Top Star by Luck

Chapter 46

It was, without a doubt, an overwhelming first impression.

A single page from a pictorial.

From the moment he entered the bar, Lee Min Ki’s appearance caught everyone’s eye, like a snapshot out of a magazine, leaving his former classmates in awe.

This, too, could be attributed to luck, if anything.

“Oh, oh. Min Ki, you’re here. Hold on, let me see where we have a seat for you.”

At the short words of the reunion host, the classmates quickly stood up, fidgeting in anticipation.

Where would Lee Min Ki sit?

Just that simple decision left everyone tense.

“Right, you can sit over there.”

“Thanks.”

“…Sure.”

At Min Ki’s brief response, the reunion host let out a long sigh, as if he’d hit an invisible wall.

Speaking to someone so impressive drained energy all by itself.

It was the release from tension all at once.

Screech.

However, for Lee Min Ki, who had just sat down, things were just getting started.

“Long time no see. Your name was…”

“I’m Park Jin Young.”

At Min Ki’s words, a man sitting across from him introduced himself.

It was Park Jin Young.

With just those few words, Lee Min Ki gave a warm smile, as refreshing as a spring breeze, as if to thank him.

“Yeah, it’s been a while, Jin Young. I remember you being super popular in school because you were handsome. You still look great.”

Starting with compliments.

It could be taken as a polite, formal exchange, but it was more than enough to drain the color from Park Jin Young’s face.

Why?

‘What was I thinking?’

Because just moments ago, he had been badmouthing Lee Min Ki.

Saying things like, “That goody two-shoes is trying to become an actor? If he can do it, then I could, too.”

Those were the exact words that had effortlessly flowed from his mouth just seconds before.

But now, he couldn’t say a single word of that.

‘How can someone change this much in just a few years?’

He wasn’t the only one thinking that.

The other classmates seated at the table, while not speaking, were having the exact same thoughts.

‘Wow.’

‘He looks different in person, not just on camera.’

‘Did he put effort into his looks?’

‘Look at those shoulders. You could park a car there.’

The atmosphere became awkward.

Not just for them, but even Lee Min Ki himself began to sweat slightly.

‘Why isn’t anyone talking?’

He had been excited to attend the reunion for once, but things were strangely quiet.

Could it be that they weren’t that close after all?

Reunions were always unfamiliar to him, but was it usually this awkward?

Why was everyone just staring at his face?

“Is there no water cup here?”

“Oh, use this one.”

“Thanks.”

That simple interaction thawed the frozen atmosphere a little.

One of the female classmates sitting nearby finally cleared her throat and spoke up.

“Come to think of it, Min Ki, you debuted as an actor, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, just recently.”

“When was it, in Forever Green? I was shocked when I read the article. I didn’t recognize you at first, but then I saw that the name was the same as yours, so I looked it up and saw it really was you.”

She began the conversation with a compliment.

At those words, the classmates sitting nearby all jumped in, as if they had been waiting for the opportunity, and hurriedly chimed in with praise.

“Yeah, you looked really cool.”

“I saw the drama you were in, Min Ki!”

“You were practically a lead, weren’t you? And the writer for that show is really famous, too.”

“So, does that make Min Ki the most successful out of all of us?”

“Haha, you really never know how life will turn out.”

“I’m so jealous.”

Among them were a few people who had been subtly badmouthing him earlier.

But now that they were face-to-face with him, they couldn’t bring themselves to say anything negative.

If anything, they felt embarrassed, their heads spinning with awkwardness.

And after all the flattery that had gone on for a while, Lee Min Ki’s response was simple.

“I’m just a rookie supporting actor, so there’s nothing much to talk about. We’ll have to see how the box office numbers do.”

“…”

Those were the same words someone had said earlier.

But the intention behind them was entirely different.

Back then, the words were meant to criticize Lee Min Ki, but now…

‘He’s so humble.’

The words made them look at him again.

‘He’s really matured.’

‘You always hear that actors can be so arrogant when they’re rookies, but he’s different.’

Of course, to Lee Min Ki, it didn’t matter much either way.

“I’m still learning step by step, so I can’t say much. Whenever I see the senior actors, I realize how much I still lack. I’m always worried about what will happen if I fail.”

“Still, you must meet a lot of famous people on set.”

“Well, yeah, I see a lot of them.”

“I heard the industry can be really harsh on rookies, though.”

“Is that so?”

If you just listened to the conversation itself, it wasn’t exactly smooth.

Lee Min Ki had spent so much time away from everyday people that his classmates weren’t much different from strangers to him.

