Superstar From Age 0

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: AgRoseCrystal

Chapter 591

August 15th.

Events were held in various places across the country to commemorate the Liberation Day. The TV also showed the Liberation Day commemoration events live.

[We will now have a moment of silence for the patriotic martyrs and independence activists.]

A serene music was heard.

The people who went to the event venue and the people who were watching TV closed their eyes and remembered the people who had worked for the country. It seemed like the whole Republic of Korea was quiet.

[Next, we will have a reading of the Gwangmu Declaration of Independence.]

The descendants of the independence activists came forward and read the Gwangmu Declaration of Independence, which was translated into modern Korean.

The Liberation Day commemoration events proceeded one by one, and when the air show that flew brightly in the blue sky came out, Song Yu-jung, who was watching TV with her parents, checked the time and got up from her seat.

“Are you going to meet Ye-na?”

“Yes. We agreed to watch a movie together.”

“Be careful and come back safely.”

Song Yu-jung nodded her head and went outside. She looked up at the apartment where she lived.

She saw houses that had hung the national flag here and there. Of course, there was a clean national flag hanging on Song Yu-jung’s house as well.

With a proud heart, Song Yu-jung headed to the movie theater. It was a little farther than the movie theater she usually went to.

On the way to take the bus.

She saw the national flags that were hung on the streetlights along the road.

***

<I’m here, where are you?

-Lim Ye-na: I’m next to the ticket machine!

Song Yu-jung stretched her neck out.

She saw her friend, Lim Ye-na, who was standing next to the people who were gathered in front of the machine to buy tickets.

“Ye-na! Here!”

Lim Ye-na also seemed to have found Song Yu-jung and waved her hand with a smile. Song Yu-jung quickly ran to Lim Ye-na. The two people exclaimed and hugged each other.

“Did you get the tickets?”

“No, not yet.”

The tickets for the independent film [Fire] that Lim Ye-na had secured through ticketing. And it was two seats.

“I saw that Fire was sold out earlier.”

Lim Ye-na, who was standing in front of the ticket machine, pressed the reservation number carefully and said. Song Yu-jung nodded her head.

“That makes sense. The place we always go to doesn’t even show it.”

It was because there were not many theaters secured due to the sudden release. That was the reason why Song Yu-jung and Lim Ye-na had to come to this movie theater.

“They said they would increase the number of theaters, but I want to see it before someone spoils it!”

“But is there anything to spoil? The biggest twist is that Seo-jun appeared, right?”

“I heard there’s a bigger twist than that.”

“Really?”

Lim Ye-na and Song Yu-jung each took one of the posters of [Fire].

There were two posters of [Fire].

One was the Western-style mansion that appeared in the trailer.

The other one was someone’s room.

The sunset light shone through the wide-open curtains. There was a table where the light shone. On the right side of the table, there were a canvas, a Western-style brush, and a palette with paint squeezed out. On the left side, there were Korean paper, an oriental brush, and an inkstone.

“A combination of East and West. I guess it’s about learning to paint.”

“I wonder what the story is. Oh, look at this.”

Below the poster, the names of the actors who starred in [Fire] and the [Fire] production team who worked hard on the production were written.

The names of the 32 people who went to Gangwon-do and the music team who did not go to Gangwon-do but played the music, Matteo, the art consultant, the CG team who added CG here and there, and so on.

“Na Jin.”

The part where it said ‘Na Jin (Lee Seo-jun)’ made Song Yu-jung and Lim Ye-na giggle.

They looked at the poster of [Fire] and talked about how many times they would watch [Fire] that they hadn’t seen yet. Then, Lim Ye-na seemed to remember something and said.

“There’s also the movie by the first fan director of Na Jin.”

“Do you want to see it?”

“Yes. I heard it’s good. But it’s only released in independent theaters.”

“Hmm. Should I see it too?”

“And later, there’s a movie with Kim Jong-ho and Lee Ji-seok. Do you want to see it with me?”

“Is it released? I didn’t see any articles about it.”

Song Yu-jung widened her eyes.

“No, it’s not released yet, but I think the filming is over. There was an article that they returned a few days ago.”

“Oh, I saw that. It was everywhere.”

