Superstar From Age 0

The screen lit up and showed Jung Ga-ram's room.

Jung Ga-ram was sitting on a chair, smiling and looking at his phone.

“Hello. Nice to meet you. I'm Ga-ram, a new YouTuber who is uploading my first video 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, starting from today.”

Jung Ga-ram rolled his eyes awkwardly, as if he was not comfortable looking at the camera.

He recited the words he had memorized and drew a straw.

“My first destination is Suwon and I'm planning to leave tomorrow. Please stay tuned for more fun videos.”

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

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

“Ah, it didn't record!”

He made a rookie mistake that made some of Moviegoers and other people smile.

They had all experienced such a mistake at least once.

***

The first destination was Suwon.

The screen showed a mix of scenes that Jung Ga-ram had filmed himself and those that the director had filmed.

“I can walk on the Suwon Hwaseong Fortress at night when it's open, but today I'm only going to see Hwaseong Haenggung, honghwamun, and Yongyeon.”

The director seemed to have put some effort into it, as each place had a stunning scene that made people admire.

Moviegoers who were familiar with Korean architecture felt that way, let alone the foreigners.

They were naturally drawn to Jung Ga-ram's soft voice and the beautiful scenes.

After visiting Yongyeon, Jung Ga-ram returned to his accommodation, washed up quickly, and sat in front of his laptop.

“Editing. Editing.”

The sound of clicking the mouse was heard.

It was a short video and the editing was just cutting and pasting the scenes at appropriate places, so it didn't take long.

“Let's upload this with tomorrow's video.”

Jung Ga-ram smiled brightly.

****

The next day.

Jung Ga-ram started filming again.

“Today I'm going to see Suwon Hwaseong Fortress in daylight. I’ll start from Hwaseong Haenggung and go through Seojangdae, hwaseomun, Janganmun, and end at Hwahongmun. I saw Hwaseong Haenggung and Hwahongmun yesterday, but I wonder how they look like in daylight.”

Jung Ga-ram watched a martial arts performance in front of Hwaseong Haenggung and moved as planned.

The audience listened attentively to his chatter and the exotic scenery.

After finishing his tour, Jung Ga-ram returned to his accommodation and sat in front of his laptop again.

He clicked the mouse.

His eyes were busy looking at the laptop screen.

“Good. Let's upload it!”

Jung Ga-ram looked at the laptop screen with tense eyes.

Behind him, the camera zoomed in slowly until the screen changed to YouTube.

The mouse cursor moved by Jung Ga-ram clicked the upload button.

The first thing that caught Moviegoers’ eyes was the number of subscribers and views. It was an inevitable occupational disease.

[Subscribers 2]

[Views 2]

It seemed that they watched the video as soon as they got notified.

-Wow, it looks amazing at night! The moon is so big!

-Let's go there together next time!

Jung Ga-ram giggled at the comments that came up quickly.

***

The second destination was Cheonan.

He first visited the Independence Hall of Korea, which was full of autumnal maple trees.

Then he moved to Hongdae Museum of Astronomy.

“I'm going to watch the night sky later, but first I'm going to see the constellations and stars in the planetarium. Then I’ll try zero gravity experience too. It sounds fun! Oh! You can also observe the sun during daytime. They say you can see sunspots and solar flares.”

Jung Ga-ram entered the planetarium and looked at the camera.

“They say filming is prohibited during screening. I’ll be back soon.”

He said that and reached out his hand off-screen, as if he was pressing something.

The screen turned black as if he turned off the camera.

A moment later, the screen lit up again, but the place had changed.

It was his accommodation.

‘…Huh?’

Moviegoer blinked his eyes.

‘Did he… edit it because he couldn't show everything?’

Come to think of it, he said ‘Next, I’ll go to Hwaseomun.’

in Suwon, but the video ended there.

He clearly said he would go through Hwaseomun, Janganmun, and end at Hwahongmun.

An inexplicable discomfort lingered in Moviegoer's mind.

Jung Ga-ram finished editing and uploaded the Cheonan video.

The views of the first and Suwon videos had increased a bit. But it was still only two digits.

“No new comments.”

