Superstar From Age 0

“Hello!”

The dance trainer who had accepted the request from Cocoa Entertainment to teach one more person yesterday looked at the practice room with a blank expression.

He had thought that one more person meant a new member of Blue Moon or a collaboration with another singer.

He had wondered who it would be and had some candidates in mind.

The candidates were either trainees or solo singers on hiatus from Cocoa Entertainment, or senior groups from the same company.

But he never expected to see an actor from Cocoa Entertainment, someone he knew very well but never considered as a candidate.

“Wow, there are really six of you now?”

The trainer, who had been staring blankly even after greeting them, finally spoke. Seo-jun and Blue Moon burst into laughter. Park Ee-deun and Kim Si-hoon were rolling on the floor with laughter.

“I think this is the first time I've seen you so surprised.”

“Well, we were also very surprised.”

“People will be shocked when this is revealed.”

Everyone nodded in agreement with Jung Eun-sung's words.

Blue Moon's manager opened his mouth.

“Please keep this a secret until the music video is released.”

“This is… something that no one would believe even if I told them.”

The trainer's sincere words made the practice room fill with laughter again.

The trainer, who had been smiling along with the kids, looked at the actor Lee Seo-jun, who was sitting close to Blue Moon and laughing.

He had seen Seo-jun visiting Blue Moon during their breaks, but he had never talked to him much.

He felt familiar but also unfamiliar. It still seemed unreal to him.

Kim Si-hoon raised his hand and said.

“Teacher. The lesson time is now.”

The trainer blinked his eyes a few times and looked at his watch.

He nodded his head.

“Okay. Let's start the lesson then.”

The trainer raised his hands and lightly slapped his cheeks.

He couldn't stay dazed forever. He felt determined to do well.

He didn't know if the reaction to this collaboration would be good or bad, but since Lee Seo-jun was involved, the impact would be huge.

He felt nervous even though he was just teaching.

His palms were sweaty.

He couldn't help it because of who he was facing.

“Let's check Seo-jun's skills first.”

The direction of the lesson would depend on how good he was.

The trainer might have to modify the choreography he had prepared a lot or not at all.

At his words, seo-jun smiled and got up from his seat.

Blue Moon clapped their hands for him.

“Let's start with stretching.”

“Yes.”

The trainer was about to teach him how to stretch, but he swallowed his words when he saw Seo-jun bending his body and stretching on his own.

His stretching was impressive.

Not only his flexibility, but also his aura was somehow different.

When Seo-jun finished stretching, the trainer opened his mouth with a strange expression.

“Just follow me as I do.”

“Yes. I understand.”

The test was conducted by the trainer showing a simple demonstration and Seo-jun following it.

It started with simple steps and then moved on to upper body and lower body movements.

Seo-jun's skill test became a dance when Kim Si-hoon and Park Ee-deun joined in with their hips shaking.

Strong when needed, soft when needed.

Seo-jun danced along with the two members, tapping his feet and rolling on the floor in sync with the beat.

The trainer unconsciously opened his mouth at the sight of him.

“…Did you train as an idol before?”

At that, seo-jun and the kids burst into laughter.

***

A few days after his first dance lesson.

It was still morning and the sun was high in the sky.

The school was bustling from class 1-1 to class 3-3 of Mirinae Arts High School.

“Everyone is already packing up.”

Seeing the kids who had already packed their bags and had sparkling eyes, Jung Si-woon, the homeroom teacher of class 3-1 of acting department, smiled and shook his head.

The kids laughed out loud at that.

“You have to study hard and practice your acting during this last summer vacation before college entrance exams. You can come to school anytime if you have time between your activities outside school.”

Mirinae Arts High School also conducted lessons during summer vacation like Yeoul Arts Middle School, but some of the kids had already booked musicals, plays, or filming schedules outside school.

They avoided his gaze with giggles.

He roughly guessed how often they would come.

“Go see a lot of works too. Don't be picky about genres.”

“Yes!”

“You only answer well at times like this.”

Jung Si-woon chuckled and finished his speech.

“Then, have a good summer vacation… and see you next week.”

Oooooh.

It seemed like he heard that sound from somewhere.

