Superstar From Age 0

Incheon International Airport.

Ryan Will and Jonathan Will, two directors who had just exited the gate, followed the Cocoa Entertainment staff who came to greet them.

“Is it always this crowded here?”

Jonathan Will asked.

The staff smiled and answered as he guided the two directors to the car waiting at the exit.

“It's because there's an idol group arriving today. Those are their fans and the entertainment reporters.”

“I see.”

The word ‘idol’ made Ryan and Jonathan glance at the crowd for a moment.

They had no interest in idols, but they had to pay attention to them last summer because of a certain incident.

“Wasn't the singer of the music video that Jun appeared in, blue Moon, from the same agency as Jun?”

It was the music video appearance of Seo-jun Lee, an actor they had known for a long time.

Seo-jun's blue hair was eye-catching, and the two directors were amazed by his acting as he played five different members of Blue Moon and became Blue Moon itself.

“Yes, they are our idols. Did you watch the music video?” 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

“Of course. Who wouldn't if they are Jun's fans?”

Jonathan Will answered with a smile.

They chatted about the music video as they walked, when they heard a loud noise.

“…?..! It's Ryan Will!”

“Really?!”

The staff gestured as they felt the camera flashes.

The bodyguards who had been following them at a distance showed up.

“It seems like we’ve been spotted. Let's go quickly.”

They left behind the flashes and the people who rushed over and followed the staff.

As soon as they exited, there was a car in front of them.

The door opened automatically, as if there was someone inside.

Ryan Will was about to get in when he widened his eyes and smiled brightly.

“Jun.”

“Haha. Welcome, director. Jonathan.”

Seo-jun was there.

The two directors’ faces brightened at the sight of the actor who came to greet them.

They were also grateful to Seo-jun for giving them a ride.

“Get in quickly. We have to go.”

“Okay.”

Ryan Will got in with a smile and Jonathan Will followed him and shook hands with Seo-jun.

“Long time no see, Jun.”

“You too, Jonathan.”

The door closed tightly as soon as the two directors got in.

The staff also sat in the passenger seat.

The car started right away.

The reporters and people who couldn't take pictures of the two directors took pictures of the car that was leaving.

No one thought that Seo-jun was inside.

“Jun, you have a performance tomorrow. What about practice?”

Jonathan Will asked and Seo-jun answered with a smile.

“I only practiced in the morning today. Everyone seemed to be nervous because it's the last performance.”

Unlike plays that usually run twice a week considering the actors’ stamina and schedules, [MOEB-436] was a play that ran once a week, but everyone was surely tired. They felt more pressure because it was the last performance, so they only had practice in the morning today.

“I see. Are you okay, Jun? Even though you came to pick us up like this?”

“I'm fine. I know my body condition best.”

“That's good then.”

The two directors nodded at his words. They knew how passionate Seo-jun was about acting, so they trusted his self-care.

They met Seo-jun for the first time since Cannes Film Festival and had a pleasant conversation. They contacted each other frequently by phone and messages, but meeting in person was more enjoyable.

“Jun, did you see the views on your audition video? It went up a lot. Plus, I heard from Plus+ staff that many people watched my movie too.”

“It's a good movie.”

Jonathan Will, the director of [In the Name of God], looked regretful at Seo-jun's answer.

“I still regret not showing you the script once.”

Lucas Turner, who played the main character of [In the Name of God], was also an actor who was chosen after much consideration and suited the character very well, but whenever he saw Seo-jun's acting, he couldn't help but sigh.

“He said he watches your audition video every day.”

“Really?”

Seo-jun widened his eyes and smiled brightly.

No actor would not be happy to see a director who regretted like that.

“Please show me your script next time, Jonathan.”

Seo-jun and Jonathan Will laughed and talked about [In the Name of God].

“I wonder if I would have directed it differently if Jun was in it?”

“That would have been nice too.”

Ryan Will quietly watched his nephew.

———

“Seo-jun. /Director Ryan Will. Director Jonathan Will. There are articles about you./”

A while later.

When they were talking about dinner menu, the staff who sat in the passenger seat handed over a PinePad to the three of them.

There were articles about Ryan Will and Jonathan Will's visit to Korea on the PinePad screen.

“I wanted to come and go quietly like Evan and Rachel, but…”

Ryan Will, who was looking at the articles translated from Korean to English, said and Seo-jun laughed.

“Evan and Rachel have been to Korea many times, so they know how to act like tourists. Even our staff couldn't recognize them last time.”

