No, the door was closed softly, but the guardians felt otherwise.
Everyone was speechless, caught in a situation they had never anticipated, never even dreamed of.
Director Park Ji-soo spoke up.
"Please keep the information about Actor Lee Seo-jun strictly confidential. And please make sure to inform the children as well."
"âŚWhy? If itâs announced that Lee Seo-jun is participating, it will be a huge topic."
In response to the acting school officialâs question, Director Park Ji-soo slowly explained why Seo-jun would use a stage name. The guardians nodded as they listened to the story.
"Thatâs true, butâŚ"
They still wanted to spread the news that their children, their sons and daughters, were acting alongside Lee Seo-jun. They wanted to boast about it.
People would flock, and reporters would take photos. Even if not to the level of Lee Seo-jun, it was an opportunity to become a star.
Seemingly aware of the guardiansâ thoughts, Director Park Ji-soo spoke again.
"If the secret is revealed during the practice period, Actor Lee Seo-jun will quit. And if itâs revealed during the performance, all subsequent performances will be replaced by other voice actors."
The practice room fell silent at Director Park Ji-sooâs words. He glanced at the guardians, who wore displeased expressions, and then met someoneâs eyes before quietly leaving the room.
Once the director was gone, everyone freely shared their thoughts. They were all full of complaints about why Lee Seo-junâs name wasnât being publicized. Then, a woman spoke up.
"Maybe itâs better if itâs revealed after the play is over."
"Why?"
"If the secret is leaked during the practice period, this play wonât even be listed in Lee Seo-junâs filmography."
"Then what about revealing it during the performance?"
"If he leaves during the performance, at first, people will come to the children, asking if theyâre close to Actor Lee Seo-jun, how he was during practice, and how he was during the performance. But soon, everyone will only focus on why Lee Seo-jun left the play."
Everyone was engrossed in the womanâs story.
"Then rumors will spread. Someone didnât keep the secret, and thatâs why it happened. The publicâs criticism will pour onto the children, their parents, and the acting school, labeling them as people who broke the contract to promote themselves."
"âŚWill it really go that far?"
"Journalists will make it happen. They canât touch Lee Seo-jun, who hid himself for the children, so theyâll find a way to create sensational, attention-grabbing content by including Lee Seo-junâs name. âLee Seo-jun couldnât do the play because of someoneâs selfishness?â It canât help but become a hot topic."
The thought of potential headlines made someone swallow hard.
"The childrenâs names are listed in the playâs pamphlet, and itâs easy to find out their elementary schools and the acting school. You can guess what happens next. Thatâs the worst-case scenario."
"âŚThatâs true."
"Then, whatâs the best-case scenario?"
In response to someoneâs question, the woman spoke.
"Everyone keeps the secret, and the play ends successfully. As the director said, itâs fine to reveal it after the play. Then, you can say your child acted on the same stage as Lee Seo-jun. Since the play canât be seen anymore, interviews with the children who acted alongside him will pour in. If they leave a strong impression, getting roles in dramas or movies wonât be a problem."
The guardiansâ eyes sparkled. The acting school official felt the same.
An acting school with 'child actors who acted alongside Lee Seo-jun.'
Itâs a bit of an odd phrase, but anything associated with 'Lee Seo-jun' in the world of child actors sells.
Elephant milk, still selling well, which Lee Seo-jun played with. The Monster Companyâs toys. Everyday items seen in his occasional vlogs.
Items that aspiring child actors and their families feel they must have, believing that with these, they can make it to Hollywood.
The guardians here also had them.
"Well, the secret must be kept until the play ends."
At the womanâs words, everyone nodded heavily, thinking about their childrenâs and studentsâ futures.
>Mission Complete!
<Well done.
>Daho, you did a great job too!
Watching Seo-jun happily chatting with the children, Ahn Daho put his phone back in his pocket.
The second day of practice was over.
The children and guardians couldnât take their eyes off Seo-jun and Ahn Daho as they headed to the underground parking lot.
Seo-jun got into the car seat, and Ahn Daho checked and then got into the driverâs seat.
"How were the children?"
From a distance, Ahn Daho saw a warm atmosphere, but it might have been different for Seo-jun, who had direct conversations with them. Seo-jun smiled brightly and replied.
