Superstar From Age 0

The filming crew decided to stay in Busan for a while as they still had some work to do, while the actors returned to Seoul first.

It was Monday tomorrow, and they had to leave early in the morning to send the two child actors to school.

By the time they arrived in Seoul, it was before lunchtime.

After dropping off Kim Han-seok, who was full of drowsiness, seo-jun headed home.

“Take care. Da Ho hyung.”

“Seo-jun, you too. Rest well. See you the day after tomorrow.”

Seo-jun, who got off with his luggage, waved his hand toward Ahn Da Ho in the apartment parking lot. Ahn Da Ho, who was sitting in the driver's seat, also waved his hand with a smile.

Knowing that Ahn Da Ho would not leave until he went inside, seo-jun lowered his waving hand and moved his steps first.

As Seo-jun thought, only after seeing Seo-jun enter with his luggage did the big car leave the parking lot.

***

Ding-dong-ding-dong.

Seo Eun-hye and Lee Min-jun smiled at the familiar sound of the doorbell after receiving a call from Ahn Da Ho that Seo-jun had arrived.

“Seo-jun must be here.”

“I guess so.”

A moment later, the door opened and as expected, their son who had gone to Busan for filming came in.

“I'm back!”

“Welcome back.”

“Did you have a good trip?”

Seo-jun smiled brightly and hugged Seo Eun-hye and Lee Min-jun tightly.

The couple laughed at their son who was still playful even though he was a high school student.

Lee Min-jun sniffed his nose.

“Did you go to the sea in Busan? I think I smell a bit of the sea.”

“Really? I wasn't at the sea for that long.”

Seo-jun also sniffed his nose. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Seo Eun-hye smiled at the sight of her father and son who looked alike.

“Were there a lot of people at the sea?”

“No. We filmed before sunrise and it wasn't a big place like Gwangalli or Haeundae, so there weren't many people.”

“What time did you go?”

“Around 5 o’clock?”

“You got up early!”

“Did you have breakfast?”

“There was a 24-hour restaurant nearby, so I ate there with the director and the staff.”

They continued their conversation as they organized Seo-jun's luggage.

While Seo-jun put his laundry in the washing machine, seo Eun-hye and Lee Min-jun sorted out Seo-jun's remaining luggage.

They were used to organizing luggage since they did it every time they came back from America.

It was done quickly.

After organizing their luggage, they had a simple lunch of noodle soup.

The warm soup seemed to relieve the fatigue that had accumulated from traveling.

The couple smiled softly at Seo-jun's face that was melting with sleepiness.

“Aren't you tired? Do you want to take a nap?”

“I’ll wake you up before dinner.”

Seo-jun shook his head at his parents’ words.

“I'm fine. I'm not that tired.”

He had better physical strength than ordinary people, so he wasn't that tired.

It was a very small fatigue that would be relieved after a short rest.

After lunch, it was an ordinary weekend.

Seo Eun-hye continued her translation work that she couldn't finish on weekdays in her bedroom, and Lee Min-jun and Seo-jun were lying on the sofa in the living room.

Lee Min-jun, who was watching television on the sofa, glanced at Seo-jun who was looking at his phone.

Seo-jun's appearance of looking intently at his phone screen with earphones in both ears was awkward.

‘It wouldn't be such an awkward sight for ordinary kids.’

Seo-jun usually read scripts or watched movies or dramas, so it was an unfamiliar sight. He said he didn't like watching on his phone because the screen was small and only watched it when there was no television.

‘Is there something he wants to see so badly?’

It would be more comfortable to watch on television, Lee Min-jun tapped the remote control with his finger and opened his mouth.

“Son. What are you watching?”

“Oh, I'm watching YouTube.”

Seo-jun answered as he took one earphone out of his ear at Lee Min-jun's question.

“YouTube?”

Lee Min-jun thought for a moment and remembered [Working Title: Travel] and nodded his head.

Seo Eun-hye and Lee Min-jun did not interfere with Seo-jun's choice of work since he started his first work, but they did read the scripts. But that was only when he was young, and as Seo-jun grew up and showed his good performance, they gradually let go of their hands.

