Superstar From Age 0

Chapter 544

Kim Se-yeon was staring blankly, lost in her thoughts, when Hwang Ji-yoon burst into laughter. Seo-jun and Ahn Da-ho, who had joined Hwang Ji-yoon’s prank, also smiled and sat down.

“Let me introduce them again. This is actor Lee Seo-jun. Please take good care of him.”

“I’m his manager, Ahn Da-ho.”

Kim Se-yeon looked at her friend with trembling eyes.

“H-how did this happen?”

“Well, it’s like this.”

Hwang Ji-yoon briefly explained the situation. Kim Se-yeon, who had been listening with her mouth wide open, came to her senses and said.

“B-but I read in the news that your next work is a Hollywood production… It can’t be a student film…”

“Oh, we took care of that.”

The man who introduced himself as the manager said casually.

“We diverted the attention to something else, since Director Hwang seemed to feel pressured. We’ll keep it a secret until the release, as long as the filming is confidential.”

“Lee Seo-jun using the name Na Jin is also for that reason.”

Kim Se-yeon nodded her head with a nervous expression at Hwang Ji-yoon’s words.

I see.

If word got out that Lee Seo-jun was starring in a student film, some people or reporters might have come to the set. It would have been easy for a big production company to block them, but it would have been hard for Hwang Ji-yoon’s team, where most of the staff were students.

“So we’re trying to hide it from the filming team as much as possible until the shooting day.”

Kim Se-yeon, who had been listening with a blank expression, snapped out of it.

“H-how are you going to practice with the actors?”

She was worried.

About the actors who came to shoot an independent film and ended up acting with top star Lee Seo-jun.

They must have been holding on to their sanity by a thread, just like her right now.

Hwang Ji-yoon answered Kim Se-yeon’s question.

“I’m only going to tell the actor who plays Min-han.”

Min-han.

He was the observer of [Hwa], a story that unfolded from a third-person perspective, and a character who took care of a nameless painter. He had many scenes with the nameless painter, played by Seo-jun.

Kim Se-yeon nodded her head. That seemed reasonable.

Kim Se-yeon, who had been talking with Hwang Ji-yoon, realized that Seo-jun and Ahn Da-ho were in front of her and hurriedly greeted them.

“I’m assistant director Kim Se-yeon. Nice to meet you!”

After exchanging greetings, they started to talk in earnest.

“When do you plan to start shooting?”

“We’re thinking of shooting from early November to early December, for about a month, but it might be longer depending on the weather. The location is Gangwon-do, here.”

Hwang Ji-yoon showed them the laptop and photos he had brought. It was a bit farther than the ski resort Seo-jun had visited with his friends earlier this year.

“It’ll be a big problem if it snows a lot.”

“We’ll be careful as much as possible. We have some staff from Gangwon-do, and there are also some houses and a police station nearby, although they’re not in the pictures.”

Ahn Da-ho nodded at Hwang Ji-yoon’s words. He thought it would be good to visit the place once with Cocoa Entertainment.

They also talked about various other things. As Ahn Da-ho brought up things they hadn’t thought of, Hwang Ji-yoon and Kim Se-yeon quickly took notes.

‘I’m a bit worried…’

Ahn Da-ho, who was watching the two students with concern, turned his head to the side and chuckled at Seo-jun’s sparkling face.

Making mistakes and working together,

That must be the charm of independent films.

‘But that doesn’t mean the work has to be lacking.’

Ahn Da-ho asked Hwang Ji-yoon and Kim Se-yeon.

“What camera are you going to rent from the school for the project team?”

Kim Se-yeon tilted her head at the sudden question and answered.

“Dahil 3200.”

“That’s a decent camera. But how about Kid 100? It has clearer colors and a cleaner screen than Dahil. It’s a camera that can capture the details of the boundaries between colors very well, so I think it’s the best for a work that needs to shoot a landscape covered with white snow.”

Hwang Ji-yoon and Kim Se-yeon swallowed their saliva.

They had thought of Kid 100 too. It was the first camera that came to their mind when they thought of snow as the background.

‘But the rental price was too high, so we gave up early.’

And now the manager in front of them was talking about that camera.

“It’s a very good camera. It’s light and easy to move around. And there’s a lot of difference on the screen too. Kid definitely has more vivid and rich colors than Dahil. Even if the background is dark, the colors are well distinguished.”

He spoke about the camera as if he had used it himself. He sounded like a shooting team, not an actor’s manager. Seo-jun, who was sitting next to him, nodded and agreed.

“We have a great actor who can show great acting, so if we have a good camera that can capture his acting fully, wouldn’t it make a better work?”

They were tempted by his words, but Hwang Ji-yoon and Kim Se-yeon, who knew their financial situation very well, said.

“It would be better if we had a good camera, but…”

“We thought about it too, but it costs a lot to rent it.”

Ahn Da-ho smiled and asked.

“Director Hwang. Are you still not thinking of getting an investment?”

“Uh, well…”

Seo-jun’s participation was already decided.

Hwang Ji-yoon’s stubbornness was broken. Ahn Da-ho, who noticed his state, continued.

“You don’t have to think of investment as a bad thing. You don’t have to get it from a big company. What do you think of Cocoa Entertainment’s investment?”

That was his main point, and Ahn Da-ho explained.

Hwang Ji-yoon and Kim Se-yeon listened with fascination to his smooth talk, which seemed like his true calling was sales.

“There will be no interference at all. No meddling either. If you’re uncomfortable, you can contact us anytime during the production. If you need this equipment, this set, to make a good work, but you don’t have enough budget, just let us know.”

