Superstar From Age 0

Chapter 571

Ginseng

Like ginseng or wild ginseng.

“Right. It has a slightly different bitter taste than bellflower.”

The two middle-aged actors who took another bite of the grilled bellflower(?) nodded their heads. It seemed a bit different from the usual grilled bellflower.

Hwang Do-yoon burst into laughter at the words of the two middle-aged actors who had somehow guessed the right answer.

“Hey. Do you think they would give you such precious ginseng like this? Besides, Seo-jun came with a plastic bag dangling.”

“…That makes sense?”

Kim Seong-sik and Jeong Eun-mi pondered for a moment and then nodded their heads as if they agreed. Well, they couldn’t even estimate how old the ginseng was by its size.

“We must have been mistaken.”

“Now that I think about it, they said that old bellflower is also good for the body as ginseng. Maybe it tastes better because he dug it up himself.”

“There’s more, so eat a lot. Do you need anything else?”

Kim Seong-sik and Jeong Eun-mi, who thought that the bellflower here was delicious and that they should buy something that grows here next time, smiled and chatted with Hwang Do-yoon.

In the corner of the yard where the team members didn’t pay much attention.

Seo-jun, who was giving well-grilled meat to ‘that thing’ that was holding out a plate with a flushed face, smiled silently at the conversation.

‘As expected.’

‘That thing’, which had received the energy of the surrounding mountains for almost a thousand years, knew well where the old wild ginsengs were.

Seo-jun, who wanted to give ginseng as a gift to ‘that thing’, dug up some of the ginsengs, washed them in the stream, cut them, and put them in a plastic bag to make them look light.

He thought it would be better for the team members to think of it as common bellflower rather than ginseng that they didn’t know how old it was.

‘Well, even if I tell them the truth, they wouldn’t believe it.’

Yum yum! He wondered when he learned how to use chopsticks, but ‘that thing’ had a small hand that didn’t match the long chopsticks and picked up the meat quickly. He put the grilled meat in his mouth and chewed hard.

He looked like a bear that ate a lot before hibernating.

Seo-jun moved a handful of meat from his plate to ‘that thing’.

‘That thing’, who was looking at the emptying plate with a sad eye, didn’t stop his hand. He opened his mouth slightly at the meat that was piled up again. Then he looked at Seo-jun. And then his eyes sparkled. ‘He’s giving me meat! Good human!’ His thoughts were clearly visible.

“Eat a lot.”

Yes yes!

‘That thing’ nodded his head vigorously and moved his chubby cheeks to eat the meat.

“Eat some vegetables too.”

Yes yes!

‘That thing’, who didn’t have anything to pick, chewed the grilled vegetables that Seo-jun put on his plate.

“But oppa. Where did Baek-gu go?”

“Huh? That’s right? He was here until a while ago?”

Seo-jun and ‘that thing’ flinched.

They were so distracted by the meat that they forgot to make a clone.

“Did he get angry because you teased him?”

“That’s right. He just went home, I guess?”

They involuntarily remembered the back of Baek-gu, who drooped his tail and walked home. The team member who teased Baek-gu the most said in a panic.

“No, does a dog get angry too?”

“Dogs know everything. Senior.”

“Didn’t you watch Animal Heaven? They also get angry, act spoiled, pretend to be dumb if they do something wrong, they do everything.”

“That’s right. And Baek-gu is very smart.”

The seniors who teased him the most went out to the entrance and looked at the snow-covered wasteland.

“Baek-gu!”

“Baek-gu! Where are you!”

“We were wrong!”

‘That thing’ quickly used his power. Energy gathered next to ‘that thing’ and tried to change into Baek-gu’s appearance.

“But I can’t give you any meat!”

The team members who were watching laughed. Seo-jun also laughed. ‘That thing’ was embarrassed. But it wasn’t a really bad expression. It was because he knew the affection in that shout.

A transparent clone, Baek-gu, flew out of the house. And then a barking sound came from afar.

