Superstar From Age 0

Chapter 440

[This year’s college entrance exam, Korean was easy and English, math were hard!]

[Four perfect scorers estimated by mock scoring!]

[The expected grade cut-offs by mock scoring!]

It had been a week since the college entrance exam.

The school schedule was still there, so nothing changed about going to school from morning, but the atmosphere was definitely more relaxed than before the exam.

“Did you hear that Bubble came to the music department yesterday?”

“Yeah. I heard that.”

“I saw them passing by yesterday!”

The hot topic of the acting team for yesterday and today was Brown Black’s special lecture. No, not only the acting team, but also other kids were busy talking about Brown Black.

Seo-jun, who heard from Kim Chae-yeon and the music team that the lecture was really good, smiled satisfied with his brothers’ popularity, and opened his mouth at the message that arrived.

“The costume team kids are here now.”

“Wow. They’re really making it themselves.”

Kim Joo-kyung, who was reading the script, exclaimed. The other kids also couldn’t hide their surprised expressions.

“They also compose their own music in the music department?”

“They said they wanted to do it after hearing about the costume team. They’re using existing songs for the long ones, but they’re trying to compose for the short ones. They have some songs they picked out as backups, so it won’t be a problem.”

Seo-jun answered Han Ji-ho’s question. The music team seemed to be inspired by the news that the art team made their own costumes.

“Don’t you think this play feels like a handmade one?”

“Right! Seo-jun senior wrote the script himself, and the set and costumes are all made by hand by the team members!”

The two juniors nodded their heads at Kang Jae-han’s words.

Some of the other works also made some props or backgrounds themselves, but this play was especially full of self-made ones.

“That’s why I feel more attached to it.”

There was no corner that hadn’t been touched by hand, so it felt more like that.

Everyone smiled in agreement with Seo-jun’s words.

A little later.

The costume team of [436] came to the first rehearsal room.

“Hello!”

The acting team welcomed the costume team who bowed politely.

They seemed to have decided who to take care of in advance, and the costume team members with rulers scattered to their respective actors without hesitation.

“You just need to stand still.”

And then they measured from head to toe.

Seo-jun’s charge was Park Min-hyung, the costume team leader.

Park Min-hyung measured Seo-jun’s neck circumference first with a ruler and went down step by step. Seo-jun brightened his eyes and spoke to Min-hyung who wrote numbers on a notebook.

“Min-hyung. Are you ready to make clothes?”

“Yes. I bought all the fabrics. I’m going to start making them right after measuring today. Oh, senior. Please raise your arm.”

At his words, Seo-jun raised both arms and Park Min-hyung measured Seo-jun’s chest circumference with a ruler. He made sure it was level and not too tight. He looked at the number marked on the ruler and wrote it down on his notebook.

Seo-jun wondered about this talented junior who had been praised by the art department kids.

“When did you start doing art?”

“Since elementary school. I think it was fifth grade… I just liked art for some reason and started doing it.”

Park Min-hyung put down his notebook and picked up his ruler again and measured Seo-jun’s waist circumference as he spoke.

“Actually… I went to the same elementary school as you, senior.”

Seo-jun opened his eyes wide.

“Mae-sil Elementary School?”

“Yes. I transferred there in fifth grade.”

It was a story he wanted to tell three years ago when he was attending Yeoul Arts Middle School, but he couldn’t find a chance to bring it up.

“Wow. So you’ve been my junior since elementary school.”

“Hehe.”

Park Min-hyung smiled shyly. But his hand measuring Seo-jun didn’t stop.

“And…”

“And?”

“I heard from my mom that our house was where you used to live, senior. She heard it at a parents’ meeting.”

This time he was really surprised.

Mae-sil Elementary School junior was from first grade to sixth grade, hundreds of people, so he just passed it by with admiration, but this time Seo-jun couldn’t help but be surprised.

“Sejong Apartment?”

“Yes.”

Park Min-hyung held a pen and nodded with a bright face.

“Wow…”

Seo-jun exclaimed.

He laughed at Seo-jun’s surprised expression.

“Do you still live there?”

“Yes. Since fifth grade.”

Park Min-hyung measured the length of Seo-jun’s back while Seo-jun recalled his old house.

Our house where I lived happily with my parents for a long time.

The house I live in now is also full of memories and nice, but the old house was a special place full of memories of my childhood.

