Top Star By Luck [EN]: Chapter 81

81. 60-Second Acting

[60-Second Acting]

A segment where performers act out a scene on the spot for exactly 60 seconds.

Only the situation and character are provided; there are no specific acting instructions whatsoever.

The situation and character Lee Minki received were as follows:

[One-Room Apartment/Living Alone]

An exceedingly simple setup.

The production team likely targeted viewers in their 20s, who are the main audience for Mytube [a fictional video-sharing platform] entertainment shows.

They probably didn’t expect much.

‘But the result was a huge success.’

It was literally a jackpot.

In the near future, if an actor was confident in their acting skills, it became customary to appear on [60-Second Acting] for promotion and to verify their skills.

So many actors participated that there were easily over 200 uploaded videos.

Lee Minki was a maniac who watched all of these broadcasts.

But do you know what?

What an actor who wants to appear but can’t thinks when watching such a show.

‘I would try something like this if I were there.’

It was a simulation.

In Lee Minki’s case, he thought about what kind of acting he would do if he were in that situation.

He practiced pathetically alone in front of the mirror and got caught by others.

He never had the chance to use his skills honed in that way because the opportunity didn’t arise, but this time the situation was a little different.

‘I can use it all. Without holding back!’

This acting is also like that.

The special move Lee Minki prepared was this.

“Wh-Who’s there!”

It was a delusion that anyone living alone would have had at least once.

“I know you’re hiding there. Come out right now before I call the police!”

Imagining that a thief broke into the house.

Lee Minki lifted his heels slightly and tiptoed around the room.

He glared as if trying to see even though his eyes weren’t visible, and he waved his hand in the empty air.

PD [Production Director] Na looked at that and was surprised.

‘Is he searching the closet?’

That’s right.

It was a pantomime [acting without words].

When it comes to impromptu acting, people often talk about script monologues, but pantomime played an important role in [60-Second Acting].

This is because you have to imprint the situation on the viewers in a short amount of time.

“Don’t move. I’ve got a good sense of it. Do you think I’m easy because I live alone? I have a 9th-degree black belt in Taekwondo and a 9th-degree black belt in Hapkido [Korean martial arts]. I’ve even received a reward vacation for perfect attendance. You’re dead.”

Lee Minki tiptoed around the empty space alone for a while.

Then he opened another empty closet.

“……!”

He was so shocked as if he had seen a ghost, and he fell to the ground.

“……!! …!”

He crawls away on the floor with his arms, only moving his mouth without saying a word.

PD Na repeatedly opened her mouth wide in surprise.

‘There really was a thief hiding in the house.’

That’s right.

A real thief broke into the one-room apartment.

What could be seen as a common delusion actually happened.

It was the moment when a story was created in impromptu acting.

But it wasn’t over yet.

“S-Sister, why are you here?”

The thief was an acquaintance.

It was absurd enough that a thief really broke into the house, but even that thief was an acquaintance.

‘Crazy, it’s so real.’

PD Na burst out laughing.

This segment was half a gamble, but the thought that it might be a big hit made her vision blurry.

‘Lee Minki is good at acting, he’s really good.’

It’s incredibly surprising.

She also met many actors while working at the broadcasting station.

And she also learned that most of the people called talented were the result of the power of directing.

The newer they were, the more so.

The actors who became famous in a short period of time were even more so.

Lee Minki met both of those conditions.

But what is the scene she is witnessing now?

‘He’s carrying the whole performance on his own in a situation where there’s nothing? Lee Minki, you’re really a genius?’

Isn’t he drawing a clear watercolor painting on a blank white canvas?

“Wh-What? I’m cheating? What? Leaving my sister behind?”

I’m going crazy.

The story went one step further.

He thought the thief was a complete stranger, but it was an acquaintance, and that acquaintance was a lover.

Even the character played by the actor was at fault.

‘Right, the lover cheated, so she came to witness the evidence.’

It’s ridiculous.

It doesn’t feel realistic.

But since it’s a 60-second performance, isn’t the momentary stimulus more important than the detailed details?

Lee Minki’s acting was, in a word, acting specialized for this segment.

‘He’s thorough in his preparation, but this isn’t at a level that can be explained by the word thorough. He could even go into screenwriting.’

PD Na could only admire, even forgetting to laugh.

Meanwhile.

There was also a person whose blood had run cold at the sight unfolding before his eyes.

‘This is bullsh*t…….’

It was Kim Do-ha.

‘Lee Minki, did he prepare something like this?’

He was witnessing Lee Minki’s acting up close and sweating profusely.

‘This isn’t a matter of whether he’s good at acting or not.’

The planning itself is different.

Did JC [presumably a company or group] put their heads together and point it out?

Did they put so much effort into just one interview?

No.

Kim Do-ha knew very well that the company wasn’t a group that would do that much.

Moreover, the acting skills that Lee Minki is showing now made him have to admit reality.

Because his speculation in his head was completely shattered like a school classroom window hit by a soccer ball.

‘The established theory is that method acting can’t be used on the spot.’

That’s right.

If Lee Minki’s weakness that Kim Do-ha thought of was method acting, then the weakness of method acting was impromptu acting.

It takes a long time to accept the character until it becomes one with myself.

That’s the big weakness of the method.

So much so that there is a saying that actors who specialize in method acting have half as many works as classical acting actors throughout their lives.

‘Method acting can’t be done in a short period of time.’

Method acting is about matching everything from speech habits to footsteps to the rhythm of blinking.

