Top Star by Luck

Chapter 14

Trainer Kim Ah Sung spoke in a genuinely regretful tone.

“Yeah, even someone as great as me can’t just interfere with the procedure.”

“……”

He really thinks highly of himself.

Every word he said was drenched in self-love.

But at this moment, the voice of Trainer Kim Ah Sung was precious.

Because the bait was none other than JC.

“What procedure are you talking about?”

In response to Lee Min Ki’s question, Trainer Kim Ah Sung chuckled as if he had been waiting for it and said,

“You see, the company JC, despite its size, is surprisingly cautious, especially when it comes to selecting people. They’re very careful.”

It was a well-known trait of JC.

Compared to its size, the number of artists under its management was relatively small.

Though they weren’t as extreme as Daon Entertainment in terms of maintaining an elite few, they were still known for being meticulous about the quality of each individual they signed.

“That’s why a mere trainer like me can’t just drag in a trainee and force a contract. If I did, there’d be a lot of gossip behind my back, one hundred percent. And besides…”

After muttering for a while, Kim Ah Sung glanced sideways at Lee Min Ki and added,

“That wouldn’t be good for you either. You don’t want to be seen as a parachute case, right?”

“Hmm, that’s true.”

To be honest, even parachuting in didn’t seem so bad.

But this wasn’t the time to argue.

Kim Ah Sung smiled, satisfied, and said,

“I’m doing all this for your sake, Min Ki. Anyway…”

He blinked and continued,

“In a little while, I’m planning to bring some JC judges to this school for a private audition.”

A private audition.

It was a privilege that only a few schools received intermittently.

Finally, grasping the situation, Lee Min Ki asked,

“So you’re telling me to apply for that audition.”

“That’s right. Usually, these kinds of auditions aren’t open to just any student. They’re by recommendation, and I’m going to recommend you.”

“Me?”

When Lee Min Ki expressed mild surprise, Kim Ah Sung raised a finger and said,

“Of course, I’m not the only one judging. Other judges will be there too, so don’t think you’ll get in easily.”

“So that means…”

Lee Min Ki paused briefly, thinking, and then spoke quietly,

“I’ll have to convince the other judges with my skills.”

“Looks like your brain’s starting to work now.”

Trainer Kim Ah Sung sipped his coffee and said,

“Of course, just because you’re a student I personally taught doesn’t mean I’ll give you an unfairly good evaluation. An audition is still an audition. It has to be fair, right? Otherwise, it wouldn’t be fair to the other students.”

What he meant was that Min Ki would be judged purely on his abilities, without favoritism.

To some, it might sound a bit disappointing.

But for Lee Min Ki…

“That’s actually better.”

He was grateful for such an attitude.

Trainer Kim Ah Sung, surprised by Min Ki’s straightforward response, smiled and asked,

“So you’re okay with failing?”

“If I’m someone who deserves to fail because of a lack of skill, then I should fail.”

That was the right answer.

Trainer Kim Ah Sung nearly burst out laughing at Min Ki’s reply.

Passing an audition was, after all, just passing an audition. If an actor’s life were like a novel, the audition would be no more than the prologue.

‘This guy is interesting.’

The fact that it didn’t seem like an empty boast but sincere made it even more intriguing.

After all, positions obtained through connections would eventually collapse at the hands of the public.

Knowing this better than anyone, Trainer Kim Ah Sung stood up and said,

“Alright, then let’s keep that in mind and work hard again starting today.”

“Yes!”

Min Ki felt excited once more.

It was then, as they returned to the practice room with Trainer Kim Ah Sung.

“Ah! Min Ki!”

Kim Tak, with wide eyes, looked at him with a slightly resentful expression and said,

“My coffee!”

“……”

Come to think of it, he had forgotten to bring the coffee.

As he considered whether to go back out for it, a thought crossed his mind.

‘What about the money?’

He was starting to feel the pinch of his living expenses.

Should he increase his part-time work?

Should he give up working out?

Should he try his luck with the lottery?

Even though a new audition was coming up, he was at a crossroads with his living expenses.

Being a trainee was always a hungry time.

His once bright dreams now had to make room for a bit of harsh reality.

* * *

Kwon Joon Yong, Gym Director.

He was the director of [Nearby Gym] located close to where Lee Min Ki lived, a beast of a man with an impressive career.

Contrary to his gentle face, his body was as intimidating as that of a giant predator.

Lately, however, a smile never seemed to leave his face.

“Hm-hm, hm-hm-hm, hm-hm.”

He was even humming along to an ill-suited song as he walked on the treadmill.

Seeing this, the members of the gym began to gossip.

“Director Kwon’s been acting a little strange lately, hasn’t he? He’s always smiling, like he’s gone senile or something.”

“Yeah, maybe he’s hitting the age for dementia.”

“Geez, what are we gonna do with him when he’s still so fit.”

They were a group of elderly men who had gathered at the gym by chance.

Their bodies were still robust, but their age showed through.

They felt something was off about Director Kwon’s recent change in demeanor.

“Hah, what are we gonna do about this?”

It seemed strange that they were so surprised by him simply being happy.

But they were people with too much time and energy to spare, and they could spend months talking about trivial things like this.

“Ah.”

Just then, one of the old men had a sudden realization.

“Isn’t it because of that young guy? You know, the one who’s been coming here frequently lately.”

He was referring to Lee Min Ki.

“The guy who looks like he’s just skin and bones?”

“Yeah, the one who looks like he’ll snap if you poke him.”

To be fair, Lee Min Ki wasn’t that frail.

He was slightly slimmer than the average person, sure, but as an aspiring actor, he had an appropriate body weight, and recently, he had been developing muscle, giving him a well-proportioned physique.