They were pro-secret visitors, so to speak.

They knew what clothes to wear and how to behave so that they wouldn't be noticed by people.

“That's not what acting skills are for…”

Ryan Will's words made Seo-jun and Jonathan laugh.

***

The next day.

Milky Way Center, second Theater, waiting Room.

“So I ate with them until last night.”

“Wow!”

The [436] team exclaimed at Seo-jun's story.

Seo-jun smiled as he saw more kids than usual listening attentively.

It was the last performance today, so the entire [436] team, including the music team, was gathered.

“But Seo-jun hyung. Are Director Ryan Will and Director Jonathan Will okay? The play is in Korean. There are no subtitles.”

Kim Young-chan, who had become comfortable enough to call Seo-jun ‘hyung’, asked and Seo-jun answered with a smile.

“They’re fine. They both understand Korean.”

“Wow! Do they speak Korean well? Like Evan Block and Rachel Hill?”

Park Yeon-ji asked and Seo-jun shook his head.

“No. But they listen well.”

Their listening skills improved a lot after watching various Korean works starting from Seo-jun's Korean works.

They could now understand most of the Korean works without subtitles.

“They said they have trouble with wordplay or metaphors, but they watch historical dramas well, so they should be fine with the latter part of the play.”

“That's good.”

“Ah, are you going to interpret for them when they watch the rehearsal today, seo-jun?”

Kim Joo-kyung asked and the kids looked at Seo-jun.

Director Ryan: We have arrived.

Seo-jun opened his mouth after checking the message that said they had arrived.

“No. I can't stay with you all the time.”

“But still…”

“Then we can't talk.”

The kids looked disappointed.

They hoped they could have a little chat with the Hollywood directors, but it seemed difficult.

‘Well. Practice is more important anyway.’

Seo-jun smiled at their reaction.

“You can understand English well, right?”

“…Huh?”

The kids nodded their heads in confusion.

The music and art students who had a lot of overseas activities were also studying hard foreign languages such as English, and the acting students also watched and analyzed Hollywood movies often, so they were good at listening to English.

Seo-jun grinned.

“The directors will speak in English and you will speak in Korean. That's how you can communicate.”

“…Huh?”

“Theater and movies are a bit different, but the directors agreed to comment slowly with easy words, so you should learn well.”

“…What?!”

“The directors have arrived. I’ll bring them in. Wait here.”

As Seo-jun got up from his seat, the kids also jumped up and panicked.

“Wow. Can we really communicate like that?”

“But I think we can do it. The directors can understand Korean and we can understand English. It might look a bit weird though.”

“That's true, but…wait! They’re coming now!?”

Seo-jun laughed as he watched his friends and walked outside.

Two people were walking from the parking lot to the building where the second theater was located, as if a Cocoa Entertainment staff had brought them.

“/Welcome!/”

He greeted Ryan and Jonathan Will warmly and tilted his head.

“/What happened yesterday?/”

Jonathan Will looked gloomy for some reason.

His shoulders were slumped and he was walking a little apart from his uncle Ryan, who was the director.

Unlike yesterday, when he was excited about the play, his eyes were always looking down.

“/Ask him yourself./”

Ryan smiled faintly and said that as he entered the building where Seo-jun came out. It didn't seem like a bad thing.

“/What's wrong, Jonathan?/”

Seo-jun rolled his eyes and asked Jonathan Will. Jonathan Will sighed heavily and opened his mouth.

“/…I got scolded./”

“/What?/”

“/Uncle scolded me./”

He got scolded?

Seo-jun blinked his eyes and Jonathan Will sighed again and messed up his hair.

“/He said that if movies are made together by actors and directors…then it's my fault as a director that I didn't like Lucas Turner's acting./”

“/…Oh./”

It seemed like the conversation they had in the car yesterday was the cause.

Seo-jun stopped walking and waited for Jonathan Will to speak.

‘The kids will do well on their own.’

The kids who were waiting for Seo-jun in the waiting room might be surprised to see Ryan, the director, arrive alone, but he thought it would be fine since they could somehow communicate in Korean and English as they had discussed.

“/If you don't like it that much, you should have commented during the shooting to bring out the actor's potential, or reflect and think about how to make a better work in the future, instead of throwing a tantrum like an actor…/”

Jonathan Will sighed again. Seo-jun listened quietly.

