Superstar From Age 0

The filming in Cheonan was over and the crew headed to have dinner.

The menu was pork belly.

Thinly sliced pork belly was sizzling on the charcoal grill.

Since there was no filming tomorrow and they had to travel from Cheonan to Daegu, some of the staff members drank alcohol.

“Just don't drink too much if you don't want to get motion sickness on the bus.”

The assistant director's words made everyone nod and raise their glasses.

The director laughed heartily as he enjoyed the smooth liquor.

He and the assistant director were discussing the filming in Daegu.

The only actor in the noisy dining table, seo-jun, and his manager, Ahn Da Ho, also started to enjoy their meal.

Ahn Da Ho picked up a pair of tongs and placed a thick piece of pork belly on the hot plate over the charcoal.

It started to cook with a sizzling sound.

Seo-jun opened the lid of the rice cooker and opened his mouth.

“Da Ho hyung. I'm going to start dieting from now on.”

“From now on?”

“Yes. We’re going to Busan right after Daegu, right?”

He had to start losing weight seriously when he got to Busan.

He had a promise with his mom and dad, and he didn't plan to lose too much weight, but he wanted to gradually reduce his food intake and lose weight from now on.

Ahn Da Ho looked at Seo-jun with a worried face for a moment and nodded.

He couldn't stop him since he said he wouldn't lose too much weight.

“Okay. But let me know if you feel anything wrong with your body.”

“Okay.”

“Then you can't eat much for dinner. I should have fed you more at lunch.”

Ahn Da Ho said regretfully as he flipped the meat, wishing he could feed him one more bite.

Seo-jun smiled.

“Then there's no point in dieting.”

“Well, that's true but…”

Ahn Da Ho remembered the diet plan he had prepared in advance and put some meat in front of Seo-jun. Seo-jun ate the crispy pork belly and unknowingly opened his mouth.

“…Maybe I should have started tomorrow?”

Diet starts tomorrow.

Ahn Da Ho burst into laughter at Seo-jun's words.

***

Seo-jun returned to his accommodation, washed up, and flopped down on the fluffy bed.

In the end, he couldn't eat much for his diet, but he wasn't hungry either.

Hmm.

He enjoyed the coziness of the bed with half-closed eyes and reached out for his phone.

He sent a message to his mom and dad and replied to the messages from his friends that came while he was filming.

Kim Haun: I passed Director Woo Jeong-han's audition.

[Congrats! The script was fun.

Kim Haun: It seems like it will be a hit since you said so??

Kim Haun: The director will like it too.

Seo-jun smiled at Kim Haun's message.

He hoped there would be no actors like Kim Jin-cheol in Director Woo Jeong-han's set.

‘I hope they don't show it even if they are.’

Seo-jun pursed his lips and tapped his phone.

[When is the filming?

Kim Haun: It seems like it will start next year after preparing for this and that.

‘Come to think of it, the director of photography is here.’

He probably would go straight to Director Woo Jeong-han's work after finishing [Tentative Title: Travel].

Kim Han-seok: Seo-jun hyung!

Kim Han-seok: Where are you now?

[Cheonan. Going to Daegu tomorrow.

Kim Han-seok: Then you'll be in Busan soon!

Kim Han-seok: I'm all ready to go to Busan too??

Kim Han-seok: I practiced a lot too!

Kim Han-seok: (Picture)

Seo-jun smiled at the picture Kim Han-seok sent.

While Seo-jun was filming, Kim Han-seok also worked hard to analyze and practice his character.

There were many reviews of the works that Seo-jun recommended piled up.

Next to it was [Tentative Title: Travel]'s script that turned black with analysis of ‘Kwon Yoo-chan’.

[Do you need a new script?

Kim Han-seok: ?? I'm going to get a new one when I go to Busan.

Kim Han-seok: See you in Busan!

He felt proud of his hard-working brother somehow.

Seo-jun smiled brightly and sent a reply.

[Okay.

***

In front of Gyesan Cathedral in Daegu.

Jung Ga-ram captured the cathedral on his camera.

“Gyesan Cathedral was built over 100 years ago. You know that Catholicism was persecuted in the Joseon Dynasty, right? So the Catholic believers moved to remote areas from the capital and settled there. Daegu was one of those places.”

The two tall spires and the crosses on top of them.

The green roof and the red bricks added charm to the cathedral.

“Also, Gyesan Cathedral is one of the three major cathedrals in Korea, along with Jeondong Cathedral in Jeonju and Myeongdong Cathedral in Seoul. Shall we go inside? There are people praying inside, so I’ll be quiet from now on.”

Jung Ga-ram entered the cathedral through the wide open door.

The inside of the cathedral was quiet with people praying and people looking around.

‘I’ll have to add subtitles later.’

Jung Ga-ram quietly filmed around with his camera.

The wooden chairs in the cathedral were arranged in four long rows, and the gray bricks formed the pillars of the cathedral in a round arch shape.

The white walls had arched windows made of stained glass that shone in the sunlight.

Jung Ga-ram walked quietly forward.

At the end of the cathedral, there was a platform with a golden cross on it.

On the opposite wall, there was a statue of Virgin Mary, and on both sides of it, there were four stained glass windows that seemed to surround the statue.

The stained glass windows depicted four saints.

Some believers were praying and the stained glass windows with the saints’ faces shone more brightly in the light coming from outside.

The people who were looking around the cathedral also lightly clasped their hands together, as if they were influenced by the serene and devout atmosphere.

But Jung Ga-ram's heart was rather restless.

He looked around with shaky eyes and unknowingly sat down.

His phone screen fixed on a selfie stick tilted slightly and captured Jung Ga-ram's face.

