Top Star by Luck

Chapter 85

‘Seon Ah?’

It was Yoo Seon Ah.

She was a fellow student at Jam Acting School, known for standing out even among her peers.

Yoo Seon Ah, her face swollen as if she had been crying a lot, was sitting pitifully on the floor of the practice room.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve seen Seon Ah… Wait, was she always someone who cried?’

Lee Min Ki was shocked, as if he’d been hit over the head with a hammer, at the unexpected sight.

What kind of person was Yoo Seon Ah?

She was overflowing with positivity, to the point where she didn’t show even a speck of negativity.

When he thought of her face, only a smiling image came to mind—nothing else.

But now, here she was, sitting alone like this.

‘Come to think of it, she hasn’t been showing up to our group meetings lately. Did something happen?’

In the last few months, the frequency of their meetings had dropped significantly.

In the early days of Lee Min Ki’s debut, they met with Kim Ah Sung, the trainer, and Kim Tak almost once or twice every week to practice acting together.

They had kept that study group going up until very recently.

However, Yoo Seon Ah’s attendance had decreased.

He had thought she was just busy.

“…Did something bad happen to her?”

He was staring blankly at her in that moment.

“…!”

Yoo Seon Ah turned her head and looked in the direction of the hallway where Lee Min Ki stood.

Then—

“…!”

Startled as if she had seen an alien, she covered her face with both hands.

Lee Min Ki instinctively ducked down, hiding below the window.

And then, for a brief moment, he held his breath.

‘Why am I hiding?’

He soon realized there was no reason to be hiding.

Creak!

Yoo Seon Ah opened the door and glared at him.

“Min Ki, can we talk for a moment?”

* * *

Clatter.

Lee Min Ki handed Yoo Seon Ah a can of coffee.

“Here.”

“…”

“If you don’t feel like drinking it, you don’t have to.”

“It’s not that. Give it to me.”

Yoo Seon Ah sighed and took the coffee.

And as soon as she opened the can—

“So, what’s going on?”

Lee Min Ki asked, glancing at her.

“You really startled me. Did something bad happen?”

“I’m not sure if I should tell you.”

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

At that moment, the practice room fell silent.

An awkward stillness hung in the air, heavy enough to make it hard to even lift a finger.

Lee Min Ki rested his chin on his hand, thinking seriously.

‘Was comforting someone always this hard?’

It’s tough.

The character [Sung Jin Woo] from the drama seemed good at comforting others, but now that he found himself in a real-life situation where he needed to comfort someone, he couldn’t find the right words.

Of course, Sung Jin Woo’s character was notoriously insensitive.

His comforting scenes in the show only seemed plausible because of his looks and the direction of the scene. In real life, if you tried comforting someone like that, you’d probably get buried in the nearest hillside.

‘Characters in stories can comfort others so easily.’

Lee Min Ki blinked and mentally searched through his database.

Was there anyone around who could be a good reference?

‘Maybe I should try doing it like Ah Sung? …No, that wouldn’t help.’

He could already predict what Kim Ah Sung would say.

[Wait, Min Ki, look this way. Let’s take a picture. Huh? Huh? Why are you turning your head away?]

For some strange reason, that suited Ah Sung well.

But if a regular person did that, they’d be lucky not to get punched in the face.

‘What about Kim Tak?’

No, definitely not.

Just thinking about Kim Tak’s dumb expression made him eliminate that option immediately.

If there was anyone rational around him…

‘Manager Park Han Mo? Director Seo Jung Woo?’

Nope.

Those two were sometimes so overly rational that they lacked empathy.

If you were crying, they’d just tell you to spend that time practicing more, brutally hitting you with facts.

‘I don’t have anyone useful around me in situations like this.’

It was surprising.

As Lee Min Ki marveled at his shallow talent pool, Yoo Seon Ah suddenly spoke.

“…I got rejected.”

“Huh?”

“I said I got rejected. From an audition. I thought I’d make it this time, but I failed again. It’s the ninth time in a row. This time, they didn’t even bother to send a rejection notice. I only found out because a friend of mine got accepted.”

“Ah…”

Breaking the silence, her words poured out in an instant.

But they were so appropriate that Lee Min Ki finally understood the situation.

‘So that’s why she’s so down—she failed the audition.’

Of course.

If an aspiring actor got hurt and withdrawn, this was usually the reason.

Why hadn’t he imagined this sooner?

It was obvious.

‘Even Seon Ah can fail.’

The reason he hadn’t considered this was because Yoo Seon Ah was an exceptionally talented person among his peers.

As far as Lee Min Ki could recall, before he returned to the past, it didn’t seem like it had taken her that long to debut.

So he hadn’t even entertained the idea that she might fail an audition.

