Superstar From Age 0

Chapter 57

Seo-jun wondered when his front tooth would grow back.

Would any other baby teeth fall out?

He looked in the mirror every day, and one day, he got a call from Lee Ji-seok.

“Hello, Ji-seok hyung.”

-Hey, seo-jun. I saw your movie! You did great!

“Hehehe. Thank you. Hyung, thank you for the birthday present.”

Lee Ji-seok had given Seo-jun some old movies and their scripts as a gift for his admission and birthday.

Seo-jun and his parents enjoyed watching them.

-I’m glad you liked them. What are you up to these days?

“I go to taekwondo academy on Mondays, wednesdays, and Fridays. I go to music academy on Tuesdays, thursdays, and Saturdays. I’m going to start hapkido academy next month. And I’m going to swim academy in the summer break.”

Seo-jun sat on the fluffy sofa and answered one by one with his fingers. His parents were amazed by his growing skills, and Seo-jun had fun.

Seo-jun wanted to learn many things. He could learn anything if he had time and leisure.

He also wanted to learn how to ride a horse, but the place was too far away. He planned to learn it during the vacation.

Besides that, he wanted to learn kendo and foreign languages.

He discussed with his parents and decided to learn them slowly without being too hard on himself.

Lee Ji-seok scratched his head at the busy life of the elementary school student.

-Seo-jun, do you know what a cameo is?

“Yes, I do.”

-I’m filming a drama right now, and I was wondering if you’d like to do it.

“Uh, but…”

-Why? Are you busy?

“No, it’s just…”

Seo-jun hesitated, and Lee Ji-seok said they could talk about the cameo later and asked him to have a meal with him.

Seo-jun nodded and made an appointment with Lee Ji-seok.

Weekend.

Seo-jun put the golem doll that Kim Hee-sang had given him as a gift in his new outing bag and headed to Cocoa Entertainment with his mom.

They had chosen Cocoa Entertainment as the meeting place with Lee Ji-seok.

It was safer than a place like a cafe where people who recognized Seo-jun and Lee Ji-seok would flock.

Besides, there were few people who came to work on weekends.

Seo Eun-chan, who was now the president and working hard, got a call and came down to the first floor.

“Hahaha. Seo-jun, your front tooth fell out? It fell out so cleanly.”

Seo Eun-chan greeted Seo-jun and laughed when he saw his missing front tooth. Seo-jun pouted his lips at his laughter.

“Ouch!”

“Stop teasing him!”

Seo Eun-hye hit Seo Eun-chan’s back hard and looked around the first floor.

She asked Seo Eun-chan, who was making a fuss because his hand couldn’t reach his hot back and he couldn’t touch it.

“Where are the other staff members?”

“Only the essential people came to work. There’s not much work these days because of the Brown Black’s contract renewal. There are trainees, but they’re practicing in the basement practice room. Don’t worry, they’re not a bother.”

“Okay. This is a snack for the staff. Seo-jun, I’ll come back to pick you up later. Call me.”

“Okay!”

Seo Eun-hye left, and Seo-jun looked around the first floor.

It was completely different from the old building.

Cocoa Entertainment, which had changed its president, was using the entire five-story building.

It was thanks to the investment money that Seo-jun had gladly given to Seo Eun-chan.

“Uncle. The company is huge.”

“Isn’t it better than before? There’s only Brown Black as singers, so it feels empty, but we have to start over!”

Seo Eun-chan guided Seo-jun to Cocoa Entertainment, holding his hand.

“It’s a building that was used by another agency before, so I just did a little remodeling. There was a practice room in the basement, but it was small and old, so I changed it all. It’s a brand new practice room, so Brown Black kids come and practice often. The first floor is where we greet guests. There’s a conference room and a lounge. There’s also a room where we store things.”

He looked around slowly from the first to the fifth floor.

On the fifth floor, there was Seo Eun-chan’s office, and on one wall, there were pictures of Brown Black and Seo-jun.

He knew why there were pictures of his brothers, since Brown Black was under Cocoa Entertainment. But,

“Why is my picture here?”

He would have understood if it was the ‘angel’ picture.

There were often reviews that people carried it around like a charm in their phone gallery or in a small size.

But the picture that was attached here was a picture taken by a photographer who took still cuts when Seo-jun appeared in Evil Spirit.

The red robe was spread wide by the fierce wind, and Seo-jun looked at one side with a serious expression.

On the black background, there was a yellowish goblin aura that only Seo-jun could see.

If they expressed that aura with CG, it would have been a cool picture that could be used as a poster for Evil Spirit.

“Hahaha. Why is this here?”

