Superstar From Age 0

Chapter 297

Seo-jun entered the classroom with his bag.

The atmosphere was very different from the usual noisy one.

There were students who were reading their textbooks with tense expressions, and others who seemed to have given up already.

Seo-jun realized that today was the start of the midterm exam period.

‘It’s completely different from yesterday.’

Yesterday, they were so lively that it didn’t feel like they had exams the next day. But in one day, the students’ faces changed. 

Seo-jun greeted his friends who looked drained and sat down.

Han Ji-ho, who sat next to him, was already lying on his desk as if he wanted to escape from reality.

“I don’t want to take the exam… Why do we have to take exams?”

“To go to college?”

Seo-jun gave a logical answer and a big sigh came out of the students’ mouths. 

They were now high school students and they had to go to college in three years.

“It seems like we still have a lot of time…”

“Three years will pass quickly.”

The students nodded with agony at Kim Ju-kyung’s words. 

They had felt the same way in middle school. 

They wondered when they would graduate when they were freshmen, but they graduated and became high school students in no time.

Park Si-young, who was flipping through her textbook, opened her mouth.

“Besides, high school entrance exams are different from college entrance exams. We only have to compete with our peers for high school, but college is different.”

The students’ first choice of college was Korea National University of Arts.

It was a school that anyone who wanted to pursue a career in art would want to go to, with its professors, alumni actors, and directors who were all famous.

“There must be people who are taking a gap year to go to Korea National University of Arts, and people who found their dreams late and are trying to get in.”

The students nodded at Seo-jun’s words.

There was no age limit for college admission. 

They didn’t know what talents were hidden in those who tried late, so they couldn’t estimate the skills of their competitors who would take the exam with them.

“By the way, Ju-hee said that the second and third graders are also studying hard. She said it would be hard if we take the exam with them after they take a gap year.”

“That’s true. We might have to take the exam with them.”

They felt it was real.

“…We have to work hard.”

“Yeah.”

The students who came to their senses took out their textbooks and notes for the subjects they would take today and started to skim through them. Seo-jun also took out his notes that summarized the scope of today’s exam and read them down.

***

“Collect the OMR cards from the back.”

At the teacher’s words, the students in the back row got up and walked forward with their OMR cards. 

The teacher sorted out the OMR cards by their numbers and opened his mouth.

“You worked hard for three days taking exams. The teachers will explain the answers next week, so bring your test papers and don’t play too much today. Go home early.”

“Yes!!”

The teacher nodded his head at the loud answer of the students. 

He could see their smiling faces already. 

It was obvious that they would go out and have fun before going home. 

The teacher left the classroom and the students laughed and talked or checked each other’s test papers.

“Are you selling figures tomorrow?”

“Yeah. They start selling at 10 a.m.”

Seo-jun nodded his head at Han Ji-ho’s question.

It was 10 a.m. tomorrow in Korea, and other countries would start selling within two days.

‘I hope they sell a lot.’

Marinsa and Mirror Team. 

And dad, Hee-sang uncle, and Monster Company employees.

They all worked hard to increase the quantity while maintaining the quality.

‘I hope they succeed as much as they worked hard.’

Han Ji-ho smiled faintly.

“It’s good that they’re selling this week. If it was last week, my mom wouldn’t let me go.”

“Don’t you buy it online? Do you want to go in person?”

Seo-jun tilted his head and Han Ji-ho nodded.

“Yeah. It takes some time for delivery online. I’m not good at waiting for this kind of thing.”

“I’m going too. Do you want to go together?”

“Sure.”

Kim Ju-kyung asked and Han Ji-ho gladly agreed.

Seo-jun scratched his cheek at the conversation of his two friends who were models of the figures.

“Hey! I want to go too!”

There were more friends who joined in.

“Hey! The kids from class 2 are going too!”

It seemed that it had spread to the next classroom already.

“The art students are going too?”

Seo-jun blinked his eyes at the increasing number of people. 

It was good that the figures sold well, and it was good that they liked the Shadowman series.

‘…But why do I feel embarrassed when they do this?’

It didn’t seem like they were teasing Seo-jun.

Kim Ju-kyung frowned at the growing crowd.

“Isn’t it hard to buy the figures if we all go to one place?”

“Then let’s just gather with the ones who live nearby.”

“That sounds good.”

