Chapter 2

Lucky Break to Top Star - Chapter 2 (2/200)

Chapter 2

‘What the hell.’

A cold sweat trickled down Min-ki’s forehead.

‘Did I really pass the audition?’

It was only the first round of document screening, after all.

If you apply, you usually pass unless there’s a serious disqualifying factor.

The real auditions for actors start from the second round.

Thus, assuming he would fail at the document stage was absurd.

But if the subject was Min-ki, it wasn’t funny at all.

Why?

‘I definitely failed this audition in the past.’

He had originally failed.

This is Daon Entertainment.

Congratulations on passing the first round of document screening for the open audition.

We will contact you later with additional information regarding the second round of practical tests.

Daon Entertainment.

It was the company he had always dreamed of.

But in the past, he had failed even at the first round of document screening.

He didn’t know why.

He had just assumed there was something lacking in him.

‘Could it really be because of luck?’

His head spun.

In fact, the truth was this:

Min-ki’s application was properly submitted to Daon Entertainment, and he should have passed if everything went normally.

However, due to an error by the reviewer, his application was overlooked.

As a result, he didn’t even make it to the screening stage.

Unaware of the truth, Min-ki blamed his own abilities.

‘Damn.’

He closed his eyes tightly without realizing it.

He really had come back to the past.

The lion’s den and all that, it wasn’t just a dream.

At least something had changed.

If so, what he needed to do next was clear.

‘Let’s try acting again.’

There was nothing else.

Min-ki opened his eyes wide and made up his mind.

But there was still time before the audition, and he had something to do before that.

He needed to go to the acting school today.

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

Min-ki got out of bed, recalling his schedule for the day.

And the moment his feet touched the floor,

‘Oops.’

His eyebrows twitched at the second omen.

His second omen was tripping as soon as he got out of bed.

How many times had he injured his ankle and missed auditions?

But.

“...Huh?”

Nothing happened.

He only felt the smooth touch of the wooden floor.

Nothing more, nothing less.

‘This can’t be. Could I really have better luck now?’

To be precise, it was embarrassing to say his luck had improved.

Min-ki felt dizzy from the unbelievable reality, yet he calmly went about his morning routine.

Each time, he was amazed.

‘The shower temperature was perfect on the first try?’

It was a miracle.

‘There was no frost in the fridge.’

Another miracle.

‘The zipper on my clothes didn’t get stuck?’

Continuously.

It was nothing but a series of miracles, things that were hard to even imagine, happening as if they were his new normal.

In the end, Min-ki had to admit it.

Luck had truly found him.

Thump, thump.

His heart raced wildly.

But Min-ki slapped his cheeks with both palms and muttered to himself.

“...Stay calm, Min-ki. Everyone else has lived like this. Don’t get excited over every little thing.”

It was overreacting.

It was still trivial.

The real thing hadn’t shown up yet.

Moreover, it was too early to be relieved.

‘On days when I felt lucky, a big misfortune always followed.’

It was one of the symptoms he had experienced throughout his life.

Whenever he felt lucky, something would happen afterward as if in retaliation.

In his life, big misfortunes always followed.

The day his motorcycle was stolen was the same day he found two pieces of seaweed in the ramen he opened in the morning.

‘Yeah, it’s too early to relax.’

He couldn’t relax until he passed the audition.

Min-ki suppressed the trembling in his chest and prepared to go out.

* * *

On the way to the acting school.

Min-ki had made all the preparations to guard against any possible misfortune.

He wore thick clothes to prevent any injuries and put on practical sneakers.

‘At least... the traffic isn’t bad.’

Perhaps because he left early.

The road to Hapjeong, where the school was located, seemed quiet.

Even at the bus stop he briefly visited, the 505 bus to there was marked as arriving in 2 minutes.

This was also a rare miracle in his life.

He could have taken the bus, but that would be an amateur’s way.

“Huh.”

Min-ki chose a different approach.

“I’ll walk.”

He tied his shoelaces tightly and visualized the route to the audition venue in his mind.

‘I left early. A one-hour walk is doable. If I take the bus, I might get stuck in traffic.’

Traffic jams.

They were all too common in his life.

Whether it was an accident blocking the road or a bus breaking down.

He was often late.

For him, the road was a place that always got blocked when he had something important to do.

‘I’d rather walk than deal with that.’

Moreover, walking had a significant advantage.

It was good for loosening up his stiff body.

He had returned to a 25-year-old body from a 32-year-old one, and it still felt a bit awkward.

Of course, even if he ran, he wouldn’t just run.

He would run carefully to avoid spraining his ankle.

And one more thing.

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

Shoelaces could come undone at any time.

Would it end there?

Shoelaces were designed to make you trip and fall.

Don’t underestimate them. You could even lose your life.

In Min-ki’s world, shoelaces were such a threat.

‘Safety first.’

So, power walking, that was enough.

He thought it would take an hour, but 40 minutes later,

Min-ki arrived at the place he had in mind near Hapjeong Station after walking along the Han River.

