Top Star by Luck

Chapter 2

‘This is insane.’

Cold sweat trickled down Min Ki’s forehead.

‘I passed the audition?’

Even though it said “passed,” it was only the first round of the document review.

As long as you applied and didn’t have any major disqualifications, it was normal to get through.

The real audition for actors only began from the second round.

So, it was absurd to even consider failing the document stage.

But if it involved Lee Min Ki, this was no laughing matter.

Because—

‘I definitely failed this audition before.’

That’s how it was originally.

[Sender: Daon Entertainment]

[Hello.

This is Daon Entertainment.

Congratulations on passing the first round of the open audition’s document review.

We will send additional information regarding the second round practical test soon.]

Daon Entertainment.

The company he had dreamed of.

However, in the past, he had failed miserably right from the document screening.

He didn’t know why.

He just assumed there was something lacking in himself and let it go.

‘Could this, too, have been due to luck?’

His head spun.

The truth of the matter was this:

[Oops, my hand slipped.]

Lee Min Ki’s application had properly been received by Daon Entertainment, and if things had gone smoothly, he should’ve passed.

But during the review process, his application was the only one that got lost due to a staff member’s mistake.

Because of that, not only had he failed, but his application hadn’t even made it to the evaluation stage.

Not knowing the truth, Min Ki had blamed his own abilities.

‘Unbelievable.’

Unconsciously, he shut his eyes tightly.

He had truly come back to the past.

All that stuff about the lion’s judgment and whatnot, it wasn’t just a dream.

At least, something had definitely changed.

That meant his next steps were clear.

‘Let’s try being an actor again.’

There was no other choice.

Min Ki opened his eyes wide and made up his mind.

Though there was still time left before the audition, he had things to do before that.

Today, he had to go to the acting academy.

‘Let’s be fully prepared before the audition.’

Min Ki recalled his schedule for the day as he got out of bed.

And the moment his feet touched the floor.

‘Ah, shoot.’

His eyebrows twitched as he remembered his second jinx.

His second jinx—stumbling the moment he got out of bed in the morning.

How many times had he twisted his ankle and missed auditions because of it?

But—

“…Huh?”

It didn’t happen.

He simply felt the gentle sensation of the wooden floor beneath his feet.

Nothing more, nothing less.

‘No way. Did my luck really improve?’

To be precise, it was almost too trivial to call this a stroke of luck.

Even though Min Ki felt lightheaded from disbelief, he calmly went about his morning routine.

And each time, he could only be shocked.

‘Did I just get the perfect shower temperature on the first try?’

It was a miracle.

‘There’s no frost in the fridge.’

Another miracle.

‘The zipper didn’t get stuck while I was dressing?’

Continuously.

One miracle after another, so unbelievable they could only be called miracles, kept happening.

Unthinkable events were now part of his everyday life.

Eventually, Min Ki had no choice but to acknowledge it.

The fact that luck had indeed come to him.

Thump. Thump.

His heart pounded wildly.

But Min Ki slapped his cheeks with both hands, making a loud noise, and muttered to himself.

“…Calm down, Lee Min Ki. Other people have been living like this all along. Don’t get excited over every little thing.”

He was overreacting.

It wasn’t that big of a deal yet.

The real test hadn’t even started.

Moreover, it was still too soon to relax.

‘Whenever I had a good day, bad luck always followed.’

It was something he had experienced his whole life.

Whenever a day seemed too good to be true, something bad would inevitably happen shortly after, like a rebound effect.

Whenever major misfortune struck in his life, it had always followed a streak of good luck.

On the day his motorcycle was stolen, he had found two pieces of kelp in the ramen packet he opened that morning.

‘Yeah, it’s too soon to be relieved.’

He couldn’t let his guard down until he passed the audition.

Min Ki pressed down on his pounding heart and prepared to go out.

***

On the way to the acting academy.

Min Ki made sure he was thoroughly prepared for any possible misfortune.

He wrapped himself up in thick clothing to prevent any chance of getting hurt, and he wore practical sneakers.

‘Well… the roads aren’t too congested.’

Maybe it was because he had left home early.

The road to Hapjeong, where the academy was located, seemed relatively clear.

Moreover, the 505 bus to the academy was listed as arriving in [2 minutes] at the bus stop he briefly passed.

This was also a rare miracle in his life.

It would have been fine to just take the bus, but that was an amateur’s move.

“Heh heh.”

Min Ki chose a different method.

“I’ll walk.”

He decided to walk with his own two legs.

As he tied his shoelaces tight, Min Ki mapped out the route to the audition venue in his head.

‘I left home early enough. I could walk for an hour. If I take the bus, there’s a chance I might get stuck in traffic.’

Traffic jams.

They were an all-too-common occurrence in his life.

Whether it was a traffic accident ahead, or the bus breaking down.

Somehow, he would always end up running late.

For him, the road was always blocked whenever he had something important to do.

‘I’d rather walk than face that again.’

Besides, there were advantages to walking.

It was good for loosening up a stiff body.

Though his body had reverted from thirty-two to twenty-five, it still felt unfamiliar in some ways.

Of course, he wasn’t just running mindlessly.

The trick was to be careful not to twist his ankle, just in case.

And one more thing.

‘Make sure my shoelaces don’t come undone.’

Shoelaces were fickle things, prone to come loose at any time.

If they did, that was the end.

Shoelaces were practically designed to trip you up when they came undone.

It might seem silly, but mishandling shoelaces could cost you your life.

In Min Ki’s world, shoelaces were that kind of threat.

‘Safety first.’

So power walking—just enough to stay safe—was his best option.

Even though he had planned for an hour, he arrived at his destination near Hapjeong Station in just 40 minutes.

