Superstar from age 0 Chapter 51

“Jenny, what’s that?”

“Oh? Oh, a picture floating on the Internet. Isn’t he cute?”

“He is really like an angel.”

Jenny’s cell phone wallpaper was a picture of a smiling child. Jenny’s friend couldn’t take her eyes off the picture either.

“Send it to me, too.”

“Okay.”

Photos of Seojun dressed as an angel have begun to spread around the world through SNS and the Internet.

United Kingdom

Emma was lying on the sofa, looking only at the black, unlit television screen.

‘I don’t know why I’m living. I didn’t want to breathe, think or do anything.’

‘I don’t know how I got to this state. I just don’t like the foggy British weather, I don’t like small, dirty houses, I don’t like working, and I hate it so much that my favorite things disappeared one after another.’

Ring-

Emma blinked her eyes. She hasn’t been contacted by her acquaintances, her parents were the only ones that contacted her.

Her parents’ sad eyes crossed on Emma’s mind, even if she didn’t want to she still answered their call.

Emma reached out and grabbed her cell phone on the table.

“Sigh.”

It wasn’t her mom and it wasn’t her dad. Her best friend sent her a picture. She was a friend who came to her house once a week to help her clean up, hoping she would feel better.

-Isn’t he cute? You like cute things, right? [Picture]

There was a picture of a kid. Emma couldn’t take her eyes off from his smiling face in a cape with wings.

[Angel’s charming wings is activated]

At that moment, Emma’s mind felt refreshed. Earlier she was blackened with depression and anxiety, but now her mind was clear that she couldn’t think of anything other than the cute little child.

“Sigh!”

Emma exhaled without realizing and looked around.

She saw her house full of trash and dust. She used to feel lazy and just watch the trash lay on the floor, but now she wanted to clean it up quickly.

Emma stood up from the sofa with a smile for the first time in a long time.

Now, it’s time to start over.

Lee Seojun’s photo spread all over the world very quickly. And among them, there was Ryan Will.

“This is Jun, right?”

Jonathan showed Ryan the picture he received from a friend.

Ryan had just come back from a movie theater in the U.S.

Unexpectedly, Jonathan handed Ryan his phone, looking serious. Ryan looked at his phone silently, frowned, and read the comments.

(TL: Remember Jonathan Will? The nephew/ Student under Ryan Will to learn how to direct movies.)

[I think my depression got better after seeing this picture]

[Good things happened all day long after seeing the picture]

[It’s a picture that makes people happy.]

Ryan washed his face first and headed to the room. He packed a big suitcase and Jonathan asked at the door.

“Where are you going?”

“Korea.”

“Korea?”

“If you want to go with me, prepare yourself.”

Jonathan didn’t understand why was he in rush, but it was a trip abroad so he immediately packed up.

“When are we going?”

“Tomorrow. Do you have a passport?”

“Yes, uncle! There is. I brought it!”

“By the way, what are we going to do?”

“To meet Seojun Lee.”

* * *

Ryan Will trip to Korea was hidden to the public. Unless Marine published articles, there was no one who would spend time to memorize the names or faces of film directors.

The two unpacked in the hotel and contacted Lee Min-Joon and his wife. They heard that they were coming to Korea, but they were surprised to know that they would come so soon, so they gave them their home address immediately.

Seojun shook hands with Ryan Will. Behind Ryan, Jonathan was waving awkwardly.

Ryan Will, who had a short conversation, brought up the point.

“I need to talk to Jun for a moment.”

“Oh, well, would you like us to leave you alone?”

Lee Min-joon and Seo Eun-hye tried to leave. Ryan Will shook his head.

“It’s fine.”

Still, it seemed to be an important topic, so the three sat a little away from Ryan Will and Seojun.

Ryan Will sat in front of Seojun. Seojun couldn’t guess why Ryan came, so he couldn’t look at him straight.

Ryan opened his mouth.

“I watched The Devil, Jun.”

“The Korean movie?”

“Although there were few screenings, I could watch them at the Cinema.”

‘It was released in the U.S. too!’

Director Ryan nodded at Seojun’s happy face.