‘It feels good to have a young body. I should try to run as much as possible from now on.’

A refreshing sweat trickled down his forehead.

His body was warm, and he felt like diving into acting right away.

‘Wait a moment.’

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

He often ate there.

Sometimes, he even had a single rice cake for a meal.

But what caught his attention now wasn’t the food.

It was the instant lottery tickets.

They immediately caught Min-ki’s eye.

‘I said my luck had improved, right?’

He had seen the man in the lion’s den who had taken the luck he should have had.

He had definitely won the lottery.

If he received that much luck in this life, what would happen?

‘Could I win the lottery too?’

Swallow.

Min-ki swallowed and bought a ticket at the convenience store.

“Can I have one lottery ticket, please?”

“What kind would you like?”

“Um... Powerball. An instant lottery ticket.”

“Sure, it’s 1,000 won.”

Min-ki bought a lottery ticket for 1,000 won and held it.

A brief tension.

Rip.

A look of disbelief flashed across Min-ki’s face.

‘5,000 won?’

He had won.

5,000 won, an awkward amount.

It was hard to be genuinely happy with such an awkward amount.

If he had to be picky, it was pocket change.

But if Min-ki was the winner, it was a different story.

‘This can’t be.’

He was genuinely shocked.

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

The man who would trip and break his head had won the lottery.

A thrill ran down his spine, a feeling he had never experienced before.

“Can I have one more, please?”

Min-ki, driven by his rising greed, bought and scratched another ticket.

Who knows?

If he won 5,000 won the first time, maybe he could win 100,000 won the next.

And.

‘This time, 50,000 won?’

The amount increased.

He felt a bit absurd.

He had won twice in a row.

This time, it was a higher amount, so his luck was definitely good.

The winning odds on the back of the lottery tickets were 1 in 40 and 1 in 500, respectively.

Winning two in a row was 1 in 20,000, an incredibly good run of luck.

But it was a bit subtle.

The man he saw in the courtroom had won much bigger.

‘I don’t know yet.’

Min-ki’s eyes widened as he said,

“Can I have three more, please?”

“Sure.”

The part-time worker’s expression briefly showed a hint of disdain.

But it didn’t matter.

Min-ki’s eyes were fixed on the three new instant lottery tickets.

Driven by anticipation, he scratched them all at once.

But.

‘What, this?’

All three were duds.

“...”

The amount had decreased.

Had his luck suddenly run out?

Min-ki felt a small disappointment as he held the lottery tickets.

‘Should I try more?’

A desire sprang up in Min-ki’s heart.

But after 5 seconds of thought,

Min-ki put down the lottery tickets and shook his head.

‘No. Greed won’t do me any good.’

He had confirmed that his luck was significantly better than before.

This was enough.

His dream was to succeed as an actor, not to get rich quick.

There was no need to be overly obsessed with money.

He even felt a sense of foreboding that he might lose sight of his goals if he got too carried away.

‘Luck doesn’t have to be about money, anyway.’

He had passed the first round of Daon Entertainment’s audition, which he should have failed.

An opportunity he couldn’t buy with money.

Yes, this was enough.

Just because his luck had improved, he shouldn’t rely too much on it.

“Phew.”

A short sigh.

With it, Min-ki neatly shed his greed and said,

“Where can I exchange these?”

“Oh, you won? Let me see.”

The part-time worker, who had been looking at Min-ki disdainfully, showed a hint of surprise.

“...You won two?”

He muttered, clearly surprised.

“Sir, you have quite good luck. What are the odds on this?”

“Where can I exchange them?”

“Ah, I can give you the money here. We handle exchanges for amounts under 100,000 won.”

Min-ki enjoyed his small luck and left the convenience store.

The acting school was urgent.

* * *

The famous acting school in Hapjeong, Jam Acting School.

It had produced many actors who went on to join famous entertainment companies every year.

A notable feature was the hiring of many professionals from the industry.

As such, the tuition was expensive.

Perhaps the 24-hour operation of the practice rooms was a consolation.

When Min-ki went up, the first thing he did was look around to see if anyone was there.

‘Good, no one’s here.’

Perhaps because he had come early in the morning.

The practice room was empty. He was the first to arrive.

Always.

He was always the first to arrive.

This was a small but significant point of pride for Min-ki.

‘Even if I don’t have luck, I won’t be outdone in effort by anyone.’

He had always dedicated himself to practice with this mindset.

Min-ki’s heart raced as he stepped onto the shiny floor of the practice room.

How long had it been since he had properly acted?

Good, let’s see what I can do.

“Ah, ah.”

If he went to the Daon Entertainment audition, the acting he would do there was already decided from 7 years ago.

“Ah, um, oh, mommy memo, mommy memo.”

He had repeated the vocal exercises countless times.

Min-ki warmed up his voice and shouted loudly at the glass in front of him.

“This damn son of a bitch!”

Min-ki soon became engrossed in his acting.

What he didn’t know was this:

‘This student is really working hard.’

By a strange coincidence.

Today, there was someone outside watching his performance.