Top Star by Luck

Chapter 115

“Do you have a bad memory?”

Kim Ah Sung Trainer’s sarcastic words froze the atmosphere of the practice room.

It was a tone uncharacteristic of someone who usually wore a perpetual smile.

The students stiffened at once.

‘Was he always this sharp?’

Lee Min Ki flinched as well.

He had known Kim Ah Sung Trainer for years through the academy, and never once had he seen him angry.

In fact, even a neutral expression was rare for him.

‘His eyes are really fierce.’

To put it bluntly, he looked like someone who’d excel at extorting others.

It explained why Kim Ah Sung Trainer often smiled.

With a naturally intimidating appearance, working as an instructor was a peculiar choice.

Few people preferred an instructor with a bad temper, so he had no choice but to smile.

Of course, even an instructor couldn’t smile all the time.

There were moments when he had to be serious.

But since Lee Min Ki, Kim Tak, and Yoo Seon Ah generally followed his instructions well, he rarely had a reason to get angry.

Not to mention, it aligned with Kim Ah Sung Trainer’s personality.

‘Seeing how Actor Lee Min Ki seems surprised, it looks like he’s never seen this side of him before.’

Manager Park Han Mo smirked inwardly at the thought.

“Do you think I’ll just secure your acceptance? Leave. You’re in the way.”

Kim Ah Sung Trainer waved his hand dismissively.

His gaze remained fixed on the documents on his desk, as if the student no longer mattered.

Perhaps the student sensed the urgency of the situation belatedly.

Sweating nervously, they gritted their teeth and spoke.

“…Ha, we’re a team, you know? You called us all here just to send us away like this? Do you think that’s okay?”

They seemed determined to use Song Woo Dang as leverage.

Kim Ah Sung Trainer sighed, visibly annoyed, and replied.

“Hey, what did I tell you earlier? I asked in advance, didn’t I?”

“Pardon?”

“We agreed to evaluate all three separately. You yourself said that was fine. Am I wrong?”

“…!”

That was correct.

The student had indeed agreed.

Since three of them had applied, the suggestion to evaluate them individually and pick all three had been made.

The one who agreed to it was none other than this student.

“Ugh.”

Perhaps they had managed to recall this through strained effort, as they groaned and said.

“…You’ll regret conducting things this way.”

“Regrets are something you have the next morning after eating late-night snacks.”

“…!”

The student gritted their teeth at Kim Ah Sung Trainer’s nonchalant tone.

But such a petty threat wasn’t particularly intimidating.

In the world of auditions, it wasn’t unusual to encounter people who tried to intimidate with empty threats.

‘Claiming to be someone’s son, nephew, distant relative, former employee, a friend of some celebrity, or acquaintance of a reporter. Or threatening to post on social media. Such people are everywhere.’

It had become something of a running joke.

To see someone resorting to such overt threats in 21st-century South Korea was almost laughable.

Unfortunately, though, people like that did exist in real life.

Most aspiring celebrities came from affluent families.

It was rare to find someone without connections.

In some cases, such threats didn’t end at words—entitled parents would actually call the company to complain.

[Excuse me, do you even know how hard my daughter has worked for this?]

[My son is far better than those idols on TV these days, and you didn’t pick him? Are you blind?]

At least direct complaints were somewhat endearing; parental interference was just ridiculous.

But bending to such pressure marked the end of a judge’s credibility.

The minimum standard for fairness, according to Kim Ah Sung Trainer, was evaluating purely based on the individual and their potential.

“Still not leaving?”

“…Tch!”

Bang!

The handsome student slammed the door as they left, footsteps storming away.

“Well, next.”

Kim Ah Sung Trainer, his smile already back, spoke up.

“Let’s see what you’ve got, my friend.”

The second student, like the first, didn’t last more than ten seconds before being sent out.

The only difference was that they left without further complaint.

It seemed they had learned, from the previous student’s experience, that protests were futile.

Before long, only Song Woo Dang remained in the practice room.

“Trainer, are you sure about this?”

Lee Min Ki whispered softly into Kim Ah Sung Trainer’s ear.

“Sure about what?”

“About at least evaluating everyone’s skills.”

“I did. I kicked them out because I didn’t see any potential.”

“What?”

“You think I judge people based on their personalities?”

He chuckled.

But Lee Min Ki couldn’t bring himself to laugh along.

‘Isn’t that obvious?’

After all, behavior mattered.

In Lee Min Ki’s mind, it wouldn’t be out of character for Kim Ah Sung Trainer to criticize someone simply because he found them unpleasant.

‘Still, thanks to Trainer Ah Sung, things are much simpler now.’

From the start, all they needed was Song Woo Dang.

He was the only one they truly wanted to evaluate.

The other two had tagged along, and they had been wondering how to get rid of them.

Kim Ah Sung Trainer had separated them like yolk from egg white.

Whether intentional or not, bringing him along had been a wise decision.

“Well, only one left now.”

Lee Min Ki turned his gaze forward.

“Song Woo Dang, you’re ready, right?”

“Well, I did my best to prepare…”

“Be confident.”

This time, he decided to be a bit more encouraging.

