Top Star By Luck [EN]: Chapter 85

‘Seon-ah?’

It was Yoo Seon-ah.

As a classmate from JAM Acting School, she was someone who received outstanding evaluations, even among her peers.

Yoo Seon-ah was sitting pathetically on the practice room floor with a swollen face, as if she had shed a lot of tears.

‘It’s been a while, Seon-ah… but that’s not the point. Was Seon-ah always someone who cried like this?’

Lee Min-ki was shocked, as if he had been hit in the head with a hammer by her unexpected appearance.

Who is Yoo Seon-ah?

She was someone so full of positivity that there wasn’t even a speck of negativity to be seen.

When you think of her face, you can’t imagine anything other than a smiling one.

But she’s sitting there alone like that.

‘Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve seen her at gatherings lately. Did something happen?’

She was someone whose frequency of meetings had decreased rapidly in the last few months.

In the early days of Lee Min-ki’s debut, he met with Kim Tak almost every week or two under trainer Kim Ah-seong, and they all watched each other’s acting.

They continued the study group until very recently.

However, Yoo Seon-ah’s attendance rate decreased.

I thought she was busy.

“……Did something bad happen?”

He was just staring blankly like that.

“……!”

Yoo Seon-ah turned her head and looked in the direction of the hallway where Lee Min-ki was.

And then.

“……!”

She was startled, as if she had seen an alien, and covered her face with both hands.

Lee Min-ki also instinctively bent down and hid under the window.

After holding his breath for a moment.

‘Why am I hiding?’

By the time he realized that there was no reason to hide.

Creak!

Yoo Seon-ah, who opened the door, said with a glare.

“Min-ki, would you like to talk to me for a moment?”

* * *

Clatter.

Lee Min-ki, who brought a can of coffee, slipped it to Yoo Seon-ah.

“Here you go.”

“……”

“No, drink it if you don’t want to.”

“That’s not it. Give it to me.”

Yoo Seon-ah sighed and took the coffee.

And it was the moment she opened the can.

“So, what’s going on?”

Lee Min-ki glanced at her and asked.

“I was surprised. Did something bad happen?”

“I don’t know if I should say it.”

“You don’t have to.”

It was that moment.

The practice room became quiet with just one word.

A silence so awkward that it was difficult to move a finger flowed for a moment.

Lee Min-ki rested his chin on his finger and thought with a serious expression.

‘Was comforting someone always this difficult?’

It’s tough.

[Seong Jin-woo] in the drama seemed to be good at comforting people, but when it comes to comforting someone, I have nothing to say.

Of course, the character Seong Jin-woo is also terribly oblivious.

Thanks to his appearance and directing, the comforting scene in the play became plausible, but if you comforted people like that in society, you would be buried in the back mountain of the neighborhood [a euphemism for being ostracized or facing severe social consequences].

‘The characters in the works can comfort others so easily.’

Lee Min-ki blinked again and searched his database.

Is there anyone around who can be of help?

‘Should I try doing it like Ah-seong Teacher… No. That side is not helpful.’

Kim Ah-seong’s words come to mind.

[Wait, Min-ki, look this way, look this way. Let’s take a picture. Huh? Huh? Why are you turning your head?]

Strangely, that suits Ah-seong Teacher.

However, if someone else does that, they will be lucky if they don’t get punched in the face.

‘Then Kim Tak?’

No.

Kim Tak is a no-no.

The thought of his stupid expression made him immediately exclude him.

If there are any rational people around.

‘Manager Park Han-mo and Director Seo Jeong-woo?’

No.

The two of them sometimes have too much rationalism, so they cut off their empathy.

If you’re crying, they’ll tell you to practice more at that time and hit you with a fact bomb [overwhelm you with logical but unsympathetic advice].

‘I’m the kind of person who doesn’t have anyone around to help me in times like this.’

Amazing.

Lee Min-ki was admiring himself for his short talent pool.

“……I failed.”

Suddenly, Yoo Seon-ah suddenly opened her mouth.

“Yes?”

“I failed. The audition. Haa, I thought I would pass this time, but I failed again. It’s already the 9th time in a row. This time, they didn’t even give me a rejection notice. My acquaintance passed, so I found out late.”

“Ah…….”

It was a word that broke the silence and poured out in an instant.

However, since it was so appropriate, Lee Min-ki finally grasped the situation.

‘I see, she was discouraged because she failed the audition.’

That’s right.

If an aspiring actor is hurt and sulky, this is probably the reason.

Why couldn’t I even imagine this?

It was obvious.

‘Seon-ah can also fail.’

It was because Yoo Seon-ah was an exceptionally talented person among his classmates.

As Lee Min-ki vaguely remembers, it doesn’t seem like it took her that long to debut before he returned to the past.

So, he didn’t even assume that she would fail the audition.

