Superstar From Age 0

Chapter 285

He avoided historical genres, since the dialogue was different in tone and style. 

He focused on modern works, such as Spring Has Returned.

Park Do-hoon had joined a new movie after filming Escape. 

The movie was released after Escape and rode on its popularity, becoming a box office hit. 

Park Do-hoon had taken a break for almost a year after that. 

Kang Tae-young had just finished a drama a few months ago.

Seo-jun watched the movies and dramas that were closest to the current acting skills of Park Do-hoon and Kang Tae-young, but he was not satisfied.

Thats a different character.

Park Do-hoons character, the male lead A, Lee Hyun-sung.

Kang Tae-youngs character, the male lead B, Choi Yoo-won.

What Seo-jun wanted was the two characters played by the two actors.

But watching their previous works was not entirely useless.

There were times when the actors own expressions remained in the characters they played in various works.

Unless they specified a unique way of walking or limping (such as having a hasty personality and fast steps), their habits would show up in small details, such as how they walked.

Or when they were sad.

The actors had different ways of expressing sadness in the same scene.

Park Do-hoons character would be quietly sad. 

He would not make any sound, but only shed tears and beat his chest. 

Paradoxically, his quiet sorrow would touch the viewers hearts.

Kang Tae-youngs character would burst into tears. 

His heart-wrenching cries would pierce the viewers ears and chests. 

The emotions that lingered in their ears would captivate them.

Of course, it depends on the characters personality.

To prevent the character from collapsing in the work, the expression method would vary depending on the personality of the character they played. But unless it was a very detailed script, it was usually like that.

As he observed various works, Seo-jun felt like he knew a little about Park Do-hoon and Kang Tae-youngs acting styles.

But he had never seen Park Do-hoon and Kang Tae-young play Lee Hyun-sung and Choi Yoo-won, so it was hard to capture their feelings and atmosphere.

The Lee Hyun-sung and Choi Yoo-won that Seo-jun imagined from analyzing Park Do-hoon and Kang Tae-young were just his imagination after all.

Thats why I asked them to change seats.

Usually, the main actors would sit near the PD and the writer. 

And since there were female lead, male lead, and child actor, he thought they would sit separately by gender. 

And as he expected, his original seat was next to Kang Tae-young.

I cant observe them properly if I sit there.

He couldnt see their movements in the script reading, let alone their expressions. It would be a waste of opportunity.

Seo-jun smiled as he looked at Park Do-hoon and Kang Tae-youngs faces, where he could see even their eye movements.

He thought he made a good choice.

And then it was Park Do-hoons turn to start.

As expected, Park Do-hoons Lee Hyun-sung was different from his imagination.

He seemed to have improved his skills during his one-year hiatus. 

Thats why acting was fun. 

When he thought he was good, he would surprise him with even better skills.

Seo-juns shining eyes scanned Park Do-hoons movements.

The subtle movements that reflected Lee Hyun-sungs personality, who did not change his expression much.

The twitching eyebrows.

The narrowing pupils.

The trembling lips.

He listened carefully to Park Do-hoons voice, determined not to miss a word.

The pauses between words in his dialogue.

The gap between sentences when he spoke the next line.

The timing of his breathing.

Park Do-hoons way of speaking as Lee Hyun-sung.

He killed even his own breathing sound and focused all his attention on Park Do-hoons acting.

***

Park Do-hoon smiled inwardly as he finished his lines and adjusted his breathing. 

He still felt Seo-juns hot gaze on him.

He felt goosebumps on his arm hidden by his sleeve from that sharp look that dissected his every move. 

It was like the eyes of a predator looking at its prey. 

He didnt know how hard he tried not to make any mistakes because of that.

Hoo.

Park Do-hoon let out a deep breath.

He remembered Seo-juns words that he would capture his atmosphere when they met last time. 

He thought Seo-jun could do it.

Thats why I expected to be observed but his eyes were hotter than I thought.