It was nearly impossible to digest in a short period.

Because of this, there were fewer actors who specialized in method acting in the drama scene, and for the same reason, they were often disregarded.

Conversely, Kim Do-ha’s ‘classical acting’ was different.

He approached the role from a purely technical perspective.

Therefore, given the right circumstances, he could generally deliver a consistent performance above average.

So, he thought he could show a gap in situations like today.

‘What the heck is that?’

The truth was this.

Lee Minki’s acting.

‘Okay, there’s a reaction. Should I twist my waist a little more here?’

It wasn’t method acting from the start.

To truly embody method acting, the actor himself must have absolute confidence in his role and performance.

He must have the confidence that others will accept his ad-libs on set.

Method acting without confidence is like wavering.

Acting that wobbles unsteadily like a mid-air bridge is worse than not acting at all.

Confidence bordering on arrogance.

That was something that a mere fly-like extra could not possibly possess.

’60 seconds is almost up, what should I do for the ending? A proposal? Or break the window and run away?’

So, Lee Minki started calculating his acting.

He calculated all possible scenarios and honed his acting to fit himself into them like a Go [a strategic board game] stone.

In other words, Lee Minki was originally a ‘classical acting actor’ from the bone.

He only calculated and acted out the emotions unique to method acting in [Cafe del Dia] because that was what was needed.

“Um, sis, the chicken’s here… Should we talk while we eat?”

That’s how Lee Minki’s acting ended.

Perfectly showing a content composition that perfectly fits the [60-second acting] format, and acting skills that match it perfectly.

“Amazing.”

“Wow, seriously.”

“Crazy, crazy.”

Soon, applause erupted from the surprised staff in the studio.

“The filming isn’t over yet.”

With PD [Production Director] Na’s mediation, it was Kim Do-ha’s turn next.

And his acting was.

“Mom, I’m out of kimchi.”

It was an ordinary monologue.

A textbook-like monologue that can be seen everywhere.

Acting suitable for an audition, not [60-second acting], flowed from Kim Do-ha’s mouth.

‘He’s good.’

He’s good.

As if he’s one of the highest-paid young male actors in this era, he’s good.

But that was it.

“Scholarship? I know, I’ll take care of it. I’m Mom’s son.”

It wasn’t innovative.

“Okay, I’ll call you again tomorrow.”

And his acting skills didn’t seem to be at a level to bury Lee Minki’s acting.

Click.

Kim Do-ha, who closed his phone with a gesture so small it was almost pantomime, muttered in a sighing voice.

“…I’m going crazy.”

He was literally going crazy.

He hated stimulating things in acting, but it wasn’t stimulating at all.

* * *

Around the time when both the interview and acting were finished.

“Actor, I really learned a lot today thanks to you!”

Lee Minki shouted loudly towards Kim Do-ha.

“As expected, the real thing is on a different level from the screen.”

“…Haha, I’m glad it helped.”

Kim Do-ha replied in a trembling voice.

Only a few tens of minutes had passed, but he was starting to feel slightly overwhelmed by Lee Minki.

It shows.

He doesn’t know the details, but he feels an unprecedented sense of pressure.

That became another small source of anxiety for Lee Minki.

‘Did I go too far?’

It’s best to appear as a junior who is easy to take care of, with a similar level but slightly lower.

Did I try too hard?

It’s true that I tried to win, but I didn’t expect to actually win.

I worked hard because I thought I could only stand a chance if I did my best as if I were going to die, since the opponent was Kim Do-ha.

‘Did I do too well, more than necessary?’

I think I did too well.

‘What if he becomes uncomfortable and distances himself?’

That would be great.

…Yeah, right.

I approached him hoping to get a little closer to Kim Do-ha and subtly collect evidence under the pretext of having a meal.

At this rate, we’re going to end up hating to even make eye contact, let alone become friends.

Kim Do-ha felt similarly.

‘Ha, it’s a bit much to be humiliated and then take him around. No, Kim Do-ha, when did you ever care about that?’

He came prepared to include Lee Minki in his group, but the person was so different from what he expected.

He felt it instinctively.

‘I can tell just by looking. This is the type of person who hates to play around.’

What should I say about Lee Minki?

He was like a human being molded from the word ‘diligence’.

There are people you occasionally meet in life.

‘Guys who think they’re the main characters in a shonen manga [a genre of Japanese comics aimed primarily at a young male audience].’

They are strangely positive and strangely passionate.

They are desperate not to show any dirtiness.

Without even realizing it, they make the people around them look vulgar.

Lee Minki, as seen by Kim Do-ha, was exactly that kind of person.

‘That unlucky bastard. Just by looking at him, I bet he wouldn’t be able to resist helping a grandmother pulling a cart uphill out of sympathy.’

The ironic thing was that Kim Do-ha was exactly that kind of person in the eyes of the public.

The only difference between the two was one thing.

Whether the outside and inside are the same or different, only that one thing.

‘Ha, I don’t think I can seduce him. What should I do?’

He would fall for it right away.

Rather, the person himself is waiting for those words to come out, but the person who is said to be good at reading people is flustered because he doesn’t know that.

Tring.

“Ah.”

A phone call came out of nowhere.

‘Which bastard at this moment.’

Kim Do-ha grumbled and answered the phone.

[Hey! I heard you went to film something with Lee Minki!]

The person on the other end of the phone was none other than.

Lee Heul.

[Tell him to have a drink with me.]