Chapter 6

Chapter 6 (6/200)

Chapter 6

‘Why are these people here?’

Lee Min-ki’s mind reeled.

It made sense that Trainer Kim Ah-sung had come to the practice room.

He had said he would watch their practice every morning.

But.

But.

‘Why are Kim Tae-kyu and Yoo Seon-a here too?’

These people, weren’t they usually the ones who arrived later than him?

Why had they suddenly come to the academy early and were waiting for him?

His mind was as rigid as a stone, unable to react.

“What’s going on? This academy is already crowded in the morning?”

Kim Ah-sung yawned and muttered.

Kim Tae-kyu, looking bewildered, asked him.

“Who are you?”

“Me? I’m the person who’s been assigned to teach Min-ki for a while. Every morning.”

At that moment, Kim Tae-kyu’s expression changed as if he had figured something out.

You’ve been hiding this secret, you slippery snake. I knew it. The case is solved.

... His face seemed to express this thought with full force.

Of course, in Min-ki’s eyes, Kim Tae-kyu was just as annoying as usual.

‘Why are you grinning like that?’

But Yoo Seon-a’s expression was not good.

She covered her mouth with her hand and said with wide eyes.

“Trainer Kim Ah-sung?”

“Ah? Do you know me?”

“How could I not? You’re the exclusive trainer of JC.”

“Really?”

At that moment, Kim Tae-kyu’s eyes widened.

“Is that so? That’s great.”

Trainer Kim Ah-sung sat down on the floor and said.

“Let’s get a rough idea of the situation.”

* * *

A few minutes later.

As the story was coming to an end.

“So.”

Trainer Kim Ah-sung pointed at each of them with his finger.

“Min-ki came here to practice as usual. And you.”

“Me!”

Kim Tae-kyu raised his hand like a tattletale in high school and said.

“We agreed to study together.”

“Study?”

“Acting is hard to objectify when done alone. Studying together and giving each other feedback would be better, I thought.”

“Is that true, Yoo Seon-a?”

“Yes.”

Yoo Seon-a slowly nodded and, looking at Kim Ah-sung, said.

“We made a plan after the academy ended yesterday. We agreed to come early every morning from now on to practice. And the person who comes the latest has to buy drinks as a penalty.”

“So, Min-ki should have bought the drinks today, right?”

“I didn’t hear anything.”

Min-ki, who didn’t understand what was going on, said in a complaining tone.

Well, I remember agreeing to come early to practice. I didn’t remember it at first, but I managed to recall it after thinking hard.

But what’s this about a penalty?

‘I really don’t remember that.’

What kind of conversation did they have behind my back?

“Do you really not remember? Did Tae-kyu not tell you?”

“That’s strange. I’m sure I mentioned it there.”

While Yoo Seon-a and Kim Tae-kyu were talking, Min-ki was confused.

“Man, this is confusing. Let’s summarize it clearly.”

Trainer Kim Ah-sung slapped the floor and said.

“I’ll teach Min-ki acting, and the three of you will study together. Got it?”

“Yes.”

“Then that’s settled. No one has rented this practice room exclusively, so how you practice is up to you. I’ll teach Min-ki, and the rest of you can do whatever you want, like cutting onions or boiling ramen. Got it?”

It was a simple conclusion.

But it was a fair one.

Just do your own thing.

Just as he was about to wrap it up and start the morning practice.

Someone raised their hand and said.

“Can you teach me too?”

It was Kim Tae-kyu again.

He said with burning eyes.

“I’m Min-ki’s rival in acting class. If Min-ki gets special lessons and gets ahead, that’s unfair, right?”

What’s this about a rival?

What’s this about being unfair?

“Hmm, that’s a good point.”

But Kim Ah-sung, after hearing this, seemed to fall into deep thought and then said.

“Teaching several people together does have a better atmosphere than teaching just one person.”

“Yeah, that’s true! You really know your stuff!”

Kim Tae-kyu nodded with his arms crossed.

But a moment later.

Kim Ah-sung said in a nonchalant tone.

“But I only promised to teach Min-ki.”

“Huh?”

“Teaching anyone else would be a hassle.”

It was a polite way of saying he didn’t want to.

As Kim Tae-kyu’s forehead creased, Kim Ah-sung bluntly said.

“And most importantly, it’s up to Min-ki’s preference, right?”

He was giving Min-ki the choice.

To be precise, it was more like, “I’m too lazy, so you guys figure it out.”

At that moment.

“Min-ki!”

Kim Tae-kyu, with a look of betrayal, said to Min-ki.

“Is it fair for you to take lessons alone?”

“That’s not fair. And it’s my first lesson too.”

“We’re in the same class! As aspiring actors, we’re comrades and fellow soldiers, aren’t we?”

Despite the desperate persuasion, Min-ki didn’t even hesitate.

“No.”

What comrades?

I’ve never even thought of them as acquaintances.

“Ugh...”

Kim Tae-kyu’s spirit was crushed by the firm answer.

At that moment, Yoo Seon-a spoke up.

“What if I just observe from the side?”

She was trying to negotiate.

Not to take the class directly, but to observe.

Min-ki thought for a moment.

Then he spoke.

“Sure.”

Yoo Seon-a is someone who will succeed as an actor.

I don’t want to create a hostile relationship, and it would be better to have a closer relationship.

‘Let’s just do this much for now.’

This practice room isn’t his private property, and the teacher isn’t officially hired by him.

If they want to do something, there’s no need to stop them.

In fact, it would be ridiculous for him to give permission.

‘As long as they don’t interfere, it’s fine.’

This was Min-ki’s thought.

“Me too!”