“Baek-gu!”

The seniors who were shouting at the entrance ran out and met Baek-gu who was running from the end of the road.

“Do we need to play some music? TV is full of love BGM.”

“Ahahaha.”

The sound team leader quickly tapped his phone. The BGM of [TV is full of love], which was aired a long time ago, flowed from the Bluetooth speaker installed in the yard.

“Where did you go! Baek-gu!”

The senior who ran and lifted Baek-gu up hugged him and spun around. The touching scene that matched the music made everyone laugh. Ahahaha. Seo-jun and the team members laughed louder.

The team members who drank alcohol and the team members who didn’t drink alcohol were all intoxicated by the atmosphere, and their faces were full of happy smiles.

“It’s okay to give him a little lean meat. Boiled.”

“Then should I boil some?”

A team member who quickly boiled some lean meat gave Baek-gu a bite. Baek-gu ate the meat. Of course, it was boiled meat that had no seasoning, but it wasn’t bad. The main body, ‘that thing’, was stuffing lettuce wraps in his mouth and chewing.

That’s how the party, which was both a wrap-up party and a meat party, was getting more and more lively.

“Good job. Ji-yoon noona.”

“You too, Seo-jun.”

Seo-jun and Hwang Ji-yoon sat side by side and looked at the team members. Everyone had a relaxed expression, so Seo-jun and Hwang Ji-yoon’s expressions also relaxed.

“I was wondering how it would turn out at first.”

The plagiarism controversy seemed like a distant past, but it also felt like it happened yesterday.

“Me too. When I said I wanted to star in it, I didn’t think the director would refuse.”

“Ugh. That…”

Hwang Ji-yoon turned her head slightly, feeling a little prickly at Seo-jun’s playful words.

Now that she thought about it, she wondered what kind of guts she had. In the end, she made it difficult and made him audition.

“…I’m sorry.”

“No. It was fun. And I think the director should have that much stubbornness. It’s the actor’s job to persuade him.”

Hwang Ji-yoon’s heart lightened at Seo-jun’s smile and words.

“Thank you, Seo-jun.”

Hwang Ji-yoon continued.

She remembered the moment when Seo-jun called her, the moment when she saw Seo-jun’s acting in the acting department practice room.

“If you hadn’t shown me your acting then… I wouldn’t have been able to shoot such a great film.”

Seo-jun smiled.

“I’m grateful to you for letting me star in such a great work.”

“No. I’m more grateful. Thanks to you, I was able to find out about the plagiarism, use Kid 100, and get help from a great painter named Matteo.”

The more she thought about it, the more she wondered what would have happened if Seo-jun hadn’t been there.

She would have somehow made a movie, but would it have been as satisfying as now?

Hwang Ji-yoon could firmly say no.

Even without any other help,

“Really… He was more than the unknown painter I had in mind.”

She could tell by Seo-jun’s acting alone. She wondered who else could show such an acting if not Seo-jun.

Seo-jun smiled with a shy but happy face at Hwang Ji-yoon’s sincere words. There was no greater compliment for an actor.

“Then how was Min-han?”

Hwang Do-yoon suddenly interrupted and handed out glasses of soda to Seo-jun and Hwang Ji-yoon. Hwang Ji-yoon said with a sigh.

“…Shit.”

“What? I can’t hear you?”

Seo-jun smiled softly. Anyone could tell that Hwang Do-yoon’s words were full of mischief.

Hwang Ji-yoon said as if she was grinding her teeth.

“I said he was shitty…”

“Shitty? I don’t know what that means… Ow! Ow! I got it! I got it!”

Hwang Ji-yoon poked his side hard, and Hwang Do-yoon twisted his body. The team members laughed at the sight. They looked like siblings, even though they didn’t say much.

“Hey!”

The sound team leader raised his voice.

“Who wants to sing with the Bluetooth microphone? We also have a tambourine!”

“Oh! Me!”