It was just unthinkable.

‘I think she debuted around this time.’

He vaguely remembered.

When he was bitter from drinking the cup of defeat repeatedly, Yoo Seon Ah had debuted right away, and he had looked at her with envy.

That was the image of Yoo Seon Ah engraved in his mind.

“…Min Ki, don’t I seem ridiculous?”

“Huh? Not at all.”

How could she seem ridiculous?

He was about to refute her but was still thinking of the right words when Yoo Seon Ah spoke again.

“When you were attending the academy, Min Ki, you were always full of energy, even when you kept failing auditions over and over again.”

“Ah.”

“But now that I’m in that position, I can’t do it. I’ve tried, but I just can’t.”

True.

He failed an enormous number of times.

Feeling a bit awkward, Lee Min Ki thought carefully before speaking.

“Well, back then, failing was kind of expected for me, right? I failed so often that it didn’t even affect me that much anymore.”

“No, there’s no such thing as someone who doesn’t feel pain. It just means you endured it well, Min Ki.”

Her tone suggested she couldn’t entirely relate.

Yoo Seon Ah, her lips slightly pouting as if she were sulking, added,

“It’s exhausting to always smile. I used to wonder how you could stay so endlessly positive, Min Ki. I wondered if I could do the same, but I guess I’m just not that kind of person.”

It was dark.

The mood was so heavy that it felt suffocating just listening to her.

It was hard to imagine such words coming out of the usually bright and positive Yoo Seon Ah.

But—

‘I see.’

Lee Min Ki could somewhat understand her feelings.

‘So, to Seon Ah, I looked like an endlessly positive person, just like I thought of her.’

They had both misunderstood each other.

To her, he was someone with an unbreakable mentality, someone who had persevered, debuted, and quickly gained success.

But—

In reality, he was a bit different.

No, not a bit.

He was very different.

“Actually, I’m not…”

After quietly listening to her for a while, Lee Min Ki finally spoke.

“I’m not such a positive person. It’s actually the opposite.”

He was closer to being a negative person.

Someone who saw everything in the world negatively.

“Huh? You, Min Ki?”

Yoo Seon Ah looked at him as if she couldn’t believe what he was saying.

Lee Min Ki chuckled bitterly and explained.

“It’s just that I don’t show it, but I’ve always been incredibly negative. I’m the kind of person who’s never really succeeded at anything.”

What was success?

Someone who had failed constantly, then joined some obscure scam agency, only to have his back picked clean and his life ruined.

Even in his thirties, he lived like that, cutting off contact with his family out of sheer shame.

How could he not be negative?

But—

‘That’s still me.’

It was precisely because he had lived a life where being negative was inevitable that he could now think the way he did.

He wasn’t positive.

But he had learned how to make peace with his negative life.

“Seon Ah, do you know the saying?”

After hesitating for a while, Lee Min Ki finally opened his mouth again.

“That a gentleman’s revenge is never too late, even after ten years.”

“…Revenge?”

Revenge, in this situation?

Yoo Seon Ah gave him a puzzled look, as if asking what he was talking about.

Lee Min Ki clenched his fist and continued.

“Yes, revenge. A very thorough revenge.”

It seemed that even he felt embarrassed by what he was saying, as he gave a small cough before continuing.

“Every time I failed an audition, I told myself that I would get revenge on those judges.”

“How?”

“You know that saying. The best revenge is to succeed.”

“Success is revenge?”

“That’s right.”

Lee Min Ki stood up and pointed to himself as he spoke.

“What do you think the people who rejected me are thinking now?”

“Well… Ah.”

Yoo Seon Ah let out a small gasp, as if she realized something.

Lee Min Ki chuckled and said,

“They probably feel like they missed out on

an investment, don’t you think? I mean, it’s one thing if they rejected me after the practical test, but they filtered me out at the paperwork stage. I still don’t know why.”

“Maybe you were just unlucky?”

“Yeah, maybe it was just bad luck.”

Lee Min Ki chuckled again.

If you think about it, her words weren’t wrong.

“Everyone feels that way, don’t they? We feel happy when we’re recognized, but bitter when we’re undervalued. They probably thought I wasn’t worth enough. It must’ve been something like that.”

“…”

“So, I always thought this to myself.”

Lee Min Ki continued, his voice firm.

“I’ll succeed no matter what. I’ll make them regret looking down on me. I’ll make it big and get on TV. Then I’ll say their names one by one, listing everyone who rejected me.”

“…Would you really?”

“I’m not done yet.”

“Oh, right.”

“I’ll tell all my juniors and peers. Those people didn’t even let me audition. They rejected me at the paperwork stage. They have no eye for talent. I’ll tell everyone that they rejected the great Lee Min Ki. I even imagined my words being captured and spread across the internet.”