"Theyâre all great! But weâre practicing scenes separately, so we wonât have much time to meet unless itâs a group practice."
At Seo-junâs words, Ahn Daho recalled the script for 'Spring.'
"Seo-jun, you come in at the very end. The character you act withâŚ"
"Itâs the protagonist! Iâm only practicing with So-young unnie!"
"Is that so."
Ahn Daho thought of the disappointed guardians but shrugged.
The 2nd teamâs employee, who had secretly infiltrated among the guardians, had already warned them about the worst-case scenarios, so they would likely keep the secret.
Even if they couldnât get close to Lee Seo-jun, being 'someone who acted in a play with Lee Seo-jun' would become a significant title as he became more famous. It would make it easier to start a conversation when meeting Seo-jun as an actor in the future.
'Hopefully, everything goes smoothly according to the 2nd teamâs plan.'
Ahn Daho, starting the car, silently wished.
* * *
Half of the one-month practice period flew by.
It was a short time, but not for the children. They soon forgot that Seo-jun was a famous actor and became close enough to play around. The parents and acting school officials, who were initially disappointed by the scene-by-scene practice, were satisfied with this.
"Seo-jun! Have some ice cream! My mom bought it!"
"Sure! Iâll come, hyung!"
Buying snacks was the easiest way to gather the children, who were scattered in different practice rooms.
Mostly simple snacks like ice cream, bread, and milk, but Seo-jun occasionally bought pizza or hamburgers.
"Seo-jun, letâs have chicken next time!"
The hunter, Lee Da-jin, who had a mouthful of ice cream, smiled widely. This was his fourth play, but it was the first time he had snacks every practice day.
"Sure?"
"I want pizza."
"Unnie, we had it last time."
The guardians enthusiastically filmed the childrenâs lively interactions. Videos of the children with Lee Seo-jun! When they met Director Park Ji-sooâs eyes, they zipped their lips. Director Park Ji-soo nodded awkwardly, hoping the secret would be kept.
"Starting today, weâll begin group practice."
For the next two weeks, the group practice would take place on the stage where the play would be performed.
The children, who had auditioned on an empty stage, swallowed hard as they arrived.
Unlike the audition, empty boxes that would become background props were placed on the stage according to Director Park Ji-sooâs instructions.
"First, letâs check the movement paths in order."
The scene-by-scene acting instructors stuck to the children. Director Park Ji-soo followed Choi So-young, who played the protagonist 'Spring.'
The screen background was already complete, and a beam from the audience seats projected the background onto the screen behind the stage. It was a cute, fairy-tale-like background suitable for a childrenâs play.
Finally, it was Seo-junâs turn. At Director Park Ji-sooâs gesture, Seo-jun went up on stage. Then, a white cloth fell from the ceiling, unfolding.
"Wow!"
The children cheered, and Seo-jun also exclaimed in amazement. It was a blue dragon. A beautifully drawn blue dragon on the white cloth.
"This is the blue dragon that will appear on the screen later. Itâs Seo-junâs role. Seo-jun, you just need to speak into the microphone here."
Seo-jun stood where Director Park Ji-soo pointed. In front of him was a thin board with a round hole in the middle, adjusted to Seo-junâs height, allowing him to see the entire stage without obstruction.
"Iâll make sure Seo-jun can see well from here. Of course, the audience wonât be able to see. When acting with So-young, you need to watch her and match the timing. Got it?"
"Got it!"
After explaining the positions and movement paths to the children, they were given time to practice together.
While the children were practicing and talking with their teachers, Director Park Ji-soo checked the time and clapped to gather their attention.
"Letâs start the final practice today! Weâll do everything like a real performance, including lighting, music, and sound effects. Even if you make mistakes or miss the timing, weâll go through to the end this time! Everyone, please focus."
The children looked at the stage with tense expressions.
In the practice room, sound effects and lighting were created by the teachersâ words.
"Spotlight!"
"A loud sound is heard."
"The background changes."
Now, they were really on the stage.
The children who would appear in the first scene stood on the stage, and the staff moved boxes to set up the first scene.
The children who would appear in the second scene stood nearby for easy access, and the others waited their turn, standing or sitting nearby.
