it would be better if you could ask a question related to the work! Right?”

It was a roundabout way of telling him not to ask strange questions.

But was Kim Bawee Cham the kind of person to back down from that kind of hint?

He was in a state of being possessed by a reporter trying to expose a corrupt politician, so he said in an even firmer voice in response to the host’s restraint.

“My question is also about the work. Cafe del Dia is a drama about coffee, after all.”

“……”

“I’ll ask the actor again. I would like to ask about the chronic problems of the coffee market and how to improve them.”

It’s over.

The production staff, realizing that the atmosphere was about to go wrong, looked at each other.

‘Who brought that kind of person?’

‘Didn’t they even verify him?’

‘What is the host doing? He should laugh it off with humor or skip the order.’

‘Who will take responsibility if there is a problem?’

Each of their gazes was intricately intertwined like a spider web.

Nevertheless, the situation in front of them had already happened.

If he avoided answering, the reporters, who were thirsty for a topic, would have a good prey.

Whatever the content of the article, it was unlikely to be a good thing for the drama that was about to air.

‘See.’

On the other hand, Kim Bawee Cham himself was extremely elated.

‘As expected, he only pretended to know for marketing purposes. Did he put glue on his mouth? He can’t say anything when the problem gets a little difficult.’

He was intoxicated with a sense of victory.

He judged that everyone becoming tight-lipped was his victory.

Logically speaking, other people wouldn’t ask that kind of question at such a friendly event.

Nevertheless, Kim Bawee Cham thought that his insight was sharp.

Originally, trolls don’t know that they are trolls.

Even if he somehow managed to answer, there was no problem.

He was planning to refute the answer and throw a deeper answer, so that he could break Lee Mingi’s shell more firmly.

In short, the problem itself was a trap.

All that remained was how Lee Mingi would deal with this trap.

‘Now, answer me.’

After a few seconds of the atmosphere fading like the pallor of a plaster statue with one question.

‘Oops, I have to stop it.’

It was the moment when the host thought that he should skip it even if he had to take a risk.

“That’s right.”

Lee Mingi, holding the microphone, opened his mouth.

“I was late because I was thinking about the answer for a while.”

A small surprise spread through the scene at the comfortable voice.

‘What is he going to answer?’

‘Is he confident?’

‘If he answers that kind of question wrong, it will be poison.’

‘Did he give up?’

Still, only silent screams were passing by.

What kind of answer would he give to the vague and complex question of the risks and improvements of the coffee market?

In response, Lee Mingi gave this answer.

“The environmental problem is big.”

It was the environment.

* * *

The environment.

The moment everyone at the scene had a puzzled expression at the keyword, Lee Mingi calmly continued.

“The risk of the coffee market is the environment. To be exact, it’s global warming.”

Following the environment, global warming came out.

‘What is he talking about?’

Even Kim Bawee Cham, who had prepared to attack with a different point of view, was temporarily in a state of confusion.

‘Usually, when talking about the disadvantages of the coffee market, don’t they talk about the tastes of consumers?’

Criticizing consumers is a suicide goal.

He was going to point out everything in detail, saying that there was a reason for everything.

‘What is the environment story?’

The repertoire that he had simulated in his head several times was scattered from the premise.

Not only Kim Bawee Cham, but everyone in this meeting was like that.

But in fact, Lee Mingi, who had raised the topic, continued to speak in an endlessly calm voice.

“Coffee trees are extremely sensitive plants to the environment. Some varieties need to maintain a constant temperature in the late 10s [Celsius, meaning between 50 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit] throughout the year, and the rainfall and altitude must all be properly adjusted in order to harvest a single, complete bean.”

“……”

“However, due to global warming, climate change is occurring, and unexpected heat waves and cold waves are gradually occurring globally.”

What does that have to do with coffee?

It was something that ordinary people who only consume coffee would not know.

It was a topic that even enthusiasts would not think about.

“Coffee-producing countries in South America, such as Brazil and Colombia, are vulnerable to drought.”

But Lee Mingi was able to answer so easily.

“Coffee trees dry out easily. Even a single drought can cause tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of trees to wither like dominoes. But it is not easy to pull out the dead trees and grow them again.”

