Top Star by Luck

Chapter 72

A devastating sentence erupted from Lee Min Ki’s mouth.

“Ah— looks delicious――.”

It was literally a voice as stiff as a wooden puppet.

It was the kind of voice that made everyone present feel awkward, as if the air had become suffocatingly heavy.

A voice that dared not exist in this space reverberated.

‘What is this?’

‘What did I just hear?’

The staff’s gazes were mixed with an appropriate ratio of surprise and bewilderment.

They say the human brain freezes when it’s shocked; that was exactly the case here. It was as if they had encountered a deer while standing guard.

But the person responsible for the situation, after uttering just one word, seemed utterly indifferent.

No, it was more than that.

“Hmm―― this is the taste— after all, coffee should have depth――.”

He confidently delivered his next line.

“…….”

The awkwardness only deepened.

How could one scene be this uncomfortable?

Even an ordinary person who knew nothing about acting would feel their hands and feet curling up from the cringe-worthy performance. For those familiar with the situation on set, it was enough to make their senses numb.

And yet, was Lee Min Ki someone who usually lacked acting skills?

‘The actor used to be so good at acting.’

‘Is he not feeling well today?’

No.

On the contrary, Lee Min Ki’s acting ability was outstanding, even on set.

He was so talented that it was hard to believe he was a rookie actor.

He knew when to blend in and when to stand out.

His perspective was broad.

His acting was not something common, as he calculated even the movements of the staff beyond the work itself.

But despite that, the current performance from Lee Min Ki was utterly incomprehensible.

‘He wasn’t like this during the script reading.’

‘Even Lee Min Ki has a role he can’t handle.’

‘At this point… I could probably do better.’

‘Now he’s showing his limits.’

Some took pleasure in his apparent flaw.

However.

Others thought differently.

‘This is intentional.’

It was Director No Ho Yeon.

‘Actor Lee Min Ki isn’t the type to act like that without a reason.’

To him, Lee Min Ki was someone obsessed with details.

Bad acting?

Impossible.

If it was the Lee Min Ki he knew, it was only right to interpret it as one big ad-lib.

The only question that remained was: what was the purpose behind this ad-lib?

‘He’s aiming for something. But what?’

‘I think I know, but I can’t be sure.’

Both Kim Ji Hwan and Seol Ha, who had experienced Lee Min Ki enough to understand him, made the same assumption.

And.

Their assumptions were exactly right.

‘I wonder if this will resonate.’

Lee Min Ki’s acting was indeed bad.

In every way, it was intentionally bad acting.

“Why is such―― delicious coffee, so delicious?”

Even the short one-line performance just now was like that.

He imagined how it would feel if someone who had never acted before tried their hand at a commercial.

‘Instead of being aware of the audience beyond the camera, focusing on the camera lens itself.’

Lee Min Ki’s gaze darted back and forth between the camera and the director like a reckless driver cutting through traffic.

‘The voice was stiff. The control of intonation and pacing was all choppy.’

His voice seemed to insist on being heard.

It was a voice that felt as out of place as a propaganda speech from a northern communist party.

‘His hands, restless and unsure of where to be placed.’

Even his posture was awkward and uneasy.

The production team was itching to declare an NG and rush over to pull him off the set.

“Coffee is something… umph!”

Lee Min Ki stammered as if he had bitten his tongue.

Just as everyone thought it was an obvious NG, Director No Ho Yeon shouted something completely different.

“Actor, let’s have a talk for a moment.”

Upon hearing that, someone thought to themselves.

‘Serves him right.’

* * *

In the temporary meeting room set up in the studio.

Director No Ho Yeon stared at Lee Min Ki with a serious, unblinking gaze.

It was such a heavy gaze, as if he was trying to probe into his innermost thoughts.

The tension grew to the point where the water cup in front of them felt out of place. Finally, he opened his mouth.

“Just now, was that intentional?”

“Well.”

Lee Min Ki slowly nodded.

“Yes.”

“I thought so.”

He got straight to the point.

Director No Ho Yeon shook his head and said.

“Let me make it clear, I’m not saying it was bad. I did ask you to improvise, after all. But I do need to know one thing for sure.”

In the next moment.

With a newfound curiosity in his voice, he asked.

“What was your intention?”

His tone was like that of an interrogator.

However, Lee Min Ki knew that this was simply Director No Ho Yeon’s serious nature. He wasn’t trying to pressure him.

‘He genuinely wants to know.’

He was the kind of person who would say what he had to say directly.

He wasn’t one to beat around the bush.

Because of that, Lee Min Ki, instead of giving a roundabout answer, decided to confront it head-on.

“It’s how I interpreted the character Sung Jin Woo.”

He meant the character.

At those words, Director No Ho Yeon’s eyes gleamed with even more interest.

“The character?”

“Yes, I thought bad acting would suit Sung Jin Woo.”

It was exactly as he said.

Lee Min Ki had indeed acted as Sung Jin Woo.

