Chapter 1

**Lucky Break to Top Star - Chapter 1 (1/200)**

Chapter 1

A courtroom.

Unlike a typical courtroom with its preference for wooden interiors, this place was filled with fog on all sides.

It was an unreal space, as if one had entered a cloud.

In this space, a man was surrounded by ten jurors and a giant.

A juror with an unrealistically lush beard opened his mouth.

"Lee Min-ki, 32 years old, occupation: actor. He fell backward while descending the stairs and died."

He continued, flipping through the document in his hand.

"He hit his head in front of the apartment, causing a brain hemorrhage. If he had received quick medical attention, he might have survived, but there was no one around. He was left unattended for a full hour."

"Bad luck."

"Yes, it can only be called bad luck. Even if he had been transported to the hospital and received immediate emergency treatment, he might have had a chance, but there were many emergency patients that day."

"Were there no doctors left?"

"They were admitted due to overwork."

The man's life continued to be discussed by the jurors.

"At 11 years old, in the fourth grade, he fell backward and broke his nose."

"Bad luck."

"At 12 years old, he nearly died from choking on rice cake soup served for lunch. Fortunately, his homeroom teacher knew the Heimlich maneuver and saved him."

"Should we call it good luck?"

"During the process, his rib broke, and he ended up in the emergency room. Then, at 13 years old, he sprained his ankle the day before the school play."

"Out of two food deliveries, one was always forgotten."

The process from birth to the age of 32, leading to his death, was continuously recounted.

And.

There was one common point throughout all this.

"Bad luck."

Literally, it was bad luck.

The man's life was filled with nothing but bad luck.

"At 22 years old, he could have been exempted from military service due to a heart condition, but he didn't know and enlisted."

"Bad luck."

"At 24 years old, he bought a used motorcycle as his first car, but it was stolen by students from a nearby middle school."

Bad luck in every aspect.

That was the life of Lee Min-ki.

From a young age, whatever he did, luck never followed him.

They say life is 70% luck and 30% effort.

In Lee Min-ki's case, it seemed that even the 30% effort was not enough.

"At 25, he decided to become an actor. But he failed every audition. He was always given minor roles, the studio went bankrupt, and he barely signed with a management company, only to be scammed."

Luck.

There was no luck at all.

And yet, he challenged the acting profession, where luck is crucial, and suffered even more.

Falling backward and breaking his nose was just the beginning.

It went beyond the point where he could drown by plunging his nose into a bowl of water.

His misfortune was so severe that it wouldn't be strange if he died from a brain infection caused by a blood vessel rupture while digging his nose.

He could be called a human calamity.

That was Lee Min-ki.

"This is truly... remarkable. It's surprising that he survived until over 30."

In the end, even the jurors, who had seen every possible scenario, were left speechless.

"I have been a juror in the deceased's trial for 699 years, but I have never seen such a tragic life."

That's right.

This trial was to review the life of the deceased.

It was a judgment of the life before death, to determine what kind of life would be given in the next life.

Lee Min-ki, at the young age of 32, had lost his life and was standing here.

"This is strange. It's strange. I can only say it's strange. Can a person's luck be this bad? There must be some error."

"I agree. I request a thorough re-evaluation of the defendant's life."

"I agree."

"I agree."

Starting with the juror with the mustache, the jurors' voices echoed like dominoes.

In the end.

"Quiet."

The judge spoke.

The judge, who was at least 3 meters tall, had a face as fierce as a demon and a body as red as ginseng.

His one word, as grand as his size, silenced the jurors who had been busy talking.

The judge, finally satisfied, stroked his beard and said,

"Before the jurors' arguments, I requested a review from the higher-ups, and the detailed results have come back. The cause is as follows."

He opened his mouth.

"He was not given luck."

"..."

A shocking result came from the judge's mouth.

He had no luck.

Not for any other reason, just because he had no luck, he lived such a life.

A statement that felt irresponsible.

But the jurors' expressions were seriously grave.

"How could this happen?"

"Indeed."

"I never thought there could be such an error."

The judge continued.

"Everyone should be born with their share of luck based on their past life's actions. However, an error occurred in the defendant's case. His luck was transferred to someone else."

The judge picked up a remote control and pressed a button on the wall.

Soon, the life of a handsome man unfolded like a panorama.

This man's life, unlike Lee Min-ki's, was filled with luck in everything he did.

He seemed to be a personification of luck.

Money and connections rolled in just by breathing.

It was a life so fortunate that it seemed impossible in reality.

"The defendant was a victim."

"Wow, I never thought such a thing could happen."

The jurors began to murmur.

A significant error in the deceased's trial had caused a person to suffer a lifetime of pain.

This should not have happened.

"Since one person enjoyed the luck of two, the other person had no luck at all."

Meanwhile, Lee Min-ki, who silently listened to this, felt his blood boil.

'So, I've been unlucky all this time?'

* * *

Lee Min-ki, 32 years old, died by tripping while descending the stairs.

