Superstar From Age 0

Seo-jun waited for Kim Han-seok while browsing the internet articles on his phone.

The internet was ablaze with various articles, unlike the chilly weather outside.

[Kim Jong-ho x Lee Ji-seok, filming for the movie ‘One Round’!]

[Director Choi Dae-man's new work starring Kim Jong-ho and Lee Ji-seok!]

[Audition over! Actor Lee Seo-jun casted!]

[What is actor Lee Seo-jun's next work?]

[Marina Studio's new hero, Phantom, appears!]

[The beginning of a new hero series, ‘Phantom’!]

[‘Phantom’ premieres this Saturday!]

-Wow, Kim Jong-ho and Lee Ji-seok, it's been a long time since they worked together!

=And they have Director Choi Dae-man of Escape too.

=…Is this a Lee Seo-jun fan club without Lee Seo-jun?

=I thought he would make a surprise appearance, but he's filming another movie lol

=Too bad.

-Next year will be explosive.

=222 I don't know about the others, but I have to avoid Lee Seo-jun's work and ‘One Round’.

=What's the title of Lee Seo-jun's movie?

=It seems like it hasn't been decided yet.

-Ooh! A new hero from the Marina Studio!

=They must be promoting a lot. I see it on TV all the time and posters are everywhere.

=It's the first start of the season that will last for about 10 years. They have to make a good first movie so that the other heroes that come out later can do well at the box office.

-I booked the first day! I have to go see it!

=222 If you don't want spoilers, you have to go on the first day!

Lee Ji-seok and Kim Jong-ho were filming a movie together with Director Choi Dae-man, and a new hero movie came out from the Marina Studio.

“I wonder what kind of movies they are.”

‘One Round’ and ‘Phantom’.

Seo-jun checked his schedule and wondered when he could go see the movies.

His friends were going on Saturday, but he didn't know if he would finish filming by then.

‘You never know what might happen.’

The weather could be unpredictable, or the filming could be interrupted by people.

‘When would be a good time to go?’

He was thinking about it when he heard Kim Han-seok's voice.

“Seo-jun hyung! I got permission from my parents!”

“Really? Then let's go?”

“Yes!”

***

Kim Han-seok put his bag on the floor and sat on a chair.

He looked around in awe at Seo-jun's practice room.

“As expected, seo-jun hyung's practice room is no joke.”

One wall was covered with mirrors, and cameras were hanging everywhere.

Who would think that someone would have such a practice room in their home?

Seo-jun brought some juice and smiled as he saw Kim Han-seok admiring his surroundings.

He sat down next to him.

“Did you read the script?”

“Yes. But I only read it once during break time.”

“That's impressive considering you didn't have much break time.”

Seo-jun nodded his head with a pleased smile at Kim Han-seok's words.

“Then why don't you tell me how you felt about the character ‘Kwon Yoon-chan’?”

“Um. Yes.”

Kim Han-seok rolled his eyes for a moment and then talked about his thoughts on ‘Kwon Yoon-chan’ as he read the script.

In the meantime, seo-jun wrote something on a white paper.

Was it an evaluation of himself?

He wanted to see it, but he also didn't want to see it.

He tried to hold back his gaze from looking at the paper and continued to talk about his thoughts on ‘Kwon Yoon-chan’. He soon closed his mouth.

“That's what I thought.”

“Really? You analyzed him in detail for reading it once.”

“Hehe.”

Kim Han-seok smiled brightly at Seo-jun's compliment.

“Here, this.”

Seo-jun handed him the paper.

Kim Han-seok looked at the paper with a slightly nervous face.

It was different from what he expected.

Instead of an evaluation of himself, there were short and long sentences written on the paper.

There were also words.

‘…They look like movie titles.’

“I wrote down some works that have characters with similar emotions to yours based on your analysis.”

“…?”

“They are short films or independent films, not dramas or movies. And these are the ones that I have scripts and videos at home.”

Kim Han-seok looked at the paper again. There were more than twenty works listed.

…He didn't know where to start being surprised.

Whether it was surprising that he had watched all these independent films, or that he had the scripts and videos, or that he remembered them all, or that he not only remembered the works but also the characters.

“Seo-jun hyung. Do you remember all these?”

“Yeah. I watch them several times if they are interesting.”

