Top Star By Luck [EN]: Chapter 74

74

‘That’s strange.’

Lee Minki flinched at the sight of the man with his face deeply covered by a hood.

A hood isn’t that strange.

But he was wearing black sunglasses and a mask, completely concealing his face, and more than anything, his hands were strange.

‘Does he have a weapon or something?’

He’s holding a newspaper.

Nothing strange about that.

But Lee Minki knew what that newspaper was for.

‘It’s the kind they used to use when filming [Always Blue].’

It was something that often appeared in thriller movies.

A newspaper concealing a weapon inside.

Mainly used to make the victim lower their guard.

The wad of newspaper in the hooded man’s hand looked exactly like that.

‘Could it be.’

It shouldn’t be like a villain from a thriller.

Even though it was their first meeting, Lee Minki subtly went on alert.

The man was just as nervous.

‘I finally found him.’

He had been diligently searching for Lee Minki for the past few weeks.

Of course, he could find him if he wanted to.

He could just go to the studio.

The problem was that he needed to meet Lee Minki one-on-one in a private place.

Because.

‘Three thousand for just one arm.’

He was a contractor who did such things.

His main job was contract work that involved disguising accidents to attack people and inflict physical harm.

Like subtly crushing an athlete’s Achilles tendon.

‘The pay is good, probably because of who the target is.’

When he first received the offer, he thought he had hit the jackpot.

Whether the target was a regular person or a celebrity, they were all made of flesh and bone.

From an expert’s point of view, it was all the same.

The client who commissioned this job didn’t seem to want to delve too deeply into it either.

[It’s not like you’re killing him, just breaking an arm. Does someone have a grudge against him?]

[Do I need to know that to do the job?]

[No. Just curious. I enjoyed the movie. Ah, you don’t have to answer if it makes you uncomfortable.]

The client’s words were quite something.

[Let’s say you have a fly swatter in your hand, and there’s an annoying fly in front of you. There’s no reason not to swing the fly swatter, right?]

It was a truly blatant expression.

He just wanted to break an arm because he was annoyed.

There must be some detailed circumstances, but a subcontractor doesn’t need to pry into such things.

The fly swatter just does its job as paid.

‘A rookie celebrity is already making enemies.’

The client was said to be quite famous in this industry.

To be targeted by someone like that.

Well, regardless, the pay was more than generous.

That was enough.

But.

Unlike the pleasant start, he hadn’t been feeling good lately.

It was because the job hadn’t been going smoothly.

‘I almost died trying to avoid crossing paths.’

Lee Minki avoided the places he had scouted out beforehand as if he knew.

If he waited in the alley, Lee Minki would go to the next alley.

If he waited near the studio, Manager Park Hanmo would come to pick him up.

If he was in front of his favorite restaurant, he would bring someone else.

He had prepared and reviewed the job several times, but Lee Minki had dodged him like a ghost.

‘That guy is disgustingly lucky. But that’s about to end.’

The hooded man walked past Lee Minki as if nothing was happening.

With movements that didn’t even acknowledge him.

As if he were just a passing pedestrian.

But Lee Minki’s fine hairs stood up like a state-of-the-art antenna.

Perhaps it was because he was so used to misfortune.

Lee Minki instinctively knew how to avoid misfortune.

Step, step.

He slightly changed his path, naturally avoiding the trajectory of the approaching man.

Hoping that nothing would happen.

Fiddling with his phone in one hand, while rolling his eyes and staying alert.

But.

That action only provoked the man.

‘He noticed.’

The man quickly lunged.

He tried to swiftly pounce on Lee Minki, intending to subdue him in one go.

That’s where the problem occurred.

‘Huh?’

It was a coincidence.

A plastic bag happened to be spilled where the man stepped.

And.

That accidentally tripped the man.

Crackle.

“Ugh?”

The man’s body drew an artistic rotational trajectory in the innocent sky.

“Kuak!”