But.

“Choi Yoo Chang is amazing. He takes care of everyone around him. Honestly, he feels like a dad on set.”

Even with lacking conversational skills, his visuals more than made up for it.

And his attitude.

‘Why is he so different from how he was in school?’

‘Is it because of the way he dresses?’

‘I didn’t think he was that cool back then.’

He had changed from the person he was in school.

With more confidence, he stood taller, and his gaze was direct and unwavering.

His relaxed demeanor naturally drew people into the conversation.

He had transformed.

But that only made his classmates’ faces flush with embarrassment.

‘What if he overheard what I said earlier?’

‘Damn it, why did I say those things? I didn’t even mean to.’

As Lee Min Ki had grown into an incredibly attractive person, it had the effect of making everyone else feel small in comparison.

Of course, not everyone had fully grasped the situation yet.

‘Why is everyone so concerned with what he thinks?’

Sitting quietly in the corner, watching the situation unfold, was Ko Jae Bum.

Ko Jae Bum.

He wasn’t happy with the way things were going.

Back in school, or even up until today, wasn’t he always the center of attention in conversations?

It annoyed him to no end that Lee Min Ki, who he had always looked down on, was now the one commanding the room’s attention.

‘That guy who used to be my lackey is acting all high and mighty now just because he’s dressed up a bit.’

There was no real reason for him to feel hostile.

But when do people ever need a reason to hold grudges?

The person you looked down on suddenly becomes someone better than you.

That alone is enough to stir up unnecessary resentment.

The fact that Ko Jae Bum hadn’t settled into a stable career and had been bouncing from one part-time job to another only added fuel to his frustrations.

‘Alright, maybe I’ll bring up the good old days.’

Sure, Min Ki seemed like a big deal now, but that didn’t mean the past had disappeared.

That’s who he truly was.

This, right now, was just a mask.

Having come to that conclusion, a sly smile spread across Ko Jae Bum’s face.

Then, he opened his mouth.

“Hey, Lee Min Ki. Now that I think about it, back in high school, you were always such a pushover. Always reading books in the back of the class.”

He wanted to dig up old, unpleasant memories to try and tarnish Min Ki’s current image.

But.

“Yeah, I was like that.”

“Wha—”

“But, you know, books were really interesting. What was I supposed to do?”

Lee Min Ki was no longer someone whose mind games would work on him.

Instead of backing down, he kept smiling as he continued.

“I’m so busy now that I don’t even have time to read. Back then, reading was so much fun. Now that I work all the time, I barely have any free moments. Honestly, if I knew things would be like this, I would’ve played more back then. I regret it every day.”

“…”

“Sometimes, Jae Bum, I’m a little jealous of you. You always played hard and still went to a good college. You were the ultimate golden boy, weren’t you?”

He remained composed.

No, his reaction was so refreshingly lighthearted that it was as if he hadn’t even noticed the attempt to tarnish him.

Would this really be enough?

‘This bastard…!’

It was more than enough.

“What are you doing these days?”

To not only break Ko Jae Bum’s mental state but crush it into powder.

As Jae Bum felt a dizzying sensation in his head, he responded.

“…Just doing a bit of this and that. Working at the company, helping my parents, and taking some breaks occasionally.”

“You’ve been living really diligently since graduation.”

“…”

“Then you must’ve just come from work today too.”

“Uh, yeah, something like that…”

Ko Jae Bum bit his lip.

There wasn’t a hint of malice in Min Ki’s words, but that was exactly what made it sting.

It was a problem because there was so obviously no ill intent.

When the other person is so bright and kind, attacking them would only make you look worse.

‘Damn it.’

That was all.

What else could he do but clench his teeth hard enough to break them?

No matter what he tried to do, the conversation’s lead had completely passed to Lee Min Ki.

“Heh, Ko Jae Bum tried to pick a fight with Min Ki and ended up with nothing.”

Someone even stepped up to defend Min Ki.

Ko Jae Bum, flustered, shouted out.

“Hey! When did I ever pick a fight?”

“Oh, please, it was so obvious. Min Ki just let it go because he’s nice.”

“What did I do?”

“See, the guy has no idea. He’s been such a softie ever since we were students.”

Was he genuinely naive, or was he just pretending?

Ko Jae Bum’s face turned bright red, as if it would burst at the slightest prick of a needle.

But, again, there was nothing he could do.

“…I need to use the restroom.”

The disrupter withdrew.

Now, the real conversation could begin.

“I heard you did some modeling for a shopping mall too?”

