Superstar From Age 0

“Haven't you started yet?”

Hwang Do-yoon, the president of the acting department at Korea National University, entered the apartment with his hands full of food.

The student council members of the acting department who were in the living room greeted him.

This was the studio apartment of one of the student council members.

“As long as you bring enough food, you can use this place as you like.”

The landlord had given them permission to use it almost like a hideout. It also helped that his parents were quite rich and had a spacious apartment.

“No, we haven't started yet.”

“The ads haven't come out yet either.”

Cha Yu-na and the students took the plastic bags from Hwang Do-yoon and spread them out on the table in the living room. There were food from restaurants that didn't deliver, drinks and alcohol from the mart, and more.

“Drinking in broad daylight?”

“It’ll be night by the time Working Man ends.”

“But the days are getting longer now, aren't they?”

“So you’re not going to drink?”

“Nope.”

“How can you not drink when I bought alcohol that suits your taste?”

The landlord and the students laughed as they put the bottles of alcohol in the fridge.

“Then shall we fill our stomachs first?”

“Let's do that!”

Hwang Do-yoon and the students turned on the SBC channel as background noise and started to eat and chat about various things.

“I'm glad the OT went well.”

Everyone nodded at Cha Yu-na's words.

“Do-yoon hyung did a great job.”

“How did you manage to speak so naturally in front of Seo-jun?”

Hwang Do-yoon smiled shyly at the compliment. But his friends were not ones to end with just compliments.

“You were shaking like a leaf until the day before, you know.”

“That's right. Didn't you ask me to make a script for you like it was a shoot?”

“You even simulated how to enter several times.”

His friends teased him with giggles. Hwang Do-yoon raised his voice.

“No! You guys were also freaking out about how to prepare for the OT! What if Seo-jun is disappointed and doesn't come to school, you said!”

“? When did we say that?”

“You were the worst! You even took stomach medicine!”

Hwang Do-yoon shot back at his friend who was shaking his head. Everyone burst into laughter.

“But Seo-jun was nicer than we thought, right?”

“That's right. I thought he would be a bit arrogant with that kind of career… The other kids too.”

The students who had talked to Seo-jun at the after-party nodded. They remembered how Seo-jun approached them first and made them feel comfortable.

The students who didn't get to participate in the after-party looked at them with envious eyes.

“By the way, hwang Do-yoon. When are you going to lift the ban on personal contact?”

“I'm going to keep it that way.”

Everyone's eyes widened at Hwang Do-yoon's words.

“Why? I thought you were going to lift it when school starts.”

“Look at this.”

Hwang Do-yoon showed them his phone.

There was a 999 on top of the Banana Talk app. The students gasped at the enormous number.

“…What is this?”

“It's from the department group chat. They’re telling me to lift the ban on personal contact, what else.”

“All of them?”

“Yeah. Don't you guys get any messages?”

His friends shook their heads vigorously.

“We… They know we have Do-yoon oppa as an excuse, so we hardly get any messages.”

Hwang Do-yoon, the president of the acting department, sighed.

“That's lucky.”

“Wow… But I didn't know there would be so many messages from the department group chat. It's usually quiet.”

“That's right. But seeing this, I can understand why hyung banned personal contact.”

They looked at the messages that were still coming in one by one with bored faces.

“They can't use the department group chat for personal contact.”

“Are they all like that?”

“Yeah, what else. It's a rare opportunity to get in touch with and befriend actor Lee Seo-jun, who joined as a freshman. They want to contact him as soon as possible and build rapport with him.”

“But there are more than 100 seniors in the group chat, right? It would be too much if they all contacted him at once.”

“Even if they just say hello once, that's 100 times…”

They all nodded.

It would be fine if it was a message for all freshmen. But it was not okay if it was a message for ‘Lee Seo-jun only’.

It would hurt the feelings of the freshmen who were only interested in one person, and it would annoy Lee Seo-jun who would receive messages from seniors all day long.

That's why Hwang Do-yoon, with the help of the professors, made the ‘no personal contact in the department group chat’ rule.

“I'm getting some hate for it, though.”

“But there are also many people who understand.”

His friends comforted him as if they were praising him for being a good president.

“Seo-jun will be in trouble when school starts.”

“I don't have the authority to stop him from meeting and contacting people personally, but…”

Hwang Do-yoon smiled slyly.

“I’ll do my best to stop him as much as I can.”

Ooh.

They clapped their hands at his presidential remark.

“That's like a senior! The same Hwang Do-yoon who was worried about what to call Seo-jun!”

“The same Hwang Do-yoon who spent all day worrying about how to treat Seo-jun!”

It was turning into teasing, but still.

As they were chatting and having fun, cha Yu-na turned her head to the TV.

“Isn't it time to start soon?”

“Yeah. It’ll start right after the ads.”

“Who wants to drink!”

The students cleared the table of the empty plates during the ads, and laid out alcohol and snacks.

“The ads are long.”

“It's because Seo-jun is on it.”

“But they said it was a coincidence that Seo-jun was on it. It was during the shoot last week.”

