Superstar From Age 0

It was March, the month of flowers.

“…But it's still cold!”

Hwang Do-yoon's words made Cha Yu-na nod.

“It's even colder in the morning.”

The student council members agreed and moved their hands quickly.

This was the acting department's lounge.

About half of the usual number of student council members were putting commemorative gifts, guidebooks, and a single flower in each paper bag for the acting department students and parents who would attend the entrance ceremony.

“We could have done this earlier, you know. This kind of thing.”

“The flowers have to be bought today to be fresh.”

“But we could have put the gifts and guidebooks in advance, right?”

“Uh, achoo! Let's turn on the heater.”

“The flowers will wilt!”

It was a chaotic scene that made Hwang Do-yoon think there was no such thing as a bigger mess. He sniffed his nose and carefully put the flowers in the paper bags without damaging them.

“There are no classes today, right?”

“Yeah. I don't know about other schools, but our school doesn't have classes on the day of the entrance ceremony.”

It was best to chat when doing simple tasks.

“Instead, we get to wander around and watch the performances.”

“I heard the art students are having an exhibition too.”

The entrance ceremony at KNUA was held at the grand theater, but there were also many other events.

Each department had an orientation event to introduce themselves to the new students and parents, saying ‘We study at this amazing school’. The clubs also actively participated to recruit new members.

And today, for some limited spaces, outsiders, that is, parents, were also allowed to enter.

The acting department also joined in and prepared a short play to be staged. They planned to open their lounge, practice room, and one classroom.

“Are they doing well with the play preparation?”

“They said so. But isn't the time too awkward? From 9:20 to 9:40.”

“It should be fine since it's in the same building.”

The student council members who were not here were preparing for the performance with the students at the ‘First Small Theater’ in the ‘Grand Theater’ building where the entrance ceremony would be held.

“Do-yoon hyung. The new student representative who will take the oath is from our department, right? Who is it?”

“Who else would it be? It's Seo-jun. He's the top of the whole school.”

“Wow… He must have had great grades.”

“He did really well on the college entrance exam too. He got perfect scores on Korean and English.”

The students exclaimed again at Cha Yu-na's words.

“He has it all. He has it all. Looks, brains, and acting skills.”

“This entrance ceremony is also a hot topic. He just revealed his play two days ago.”

“Did you see the fan movie? It was really well made. It fit perfectly as if it was planned from the start.”

“Seo-jun is lucky to have such a fan.”

The students nodded their heads.

While they were talking, they finished making 50 paper bags with commemorative gifts, including some extra ones. It took a while because they had to insert flyers from each club between the guidebooks.

“Now let's clean up!”

Hwang Do-yoon and the student council members quickly cleaned up the lounge after putting the paper bags with gifts in boxes to be moved to the grand theater.

“Who's going to stay in the lounge from 9 to 10?”

“Yu-na and me.”

Hwang Do-yoon's classmate Kim Min-woo and Cha Yu-na raised their hands.

The acting department decided to open their lounge from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. during this entrance ceremony.

“Make sure you guide them well when you give out the gifts at the grand theater.”

“Yes. Don't worry!”

Knock knock.

Then they heard a knock on the door.

“…Who is it? Is anyone coming?”

“Oh, hyung. It's 9 o’clock now.”

“Is it already that time?”

They didn't realize how fast time went by while they were cleaning.

They had to move the paper bags with gifts to the grand theater before 10 o’clock when the entrance ceremony started. Hwang Do-yoon and the student council members picked up boxes with paper bags in them.

“Well then, do well.”

“Don't worry about us and just come back on time. There's a fine for every minute you’re late.”

Kim Min-woo threatened as Cha Yu-na looked around the clean lounge and opened the door with a smile.

“Welcome! This is the acting department!”

Cha Yu-na's bright greeting made the new student and his parents widen their eyes and smile.

“Hello. Yu-na noona. Seniors.”

“Huh? Seo-jun!?”

She was surprised and happy to see that the first visitor was Seo-jun.

The student council members who were about to leave also stopped in their tracks.

Cha Yu-na greeted Seo-jun and his parents with a bright smile.

“Welcome! Welcome. I'm Cha Yu-na, a third-year student in the acting department. This is the lounge where the acting students can relax. This is a gift for you!”

Seo-jun smiled as he received the paper bag and saw the flower and the lock that looked like a script inside.

“You can use the lock when you get assigned a locker later.”

“Thank you. I’ll use it well.”

Cha Yu-na smiled at Seo-jun's gratitude and explained the guidebook to his parents.

