Superstar From Age 0

The surprise was only momentary.

Seo-jun, who was looking at the empty air where the notification popped up with shaky eyes, soon calmed down.

The fact that his abilities had increased in rank and changed for the better helped him to relax, but it was also because of [(Good)Orchestra Conductor’s Connection], which raised his rank whenever he did something.

‘I should go to the practice room and check it out in detail.’

He was about to clean up the table where the snack party had been held, but in that brief moment, the table was already tidy. The staff members took their drinks and snacks with them as they went to work, and it was also thanks to Choi Tae-woo, who cleaned up quickly.

Seo-jun smiled slightly at the sight of his hyungs and noonas who didn’t let go of their snacks even while working. He got up from his seat and said,

“I’m going to the practice room then.”

“Okay~”

“Do you want to come with me?”

“No, it’s okay, hyung. Let me know when Da Ho hyung comes.”

He said that to Choi Tae-woo and was about to leave the team 1 office when he stopped for a moment. The staff members peeked their heads and looked at Seo-jun.

“Can you send me some of those reviews to the practice room?”

He thought that one of the causes of his ability change might be those reviews.

“Sure. I got it.”

He nodded lightly at the team 1 staff members and headed to the practice room. As soon as he arrived at the practice room, he leaned his body on the fluffy sofa and closed his eyes.

***

The Library of Life.

It was a place where he rarely came during the day, as he visited every night.

“There’s no day or night here, though.”

Whether it was the Library of Good or the Library of Evil, it was always bright as if the lights were on.

Seo-jun moved his steps to the Library of Good.

And he took out and examined the four books of life that were now finished and shelved.

The ones that had increased in rank were (Good)Ditemas’s Cry, (Good)Modit Flower’s Petal.

The ones that had changed were (Good)Tiaf’s Light Dust, (Good)Phlox’s Flame.

As the notification said, all four abilities were stronger.

The two that had increased in rank were significantly stronger, and the two that had changed were slightly stronger.

Other than that, everything else was the same.

“Why?”

He had thought that if he fulfilled the wish or the ‘dream’ of the abilities that had increased in rank or changed, it would be enough, but the four abilities that had changed now didn’t have such a ‘dream’. ꞦΑŊổ฿Ɛş

“And this one hasn’t changed either.”

[(Good)Nameless Priest’s Chant(Intermediate)], which he had used with the four changed abilities, was the same as before.

Sigh.

He let out a light sigh and leaned his back on the chair. He saw countless bookshelves and the books of life that were on them in his sight.

They were all his ‘past selves’.

The Library of Life.

It was a place that he had created, but it was also a place that he couldn’t understand.

He had nothing more to find out, so he opened his eyes.

The reviews that he had asked for by message had arrived.

-ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

-This is a masterpieceㅠㅠㅠ

-You have to read itㅠㅠSeo-junㅠㅠ

-[Title: Actor Seo-jun. Thank you so much.]

He tilted his head and clicked on the link that the team 1 staff members had sent him with tears.

***

A dark room.

Even though she was wrapped in a blanket without any gaps, she could hear the conversation from the living room.

“He was actor Seo-jun… Counseling would be impossible.”

“Yeah. The people at the cafe were also disappointed. They said they had found a competent counselor.”

It was her father and brother’s voices.

There was no other emotion but worry in their voices, but she was annoyed.

They should just leave her alone. But then her mind changed. No, they were doing it for her… She shouldn’t think like that.

She felt guilty.

“Did you look for another hospital?”

“But the hospital also requires noona to have the will to get better…”

Her brother answered her mother’s question. She heard her father sigh without realizing it, and a sound like he was covering his mouth.

She curled up her body more in the blanket.

Not letting any light in. Not hearing any sound.

She didn’t know since when or what the cause was, but depression, sadness, frustration… Well. She couldn’t express it with such words. That emotion had taken over her whole body.

The pills scattered in the corner of the room, the trash that wasn’t cleaned up here and there, the clothes that were lying around everywhere that she didn’t know when she had worn, the window covered with blackout curtains, and the desk and bookshelf that were covered with dust, where she used to study hard and prepare for a job.

It was a messy room that didn’t let any light in, just like her heart.

“Noona… are you sleeping well?”

She heard her brother’s worried voice as he looked at the food that didn’t decrease. She was sorry.

He should be having fun at this age, but he seemed to be depressed because of his worry for her. She was sorry to her parents too.

Sob.

Tears came out.

She was trapped in the uncontrollable darkness and depression and cried all night.

That’s how the vicious cycle that she didn’t know when it would end, or maybe it would end with a dangerous choice, continued.

♬

When she was somehow living her life, she heard that sound.

It was the sound of a violin.

She was ignorant of musical instruments, but she recognized the sound of a violin among the many instruments right away. There was a reason for that.

“Unnie, isn’t this good?”

Ever since she had locked herself in the room, her brother had sat in front of the door every day and talked to her.

He talked about school, his friends, and the jokes that were floating around on the internet. He didn’t know if it was the right or wrong way. It was just the only thing he could do.

“This is the violin piece that actor Seo-jun played on the radio and it was amazing. So I wanted to let you hear it too. Noona, do you remember? Over the Rainbow. We went to see it together a long time ago.”

Yeah.

They did.

Before this situation happened, they had that memory.

“It’s been 10 years already. I still feel like it was yesterday. So they’re going to film the second part of Over the Rainbow for the 10th anniversary. This piece is also going to be in the second part…”

She didn’t realize that she was listening, but the music stopped abruptly in the middle.