“Kim Jong-ho and Lee Ji-seok have good eyes for works. ONE was fun, right?”

“Yeah! Let’s go see it together.”

Then, the voice of the movie theater staff announcing the entrance was heard.

“Screen 3! Those who are going to watch Fire in screen 3, please enter now!”

“Let’s go in.”

Lim Ye-na and Song Yu-jung got up from their seats. There were other people who came here to watch [Fire] and they headed to screen 3.

Screen 3 was soon filled with people.

The voices of the people who were full of expectations were heard. The name ‘Lee Seo-jun’ that was mentioned from time to time made the shoulders of the Sprouts, Song Yu-jung and Lim Ye-na, feel proud.

Unlike the hot outside, the theater with a just right temperature from the air conditioner soon darkened and the ads started to play.

[The emergency exit of this theater is…]

As a habit, she checked the emergency exit guide sign and (she heard the name Na Jin from somewhere), the sound of rustling and the lights of cell phones disappeared. Song Yu-jung also turned off her cell phone and put it in her bag.

Lim Ye-na, who opened her bag to put the phone that she had turned off the power of, had a smile on her face. The travel tissue that had taken a place in her bag made her feel reassured.

It was thanks to the Sprouts (the lucky ones who saw it at the independent film festival) who wrote ‘Please bring tissuesㅠㅠ’ in their reviews.

‘Yu-jung hates spoilers.’

So she didn’t say that it was a tear-jerking story, but she brought one for Song Yu-jung as well.

With a satisfied expression, Lim Ye-na put her bag down and leaned back on the chair. The screen that was showing the trailers of the movies that would be released soon went completely dark.

Usually, when a movie starts, there is an intro video of the production company (like a roaring lion or fireworks), but [Fire] was an independent film, so there was no video at all and it started right away.

A screen with light coming in.

There was no snow yet, but the mountains that felt cold were seen.

[I will never forget.]

The calm narration stuck in her ears.

[The things that happened in those few months.]

It’s not Seo-jun.

Thinking that, Song Yu-jung, Lim Ye-na, and the audience focused on [Fire].

***

The atmosphere of the audience, who sometimes laughed, felt sad, and happy, changed then.

“吾等(오등)은 玆(자)에…….”

[We, today,]

The air in the theater seemed to stop.

Whether it was during class time when they were students, or when they studied Korean history to prepare for a job.

Whether it was on TV, or in books.

…It was also mentioned in today’s Independence Day commemoration.

A sentence that every Korean must have seen at least once was flowing out.

“I declare that we are an independent nation of Korea… and a self-reliant people of Korea…”

[We declare that our Korea is an independent country and that the Korean people are a self-reliant nation.]

Song Yu-jung and Lim Ye-na’s eyes widened and their hearts pounded fast. They felt goosebumps from head to toe. Wow… crazy…! They wanted to talk to their friend sitting next to them, but they couldn’t take their eyes off the screen.

Joy and relief seeped into the expression of the unknown painter who was reading the letter. On the face of Mr. Lee, and on the face of Madam Go.

The expressions and emotions that had seemed ordinary until a moment ago came to them with a completely different meaning. The pitiful young master, the cheerful Mr. Lee, and the kind Madam Go felt like different people.

The three of them sent Min-han out.

“…This is a draft…”

It was an action that might have seemed resentful, but Song Yu-jung and Lim Ye-na, who had an idea of the identity of these three people, understood it well.

After that, they felt sorry for Min-han, who had a sad expression, and the unknown painter, who couldn’t tell him anything.

“When it’s all over… when it’s all over, I’ll tell you. Min-han hyung.”

When that day comes.

Tears welled up in the eyes of Song Yu-jung and Lim Ye-na, who knew the history.

***

The crisis of the rainy night passed, and he promised to tell him when that day came, but the promise was left hanging by a letter that announced failure. Min-han sighed at the news that his benefactor had died.

He saw the torn canvas and the empty room in his eyes.

Thud.

Min-han’s heart sank.

He wished that no more precious people would die.

Song Yu-jung and Lim Ye-na also looked anxiously at the unknown painter who was walking barefoot in the mud. A story with this theme could not have a peaceful end.

