Superstar From Age 0

“I’ll try playing it again.”

“Sure. Take your time. Jun.”

Sarah Roth, the director, nodded as Seo-jun stopped playing in the middle, dissatisfied with something.

She could tell how sincere he was about the recording by the way he often came out of the recording booth to talk with Professor Benjamin and Jason Moore.

Ahn Da Ho, who was watching Seo-jun play in the recording booth with a pleased expression, left the recording studio after handing over the rest of the work to Choi Tae-woo and checking his vibrating phone.

The caller was Kings Agency.

“They asked if we could meet before we leave from Marina Studio. What do you think?”

‘Marina Studio?’

Ahn Da Ho glanced at the recording studio.

If it was about Whale Studio, Nelson, the person in charge, would have contacted him directly, so it wouldn’t be about [Over the Rainbow 2].

‘If it was about a new work, they would have sent the script first. But they want to meet in person…’

Hmm. It felt like a déjà vu.

Nelson had done the same thing when he came to propose [Over the Rainbow 2]. Ahn Da Ho smiled a little and opened his mouth.

“Yes. Let’s meet. Do they want Jun to come along?”

“Yes. If possible.”

If it was the work he expected, Seo-jun would want to hear what it was about.

It was the first work he starred in and the one he had been working on ever since.

“It should be fine. Let’s set up a meeting time.”

“Okay. Got it.”

The recording was going well and they were supposed to fly back to Korea the day after tomorrow, so they could meet tomorrow.

‘It’s also related to the person I invited for dinner tonight.’

After contacting the Kings Agency staff, Ahn Da Ho immediately called the ‘person he invited’. The ringing tone was cut off.

“Hello. Director Ryan. This is Ahn Da Ho.”

It was Ryan Will, the director of the [Shadowman Series].

***

“Yum!”

To taste the seasoning of the braised ribs that were bubbling in the pot, Seo-jun took a bite and smiled at the tender meat that was well seasoned. It was delicious, even though he made it himself. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

“/Tae-woo hyung, do you want to try some?/”

Seo-jun put a piece of rib with a nice color on a small plate and gave it to Choi Tae-woo.

The rib meat that was moist with the sauce had a visual that made him think of white rice. Choi Tae-woo swallowed his saliva and inhaled the meat, then exclaimed, “Wow!”, and gave a thumbs up. Seo-jun giggled.

“/But Seo-jun, aren’t you tired?/”

“/I’m fine. The recording ended quickly, right?/”

Choi Tae-woo, who was moving the plates to the table, admired Seo-jun, who was cooking with a humming tune.

He must have been exhausted from doing the ADR recording since morning, but he insisted on preparing dinner himself and rolled up his sleeves.

Next to him, Director Ahn was also cooking with a professional skill.

Choi Tae-woo, who was only doing small errands between the capable actor and manager in an unusual place, added cooking to his list of things to learn.

The dishes, both Western and Korean, were finished one by one and the appointment time was approaching.

“/They should be here by now, right?/”

“/Yeah. Soon…/”

Ding dong-

As soon as Ahn Da Ho spoke, the doorbell rang and Seo-jun and the two managers laughed and headed to the front door.

“Welcome. Director! Jonathan!”

The guests for tonight’s dinner, Director Ryan Will and Jonathan Will, were standing at the door.

“Long time no see. Jun.”

“You went to the army and came back!”

Ryan and Jonathan hugged Seo-jun with a bright smile and

“Nice to see you again. Director Ryan. How have you been, Jonathan?”

shook hands with Ahn Da Ho.

“This is Jun’s new manager, Choi Tae-woo. He will be taking care of Jun instead of me from now on.”

At Ahn Da Ho’s introduction, Ryan and Jonathan’s heads turned to Choi Tae-woo.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Ryan Will.”

“Hello. I’m Jonathan Will.”

They reached out their hands to shake, but their eyes were trying to analyze him to the bone. Choi Tae-woo just smiled kindly and shook their hands.

This was the look that Seo-jun’s acquaintances gave him when they first saw him, so he was used to it by now. It meant that Seo-jun was loved, so he felt good somehow.

Choi Tae-woo had become a full-fledged manager.

“Come on in. The food will get cold!”

“Okay.”

“This is champagne. It’s good.”

“Is it non-alcoholic?”

Seo-jun asked as he took the champagne that Jonathan offered. Jonathan Will smiled mischievously.

“No. Alcohol. We haven’t had a drink together since you became an adult.”

It had been several years since he became an adult, but the last time he met Ryan and Jonathan was at the entrance ceremony of Hanye University.

He didn’t have time to meet them because of his European trip, [Fire] shooting, and the army.

“Can I drink, Da Ho hyung?”

Seo-jun asked with sparkling eyes. Ahn Da Ho nodded with a smile.

We have a meeting with Marina Studio tomorrow, but champagne wouldn’t be that high in alcohol.

“One glass should be fine.”

Seo-jun and Jonathan giggled.

***

The food that Seo-jun and Ahn Da Ho cooked and the champagne that the two directors brought went well together.

They didn’t drink much, but it was enough to make the dinner lively.

Besides, since they had the director, staff, co-director, and actor of [Shadowman], the main topic of the dinner was [Shadowman].

“When I first saw Jun, I prayed that he wouldn’t cry.”

Everyone laughed at the story of four-year-old Seo-jun that came out of Jonathan’s mouth.

