Superstar From Age 0

After having lunch with his friends, seo-jun took a seat in the lecture hall where he had a liberal arts class.

Uncle Eun-chan and Da Ho hyung.

He tried to focus on his friends during lunch, but the two men kept popping up in his mind.

Soon, the instructor of the liberal arts class [About Violin (Advanced)] came in.

Maybe it was because it was the course registration period, but he didn't take attendance and just briefly introduced the course and the textbook and left. Seo-jun watched the instructor and the students who got up one by one and sent a message to his friends.

[I’ll be there later.

[I have something to think about.

His friends, who remembered Seo-jun's strange state, replied.

-Yang Ju-hee: Okay

-Yang Ju-hee: But come by 6 o’clock.

Seo-jun scribbled on the syllabus that the instructor had handed out with his pen while resting his chin on his left hand and sorted out his thoughts.

The lecture hall was empty for the next two hours, so it was a good place to get lost in his thoughts.

‘It's certain that there's a problem between the two…’

If there was something going on lately, or something that was going to happen, the first thing that came to his mind was re-contracting.

He drew a circle over the word [Re-contracting].

‘I'm an adult now, too.’

Seo-jun had been able to drink alcohol since January of this year, but Cocoa Entertainment planned to officially re-contract with him after March 10th, his 19th birthday, when the contract became legally effective.

This time, it was a contract between Seo-jun and Cocoa Entertainment without the consent of a guardian, so Seo-jun felt a bit excited and nervous.

‘I haven't received the contract yet…’

It was almost as if they had talked about re-contracting, except for signing.

He hadn't received the contract yet, and he planned to review it thoroughly after receiving it, so that wouldn't be a problem.

‘Then there must be something wrong between Da Ho hyung and Uncle Eun-chan…’

That was also strange because Cocoa Entertainment's president, seo Eun-chan, had only influenced the singer team so far.

He only knew about singers well because taking charge of Brown Black was his first job in the entertainment industry.

He didn't know much about actors.

Besides, there was only one actor in Cocoa Entertainment, and he was too famous and talented and also an investor of Cocoa Entertainment. So there was no reason for him to interfere.

‘Da Ho hyung and Team 2 did well, too.’

So Team 2, which was in charge of actor Lee Seo-jun, could be considered an independent team that was hardly affected by the president.

‘…Normally, there would have been a problem from the start.’

Of course, it was a situation that could hardly happen in the entertainment industry, where celebrities were almost treated as one-person companies. But it was easy for problems to arise when the president's power didn't reach them.

The president would try to influence Team 2 somehow or the team leader would do some behind-the-scenes work and take all the team members with him to become independent.

Seo-jun recalled the things he had seen on news or articles and continued his thoughts.

‘…Uncle Eun-chan and Da Ho hyung…?’

He imagined Seo Eun-chan's annoyed expression and Ahn Da Ho's behind-the-scenes work.

Seo Eun-chan looked annoyed when he saw his sister Seo Eun-hye and brother-in-law Lee Min-jun's lovey-dovey behavior.

Ahn Da Ho did some behind-the-scenes work when something interfered with Seo-jun's work.

Seo-jun couldn't help but laugh at the natural images that came to his mind.

“I can't imagine it at all.”

They weren't like that.

Even if he put aside their friendship and thought coldly, it was like that.

If President Seo Eun-chan interfered with Team 2, it would be useless if Seo-jun, who was an investor and an actor, opposed it.

Seo-jun could even become independent.

It was hard to interfere too much for the sake of having a Hollywood star as a name value.

And even if manager Ahn Da Ho became independent, it would be useless if Seo-jun didn't follow him.

Being a Hollywood star's manager would help him, but it was hard to succeed with just a name in the entertainment industry where even talented planners couldn't be sure of their next success.

‘Da Ho hyung would do well, but it would take time.’

Besides, Ahn Da Ho wouldn't leave Seo-jun and become independent.

There was trust, friendship, and affection between the actor and the manager who had been together for over 10 years.