He looked disappointed, but soon brightened up and drew the next destination.

It was Daegu.

He visited Gyesan Cathedral, which had a beautiful stained glass, and returned to his accommodation.

He posted a notice.

[Sunrise live broadcast scheduled]

“I don't know how many people will watch it, but…”

He wanted to watch it with his parents who were in Seoul.

***

“Hello. I'm Ga-ram! Wow! Ten people are here!”

In the dark dawn.

Jung Ga-ram held a selfie stick and headed to the beach with an excited face.

-I have an exam tomorrow, so I stayed up all night and came here.

-I came to see the sunrise!

-Aren't you a high school student? Don't you go to school?

The chats that came up were unfamiliar but fascinating to Jung Ga-ram. He smiled and said.

“I dropped out of school. My dream is to be a movie director, so I wanted to film different places in Korea.”

-That explains… The video quality is good for a beginner.

-Where are you? Busan?

“Yes. My father's friend is from Busan, so he recommended me a quiet and empty place.”

Jung Ga-ram turned the camera and showed the beach. It was still dark before sunrise, but it was visible enough.

“Brr. It's cold!”

He wrapped himself in a padded jacket, but his bare face was reddened by the cold wind.

Even in that situation, the boy, Jung Ga-ram's eyes sparkled.

-It must be freezing.

-The sea breeze is cold ㄷㄷ

“When will it rise?”

He was excited.

The sea didn't get closer just because he did, but Jung Ga-ram quickened his pace.

Then, something caught his eye.

Jung Ga-ram turned his head quickly and looked at his phone again.

There was a person at the edge of the phone screen.

-Holy. What is that?

-A person or not? A person?

The chat room also seemed to notice, as chats kept coming up.

Jung Ga-ram looked back hastily.

Not far away, there was a person walking into the sea, against the incoming waves.

The person was swaying by the waves, but kept walking forward.

The atmosphere was ominous.

The seawater that reached his calves rose to his thighs and slowly headed to his waist.

“Ah… Ah!?”

Startled, Jeong Ga-ram threw away his selfie stick and ran out without even taking off his padding.

The camera lens was buried in the sand.

-…Wow. What is this?

***

From that day on, Jeong Ga-ram lived with Kwon Yoon-chan.

“What are you doing?”

“I'm editing a video to upload on YouTube. I was too tired yesterday and just fell asleep.”

Jeong Ga-ram decided to upload the Daegu video instead of the live one, since he couldn't use it.

Next to him, Kwon Yoon-chan sat down and read a Korean textbook.

They ate, shopped, and cleaned together.

The audience could see that Kwon Yoon-chan's expression, which had been stiff for days, gradually softened.

They smiled at the sight of the two boys living together.

When things seemed a bit calm, something happened.

“…Did we leave the door open when we left?”

“…? I'm sure we closed it…!”

Kwon Yoon-chan, who answered with a puzzled look, turned pale in an instant.

Then he threw away the umbrella and plastic bag he was holding and ran towards the house.

But the house was a mess, and Jeong Ga-ram's laptop was already gone.

“Let's clean this up first. It's heavy.”

Kwon Yoon-chan couldn't lift his head even at Jeong Ga-ram's words, holding the plastic bag.

“…Sorry.”

“Huh?”

“…It's my father…”

He buried his face in his palms and spoke in a voice mixed with resentment, anger, and guilt.

Jeong Ga-ram couldn't say anything.

He heard the rain falling.

***

Jeong Ga-ram and Kwon Yoon-chan, who had cleaned up their belongings, sat on the floor with cups of warm yuzu tea.

“…I came to this house when I was in elementary school. With my father. My mother had passed away. This house belonged to my father's relative. They lent it to us because they said it wouldn't sell for much.”

Jeong Ga-ram listened to Kwon Yoon-chan's story with a serious expression.

“He was always like that… but when he came down to Busan, he lived even worse. He would come home once a month, if at all. How could an elementary school student live well without anyone to take care of him? I barely finished middle school. Of course I had no friends.”

To Kwon Yoon-chan, Jeong Ga-ram was a close person he met after a long time.

He clenched his hands holding the cup.

