Top Star by Luck

Chapter 1

A certain courtroom.

Unlike the usual courtrooms that favor wood interiors, this one was filled with fog on all sides.

It was an unrealistic space, as though one had entered inside a cloud.

In that space, ten jurors and a giant sat around a single man.

A juror with an unbelievably bushy beard opened his mouth.

“Lee Min Ki, 32 years old, occupation: actor. Died after falling backwards while going down the stairs.”

The juror flipped through the papers in his hand, continuing.

“He suffered a brain hemorrhage after his head was smashed in front of an apartment building. He could have survived if he had been rescued quickly, but no one was around. He was left unattended for a whole hour.”

“Unlucky.”

“Yes, you could say he was unlucky. Even after being transferred to the hospital, if he had received immediate emergency treatment, there might have been hope. But unfortunately, on that same day, there were too many emergency patients.”

“No available doctors?”

“They were hospitalized due to overwork.”

The man’s life continued to be discussed by the jurors.

“At 11 years old, in the 4th grade, he fell backward and broke his nose.”

“Unlucky.”

“At 12, he nearly choked to death while eating rice cake soup at school lunch. Fortunately, his homeroom teacher knew the Heimlich maneuver and saved him.”

“Should we call that lucky?”

“In the process, his ribs were broken, and he had to go to the emergency room. Then, at 13, he sprained his ankle the day before the school play.”

“When he ordered delivery food, half the time the delivery guy forgot something.”

From the age of one until his death at 32, the story of his life was detailed.

And through it all, there was one common theme.

“Unlucky.”

Quite literally, unlucky.

The man’s life had been marked by terrible luck.

“At 22, he could have been exempt from military service due to a heart condition, but he enlisted without knowing.”

“Unlucky.”

“At 24, he bought a used motorcycle, his first vehicle, but it was stolen by some local middle school students.”

In every aspect, bad luck.

That was the story of Lee Min Ki’s life.

Since childhood, luck had never been on his side, no matter what he did.

As the saying goes, life is 70% luck, 30% effort.

But in his case, not even 10% of that luck seemed to exist.

“At 25, he made up his mind to become an actor. But every audition ended in rejection. He only got minor roles, the studios went bankrupt, and even after barely signing with an agency… he got scammed.”

Luck.

He had none.

And yet, despite knowing how much luck mattered in acting, he still dared to challenge it, only to suffer even more.

It went far beyond the usual bad luck, like breaking your nose after a fall.

His misfortune was so extreme that it wouldn’t have been strange if he’d died from a nosebleed caused by picking his nose.

You could call him a human glass cannon, fragile beyond belief.

That was who Lee Min Ki was.

“This is really… Huh, it’s a rare case indeed. It’s surprising he even made it past 30.”

In the end, even the jurors, who had seen all kinds of cases, clicked their tongues.

“I’ve been serving as a juror in the Court of the Dead for 692 years, and I’ve never seen such a tragic life.”

That’s right.

This trial was to review the life of the deceased.

It was a place to judge a person’s life before death and decide what kind of life to grant them in the next.

At the age of 32, having lost his life, Lee Min Ki stood in this place.

“This is strange. It’s very strange. I can’t say anything but that. How can one person’s luck be so bad? There must be some error somewhere.”

“I agree. I request a complete review of the defendant’s life.”

“I agree.”

“I agree.”

Starting with the bearded juror, the other jurors followed suit like dominos.

And finally…

“Silence.”

The judge spoke.

A judge who seemed to stand at least three meters tall, with a face as fierce as a demon and skin as red as ginseng.

His words were as grand as his size, and at his command, the previously chatty jurors fell silent.

The judge, satisfied, stroked his beard and spoke.

“Before the jurors made their claim, we submitted a request for review to the higher-ups, and the results of the detailed examination have come in. The cause is this.”

He opened his mouth.

“He was not granted any luck.”

“……”

The shocking conclusion flowed from the judge’s lips.

He had no luck.

Nothing else, just no luck, and that’s why his life had been so miserable.

It was a statement that felt almost irresponsible.

But the expressions of the jurors were deadly serious.

“How can this be?”

“I had a feeling.”

“To think such an error occurred.”

The judge continued.

“Every person is born with their share of luck based on their past life’s deeds. However, in this process, an error occurred, and the defendant’s luck was transferred to someone else.”

The judge picked up a remote control and pressed it toward the wall.

Then, the life of a handsome man began to unfold like a panorama.

[Every answer was correct.]

[I won the lottery? Really?]

[The real estate value tripled!]

[The land my parents left me was designated as a redevelopment area.]

[You liked me too?]

This man’s life, unlike Lee Min Ki’s, was blessed with luck in everything he did.

More than just being fortunate, he seemed to be a literal embodiment of luck.

With every breath, money and connections flowed his way.

It was such an unbelievably lucky life that it made you wonder if someone like this could really exist.

“The defendant was a victim.”

“Hah, to think such a thing could happen.”

The jurors began murmuring.

In this court of the dead, where dignity was paramount, a major error had occurred, and one person had suffered a lifetime of nothing but pain.

It was something that should never have happened.

“As one person enjoyed twice the amount of luck, another person had none.”

Meanwhile, Lee Min Ki, who had been listening quietly, felt his anger bubbling inside.

‘So, all this time, I was just unlucky?’

* * *

Lee Min Ki, 32 years old, died after missing a step while going down the stairs.

He had always known he had bad luck.

‘But this is absurd.’

To think he had been destined to be unlucky from birth.