Seo Eun-chan quickly stood in front of the picture and covered it.

He broke out in a cold sweat.

It was a picture that he wanted to put on the first floor wall when Seo-jun came to Cocoa Entertainment.

He also thought of putting up a picture of Jin Natra from Shadowman 2.

Seo-jun narrowed his eyes and looked at Seo Eun-chan. Seo Eun-chan quickly turned Seo-jun’s body and left the office.

‘I was trying to lure him little by little, but I blew it!’

He wanted to say, “I gave you the investment money, so you’re half Cocoa Entertainment, right?”

But Seo Eun-hye would say that’s one thing and this is another.

Seo-jun would probably say the same, since he was his mother’s son.

Seo Eun-chan sighed.

“Come on, we still have time for the appointment. Let’s go to the conference room on the first floor!”

“Suspicious. Uncle.”

He didn’t expect his nephew’s meaningful gaze to drop.

Seo Eun-chan quickly took Seo-jun to the elevator and went down to the first floor.

He roughly guessed.

Seo-jun scratched his cheek.

I mean, other agencies are unfamiliar. But Cocoa Entertainment doesn’t have any actors.

He was discussing it with his mom and dad.

Whether to go to Cocoa Entertainment where he knew someone, or to another agency that had experience in taking care of actors.

The company that Lee Ji-seok belonged to was also on the list.

At the end of the family meeting, they agreed that since he was still a child, it would be better to go to a place where he could trust someone.

Seo Eun-hye was there, and he had the investment money, so he wouldn’t make him do anything.

That was Lee Min-jun’s opinion.

Seo Eun-hye nodded and said that was true.

Seo-jun agreed.

‘Uncle is really scared of mom.’

He now contacted his grandmother regularly and came home well.

[We are on the first floor.]

The elevator stopped. Seo Eun-chan led Seo-jun to the conference room.

He gave Seo-jun a glass of orange juice that he brought from the lounge and sat down in front of him. Then he opened his mouth, looking at Seo-jun’s mood.

“So, have you decided on an agency?”

“Hmm.”

His mom and dad said he could tell his uncle, so he had to. Seo-jun opened his mouth.

“Yes!”

“…Really?! Where?”

“Cocoa Entertainment.”

“…Wow!”

Seo Eun-chan raised both hands with a slight delay.

Hooray! He finally got the big fish he had been eyeing for a long time.

With top idols Brown Black and superstar Lee Seo-jun, who wouldn’t be proud of their agency wherever they go?

“But.”

As Seo-jun opened his mouth, seo Eun-chan, who was cheering, stopped. Seo-jun shrugged his shoulders and said.

“I’m only staying at uncle’s company until I become a high school student. After that, I’ll go to the agency that takes care of me the best.”

Seo-jun as a high school student.

Seo Eun-chan, who was lost in thought, opened his mouth.

“…What if you like our care?”

“Then I’ll keep working with uncle.”

Honestly, that was the opinion of mom and dad, too.

Even if he took on his first acting role, they still had nine years left to adjust to each other from now on. In that amount of time, any new agency would be able to take care of Seo-jun perfectly.

Besides, he wasn’t an unknown child actor who had to submit documents and do business everywhere.

He was Lee Seo-jun, who received scripts and synopses from all over the place even if he just sat still.

“The fact that you get work even if you do nothing, that would be a reason to be complacent.”

Seo-jun nodded at Seo Eun-chan’s words.

That was also the reason why other agencies failed.

If they worked sloppily, thinking that they had already caught the fish, it would be poison to both Seo-jun and the agency.

And wasn’t there an agency that often caused trouble with the actor’s name, contrary to the actor’s opinion?

Seo Eun-chan nodded.

And he brought the A4 paper and pen that were in the corner of the conference room and sat down in front of Seo-jun.

Seo-jun also pulled his chair closer and sat down with a serious expression that was unlike his uncle.

“Any other conditions?”

“I’ll seriously consider the dramas and movies that Cocoa Entertainment offers, but I won’t do them if I don’t like them.”

“Good.”

“I don’t want to be pushed into any new rookie actors.”

“Pushed into… Did sister do that?”

“No. Ji-seok hyung taught me that.”

He had already asked for advice from everyone he knew in the entertainment industry in Korea and the US, not to mention Brown Black and Lee Ji-seok.

Should he do it until he became an adult?

The family, who had been worried about that, suggested a time limit until he graduated from middle school, which was their opinion.

They said that he would need a definite care from the agency from then on, because there would be more roles suitable for high school students.

Seo Eun-chan, who had been scratching his head with a pen, nodded. Lee Ji-seok, the actor.

