Superstar From Age 0

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: AgRoseCrystal

Chapter 588

People tend to be more sensitive to the misfortunes that are close to them.

Of course, they would empathize and feel sad for the tragic events and accidents that they see on TV, but they would feel much more keenly and intensely if someone they know, a friend, a relative, a neighbor, a family member, suffers from misfortune.

Just like how the families of the righteous people who saved others in dangerous situations would feel proud and worried at the same time, wondering why they did such a risky thing.

And even if they were not acquainted with each other, they would feel a similar emotion when something big happens to the people they were interested in and fond of.

The danger that seemed so far away had appeared and disappeared without them knowing.

The viewers who felt close to the sprouts and Seo-jun were shocked and speechless.

[The place where the fire trucks arrived was]

[9-car pileup accident site at ○○ tunnel]

-No……ㅠㅠㅠ

-I don’t know what to say…… I just…… feel so complicated right now.

-When I think that Seo-jun could have been in that smoke…… I really……

-22 I only thought that it was lucky that he avoided the accident when I didn’t know, but now my heart is sinkingㅠㅠㅠ

Belatedly, worry and relief swept over them.

As if to blow away those worries, the screen changed and showed the figures of Seo-jun and his companions standing unharmed.

Soon, an ambulance arrived.

[Actor Lee Seo-jun and the ‘Fire’ filming team who took care of the patient until the end]

Seo-jun’s figure was seen handing over a phone to the pregnant woman who was lying on a stretcher and being moved to the ambulance, and saying something to her.

[The student who helped me said that. They thought they saved the baby, but the baby saved them.]

-That really hit meㅠㅠ

-Who would have thought that doing a good deed would come back like thisㅜ

-BabyㅠㅠThank you so muchㅠㅠ

The ambulance left and Seo-jun and the ‘Fire’ advance team watched for a moment before getting back into the van and leaving.

And the screen changed.

“That student was actor Lee Seo-jun?!”

Inside a cozy room.

The husband was startled and then nodded his head.

“No wonder…… My wife said that the student who helped her was very handsome even in that chaotic situation. And he had a nice voice too. It makes sense that he was actor Lee Seo-jun.”

-Seo-jun, that explains itㅋㅋㅠㅠㅠ

-ㅠㅠㅋㅋWhy are you suddenly making me laughㅋㅋ

-But what about the wife?ㅠㅠㅠ? Where is she??

“Ah. I should apologize first.”

The husband bowed his head.

-What??? What is it???

-ㅠㅠThis is not a variety showㅠㅠ

-It doesn’t seem like it todayㅠ

“My wife’s due date coincided with the independent film festival, so she couldn’t go. She said she really wanted to see the movie…… I’m sorry. To the ‘Fire’ team.”

-ㅠㅠYou scared meㅠㅠ

-22 I thought something bad happenedㅠ

“I really wanted to see it too…… I’ll watch it as soon as it comes out on VOD with my wife and daughter!”

-Daughter……? Daughter?

-OMG!!

[Daughter?]

The husband laughed like a fool at the producer’s question.

“Yes! Our daughter was born on the opening day of the film festival! Thanks to the students from Korea National University of Arts, she is healthy and without any pain!”

-Congratulations!!

-I’ve been crying all dayㅠㅠ

-ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

The screen changed and showed a newborn baby sleeping with her tiny lips puckered behind a transparent glass window. The husband looked at the baby with affection in his eyes.

“My wife is resting comfortably now, and my daughter is healthy as you can see. If it weren’t for actor Lee Seo-jun and the ‘Fire’ team…… I really……”

Tears welled up in the husband’s eyes. He still felt like his vision was darkening when he thought of that moment.

As if to comfort her dad, the sleeping baby smiled brightly. The husband reflexively smiled along and then said in a choked voice.

I almost never saw that smile of my daughter or my wife’s again.

“……Thank you, thank you so much.”

-ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

-The baby is so cuteㅠㅠ I didn’t even realize I was smilingㅠ

-You have to be healthyㅠ And your mom tooㅠㅠ

The screen changed and director Hwang Ji-yoon appeared.

“We really didn’t do much. If Seo-jun, actor Lee Seo-jun, hadn’t found your wife then, we would have just passed by without knowing anything. Then, we, the baby, and your wife…… It would have been a disaster.”

Director Hwang Ji-yoon said with a smile.

“Like actor Lee Seo-jun said, we saved the baby and the baby saved us. Hmm. They say that good deeds come back to you, but I think it came back a bit too fast. The filming also ended safely without any accidents.”

