Superstar From Age 0

“Professor Al… I mean, Professor Mohr! Nice to meet you! I'm Ji-woo Park!”

Ji-woo quickly regained her composure and greeted the professor who had approached her with a surprised expression. Professor Albert Mohr smiled and said.

“Please call me Professor Albert, Park.”

“Please feel free to speak to me as well.”

Professor Albert nodded and extended his hand.

“I'm very glad to meet you, Ji-woo.”

“So am I!”

Ji-woo clasped Professor Albert's hand with an excited expression.

“Are these your friends?”

“Yes. They are my friends who came with me from Korea.”

“Hello, Professor.”

Seo-jun and Ji-yoon bowed their heads and Professor Albert said with a smile.

“Are you interested in the special lecture too?”

He looked like he would make room for them right away if they said yes. Seo-jun and Ji-yoon broke out in a cold sweat and declined.

“We don't know anything about that field.”

“We’re sorry!”

Professor Albert said with a laugh.

“I'm just kidding. I know Ji-woo is special. But how about taking a look around? Is this your first time at the University of Paris 5?”

Seo-jun and Ji-yoon exchanged glances. It wouldn't matter if they went to the International Book Fair a little late. The books wouldn't run away.

“Can we take a look for a while?”

“Of course.”

Professor Albert led the way and Ji-woo, seo-jun, and Ji-yoon followed him.

The main gate of the University of Paris 5 was not far from the bus stop.

The University of Paris 5, which looked impressive with columns that seemed to belong to an ancient temple on both sides, was large, but unlike Korean universities with spacious campuses and multiple buildings, it seemed like one building was all there was.

“You don't have to run to get to class here.”

“Right.”

Ji-woo and Ji-yoon nodded at Seo-jun's words, who was a college student himself.

As they passed through the main gate, a small yard surrounded by the University of Paris 5 building in a ‘?’ shape appeared. Professor Albert took Seo-jun and the kids into the building entrance across the yard.

The ceiling, walls, and pillars were like works of art. And there were statues and sculptures that seemed to be carved of the greats who graduated from this university, as well as decorative pieces, all over the hallways and stairs, making it look even more magnificent.

“Do you know why the universities in Paris are called by numbers?”

Professor Albert, who had been watching the kids looking around in awe, asked with a smile.

“I heard it was because of the leveling.”

Professor Albert nodded at Ji-woo's answer.

“That's right. It was because they were all separated from the University of Paris. There are universities 1 to 9 in the Paris University District, universities 10 and 11 in the Versailles University District, and universities 12 and 13 in the Créteil University District.”

It was either class time or there was some other event, but the hallways of the University of Paris 5 were quiet. Professor Albert continued his explanation.

“The universities in Paris have gone through many changes. They were gathered and scattered repeatedly. The predecessor of the University of Paris 5, the University of Paris, was founded in the 12th century. It was later than the 11th century when the University of Oxford in England lectured, but it was an old university.”

The 12th century was around 1100, and the 11th century was around 1000.

“…That's the Goryeo era.”

“…Wow…”

Seo-jun's words made Ji-woo and Ji-yoon exclaim without realizing it. Of course, it was a long time ago, so it wasn't the same university as it is now, but it was still a fact that it was old.

Professor Albert went on.

“The University of Paris, which had continued until then, was closed in 1793 when the French Revolution broke out.”

The French Revolution, when King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette were executed.

It was amazing and surprising that the events that they had only seen in history books were related to the university where Seo-jun and his friends were standing.

“And about ten years later, the University of Paris was revived by Napoleon I.”

Even Napoleon appeared.

‘Ah, come to think of it, napoleon became emperor after the French Revolution, so it makes sense.’

But it was still amazing, so Seo-jun and his friends listened carefully to Professor Albert's explanation.

“And in 1968, the 68 Movement broke out all over France. It was also called the May Revolution, and there was a demand from the students to overhaul the French universities. Because of that, a reform plan was adopted in November of the same year to divide the University of Paris into 13 universities, and to eliminate the hierarchy between the universities, they were called by numbers.”

Professor Albert said.

“Over time, each university has been given a different name. This is the University of Paris 5, as you know, but it is also called Descartes University. Do you know who Descartes is?”

“He was a philosopher who left the famous saying, ‘I think, therefore I am.’”

Professor Albert nodded with a smile at Ji-yoon's answer, who seemed to know a lot of things because she liked books.

