Superstar From Age 0

Hwang Do-yoon also explained the dangers of the first period (don't trust his sincerity.), the long breaks between classes (study in the library? No way.), and the difficulty of having three exams in one day (it's different from high school.) and so on.

“You have to register for classes on a first-come, first-served basis, so you need to have a plan B ready. And if you have to take a required course, cling to the professor's coattails.”

He always added “This is based on my experience.” at the end of his sentences, which made the third-year senior, who seemed a bit distant at first, look more friendly.

The freshmen laughed at the relaxed atmosphere. Hwang Do-yoon, who was looking at them with satisfaction, continued his explanation.

“Well, I've told you all kinds of stories, but there's always an exception.”

Seo-jun thought that Hwang Do-yoon seemed to be looking at him.

“What I'm going to explain next is a way to substitute classes. It's a good way for students who want to work hard as actors while attending school. You can apply for it anytime during the semester, so if you think your midterm or final grades are not good, you can replace the grade of that course with this method.”

The freshmen's eyes sparkled.

Seo-jun also listened to Hwang Do-yoon's explanation with interest.

“Acting is speaking through works and performances, right? As acting majors, we can replace our course credits and general education credits with our work activities. Drama, movie, play, musical. All are possible.”

“Are there any other conditions?”

“Do we just have to appear in it?”

Unlike before when they only listened, questions poured out. Hwang Do-yoon answered them with a smile at their enthusiasm.

“Of course there are other conditions. You can't just be a passing extra. The character has to have a significant role, and the score will be determined by the professor after watching your performance in the work. Simply put, it's like taking an exam with your work.”

“Why can't we be extras? Extras are very important too.”

Someone among the freshmen asked.

Seo-jun and the kids tilted their heads at the question.

Of course extras are important.

If there were no extras to be the background in a work, it would look empty.

‘But this is about substituting classes, so isn't it obvious that you have to play a more important role that can be evaluated more closely?’

It was like taking a math test with only one-digit addition or subtraction problems that couldn't differentiate anything.

They looked puzzled at the freshman who asked such an obvious question, but Hwang Do-yoon and the student council, who had heard the same question last year, just laughed.

‘Do they really not know or do they just want to argue?’

Hwang Do-yoon remembered that there were people who asked the same question when he entered school and answered like his senior did back then.

“Oh, I misspoke. It's not impossible.”

Some of the freshmen's faces brightened up.

If extras were allowed, they could join any work and substitute their classes. Unlike the important roles that had to pass auditions, there were always extra jobs left over.

Hwang Do-yoon continued his speech.

“If you leave an incredibly deep impression on people or show a performance that everyone thinks is a scene stealer, then being an extra is possible too. So…”

He paused for a moment and said with a smile.

“Like William from Shadowman 1.”

The freshmen stirred at Hwang Do-yoon's words.

No one didn't know the story of William from Shadowman 1, who became a topic of discussion by appearing as an extra while acting and made a crying challenge and even got a role in the series with his performance.

“…That's very hard, isn't it?”

“I think it's better to just get a supporting role.”

The freshmen changed their minds at the increased difficulty level.

Hwang Do-yoon continued his explanation with a smile as he saw the same reaction from the freshmen every year.

“Of course, since it replaces attendance and exams, the evaluation criteria will also go up. Usually, if you get an A for your performance, it will drop to A- or B+.”

That sounds like you’re telling us to come to school diligently, right? The freshmen looked like they were saying that as Hwang Do-yoon nodded his head.

“So you have to think carefully and decide. There's no history of getting an A or higher with this method.”

‘Well, maybe it’ll happen this time.’

Hwang Do-yoon nodded his head at his own words and smiled as he looked at Seo-jun.

****

The acting major orientation continued.

Hwang Do-yoon explained about graduation requirements and how to use the facilities in the school such as lockers and the department room.

“There are also a lot of interesting clubs, so join them. You can also meet students from other majors. If clubs are too burdensome, there are also project teams. Project teams are for making independent films or short films or for video contests. They are simple because they are created and disappear for a while, but they have some coercion because they get funding from the school, so it's rare to disappear in the middle.”