-A reward that came back in a second.

-22 There has never been such a quick repayment of kindness!

-Everyone is happy, a tight happy ending that I loveㅠㅠ

-It’s more like a movie than a movieㅠ

The screen changed again, and a noisy sound was heard.

The camera followed the students who entered the rest area, and focused on one male student in particular.

-It’s Seo-jun.

-Seo-jun!!

-I got the pattern!!

-ㅋㅋㅋ

“Did anything fun happen while you were filming?”

“Nothing? There was a lot!”

The edited conversations of the ‘Fire’ team members and the ‘Working Man’ members were broadcasted.

From trivial stories like meal duty or cleaning duty to stories about Baek Gu and the filming.

It was the story of ordinary(?) college students who went to film a movie, but the fact that one of those college students was actor Lee Seo-jun made the viewers listen and laugh.

-It’s funny just to hear that Seo-jun was thereㅋㅋ

-22 He really looks like a college student.

-He is a college studentㅋㅋ

-Did Seo-jun also do meal duty, cleaning duty?

-He probably did. He also drove.

-Oh…… That’s right. He doesn’t act like a celebrity.

-Seo-jun doesn’t have any stories like that.

-Right! There’s no sighting of our Seo-jun at all!

-……ㅋㅠㅠㅠㅋ

Between the stories, the photos and videos that the team members took with their phones were also shown.

[The white dog playing frisbee with actor Lee Seo-jun and the Fire filming team]

-“Morning walk, huh… You’re very diligent.” (Says the person who wakes up at 11 a.m.)

-“The country dog is so free-spirited. It follows anyone it sees for the first time.”

-“Lee Seo-jun too. Why did he bring the dog?”

-“The video of them playing frisbee is amazing. What kind of phone is that?”

-“…That’s because the person filming is from the filming team. That’s how they can get that quality.”

-“…I see.”

As they ate the crispy pork cutlets, they also showed Seo-jun chatting with the other students. The atmosphere was serious.

[Lee Seo-jun / Actor]

[(Choosing snacks while eating the pork cutlets made by Park Young-jin’s team (Choi Soohee and 3 others)]

[More serious than ever]

-“Lol”

-“Who are the 3 others? Lol”

-“Maybe they originally wanted to put only ‘Park Young-jin’s team’ but Choi Soohee (Rookie 1st generation) asked them to include her name too?”

-“Lol that sounds plausible.”

-(Jung-hoon crying / Spicy pork team / Rookie 3rd generation)

-“Lol”

-“Snacks. Well, it makes sense for a rest stop. Lol”

-“I also think about what snacks to eat while having a meal.”

-“Don’t we all think about the next meal while eating? Right?”

-“But do they have to be so serious about it? Lol”

Soon, the customers who saw the SNS posts started to show up, and the Fire team finished their meal and left one by one.

They showed Seo-jun laughing and talking with his team members as he went to the snack corner and bought some snacks.

The people who entered the rest stop, and even the store employees, didn’t suspect or care about the situation. It looked very comfortable and familiar.

-“…I’m there. Seo-jun brushed past me.”

-“You didn’t know?”

-“I had no idea…”

After looking around the snack corner thoroughly, Seo-jun headed to the parking lot with his hands full. He then shared the snacks with his team members who hadn’t boarded the bus yet.

-“Soon, those snacks will be posted as Seo-jun’s picks.”

-“Lol”

The drone camera showed the Fire team’s appearance.

The vehicles that finished the headcount left the rest stop, and the screen turned black.

[And 4 months later]

The articles from the beginning of the broadcast appeared on the screen in reverse order.

[Working Man! The heroes of KNUA at the rest stop!]

[The heroes of KNUA’s movie, ‘Fire’, selected as the opening film!]

[Actor Lee Seo-jun, starring in the independent film ‘Fire’!]

-“I was really surprised…”

-“I still can’t believe it.”

-“Is it because I haven’t watched the movie?”

-“It’s good that they made a movie, but they should have told us too.”

-“Release it! (Clap!) Release it! (Clap!)”

-“I believe. Kkoma!!!”

Below the placard that said [Korean Independent Film Festival Closing Ceremony], the voice of the host holding the microphone was heard.

“The honorable grand prize of this year’s Korean Independent Film Festival goes to!”

The flashes of the reporters exploded, and even the TV screen flickered.

-There are so many reporters.

-Well, it’s Lee Seo-jun. He’s a hot topic whether he wins or loses the award.

