Superstar From Age 0

Seo-jun smiled brightly at Kwon Se-ah's words, blinking his eyes.

“Really? Do you want to compose or perform? If it's performing, you must be good at it. I don't know much about movie music production companies, but I know some movie production companies, so I can ask them for you. If you’re interested in performing, you'll get a lot of requests.”

“I'm more into composing than performing…”

Kwon Se-ah, who was flustered by Seo-jun's sudden enthusiasm at the mention of movies, came to her senses.

“Composing, huh. But I think it would be better to start with performing and get used to the atmosphere…”

“No! Wait a minute, seo-jun oppa!”

“Is that not good…? Huh?”

Seo-jun, who was looking at the production companies that were currently filming or planning to produce movies on his phone (they were decent production companies that didn't look down on students, carefully selected by Cocoa Entertainment's second team), lifted his head.

“Huh… Isn't that weird?”

“Weird? What is?”

“Well…”

Kwon Se-ah slumped her shoulders and opened her mouth.

“A classical musician suddenly wants to compose movie music.”

“…? If you want to do it, just do it.”

Seo-jun said calmly, as if there was nothing strange about it, and Kwon Se-ah felt a strange feeling.

‘If you want to do it, just do it…’

That was a very difficult thing for Kwon Se-ah, who was a genius violinist and received all the attention in the classical world.

Seeing Kwon Se-ah's gloomy face, seo-jun smiled and put down his phone.

“Was that your concern?”

“Sigh. Yes.”

Kwon Se-ah opened up her story in the relaxed atmosphere.

“You know that Over the Rainbow is my favorite movie, right?”

“Yeah. I know.”

It was their fifth meeting since they started the group class. They had to spend an hour in the same practice room, analyzing each other's performances and talking, so they had to have some small talk to break the awkwardness.

And that was easier if they had something in common, and that was very easy for Seo-jun and Kwon Se-ah. There was hardly anyone who hadn't seen Seo-jun's works, and they both liked the violin.

They talked about the works, the violin, and Professor Benjamin Morton and Jason Moore, and they soon became close.

“The reason I started playing the violin was also because of Over the Rainbow.”

“Hmm. My cousin did too.”

Seo-jun thought of Kim Subin, who was not his real cousin, but like a real cousin.

‘I remember there was a violin boom back then, and a lot of kids went to violin academies.’

It was probably because there were many violinists of the same age who were not influenced by [Over the Rainbow].

‘Even now.’

[Over the Rainbow] was still available on VOD.

Kwon Se-ah asked Seo-jun.

“How old is your cousin? Is he good at violin?”

“He's 11 now. Fourth grade in elementary school. He's been learning since he was six, so he's good.”

Kwon Se-ah was amazed by the young age.

“I see. He must be really good if you say so. Oh, by the way, you were in elementary school when you starred in Over the Rainbow, right?”

“Yeah. I filmed it when I was in fifth grade. I started practicing the violin when I was in fourth grade.”

“Wow…”

It was still an amazing violin performance, and he did it when he was in fifth grade. She was impressed.

Seo-jun also felt a strange feeling. He realized that Subin was already that old.

‘He still looks like a baby.’

He wondered if his parents and Da Ho hyung felt the same way when they saw the young Seo-jun who was excited about filming a movie.

“But you were so good at playing the violin, didn't anyone tell you to do classical?”

“They did. Jason did.”

Oh. Jason Moore.

Kwon Se-ah's eyes sparkled when the most famous violinist was mentioned.

“But why didn't you? You would have been great at it! You could have won awards at international competitions if you did.”

“I liked acting more than playing the violin. And if it's awards… I got an Academy Award back then.”

Oops.

Kwon Se-ah realized that the person in front of her was still the first and youngest Korean to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, a record that was not broken.

“…You were amazing since you were young. What did I do when I was in fifth grade?”

“Maybe you were practicing the violin?”

“Ah. That's right. I worked really hard.”

Seo-jun smiled softly at Kwon Se-ah, who nodded her head, and brought the conversation back to the original direction. He didn't know how they got this far.

“So you said Over the Rainbow was the reason you started playing the violin?”

“Ah, yes.”

Kwon Se-ah remembered her story and began.

“When I was young, my cousin came to visit. That's when I saw Over the Rainbow for the first time.”

Kwon Se-ah still remembered that day vividly.

Her aunt scolded her cousin for watching the same movie over and over again, her cousin defended the remote control, and her mom said she enjoyed watching it at the theater. In between, there was young Kwon Se-ah, who was watching [Over the Rainbow] for the first time.

“It was very chaotic before it started. But as soon as the movie started, the living room was quiet.”

Everyone was focused on the movie, and young Kwon Se-ah felt it too. It made her curious and made her pay attention to the movie.

“There was a beep sound like a concert, and Rebecca got up. But it was hard to read the subtitles because she was speaking English.”

“Haha.”

Seo-jun laughed softly. He listened to Kwon Se-ah's words. Unless it was a case like Subin or Eun-su, who played with Seo-jun in English since they were young, most kids would have been like that.