However, the Sung Jin Woo he portrayed was one who, within the story, acted poorly.

‘Sung Jin Woo isn’t someone who would be good at filming commercials from the start.’

That was how Lee Min Ki interpreted the character of Sung Jin Woo.

He could have done the commercial acting properly.

Maybe not perfectly, but he could have at least faked it decently.

With a few retakes, he could have smoothed out the performance.

“But then I thought, would that really be Sung Jin Woo? Wouldn’t I just be showing off my own good acting? That’s when I started to question it.”

This was the doubt that had arisen in Lee Min Ki’s mind.

While Director No Ho Yeon rested his chin on his hand, listening as if urging him to continue, he calmly elaborated.

“What I challenged myself to do wasn’t just commercial acting.”

“Did you see something else?”

“Yes, portraying Sung Jin Woo doing commercial acting was the real challenge.”

Was it awkward?

Of course, it would be.

It had to be awkward.

That was how Lee Min Ki had interpreted the character of Sung Jin Woo.

“I understand your reasoning, but why pursue such a variation in a character you’ve maintained so well?”

Director No Ho Yeon probed further, as if seeking deeper insight.

And this was a question Lee Min Ki had already anticipated.

Actually, saying he anticipated it might be wrong.

He had thought about it for so long that his response was as natural as breathing.

“When you look at genius characters in the media, the more brilliant they are, the more unexpected flaws they tend to have, right?”

“Hmm, for example?”

“Like that genius scientist and millionaire playboy character from America. He’s flawless, but he’s so forgetful that his daily life is a mess.”

That was the charm of that character.

Lee Min Ki raised another example.

“Or the genius characters in Japanese comics. They’re exceptional in their fields but often can’t even cook a simple meal, so they end up eating cheap bread.”

A person who’s perfect in every way lacks charm.

The Sung Jin Woo that Lee Min Ki envisioned was a perfect barista, but someone with flaws in other areas that made him more relatable.

“So, in other words.”

After listening attentively for a while, Director No Ho Yeon finally spoke.

“The flaw you see in Sung Jin Woo is that he’s too perfect.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Lee Min Ki nodded as he said.

“I wanted to give Sung Jin Woo a charming flaw. And that flaw was bad acting.”

Of course, it was a momentary ad-lib, but it wasn’t just bad acting.

When you broke it down, it was an incredibly detailed performance.

It had only been a day, but after experiencing the CF set, Lee Min Ki had a clear understanding of what kind of acting was required for commercials.

So, he avoided all of that.

It was like intentionally selecting the wrong answers on a test to score zero.

That was the kind of acting Lee Min Ki had just displayed.

‘Well, a barista doesn’t need to be good at acting. It’s certainly intriguing.’

Director No Ho Yeon looked at Lee Min Ki.

After all, this was the final episode.

There was no rush in filming, and with the grand finale of the episode, some minor adjustments could be made.

Some suitable modifications might be necessary, but it wasn’t a problem to tweak things.

What’s the issue?

In a typical drama setting, story-related matters would usually be discussed separately with the scriptwriter in charge. However, Director No Ho Yeon was an exception.

Since he came from the film industry, he, like many in the Korean movie scene, also took on the role of the scriptwriter.

This allowed him to make on-the-spot adjustments as needed.

‘There’s no problem here.’

His focus shifted to something else.

‘This actor has a wider perspective on the work than I thought.’

Lee Min Ki himself.

He wasn’t simply fulfilling the role he was given but was thoroughly researching his character’s strengths and weaknesses.

Usually, rookies were either overly enthusiastic or had a narrow view, but this one was the opposite.

‘I should’ve let him ad-lib from the beginning.’

Regretful.

Since it was his first drama and the actor was a rookie, he had intentionally kept everything under tight control.

If they shot again, next time he’d grant him more freedom.

Maybe he’d coax him into doing another project later.

‘It’s a shame I only found out about this at the end.’

Director No Ho Yeon let out a small sigh inwardly.

Of course, only inwardly.

On set, he maintained his image as a perfectionist so as not to be underestimated by the actors.

“Anyway, I understand now. After hearing your explanation, I think your opinion is valid.”

“So, does that mean…?”

“Let’s go with Sung Jin Woo doing bad acting.”

“……!”

Lee Min Ki’s eyes widened.

Not only had his interpretation been acknowledged, but it was even going to be reflected in the work.

This was an achievement he had obtained just before the drama’s conclusion.

“Is that for real?”

“There’s no need to be surprised. As long as it makes the work more interesting, that’s all that matters. If we stick to something too plain, it can get dull, right? There are many ways to finish a story with a flourish.”

Director No Ho Yeon spoke as if it was nothing.

“But since we need to make some small adjustments, let’s take a break.”

From now on, it was the director’s time.

Even with adjustments in the middle, he would have to polish things up to ensure the flow remained smooth from start to finish.

There were many people waiting on set, so it needed to be quick.

