Superstar From Age 0

Chapter 256

The waiting room for the practical exam at Mirinae Arts High School.

The students who were assigned to the last time slot started to enter one by one.

The guardians were not allowed to enter the waiting room, so they could only give their nervous children some last-minute advice and encouragement at the door.

Im here!

You came early, huh?

There were no numbers on the chairs, so the students who were close to each other sat together.

Some students were reading their prepared scripts to ease their anxiety, while others were chatting in low voices to distract themselves.

Do you think well take the exam with Lee Seo-jun?

I wonder. There was no sighting of him online, right?

Yeah. None of the students from the previous time slots saw him either.

Then he must be in our time slot.

One student sighed lightly.

I hope hes not right in front of me.

The boy who was sitting right behind the two students shuddered.

Why?

Because if the person in front of you does well, it leaves a strong impression.

Thats true.

The other students in the waiting room unconsciously listened to their conversation.

Can you imagine how impressive Lee Seo-juns acting would be? The person who goes after him would get a low score even if they do well.

Do you think so?

The teachers might be impartial, but they cant be completely unaffected.

The boy who was sitting behind them sighed inwardly.

Exam number 541, Woo Jae-hyuk.

Three years ago, his exam number was 275, right after Lee Seo-juns 274.

After the practical exam, Lee Seo-jun got accepted to Yeoul Arts Middle School and even starred in a blockbuster movie called Reversal, while Woo Jae-hyuk failed to get into Yeoul Arts Middle School and went to a regular middle school.

Of course, its not Lee Seo-juns fault.

He would be lying if he said he didnt have any resentment in his heart.

Why did he have to apply to the same school as him, why did he have to take the exam on the same day as him, why did he have to be right before him?

But that resentment soon disappeared.

It was after he saw the videos of the students who got into Yeoul Arts Middle School on YouTube.

He was stunned by Lee Seo-juns performance.

He wondered how shocked and amazed the teachers who saw him in person must have been.

He thought that anyone who followed Lee Seo-jun would inevitably be compared to him, no matter how well they acted.

And he realized something else as he became a middle school student and auditioned for various works.

There were child actors who were better than him even in small plays.

And among those child actors, there were some who didnt get cast.

Thats when Woo Jae-hyuk realized how harsh the world he was standing in was.

This world was like that.

The person who auditioned right before you could be an Academy Award winner, or your rival could be a Cannes Film Festival winner.

Well, those actors wouldnt audition for these roles anyway.

Woo Jae-hyuk laughed bitterly as he thought of Lee Seo-jun, an exceptional top star.

If it wasnt for the entrance exam, he would never have to audition with Lee Seo-jun.

That meant that his competitors were not easy either.

A world full of people who had better skills than him.

So Woo Jae-hyuk decided to hone his skills more.

I wont be overshadowed by Lee Seo-jun or anyone else!

That was his determination, but he still prayed hard in his heart when he applied for Mirinae Arts High School.

Im not good enough yet, so please let Lee Seo-jun be behind me!

He submitted his application form as soon as possible, but he never dreamed that they would randomly decide the order of the practical exam.

The probability of Lee Seo-jun being behind me is lower than the probability of him being among the 20 people in front of me.

But at least he wouldnt be right before him like in Yeoul Arts Middle School.

Right?

Woo Jae-hyuk was trying to read his script that wouldnt sink into his head because of his nervousness when the door of the waiting room opened.

Ill wait for you in the car. Call me when youre done.

Okay. Da-ho hyung.

A man who seemed to be his guardian and a familiar voice were heard.

The students in the waiting room looked up at the sound of a voice that was similar but different from what they heard on media.

Holy crap. Its Lee Seo-jun!

It was Lee Seo-jun.

The students who saw him for the first time, as well as Woo Jae-hyuk who saw him for the second time after three years, gaped at the sight of the real star.

Lee Seo-jun smiled faintly at their dumbfounded reactions and sat on an empty chair.

Excuse me

Hm?

One of the students who was near Lee Seo-jun bravely spoke to him.

Wow!

The eyes of the other students sparkled.

Can I ask you what your exam number is?

Lee Seo-jun tilted his head and answered.

Its 542.

! I see! Thank you! Oh, finish reading your script!

? Okay.

542!

Hes the last one!

Woo Jae-hyuk and the other students breathed a sigh of relief.

And then they all took out their phones.

The internet started to buzz with sightings of Lee Seo-jun.

***

Hello! Im exam number 541, Woo Jae-hyuk!

The teachers gathered their strength for the last practical exam.

To be honest, exam number 542, Lee Seo-jun, was almost guaranteed to pass, so the real final exam was this 541 student.

They smiled gently at Woo Jae-hyuk who was very nervous and opened their mouths.

Please introduce yourself and do a free acting.

Yes!

Woo Jae-hyuk relaxed a bit after introducing himself and prepared for his free acting.

My score might not be completely unaffected by Lee Seo-jun.

He looked at the camera that was recording and took a deep breath in and out.

He was going to act as one of the characters from a youth play.

The teachers nodded their heads as they watched Woo Jae-hyuks performance.

