Top Star by Luck

Chapter 126

“……What is that?”

It was, literally, a mask.

A man wearing a mask appeared in the middle of Gwanghwamun, dressed in hanbok, dancing energetically.

In one hand, he held a wooden cane.

It was the kind of dance that comes to mind when thinking of traditional Korean entertainment.

But somehow...

‘It’s oddly refined.’

Refined.

It wasn’t just a random, haphazard dance, but one with clear, deliberate movements.

The dance drew from traditional Korean movements, but its core incorporated modern rhythms, waves, and breakdancing.

“He’s pretty good.”

It was surprisingly impressive.

Rather than focusing on technique, the overall flow of his dance lines stood out.

“Is this some kind of flash mob?”

“It’s got a nice vibe.”

The initial confusion quickly faded.

Soon, the audience surrounding Gwanghwamun became captivated by the unconventional masked dance.

That’s the charm of flash mobs, isn’t it?

They startle you at first, but then you find yourself enjoying them.

Modern people aren’t easily startled by these small events anymore.

However, the dancer himself thought otherwise.

‘……Is this really okay?’

Sweat trickled from beneath the mask, which covered his face.

Though his movements were smooth, he was on the verge of panic, his tongue practically tasting despair.

Moisture formed inside the mask from his heavy breathing.

‘I came because they called me, but….’

Who had called him?

It was none other than…

‘Where is the actor?’

Lee Min Ki had called him.

[Hello. I’m Lee Min Ki. I really enjoyed reading your comment about dancing in a mask at Gwanghwamun.]

Perhaps it was because of the comment he had left on the café.

After reading the comment, Lee Min Ki messaged him, asking for his contact details, and then suddenly summoned him to Gwanghwamun.

[How about actually doing it for real?]

Was he hinting at something or being serious?

After seeing Lee Min Ki’s post and already feeling breathless, his reaction made it hard to laugh it off.

Still, feeling guilty, and because Lee Min Ki was his favorite celebrity, he couldn’t refuse.

[I’d love to meet you at Gwanghwamun. How about it? I’ll treat you to a really delicious meal.]

So, here he was.

He couldn’t not come.

Avoiding the situation could lead to endless teasing on the café.

Although he’d never danced in a mask before, fortunately, he majored in dance, so after some hard practice, he managed to get the feel of it.

‘Ugh, am I going to be doing this alone?’

The real problem was the embarrassment.

They had said they’d call others too.

No, before that, shouldn’t Lee Min Ki himself be here?

He was the one who invited him, after all.

Was he really going to leave him to endure this humiliation alone?

All because of one misplaced comment on the café?

Was this a national humiliation show in the middle of Gwanghwamun?

‘Argh! My prepared dance is almost over!’

His heart pounded violently, as if it was about to explode at any moment.

Thud—

A massive reverberation rang out.

Was his heart, pounding like an eight-cylinder engine, finally going to burst?

It felt as though his heart had turned into a fossilized stone, stopping altogether.

Thud—

But that wasn’t it.

A sound followed leisurely after.

Boom-tak—

Thud—

Drumbeats.

‘Drums?’

A deep, heavy yet clear sound, as if striking his very heart.

A sound began to echo somewhere among the audience.

No, upon listening closely, it wasn’t even a drum.

"Is that a janggu?"

"Isn't that a janggu?"

Indeed, it was.

It was literally a janggu.

A Korean drum that could be considered a traditional equivalent.

Something you would associate with a traditional Korean performance, carried by someone on their shoulder as they appeared.

And then.

Tadadadadak!

Boom!

Denggideok! Darararararara!

Right in the middle of Gwanghwamun, the person began rhythmically beating the drum with lively enthusiasm.

"……."

"What is this?"

"Are they part of the act?"

Gradually, murmurs began to ripple through the audience.

To be precise, the majority of the crowd had gathered to see Lee Min Ki.

They had come here expecting to witness the fan meeting promised by Lee Min Ki after achieving 1.5 million supporters.

But instead, Lee Min Ki was nowhere to be seen, and strange people had appeared to perform a traditional Korean percussion ensemble.

There seemed to be only one logical conclusion.

"Did they plan this together?"

"Attention seekers."

The thought was that the two performers had aimed to garner attention right from the start.

"What are they doing at someone else’s fan meeting just because it’s a crowded place?"

