Superstar From Age 0

Chapter 596

[The original source of the plagiarism scandal in Han Ye University’s Film Department was ‘Hwa’?!]

[The independent film ‘Hwa’, almost cancelled due to plagiarism!]

[Director Hwang Ji-yoon’s acceptance speech: ‘There were many difficulties, but…’ Hinting at the plagiarism scandal?]

A dark room.

The only light came from the phone screen in a place where there was no space to step on because of the soju bottles and trash. Oh Seong-tae looked at the internet with a haggard face. The comments mocking the plagiarist remained in his retina as if they were engraved.

‘Damn it… It wasn’t supposed to get this big…!’

After the plagiarism scandal, he was relieved that there was no other action from Cocoa Entertainment or Hwang Ji-yoon, except for the news articles.

Everyone expected him to be the plagiarist, but the only person who knew for sure was Hwang Ji-yoon. So he planned to return to school after Hwang Ji-yoon graduated. It would die down in a year or two.

‘I just had to wait until then…!’

He knew that Hwang Ji-yoon made a film with the original of [The Unknown Painter], and submitted it to the independent film festival, but he didn’t think it would be a problem. It was just an independent film that had a few tens of thousands of viewers as the box office standard.

But to his surprise…

“Why did Lee Seo-jun that bastard…!!”

He clenched his teeth.

He was furious that Lee Seo-jun starred in it.

His face turned red and his hand holding the phone trembled.

The situation changed completely with Lee Seo-jun’s appearance. The plagiarism scandal that he thought would be forgotten soon spread uncontrollably. It spread further and wider with the box office success of [Hwa].

It was too late to say it was a misunderstanding, because there were too many witnesses who saw him fighting with Hwang Ji-yoon at the time, and Cocoa Entertainment had the decisive evidence, [The Painter in the Love Room].

Oh Seong-tae bit his lip and tore his greasy hair.

He was crazy at that time. Damn it. How could the content written by a middle schooler be similar to what he wrote. Did his skills amount to that?

‘…Am I worse than Hwang Ji-yoon?!’

Never.

That was impossible.

Oh Seong-tae looked at the articles with his eyes reddened by inferiority.

The independent film [Hwa] was a hit, and the reporters poured out articles like fish in water.

Articles about the superstar Lee Seo-jun, whose name alone increased the views, articles about the independent film [Hwa], interviews with the film department students, etc. Korea was burning with [Hwa].

‘Damn it. If only I had Lee Seo-jun… If only I had Lee Seo-jun…!’

Hwang Ji-yoon wouldn’t have been a problem.

The reason for Hwang Ji-yoon’s success was only because of Lee Seo-jun.

He refused to admit that it was Hwang Ji-yoon’s script that moved Lee Seo-jun, and he couldn’t contain his anger and shouted.

“…Damn it! It was all mine…!”

The article titled [Interview with Director Hwang Ji-yoon of the Independent Film ‘Hwa’ (Full Text)] could have been [Interview with Director Oh Seong-tae of the Independent Film ‘The Unknown Painter’ (Full Text)]. The praise, admiration, and love calls that poured out to Hwang Ji-yoon could have been his.

No, they were his.

He breathed heavily as he looked at the endless articles.

He was not mentioned by name, but he swore endlessly at the contents that pointed to him in the interviews. Some of the interviews were… Damn it… They seemed to be some of the people he used to hang out with.

After the Korean Independent Film Festival in April, he didn’t hear from his close friends anymore. The film industry people he knew also didn’t answer his phone calls, as if they had heard something.

“Damn it… Was I the only one who plagiarized…!”

He felt like he heard a sneering laugh, and Oh Seong-tae gritted his teeth nervously. Why me… Why me…!

He had only one semester left to graduate, but that was gone. The story of the student who almost plagiarized [Hwa] would remain as a legend of the Han Ye University’s Film Department forever.

And what if he went straight into the film industry with his field experience?

He could participate as a menial staff, but if he acted under his own name, it wouldn’t take long for others to find out. The film industry was that small and the rumors were that fast.

