Superstar From Age 0

A few days ago, going back in time.

A car stopped in front of Ryan Will’s mansion. Seo-jun and Choi Tae-woo had arrived.

“Welcome.”

“Hey, Jun!”

“Hello, Director Ryan. Jonathan.”

Seo-jun, who was carrying a backpack, smiled brightly at Ryan Will and Jonathan Will who greeted him.

“Good day!”

Choi Tae-woo, who was tense next to Seo-jun, also bowed politely. He was nervous because he had to support Seo-jun alone without Ahn Da Ho, but he felt a bit relieved because it was not a shooting.

While the staff from Kings Agency who came to pick them up at the airport were unloading their luggage, Seo-jun spoke to Ryan Will.

“Thank you for letting us stay here, Director.”

“There’s no need to waste time going back and forth.”

Seo-jun and Choi Tae-woo stayed at Ryan Will’s mansion while they were in LA.

They had a house where they stayed during the filming of [Over the Rainbow 2], but Seo-jun had to go back soon because he was still in the middle of the semester. So, he had to save even the traveling time to have more conversations with Jonathan.

“Shall we go in then?”

Hearing that, Jonathan, who thought he might have to spend the whole day in meetings except for sleeping time, guided Seo-jun and Choi Tae-woo into the mansion with a nervous voice.

“It’s still the same here.”

Seo-jun, who followed Jonathan to the second floor, looked around Ryan Will’s mansion that hadn’t changed.

He often visited Ryan Will’s mansion when he was filming [Shadowman Series] or when he came to LA for vacation, so there were many places that he remembered.

“Well, if uncle had time to care about the house, he would be writing his next work.”

‘That’s true.’

Seo-jun laughed at Jonathan’s words. He thought this house would look the same even after 10 years.

Jonathan pointed to two well-organized rooms and said.

“This room is for Jun and Choi can use the next room.”

“Thank you.”

“What about the meal? Do you want me to prepare it a bit earlier since you have to adjust to the jet lag?”

“No, thank you! We’ll eat with you whenever you’re comfortable!”

Choi Tae-woo quickly waved his hand and said. He seemed to be very tired after being trapped in the plane for 14 hours.

“Then, rest well until dinner time. Jun, you too.”

“I’m fine. But Jonathan, do you have time now?”

“…Huh?”

Jonathan felt a chill at Seo-jun’s meaningful words and answered a beat late.

“Just a moment.”

Seo-jun smiled brightly and moved his carrier to his room. He came back to the hallway with his backpack still on.

“I don’t need to adjust to the jet lag, so let’s start the meeting.”

As Seo-jun said.

Unlike Choi Tae-woo, who looked a bit tired, Seo-jun was full of energy and didn’t look exhausted at all.

“…Now?”

“Yes. I have a lot of things to talk about with Jonathan.”

Seo-jun grinned and said.

Jonathan Will, who was hoping to start the meeting tomorrow or later, swallowed his dry saliva.

“Then I’ll just…”

He seemed to be relieved and tired. Choi Tae-woo, who was very exhausted, went to his room and Seo-jun and Jonathan headed to the study.

“This is my study. You’ve been here before, right?”

Seo-jun nodded at Jonathan’s words.

“Yes. But you have more books than before.”

“I’ve been studying various things and I felt like I had a lot of shortcomings. But I still have some books that I haven’t read.”

Seo-jun looked around the study as he listened to Jonathan’s explanation. The study was filled with books and the smell of books.

It felt like he was in a small library. And among the books, there were bundles of paper that were not bound, that is, printed on white paper.

He took one out and looked at it. It had Jonathan Will’s name on it.

“Is this a script that Jonathan wrote?”

“Yeah. It’s not finished yet.”

That’s amazing.

It was a bit different, but this study was like a place that showed who Jonathan Will was.

It showed how he had lived so far and how he would live in the future, like a library of life.

“It’s like Jonathan’s place.”

“Haha. Is it?”

Jonathan smiled shyly and Seo-jun grinned.

“Shall we start the meeting then?”

Jonathan Will, who was still smiling, stiffened for a moment and then slowly nodded.

There was only a desk and a chair that Jonathan used in the original study, but he prepared a large table and chairs to sit face to face with Seo-jun and talk.

“I’ll start first.”

Seo-jun put his backpack on the table and opened the zipper.

Then, Jonathan’s question of ‘What the hell is in that bag that he keeps carrying?’ was answered.

There were papers and papers and papers in the bag.

Jonathan Will’s expression also became serious as Seo-jun put the paper bundles on the table.

The words written on each paper and the post-its attached here and there showed how sincere Seo-jun Lee, the actor, was about this movie.

“Jonathan. Can I use a laptop?”

“Yeah. Use it comfortably. Do you need anything else?”

Jonathan Will also actively helped Seo-jun prepare.

“Then I’ll start. In the synopsis, William is now a high school student, right? So…”

“Hmm. That’s true, but.”

The actor and the director, who sat face to face with a laptop on one side of the table, started the meeting with serious expressions and calm voices.

***

The alarm rang to announce the dinner time.

Choi Tae-woo, who had reported that he had arrived at Cocoa Entertainment and took a nap, got up with a slightly less tired face.

“Is the meeting over?”

He stretched out and left the room and headed to the room where he heard Jonathan’s study was.

“Look. Jonathan.”

He heard Seo-jun’s voice through the slightly open door.

He peeked through the gap and saw Seo-jun explaining calmly while drawing with a marker between the papers attached with magnets on the whiteboard. And Jonathan Will was sitting in front of him, listening attentively to Seo-jun’s every word as if he was a student facing an exam.

