Superstar From Age 0

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: AgRoseCrystal

Chapter 587

[Actor Kim Jong-ho, Lee Ji-seok depart today!]

[Kim Jong-ho, Lee Ji-seok leave for Hollywood movie shooting!]

[Actors Kim Jong-ho, Lee Ji-seok, “We will do our best in filming.”]

Kim Se-yeon, who was looking at the articles that came out today in a corner of the cafe at KNUA, (She skipped the ones about Seo-jun and Fire, as there were too many of them.) lifted her head at the sound of someone approaching.

“Ugh… It’s hard.”

“Are you here?”

It was Hwang Ji-yoon, a senior in the film department, who had been harassed by people again today.

Hwang Ji-yoon, who slumped down on the seat, sucked in the iced americano as if to absorb energy with a tired face.

“Wow… It’s been a week already, but there’s no sign of it calming down.”

After Fire was screened at the Korean Independent Film Festival and it was revealed that Seo-jun had appeared in it. And when [Working Man!] was added to the mix, the fire became uncontrollable.

She received a lot of attention from KNUA, from her seniors and juniors in the film department, and from the professors. Of course, the other members of the Fire team from other departments were in a similar situation.

“Do you get a lot of calls too?”

“Yeah. Especially from the distributors.”

The independent film Fire had no plans for the future.

Hwang Ji-yoon, who was quite lively, stirred the iced americano with a straw and said.

“Normally, it would have been released in a small independent theater, but…”

“That’s impossible. Seo-jun appeared in it. There are so many people who want to see it right now, that small theater can’t handle it.”

Kim Se-yeon shook her head.

You could see a lot of people asking when Fire would be released and when it would be uploaded on Plus+ just by looking at the internet. [Sprout] was burning up.

“Are they interested in it overseas too?”

“Yeah. They say so. Seo-jun has more overseas fans than I thought. I guess this is what they call ticket power.”

“Right. I can’t believe there are so many people who want to see it just because he appeared in it.”

Guaranteed viewers and overseas exports.

And on top of that, they didn’t need to invest anything, they just had to take it and screen it. Fire was no different from a goose that laid golden eggs, and several distributors were contacting them.

“Cocoa Entertainment agreed to help us with the contract.”

“That’s good!”

And another fire was about to start.

“Our movie reviews are good.”

“Right?”

Hwang Ji-yoon and Kim Se-yeon giggled.

Yesterday, with the last screening of Fire, more people saw Fire. Thanks to the content that Koreans couldn’t help but react to, there were a lot of good reviews. Those reviews increased the expectations of the audience.

“Can we expect an award?”

“Of course! I’m looking forward to it so much! I’ve already prepared a party with the team members! Even the seniors who graduated will be able to join!”

Hwang Ji-yoon laughed out loud at Kim Se-yeon’s words.

“It would have been nice if Seo-jun could join the party too. Too bad.”

“It would have been. He could have eaten a lot of delicious food.”

“Holly… ah…”

The two people who thought Seo-jun was in Hollywood lowered their voices and smiled softly.

“He must have a lot of delicious food there too, right?”

“I guess so.”

***

The house was noisy.

The man who slept late came out to the living room with a yawn. He heard the TV sound.

[Last week, at the Korean Independent Film Festival that ended, the movie ‘Fire’ directed by Hwang Ji-yoon and starring Lee Seo-jun and Hwang Do-yoon won the grand prize. And the best director award went to Kim Suhan’s movie…]

The man was not interested in movies unless they were famous, but he knew about that film festival because it was so noisy. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

“But they’re still broadcasting it until today. Oh, is Working Man on this week?”

He had to watch that.

The man nodded his head and looked at the kitchen.

“Why are you preparing so much for breakfast?”

“Your brother has a picky mouth. He comes home skinny every time he gets a vacation. I have to feed him a lot when he’s on vacation.”

The brother who reached out for a well-cooked meat and ate one piece nodded his head. He ate anything well, but the army food was a bit… His brother, who had a picky mouth, must have been worse.

“Well, he’s a corporal now, so he must have gotten used to it.”

Used to it… or resigned to it.

The brother who recalled his army life two years ago laughed ha-ha, as if he was enlightened, and reached out for the meat again. The seasoning seemed to be good today.

“Stop eating that!”

“Ouch!”

Snap!

His back felt like it was on fire.

A little later.

The sound of the door lock being pressed ding-ding-ding-ding was heard, as if his brother had arrived in front of the house.

There were tears in his mother’s eyes already. Well, every time he saw his son who lost weight every time he came on vacation, it was understandable.

The door opened and his brother in uniform came in.