This was the age where people would do anything if it meant getting their name out there.

It was said that the plaza in front of Bucheon Station was overrun with streamers.

Female streamers wearing skimpy outfits danced twerking in the cold weather, while male streamers with green-dyed hair smashed shop windows.

All for the sake of grabbing even a sliver of attention.

So it was no surprise that their actions weren’t well-received by the audience.

Of course, to the performers themselves—

"Who are these people?"

They didn’t know either.

"Wasn’t I supposed to be the only one coming?"

Neither knew.

Although both performers were confused, they had come for the same reason.

"I came here to see Lee Min Ki."

It was because of Lee Min Ki.

Since Lee Min Ki had called them, they had come as if chewing on bitter bile, not for recognition or anything of the sort.

They say pain shared is halved, and gratitude shared is doubled.

Unfortunately, the two performers were sharing the doubled humiliation amplified by the cold gazes of the audience.

"Ugh, let’s do this."

Someone else joined the scene at that moment.

It was Lee Min Ki.

"……!"

The Lee Min Ki, who had shown no signs of appearing, suddenly revealed himself in the middle of the chaotic scene.

"Finally!"

"Wow, wow, wow, it’s really Lee Min Ki, in person, wow!"

The two, who had been holding their own one-man—no, two-man—show, were moved to the brink of tears.

What now?

Would he officially start the fan meeting and rescue them?

Perhaps he would pat them on the shoulder and offer a warm word of encouragement for their efforts.

…So they thought, in that brief moment.

"Wow, the weather’s great."

What Lee Min Ki nonchalantly started doing was absurdly unexpected.

"A burner?"

"Pork belly?"

That’s right.

Lee Min Ki sat comfortably in a prime spot at Gwanghwamun, took out a gas burner, and lit it.

Then—

Sizzle—

He began grilling thinly sliced pork belly, which looked perfectly golden and delicious.

"All of a sudden?"

"Why are you grilling pork belly here?"

"Looks delicious."

The man who had been dancing continued dancing, and the person playing the janggu drum kept playing.

In the midst of it all, the sound of Lee Min Ki grilling pork belly joined the rhythm of the janggu, resonating softly.

"Hoo, hoo, hoo, this looks perfectly cooked."

Seated in the middle, Lee Min Ki mumbled to himself proudly as he grilled the meat.

He picked up a piece, dipped it generously into ssamjang, and popped it into his mouth, chewing happily.

Then he exclaimed, "Ahhh!"

It was an instinctive expression of delight.

‘So good.’

The ssamjang he wasn’t supposed to eat because of his sugar restrictions tasted that much sweeter when eaten in defiance of Trainer Kwon Joon Yong’s control.

Of course.

[Enjoy it, if you don’t mind adding 1,000 more squats.]

It was an indulgence with consequences waiting in the future.

"What is he doing?"

To others, it was an incomprehensible act.

However, they didn’t yet realize.

Even that bizarre performance was just the beginning.

"Is that breakdancing?"

Someone joined in and began to dance.

"A bicycle?"

Soon, a person on a bicycle started circling the group.

"A longboard?"

A skateboarder appeared and started performing tricks.

"…Well, that one’s a bit ordinary."

Someone came and began playing the guitar.

The melody blended seamlessly with the janggu rhythm.

And then.

"Why is that guy lying over there sleeping?"

One person set up a fishing chair, pointed a fishing rod at the empty air, and started fishing on the stone pavement.

It was a scene beyond comprehension.

"What is this chaos?"

"I can’t make sense of this at all."

"Is this South Korea in Universe 616 or something?"

Among the inexplicable procession, something moved particularly quickly.

‘I don’t know what this is, but I better share it.’

It was none other than the audience members’ fingers.

Something strange was happening in front of their eyes.

An event you couldn’t see in everyday life, or perhaps even once in a lifetime.

If that was the case…

Even if they didn’t understand it, they had to let the world know.

[Current situation at Gwanghwamun.jpg]

[Live updates from Lee Min Ki’s fan meeting.txt]

The priority was to spread the word.

In just a few minutes.

Within minutes, the scene at Gwanghwamun spread across the entire internet world.

[Right now, someone is playing the janggu and the guitar at Gwanghwamun, and Lee Min Ki is grilling pork belly in the middle.