‘They wanted to watch Seo-jun's work without knowing it.’

[Survivors], which was released in the summer, added more strength to the couple's thoughts.

Of course, they cried a lot because they empathized with their son more.

‘…But this one had to read the script.’

Lee Min-jun looked at Seo-jun, who was watching YouTube, with a serious face.

He couldn't help but worry about his son who was acting as a terminally ill patient, no matter what role he played with enthusiasm and dedication.

***

Dinner was pork belly.

They prepared soybean paste stew to eat with the meat and various wraps such as lettuce and perilla leaves.

Onion slices, peppers, ssamjang, kimchi and other side dishes filled the table.

“It's Jeju black pork.”

“Wow!”

Sizzle.

The pork belly with good color was placed on the grill on one side of the table.

Lee Min-jun, who had tongs and scissors in his hands, cooked it well on both sides and cut it into bite-sized pieces and put it on a plate.

Seo-jun and the couple ate it deliciously according to their preferences.

“You're filming next week, right?”

“Yeah. They’re trying to film on weekends as much as possible so I only miss school on Mondays or Fridays, but… if there's not enough time, I might miss other days too.”

“How many days of attendance do you have?”

“I didn't film in the first semester, so I'm still okay.”

“That's good.”

“Did Han-seok do well?”

“Yeah. He passed at once.”

Oh.

An exclamation came out of the couple's mouths.

Seo-jun smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

Happy stories came and went during the happy meal time.

Eun-su, who lost her front teeth, said she would throw her teeth on the roof, which made Seo Eun-chan and Kim Su-ryeon suffer.

Subin contacted Professor Benjamin and started studying composition.

“I've been getting a lot of translation work in literature.”

“Really?”

Seo-jun blinked his eyes at his mother's words.

“I guess my skills have improved a lot from reading Seo-jun's English scripts.”

Seo Eun-hye had lived in the US for a while when Seo-jun was a baby, and even after coming to Korea, she maintained her English skills by teaching Korean to foreign students.

She read Seo-jun's English scripts as novels and improved her literary expression and vocabulary.

“It was a short fairy tale, but they said the translation was good.”

Thanks to the fairy tale that she translated at the suggestion of an acquaintance, which sold well even though it wasn't a bestseller, she was getting other translation requests as well.

“So I think I’ll be very busy.”

She said she would be very busy, but she looked happy.

Seo-jun smiled brightly at his mother's appearance.

It was a pleasant dinner.

***

After dinner, they decided to have some fruit for dessert.

Seo-jun and his parents sat around the living room table.

Today's fruit was a bright red apple.

Sliced apples were piled on a plate.

As Seo-jun ate an apple with a fork, seo Eun-hye and Lee Min-jun exchanged glances.

They nudged each other in the ribs, as if they couldn't communicate with just their eyes.

Seo-jun tilted his head, sensing the strange atmosphere.

“Hmm. Seo-jun.”

“Yeah?”

“You… are playing a terminally ill character in this movie, right…?”

Seo-jun, who was rolling his eyes at his dad's words, put down his fork and nodded.

“Yeah.”

“But being terminally ill means… you’re very sick, right?”

“That's right.”

“If you’re very sick… then your symptoms… will inevitably show up.”

Seo-jun blinked and tilted his head again.

Why are they saying such obvious things with such caution?

“I guess so?”

“So what mom and dad want to say is…”

The couple, who knew how much their son loved acting, how hard he worked, and how well he wanted to do, spoke carefully.

“It's good that you’re working hard on your acting, but… we hope you don't do it to the point of hurting your body.”

“We heard that some actors lose tens of kilograms just to act sick… You also lost some weight for the Busan shoot, right?”

‘…How did they know?’

Seo-jun unconsciously raised his hand to touch his cheek.

‘Even Da Ho hyung, who spends more time with me than mom and dad, was doubtful…’

He felt a bit uneasy.

Seeing their son's expression, seo Eun-hye and Lee Min-jun sighed.

It wasn't the first time that an actor played a terminally ill character, so it was well known how some actors acted.

Some actors lost so much weight that they looked like skeletons, and some looked barely able to move.

Usually, they wouldn't go that far.

