Superstar From Age 0

Chapter 34

Choi Dae-man searched for Shadowman William on his phone after leaving the movie theater.

It seemed like everyone else had done the same, as it was the top suggestion in the auto-search.

[Shadowman William]

[Shadowman William child actor]

[Shadowman William Lee Seo-jun]

He glanced at the passing words.

Lee Seo-jun.

Suddenly, he remembered the cute baby from the past, as if struck by lightning.

Choi Dae-man unconsciously opened his mouth.

“Lee Seo-jun? Lee Seo-jun!?”

He pressed the search button with his finger.

A profile window popped up.

Among the people with the same name, the most famous one appeared on the screen, smiling brightly in a photo.

He had grown a lot since he saw him four years ago, but he still had the same round eyes and distinct facial features.

“Is that really Seo-jun!?”

It was Lee Seo-jun, who had filmed the Elephant Milk commercial with him.

He felt a chill.

He had thought he was a genius, but he expected him to do something bigger later, not to go to America and star in a movie by Marina.

“He’s a genius, after all.”

Choi Dae-man entered a nearby cafe and ordered an iced americano.

He sat down and started surfing the internet about Shadowman and Lee Seo-jun.

For the past month, there had been a lot of news about them, from the Elephant Milk commercial to the show [Brown Black and Jun’s 48 Hours], which Choi Dae-man had watched because of Seo-jun, and of course, [Shadowman].

WNET was trying to catch the wave and re-broadcasted the show with the title [48 Hours of Hollywood Child Actor Lee Seo-jun!].

There were also many articles with catchy headlines like ‘The Youngest Korean Hollywood Child Actor!’ and ‘The Korean Chosen by Marina!’.

There were some malicious comments saying ‘He’s just an extra’, but there were also many praises.

As Choi Dae-man read the screen diligently, he made a phone call.

“Ah, long time no see. Team Leader Kang So-ra.”

The recipient was Kang So-ra, the team leader of Elephant Company.

***

“So I wanted to see you and tell you about it.”

Seo-jun sucked on his orange juice. Ew, sour.

He shook his head and the team leader Kang So-ra sitting in front of him smiled lightly.

“There’s nothing we can do about the law.”

“I’m really sorry.”

Seo Eunhye waved her hand.

It wasn’t Kang So-ra’s fault that the law was set that way.

She had sent gifts every year for New Year’s and Chuseok, and also for Seo-jun’s birthday. She was grateful that she came to explain in person.

“So the milk commercial won’t air anymore?”

“No. I’m sure others will find some loopholes. But we’re planning to stop advertising altogether.”

“I see.”

The milk commercial was banned. Not only in Korea, but in more than 120 countries that joined WHO, there was an international regulation that prohibited milk formula advertising.

It was to prevent the misuse of formula.

That’s why Seo-jun’s milk CF had ended.

That wasn’t the only reason. The TV quality had changed drastically as technology advanced.

The commercial was effective, but it didn’t suit the future customers other than the baby parents. It was amazing enough to air the CF that was filmed four years ago for four years.

To break the somber mood, Kang So-ra opened her mouth.

“Ah, have you seen Seo-jun’s movie? He was really good.”

“Seo-jun likes acting. I’m thinking of sending him to an acting school these days.”

Team Leader Kang So-ra rolled her eyes playfully.

“Acting school? If Seo-jun, who has even filmed a Marina Studio movie, goes to an acting school…”

It would cause a stir.

Banners would be hung on the walls of the acting school, and the principal would appear on television, promoting the school using Seo-jun’s name.

There would be other repercussions, most likely not good ones.

As Team Leader Kang trailed off, seo Eun-hye, who had guessed her concerns, also smiled bitterly.

“That’s why I’m worried. Acting isn’t something you do alone. Neither Seo-jun’s father nor I know anything about acting, and we just awkwardly play his counterparts.”

Seo Eun-hye, sipping orange juice, glanced at Seo-jun, who was watching a documentary about movies on his phone, and continued.

