Superstar From Age 0

Chapter 630

The performances of the finalists in Category 2 were over and it was time for a break.

The families and friends who were sitting in the audience seats got up one by one to meet the finalists who had shown excellent performances. Among them, Kim Heesang and Choi Suhee were also seen smiling brightly.

Professor Benjamin grinned and said.

“Jun. You should go too. We’ll wait here.”

“What about you and Jason?”

“We’re too conspicuous.”

Jason Moore pointed to the side where the reporters and music industry people were and said. He glanced and saw the reporters who kept looking at Professor Benjamin and Jason with eager eyes, wanting to get an interview with them.

It wasn’t that Subin had to hide the fact that he had learned from the two of them, but it seemed like they would definitely stand out here.

Seo-jun nodded.

“Then I’ll be back.”

“Tell Subin that I enjoyed his performance.”

“Me too. Tell him he did better than in practice.”

They would meet again after the concours, but Professor Benjamin and Jason Moore wanted to tell him their impressions regardless of the results of the awards ceremony.

“Okay. I will.”

Seo-jun left the concert hall and headed to the waiting room following the staff’s guidance.

The finalists in Category 2 were using three waiting rooms, two each, but the finalist who shared the waiting room with Subin seemed to have gone somewhere with his family and was not visible.

“/Subin!/”

“/Brother!/”

Kim Subin, who had already received tremendous praise from Kim Heesang and Choi Suhee, had a flushed face and giggled. He smiled brightly when he saw Seo-jun entering the waiting room. Then he quickly ran over and hugged him tightly.

Seo-jun lifted his arm to prevent the bouquet from being damaged by Subin’s intense hug and smiled as he hugged Subin back.

“/Are you leaving dad for brother…?/”

Kim Heesang said with a dejected voice and Choi Suhee burst into laughter.

“/Where are the professor and Jason?/”

Subin peeked behind Seo-jun and looked down the hallway. It was noisy and people were passing by, but the two people he was waiting for were not visible.

“/It’s still a secret that I learned from the professor and Jason, so they didn’t come. There are a lot of reporters outside./”

It was ironic that they had to be more careful than Seo-jun Lee, a Hollywood star who was always the center of attention, but the two of them didn’t have the same ability as Seo-jun, so it couldn’t be helped.

Seo-jun smiled and added to Subin’s disappointed expression.

“/Professor Benjamin asked me to tell you that he really enjoyed your performance. Jason said you did better than in practice. You were really cool. Our Subin./”

“/Hehe./”

Seo-jun handed him the bouquet and Subin laughed out loud, feeling shy but happy.

“/Picture! Shall we take a picture?/”

“/Yeah. We have to show grandma and grandpa too!/”

Kim Heesang and Choi Suhee excitedly took pictures of Kim Subin holding the bouquet. They also took pictures with Seo-jun, with the family, and with the four of them together using a timer.

They were happy with the pictures and sent them to their friends in Korea via Banana Talk. Seo-jun looked at Kim Heesang and Choi Suhee, who were smiling, and Kim Subin whispered to him.

“/Brother Seo-jun. You know what. Next time, I want to take a picture with the professor and Jason, but can I tell them that I learned violin from them?/”

“/Hmm./”

It wasn’t impossible.

He was just worried about what would happen after that.

“/It’s not impossible, but if you say that you learned from the professor and Jason, Subin will become famous too. Are you okay with that? The reporters will take pictures and interview you and stuff./”

Subin said with a mature expression.

“/It’s okay. I’m going to be a famous violinist like the professor and Jason when I grow up! It’s like practicing in advance, right?/”

Seo-jun looked at him with a cute expression.

“/What about brother’s story? You have a YouTube video that you filmed with brother a few years ago, right?/”

“/Concerto for Two Violins?/”

“/Yeah, that./”

[Concerto for Two Violins]

It was a video of Seo-jun and Kim Subin playing together and uploading it to YouTube. Kim Subin was in second grade.

