Superstar From Age 0

Chapter 56

Everyone was drained of energy and couldnt move even after the lights came on.

They came to watch a fun movie, but it turned out to be more emotionally exhausting than they expected. Not that they hated it. They couldnt take their eyes off the screen for a single moment.

Park Seong-won moved around to loosen his tense body. The audience gathered their belongings and got up from their seats.

Cookie

What?

Is there a cookie video?

Someones voice echoed in the quiet theater. That made the people who were packing their stuff snap out of it and sit back down on their chairs.

What kind of shocking cookie video would they show this time? Park Seong-won also looked at the screen with anticipation.

The white letters slowly rose up. And soon, as everyone expected, the screen changed.

[How about it? Its hard to do it alone, right?]

Redbone reached out his hand. A moment later, a black glove grabbed it. How could they forget the clothes they just saw? The audiences mouths opened involuntarily.

[Im counting on you. Shadowman!]

The confident Redbone and the weary-faced Shadowman were facing each other.

What?!

It was the trailer of [Assemble], the movie where the superheroes of Marinesa gathered.

Park Seong-won, who was leaving the theater, suddenly turned around. He was the last one to leave and there was no one else in the theater, but he remembered the kid who was standing here. He felt goosebumps from his toes to his hair.

Is, Seo-jun?!

Really?! Did I see it wrong?! He ran home, babbling.

[Title: I think I saw Seo-jun at the theater!]

A sighting of Seo-jun was posted.

Wow. Shocking.

Seo-jun didnt know?

Yeah. Yeah.

Kim Hee-sang and Seo-jun were leaving the theater leisurely, not knowing or caring about the fact.

I had no idea!

Even the actors didnt know, so the security must have been really tight!

I couldnt even imagine! Shadowman, wow!

Seo-jun, no spoilers outside.

Before they knew it, the two were outside the theater, where the sun was shining.

Hello. Im a moviegoer.

The moviegoer waved his hand at the camera. It had been two weeks since Shadowman 2 was released.

It felt like everyone who wanted to see it had seen it, so the comments were flying up in no time.

Now it seems like Marinesa decided to shock people with cookie videos. Wow. A movie where the superheroes that I only saw in comic books come together! So I looked up the title.

A bright logo appeared on the monitor.

[ASSEMBLE]

Assemble! The next movies title is Assemble. The only confirmed superheroes are our hero, Redbone, and Shadowman. I wonder what other heroes will appear.

The logo of Assemble disappeared from the screen.

As the title says, Im going to talk about Shadowman 2.

-Did you get it wrong again?

-What can I do? Lee Seo-jun is a villain!

The moviegoer shook his head in disbelief.

Yes, I got it wrong again. Why is it that every story I tell has the opposite outcome? Honestly, I dont care much about the Central Park photo, but what about this one?

The moviegoer showed a photo, a baby angel Lee Seo-jun.

-Angel! Up to 1 million won angel!

-My friend also picked up 100,000 won. He thought it was a cigarette butt and was going to throw it away, but there were two 50,000 won bills inside!

-We have it at home too Pray every day

I have this at home too. The day I saw this photo, my mother won a 1 million won gift card. I printed it out very big and hung it in a frame. And my younger sister put photos of Brown Black around it. Theyre also noisy these days because of the renewal.

The moviegoer uploaded a photo of his living room. Seo-juns photo and Brown Blacks photos were attached.

Brown Black debuted six years and a few months ago. The contract renewal of Koreas best idol group was approaching. The moviegoer shrugged his shoulders.

Well, thats enough for the gossip, but isnt he a hero just by looking at this photo? Honestly, I thought the Central Park shooting was a bait. But this photo was so powerful that I thought it would be awkward if he came out as a villain.

A photo popped up on the screen. An image cut from Marine Corps. Seo-juns face looking at somewhere with cold eyes.

This villain with an amazing force! It was actor Lee Seo-jun. Oh, hes not a villain yet. He hasnt done anything bad yet. This earth invasion was done by those bad guys who were after Jin Natra. But you all know, right? The feeling that he will become a great villain!

-Really scary.

-Scary, but also sad.

-I watched the movie and felt Jins emotions so much. It was depressing and scary.

