Superstar From Age 0

Chapter 683

[Actor Lee Seo-jun’s fan meeting for three days starting today!]

-Ahhhh!! I’m so excited!!!

-I’m in Busan. On the train.

-I arrived in Korea yesterday and I’m staying at a hotel!!

-The fan meeting is in the afternoon but my heart has been pounding since dawn!

=222 I don’t think I slept well.

=Me too, it’s my first time going to Seo-jun’s fan meeting I was too excited to sleep

=We’re not kids going on a picnic the day before… I’m the same

=

-…I’m jealous. You guys all got the tickets.

=222 Lucky

=333 Please post your reviews soon.

Like a line from a book that said, “If you come at four o’clock, I’ll be happy from three o’clock”, the sprouts were happy even before the fan meeting started, no, ever since the fan meeting announcement was posted.

“Please check the props for the play!”

The staff and employees of Cocoa Entertainment were busy moving around to make the superstar’s fan meeting a success without any mistakes.

Of course, they had prepared thoroughly for several days until yesterday, but human affairs were unpredictable. Something could have gone wrong overnight or there could have been an unforeseen error, so they had to check everything thoroughly.

“All costumes checked.”

“Then…”

There was a man at the center of the verification process.

The man who checked the checklist and gave instructions was watched by the singers’ team employees from a distance.

“Director Ahn is here too?”

“It’s Seo-jun’s fan meeting, isn’t it?”

They nodded their heads without realizing it.

He was Director Ahn Da-ho, who was known as the eight-armed director even by the new employees of the singers’ team.

Under the direct supervision of Director Ahn Da-ho of the actors’ team, Seo-jun’s fan meeting preparation was progressing smoothly.

“Contact the musicians to come on time for the rehearsal…”

As Director Ahn was about to give another instruction, the entrance for the staff near the entrance buzzed.

‘Did something go wrong?’

Director Ahn’s brow furrowed.

He wanted to make Seo-jun’s fan meeting a success without any mistakes more than ever, since it was the first one in a long time, but it seemed like there was already a problem.

“Da-ho hyung! I’m here!”

But soon, the wrinkles on his forehead smoothed out.

“Seo-jun.”

It was because of Seo-jun, who was waving his hand with a bright smile among the surprised staff.

Next to Seo-jun was Manager Choi Tae-woo, who was supposed to bring Seo-jun on time for the rehearsal, with a helpless expression on his face.

“Why did you come so early?”

The arrival time for the performers was an hour before the rehearsal, and there were still a few hours left.

“I couldn’t wait at home!”

Seo-jun, who had a look of excitement on his face as if he was watching a work or acting, made Director Ahn laugh. It seemed that he was not the only one who was excited from early on.

“Is there anything I can help you with, Da-ho hyung?”

Director Ahn thought for a moment as he saw Seo-jun’s eyes sparkling.

‘Normally, it would be better to have him wait in the waiting room.’

But looking at Seo-jun, who was looking around the fan meeting hall with a flushed face, he didn’t seem like he would wait quietly.

‘He’ll probably go around and help the staff.’

The staff, who were nervous about messing up the work of an actor who had only acted since he was a child, would blink their eyes and raise question marks above their heads at the sight of Seo-jun helping them with some parts more skillfully than themselves.

‘And in the meantime, they’ll all get used to Seo-jun’s work ethic and take advantage of him.’

As if a good staff member had joined them.

Just like he did when he appeared on [Running Man!] before.

Director Ahn would be able to find Seo-jun like that, but Manager Choi Tae-woo, who was not yet familiar with Seo-jun, would have a hard time.

‘Then it would be better to leave him somewhere noticeable.’

It would be better to leave him somewhere noticeable than to have him go to a secluded place and cause trouble. If Seo-jun knew Director Ahn’s thoughts, he would sigh and ask if he looked like an eight-year-old kid who had no sense of judgment.

“Can you please check the stage for me?”

“Leave it to me!”

Without knowing Director Ahn’s thoughts, Seo-jun climbed onto the stage where everyone could see him well.

The staff, who were quietly talking to each other, followed Seo-jun’s back with their eyes.

There was nothing yet, just Seo-jun standing there, but the air on the stage seemed to change. He had a power that made them focus without realizing it.

“Hoo.”

Seo-jun, who stood in the center of the stage and looked around the empty audience seats, let out a light breath. He had come to check the fan meeting hall a few times, but his chest still swelled.

The sprouts that would fill these audience seats.

He was excited when there were regular audiences, but he was even more excited when the sprouts came. He wanted to show them a better stage, a cooler appearance.

That’s why he came earlier than scheduled.