“/It says Subin there, so they’ll guess right away and talk about brother every time. Are you okay with that?/”

Seo-jun was worried that the name ‘Violinist Kim Subin’ would be less known than ‘Actor Lee Seo-jun’s brother Kim Subin’. Even Park Jio, who was in Spain now, was famous as ‘Hollywood star’s friend’ at first.

“/Hmm./”

Subin seemed to be thinking.

Before long, Kim Heesang and Choi Suhee were also quietly looking at Subin.

“/I think it’ll be okay./”

Subin nodded and said.

“/Really?/”

“/I’m in sixth grade now. I know how famous brother is as an actor and how much everyone is interested in brother./”

Seo-jun, Kim Heesang, and Choi Suhee opened their eyes wide at Subin’s voice, which was more serious than ever.

“/I’m a little worried about brother’s popularity, but I can’t hide it forever. And if I have a hard time, brother will help me, right?/”

Hehe, Seo-jun smiled at his brother’s face.

Of course, he would help him with both arms.

The way Subin thought of ‘help’ and the way Seo-jun thought of ‘help’ would be a little different, though.

“/What do uncle and aunt think?/”

Subin’s opinion was important, but so was the parents’.

“/If Subin is okay with it, I’m okay with it./”

“/Will Cocoa Entertainment take care of the musician manager job too?/”

Choi Suhee nodded with a smile and Kim Heesang was already worried about Kim Subin’s future.

“/Then can I tell them?/”

Subin asked with sparkling eyes and Seo-jun nodded with a smile.

“/Yeah./”

Wow!

Kim Subin smiled brightly, now able to call the professor as professor and brother as brother.

***

“How did you decide to reveal it?”

Jason asked after hearing the story and Seo-jun answered.

“I decided to talk about the professor and Jason only when I do the award interview after the awards ceremony today. Da Ho hyung said it would be better to reveal my name naturally later.”

“I see.”

Jason Moore and Professor Benjamin nodded.

No one here thought that Kim Subin would not win.

Seo-jun smiled slightly, feeling a bit presumptuous.

“Who did you choose for the interview reporter?”

“Cooper. He interviewed Subin last time and said he was comfortable. He also wrote the interview well with what Subin said.”

“Cooper is fine.”

Professor Benjamin smiled softly.

The final round of Category 3, for contestants aged 19 and above, began.

Cooper, a classical music reporter who had stumbled upon a scoop without knowing it, muttered under his breath. He couldn’t help but compare the performance of the 12-year-old violinist with the Category 3 finalists. The age difference was huge, but so was the skill gap.

‘The judges must be thinking the same.’

He thought that Subin Kim could have won a prize even if she had competed in Category 3.

‘What an amazing talent.’

He was very curious about what kind of performance Subin Kim would show in the future.

After the final round of Category 3 ended, there was a short break before the award ceremony started.

“It’s faster than before.”

“That means the contestants’ skills were very different.”

If the contestants’ skills were close, the judges would have taken a long time to deliberate, but the quick decision meant that there was a clear winner who had won the unanimous approval of the judges.

He had a good guess who that violinist was. Anyone who had heard the performance of Category 2 would have thought the same.

‘I have to get an interview with Subin Kim.’

And the result was as Cooper had expected.

***

It was time to announce the first place.

In Category 1, a 13-year-old violinist received the first place trophy and rejoiced. Next, it was time for the winner of Category 2 to come up.

“Subin Kim!”

The name of the 12-year-old violinist was called, and she went up to the stage. Her young face bloomed like a flower.

Seo-jun clapped for his sister who had worked hard for today. Benjamin Morton and Jason Moore also gave a big applause to their student who stood gracefully on the stage.

The trophy and the bouquet of flowers were handed to Subin. Her face was full of smiles and happiness.

He wanted to congratulate Subin longer, but the first place announcement of Category 3 followed right away.

“It’s a pity that there’s no time for the winners to say a few words.”

“I know, right.”

Clap clap clap!

That’s how all the winners received their trophies and the New York String Instrument Competition came to an end.

