Superstar From Age 0

Chapter 338

Sunday afternoon.

After playing with Subin and Eunsu, Seo Eunchan and Seo-jun put the two kids to bed and came out to the living room. 

Seo Eunchan groaned and flopped down on the sofa.

“Ugh. It’s so hot.”

It was only April, but he was sweating from playing with the kids.

“Uncle. Do you want some ice cream?”

“Yeah. Just one, please.”

Seo Eunchan turned on the air conditioner and Seo-jun brought two ice creams from the fridge. Uncle Chan had the same taste as mom, so he couldn’t refuse.

They sat side by side on the sofa, each holding an ice cream in one hand. The uncle and nephew looked very comfortable.

“Did you say you’re going to make your ID card?”

“Yeah.”

Seo Eunchan bit into his red bean ice cream and recalled the day he got his ID card.

“I don’t remember much. It was so long ago. When are you going to apply? It takes some time because you have to scan your fingerprints.”

Seo-jun shrugged his shoulders as he bit into his chocolate ice cream.

“I have to go on a weekday because the community center is closed on weekends, but I have school on weekdays, so I have to find a good time. There’s a school anniversary day coming up soon. I’m planning to go then.”

“Really? Do your friends have their ID cards?”

“Mina does. She was born in January, so she made it during winter break. The twins were born in February, but they got their notification in March, so they haven’t applied yet. Jiyoon was born later than me, but she’s a March baby, so there’s not much difference.”

As he listened to Seo-jun’s story, Seo Eunchan thought of the little kids he used to play with.

He heard a lot of stories about them through Seo-jun, but he hadn’t seen them in person since elementary school. 

They were already old enough to make their ID cards. 

Other people’s kids grow up so fast.

‘I wonder when Eunsu will grow up.’

Seo Eunchan smiled as he thought of his daughter who was sleeping soundly in Seo-jun’s room.

“Then you can ask your friends.”

“I did, but they said not to go when it’s busy.”

“When is the community center not busy?”

“Right?”

The uncle and nephew finished their ice creams and rested in the cool air conditioner breeze. 

The house was noisy with the kids’ voices just a while ago, but now it was too cozy in the silence.

“What about the photo?”

“I’m going to take it in front of the community center. There’s a photo studio there, right?”

He looked up the directions to the community center on a map app and saw that there were a few photo studios nearby. 

Seo-jun planned to go into any of them and take a photo.

“Or you can take it at a photo studio near home. It just has to be a photo taken within six months.”

“Hmm.”

Seo Eunchan rolled his eyes at Seo-jun’s answer.

“Seo-jun. Do you want to take it at a photo studio?”

“A studio?”

Seo-jun tilted his head at the unexpected word.

Seo Eunchan’s eyes lit up.

“Your ID card photo will last for your lifetime unless you reissue it, so it would be nice to have a good photo. And this is an opportunity to take your profile photo too.”

“Profile photo?”

“Yeah. You don’t need it because you have so many offers coming in, but… wouldn’t it be nice to try it this time?”

The president of Cocoa Entertainment, Seo Eunchan, honestly wanted to throw out an overflowing pictorial proposal, but he didn’t know how Seo-jun felt about pictorials, so he decided to start with a simple profile photo.

“Well…”

Seo Eunchan opened his mouth at Seo-jun’s hesitant reaction.

Seo Eunchan knew very well how to persuade his nephew.

“Maybe a director or a writer who sees your different charm in your profile photo will send you an interesting script.”

“I’ll do it.”

Without a second of hesitation, Seo-jun agreed. 

Seo Eunchan looked at his nephew with disbelief and said as if he was talking to a six-year-old.

“Seo-jun. You shouldn’t follow anyone who shows you a script.”

“…I won’t follow.”

Seo-jun answered a bit late and Seo Eunchan widened his eyes and sat up straight and looked at Seo-jun.

“What’s that pause for? You should say you won’t follow right away.”

“Well…”

Seo-jun rolled his eyes and chuckled.

“What if I go with Dahyo hyung?”

“…I’ll have to tell Manager Anh to stick with you.”

“Haha.”

Seo-jun laughed at Seo Eunchan’s expression of frustration.

***

“Profile photo.”

