Superstar From Age 0

Chapter 646

LA’s accommodation.

Gray, Rebecca, and George sat around and chatted.

“Let’s go to Downlock?”

“Yeah! Why not? It’s been a while since we visited. We still have some time until the charity concert the day after tomorrow. And we don’t have anything else to do!”

Rebecca suggested, and Gray fell into a brief silence.

Downlock.

The place where ‘Gray Vainy’, the genius violinist, was born and raised.

It was the neighborhood where he lived until he saved enough money to leave, after raising funds through crowdfunding and getting support to learn violin formally and start performing properly. It was hard to call it a hometown that he missed and reminisced about, as there were too many sad and painful memories left there.

But it was also a place where he had some happy memories, thanks to the small and old house where he lived with his mother, and the park where he met Rebecca and George. He didn’t know what to say about it.

George, who was behind the camera, spoke up.

“It would be nice to have a scene like that in the documentary. You know, showing where you grew up.”

It was common for celebrities’ documentaries to include a glimpse of their birthplaces and childhoods. They would also add some interviews from their neighbors, who would say things like ‘He was a special kid from the start!’ or ‘We were so close back then!’, whether they were true or not.

“Oh. Right.”

Gray lifted his head, realizing the camera. The cameras with sparkling lenses were filming the three of them. He had almost forgotten that they were shooting a documentary, as it had been almost a month and George and the staff were very considerate.

“Then I guess it wouldn’t hurt to go there once.”

He nodded, thinking that it might be necessary for George, who was making the documentary.

“What about the charity concert? Are you planning to perform on stage?”

Gray’s face darkened a bit at George’s question. He didn’t seem to notice his own expression, as it was so natural.

“I’m still… thinking about it.”

“Don’t worry too much, Gray. You can just attend as an audience if you want.”

Rebecca said, and Gray fiddled with his hands.

He felt the calluses on his fingers, from playing the violin. There were times when he cried in pain from the wounds on his fingers, but he felt more joy from the fact that they were the results of his efforts and growth.

But as he fell into a slump, Gray felt those emotions disappear like a picture drawn on the sand, washed away by the waves. He tried to overcome it, but he always returned to his original state, or worse. He stopped drawing pictures on the sand.

And he just waited for the waves to swallow his feet, knees, waist, chest, shoulders, and finally his face, leaving him unable to do anything.

‘But now…’

He felt like someone was reaching out to him.

Telling him to come out of the water.

“I’ll… think a little more… and decide.”

Gray said, and Rebecca and George widened their eyes, then smiled.

****

“It doesn’t seem to have changed much from ten years ago.”

Seo-jun agreed with Catherine and Paul’s nod.

The walls of the buildings with long cracks, the windows with broken glass taped up, the graffiti that ranged from decent to mediocre, the trash scattered here and there, the sunken roads and sidewalks, the rusty stairs and signs, etc. The buildings looked decent enough, lining up on both sides of the road.

It looked like they had moved the village of ‘Downlock’ from [Over the Rainbow 1] exactly as it was.

Of course, it wasn’t the set from ten years ago, but a place that was built while Seo-jun was in the army for a year.

Sara Roth, the director, smiled and said.

“Ten years is a long time, but also a short time. We’re going to use CG for the background around the buildings.”

She pointed at the gaps that looked a bit thin. Seo-jun, Catherine, and Paul looked around the set, as if they were traveling to the past, while checking their lines.

“The graffiti has changed?”

“It’s hard to keep the same graffiti for ten years.”

Sara Roth said, laughing at Paul’s remark.

Graffiti.

Pictures that were scratched or sprayed on walls of buildings or underground, like scribbles.

Some graffiti were considered as artworks and traded at high prices, but usually they were illegal, as they were drawn without the permission of the building owners.

Downlock was like that.

Even if they painted the walls with new paint and made them clean, they would come back with spray cans and draw pictures overnight. It was one of the things that could be seen often on the walls of the buildings in Downlock, a neighborhood where environmental management was difficult.

“The new pictures… are really nice. I love them.”

“Right?”

Seo-jun smiled as he looked at the graffiti on the walls, and Sara Roth also smiled. Catherine and Paul felt the same.

“Shall we get ready for shooting then?”

“Yes!”

Putting on wigs was easy now, for both Seo-jun and the makeup staff. They fixed Seo-jun’s hair style while Catherine and Paul sat next to him and prepared for shooting.

And a little later.

The shooting began.

The staff who had filmed [Over the Rainbow 1], and the staff who had not filmed but enjoyed watching [Over the Rainbow 1], looked at ‘Gray Vainy’ standing on one side of the street of Downlock with a new look in their eyes.

If the staff felt that way, it was needless to say how Sara Roth, the director who had created ‘Gray Vainy’ with her own hands, and Emily, the assistant director who had been with her throughout the process, felt. A strange emotion surged like a wave.

“…Ready,”

Seo-jun felt the same.

He felt like he had unexpectedly visited his past life’s hometown.

He hadn’t expected [Over the Rainbow] at all, unlike [Shadowman Series], which was planned as a series from the start.

So he was more happy and excited.

But that was Seo-jun’s emotion.

‘Gray Vainy has to be different.’

Hoo.

Seo-jun exhaled lightly.

“Action!”

And he became Gray Vainy.

***

Gray, Rebecca, George, and the documentary filming team headed to Downlock. It was still morning, so the streets were quiet, with only a few people going to work early. It was nice to look around peacefully.

“Downlock is still the same.”

“Yeah.”

Gray agreed with Rebecca’s remark. It seemed like something would have changed, but Downlock was the same.

Of course, it might have been because Gray had left Downlock only six years ago. It took that long to save money to move.