Jung Si-woon laughed and left the classroom.

The kids who had packed their bags shouted “Bye!” and “Take care!” and ran outside.

The playground was already filled with kids who had finished their morning assembly.

“They are all so excited because it's still morning.”

“Right.”

Seo-jun smiled and followed Kang Jae-han's words. He packed his bag.

“Seo-jun, are you going to America this summer vacation?”

“No. I haven't found a work for the graduation performance yet, so I'm staying in Korea.”

Seo-jun shook his head and answered Kim Joo-kyung's question.

Of course, there was also the reason of filming the music video with Blue Moon, but he couldn't say that yet because it was confidential.

He wanted to see his friends’ surprised faces.

“Doesn't it feel like he’ll bring a new script again at the opening ceremony?”

“I have to check the bulletin board as soon as I get there.”

The kids nodded and laughed at Jeon Seong-min and Han Jinho's words.

Then, a voice came from the entrance of the classroom.

“Hey! Lee Seo-jun!”

Seo-jun and the kids turned around and saw Park Ee-deun and Jung Eun-sung, who were third-year students of music department and debuted as Blue Moon last year.

The kids who had become friends with them through joint classes waved their hands and greeted them.

The two of them appeared and Seo-jun smiled and picked up his bag.

“Then, I’ll go first.”

“Okay. Take care.”

As Seo-jun left with the two of them, Kang Jae-han opened his mouth.

“But Seo-jun has been hanging out with Ee-deun and Eun-sung lately, right?”

“Isn't he going to the company? They’re in the same company.”

The kids agreed with Jeon Seong-min's words and nodded their heads.

“He's probably choosing a work for the graduation performance. From the scripts that are coming in from the company.”

“I think he’ll bring a new script this time too. If it's a completely unknown work, it might take a while to analyze the character.”

At Han Jinho's words, Park Si-young opened her mouth.

“You're all applying for Seo-jun's team, right?”

The kids rolled their eyes and looked at each other.

They all knew that this was almost the last chance to act with Seo-jun with such a low competition rate just because they were in the same school.

The kids’ serious eyes seemed to answer without saying anything. Kim Joo-kyung shook her head.

“The audition will be fierce.” 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Her eyes sparkled as she said that.

***

A few days after his first dance lesson.

He got in the car that Blue Moon had sent to pick him up and arrived at Cocoa Entertainment.

There were three people waiting for him with their hips shaking. Choi Jae-won, Kim Si-hoon, and Baek Yi-hyun came out and took Seo-jun and the two of them inside.

“Why are you like this? Hyungs?”

“What's going on?”

“Ye-jun sunbae is here! He finished the song!”

The hyungs who were dragging him along looked bewildered, but Park Ee-deun and Jung Eun-sung's eyes sparkled and they moved their feet as if they were running.

“…But why am I here?”

Seo-jun was swept away by Blue Moon and blinked his eyes.

He understood that he had to take dance lessons for the music video, but he didn't think he needed to be at the place where they listened to the finished song for the first time.

‘I'm not even taking vocal lessons.’

At Seo-jun's words, choi Jae-won smiled brightly and said.

“You have to listen to the song too.”

“Right. It's the song you'll listen to until you film the music video!”

“We got permission from team leader 1 and team leader 2. Let's go quickly!”

Kim Si-hoon said and scratched his cheek. Seo-jun shrugged his shoulders. He was curious about the song. Blue Moon took Seo-jun with them and headed to the conference room.

As soon as the door of the conference room opened, the heads of the employees who had arrived earlier turned reflexively toward the door.

“Hello!”

Blue Moon, who seemed excited by the news of the song, smiled and greeted them.

The employees who were smiling at them widened their eyes at Seo-jun who came in behind them.

“Hello.”

Seo-jun bowed his head slightly and looked around the conference room.

There were some familiar employees, but there were also some employees he had only seen once or twice.

That was natural.

‘They’re from the singer team.’

He felt awkward being here.

Seo-jun felt embarrassed by the surprised gazes of the singer team employees and smiled slightly.

Blue Moon told him to sit down quickly and handed him something to drink.

The employees who had regained their senses also greeted Seo-jun.

