Superstar From Age 0

The same emotion she felt ten years ago, no, even stronger than that, engulfed Lim Yeon.

She had never met him in person (nor had she ever supported him financially), but at this moment, she felt like she was more than just a sponsor to Gray. She felt like they were friends.

She thought it was a stroke of luck that she had watched [Over the Rainbow 1] in the theater ten years ago, and now she was here, watching [Over the Rainbow 2].

It was as if she was standing in the center of a vivid history.

As Lim Yeon, Park Seonga, and the other Sprouts who had seen the first part felt their hearts swell, the screen went dark. The movie was over.

“Ah…”

A sigh of regret escaped her lips, but as if to confirm that it was really over, the OST of the first part [Over the Rainbow] started playing and the ending credits began to roll.

But no one got up.

The inside of the theater was still dark.

Through the light that came only from the screen, the Sprouts knew that there was still a scene left, a cookie video.

“There must be, right? A cookie video? I couldn’t even tell if there was one or not because I avoided spoilers.”

“Me too. But it’s still dark, so I guess there is one.”

“Did you see the commemorative ticket for the second part?”

“I saw it as soon as the ending credits came up. It made me choke up. I don’t have any tissues left…”

“Here. I brought a lot.”

The Sprouts whispered to each other, sharing their impressions with the strangers next to them as if they were old friends, or wiping away their tears silently as if they were washing their faces.

They waited for the cookie video to appear.

Some of them looked at the names that came up on the ending credits while listening to [Over the Rainbow], searching for the name of their actor, [Seo-jun LEE].

“…Huh?”

But the order of the ending credits was strange.

They understood that the first thing that came up was the production company, Whale Studio. But it was weird that the next thing that came up was the distributor and the companies and staff that helped with the production. ŕ𝐚Ŋ𝘖ВΕṢ

“Isn’t the actors’ names supposed to come up first?”

“Right.”

Lim Yeon and Park Seonga closed their mouths without time to wonder. Not just them, but the other Sprouts too.

The ending credits disappeared and the cookie video came up.

They all shut their mouths and lit up their tear-stained eyes.

***

The place that appeared on the screen was familiar to the audience.

It was the park between Downlock and Starfield, where the green leaves were lush and the grass was blue, where Gray, Rebecca, and George had first met.

Among the people who came for a walk and the families who came for a picnic.

Ten years ago, at that place where they had cried their eyes out and talked with their heads together, the three kids had gathered again.

This time, they had bright faces without a shadow.

Gray handed out sandwiches and fruits to Rebecca and George and asked.

“But what would you have done if I hadn’t gotten out of my slump? I mean, the documentary.”

Rebecca, who was eating a sandwich, also added with a curious expression.

“Right! I was wondering about that too. I didn’t think you would broadcast the scene where Gray was struggling with his slump!”

‘That’s right.’

Lim Yeon and Park Seonga nodded.

George wouldn’t have broadcast the scene where Gray was frustrated for the sake of ratings, buzz, and his own future.

“Well, I was also hoping that Gray would overcome it,”

George, who was exhausted from editing the documentary, lay down on the mat and chewed on the fruit, answering. Gray smiled awkwardly at his faith, and Rebecca smiled brightly, saying ‘Of course!’

“If it got too hard, I was going to burn all the footage.”

“…Huh?”

Gray and Rebecca turned into blank faces at George’s casual remark.

‘…George?’

The audience, who had been smiling warmly at the friendship of the three musketeers, also did.

They all stared at George, who had uttered a remark that they couldn’t tell if it was serious or a joke, with their eyes wide open.

Rebecca, who had a sandwich in her mouth, blinked a few times and laughed.

“Hey, he’s joking! George always makes jokes that sound like the truth!”

“Right. You scared me. It would be a big deal if you burned the footage.”

Gray sighed lightly and agreed with Rebecca’s words.

“Exactly! You would get fired from the company!”

“Well, burning it was a metaphor.”

George said in a peaceful voice, and Lim Yeon and Park Seonga smiled slightly. Well, that’s true. He makes jokes that sound like the truth.

“I was going to make it look like an accident. Like I lost it or the data flew away. The assistant director was also a fan of Gray and a close junior, so we had planned it together, but it turned out to be unnecessary.”

‘…He was serious. Our George.’

The audience didn’t know whether to admire their deep friendship or sigh at their reckless actions.

Fortunately, there were people who scolded George for them.

“…George, you’re crazy!”

“George! You can’t do that!”

Zap! Slap!

Rebecca and Gray hit George’s legs and arms.

“Ow!”

George writhed in pain from his arms and legs, then suddenly stopped moving and laughed.

“Ah. This is nice. It’s fun to play like this sometimes.”

Rebecca and Gray also laughed out loud.

“Right! Let’s come here again after the next tour. Gray! George!”

“Yeah. Let’s do that.”

The bright sun and the breeze swept past the three musketeers who were smiling happily. It was a sight that made even the viewers happy.

They wanted to see them for a long time, but unfortunately, the camera slowly moved away from the three musketeers and soon went dark.

The white letters of the ending credits started to come up again. The music that played was the OST of the second part [For My Friend].

“Did Seo-jun’s name come up?”

“No. Not yet.”

The names of the actors who had appeared were still not up. And the theater was still dark.

“Maybe there’s another cookie video?”

“Looks like it!”

They thought there might be one, but two!

“Is it a teaser for the third part?”

“The third part! I hope it comes out even if it’s ten years later. Seo-jun in his thirties…!”