“I really liked that house. The sunlight came in well and there were no bugs.”

He smiled as he remembered many memories.

He realized something.

‘That was thanks to my ability.’

He thought of the patterns that had disappeared on their own because Seo-jun didn’t charge mana anymore.

‘I wonder if they still come out now.’

But contrary to Seo-jun’s thoughts, Park Min-hyung nodded as if he agreed.

“That’s right. My parents liked it too. The house we used to live in had bugs coming out from somewhere, but not this one.”

“Really?”

He thought it was because of his ability for the first few months, but it seemed like it was because of the management since it didn’t come out until now.

“Maybe the house has good energy. I used to catch colds often, but I haven’t been sick much since I moved in. For the first few months, I don’t know how to describe it, but the house felt warm?”

Park Min-hyung’s words reminded him of something, and Seo-jun blinked his eyes for a moment and then laughed at the following words.

“Maybe it’s good feng shui.”

“Haha. Maybe.”

Park Min-hyung stretched out his ruler and measured Seo-jun’s leg length.

“The art team members said that you’re helping with other things too?”

“Ah… yes. I just thought this would be better, so I did. So, senior. I thought about the lighting too.”

“Really?”

Seo-jun’s eyes sparkled.

At Seo-jun’s reaction, Park Min-hyung spoke enthusiastically about the lighting movement he had been thinking about. Seo-jun nodded and listened carefully.

“Hmm. That’s a good idea. It would be nice to try it at rehearsal.”

Park Min-hyung smiled hehe at Seo-jun’s compliment.

Seo-jun looked at him. Maybe this time Kim Chae-yeon, the music team leader, didn’t have to take care of the lighting.

Park Min-hyung, who crouched down, measured Seo-jun’s thigh circumference and knee circumference. 

The knee part was a joint part that moved a lot, so he had to measure it accurately.

“Are you thinking of going into stage direction?”

“Ah… no. I just want to try different things, so I’m challenging myself.”

“Costume making too?”

“Yes. In middle school, when I made a mirror.”

“Uh-huh.”

Seo-jun nodded.

“I saw the final rehearsal stage and thought it would be better to make it like this.”

He couldn’t say his opinion at that time because he was still a freshman.

[The Mirror] The team had a relaxed atmosphere, but it was a bit overwhelming for a first-year middle school student who had just graduated from an amazing elementary school. Besides, it was too late to make any changes since it was the final rehearsal.

Park Minhyeong’s hand stopped measuring the ankle circumference. He seemed to recall that day.

“When I was watching the rehearsal, I suddenly felt like something changed in the world. It felt like the colors of the world became clearer, or like I could see things that I couldn’t see before. Even though it was the same darkness, the same light, I realized how different they were,”

It was as if,

His faintly shining talent had burst into light in an instant.

“After knowing that sensation, I felt a bit dissatisfied with the stage direction of The Mirror.”

Park Minhyeong quickly corrected himself.

“A bit! Just a bit! Like the position of the set or uh… the costumes!”

“I know. I understand.”

Seo-jun, the team leader of The Mirror, said with a smile and Park Minhyeong sighed in relief.

“So I thought you would make a play or a movie for your graduation performance in high school too, and I studied for it. I thought it would be better if I could make it better.”

He watched the performances at Mirhol, made costumes himself. He visited movie shooting sites and play preparation sites, and went to career exploration programs offered by Yeoul Arts Middle School.

“Movies too?”

“Yes.”

Seo-jun admired Park Minhyeong’s shy expression. 

With this much dedication, he understood why Park Minhyeong, a first-year student, became the leader of the costume team.

“Unfortunately, I can’t make shoes.”

“…You wanted to make shoes too?”

“Yes. I wanted to make your work more awesome.”

Seo-jun smiled softly at Park Minhyeong’s sincere regret.

Even while talking, Park Minhyeong’s hands didn’t stop.

He got up after measuring Seo-jun’s foot size and held a notebook and a pen in his hand. Then he opened his mouth as if he remembered something.

“Oh, this might just be my feeling… but for the first few months at home, I felt something warm? like that from school and Seo-jun senior too. And at Mirinae High School too.”

At his words, Seo-jun was about to fall into thought for a moment, but Park Minhyeong soon shook his head as if he had said something strange.