He expected him to pay attention to his tone or expression, but at this rate, he seemed to act even his breathing sound.

I should have known and practiced harder

He wanted to see Seo-jun capture his acting, but at the same time, he hoped Seo-jun would struggle with his acting.

I cant let him imitate me easily. I have to work harder.

There was no winning or losing, no absolute standard in acting, but that made Park Do-hoon more reluctant to lose.

***

I wish I could.

Kang Tae-youngs seat was next to Seo-juns opposite side, and next to Park Do-hoon, so he could see Seo-juns gaze on Park Do-hoon clearly.

He was envious of Seo-juns serious look at Park Do-hoons acting.

As a fan and as an actor, he liked and respected Seo-jun. 

Kang Tae-youngs shoulders sagged. 

He thought they had become close enough to exchange phone numbers, but he was no match for Park Do-hoon, who had known him for years.

But he couldnt stay down.

I have to do my best!

As his turn approached, Kang Tae-young looked at the script with a serious expression.

He didnt even imagine that Park Do-hoon had goosebumps on his arm from Seo-juns gaze that he envied.

Hello.

Kang Tae-young realized something was wrong when he uttered his first line. 

He felt a gaze from somewhere. 

It felt like all the nerves in his body were standing up. 

He flinched for a moment, but continued his acting.

Im Choi Yoo-won, the one in charge of this commercial shoot.

Despite the staring sensation, Kang Tae-young continued his acting while looking at the script. 

The most important thing right now was acting.

He had practiced hard since he received the script, so that Seo-jun would not be disappointed. 

He clenched his teeth inwardly, but outwardly, he was completely acting as Choi Yoo-won.

***

Hyung is doing well too.

Seo-jun thought as he watched Kang Tae-youngs acting.

As he watched Park Dohoons acting, Seo-jun carefully examined every detail. 

He did not miss a single thing when Kang Taeyoung acted either.

Choi Yoo-won, who had a friendly personality, was expressive and emotional. 

Unlike Lee Hyun-sung, who was as restrained as possible, he was a perfect match for Kang Taeyoung, who was also rich in emotions in real life.

And yet, he is completely Choi Yoo-won.

As Seo-jun analyzed, Kang Taeyoungs acting did not show any of his own feelings.

Apart from his emotions, there were some Kang Taeyoungs habits that showed up because of his shorter acting experience compared to Park Dohoon and Seo-jun, but that was fine.

Seo-jun also dissected every aspect of Kang Taeyoungs portrayal of Choi Yoo-won.

The eyes that smiled softly.

The lips that curved into a smile.

The gentle tone of voice.

The pauses between the lines.

As he observed, Seo-jun unconsciously mimicked Kang Taeyoungs expressions.

The camera director swallowed his dry saliva at Seo-juns face that captured Park Dohoons acting before and Kang Taeyoungs acting now. 

He did not know why he did that, but he felt that it was not ordinary.

***

It was Kang Taeyoungs turn.

He felt the same gaze again and remembered a similar one.

Its like the gaze of an acting teacher who checks homework.

The movement of his steps. 

The tips of his fingers, the expression of his emotions, the timing of his breathing, the direction of his gaze, his facial expressions. 

He felt a gaze that scrutinized and analyzed everything.

It was time for Choi Yoo-won to look around the room. 

Kang Taeyoung, who had memorized the script already, looked around the room as if he was Choi Yoo-won.

Just as he was about to open his mouth, he met Seo-juns sparkling eyes.

How long has he been watching me?

He momentarily liked the sight of Seo-jun looking at him with shining eyes, but soon realized the sharpness in his gaze. 

He realized what that acting teacher-like gaze was.

It was Seo-jun.

Actor Lee Seo-jun was observing and analyzing him.

He swallowed his saliva at the sharp gaze that watched him from head to toe, or even the way he breathed in and out. 

He felt a chill down his spine.

Why did he think of that gaze as acting teacher-like?

