Top Star by Luck

Chapter 49

Body Profile.

Also known as “Bap.”

A body profile photo focuses on capturing the beauty of the body, and it was originally seen as a field for professionals.

But with the recent surge in fitness trends, perhaps due to this, it became widely known to the general public and was rapidly gaining popularity.

However, there were side effects in this process.

> “Bap is about building and then taking pictures of your body, but there are people who ruin their bodies just to take a bap photo.”

> “You know, the three-month bap challenge? They just cut down body fat drastically in a short time to take the photo. Then they suffer from aftereffects.”

It was an inherent problem with bap.

For ordinary people, building muscle with weight training over time would take too long. It was faster, visually speaking, to simply lose weight.

As a result, many became skinny to the bone.

Park, the owner of Studio Muscle, which had specialized in bap photography long before it became trendy, didn’t like this new trend.

‘There’s nothing wrong with focusing on aesthetics, but to lose sight of the essence while only caring about appearance?’

Most people who came to take pictures had dried-out bodies with protruding abs, devoid of any volume.

The photos, once retouched, looked decent, but in reality, these people were nothing more than skin and bones.

“Ehh.”

Owner Park clicked his tongue.

Before being a photographer, he was first and foremost a fitness enthusiast, so all he could do was lament.

Still, it was true that this trend had helped ease the tough operation of the studio and even brought in some breathing room.

“Capitalism, capitalism, capitalism.”

He muttered it like a mantra as he persevered.

Amid all this, there was someone who had come in today to take a photo.

Was his name Lee Min Ki?

A rookie actor who had recently begun to gain recognition by appearing in several supporting roles.

Apparently, his popularity started because of his good physique.

He had said that he was taking the bap photos for promotional purposes.

Owner Park liked Lee Min Ki’s actions even less.

“Ugh, boss, why are you acting like this?”

As Park stood with his arms crossed, scoffing, the part-time employee sweeping the floor spoke up.

“A customer is still a customer, right? Besides, I heard he has a great body. Isn’t that a good thing?”

“I saw the photos; he’s just another skinny guy.”

“Really?”

“I saw his ab photo online. It’s the typical muscle that appears when you’re just thin.”

It was that scene from Forever Green, the torture scene.

That scene where he subtly revealed his abs while wearing a dress shirt.

Why did he take it like that?

From Park’s experience, there was only one reason for such photos.

“His overall physique is unimpressive, but he probably wanted to appear as if he had something, so he cut down his body fat and took the shot. The missing volume? He likely made up for it with makeup.”

A typical skinny guy.

The kind of body real fitness enthusiasts despised the most.

The broad shoulders were likely due to his naturally good frame.

Celebrities usually had good proportions, so even a bit of exercise made them stand out.

“Haha, boss, I understand how you feel, but don’t show that in front of the customers.”

The part-timer muttered, finding Owner Park’s mindset amusing.

“He’s a celebrity. If a celebrity takes a bap photo, it might inspire more people to start exercising seriously. If the market grows, we’ll benefit too, so isn’t it a win-win?”

“You think I don’t know that? I’m just frustrated. This country, they go crazy for abs.”

As Park lamented for the second time, a sound came from afar.

Jjallang.

The sound of the front door opening echoed.

“Shh.”

It seemed the customer had arrived.

It was probably that Lee Min Ki, the one who had made a reservation.

‘Once again, I betray my own beliefs.’

With a sigh, Park walked toward the lobby.

After all, a customer was a customer, and they needed to be entertained.

The studio needed to run to support more fitness enthusiasts.

He would have to set aside his personal preferences.

“Oh, are you Mr. Lee Min Ki, who made the reservation? You look even better in person. Your shoulders are like the Pacific Ocean.”

A few minutes into the sales pitch, Park realized something.

‘…….’

Is he really an actor?

* * *

After filming the movie, there was one thing that had weighed on Lee Min Ki’s mind.

It was that scene from Forever Green.

The scene that made the public think of Lee Min Ki as an actor with a great body.

Nowadays, it might be the scene most people associate with him.

However, for Min Ki himself, thinking about it made him feel tormented.

‘If I had more strength, stronger strength, I wouldn’t have had to compromise.’

Even his abs, by his standards, were nothing to be proud of.

By ordinary standards, he had a good body.