Who would hire him, the culprit of the plagiarism scandal, and that too, the one who plagiarized [Hwa], which left a legendary record in the Korean independent film industry. Rather, they would doubt, ‘Is this not plagiarism too?’

Oh Seong-tae bit his lip anxiously. His hand holding the phone trembled. He quickly grabbed the soju bottle next to him and drank it in one gulp. His chest felt like it was burning with alcohol.

“Damn it… He thinks he’s good at writing scripts…!”

He blamed Hwang Ji-yoon for everything until the end, and he spent his days like a bum, repeating the cycle of reading the articles on his phone, swearing, drinking, and sleeping.

***

“I cried so much when I saw that.”

“Me too. He didn’t even know what his father did or where he was until he found the document…”

“He didn’t even know for sure that he passed away, and he was just declared missing.”

The [Hwa] team members were talking about the article that came out a while ago. It was about the father of a Korean restaurant owner in LA.

The old man, who had lived his whole life without knowing that his father was an independence activist, said in an interview that he was able to understand his father’s heart a little bit through the film [Hwa]. The interview touched many people’s hearts.

“We really made a good film!”

“Right. I’m glad we could help a little bit.”

“It’s not just us, but Ji-yoon did a great job.”

“Oooh! Director Hwang!!”

The team members praised Hwang Ji-yoon, who shrugged his shoulders.

“By the way… Have you seen Oh Seong-tae?”

At his question, the [Hwa] team members shook their heads at once.

“No. I haven’t seen him.”

“I heard he took a leave of absence last year, but he didn’t come at all this year?”

“Wasn’t he supposed to graduate in one more semester?”

“I think so. I begged him to graduate soon.”

The team members agreed with Kim Se-yeon’s words.

“I heard there’s talk of expelling him from school.”

“Well. Everyone knows it, even if his name wasn’t mentioned.”

They nodded at the words.

“It’s good, anyway. He was plagiarizing other students’ works even when he was a student, and if he became a real director, how many works would he have plagiarized.”

“Exactly. I don’t know about other people, but I prayed that he wouldn’t become a director.”

“Me too. You can tell by the leaves that he’s rotten… If he became a director, and even became famous… Ugh. I don’t even want to see it.”

Hwang Ji-yoon, Kim Se-yeon, and the film department students shook their heads as if they imagined the future that spread out like a panorama.

“Let’s stop talking about Oh Seong-tae on a good day and go in quickly! The others are already there!”

At Kim Se-yeon’s words, Hwang Ji-yoon and the team members hurriedly moved their feet.

[ATR Art Museum-Special Exhibition Hall]

As they entered the lobby of the museum, where they had promised to meet, they were greeted by warm air and people who welcomed Hwang Ji-yoon, Kim Se-yeon, and the team members. They were the [Hwa] team members who graduated in February this year, Park Woo-jin and the seniors (there were also stage art majors).

“Hello!”

They greeted each other happily as they met after a long time.

“You’re graduating soon, right?”

“Yes. It’s already half past October… There’s not much left.”

At Hwang Ji-yoon’s answer, Park Woo-jin and the seniors smiled and said.

“It’s almost November… A year has passed by quickly.”

“Right. It feels like yesterday when we filmed together in Gangwon-do…”

It seemed like time flew like an arrow, because they were busy all year long.

Hwang Ji-yoon and Kim Se-yeon also smiled nostalgically as they recalled the events of a year ago, just like Park Woo-jin and the seniors.

A moment later.

“Is everyone here?”

An ATR Art Museum staff member asked Hwang Ji-yoon.

Hwang Ji-yoon looked around the lobby. The film department students who took care of the shooting team, the sound team, and the lighting team. Kwon Se-ah and the music department students, the art department students. Kim Sung-sik, Jung Eun-mi and Hwang Do-yoon, and the acting department students. The stage art department students who were the props team.

Everyone had arrived, except for Seo-jun and a few team members who couldn’t come today, and Yoo Seo-young who went abroad.

“Yes. Everyone is here.”

“Then let’s go in.”

The staff member smiled and led the [Hwa] team members inside.

“In this special exhibition, we plan to display works inspired by the will and spirit of the independence activists.”

