Superstar From Age 0

“Isn’t their voice a bit too loud?”

“—!”

As they approached the study, the voices of the two people inside grew louder and louder.

Ryan Will chuckled at James Landon’s concern.

It was a sound that had become almost routine, as Manager Tae-woo Choi had been restless for two days because of the noise, but now seemed to have no reaction.

“They grow up by fighting, you know.”

“They’re too old to be called kids. You don’t call people in their twenties and thirties kids, do you?”

James Landon, who said that, also smiled as he recalled the first time he saw Seo-jun and Jonathan.

They still looked like children to him, even after several years, because he had seen them when they were so young.

Bang bang-!

Not only the voices, but also the sound of something hitting was heard.

“The meeting is getting pretty intense… Ryan?”

James Landon, who thought that this noise was also normal after hearing Ryan Will’s explanation, blinked his eyes as he looked at Ryan Will. Ryan Will was staring at the study with a stiff face.

“What’s going on?!”

It was enough to make Tae-woo Choi, who was working in his room, run out.

Judging by their looks, this noise was not ‘normal’.

‘Could it be… are they really fighting?’

James Landon, who was surprised, passed by Ryan Will, who had a hard expression, and walked to the study. James Landon and Tae-woo Choi quickly followed him.

Ryan Will opened the study door, which was slightly open, with a bang. And then, the three adults stopped at the sight that unfolded before their eyes.

The table and chairs that were in the center were pushed to one side of the room, the whiteboard was lying on the floor, and papers and writing tools were scattered on the floor.

In the middle of the messy scene, Jonathan Will was holding a camera, and Seo-jun was skillfully hanging on the bookshelf.

‘…Hanging on the bookshelf?’

The heads of the three adults moved up without knowing. The place where Seo-jun was hanging was almost touching the ceiling.

“…What are you doing?”

“Ah, ha, hahaha.”

Seo-jun, who was holding the shelf with his right hand, came down slowly with an awkward smile.

Jonathan also smiled awkwardly and lifted the whiteboard, which was probably the cause of the noise, from the floor.

And then, as if they knew they were wrong, Seo-jun and Jonathan stood side by side in front of the adults.

Their eyes, avoiding the piercing gazes of the adults, looked like puppies that had caused trouble.

“Explain.”

Ryan Will’s voice was so cold.

“Well…”

Jonathan, who was shrugging his shoulders, was about to open his mouth,

“Jonathan was curious how much action I could do!”

Seo-jun took the initiative.

It was all Jonathan’s fault! That was the meaning of Seo-jun’s words, and Jonathan, who was startled, retorted.

“You said you could hang on the ceiling without wires!”

“I didn’t think of doing it here, but you said you didn’t believe me!”

“Well, how can I believe you when you’re not even a stuntman!”

They barked at each other, blaming each other. They were really like children.

James Landon shook his shoulders and giggled, and Tae-woo Choi muttered ‘I have to report to Mr. Ahn…’ with a half-resigned face.

“You’re doing this in a place without any safety measures. You could have been hurt.”

“We’re sorry.”

Seo-jun and Jonathan answered sullenly, and Ryan Will sighed.

“That’s it for today’s meeting. Go back to your rooms and reflect until dinner.”

“Yes…”

As they were about to leave the study, they saw James, the director of photography, and greeted him politely, ‘Hello, Director James.’ And then they walked away with a limp.

But then they heard a whisper.

“Hey, Jun. That thing just now, wasn’t it like a scene where the heroine reveals her identity?”

“Right? I thought so too. I felt the exact emotion of being nervous and dizzy about how to deal with it, while feeling the chills on my spine.”

“Jonathan Will! Seo-jun Lee!”

“We’re sorry!”

At the sound of Ryan Will’s full name, Seo-jun and Jonathan, who were startled, went into their rooms. James Landon burst out laughing at the sight of them.