His precious laptop…

“When a thief broke into a neighbor's house, my father was often the culprit. My father had already disappeared, but they blamed me. What can a kid who can't make money do? I cried so hard when that happened. But then I got used to it and I couldn't cry anymore.”

Kwon Yoon-chan revealed his inner feelings that he had hidden.

“…Don't you ever think that? You don't want to live, but you’re afraid to die. I wish a meteor would fall on Earth or I would get into a car accident on the street. I started to think that more and more.”

The camera showed Kwon Yoon-chan's hunched figure.

“That's why I went to the sea. That place has strong currents and there are often accidents where people get swept away without knowing it. But… it didn't happen to me. When the sun rose and people started to come out, I just pretended nothing happened and came out.”

The towel was for that purpose.

“But I didn't expect to meet you there. I thought you were weird, but I didn't know we could get along like this… I'm really sorry.”

“No, it's okay. It's not your fault.”

Jeong Ga-ram looked at the rain falling.

He opened and closed his lips, and his figure was briefly caught on camera.

“I like mackerel.”

“…Huh?”

“I said I like mackerel. My mom didn't make it often because she said it smelled.”

Kwon Yoon-chan blinked at Jeong Ga-ram's words.

Did he mean he wanted him to cook mackerel as an apology?

The audience chuckled at Jeong Ga-ram's attempt to comfort Kwon Yoon-chan in his own way.

***

…!

Hmm?

Kwon Yoon-chan opened his eyes slightly as if he heard something.

It sounded faint, so he wondered if a cat had come in. But he was too tired to think further.

‘…Should I grill some mackerel tomorrow?’

According to the grandfather who lived next door, grilling fish on a grill was the best way to do it, so it seemed like it would be fine to grill it in the yard.

He listened carefully for a moment, but heard nothing.

As expected.

It must have been a cat.

He closed his heavy eyelids without hearing the sound anymore.

Living with someone meant that he wouldn't be lonely tomorrow, Kwon Yoon-chan thought he finally understood.

‘Tomorrow…’

Kwon Yoon-chan's lips curled up softly, looking forward to tomorrow.

***

The foreign audience was surprised by the scene of Jeong Ga-ram holding Kwon Yoon-chan's hand after eating the grilled mackerel in the yard.

“…I'm going to see the sunrise tomorrow.”

“…So you’re leaving now?”

“Yeah.”

A sad silence fell.

The next day. The beach.

The wind was chilly because the sun hadn't risen yet, so Jeong Ga-ram and Kwon Yoon-chan wrapped themselves in a blanket they brought.

“We finally see it.”

“It's my first time seeing the sunrise with someone else.”

Kwon Yoon-chan smiled and said.

“I think I’ll never forget these days until I die.”

At Kwon Yoon-chan's bright voice, Jeong Ga-ram also looked at the end of the sea. The sea was slowly turning red as the sun rose.

“…Me too.”

Jeong Ga-ram smiled softly and replied.

The audience smiled along with the two boys’ smiles.

“The sun is up!”

Kwon Yoon-chan looked at the sun with sparkling eyes, showing its round end.

It was just a sun that rose every day, but it had a power that made him speechless.

He wondered if this was why people went to see the sunrise every New Year.

“Hey. Don't you need to film this? You couldn't film it last time.”

But instead of an answer,

Thud,

He heard something fall.

Kwon Yoon-chan, who had been admiring the sun without taking his eyes off it, turned his head towards the sound.

Jeong Ga-ram, who had wrapped himself in a blanket, had collapsed.

…?!

The audience who were watching the sunrise with Kwon Yoon-chan froze in their seats at the sudden turn of events.

They couldn't understand why Jung Ga-ram had collapsed.

Kwon Yoon-chan, who had turned pale blue, screamed like a banshee.

“…Hey! Jung Ga-ram?! What's wrong?!”

He grabbed Jung Ga-ram's shoulder with his trembling hand.

He could clearly see Jung Ga-ram's head slump down weakly.

The sun rose slowly.

Under the bright sky, Jung Ga-ram's white face and Kwon Yoon-chan's stiff face were clearly visible.

“Jung Ga-ram! Ga-ram!”