“I didn’t really have the time for it, but the CEO thought well of me, so I barely managed to do it.”

“Wow, I always wondered who did those things, and it turns out it was someone I knew.”

All eyes were on Min Ki now.

It became a competition to see who could strike up a conversation with him first.

‘Ah.’

Just as the atmosphere was heating up, Min Ki took out his phone and checked it.

As if he suddenly remembered something urgent, he gathered his things and stood up.

“Why? Are you leaving? There’s a second round later.”

Voices tried to hold him back, full of regret, but Min Ki replied.

“I’ve got an important appointment a bit later.”

An appointment, he said.

At just that short explanation, his classmates’ imaginations began to spiral wildly.

‘Are celebrities going out to hang out together?’

‘Is it for a photo shoot?’

‘Maybe it’s an interview.’

‘He didn’t drink a drop of alcohol, so it must be for a shoot.’

All of them were wrong.

Today was leg day at the [local gym].

That was the real reason Lee Min Ki was leaving.

Skipping a reunion for the sake of a simple workout might seem laughable, but it wasn’t.

He had often skipped leg workouts during filming, using the excuse that his legs were shaking from exhaustion. Because of this, Gym Manager Kwon Joon Yong had sternly warned him.

[Min Ki, are you underestimating leg workouts?]

Ever since filming wrapped up, his training routine had increased dramatically.

Skipping even a single day now felt like his bones would be crushed under Kwon’s wrath, making it hard to refuse.

And then there was also the fact that…

‘The reunion isn’t as fun as I thought it would be.’

Min Ki had, whether consciously or not, already started to feel a sense of distance from it.

He had come to the reunion thinking he might gain something—whether it be memories or enjoyment.

But in reality, what he saw was a group of people who were no different from strangers.

There weren’t any real memories to share.

The room was filled with people awkwardly watching him, some cautiously distancing themselves, while others tried too hard to curry favor.

‘It seems I really didn’t live my school years right.’

It was bitter, but impossible to ignore.

He hadn’t wanted to believe it, but the moment he directly faced his classmates, he realized it instinctively.

There was some kind of wall.

Once he recognized the wall, it became impossible to find any joy in the reunion.

But it was all in the past.

‘You can’t hold on to everything.’

Instead, Min Ki felt relieved.

At that moment, he decided to close the book on his past.

“Well, I’ll see you all next time.”

“Huh? Oh, okay. Take care.”

And that was the end of it.

Lee Min Ki gave his classmates a brief farewell, and with no trace of regret, he left the bar.

Feeling the much cooler night air.

After he left, the ones left with lingering regret were his classmates.

‘Ah, I should’ve asked for his number.’

‘…I really need to start living better.’

‘Maybe I should start going to the gym tomorrow.’

* * *

A few days later.

[Forever Green] officially premiered.

That day.

Min Ki had made plans with the colleagues he’d filmed with.

[Wanna go watch a morning showing together?]

The plan was to enjoy the movie with the audience from the same perspective.

He was going with actors like Joo Ha Na and Jerry, who he’d become acquainted with.

Watching a movie early in the morning.

Then, heading to a café afterward and checking the audience’s feedback in real time.

It was a small perk that came with being part of the production team.

‘Since it’s an early show, there probably won’t be many people.’

When else would he get to enjoy something like this?

On his way to the theater, Min Ki felt a giddy excitement, as if he were enjoying a small escape from his routine.

‘I hope it’s successful.’

Now that the movie was out, he wanted it to succeed.

Not just the movie, but he wanted to succeed as an actor too.

He wanted to climb higher.

If possible, he wanted to go beyond Korea and conquer Hollywood as well.

‘Yeah, like those big films.’

In just a few years, Korea would become the epicenter of the global entertainment industry.

If he said something like that now, people would think he was crazy.

But he had the feeling that by then, he would be riding that wave and securing a spot at the table.

With those thoughts in mind, Min Ki stepped into the theater.

“Min Ki, you’re here.”

His waiting colleagues welcomed him.

“Am I late?”

“No, we got here early.”

Joo Ha Na flashed a bright smile, while Jerry strode over and scanned Min Ki from head to toe, as if inspecting him.

Then he said.

“Wow, Min Ki, you’ve been dressing better and better lately.”

“Really?”

“I noticed it at the last premiere too. You’ve got a real sense of style. Where do you shop? Let me in on it.”

“Secret.”

That afternoon.

The audience reviews for the movie began pouring in on film websites.

[★★★★☆]

[asdjak: Now I understand the critics’ perspective.]