Seo-jun ignored the fact that he had seen blood-boiling fights among blood relatives who had been together for decades.

“Then what is it?”

What could it be?

Why was Da Ho hyung's state weird, and why did Uncle Eun-chan call him directly?

Seo-jun tapped the paper with the tip of his pen.

“Ah, I don't know.”

If he thought simply, there might have been a small quarrel between Seo Eun-chan and Ahn Da Ho, and they were embarrassed to tell the young Seo-jun, but they wanted him to reconcile them.

Adults (even though Seo-jun was an adult now) tended to think that it was hard to reconcile without a reason.

“If that's the case, I’ll tease them for the rest of my life.”

He felt like a shrimp caught in a whale fight, something he had never experienced before.

Sighing, seo-jun muttered as he packed his bag.

“…But if they really fought big, whose side should I take…?”

Eun-chan uncle or Da Ho hyung.

He never dreamed that he would have such a dilemma when his birthday was just around the corner.

***

“I'm going to change my agency.”

Pfft!

Seo-jun, who was drinking a soda, had a strong reaction to Park Hyun-ju's words.

She was his colleague and four years older than him.

He started to cough as if his throat was sore from the fizzy drink.

Kang Jae-han, who was sitting next to him, handed him a tissue and a glass of water with a strange expression.

“Seo-jun, you’re acting weird today. You almost tripped on the way here, remember?”

“…I know. I don't know why I'm such a mess today.”

As soon as he got some attention, he felt like he could hear all kinds of stories from the world.

He had no idea that there were so many people who wanted to quit their jobs, move out, or fight with their seniors and juniors.

‘Well, the moving out part was about living alone, not quitting the company.’

He felt drained for some reason. He drank some water and asked.

“Hyun-ju noona. Can I ask why you’re changing companies?”

“Yeah. It's okay. It's a small place and there are a lot of rumors if you just search a little.”

Park Hyun-ju shrugged her shoulders.

“My current agency is in a faction war and they don't take care of their actors at all. It's a really small place but they fight like crazy. The company might explode at any moment. They’re brothers, you know… Maybe they know each other too well? Anyway, I'm leaving before it gets worse. Luckily, my contract ends in May, so it's easy to get out.”

“I see. Our agency has factions too. Not as bad as yours, though. Where are you planning to go?”

One of their colleagues at the same table asked Park Hyun-ju, who took a sip of her beer.

“Well, it's not like I can go wherever I want… A company that doesn't bother me with anything other than acting? But I wonder if there's such a place without factions. I’ll just go to a decent place. As long as it's not too bad. Some places are so bad that even the celebrities are divided and the company falls apart. I just need to avoid those places.”

“…Falls apart.”

Seo-jun muttered with a gloomy expression as he looked at the egg roll that was cut into pieces.

Kang Jae-han, Park Hyun-ju, and their colleague looked at each other with puzzled faces at Seo-jun's reaction.

***

The next day.

Seo-jun left his house and sighed.

He didn't drink a drop of alcohol at the gathering yesterday, but he felt like he had a hangover. His head was slightly throbbing.

‘I couldn't even read properly at the Library of Life.’

He wanted to read a story about someone who lived happily and died peacefully, so he chose one after much deliberation. But it turned out to be a life of someone who died in a faction war, without any help from the Library of Life.

“Hey! Seo-jun! Over here!”

Seo-jun was walking with a listless face when he saw someone who came to pick him up.

His eyes shook.

‘…Is that Da Ho hyung… No?’

It wasn't Ahn Da Ho, who usually came personally for even small matters, but an employee from Team 2.

He had been picked up by Team 2 employees before, but he was caught off guard by the situation.

“Uh… Hello. Hyung… Where's Da Ho hyung?”

“Team leader Ahn is busy with work, so I came instead. Hurry up and get in. Let's go.”

“Yes.”

His steps were heavy somehow.

He sat down and fastened his seat belt. Seo-jun felt like a shrimp caught in a whale fight again.