The contestants who didn’t win went back with their families, and the reporters flocked to the judges or the winners to get an interview. There were some reporters who targeted Benjamin and Jason, but they only swallowed their disappointment at the sharp gaze of Jason Moore.

“Kim! Can I have an interview with you?”

The next most popular person was Subin Kim.

She was a talented violinist who had won the first place in Category 2, even though she was a year younger than the winner of Category 1.

Since Subin Kim was young, the reporters directed their questions to her parents who were her guardians. Subin Kim was holding a bouquet of flowers and chatting with a man who looked like her brother.

“Ma’am! Sir! I’m Cooper, the reporter who interviewed you during the second round of the finals! Can I have an interview with you?!”

Choi Su Hee, who had been waiting for Cooper, smiled brightly and answered.

“Yes. Thank you for writing a good article last time. I’d like to have an interview with only one person, if that’s okay with you.”

“Of course, that’s okay!”

Shush!

Cooper waved his hand to the other reporters, and they dispersed with regretful expressions. They thought it was better to move quickly and secure another interview.

“There’s a temporary interview room over here!”

Cooper and his colleague who took the photos entered the interview room excitedly. He seated Subin Kim on a chair and started the interview. Subin Kim’s brother and parents watched her with a proud face.

“How do you feel about winning the first place?”

“I was happy that I could show everything I had practiced during the performance, and I was even happier that the judges recognized it.”

Seo-jun whispered as he watched Subin’s polite answer.

“/She’s not even nervous. She’s doing well. Subin./”

“/That’s our son./”

Kim Hee Sang shrugged his shoulders, and Seo-jun smiled softly.

Meanwhile, Choi Su Hee was taking a picture of Subin’s interview with her phone.

“Can I ask who taught you the violin?”

“Yes. In Korea, I learned from Teacher Kim Dae Hyun.”

Cooper nodded and wrote down the unfamiliar name. Kim Dae Hyun. Korean names have the surname first and… how do you spell it? He wondered.

“In America, I learned from Professor Benjamin and Jason.”

“Yes. Professor Benjamin and Jay…son…?”

He thought the name that came after was easy, and he wrote it down on his notebook. But he felt a sense of familiarity. If only one name came up, he would have thought it was a coincidence, but there was only one case where these two names were together.

Cooper and his colleague looked at the young violinist in front of them with trembling eyes.

“…Do you mean Professor Benjamin Morton and violinist Jason Moore…?”

“Yes. That’s right. I’ve been learning the violin from them since a long time ago.”

…Oh my!

They had a student that they were teaching together.

No wonder that skill was so impressive.

***

“A student of Professor Benjamin and Jason Moore… This is a scoop!”

“But the interview during the finals said that she only lived in Korea, how did she get connected with them?”

Cooper had that question as he was organizing the article to send it out. He didn’t think of it during the interview.

“Right. She wouldn’t have lied. I saw the guy who looked like her brother sitting next to Professor Benjamin and Jason Moore earlier.”

“Hmm.”

There seemed to be a clear link between Subin Kim and the two men.

“Who introduced them?”

“That’s the most likely possibility.”

He wondered who among the Korean musicians could be.

He thought of a few names in his head, and then Seo-jun Lee came to his mind.

‘He plays the violin well and composes well, but Jun is an actor…’

Cooper stopped moving.

“Wait.”

“Huh?”

Subin Kim. Subin. Bin… Bin!

Cooper opened YouTube quickly with wide eyes.

He clicked on a video from the channel [JUN] that he had subscribed to. His colleague blinked his eyes at the sweet violin performance that played out of nowhere.

“What are you doing?”

“Look at this.”

Cooper scrolled down the mouse wheel.

<Concerto for Two Violins>

<First violinist: Jun JUN>

<Second violinist: Bin BIN>

“…Could this Bin be Subin Kim?”

That would make the link. The link between Subin Kim and Professor Benjamin.

His colleague shook his head as if it was impossible.

“Don’t you see the date here? This video is from four years ago. Subin Kim is 12 years old now, but she was 8 years old four years ago. Are you saying that this performance is by an 8-year-old kid!”