Superstar From Age 0

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: AgRoseCrystal

Chapter 606

“…You’re really amazing…”

They couldn’t help but admire Seo-jun’s incredible patience. 

The other squad members who were sitting next to him nodded their heads in agreement.

“It’s okay, you won’t have time to film anyway if it’s only a week.”

“Yeah. I’ll go out three days later and come back three days before discharge.”

It seemed like a very tight schedule to film anything.

“But if you really want to do it, you can also come back for a day and go out the next day. Like stepping stones.”

At Seo-jun’s words, Jang Hyun-jun and the squad members widened their eyes, knowing how annoying it was to go back and forth from the base. But they soon nodded as if they understood.

“So you really hated filming that much, Sergeant.”

“I heard a rumor that this sergeant only does the works he likes, but I guess it’s true.”

Seo-jun smiled and said.

“That’s right. Ever since my first work, I only did what I wanted to do… I can’t stand doing anything boring.”

Of course, if he hadn’t become famous like now, he wouldn’t have been so picky, but Seo-jun was making full use of his current situation.

“Your first work…?”

“Shadowman 1.”

“Wow. You started that young?”

“My parents let me do whatever I wanted. And I decided on the works I did after that too.”

“You have good parents.”

Seo-jun grinned and nodded. He was always grateful to his parents.

The squad members finished their lunch and asked Seo-jun various questions. They talked about soccer (the players Choi Si-hyuk and Park Ji-ho), which was inevitable in the army, and other sports and musical instruments.

“You went to so many academies for acting? I would have quit after a week.”

“It wasn’t like I went to several at once. I learned one thing for a few months and then another thing for a few months. That’s how I did it. My parents suffered more than me.”

“Still. You’re really amazing. Both you and your parents.”

How much did he love acting that he learned so many things, and on his own initiative, since he was so young?

They felt like they knew how he became such a superstar.

The more they knew, the more they respected Seo-jun. Jang Hyun-jun’s face darkened a bit as he looked at him.

***

“It’s a special episode on the army base!!!”

“White Tiger! White Tiger Unit!!”

White Tiger! White Tiger! White Tiger!

With a strange cry as if they were offering a sacrifice like primitive people, the meeting rooms of each broadcasting station’s variety programs became noisy.

“Wow… Seo-jun enlisted…!”

“How come no one knew!”

While their mouths kept spitting out astonishment and surprise, the writers and PDs’ eyes and hands moved quickly. It would have been easy to book a place if it was a normal place, but the place they were going to book this time was the army. There were a lot of steps to go through for booking.

“But they said he’s quietly serving in the army. Is filming possible?”

Everyone flinched at the sub-writer’s words.

“…That’s a bit of a concern.”

“There were a lot of comments too. What’s wrong with the Ministry of National Defense?”

-??Quietly serving in the army??

-Well, I can see Seo-jun doing that, but the Ministry of National Defense??

=222 They’re missing a chance to promote to the whole world?

-I know the Ministry of National Defense is not like that… Are you sure you’re from the Ministry of National Defense?

People who had been making all kinds of guesses, such as they would bring Seo-jun to every military event (that was the plan.), they would feature Seo-jun in the pre-enlistment or post-enlistment guidance videos (that was the plan.), they would make Seo-jun the protagonist of the videos for making the image of the army as fun, strong, and cool (that was the plan…) etc., tilted their heads at the sight of the Ministry of National Defense that seemed to have given up.

“Maybe they hid him well until now, so they might be able to film from now on. He’s in his final year now.”

Final year sergeant.

It was a term for a sergeant who had one or two months left until discharge, and he was treated as half a civilian in the army.

“This is the time when time doesn’t pass.”

They waited for every day, every hour, every minute, every second, wondering when the discharge day would come. This was the time when they felt the time was the slowest. That’s why some sergeants saved up their vacations and used them in their final year. The so-called final year vacation.

“Come to think of it, we have to consider the overlap with the final year vacation too…”

I think it was ten days… The PD muttered and calculated the rough time, when the door of the meeting room opened with a bang.

“PD! Yun PD is also doing a special episode on the army base!”

“What? They’re a studio talk show, aren’t they?”

“They’re doing an outdoor broadcast for the 6.25 special!”

“Crazy!”

The PD and the writers who had put away their chatter moved their hands and eyes quickly again.

The enemy was not only the other broadcasting station’s programs. This place, which was an ally base, was also full of enemies.

The broadcasting industry was now a silent battlefield.

***

When Seo-jun’s military service news was revealed, the reporters and the public wanted to know the story of that place.

But the army was a place where they didn’t know what was going on unless the discharged soldiers told them. 

There were so many military bases, and each base had a different atmosphere and rules, so it was even more so.

People who searched for White Tiger Unit after finding out that Seo-jun was serving there thought, ‘There won’t be anything. Too bad.’

But, no way…

There were so many.