The fourth-year student of the filming team raised his hand. His flushed face showed that he had drunk some alcohol.

“What are you going to sing?”

“Just wait a minute.”

He grabbed the microphone with a smirk and pressed the number. As he pressed the start button, music flowed from the speaker.

Tadadadan!

The familiar and funny tune of Goo Seong-jin’s trot made Seo-jun and the team members laugh out loud and clap their hands. Baek-gu was also excited and barked.

The main body, ‘that thing’, had already made a tambourine with his power and shook it. He was good at shaking the tambourine along with Kim Se-yeon. Seo-jun, who could only see that, laughed so hard that tears came out.

“I can’t keep up with their energy.”

“Me too.”

But they also smiled broadly and clapped their hands to the beat of the trot. The two middle-aged actors said.

That’s how the [Hwa] team’s wrap-up party lasted until late at night.

***

The lodging was bustling from the morning.

“What time is the bus coming?”

“2:30!”

“Then let’s clean up the mansion before that.”

“Yes!”

The [Hwa] team members split into two teams and started cleaning up the mansion and the lodging.

The mansion cleaning team first dismantled the furniture and moved it to the truck, and then moved all the filming tools such as lighting and sound equipment.

“It’s going to be over soon since we cleaned it up beforehand.”

“Right.”

Thanks to the props team, who had restored the mansion to its original state as the filming progressed, it seemed that the mansion would return to the way it was when they first saw it if they only cleaned up the room they filmed yesterday.

They were moving the luggage for a while, when Seo-jun, Hwang Do-yoon, and Yoo Seo-yeong came to the mansion with Baek-gu. They had boxes in their hands.

“Lunch time.”

“It’s sandwiches.”

They planned to stop by a rest area in the middle, so they decided to have a light lunch.

“Is it lunch time already?”

“Time flies.”

The team members who sat in the living room of the mansion started eating sandwiches and drinks. Seo-jun looked around the living room that had returned to its appearance a month ago.

“How much is left?”

“Not much. Just another 30 minutes. How about the lodging?”

“We just have to clean up the kitchen after lunch.”

Beyond the wide-open door, Baek-gu ran around in the snow-covered yard.

“It’s the last time we’ll see Baek-gu.”

“Right.”

Unlike Baek-gu, who seemed to know nothing and only enjoyed himself, the team members’ eyes were moist.

***

The time of farewell came quickly.

A big bus arrived at the parking lot of the lodging. The team members’ luggage bags were loaded onto the bus one by one. Baek-gu, who seemed to know nothing, wagged his tail and chased after the team members who were moving from the lodging to the parking lot.

“Ugh! Baek-gu!”

“How can we leave Baek-gu behind?!”

Woof?

He tilted his head and perked up his ears at the cute sight of Baek-gu. The team members who were holding their bags hugged Baek-gu or stroked him or took pictures of him.

“…Should we take Baek-gu with us?”

“There’s a dog thief here!”

“Just kidding! Kidding!”

“No, you sounded serious…”

The team members who had a momentary dangerous thought looked at Baek-gu with wet eyes.

“Baek-gu, take care.”

“Woof!”

“Stay healthy.”

“Woof!”

“Play well with the toys we gave you.”

“Woof woof!”

“Be careful not to get hurt while running around. Watch out for cars.”

“Woof!”

Kim Se-yeon, who was sobbing, shouted.

“Baek-gu seems to understand everything we say!”

As Kim Se-yeon said, Baek-gu was really answering.

‘Bye!’

‘Yes yes!’

‘I will! I love toys!’

‘Don’t worry!’

He wagged his tail and barked, smiling as if he was happy. Seo-jun opened his mouth instead of Baek-gu.

“He really seems to be answering. Bye.”

“Right?!”

“Baek-gu!”

The team members hugged Baek-gu. Baek-gu, who was sandwiched between the team members, didn’t seem to hate it and smiled and barked.