But I think I would resent everyone too. According to the official setting, the time difference between Natra planet and Earth is 5:1. So on Earth, William disappeared a year ago, and on Natra planet, William fell five years ago. If William disappeared when he was four or five years old, Jin Natras age would be nine or ten years old now.

-He definitely grew up more than William.

-But I recognized him as Seo-jun in the Central Park scene. I saw so many photos

-What do you eat to grow so big. Seo-jun.

Everyone. Think about it.

The moviegoer stopped the flow that was going to the other side.

William grew up well without his parents since then. Even though there were people who bullied him, he was a normal kid who smiled and chatted until he went to the memorial hall.

-I thought he was a real hero then.

-His smiling face was like an angel!

Yes, I did too. But then he found out that his father, whom he loved the most, was the one who put him in pain. He also found out that his real parents were waiting for him desperately, and that all the daily life in Central Park, which he envied while watching all day, was the time he could have had instead of the time he suffered. That smart kid.

The moviegoer and the viewers remembered Jin Natra, who quickly realized that he was the child in the photo with the small clues.

-His expression, so sad

-I almost cried there. Sad, but also scary how he changed.

But then I had this thought.

-What?

Think about it. Mac is a character who came to Earth from Natra by chance. Jin is a character who went to Natra from Earth. Mac had a lot of good people around him. He was an orphan, but he grew up with love. But what about Jin? He lived unhappily without anyone to rely on.

-Bell Natra? Hes not okay.

The moviegoer frowned.

I wont say it for sure, but I dont think Bell Natra is such a good person either. Anyway, Mac and Jin have completely opposite pasts.

-So its hero vs villain?

Yes. Thats right. This movie is like a turning point for Shadowman and Jin Natra. If they overcome this crisis, they become heroes. If they fail, they become villains. And here, the two of them diverge.

On the screen, pictures of Shadowman and Jin Natra appeared, and another picture appeared under Shadowman.

Shadowman has an ally!

-Redbone!

-Assemble!

It was Redbone, who was smiling confidently.

Mac is lucky. He has good fortune. But what about Jin, who turned back to Natra?

There was a big question mark under Jin Natras picture. Anyone could guess. Jin Natra had no one to help him, let alone someone to rely on. And that was one of the reasons why he became a villain.

-

-

The comments were full of tears. They all remembered the first scene. The cold, mocking voice. And the father who made him miserable.

The moviegoer nodded.

As you all guessed, Ill stop here. In my opinion, the most important thing in this movie was Lee Seo-juns acting. Thats what the reviews of Shadowman 2 said. From the memorial hall scene, I felt like Lee Seo-jun would go down a bad path. I felt the same way.

- me too

-It was serious from there!

That scene was up to Lee Seo-juns acting. The evil that sprouted from the sorrow. The seedling of evil that would grow huge in the future. If Lee Seo-jun had a strange but kind atmosphere like a ghost, we might have thought that Jin Natra would become a hero in Shadowman 3. But Lee Seo-jun crushed our hope very well. With perfect acting!

-No matter how I think, hes just a villain in Shadowman 3

-Hes a villain no matter how he comes out

-When Shadowman saved the kid so scary

I hope Shadowman 3 comes out soon! Of course, Im looking forward to Assemble too!

The moviegoers live ended and articles popped up everywhere.

[Acting transformation! How can he act like this at this age?]

[The evil hidden in the sorrow. Is the delicate acting the key to Hollywood success?]

[Real situation! There is a child who grew up with kidnapping skills?!]

[How far can Lee Seo-juns acting go?]

[So when is Shadowman 3?!]

[Superheroes assemble! Assemble!]

-Hes definitely a hero. I still have an angel in my hand.

-Its a pity. Why didnt he stay on Earth?

=He must be conflicted. His father did wrong, but he still loves him. He doesnt remember his biological parents who are waiting for him.

=He must have grown more because of that. Hes grown so much in a year

-But Lee Seo-jun is really good at acting. I was breathless at the close-up. He acts with his eyes.

=Me too, I got goosebumps. Scary but sad.

-I empathized with Lee Seo-jun while watching the movie. I resented Shadowman. Why didnt he save him!

=Me too I know its not Shadowmans fault but I resent him

-But is the sighting story true?

=I dont think so. There were so many people in the theater. No matter how much he hid, they wouldnt miss Lee Seo-jun.

=I know. He grew up a lot, but his face was still handsome. I recognized him at a glance in the movie.