Just as he was about to get started.

“Wait.”

There was something he wanted to praise.

Director No Ho Yeon called out to Lee Min Ki.

“The part where you bit your tongue at the end—great detail.”

“…….”

“That was intentional, right?”

With a tone as if he was the only one who understood, Lee Min Ki swallowed hard and replied.

“Ah, of course!”

It wasn’t.

That had been a mistake.

In the current atmosphere, he couldn’t bring himself to refute it, so Director No Ho Yeon continued, as if he had known all along.

“I thought so, that was my favorite part.”

“…….”

So it was, indeed.

Yes, sir.

* * *

Director No Ho Yeon made changes to the script.

If the actors could adapt flexibly and ad-lib to suit the situation, directors could also revise the script within manageable bounds.

This time was no different.

“A truly delicious―― coffee, delightful coffee――.”

While Lee Min Ki performed his bad acting, they repeated the shoot from the start.

With different angles, different perspectives, the camera closed in.

And.

As time passed, Lee Min Ki’s acting improved.

“A truly delicious coffee, delightful— coffee.”

It had become watchable.

Some might see this as Lee Min Ki gradually improving through repeated filming, but the truth was this.

‘As expected, he’s a good actor.’

This was all within the scope of the revised script.

‘Slowly improving. More quietly than a turtle’s steps, more gradually than an ant’s effort, more silently than the stock market rising.’

This was the story of [Sung Jin Woo] as acted by Lee Min Ki.

At first, his performance was unmistakably ‘bad acting,’ but by the 19th retake, he had successfully reached the level of ‘inexperienced acting.’

Yes.

Lee Min Ki was portraying a character who was improving his acting skills.

It was all part of Director No Ho Yeon’s plan.

‘I’ll edit this and use it.’

It was a portrayal of how Sung Jin Woo, determined to master the commercial, improved through sheer will and practice.

However, to those who only caught a glimpse of the situation, it seemed different.

‘So he really couldn’t act.’

‘But still, he’s improving. Slowly, but he is.’

‘He’s like a water rocket.’

It only looked as though Lee Min Ki was improving at a sluggish pace.

But after the 27th retake ended.

“Good, Min Ki. Show us something great this time.”

“Yes!”

At Director No Ho Yeon’s shout, Lee Min Ki’s eyes lit up.

And soon after, his real skill was revealed.

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

With just one line, the trio of extras who had been secretly criticizing him fell silent.

‘What’s going on?’

‘What just happened?’

‘He knew how to do it all along?’

The person had changed.

Was this really the same person who had been showing such slow progress a moment ago?

In an instant, he had transformed into a perfect professional actor.

“Good job.”

While some of the extras were dumbfounded, Director No Ho Yeon praised Lee Min Ki with a look of pride.

“It seems like we’ll get a good scene.”

“Thanks to you, director. Thank you.”

And so, with a small hiccup, the final shoot came to a successful conclusion.

The drama had already aired up to episode 12, so they had only about three weeks’ worth of content left.

But considering the industry’s average pace, this was a very stable situation.

‘Ah, I feel so relieved.’

Lee Min Ki stretched widely, feeling liberated from the filming set.

It felt like he had become a free man.

But to truly be free, there was still one thing left to do.

That was.

“Actor, see you again soon.”

“Indeed.”

It was the studio shorts.

Last time was a rehearsal, but this time it was the main shoot.

Just one week after the rehearsal, they were already moving on to actual filming.

‘Wow, this is really happening.’

Lee Min Ki murmured as he glanced around the interior set designed to look like a real house.

“With the props to prepare and everything, I thought it’d take longer, but I didn’t expect we’d shoot this fast. Truly a top-notch studio.”

“Hoho, don’t be surprised.”

Although Director Kwon Ye Rin spoke modestly, she shrugged her shoulders as if pleased with the compliment and said.

“Commercial production is all about speed. Sometimes, we plan things the day before and shoot the next day. There are even companies that can make props on the same day.”

“Wow….”

So this is how the world works.

No wonder everyone on set had dark circles under their eyes like makeup.

As Lee Min Ki marveled, Director Kwon Ye Rin, feeling a bit embarrassed, cleared her throat and spoke.

“You’ve studied the storyboard I sent you, right?”

“Oh, yes.”

“What did you think?”

“Well.”

He had been waiting a long time to share his thoughts directly with the person in charge.

With a faint smile, Lee Min Ki said.

“It’s really fun. I’m sure this will be a huge hit.”

“Right?”

Director Kwon Ye Rin giggled as if she had expected that response.

“‘Wearing Coffee,’ I think it suits you perfectly. You’re such a great actor, after all.”

“Haha… hearing that from you makes me a bit bashful.”

Lee Min Ki chuckled lightly.

But his thoughts weren’t quite the same.

“It’s fun, but it’s going to be really tough.”

The commercial storyboard.

It turned out to be an unexpected challenge.