“We have to get on the bus now.”

As he slumped his shoulders at Park Woojin’s words, he greeted Baekgu one by one and started to get on the bus. Baekgu also barked as if saying goodbye every time someone got on the bus.

“There won’t be another dog like Baekgu…”

“That’s true…”

The bus driver looked at the team members who were stuck to the window, wondering what kind of miracle they had witnessed.

The team members got on the bus, and the stage art students and staff got on the truck. Lastly, they got on the nine-seater van one by one.

“Next time… um…”

Seo-jun, who was sitting in front of Baekgu and ‘that thing’, scratched his cheek. He didn’t know when ‘that thing’ would gather all its strength and be born completely, so he didn’t know if he would see it again.

‘It seems possible within 60 years… but wouldn’t it be hard if it takes longer?’

Since the human lifespan is about 100 years, Seo-jun would be around that age if he lived healthily.

“Well, let’s see each other again if we can.”

Yes, yes!

‘That thing’ nodded its head.

Seo-jun smiled and stroked Baekgu’s head and ‘that thing’s head once. He felt his mana inside ‘that thing’. It seemed like ‘that thing’ would fall asleep in a few days.

‘My mana has disappeared a lot because of turning into Baekgu.’

‘That thing’ seemed to know that too, and smiled brightly without any regrets. Seo-jun also smiled back and got up from his seat.

Seo-jun got on the van and looked around the accommodation for the last time. Hwang Ji Yoon and Hwang Do Yoon, who had checked the accommodation, said goodbye to Baekgu and got on the car.

The bus left first, followed by the truck. The van that Seo-jun was in left last.

“Baekgu. He’s sitting in the back.”

At the words of the prop team leader, Seo-jun and the team members in the van looked back. Baekgu was sitting in the middle of the road, watching the [Flower] team slowly fade away.

The art team member thought he should show it to the team members on the bus and took a picture. There was a lot of longing in his eyes.

“Oh. Baekgu got up.”

“He’s smart, so he must be going home now.”

Woof!

A barking sound was heard.

Bye! Take care! It was fun!

It seemed like they heard such a voice in the wind.

The van, which was moving slowly because of the snow, jerked for a moment. The fourth-year stage art student who was holding the steering wheel said with a thoughtful face.

“…Did you… hear that… just now? Was it just me?”

The van was quiet. The team members’ eyes widened. Then, the phone started ringing.

-Ji Yoon! Just now! The kids! They heard a strange voice! I heard it too!

-Senior! You heard it too?!

Seo-jun touched his forehead. He let his guard down at the last moment.

‘It’s too late to scold him now…’

‘That thing’ probably used up all of Seo-jun’s remaining mana and was falling asleep. He couldn’t scold him because he couldn’t meet him. It would have been amazing if he did it on purpose, but

‘…He doesn’t seem that smart.’

He just seemed to have said goodbye without thinking, excitedly.

“Did you all hear it?!”

“A ghost in broad daylight!”

“Seo-jun! You heard it too, right?!”

It seemed like this shoot would end with a ghost commotion.

***

As Seo-jun thought, ‘that thing’, who said goodbye without thinking, hummed a tune and headed to the hill where he buried his toy by folding the ground twice. The snow had fallen a little and blurred, but the red flower paintings were still there.

‘That thing’ walked over the flower paintings like a fluttering butterfly. There were no footprints.

He had used most of his strength to speak, so he didn’t have much time left to keep his eyes open. But that was okay. He really wanted to say goodbye!

‘That thing’ smiled and lay down on the ground where the ‘nameless painter’ had collapsed, that is, where he had buried his toy. Then, his figure slowly faded as if sinking into the ground. ‘That thing’ closed his eyes.

He remembered the faces of the humans he had played with, the terrifying but not so terrifying human, and the flowers that were drawn on the snow on the hill.

It was really fun…

A smile filled ‘that thing’s face as he slowly fell asleep.

It was like a dream.