Superstar From Age 0

Chapter 32

Mom! Dad! Hurry up!

Seo-jun was bouncing on his feet at the front door, holding his slime backpack. Seo-eun-hye and Lee Min-joon, who had packed Seo-juns snacks and belongings, smiled at his impatience and quickly helped him put on his coat.

Seo-jun, its still chilly outside. Put this on.

Okay.

Seo-jun obediently wore his coat, but his feet were still restless. The couple couldnt help but laugh at his eagerness.

Do you like it that much?

Yes! Im in the movie!

On March 10th, when they were still in the US, they had a birthday party for Seo-jun.

Their planned two-year business trip to the US had been extended to four years due to Lee Min-joons company situation. They were worried that it might be longer, but luckily, their US trip was finally over.

They had to leave the US soon and go back to Korea, so they invited the people they had been close with in the US for a farewell party.

As they were eating, playing, and chatting, Seo-eun-hye got a call on her phone. It was from director Ryan Will.

Ryan confirmed Seo-juns casting and congratulated him. Seo-jun cheered and ran around until his mom scolded him, but there was no sign of the smile fading from Seo-eun-hyes face or the faces of the others. They all congratulated him and promised to watch the movie with Seo-jun.

And then they arrived in Korea. Time flew by as they unpacked, cleaned, and looked for a kindergarten for Seo-jun.

And today. Shadowman was finally released.

Seo-jun had been shining his eyes and staying at the front door since this morning.

The couple had wanted to wait until the release date passed, because they thought Seo-jun might have a hard time with the crowd, but Seo-jun couldnt sit still since he saw the Marine Corps advertisement, so they booked the movie tickets early.

Greenwing might win! We have to go see it soon.

I didnt know thats what you meant.

In the elevator, Seo-jun couldnt move around, but he couldnt keep his upper body still either. Seo-eun-hye shook her head at him.

They were shocked when they saw the Marine Corps advertisement for the first time in Korea.

It was an advertisement that showed the two heroes of the Marine Corps, Shadowman and Greenwing, facing each other.

And the advertisement said that you could vote online with the movie ticket, which encouraged the competition. And they said they would send a figure of the hero and some prizes by lottery, so the internet was heated up even before the movie was released.

Seo-jun had been anxious since then. He was confident in the audition, but movie versus movie. He was worried about how Ryan edited it.

If [The Fantasy of the Smiling Mushroom Face] worked, he wouldnt cut it for sure

Seo-jun remembered Ryan Wills face, which was calm even after the filming was over. He patted his head and said he did well, but was that really true? Seo-jun trembled his legs nervously.

The elevator reached the first floor and the family headed to the nearest theater. It was the biggest theater in the neighborhood.

The theater was crowded with people. People everywhere. Seo-jun had never seen so many people before, so he held his mom and dads hands tightly.

Shall we watch Greenwing?

That word pierced Seo-juns ears like an arrow. Seo-jun pouted his lips. And after that, he only heard stories about Greenwing. Seo-eun-hye and Lee Min-joon kept turning their heads.

The promotion is really scary.

I know. It was a mess when I heard that Redbone had a car accident.

The whole street was full of movie posters from Marine Studios as they came out of the subway station. Imiyeon nodded at her friend, Park Seonga, who seemed bored.

It was like a war back then. Fans who sent video letters to Redbone, wishing him a speedy recovery, were everywhere on SNS, along with fans who said they wouldnt watch the movie if it wasnt Redbone.

There were even news reports of terrorist threats that were posted on SNS and didnt seem like jokes.

Imiyeon took out the tickets she had reserved from the machine. She had booked Shadowman because Greenwing was sold out. She didnt care anyway, since she was going to watch both movies.

But Marine is still Marine. They made a buzz with this rivalry scheme.

I think Ill watch both too. Two rookie directors with famous and unknown characters.

I guess Greenwing will win, right?

Definitely. The director who took Greenwing won a lot of awards.

They picked up and unfolded the pamphlets that were stuck in.

Marine Studios seemed to have set up the promotion of the two movies as a rivalry, as one pamphlet had Greenwing on the left and Shadowman on the right.

Greenwing in green and Shadowman in black.

