Superstar From Age 0

Chapter 363:

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: AgRoseCrystal

Chapter 363

“An audition, you say?”

“Yes.”

Director Min Hee-kyung answered with a bit of nervousness. 

The planning team leader stroked his chin with a restless face. 

The staff blinked and looked at each other.

The planning team leader opened his mouth after a moment of thought.

“We mentioned Lee Seo-jun as an actor because… the script is good and there might be a possibility. It’s not confirmed, you know. If you want an audition, you can hold one when Lee Seo-jun is not cast, but…”

“That’s true, but…”

Director Min Hee-kyung was worried about what would happen if Lee Seo-jun suddenly agreed to appear.

It wasn’t that she disliked him.

Who would hate the idea of Lee Seo-jun, an acting genius, performing in their work? 

She was just worried that he was too great of an actor and would overshadow the image of the protagonist she had in mind.

She sighed inwardly as the planning team leader’s voice reached her ears.

“There’s a big difference between Lee Seo-jun appearing and not appearing. From the production cost to the promotion.”

The staff nodded their heads in agreement.

Unlike other movies that could only be known whether they were successful or not after they were released, Lee Seo-jun’s works always did well at the box office. 

Director Min Hee-kyung knew that fact well.

“So I think it would be better to make an offer first.”

Director Min Hee-kyung slumped her shoulders.

“…Then I guess there’s no choice.”

This is ridiculous.

The planning team leader and the staff rolled their eyes at the sight of the dejected director.

They could tell that Director Min Hee-kyung had another actor in mind for the protagonist, but she wouldn’t say his name, which made them frustrated. 

They couldn’t even imagine that Director Min Hee-kyung didn’t know the name of the actor. 

The planning team leader thought for a moment and opened his mouth.

“Um. How about using it for publicity?”

“…Publicity?”

“Ask Lee Seo-jun if he would be interested in auditioning for this script we have at Cocoa Entertainment. If he likes the script, he’ll participate in the audition. If not, then there’s nothing we can do.”

The planning team leader smiled and continued.

“But from what I’ve seen, Lee Seo-jun is an actor who has a lot of ambition for his works, so he’ll join the audition if he likes the script, even if there is one.”

To be honest, there weren’t many actors who could act better than Lee Seo-jun among his peers. 

Even if he auditioned, it would be a sure thing.

Lee Seo-jun would pass.

One of the staff said with a pale face.

“That sounds like a good idea! It would be a hot topic if Lee Seo-jun participated in the audition. Who would think that Lee Seo-jun would join an audition!”

They all talked brightly about the publicity plan when someone opened their mouth.

“But wouldn’t it look like he’s already decided if Lee Seo-jun is in the audition?”

It would naturally seem that way if there was a superstar among ordinary actors.

“That’s true. There might be some actors who give up as soon as they see Lee Seo-jun.”

The staff agreed with the planning team leader’s words.

“That’s how it is in this industry, you know. It’s always a thing to have someone who can act better than you as a competitor. It’s like meeting Kim Jong-ho at the audition site. There’s a difference between Hollywood and Korea, but still.”

“Ah…”

That’s right, there was that incident.

The staff and Director Min Hee-kyung nodded their heads without realizing it.

“The actors who auditioned with him were cast as tourists, right? If Lee Seo-jun participates, we can also cast other roles during the audition. We’ll announce it beforehand.”

“We don’t have to do two auditions either.”

“If someone says they’ll participate even with Lee Seo-jun, it means they have some acting skills.”

Of course, this was all based on the assumption that Lee Seo-jun liked the script.

Director Min Hee-kyung was lost in thought as she listened to the cheerful talk of the staff.

‘If Lee Seo-jun doesn’t appear, it doesn’t matter… but what if he does? Would he participate in the audition?’

That was the problem even if the audition was held.

Even if he liked Director Min Hee-kyung’s script, he might be intimidated by Lee Seo-jun’s name and not participate.

‘What would he do?’ 

Director Min Hee-kyung wondered for a moment and tilted her head unknowingly.

‘…Why do I feel like he would participate anyway?’