“…Is that the end?”

“No, there’s more. But if I keep talking, it’ll just get more pathetic, so I’ll stop here.”

Yoo Seon Ah chuckled softly.

Seeing the meaning in her laughter, Lee Min Ki felt embarrassed and smiled awkwardly.

“Seon Ah, you should think the same way. If those people dared to look down on you, go to a better place and get your revenge. Succeed, and when they see your face in a theater, let them be so envious that their stomachs churn. When they see you in the headlines as a million-ticket actress, let them regret it for the rest of their lives.”

The possibility was slim.

After all, how many people in an audition would really live with regret if someone they rejected ended up succeeding?

It would be rare.

So maybe it was just wishful thinking.

No, it *was* wishful thinking.

But sometimes, in moments of pain, wishful thinking was exactly what one needed.

“We’re not characters in a comic.”

Lee Min Ki continued.

“People can’t always live with a positive mindset. There’s that saying about how even if you roll around in a pile of manure, it’s better to be alive. If you need feelings of revenge, or even petty feelings, those can be good medicine.”

That was his belief.

Anything that could be used as fuel to push forward and change the outcome was fine.

There was no need to feel guilty about not being a positive person.

“If someone can smile even when they should be enraged, that’s a mental illness. Even Confucius would slap someone across the face for that.”

“Slap me?”

“No, not like that. You know what I mean, right?”

He hesitated awkwardly for a moment.

“Heh.”

Yoo Seon Ah let out a small laugh.

As if the situation was so funny that she couldn’t hold back from laughing aloud.

Then she let out a few more chuckles, and finally, she sighed deeply.

Then she shouted,

“Those bastards!!! Screw you!!! I’ll show you―― Screw all of you!! Screw!!”

“…”

Did I hear that right?

If this had been in a movie, it would’ve gotten a 15+ rating for sure. The rough words startled Lee Min Ki, but Yoo Seon Ah, seeming relieved, sighed deeply and said,

“You’re right, Min Ki. People don’t have to smile all the time.”

“…Right?”

“If the world is crap, why shouldn’t we be able to say it’s crap?”

In the next moment, Yoo Seon Ah stood up, smiling brightly once more.

It was the same smile she always wore.

Finally, Yoo Seon Ah said,

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I feel like I’ve found some direction.”

“…I’m just glad I could help.”

Did it really help?

I hope so.

As Lee Min Ki smiled faintly, Yoo Seon Ah spoke again.

“I’m going abroad for an audition this weekend.”

“Abroad?”

Hearing this, Lee Min Ki was slightly surprised.

Auditions are auditions, but going overseas for one?

Normally, you could take care of things domestically.

At most, people from the provinces would come up to the capital for final auditions.

But he’d never heard of someone going abroad to audition for a Korean agency.

‘Wait, actually… I think it happened once.’

He couldn’t quite remember, and as he struggled to think of it, Yoo Seon Ah spoke again.

“Yes, it’s with a company that’s collaborating with a foreign enterprise. They’re thinking about expanding globally, so they said the audition needs to be evaluated by foreign investors.”

As soon as he heard this—

“Hold on.”

Lee Min Ki’s head spun as if he had downed a strong drink.

He asked, just to be sure,

“By any chance, what’s the name of that agency?”

“Why do you ask?”

“I’m just curious. It might be a place I know.”

“You probably know it.”

Yoo Seon Ah responded with a confused voice.

“It’s a place called 3Y Entertainment.”

3Y.

The moment he heard that name,

“Heh.”

Lee Min Ki let out a small, bitter laugh.

“Why?”

“Oh, I’ve heard of it.”

He’d heard of it, alright.

He’d heard of it *a lot*.

So much that it was practically drilled into his ears.

‘As one of the most vile places.’

3Y.

It was a joint venture founded by three individuals from Korea, China, and the U.S., each with a name starting with Y.

They lured actors overseas under the pretense of auditions and used the promise of debuting as bait to exploit them.

They were infamous for actually carrying out the so-called “pillow sales.”

In other words, it was the company where Kim Do Ha was the ringleader.

‘These bastards.’

Something small snapped inside Lee Min Ki’s head.

It was probably the thread of his patience.

He had been planning to wait a little longer, but now the issue had come right to his doorstep.

Just a few days.

If he had hesitated for just a few more days, Yoo Seon Ah would have been the next victim.

No, it was certain.

Had he not met Yoo Seon Ah and spoken with her today, in a few days, she would have gone abroad and become their next target.

When this thought hit him—

It was as if a knife was planted firmly on the cutting board of his heart.

‘I need to crush them right now.’

She said she was planning to leave this weekend?

He made up his mind.

He would take them down before the weekend came.