Because that’s impossible.

‘I think she debuted around this time.’

I remember roughly.

When Lee Min-ki was tasting the bitter cup of repeated failures, Yoo Seon-ah immediately debuted and he looked at her with envy.

That was the image of Yoo Seon-ah engraved in his head.

“……Min-ki, am I ridiculous?”

“Yes? Not at all.”

There’s no way it’s ridiculous.

While he was thinking about the wording to refute, Yoo Seon-ah opened her mouth.

“When you were in the academy, you were so full of energy even though you kept failing auditions.”

“Ah.”

“But when I become like that, I can’t do that. I tried to do that, but I can’t.”

That’s right.

I failed so many times.

In an awkward mood, Lee Min-ki rolled his head and opened his mouth.

“Um, it was natural for me to fail at that time, right? I failed so often that I didn’t get much damage.”

“No. Who is the person who is supposed to be in pain? Min-ki, you must have endured that well.”

It was a tone that he couldn’t sympathize with at all.

Yoo Seon-ah pouted her lips as if she was slightly sulky.

“It’s hard to just laugh all the time. I wondered how a person could be so endlessly positive while watching Min-ki, and I wondered if I could do that, but I don’t think I’m the kind of person who can do that.”

It was dark.

It was so dark that it was hard to breathe just listening to it.

It was hard to imagine that it would come out of the mouth of Yoo Seon-ah, who is usually an icon of positivity.

But.

‘I see.’

Lee Min-ki also vaguely guessed her feelings.

‘I looked endlessly positive in Seon-ah’s eyes. Just like I looked at Seon-ah.’

Each other misunderstood each other.

The current him is someone who endured with an endlessly strong mentality, suffered a little, debuted, and quickly became famous.

But.

In fact, the real him was a little different.

Not a little.

It was much bigger.

“Actually, me.”

Lee Min-ki, who had been listening to the story for a long time, finally opened his mouth.

“I’m not such a positive person. Rather, it’s the opposite.”

He was closer to a negative person.

He was someone who viewed everything in this world negatively.

“Yes? Min-ki?”

It was the moment when Yoo Seon-ah asked back as if she couldn’t believe what she was saying.

Lee Min-ki smiled bitterly and said.

“I don’t show it, but I’ve made a name for myself by being unlucky. I’m someone who has never really succeeded at anything since I was young.”

What is success?

Having faced repeated failures throughout my life, I ended up joining a scam agency that nobody’s ever heard of, getting exploited to the bone, and ruining my life.

Living like that even after thirty, I couldn’t bear the shame, so I cut off contact with my family.

I couldn’t help but be a negative person.

But.

‘That’s also me.’

Because he had lived a life where he couldn’t help but be endlessly negative, there were thoughts he could have.

Not positive.

But he knew how to affirm a negative life.

“Seon-ah, do you know that?”

Lee Min-ki, who had been hesitating for a long time, finally opened his mouth.

“There’s a saying that a nobleman’s revenge is not too late even after ten years.”

“……Revenge?”

Revenge in this situation.

Yoo Seon-ah looked at Lee Min-ki with a face that said he was bringing up something completely out of context.

Lee Min-ki clenched his fist and said.

“Yes, revenge. A very miserable revenge at that.”

Lee Min-ki, feeling ashamed of his own words, cleared his throat slightly and said.

“I thought every time I failed an audition: I’m going to get revenge on the judges.”

“How?”

“Well, there’s a saying, isn’t there? A famous mental victory [a victory achieved only in one’s mind]. That my success is revenge.”

“Success is revenge?”

“That’s right.”

Lee Min-ki got up from his seat, pointed to his body, and said.

“What do you think the people who rejected me are thinking now?”

“That’s… Ah.”

Yoo Seon-ah exclaimed softly as if she had realized something.

Lee Min-ki smiled slightly and said.

“They must feel like they missed out on an investment opportunity, right? I wouldn’t mind if I failed in the practical skills, but they filtered me out in the documents. I still don’t know why they did that.”

“Bad luck?”

“Was it just bad luck?”

Lee Min-ki chuckled.

When you think about it, what he said was right.

“Everyone’s like that. While being recognized is pleasing, being undervalued is inevitably upsetting. The reason they rejected me in the audition was because they felt my value wasn’t enough. Usually.”

“……”

“So I always thought.”

Lee Min-ki continued in a firm voice.

“I’m going to be very successful. I’m going to make them regret looking down on me. I’m going to succeed and go on TV and list the names of everyone who rejected me.”

“……That much?”

“I’m not finished yet.”

“Ah, yes.”

“I’m going to tell all my juniors and peers that they didn’t even let me audition there. That they rejected me in the documents. That they have no eye for talent. That they’re the people who rejected the great Lee Min-ki. I even imagined my words being captured and spread on the internet.”