‘I thought it would be nice to experience various emotions among different people when I grow up… But this is too much.’

He sighed as he leaned his head against the window.

***

When he arrived at Cocoa Entertainment, seo-jun headed to the president's office on the fifth floor.

He stopped by Team 2’s office on the way to check if Ahn Da Ho was there, but he wasn't.

‘The atmosphere in Team 2 seems normal…’

He looked around carefully as if he was reading a script and analyzing a character. It was clear that Team 2 employees were the same as usual.

They didn't seem to know what was going on with Ahn Da Ho and Seo Eun-chan.

‘It would be faster to just ask them.’

No. They’ll tell you soon enough. Just go quickly.

Seo-jun walked quickly and knocked on the door of the president's office. It was louder than usual.

The door opened right away as if someone was waiting for him.

“Seo-jun. You're here?”

“…Da Ho hyung?”

Seo-jun blinked his eyes.

Ahn Da Ho was in the president's office.

“Hmm? Did you sleep badly yesterday?”

Ahn Da Ho checked Seo-jun's complexion and quickly led him to the sofa.

Seo-jun was pushed by Ahn Da Ho and sat on the soft sofa.

Seo Eun-chan, who was sitting at the head of the table and looking at some documents, raised his eyes at Ahn Da Ho's words and looked at Seo-jun.

To Seo Eun-chan, seo-jun looked the same as usual, but since his manager said so, he wondered if that was the case.

“What's wrong? Did you have a hangover?”

“Do you want me to get some medicine?”

Seo-jun cautiously sipped the tea that Ahn Da Ho gave him and his eyes darted between Ahn Da Ho and Seo Eun-chan.

‘They don't seem to have fought…?’

“…No. I don't have a hangover. I'm fine. Da Ho hyung.”

It was all because of Da Ho hyung and uncle.

‘…Did I overreact?’

He felt embarrassed for worrying too much.

But he was relieved that they didn't seem to have fought.

Seo-jun felt relaxed as the warm tea flowed into his body, easing his stress.

He leaned back on the sofa and sighed in relief.

Ahn Da Ho smiled brightly as he saw Seo-jun's face relax.

It seemed that he didn't have a hangover.

“Drink moderately, okay? Hangovers are tough.”

Seo Eun-chan said.

He couldn't believe he was saying this to Seo-jun.

Time really flew by.

He wondered when they would have a company dinner.

“I don't have a hangover. And I didn't drink yesterday.”

“You said you had a gathering with your colleagues, right? Isn't that when you drink boxes of alcohol?”

“Hmm. Everyone else did, but not me. But boxes are too much, uncle.”

Seo-jun laughed brightly.

“But what's going on? Why did you call me?”

“Ah…”

‘Why? Why?’

Why did the mood suddenly become serious?

He thought it was nothing serious and casually asked them, but they only groaned and rolled their eyes, looking at him nervously.

He felt frustrated.

“What is it, hyung? What's wrong, uncle? I'm really curious, you know? Uncle called me out of the blue yesterday and didn't tell me anything. Mom and dad asked me if something was wrong with hyung. And you didn't even come to pick me up today. I couldn't sleep well yesterday because I was curious.”

Seo Eun-chan rubbed his neck at Seo-jun's words.

“Oh, really? I guess I showed my worries too much. I didn't know what to say, so I was hesitating. Team leader Ahn seems to be the same.”

Ahn Da Ho's face darkened.

He had an idea why mom and dad said that.

He had a mix of emotions on his face that Seo-jun had never seen before.

So Seo-jun tensed up without realizing it.

“Seo-jun.”

Seo Eun-chan, who looked troubled, called Seo-jun.

“…Yeah?”

Ahn Da Ho, who sat across from Seo-jun, fidgeted with his hands nervously.

Seo-jun could see that clearly and answered late.

The president of Cocoa Entertainment opened his mouth.

“How do you feel about getting a new manager instead of team leader Ahn?”