Top Star by Luck

Chapter 58

“…….”

Lee Min Ki blinked slowly as he sat on the living room sofa, staring blankly at the ceiling.

‘Does this even make sense?’

His mind was in turmoil.

Just last night.

The reason was the proposal he received from the production team of [Café del Dia].

[Min Ki, your coffee-making skills are top-notch. It’s a shame that only we know about it, don’t you think we should show it to the viewers? You know, to the real viewers, I mean.]

That’s right.

They had completely re-evaluated the concept of the [Café del Dia] press conference.

The plan was to invite actual baristas and have them, along with the main cast, conduct a coffee tasting show.

‘Are they crazy?’

Lee Min Ki, the person involved, was in shock.

‘They want me to make coffee in front of real baristas?’

It was an overwhelming plan.

Of course, it was fine.

As an actor, there was no reason not to welcome more attention.

But he was a complete novice when it came to coffee.

He had only started dealing with coffee seriously for a few months.

Although those around him considered him to be quite skilled.

But no matter what others thought, he didn’t believe that himself.

“Ugh…”

Of course, the production team was likely aware of this.

They probably just wanted him to appear competent enough among the baristas.

After all, their primary goal was likely to take a few promotional photos, regardless of the outcome.

[Actor Lee Min Ki officially receives barista training for his role.]

This was probably the image they had in mind.

They likely only needed his skills to be passable, just enough to look the part.

Lee Min Ki had guessed as much.

But even so, the reason he was so embarrassed and frustrated was simple.

‘This whole thing is filled with lies.’

The script was riddled with incorrect information about baristas.

It was like a military drama filming a scene with outdoor surgery, or a scene where soldiers, meeting for the first time, were already pointing knives at each other.

It was a scene that real soldiers would laugh at.

The production team certainly knew this too.

Many of them had served in the military, and they had consulted military experts during the production process.

But they filmed those scenes anyway.

Because it was more dramatic and fun that way.

It was the same with [Café del Dia], which Min Ki had filmed.

[Paper filters? Those are for beginners.]

[Blue Mountain? It’s a good bean, but it’s also what ignorant newcomers rave about.]

[Cafe owners skimp on grinders while spending thousands on machines. But listen, the difference between good coffee and bad coffee lies in the grinder.]

It was embarrassing.

The dialogue was full of lines that would make real coffee experts cringe.

If he didn’t know any better, it wouldn’t be so bad.

But now that he knew, he felt mortified about having to act like a real barista in public.

It was what they called the “curse of knowledge.”

“……! ……! …! ……!”

Lee Min Ki, unable to scream out loud in the middle of the living room, buried his head in the sofa cushion and let out a silent cry.

Squeak.

From the room he thought was empty, Kim Tae Yang emerged with a sleepy expression.

“…….”

“…….”

There was a brief moment of silence.

Lee Min Ki, looking as if he was about to burst into tears, spoke first.

“Did you hear?”

“Hear what?”

“What just happened.”

“Oh.”

Kim Tae Yang scratched his messy hair and replied.

“Voice training?”

“…….”

With that casual remark, Lee Min Ki’s body slumped like a withered leaf.

‘I thought I was alone in the house.’

He wanted to die from embarrassment.

Why did he decide to live with someone instead of living alone?

No, living alone would have been too expensive.

If he lived alone, he wouldn’t be living in such a nice house.

At least, by living with someone, only Kim Tae Yang had to witness his embarrassment.

If he were living alone, the whole neighborhood might have heard.

Lee Min Ki rationalized his situation.

He felt that without such rationalizations, he wouldn’t be able to bear the embarrassment.

“Hmm.”

Kim Tae Yang, not caring about Lee Min Ki’s inner turmoil, scratched his head and said.

“Want some coffee?”

“Coffee?”

“I want to wake up a bit. They deliver from the café nearby, but if you’re going to drink some too, let’s order together.”

“……I’ll just make it myself.”

Lee Min Ki got up from his seat and walked towards the kitchen.

In the cupboard were the blended beans and a moka pot that had been delivered from the café.

Crinkle.

He carefully opened the bag of specially blended beans, releasing the perfectly roasted aroma from last week.

‘Life.’

It had the opposite effect.

The moment he smelled it, the upcoming press conference came to mind again, dampening his mood.

But Lee Min Ki shook his head, trying to shake off the negative thoughts.

‘No. I should take this opportunity to practice brewing coffee a little more.’

They say life is full of ups and downs.

Lee Min Ki, trying to stay positive, timidly resolved to practice making coffee and started boiling water.

And just as he was about to put the water on.

Buzz—

His phone suddenly rang.

‘Who could it be? Not many people call me at this time. Is it Ah Sung?’

Just as he was about to check the message, thinking it might be from Kim Ah Sung, he saw something unexpected.

[Director Kwon: Member.]

[Director Kwon: You haven’t been coming to the gym lately.]

It was a message he hadn’t expected at all.

* * *

Just two hours later.

Standing awkwardly in the gym, Lee Min Ki cleared his throat and said.

“Uh, I didn’t expect you to come all the way here.”

To this, the muscular man, reminiscent of a Renaissance statue, responded in a gentle voice.

“No need to feel pressured. Wherever my members are, that’s where I’ll be.”

It was Director Kwon Joon Yong.

He was standing right in front of Lee Min Ki.

This in itself wasn’t strange.

But Lee Min Ki couldn’t help but feel an odd sense of unease.

Why?

‘He actually came all the way here?’

It was because Director Kwon had come to a gym near Min Ki’s new home.