The staff of Team 2, the team in charge of Cocoa Entertainment’s actor Lee Seo-jun, gathered for the sudden schedule.

Manager An Dahyo brought up the topic and they each pondered.

Profile photo.

It could mean many things, but for actors, it was a way of saying ‘I have this kind of look’, ‘Please call me if you have a role that matches my image’ to the people in the entertainment industry.

“New actors use it to show their faces and famous actors use it to show their different images.”

“But Seo-jun doesn’t need to show…”

The staff’s eyes turned to the scripts piled up on one side of the office. They were the ones that came in while Seo-jun was filming [Survivors] in the US and after he finished filming.

“They come in well.”

Manager An and Team 2 staff nodded their heads proudly at their successful actor.

“Then should we think of it as a pictorial rather than a profile photo?”

Profile photos usually had simple clothes and props because the focus should be on the actor.

“And the background is simple too.”

“Isn’t that a shame? Wouldn’t it be nice to have an idol-like vibe?”

“If we go for a pictorial, there are many places to work with.”

One of the staff brought a box and opened it. The box was full of papers. They were pictorial proposals that detailed Seo-jun’s concept and the studio’s history.

The staff took out and read one proposal each.

They had read them before, but they didn’t read them as carefully as the scripts because they were out of Seo-jun’s interest. So the pictorial proposals felt new.

“This studio has taken pictures of all the famous idols. The results are good too.”

“This one has overseas shooting too.”

“Seo-jun and emerald-colored beach…”

The staff, who were also fans of Lee Seo-jun, excitedly shared their opinions.

Manager An understood their feelings, but he couldn’t forget the original purpose.

“The first goal of this shooting is an ID photo.”

“…Oh.”

“And the second goal is a profile photo for ‘works’. It shouldn’t be too different from what Seo-jun thinks of as a profile photo.”

They knew that, but the staff made regretful faces and nodded their heads as they slowly organized the pictorial proposals and put them back in the box.

“Maybe Seo-jun will enjoy the photo shoot this time and get interested in the pictorial shoot too.”

At Anh Da Ho’s words, the staff of Team 2 exclaimed.

“Oh, that’s true.”

“Uh… should we look for scripts that have a photographer character?”

“Wouldn’t it be better to look for scripts that have a model character since he’s the one being photographed?”

“But there aren’t many scripts that have a model character…”

The staff of Team 2 knew Seo-jun very well, since they used scripts as bait to lure him.

“I think it would be better to let him know that photo shooting is also a kind of ‘acting’.”

At one staff’s words, not only Anh Da Ho but also the other staffs gasped in admiration.

“That would definitely be more effective.”

“Then we have to choose a good photographer.”

There were photographers who matched their models to their own image, or who controlled every movement of their models from their fingertips to their toes, just like directors who had different styles. 

Photographers also had different ways of handling their models.

“A style that gives a lot of freedom to the model would be good, right?”

Everyone nodded. 

It seemed much better for Seo-jun to feel that photo shooting was also a kind of acting.

“Oh. I think we should avoid famous studios this time.”

“Huh?”

“It’s urgent. He has to take his ID photo before the school anniversary day.”

“…Ah. That’s right.”

It was already mid-April.

Most of the popular studios would have already filled their schedules for this month.

If it was Seo-jun’s name, he could take photos at any studio, but then there would be cancellations or rescheduling. 

He didn’t want to do that because it could harm other people.

Those things would accumulate and become Seo-jun’s image.

At Anh Da Ho’s words, the staff of Team 2 nodded.

It would be a bit difficult to exclude famous studios, but they had collected some information about photographers and studios that they thought Seo-jun might take photos someday.

Of course, they had to do more research if they had a candidate.

“Let’s first filter them by looking at their photos and find out their styles. And let’s see if they have any openings this month.”

As the goal was set, Team 2, which was dedicated to actor Lee Seo-jun, moved.

***

-My younger sibling is the same age as Seo-jun, so I unintentionally get to know about Seo-jun’s schedule well lol

=?? What do you mean?

=Things like entering middle school or high school. Koreans grow up in similar paths until college, right lol

=Ah, I see. You mean [sibling=college entrance exam] then [Seo-jun=college entrance exam]?

=Yes yes yes. So I unintentionally found out again. I didn’t look for it on purpose lol

=What did you find out?