“The other universities also have names like Panthéon-Sorbonne, Panthéon-Assas, etc. And each university has a different atmosphere. Especially the 8th university has a radical atmosphere, so they almost occupy the school and hold demonstrations every semester. I wish they would at least spare me the lunch time.”

Seo-jun and his friends laughed at Professor Albert's words.

They headed to Professor Albert's office after looking around the school. It was the office he used for the special lecture, but it was bigger than expected.

Professor Albert sat Seo-jun and his friends on the sofa and gave them drinks. Then he handed a paper bag to Ji-woo, who had left it on one side. Ji-woo opened her eyes wide and looked inside the paper bag. There were necklaces with Ji-woo's photo and books written in English.

“These are books related to the content of the special lecture. They are books for students, so they are not that difficult. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me.”

“Thank you!”

Ji-woo, who had taken out a book and looked at it, thanked him with sparkling eyes.

Seo-jun and Ji-yoon smiled as they watched their happy friend. Professor Albert seemed to be a better person than they thought, and they felt relieved.

***

As they waited for the bus at the bus stop to go to the International Book Fair, seo-jun suddenly remembered something.

“Doesn't that remind you of something?”

“What?”

Ji-yoon tilted her head.

“The stories about graduate students that circulate on the internet. Like, they asked a question because they were curious about something in the professor's class and ended up having a debate and becoming a graduate student, or they became friends with the professor and somehow became a graduate student, and so on.”

“Oh. I know that.”

“Professor Albert came to pick us up and prepared books for us. He must really like Ji-woo.”

“Right. What if Ji-woo goes to graduate school too?”

Of course, it was a foreign university and a medical school, so that would hardly happen.

But it seemed like Professor Albert liked Ji-woo so much that they thought of that.

“If it was a Korean university and a different major, the email Ji-woo sent would have been a direct ticket to graduate school, 100%.”

Ji-yoon nodded with a laugh at Seo-jun's words.

“Come to think of it, there was also a story about a professor who hired a mercenary to rescue his isolated graduate student disciple from a terrorist group.”

“That was really amazing.”

They talked about the stories they had seen on the internet about graduate students, such as ‘a graduate student who stopped a robber who tried to steal his doctoral thesis (no copy)’ or ‘a homeless person who was reported to be a graduate student’, and Seo-jun and Ji-yoon boarded the bus to the International Book Fair.

Seo-jun and Ji-yoon arrived at the venue where the International Book Fair was being held.

They were a bit late because they had to attend a class at Paris 5 University, but the event was still in full swing. They had plenty of time to look around, as the fair would last for ten days.

“There are so many people here.”

“Yeah. It looks like a lot of tourists are here too.”

Seo-jun and Ji-yoon, who had toned down their presence, picked up some pamphlets that were available at the entrance. Unlike the promotional pamphlets that Ji-yoon had brought last time, these pamphlets introduced the details of the event.

The Paris International Book Fair was held in two places: an outdoor venue and an indoor venue. The pamphlets were also divided into two types according to the location.

Ji-yoon opened the pamphlet for the outdoor venue first.

The outdoor venue, which used an entire park, had a festive atmosphere where children and their families, as well as general readers who had some interest in books, could enjoy together.

There were playgrounds for children (based on popular fairy tales), stalls selling character goods related to fairy tale books, booths selling snacks and drinks, and booths selling short stories that were easy to read. There were also places where people could sit and read the books they bought right away. In addition, there were many booths related to culture and arts.

“They have food booths outside too. We can have lunch here.”

There was also a food zone where they could have a proper meal right next to it.

“It seems like they planned it more like a festival than just a book fair.”

The indoor venue was where publishers and related people from all over the world gathered to do business or to conduct more calm programs such as writing workshops or lectures by famous authors. For the book lovers, there were also publisher booths divided by country, which would be open from the fourth day of the event.

“Shall we check out the outdoor venue first?”

“Sure!”

Seo-jun and Ji-yoon decided to explore the outdoor venue first. Ji-yoon, who had a bright expression on his face, stopped in his tracks and said, “Ah, by the way, Grace said she was coming today too. I wonder when she’ll arrive. We agreed to hang out together…”

“Do you want me to call her?”

Ji-yoon nodded, and Seo-jun took out his phone.

[Grace.

[We’re at the book fair. Have you arrived?