The meeting seemed to be still going on.

He wondered if he could go in and rolled his eyes, but he met eyes with Ryan Will, who was sitting on one side like an audience.

Choi Tae-woo quietly entered the room at Ryan Will’s gesture and sat down cautiously next to him.

“Is it not over yet?”

“It doesn’t seem like it will end in a day or two…”

‘…What?’

‘Don’t we have to leave tomorrow?’

That was the question that pierced through the ears of Choi Tae-woo, who looked puzzled.

The voices were so loud that they startled him and made him flinch.

“No! That would completely change the character interpretation!”

“No way! That’s how the character was from the start! Look at the scene at 38 minutes in Shadowman 2! Why do you think he said that line!”

It was Seo-jun and Jonathan.

Just a moment ago, they were listening calmly to the director’s voice saying ‘Now, look at this, Jonathan.’ like students in a class, with serious expressions on their faces. It seemed like a dream now.

“The reason for that line is explained in the following scene…!”

“Then how do you explain the scene in Shadowman 3!”

“There’s no need to explain! That’s…!”

‘…Ugh…?’

As Seo-jun and Jonathan jumped up from their chairs and pushed their materials at each other, arguing and counter-arguing, Choi Tae-woo opened his mouth wide without realizing it.

He hadn’t known Seo-jun for that long, but he had never seen him like that.

“Are they… fighting right now?”

“Just wait a moment.”

Director Ryan said with a small smile.

A calm voice reached Choi Tae-woo’s ears again.

“This part was good.”

“Right? I thought a lot about it. I also considered this approach…”

“That’s not bad either.”

As if they had never fought, they sat back in their chairs and exchanged their opinions peacefully. Choi Tae-woo felt his eyes shake.

Director Ryan got up from his seat and said.

“Let’s have dinner now.”

The sudden voice startled Jonathan and Seo-jun, who were having a conversation.

They looked at the source of the voice.

“Huh? Uncle, when did you get here?”

“Tae-woo hyung, you were here too? Is it time for dinner already?”

“When did time fly by so fast?”

They looked puzzled, but they were hungry, so they got up from their seats quickly.

“But Jonathan, don’t you think it’s better to cut that scene?”

“No, we can’t cut it. How about moving it to the back?”

“Hmm. I’ll think about it.”

Even as they moved to the dining room, their discussion showed no signs of ending.

It was the same while they were eating.

Choi Tae-woo, who was watching the two of them endlessly, realized that this meeting wouldn’t end soon. But he asked the expert for advice.

“…Excuse me, Director Ryan. Do you think this will be over in a day or two?”

“No way. You’ll have to contact Da Ho.”

The actor and the director were like a campfire that had burst into flames. A day or two wouldn’t be enough.

“I guess so…”

Following Director Ryan’s advice, Choi Tae-woo contacted Director Ahn Da Ho as soon as dinner was over. He looked at Jonathan and Seo-jun, who were heading back to the study, still arguing or discussing something that he couldn’t tell.

***

Back to the present.

“So they ended up staying for another week.”

James Landon laughed as he imagined the expression of Ahn Da Ho, who was holding his forehead.

He knew that Manager Ahn would smile and say that there was nothing he could do if the actor wanted to do it.

“But what made them talk so long? Jun would have acted according to your script, right? Did he not trust Jonathan’s script?”

“He wouldn’t have acted in ‘In the Name of God’ if he didn’t.”

Of course, it was a college performance exam.

But the fact that Seo-jun acted in it was enough to prove that Jonathan Will’s script was good.

“The problem is that the main character is Jin Natra.”

The characters that Seo-jun had played so far were all created by the director and their personalities didn’t change much until the filming was over (Survivors was an exception). And even if they were made into a series, the director of the series remained the same, so the character’s personality also remained the same.

“Jin Natra is a character I created, but the future director won’t be me.”

No matter how much he learned from him, Ryan’s ‘Jin Natra’ and Jonathan’s ‘Jin Natra’ couldn’t be exactly the same.

That’s why Seo-jun, who had been acting as Ryan’s ‘Jin Natra’, and Jonathan, who might be planning a ‘new Jin Natra’, had to clash.

“I see. There are quite a few works or characters that get ruined when the writer or director changes. So Jun and Jonathan are more passionate than usual because they really like Jin Natra.”

Ryan Will smiled at James Landon’s words.

“That ‘really’ liking is also a problem. They have the same feelings, but the reasons why they like the work are different for each person.”

Some like him because he’s strong, some because he’s pitiful.

Some like the emotional changes, some the empathy.

Some like the story, some the flashy visuals.

“Jun and Jonathan have a lot of common reasons why they like Jin Natra, but they also have a lot of different reasons.”

If there are fans who like Jin Natra’s sad and troubled side and fans who like his destructive and intense side, which side should they cater to? Which side should they emphasize more in the movie?

“It’s hard to find the middle ground. It’s worse if it’s mediocre.”

Ryan Will nodded at James Landon’s words.

Seo-jun and Jonathan were looking for that center.

“So William grew up like this!”

“No way! Think about the environment around him!”

They were a bit too heated, though.

Ryan Will and James Landon laughed.

“William’s amnesia is also an important point. He’ll probably be set as a high school student, but no one knows what kind of personality he had.”

Ryan Will, the director who made the movie [Shadowman Series] based on the comic book [Shadowman] and gave life to the characters ‘Jin Natra’ and ‘William Lee’, said as he looked at the noisy study.

“Not even me.”

His voice was full of anticipation for the new story of ‘Jin Natra’.