-And they can also interview the students.

“Fire by director Hwang Ji-yoon!”

A loud applause sounded.

The camera showed director Hwang Ji-yoon climbing up the stage.

“Hello. I’m Hwang Ji-yoon, the director of Fire. I’m really grateful for giving our team such a big award.”

Hwang Ji-yoon smiled as he held the trophy and the bouquet.

“Fire is a work that I’ve been dreaming of since I was young. It was hard to complete it, but with the help of many people around me, I was able to make it into a wonderful movie. I thank my parents for supporting me. Kim Se-yeon, who worked with me as the assistant director, Park Woo-jin, the filming team…”

Hwang Ji-yoon quickly called out each name.

“The actors, Hwang Do-yoon, Kim Sung-sik, Jung Eun-mi, and,”

Hwang Ji-yoon laughed.

“Na Jin.”

-Lol

-Lolol

-It’s still funny even after watching it again.

-Don’t they have to make another profile for him on Cocoa Entertainment’s website?

“Thank you very much once again.”

The applause poured out for Hwang Ji-yoon, who bowed deeply.

[Congratulations on the award for ‘Fire’.]

The caption disappeared, and the noisy [Working Man!] members appeared on the screen.

“I almost had a heart attack.”

“Me too. I thought I read the article wrong!”

“It was Seo-jun! Seo-jun was there!”

“Do we have a radar or something? Who chose the rest stop this time?”

They talked about the ‘rest stop episode’ in the opening talk, and then introduced the guests to fill the remaining time. [Working Man!] ended with a preview for next week.

-He even won an award! It was perfect!

-I thought it was amazing enough until the December broadcast, but I didn’t expect it to get this big.

-I was really surprised when Seo-jun got out of the driver’s seat.

-Me too. I never thought he would be driving, even if I was in the front row.

That’s when it happened.

The people who didn’t change the channel after [Working Man!] and were posting comments on the noisy internet heard a heavy and slow music. The melody that somehow weighed on their hearts made them all look up.

There was an advertisement on TV.

In a cold landscape. A road that crosses the mountains and fields.

At the end of it, an old car that looked like it came from a drama or a movie came running. And then they saw a man standing alone in an empty field. He was wearing a hanbok, a traditional Korean clothing, that seemed to belong to the Joseon era.

-? What kind of ad is this?

-It looks more like a promotional video than an ad. For a movie or a drama.

-…OMG?! Is this?!

The man blinked his eyes and looked at the car. For a moment, his pale face seemed to show through the window. Soon, the scene changed and showed a man in a hanbok and a middle-aged man looking up at something.

The music that sounded like it was pressing on their hearts suddenly brightened up. And it grew louder, as if to make the viewers’ hearts swell.

Bang!

What was in front of the two men was a western-style mansion made of red bricks.

The word [Fire] was drawn in calligraphy on top of it, like a picture.

[Fire]

The name flashed by like a blazing flame.

[Director Hwang Ji-yoon]

[Starring Na Jin (Lee Seo-jun), Hwang Do-yoon]

And then, a new word was engraved.

[Opening on August 15th!]

-…!!

It was a perfect ending.

***

Cocoa Entertainment.

Actor team, director Ahn Da Ho’s office.

Ahn Da Ho smiled with satisfaction at the promotional video of [Fire] that was playing on the TV on the wall. The contract went smoothly and they were able to upload it at the right time.

“The release date is good too.”

He chuckled and checked the number of secured theaters. There were not many theaters available because there were already contracted works, but they could increase them slowly.

Ahn Da Ho turned off the TV and was about to pack his things to go home when the phone rang.

-Director Ahn. It’s team 1.

It was the deputy team leader who managed actor Lee Seo-jun’s dedicated team 1 on behalf of Ahn Da Ho, who was busy overseeing the actor side.

“Yes. Deputy team leader.”

-We just got a call from Whale Studio.

Ahn Da Ho thought for a moment.

Whale Studio was one of the production companies that worked with Seo-jun.

‘If it’s a new work, they would have sent the script or synopsis first… If they’re calling like this, then…’

There was only one movie that needed Seo-jun that much.

“What did they say it was about?”

-It’s related to Over the Rainbow, and they said they would like to talk to you in person.

As expected.

He flipped through the calendar on his desk.

“Okay. I’ll try to make an appointment. When are you available?”

-They said they’re fine with tomorrow.

“…What?”

He paused as he was looking at the schedule for next week.

-Whale Studio’s planning team leader is in Korea right now.