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Chapter 60




From Superstar 0 to 60
“Ahem.”
At Lee Jiseok’s fake cough, the two people snapped back to their senses. PD Choi Min-sung and writer So Eun-jin slapped their cheeks to regain their composure.
“Oh, we were talking about the cameo, right?”
“We would be grateful if actor Lee Seo-jun could appear!”
“But, it’s a role with hardly any lines and only appears once. Is it really okay?”
Seo-jun nodded and replied.
“I’ve read everything up to the part where Hyun-ji gave me the script. My parents also said it would be really fun, and I found it really interesting to read.”
He found it interesting! Writer So Eun-jin clenched her hands and tried to calm her excited mind. A Hollywood actor thinks my script is interesting!
“Since I enjoyed the drama you directed before, I think you’ll do a great job with the direction too.”
PD Choi Min-sung covered his mouth with his hand. He watched my drama! He thinks I’ll do a good job directing!
It felt like he had become a successful otaku. Seeing the two people moved, Lee Jiseok shook his head.
“Since Jiseok-hyung, who is a great actor, is also appearing, I decided to do the cameo.”
Lee Jiseok, who had been pretending not to be moved, was ultimately touched. Seo-jun thinks I’m a good actor!
Seo-jun, who had moved the three people with his words, drank his juice as if nothing had happened.
The touching moment, which seemed like it would last a long time, quickly ended because the staff started to arrive for the shoot.
“Let’s keep actor Lee Seo-jun hidden until the shoot starts.”
“You can just call me Seo-jun.”
“Huh.”
At Seo-jun’s words, the two people were moved and inwardly called out to Seo-jun.
“T-Then, should Seo-jun stay with Jiseok’s manager? That would be best, right?”
“Just say he’s Jiseok’s nephew.”
“Got it!”
Seo-jun put on the cap he had brought and ran to manager Yoon Sung-oh, who was standing in a corner checking Lee Jiseok’s schedule.
PD Choi and writer So couldn’t take their eyes off Seo-jun’s back.
“So cute!”
“Yeah, how can someone with such a cute face act like that?”
“It’s not for nothing that he’s known as a genius.”
“Jiseok, you’re really amazing. How did you bring actor Lee Seo-jun, I mean, Seo-jun here?”
At PD Choi’s question, Lee Jiseok smiled and said,
“You heard the reason just now, it’s probably true.”
“Eh… Really?”
The two people, who had thought it was just a casual compliment, asked in surprise.
Even if it was just a casual compliment, they were happy, but it was actually sincere? Lee Jiseok shrugged.
“If he didn’t like the script or the direction, he would have refused even if I asked. He loves acting that much.”
“Wow…”
Hearing that, Seo-jun, who was sitting next to manager Yoon Sung-oh and looking around the set, seemed different. Lee Jiseok said softly,
“Let’s show him what a drama shoot is really like today.”
“Huh?”
“If Seo-jun enjoys it, he might appear in a drama for his next project. If that happens, you can boast to others that we made actor Lee Seo-jun interested in dramas.”
The two people’s eyes widened. Lee Jiseok smiled. Thinking about Shadowman 2, he wanted to work with Seo-jun again. Whether it was a drama or a movie, he was fine with it.
“That might be your next project, too.”
PD Choi Min-sung and writer So Eun-jin’s eyes sparkled. If Lee Seo-jun appeared, anyone would invest and any broadcasting station would schedule it during prime time. It would definitely be a hit.
No, they were thinking of roles they wanted Seo-jun to play, regardless of everything else. Both of them were digging up stories they had kept in their hearts.
“Sounds good.”
“I agree.”
The three adults whispered as if they were planning a secret operation.
Seeing this, Yoon Sung-oh shook his head. I want to shoot with Seo-jun again! This was what Lee Jiseok had been saying ever since watching Shadowman 2, and he was still saying it.
“My hyung is grasping at straws again.”
“Grasping at straws?”
Seo-jun, who was thinking about what snack to eat, turned to look at manager Yoon Sung-oh sitting next to him.
Yoon Sung-oh smiled. While Lee Jiseok was thinking about why Seo-jun didn’t do drama shoots, Yoon Sung-oh decided to ask directly.
“Why don’t you do dramas, Seo-jun?”
Seo-jun rolled his eyes and opened his mouth.
“There’s no script I like. Besides, the roles are similar, so it doesn’t matter if I do them or not.”
Seo-jun opened the snack bag he had chosen. Yoon Sung-oh clapped at his skillful handling of the bag.
“So, you would do a drama if you liked the content?”
“Yes, but why are you asking?”
“Hyung thinks you’re not interested in dramas.”
Seo-jun shook his head while eating the snack. That’s not true.
“I want to shoot with you again, but if you only do movies, the chances of casting overlapping decrease. If you also do dramas, the range increases, and the chances go up.”
“Can’t you just ask me?”
Seeing Lee Jiseok enter the set after finishing his makeup, Seo-jun said without thinking.
Lee Jiseok, in a police uniform, waved at Seo-jun, who also waved back.
Yoon Sung-oh laughed.
“You can’t force him to act in a movie he doesn’t like. The movie you act in might not be to his liking. It’s just that it would be nice if we both happened to choose good movies and they turned out to be the same one.”
Rehearsal began. Watching the set come to life, Seo-jun listened to Yoon Sung-oh’s voice.