They didnt expect much from him since he didnt have many works under his belt, but he did very well.

They forgot about scoring for a moment and just watched his acting.

Thank you!

Woo Jae-hyuk bowed deeply after giving his best performance and left the exam room.

The teachers put on serious expressions and gave him his score.

Come to think of it, there werent many students who acted as the characters that Lee Seo-jun did.

They must have realized it.

Three years ago, there were no students who acted as the characters that Lee Seo-jun did in the YouTube videos of the students who got into Yeoul Arts Middle School.

Theres already a perfect answer, so showing a different acting would only make them look inferior.

Are they stubborn or blind?

They wondered about the students who still chose to act as those characters.

It seemed like both of them had the skills.

The teachers shook their heads as they recalled the students who acted as Dan-jong and Go Ju-won.

Even if they have a different interpretation, its hard to get a decent score if theyre not as good as Lee Seo-juns acting.

And now it was time for the perfect answer, Lee Seo-jun.

***

Number 542. Come in.

Yes.

Lee Seo-jun entered the exam room.

The teachers who had finished scoring all the students felt relieved and relaxed a bit, but they tensed up again as they saw Lee Seo-jun coming in.

They tried to hide their anticipation and kept a straight face, but their eyes were shining.

They were not in the posture of judges, but of spectators who came to watch a very short play for two minutes.

Hello. Im number 542, Lee Seo-jun.

He was the last student of Mirinae Arts High School, and the surest candidate to pass, as expected by the teachers, Lee Seo-jun himself, the other students, and everyone else.

Please introduce yourself and do a free acting.

The second grade teacher smiled brightly and said.

It was a smile that seemed to erase all the fatigue that had accumulated from the morning and afternoon exams.

The other two teachers were no different.

Yes.

Lee Seo-jun nodded and introduced himself.

His introduction was longer than when he took the Yeoul Arts Middle School exam.

The content was similar, saying that he loved acting and wanted to continue working hard on his projects, but he had more works and awards to mention.

The teachers almost clapped their hands at the works and achievements that flowed out of Lee Seo-juns mouth.

It was hard to believe that this was only a 16-year-olds resume.

Then Ill start my free acting.

Lee Seo-juns words made the teachers swallow their saliva.

Would it be a tense acting like in Yeoul Arts Middle School exam, or a cold villain acting like Jin Nara in Shadowman?

The three of them held their breath and only looked at Lee Seo-jun in front of them.

His face turned pale in an instant.

His trembling eyes that looked at someone, his lips that tried to smile as usual. But his heart was burning.

The boy struggled to speak.

Do you like Yoon Seon-woo?

The boy tried to keep his voice from shaking.

He looked at the surprised girl with warm eyes, with wounded eyes.

You like Yoon Seon-woo, right? Youre happy when hes happy, right? Youre sad when hes sad. Your heart beats so fast when he holds your hand that it feels like its going to break, and it hurts so much when he turns his back on you, right?

How do you know that, she seemed to ask with a puzzled face.

He maintained the smile that he always showed to her, but his face eventually crumbled.

How could she not notice when he said so much?

That meant that her attention was entirely on Yoon Seon-woo.

He clenched his heart that felt like it was being squeezed by pain.

He had always smiled at her.

He spoke like her reliable friend as usual.

Go now. Yoon Seon-woo is still at the airport.

His eyes followed her grateful expression and her leaving figure.

He didnt blink until she became a dot and faded away.

His vision blurred.

The pain and sorrow that he had been holding back burst out.

I feel the same way.

He barely uttered a word and his chin trembled.

Tears wetted his pale cheeks.

He poured out his heart that he had hidden until she left.

In a place where no one could hear him, he confessed like that.

Im happy when you smile. Im sad when youre sad. Im happy when youre happy. My heart beats so fast when you hold my hand that it feels like its going to break, and it hurts so much when you turn your back on me that it feels like my heart is being crushed.

He grabbed his chest hard.

His pain seemed to be visible as much as the wrinkles on his clothes.

It hurts so much right now that I feel like Im going to die.

It felt like time had stopped.

It was painful to breathe.

He wanted to hold her back many times.

He wanted to confess many times. But he didnt do that.

I dont have any greedy thoughts

Yoon Seon-woo liked her too, so it would be a happy ending if he gave up his love.

He was satisfied as long as she was happy.

So Just once. Just once.

He remembered.

That dazzling and radiant smile.

The smile that made him unable to take his eyes off her for a single moment, the smile that made the whole world look beautiful.

The smile that she gave to Yoon Seon-woo.

Please smile at me like that.

The tears that ran down his cheeks fell from his chin to the floor.

***

Thank you.

He returned to his normal face and wiped his tears with a tissue that he had prepared in advance.

The boy who gave up his love for the happiness of the person he loved turned into an ordinary boy who came to take the exam in an instant.

Hes not ordinary.

The teachers who were mesmerized by his first word came to their senses at Lee Seo-juns words.

Oh, yes. You did well. You can go now.

They watched him bow and leave the exam room.

The three teachers thought the same thing at the same time.

Is he really in love with someone?!