She remembered his sparkling black eyes that seemed to burn with passion for any script he liked. Director Min Hee-kyung smiled and said,

“Then I’ll contact you after discussing more about the audition.”

Director Min Hee-kyung smiled brightly and nodded her head at the planning team leader’s words.

***

Lee Seo-jun’s fan cafe, [Sprouts], was buzzing.

The design contest for the light stick that had been talked about since last year had begun.

Since Cocoa Entertainment had announced beforehand that there would be a contest, everyone posted on the [Light Stick Contest] board in [Sprouts] as soon as the contest started.

The reporters who didn’t miss the topic of Lee Seo-jun also posted articles as soon as the contest started.

[Actor Lee Seo-jun, light stick design contest begins!]

[An actor’s light stick? Let’s find out about the actors who have light sticks!]

[What are the prizes and rewards for actor Lee Seo-jun’s light stick design contest?]

[How to participate in the light stick design contest?]

-Finally…!

=It’ll take some time to come out in real life, but it’s finally coming out!

-Finally!

-It’s amazing that an actor has a light stick. When do you use it?

=Fan meeting? When watching a drama?

=When will Seo-jun have a fan meetingㅎ

-Wow… The prize money is quite a lot, isn’t it?

=Right. They also give prizes to other places. As expected of Cocoa Entertainment.

-There’s also a participation prize.

=A poster with Seo-jun’s profile picture! I picked up a pen right awayㅎ

=222 I can’t draw, but I have to participate.

=333 I already have his profile picture, butㅋㅋ it’s different when it comes from the company.

-How do you participate in the contest?

=You just have to go to [Sprouts] and post on the [Light Stick Contest] board:)

There were also many posts related to the contest on [Sprouts].

-If I post 10 designs, will they give me 10 posters?

=No. They only accept one design per ID, so they only give one poster.

=ㅠㅠㅠ Well, there are too many sprouts who are aiming for the poster, so it would be hard to judge.

=I wanted to have two posters, one for display and one for collectionㅠㅠ

-I’ve been waiting since last year! I posted right away!

=Oh, I saw your design! I hope you get first place!

=Thank you!

-As expected… The quality of the designs is no joke, right?

=The overseas sprouts also posted a lot. The best among the best are Yangdeok…ㅎ

=There are many sprouts, so there are many golden hands. It’s so nice to just look at them.

=(Link) Did you see this? It looks like this person actually made it with a 3d printer;;;

=…Wow… There’s even fire.

-In the flood of golden hands… A poop hand quietly raises its hand. I drew it for the posterㅠㅠ

=Me too. I hope the staff at Cocoa Entertainment just glance over it and move onㅎ

=You don’t have to look at 22;;; You’ll only lose your eyes.

=Wow.

=Why are you like that?

=The design contest for the light stick. Seo-jun participated in it.

=…Is it too late to start attending art school now?

=ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Ever since the light stick contest was announced last year, designs from sprouts who had been working on them since then and sprouts who picked up unfamiliar pens for the poster were posted one by one on the board.

There were light stick drawings made by young fans who loved Cheongryong with crayons or colored pencils, and light sticks with 3D videos attached that glittered and rotated 360 degrees.

The world was wide and there were many golden hands.

Seo-jun, a judge who was looking at each design slowly with a PinePad in the practice room of Cocoa Entertainment, smiled at the light stick drawn with crayons.

The light sticks with cute ideas from the kids made Seo-jun and the Sprouts laugh.

“Da Ho hyung. This one flies like a boomerang.”

“That’s dangerous, so it can’t fly.”

Ahn Da Ho imagined a light stick flying around like a boomerang at the fan meeting and answered with a serious face. 

Seo-jun laughed at his expression.

“There are a lot of real ones made.”

“A lot of production videos were uploaded on YouTube after the light stick contest started. They got quite a lot of views.”

It must have been because the Sprouts who were curious about which design would become the light stick and the people who were interested in the novel topic of an actor’s light stick contest. 

It also helped that the actor was Lee Seo-jun.

“Da Ho hyung. Do you have any criteria for choosing?”

“There is no set criterion, so just look carefully and choose the design that you like. We will decide on the first place among them by meeting.”