The students who were serious about buying the Shadowman series figures started to talk with serious faces. 

Seo-jun wondered whether to laugh or not.

“Seo-jun, are you going too?”

“Hmm.”

‘Hee-sang uncle said he would give me a few of each kind, but…’

“Yeah!”

It seemed fun to buy them in person.

***

Saturday.

The day of selling the Shadowman series figures.

“Hello, this is Moviegoer!”

-Oh. Did you go to buy the figures?

-Yeah. It seems like they’re opening soon.

-You must have come early, judging by how far ahead you are in line!

“Yes, I came out early in the morning and waited! I thought I was the first one, but there was someone who came before me.”

Moviegoer smiled and filmed his back.

He didn’t show the faces of the people, but he made sure to show that there were a lot of people.

“A lot of people came after me too. There were students who came with their friends and couples too. Of course, there were also many people who came alone. The line is getting longer as I speak.”

They could hear the cheerful voices of the students who seemed to have come with their friends. There was also a student who wore a black hat with a Monster Company’s popular product, slime badge.

-I think I should go out soon too.

-They said they had enough stock, but… The line is longer than I thought?

-I’m getting nervous;;; I have to go out quickly!

“The number of viewers is decreasing. I guess some of you are leaving now. Are you already in line if you’re still here?”

– I’m already in lineV

-me too

-I came alone and didn’t know what to do until they open, thanks for the live

“Shall we kill some time until they open then?”

He talked about this and that and time passed quickly. The line grew longer in the meantime.

“It’s 10 a.m. now. We’ll finally see them in person!”

-Are you filming inside too?

-I bought it online so I’m curious

-Please show us inside too!!

“Yes. I’ll ask the staff. Please wait a moment.”

The sound was turned off and the screen went down. 

Moviegoer went out and asked the staff who was checking the number of people in line. 

The staff nodded his head. 

The camera went up and the sound started to come out.

“They said it’s okay to film. I can’t film the customers, of course. That’s obvious! Well then, let’s go in!”

To prevent the store from getting too crowded, the Monster Co. staff let in a certain number of customers first. 

The first group of customers looked around the store with awe and admiration.

The Monster Co. offline store was decorated entirely with Shadowman.

There were display cases with figures arranged according to the order of the Shadowman movies, from 1 to 3. 

Besides the figures, there were also other official merchandise on display.

“This display case has the Shadowman from Shadowman 1 and the William figure that is on sale this time. It makes me want to cry when I see them in person. Our William…!”

-Bear doll

-William So cute

-His cheeks are pink The coloring is amazing.

The posters and paintings on the wall were also newly made for this figure sale event, stimulating people’s desire to own them.

“I’ve never seen this poster before, I want it! Oh. This one too?! I guess I’ll look for something familiar.”

-Do they sell posters?

-22 Sell posters too

-Huh? What is that figure in the center?

“The center?”

The moviegoer’s eyes moved to the display case in the center. 

He didn’t know why he noticed it just now. 

The people who came in with him were looking at the display case with sparkling eyes.

“This is!!”

The moviegoer’s camera captured the figure.

“Isn’t this the one that Seo-jun received as a gift? It was uploaded as an unboxing video on YouTube.”

The staff of Monster Co. answered the customer’s question with a smile.

“Yes. That’s right. We borrowed it from Mr. Lee Seo-jun for a while. There are six figures on display, from store 1 to store 6.”

“I see.”

The moviegoer looked at the figure in the center display case again. He could feel how much effort was put into making it, both in size and quality.

It showed Jin Natra lying on the ground with rocks on top of him, and even the wall and floor of Gyeongbokgung Palace were reproduced.

The most eye-catching thing was the shadow that covered everything. Everyone was amazed by its overwhelming expression. The black shadow seemed to break through the display case at any moment.

“…They don’t sell this, do they?”

“No. Unfortunately, there are no plans to sell it.”

The customers nodded their heads with regretful faces and moved their steps to buy the figures.

“It seems like they were able to borrow it because Mr. Lee Seo-jun is a major shareholder of Monster Co. It looks more awesome in person than in the YouTube video.”

-As expected, a major shareholder of Monster Co.

-Monster Co. is good at their job

-I want to see them all, but store 3 is in Busan and store 4 is in Daejeon

-Stores 5 and 6 too Outside Seoul

“Hmm. Can’t help it.”

