Top Star By Luck [EN]: Chapter 93

93. A Stroke of Luck to Top Star

Unlike the harmonious atmosphere of moments ago, the inside of the car was now as frozen as the Han River in midwinter.

“Overseas expansion?”

Lee Min-ki asked, his voice hesitant.

“Yes, there’s a way to break into the overseas market right away.”

*I’m feeling dizzy.*

Of course, I’m not in a rush to go overseas.

In fact, you could say I’m already doing it.

[Campus Story], [Forever Green], and [Cafe del Dia] are all being exported overseas one by one.

Of course, it’s still mostly being distributed in Asia and surrounding areas.

But Manager Park Han-mo’s tone was a bit different.

“Not only can we go overseas in a few months, but tens of millions of people might see you, Actor Lee.”

It sounded like it was on a much larger scale.

There was even a hint of joy in Manager Park Han-mo’s voice as he said that.

“Are you kidding me?”

“Of course not. I, Park Han-mo, am always serious when it comes to work.”

*He’s using a tone he doesn’t usually use, so I think he’s definitely kidding me.*

“Of course, we’ll be proceeding officially through the company. That is, if you’re okay with it, Actor Lee.”

Screech.

The car, which had been running for a while, stopped on the side of the road.

Manager Park Han-mo, who had been holding the steering wheel, turned his head slightly and looked at Lee Min-ki, who was sitting in the back seat.

“What do you think? Would you like to hear the story?”

* * *

“……I never knew you had connections like this, Manager.”

“I studied in the States, after all. I figured I should bring something like this back.”

*I don’t think so.*

Lee Min-ki swallowed his words.

*I never would have guessed that Manager Park studied video in the US.*

That’s right.

Manager Park Han-mo, who usually didn’t talk much about his past, was actually.

*Manager Park is a graduate of the Graphton Art School (GIA)?* [GIA is a fictional prestigious art school located in the United States]

He was a graduate of GIA, a prestigious art school located in the United States.

And he majored in producing.

He even won an award for a work he submitted to a student competition.

“That’s surprising. I didn’t know you went to college overseas, Manager.”

“The location of learning is important, too. But I thought it would be more fun to work in Korea, so I came back.”

“Then why didn’t you go to a production company, but an agency?”

“You know? People always try to learn what they lack.”

“Ah, yes…….”

He could learn about production anytime, so he wanted to learn about agency work instead.

Lee Min-ki was about to nod at the confident words when Manager Park Han-mo chuckled and said.

“Just kidding. I just felt a great attraction to this work. The scope of producing is wide. In the first place, only less than 20% of people get jobs that match their major, statistically.”

*So he says.*

Anyway, I learned that Manager Park Han-mo is more capable than I thought.

Moreover, this opportunity was brought about by his connections.

“(Oh, how long has it been?)”

A blonde woman, as slender as a Nordic goddess, suddenly ran up to Manager Park Han-mo.

As if to give him a hug.

Manager Park Han-mo.

“(Don’t come near me. You stink.)”

Coldly pushed her away.

“(Why are you so heartless when we haven’t seen each other in so long?)”

“(You’re just too careless. In Korea, if you try to touch people like that, a lot of people will look at you badly.)”

“(I’m American?)”

“(Thanks for letting me know something important. And you’re Australian.)”

The conversation flowed naturally.

*Come to think of it, Manager speaks English well.*

Lee Min-ki exclaimed quietly.

No, what I’m exclaiming about is not Manager Park Han-mo’s English skills, but his connections.

Because the person he was talking to was no ordinary person.

*Isn’t that Boyana Olsen?*

Boyana Olsen.

A rising singer-songwriter who recently broke into the Billboard Top 30 in the United States.

“She’s a friend from my college days.”

Park Han-mo introduced her as if it were nothing.

“We used to talk about our work from time to time in college.”

“(Mo, what did you just say?)”

Boyana Olsen asked, not understanding Korean.

“(I said we sometimes talked about our work.)”

“(It wasn’t just that. You filmed my first single music video.)”

“(That was just an unofficial shoot. Relax.)”

“(Humble much. I got a contract with my agency because that video went viral, you know?)”

Amazing.