“Okay.”

Seo-jun nodded his head and moved his eyes back to the PinePad.

Maybe because Seo-jun was an actor, there were many designs related to his works.

[I thought of this design from the children’s play Spring.]

At the end of the handle, there was a round Yeoui that contained a blue dragon with a wavy mane inside.

Depending on personal preference, you could choose from an adult dragon, a young dragon, a mischievous dragon, etc., which appeared in eight episodes. There was also an explanation that it had a voice.

-The kids would love thisㅎㅎ

-It would be even better if Seo-jun did the voice acting!

-It would be cool if the blue dragon inside the Yeoui moved.

[This is Jin Natra’s light stick!]

In the center of a small black sphere, white gold light burst out and black shadows stretched out around it as if they were exploding. The jagged ends looked like a black crown.

-This is awesome! It looks like a crown!

-Of course, you can’t leave out Jin Natra when it comes to Seo-jun!

-I guess that small black sphere is Jin Natra. The light represents his body collapsing, right?

-The bottom one with William (teddy bear) light stick was cute, but this one is darkㅎ It goes well with Shadowman 3.

[This is my favorite drama, My Royal Physician’s light stick!]

Inside a round ball, there was a small doll that looked like Seongnyeong Daegun and a big doll that looked like Heo Yu-seon holding hands affectionately against the backdrop of Seongnyeong Daegun’s residence. And in the next picture, it looked like a snow globe with white snow falling from the sky.

-A snow globe……! A snow globe……!!

-Ugh. I want to buy this!

-How about selling it even if it’s not a light stick?

=It won’t work because of copyrightㅠㅠㅠ

=Work!! Cocoa Entertainment!! KBC!!

-I wish there were other characters tooㅠㅠ Taejong and Chungnyeong Daegunㅠㅠ

“This one has a good idea, so we’re discussing making it into a product with KBC.”

There were many amazing and cool ideas that even caught the attention of production companies or broadcasters related to his works.

“I want to have it too.”

Seo-jun’s eyes sparkled at Ahn Da Ho’s words.

[This is Over The Rainbow.]

Inside a transparent globe, there was a violin and a bow crossed over each other. Below that, there were small pieces of paper stacked like tickets. When you shake it, the golden tickets shake like snow in a snow globe. And on the transparent globe, you could mark the countries you went to or want to go to individually.

-It really feels like a world tour!

-I don’t know if it’s technically possible, but…… I want this.

=Oh. Hello, Moviegoer!

=I’m enjoying your reviews.

=ㅎㅎㅎ Thank you.

[This is Escape’s light stick.]

Inside a transparent box.

A doll aiming an arrow at the zombies trying to climb up. The Bluetooth speaker that was indispensable for Escape was dangling from the ceiling. The most eye-catching thing was the zombies that seemed to grab your ankles as soon as they crawled up.

-ㄱㅆ : I designed this at the Escape theme park. The zombie experience is still scaryㅋㅋ

-This would be scary to look at at night;;;

-How about making it into a figure? I’ll reserve one.

=222 I’ll reserve one too.

There were also light stick designs with unique ideas such as [Spring Has Returned] with a yellow umbrella as a point and [Survivors] that expressed the scene of rescuing Lee Hyun-woo.

The light stick contest was not only a hot topic inside [Sprout], but also outside.

Even people who didn’t join [Sprout] but enjoyed Seo-jun’s works were interested. The designs that made them exclaim were spread to other sites as well.

Among them, there was a light stick design that especially attracted people’s attention.

[Survivors (Director’s Cut) light stick is here!!]

On the board of the light stick contest in [Sprout], there was a light stick for Survivors! And it was the Director’s Cut!!

(Link)

-Director’s cutㅋㅋㅋ Light stickㅋㅋㅋ

-…A light stick for the director’s cut… I never thought of that.

-Are they all of the same mind?ㅋㅋ Even Seo-jun’s fans are writing comments without looking at the postㅋㅋ

-To see or not to see, that is the question…

=You can tell it’s full of chaos and despair and blood without lookingㅎ

-…This damn curiosity… I’m going to see it!

=222 I’m too curious;;;