Superstar From Age 0

The morning of the college entrance exam.

Seo-jun and his parents woke up early and had a hearty breakfast as usual. They dressed warmly and did not forget to pack a lunch box with Seo-jun's favorite side dishes. They got in the car and headed to the test site.

“It's inevitable that I feel a bit nervous, even though I try to act normally.”

“I know what you mean.”

Unlike his parents, who seemed a bit tense, seo-jun looked calm and relaxed. He looked out the window and watched the streets.

Ahn Da Ho had advised them to leave early, as there might be reporters who could bother other test-takers if they arrived late. Perhaps because of that, the road was not very crowded.

He occasionally saw people who looked like students and parents. It felt strange that they were all moving for the same purpose.

Seo Eun-hye and Lee Min-jun smiled at Seo-jun. They were worried that he might be nervous, but Seo-jun looked peaceful as usual. The couple sighed in relief.

The radio was on and they heard stories about the college entrance exam. The announcer's calm voice told them what had happened in the past exams. Seo-jun and his parents listened attentively.

“It's on the radio too.”

“The news on the exam day is always interesting.”

“Right. It's still early, but when it's time to enter, there will be students who come by police cars or motorcycles.”

“And there will be people who give rides to strangers too.”

It was a time when various anecdotes and stories emerged.

Seo Eun-hye and Lee Min-jun soon became nervous again and stopped talking.

“It was fun when it was someone else's story, but now that it's ours, I'm nervous.”

“Me too. What if we get into an accident here? Will we have to leave Seo-jun alone?”

“…I’ll be careful not to cause any accidents.”

Lee Min-jun said with a slight force on his hand holding the steering wheel, in response to Seo Eun-hye's joking remark that they might leave him behind. Seo-jun smiled at his parents’ conversation.

[…There were some unfortunate situations as well as these criminal acts of cheating. There was a student who was expelled from the exam because his phone rang in his father's coat pocket, which he wore because it was cold.]

Lee Min-jun shuddered.

[There was also a student whose phone rang in the lunch box that his mother had prepared for him.]

Seo Eun-hye shuddered.

Even though they knew it wasn't true, they couldn't help but worry. Seo Eun-hye turned around and saw Seo-jun smiling at her. He checked his lunch box and coat pocket and said.

“There's nothing. Don't worry.”

Seo Eun-hye and Lee Min-jun sighed in relief.

The car arrived near the school without any accidents. Ahn Da Ho and the team 2 staff members who had arrived earlier greeted Seo-jun and his parents.

“Ahn Da Ho hyung. Are there many people?”

“Yeah. I don't know where they came from, but reporters also came. It was easy to find out which school the Mirinae High School students were assigned to, and since there are names on each seat during the exam, it was easy to identify the school.”

Ahn Da Ho brushed his hair back.

“The broadcasting station cameras are also filming.”

It was not unusual to film in front of the school on the exam day, but it was very annoying that they were filming at the school where Seo-jun was taking the test.

‘I wanted to make Seo-jun take the test comfortably, but…’

Ahn Da Ho smiled bitterly at his situation. Seo-jun laughed brightly and said.

“I'm fine, Ahn Da Ho hyung. I'm not so inexperienced that my condition changes because of one camera.”

Everyone smiled at Seo-jun's words.

That was true. Rather, seo-jun might shine more when he met a camera.

Ahn Da Ho relaxed his face and said.

“Mom and dad, I think it would be better if you parted here and went a little further away. Dad's company is known, but it's different if you go on live news.”

Seo Eun-hye and Lee Min-jun nodded and looked at Seo-jun.

Seo-jun wore a black coat with a scarf around his neck and carried a bag. His face looked slightly red from the cold.

“You must be cold.”

His parents adjusted his clothes so that the cold wind wouldn't get in. Seo-jun felt embarrassed and opened his mouth.

“I can do it myself…”

“Let mom do it. You’ll be an adult soon, too.”

Seo Eun-hye said with a smile.

She seemed a bit sad and proud at the same time.

‘When did he grow up so much…’

She still remembered the baby who crawled around vividly.

“When you become an adult, you'll have more things to decide and do by yourself, and mom and dad won't be able to take care of you much anymore… Today is probably the last day we can take care of you.”