They waited for Grace's reply while standing by the side of the road, looking at the pamphlets and finding the Hero Publishing House, which published [Mirror], among the Korean publishers who participated in the event. They were glad to see it and also talked about what they wanted to eat at the outdoor food zone.

But time passed and Grace didn't even read the message.

“I wonder what's going on. Is she busy helping Laura?”

“Hmm. How about we look around by ourselves for now?”

“Okay. Let's do that.”

Ji-yoon agreed with Seo-jun's suggestion.

***

The first place they went to was the book booth, which was the center of the book fair.

Fortunately for Ji-yoon, who liked fairy tale books as well as any other books, there were not only French books but also English-translated books on display at the booths. It was natural for an international event.

“I think European fairy tale books have more diverse stories, even though some of them don't seem suitable for children.”

“I agree.”

Unlike the usual fairy tale books that ended with a happy ending, seo-jun and Ji-yoon exchanged various stories while walking around the books that had tragic endings.

“/Seo-jun?/”

Then, they heard someone's voice.

There might be other people named ‘Seo-jun’, but the bodyguards who were pretending to be ordinary people paid attention.

“/Laura?/”

Seo-jun smiled brightly when he saw the familiar voice. Ji-yoon's reaction to seeing someone he knew made the bodyguards lower their guard.

“/It's been a long time since we met like this!/”

“/I know, right. We only saw each other through video calls./”

Ji-yoon's eyes widened as she saw the woman who greeted Seo-jun warmly. She was Grace Welton's sister, the author of [Eclipse], Laura Welton.

“/This is my friend./”

“/H-hello! Ms. Welton!/”

“/You're Seo-jun's friend? I'm really glad to meet you too! And just call me Laura!/”

“/Okay!/”

The three of them exchanged brief greetings and moved on.

Laura Welton, who met her younger sister's friends, bought them some cookies from one of the snack booths between the book booths. Seo-jun asked her while eating a chocolate cookie.

“/What about Grace? Didn't she come with you? I can't reach her either…/”

“/She seems to have lost her way again. Her phone is probably out of battery. That's why she can't use the map or contact anyone./”

“/Oh…/”

Seo-jun smiled wryly, knowing that Grace was bad at directions.

‘She was lost when we first met too.’

He thought she had lost her way because it was Halloween and there were a lot of people, but it turned out that she was just naturally bad at directions. He had also received messages from her saying that she was lost from time to time.

‘And we helped her find her way through video calls with Charlie.’

Whenever that happened, seo-jun and Charlie, who didn't live in New York, were better at finding the way than Grace.

Ji-yoon looked worried as she heard that Grace was wandering around.

“/Shouldn't we find her quickly then?/”

“/She's nineteen now. She can handle herself. She won't leave the venue and she has money, so she can buy lunch on her own. She knows a little French, so she can go to the lost and found center later./”

“/You seem very used to this, Laura./”

Laura Welton looked at the distance with a faint expression as Seo-jun said that. Seo-jun and Ji-yoon laughed, seeing that it wasn't the first time this happened.

***

Grace Welton bit into a ginger cookie as she sat on a bench.

She was embarrassed to be nineteen and lost, but she had asked a French family for directions to the lost and found center and followed their instructions.

“/…Ta-da. I'm back where I started./”

She couldn't believe it.

She was sitting on the same bench she had sat on ten minutes ago. Her phone had run out of battery faster than she expected, so she couldn't use the map or contact anyone.

“/…I should just ask them to take me there./”

To the lost and found center.

She imagined the people who would look at her with pity as they saw a nineteen-year-old lost child and the kids she would have to sit with until her sister came. She felt dizzy, but she couldn't stay here any longer.

“/I promised to meet Seo-jun and Ji-yoon./”

She wanted to see Seo-jun, whom she hadn't seen for a long time, and Ji-yoon, whom she had only talked to through messages but got along well with.

She finished the ginger cookie and got up from her seat.

Right or left?

She had a feeling that there would be tourists on the right, so she headed that way. If Seo-jun and Charlie had seen her, they would have slapped their foreheads and said, ‘Don't go by your feelings!’

Unfortunately, the right way was the way to the parking lot.

She knew that it would be harder to find her way once she left the venue, so she turned around and went back the same way (or so she thought, but she actually took a different turn in the middle).

As she was walking,

“/There you are./”

She heard a familiar voice. She turned around.

Just like that day ten years ago, when two little werewolves found a young witch who had lost her way.

Her friends had come to find her.