That was the gaze of a predator who wanted to devour Kang Taeyoungs acting.

He felt sweat on his palms and goosebumps on his arms. Once he noticed it, he could not stop paying attention to it.

A normal person would have stopped acting because of the nervousness, but Kang Taeyoung was different.

Why did he feel more excited for some reason?

He tried hard to calm down his restless heart.

He was not a fan who liked Seo-juns works, but an actor who wanted to act with him and show him his skills. 

He wanted to show him how well he could do.

He opened his mouth more seriously than ever as an actor Kang Taeyoung.

***

Lets take a 10-minute break!

At the words of PD Gong Hee-chan, everyone put down their scripts. 

The actors who spoke a lot drank water and beverages from the bottles on the table. 

Some went to the bathroom and some went outside to get some fresh air.

Seo-jun wrote down what he had extracted from Park Dohoon and Kang Taeyoungs acting on the script and Park Dohoon checked what he needed to think about again.

Kang Taeyoung, who had successfully finished reading his part, smiled and read the next part.

The camera director called PD Gong Hee-chan. 

He watched the recorded scenes several times and called writer Yoo Cheong-ah. She admired what she saw on the screen.

PD Gong Hee-chan returned to his seat and asked Seo-jun.

Seo-jun-ah. I saw you imitating Dohoon-ssi and Taeyoung-ssis acting on camera Is that right?

The actors sitting nearby looked puzzled at PD Gong Hee-chans question. Kang Taeyoung looked up at Seo-jun.

He imitated my acting?

Seo-jun nodded and answered.

Yes. Thats right.

Hmm. Is that why? You said you would act exactly like the adult roles.

Writer Yoo Cheong-ah asked and Seo-jun opened his mouth.

Yes. I watched Dohoon-hyung and Taeyoung-hyungs previous works, but their characters were different so it was hard. So I was observing them while reading the script. Um. I guess it showed on my face without me knowing.

He did not notice because he was focused and observing.

He smiled shyly and everyone blinked.

Observing? What do you mean by acting exactly like the adult roles?

Yoon Hye-in asked and Seo-jun smiled and said.

I mean, I will act exactly like Dohoon-hyung and Taeyoung-hyung. The child actor and the adult actor are different, so there is a gap, right? I want to minimize that difference with my acting. I want to capture the atmosphere and the acting of the adult roles.

Is that possible?

Everyone widened their eyes at the unheard-of story. 

Park Dohoon smiled and asked Seo-jun.

How about it, Seo-jun-ah. Can you show us a little bit?

Taeyoung-hyung, I still have some more analysis to do But Dohoon-hyung, I can do it to some extent.

He needed to watch and analyze and practice more, so he could only do the script reading with low completion today.

But I can do this part perfectly.

The part Seo-jun pointed to was his first line.

It was not the past part yet, so he was just waiting for his turn.

PD Gong Hee-chan and writer Yoo Cheong-ah, who had been looking forward to Seo-juns acting since the first meeting, brightened their eyes. 

The other actors were no different.

The camera that had stopped for a moment turned on again. 

He had a feeling that he would miss something if he did not record it.

Then can you try it now?

Yes.

Seo-jun readily nodded at PD Gong Hee-chans words.

A quiet conference room.

All eyes were on Seo-jun who was sitting.

As if he heard an action sound somewhere, Seo-juns atmosphere changed in an instant.

Hello. Im Yoo Sung-jin. I came from America.

A stiff voice and a rigid expression.

A familiar way of speaking.

The lines were different, but someone came to mind automatically.

Everyones eyes turned to Park Dohoon. 

Park Dohoon also widened his eyes at Seo-juns acting that resembled him more than he expected.

The only difference was his voice.

That means if he changes his voice

Writer Yoo Cheong-ah, PD Gong Hee-chan, the actors and the staff looked back and forth between Park Dohoon and Lee Seo-jun with astonishment.