“/I can't always have an actor like Jun in my movies, but if I keep blaming the actors, I won't be able to make a proper work, he said./”

“/That's…all true./”

Jonathan Will smiled bitterly at Seo-jun's words.

“/I know. When I think about it, I really liked it when I was shooting. No, I liked it when I was editing and when I first screened it./”

He thought it was such a good work then, but he didn't know why he was left with only regrets and longing.

He felt sorry for Lucas Turner, who had accepted his comments perfectly and showed a great performance.

Seo-jun opened his mouth after thinking for a moment.

“/Maybe it's because your skills have improved?/”

“/…Huh?/”

“/It's been a few years since In the Name of God came out./”

Seo-jun said with a smile.

“/In the meantime, your eyes have become much higher and you can see the flaws. It's normal to see only the bad points when you look at old works. Don't you like your first movie even less?/”

“/…That's true./”

His first movie.

It was a precious movie because it was his first work, but if he looked at it coldly, there were more than one or two things that bothered him.

The actors’ acting skills, camera movements, script, editing, directing, sound, etc. It seemed faster to find what he liked.

“/…It's because my skills have improved./”

Jonathan Will was about to cheer up when Seo-jun's voice rang in his ear.

“/But it's still your fault that you turned it into blaming the actor./”

“/Ugh./”

No, it felt like it hit his conscience.

Jonathan Will flinched as if he was stabbed by his conscience.

“/I would be a little sad if the director who worked with me kept complaining about other actors./”

“/…Ugh./”

“/No, I would be very sad. I would wonder if my acting was that lacking./”

“/…Ugh!/”

Jonathan Will, surrender.

The director Jonathan Will, who had dozens of arrows stuck in his conscience, reflected.

When he thought about it, what was initially a brief regret became a lingering attachment and a tantrum, and after watching Seo-jun's audition video every day, he ended up saying ‘If Jun had acted instead of Lucas, he would have won the award…’ and blamed the actor.

‘How stupid…’

Jonathan Will, who was washing his face dryly, lifted his head and looked at Seo-jun.

But Jonathan wanted to make a little excuse to Seo-jun at least.

“/…But I was complimenting Jun…?/”

“/That's true, but I think I empathize more with the actor than the director./”

Actor Seo-jun Lee shrugged his shoulders and said.

Jonathan Will smiled bitterly and sighed.

“/Sigh. I have to be careful from now on./”

“/Me too./”

Seo-jun nodded his head.

‘I didn't think about that…’

An actor who seemed to suit the work better than the one who appeared in it.

He thought it was just a compliment, but it would be sad for the person who had worked hard on the acting to hear it.

‘If he had done poorly, I wouldn't know.’

Lucas Turner's acting was cool.

“/The actor is fine./”

“/…What?/”

Jonathan Will scratched his cheek and recalled what he had heard from Ryan, the director, last night after Seo-jun left.

‘Jun is fine. He's an actor too. It's not good to be arrogant and look down on other actors, thinking that he can do better than them, but it's a good mindset for an actor to have a competitive spirit for better acting, knowing his own skills. But you can't do that as a director. Jonathan Will.’

Ryan's eyes appeared clearly in Jonathan Will's head.

‘You can't grow if you blame everything on the actor. Even if the actor is the problem, you have to look at yourself first. And study how you can shoot better.’

Suddenly, he remembered the time when he was shooting [Shadowman 2].

While Seo-jun was trying to find the acting he liked for months, ryan Will, the director, didn't rest either.

He delayed the shooting time as much as possible for Seo-jun and changed the script several times to suit Seo-jun's acting in the movie.

He showed him how to shoot better in person.

‘The revised versions were burned because they were no longer needed.’

Jonathan smiled faintly as he remembered the revised versions that were burning in the yard, thanks to Seo-jun's successful acting change after months of not giving up.

They were both amazing directors and actors in many ways.

“/He said Jun would accept the compliment as it is and instead of being arrogant, he would study the good and bad points of that acting and try to improve./”

Seo-jun scratched his cheek shyly at Ryan's compliment that was conveyed through Jonathan Will's words and opened his mouth.

“/But you still have to be careful because you never know when and how these words will reach the actors./”

“/…That's true./”

He hadn't thought of that.

He still saw too many flaws in himself, so Jonathan Will unknowingly sighed, but his face wasn't that dark.

“/Let's go in now. Jonathan./”

Seo-jun smiled as he looked at Jonathan's relaxed face and took the lead.

“/Okay./”

Jonathan looked at him and then moved his feet.

His steps seemed quite light.