But the bodies that Min Ki was familiar with belonged to fitness maniacs like Gym Manager Kwon Joon Yong from the local gym.

Like how even third-place students belittle themselves when they look up to the first and second-place students.

Min Ki truly believed his body wasn’t good enough.

After the shoot, he threw himself into growing his body at the gym with fanatical effort.

“Your muscle lines are really well defined.”

Recently, the results had finally started to show.

The part-timer, adjusting Min Ki’s outfit, muttered in admiration.

“It’s not easy to build a body like this unless you’re a professional. You act too, right? It seems you’ve been working out really hard while balancing acting.”

In response, Min Ki muttered with a gaunt voice.

“I ran myself to the bone.”

“Pff, that’s what everyone who comes for a bap shoot says. How many years have you been training?”

“Well…”

Since he usually didn’t keep track, the answer didn’t immediately come to mind.

‘I started exercising while preparing for auditions at the academy, so how long has it been now?’

After counting on his fingers for a moment, Min Ki murmured offhandedly.

“Hmm, it’s been about 10 months now?”

At that moment, a voice reacted a few meters away.

“……10 months?”

Park, who had been checking the equipment, turned his head toward Min Ki like a puppet.

“Were you exercising before that?”

“Huh?”

“Judging by your lack of leg training, I’d guess you were prepping for a physique competition. Were you aiming for a contest?”

“No, I used to be so weak I couldn’t even run properly because I was afraid of getting injured.”

“Hmph.”

Park snorted quietly to himself at Min Ki’s words.

He thought it was a lie.

No one is so fragile that they avoid running for fear of injury.

Even people with torn cruciate ligaments can’t stay away from the gym because they miss the feeling of tearing muscles.

“Did you strictly control your diet, then?”

“Not really, I used to eat three meals a day of ramen, curry, or stir-fried pork.”

“Hmph, yes, yes. Got it.”

Owner Park, thinking that Lee Min Ki was just joking, lost interest.

It wasn’t like there weren’t people like him.

‘People who work out like crazy, then pretend they didn’t.’

It was almost as if they wanted to be deceptive.

Like those who had been working out for three years but claimed it had only been three months.

They probably did it to hear people say they had talent.

From the start, Park was an expert.

To his trained eye, Lee Min Ki’s body was the textbook example of a dedicated gym-goer’s physique.

‘What 10 months? This is clearly a body that’s been going to the gym consistently for at least two years.’

It was the body of a seasoned fitness enthusiast.

His weight had surpassed 70 kilograms.

His skeletal muscle mass had reached 37 kilograms.

His body fat percentage had been cut down to 6%.

These were results too incredible to believe for someone who had supposedly just “run hard for a few months.”

‘Unless he’s been scheduling his workouts like a professional athlete.’

To even attempt to deceive someone with such a physique was almost laughable, but also somewhat endearing.

Still, it wasn’t too bad.

‘At least he’s better than those stick-thin guys. This might actually be fun to shoot.’

In just a few minutes, Park had begun to warm up to Min Ki.

His initial prejudices had melted away the moment he saw his body.

But still…

It was true that Min Ki had pushed himself to the brink.

‘This really worked out.’

There was something that Gym Manager Kwon Joon Yong had told him.

> “People say it’s hard to increase skeletal muscle mass while cutting body fat, but that’s just because ordinary people can’t train like professional athletes.”

> “But I’m not a professional athlete.”

> “Min Ki, the moment you get paid to work out, you’re a professional.”

> “…”

That was Kwon Joon Yong’s philosophy.

Under his four-hour daily supervision and a rigorous split workout routine, Min Ki’s muscle fibers were torn to shreds.

Since the filming had paused for a while, he had decided to focus solely on working out.

However, lifting weights was the easy part.

The real challenge was the diet.

‘Just thinking about it makes me want to throw up.’

Min Ki shivered at the painful memory.

He ate four meals a day consisting only of chicken breast, sweet potatoes, and salad.

Plus exactly seven almonds.

While the workouts were bearable, he had reached the point where just the smell of chicken made him feel nauseous.

But the results were undeniable.

“Alright, smile big for me. Say ‘cheese’.”

Click!

With the photos retouched, Min Ki’s physique was as impressive as any fitness model’s.