Hwang Do-yoon briefly introduced the videos made by the project teams. Some of the films had won awards at film festivals, which made Seo-jun and the freshmen shine their eyes.

Hwang Do-yoon's explanation ended after talking about the restaurants near the school.

“Then I’ll end the explanation here.”

As soon as Hwang Do-yoon finished his speech, applause erupted as if someone had ordered it.

“Doesn't it feel like he taught us everything he knows?”

“Right? He seems like a nice person.”

Seo-jun nodded at Yang Ju-hee's words.

He felt like he had heard a lot of stories that would be useful in many ways while attending college.

‘Especially the project team.’

As expected.

Seo-jun decided to find out more about it later.

After that, the freshmen introduced themselves and learned about the professors.

They made a group chat on Banana talk with their classmates and were invited to the acting major group chat.

“…Wow. It's Seo-jun…”

The freshmen and students looked at the group chat that Seo-jun joined with curiosity, while Hwang Do-yoon opened his mouth.

“From now on, the acting major announcements will be posted on the group chat, so please check them out.”

“Yes!”

After finishing all the schedules, hwang Do-yoon continued his speech.

“Then we’ll move to the after-party place. You don't have to attend if you don't want to, so feel free to think about it.”

The freshmen moved to another place with their seniors.

The after-party place was a barbecue restaurant where other seniors had already arrived. Hwang Do-yoon greeted them and said.

“Then we’ll sit in groups of four. We’ll change seats later, so talk to each other with the people you’re sitting with now.”

At Hwang Do-yoon's words, they sat down one by one and started talking awkwardly.

Seo-jun sat with Kim Joo-kyung, Kang Jae-han, and Park Si-young.

“But there aren't many seniors here.”

“Right. I thought there would be a lot of them because Seo-jun is here…”

A senior who was bringing drinks and alcohol around heard Park Si-young and Kang Jae-han's questions and answered with a smile.

“If everyone who wanted to come came, there would be too many people, so we drew lots among ourselves. Maybe they’ll come later and buy us food when school starts.”

“I see. Please speak comfortably, senior!”

“…Then should I? I'm Cha Yu-na, a third-year student.”

Cha Yu-na took a seat at the table where Seo-jun was. Looking around, it seemed that other seniors had also taken seats at each table. Hwang Do-yoon, the president of the department, was busy going around here and there.

“What do you mean by drawing lots, senior?”

Kim Joo-kyung asked Cha Yu-na.

“Just as I said. Seo-jun…”

Cha Yu-na hesitated on how to address him and Seo-jun said with a smile.

“Please call me comfortably.”

Cha Yu-na laughed heartily at his words.

“Hahaha, everyone must be jealous. It was a mess because everyone wanted to see Seo-jun. But the place is too small to come all together. And it's a place for freshmen, so it would be uncomfortable if there were too many seniors, so we drew lots to decide who would come.”

“If not, there would have been 30 more people!”

A senior from another table said with a laugh. The other freshmen also nodded their heads as if they would have wanted to come too.

One by one, they opened their mouths, and the restaurant that they rented out became noisy little by little.

Meat was placed on the grill and drinks were placed in front of Seo-jun and his friends.

She felt guilty about giving them alcohol because they looked too innocent, so Cha Yu-na moved the soju and beer to one side of the table.

“Tell me if you want to drink. And feel free to ask me anything you’re curious about. I’ll answer if I know.”

“I was curious about something…”

As soon as Seo-jun opened his mouth, the voices around him quieted down as if they were interested.

The first questioner was a superstar who had much more acting experience than him, which Cha Yu-na didn't know. She looked a bit nervous as she waited for Seo-jun's question.

“It's about Hwang Do-yoon senior.”

“Yes.”

“Is he unlucky?”

“Huh?”

Cha Yu-na tilted her head at Seo-jun's words.

“He said everything was based on his experience earlier.”

The other freshmen also nodded their heads at Seo-jun's question.

You could find out by searching the internet for a bit that ‘Avoid these college schedules!’ But how could he have experienced all of that?

