Top Star by Luck

Chapter 17

‘Amazing, this energy.’

Cheers from the crowd surged from all directions like waves.

Could this be what it feels like to stand in the middle of a tidal wave, watching the world from a distance?

Lee Min Ki stood dazed, staring at the stadium amidst the deafening roars that were enough to make his head spin.

‘It’s so far, and so small.’

The players looked tiny, like ants.

Having never had much interest in baseball, he couldn’t tell who was who.

“Get off the field!”

“For crying out loud! Is that the best you can throw?!”

“Ugh! My blood pressure! I swear, these guys are gonna kill me before my parents do!”

“Argh! Disband the team! Please, just disband them!”

He didn’t even know which side was theirs.

‘Judging by the uniforms, this should be our team, but why are they getting cursed at?’

He was simply baffled.

So, how did someone like Lee Min Ki, who knew nothing about baseball, end up here?

To understand that, it was necessary to recall something Kim Ah Sung, his trainer, had said.

[I told you, right? What you’re lacking, Min Ki, is presence. But do you know the best way to train presence? Should you go to a club and try to pick up women? No, that’s not it. The answer is much simpler. You need to go to a place where it’s okay to show off as much presence as you want.]

That place, apparently, was a baseball stadium.

The logic was that at a baseball stadium, everyone shouts to their heart’s content, displaying their presence.

So, it would be the perfect place to practice showing off one’s presence.

[As long as you don’t get drowned out by everyone else, you’ll do fine. Just shout as loud as you can and blend in.]

Being surrounded by so much presence…

In other words, it meant that no matter what you did, you wouldn’t stand out.

Thus, Kim Ah Sung had urged Lee Min Ki to stand out here.

‘Easier said than done.’

Min Ki sighed deeply.

The problem was how.

What could someone with zero interest in baseball possibly do after suddenly showing up at a baseball stadium?

‘I can’t even tell who’s on our side or the other team.’

Moreover, this was Sajik Stadium, notorious for being the most intense baseball venue in Korea.

‘Let’s see… In situations like this, it’s probably best to go with the flow and get a feel for the atmosphere.’

All he could see were the spectators.

No, if he looked closely, there were people among them who were particularly dominant in displaying their presence.

“Ma!”

“Ma!”

“Ma!!!”

The voices were loud and intimidating, though it was hard to tell whether they were scolding the opposing team or pressuring their own.

Among them, one person particularly stood out.

Their voice was even fiercer than the others, and they wore a whistle around their neck, standing atop a platform, leading the crowd with their shouts.

“Get ready! One! Two! One! Two! Strongest Nocdae! Noc! Dae! Noc! Dae! Strongest Nocdae! Noc! Dae!”

It was obvious at a glance.

That person was at least cheering for the team properly.

‘Is that the cheer captain?’

While the ticket had been given to him by Kim Ah Sung, Min Ki had done some research online beforehand.

He’d learned that at baseball games, the cheer captain often stood on a platform, leading chants and cheers for the crowd.

‘Let’s try following along.’

As he listened carefully, the cheer captain’s voice pattern started to sink into his ears.

“Noc! Dae! Nocdaenocdae Noc! Dae!”

It was the same chant he’d read about online.

Min Ki took a deep breath, hesitated for a moment, then slowly began to chant along in a quiet voice.

“Noc… dae nocdae, nocdae, noc… dae.”

It was as he was timidly trying to match the timing.

“Hey, you there, young man.”

“Y-yes?”

The person sitting next to him stared at him intently and said.

“You’ve got no energy! That’s not how you do it!”

“Huh?”

“Try it like this. Noc! Dae! Nocdaenocdae Noc! Dae!”

“Nocdaenoc…”

“No! Not like that! What, did you skip lunch or something?”

The voice stung his ears.

It drilled into his eardrums, leaving them ringing.

Even his pronunciation was starting to falter.

But he could understand what the person wanted.

‘He wants me to shout louder.’

As they bickered, the attention of the surrounding spectators gradually focused on Min Ki.

This meant that the intense energy that had been directed at the players just moments before was now being concentrated entirely on Min Ki.

“Tsk.”