“Welcome! Son!”

His mother, who was about to hug him with her arms wide open, stopped. The brother who was about to say, did you come lying on the sofa, also paused.

The brother standing at the entrance looked unfamiliar somehow.

The brother opened his mouth with a nervous expression.

“…Did you gain weight?”

***

The mother and brother looked at the returned brother who was eating with curious faces. His little brother, who always came home skinny and inhaled meat, was eating rice quietly today.

“It’s not that he gained weight, but his complexion improved.”

“Right.”

His brother’s face, which was dull until the last vacation, seemed to glow with a glossy shine.

“Did you finally get used to it? No, this is not something you can get used to… Did you awaken your hidden army constitution that you didn’t know about?”

“…Is that it?”

His brother’s change was so amazing that he asked such a ridiculous question. He looked better than when he was buried in school assignments, so his mother was troubled.

“They say they improved the army diet these days… Is it because of that?”

“Hey. Mom, do you believe that? That’s all fake news. It’s probably the same as before in reality.”

His brother, who was chewing the well-seasoned meat, said with a smile.

“Our unit’s food got better these days. It suits my taste.”

“…Mom. I think his tongue lost its taste.”

His mother slapped his brother’s back. Ouch! His brother writhed and calmed down.

“…Well. There are so many units in Korea, there must be some good ones. But you said your unit’s food was really bad?”

His brother was also puzzled.

“It was until a few days ago. It was really bad…”

He still felt like crying when he thought about it.

“But the taste changed drastically last week. It looks normal, but it tastes really good?”

The first day when the food taste changed.

“…Hey. Why does this taste good…?”

There was a commotion in the army cafeteria. There were quite a few reactions like his brother’s, who said, “My tongue has gone bad too!” His brother also thought for a moment that his brain had changed his taste nerves to survive.

‘Well, it doesn’t seem like that when I see mom’s food.’

Anyway, the food tasted better since then. Even for him, who had a picky mouth.

“Did a new cook come in? Someone who can cook well?”

“No, nothing changed there. It’s the same.”

That’s why it was more surprising.

The person who cooked, the ingredients, the cooking utensils, nothing changed, but the food tasted better.

He heard from someone that the cooks’ taste buds became sensitive, but he didn’t know for sure. He wondered if that could happen suddenly.

“And around that time, right? I started to sleep well. When I wake up, I feel refreshed. I used to feel suffocated, but these days, I don’t feel much stress either.”

“…He’s totally adapted to the army.”

“…Right.”

His brother and mother lost their words at the sight of his brother who looked relaxed.

“Since last week? Was there anything that triggered it? Or something that changed.”

Something that changed…

His brother recalled his memory at his brother’s question.

“The army is the same every day. What changed was the new recruits coming in? Oh, there was a new recruit who came to our squad. He was so handsome. I thought he was a celebrity when I first saw him. His name was Lee Seo…”

“Never mind the new recruit. Anything else?”

“Nothing. Nothing at all, so it’s a mess in the unit.”

His siblings, who had no idea that the cause of the current situation was Lee Seo-jun, a private who had engraved all kinds of abilities in the battalion as soon as he was assigned, talked enthusiastically.

***

[SBC Working Man! Today’s afternoon ‘Rest Stop Restaurant Battle-Special Edition’ airs!]

[Working Man! Meet the Fire team, the grand prize winner of the Korean Independent Film Festival!]

[Working Man! An unexpected special encounter?!]

-Today. Do it. Working Man. Do it.

=Thump thump. Thump thump!

-So did you find Lee Seo-jun?

=The group shot is too small to find himㅋㅋ He couldn’t find himㅋㅋ

=And it’s winter, so everyone is wearing thick clothes, so he doesn’t look like himselfㅠㅠ

=Top comment… You tried hard, right?ㅋㅋ

-They met again in a weird way. Seo-jun and Working Man.

=ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Is there a radar or something? Lee Seo-jun radarㅋㅋ

=Entertainment PD: I wish we could borrow it too…

=Sprout: We too…

=Drama PD: We too…

-But isn’t the time gap too big for a radar? They met twice this year, but it took years before that.

=It’s better than not meeting at all.

=222 Other shows can’t meet him even if they travel around the country.

-Will come out this time?

=The production team couldn’t find him either?

=ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-I heard it was a mess at SBC.

=It seems like it. The ads are no joke.

=Why are there so many;;;

=But I think I would have put it in too. It seems like everyone is watching this.

=222 The ratings must be insane.

-Finally, the ads are over!! It’s starting!

[One day in April.]

A caption appeared on the black screen.

[Nobody expected!]

Internet article headlines popped up on the screen.