There must have been many people who gave advice here besides Lee Ji-seok.

Seo Eun-chan swallowed his saliva as he thought of Seo-jun’s connections.

“Okay. No pushing into, and next?”

“I have to do overseas movie contracts separately.”

“Good. I didn’t even think about that.”

Marina Studio, hollywood debut. He didn’t even think about it. Seo-jun whispered the details that he had decided with his mom and dad to Seo Eun-chan. They valued Seo-jun’s opinion more than money.

He could do as many works as he wanted in a year, or he could do none if he didn’t want to.

He didn’t care if he took a break for a few years.

They didn’t know when Seo-jun would want to do something else, so mom and dad suggested conditions for Seo-jun from one to ten.

“Recontract after graduating from middle school.”

“Yeah. Is that all?”

“I think I’ve said everything I wanted to say.”

“Then I’ll write a contract with this and bring it home. Let’s talk with sister and brother-in-law then.”

“Yeah!”

“Oh, by the way. What time is the appointment?”

He didn’t even know how time passed as he focused on the unexpected story. Seo-jun and Seo Eun-chan looked at the clock hanging in the conference room. Fortunately, they still had 20 minutes left until the appointment time.

“Do you want to see the scripts that came in while we have some time left?”

“Did you get more?”

“There are plenty of scripts and synopses. It’s because there’s not much production going on. I think the amount has increased because of the web dramas lately.”

“Yeah. I want to read them!”

“I hope there’s something that Seo-jun likes this time. But you can’t do anything even if you like it because of your front tooth, right?”

“Uncle!”

“Hahaha.”

Ji-seok came to Cocoa Entertainment with his manager Yoon Seong-oh.

“It’s completely different from the photo.”

Cocoa Entertainment had changed completely in a few months after the boss changed. It was definitely different from the old building that had appeared in the news and online articles.

“The boss changed and the investment money came in, so everything changed. They hired more staff too.”

The office was spacious and clean. They also recruited new staff and talented and attractive trainees.

The trainees who were surprised to see Ji-seok there made a startled expression. The staff who guided them said that they were the group that would debut in a few months and smiled.

Ji-seok waved his hand, and the trainees who were going to the convenience store to buy snacks bowed their heads and greeted him, then disappeared into the practice room like a flock of sparrows.

The staff led Ji-seok and manager Yoon Seong-oh to the conference room on the first floor.

Seo-jun, who was sitting on a chair and flipping through the scripts that his uncle had given him, greeted the two people. He arrived right on time.

“Ji-seok hyung! Seong-oh hyung! Hello!”

“Pfft. That’s why you hesitated.”

Ji-seok couldn’t help laughing at Seo-jun’s missing front tooth. He looked so cute and charismatic and cool that this ordinary look felt awkward, but Seo-jun suited it perfectly like a mischievous kid. Yoon Seong-oh also covered his mouth with his hand to hold back his laughter.

Seo-jun said with a displeased face. It was the second time today.

“My pronunciation is weird too.”

“I couldn’t tell on the phone.”

“The wind keeps blowing this way. Later, this and this will fall out too. Really! I don’t think I can do serious acting until my permanent teeth come out.”

“That’s true.”

Ji-seok sat down with a smirk. Manager Yoon Seong-oh also sat next to him.

Ji-seok took out a bunch of papers from his bag and handed them to Seo-jun.

They were the script and synopsis of the drama he was starring in.

“Is this the script?”

“Yeah. How is it?”

[Reinvestigation]

The title alone gave him the impression that it was a detective story.

Seo-jun flipped through the script. In the latter part, Ji-seok had marked some places with a highlighter and a post-it.

It was about three lines of dialogue.

“It’s a passing role that has nothing to do with the drama’s plot.”

“But is it okay in this state?”

Seo-jun, who had given up by now, showed Ji-seok his empty front tooth with a ee- sound. Ji-seok laughed again.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. It suits you better.”

“What role is it?”

“A elementary school student who tells the hit-and-run car number.”

“Really?”

Seo-jun nodded at Lee Ji-seok’s words.

“It suits me well.”

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

“I’ll read the script and synopsis first.”

“You’re thorough.”

Seo-jun put the script and synopsis he received from Lee Ji-seok in his bag. The golem doll attached to the zipper of the bag swung.

Lee Ji-seok got up from his seat with a smile.

“Let’s go for lunch.”

“Okay!”

“Is there a good place nearby?”

“There’s a dumpling place in front of us. They also sell cold noodles!”

Lee Ji-seok smiled as he recalled the memory of eating dumplings together when they were filming The Evil Spirit.