“I wonder if he’s eating properly.”

The elderly men didn’t care about such details.

To them, muscle mass and muscle definition were the ultimate priorities.

If you were too thin, it was a problem; if you had too much fat, that was also a problem.

To them, muscle was justice and virtue.

“If that’s the best his body can do in his prime, tsk tsk, what’s the point?”

“A man’s strength is everything.”

“Of course, absolutely.”

“He’s a handsome guy, but he looks like there’s nothing left to scrape out of him.”

And so, the gym members’ conversation shifted to focus on Lee Min Ki’s physique.

It didn’t take long for them to reach a consensus.

“Still, ever since he started coming here, the atmosphere has improved, hasn’t it?”

With Lee Min Ki’s arrival, the gym began to experience a positive change.

“That’s true. These days, we’ve even seen a few new people come in. Though most just come for a consultation and leave.”

“Remember that woman who came three times? She got a refund in the end, though.”

“It’s because he’s good-looking. They come just to check him out for a bit.”

“It’s a cause for celebration.”

Lee Min Ki was a frequent visitor.

Coincidentally, younger members had started showing up occasionally as well.

Whether or not this was truly a sign of change, or merely a coincidence, no one could be sure.

But for these gym members, the truth didn’t matter much.

As long as Director Kwon Joon Yong’s face had brightened, that was all that counted.

“It’d be great if we could keep him from quitting anytime soon.”

“Indeed.”

“Doesn’t he look like he’s short on money? Isn’t there anything we can do?”

“Right? He’s so strapped for cash he’s been taking domestic supplements.”

“Aigoo, his body’s going to suffer. Didn’t Director Kwon say he’s working a night shift at a convenience store?”

The conversation flowed without much substance.

Lee Min Ki was an essential member of this gym, but his life seemed pitiful.

Of course, the man himself was fairly content with his life.

In fact, he was happily convinced that his luck had improved.

But in these kinds of discussions, the subject’s opinion wasn’t usually a priority.

“Poor thing.”

“Yeah, it’s a shame.”

“A young man in such a sorry state.”

“If we could just help him with something, it’d make me feel so much better.”

As the conversation dragged on…

“Wait a minute, I’ve got a brilliant idea.”

One of the members said, his eyes gleaming fiercely.

“My son runs an online shopping mall, you see.”

* * *

A few days had passed since the results of the Daon audition were announced.

As is often the case with difficult exams, things only feel serious during the preparation phase. Once it’s over, everything just feels normal again, and there had been no changes in Lee Min Ki’s daily life.

‘It feels oddly anticlimactic.’

In the mornings, he ran to the academy.

Arriving early, he spent his morning self-studying with Yoo Seon Ah and Kim Tak.

In the afternoons, he attended classes, and at night, he worked a shift at a convenience store.

In between, he watched movies to gather input.

But that was now coming to an end.

Gradually, cracks were starting to appear in his once-peaceful routine.

And the cause?

‘…The money I’d been saving is starting to run out.’

His bank balance was dwindling.

Standing in front of an ATM, clutching his bankbook, Min Ki was in shock.

‘How did my money disappear so quickly?’

Of course, acting academy tuition is expensive.

It’s well-known that most aspiring actors come from wealthy backgrounds.

For someone like Lee Min Ki, who had nothing to fall back on and was grinding away, it was difficult just to live each day like everyone else.

On top of that, his recent decision to start working out had increased his expenses significantly.

‘My parents are just waiting for me to quit acting, so I can’t rely on them. Is there anywhere I can borrow money? Loans are too dangerous.’

He closed his eyes and thought deeply, but no solution came to mind.

‘Should I go back to the factory like before?’

But that would be hard too.

Right now, he was in the most important period of his life.

He was receiving one-on-one lessons from Trainer Kim Ah Sung.

Even if he had piles of money, it was rare to get the chance to take lessons from him.

‘Actually, if I brought bags of money, I could probably get in.’

Min Ki corrected his assessment of Trainer Kim Ah Sung, who casually accepted coffee from him on a daily basis.

Either way, the situation was now dire.

His convenience store job wasn’t going to cut it anymore.

‘Should I quit the gym?’

That was the only thing that came to mind.

But wasn’t working out also necessary if he wanted to be an actor?

‘Is taking out a loan my only option?’

Unable to make any decisions, and half in a state of panic, he had just finished jogging about 12 laps around the park near his house when—

Bzzt.

His phone buzzed.

At that moment, Min Ki frowned.

‘Ugh.’

He usually wasn’t fond of getting messages.

Having decided to dedicate himself entirely to acting, he’d severed ties with most people, leaving him with almost no one to contact.

If he received 10 messages, 8 of them were advertisements. That was the reality of Lee Min Ki’s life.

The other two were from Director Kwon Joon Yong.

The kind of messages where he asked Min Ki to send a photo of today’s meal.

‘If I say I didn’t take a picture, he’s going to say something about it again.’

Still, on the off chance it wasn’t him, Min Ki picked up his phone.

“Of course.”

He instinctively closed his eyes.

On the phone screen.

As expected, the message was from exactly who he thought it would be.

[Director: Min Ki]

It was a message from Kwon Joon Yong, the director of [Nearby Gym].

Min Ki sighed at the sight of another attempt from the director to relentlessly push diet and exercise advice on him.

The message was predictable.

But.

[Director: There’s something I wanted to ask you, Min Ki.]

Today’s message seemed a bit different.

[Director: I’ve heard that young people these days do part-time modeling jobs and things like that.]

[Director: Didn’t that one announcer pay for college by doing modeling before he got famous?]

After this flood of somewhat ominous messages, there was an unexpected suggestion at the end.

[Director: I was wondering if you might want to try doing a part-time modeling gig too.]