Min-han found the young master, and the fierce music disappeared in an instant. But no one in the audience noticed. They were all staring blankly at the screen.

On the white snow, a red flower appeared.

And a man in a white durumagi, who was stepping on the red petals with his bare feet, appeared. The wind fluttered his durumagi, and he looked like a person from another world.

The unknown painter moved.

With every step, petals appeared and spread.

Everyone held their breath and watched him.

Flowers began to bloom one by one along the burnt wooden pillars.

It was a beautiful scene when it was a full shot, but when he got closer and saw the unknown painter stepping on the snow, he felt suffocated.

[It was a painting that looked like a flower and a firework.]

[It seemed like he had spit out the anger in his chest.]

The audience felt the reason for that anger, and they clenched their bodies. It was a sight that made their hearts ache, as if he would burn everything and die at any moment. Tears welled up, but they wiped them away.

They didn’t want to miss a single moment.

Crunch-

He stepped on a broken branch. The fading blood became darker. The unknown painter did not stop and continued to draw flowers. The moment that felt like eternity passed, and the painting was completed.

Min-han shouted.

The unknown painter said.

“…There are flowers here too…”

Thump.

The side of the unknown painter’s face, who collapsed among the white snow, was visible. Tears in his eyes flowed to the side. He was pitiful, sad, regretful, and miserable, but… he had a faint smile.

The wind blew.

The white durumagi that the unknown painter was wearing fluttered and spread.

He looked like a white butterfly that had landed on a red flower.

***

They didn’t know when they started crying, but Song Yu-jung and Lim Ye-na’s faces were soaked with tears.

They cried when they found out that the unknown painter was alive, and when he had a hopeless look in his eyes.

They cried when Min-han knew everything and thanked him, and when the two of them laughed and cried together. When the unknown painter, who had recovered, left. When he said he would continue his work… and when he said he would paint.

They cried when Min-han asked the unknown painter’s name in the scene, and they heard a sniffling sound from somewhere. They must have been holding back their tears. Song Yu-jung and Lim Ye-na felt the same way.

And the screen darkened, and a heavy and slow music and narration that made their chests tight came.

[But]

[In the end]

[That day came.]

The audience noticed the passage of time by the wrinkled hand and the narration.

[August.]

[A letter arrived from Hanyang.]

All the sounds in the theater stopped.

It was a short time until the next narration, but it felt longer than ever.

The letter that delivered the bad news and the good news, and the bleak situation of the times.

They couldn’t relax until the end.

[It was a letter from the young master.]

…!

He’s alive…!

With their faces soaked with tears, Song Yu-jung and Lim Ye-na cheered silently. The other audience members were the same.

Until the next meaningful narration, they focused on every single word, and when they saw the ending scroll rising with the music, they finally made a sound.

“Uhuhuhu…!”

When they heard the crying sounds from here and there, Song Yu-jung and Lim Ye-na also cried out loud. Their tear-stained faces met. It was funny, but the aftertaste of the movie was still there, and tears kept coming.

“…They really made it well… sniff. This is why Seo-jun filmed it…”

“That’s right… uhuh…”

Along with the name of ‘Na Jin’, the name of the [Fire] filming team appeared on the ending scroll, and the theater slowly brightened.

“We’ll hand out tissues at the front!”

Song Yu-jung and Lim Ye-na, who were watching the audience receive tissues from the theater staff and leave, decided to wait a little longer until it was less crowded.

“Oh, I have tissues.”

Lim Ye-na took out two travel tissues that she had forgotten because she was focused on the movie, and handed them to Song Yu-jung, who had a messy face. Song Yu-jung took one tissue and sobbed.

“Thank you. I guess tissues are essential for Seo-jun’s movies.”

“I know, right.”

They waited for a while, wiping their tears.

“Ah, I have tissues.”

As they followed the people in front of them to move, they soon approached the exit.

As they were about to feel the humid outside wind, they stopped their steps unknowingly, like the people who had gone out before them.

They stared blankly at somewhere.

They felt a shiver from their toes, and their hearts tightened. Their throats felt hot as if they had swallowed fire.

“…They must be crazy…!”

Along the road, the national flags were fluttering.

Just like that day.