I knew I had bad luck all my life.

'But this is ridiculous.'

I never thought I was destined to be unlucky from birth.

I tried to live positively all my life and put in tremendous effort.

Being an actor is a profession where bad luck is a disadvantage.

To overcome this, I dedicated twice the time to acting.

'I didn't want to be the kind of person who makes excuses about bad luck when a project fails, so I practically lived in the practice room.'

I put in several times more effort than others.

How much more did I analyze, study, and learn?

Yes, I did all that.

But all that effort was in vain because of a lack of luck.

And to realize this only after death.

'I can't accept it.'

Anger boiled within him.

What made it even more infuriating was that he couldn't say a word in this situation.

"......!! ......!!! ...!!"

He had no physical body now.

He was just a soul, given the right to observe this trial as a third party.

"Wow, what a tragic case."

"So pitiful. So very pitiful!"

"He dreamed of being an actor. He must have suffered a lot. This soul's life was always centered around acting."

The jurors murmured as if it were their own life.

"His acting was excellent. He just lacked opportunities."

Some jurors even had tears in their eyes.

But they just murmured.

No proper solution was offered.

"We must compensate this poor young soul."

"Agreed. We must give him the right role."

"We must help the defendant to flourish as an actor."

"We cannot. This would undermine the foundation of the deceased's trial."

"That's right. We cannot make exceptions."

"Then are you saying we should leave the innocent victim alone? We must reconsider."

"We must uphold the strict rules."

"You old fogey."

"What did you say?"

"Did you hear that? It's a good thing he said it."

"......Sigh, that's why people of humble origins are not suitable. There's no respect for hierarchy."

"Is that all you can talk about, the hierarchy? That's why you're called an old fogey."

"What's the problem?"

The dignified courtroom soon turned into a vulgar argument.

After a while of murmuring.

Bang! Bang!

A hammer sound, like a missile explosion, echoed.

"Quiet!"

The judge's voice boomed.

A voice as if spoken through a megaphone, so loud that the jurors covered their ears.

When the courtroom finally quieted down.

"I will announce the defendant's sentence."

The red judge spoke again.

"How could someone born with such bad luck have a proper life? Every defendant should receive a fair evaluation."

The final judgment.

Everyone in the courtroom held their breath.

The judge's heavy voice echoed through the courtroom.

"Therefore, as compensation, I will grant the defendant a second life. I will send him back 7 years."

It was a statement of regression.

Lee Min-ki shuddered at these words.

A wave of surprise spread among the jurors, but it didn't end there.

"Compensation is necessary. Yes. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."

The judge, looking at Lee Min-ki's soul, tapped his chair with his finger and finally spoke.

"In this life, he will have the luck of two people."

"......!"

It was a statement that he would be given even more luck than before.

"Realize your dream as an actor. After washing away the scars, when you face your second death, we will judge you again in the deceased's trial."

A groundbreaking compensation.

To be sent back in time. Lee Min-ki's mind momentarily froze, grasping the sudden stroke of luck.

'Wait, should I start with stocks? No, I should be angry right now.'

He was to be sent back in time.

Wasn't this enough compensation?

Was there a better compensation for an actor?

Even if luck didn't return, it was fine.

As long as he chose successful projects and companies, that was enough.

'Yes, let's accept this for now.'

He was momentarily lost in a dream of success.

"I cannot accept this!"

A juror dressed like a strict scholar shouted.

He was the one who had argued with the juror of humble origins earlier.

He opened his mouth, frowning deeply.

"What the judge said just now is... the dignified courtroom..."

Just as he was about to protest.

"Shut up!"

The judge cut him off.

"Are you, a young one, daring to contradict an adult? Did you learn your manners through remote education?"

"......!"

"When I was young, if an elder spoke, even if it seemed wrong, I would bow and say 'Yes' and think about it dozens of times. Nowadays, people just..."

The judge clicked his tongue for a long time.

The jurors, who had been loudly opposing, fell silent.

The judge, raising his gavel, or rather, his hammer, said,

"Thus, I conclude the 9159124541st deceased's trial."

At that moment.

Lee Min-ki.

His soul shattered into white ashes.

The wind soon carried them away, floating into the sky.

* * *

Early morning.

A cramped one-room apartment.

Beep!

Beep beep beep!

After the alarm sounded.

"Huff!"

A man gasped and got up from his bed.

He quickly stood up, as if something had startled him, and felt his body with his hands.

'I'm... alive.'

He was sure.

He was alive.

Or, more accurately, he had been resurrected.

After facing death and a trial, he had been given a second life as compensation for the error.

All the memories were vivid.

'Wait, the red giant said he would send me back 7 years. So, where am I now?'

Lee Min-ki quickly took out his phone and checked the date.

A moment later.

His eyes widened like a full moon.

'Unbelievable.'

25 years old.

It was the age when he first challenged acting.

But this situation was difficult for Lee Min-ki to understand.