Superstar From Age 0

Chapter 659

Jonathan Will sat on a chair.

He turned on the computer on his desk and looked at the monitor that was slowly lighting up. 

He opened a document program. A blank white screen and a blinking black cursor appeared, just like Jonathan’s mind.

“…Ugh…”

Bang!

Jonathan slammed his head on the desk. He did not feel the pain on his forehead.

People’s hearts were so fickle.

He was envious of the opportunity and even the hardship that others had, but when the opportunity came to him, he felt overwhelmed by the future. 

He did not know what to start with.

‘Uncle said he won’t help me, Jun said his job is acting and he will only give me some advice…’

Well, that advice seemed to be very difficult too.

If he wrote the script with a light heart and gave it to him, he might have to say ‘Oh, no, Jun. That’s not it…’ and sweat all day long holding his phone.

‘No, maybe Jun would come to LA right away.’

He felt dizzy just imagining it.

And when he recalled what the person in charge of [Jin Natra Series (tentative title)] said about how important this project was for Marinesa, his shoulders felt heavy.

“…But I’m not going to give up.”

He rubbed his reddened forehead with the pain that came late and lifted his head. His clear blue eyes sparkled, as if he had forgotten his worries.

Jonathan knew a director and a young actor who had worked hard for months for a work, for acting. He had watched the process himself.

How many scripts did the director revise, how many episodes did he erase and remake and erase again.

How many videos did the young actor practice, how many emotions did he worry about even in the smallest details.

“Compared to that, I’m lucky.”

He had a production company that pushed him all the way, and a reliable actor who would show great acting.

Clap!

He slapped his cheeks with both hands and got up from the chair. He headed to the bookshelf. There were printed papers in it.

“First, this and… this…”

The stories of the characters that appeared in [Shadowman Series], which he made for fun and laughed, thinking ‘What if I directed it?’.

Between [Shadowman1] and [Shadowman2], the stories of Jin Natra, who became the twin sons of Tul Natra, how he lived on Natra planet, which was completely different from Earth, whether he had friends or not, or whether no one was with Jin Natra.

There were stories that Jonathan had imagined in his own way.

There were also stories after [Shadowman3]. 

The story of Tul Natra, who stepped down from the throne, the story of Bel Natra, who became the king by accident, and the story of Shadowman, Mac (Mul Natra), who continued to work on Earth.

And the story of Jin Natra, William Lee, who became an ordinary person.

Of course, they were just stories that he had imagined for fun (maybe thinking that he could make them someday). But now that his fanfic was going to be official, his heart was pounding.

The papers were full of various stories on the desk.

‘I have to take out what I need and leave what I don’t.’

Unlike before, when he wrote whatever came to his mind without a clear plot, he had to make a proper synopsis and script, so he had a lot to do.

“I have to add some subplots too, since it’s a series.”

He was also planning to make a movie like [Assemble], where the second-generation heroes gathered, so he thought it would be better to consider that too.

He shook his head with a complicated mind.

“Let’s do it one by one. One by one.”

He decided to solve what was in front of him first.

Jonathan Will, the director, looked at the empty monitor. 

The black cursor was still blinking.

Tap tap.

The director typed on the keyboard.

[JIN NATRA]

By the way, he had to change the name of [Jin Natra Series], which was a temporary title.

“Jin Natra is the name of the villain.”

And…

Knock knock-

When the director was about to continue his thoughts, he heard a knock. 

There were only him and Uncle Ryan in this house, so the person who knocked must have been his uncle.

“Did you come to help…!..You didn’t.”

Ryan Will was the type of person who would not take back his words even if his nephew begged and threw a tantrum. 

Especially if his nephew was not a kid anymore but in his thirties.

‘You are a bit soft on Jun, though.’

That’s discrimination. Uncle.

He grumbled inwardly, but Jonathan headed to the door.

As expected, the person who knocked was Ryan Will, the director.

“What is it?”

“Come with me.”

“Huh? Okay.”

He followed Ryan to the study that Ryan used. Many scripts, such as [Shadowman], were written here.

The books, the unfinished scripts, the completed but unmade works.

He was amazed every time he saw this place.

He hoped that his study would look like this someday. 

He followed Ryan to one side of the study, where there were two cardboard boxes.

“You can take these.”

“What are these?”

Jonathan crouched down and opened one of the boxes. There were papers in the box. 

He took one out and flipped the cover to look at it, and his mouth opened wide without knowing.

Ryan said.

“These are the character settings I wrote when I made Shadowman. There are some that I discarded and some that I couldn’t fit in the movie. You don’t have to apply them all, just use them if you find something useful.”

They were probably the materials that he had written from before he made [Shadowman1] to when he made [Shadowman3]. There were two boxes full of such materials.

He looked at the materials in his hand and looked at Ryan with a tearful face.

“…Uncle…!”

I’m sorry for thinking that you were discriminating…!

“Thank you! I’ll use them well!”

Ryan looked at his nephew with a touched expression and said with his usual expressionless face.

“That’s enough. I was going to give them to you even if you weren’t the director. I don’t want to see Jin Natra’s movie ruined even if I don’t make it.”

Crunch-

The sincerity in Ryan’s words burned Jonathan’s emotion to ashes.

***

-That’s what happened!!

“Hahaha.”

Jun laughed at Jonathan’s lament.

The frequency of contact increased after Jonathan Will was decided as the director of [Jin Natra Series (tentative title)]. 

Jun thought it was good that the director and the lead actor got along well. The shooting would go well too.

“How were the materials that Ryan gave you?”

