Top Star by Luck

Chapter 94

Peaceful Gyeongbokgung Palace.

As always, a moderately bustling Gyeongbokgung Palace, with a mix of tourists and elderly people taking walks nearby.

One person appeared in the front courtyard.

No, three people appeared.

“Gyeongbokgung is really pretty.”

It was Lee Min Ki along with two others.

Bojana Olsen and Manager Park Han Mo.

The three of them, an odd combination, stood awkwardly on the outskirts of Gyeongbokgung.

‘Let’s see.’

Lee Min Ki glanced around Gyeongbokgung, then murmured with a hint of regret.

“(Since we’re filming a music video, we should shoot it in the best location if possible.)”

“(There are a lot of people.)”

“(Yes, there are more people than usual today.)”

Indeed.

Normally, Gyeongbokgung isn’t this crowded, but today, everywhere you looked, people were overflowing.

Everywhere, people dressed in hanbok filled the area, and there were more than just a few cameramen filming them.

The number of people wasn’t the main issue.

The problem was that all the spots worth taking pictures in Gyeongbokgung were completely occupied.

Not only the main gates.

In front of the pavilions.

Under the trees that had grown beautifully.

Even the eaves stretched long and wide, everywhere was packed with people.

“(Is there an event today?)”

Just as Lee Min Ki squinted his eyes and muttered in confusion, Manager Park Han Mo spoke up.

“(It could be a group package tour.)”

“(Ah, that’s a possibility. Maybe they rented hanbok together as well.)”

It didn’t matter.

In fact, if they looked hard enough, there probably were some places to take photos.

But the real problem was, of course, his fame.

‘People are starting to recognize me.’

That was the issue.

Even now, there were people glancing at him from a distance.

Thanks to his hat covering his face, it wasn’t too bad, but his natural aura couldn’t be hidden.

Moreover, standing next to him was someone who, from the start, couldn’t even pretend to blend in.

“(Do they sell kimbap here?)”

It was Bojana Olsen.

Never mind her face, her skin alone was so pale it practically reflected light.

She was taller than most men.

And now, dressed in an elegant hanbok, she looked so striking that anyone would stop and stare.

‘What should I do about this?’

It was a race against time.

The longer they stayed, the more attention they would attract, and the harder it would become to move freely.

‘In that case…’

Lee Min Ki opened his mouth.

“Let’s find a place where there are no people at all to shoot.”

A completely secluded spot.

Let’s head to the corner.

* * *

Did you know?

Gyeongbokgung Palace, while not a popular destination for locals living nearby, is highly favored by foreign tourists.

Among Koreans, however, there’s another group that loves this place.

“Wow, there are so many people in hanbok. Who are they all? Are they actors? What’s happening today?”

“Didn’t you know? A lot of historical drama fans often come here.”

That’s right.

Gyeongbokgung is a holy site for historical drama fans.

Every afternoon and weekend, the palace is filled with people dressed up in hanbok.

Some of them shoot short dramas with grand dialogues, while others take model photos to post on social media.

Today was no different.

“The moonlight is beautiful tonight. Where could my beloved be raising a glass of wine?”

A university drama team had come to film a short drama.

To be more precise, it was more of an improvised performance.

Since they had to pack as much as they could into a short time, it was hard to include a full story arc.

But they were doing their best.

‘If we win this contest, we can buy a new camera!’

Most aspiring actors from theater and film departments were usually broke.

The [Joseon Beauty] contest recently hosted by Seoul City was like a lifeline for them.

The first prize was a whopping 20 million won. With that money, they could do a lot.

But, perhaps because the prize was so large, there were plenty of competitors.

“Ara-ri, Ara-riyo.”

They were filming over there, too.

“You have the face of a warrior.”

“The general has ordered the return to Wehwadong.”

Some were getting the time period wrong.

“The 24 Sword Technique of Plum Blossom is actually a secret of Zhongnan.”

“As a third-generation disciple, what do you know? As a twelfth-generation disciple, I cannot forgive your arrogance.”

“Excuse me! Could you bring me the menu?”