It was a behind-the-scenes story that no one could hear anywhere else.

“I just hoped he would be normal, but he was so good at acting that I was surprised.”

“I remember how everyone was amazed too. The director praised you, right?”

“That’s right. I was surprised because he was so good.”

Seo-jun and Director Ryan Will remembered vividly.

From [Shadowman1] to [Shadowman3].

“When we filmed the cookie video for Shadowman3, I thought I was going to die because I wanted to talk so badly.”

“Hahaha.”

Just by talking, they smiled naturally. There were full of memories that made them smile.

“It’s been six years already.”

“That’s right.”

Everyone nodded at Seo-jun’s words.

It seemed like they had filmed and released it the day before, but it was six years ago.

Jonathan, whose face was slightly flushed with a glass of champagne, opened his mouth cautiously.

“Um… Jun… Are you going to do it?”

Even without an object, Jonathan knew what he was talking about.

It was because Seo-jun had heard that Director Ryan Will had been offered to direct a new series from Marina Studio.

Of course, he also heard that he refused.

‘That’s possible.’

Even if others wanted it, if he thought he had ‘completed’ it, he wouldn’t want to touch it anymore.

There were also works that ruined the story by extending it unnecessarily, and there was a reason why they said to leave when they applauded.

But that was Director Ryan’s intention.

Director Ryan looked at him as if he knew his mind, and smiled softly as if to tell him to speak comfortably.

“I want to do it.”

Seo-jun smiled along with Director Ryan and said without hesitation.

The only ones who were surprised by Seo-jun’s assertion were Jonathan Will and Choi Tae-woo. Ahn Da Ho had a look as if he had expected it.

“I think there are still a lot of stories that Jin Natra can do. I want to act out the complex emotions of a hero who was a villain. It’s very rare for an actor to be able to act for a long time as if he’s living the life of one person.”

There was something more important than all those reasons.

Seo-jun smiled brightly like a flower.

“Because Jin Natra is a character I really like.”

Director Ryan Will smiled at that. As the person who created the character, he couldn’t help but be happy that the actor liked it so much.

Seo-jun smiled and said.

“So I’m going to decide after seeing the script.”

“What if the script is bad?”

Jonathan, who wrote the scenario himself, asked.

“I won’t do it. Ad-libbing is fine, but I don’t want to interfere as much as Davis, who completely changed the script.”

The director had his own job, and the actor had his own job.

If he didn’t like the script, he had no choice but to not do it.

Seo-jun shrugged his shoulders with a refreshing face.

“Okay. Decide comfortably, Seo-jun.”

“If you want to appear, roll it as much as you can. If you change it until you like it, a good story will come out.”

Jonathan Will and Choi Tae-woo prayed for the peace of Marina Studio at the words of Ahn Da Ho and Director Ryan who spoke with a smile.

‘Rolling it until you like it, isn’t that the worst client? ‘

They didn’t know if there would be a separate scenario team, or if the director would write the script himself, but it seemed like a very hard fight.

“But if uncle doesn’t do it, who will direct it?”

Director Ryan Will answered Jonathan’s question.

“Well, it’s a hero movie, so it might be a director who specializes in action scenes… But since there’s already a story that came out, to prevent the character from collapsing, they’ll probably choose from the candidates who know well about Shadowman and Jin Natra. Action is, well, you can use a good martial arts director.”

“It would be nice to have a similar feeling to the Shadowman series, that is, a similar directing to Director Ryan, right?”

Ahn Da Ho nodded at Seo-jun’s words.

“Well, there must be a feeling that the fans want, so even if it’s not exactly the same, it should be similar.”

“To satisfy the expectations of Jin Natra fans in the story, directing… I don’t know who will direct it, but it will be a lot of hard work.”

Jonathan Will said as if he was sorry.

***

“What do you think of Director Jonathan Will?”

As soon as the meeting with Seo-jun Lee was confirmed, Marina Studio formed a project team for the [Jin Natra Series (tentative title)].

They held a meeting to prepare for tomorrow’s meeting, bringing together staff members who had worked on the previous [Shadowman Series] and new competent staff members.

The most important thing for the [Jin Natra Series (tentative title)] to be made was the casting of actor Seo-jun Lee.

And that would be decided tomorrow.

To make the decision go in a positive direction, they had to set up a rough outline first. One of them was the director who would oversee the [Jin Natra Series (tentative title)].

Of course, it was not something that could be decided in half a day, so they decided to make a list of candidates.

“Director Jonathan Will has been with us since Shadowman 1.”

The staff member who recommended Jonathan Will continued. He was a staff member who had worked with him on the [Shadowman Series].

“He is also the one who knows the character of Jin Natra the best.”

“But he is still young… He was only a middle school student when he participated in Shadowman 1.”

“That young director discovered Lucas Turner.”

Half of the staff members nodded at the story of Lucas Turner, who was the protagonist of the independent film [In the Name of God] and one of the second-generation heroes [Phantom].

“And since he is young, he can do more creative directing. And on top of that, he has the directing of Ryan Will, who has been watching him from the side since he was young.”

“Hmm.”

Listening to the story, it seemed like it would be a directing that could show the characteristics of the [Jin Natra Series (tentative title)] while being similar to the [Shadowman Series].

“His friendship with actor Seo-jun Lee will also help.”