[Working Man!] was an existing program, so there must have been companies that had already reserved their ad spots. But it seemed like they had managed to squeeze in some new ads in between, knowing that Lee Seo-jun was on this episode.

“Did they get all those advertisers in less than a week?”

“They probably came looking for them when they heard that Seo-jun was on it. Take my money, they said.”

Cha Yu-na mimicked an internet meme by grabbing and shaking some transparent money. Laughter erupted from everywhere.

“By the way, has anyone seen the spoiler here?”

“I didn't. I hate spoilers.”

“I saw a glimpse of it as I passed by. I didn't see it in detail.”

“I was just curious.”

Everyone looked at one person as he said that.

The male student pretended to zip his mouth shut under his intense gaze.

“I won't tell anyone. It's a secret.”

They all nodded with satisfied expressions and turned their eyes to the TV.

[Working Man!] started with a 12+ age rating.

Today's [Working Man!] was different from usual.

“Huh? Don't they usually chat with each other?”

“Yeah, why is it so short?”

Normally, there would be a scene where the members would chat with each other as a warm-up, but Park Young-jin quickly introduced the guests of [Babel Tower] after a brief conversation.

They showed the scenes from [Babel Tower] that had not been aired yet for each guest.

“Did they edit it?”

“I guess so.”

“Maybe they had a lot of fun footage and cut it short.”

The comments on the internet were similar to the reactions of the acting students.

-Did Working Man always have this fast pace? They cut down the chatting time a lot.

=No, no, it was the same as usual until last week.

-It feels like they edited out the filler parts and it's fun!

=22 Usually they introduce the guests and do some dance time or chat… Honestly, that's not fun.

=They should do this from now on. Working Man.

=That might be too much to ask lol

-I think the latter part will be similar to this.

-Maybe they have a lot of footage of Seo-jun coming out later.

=Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's it.

=I'm sure if I were them, I wouldn't edit out a single second of Seo-jun's appearance.

=Lol real time lol

=Lol I wish they showed Seo-jun without any editing lol

-I've been looking at the staff side since earlier.

=22 Black hat. Black hat.

=But why are there so many staff wearing hats today?

=Maybe the PD deliberately put in a lot of scenes with staff in them?

The viewers who were watching [Working Man!] were divided into three groups: those who were just enjoying it, those who were waiting for Seo-jun to appear, and those who had their eyes on fire to find Seo-jun.

-But I don't know.

=22 Is he even there?

One of the acting students who had been laughing at [Working Man!] said with a disappointed face as the first part of the show ended and the commercials came on.

“But won't this hurt the promotion of Babel Tower?”

“Yeah. It's fun, but I wonder if it will help the drama.”

Maybe because they were acting majors.

They were most worried about the drama promotion.

“SBC must have some idea. There's no broadcasting station that doesn't promote its own production drama.”

Hwang Do-yoon's words made Cha Yoo-na tilt her head.

“But did you all find Seo-jun?”

“No. I didn't see him.”

“Isn't he not out yet? The caption that says ‘Did you see actor Seo-jun?’ hasn't come up yet.”

The first part was over, so they should have shown Seo-jun by now, but the caption that said ‘Did you see actor Seo-jun?’ hadn't come up yet.

“Maybe he’ll come out in the second part because he suddenly appeared?”

“That makes sense.”

They all turned their eyes to the TV.

The commercials ended and [Working Man!] part two began. A ski resort with white snow piled up on the screen.

-That looks fun.

-I have to go there this winter!

-But when will Seo-jun come out?

=22 He doesn't seem to be coming out yet since they're recruiting ordinary people.

=…Suddenly I had this thought. Is he really coming out? Or was it just SBC’s wide-area aggro for ratings?

=Lol if he doesn't come out lol I'm going to blow up SBC lol

=Lol lol lol I canceled my promise to watch this lol let's go together lol

=Do you know how excited I was for a week lol

=I've been waiting for today only lol

=Me too lol (Do you really think this is laughing? SBC???(turns pale))

=(Spoiler alert) Seo-jun comes out. Calm down everyone;;;

The four teams scattered and recruited ordinary people and played games. After the turn of the front team passed, it was Choi So-yeong's team's turn.

The word was archery.

An ordinary person with a [Freshman] name tag took a familiar pose. It seemed like someone laughed with a pfft! sound somewhere.

-Wow… Is he an archery athlete?

=222 He's really good at it.

=He looks like an athlete. I do archery and he has the vibe of an athlete.

=Wow. Good timing!

-But what was that laughter just now?

=It looks like his friends from earlier lol

=To be honest, I would laugh too if my friend took that serious pose.

=Lol me too lol

“Archery!”

Choi So-yeong's team shouted the answer. The PD gave the correct answer and Park Young-jin quickly gave the next question. When it was the freshman's turn again, a caption came up.

[Can you guess it, viewers?]

The word was hidden.

The freshman hesitated for a moment and walked forward. He looked back and then bounced his knees back. He put his hands on the ground and jumped his legs into the air. He landed and then did another backflip.

-Oooh!

-Does an archery athlete do that too?