“Sure, sure, Kim Tae-kyu, do as you please.”

“Yay! From now on, I’ll treat Min-ki as my senior.”

“Sure, sure.”

This was a bit annoying.

But Kim Ah-sung, watching the scene, had a different thought.

‘He chose group lessons over private lessons.’

He thought Min-ki made a wise choice.

‘While one-on-one lessons might seem better for any kind of education, it’s not necessarily so for acting.’

Acting is a bit different.

How to put it.

No matter how perfect the result is in your mind, the outcome can be completely different when it comes out.

Therefore, what beginners need most is awareness and observation.

How do I appear to others?

What kind of feeling do I give?

How does someone else handle the same topic? Why did they express it that way?

They need to be intensely aware and observant every minute, every second, every moment.

‘There’s a clear difference between someone who has acted with others and someone who hasn’t, especially in the field.’

Kim Ah-sung, who is in a position to select people, knew this well.

The truth is that actors grow when there are co-stars and an audience.

In other words, Min-ki, though he might not realize it, was in a favorable situation.

He had instinctively made a good choice.

‘If he really wanted to practice alone, he would have prepared a private practice room. Despite the bickering, he’s considerate in his own way.’

If he had insisted on private lessons, it would have created a rift.

Acting students who think they’ll lose teaching opportunities with group lessons are a big no-no.

But the truth is.

There’s no way.

Min-ki’s reality was that even paying for the academy was a struggle.

He couldn’t even dream of a private practice room, so he came to the academy practice room early in the morning.

But Kim Ah-sung didn’t know this.

Not knowing made it a good thing.

“Alright, let’s end the small talk.”

Kim Ah-sung clapped his hands and stood up.

“From now on, I’m the teacher, so speak freely. Let’s set our goals and tasks for today. It’ll be fun.”

* * *

The hectic morning schedule was over.

‘Man, that was tiring.’

Kim Ah-sung’s first lesson was more like an orientation (OT) than a proper lesson.

It started with setting goals and determining what needed to be done to achieve them.

Of course, Min-ki’s goal was Da Won.

After setting the goal, the consultation to fit the company followed.

The first lesson ended with a long discussion about choosing a role model.

After that, they did their usual free practice.

But the practice was somewhat tiring because they were constantly watching each other.

‘Why do they keep glancing at me like that?’

Kim Tae-kyu and Yoo Seon-a kept staring at him.

It was as if they were scrutinizing him thoroughly, and being aware of this made him feel twice as drained during the same practice.

As a result, Min-ki was exhausted after the morning practice.

‘Phew, at least it’s over for today.’

There was no afternoon class.

It was a day off from the start.

So, Min-ki had already decided what to do today.

What was it?

‘Go to the gym.’

The gym.

It’s a well-known fact that even with the same body, those who exercise actively and those who don’t can have a completely different presence.

What’s the difference if you’re skinny or fat?

No.

There’s a difference between having fat over muscle and just being fat.

There’s a huge difference between being thin and being lean!

The silhouette is different!

Moreover, while Korean films are now mostly drama-focused to save on production costs, in the future, blockbuster films will increase, and action acting will become almost essential.

‘It’s right to invest at least one hour a day in exercise.’

But despite knowing this, Min-ki in his previous life was quite skinny.

Was it because he was lazy?

No.

It was because he kept getting injured whenever he tried to exercise seriously.

The only exercise he could do was light jogging.

No, even jogging was a struggle with injuries.

He was bound to get injured, even with a minor misstep, so he couldn’t help but be frail.

Especially with weight training, which is prone to injuries.

For someone as clumsy as him, the machines were like machines that would crush a person like sesame oil.

‘But not anymore.’

Now that he had normal luck, he could start exercising seriously.

But going to the gym isn’t something you can do alone.

Even with normal luck, if you don’t learn and just dive in, you’re still at risk of injury.

And he certainly didn’t have the money for a proper PT.

So, he came up with his own plan.

‘I should go to a gym with a manager.’

A gym with a manager.

Unlike regular gyms that focus on PT, this type of gym is run by a manager who personally guides the members.

‘Fortunately, there’s a gym near my house that costs 30,000 won a month.’

He heard this in passing.

It was a gym that had good facilities but strangely went bankrupt quickly.

He planned to start with this one.

Walking around for a while.

“Should be around here...”

He soon reached his destination.

A gym near his house.

Not that it was near his house, but the gym’s name was literally “Gym Near My House.”

The six characters in calligraphy on the sign swayed precariously.

No.

One character was missing.

“...Gym?”

Min-ki rubbed his eyes, disbelieving.

But the sign remained as it was, like a pine tree in the spring breeze.

‘Is this a hellish place?’

Is this place okay?

‘It looks quite old and shabby from the outside.’

It’s almost like the Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong.

There must be a reason it’s only 30,000 won a month.

But the cheapest place in the area, excluding this one, is 50,000 won.

He couldn’t afford to complain about his financial situation.

‘Anyway, as a beginner, it’s probably similar wherever I go.’

This was a misconception.

Regardless, Min-ki, feeling his heart race as if entering a dungeon, went down the underground stairs.

And a few seconds later.

“Oh?”

He couldn’t help but exclaim.

‘The facilities are good.’

Despite the shabby exterior, the interior was incredibly comfortable.

And.

Creak, creak.

In the corner, people were working out with weights that looked like they belonged to monsters.

Thighs as thick as a woman’s waist.

And pectoral muscles as large as a stingray.

Most importantly.

‘There are a lot of grandpas here?’

Almost all of them had white hair.

A space with an unusually high number of white-haired people.

The moment he took in this scene, Min-ki thought.

‘...Did I come to the right place?’