“It would be nice to have a friend or a teacher who knows acting well to play opposite roles.”

“I see.”

“Moreover, scripts are coming in for Seo-jun, and I don’t even know which ones are good.”

As Seo-jun’s connection with Brown Black became known, offers poured in for Seo Eun-chan, brown Black’s manager.

It was amazing how many companies were making advertisements.

Moreover, many scenarios and synopsis were coming in from the drama and movie side.

Unable to discern the good from the bad, they were all being rejected. Seo-jun was also shaking his head, seemingly not finding any scenarios to his liking.

That’s when it happened.

Buzz buzz—

Feeling the vibration from her handbag, Kang So-ra stood up with her bag.

“Just a moment.”

“Take your time with the call.”

Kang So-ra, who had been on the phone in a corner of the cafe, returned to her seat with a subtle expression.

“Seo-jun’s mother.”

“Yes?”

“Do you remember the director from the last CF shoot?”

“Yes, I remember.”

Seo Eun-hye and Seo-jun nodded.

It was their first CF shoot.

Every moment was memorable.

They remembered the kind director who had called Seo-jun a genius and offered his phone number, willing to help even in a small way.

“Director Choi Dae-man wants to meet you urgently. What should we do?”

“Why does the director suddenly want to meet?”

“He’s making a movie and wants you to take a look at the script.”

Kang So-ra spoke cautiously.

On the internet, there were posts everywhere about how this already famous child actor was getting scripts from Hollywood.

She wondered if it was okay to talk like this.

“I want to see it!”

“If it’s a script, seo-jun has read almost all of them, so it’s fine.”

At the mention of a script, seo-jun raised his hand eagerly.

Whether it was because his smiling face in Shadowman without any lines had left a strong impression, or because they didn’t trust the speaking abilities of 6-year-old Seo-jun, almost all the scripts coming in for Seo Eun-chan involved roles where he just stood and smiled.

How boring.

So they were all rejected.

Seo Eun-hye also nodded.

It wasn’t a request to appear in a movie without a plan, using past connections, but rather a request to look at a script and make a judgment.

Moreover, it was a director with whom they had a connection. She felt more inclined towards him than others.

“Shall I give you the director’s phone number? Or should I receive it by email and give it to you?”

“Could you give me the director’s phone number, please?”

Four years ago, seo Eun-hye had kept a note with the phone number of Choi Dae-man, the director who could make Seo-jun’s future. It was still in her notebook.

But it might have changed in four years, so she entered the number that Kang So-ra gave her into her phone.

She texted Choi Dae-man first to ask when he was available to talk.

She wanted to call him when both Lee Min-jun and Seo-jun were with her. He replied that he was free anytime.

After dinner, the whole family gathered around the phone. Seo Eun-hye called him as the representative.

“Oh, a mystery movie.”

Seo-jun and Lee Min-jun looked at their mother who was talking to the director.

“He said it’s a mystery movie.”

“Mystery?”

Seo-jun searched for mystery genre movies with his dad.

There were more genres than he thought.

There were movies with ghosts, movies with supernatural powers, and movies with detective stories.

“Horror movies are also included. If it’s a horror movie, does it have ghosts? Can Seo-jun do it?”

“Yeah! Am I a ghost?”

“Maybe. There were Japanese movies where kids were ghosts. Or maybe. If it’s a movie like a detective story, are you a victim?”

“Victim?”

“Um. Someone who gets hurt by the villain?”

They looked at the movies they searched and talked about the roles that they thought Seo-jun could play. There were many different genres and roles that Seo-jun seemed to fit.

“What role does Seo-jun have?”

Seo Eun-hye asked Choi Dae-man. He answered something. Seo Eun-hye barely said goodbye with a vague expression and quietly put down the phone.

Lee Min-jun and Seo-jun, who were curious about the conversation with the director, hovered in front of Seo Eun-hye.

She had a half-dazed expression on her face.

“What’s wrong?”