The man, who fell spectacularly and slammed his back against the concrete floor, let go of the wad of newspaper in his hand with a small groan.

Right in Lee Minki’s direction.

‘This is.’

Lee Minki kicked the newspaper away.

And the object that appeared inside was a truly absurd object.

‘A flashlight?’

It was a flashlight.

Not just any flashlight, but one that looked like it would be good for self-defense.

The reinforced plastic parts, thickly attached as if to reinforce durability, looked threatening at first glance.

A tough handle was also added to prevent it from being dropped during intense movements.

In addition, its length was even longer than a regular flashlight.

The exact model name was [Ilji Jeonsan HX-1]

Why did Lee Minki know this?

‘I saw it during filming.’

It was one of the props that was prepared on set when filming [Always Blue].

It wasn’t used in the end because it didn’t feel urgent enough, but he still knew its purpose.

‘I think they said it was for blinding people with the flash and beating them with the baton.’

It’s a self-defense item.

Good for swinging around like a baseball bat and beating people. Even if it looks like that, it can at least break someone’s head.

But the real reason this object is dangerous is different.

That is, it can’t be caught as a weapon.

‘It’s more threatening than an ordinary truncheon, but it’s legally safe, so it’s often used in crimes.’

What was it.

It’s good for making excuses when you get caught after beating someone up.

The director said that experts in this industry often use it.

Even if you get caught, you can claim mutual assault.

‘Why is this here?’

Lee Minki was startled and picked it up to examine it.

His suspicion soon turned into certainty.

It’s definitely it.

It’s the one I know.

‘I thought the director was joking.’

Were the things I heard back then real?

While he was caught up in absurd feelings, he looked ahead and saw the man, who had already regained his posture, staring at Lee Minki with bloodshot eyes.

Gulp.

Lee Minki swallowed hard.

Step.

Lee Minki, holding a flashlight in one hand, subtly took a step back.

An action that clearly showed he was on guard.

The man just gritted his teeth.

‘Damn it.’

He was internally going crazy.

How could a professional like him have his work tool stolen by the target?

It was pathetic.

How could this be happening?

He had been making a living doing this job, and he had never experienced anything like this before, so his face was burning.

He wouldn’t be able to hold his head up if anyone heard about this.

‘But work is work.’

The man gritted his teeth.

‘If you don’t have teeth, you have to bite with your gums.’

He couldn’t cancel the job just because he didn’t have a tool.

There was no way he couldn’t take down an actor with his bare hands.

…That’s what he thought as he was about to rush in.

“Ah!”

“…!”

Lee Minki shouted loudly and turned on the flashlight in the man’s face.

Flash!

The entire street turned into daylight in an instant.

A powerful amount of light, just enough to avoid causing blindness, poured into the man’s face.

The HX-1 self-defense flashlight.

Originally, it was made to blind the opponent with a strong light, and then hit them and run away, and now it was fulfilling its function.

“…Kugh!”

The man staggered greatly from the unexpected counterattack.

He temporarily lost his sight.

In the brief moment when he was flailing, Lee Minki had two thoughts.

‘Run away? Or subdue him and hand him over to the police?’

If he was going to run, now was the time.

However, if the other party ran away, he wouldn’t be able to find out who he was.

Conversely, if he subdued him on the spot, it would be ideal.

But in this case, he would need to take on additional risks.

As an actor whose market value would plummet if he got even a scratch on his face, it wouldn’t be a good gamble.

Moreover, he hadn’t actually caused any harm yet, so it would be difficult to determine who was at fault.

‘There’s no need to take on the risk. Just run away and report it to the police right away.’

That was the decision Lee Minki made.

“You son of a bitch!”

The man, who had already regained his senses, shouted with his eyes wide open.

Thank you for waiting without running away.

Things had gotten a bit twisted, but it wasn’t too late.

‘You’re dead.’

He glared at Lee Minki, holding the knuckle [brass knuckles] he had grabbed in his pocket.

“…!”