Art works such as paintings, sculptures, and prints shone in their respective places.

“This work is a representation of the blood and tears shed by the independence activists…”

The [Hwa] team members moved their feet while listening to the staff’s explanation. Kim Se-yeon whispered.

“I don’t know much about art, but it’s impressive.”

“Right.”

The art department students were almost mesmerized, not to mention the ordinary people.

“And this is where your work is displayed.”

The staff smiled and pointed to the wall. No, it wasn’t a wall. It was a monitor. Large monitors were connected without gaps, filling the wall.

Soon, a scene of white snow, red flowers, and Seo-jun in a durumagi appeared on the screen.

It was a full shot, so it looked far away, but maybe because the screen was big and wide, it felt like he was ‘Min-han’, as if he was watching it on the spot.

“Really… It feels like when we were shooting, right?”

“Right.”

As Hwang Do-yoon and Hwang Ji-yoon said, the feeling of being on the scene at that time was conveyed, if not all, enough. The [Hwa] team members who were there at the time also exclaimed in admiration.

The staff smiled satisfied at their reaction and continued.

“The video will be played in real time without editing,”

As he said, Seo-jun was drawing the flower at a slower speed than the movie. The sound of the wind was heard along with it. It felt cold somehow.

“And we don’t plan to add any music.”

That’s why it felt different from watching the movie [Hwa] in the audience seat.

“Everyone will be captivated.”

“Right.”

It seemed like they would watch it with bated breath, as if they had become ‘Min-han’.

“…I didn’t know… our work would be hung in an art museum…”

“Me neither…”

The eyes of the art department students who had worked the hardest to create this scene were moist. On one side, their names were also included in the work description, which made them more moved.

“Oh. I have to show this to Seo-young!”

“She must be waiting!”

The art department students took out their phones and made video calls, and the [Hwa] team members laughed at their sight.

And the next day.

The ATR Art Museum special exhibition opened.

***

“I went to the special exhibition and it was amazing.”

“When did you go?”

Anda-ho asked with a smile. He had just taken a vacation two days ago, but he had already gone to the exhibition.

Seo-jun laughed.

“I went right after seeing Dandelion. It seemed like everyone liked it a lot. There were some people who watched it several times.”

December.

Seo-jun was on vacation to coincide with the release of the American movie [Dandelion], starring Kim Jong-ho and Lee Ji-seok.

“I was a little worried, but I’m glad.”

As soon as the exhibition started, there was a question of whether it was okay to hang a scene from the movie in the art museum, but it disappeared quickly because there was no way to define the scope of contemporary art.

There were artists who exhibited animal carcasses, factory-made products, or unprocessed fruits as works of art, so why not a movie scene? There were many counterarguments.

-Animal carcasses or industrial products don’t look like art at all.

=22 I don’t even know what you’re trying to say.

=33 I think the painter who touched people’s hearts is more ‘art’.

The public’s opinion was reflected in the success of the special exhibition.

“The poster with the picture drawn on the snow is also popular, and other museums want to exhibit it too. There are also many proposals from abroad.”

Anda-ho said, managing the schedule related to [Hwa] as an investor, since the [Hwa] team members were all students.

“That’s good!”

Seo-jun and Anda-ho looked at each other and smiled.

“How was the movie?”

“It was fun. It was a movie that showed the universal worries that immigrant families from not only Korea, but also other countries could face. Uncle Jong-ho and Ji-seok’s acting was really good, too. The other actors also matched well.”

“I saw it too and it was good. It showed the generational conflict well.”

“Right. It seemed to mix the generational conflict and the conflict that immigrants could face well, without being too excessive. That’s why it’s a hot topic in the US, too.”

Anda-ho also heard from King’s Agency and nodded at Seo-jun’s words.

Seo-jun smiled slightly.

“No wonder… Uncle Jong-ho and Ji-seok. They’ll be very busy.”

“Right.”

***

A few days after Seo-jun returned to the army.

As Seo-jun and Anda-ho expected, good news came from Korea.

[Kim Jong-ho of the movie ‘Dandelion’ nominated for the Golden Globe Best Supporting Actor!]