“I don’t know much about shamans, but your acting was good.”

“Thank you.”

Seojun said nervously. It was because Ryan Will’s expression was stiff and he still didn’t know what Ryan wanted with him.

Seojun swallowed his saliva. Well, he didn’t come all the way to Korea to compliment him.

“But…”

“Yes.”

“Do you remember when you auditioned?”

“Yes.”

Seojun nodded. When he went to the U.S with his uncle Hee-sung, Ryan Will, said.

“It doesn’t matter what race an actor is, but an actor who can’t act will never be accepted.”

With that said, he gave Seojun a short script and let him do an audition. Seojun passed as expected and he even signed the contract.

“I thought the exotic atmosphere I felt in your performance was the aura of a villain…”

Seojun looked into director Ryan Will’s eyes.

When he heard that William was a villain before the audition Seojun searched in the library an ability befitting of a villain.

However, neither the first door nor the second door would let him give the ability of such character. It was clear that he needed would be in the third door that he just opened this time.

In the end, Seojun used “Bubbly Goblin’s Teasing Mr.Kim” in his audition.

Even if it was somewhat “evil” to Seojun, it was like a joke. A witty joke that makes even the victim laugh.

So during the audition, Seojun acted with the spirit of a goblin in his body, which produced the most villain-like aura. Seojun thought that was enough.

“But when I watched the Devil, it wasn’t.”

Seojun’s eyes shook. As he expected it. He felt uncomfortable since the audition was over.

Ryan Will was here to point that out now.

In a serious atmosphere, both the couple and Jonathan quietly listened to their conversations. The couple thought. It was a little early.

No, it was too early for a child who was almost seven years old.

But the couple was confident with Seojun’s talent, ability, and effort. They thought he was different from ordinary children. This ordeal was their son needed to overcome. And they believe they could.

During the audition, Jonathan, who had watched ‘The Devil’, bit his lips. Jonathan didn’t realize the mistake that his uncle pointed out and Seojun was still you. He has plenty of time to learn, analyze and study harder in the future.

“People wouldn’t know if you had just one scene in that villain act. But ‘William’ doesn’t have just one scene. He will come out from time to time throughout the movie, and since it’s a series, there might be more than just a few movies. Then people will realize. The fact that William you play isn’t just a villain.”

Ryan Will recalled The Devil he watched in the cinema. Seojun’s aura felt beyond the golden CG.

“The energy I felt when I watching the Devil was becoming warmer and greater. It was disparate because I had never experienced it, but it was definitely good.”

Seojun had nothing to say. It was as Ryan Will said. No matter how hard he tried to wrap it up, [Bubbly goblin’s teasing Mr.Kim] was still a virtuous skill.

“Now people who have watched The Devil will feel the same way when they see ‘William’ you play. He’s a villain, but he’s nice. And they will surely find that strange. And…That’s not the ‘William’ I want.”

Ryan Will sighed unconsciously. If that was the case, those who did not watch the Devil might have felt that Seojun’s “William” performance was a villain.

In “Shadowman 2,” which was about to be filmed, if he experienced many roles as he grew older, had more diverse experiences and diversified acting range, Seojun would definitely have been able to play the perfect villain on the “Shadowman” series.

At least that was Ryan Will’s plan.

The reason why he thought of a young child who has little acting experience as “William” was because of his plan to lower the standard for William’s performance in Shadowman 2.

“But the Picture where you appeared recently caused the problem.”

“A Picture?”

Everyone listened to Ryan Will’s words out of the blue.

“His Picture in angel clothes. His picture has spread all over the world.”

Seojun tilted his head. ‘That’s the problem? Isn’t it better if my face is known?’

“Unlike a villain-like movie, where you appear for two hours, your image is stuck in the head in just a second. And that scalability is nothing compared to movies. Even when there is no movie theater, even countries where The Devil are not translated, cell phones, computers and Etc… it will spread everywhere. In addition, they can see the picture again and again at any time.”

Looking at the picture Jonathan showed him, Ryan Will identified the problem at a glance.

“You’re too good.”

Ryan Will’s expression was too serious to be a compliment, so everyone looked away.