She heard her brother’s laughter mixed with a bit of moisture, as if he had recalled the same memory.

“He ended the performance right here, saying it was a spoiler. Isn’t that too much? Everyone was curious about the rest and left a lot of comments.”

That’s right.

It was a performance that made her curious about the rest.

And,

It was a performance that she wanted to hear again.

“…Ye-won…”

“! Noona!”

He was startled by his noona’s voice, which he hadn’t heard in a long time. Her brother stuck to the door, wanting to open it and go inside right away, but he felt like it wasn’t time yet.

‘Calm down. Calm down.’

“…Play it one more time.”

“Okay! Okay! I will! You can listen as much as you want!”

He fumbled with his phone and pressed the play button.

♬

The violin melody sounded again. It was a warm melody, like the morning sun.

It was a dark room with no gap for a ray of sunlight, but somehow her body and mind, which had been cooling down, seemed to melt.

He asked cautiously, as if he was wondering if the sister’s voice he had heard earlier was his illusion.

“Uh, noona. Do you like this song?”

“…Yeah…It’s nice…”

Ever since the day when his noona, who had been drying up without any preference, said she liked something for the first time, he and his parents had been eagerly waiting for [Over the Rainbow 2] to be released as soon as possible.

And on the day of [Over the Rainbow 2] release.

The family installed the best speaker in front of her’s closed door. And they all started watching [Over the Rainbow 2: For My Friend].

She still didn’t have the heart to watch the movie, so she curled up in the blanket as always and closed her eyes.

And she just listened to the sound that came in, as if she was letting it pass through one ear.

The first classical piece that came out was well-played, she thought, but she didn’t feel anything.

She could hear the dialogue in the movie, but she couldn’t understand it because it was in English.

“Noona. Now the grown-up Gray is having a concert and he’s awesome! Rebecca and George are there too! They’re holding bouquets and going backstage! Maybe they’re going to give them to Gray.”

His explanation passed by her ear like the sound of a car outside, like the sound of people talking, like the sound of a bird, just like the noise of life.

Suddenly, she felt sad.

She must have thought, without knowing it, that this movie, this music, could help her get better.

‘How foolish… I have to be strong.’

But how should she be strong?

She didn’t know what to do in this situation, where she felt like she was stuck in a swamp that she couldn’t get out of. Even the sister, who was the person involved, didn’t know.

Then, the violin sound came.

It was a song she had never heard before, and she didn’t know what kind of feeling it expressed, but it was better than any other song.

It was [Good Afternoon].

The ability of Seo-jun, [(Good)Tiaf’s Light Dust], that was contained in the performance, flowed out of the speaker and reached her.

And it suppressed the negative emotions in her mind and brought out positive ones.

Her mind, which had been filled with depression, became a little clearer and she thought of a park full of greenery.

She thought of the expressions of people who were doing what they wanted and enjoying themselves. Her heart, which had been silent, beat loudly.

She moved around in the blanket, unknowingly, to listen to the performance better, and approached the door and leaned her body on it. And she listened carefully.

It was nice.

She wanted to keep listening to this song.

But again, the sound of dialogue came and a famous classical piece was played.

Of course, the performance was good. But she was disappointed.

“Noona, they’re having a barbecue party now.”

“Should we go too?”

“They said barbecue is harder than they thought…”

He chattered about the progress and his parents chimed in.

And a new song came.

It was [Good Evening].

[(Good)Phlox’s Flame], which amplified the affection and love in the target’s mind by two times, settled in her heart.

The positive feeling that had arisen earlier doubled.

Across the closed door, her affection and love for her family, who had been telling her the plot of the movie without resting their throats, also doubled, no, multiplied.

A tear trickled down.

“…The kid buried in the cemetery was sixteen. He was a fan of Gray.”

[Lullaby], which wished the dead child to sleep well, came.

Along with it, the sound of her brother and parents crying quietly came.

They must have remembered the time when she wanted to give up on life.

And one more song came.

It was [Good Night].

[(Good)Modit Flower’s Petal], which made the dead being come to mind and erased some of the target’s sorrow and regret, landed on her. Then, the ‘past self’ that she had thought was dead, tapped her shoulder as if to say it was okay.

She cried without knowing it, but her mind was lighter than ever.

“Now it’s dawn! You’ve changed a lot!”

His voice and the bright [Good Morning] came.

[(Good)Ditemas’s Cry], which gave the listener a lively energy, gave her energy to her lightened mind.

She stopped crying and took a deep breath.

It was a big movement that made her feel refreshed, as if she didn’t know when she had breathed out and in so big.

After that, [Over the Rainbow] and [For My Friend] came.

- Is there anything you want to eat?

-They’re selling fish-shaped bread now!

-Strawberries are in season and they’re delicious.

-Marina’s movie is coming out in January!!

-Let’s go see it together!

-I’ll buy the tickets.

She thought of the messages her friends had sent.

She heard their voices in the violin melody.

She got up from the place where she had curled up in the blanket.

And she walked to the window, trembling, and grabbed the thick blackout curtain with both hands.

She was still scared.

She was still depressed and empty.

She was still indescribably helpless.

‘But…’

She clenched her mouth, opened her eyes wide, and put strength into her hands.

Swoosh-

The blackout curtain, which she thought would be heavy, was lifted very lightly, very easily.

She saw the snow-covered scenery outside the window.

She took a deep breath and exhaled again.

It was time to live again.