=My sibling is getting an ID card.

=…?? …Oh!!

***

“He’s coming out soon.”

At Anh Da Ho’s words, Seo-jun smiled and said.

“I thought so too. My date of birth is on my profile.”

If you typed ‘Lee Seo-jun’ on a portal site, among many people with the same name, Seo-jun’s profile and agency and photo came up first. 

Every little thing about Seo-jun was a hot topic, so it was strange not to be interested.

-Our Seo-jun is already getting an ID card…!

-He’ll probably get a driver’s license soon too.

-It really feels like other people’s kids grow up so fast.

=22 getting an ID card seems like he grew up a lot.

But it didn’t seem like there was an article yet.

“If there’s an article about this, they really have nothing to do.”

“Oh. Da Ho hyung. One just came up.”

“…Do they really have nothing to do?”

But still, Anh Da Ho’s hand went to the article. 

He checked the article and the comments and turned off his phone. 

There would be more articles popping up soon, but Team 2 would take care of them.

As Anh Da Ho put his phone away, the elevator stopped with a ding and the door opened.

The sign of the studio where they were going to shoot today was visible.

“Seo-jun ah. Let’s go in.”

“Yes.”

***

[Noeul Studio]

Photographer Yoon Jung Won was shaking her legs nervously. 

The youngest staff who came to help Yoon Jung Won was also looking at the entrance with an excited face.

“Oh my god… I’m taking photos of Lee Seo-jun… I’m taking photos of Lee Seo-jun…!”

“Unnie. You’re lucky. Stop shaking your legs.”

Yoon Jung Won’s junior, Kim Sang Mi said to Yoon Jung Won who was very tense.

“There’s no more luck to go out from here. I’ve already used up all my luck this year. No. I’m sure I’ve used up 10 years worth of luck!”

“That seems true, but…”

At Yoon Jung Won’s words, not only Kim Sang Mi but also the youngest nodded.

“Anyway, calm down and stop shaking your legs.”

At Kim Sang Mi’s words, Yoon Jung Won pressed down her shaking legs with her hands. 

Then her whole body started to shake. 

There was no vibrating phone, so Kim Sang Mi sighed.

“But how did we get the photo shoot of actor Lee Seo-jun? I didn’t hear the details because I had an outdoor shoot that day.”

There must have been many photographers who would take photos of Lee Seo-jun. Kim Sang Mi was proud of Noeul Studio, which was gaining popularity, but objectively speaking, there were better studios everywhere.

At Kim Sang Mi’s attempt to change the topic, Yoon Jung Won seemed to calm down a bit and opened her mouth.

“The morning shoot ended late that day, so the kids were having lunch and I answered the phone.”

It was the day when a rookie actor who came to take a profile photo complained about every photo he took, saying it was bad, why the lighting was like that, and they barely finished after adjusting as much as possible. 

He kept grumbling until the end, making her grab the back of her neck.

“The phone asked if I could take an ID photo and an actor profile photo. It was a day off, but I thought it was urgent since they needed the photo in three days, so I just said I could do it by myself.”

“Yeah, some famous actors usually schedule their appointments well in advance.”

“So I thought it was a rookie actor, but…”

It turned out to be actor Lee Seo-jun.

Yoon Jung Won started shaking her legs again. 

Seeing that, Kim Sang Mi sighed and asked the youngest who came to work on his day off to see Seo-jun. 

His eyes were sparkling, which was not a usual sight.

“Did Cocoa Entertainment bring clothes and stylists?”

“Yes. They’re preparing in the dressing room. I saw them briefly and they had a full set up. They also brought snacks and drinks. They’re so professional. As expected of a Hollywood star…!”

The youngest rambled on with an excited face. Kim Sang Mi felt like whatever Seo-jun and Cocoa Entertainment did, he would say ‘as expected of a Hollywood star!’.

Then the entrance of the studio opened.

The three people’s heads turned to the entrance reflexively.

Two people came in with a staff who was waiting in the lobby.

Photographer Yoon Jung Won and Kim Sang Mi stared at the boy who came in without blinking. Somehow it seemed like there was a halo around him as he walked.

Every movement of his was like a pictorial. The boy smiled brightly and greeted them.

“Hello.”

It was Hollywood star Lee Seo-jun.