Superstar From Age 0
Chapter 59

Chapter 59

“Is this real?”

“Actors Lee Ji-seok and Lee Seo-jun are here!”

“Is this a dream? Am I dreaming?!”

The seven members of the troupe were ecstatic. They all gasped and sparkled their eyes.

Lee Ji-seok and Seo-jun were taken aback by the intense reaction. They wondered if they should step back. Yoon Sung-oh tensed up his whole body.

Thwack! Kim Seon-gon slapped the back of Kim Sung-woo, who was closest to him. Fortunately, that sharp sound snapped everyone out of it. They calmed down and caught their breath.

“Oh, oh, hello. Actor Lee Seo-jun. I’m a huge fan of yours.”

Seo-jun shook hands with the actors who asked for a handshake, trembling and smiling.

Ignoring his burning back, Kim Sung-woo quickly brought a clean sheet of paper and asked Lee Ji-seok and Seo-jun for their autographs.

“Photos! Let’s take photos too!”

“Please give it to me. I’ll take it for you. I don’t really like photos.”

“Oh, thank you!”

Kim Seon-gon, who was wondering if he should stay out of the photo, thanked Yoon Sung-oh for his words.

Kim Seon-gon’s phone captured the faces of the seven actors, Seo-jun, and Lee Ji-seok. And Lee Ji-seok took another photo with his phone.

“Senior. Please send it to me too.”

“Me too!”

Kim Seon-gon uploaded the photo to the Banana Talk group chat.

They all downloaded it with happy faces. Lee Ji-seok, who got his phone back from Yoon Sung-oh, also sent the photo to Seo-jun.

“Um…”

Kim Seon-gon asked,

“Is it okay to post this on the internet? For promotion.”

“I’m fine with it.”

Unlike Seo-jun, who answered without much thought, Lee Ji-seok, who had experienced the fame, scratched his cheek.

“We don’t mind, but if you promote it with celebrities, it will be harder for you. Especially, Seo-jun is getting a lot of attention lately, so he will get more attention.”

It might be impossible to fix it if something went wrong. Yoo Seon-gon said with a smile.

“We’ve been on stage without an audience for three days already. Today, you were the only ones who watched our play. If there was no audience today, we might have dropped this work altogether. Some of us might have given up on acting. But we love theater. We want to keep going. So we can overcome it.”

All the members of the Wind Troupe nodded their heads. Han Ji-ah said with a firm expression.

“We’ll work hard so that the people who came to trust you won’t be disappointed.”

Seo-jun tilted his head as he listened to their stories. Why are they so worried about posting a photo? He wondered.

Seo-jun was not yet familiar with the life of a star, the daily life of a celebrity.

‘I’ll have to ask Ji-seok hyung later!’

After the photo talk was over, Kim Sung-woo, who sold the tickets, cautiously opened his mouth with the courage of the youngest who had just become an adult.

“Um…”

“Yes?”

“Can you teach us if there is anything lacking in our play?”

It was something they all wanted to do, but couldn’t. It was a fact that everyone here, except Seo-jun, knew that Lee Ji-seok had debuted as a drama actor after doing theater. Lee Ji-seok looked at his watch without knowing.

‘I have to take Seo-jun with me…’

Seo-jun, who noticed his thoughts, raised both hands.

“I’m curious too!”

“Shall we chat for a bit and then leave?”

The members cheered at Eui-seok’s answer.

***

Two days ago, a photo posted on SNS caused a stir on the internet.

[#Lee Seo-jun #Eui-seok #Our Neighborhood #Play]

[Title: I watched Our Neighborhood]

I’m a fan of Lee Seo-jun who searches his name every day. I saw the photo as soon as it was uploaded. I ran out right away! I wonder if there were people like me, because the tickets were almost sold out. I was able to buy a ticket for the last show!

Sold out behind me! Hahaha

I had a lot of time left, so I looked around the shops near the theater and ate. There were a lot of people everywhere, maybe because there were many people like me. The owner of the shop I went to also said that he wished there were more people, because they suddenly increased.