That's not the problem…

Kim Han-seok swallowed the words that he couldn't say out loud and tilted his head.

“But why?”

“We’re going to watch them now.”

Kim Han-seok blinked his eyes at Seo-jun's words.

“While watching the movies, let's analyze what's different and what's similar to Kwon Yoon-chan, and how the other actors acted on those similarities. It’ll be fun, right?”

Seo-jun smiled brightly and Kim Han-seok's eyes trembled.

***

After watching four short independent films, seo-jun and Kim Han-seok took a break and ate some snacks prepared by Seo Eun-hye.

Kim Han-seok felt his brain slowly moving again thanks to the sugar from the roll cake.

“…It's really hard to watch movies while analyzing them.”

Especially since he had to compare them to ‘Kwon Yoon-chan’ all the time.

Kim Han-seok looked at the paper in his hand.

It was a copy of the scripts of the independent films they had just watched, and it had everything they had analyzed while watching the movies.

From the actor's fingertips to toes, Kim Han-seok had to answer whenever Seo-jun asked.

It was easy and hard because there was no right answer to his questions.

“Really?”

I thought it was fun.

He couldn't say that to Kim Han-seok who looked exhausted.

He just rolled his eyes.

“I didn't even do this much for school exams.”

If he had studied like this, he would have been the top student in the school.

He laughed at himself for thinking that.

They filled their stomachs and took a break for a while.

Seo-jun opened his mouth.

“Shall we analyze again?”

“Yes!”

Kim Han-seok grabbed his pen and looked at the screen.

Seo-jun smiled softly as he saw him.

He could see that he wanted to do well even though he was tired.

‘Should I help him a little?’

A soft and warm energy flowed from Seo-jun and wrapped around Kim Han-seok's body.

Then Kim Han-seok's complexion improved.

Kim Han-seok got out of the car after having dinner at Seo-jun's house.

He bowed to Lee Min-jun, who was sitting in the driver's seat, and greeted Seo-jun, who also got out of the car.

“Thank you for the ride. Drive safely. Seo-jun hyung.”

“Wait a minute. Han-seok, take this.”

Seo-jun handed Kim Han-seok a bag. Kim Han-seok was surprised by the heavy weight.

“What is this?”

“I collected some scripts that I thought you might enjoy reading.”

“…Really?”

“Read as much as you can and write a review. The review should be related to Kwon Yoon-chan, like when we watched the movie earlier. You can write about the similarities and differences between other characters and Kwon Yoon-chan, or what Kwon Yoon-chan would have done in this situation.”

Seo-jun smiled brightly and said, Kim Han-seok froze.

Lee Min-jun chuckled at the sight of the two kids.

“We have a shoot on Friday, so let's do character analysis by tomorrow and practice acting for the next two days.”

Kim Han-seok broke into a cold sweat from the heavy homework.

***

Thursday, a day before the shoot.

Kim Han-seok, who had finished character analysis and started practicing acting seriously from Wednesday, was lying on his desk.

His friends shook their heads.

He came with a mountain of scripts yesterday and read them all during break time and lunch time, writing reviews. Today, he collapsed as if his soul had left his body.

“Kim Han-seok. Are you alive?”

“…No…”

“Is it that hard to practice with your senior?”

Kim Han-seok lifted his head at his friend's question.

“He keeps asking me what I was thinking when I was acting. How would it feel if I went deeper? How would Kwon Yoon-chan feel in the same situation?.. Is it because I've never done such detailed analysis before? It's so hard to answer.”

Seo-jun tried his best to draw out Kim Han-seok's thoughts.

Seo-jun's analysis was Seo-jun's analysis.

It was Kim Han-seok's acting, so he needed Kim Han-seok's analysis.

He asked questions for every detail and every action, so that Kim Han-seok could dig deeper into his superficial analysis and think more deeply.

“There's no right answer either.”

He learned various expressions for the same emotion by watching other actors’ performances for two days.

Among them, which one resembled ‘Kwon Yoon-chan’ the most and what aspects should he emphasize and improve were entirely up to Kim Han-seok.

Seo-jun made that clear.

“But wouldn't it be better if your senior acted and you just followed him? His acting must be amazing.”

“I think Seo-jun hyung wouldn't like that.”

Kim Han-seok shook his head and said.