“Yeah. Just leave it to mom and dad today.”

Seo-jun laughed and said.

“Okay. I’ll eat the lunch box deliciously. Let's go watch a movie later!”

Seo-jun hugged his parents with a big smile.

The reporters and broadcasting station staff who had been out since dawn saw the students and parents walking towards them.

“Will Lee Seo-jun come late?”

“Is this the right school?”

“I heard that the Mirinae Arts High School students were assigned to this area.”

“Then he’ll come soon.”

The reporters drank the coffee they had brought in their thermos bottles and watched the students enter the school gate.

One of them spat out his coffee when he saw a boy walking from the other end.

“He's here!”

At his words, the reporters got up from their seats like a swarm of bees.

The students and parents who were about to enter the school, and the teachers who were guiding them, also widened their eyes.

The cameras with large lenses flashed. The broadcasting station cameras that were not filming yet also started to move. The staff members made urgent calls. They wanted to connect to live broadcast right away.

The broadcasting station that received the call from the scene also moved quickly. The announcer, who had finished his previous remark at the PD’s signal, brought up the prepared remark.

[Among the stars who are taking the college entrance exam this year, we can't leave out this actor. It's Lee Seo-jun, who made Korea known by winning awards that even adult actors couldn't win, such as the Oscar and the Golden Globe. We heard that Lee Seo-jun has arrived at the test site to take the exam today. Let's connect to the scene right now.]

“Wow.”

The Mirinae Arts High School students and childhood friends who were eating breakfast at home burst into laughter at their friend's appearance on live news.

The reporters didn't rush in recklessly, knowing that they were on live broadcast.

They also didn't want to bother the passing test-takers.

They stayed a little away from the gate and approached Seo-jun, who had settled down there.

The reporter greeted him.

“Hello, Lee Seo-jun. I'm reporter Choi Yu-na.”

Three reporters from three broadcasting stations came separately, but for a smooth progress, choi Yu-na from KBC was chosen to interview Seo-jun.

“Yes. Hello. This is Lee Seo-jun.”

“Can I interview you for a moment?”

“Yes.”

Seo-jun smiled brightly.

The students and their parents could not hide their curiosity at the sudden appearance of the celebrity.

It seemed like the big event of the college entrance exam was momentarily overshadowed.

While Seo-jun was briefly interviewed by the reporter, some people who were curious and peeked at the scene started to increase in number, with surprised expressions on their faces at the sight of Seo-jun.

Seo-jun and the reporter noticed that and wrapped up the interview.

“Thank you for the interview. Good luck on your exam!”

“Thank you for cheering me on.”

Seo-jun smiled and bowed to the camera. Then he followed the path that his people (the staff of Team 2) made for him and entered the school.

“He was really handsome.”

“I know, right?”

The nearby residents who hurriedly came out to see Seo-jun exclaimed in admiration.

They missed the timing and only saw his back, so they felt regretful.

“Oh, oh, oh. He's turning around!”

As Seo-jun was entering the school, he turned around and found his parents among the people standing with excited faces.

Ahn Da Ho and the staff of Team 2 were also there.

He felt his parents’ love from the weight of the lunch box in his bag and the scarf that did not let him feel a single cold wind.

Seo-jun expressed his gratitude by bowing deeply.

Seo Eun-hye and Lee Min-jun smiled with their eyes glistening.

***

Seo-jun, who carried his bag, tried to kill his presence as much as possible, and acted as if he was looking for a classroom like an examinee, wandering around the school.

He was fine, but he thought he should engrave his ability symbols here and there for the examinees who might lose their concentration because of his appearance.

Then Seo-jun's phone rang.

-Han Jinho: You were on the news lol

-Kang Jae-han: You went early! I just left!

-Yang Ju-hee: I arrived. Class 2-4!

-Kim Joo-kyung: I was so surprised while eating lol

-Kim Joo-kyung: (News video)

Seo-jun watched the video that Kim Joo-kyung sent him.

His handsome face was smiling and being interviewed.

He had been on the news several times as an actor Lee Seo-jun, but it seemed like it was his first time as a student Lee Seo-jun.

He watched the video for a moment and then smiled softly. He moved his steps again and engraved symbols on the wall of the hallway.