“Doesn’t know how to do it.”

The overwhelming presence was suffocating.

Min Ki felt the hairs on his body stand on end, prickling from the pressure.

‘I’m starting to feel dizzy.’

At moments like this, he had two choices.

He could either shrink back and hide or take a step forward.

Usually, Min Ki opted for the former.

There weren’t many studios that liked having supporting actors or bit players stand out.

Most of the time, stepping back was the wisest choice.

But this time was different.

“What’s wrong?”

“Are you feeling unwell?”

“Hey, kid, you don’t look too good.”

There was no place for Min Ki to retreat.

Of course, no matter how overwhelming the pressure, these people weren’t bad people at heart.

If Min Ki kept his head down, they’d likely notice and back off.

But anyone could see that wasn’t the right answer.

That’s not why he had come here.

‘I don’t care anymore.’

In the end, the choice Min Ki made was this.

“Nocdae―!!!”

To shout.

He wasn’t even sure if it was in sync with the chant, but he yelled it out anyway.

Even if it was wrong, even if it ruined the mood.

Even if he ended up cringing under his blankets when he got home later, it didn’t matter.

At least for this moment, he wanted to fight back against the presence that was closing in on him.

“……”

Perhaps the ripple of his voice had reached them.

“Ma!”

“Now you’ve got it!”

“That’s it!”

The surrounding spectators finally smiled, satisfied.

It was the moment when Min Ki was truly accepted as part of the crowd.

They quickly returned to what they were doing.

Which was, of course.

“Noc! Dae! Nocdae!”

Resuming the chant.

Min Ki felt beads of cold sweat trickle down his skin, now that the pressure had lifted.

But he didn’t feel bad.

‘That felt good.’

Maybe it was because he had shouted louder than he ever had in his life.

His lungs ached pleasantly, and his head felt light, like someone waking up from a hangover.

At the same time, his vision cleared, and he took in the scene around him.

The wide, open stadium.

It was what caught Min Ki’s attention.

Now that he was this far, the next thought that naturally arose in his mind was this.

‘So, that was presence.’

To reveal oneself.

To have the people around you focus solely on you.

That clear sensation tickled Min Ki’s skin like a gentle spring breeze.

Once he acknowledged it, the next thought followed.

‘I want to feel it more.’

He wanted to continue that shout from earlier.

To not let himself get lost in the crowd, but to declare that he was there.

Loud enough for the players to hear, for the spectators across the stadium to hear.

He wanted to show off.

…Or so he thought, when suddenly.

“Hey, you!”

The cheer captain, who had been leading the chant just moments ago, shouted toward him.

“Come up here for a moment!”

Kim Ah Sung, the trainer.

Though he didn’t show it much, he was originally from Gyeongsang Province.

To be more specific, he was from Busan and happened to be a baseball fan as well.

The team he supported?

The Nocdae Yotuns.

Although his work in Korea’s entertainment industry kept him busy in the capital area, leaving him little time to visit Busan, his heart often lingered at Sajik Stadium during baseball season.

Today was no different.

While watching the live broadcast of the game, Trainer Kim Ah Sung had a thought.

‘Wow, this is amazing.’

Lee Min Ki.

Although he appeared only briefly in the game footage, he clearly showcased his presence.

[Ma!]

[Ma!]

It seemed like those were the only words he knew, as he kept shouting “Ma” or “Nocdae” in sync with the timing.

Yet, perhaps because of the desperate way he did it, his appearance unexpectedly caught the camera’s attention.

Every so often, he would show up on the game broadcast, standing on the cheerleader platform.

‘I only told him to go get a feel for it, but now he’s up there putting on a whole show. Whoa, does this usually happen?’

It’s not common at all for a spectator to get up on the cheerleader platform to cheer.

Even for die-hard baseball fans, this is a once-in-a-lifetime, big event.

But somehow, Min Ki ended up there.

Whether it was good luck or bad luck, who could say?

Of course.

‘Wow, Min Ki’s luck is really something.’

For a baseball fan like Kim Ah Sung, it was something to be jealous of—he could’ve rolled on the floor laughing.

But the game truly became more interesting after that moment.