[Title: Does the army nowadays remodel people’s personalities too?]

My brother was a real jerk.

He was so nasty that I was glad he didn’t cause any trouble when he went to the army with my parents, and I wondered if it was okay to send him to the army (he got a second-class physical, so we couldn’t do anything about it…).

I wished he would just live in the training center and get kicked out, but he got assigned to a unit…ㅎ

Anyway, he was such a loser.

But he came back from the army and changed 180 degrees;;;

As soon as he came home after discharge, he cried and bowed to my parents, apologized for everything he did wrong, and even apologized to me (I still get goosebumps thinking about it)…

I thought this X was dying, you know??? No, even if he was dying, he wouldn’t change like this;;;

My parents and I thought he had finally messed up. What the hell did he do to be like that. He was crazy. He was really crazy. We imagined all kinds of things. Really. I thought, maybe this X was pretending to be good, pretending to be reborn, and then he would run away with my parents’ money.

We were trembling for a few months.

Fortunately or unfortunately, he’s still the same. My parents were very happy and said, people become human when they go to the army! We did well sending him to the army! But I’m still uneasy. The army is not like that, right? I wouldn’t mind if he ruined his personality, but…

Does the army nowadays remodel people’s personalities too?

-?? Is your brother sick or something??

=222 Yeah. Maybe he hit his head or something.

=ㄱㅆ) We even went to the hospital, but he’s fine. He’s healthier than meㅅㅂ

=ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Isn’t your brother’s unit White Tiger Unit?

=ㄱㅆ)?? ㅇㅇㅇHow did you know??

=That place is a bit specialㅋㅋ There’s a rumor in the nearby units tooㅋㅋ There’s a peculiar person in White Tiger Unit who treats people very well (in a good way)ㅋㅋ Even the old-timers or the attention-seekers change their personalities when they go to him. And the food there is delicious, the sleeping quarters are comfortable, and so onㅋㅋIt’s a nice baseㅋㅋ

=ㄱㅆ) How do you handle people so well?

=I only heard rumors, but they say the officers beg him to stay lol

Besides this post, there were many other posts with similar titles when I searched for ‘White Tiger Unit’: ‘My son changed after he came back from the army. For the better.’, ‘My junior in the army was such a good person. He became more lively.’, ‘Thank you, Sergeant Lee. My son…’

And there was a common comment that appeared on every post.

-Are you from the White Tiger Unit?

=ㄱㅆ) Yes! How did you know?

The people who had been looking for stories about the army (White Tiger Unit) for months blinked their eyes.

-What? Everyone is from the White Tiger Unit???

-I don’t know how much I can trust these army stories lol They are hilarious lol Personality makeover lol

-This is the first time I see someone say the army food is delicious.

=22 They say the beds are comfortable too;;;

=33 And their health improved???

=44 And they have no stress wow

-…Are these all paid comments?

=22 Is this the big picture of the Ministry of National Defense trying to make an image for Lee Seo-jun’s military service?

=33 This place is like a ☆fantasy army☆??

=ㄴㄴ That can’t be. Only the White Tiger Unit is like that.

=Yeah. The stories from other units are the same. They are still hellish places lol (not funny)

-I came here because I was curious about Seo-jun’s unit, but I only read stories about the White Tiger Unit… How much should I believe?

=22 It’s too much to believe everything…

=33 But I’m relieved by the comments that say the atmosphere is good.

=44 He must have had a good time in the unitㅠㅠ

-I’m curious about this ‘Sergeant Lee’ who is the center of all these posts.

=Me too lol This is the first time I see someone mentioned so often in army stories, right? lol

-I want to get counseling from himㅠㅠ It’s like reading hospital reviews, not army storiesㅠㅠ

=22 These are real reviews without any promotion. If he is a doctor, please open a clinic after you are discharged and attach these stories. I will visit you.

=33 Me too. He seems to have excellent counseling skillsㅠ

=But it might be because of the army. He can take care of them because he is with them almost 24 hours a day.

=ㅇㅇ Usually, hospitals only do counseling for an hour or two.

From actor Lee Seo-jun to personality makeover master ‘Sergeant Lee’.

People were drawn to the unique stories of the White Tiger Unit, which was different from the usual units. The reporters also wrote articles with the title ‘Actor Lee Seo-jun’s Unit’ to attract attention.

As people’s interest grew, more people started to look for older posts.

And finally,

-ㅅㅂ Crazy lol Look at this lol lol lol (link)

That post was found.

[Title: There is a weird Sergeant in my friend’s squad lol lol lol]

There is this Sergeant who is so good at counseling that he fixed a grumpy sergeant and a troubled soldier in the next squad. So this Sergeant became the care manager for the troubled soldiers in the unit lol lol

He also has a good personality, and his name and face are the same as actor Lee Seo* lol lol. So everyone in the unit likes him.