The man bit his lip tightly at the sight of someone appearing in the distance down the alley.

Damn it.

The person standing in that corner was someone who shouldn’t be seen.

A person with long limbs and a face that seemed to find everything in the world annoying.

He was the person the client had repeatedly emphasized to be careful not to be discovered by.

‘Crap.’

It was twisted.

It was so twisted that it couldn’t be more twisted.

The man frowned and hesitated for a moment.

“Tch!”

He turned his body around and kicked off the ground, running away.

Without looking back.

“…”

Lee Minki, who was suddenly left in the middle of the alley, stared blankly at the place where the man had left.

‘What is it?’

I was trying to run away, but he ran away first.

What is it.

What did that person want to do?

What was he trying to do to me?

I have no idea.

‘Could it be that there are even people targeting me because I’m a celebrity?’

Like kidnapping me and threatening me to take my money.

What was that movie I saw a long time ago.

‘Ah, Hostage.’

Hostage. That reminds me of that.

A story about villains kidnapping a ten-million-dollar actor and staging a hostage situation.

Was I almost a victim of something similar?

‘I should report it to the police. I need to let JC [JC Entertainment, his agency] know too.’

Lee Minki was struggling to choose one in the midst of his tangled thoughts.

“What are you doing there?”

A man spoke from behind.

Flinch.

Because of the man he had encountered earlier, Lee Minki looked back in surprise as if he had seen a ghost.

“Jihwan?”

That’s right.

Kim Jihwan was standing on the opposite side of the alley.

He was looking at Lee Minki with a look of exasperation.

“Are you filming a movie? A thriller?”

“It’s not that, but… it almost became something similar.”

Lee Minki asked, wondering if this situation was right for joking.

“Anyway, why are you here, Jihwan? Do you live around here?”

“No, I live in Yeoksam.”

Ah, Yeoksam.

He lives in a good place.

But why did he come all the way here?

Lee Minki frowned again, unable to figure it out.

“You really don’t remember?”

Kim Jihwan let out a hollow laugh and said.

“You’re funny. You were the one who suggested that we watch a movie every Friday night and study together.”

“Ah.”

That.

Lee Minki was momentarily seized with absurdity.

‘Does he usually come right away without making an appointment after saying that?’

He just mentioned it casually at dinner, and he comes right away without any detailed contact.

His sense of values is strange.

But right now, he liked Kim Jihwan’s behavior.

‘It’s a relief to have someone on the street at night.’

Lee Minki said, feeling a strange sense of relief.

“I’ll report it to the police first. Oh, and I’ll go to the gym too.”

First, the gym.

* * *

But.

Despite the report, he couldn’t get any help from the police.

There was no evidence left at the scene, and there were no CCTVs [closed-circuit televisions, surveillance cameras].

‘It’s like I was possessed by a ghost.’

They said they would investigate, but not to expect much.

Somehow, he just made an impression on the police.

They were a little too kind.

‘I thought Korean police were always unkind, but that’s not always the case.’

Anyway, just when he thought it would end without any results, someone else reacted.

“…So that’s what happened.”

JC Entertainment.

Seo Jungwoo, one of the key figures representing this place.

His nickname was Fortress Seo Jungwoo.

He reacted sensitively to what Lee Minki had experienced.

“I can’t believe this kind of thing still happens these days.”

Rather than simply showing concern because a member of his agency was almost in an accident, he seemed to have something specific in mind.

Even.

He even knew who the culprit was.

“Has this happened often?”

Lee Minki asked, hiding his pounding heart, wondering if he was about to hear the inside story of the industry.

“It happened often. Not anymore, though.”

Seo Jungwoo sighed and said.

“I need to talk to the CEO.”

“The CEO?”

Goo Inmo of Soosung [Soosung Group, likely a major entertainment conglomerate]?

Lee Minki flinched at the name of someone he had never met before, and Seo Jungwoo continued.

“The CEO is an expert in this kind of thing.”