‘I guess I feel lighter now that I’m back in my younger body. I should try running more often from now on.’

Beads of refreshing sweat trickled down his forehead.

His body felt nicely warmed up, and he felt ready to dive into acting right away.

‘Wait a minute.’

Just as he was about to enter the academy, a convenience store on the first floor caught his eye.

He often stopped there for a quick meal.

When pressed for time, he even used to make do with just a single yōkan.

But this time, it wasn’t the food that caught his attention.

[Instant Lottery: Power Lotto]

[Become the lucky winner in just 3 seconds!]

[Top prize: 100 million won]

It was the instant lottery ticket.

That immediately drew Min Ki’s gaze.

‘They said my luck has improved, right?’

He had seen the man who had taken his luck during the lion’s judgment.

The man had even won the lottery.

If that kind of luck was now part of Min Ki’s life, what would happen?

‘I might win the lottery too.’

Gulp.

Min Ki swallowed his saliva briefly and went into the convenience store.

“One lottery ticket, please.”

“Which one would you like?”

“That one… Power Lotto. The instant one.”

“Sure, that’ll be 1,000 won.”

Min Ki handed over 1,000 won for the lottery ticket.

A moment of brief tension passed.

Rip.

A look of disbelief flickered across Min Ki’s face.

‘5,000 won?’

He had won.

It was 5,000 won—an awkward amount.

It was too small to be genuinely excited about, but also not insignificant.

In strict terms, it was just pocket change.

But to Min Ki, this win felt different.

‘Unbelievable.’

He was literally astonished.

Why? Because he had never won a lottery ticket in his life.

This was a man who, even when he tripped forward, somehow hit his head on the back.

And now, he had won the lottery.

A thrill he had never experienced in his life tingled down his spine.

For a moment, he basked in the exhilaration.

“One more, please.”

“Which one?”

“That same one. The Power Lotto.”

“Sure, that’ll be 1,000 won.”

Driven by the rising tide of greed, Min Ki grabbed another lottery ticket and scratched it.

Who knew?

He had already won 5,000 won; maybe next he could win 100,000 won, if not the top prize.

And then—

‘50,000 won this time?’

The amount increased.

He felt a bit dumbfounded.

He had won twice in a row.

This time it was a bigger amount, so his luck was certainly on a roll.

According to the odds on the back of the lottery ticket, the chances of winning were 1 in 40 and 1 in 500, respectively.

Winning two tickets in a row meant his odds had been 1 in 20,000—a staggering stroke of good luck.

But something felt off.

The man from the trial had won much more.

‘It’s not over yet.’

With a glint in his eyes, Min Ki spoke up again.

“Three more, please.”

“Sure.”

The store clerk glanced at him, with a faint look of pity in their eyes.

But that didn’t matter.

Min Ki’s focus was entirely on the three new lottery tickets in his hand.

In a rush of anticipation, he scratched them all at once.

But—

‘What the hell is this?’

All three were duds.

“…”

The amount dropped.

Had his luck run out?

Min Ki stood there, holding the losing tickets, feeling a small wave of disappointment.

‘Should I try again?’

Greed reared its head inside him.

But after a brief five-second contemplation, Min Ki shook his head and put the tickets down.

‘No, there’s no point in being greedy.’

He had already confirmed that his luck had improved significantly.

That was enough.

His goal wasn’t to win a fortune but to succeed as an actor.

There was no need to get too hung up on money.

In fact, he even felt a slight unease, worried that focusing too much on this might cause him to lose sight of his true goal.

‘There’s no reason luck has to be all about money, right?’

He had passed Daon Entertainment’s first-round audition, something he originally wouldn’t have.

It was an opportunity money couldn’t buy.

Yeah, this was good enough.

There was no need to rely too much on luck.

“Hoo.”

He let out a short sigh.

With it, Min Ki shook off his lingering desire and asked,

“Where can I exchange this?”

“Oh, did you win? Let’s see.”

The clerk, who had been looking at Min Ki with some disdain, was suddenly surprised.

“…You won two in a row?”

They muttered in an amazed voice.

“Wow, you’re really lucky. What are the odds?”

“Where do I exchange this?”

“Oh, I can give it to you here. For amounts under 100,000 won, we can issue it right at the store.”

Min Ki enjoyed his small windfall and left the convenience store.

He needed to hurry to the acting academy.

Jam Acting School, a famous acting academy in Hapjeong.

Every year, it produced several actors who went on to join prestigious entertainment companies.

One of the academy’s features was hiring many active professionals from the industry.

As such, tuition wasn’t cheap.

Perhaps the 24-hour access to practice rooms was a consolation.

The first thing Min Ki did after arriving at the academy was check to see if anyone was around.

‘Good, no one’s here.’

Was it because he had come early?

The academy’s practice rooms were empty.

He was the first to arrive.

As always.

He was always the first to show up.

It was a small thing, but it was something Min Ki took great pride in.

‘I might not have luck, but no one can beat me when it comes to hard work.’

With that mindset, he had dedicated himself to practice all this time.

Feeling his heart race as he stepped onto the polished floor of the practice room, Min Ki realized how long it had been since he had really acted.

Alright, let’s give it everything I’ve got.

“Ah, ah.”

For Daon Entertainment’s audition, he had already decided on the scene he would perform seven years ago.

“Ah, uh, mami-memo, mami-memo.”

He loosened his voice with vocal exercises he had done tens of thousands of times.

After warming up his throat, Min Ki turned to the mirror and shouted in a deep, powerful voice.

“You damn bastard!”

And so, Min Ki became fully immersed in his acting.

What he didn’t know was one thing.

‘That student… he’s really dedicated.’

By pure coincidence—

There was someone watching his performance from outside.