“But the movie was so fun that I watched it without blinking. I didn't even need to read the subtitles.”

Young Kwon Se-ah was immersed in the movie. And when the movie reached its climax, young Kwon Se-ah faced a scene that she would never forget in her life.

The melody of happiness and despair, and a faint hope, continued. The performance that tickled her heart as if it was about to explode subsided, and the background changed. Again, happiness and despair, and the small hope that remained stubbornly, finally exploded.

It was a dazzling brilliance that made her whole body tingle.

“The scene where Gray, who was playing in the park, changed to Gray, who was playing in the concert hall, with the direction and music, I think I’ll never forget it in my life.”

Kwon Se-ah looked dreamy as if she was dreaming, and Seo-jun smiled.

That scene was one of the most memorable scenes in [Over the Rainbow], along with the commemorative ticket, and it was also one of Seo-jun's favorite scenes.

“I didn't feel the emotion of the commemorative ticket because I watched it on VOD, but… It left a strong impression on me. As soon as the movie ended, I told my mom that I wanted to do that!”

Young Kwon Se-ah's words made her mom and aunt laugh. Then they looked at her cousin. Her cousin also said she wanted to play the violin like young Kwon Se-ah.

“The difference is that my cousin lost interest and quit after three months, but I was full of interest and… I know it's a bit awkward to say this, but… I had a lot of talent.”

Kwon Se-ah, who learned at a local music academy, impressed her teacher with her talent and was introduced to a more famous teacher. She participated in domestic and international competitions, held concerts, and eventually entered Korea National University of Arts early.

She received recommendations from prestigious foreign universities, but she decided to stay in Korea for now, since she was still young.

“That was the problem.”

Kwon Se-ah shook her head and corrected herself.

“No, not the problem… I realized the cause of the discomfort I had.”

She loved music. She loved the violin. She enjoyed playing and listening to it. She liked practicing, even though it was hard, because it was rewarding.

But at some point, something started to bother Kwon Se-ah's heart.

“I never looked at any other path. My parents, my teacher, my professor, they all said that this was my path, that the violin was my path, and I thought so too.”

She was a genius violinist in Korea, and she got a lot of articles and attention from the classical world. It would be a waste to look at another path with such talent.

Seo-jun nodded. Professor Benjamin must have remembered Kwon Se-ah from the overseas competition he judged, so it made sense.

“When I was in second year, a close friend of mine got to work on movie music. It was a small independent movie directed by a student from our school's film department, and the actors were students from the acting department. You know, right? Project Team.”

“I know. I'm interested in it too, so I'm looking for announcements.”

Project Team, where not only Korea National University of Arts students, but also outsiders could work together.

Seo-jun was also interested and looking for notices.

“I was curious, so I went with her.”

Ha.

Kwon Se-ah sighed heavily. She looked worried, with her shoulders drooping, but her eyes were shining.

That day was also a day she would never forget in her life.

“The video that the Project Team made was definitely lacking compared to commercial movies or other independent movies, so I was a bit disappointed. But now that I think about it, it might have felt that way because there was no background music. But then, the music that my friend composed and played came in.”

The music flowed and the characters on the screen moved. The music changed according to the emotions and atmosphere of the characters, and the emotions and atmosphere of the characters changed according to the music.

It was like magic.

It was as if the black and white screen had changed to a thousand natural colors.

She realized then.

I want to do that.

That ‘that’ that the young Kwon Se-ah pointed to was different from the ‘that’ that the adults thought.

Kwon Se-ah made a face as if she couldn't believe it herself.

“That kid didn't know what a music director was. And the adults probably didn't think that the kid wanted to be a music director, not a visible violinist.”

“That makes sense.” 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

My god.

Not a violinist, not a movie director, but a music director.

Even Seo-jun would have mistaken it for sure.

“But it's not anyone's fault…”

Kwon Se-ah quickly shook her head at Seo-jun's words.

“I'm not blaming anyone. It's just… I like playing the violin, too. It's just… Now that I know what I really want to do, I want to do it, but…”

Kwon Se-ah sighed.

“It's hard to tell the people around me.”

“Really?”

“…Seo-jun oppa. Can you stop making that ‘just do what you want’ expression?”

Seo-jun shrugged his shoulders, and Kwon Se-ah continued.

“I've been taking composition classes since then. I think I have some talent, too. So I thought about doing both violin and composition, but… I don't think I have the ability to do both. If I focus on one, I’ll neglect the other…”

What should she choose then?

Kwon Se-ah, who had been thinking about it for a long time alone, asked Seo-jun.

“What do you think, oppa? If you wanted to do something other than acting, I mean.”

Kwon Se-ah wanted to ask him since the first time she saw him in the [About the Violin (Advanced)] classroom.

She was curious what Seo-jun, who had grown up receiving the attention and expectations of others since he was young, would decide in a situation that was contrary to the expectations of others. And she hoped that his decision would help her.

“Something other than acting…”

Seo-jun was deep in thought. It was a very, very deep thought.

Because it was something he had never thought about since he was seven months old.