Seo-jun, who would appear last, sat in a chair, out of the way of the childrenâs movements. His eyes never left the stage.
Cameras were set up in a few audience seats to monitor the children.
After the staff confirmed that the stage was well-lit, Director Park Ji-soo called out loudly.
"Start!"
The music began.
The children, who had stumbled over their movement paths in the practice room, now acted cautiously, but the story progressed steadily.
Choi So-young, playing the protagonist, led the children like a veteran. She noted the childrenâs mistakes, and Director Park Ji-soo checked the background and prop positions and lighting, gesturing as needed.
Finally, it was the last scene, Seo-junâs turn.
The children who had finished their scenes were comfortably seated in the audience, and the guardians were busy filming their children on their phones.
The staff, almost relaxed as the group practice neared its end, moved around.
At Director Park Ji-sooâs gesture, the blue dragon drawing fell from the ceiling, and Seo-jun brought the microphone close to his mouth.
[(Light) Blue Dragon Hatchlingâs Weak Aura activated.]
Seo-junâs black eyes turned sea-blue, and the ends of his black hair tinged blue. His senses, especially his hearing, heightened, and he could even hear Daho hyungâs breathing in the audience.
A bit more. A bit more.
Two hard horns grew from Seo-junâs black hair. Smooth, blue scales appeared on his chubby, pink cheeks.
Seo-jun looked at the blue scales on the back of his hand.
[(Light) Blue Dragon Hatchlingâs Weak Aura - Intermediate-Low]
The aura of a young blue dragon (hatchling).
The aura alone shows a difference in 'rank.'
Depending on the strength of the aura, parts of the body transform into a blue dragon.
'Thatâs why I couldnât use it in the practice room.'
During the audition, everyone was far apart, and the bright lights hid his eye and hair color, so he used it without worry.
But in the practice room, So-young unnie was close, and the lighting was just right. It was the perfect situation to be caught, so he didnât use his ability.
So, during the audition, the aura was weak, and he didnât use it afterward.
People were satisfied with his performance, but Seo-jun felt a bit disappointed. He could have done better. Now, with his figure hidden behind the board, it was the perfect opportunity to show his full potential.
He took a deep breath, exhaled,
And,
the blue dragon appeared in the theater.
After the stage ended, everyone in the audience, the guardians, and the staff, all looked at the blue dragon set on the stage.
Without any wind, it was just a flat, ordinary picture. Just a beautifully drawn blue dragon,
"âŚWhat kind of device is that?"
At a guardianâs question, the staff shook their heads.
It was just a large, beautifully printed but ordinary blue dragon picture.
"Wow, I thought it was a real blue dragon."
"Really! It felt like I was making a wish to the blue dragon."
As the children chattered, the adults finally came to their senses.
Director Park Ji-soo and the CEO, who had come to watch the first group practice, looked at the blue dragon picture and Seo-jun, who was drinking water in the audience, with a look of enlightenment.
"âŚI really feel sorry."
"Agreed."
"Really sorry!"
"A hundred, a thousand times agreed."
The two people, talking about how regretful it was, were approached by someone.
"SorryâŚ"
"âŚMr. CEO."
"Yes⌠Ah, yes. What is it?"
It was the stage director, wearing his cap backward, with a flushed face, holding out his notebook.
"While watching the group practice, I thought it would be great to add more devices here. To make it feel like a real world. Trees, flowers, houses, all realistically. Especially the blue dragon, to make it more three-dimensionalâŚ"
The stage directorâs story continued for a while. The CEO and Director Park Ji-soo nodded repeatedly. Meanwhile, the assistant director, checking the time, sent the children and guardians home.
The CEO counted the remaining days. Two weeks. There were two weeks left until the performance.
"Can we make it in time for the performance?"
"The time is there, but⌠the budgetâŚ"
The stage director rubbed the back of his neck. The background and props he wanted to create, and the blue dragon, were on a different level from the cute props they initially planned. The cost was⌠well, he had an idea.
The stage directorâs eyes rolled and landed on the CEO.
"Donât worry about the budget."
The CEOâs mind, which had been racing after watching Seo-junâs performance and listening to the stage directorâs story, came to a halt. His eyes sparkled.