But Gray felt somehow that Downlock was a bit unfamiliar.

He couldn’t tell why. It just felt a bit different.

“Shall we go see the old house?”

“Yeah. Let’s do that.”

Gray’s old house. A small and worn-out apartment.

As he thought of that place, he slowly recalled the neighbors who lived in the same building as if paint was spreading.

Walking along the street where more and more people were heading to work, Gray, Rebecca, and George headed to Gray’s old house. The street’s unchanged dirtiness and chaos, and the graffiti drawn haphazardly greeted the three of them familiarly.

“The graffiti is well done!”

“Huh? Yeah-”

-Right.

Gray stopped walking as he was about to answer.

It was too familiar, always the same scenery.

The symbols of the painters or the incomprehensible drawings.

He just passed by the graffiti as if they were always the same, but after hearing Rebecca’s admiration, they caught Gray’s eye.

“That’s a violin, right? And that’s a cello!”

“There’s a piano and a flute too.”

They were instruments.

“Gray! This is the sheet music for Over the Rainbow!”

“There’s classical sheet music too. Do you know that song, Rebecca?”

“It’s Spring from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.”

They were music.

Ah…!

Gray took a deep breath without realizing it and looked around.

He didn’t know what had changed, but now he felt like he knew.

There were instruments everywhere in Downlock. There was music.

Although it was a second-hand shop, there was an instrument store, a sign for a music class recruiting members, and the wall was painted with musicians playing in matching colors. 

The musicians’ expressions were playful. There were also pictures of children playing triangles or tambourines lightly.

Gray’s chest swelled up without him knowing it at the sight that he couldn’t see in the previous Downlock.

“…Why… Why did this happen…?”

He felt like he was in a different world, his eyes spinning.

He felt like his heart was going to burst any moment. It was a scenery he couldn’t even imagine in his dreams.

“…Gray?”

He heard a familiar voice and quickly turned around. 

A middle-aged man with a fierce face was coming out of the entrance of the building where Gray lived, dressed neatly as if he was going to work. 

He was the uncle who fought with his brother who lived in the same building for being noisy.

“Uncle…”

And he was the person who supported Gray.

“Long time no see!”

The uncle’s hand that he held was still big. No, it seemed a little smaller. It was because Gray had grown.

“You’ve grown a lot.”

“…It’s been six years already.”

“Yeah. It’s been that long.”

The uncle smiled brightly.

“I heard you did well in the concert. Well done. Well done.”

Gray smiled faintly. His raised lips trembled slightly.

“Downlock… It’s changed a lot. Uncle.”

“It’s thanks to you.”

“…Me?”

“Yeah. Downlock’s violinist, Gray Vainy.”

The uncle said with a smile as if it was a matter of course.

“It’s proven that you can be a great person even in Downlock, so everyone has hope.”

Gray looked around with a flustered face.

The morning of Downlock rising with the sun.

In his memory, it was always filled with dark, hard, and tired people, but the scenery he saw was completely different.

“So the teacher said I can go to the next level from today!”

“Did you practice the song you learned yesterday?”

“Ugh. It was so hard.”

“I heard there’s a drawing class, so I’m going to sign up. It’s a free lesson.”

“Yeah? Should I go too?”

He heard the children’s voices. He also heard the adults’ conversations.

But there was no crying that hurt his heart, no sharp voice that tore his ears, no loud voice that made his heart sink.

There was only laughter and joy.

“…This is all…”

Gray’s trembling eyes moved quickly.

“…Because of me?”

He didn’t know.

He didn’t think of it as his hometown, but seeing it change like this, he felt like crying. He must have had some unknown affection and worry.

The laughter and conversation of the Downlock people he couldn’t see while traveling around the world sounded like music. The sound that lingered in his ears came down warmly like the sun.

It was a happy morning.

“Gray? Is that you, Gray?”

“Gray?”

The brother who lived in the same building, the neighbor, the shop owner, the residents of Downlock recognized Gray. They were faces that were sincerely happy to see him.

Gray looked at each face one by one and remembered.

They all supported him.

“I,”

He felt like something hot filled his throat.

“Can I play for you?”

Gray’s voice trembled as it flowed out. But his eyes were clearer than ever.

The residents of Downlock smiled broadly.

“Of course!”

“What, a little late is nothing!”

“Let’s hear how much you’ve improved!”

The residents of Downlock also remembered the kid who practiced the violin every day six years ago.

They felt ashamed just by watching how hard the young boy worked. Maybe that was the reason for this change.

Gray looked at George, and as if he had been waiting, George handed him the violin. Rebecca and the residents of Downlock looked forward to it with shining eyes. The passers-by also stopped one by one.

Gray rested his chin on the violin.

And as the sun soaked into his body, he drew the bow and started playing. He played a melody to greet the morning, remembering the morning of the Downlock residents he saw earlier and the happy days in Downlock when he was young.

His loved one, his mother wakes up young Gray. The old but clean washed blanket smells of sunshine. That’s why he didn’t want to get up. He heard his mother’s laughter. Young Gray, who was half asleep, also smiled.

His mother says, ‘It’s time to get up.’

Yeah. It’s time to get up.

He had to eat a delicious breakfast, meet his precious friends, and learn the violin from his teacher. Today was going to be a really, really fun day.

With that feeling in his heart, [Gray’s Violin Piece NO.2: Good morning] flowed out of Gray’s violin.

***

The youngest PD of ABS Broadcasting, but as a friend of the genius violinist Gray Vainy, he became the person in charge of the documentary, George looked at the camera and shrugged his shoulders. Then he opened his mouth with a tone that no one expected.

“It was all planned by us.”