Top Star by Luck

Chapter 93

Unlike the peaceful scene just a few seconds ago, the atmosphere inside the car now felt frozen, like the Han River in the middle of winter.

“Overseas expansion?”

Lee Min Ki spoke in a hesitant voice.

“Yes, because there’s a way to launch your overseas career right away.”

It felt dizzying.

Of course, he wasn’t in a rush to go global.

Rather, he could already consider it in progress.

With *Campus Story*, *Forever Green*, and *Café Del Dia* all being exported abroad, one by one.

Of course, they were still mainly distributed across Asia.

However, Manager Park Han Mo’s tone suggested something different.

“Not only could you go overseas in just a few months, but there’s also a chance that tens of millions of people will see you.”

It sounded like something much bigger.

And there was even a hint of excitement in Manager Park Han Mo’s voice as he said it.

“You’re teasing me, right?”

“Not at all. You know I, Park Han Mo, am always serious about work.”

From the tone he wasn’t usually using, it seemed like he really was teasing.

“Of course, this will be handled officially through the company, but only if you’re okay with it.”

Screech.

The car, which had been running for a while, came to a stop on the side of the road.

Park Han Mo, who had been holding the steering wheel, slightly turned his head and looked at Lee Min Ki sitting in the back seat.

“How about it? Would you like to at least hear them out?”

* * *

“……I never expected you to have such connections, Manager.”

“Well, I studied in the U.S., so isn’t it natural to bring back at least something like this?”

That didn’t seem right.

Lee Min Ki muttered to himself quietly.

‘Who would’ve thought the manager had studied filmmaking in the U.S.’

Yes.

The truth about Manager Park Han Mo, who rarely talked about his past, was that—

‘He was a graduate of the Grafton Institute of Arts (GIA).’

He had graduated from GIA, one of the world’s top art schools located in the United States.

And his major was producing.

He even had experience winning awards at contests with projects he submitted as a student.

“It’s really surprising. I had no idea you studied abroad, Manager.”

“Well, where you learn can be important. But I figured working in Korea would be more fun, so I came back.”

“Then why didn’t you go into production companies but joined an agency instead?”

“Do you know? People tend to seek out what they feel they lack.”

“Oh, I see……”

It sounded like he was saying that he chose agency work because he could always learn production whenever he wanted.

As Lee Min Ki was about to nod at the pride in his voice, Manager Park Han Mo chuckled softly and said,

“That was a joke. I just found this field more attractive. Producing has a wide scope. Besides, statistically speaking, less than 20% of people actually work in the field they majored in.”

So that’s how it was.

Anyway, it became clear that Manager Park Han Mo was even more impressive than he had thought.

And this current opportunity was also something brought by his connections.

“(Well, how long has it been?)”

A tall blonde woman, slim like a Nordic goddess, suddenly rushed towards Manager Park Han Mo.

As if she were about to hug him.

But Park Han Mo coldly pushed her away.

“(Don’t come any closer. You smell.)”

“(How can you be so cold when we haven’t seen each other in so long?)”

“(It’s because you’re so careless. In Korea, people don’t like being touched so freely.)”

“(But I’m American?)”

“(Thanks for that grand revelation. And by the way, you’re Australian.)”

The conversation flowed naturally.

Now that he thought about it, Manager’s English was quite good.

Lee Min Ki was quietly impressed.

But what impressed him more than the manager’s English skills was his connections.

Especially since the person he was talking to wasn’t just anyone.

‘Isn’t that Bojana Olson?’

Bojana Olson.

A singer-songwriter who had recently made waves by breaking into the Billboard Top 30 in the U.S.

“She’s a friend from my college days.”

Manager Park Han Mo introduced her casually.

“We used to talk about projects all the time back then.”

“(What’s he saying?)”

Bojana Olson asked, not understanding Korean.

“(I was just saying we used to talk about projects a lot.)”

“(It was more than that! You shot my first single’s music video, remember?)”

“(That was just an informal shoot. We did it for fun.)”

“(Don’t be so modest. I landed my record deal thanks to that video going viral!)”