‘How unlucky can he be…’

He seemed like a nice person.

He felt like he should give him a talisman with some power later.

Uhahaha!

Laughter erupted at Seo-jun's question.

Hwang Do-yoon, who was going around from table to table, wondered what was going on and heard the story from his classmates.

He covered half of his face with his palm.

Cha Yu-na shrugged her shoulders and laughed as she opened her mouth.

“It's because Do-yoon oppa is stupid.”

“What?”

“You know those people who do what they're told not to do.”

Seo-jun and his friends blinked their eyes as Cha Yu-na giggled and continued.

“Do-yoon oppa is like that. He saw the internet posts and wanted to try them. So he put in the first period and the farthest classrooms in a row. He eliminated lunchtime and put in as many exams as possible in one day.”

“He also put in a five-hour break and it was a disaster.”

“Wow. I can't believe it even now. How could he think of putting in the first and sixth periods?”

The other seniors also said with laughter.

“I guess that's why Do-yoon became popular. He had so much time left that he went around looking for people to hang out with, whether they were classmates or students from other majors.”

…Wow.

The freshmen looked at Hwang Do-yoon.

He seemed like a polite and kind senior, but he turned out to be more reckless than they thought.

Hwang Do-yoon coughed awkwardly at the freshmen's gaze.

“And Do-yoon oppa is luckier than you think. His schedule was a mess, but his grades were good.”

Ooh.

An exclamation came out of the freshmen's mouths.

“That's not luck, that's skill!”

Hwang Do-yoon shrugged his shoulders and said shamelessly, making laughter erupt everywhere.

“Anything else you’re curious about?”

At Cha Yu-na's words, the kids asked what they were curious about.

She answered sincerely about the way lectures were conducted, assignments or exams, and good lectures.

“Okay! Let's change seats now!”

Hwang Do-yoon changed the table composition as planned every certain time.

“Hello. I'm Lee Seo-jun.”

Seo-jun moved to a new seat and smiled brightly at his classmates who were tense and stiff.

The freshmen who were staring blankly at his smile quickly came to their senses and opened their mouths.

“Ah! Nice to meet you!”

“I can't believe we’re classmates…! You don't know how surprised I was!”

There were some people who were older than him, so they had some trouble deciding how to address each other, but they all agreed to call each other comfortably.

“I can't believe I'm hearing Seo-jun call me noona…!”

“I can't believe I'm calling Lee Seo-jun, seo-jun! I have to brag to my mom!”

Ahahaha.

Seo-jun laughed at their strong reactions.

The seniors were kind and the superstar who seemed the hardest to get along with was comfortable, so the atmosphere became much more relaxed in the barbecue restaurant.

***

The next day.

After finishing the 14th performance of the play [MOEB-436], seo-jun came home and made his schedule by looking at the syllabus as Hwang Do-yoon advised. He was a bit nervous because tomorrow was the first day of class registration.

The group chat with his classmates was full of messages about which class would be better.

“Good. Let's do this!”

Seo-jun looked at his schedule with satisfaction after making plan B and C. He didn't have any shootings scheduled for the first semester, so this seemed to be enough.

Batak!

A new message arrived.

It was Choi So-yeong.

-Choi So-yeong: Seo-jun.

-Choi So-yeong: Do you want to do a cameo appearance?

[A cameo?

-Choi So-yeong: Yeah. I haven't told the director yet, but I think you’d be good for it!

He thought for a moment and tapped his phone.

[Can I decide after seeing the script?

As always, the most important thing was what kind of work it was.

-Choi So-yeong: Of course!

-Choi So-yeong: Our writer is fast, so the script is already done!

-Choi So-yeong: [Babel Tower Script.hwp]

-Choi So-yeong: I marked the cameo role, so take a look and let me know!

[Okay!

[I’ll decide quickly and let you know! Noona!

-Choi So-yeong: No. You can take your time??

Seo-jun smiled at Choi So-yeong's message and went to the practice room. He used the printer to print out the synopsis and script.

He neatly organized the papers that were piling up and sat down on a fluffy chair in one corner of the practice room.

He read them slowly.