At his words, Kim Se-yeon tapped Hwang Ji-yoon’s thigh. No, not tap, but tap tap tap tap! She sent a signal that was invisible to the eye. Hwang Ji-yoon nodded his head, feeling his thigh ache.

“Can we ask for your help then?”

“Of course.”

Ahn Da-ho smiled.

“Then I’ll go look for a place to rent a camera! Please continue the meeting!”

Kim Se-yeon smiled brightly and quickly searched for a place to rent Kid 100 on her phone. She thought there might be a place where she could rent it cheaply. Even though they had enough budget, they had to save it because they never knew when and where they would need money.

“Oh, you don’t have to look for it. We have the camera here.”

“…What?”

Hwang Ji-yoon and Kim Se-yeon opened their eyes wide and looked at Ahn Da-ho.

“…You have Kid 100 here?”

“Yes. We do.”

Seo-jun nodded his head, and Hwang Ji-yoon and Kim Se-yeon blinked their eyes.

…Why do they have it here, when they’re not a movie production company but an entertainment agency?

Ahn Da Ho smiled brightly.

“How many do you need?”

It seemed like he wanted more than one.

***

Hwang Ji-yoon and Kim Se-yeon, who had signed a contract with Seo-jun for Cocoa Entertainment’s investment, left Cocoa Entertainment with a dazed expression, as if they were bewitched by something.

“Can you believe it… They use Kid 100 for practice…”

There were three Kid 100 cameras in Seo-jun’s practice room.

They were amazed by the Hollywood-scale of the actor’s agency, where every practice room had one of those expensive cameras.

“No wonder the manager explained it so well.”

Kim Se-yeon nodded at Hwang Ji-yoon’s words.

He must have used it himself, so he could give such a detailed explanation.

“Did you see the other cameras besides Kid?”

“Yeah. I thought I was in a camera store.”

Most film production companies wouldn’t own that many cameras.

“Wow… Is this really not a dream?”

“We signed the contract, didn’t we?”

“This is crazy…! Wait. You said you rejected it once! Are you insane?!”

Hwang Ji-yoon sighed at Kim Se-yeon’s words.

“Yeah. I think I was crazy back then. I was lucky that things worked out, otherwise…”

Kim Se-yeon was shocked by Hwang Ji-yoon, who was looking at the distance.

“You really didn’t want to film it?!”

“It’s not that I didn’t want to, I couldn’t! How can I use another actor when I have the one who can perfectly recreate my imagination?”

“Hello. You have to compromise. Compromise!”

“It’s an independent film. My film!”

“Then why did you accept Cocoa Entertainment’s investment?”

“…The manager was too persuasive.”

“…That’s true.”

They recalled Ahn Da Ho’s words that had shaken the hearts of the aspiring directors who were full of dreams and hopes for their first film shooting.

The quality of the work, the excellent acting of the actors, the stunning mise-en-scene, and so on.

Hwang Ji-yoon and Kim Se-yeon walked away.

They didn’t lose anything, but they felt like they had been defeated somehow.

***

Seo Eun-chan looked over the investment proposal that Ahn Da Ho had handed him.

Cocoa Entertainment’s film investment had been going on for a long time.

The initial reason was to gain influence for the film that Seo-jun starred in. It didn’t matter if it was a box office hit or not, since Seo-jun was a child actor, they wanted to show that they had a strong backing.

“They were all nice people, but they didn’t have much influence.”

“That’s right.”

Seo Eun-chan nodded at Ahn Da Ho’s words.

Then there was a work that Seo-jun was a bit disappointed with. He didn’t want to star in it, but it was an interesting work, so Seo Eun-chan and Ahn Da Ho decided to invest in it after talking about it.

“We thought it would be a good film since Seo-jun liked it, but we didn’t expect it to be a huge success. We were so surprised when we saw the article that said it surpassed 6 million viewers…”

They would have regretted it a lot if they hadn’t filmed [Over the Rainbow] afterwards.

Ahn Da Ho laughed along with Seo Eun-chan’s words. After that, there were some similar cases.

“Seo-jun has had a good eye for works since he was young.”

Seo Eun-chan said with a smile at Ahn Da Ho’s words.

“The team 2 staff also worked hard.”

The staff of team 2, who had to analyze the scripts carefully to recommend them to Seo-jun, also improved their script-reading skills.

They sometimes failed, but most of the time they returned more than the investment.

As a company whose goal was to generate revenue, it was a welcome thing to have a new source of income.

At the old office, team 2 was in charge, but when they moved to the new office, they officially created an investment team. They were probably looking for the best work among the works right now.

“But this is the first time for an independent film.”

“That’s right.”

This investment proposal should have been made by the investment team, but since Seo-jun was starring in it, and it was not a commercial film but an independent film, Ahn Da Ho was in charge of it this time.

“Seo-jun also has a running guarantee… That’s good. But you don’t have to bring this kind of thing anymore. You said you would leave the actor team’s work entirely to An director. Unless we invest more than the budget, an independent film investment is enough for An director’s discretion.”

Besides, there was a school support, so it wasn’t a big investment.

“…I’m not used to it yet.”

Ahn Da Ho scratched the back of his neck awkwardly at Seo Eun-chan’s words.

“You have to get used to it. Director Ahn Da Ho.”

Seo Eun-chan, who was giggling, asked Ahn Da Ho.

“By the way, what about Seo-jun? Did he go home already? Eun-soo begged him to come with us…”

Ahn Da Ho answered with a smile at Seo Eun-chan’s words.

“He must be greeting the actors. He ran off excitedly.”