“Hai!”

Some seemed to have chosen the wrong genre altogether.

Instinctively, everyone knew.

Those people are my competitors, and I am theirs.

‘This contest won’t be easy.’

But part of them also thought this.

‘Still, we’re better.’

They believed their quality was superior.

Everywhere, there were battles between dragons, tigers, giant birds, and three-legged crows.

In the best spot in Gyeongbokgung, a model named Jung Soo Jin grumbled in an irritated voice.

“Oppa, are you sure you filmed that properly?”

“……”

“Did you hear me?”

She was full of frustration.

Model shoots don’t end in just a few minutes.

Most of the time, they involve hours of standing in one place until your feet hurt.

She was already exhausted, yet the man holding the camera couldn’t even keep his eyes on her but kept looking elsewhere.

‘Is this a joke?’

Jung Soo Jin squinted her eyes.

Her frustration reached its peak, and she was about to unleash a stream of complaints when—

“Soo Jin, shh.”

The cameraman stopped her with a quiet hush.

“What?”

“Soo Jin, just look over there for a second.”

Not only did he not apologize, but now he was telling her to look somewhere else.

She was dumbfounded, wondering what on earth could be so important that the cameraman was ignoring her and looking away.

“Am I seeing things?”

Far away.

In the most secluded corner of Gyeongbokgung, near a bench, three people were chatting.

The spot was so out of the way and shaded that people wouldn’t go there even if told to.

There was a trash can and a vending machine nearby, making it a poor place to take pictures.

But the location wasn’t the main issue.

The combination of the three people standing there was strange.

‘…Casual hanbok?’

One person was dressed in casual hanbok, not the proper kind.

The kind that a school ethics teacher might wear.

A man of unremarkable build wearing casual hanbok.

All black.

His shoes were even Adidas sneakers.

It was clear that he wasn’t here for the contest but just for sightseeing.

But the other two were definitely unusual.

‘A white person?’

A tall white woman.

With her slim figure like a goddess from Norse mythology, her sharp features and fair skin reminded you of an elf.

If she had been a man, you might have stopped breathing for a moment.

It was Bojana Olsen.

A rookie who had made a splash on the Billboard charts from the moment she debuted.

Of course, at this time, she was still relatively unknown in Korea. Only hardcore music fans might recognize her voice.

‘Who is she? She’s incredibly pretty. Is she a model?’

So, Jung Soo Jin didn’t know who she was either.

Besides, Bojana Olsen wasn’t American or European.

She was Australian of British descent.

At any rate.

‘Her proportions are insane, even in a hanbok.’

Jung Soo Jin found herself discovering another beauty of hanbok, ironically, through a foreigner.

But.

Even Bojana Olsen’s presence faded next to the person standing in front of her.

“Isn’t that Lee Min Ki?”

That’s right.

It was Lee Min Ki.

There he was, standing casually in front of a vending machine at the edge of Gyeongbokgung.

Despite the recent [Kim Do Ha Scandal] temporarily lowering his momentum, he had bounced back even stronger as an actor.

‘His visuals are insane.’

With his looks, he could easily star as a Confucian scholar in a historical drama and bring in a 20% viewership rating.

And to top it off.

He was standing there with an elf-like foreign woman and a man dressed like a school teacher in casual hanbok.

‘What kind of scene is this?’

Jung Soo Jin was confused.

‘Are they filming a historical drama? No, they wouldn’t have a foreigner and casual hanbok in a period drama.’

Or could it be that she was being too narrow-minded?

Just because someone was a foreigner, did it mean they couldn’t appear in a historical drama? After all, Asians also play noblemen in Western medieval fantasy films.

But if that were the case, what’s with the casual hanbok?

That’s crossing a line.

It’s like wearing a wedding dress to play a noblewoman in a medieval film.

‘Am I too stuck in my ways?’

For a moment, Jung Soo Jin was lost in thought, wondering if she was the one being too rigid, and she asked the cameraman for confirmation.

“Oppa, isn’t that an anachronism?”