‘He’s dancing too?’

Min Ki had started dancing right on the cheerleader platform.

‘Wow, this is going to become a cringeworthy memory.’

And it was a wild dance.

The kind that made you laugh just watching it.

In reality, baseball cheers have designated dances, but Min Ki’s dance was completely unrelated.

However, it surprisingly fit the atmosphere.

‘I told him to feel the presence, but I didn’t mean for him to stand out like that.’

This was something even Trainer Kim Ah Sung hadn’t anticipated.

But since it was someone else’s business, it was fun to watch.

“Hehehe.”

As he held his phone, he watched Min Ki’s antics unfold live on the other side of the peninsula.

“Ah Sung.”

A man poked his head over the partition and spoke to him.

“The meeting’s about to start. You know that, right?”

At first glance, this person stood out.

Not because of his face, but because of his impeccable sense of style.

A small head, long legs.

His excellent proportions made the long coat he was wearing fit him like a photoshoot straight out of a magazine.

Moreover, although he was in his 30s, he could easily pass for someone in their 20s.

What was even more surprising was what Kim Ah Sung called him.

“Director, I’m not done with this yet, so give me a moment.”

The man was a director.

In fact, despite his young age, this man held the title of director at JC Entertainment.

Sighing, the director said, “Are you watching baseball again? You should stop watching that at work.”

“I’m not watching the game. I’m watching my student.”

“……”

Hearing the word “student,” the man paused.

He would’ve believed it, if only it wasn’t coming from Kim Ah Sung.

“Does your student play baseball?”

“No, they’re on screen right now.”

Kim pointed at the screen as if to prove his point.

But five seconds.

Ten seconds.

Thirty seconds passed, and Lee Min Ki didn’t appear.

It seemed the broadcast had stopped showing him just before.

“Okay, okay, I believe you,” the director said with a sigh, though his tone suggested otherwise. Kim protested, looking wronged.

“No, seriously. Director, don’t you believe me?”

“Yes, I really do believe you. Now let’s go.”

“No, really.”

“Anyway,” the director cut him off, clearly uninterested in hearing more, “today’s meeting is because of you, isn’t it? The person responsible can’t be absent, right?”

He was right.

The meeting was about the Jam Acting School’s private audition, where they were to finalize the audition format and select the judging panel.

“Ugh.”

Feeling a sense of responsibility, Kim finally put down his phone and got up.

“And by the way,” the director said as he looked at him, “I might be part of the judging panel for this audition.”

Kim raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“You, Director? Personally?”

“Lately, with all the work I’ve been doing in shopping malls, I’ve started feeling like the next trend for rookies will be those who can wear clothes well.”

“Hm, that’s not easy.”

Kim paused as if pondering, then replied, “Wouldn’t it be easier to just go with good looks instead?”

“If the body’s good, the face can be made better.”

“Aha. So, with an Apgujeong-born concept?”

The two chatted lightheartedly as they headed to the meeting room.

That evening.

A post appeared on an online baseball site.

[Today’s Best]

[Title: Nocdae’s Legendary Fan Invasion.jpg]

[Upvotes: 382/71]

The post included a video.

In it, a handsome man stood on stage, shouting randomly and dancing wildly, yet somehow managing to capture all the attention.

The comments were unique.

[LOL it’s just a wild dance and random cheering, but it’s insanely addictive.]

[Today’s scene stealer, I admit it.]

[He’s so good-looking, it’s annoying.]

[Can we ban handsome guys from coming to stadiums?]

[This is literally a violation of the Geneva Convention.]

Whether they liked his cheering or not, they all agreed on one thing: he was good-looking.

Who? Lee Min Ki.

[Look at the girls’ eyes practically dripping honey.]

[Are they recruiting stadium-goers like this nowadays?]

[LOL this country is running so well~!!]

[Is he an actor?]

[Don’t care, not my problem LOL]

[↑ Block this guy.]

[There’s no way he was paid to show up. He’s flailing around like he knows nothing.]

[That’s part of the plan.]

In just a few hours, the video of Min Ki’s embarrassing moment had been turned into a gif and spread across various online communities.