Superstar From Age 0

‘…Why did he lock the door?’

As the interviewers tried to grasp the situation, seo-jun turned around calmly, as if asking what was going on.

His gaze was fixed on the air. He was looking at something that the interviewers could not see.

“I surrender.”

Seo-jun said softly.

“I invited you all here.”

His words seemed to answer the question of ‘who’ and ‘where’ that the ‘you all’ had, who were puzzled by his invitation.

‘Invitation?’

The interviewers realized in an instant that this was not a simple party invitation.

If this was a joyful and happy party, then this competent actor named Seo-jun would not have created such a sticky and uncomfortable atmosphere.

Seo-jun's eyes moved from left to right, staying above the eyes of the seated interviewers.

“Robbery. Murder. Fraud.”

It was as if there was a person standing there for each word.

“Domestic violence. Kidnapping. Rape.”

Six criminals appeared there.

He looked at them with a gentle smile on his face, but then his expression turned sorrowful.

It was a sincere expression of pity.

He looked like a faithful priest who felt sorry for the people who came to confess their sins.

“You have all committed sins that cannot be washed away. It's such a sad thing.”

Then he smiled brightly again. He looked happy.

“But it's okay. God sent me for you.”

His sudden change of mood made them shiver, goosebumps rising on their skin.

As the interviewers did, the six invisible criminals seemed to feel the same way.

Seo-jun's gaze was fixed on one spot.

Something seemed to be approaching him.

‘That son of a b*tch… What the hell is he talking about!?’

The criminals were hot-tempered enough to be invited here.

The first one to explode was a man who twisted his face and walked towards Seo-jun.

Seo-jun didn't back away or hesitate, but just stood there and smiled quietly. His smile even seemed to deepen.

Seo-jun's head tilted slightly upward.

It seemed like he was trying to meet the eyes of the man who was taller than him.

The man might not have realized that he was holding Seo-jun's collar.

He might have wanted to punch him, but he remembered that Seo-jun had locked the door and he needed to find a way out.

He thought he could subdue Seo-jun at any time, seeing his smaller stature. He was careless.

Yes, careless.

At some point, seo-jun had a knife in his hand.

Without a second's delay, seo-jun stabbed the man's side with the sharp blade, who had grabbed his collar.

The knife pierced through the thin clothes that offered no protection and dug into the hard flesh.

To push the knife deeper, seo-jun clenched the handle so hard that the veins on his back of his hand showed.

The interviewers, who had been holding their breaths as if they were invited to that world, flinched at the sudden appearance of the old-fashioned dagger.

There was no opponent in front of him, so the knife was stabbing the air.

The knife was not real, and the blade was blunt.

But the interviewers’ bodies tensed up at Seo-jun's cold smile and his movement that seemed to put all his strength into his hand holding the knife.

Seo-jun did not stop there.

He twisted his wrist, as if to tear open the wound, and shoved the knife deeper.

It seemed like a man's scream was tearing his ears from somewhere.

Seo-jun pulled out the knife from the man's side and stepped back two steps.

He swung the knife downward without taking his eyes off the man who fell to the ground clutching his side.

It felt like the blood that soaked the knife was dripping to the floor with a thud.

“I was planning to talk to you one by one… but I didn't expect you to want to repent first.”

His voice was gentle, but it had a hint of mockery that made them doubt their ears.

“Then I’ll gladly do as you wish.”

Seo-jun looked at him with a pitiful expression, but he couldn't hide the joy in his eyes. He skillfully twirled the knife in his hand, showing that this was not his first time doing this.

He crouched down in front of the man who was groaning and pressing his wound with both hands, trying to stop the bleeding.

The criminals could only watch in silence, unable to breathe. Some of them seemed to look for an escape from this madman.

“Mr. Jake Doble.”

The man who was called shuddered.

He knew his name, of course, since he had sent him an invitation with his crimes and evidence. But his heart started to beat anxiously. Jake Doble looked around for help.

But in the empty building, he couldn't even find a weapon to swing.

And he didn't think that the people he had met for the first time today, who had also committed crimes, would save him.

Seo-jun gripped the knife upside down and lifted it up. To the eyes of the interviewers, it looked like the blunt blade was shining.

He smiled wickedly at Jake Doble's fearful eyes and swung the knife down with all his strength.

“Do you remember Lomhanks four months ago?”

The blunt blade passed through the invisible Jake Doble and stabbed into the floor.

It was so deep that it almost reached the handle.

The interviewers were startled by the sound, but then they realized that it was a prop used for filming.

They had forgotten that they couldn't use real knives or other dangerous props for practical tests.

They were so immersed in Seo-jun's acting.

“There was a kind old couple living in one of the houses in that area.”

Kkik.

Instead of the sound of flesh being pierced, there was a friction sound of the blade going in and out of the handle as it hit the floor.

“They were nice to everyone in the neighborhood and to the children. They were faithful people who had a different mission than me, betty.”

Kkik.

It sounded like a scream of a man.

“It's a pity. Why do all the good people always go to God first?”

Kkik.

The squelching sound stuck to the interviewers’ ears.

They felt goosebumps all over their bodies.

“It's my mission to work for those people.”

Blood spurted out from the man's body and stained Seo-jun's face and clothes.

“Mr. Jake Doble. I hope you ask for their forgiveness in God's presence.”

As he stabbed the knife, seo-jun quickly turned around and pushed something away.

He had cleared away all the possible weapons, so it must have been a coat that was thrown at him. But he was used to such resistance.

He brushed his hair back and stood up.

“I don't think we know each other…”

The interviewers swallowed their saliva.