He had worked hard to stay positive throughout his life, putting in not just effort but even more effort.

In the acting world, bad luck was a deal-breaker.

To overcome it, he had poured twice as much time into practicing as others.

‘I didn’t want to be the kind of person who blamed bad luck when a project failed, so I practically lived in the practice room.’

How many times had he pushed himself beyond his limits?

How much had he analyzed, researched, and studied?

Yes, he had done all that.

But all his efforts had been in vain due to a lack of luck.

And to realize that only after dying.

‘I can’t accept this.’

Anger bubbled up inside him.

What infuriated him more was that he couldn’t say a single word here.

“……!! ……!!! …!!”

That was because he had no physical body at the moment.

He had only been granted the right to observe this trial as a third party, as a soul.

“What a pitiful affair.”

“How truly sad. So very sad!”

“Did you say he dreamed of being an actor? He must have suffered greatly. His life revolved entirely around acting.”

The jurors muttered as if his life were their own.

“His acting was excellent. He just didn’t have the right stage.”

Some of the jurors even teared up.

But all they did was murmur.

No real solution was forthcoming.

“We must compensate this poor soul.”

“Agreed. He deserves the right role.”

“We should help him spread his wings as an actor.”

“That’s impossible. This would undermine the very foundation of the Court of the Dead.”

“That man is right. We cannot make exceptions.”

“So, are you saying we should leave this innocent victim as he is? I ask for reconsideration.”

“The sacred rules must be upheld.”

“That old geezer.”

“What did you just say?”

“You heard me. I said it loud and clear on purpose.”

“…Hmph, this is why lowborn people don’t belong. They have no respect for hierarchy.”

“You’re talking about hierarchy because you have nothing else to show for yourself. That’s why people call you a boomer.”

“What did you say?”

And so, a petty argument began to spread in this once solemn courtroom.

The murmuring continued for some time.

Bang!

Bang!

A sound like a missile exploding echoed.

“Silence!”

The judge’s voice thundered.

It was a voice so massive that it sounded as though he was speaking through a megaphone.

The sheer force of his words was like a sonic attack, causing the jurors to cover their ears in unison.

Once the courtroom was quiet again.

“I will now pronounce judgment on the defendant.”

The red judge opened his mouth once more.

“How could anyone with such terrible luck have lived a proper life? Every defendant deserves a fair evaluation.”

The final verdict.

Everyone in the courtroom held their breath for a moment.

The judge’s heavy voice echoed through the courtroom.

“Thus, as compensation, the defendant will be granted a second life. He will be sent back seven years.”

He was to be given a chance to return.

At those words, Lee Min Ki trembled.

A wave of surprise spread among the jurors, but that wasn’t all.

“He must be compensated. Yes. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, they say.”

The judge tapped the arm of his chair with his finger, looking directly at Lee Min Ki’s soul before finally speaking.

“In this life, you will be granted the luck of many.”

“…!”

The judge was saying that not only would he be given the luck he had missed out on, but he would also be given additional luck.

“Pursue your dream of being an actor. Once you’ve healed from your wounds and met your second death, we’ll judge you again in the Court of the Dead.”

An incredible reward.

He was to be sent back to the past.

At that moment, Lee Min Ki, who had just become the lucky protagonist of his own life, was left in a state of stunned paralysis.

‘Wait, should I start by buying stocks? No, wait, this is the moment where I’m supposed to be angry.’

He was being sent back in time.

Wasn’t this compensation enough?

What greater reward could there be for an actor?

Even if the luck didn’t return, it would be fine.

From now on, he could just pick successful projects and companies.

‘Alright, for now, let’s accept this.’

As he allowed these thoughts to blossom in his mind.

“I refuse to accept this!”

An old-fashioned juror shouted, his voice stern.

It was the same juror who had been in a fierce argument with the lowborn juror earlier.

With wrinkles forming deeply on his face, he opened his mouth.

“What the judge has just said defies the sacred rules of this court…”

Just as he was about to add more protests.

“Shut it!”

The judge cut him off.

“How dare you, a young one, rebuke an elder’s words? Did you receive your education remotely?”

“…!”

“In my day, if someone older spoke, even if it sounded wrong, you’d bow your head, say ‘yes,’ and reflect on it dozens of times. But these days…”

The judge clicked his tongue for a long time.

Just as the protestors fell silent after being bombarded with these unexpected words.

The judge lowered his gavel—or rather, his hammer—and spoke again.

“With that, I declare Case No. 9159124541 of the Court of the Dead concluded.”

At that moment.

Lee Min Ki.

His soul crumbled into white ash.

And soon, swept away by a breeze, it floated off somewhere into the sky.

* * *

Early morning.

In a cramped studio apartment.

Beep!

Beep-beep-beep!

An alarm rang out.

“Hah!”

A man gasped for breath as he shot up from his bed.

He urgently sat up, patting himself all over as if he couldn’t believe it.

‘I-I’m alive.’

It was certain.

He was alive.

No, to be exact, it was more accurate to say he had been resurrected.

Having faced death and gone through that trial, he had been granted a second life as compensation for the error.

All those memories were crystal clear.

‘Wait, didn’t that red giant say he’d send me back seven years? Then right now…’

Lee Min Ki hastily grabbed his phone and checked today’s date.

A moment later.

His eyes widened as big as the full moon.

‘No way.’

He was 25.

The same age when he first decided to pursue acting.

But for Lee Min Ki, this situation was hard to believe.

[You have passed the first round of the audition screening.]