‘I didn't come here for this…’

Jung Ga-ram clasped his trembling hands together.

‘No. No…’

Maybe he wanted to do this since he saw the word ‘cathedral’.

He bowed his head slightly and closed his eyes.

His lips were tightly closed and his hands were shaking slightly.

His back looked like he was praying earnestly.

The director of photography captured Jung Ga-ram's back on his camera.

***

The filming in Daegu was over and Seo-jun and the crew packed their bags and headed to their accommodation in Busan.

The car carrying Seo-jun entered the parking lot of the accommodation.

“Seo-jun. Look over there.”

At Ahn Da Ho's words from the driver's seat, seo-jun looked out the window and chuckled.

Kim Han-seok, who had arrived earlier, was waving his arms at the accommodation.

“Seo-jun hyung!”

“Han-seok.”

Kim Han-seok hugged Seo-jun as he got out of the car.

“You came earlier?”

“Yes. I left this morning. It was so hard to get up in the morning.”

Seo-jun laughed at Kim Han-seok's tired expression.

Meanwhile, Ahn Da Ho and Kim Han-seok's manager greeted each other.

Kim Han-seok's manager said that he had sent him along because he wanted to go with Seo-jun, but he wasn't sure if it was a bother.

Ahn Da Ho waved his hand and smiled.

“Seo-jun was less bored and happier than going alone.”

They didn't even notice how time flew by as they practiced their acting.

They chatted like that until the bus carrying the staff arrived.

“Hello!”

Kim Han-seok greeted Director Min Hee-kyung and the staff, whom he met for the first time after the filming in Busan.

He helped Seo-jun carry his luggage to the accommodation.

***

A meeting room prepared in one of the accommodations.

Director Min Hee-kyung, who was talking with the assistant director, the art director, and the director of photography, saw Seo-jun and Kim Han-seok enter with their scripts and practice their lines.

“Seo-jun. Han-seok.”

“Yes?”

Seo-jun and Kim Han-seok looked up from their scripts at Director Min Hee-kyung's call.

“I'm thinking of going to the filming site now. Do you want to come with me? You can check how it looks like.”

“Yes.”

“Yes!”

Seo-jun and Kim Han-seok quickly answered Director Min Hee-kyung's words.

***

The filming site was not far from the accommodation.

The background in Busan for [Tentative Title: Travel] was ‘Kwon Yoo-chan's house’, which was located in Daldongne, a neighborhood full of crumbling buildings.

The location manager found a similar neighborhood for filming. It was hard for cars to enter Daldongne, so Seo-jun and his party got off the car and walked up.

“These two houses are empty and this one is still inhabited. There's a hole-in-the-wall store over there. There's not much stuff in it, though.”

Seo-jun and Kim Han-seok looked around with curious eyes at the art director's words.

They had seen this kind of neighborhood on TV or in works, but it was their first time seeing it in real life.

They reached an old house after climbing up the winding and narrow alleyway.

“Here it is.”

Seo-jun and Kim Han-seok looked at the rusty gate at the art director's words.

The director of photography opened his mouth.

“It’ll be hard to bring the equipment here.”

“We fixed up the houses next to it too. You can put your equipment here and have some people stay here. There's also a resting space for managers and staff.”

There was a separate accommodation near the filming site, but they also needed a space for managers to stay while Seo-jun and Kim Han-seok were filming, and a space for actors to stay while preparing for filming.

It was better to go inside somewhere than to set up a tent in the increasingly cold weather.

“Shall we go in then?”

Director Min Hee-kyung led the way as he had seen this place several times when it was abandoned, during repairs, and in photos.

The first of the two attached rooms on the left.

They opened the door with slightly broken edges and saw an old wallpaper, an old drawer, and a neatly arranged bedding.

And on the wall near the entrance, there was a low desk with torn books and stationery neatly arranged on it.

Kim Han-seok took off his shoes and entered the room.

Then he imagined how Kwon Yoo-chan lived in this room.

‘He ate here, slept here under this blanket, wore clothes here.’

He vividly imagined Kwon Yoo-chan's life.

Seo-jun and Director Min Hee-kyung watched Kim Han-seok examine the room without blinking and smiled.

The art director also felt proud of the actor's attitude.

“And this is his father's room.”

The right room had a cold atmosphere unlike Kwon Yoo-chan's room with signs of life.

A thick TV that was rare these days, a few pieces of clothes scattered around, a half-flipped blanket.

And empty soju bottles and crumpled cigarette packs were lying in the corner.

“Director. Does this work?”

Kim Han-seok asked curiously as he pointed at the TV. It looked so old that Seo-jun thought it wouldn't work either.

The art director smiled and said.

“Of course it does.”

“Wow!”

Everyone laughed at Seo-jun and Kim Han-seok's reactions.

“This is the kitchen. This is the bathroom.”

There were fewer dishes in the kitchen than in a normal household.

The refrigerator also looked very old, and the pots and pans had their coating peeled off.

The bathroom without a sink was dirty.

The art director smiled and said to Seo-jun and Kim Han-seok's shaking eyes.

“It's not real mold, we made it.”

“…You did a great job.”

The art director chuckled at Seo-jun's admiration.

“We installed a new boiler, so the water is warm. You can use lukewarm water that doesn't make steam when you act. The floor is also warm.”

The art team had a hard time keeping the exterior as it was and flipping the interior over for a warmer and more comfortable filming.

“I guess there's nothing more to fix.”

The art director smiled proudly at Director Min Hee-kyung's okay and Seo-jun and Kim Han-seok's applause.

***

And the next day.

The filming in Busan began.