‘Is this really me?’

With the right lighting, even Min Ki himself found it hard to believe how sculpted his body looked.

Owner Park seemed satisfied with the results.

Clicking the camera repeatedly, he muttered to himself.

“Let’s see, with shoulders as broad as yours, a physique pose might actually work well.”

“Physique?”

“Oh, right, you said earlier you hadn’t done it.”

Nodding to himself, Park explained.

“Physique is a bodybuilding category. They don’t focus much on the lower body, and wear shorts. Instead, the emphasis is on having a broad upper body frame.”

Physique.

It was a category built around the idea of having a body that looks great on the beach.

The key to success in this category was having a well-balanced and proportionate physique.

Unlike other forms of bodybuilding, it required a more controlled, less bulky look.

Add wide shoulders and a strong lat spread, and you’ve got the perfect physique.

That’s right.

Min Ki’s body right now was the ideal starting point for someone entering the world of physique competitions.

“Do you know how to pose?”

“Huh? No.”

He didn’t know.

He was vaguely familiar with the term “physique,” but didn’t really know what exercises or posing techniques were involved.

Park let out a small chuckle at Min Ki’s clueless expression.

“There you go again. Sure, sure, I believe you. I’ll teach you the poses, so just give it a try.”

What was with this guy?

Either way, when Min Ki roughly attempted the signature physique pose as Park instructed, Park couldn’t help but stifle a laugh internally.

‘Yeah, right, 10 months my foot.’

Just from the way he posed, it was clear that this guy had at least two years of experience.

His angles were sharp.

Razor-sharp.

It was obvious he had prepped for a physique competition before, so why was he lying?

Whatever.

Park decided to laugh it off.

After all, he was far better than those scrawny guys.

He was someone who didn’t care about a little bit of arrogance as long as it wasn’t coming from a skinny, stick-like body.

That’s right.

As long as he wasn’t a scrawny guy.

***

A few days later.

Several photos were released online through JC.

They were none other than…

[Actor Lee Min Ki’s Body Profile Project]

They were Min Ki’s bap photos.

There were countless pictures of him changing into various outfits, showing off his upper body muscles.

Despite his gentle and delicate face, the photos radiated a powerful, masculine energy.

[Wow.]

They were enough to astonish the public.

[I knew he had a good body, but not like this?]

[He must really love working out.]

[Isn’t this almost pro-level?]

[Haha, pro-level is an exaggeration, but he’s definitely at the top tier for a regular person.]

[It looks like he’s really well-proportioned, which makes the photos look even better.]

His body had always been good.

Even aside from skeletal muscle mass, his proportions had always made him stand out.

Couple that with the intense workouts he had done after filming Forever Green, along with the retouching by Studio Muscle.

[Beyond impressive, it’s almost art.]

He had succeeded in creating a masterpiece that bordered on a work of art.

[Can I achieve this in three months?]

[Haha, only if you spend three years working your butt off.]

[LOL.]

[People who haven’t worked out much wouldn’t know, but to get a body like that, you have to live in the gym.]

[Still, you never know. I heard someone did it in three months.]

[That’s all lies.]

The opinions of fitness enthusiasts weren’t much different from Owner Park’s.

They all speculated that Min Ki had at least a few years of experience working out.

In this process, ‘luck’ played a role.

[Haha, seriously, who believes a body like that is possible in one year? Please, stop the nonsense.]

[You can tell he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.]

[It’s obvious from his physique. Look at that silhouette, a clean V-shape from waist to shoulders.]

[People need to stop confusing having good proportions with having a lot of muscle, haha.]

[Clearly, this is just a body cut down to minimal body fat. What do you mean it’s impressive? LOL.]

[↑ Overweight gym junkie arrested at home for cooking two packs of ramen.]

Opinions were divided.

In fitness communities, debates raged on for days about his workout history.

Regardless of the outcome, the photos sparked widespread attention, naturally generating buzz.

It was nothing short of luck.

Amid this heated discussion…

[Title: I found out the name of the supplement Lee Min Ki uses.]

[Q. How do you work out?]

[A. I focus a lot on my diet. I changed supplements a few times to find one that suited me. My gym manager recommended this one, and I’ve stuck with it recently.]

And so, the marketing began.

[Real Protein?]

[What brand is that?]