Anyway, when I entered the theater, there were few seats and the stage was very close. When I bought the ticket on a first-come, first-served basis, there were numbers 1 and 2 written on the ticket, which was awesome. I could sit in the seats where Lee Seo-jun and Eui-seok sat. There were marks on the chairs. People who sat there took pictures and made a fuss.

But, there were quite a few people coming behind me, so it seemed like it would change to a bigger theater soon. I should go and sit down soon.

The play was fun. I kept laughing. Everyone laughed a lot.

And after the play, I talked with the actors, and everyone asked about Eui-seok and Lee Seo-jun. The actors seemed to expect it, and they read the answers in a row.

-Lee Seo-jun, Eui-seok, and the manager, we all enjoyed it. At first, I didn’t know it was Lee Seo-jun and Eui-seok. I found out when I took a picture. Eui-seok and Lee Seo-jun ate lunch at the cold noodle shop in front of here. Eui-seok gave advice on the play. Lee Seo-jun had never done a play before, so he learned with us.

+That cold noodle shop is where I ate. But the owner didn’t seem to know that Lee Seo-jun and Eui-seok came and went.

-Oh, they learned together. That’s cute.

-There, the tickets will be sold out in 30 minutes. I failed today. I wish they moved to a bigger place soon.

=They’re looking for it now. But there’s a contract period, and it’s a bit hard to move around.

-The cold noodle shop must be crazy. The neighborhood was struggling with business lately, and everyone was worried. Thanks to the two, they survived.

-I didn’t like it. They just kept forcing jokes and the acting was bad. I don’t know why they recommended it.

=It wasn’t a recommendation. They just watched any play and took a picture together.

=Me too. I wouldn’t have watched it if it wasn’t for the two.

-Isn’t this paid promotion? The skills are not good either.

-I thought it was fun. It felt like relieving stress.

=I agree. But everyone only cared about Lee Seo-jun and Eui-seok, and they only asked the actors that question. I wanted to ask more about the play.

=I felt the same way. The actors were good at acting. I’m looking forward to the next work.

-There are pros and cons. But it’s an opportunity to make a name for themselves, so it might be a good chance for the theater group. They have to make fans with this work and take them to the next work.

Seo-jun, who got in Eui-seok’s car, read the comments on his phone screen.

Two days ago, when he left the theater after giving advice to the group, Seo-jun asked Eui-seok.

Why did he have to worry about posting one photo on the internet? Eui-seok, who thought for a moment, said he would know soon.

And now.

Seo-jun, who got in Eui-seok’s car to observe the drama shooting, listened to Eui-seok’s explanation.

For two days, Yoon Seong-oh and Eui-seok collected the comments that Seo-jun could see and showed them to Seo-jun.

Even though they edited hard, they wondered if they could show him, but it felt a bit lacking to explain in words. Eui-seok couldn’t take his eyes off Seo-jun’s face.

And Seo-jun nodded his head without any expression. When children used the internet or watched YouTube, they had to see malicious comments, even under the supervision of their parents and adults.

‘It’s nothing but medicine.’

Eui-seok sighed with relief and said,

“People are curious about what celebrities and famous people eat, watch, and do. And fans are even more interested. Especially Seo-jun, who has hardly any sightings and has starred in a Hollywood movie. People will pay a lot of attention to even the smallest things. Look, there are already articles about it.”

As Eui-seok said, the internet was filled with all kinds of articles about Eui-seok and Seo-jun’s meeting, the play they watched, the introduction of the play, and the interview with the owner of the cold noodle shop.

Some reporters even used the headline ‘The play praised by a Hollywood actor!’ to attract clicks.

Seo-jun tilted his head when he saw the title. It wasn’t wrong, but it felt too exaggerated.

“The actors can see the audience’s reactions in real time in a play, so they get immediate feedback. It’s fun. It’s boring. These articles make people expect too much, and that’s not good for the theater people. And the theater is already small, but if people suddenly flock in because of our names, will the actors be able to perform well under the pressure? That’s what I was worried about.”

“I see.”