As if it were a set-up, no, so much so that it was hard to believe that it was a set-up, the answer flowed smoothly from his mouth.

“You have to wait 3 years, at least 3 years. You have to invest 3 years entirely in growth to harvest the beans again. But there is no guarantee that another natural disaster will not occur within 3 years.”

Why can he say this so easily?

Why does Lee Mingi know in detail the problems that others would never think about in their lives?

The reason was simple.

‘In the future, South American coffee farms were ruined by abnormal weather, and there was a fuss about the price of coffee going up.’

It was because he had actually experienced it.

In the near future, coffee prices soared worldwide due to climate change.

The price of raw beans had doubled in just one year.

‘In Italy, there were protests all over the country because the price of coffee rose by 0.1 euros.’

Climate change in this era is as distant to consumers as a fantasy novel.

But just a few years later.

Climate change became a reality that people felt on their skin.

Even consumers like Lee Mingi, who enjoyed coffee as a hobby, had to worry about it at least once as a topic.

“To summarize, in order for the coffee market to last for a long time, we must first think about ways to reduce carbon emissions. I think that is the answer for the coffee market, and even the global agricultural market as a whole. That’s all.”

Lee Mingi, who had gathered the puzzles in his head and poured out the answers, looked around with an embarrassed heart.

‘…Was I too serious?’

I just said what came to mind.

It’s quiet.

Neither the production staff, the host, the audience, nor even the person who asked the question said anything.

It was like looking at a hard statue.

‘Uh, did I screw up?’

An ominous sign settled in Lee Mingi’s head.

But why?

Why did even Kim Bawee Cham, who had been elated, lose his words?

The reason was simple.

‘What is climate change?’

Kim Bawee Cham was also a person who was only interested in coffee itself.

He was endlessly ignorant of the changes in the earth surrounding the coffee market.

He doesn’t know.

Because he doesn’t know, he can’t refute it.

He just hesitates.

In the first place, it would be enough to give up refuting and accept it, but Kim Bawee Cham didn’t come to this place to do that.

His shoulders twitched with the desire to find something to pick on.

‘What does an entertainer know?’

Even his pride was cracking.

In the end, the choice he made, cornered and grinding his teeth, was this.

“Hey. I was asking about the current coffee market, not the future coffee market?”

It was an evasion of the point.

When he couldn’t refute the logic at all, he refuted the point itself.

It was a despicable act.

Nevertheless, Kim Bawee Cham himself thought that he had made a divine move.

The moment the purpose was not a conversation but an attack, the refutation itself was important.

“……Ugh.”

Lee Mingi flinched at the tenacity.

It’s petty.

How can a person be so petty?

Did he come here to debate, not to Q&A?

Is he really trying to beat him?

‘What should I answer now?’

Should I tell the host to cut it off?

Come to think of it, why is that person standing still? Wait, why is his expression so excited?

The situation was strange.

Not only the host, but also the gazes looking at Lee Mingi from all directions were full of anticipation.

‘Could it be that they think I can keep fighting forever?’

No.

I’m slowly starting to show my bottom.

It’s not like I’m watching a debate, please help me.

‘I’m going to die!!!!’

It was the moment when he resented that there was no one to help him, and he hated people and love.

In fact.

Lee Mingi also didn’t know something.

“It’s an interesting story.”

There was also someone else in this place who was interested in the same topic.

Beomcheon Food Company (BFC).

The head of the company, Song Jinbae, who has a significant influence on the Korean coffee industry.

He, who can be said to be the best expert on coffee on the Korean Peninsula, grabbed the microphone and opened his mouth.

“I was wondering, but I’m glad to hear such a high-level story. Both of you spoke very well.”

Song Jinbae’s remarks made Kim Bawee Cham’s face brighten.

This is because there is no one who doesn’t know him among those who have professionally delved into coffee in Korea.

He was praised by such a person.

It was a moment when he thought that he might be proud of it for the rest of his life as a mania [enthusiast].

“But climate change is the crisis that has struck the current coffee market.”

The giant opened his mouth.

“In other words, Lee Mingi-ssi pointed it out accurately.”

With just one word.

With that one word, Kim Bawee Cham’s hopeful expression cracked.