He says the food is delicious and the bed is comfortable, but I don’t know how much I can trust him lol lol

-lol How can army stories be so ridiculous lol

-ㅅㅂ I wish I could take my senior with me…

-lol lol Please take my junior too (serious)

-If he is an actor and his name is Lee Seo*, is he Lee Seo-jun?

=Probably. It must be hard to live with the same name as Lee Seo-jun.

=No, but he says he is handsome. He might be okay.

=No matter how handsome he is, can he compare to Lee Seo-jun?

With the last comment that was posted a few months ago, the post that had been buried for a long time exploded with views and comments as soon as the writer added a new comment today.

-ㄱㅆ) …But that was actually actor Lee Seo-jun.

-lol lol lol lol lol ㅅㅂ What is this lol lol lol

-Am I the only one laughing right now lol lol lol lol lol

-So how did this happen lol lol lol lol lol

=It just means he was Lee Seo-jun all along lol lol lol

=Is this Working Man lol lol lol Is this a Working Man shoot?? lol lol lol

=22 A surprise camera for the whole nation lol lol lol The duration is only one year lol lol lol

=33 Working Man staff=Lee Seo-jun/ Ski resort ordinary guest=Lee Seo-jun/ Rest area ‘Fire’ team member=Lee Seo-jun/ Professional counselor Sergeant Lee=Lee Seo-jun

=lol lol lol lol lol

-No matter how handsome he is, can he compare to Lee Seo-jun>>>himself

=It must be hard to live with the same name as Lee Seo-jun>>>himself

=lol lol lol lol lol lol

-Did he reveal this or hide this lol lol lol

=22 Friend lol He knew and hid it. He didn’t know and said it lol lol

-But how did the writer not suspect when he heard the name Lee Seo-jun?

=We didn’t know Lee Seo-jun went to the army until this morning lol lol lol

=Was that this morning? I feel like it’s been days since I’ve been looking for this and that lol lol lol lol

=Me too lol lol lol lol

-ㄱㅆ) I checked with my friend lol It was Lee Seo-jun lol Crazy lol Why lol lol lol I just realized it lol lol lol lol

=You didn’t know??? lol lol lol lol

=ㄱㅆ) Yeah, now that I think about it, he said he was Lee Seo-jun lol lol lol This crazy guy lol lol lol He didn’t even notice after watching ‘Fire’ and returning to the unit lol lol

Friend: No wonder… He looked so pleased when he said he cried after watching ‘Fire’…

=lol lol lol Pleased lol lol lol

The internet turned upside down when they found out that the person who was supposed to be a soldier in the same White Tiger Unit as Lee Seo-jun was actually Lee Seo-jun himself.

“What!? He is Lee Seo-jun?!”

The reporters who had been copying and pasting about the White Tiger Unit’s ‘Sergeant Lee’ stopped their hands and quickly changed the titles and contents of their articles.

[The counselor ‘Sergeant Lee’ was actor Lee Seo-jun?!]

[The junior who helped him a lot during his hard army life was actor Lee Seo-jun?!]

[The colleague he relied on the most was actor Lee Seo-jun!]

From the fairly decent titles like these,

[Actor Lee Seo-jun, the care manager for the troubled soldiers?!]

[He entrusted the care of the troubled soldiers to a Sergeant?]

To the articles that were full of attention-grabbing headlines like these.

All day long, Korea was buzzing with articles about Seo-jun, and the overseas who didn’t know much about the Korean army were slowly catching up.

-It’s been exciting from morning till now. Really lol lol lol

=22 I’ve been skipping work since this morning. But I don’t think I’m the only one.

=33 Even during lunch, we only talked about Seo-jun. We are still talking about Seo-jun, so I don’t know how lucky I am as a newbie. But they all ask me (not doing any work), so it’s a problem. I found out today tooㅠ

-They all keep their secrets well. How did they not give any hints about Lee Seo-jun in the other stories?

=But even if they did, we wouldn’t have noticed. He even revealed his name as Lee Seo* but no one knew.

=22 We just never thought that Lee Seo-jun went to the army.

-But Lee Seo-jun seems to have a really good personality. The stories only say good things about him.

=22 If you are with someone for 24 hours for a few months, you would expect some bad words to come out… (Not that Lee Seo-jun is bad, but that there are twisted people.)

-But Lee Seo-jun doing counseling? That doesn’t suit him.

=He might seem young, but there is no one his age who has experienced social life as much as Lee Seo-jun.

=22 Even if his life is a bit different from the norm, it might actually help him when he does counseling.

=33 There is a thing called drama therapy in psychotherapy. Maybe he did something like that?

=Lee Seo-jun doing drama therapy… He must have been very immersed.

=Is that therapy lol lol lol

-Write how you feel when you find a good doctor (of reputation) but he is a world-famous actor. (100 points)

=I’m a bit sad, but I get a lot of comfort from watching Lee Seo-jun’s works…