Kwon Yoon-chan's scream echoed on the beach, overwhelmed by anxiety.

The audience seat swayed silently as director Min Hee-kyung tried to calm her pounding heart.

It was time for the first part to end and the second part to begin.

The situation changed quickly.

Kwon Yoon-chan, who had contacted 119 with his phone in a hurry, also called Jung Ga-ram's parents.

He heard a voice saying that they would be there soon and asked him to stay by his side.

Kwon Yoon-chan looked anxiously at Jung Ga-ram, who was heading to the emergency room.

“Ga-ram!”

Jung Ga-ram's mother, who said she was in Seoul, arrived in less than 30 minutes.

Kwon Yoon-chan, who was sitting on a chair, got up shakily.

As soon as Jung Ga-ram's mother arrived, the situation was sorted out and Jung Ga-ram was taken to the intensive care unit.

Kwon Yoon-chan couldn't say anything as he saw Jung Ga-ram wearing a respirator and entering the ICU.

“…You're Yoon-chan, right? I've heard a lot about you from Ga-ram.”

“W-why did Ga-ram…?”

“…Our Ga-ram is very sick.”

Outside the ICU, Jung Ga-ram's mother couldn't say anything else.

It was because Jung Ga-ram wanted to tell him himself.

The mother left to call her father and Kwon Yoon-chan looked at Jung Ga-ram, who was breathing faintly behind the glass wall of the ICU.

He looked at the phone he was holding in his hand.

There was a file containing unedited videos.

It looked like Pandora's box.

Kwon Yoon-chan pressed the video at the bottom with his trembling hand.

***

The screen turned black and then brightened.

It was Suwon.

“Next, we’ll go to Hwaseomun.”

Jung Ga-ram said that as he walked, looking at the camera.

The screen showed Jung Ga-ram's upper body as if he was holding a selfie stick and filming himself.

The camera shook as Jung Ga-ram moved.

But the shaking became more intense.

His breathing became rough.

His face turned pale on the screen. Someone's worried voice was heard.

“Student, are you okay? Do you have any pain?”

“No… I'm fine… Just a little dizzy…”

Jung Ga-ram knew he wasn't fine.

He stopped after a few steps and gasped for air. Cold sweat ran down his pale face. His stomach churned.

“…I can't put this in…”

He wrapped his head as if he was dizzy and his side profile was shown on the screen.

Then, the second video played.

Cheonan, hongdae Science Museum Planetarium.

Jung Ga-ram turned off the camera and leaned his tired body on the chair.

He looked at the ceiling.

Soon, the planetarium darkened slowly. And countless stars appeared on the ceiling screen.

Jung Ga-ram and the people gasped in awe.

[This time, we’ll learn about the autumn constellations. Usually in stories, when the main character dies, God makes them into constellations.]

Jung Ga-ram flinched at the narration and stared blankly at the ceiling.

Was it his imagination that the narration sounded ominous?

Soon, the audience found out why they felt uneasy earlier.

Jung Ga-ram came out of the planetarium and crouched down in the lobby.

“Student, are you okay? Where does it hurt?”

“No… I'm fine… I just got up too fast and felt dizzy.”

With the help of a staff member, Jung Ga-ram sat on a chair and closed his eyes against the wall.

His closed eyes twitched lightly and his hand on his lap trembled.

“…I can't see the night sky observation…”

He muttered weakly with a pale face.

“…I wanted to experience zero gravity too…”

The other audience members noticed it too.

He didn't edit the travel videos considering the two-hour movie time.

‘…He edited them exactly as he uploaded them on YouTube.’

He deleted all the scenes where he looked sick like now and edited them.

The audience stared at the screen without blinking at his bold editing.

After that, the edited videos that they couldn't see before continued.

Jung Ga-ram, who got off the bus in a hurry and ran to the bathroom, Jung Ga-ram, who closed his eyes with a tired look, Jung Ga-ram, who suddenly frowned and took out a pill.

The light and warm atmosphere sank in an instant.

“Should we look for places to visit in Daegu before editing?”

Jung Ga-ram, who had regained his color, looked at his laptop. Next to the laptop was a white pill bottle that he didn't notice until now.