“…!”

They all looked at the screen with excited faces.

As if to answer them, the ending credits disappeared and the cookie video started.

***

The place of the second cookie video was also familiar to the audience. It was the place they had just seen on the screen.

The waiting room of the LA charity concert.

The place where Gray learned the truth about the documentary and the concert.

“…A concert for me?”

Gray asked in a choked voice, and George and Rebecca nodded with a smile.

“Right. This charity concert is for you.”

“Do you know who the performers and the audience are?”

Gray tried to recall the faces of the people who had shown him amazing performances, but he shook his head when he couldn’t think of anyone.

The audience blinked.

‘…Was it an editing mistake? Why are they showing the same scene?’

They all knew the next line. It was shocking. Surely, the people who ‘Gray Vainy’ had sponsored…

“They are the ones you sponsored.”

“…Huh?”

“They are the ones you have been sponsoring for ten years.”

Gray blinked and turned his eyes back to the monitor. He had forgotten to breathe. The camera zoomed in on Gray.

Crack-!

A crack appeared on the perfect face of ‘Gray Vainy’. Slowly, the ‘real’ him began to show through the cracks.

There was no cut sign and the filming continued.

He couldn’t control the huge emotions that threatened to swallow his body and mind.

At that moment.

‘Gray Vainy’ became

‘Seo-jun Lee’.

And ‘Seo-jun Lee’s’ showed pure emotion and gratitude without any pretense or acting.

His fans, the ‘Sprouts’, couldn’t miss the obvious change.

“Why all of a sudden…?”

The Sprouts were puzzled by the actor who had returned from ‘Gray Vainy’ to ‘Lee Seo-jun’ even though he was filming. Seo-jun was not an actor who would make such a mistake.

Then, they heard a conversation.

“…Really?”

“Yes. They are the ones you have been sponsoring for ten years.”

‘…!!’

The Sprouts who were watching the cookie video gasped in unison. It was shocking. The people sitting in the audience… were they really those people?

They involuntarily thought of Seo-jun’s face a while ago.

The Sprouts knew how sincere Seo-jun was in acting, how focused he was on filming, and how amazing his acting skills were.

That’s why they could tell how much Seo-jun was shaken, moved, and touched by the fact that he had unknowingly slipped out of his role while filming.

The actor’s sincere reaction made the Sprouts’ hearts swell.

“What happened, director?”

Sarah Roth, the director, answered with a smile to Seo-jun’s trembling voice.

“You had to go to the army, so the preparation period was a year. I thought I’d plan this event since it took so long.”

“Then, all the people sitting there… are they those people?”

“No. Not all of them. Some of them wanted to come but couldn’t. But most of them are the ones you sponsored.”

The Sprouts’ mouths were full of admiration as they saw Seo-jun’s amazed expression on the screen. The people who they had thought were extras related to ‘Gray’ came to them in a completely different way.

“And the people who ‘Gray Vainy’ met.”

“…Yes?”

‘…Yes?’

The fans’ expressions relaxed like the actor’s.

“The old musician was a homeless person, but he was able to regain his strength by learning the violin with the money you donated. And the three musketeers were alcoholics, but they overcame it with music. Linda’s family’s story was the same.”

The Sprouts’ mouths were wide open at the explanation.

‘No, what are you talking about, director…’

They remembered the people who had played music happily as if they had been musicians from the start. But those people were originally homeless and alcoholics?

“Then… the communal cemetery too…?”

“…Yes. That was also a similar story adapted.”

“The family members said they were very grateful and thankful. And they asked you to keep working hard.”

‘…!!’

They had cried even though they thought it was a story in the movie, but there was such a truth hidden behind it.

They were so surprised that their hearts seemed to stop. They had thought there were no more tears left after watching the movie, but the tears wetted the Sprouts’ faces again.

Seo-jun on the screen seemed to feel the same as the fans.

His trembling eyelashes, his desolate black eyes, and his reddened eyes showed both the emotion and the sadness that Seo-jun was feeling.

“Today, today’s performers too…”

“Yes. They wanted to play for you and practiced hard.”

The screen showed the teams that had performed on stage. Young people, old people, children, etc. They all looked happy playing music, which made the Sprouts’ hearts more tender.

“A fake documentary, huh…”

‘I was fooled too.’

A little disappointed, but mostly happy, Seo-jun smiled and the Sprouts agreed, wiping away their tears of emotion.

‘They fooled even the actors…!’

‘Well done! Whale Studio!’

Sob sob-

The sound of laughter and crying that couldn’t be distinguished filled the theater as emotion and sadness swept over them.

The cookie video disappeared, and [For My Friend] played again from the speakers.

They thought the OST, the movie, the title, the cookie video, and the phrase on the commemorative ticket matched perfectly, and Lim Yeon and Park Seonga wiped their tears.

[Seo-jun Lee]

[Catherine Miller]

[Paul Oden]

Unfortunately.

As if to tell them that it was really the last, the names of the actors who appeared in the ending credits finally appeared. The names of the supporting actors and extras were also included.

And finally, a large number of letters filled the screen with white on a big black background.

There were English and Korean. Spanish, French, German, Russian, etc. There were so many letters that it would not be an exaggeration to say that the languages of the world were gathered.

The Sprouts knew what it was, even if they didn’t learn foreign languages. There were too many letters on the screen, but thanks to the title written in subtitles at the top, they knew.

[And Friends]

It was the names of the ‘friends’ who had filled the audience and played on the stage of Bread Hall in the last scene.