=No way lol

-Gymnastics?

=222 You can imitate archery, right?

=Taekwondo also does backflips.

=Lol they also do aerials.

-Whatever the sport is, he seems to be a physical education student. Isn't it hard to do that in a ski suit?

=22 He's wearing goggles and gloves too.

=But there are quite a few videos of people doing backflips in mascot costumes, so it might be easier than it looks.

=No, no, you can't do that normally.

=222 I can't do it as an ordinary person.

=Lol lol lol

Choi So-yeong unknowingly said, “…Circus?” and laughter erupted. Park Young-jin immediately shouted the correct answer, “Gymnastics”.

Choi So-yeong's team won first place and the ordinary people left the set.

The backs of the ordinary people who received the gift cards and headed to their companions were shown, along with a caption that said [Thank you for helping with the filming of Working Man!].

They showed the freshman and his friends who were laughing as if they were having fun.

The screen turned to the members and the guests.

The acting students wondered why their eyes were drawn to the freshman and his friends, when they heard Jung-hoon's voice shouting, “Wow! Seo-jun!”

“He must be coming out now!”

“Oh. A phone call? Is actor Choi So-yeong calling him?”

“Wow. They must be really close to call him right away.”

The acting students’ eyes sparkled.

Choi So-yeong's turn was postponed because she didn't seem to contact him right away, but fortunately, the other people's calls were edited quickly and it was Choi So-yeong's turn soon.

“Then it's So-yeong's turn now!”

“Do you keep in touch with Seo-jun?”

“Yes. We have a group chat with actor Lee Da-jin.”

“Ooh!”

The internet was also buzzing like the celebrities.

-Where are those who said Seo-jun and Choi So-yeong weren't close?

=They all disappeared after last week's Working Man preview lol

=They’re really fast lol

-But the editing got slower, right?

=222 It's almost real time.

=33 It seems like nothing was cut out.

Choi So-yeong on the TV screen said.

“But Seo-jun might be busy and not answer.”

“Then! We know that.”

“Just do it casually. Casually.”

-Do it casually! Unnie!

=We know he’ll answer, but do it casually!

=Lol lol lol

The viewers had become one with the celebrities in no time.

Choi So-yeong shrugged his shoulders and pressed the call button.

The set was quiet.

The viewers watching TV must have been quiet too.

Doo-doo-doo-

Just as the signal sound was about to start,

Dung!

A loud sound came from the speaker.

-…Huh?

-What's that sound?

The screen shook a little and turned to the side along with the sound.

It was a movement that would have been edited normally, but it felt like it was turned reflexively.

Dung-dung!

It was a strangely familiar sound, no, music.

Their hearts beat in sync with the music.

“This is…!”

Hwang Do-yoon and the students widened their eyes.

It was only a few words. But the viewers knew.

[Shadowman]

It was Jin Natra's OST.

Unlike on the scene, where the recorded ringtone was faint, [Working Man!] production team added some sound effects. Of course, not too loud, just enough to let them know it was a ringtone.

[Working Man!] production team tried their best to convey the surprise on the scene to the viewers as much as possible.

It seemed to warn them that their senses were not over yet.

Because they felt a different presence among the people who were standing sparsely on the camera.

“Wow…”

In the center, there was a man wearing a white ski suit and a sky-blue goggles.

They felt what star aura was like on their skin.

Was it an illusion?

It seemed like they could see a bright halo behind the man.

Dung-dung!

Jin Natra's OST rang out.

This time, it wasn't a ringtone, but a proper background music.

The music that made the speakers vibrate made the viewers’ hearts pound too.

They couldn't blink or turn their heads.

The man slowly raised his hand and moved the goggles that covered half of his face to his forehead.

…!

They couldn't make their eyes any bigger at his familiar face that they couldn't miss.

He didn't care about the people who were shocked or surprised.

He quickly took out his phone, took off his ski glove on his left hand, and pressed the call button.

At the same time, there was silence.

It seemed like all music, all sound was turned off.

As if to focus only on the protagonist.

And then the protagonist opened his mouth.

“Hello? So-yeong noona?”

…!!

Choi So-yeong's voice came to the ears of the astonished viewers as if to confirm their death.

“…Seo-jun, why are you here?”

The ski resort was filled with screams of people who were startled by the sudden appearance of a superstar.

And those screams spread to the viewers who were watching TV.

-???!!!

-Ahhhh!?!?

-…No, why is Seo-jun coming out here!?

-Wasn't he supposed to come after calling!? Why is he answering there?!

-Directing? Is this directing?!

=Yeah. Is this directing?

=It must be. He can't make an entrance like this without directing!!

-Wow. Wait a minute, this is not the end…

The members who suspected it was a hidden camera, the production team who were genuinely shocked, Jung-hoon who watched the drama, choi Soohee who was jealous, and Seo-jun's friends who greeted him. They were all captured almost without editing.

“I knew he looked familiar.”

“They were our juniors.”

The acting students put down their food and stared blankly at the TV screen.

Then, the screen went dark. A white caption came up.

[Did you see actor Seo-jun?]