Impressive.

So Manager Park Han Mo had collaborated with Bojana Olson back when they were students.

By this point, it felt dizzying.

“(I get the feeling this actor also understands everything I’m saying, right?)”

Suddenly, Bojana Olson turned her attention to Lee Min Ki.

Lee Min Ki slowly nodded.

“(I can understand most of it. Just enough.)”

“(Most?)”

Bojana Olson chuckled softly and said,

“(Your pronunciation is perfect though.)”

That’s right.

In fact, Lee Min Ki was quite good at English.

Especially in terms of listening comprehension.

This wasn’t because he was particularly good at studying but more due to his hobbies.

‘Watching every single piece of work from the English-speaking world, without exception, eventually led to me being able to watch without subtitles.’

It was purely a matter of how much time he had invested.

After all, there are more works produced in the English-speaking world than in Korea.

He had seen almost everything produced in that sphere.

In fact, he might have heard more English in his life than Korean.

With that foundation, he had taken a few months of formal lessons at a language school, and since he found it fun to improve so quickly, he put more effort into it.

He even practiced acting in English when he got excited following along with the dialogue.

“Ahem.”

Of course, despite that, he hadn’t had many opportunities to engage in proper English conversations, so speaking still felt a bit awkward.

“(I heard from Manager. You’re looking for a cameo for your new music video, right?)”

“(That’s right.)”

Bojana Olson nodded in response to his question.

“(The theme of my new music video is world travel. I’m asking people I meet in different places to make appearances.)”

“(That’s quite an ambitious concept.)”

“(It’s taken quite some time. But now I’ve completed about half, so there’s only half left to go.)”

“(Already halfway.)”

Lee Min Ki nodded in admiration.

But even as he said that, he already knew about Bojana Olson’s new song.

‘It was her first song to break into the Billboard Top 10.’

He had guessed that this would be an impressive gig, but it turned out to be even more significant than expected.

Bojana Olson.

Her new music video wasn’t just an ordinary music video.

Thinking back on it, Lee Min Ki muttered inwardly.

‘Looks like my luck’s holding up.’

* * *

He even knew the title of the song.

[Treatment].

It was fair to say it was Bojana Olson’s first major hit.

And the music video, having been meticulously crafted, had made quite the splash.

She had filmed scenes all over the world during a backpacking trip, including in Korea.

‘Did she eat *gukbap*?’

She had visited a famous old restaurant in Jungang-dong, Busan, to eat pork *gukbap*.

It had become such a sensation that many people made pilgrimages there afterward.

And now, the opportunity had come to him, Lee Min Ki.

“(Whatever we do, it’ll be fine as long as we can capture your cool side on camera.)”

“(Min?)”

Who’s Min?

He asked, confused, and Bojana Olson burst into giggles.

“(It’s short for Min Ki.)”

“Don’t mind her, Actor. She’s always like that.”

Manager Park Han Mo interjected.

“Thinking too hard about it will only give you a headache, Actor.”

“(What are you saying now?)”

“Trust me, Actor.”

“(Mo, are you embarrassed by me?)”

Now that he thought about it, she had been calling him “Mo” all this time.

‘Forget it.’

More than that, he just wanted to get started with the filming.

He was feeling restless.

Although Manager Park Han Mo had half-joked about expanding overseas, Lee Min Ki knew better.

He knew that this was truly a great opportunity to spread his name globally.

The actor within him was awakening, his instincts stirred.

‘I wanted to shoot something as a warm-up before filming *Fashion and Fashion*, and this is perfect.’

This was going to be fun.

A music video?

Sure, why not.

Bojana Olson’s fame was one thing, but what excited him more was the fact that he was now at the center of a historical event.

His heart raced.

Lee Min Ki tried to calm his pounding heart and said,

“(Where are we shooting? I’d like to get started right away.)”

“(Let me ask you first.)”

Bojana Olson smiled.

“(Where’s a place that really gives off a Korean vibe?)”

“(A Korean vibe.)”

He pondered the question briefly, resting his chin on his hand.

Then, Lee Min Ki smiled widely and answered.