[Actor Lee Seo-jun, starring in the independent film ‘Fire’!]

New article headlines appeared one after another.

[The film of KNUA’s students, ‘Fire’ selected as the opening film!]

[Working Man! KNUA’s students met at a rest area!]

And then a comment appeared.

[But if Lee Seo-jun was in Fire… he was also in Working Man, right?]

The screen showed a caption.

[We’re sorry. We couldn’t find him either.]

-Lol

-Lol apology lol

[So we searched hard!]

With cheerful music, the tape rewound.

April broadcast, March broadcast, February, January, December. Time quickly went back.

The destination was a highway rest area.

The winter vibe was evident from the outfits of the grumbling Working Man members.

The scenes that were edited a little differently from the ones that aired in December were briefly summarized. So that the viewers who saw it in December wouldn’t be bored, and the new viewers could understand.

[Then, the incoming vehicles!]

A tourist bus, a 9-seater van, and a truck entered the rest area.

-There’s Seo-jun over there…!

-Wow… even though I know, it’s amazing lol

[But they’re leaving!?]

-Lee Seo-jun is leaving… the ratings are leaving…

-Lol true lol

-If Park Young-jin and Jung-hoon didn’t run out, we wouldn’t have seen this today.

-222 If he just left then lol the production team should be grateful lol

[Turns out they came to film a movie, KNUA’s students!]

-I watched the movie wellㅠㅠㅠ I kept cryingㅠㅠ

-There’s someone here who saw it?

-22 How did you watch it? There were no tickets;;;

-But they don’t do close-ups?

-Do we have to find Seo-jun ourselves?!

-+_+ Find him for us!

“Isn’t this your story?”

[And]

[One month ago.]

The broadcast that was showing fast editing found its normal speed.

Like a movie, the news announcers’ voices started to pass by.

[It’s a miracle…]

[Everyone was rescued but many…]

[Rescue work is in progress…]

[A 9-car collision accident in the 00 tunnel…]

[Uh?! What’s wrong with that car!?]

The viewers were drawn into the tense atmosphere of that moment.

Soon, three tourist buses, a 9-seater van, and a truck were shown heading towards the tunnel. A yellow circle was drawn on the van.

-…Why are they showing this from here?

-Don’t tell me Lee Seo-jun was in the rescue team?

-OMG. I guess so…!

The three tourist buses and the van drove along the road.

Soon, the van stopped at the road that the viewers who watched the December broadcast remembered. The three tourist buses continued to drive.

And then.

Someone got out of the driver’s seat of the van.

The voice of director Hwang Ji-yoon was narrated.

[It seems that the team member who was driving felt something was wrong when he saw the woman sitting on the side of the road.]

-That must be him.

-That’s amazing…

As if to emphasize him, the screen slowly zoomed in on the man getting out of the driver’s seat from two different angles. The quality was low and he was wearing a hat, but the outline of his face was vaguely visible.

And the screen split, and a new image appeared next to it.

A man in a neat outfit, shining his eyes, turning his head in the same direction as the man who got out of the driver’s seat.

[Actor Lee Seo-jun / [Fire] Rescue team driver]

[Reference image: SBC drama [Babel Tower]]

-…!!!

-OMG!! Crazy!!

-What the…!!

-That was Seo-jun!?!

The man who got out of the driver’s seat, Lee Seo-jun, ran desperately towards the pregnant woman. A woman who was moving with the caption [Director Hwang Ji-yoon] was also seen next to him.

-…Wow…

They could only marvel.

It was a video they had seen several times, but it felt like a new video just by knowing the identity of one character.

Seo-jun in the video seemed to squat down in front of the pregnant woman and check her condition. He also talked with director Hwang Ji-yoon, actor Hwang Do-yoon, and others.

It was a longer video than the one that aired in December, but everyone was busy watching it with admiration.

-…I never thought Lee Seo-jun was in the rescue team…

-And he was the driver who found the patient first!

Then a sound was heard.

The sound of fire trucks and ambulances. Seo-jun and the people’s eyes were seen heading towards the road. But they were just passing vehicles. Soon, their phones started to ring.

Seo-jun was seen answering the phone.

The quality was low, but he looked surprised.

The viewers who knew the rest of the story chattered.

-He must have heard about the accident in the 00 tunnel.

-If he didn’t stop then, he would have been caught in the accident too.

-And there were three tourist buses next to him, so it was totally…

-22 It’s still scary to see it again.

-Waitwaitwait;;; I think I just had a very scary thought;;;

-Fuck me tooㅠㅠㅠ

-OMG. Then Lee Seo-jun almost got into big trouble?