***

‘At this age, ‘to your room’…!’ Jonathan and Tae-woo Choi, who were scolded by Da Ho after their report, sat down for dinner with a repentant face.

Ryan Will looked satisfied, and James Landon was still smiling. Tae-woo Choi felt a bit sorry, but on the other hand, he thought they deserved it.

“How far did the meeting go?”

Jonathan, who had escaped from the embarrassment with a delicious dinner, answered Ryan Will’s question.

“It’s about 70% now. We’re working on the synopsis now, so we have to rewrite the script.”

“Do you have to discuss the script together too?”

Seo-jun, who was laughing with a hehehe, thinking that he would be scolded again when he went back to Korea, shrugged his shoulders and said.

“No. I don’t think I have much to do when making the script. Even if I need to, I think a phone call would be enough.”

Ryan Will nodded at that. The more thorough and detailed the synopsis, which was the basis of the work, was, the easier it was to write the script.

“70%… can you finish it by the day after tomorrow, Seo-jun?”

Seo-jun smiled at Tae-woo Choi’s worry.

He left a day late because he didn’t want to take a leave of absence, but he ended up skipping a whole week of classes.

‘It couldn’t be helped.’

Seo-jun recalled the first meeting with Jonathan.

To be honest, Seo-jun thought Jonathan would be easily persuaded by his opinion.

He was confident in his character analysis, and the character was ‘Jin Natra’, so he was even more confident.

‘But Jonathan’s opinion was more convincing than I thought.’

I don’t think so.

Jonathan’s opinion, which started with that, was convincing enough to persuade Seo-jun in some parts, both in terms of data and character’s emotions.

Seo-jun had only seen ‘Staff Jonathan Will’, who followed Ryan’s instructions. So he thought Jonathan Will wouldn’t have much to say.

But ‘Director Jonathan Will’ was different. He had his own thoughts and a strong will to assert them to the lead actor.

So Seo-jun’s heart was bound to catch fire.

The meeting between the actor who had to play ‘Jin Natra’ and the director who had to oversee the [Jin Natra Series] became more and more fierce.

‘Sometimes it felt like fangirling, though…’

‘That part was good.’, ‘I cried there too.’ It was like a deep conversation of [Shadowman Series] fans.

Anyway, it was not a meeting that could end in a day or two.

So he took a whole week off, but Seo-jun didn’t want to extend his leave of absence any more.

Seo-jun smiled brightly and said.

“It’s okay, hyung. We just have to work harder from now on.”

“The steak is especially good today… Huh?”

Jonathan, who cut a big piece of steak that suited his taste and put it in his mouth, lifted his head at Seo-jun’s words. …More than now? His blue eyes seemed to shake.

“Is this the last supper?”

“I see.”

James Landon, who knew Seo-jun Lee’s extraordinary stamina, smiled as if it was someone else’s business.

Ryan Will also lifted the corners of his mouth.

***

Two days later.

On the morning of Seo-jun’s departure.

“Done! Good job, Jonathan!”

In Jonathan’s study, there was a corpse that used to be a director and an actor who was full of vitality.

“…He…l…p…!”

“Hey, you won’t die from this.”

“…No, I think I’m dying.”

Tae-woo Choi, who came to ask if they wanted breakfast, looked cautiously at Jonathan, who was lying on the sofa, transformed into a pale and haggard state.

“Director Jonathan, are you alive… I mean, do you want breakfast?”

“…Y…”

Every word seemed to be hard for him.

Tae-woo Choi, who looked pitifully at Jonathan, turned his head and saw Seo-jun, who was looking at the finished synopsis with a happy expression. He wondered why his actor, who had worked hard for two days with him, was so lively.

“Seo-jun, you’re going to have breakfast too, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then come down when you have time. And you too, director.”

“Okay.”

Tae-woo Choi, who looked worriedly at Jonathan, left the study.

Seo-jun gave Jonathan some water and helped him recover his energy.