Manager Park Han-mo collaborated with Boyana Olsen when he was a student?

At this point, my head is spinning.

“(But it looks like this actor understands everything I’m saying? Right?)”

Suddenly, Boyana Olsen turned her attention to Lee Min-ki.

Lee Min-ki nodded slowly.

“(Kind of. I only do as much as I can.)”

“(Kind of?)”

Boyana Olsen smiled slightly and said.

“(Your pronunciation is perfect?)”

That’s right.

In fact, Lee Min-ki was pretty good at English.

Especially his listening skills.

This wasn’t so much because Lee Min-ki was a good student, but more because of his hobbies.

*I watched every show that came out of the English-speaking world, so at some point I was able to watch without subtitles.*

It was purely a matter of time.

Which is produced more, domestic or English-speaking content?

Of course, the latter.

Lee Min-ki was someone who watched most of the English-speaking content.

Maybe he’d heard more English than Korean in his life.

With that foundation, he went to a language school for a few months, and he enjoyed how quickly he was improving, so he worked even harder.

When he got excited while repeating lines, he would even practice acting in English.

“Ahem.”

Of course, even he hadn’t had many opportunities to have proper conversations in English, so his mouth felt a bit awkward.

“(I heard about it from Manager. You need a cameo in your new music video?)”

“(That’s right.)”

Boyana Olsen nodded at Lee Min-ki’s question.

“(The theme of my music video is world travel. I’m traveling around the country and asking people I meet in each region to appear in it.)”

“(That’s a huge project.)”

“(It took quite a while. But now that I’ve filled about half of it, I just need to fill the other half and it’s done.)”

“(Already half.)”

Lee Min-ki nodded, impressed.

But even as he said that, he already knew a lot about Boyana Olsen’s new song.

*It’s the first time she’s broken into the Billboard Top 10.*

I guessed it was a great opportunity for something that just rolled in, but it was more than that.

Boyana Olsen.

Her new music video wasn’t just any music video.

Lee Min-ki repeated to himself inwardly.

*I’m lucky.*

* * *

*I even know the title.*

[Treatment]

You could say it was Boyana Olsen’s first hit song.

The music video was worth the effort, and it became quite a hot topic.

She traveled around the world with a backpack and filmed videos one by one, and what did Korea look like in it?

*Did she eat gukbap [Korean rice soup]?*

She went to a famous old restaurant in Jungang-dong, Busan, and ate dwaeji gukbap [pork rice soup].

Because it was such a hot topic, many people went there on a pilgrimage.

And this time, the opportunity came to Lee Min-ki.

“(Whatever it is, as long as I can capture Min’s handsome face on camera.)”

“(Min?)”

I asked back with a puzzled expression, and Boyana Olsen chuckled and said.

“(Min is short for Min-ki.)”

“Actor Lee, she’s always like this, so you don’t have to worry about it.”

Manager Park Han-mo interjected.

“You’ll only hurt your head if you think about it too deeply.”

“(What are you saying now?”

“Actor Lee, you have to trust me.”

“(Is Mo embarrassed of me?)”

*Come to think of it, this person has been called Mo since earlier.*

*That’s enough.*

More than that, I wanted to film something soon.

My body is itching.

Manager Park Han-mo mentioned overseas expansion as a half-joke, but Lee Min-ki knows.

That this is a really good opportunity to be known all over the world.

Lee Min-ki’s instinct as an actor, nestled inside him, was wriggling.

*I wanted to film something to warm up before filming Fashion & Passion, and this is perfect.*

This is going to be fun.

A music video is good, too.

Boyana Olsen’s fame is fame, but more than that, I like that I’m standing in the middle of this historic event.

Doki Doki [Japanese onomatopoeia for heartbeat].

Lee Min-ki tried to calm his pounding heart and said.

“(Where are we filming? I want to start right now.)”

“(Then I want to ask you first.)”

Boyana Olsen said with a smile.

“(What’s a place that has a strong Korean feel?)”

“(Something Korean.)”

I rested my chin on my hand and pondered for a moment at the question that came back.

Lee Min-ki smiled and replied.

“(I’m an expert on that.)”

* * *

Korean tourist attractions.