Seo-jun nodded. He looked at his phone screen again.

[The play praised by a Hollywood actor, Lee Seo-jun!]

[Eui-seok and Seo-jun watched a different play!]

[The play chosen by the famous actors that combines fun and lessons!]

The article titles were really making people anticipate the play. Seo-jun thought of the people from the Wind Theater Group that he saw two days ago.

People who loved theater. Could they cope with the bubbly interest of the public?

“Hyung, do you think the sisters can do well?”

“They have to overcome that pressure. They said they can do it. If they can get through this challenge, they will become a great theater group.”

Eui-seok stroked Seo-jun’s head, which was full of worry, and said,

“Seo-jun, we, as entertainers, have to be more careful than ordinary people. You never know what kind of trouble a careless photo or a careless word can cause.”

Seo-jun nodded at Eui-seok’s words. Manager Yoon Sung-oh, who had a professional disease, said without realizing it,

“Seo-jun doesn’t do SNS, right?”

“Yes. I don’t!”

“Don’t ever do it. That’s the source of all evil.”

***

Next week, from 10 p.m., the KBC Monday-Tuesday drama ‘Reinvestigation’ director Choi Min-sung and writer So Eun-jin tilted their heads.

“What?”

“Seo-jun will do a cameo.”

Director Choi and writer So looked at Eui-seok’s face, which was full of confidence, with blank expressions.

They knew about the cameo. There was a role that could be played by any child actor or a famous child actor.

During the script reading, they had a break and talked about who would be good for the role.

The lead actor, Eui-seok, who was sitting next to them, heard it and said he had a good actor and he would bring him, so they agreed.

Anyone was fine. It was a role that would appear and disappear in one scene. Eui-seok was picky about acting, so they trusted his acting.

“…What?”

Director Choi and writer So asked again. What nonsense was this popular actor talking about? Was it April Fool’s Day? They counted the date and shook their heads. April Fool’s Day had already passed.

Eui-seok smiled and stepped aside.

“Ta-da!”

“Ta-da!”

A child shouted and appeared behind Eui-seok. Director Choi and writer So’s eyes widened.

It was the most trendy profession in Korea. How could they not recognize this face!

It was Lee Seo-jun.

The same Lee Seo-jun that they had seen on the screen, in the movie theater!

Director Choi Min-sung, who had watched Shadowman 2 four times, and writer So Eun-jin, who had joined Seo-jun’s fan club, felt their hearts skip a beat when Seo-jun appeared right in front of them.

They couldn’t take their eyes off him, even though he was smiling brightly.

“Wow!”

Lee Ji-seok laughed as he saw the two people with their mouths agape.

“I came to visit the drama set for the first time. Are you okay?”

“Huh? Oh, yes. Yes. Yes!”

“We’re fine! Totally fine!”

The two people, who had been nodding their heads at Ji-seok’s question, suddenly snapped out of it.

“Wait. Juice. There should be juice here!”

“Isn’t juice too sweet? Don’t you have something else to drink for your health?”

“Oh, oh. Is that so. Then what should we give him…”

They turned their attention to the other side. Ji-seok spoke as he watched the two people who were restless. He didn’t act like this when he was in their position. Seo-jun must be really amazing.

“First, let’s sit down.”

“Yes. Yes. Right. Lee Seo-jun must be tired too.”

“Isn’t the chair too hard!? Cushion! Cushion!”

Writer So Eun-jin went out of the set to look for a cushion. Seo-jun and Ji-seok blinked their eyes. In no time, Director Choi Min-sung also disappeared to get some snacks. Only the two of them were left in the empty set.

“…I don’t need a cushion.”

“They all seem to like you very much…”

Soon, the two people came back.

Writer So Eun-jin brought three cushions wrapped in plastic, and Director Choi Min-sung brought a bunch of snacks and drinks, as if he had raided a convenience store. They finally calmed down and sat on the chairs.

As Seo-jun sat on the cushion and drank orange juice, the two people looked at him with an emotional expression. Tears filled their eyes.

They had to be happy. It was a dream come true!