Unlike the others, Song Woo Dang was a different case.

“I’ve been to many auditions like this, and I know that skill matters, but confidence is just as important.”

He was about to offer a warm piece of advice.

“Huh? Min Ki, was that supposed to be your version of confidence?”

“Trainer, please.”

“Oh, if I’d known, I would’ve helped you more.”

Kim Ah Sung Trainer wasn’t usually much help.

There were times when he was, but not when it came to setting the tone.

Still, ‘usually’ wasn’t ‘always,’ and in this case, he had been helpful.

“Anyway, Woo Dang, remember this.”

He had managed to lighten the atmosphere, even if only slightly.

A small change, but in moments like this, even minor shifts could make a big difference.

Like a grain of sand caught between the gears of a factory machine.

“Depending on how well Mr. Woo Dang performs in these few dozen seconds, his future a year or two from now could look very different.

Wouldn’t it be unfortunate if he couldn’t show his skills here?”

To be honest, it wasn’t that serious.

This wasn’t a formal recruitment by JC but merely a challenge audition.

However, those words made Song Woo Dang rethink.

‘That’s right. The actor said he was a trainee not too long ago.’

Things could change.

The two people who were eliminated earlier—it was both amusing and unsettling.

They might retaliate at school.

But precisely because of that, things had to change.

When thinking of victims of school violence, the image of timid and withdrawn individuals often comes to mind.

Song Woo Dang was a little different.

He was tougher.

“I’ll begin now.”

“I’ll play the music.”

A moment later.

The melody of Treatment began to play.

It was the melody set as the task for this round of the [Lee Min Ki Challenge].

How Song Woo Dang performed a shuffle dance to this rhythm would slightly shape his future.

And then.

The choice Song Woo Dang made exceeded everyone’s expectations.

‘That.’

Lee Min Ki’s eyes widened.

‘A jump rope?’

That’s right.

The item Song Woo Dang brought out was a jump rope.

A cheap plastic jump rope you might find sold as gym supplies at a stationery shop near a school.

It appeared nonchalantly.

‘What is he planning to do with that...’

It was a moment when no one could guess.

‘Ah.’

Of course.

Lee Min Ki’s eyes grew even wider.

‘Of course, there was that.’

There was a reason Song Woo Dang gained worldwide fame through broadcasts.

Simply being skilled alone wouldn’t have been enough to beat a team.

The method Song Woo Dang chose was precisely this.

‘It was the second round of the finals, wasn’t it? He even danced while skipping rope.’

It raised the difficulty of the dance to an absurd level.

To the point where no one could follow.

To the point where watching alone captivated all attention.

Tap, tap, tap, tap.

The sound of the jump rope cutting through the still air in the practice room followed Song Woo Dang’s rhythm.

At first, his body wavered slightly, perhaps due to tension, but within seconds, a consistent sense of rhythm emerged.

And then.

Tap-tap, tap, ta-tap.

Song Woo Dang began to match his steps to the rhythm of his jump rope.

Shuffle dance.

The dance began with steps that seemed to scrape the floor.

The rapidly spinning jump rope overlaid the beat with a staccato rhythm.

‘Wow, he’s incredibly skilled.’

Lee Min Ki let out a hollow laugh.

He already knew Song Woo Dang was talented.

But he hadn’t expected him to be this good even at this stage.

At this level, he was undoubtedly the best among the more than 1,000 participants in this challenge.

‘What good fortune.’

It felt like discovering a gem unexpectedly.

The [Lee Min Ki Challenge] seemed destined to be a big success.

As Lee Min Ki struggled to suppress a pleased expression, someone else in the room appeared particularly flustered.

‘To think he was hiding such outrageous skill.’

It was none other than Manager Park Han Mo.

‘When I saw the submission video, it was awful.’

There was no trace of confidence, and the moves were clumsy.

The only commendable aspect was that he danced until the end.

It was baffling why Lee Min Ki had rated him highly—it was that bad.

But witnessing the scene now made it all clear.

‘There really must be something that skilled dancers can see in each other.’

For someone like him, who had lived a mostly conventional life, it was hard to grasp.

‘Good thing I didn’t bet on it.’

On the other hand, there was one person in the room who was the least surprised by this performance.

‘As expected, he’s good.’

It was none other than Trainer Kim Ah Sung.

‘See, I told you something was off.’

When he first saw Song Woo Dang’s submission video, he found it baffling.

It was too unnatural.

The fundamentals were already perfect, yet he danced as though he had sealed away every technical skill.

It was like a chef who perfectly prepared the fire and ingredients but bizarrely misused the actual components.

‘I thought he’d be good.’

Even considering that, he was performing above expectations.

The two eliminated participants earlier were just ordinary, but this one was different.

It was at that moment when his thoughts reached this point.

Thud.

The sound of the jump rope slicing through the air and the scraping of shoe soles against the floor both came to a sudden stop.

“Ah, what? Is it over already?”

Trainer Kim Ah Sung chuckled and said.

“You could’ve done more.”

“...!”

Hearing that, Song Woo Dang’s eyes widened.

It felt like the result was already clear without needing further judgment.