Time passed like that.

All the seats in the classroom were filled with examinees.

Seo-jun turned off his phone after confirming that all his friends had arrived and put it in his bag carefully.

As the time for entering passed and the time to take the first exam approached, a proctor teacher came in and checked the identity of the examinees.

There were no examinees who paid attention to Seo-jun because of his ability engraved on the wall and his acting as an examinee 3.

The teacher who checked his face and name with his ID card and admission ticket was surprised, but it was only for a moment.

The first exam was Korean.

Seo-jun and the examinees opened their test papers at the same time as soon as they heard the bell ring.

Seo-jun read carefully and solved the problems one by one.

Right or wrong.

He read well and distinguished them to solve the problems. It felt familiar because he had taken mock exams before.

He finished all the previous problems and moved on to literature.

He opened his eyes wide.

“Oh.”

[…Master: (Seeing that scene, he hits his head with a fan in displeasure) You! Stop doing that and call Bunae!

Chorang: (He runs out quickly with a busy trotting step and brings Bunae back.)…]

It was a script.

Seo-jun looked at the text with interest in his eyes.

***

Lunchtime.

The students from Mirinae Arts High School gathered together.

They found a place in a strange school and opened their lunch boxes that they brought with them.

They were worried that they might not do well on the exam, but they all seemed fine.

Seo-jun ate egg rolls with a small smile.

They were a bit cold but delicious.

“Doesn't it feel similar to mock exams?”

“Yeah. So I took it comfortably from halfway through. The non-literary questions in Korean were also okay, so I had some time left.”

“Me too. Korean seemed easy this time.”

Han Jinho smiled proudly.

Seo-jun shared hot soybean paste soup that he wrapped in a thermos with his friends and said.

“I finished all the Korean problems and had some time left, so I read the literary text again. It looked like a script, so I was drawn to it.”

“Oh, me too. Is it an occupational disease?”

The kids burst into laughter and nodded their heads.

“Right. Right. I was also wondering how to act without realizing it. The play called Talnori was also unique.”

“The problem was like that too. What is the meaning behind the words of the characters? It felt like analyzing the characters.”

They all agreed with Kang Jae-han's words.

“So I solved it easily.”

“We do it every day.”

Seo-jun also thought of the time when he took the exam and smiled and said.

“I solved the problem properly, but… I couldn't help but pay attention to the other choices too. The master has an arrogant personality, but one of the choices was ‘he cares about other people's eyes’, so I thought it would be fun to act like that and tried it in my head.”

The kids laughed out loud at Seo-jun's words.

They had a pleasant lunch while sharing stories like that and headed to their classrooms early for the next exam.

The next exam was English.

It was the second easiest subject for Seo-jun after Korean.

***

A few hours later.

The examinees who finished the exam came out with tired faces, relieved faces, regretful faces, bright faces.

They met their parents who came to pick them up or went home with their friends.

Seeing the examinees rushing out and the reporters rushing in, he thought it would be better to leave late.

There was also a message from Ahn Da Ho on his phone that said the same thing.

“Then we’ll go first!”

“Bye.”

His friends left first and when there were few people left, seo-jun came out of the school.

“He's coming out!”

“Actor Lee Seo-jun!”

The reporters who were busy looking for Seo-jun among the examinees who were coming out found Seo-jun.

The examinees who came out late also opened their eyes wide at the appearance of the star.

‘Lee Seo-jun was in our test site?’

Ahn Da Ho and the staff of Team 2 who were waiting made a suitable place near the school gate to protect Seo-jun. He briefly interviewed like in the morning and got on the car that came up front. The flashes flashed brightly.

“Da Ho hyung. Where are mom and dad? Are they at home?”

Seo-jun asked while fastening his seat belt. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

“No. They’re at a restaurant nearby. They said they're going to have dinner with you and watch a movie.”

“Really?”

Seo-jun smiled brightly.

As Ahn Da Ho said, seo Eun-hye and Lee Min-jun, who were waiting for Seo-jun in a private room of a nearby restaurant, smiled with a lump in their throat at the sight of Seo-jun coming in.

They hugged Seo-jun tightly and said.

“Seo-jun. You worked hard!”

“You did well. Our son!”Seo-jun smiled like a flower.