In that world of his acting, his neat face must have been covered with blood.

Seo-jun saw Jake Doble being dragged away by the criminals, who moved together in the face of crisis.

He was gasping for breath, as if he would die soon.

“Well, it doesn't matter.”

He had seen the criminals act together more than once or twice, even though it was a bit early today.

“Sooner or later, you will all repent.”

The criminals’ faces looked pale, and he laughed as if he enjoyed it.

“Then, from now on. I will start the judgment.”

The madman who received the mission from the great God smiled wickedly with his sparkling eyes.

The knife he was holding still seemed to have blood on it.

The red sunset light poured through the window of the interview room.

Seo-jun's face and clothes, and even the knife he was holding, were dyed with the sunset light.

The madman who was stained with blood spoke kindly with a faithful face, with sincerity in his voice.

“In the name of God.”

***

“Did you do well on the test?”

As soon as Seo-jun got in the car, Ahn Da Ho, who was sitting in the driver's seat, asked with a smile.

“Yes, Ahn Da Ho hyung.”

He could tell that he did well by looking at the interviewers who were still staring blankly after his acting.

“How was the knife?”

“It was good. It didn't break even when I swung it hard.”

Seo-jun stretched his right arm down, and the dagger that he had hidden in his sleeve came out with a swoosh, just like when he was acting. Ahn Da Ho grinned.

“It was worth finding a sleeve that fits you.”

“They were all surprised when the knife came out.”

“Really? Did you have any trouble?”

“It was a bit difficult to act within the angle because there was only one camera.”

“Did you go out of the screen?”

Ahn Da Ho looked at Seo-jun with concern through the rearview mirror.

Korean National University's Department of Acting had divided the interview rooms into five because of the large number of applicants.

And in the first round, the interviewers in each room separated the applicants who lacked skills, and in the second round, all the professors of the department gathered and decided whether to pass or fail the applicants who passed the first round by watching their videos.

It was such an important video that Ahn Da Ho was worried for a moment. It would be a disaster if he acted well but didn't get filmed because he went out of the angle.

The actor who had spent a long time in front of the camera for 14 years smiled and shook his head at his manager's look.

“No. The camera was wide enough to capture the floor, so it was fine after I adjusted my movements a little.”

Ahn Da Ho, who had looked at him with wide eyes, nodded at his words. It was indeed easier to edit than other videos.

“You did well. Are you going home right away?”

“No, hyung. Please take me to the company.”

Ahn Da Ho tilted his head at Seo-jun's words and then nodded.

“Do you want to film and upload it right away?”

“Yes. I think it would be good to film it while I'm feeling like this.”

“Okay. I got it.”

The car that Seo-jun got on headed to Cocoa Entertainment.

“But Jonathan will be really surprised when he sees the video, right?”

“Right? That's why I didn't tell him.”

Seo-jun smiled mischievously, imagining Jonathan Will's face when he saw the video and contacted him.

“Oh, seo-jun. How about editing the video and uploading it?”

Ahn Da Ho told him what he had thought of while waiting for Seo-jun.

“The other acting school videos are bland because they are for promotion, but your video has a different purpose, so I think it would be okay to edit it coolly.”

The subscribers who were interested in Seo-jun's practical test video were not only related people but also ordinary people and reporters, so it didn't matter if he edited it as much as he wanted.

Seo-jun's eyes sparkled at Ahn Da Ho's words.

“That's right! I didn't think of that. I can edit it because I'm not uploading it for school.”

Ahn Da Ho looked at him with a surprised expression and then opened his mouth. He could see that Seo-jun was interested by his expression.

“Do you want me to find someone to edit it for you?”

“Hmm.”

Seo-jun thought for a moment and shook his head.

“No, hyung. I want to try it myself.”

“You yourself?”

“Yes. It sounds fun. I don't need to touch anything else, just connect them well.”

Ahn Da Ho, who had opened his eyes wide, nodded at his words. It was true that it would be easier to edit than other videos.

“That sounds good.”

Seo-jun took out his phone with an excited face. His hand tapping on the phone screen was very fast.

“Let's stop by a bookstore on the way and buy a book on video editing, hyung. I’ll ask the directors if they have any good books.”

“Okay. Let's do that.”

Ahn Da Ho smiled and searched for a nearby bookstore on the navigation.

***

And a few days later.

A video was uploaded without notice on YouTube channel [JUN].

Immediately after that, notifications were sent to subscribers, and sprouts and ordinary people, reporters who wondered what was going on opened YouTube app.

Lim Ye-na and Song Yu-jung, who were writing reports or typing something half-heartedly while tapping on their keyboards, also looked at their phones with annoyance at the notification.

“…It's Seo-jun's channel?”

Their eyes half-closed became clear.

They smiled excitedly as they forgot about the report they were writing and saved it.

“What video is this?”

“Maybe he uploaded a simple greeting video after taking the practical test?”

“Oh, maybe.”

They tried to console themselves with their regret that Seo-jun's practical test video was not uploaded.

“It would be nice if he told us what kind of acting he did.”

“Right.”

Lim Ye-na and Song Yu-jung also regretted that Seo-jun's practical test video was not uploaded.

“If I knew what work it was, I would look it up.”

“Let's watch it together.”

Song Yu-jung and Lim Ye-na opened their eyes wide at the title of the uploaded video.

[Korean National University-Practical Test/Free Acting/Reenactment]

[Original: In the name of God (Jonathan Will)/In the name of God (Jonathan Will)

Actor: Lee Seo-jun

Editing: Lee Seo-jun]