Top Star by Luck

Chapter 121

“Excuse me, but haven’t we spoken before?”

“Pardon? W-What?”

Lee Min Ki’s sudden remark made Eun Ki Joo’s eyes widen in surprise.

‘When?’

She couldn’t recall at all.

When would she, of all people, have had the chance to even exchange words with someone at Lee Min Ki’s level?

‘Was it before my debut?’

No, that made even less sense.

Was Lee Min Ki an average-looking person?

With such a striking appearance, he should have been unforgettable, even if he had just passed her by like an autumn leaf blown in the wind.

‘If I say I don’t remember, it’ll probably come off badly.’

Surely, he was asking out of kindness.

It would be a shame to miss such an opportunity.

After biting her lips for a long moment, Eun Ki Joo finally spoke.

“Ah, I think we might have had a conversation before...”

She decided to say it anyway.

A vague answer might prompt him to say more.

“Right?”

Lee Min Ki smiled even more brightly before responding.

“Your SNS account is OGZ, isn’t it?”

“Ah!”

“I once left a comment there. It was before my debut. Too long ago, perhaps? I even remember what you said back then. I also sent a follow request.”

Hearing this, Eun Ki Joo’s mind became even more tangled.

Why?

She rarely responded to comments left on her SNS.

Maintaining an air of aloofness meant responding with just as much detachment.

Lee Min Ki smiled gently and said,

“Well, I felt a bit sorry for striking up a conversation out of nowhere.”

“...!”

At those words, Eun Ki Joo’s panic deepened.

‘Did I react too sensitively?’

There was a fine line between someone with poor anger management and someone with a bad personality.

She knew her personality wasn’t great, but at least she was selective about who she unleashed it on.

In other words, she knew her behavior was wrong but acted that way anyway.

At least within the narrow world of SNS, she had grown used to being in an absolute position of power.

“Actor, if you tell me now, I’ll follow you back immediately...”

Eun Ki Joo hurriedly began to speak, but before she could finish—

“Haha, it’s fine. It’s all in the past. Besides, that account doesn’t exist anymore.”

Lee Min Ki laughed, drawing a clear line.

Thanks to him, Eun Ki Joo’s mind felt like a muddy swamp, utterly chaotic.

She had an important audition right in front of her, and instead of focusing, her heart was racing wildly.

‘It seems like you know the actor, but you’re not particularly close.’

Director Seo Jung Woo, who had judged their relationship, spoke without hesitation.

“That’s enough small talk. I’m looking forward to a good performance. Please step forward and begin right away.”

“Ah, yes! Ah!”

As she stepped forward, Eun Ki Joo twisted her ankle.

She nearly fell but managed to regain her balance just in time.

Even so, the damage was done.

The judges in front of her were clearly laughing at her clumsiness.

‘This is insane.’

Her face burned with embarrassment.

Why was her condition so poor today?

“Ahem.”

She steadied her breath.

Then began her impromptu performance.

“Senior, doesn’t that person at the karaoke seem odd? Why do they keep butting into other people’s songs when it’s not their turn?

They don’t even hold the mic and just shout at the top of their lungs, like someone who ate a bullhorn.”

As Eun Ki Joo tried her best to refocus on her acting, Lee Min Ki’s heart grew heavier.

‘Pathetic.’

It was exactly that.

Her performance was mediocre.

“Not to mention, when the song ended earlier, they said they didn’t know the song and suggested changing it.

Does that make sense? Did they not learn basic social skills at their age?”

This wasn’t acting.

She was merely reciting lines, and even her diction, the most basic skill, was all over the place.

This wasn’t acting but a clear lack of practice and preparation.

It was a textbook case of someone who didn’t monitor themselves enough.

‘What was JC thinking when they invited her to the audition?’

Of course, from JC’s perspective, they had likely invited her out of convenience, hoping to get rid of her quickly.

At least her appearance was somewhat passable.

In a crowd of aspiring actors at Jam Acting School, her looks might have stood out.

But was she impressive enough to be selected based solely on her appearance?

‘There are plenty like her.’

Unfortunately, among the supporting actresses he had encountered in the industry, her level was a dime a dozen.

Her beauty was conventional.

Without enhancements, her features lacked distinction, making it hard to see her as having a typical actress’s face.

“Don’t invite them next time. If they’re coming, I won’t.”

The more Eun Ki Joo acted, the emptier Lee Min Ki felt.

‘Was I held back because of someone like her?’

In this life, such moments were frequent.

Someone you once thought insignificant could suddenly seem extraordinary, and vice versa—someone who seemed like the sun itself could now appear utterly unimpressive.

Eun Ki Joo was the latter.

If people like Kim Ji Hwan or Kim Tae Yang had proven to be as remarkable as they appeared, Eun Ki Joo was entirely different.

She shone only within the confines of SNS.

Under specific lighting, in front of specific cameras, and within specific parameters, she stood out.

Outside of those parameters, there was nothing special about her.

That might have been why her influence had never extended beyond SNS.

“Whew, whew.”

To make matters worse, she was gasping for breath after barely two minutes of improvised acting.

That could only mean her practice was insufficient.

‘Did she really give it her all? Really?’

Even Eun Ki Joo hadn’t performed to her usual level, as she was overly conscious of Lee Min Ki’s gaze.

The initial disruption from his question had grown into a snowballing distraction.

But it was just an excuse.

On set, actors must constantly be aware of others’ gazes.

What would she do under Director Hwang Ui Seong?

Every word he said would shatter her confidence like a hammer smashing soft tofu.

By comparison, Lee Min Ki’s gaze was as gentle as sunlight.

“Well done.”

Director Seo Jung Woo spoke up.

At that moment, Eun Ki Joo hurriedly tried to say something to Lee Min Ki.