Below that, they wrote down the filmographies of the directors. Sure enough, the Greenwing directors award history was longer.

Its strange. Usually, for this kind of rivalry, they would put an unknown director with a famous character and a famous director with an unknown character, to balance the fairness.

Yeah. This looks like Shadowman is losing for sure.

Imiyeon knew Greenwing already, but she only found out that there was a character called Shadowman when the movie was announced.

Park Seonga, who had been thinking for a while, said.

Or maybe, theyre playing on peoples psychology.

Peoples psychology?

The people who came to get the pamphlets were listening to their conversation. Seo-jun, who had picked up the Shadowman poster, perked up his ears.

Why. If it looks like theyre going to lose one-sidedly, people tend to cheer for the weaker side. The underdog.

Oh, that could be possible.

Well, theyll do whatever they want. Its Marine.

But when is Redbone 2 coming out?

I guess theyre aiming for the summer break, so maybe in the summer.

The two people who were chatting about trivial things turned around. Then, the people who were listening to their conversation also turned their eyes away and pretended not to hear.

It wasnt just Park Seonga and Imiyeon. The theater was full of people who came to watch the movies from Marine Studios, and the talk was all about Marine.

Two movies made by the same studio. It was the battle of the century, they said, and they all flocked to the theater as if they were cold-blooded movie critics, to exercise their voting rights.

Of course, there are more people watching Greenwing.

Greenwing is popular, you know.

Im going to watch Shadowman! Underdog!

Where did you hear that?

The two people laughed at Seo-juns words. Seo-jun looked at the movie ticket his mom gave him. Shadowman, theater 3. He turned his head around and said,

Mom, theater 3!

Seo-jun, who could now read numbers well, found the number 3 written on the wall. The family grabbed their pounding hearts and stepped into theater 3.

Wow, Greenwing is no joke.

Seriously, the world felt so slow. I thought my time stopped.

Greenwings screening ended first. The audience came out and spewed out their impressions.

The background music timing was really amazing. When Greenwing hit a villain, it sounded like a bang! at the exact impact timing. It felt like hitting with music. It wasnt 4D, but I thought it was 4D!

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As soon as they left the subway station, they were greeted by a sea of movie posters from Marine Studios. Imiyeon agreed with her friend, Park Seonga, who looked fed up with the sight.

It had been a chaotic time. Fans of Redbone, the star who had fallen ill, flooded the SNS with video messages and vows to boycott any movie without him.

There were even news of serious terrorist threats that appeared on SNS, which didnt seem like jokes at all.

Imiyeon got the tickets she had reserved from the machine. She had settled for Shadowman, since Greenwing was sold out. It didnt matter to her, though. She planned to watch both movies anyway.

But you have to hand it to Marine. They know how to create a buzz with this rivalry thing.

I think Ill watch both too. Its interesting to see two rookie directors with different characters. One famous, one unknown.

Greenwing will probably win, right?

Most likely. The director of Greenwing has won a lot of awards, after all.

They took and opened the pamphlets that were available.

Marine Studios had made the promotion of the two movies into a competition, as one pamphlet had Greenwing on the left and Shadowman on the right.

Greenwing in green and Shadowman in black.

They also listed the directors achievements below. The Greenwing directors award history was clearly longer.

Its weird, though. Usually, for this kind of competition, they would pair a famous character with an unknown director and an unknown character with a famous director, to make it fair.

Yeah. This looks like Shadowman is doomed from the start.

Imiyeon was familiar with Greenwing, but she only learned about Shadowman when the movie was announced.

Park Seonga, who had been pondering for a moment, said.

Or maybe, theyre trying to manipulate peoples psychology.

Peoples psychology?

The people who came to get the pamphlets were listening to their conversation. Seo-jun, who had grabbed the Shadowman poster, pricked up his ears.

Why. When it seems like a one-sided loss, people tend to root for the underdog.

Oh, that makes sense.

Well, theyll do what they want. Its Marine.

But when is Redbone 2 coming out?

I bet theyre aiming for the summer break, so maybe in the summer.

The two people who were chatting casually turned away. Then, the people who were listening to their conversation also looked away and acted as if they hadnt heard anything.