“Ugh… It feels so real when I’m exhausted. It’s like I’m a zombie that keeps coming back to life.”

Seo-jun laughed at Jonathan’s words, who regained his senses.

The study was quiet for a moment.

Jonathan Will, who had breathed in and out a few times, got up from his lying position and sat straight on the sofa. He asked.

“Jun, how’s the synopsis?”

At his serious voice, Seo-jun looked at the synopsis in his hand.

It was the result of their hard work for almost a week, persuading and being persuaded by each other, presenting and discarding opinions.

“It’s great. Amazing.”

The director smiled with relief at the actor’s bright smile.

He felt like he could really start working on the project now.

Seo-jun and Jonathan got up from their seats and left the study to have breakfast. As they headed to the dining room, Seo-jun said in a cheerful voice.

“But it’s true that the work turned out great because we rolled so much, as Director Ryan said.”

At that, Jonathan, who had said he felt sorry for ‘that director’ without knowing it was him, shivered.

“I don’t think I can do it twice. I thought we would roll on a hill, but it felt like we rolled down from the top of the Rocky Mountains.”

Especially, for the last two days, it felt like he had rolled for 48 hours straight.

“Hahaha. You’re kidding.”

“I’m serious, Jun.”

***

Seo-jun and Tae-woo arrived in Korea.

Seo-jun adjusted to the jet lag, got scolded by Ahn Da Ho, and went to school for classes.

“I thought you had enlisted again since you didn’t show up for a few days.”

Everyone laughed at the joke of Jung Bo-ram, who was taking the same class.

“Hmm. I did make my military life a bit easier, but that’s not it.”

“It’s a joke. A joke.”

The joke was harsh.

“Where did you go? Oh, I shouldn’t ask that, right?”

The sophomore who asked Seo-jun slapped his mouth in surprise.

There was no actor as great as Seo-jun around, so there were hardly any cases where he had to keep secrets, so it was a question that came out without much thought.

“No, it’s okay. I went to the US for a while because of Over the Rainbow 2.”

This is it.

He felt like he was lying more often than not. He was getting used to making excuses.

Wow!

The students’ eyes sparkled at Seo-jun’s words.

“Over the Rainbow 2!?”

“I’ve been waiting for that since the article came out and I set the D-day!”

“Me too. I’ve been listening to Good Morning all the time.”

“There are only two weeks left until the release, right?”

Seo-jun felt good as the atmosphere became lively. He was happy that there were so many people waiting for [Over the Rainbow 2].

“But…”

In the midst of the excitement, a gloomy voice was heard.

“Doesn’t it mean that there was a problem with Over the Rainbow 2 if Seo-jun senior went to the US now?”

‘…!’

The students opened their mouths wide and looked at Seo-jun.

Three weeks before the movie release.

For a week.

The lead actor was in the US.

It looked like something had gone wrong.

“Is the release delayed?”

“No way. I’ve been waiting for that day…”

“Article! Is there an article?”

Seo-jun calmed the students down with a smile.

“Don’t worry, there was no problem. The release will be as planned.”

“Phew. That’s a relief.”

“Well, they wouldn’t have promoted it like this if there was a problem.”

Everyone nodded and agreed with Jung Bo-ram’s words.

Marina’s OTT platform [Universe] promotion, which started in November, was everywhere TV, internet, YouTube, and wherever people’s eyes could reach, as if to say ‘That’s Marina!’.

They also didn’t miss the promotion of original works that could attract people’s attention, such as [Over the Rainbow 2].

“Next week, they’re opening a pop-up store too! I’m going!”

“I’m still thinking about it. I don’t know what they’re selling.”

“Wouldn’t they sell Marina character products?”

“It’ll be empty again!”

The classroom became noisy again and quieted down when the professor came in.

***

And on November 30th.

Marina’s OTT platform [Universe] was launched and the original works were released.

The one that received the most attention was,

[Over the Rainbow 2: For My Friend].