There are so many Korean elements in the world.

There are already many in this era.

Myeongdong.

Traditional market.

Han River Park.

Hanok Village, etc.

But even within that, there was a place that foreigners especially liked.

“(Are people wearing traditional clothes here?)”

It was Gyeongbokgung Palace.

I could see people walking around in hanboks [traditional Korean dress] everywhere.

I could also see people taking commemorative photos with their cell phones on selfie sticks.

“(This is it, it’s so Korean?)”

Boyana Olsen burst into laughter as if she had found what she was looking for.

“(Are we filming here right away?)”

“(No. There’s something we have to do before that.)”

“(Hmm?)”

“(This way.)”

Lee Min-ki dragged them to a business.

It was a hanbok rental shop.

Lee Min-ki smiled at the surprised Boyana Olsen and said.

“(If you’ve come all the way to Gyeongbokgung Palace, you should wear a hanbok.)”

That’s right.

When you think of Korea, you think of Gyeongbokgung Palace, and when you think of Gyeongbokgung Palace, you think of hanbok.

The two are like butter and ganjang [soy sauce], tomatoes and cheese, ramen [instant noodles] and kimchi [fermented cabbage], an inseparable combination.

*It looks good, too.*

Anyway, isn’t this a video that will spread overseas?

If so, even if it only appears and disappears in a fleeting moment, I wanted to leave the most definite impact possible.

With something so sure that no one could deny it.

“(Oh my, you’re so handsome and pretty.)”

The owner looked at Lee Min-ki and the other two and nodded with satisfaction.

I wasn’t that surprised.

This is because celebrities often visit as customers.

I knew that if I overreacted too much to a famous person, it would be uncomfortable for both of us.

“(Take your time and look around.)”

Wait.

Come to think of it, I’m speaking English now.

*The world is global.*

There must be a reason why people flock to the store.

While Lee Min-ki was looking around the store, slightly surprised, there was something he picked up as if he had found it.

“A gat [traditional Korean hat]?”

It was a gat.

At Manager Park Han-mo’s words, Lee Min-ki nodded and said.

“(It’s a historically proven fact that Korea’s gat is leading the Korean Wave [Korean pop culture craze])”

No one would believe it if I said it anywhere, but it was objectively true.

Strictly speaking, I’d like to mention that the combination of Joseon [Korean dynasty], zombies, and gat was fantastic, but I refrained from saying it because it would sound even less believable.

“(Gat, the sound is cool, too.)”

“(It’s amazing, gat.)”

Boyana Olsen nodded with a serious expression, holding the gat in one hand.

*How can a hat be called a gat.*

“(Well, I respect your taste, Actor Lee. I like this one better.)”

Manager Park Han-mo also very naturally picked up a durumagi [traditional Korean overcoat].

An all-black color and a design close to a modernized hanbok, it was a stylish item at first glance.

Almost like a coat.

I thought his taste was quite unique, but suddenly the hand that picked it was so natural.

“Why, Manager?”

Lee Min-ki asked, suddenly wondering, and Manager Park Han-mo said as if it were natural.

“I wanted to try it on at least once. I was too embarrassed to wear it, but it’s been a fantasy every time I saw it in pictures on the internet.”

“Ah.”

“I don’t think anyone will give me a hard time for wearing this much at Gyeongbokgung Palace, right?”

It was a personal challenge.

Lee Min-ki nodded and asked.

“Don’t you have a schedule today?”

“I’m pretty much dedicated to you these days, so it’s okay.”

*I see.*

It seemed like they were treating me well because I’d become a bit of a star.

I can really feel that I’ve become an important person in JC.

That’s what Lee Min-ki thought for a moment.

“Didn’t something unpleasant happen at Daon? The director ordered me to clear my schedule completely. He told me not to fall apart as much as possible.”

*I see.*

That’s why.

I feel like I’ve been drinking kimchi guk [a Korean expression for ‘counting your chickens before they hatch’], but I didn’t show it, so it’s okay.

“Shall we go now?”

The three people who had changed their clothes headed straight for Gyeongbokgung Palace.

*Let’s become a Korean Wave star.*

With a heart full of personal gain in the luxurious sleeves.