“That’s how the image got stuck. Unless it’s a pretty overwhelming performance, everyone can’t get away from the image you portrayed in the picture while watching your performance.”

At that moment, everyone remembered the story of a woman who saw Seojun’s picture and said she felt like she gained a new life.

‘Oh, I see.’

At first no one took it seriously, but only director Ryan Will, who has been watching Seojun’s performance, realized the seriousness of this case.

“Usually the characters of the previous work do not affect the next one for no reason. And this image will become like a form of advertisement. But once people recall your Angel image, they will remember your Angel features than the villain one in Shadowman 2.”

“…Can’t I be in the movie then?”

Ryan Will frowned at Seojun’s question.

“Why don’t you just say you’re going to study how a villain acts? You’re a genius. You can do anything if you really learned. An Angel-like image? Press it down with your overwhelming acting skills!”

The [Elf’s Basic Breathing] is the source of Seojun in high emotional happenings.

Even if he acted without using his abilities, Seojun’s source, which was already full of Mana of the Sun, would exude that “goodness” everytime he played the villain. (TL: Mana of the Sun, Light Element Mana. The Raws literally said Mana of the Sun so I adapted it in the translations.)

Now, even if he stops [Elf’s Basic Breathing], Seojun’s tendency to portray as good has already been fixed within his personality.

“…What if I can’t study?”

It was obvious that it wouldn’t work. So Seojun couldn’t help but ask.

“Then you’ll only play a similar role for the rest of your life.”

Ryan Will was very frank towards a 6-year-old child.

“Well.”

Seojun didn’t like it. Superstars had to be able to play any role perfectly. If he can’t play the role of a teenager in his 30s because of his appearance. Seojun wanted to play any role perfectly.

Ryan Will continued as he noticed Seojun troubled face.

“Let’s practice.”

“Practice?”

“I’ll help you until I can. I wanted to take care of your William from the moment I saw you. If you only going to give up here, I wouldn’t have even thought about creating a Shadowman into a series.”

Jonathan, who heard Ryan Will’s persistence, nodded.

‘Still, my father used to get sick and tired of talking. But he is crazy about movies!’ (Note: It seems like Jonathan used Appa here to depict Ryan Will so he may be his adopted father with his real father as Ryan’s brother or cousin.)

“Well.”

‘Thank you, but I will not allow.’

Ryan Will asked Seojun, who showed a hesitant face.

“Aren’t you going to do it? Are you going to give up this much?”

‘Giving up’

The word struck Seojun’s chest like an arrow. Despite living many lives, Seojun has never given up his life. He lived, even though he would die only three days after he was born. He would still lived his life to the fullest at his short life.

“I’m going to……. I’ll do it.”

“All right.”

Ryan Will, with a satisfied smile, pulled the paper out of his bag. It was a script written in English.

“It’s a one-man play. I wrote it as a villain in your age. Let’s do it step by step first.”

Seojun took the script.

“Don’t worry, I think you’ll make it in less than a few months.”

Seojun nodded.

In Seojun’s room, Ryan Will and Seojun’s practice began. From there only the voices of the two people sharing their thoughts could be heard.

Lee Min-joon and Seo Eun-hye were at a loss outside the door, while Jonathan studied by writing down Ryan Will’s sharp tips on paper.

* * *

Seojun opened his eyes in the library. He plopped down in front of it and heave a sigh.

He acted in front of Ryan Will all the time, but the effect of [Elf’s Basic Breathing] was too great. It didn’t look “evil”.

He looked up at the two wide open doors. All the library available to his age has already been searched through.

“I don’t I can do this.”

Seojun was very discouraged.

Seojun took out the book of his first life. The book was so old and about to crumble, but he could still read the letters.

It was such a very bad life that it was too frustrating to read it again. Nevertheless, he did not give up.

Seojun was lost in thought.

There was also a way to play only the good part. Still, he could have become a superstar. But that was juts giving up. He was avoiding that decision. Seojun closed the book.

“I don’t want to give up either.”

‘But what do I do?’ Seojun looked at his first life’s book and towards the library. he turned his head without realizing it.

On the other side of the library door, there was darkness.