It took him a second or so. The moviegoer smiled brightly after a brief hesitation.

“Shall we go on a nationwide tour?”

-I knew it

-He didn’t even hesitate

-Less shocking than going abroad

“I don’t have any schedule today or tomorrow anyway. I’ll buy the figures quickly and leave them at home and then leave! I’ll broadcast live, so please let me know about local restaurants!”

-I’ll take care of Busan! I’ll tell you about local restaurants!

-If you go to a restaurant, will you meet moviegoers?

-Sudden fan meeting?

“Ha ha. That’s right. Then let’s buy some figures now.”

The moviegoer who was filming inside without disturbing anyone headed to the sales counter to buy some figures. 

He could choose one poster from among those hanging on the wall for each figure he bought. 

The moviegoer smiled brightly and bought all the figures and all the posters, carefully putting them in a paper bag with Monster Co.’s mark on it.

“Then I’ll do a figure review in a few days. Let’s go on a nationwide tour quickly!”

He left the store with paper bags full of figures in both hands, passing by some students who were chatting happily.

“He’s finally out.”

“There are so many people! They must all be Shadowman fans.”

Seo-jun, who had attached a slime badge to his black hat, smiled warmly at his friends’ words. He felt touched that so many people still liked him even after Shadowman series ended.

After waiting for a long time, Seo-jun and his friends entered the store. They were dazzled by the sight.

There was a part decorated like Natra’s spaceship interior and another part decorated like Central Park. Seo-jun was also amazed by the decorations, as he had never seen them before.

Han Ji Ho, who was looking around the store, tapped Seo-jun’s side and pointed to the figure in the center. He didn’t mention Seo-jun’s name, afraid that people would notice.

“Isn’t this the one you got as a gift?”

“Yeah.”

“But why don’t they sell this? They could raise the price and sell it, right?”

“They said this one was rejected because the shadow was more central than Jin Natra. And there. The part where the shadow covers the sky. They said that’s weaker than it looks and there’s a high risk of breaking during delivery. It would be a disaster if you open the box and find the shadow in half.”

Seo-jun’s explanation made Han Ji Ho and his friends nod their heads repeatedly. 

They would have been very disappointed if they had received a broken figure after having high expectations.

After admiring the figure in the center enough, Seo-jun and his friends headed to the sales counter to buy some figures. 

There were four staff members standing in a row, so the customers could get out quickly.

Seo-jun and his friends also lined up. Seo-jun, who was standing in the middle of his friends, was lost in thought.

‘I promised to give one to Uncle Hee Sang as a gift, so I’ll just buy William from Shadowman 1…’

He thought he would reduce the number of figures for other people to buy if he bought more than one.

He chose William from Shadowman 1 because it was his first scene ever and it was special to him.

He suddenly wondered what his friends would buy and asked Han Ji Ho, who was in front of him.

“Ji Ho, what are you going to buy?”

“All of them.”

He answered without hesitation and with a serious expression. Seo-jun burst into laughter at his appearance.

***

[The World Now) Shadowman series figures on sale now!]

[Monster Co., from store 1 to store 6, high-quality figures on display!]

[Monster Co., “6 figures, planned for overseas exhibition!”]

[I waited since dawn! I bought a figure for the first time! People who bought figures!]

[Shadowman series figures, sold out queue!]

-They sold a lot overseas too.

=22 I waited in line and bought three.

=Some stores sold out early;;;

-There was nothing left in May. But I’m happy with the poster

-I didn’t expect them to give posters

-But the figure that Seo-jun received as a gift is really beyond quality.

=22 I wish they sold that one. They said they have no plans

=Even if they sold it, it would be expensive and first-come-first-served, so I don’t think I can buy it

-Moviegoer went to Busan to take pictures of figures

=His usual execution;;;

=The Busan figure is that one. The cookie video. The scene where Jin Natra forcibly inherits Tull Natra’s shadow.

=It looked crazy in the unboxing video, but it looked even more amazing in person.(Busan resident

=That one is too big to sell. There’s a bed and a wall there

-I went there leisurely because they said they had enough stock, but they were all sold out The internet is also sold out

=To be honest, there were a lot of people buying them;; I think there were quite a few people who bought figures for the first time this time.

=22 A new buying group has emerged. I could have bought it if it was normal.

-There are definitely resellers.

=22 Those who resell…!