Seo-jun had only seen the finished script, not the settings that were omitted from the movie. 

He didn’t need to analyze them since they didn’t appear in the film anyway.

-It’s true that the movie had a limited time, so there were quite a few settings that were not explained. But I think it would be hard to include them all in our movie.

I guess so.

Seo-jun nodded. Director Ryan must have had a reason to exclude those settings from the [Shadowman Series]. 

They were either too difficult and complex for the audience to understand, or too vast or trivial to fit in the movie.

-For now, I’m just going to use them as references, like uncle said.

“I think that’s a good idea. This is Jonathan’s movie, after all.”

-Hehehe. Right?

His own movie.

That word made Jonathan smile happily, and Seo-jun felt good too. 

It was a refreshing feeling to make a new work in a series.

“Is the synopsis done?”

-Almost half done.

The director was decided not too long ago, but he already wrote half of it. 

That meant he had some episodes in mind from before. 

Did Jonathan want to make the [Jin Natra Series (tentative title)] since a long time ago?

Seo-jun grinned.

The sight of someone pursuing their dream was happy for the viewer too.

-But the script might change again when I start writing it.

“That’s true. It might change during the shooting too.”

-Ugh. But it won’t be like [Survivors], right?

“Hahaha.”

Even after a few years, [Survivors], or more precisely, the way [Survivors] was filmed (the actors’ ad-libs and the director’s on-the-spot script writing) was still a hot topic in Hollywood.

“Yes. That was because of Davis, and I’m the type who acts according to the script, so don’t worry.”

And then, Seo-jun Lee, the actor who ran wild as much as Davis Garrett during the filming of [Survivors], said.

If the actors who were hit by the two actors, Milan Chellen and Vanessa Olsen, and the person in charge of [Survivors] heard that, they would shake their heads in disbelief.

The director, Jeffrey Rodex, ran wild with them, and the child actor, Andrew Walker, liked Seo-jun, so he was fine with anything, so they were exceptions.

-Phew. That’s a relief.

Jonathan sighed in relief, and Seo-jun laughed.

Well, acting according to the script also depended on whether he liked the script or not.

‘If it’s Jonathan.’

He had known him since he was four years old.

He was the most trustworthy director (except for Director Ryan).

“Then show me the synopsis when you finish it.”

-Okay. Got it.

Hahaha.

The call between the director and the actor who would make the work together ended happily.

***

It was November after the midterm exams.

He was worried that he wouldn’t be able to adjust to his daily life because of the military and the filming, but he was doing well in college, doing his assignments and taking exams diligently.

He met new students (aspiring actors) and took classes related to acting, and occasionally talked to Jonathan. 

That alone made Seo-jun’s days enjoyable.

-They said [Universe] will be released on the 30th.

-?..Are you kidding?

Meanwhile, the launch date of Marin’s OTT platform [Universe] was also announced.

As everyone had feared, it was the last day of November.

November 30th.

-Just say it’s December.

=Then they might release it on December 31st.

=Sorryyyy!!! (Banging head)

=LOL

-That’s fine. As long as it comes out. As long as it comes out…(Distant mountain)

=22 Just wait a little longer.

-When can I apply for the event that they said they would rent out a theater? I want to apply!

=?? That’s over.

=22 It ended a long time ago.

=Already???

=The newbies are so fierce LOL

=But they said they would recruit again, so if you wait, they might do it again.

=But if the newbies apply, it might be sold out LOL

The anticipation for [Over the Rainbow 2], which would be uploaded with [Universe], also grew.

-Will the concert scenes that they promoted in the article be shown?

=New York and Chicago? I think so.

=If there are too many concert scenes, won’t there be less story?

=22 Just playing music all the time.

=That’s fine too. Just play it and do something else.

=But it’s Gray’s music?? It might be possible to get used to it, but… How long do you have to listen to get used to it LOL

=22 I failed the exam after studying with [Over the Rainbow] and NO.1 playing.

=33 (Same as above comment) 2nd person.

=LOL

***

“They said they will start promoting [Over the Rainbow 2] soon.”

Cocoa Enter, 8th floor, actor Seo-jun Lee’s exclusive practice room.

Seo-jun nodded at Choi Tae-woo’s words.

He came to Cocoa Enter today to watch the cookie video of [Over the Rainbow 2] and read the synopsis that Jonathan Will, the director, sent him.

“Tae-woo hyung. Did Da-ho hyung watch the cookie video too?”

“Yeah. He said it was okay.”

As he said, the edited cookie video of [Over the Rainbow 2] was a bit embarrassing and awkward, but there was nothing wrong with it.

“This is the synopsis of the Jin Natra movie. I’ll be out, so take your time and read it.”

“Okay. I will.”

Choi Tae-woo left the practice room and Seo-jun sat on the soft sofa and started reading the synopsis.

He liked the synopsis that he read half of last time. 

There were some changes after that, he wondered what they were. He smiled with curiosity and pleasure.

Seo-jun slowly looked over the basics of the character he would have to act for the next few years.

The blinking of his eyes reading the synopsis slowed down.

He read slowly, not missing a single letter, as if reviewing it. 

The black eyes that looked at the period moved back to the upper sentence. 

And then he turned back to the previous page.

He read more carefully to see if he had read anything wrong, or if there was another meaning.

But the synopsis did not change.

He sighed softly and put down the synopsis he had finished reading and picked up his phone. 

The other person answered the phone right away.

“Tae-woo hyung.”

-Yeah?

“Please book me a flight to LA right now.”

Seo-jun’s eyes, looking at the synopsis on the table, shone calmly.