“We’ll move on to the next participant.”

But the opportunity never came.

‘It was worse than I thought.’

After the three people finished, Lee Min Ki gulped down some bottled water on the desk and thought.

‘Have my standards gotten too high?’

Eun Ki Joo was definitely not good.

But the two people who followed her in acting weren’t particularly different either.

Even before discussing the details of their acting, their basics were riddled with flaws.

“How was it?”

At Director Seo Jung Woo’s question, Lee Min Ki opened his mouth.

“Well, it was just average.”

“Is that so?”

At those words, Director Seo Jung Woo seemed to ponder for a moment before speaking.

“What led you to that conclusion?”

“Well, if they were put on set right now... I feel like they’d be unusable.”

Exactly.

That was the biggest issue.

“Even if all three had their own strengths, putting them on site would likely cause problems.”

They weren’t ready for the set.

“You view it from that perspective.”

“Yes, since that’s the area I’m familiar with. I just can’t picture sharing a scene with them in my head.”

You might think they could be nurtured if they’re lacking, but that’s not necessarily the case.

The perspective agencies have on aspiring actors is vastly different from how they see idol trainees.

Idols are raised and debuted by their companies.

In contrast, for actors, companies prefer individuals who can be immediately put into filming.

Thus, the educational investment cost from the company differs.

And actors take a larger share of the ratio.

This being common knowledge, JC, with its personal trainer system like Kim Ah Sung’s, was a rare case among agencies.

“That’s unexpected.”

Director Seo Jung Woo looked at Lee Min Ki with a slightly surprised gaze and spoke.

“I thought, given your acquaintance with her, you might leave some favorable remarks.”

“Haha, well, I do know her. Yes, I know Ki Joo.”

Lee Min Ki replied with a slight smirk.

“Of course, only on my end.”

“You mean it’s a one-sided acquaintance?”

“Yes, back in the day, I left a comment on her SNS, but her reaction was… a bit off.”

“Hmm.”

After a moment.

Director Seo Jung Woo blinked as if something occurred to him and spoke.

“May I ask you to explain briefly?”

“Well, it’s like this.”

Perhaps because the evaluation round had concluded, Lee Min Ki explained relatively comfortably.

He mentioned Eun Ki Joo’s behavior on SNS.

After hearing the brief but pointed story, Director Seo Jung Woo nodded with a rather serious expression.

“I see. This won’t be easy to overlook.”

“Did I overstate it?”

“Not at all.”

He shook his head and spoke.

“As an actor, one must fundamentally carry gratitude toward all audiences. Toward those who love them and even those who dislike them.”

“To that extent?”

“Of course. They’re potential customers. If someone shows interest in you, you must have gratitude and put in the effort. That’s basic. Like how basketball players are just playing with a ball without an audience.”

This was a commonly known mentality.

If you lived off public interest, you had to be kind to everyone.

The same went for athletes.

“Someone who shows sharp reactions even to a single comment doesn’t have the qualities of an actor. Even if they became an actor, they’d habitually insult their audience.”

“...”

“A person who lacks gratitude for their fans is only suited to sit in a room and post hate comments.”

The words were somewhat harsh.

While Lee Min Ki was surprised, Director Seo Jung Woo had enough reason for his judgment.

‘Well, that’s better.’

He had no intention of picking her from the beginning.

Now that he had a valid reason, it couldn’t be better.

“Let me be clear. Even if they’re skilled, keeping someone like that in the company will only bring harm.”

An actor isn’t just responsible for themselves.

An actor is the face of a production and a company.

If they misbehave, they can ruin the livelihoods of many people in one fell swoop.

‘There was that Hollywood actor who caused a boycott with a single racist comment, losing billions.’

Thus, if their character was poor, it was right to disqualify them regardless of their talent.

They wouldn’t be chosen.

“In the future, if you see someone with such character issues, please speak without reservation. This isn’t personal, but the most critical issue.”

“Yes, understood.”

Having concluded Eun Ki Joo’s matter, Director Seo Jung Woo spoke to Lee Min Ki again.

“In that sense, you are quite exceptional.”

“Me? Exceptional?”

“Yes, quite. You’re a role model for actors.”

“Haha…”

“I’m not joking.”

While they were exchanging such idle chatter, the next audition members entered after Eun Ki Joo and the other two.

Among them was someone Lee Min Ki couldn’t help but be surprised to see.

‘It’s Kim Tak.’

It was Kim Tak.

He was someone difficult to categorize—either simple-minded or utterly straightforward—but at least not malicious.

He looked at Lee Min Ki with wide eyes.

‘Wow, why is hyung here?’

Normally, that gaze would’ve been irritating.

But perhaps because he had seen Eun Ki Joo earlier.

‘Come to think of it, at least he doesn’t display hostility toward others.’

Lee Min Ki’s view of Kim Tak had shifted significantly from before.

‘He’s changed a lot.’

Thinking that, Lee Min Ki shook his head to clear his thoughts.

‘No, the one who’s changed is me.’

It was his perspective on people.

He had looked at Eun Ki Joo as if she were a phoenix of the sun, only to find out she was just a fly.

Conversely, he had regarded Kim Tak as a fly, but now realized he was closer to a deer.

‘Enough. No room for bias.’

From now on, he would focus solely on their acting.

If personality was the preliminary round, skill was the main event.

“You may begin.”

“Yes!”

With a spirited voice, Kim Tak stepped forward.

The acting that followed was...

“Ah.”

It was a performance Lee Min Ki couldn’t fail to recognize.

“No! I hate it. Don’t go. I’m still here. If you leave too, how am I supposed to live?”

No wonder.

It was the melodramatic acting he had once dismissed during his academy days long ago.