“This is a guidebook. It has information about the events that our school holds throughout the year. Whether they are free or paid, whether they are open to the public or not, etc. Parents can see most of them. Oh, you have relatives with you too! I’ll give you another guidebook…”

She noticed two men standing behind his parents and was about to offer them a guidebook with a smile, but she froze.

“R… R…!”

“R?”

“R, ryan, Director Ryan?!”

Her voice cracked, but no one cared. Or rather, they couldn't care.

The student council members who were taking out new guidebooks from the extra ones and those who were about to leave looked at Cha Yu-na with puzzled eyes.

Director Ryan and Jonathan, who had been casually touring around KNUA in scarves and hats because of the cold weather, smiled and took off their scarves.

“/Nice to meet you. I'm Ryan Will./”

“Gasp…!”

“/I'm Jonathan Will./”

“Gulp…!”

The jaws of the acting students dropped as if they were going to touch the floor.

***

After exchanging brief handshakes and greetings with the frozen students, seo-jun and his parents, and the two directors left the lounge.

It seemed like they could hear someone shouting ‘I’ll never wash my hands…!’ from behind the closed door.

“/They are interesting students./”

“/Indeed./”

Seeing Director Ryan and Jonathan smile, he guessed he hadn't heard wrong. His mom and dad also had smiling faces.

“/Where do you want to go next?/”

Seo-jun opened the pamphlet with a small smile.

It was a pamphlet for the Korea National University tour, which listed the places, times, and events that would be open during the orientation day.

“Didn't you say there was a play too?”

“Yes. There was a building near the main gate, right? That's the Grand Theater, and inside there's a small theater where they perform a short play for 20 minutes. It's called Climax, a famous work. Do you want to go see it?”

“If you two are okay with it.”

Ryan, the director, said and Seo Eun-hye and Lee Min-jun smiled.

They seemed interested, as they didn't even look at the pamphlet and followed Seo-jun's words. The couple's answer was obvious.

“We’re fine. We have some time before the orientation and we’re curious about Seo-jun's seniors.”

“Then let's go!”

Seo-jun was excited and took the lead.

***

Grand Theater, small Theater 1.

It was early, before the orientation started, so the seats were sparsely filled.

“Let's think of it as a rehearsal. A rehearsal. It’ll be packed after the orientation.”

“Yes!”

The acting students who were preparing backstage were surprised by the sight of a man who came into the dressing room.

He held his right wrist with his left hand, as if he didn't want to touch anything.

“Oh… Hwang Do-yoon.”

But soon they realized that it was their senior, hwang Do-yoon, and they turned their eyes away as if nothing happened.

He was just a weird guy doing weird things, what was so strange about that?

Even the second-year students who had spent a year with him did the same.

“Come on, why doesn't anyone react? Shouldn't you ask if he's hurt or what happened?”

“What…”

They just thought he was being his usual self.

They decided to leave him alone for now, as they were busy preparing for the play.

“What happened?”

One of the students asked, feeling annoyed.

“Hehehe. I won't tell you.”

“…Sigh.”

Can I hit him?

Yes

A brief eye contact was exchanged.

They agreed to save it for later.

“Oh, I saw Do-yoon's younger sister in the audience earlier.”

“Hwang Ji-yoon? Oh, she's working on a movie idea and came to see the actors.”

“Why don't you work with him? You're an actor too.”

“No way. It’ll be a war. A world war level one.”

Well, siblings are like that.

The students nodded. Someone came into the dressing room.

It was a student who had checked out the audience.

“Seniors! Lee Seo-jun is here! He came with his parents and relatives!”

“Wow. So we’re showing our play to Lee Seo-jun?”

“…What do we do? I forgot all my lines!”

Most of them were meeting Seo-jun for the first time since they weren't at the OT party.

“I can't believe we’re showing our acting to him for the first time…”

“I feel nauseous.”

The students were flustered by Seo-jun's sudden appearance, when an executive of the student council turned his head.

He expected some words of encouragement from their senior, hwang Do-yoon, who was weird but reliable at times like this. But unlike usual, he didn't say anything.

He looked at Hwang Do-yoon and widened his eyes.

He had a shocked expression on his face, as if he was more surprised than anyone else here.

“…You guys are in big trouble.”

“What do you mean? You said we should treat him as a student. Bro. We’re just showing our acting to fellow students. What's the big deal?”

“No, not that… It's just… Ah… I can't tell you.”

He couldn't tell them that Ryan and Jonathan, hollywood directors, might be sitting in the audience and watching their play.

Hwang Do-yoon unconsciously scratched his head with his right hand and screamed in pain. He grabbed his right wrist.

“I was never going to wash this hand…!”