-But its amazing that there arent many sightings of Lee Seo-jun.

=Is he in America? No. Someone would have seen him and taken a picture there.

=Maybe the people around him are protecting him? Hes still young.

=That could be true. Good people. But now that hes in elementary school, itll be hard.

=One or two of those kids will upload it.

-But. He only appears in movies. People who dont watch movies wont know him.

=Didnt he make the news?

=My dad knows that Lee Seo-jun is a Korean child actor who is very popular abroad, but he doesnt know what he looks like. But he has the angel picture Thats Lee Seo-jun

=There must be a lot of people like that They know hes famous, but they dont know his face

=Hell be famous soon if he appears on TV

***

Mom.

Yes?

My tooth is loose.

Seo-jun touched his front tooth with his finger. Wobble wobble. He ran to his mom and moved his front tooth as if to show her.

It was really loose. Seo-eunhye, who was preparing dinner, stiffened.

It must be a baby tooth!

Baby tooth?

Your baby tooth falls out and a strong permanent tooth grows in.

This is uncomfortable. Can I take it out?

He didnt like the feeling of something dangling. Seo-eunhye shook her head.

Itll fall out on its own if you wait a little longer.

Its uncomfortable.

Itll fall out soon.

Seo-jun was uncomfortable, but he left it alone. He didnt want to care, but he kept shaking his front tooth with his tongue.

In a few days.

It fell out!

His front tooth was empty.

Seo-jun kept looking at the mirror. His front tooth was missing. His mom and dad were busy taking pictures, saying he was cute.

His lips and tongue felt strange when they touched the empty front tooth.

Mom, my pronunciation is weird.

And a little bit of his pronunciation leaked out like the wind. Seo-eunhye smiled and said, even that was cute.

Its because the wind goes through the gap where your front tooth fell out. Itll be fine when your permanent tooth comes out.

Hmm. Can you understand what Im saying?

Yes. Its okay.

Im glad it fell out after I filmed Shadowman!

Dont they do that with CG?

Do they?

The next day, he went to elementary school, paying attention to his pronunciation, and most of his classmates had their teeth missing too.

Some of his friends had lost two front teeth, and some had lost a lower tooth. They all laughed as they looked at each others faces.

Did you lose one too, Seo-jun?

Yeah. It fell out yesterday!

Mine was the day before. They say you have to throw it on the roof to get a new tooth.

Seo-jun and his friends tilted their heads at Ji-yoons words. We live in an apartment, right? They all lived in the same apartment complex.

Wheres the apartment roof?

Isnt it the rooftop?

We cant go to the rooftop!

They all nodded at Seo-juns words. And then they all tilted their heads again.

Their homeroom teacher, who was listening to their conversation, smiled and told them another way.

That night, Seo-jun wrapped his fallen tooth in a tissue and put it under his pillow. Seo-eun-hye and Lee Min-joon asked him.

Teacher said that the tooth fairy comes and gives you a coin. Since we cant throw it on the roof these days, we do it this way.

Teacher is so global.

Seo-jun quickly lay down on his pillow.

He was thinking of going to the library to look for the tooth fairy. He skimmed through the books that had nothing to do with acting, and he forgot some of them because there were too many.

There must be something! What does the tooth fairy do with the teeth?

When he opened his eyes, he was in the library of life.

The fourth door opened on his birthday. Now he enjoyed reading books. He thought they were like dramas or movies, and he felt like he was practicing acting and empathizing with the characters.

Tooth fairy. Tooth fairy!

He searched the library and found it.

In the library of evil Sun-hyang.

It was a fairy that stole the childrens fallen teeth and used them to transform into a child and live among their families instead.

Bad tooth fairy!

He woke up with a start, and his dad was holding a tissue with a tooth in one hand and a pocket with a coin in the other. His mom was standing behind him. He blinked his eyes at his parents faces, which were faintly lit by the sunlight coming through the curtains.

Seo-jun. You woke up early.

Well, we were going to do it at night.

His mom and dad smiled awkwardly and handed him the pocket with the coin.

When he went to school, his friends all had pockets with coins.

Seo-juns eyes narrowed. Seeing the similar pockets with coins, he guessed that their parents had all discussed it.

Well, whatever! Seo-jun and his friends finished school and bought some delicious tteokbokki at the snack shop in front of the school.