“Hyung knows you’ll definitely reject what you don’t like. Hyung would also reject what he doesn’t like. But he thinks that if those rejections pile up, an invisible gap will form between the two of you. That’s just how people are. He understands, but feels a bit disappointed. And eventually, you’ll drift apart. Hyung doesn’t want that.”
Seo-jun nodded. He didn’t know he was thinking that. I also want to shoot with Hyung again.
“Then, what should we do?”
“I don’t know. It’s up to fate. If we secretly conspire, Hyung will feel bad. He’ll think it’s because of his selfishness that you’re suffering.”
“Hyung, it’s too complicated.”
“Hahaha, it’s delicate.”
PD Choi and writer So gestured. It was time for the main shoot. To bring Seo-jun into the drama world, the three decided to show him the closest thing.
At the gesture, Seo-jun and manager Yoon Sung-oh, who had temporarily become his guardian, stood up.
“Just keep doing the acting you want to do.”
Yoon Sung-oh said. Seo-jun looked up at Yoon Sung-oh.
Five years. Yoon Sung-oh, who had been Lee Jiseok’s manager for five years, recalled the similar gazes of Lee Jiseok and Seo-jun.
The gazes of actors who loved, yearned for, and adored acting.
“Hyung will never leave this place. He’ll keep acting, even when he’s old, for 10 years, 20 years. You too, right?”
“Yes, I’ll do it for a long time.”
“Doing the same thing for so long, you’ll definitely meet in the same project. In this small world, won’t you meet at least once?”
Yoon Sung-oh burst into laughter. Thinking about it, this was a smaller world than he thought.
“Maybe later, both of you will say, ‘Why are we in the same project again?!’ and get tired of it.”
“Hahaha, that’s true.”
Seo-jun also laughed at Yoon Sung-oh’s words. When he starts taking adult roles, it might really happen.
“What? Why are you laughing?”
Lee Jiseok, who was checking the script for the last time before the shoot, asked the two laughing people, but they both closed their mouths as if they had made a pact.
* * *
On the day of the drama "Reinvestigation" cameo shoot.
For the cameo shoot, Director Choi Min-sung decided to bring only the most reliable, minimal staff.
When Lee Jiseok and Lee Seo-jun appeared on a sparsely populated alley, the staff, who had not known until then, gasped.
“To be honest, I expected it when you said you saw a play together… but it’s really him.”
The lighting director said to the camera director, who nodded.
For a simple cameo shoot, Director Choi’s desire for secrecy and Writer So’s giggling while pulling out the script, and the fact that Lee Jiseok had brought the young actor, had been hints.
“It’s really Lee Seo-jun.”
Late April. After a one and a half month run, Shadowman 2 surpassed 10 million and was taken out of theaters.
With a Korean actor, it had more viewers than other Marine films.
“…Didn’t Shadowman 1 also surpass 10 million?”
Shadowman 1 surpassed 10 million due to the “Tear Challenge” and “Shadowman vs. Green Wing” effects. Not just in Korea, but worldwide, Marine was considering whether to set up another confrontation.
“Wow. Is he already a 20 million actor? No, he was an extra in Shadowman 1… right?”
“Shadowman 3 will definitely make him a 20 million actor. Anyone can predict that it will surpass 10 million.”
People around them nodded.
“How’s school? Is it fun?”
Seo-jun sighed at Lee Jiseok’s question after his makeup was done. The shoot preparation was not yet complete, so they had to wait a bit.
“I couldn’t recognize anyone at the opening ceremony, but after Shadowman 2 was released, people who saw the movie recognize me. My kindergarten friends are fine, but other friends and older students are going crazy.”
“Why? Asking for autographs?”
“They want autographs from me, Shadowman, and Richel.”
The teachers are doing a good job blocking them, but I’m thinking I should go to an arts middle school.
Well, if I miss a lot of days due to shooting, an arts middle or high school might be better. Im Jun and Seo Eun-hye were also deeply considering it. Since it’s still six years away, they decided to think about it slowly.
Hearing Seo-jun’s words, Lee Jiseok inadvertently spoke. Evan Block and Richel Hill’s autographs.
“…I want those too.”
The staff, who were pretending to do their work while listening to the two, also nodded.
“No. If I do it once, everyone will ask. I can do my own autograph, but I can’t do others’.”
“That’s right. Who taught you that?”
“My uncle.”
“Oh, your uncle is the CEO of Cocoa Entertainment. By the way, don’t you need to find an agency now? Cocoa Entertainment doesn’t have actors, right? Do you want to join my agency?”
Manager Yoon Sung-oh, who was checking the schedule on his phone, suddenly looked up. It’s been a while since I made a good offer, hyung! The manager, ready to pull out the agency’s promotional booklet from his bag, was stopped by Lee Jiseok’s tongue click.
Still, his agency was a good place compared to others.
“There are many actors, and I’m there too. The facilities are good.”
Seo-jun tilted his head and shook it.
“I decided to go to Cocoa Entertainment. They’re looking for a manager now.”
He signed the contract at home. Of course, since he was a minor, his parents, as guardians, also signed it perfectly.
Seo Eun-chan, who happily took the contract, first hung Seo-jun’s photo on the first floor wall. Then he started looking for Seo-jun’s manager.
“Really? That’s a shame.”
It was disappointing to think they wouldn’t be in the same agency. Yoon Sung-oh, who had been listening, also put the booklet back in his bag with a disappointed look.
“Actor Lee Jiseok! We’re starting the shoot.”
At the assistant director’s call, Lee Jiseok stood up. His solo shoot started first. Seo-jun’s shoot was next.
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