“Mom, what role do I have?”

“Not a ghost? He said it’s a mystery movie, right?”

Was that so surprising? Seo Eun-hye looked up and down at Seo-jun and opened her mouth.

“He said you’re a shaman.”

“…What?”

At Lee Min-jun’s question mixed with doubt, seo Eun-hye repeated.

“He said you’re a baby shaman who exorcizes ghosts.”

Shaman?

“What’s a shaman?”

Seo-jun looked at himself and asked, grabbing his mom and dad’s hands with a complicated expression.

Seo-jun, six years old.

In this life, he had never seen a shaman on TV, in newspapers, or in fairy tales.

No, he had never heard the word shaman before.

Seo Eun-hye printed out the script she received from Choi Dae-man. It was not the whole script, but the part where Seo-jun would appear.

She also printed out a file with the story of the baby shaman that Choi Dae-man had set up.

“Do shamans wear these clothes?”

“Yeah. They’re colorful, right?”

“Why do they wear them?”

“…Well? I don’t know either.”

Meanwhile, Lee Min-jun explained to Seo-jun about shamans.

When they searched for shamans, they saw pictures of people wearing colorful clothes and spreading their arms.

Seo-jun frowned as he looked at the pictures.

“What are they doing?”

“That’s…”

He couldn’t say ‘they’re shaking bells’, so Lee Min-jun quickly moved on to the next picture.

“He won’t do this.”

He knew it without looking at the script. Who would make a six-year-old ride a wooden horse?

The next picture was not easy either.

The shaman with a straw hat was dancing like crazy, and the picture was full of dizzying afterimages.

Lee Min-jun sighed.

“Is this dancing?”

“This is… a ritual.”

“A ritual?”

“It’s a way to get rid of the bad spirits that enter people’s bodies. It’s a dance that makes all the bad things disappear.”

Lee Min-jun explained as much as he knew. Seo-jun blinked his eyes.

“What happens to the shaman?”

“A very powerful god enters the shaman’s body. The shaman uses that power to tell fortunes.”

“Isn’t it a bad spirit if it enters the body?”

“…Help!”

Lee Min-jun raised a white flag.

Seo-jun had fun teasing him and he laughed. He didn’t know the word ‘shaman’, but he had a rough idea of what it was from his dad’s story.

It was like a priest or a cleric. Or maybe an archangel.

“Okay. Seo-jun. Shall we read the script?”

“Yes!”

They all sat on the sofa, and Seo Eun-hye read the script slowly.

The baby shaman’s part was not long, but it was a very important role.

Seo Eun-hye’s voice, which had been flowing calmly like a bedtime story, stopped. She asked Seo-jun, who was listening intently.

“What do you think? Do you want to do it?”

“Yes!”

Seo-jun nodded his head. Unlike the other scenarios, there were lines and he wasn’t just smiling blankly. And it was the climax of the movie.

“Okay. Then I’ll contact the director.”

Seo Eun-hye picked up her phone and made a call. The recipient was Director Choi Dae-man.

Seo-jun handed the A4 paper with the script printed on it to his dad, who was sitting next to him. Then he climbed onto Lee Min-jun’s lap, who had taken it by surprise.

“Why?”

“Read it with me. I have to memorize the lines!”

Lee Min-jun, who had opened his eyes wide, smiled and stroked Seo-jun’s head.

“Are you practicing already? Okay. Dad will help you.”

Seo-jun leaned his back on Lee Min-jun’s stomach and looked at the script that his dad was holding.

He skipped the scene number and the background description at the front and read only the parts he needed to know, such as the narration and the dialogue.

“Soo-hyuk knocks on the door. No other sound is heard. How many…”

“Times.”

“How many times did he knock, the door opens with a squeak and a young baby comes out. Soo-hyuk, is there a dragon here?”

“Dragon.”

“There’s a dragon shaman here…”

Lee Min-jun helped him with the parts with final consonants or difficult words. Seo-jun read the script slowly.

”