“Soo Jin, focus and be quiet.”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“Lee Min Ki just showed up, and you’re worried about historical accuracy?”

“Oh… right.”

That’s true.

Accuracy doesn’t really matter when it comes to Lee Min Ki.

“There’s no angle here. Soo Jin, can you step aside for a bit?”

The cameraman pushed Jung Soo

Jin aside.

The prime spot in Gyeongbokgung that she had secured was now being given up just because it was a good spot to film Lee Min Ki.

‘I’m completely out of the picture now.’

Jung Soo Jin let out a bitter laugh.

But if the subject was Lee Min Ki, she couldn’t really argue.

In just a few seconds, all of Gyeongbokgung’s attention had shifted entirely in his direction.

“It’s Lee Min Ki.”

“Is he filming a historical drama?”

“A foreigner in a historical drama?”

“Why is Lee Min Ki here, flexing his star power among amateurs?”

“That hanbok is really beautiful.”

“No matter what a celebrity wears, it looks good.”

“…We need to let the entire world know about this on forums, social media, everywhere—Flash*, Cli*ng, Na*vy*, Ins*, Twi*, Fb*, Tik*, everything.”

The contest no longer mattered.

Lee Min Ki had shown up in the middle of Gwanghwamun wearing hanbok. What else could possibly be more important?

A white heron among crows.

But that didn’t matter anymore.

Catching even a glimpse of Lee Min Ki was worth it.

Might as well take a picture, too.

‘Could I get an autograph somehow?’

Just as Jung Soo Jin was thinking this.

“Gasp!”

Lee Min Ki started doing a shuffle dance.

Right there on the spot, he began shuffle dancing.

In hanbok.

It was a literal dance.

A Confucian scholar dressed in hanbok, perfectly executing a shuffle dance.

‘Huh? What is this scene?’

It was chaos on top of chaos.

Why is he doing something so eye-catching?

‘Is he also trying to enter the contest?’

Please don’t.

The contest prize money is nothing compared to what you earn as a top actor.

Surely, he’s not taking advantage of the fact that there’s no restriction on contestants.

It would be completely unfair.

But it was a complete misunderstanding.

Lee Min Ki had a different goal from the start.

“Your movements are sharp, sir.”

“Thank you.”

It was all about impact.

Wearing hanbok in Gyeongbokgung was a way to show off the Korean background.

Dancing so boldly like this was to create a memorable impression.

‘The treatment has to leave an impact.’

Even if it was a brief appearance in the music video, it had to be a killing point.

The [Treatment] music video wasn’t just for a popular song.

It was more than that.

It would go on to surpass 50 million views.

‘Besides, Bojana Olsen will hit number one on Billboard in a few years.’

She’s relatively unknown now.

That’s why it was important to leave a mark now.

In the future, even small things like this could have far-reaching consequences.

“(Min, your dance moves are great.)”

By now, Bojana Olsen was also dancing along next to him, her voice excited as she followed his movements.

But no.

Lee Min Ki’s dancing skills were just average, but the grace of his body was making it seem extraordinary.

“He’s moving so casually, but it still feels right.”

Even though they were doing the same moves, the feeling was completely different.

Even the smallest steps came across sharply and clearly.

It was like he was performing a trick.

“(Try bending your legs a bit more.)”

“(Like this?)”

“(Yes, harder. You too, manager, join in.)”

“(I’m fine just watching. Someone needs to hold the camera.)”

Manager Park Han Mo tried to refuse.

“(Hey! Camera! Camera, please!)”

But Bojana Olsen didn’t let him off the hook.

“(Still such a bad dancer.)”

“(I told you I didn’t want to do this.)”

Grumbling with complaints, Manager Park Han Mo, ever diligent, joined in nonetheless.

And so, after just 10 minutes of Lee Min Ki staying at Gyeongbokgung in hanbok—

[Lee Min Ki is at Gyeongbokgung right now, doing a shuffle dance in hanbok?]

[?]

[??]

[????]

[Is this a flash mob?]

[It’s three of them.]

[????]

The incident had already begun.