‘But this is Seo-jun.’

They wouldn't be surprised if he halved his weight for the sake of acting as a terminally ill person.

If it was the director's opinion, the reliable manager would stop him, but what if it was the actor's wish?

As parents of an actor, they couldn't help but worry.

Seo-jun, who saw his parents’ worried faces, opened his mouth after thinking for a moment.

“How much is okay?”

“Huh?”

“I'm going to lose some weight anyway… Is it okay if my cheeks are a bit hollow? Like this?”

Seo-jun touched his cheeks and asked.

“…Is that okay?”

The couple, who didn't expect him to accept it so easily, looked at Seo-jun with wide eyes.

‘Well, I wanted to lose more, but…’

He had thought of losing some weight even if he didn't look like bones, but seeing his worried parents changed his mind.

“I can cover it with acting!”

He smiled confidently and said proudly.

Seo Eun-hye and Lee Min-jun breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.

Seo-jun also smiled brightly at his parents’ smiles.

**

A few days later.

It was the second day of shooting.

“Hello!”

“Welcome. Seo-jun!”

Seo-jun arrived at the set and greeted Min Hee-kyung, the director, and the cinematographer.

He headed to the dressing room to change his clothes.

The cinematographer, who was sensitive to changes on the screen, stared at Seo-jun's back as he walked away happily.

Min Hee-kyung tilted her head.

“Why are you like that?”

“Did Seo-jun not sleep well?”

“Huh?”

“…He looks a bit swollen compared to last week. Or is it just me?”

“Really? He looks the same to me.”

“Really? Did I see it wrong?”

As the cinematographer scratched his chin and tilted his head, Min Hee-kyung prepared for the shooting.

“Let's get ready for shooting!”

At Min Hee-kyung's words, the staff started to move.

They adjusted the direction of the lights and cleaned up the set.

This set was the protagonist Jung Ga-ram's house.

Seo-jun came out of the dressing room in his costume and the cinematographer's eyes lit up.

“Seo-jun, you’re swollen, aren't you?”

Seo-jun blinked and smiled sheepishly.

“I'm not swollen. I gained some weight.”

“You gained weight? Why? Don't you have to lose weight?”

The conversation between Seo-jun and the cinematographer made Min Hee-kyung open her eyes wide.

“Assistant director! Do you have last week's footage?”

Somehow last week's footage appeared.

The Seo-jun on the monitor was definitely thinner than today's Seo-jun.

“I thought it was because of the makeup…”

The director was moved by the sight of the actor who worked hard for the work.

***

A little later.

The shooting began.

Min Hee-kyung, who was more excited than usual, shouted loudly.

“Ready, action!”

Jung Ga-ram's room.

Jung Ga-ram sat on a chair and smiled at his phone. His face was reflected on the phone screen.

“Hello. Nice to meet you. I'm Ga-ram, a YouTuber who is uploading a video for the first time today.”

Jung Ga-ram's expression was a bit shy, showing that he was not used to filming. Despite that, the screen was clear and without backlight.

“I'm going to travel to Busan to see the sea from now on. The transportation is bus and train. I'm not going to go straight from Seoul to Busan, but I'm going to stop by here and there on the way. Today, I'm going to decide where to go first.”

Jung Ga-ram rolled his eyes awkwardly, as if he was uncomfortable looking at the camera, and spat out the words he had memorized.

The camera turned and showed the script on Jung Ga-ram's desk.

There were various colors of pens drawn here and there, showing how much he had revised it.

The names of the books on the bookshelf passed by.

“I have to go down from Seoul, so I made a lottery of the cities below Seoul. They are in this jar. I’ll pick one.”

Jung Ga-ram put his hand in the jar and fumbled around.

‘Please, somewhere with a lot of things to see!’

He unfolded the paper he had picked with a serious face.

[Suwon]

“Suwon! It's Suwon!”

Jung Ga-ram smiled brightly and said.

“The first destination is Suwon and I'm going to leave tomorrow. Please watch me have fun.”

He bowed his head and approached the phone to press the record button.

Then he checked his first recording with a slightly excited face.

“Ah, it didn't record!”

It was a mistake typical of a novice YouTuber.