There’s also a sleeping person, someone on a longboard doing tricks, and even a masked dancer.]

[What nonsense is this?]

[Lol, just spouting whatever comes to mind.]

[Who’s going to believe that?]

[I work at an office near Gwanghwamun, and I just looked out the window. It’s true.]

[No, no~ not buying it~]

Realistically, who would believe such a thing?

Any reasonable person would dismiss it as a social media ploy for attention.

But ultimately, it’s a matter of evidence.

[Is this for real?]

[Why is this real? (shortened in Korean)]

[??]

[?????????]

Lee Min Ki was grilling pork belly.

Behind them was someone performing a mask dance, and another playing the janggu.

Someone was performing stunts on a bicycle.

There was even someone dancing on a longboard, and another person had fallen asleep on the ground.

[This is driving me crazy.]

At this point, it already seemed enough, and it felt like they could stop, but unfortunately, "enough" was a relative term.

Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap!

Later on, someone began jumping rope.

“Apple…… Pineapple…… Exhausted……”

There was someone unfolding a desk and studying.

Another person had brought a laptop and monitor and was sitting on the ground playing games.

Amid the chaos caused by this assortment of people.

The audience slowly began to make a guess.

‘This is that thing!’

At some point, a few of the audience’s speculations finally circled back to the truth.

‘They’re actually doing it.’

‘Wow, I didn’t think they would actually come, even though they said they would.’

Apparently, Lee Min Ki had posted a confirmation on his fan café, but no one believed it.

Instead, people mocked him, saying that if he were really Lee Min Ki, then they were Choi Yoo Chang.

They dismissed it as a publicity stunt and ridiculed him, only to find out later that it was truly Lee Min Ki.

It was already a famous anecdote among those interested in actors.

No, it had widely spread across internet communities.

[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[Are they really going to show up?]

[Would they have done it if they knew it was Lee Min Ki, lolololol.]

But for it to actually come true.

Amid a scene aptly called "Gwanghwamun Chaos," one person was quietly smiling to himself—Lee Min Ki.

‘First, I’ll spread the buzz.’

That’s right.

This entire chaotic scene was part of Lee Min Ki’s fan meeting performance.

‘At this rate, there’s no way it won’t make the news.’

He had recently realized something.

Buzz begins with stimulation.

No matter how high the quality of the content prepared, it needs to catch people’s attention first.

That’s why he had prepared this kind of content.

To ensure it would grab people’s eyes and ears.

If not, he’d force it to.

‘Internet communities will have no choice but to pay attention to people who showed up to fulfill a promise like this.’

This event.

It hadn’t just happened by chance.

He had personally contacted every person who had commented on the fan café.

Since they had commented, he had asked them to really show up.

He even promised to buy them all a meal after the event.

At first, he wondered if anyone would actually come.

Even if just one or two people showed up, he thought it would be enough to make it worthwhile.

‘I wouldn’t have blamed them even if they promised to come and then didn’t show up.’

It was natural to be a little doubtful.

But.

[Really???]

[Can I brag about this to my friends?]

Who were the members of the fan café?

Each one was a fan of Lee Min Ki.

If the actor they passionately admired offered to meet them in person and buy them a meal, how could they refuse?

‘This is it.’

It was like preparing for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Even if they couldn’t do it, they had to act like they could!

They weren’t the only ones involved.

Even the reporters clicking their cameras from a distance were part of Lee Min Ki’s arrangements.

They hadn’t come by coincidence.

Some had come on their own to cover the buzz surrounding Lee Min Ki’s fan meeting, but JC had also extended invitations.

‘This performance will definitely spread far and wide thanks to the reporters. If I’m lucky, it’ll even go viral online.’

And luck.

That was what he had been most confident in recently.

However.

Even Lee Min Ki didn’t know one thing.

“……”

“……?”

From among the crowd, a man began walking forward.

He wasn’t someone Lee Min Ki had invited.

Nor was he someone who had been contacted.

But.

It was definitely someone he knew.

‘Choi Yoo Chang, senior?’

Choi Yoo Chang, one of Korea’s most renowned actors, with a career boasting blockbuster hits, appeared from among the audience.

As if he were just out for a casual stroll.

With an air of boundless ease.

‘Meat?’

In one hand, he was holding a pack of 300g of premium 2+ grade Korean beef.