“……Is that the end now?”

“No, it’s far from over. But I’ll stop here because it’ll get ugly if I say more.”

Yoo Seon-ah chuckled.

Lee Min-ki, seeing the meaning mixed in her laughter, smiled shyly and said.

“Seon-ah, I think so too. If they dared to look down on Seon-ah without knowing their place, you should go to a better place and get your revenge. And then succeed and make them writhe in jealousy when they see me on the screen. Make them regret it for the rest of their lives when they see me in the news as a ten-million-dollar actor.”

The possibility is small.

In the first place, how many people would hold it against someone and live in regret just because they rejected them in an audition, even if that person succeeded later?

It would be rare.

So maybe it’s just a mental victory.

No, it’s definitely a mental victory.

But there are times when you need a mental victory when things are really painful.

“We’re not characters in a comic book.”

Lee Min-ki repeatedly said.

“People can’t live with only positive thoughts, right? Even if you’re rolling in dog poop, this world is better, and if you need dog-poop-like feelings like revenge, it’s a tonic.”

It was just his theory.

That anything can be used as nourishment, and if you can move forward and change the outcome, that’s all that matters.

There’s no need to feel guilty about not being a positive person.

“If there’s someone who just smiles even in a frustrating situation, that’s a mental illness. Even Confucius would be frustrated and slap them.”

“My cheek?”

“No, that’s not what I meant. I just, you know what I mean, right?”

After hesitating for a moment.

“Hehe.”

Yoo Seon-ah burst into a small laugh.

As if she couldn’t bear it without uttering it out loud because she found this situation so funny.

Then she chuckled a few more times and let out a long sigh.

And shouted.

“You XXXX!! XXXXX!! I’m going to XXXX―― XXXXX!! XXXXX!”

“……”

Did I hear something wrong?

Lee Min-ki flinched at the rough language that would have earned the movie a 15+ rating, and Yoo Seon-ah sighed in relief and said.

“Min-ki, you’re right. People don’t have to just smile all the time.”

“……Right?”

“If the world is X, what’s wrong with saying it’s X?”

The next moment.

Yoo Seon-ah got up from her seat and smiled brightly again.

It was her usual smiling face.

Yoo Seon-ah finally said.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, Min-ki, I feel like I’ve got a bit of direction.”

“……I’m glad if it helped.”

I wonder if it really helped.

I hope so.

As Lee Min-ki was smiling slightly, Yoo Seon-ah opened her mouth.

“I’m going to go to an audition overseas this weekend.”

“Overseas?”

Lee Min-ki made a small surprised expression at those words.

Auditions are auditions, but going all the way overseas to see one?

Usually, they do everything in the country.

It would be one thing if they were coming up to the *sudogwon* [Greater Seoul Metropolitan Area] from the *jibang* [provinces outside of Seoul] to see the final audition.

I’ve never heard of a Korean person going overseas to apply to an agency.

‘No, I think there was something like that.’

Where was it?

As he was pondering with a vague feeling because he couldn’t quite remember, Yoo Seon-ah repeatedly said.

“Yes, the company is a joint venture with an overseas company, and they say that they’re thinking about global expansion these days, so the auditions have to be evaluated by overseas investors.”

It was the moment he heard those words.

“Wait a minute.”

Lee Min-ki’s head spun dizzily as if he had drunk a strong liquor at the flood of words.

Lee Min-ki asked with a hopeful heart.

“By any chance, what’s the name of that agency?”

“Why?”

“No, I’m just curious. I might know the place.”

“You probably do know it.”

Yoo Seon-ah said in a puzzled voice.

“It’s called 3Y Entertainment.”

3Y.

It was the moment he heard those words.

“Huh.”

Lee Min-ki let out a small laugh.

“Why?”

“No, it’s a place I’ve heard of.”

I’ve heard of it.

A lot.

I’ve heard it so much that I’ve got calluses on my ears.

‘As a very vicious place.’

3Y.

So, this joint venture, which was founded by three people whose names start with Y in Korea, China, and the United States, was a place that lured actors out under the guise of overseas auditions and used them as playthings with the bait of debut.

A place that actually carried out the pillow deals [sexual favors in exchange for career advancement] that were only rumored to exist.

In other words, it was also the place where Kim Do-ha reigned as the leader.

‘These bastards.’

Lee Min-ki felt something snap in his head.

Probably the thread of patience.

He was going to give it a little more time, but it came right in front of him.

A few days.

If he had hesitated just a few more days, Yoo Seon-ah would have become a victim.

No, it’s certain.

If he hadn’t met Yoo Seon-ah and talked to her, she would have gone overseas and become a new victim in a few days.

When his thoughts reached this point.

A firm resolution was made, as if a kitchen knife had been stuck into the cutting board in his heart.