It wasnt just Park Seonga and Imiyeon. The theater was filled with people who came to watch the movies from Marine Studios, and everyone was talking about Marine.

Two movies made by the same studio. It was the clash of the century, they said, and they all rushed to the theater like cold-blooded movie critics, ready to cast their votes.

There are more people watching Greenwing, of course.

Greenwing is popular, you know.

Im going to watch Shadowman! Underdog!

Where did you hear that?

The two people laughed at Seo-juns words. Seo-jun looked at the movie ticket his mom gave him. Shadowman, theater 3. He turned his head around and said,

Mom, theater 3!

Seo-jun, who could now read numbers well, spotted the number 3 on the wall. The family held their pounding hearts and stepped into theater 3.

Wow, Greenwing is amazing.

Seriously, the world felt so slow. I thought time had stopped.

Greenwings screening ended first. The audience came out and shared their impressions.

The background music timing was incredible. When Greenwing hit a villain, it sounded like a bang! at the exact moment of impact. It felt like hitting with music. It wasnt 4D, but it felt like it!

Some people were planning to watch Green Wing for the nth time, while others shook their heads, saying it was not as good as they expected. But even those people could not help but nod at the dazzling visual effects and say, As expected of Marine.

Its hard to get out, isnt it? Maybe because there are so many people.

Thats how this theater is. Its really hard to leave.

As many people were lining up to slowly exit Green Wing, Shadowmans screening ended.

The door of theater 3 opened. People came out, but not many. A theater employee who had seen Shadowman beforehand shouted loudly with a resigned expression on his face. It was loud enough for even the Green Wing audience who were leaving next to him to hear.

Shadowmans screening is over. Please take your belongings and leave. Tissues are prepared in front of you.

As the theater employee said, there were several boxes of tissues next to him.

The Green Wing audience wondered. Shadowman was a movie from Marine, the rival of Green Wing.

It was supposed to be a thrilling superhero movie, so why tissues?

As soon as the theater employee finished speaking, someone showed up. He was a person who came to watch Shadowman alone, and he was so busy crying that he didnt even notice the door opening.

Sniff. I need sniff some

Here you go.

Thank sniff

The rest of the audience came out after him. Some of the Shadowman viewers were crying. They were only about 10% of the audience, but they stood out more because they were sobbing.

Some people took tissues while crying, and some people came out with the support of their friends. Their friends were bewildered.

Why are you crying so much?

Will William was so pitiful

I mean, I also felt sorry for him, but is it worth crying like this?

Imiyeon kept pouring out tears.

Hey, youre embarrassing me.

Park Seong-ah quickly grabbed a tissue from the box next to the theater employee and gave it to Imiyeon. Imiyeon continued to cry even as she wiped her tears with the tissue.

Even after Imiyeon came out, there were occasional viewers who came out crying from theater 3 where Shadowman was screened.

They cried regardless of age or gender. The Green Wing audience stared at the Shadowman viewers.

What kind of movie was it? The audience who were satisfied with Green Wing became curious. Some of them were already booking tickets for the next Shadowman movie on their phones.

Sniff.

Seo-jun cried. Lee Minjun and Seo Eunhye, who were sitting next to Seo-jun, gave him tissues with subtle expressions and wiped his tears. Seo-jun, who was in his fathers arms, blew his nose with the tissue his mother gave him.

William was so pitiful

What are you going to do if Seo-jun sees you crying and cries too?

Lee Minjun lifted Seo-jun from his seat and hugged him.

But he was so pitiful sniff.

Seo-jun buried his face in his fathers shoulder. Even though he had little mana and low resistance, the effect of [Smiling Mushrooms Illusion-Low] that made even the skill owners cry was amazing.

Seo-jun, look. Your name is up there.

Sniff? My name?

Seo Eunhye quickly changed the subject as her son cried too much. Just then, the names of the production company, actors, and staff appeared on the screen that turned black along with Shadowmans OST.

In the meantime, Seo-jun LEE appeared in fairly large letters.

His tears blurred his vision, but Seo-jun saw it clearly.

[Seo-jun LEE]

The white alphabet seemed to sparkle. Seo-jun couldnt take his eyes off his name that slowly rose, even as he shed tears.

Meanwhile, the internet was in an uproar with reviews of Shadowman.