They were exchanging awkward greetings when team leader 1 and Hwang Ye-jun came in.

“Seo-jun! Blue Moon is here too! Hello everyone!”

Hwang Ye-jun greeted them cheerfully as always.

Everyone smiled back at him.

“It feels weird to see Seo-jun here.”

“Me too.”

Seo-jun scratched his cheek and smiled softly. Everyone smiled back at him.

“Then let's listen to the song. Ye-jun.”

“Okay… sir. Team leader 1!”

Hwang Ye-jun laughed and sat next to Seo-jun.

He took out a USB from his pocket and connected it to the laptop installed in the conference room.

Then he played one of the files in the USB.

Soon, a lively sound that made people want to dance flowed out of the speakers installed in the conference room.

Not only Seo-jun, but also Blue Moon and the employees laughed without realizing it.

Dung-dung-dung!

It was the sound of a janggu.

Team leader 1 touched his forehead.

A gong and a janggu…

“Hwang Ye-jun. What have you been doing lately?”

“I've been researching how to combine traditional music and pop music.”

Hwang Ye-jun smiled sheepishly and everyone tilted their heads. Team leader 1 asked with curiosity.

“For the kids’ single?”

“No. I'm still researching, so it's not good enough to use… I played the wrong one this time.”

Haha.

Hwang Ye-jun laughed off his mistake and looked at the laptop monitor.

He played one file after another.

The sound of a loud gong, a thick daegeum, and a clear gayageum.

All kinds of sounds flowed out of the speakers, making everyone laugh eventually.

Seo-jun, who was laughing with them, glanced at the laptop monitor and saw that the file names in the USB were all numbers and not very noticeable.

‘No wonder he left the files at the company.’

It was lucky that they were well kept, otherwise it would have been a disaster if they were leaked.

Seo-jin or the other hyungs would have scolded him a lot.

“Ah, this is it!”

Hwang Ye-jun found one of the audio files and brightened up.

“I’ll play the version without the guide first.”

At his words, blue Moon and the employees who were giggling stopped talking and listened to the speakers quietly.

Tadadan!

The melody that came out made Choi Jae-won snap his fingers unconsciously to match the beat.

He knew right away that this part was his without Hwang Ye-jun sunbae teaching him.

The other members and employees felt the same way.

It seemed to have Choi Jae-won's vibe and his voice would fit perfectly in the empty space.

The song progressed similarly but differently from the 37th song.

It started with Choi Jae-won's part, followed by Kim Si-hoon, Park Ee-deun, Jung Eun-sung, and Baek Yi-hyun's parts.

The five parts blended together and created a sixth part.

Soon after, the sixth part split and a new part began.

It was slightly different from the previous melody, but he recognized it right away.

It was Kim Si-hoon's part.

Kim Si-hoon smiled and moved his feet along with the melody.

That was the start of another modified parts of the members.

After five parts flowed, the song ended with a slightly changed sixth part.

It was composed of ‘5-6-5A-6A’.

As the song ended with the last highlight, the employees who had been listening quietly let out a sigh of relief and leaned back on their chairs.

“The 37th song was good too… but this is better.”

“The sound is richer than when there were only four parts. You reduced the melody that could have been excessive.”

“Aren't you curious how it will sound with the members’ voices?”

Blue Moon members who had listened to their own song were excited and chattered.

“Sunbae! The song is awesome, awesome!”

“Right! It's like…! Like…!”

Park Ee-deun and Kim Si-hoon couldn't find the right words to express their feelings and waved their hands frantically.

“The sound of five parts splitting and coming together is like a wave…!”

“Doesn't it look like a twisted doughnut?”

…Huh?

Choi Jae-won, who had tried to express his admiration with cool words, stared blankly at Hwang Ye-jun.

Blue Moon members who had been admiring the song also looked at him with wide eyes. Seo-jun tilted his head at the sudden twisted doughnut.

Hwang Ye-jun laughed and said.

“I made this when I saw Seo-jun bringing twisted doughnuts. It reminded me of them.”

At that, team leader 1 and A&R team, as well as other employees who had been sincerely amazed by the song, groaned without realizing it.

They didn't want to know that kind of inspiration.