Imitation may be the mother of creation, but that would be just copying.

‘I don't want to do that either.’

The boy who had been thinking for a while said.

“But that seems impossible too? Can anyone act like Lee Hyun-woo after watching Survivors?”

“That's true. I can't do that.”

The kids nodded their heads at once.

Kim Han-seok smiled faintly and opened his mouth.

“But the practice ends today since we have a shoot tomorrow.”

“That's a relief.”

“You're going to watch Phantom after the shoot, right?”

“Kim Han-seok! Lee Seo-jun senior is here!”

Kim Han-seok, who was about to answer his friend's question, jumped up from his seat.

The eyes of the first graders also turned to the classroom door.

Seo-jun was waving his hand with a smile.

“Hyung! What are you doing here?”

“The shoot has been delayed by a day.”

“…What?”

Kim Han-seok blinked at Seo-jun's words.

The shoot was supposed to be tomorrow, but it was postponed by a day?

Kim Han-seok's mouth opened wide as he understood Seo-jun's words.

“So I thought we’d practice somewhere else today. I thought we wouldn't have time, but luckily we do.”

Seo-jun said with a bright smile, Kim Han-seok's eyes trembled.

The kids who were watching him prayed for Kim Han-seok, whose practice had been extended by a day.

***

Thursday, a day before the shoot.

The movie theater was bustling with people.

The faces of the people waiting for the movie to start were full of anticipation.

They all looked like they were waiting for the same movie, holding the same poster. That was also true for Mirinae Kids.

Kang Jae-han said,

“I wonder if Seo-jun and Han-seok have arrived?”

“They went down to Busan last night because the set is in Busan. They probably started shooting today.”

“Didn't they say they would shoot on Friday?”

Today was Saturday. That's why the kids could come to watch the movie.

Han Jinho asked, Yang Ju-hee answered.

“It was delayed by a day.”

“Really?”

“So Han-seok was dying…”

Kim Joo-kyung said, the kids laughed.

The shoot was delayed by a day, so the practice with Seo-jun was extended by a day.

“Seo-jun is strict about acting.”

“But he's also lenient.”

He was harsh to actors who acted casually, but he was gentle to actors who loved acting.

They all knew Seo-jun well.

“He’ll learn a lot from the practice, even if it's hard.”

“I didn't know there were so many movies in the world. We watched foreign movies too.”

“And Seo-jun added the subtitles himself.”

The kids giggled and the voice of the theater staff came to their ears.

“The screening of ‘Phantom’ in Theater 3 will start soon! Please enter if you are going to watch it.”

The people who were gathered got up one by one.

From young children who looked like elementary school students to adults who looked like office workers, they couldn't hide their excitement.

Today was the day of the release of Marina Studio's new hero, the first hero movie of Season 2, [Phantom].

“Let's go in too.”

“Yeah.”

The kids who were full of expectation entered the theater.

“I wonder if it came out well?”

“It must have. It's the first movie of the new series.”

“Do you think Seo-jun is watching it in Busan?”

“Maybe not?”

The kids who sat in the seats written on their tickets closed their mouths slowly as the theater darkened.

Soon, a video showing the emergency exit came out and the screen turned black.

Marina Studio's logo appeared in the center of the screen.

Two hours later.

The door of Theater 3 opened wide.

The people who watched the movie came out one by one.

The people who were waiting outside looked at the expressions of the people who came out.

Would they marvel at Redbone's perfect acting, be surprised by Greenwing's directing, or cry like Shadowman?

Watching the reactions of the audience who watched Marina Studio's movie was also one of the fun things about watching Marina Studio's movie.

“…Huh?”

Song Yu-jung and Lim Ye-na, who were chatting about the reviews of [Phantom] that would come out in a few weeks, blinked their eyes.

Unlike their expectations of a passionate reaction, the audience's reaction was subtle.

‘Too… quiet?’

It was too quiet for a Marina Studio movie that ended with a cookie video that made people look forward to the next episode.

It seemed like it wasn't boring, but there was a strange disappointment in the air.

Song Yu-jung and Im Ye-na looked at each other.

They felt a sudden anxiety.

Han Jinho, who turned his head slightly and looked at Theater 3 where [Phantom] had been screened until a while ago, scratched his cheek.

“It was fun… but did I expect too much?”