“No. Maybe I felt that way because I was happy to be in the same school as Seo-jun senior. And because you said it was the house you lived in, I was curious and tried Yeoul Arts Middle School.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I was wondering if I should go to an arts middle school when there is an arts high school too, but now I think it was a really good choice.”

He smiled brightly as he rolled up the long ruler.

***

Even though they focused on preparing for their graduation performance, Team 436 didn’t spend all their time on practice. A proper break was essential.

Seo-jun decided to rest this weekend too.

Today was the day to hang out with his childhood friends who finished their college entrance exam.

It was also to meet Park Jio who was leaving for Spain in January.

“But we’ll see you before you leave.”

“That’s true.”

“Jio will come whenever we contact him.”

Mina and Ji Yoon nodded at Seo-jun’s words.

Even though they were not in the same apartment or neighborhood anymore, they were close enough to meet with one call whenever they had time.

‘Well, even when we don’t have time, we meet briefly if we’re nearby.’

Mina stared at one place.

“There they are.”

The twins were coming from afar.

They were both big since they were babies.

Park Jio who trained outdoors looked healthy with a tan and Park Ji Hoo who studied indoors looked a bit pale from lack of sunlight.

‘But that doesn’t mean Ji Hoo is unhealthy.’

Seo-jun used his ability as usual to check the health of Park Jio and Park Ji Hoo and paused. 

It was a health check that he always did when he met his friends… but something came to his mind as he saw the shining lines in front of him.

“Don’t they look like their personalities?”

“I know right?”

Mina and Ji Yoon laughed as the twins arrived.

“Sorry we’re late.”

“You guys came early?”

“No. We just got here too.”

Ji Yoon said and Jio who was smiling stopped at Seo-jun’s gaze.

“What? Do I have something on my face?”

He touched his face with his hand and Seo-jun turned his eyes to look at his friends.

Park Ji Hoo who decided to become a doctor since he was young.

Mina Owen who dreamed of becoming a chef who can make various dishes from different countries.

Kim Ji Yoon who was writing to become an author.

Park Jio who showed his shining soccer talent.

He thought of some people in his head.

Jack Smith who showed his great talent at the plate.

Kim Subin who dreamed of becoming a violinist after meeting the dream fairy.

Park Minhyeong who had artistic talent.

And his friends who were called the golden generation.

Was it a coincidence that most of the kids around him, like this, found their talents and grew their dreams from a young age?

Seo-jun recalled Park Jio’s message that he thought was just a casual remark.

[>Jio: I postponed it because I felt like I practiced better here.]

It seemed like the puzzle pieces fit together.

It seemed like the lines he sent out had an effect on the people around him.

‘So…’

Those who spent a long time with Seo-jun since they were young or those who faced a lot of lines when Seo-jun acted.

‘Or like Minhyeong, the lines that were left in the house or school were the trigger.’

He wondered if the students of Yeoul Arts Middle School where he charged his lines and the students of Mirinae High School where he was charging now were also affected.

Of course, not everyone around him reacted as sensitively as his friends or Park Minhyeong, so it seemed that people had different reactions.

Seo-jun wondered for a moment if this would be a problem, but soon he could think of one person.

A witness that there was still unknown power in this world.

The violinist who had traces of the dream fairy, Jason Moore.

‘Subin might have been influenced by the lines, but Jason definitely wasn’t.’

Jason Moore had shown his talent before he met Seo-jun.

He thought it wasn’t a big problem then.

Even if the lines helped to awaken and grow the talent, how much to grow the talent depended on the individual’s effort.

‘Just be careful with magic.’

He hadn’t used magic except for acting so far and he had done a thorough cleanup with [(Line) Intermediate Angel’s Fan], but he thought he should be careful in the future.

“Seo-jun?”

Ji Yoon waved his hand in front of Seo-jun’s eyes.

Seo-jun came to his senses from his thoughts.

“What’s up?”

He said with a smile at his worried friends.

“Nothing. I just thought about tomorrow’s acceptance announcement from Hanye University.”

“Oh. Right!”

“But there’s no way you’ll fail, Seo-jun.”

“You passed the minimum grade easily on the mock exam.”

“How did you get a perfect score on English? You said it was hard this time.”

Seo-jun and his childhood friends chatted as they moved to a restaurant for lunch. 

The restaurant they were going to was also one of Mina’s gourmet map recommendations.