The students relaxed at Hwang Do-yoon's act of pretending to cry.

“…I really don't understand Do-yoon.”

“Me neither. But I'm glad everyone is less tense now.”

The executive who was in charge of the play raised his voice.

“Then let's start preparing for the show!”

“Yes!”

Hwang Do-yoon looked at them.

They didn't know it yet.

He clenched and unclenched his right hand that had shaken hands with Ryan.

Showing your acting to a director would be more impressive than a handshake.

“Ugh…! I'm jealous! You guys do your best! Show them your best acting ever!”

“Sis. Why is Do-yoon hyung acting like that since earlier?”

“Just ignore him. He's always like that.”

Hwang Do-yoon pretended to sob.

“Nobody appreciates my kindness…”

He felt like he could relate to the protagonist who wanted to shout that the king's ears were donkey ears.

***

The 20-minute play was over.

There was a clap of applause and the curtain fell.

The lights in the audience came on and they left their seats for the orientation that would start in 20 minutes.

/“That was fun.”/

/“Yeah.”/

Jonathan Will nodded at Lee Min-jun's words.

The students were all talented, probably because they were from the best school in Korea.

/“Those students are Seo-jun's seniors… They’re all good, right?”/

/“Some of them I've seen in works before.”/

/“Really?”/

Seo-jun's words made Ryan nod.

“…Wow… You're… You're Will, right?”

A woman's voice whispered. Seo-jun and Ryan turned their heads. It was four seats away from where Seo-jun was sitting.

“…Is it really…?”

She seemed to not believe her eyes, as her pupils shook.

She had the presence of mind to not make a loud noise even in her surprise. She also used Ryan's name, which was not familiar to Koreans.

She seemed to have noticed the situation quietly.

/“…I'm… I'm a huge fan. I've seen all the works you’ve made.”/

Her English was awkward, but the meaning was clear.

/“Nice to meet you. I'm Ryan Will.”/

/“I'm Ji-yoon Hwang, an aspiring movie director.”/

Both Seo-jun and Ryan looked at Hwang Ji-yoon with interest.

A movie director.

It was a word that was like a magic key to make someone like you.

/“Can I ask for a handshake?”/

/“Of course. I wish you all the best in making a great work.”/

The real Hwang Ji-yoon reached out his hand and Ryan, the director, smiled and shook it. His eyes sparkled.

/“Seo-jun. You must be invisible.”/

/“I guess so.”/

Jonathan and Seo-jun joked with a smile.

Whaaaat!?!!

There was a loud noise from behind the stage.

It sounded like people's voices, but it should have been soundproofed.

It showed how surprised they were.

Of course, hwang Ji-yoon didn't hear anything.

She had met the director she respected and loved the most.

/“I’ll be going then. Director.”/

/“Okay.”/

Hwang Ji-yoon looked at Ryan, the director, with a dazed expression and Seo-jun, the couple, and the two directors left the small theater 1 to go to the grand theater where the orientation would be held.

“Excuse me. Please go ahead.”

The student who was standing at the door smiled and stepped aside.

The people who looked like his friends also moved aside.

They happened to be from the film department, who would use the small theater 1 with the acting department today.

The student who made way lifted his head.

He must have been a family member or an acquaintance of a freshman, but he felt familiar somehow.

And he was a foreigner, but why did he feel familiar? A foreigner?

…?..??..!!

The students’ mouths opened slightly in confusion, then they opened wide enough to drop their jaws.

They were so shocked that they didn't make any sound.

Ryan, the director, saw the students who were surprised by him and raised his hand over his head to cover his face with the brim of his hat, but he only touched his hair.

Oh.

“I forgot my hat.”

He didn't have the scarf that covered half of his face either.

He had taken it off because it was annoying during the play, but he forgot to put it back on because of Hwang Ji-yoon's appearance.

“It's been quite a while since we hid it, right?”

“I guess so.”

Jonathan said with a smile and Seo-jun also smiled and took out his phone.

[The calming scent of apple blossoms is activated.]

He didn't forget to use his ability to calm people down.

Of course, he could have used another ability to hide Ryan and Jonathan.

But as an actor, seo-jun had an excuse for acting, but it would be hard to justify for Ryan and Jonathan.

‘The directors themselves would be puzzled too.’

Hiding their identity with a hat and a scarf, as if it wasn't magic.

‘…Well, it's kind of similar.’

It was better to reveal their identity at some point.

‘I didn't expect it to be revealed like this.’

But the time and place were within his expectations.

Seo-jun sent a message to Ahn Da Ho, who was waiting in the grand theater building.

-Help!

-Ahn Da Ho: I'm coming??