“Hmm.”

Jung Ga-ram's hand stopped as he was clicking his mouse to find a place to go.

He saw a Gothic-style church with two pointed spires that seemed to pierce the sky, a reddish roof, red brick walls, and a flower-shaped stained glass above the wide-open entrance against the blue sky.

[Gyesan Cathedral]

“…A cathedral.”

***

Gyesan Cathedral in Daegu.

Some believers were praying and the stained glass windows with the images of saints shone brighter with the light from outside.

It was a quiet and solemn atmosphere that made the people who were looking around the church fold their hands lightly.

The feeling was completely different from before, when the camera showed mostly the scenery.

Maybe it was because the camera showed Jung Ga-ram's face in detail, or maybe it was because they knew he was sick.

Coming to the cathedral was also meaningful.

Jung Ga-ram, who looked around with his shaky eyes, sat down without realizing it.

His phone, which was fixed on a selfie stick next to him, tilted slightly and showed his face on the screen.

And Jung Ga-ram clasped his hands.

His head bowed slightly and his eyes closed.

His lips tightly shut and his hands trembling slightly.

The audience couldn't take their eyes off Jung Ga-ram's back, who looked like he was praying in agony.

Anxiety filled the audience seat.

The video ended and Kwon Yoon-chan's face appeared on the screen.

Kwon Yoon-chan's face, who was shocked by the truth, was no different from the audience's.

His pale face turned to Jung Ga-ram, who was lying on a bed in the ICU behind the glass wall.

“…Ah!!”

Kwon Yoon-chan covered his mouth.

There were scenes that he remembered even though they weren't filmed.

Maybe not, but his heart sank.

He was stupid.

He shouldn't have been happy alone that his loneliness was gone.

Now that he thought about it, Jung Ga-ram had been losing weight all along.

He could have noticed it if he had paid more attention to Jung Ga-ram.

He should have cared for Jung Ga-ram instead of being intoxicated by his own happiness.

He suddenly remembered a night.

He didn't know how much Jung Ga-ram had hidden from him.

‘…No.’

It was his fault.

Jung Ga-ram didn't eat because he was sick, not because he was full.

The screen darkened slowly as it showed Kwon Yoon-chan's thoughtful face.

The camera woke up for a moment and then fell asleep again. It moved to another place.

It was Jung Ga-ram's room.

The audience felt a cold anxiety as they wondered what edited scene they would see next.

And they all lost their words at what they saw on the screen.

Ugh…!

Jung Ga-ram bit his lip.

The pain that came suddenly in his sleep didn't give him time to prepare.

His head became dizzy and he reached out his hand blindly.

His body swayed.

“Hu… huk… uk…”

His fingers trembled as they tried to reach the tray. It seemed so hard to cover those few centimeters.

His fingers desperately reached for the tray like a lifeline.

They brushed it a few times and finally touched it.

Jung Ga-ram hooked his fingers on the tray and pulled it.

The water bottle fell over in his haste.

There was a loud noise.

He clenched his mouth to avoid being caught and suppressed his voice.

The audience could only stare blankly at Jung Ga-ram's silent crying.

While he smiled happily at Kwon Yoon-chan, who thought about grilling mackerel tomorrow, this was happening to Jung Ga-ram.

The cold water soaked the floor.

He scooped up the water with both hands and looked for the pill bottle.

He didn't care about the pills that spilled out and swallowed the white pills with the remaining water in the bottle.

He would be fine after taking the medicine.

He would be fine.

He leaned against the wall without realizing it and opened his eyes with difficulty.

Tears filled his eyes.

In his blurry vision, he saw his messy bed, the water on the floor, the white pills melting in the water, the fallen water bottle and cup.

The traces of his struggle to survive were left in his room.

He stared blankly at them and closed his eyes again.

He had no strength to move.

He felt hopeless as the pain subsided.

Tears rolled down his white face silently.

‘Tomorrow…’

The pills that were running out seemed like his last days, and Jung Ga-ram was afraid of tomorrow.

The window where the moonlight shone down, the audience choked at Jung Ga-ram's pitiful sight of crying silently.