“(If that’s the case, I’m an

expert.)”

* * *

Elements of Korean tourism, huh?

There were countless Korean things.

Even in this day and age, there were many.

Myeongdong.

Traditional markets.

Han River Park.

Hanok villages, and more.

But among them, there was one place that foreign tourists particularly loved.

“(Everyone here is wearing traditional clothes?)”

It was Gyeongbokgung Palace.

People dressed in *hanbok* filled the area.

Some were using selfie sticks to capture the moment on their phones.

“(This is it, so Korean!)”

Bojana Olson exclaimed, smiling as if she had found exactly what she was looking for.

“(So, we’ll shoot here?)”

“(No, there’s something to do first.)”

“(Hmm?)”

“(This way.)”

Lee Min Ki led them to a store.

A *hanbok* rental shop.

When Bojana Olson looked surprised, Lee Min Ki smiled and said,

“(Since we’re here at Gyeongbokgung Palace, we should wear *hanbok*.)”

Exactly.

Korea was synonymous with Gyeongbokgung Palace, and Gyeongbokgung Palace with *hanbok*.

The two were inseparable, like butter and soy sauce, tomatoes and cheese, ramen and kimchi.

‘It’ll look great.’

Since the video was going global, even if their appearance was brief, they needed to make a strong impression.

Something unmistakably Korean, that anyone could recognize at a glance.

“(You all look very handsome and beautiful.)”

The shop owner nodded with satisfaction as she looked at Lee Min Ki and the others.

She wasn’t too surprised.

Famous celebrities often visited this place.

Knowing that overreacting to well-known people would only make things uncomfortable for everyone involved.

“(Take your time looking around.)”

Wait a minute.

Now that he thought about it, she was speaking English.

‘The world really has gone global.’

There was a reason why this shop attracted so many customers.

Lee Min Ki was quietly impressed while browsing the shop when he suddenly picked up something.

“A *gat*, huh?”

It was a *gat*, the traditional Korean hat.

Manager Park Han Mo nodded as Lee Min Ki held it up.

“(The fact that Korea’s *gat* led the Hallyu wave is a historically proven fact.)”

Of course, no one would believe that if he said it anywhere else, but it was objectively true.

Strictly speaking, the combination of Joseon, zombies, and the *gat* was fantastic, but he held back from mentioning that since it would sound even less believable.

“(It sounds cool too, doesn’t it? *Gat*.)”

“(It’s pretty amazing, *gat*.)”

Bojana Olson held the *gat* in one hand and nodded solemnly.

How could a hat’s name be *gat*?

“(Well, I respect your taste, but I prefer this.)”

Manager Park Han Mo casually lifted up a *durumagi*.

It was designed like a modernized *hanbok*, almost like a coat, with an all-black color scheme.

It was clearly a stylish piece.

His taste seemed a bit peculiar, but he handled it so naturally as if he had been planning to pick it all along.

“Why, Manager?”

Lee Min Ki asked curiously, and Manager Park Han Mo replied matter-of-factly.

“I’ve always wanted to try wearing one. I was too shy to wear it before, but every time I saw pictures of it online, I thought it was my dream.”

“Ah.”

“If you’re at Gyeongbokgung Palace, no one’s going to give you strange looks for wearing something like this, right?”

It was a personal challenge.

Lee Min Ki nodded and asked.

“But don’t you have a schedule today?”

“I’ve been mostly dedicated to your schedule lately, so it’s fine.”

Ah.

So, they had started treating him well now that he was becoming more famous.

It was clear that he had become an important person within JC.

That’s what Lee Min Ki was thinking when—

“There was an unfortunate incident at Daon. On the director’s orders, I’ve cleared my schedule for the time being, to stay close to you.”

Ah.

So, that was the reason.

He felt like he had jumped to conclusions, but since he hadn’t shown it, it didn’t matter.

“Shall we get going then?”

The three of them, now dressed in *hanbok*, began heading toward Gyeongbokgung Palace.

‘Let me try being a Hallyu star for once.’

With his sleeves filled with hidden ambition.