That’s right.

The Director, who should only have been frequenting the gym near his own home, had suddenly appeared at a gym near Min Ki’s new place.

Like some kind of foreign mercenary.

And to make matters worse, he seemed to be very friendly with the gym’s director.

“Senior, feel free to use whatever you need.”

“Oh, thanks.”

To be exact, it seemed that Director Kwon was a senior of the gym’s director.

It was an odd situation.

Why had Director Kwon come here, and why had he suddenly declared that he would be training Min Ki?

‘What is going on?’

Min Ki’s head was spinning.

The truth was this.

‘There’s no way I’m going to lose a prized fish that I’ve fattened up.’

Director Kwon had come all this way to chase after Min Ki.

Recently, he had received shocking news from Min Ki.

[I’m moving.]

Min Ki had told him that he was moving far away.

Away from Director Kwon’s territory, the [gym near home], to a place 30 minutes away.

It was absurd.

‘People get lazy if their gym is more than five minutes from home, but 30 minutes?’

There’s no way he’d show up regularly.

Since Min Ki had moved, the frequency of his gym visits had dropped to less than half.

From seven times a week to five, then five to three.

Recently, it had dropped to two.

Of course, his filming schedule was the main reason.

But that wasn’t what mattered to Director Kwon.

Exercise was something you did every day!

Just like eating, breathing, and walking on two legs, lifting weights was part of life!

‘His body will rust if he doesn’t exercise. No, he’s already gaining body fat. It’s because he’s been slacking off.’

No, it was because Kim Tae Yang was feeding him well.

Min Ki wasn’t the type to refuse the kindness of others.

But that wasn’t the point.

There was a bigger problem.

Something that made Director Kwon grit his teeth.

‘After all that effort, am I just going to let someone else reap the benefits?’

Min Ki had left.

After all the effort put into his body profile shoot and the advertisements.

The gym had just started reaping the rewards from the promotion when he announced he was leaving.

‘No way. Once a member, always my member.’

For Director Kwon, who dreamed of becoming a star trainer, using Min Ki as his promotional model, this was unacceptable.

So, he had come.

To the gym near Min Ki’s new home.

Fortunately, it was run by an old acquaintance, so it was easy to secure a spot.

[Outcall training?]

[Yeah, I’ll help out your gym members too. I heard it’s hard to find a good trainer lately? Didn’t one guy almost cause a knife fight by messing with a married woman?]

[He was married too.]

[Are you comparing me to that kind of trash?]

[Uh, no?]

[Do I seem like a joke to you?]

[…….]

[If you make room for me in your gym, I’ll let this slide.]

[……I don’t see how these are related, but if you insist.]

Under the pretext of outcall training, he had secured a position at the gym.

Although it meant he had to leave the original [gym near home] unattended, the gym had grown enough to leave a senior trainer in charge, so it wasn’t a problem.

“Well, let’s start with some light dumbbell lunges to warm up.”

Director Kwon handed over the dumbbells to Min Ki with a bright smile.

Min Ki, twitching his facial muscles, commented.

“……These feel heavier?”

He was right.

They were clearly heavier than what he usually used.

By about 3 kg.

“Did you bring the wrong ones?”

No, it was definitely on purpose.

Looking suspicious, Min Ki glanced at Director Kwon, who responded with a nonchalant expression.

“You’ve been resting a bit, haven’t you?”

“I’ve been busy with filming.”

“That’s right. So, you have to make up for it by working extra hard.”

“I heard if you overdo it, your muscles can actually start breaking down?”

“Is that so? Then stop just before they start breaking down.”

“…….”

The man was relentless.

But Min Ki sighed and silently began doing lunges.

‘Forget it. He came all this way to train me. I should be grateful.’

A director of a gym had come all the way to give him personal training.

And likely for free.

Rationally speaking, this was ridiculous.

But Director Kwon wasn’t a rational person.

More like a well-socialized silverback gorilla.

Of course, there was probably a give-and-take behind this generous training offer.

But.

“Fourteen and three-quarters! Fourteen and a half of a quarter!”

His voice was full of energy as he called out the numbers, making it impossible not to feel motivated.

‘Whatever. I just have to give it my all.’

In the end, this was a form of luck too.

Instead of complaining, Min Ki decided to lift the dumbbells and focus on his workout.

Meanwhile.

‘Who is that guy?’

‘He’s really handsome.’

‘I think I’ve seen him in a movie.’

‘Is that Lee Min Ki? Or someone who looks like him? Could it be him?’

‘He’s got a great build. I’ll have to ask him about his routine later.’

At this gym, people were starting to steal glances at him too.

* * *

Some time passed.

The press conference for the drama was officially starting.

Director No Ho Yeon, a well-known figure, had grabbed attention by transitioning into the drama world with [Café del Dia].

The fact that it was a food-themed drama, something not often seen, had piqued the public’s interest.

On top of that, there was the appearance of the hot rookie actor, Lee Min Ki.

Riding this wave of popularity, the production team had announced a unique press conference.

[We invite you to the press conference for Director No Ho Yeon’s new drama, ‘Café del Dia.’]

[A time where you can breathe the same air as the actors and talk freely about the project and coffee in a closer space.

We invite you to Café del Dia!]

The atmosphere was different from the usual press conferences that focused mainly on inviting the media.

The content was.

[The actors are going to make coffee?]

For some, it was intriguing enough to grab attention.

But for others.

[What a ridiculous display.]

It was an event sure to stir up both curiosity and criticism.