‘Sorry, Tae-woo hyung…’

He thought of Manager Choi Tae-woo, who must have been troubled by his stubbornness, and scratched his cheek, then started to check the stage.

“I’m sorry. Seo-jun insisted on leaving early…”

Manager Choi Tae-woo said that they were still preparing, but Seo-jun, who knew how Director Ahn and the actors’ team worked, knew that they had already finished preparing for the fan meeting and were just checking the last things.

They had known each other for a long time.

“It’s okay. I can guess how it was.”

Director Ahn said with a smile.

He would have raised both hands and agreed if Seo-jun said he wanted to do something.

“But is it okay? If Seo-jun checks it…”

Manager Choi Tae-woo asked as he watched Seo-jun, who was checking something (probably the movement or the placement of the musicians) on the stage. Director Ahn laughed and said.

“There’s no one more expert than Seo-jun when it comes to the stage.”

The lights on the stage moved back and forth. Seo-jun nodded as he saw them.

“The lights are good.”

The number and movement of the lights that illuminated the stage when he performed music and talked with the sprouts were simple, and the timing of changing the lights for the play [Mirror], which required frequent changes, was already well known, so there was nothing to fix.

-Lights check.

The lighting director smiled brightly.

-We’ll check the microphone now.

“Okay.”

Next was the microphone check.

A staff member from team 1 handed Seo-jun a microphone on the stage.

[Ah-]

Seo-jun’s voice filled the hall through the speakers.

[Is this the microphone for talking?]

-Yes, that’s right.

Seo-jun nodded his head. The sound was not too loud, but it was clear enough to reach the back of the room.

After that, he checked each of the pin microphones that would be used for the play [Mirror], and made sure that the emergency ones were also ready.

“Unni, can I check the instrument microphones now?”

“Instrument ones too?”

The team 1 staff blinked at Seo-jun’s words.

The microphones that captured the sound of the instruments had a different resonance from the human voice, so they planned to check them before the rehearsal when the musicians arrived.

“Yes.”

“Okay. You have to check the violin and piano microphones yourself anyway.”

It was not a special thing for Seo-jun, who played the violin and the piano, to check the microphones himself.

“And the other instrument microphones too.”

“Got it.”

The team 1 staff smiled and nodded, finding Seo-jun’s enthusiasm for the fan meeting cute.

That’s how the instrument microphones were prepared in front of Seo-jun. Each microphone had the name of the corresponding instrument attached to it, making it easy to distinguish.

First, the microphone that would transfer the violin sound to the speaker.

Contrary to the staff’s expectation that he would play the violin to adjust it,

[Ah-]

Seo-jun checked the sound with his voice.

“…Is that okay?”

“I don’t know. But he’s Gray.”

“Ah.”

The staff who were puzzled by his words nodded at that one word.

[Ah- Please lower this one a little. A little more. Yes. That’s good. I’ll check the next microphone.]

That’s how Seo-jun checked the sound with his voice, not only for the violin, but also for the piano and the other instruments that the musicians would play. His instructions were clear, so the speed of checking the microphones was fast.

The Cocoa Entertainment staff talked to each other as they watched the strange and amazing scene. 

Especially the singer team staff, who dealt with a lot of instruments, looked at him with curious eyes.

“Wouldn’t that be a big problem?”

“Right?”

If they got the instrument sound wrong, the audience might hear only that instrument sound when they played. It would be a disaster if the drum sound was too loud in a band performance.

“…Is this okay?”

“I’m a bit worried about the other instruments, but we can always change them again before the rehearsal.”

“But Seo-jun will probably adjust the other instrument microphones well too.”

“Right! I saw him practice with the group last time and he was amazing!”

The infinite trust in Seo-jun.

The singer team staff looked at the team 1 staff with sour eyes. They seemed to be as devoted to him as Director Ahn Da-ho.

“I wonder if our work is just increasing.”

“Right.”

Sigh.

The singer team staff let out a small sigh, thinking that it would be a tough rehearsal.

Time passed, and it was time for the rehearsal.

“You already adjusted them?”

“Uh, Actor Seo-jun…”

None of the musicians who arrived thought that the microphones that Seo-jun had adjusted in advance were strange. The singer team staff’s puzzlement grew.

“We’ll start the rehearsal!”

And as the rehearsal performance began, the singer team staff opened their mouths in astonishment.

“Actor Seo-jun… Did he have perfect pitch?”

Through the microphones that Seo-jun had adjusted with his voice only, the sound of the instruments flowing from the speakers formed a perfect harmony.

***

As the fan meeting time approached, the area near the fan meeting hall began to buzz with sprouts.

“Wow! Hello!”

“Kyaa! Nice to meet you!”

They met friends who they had only contacted through SNS and greeted them like old friends (they had exchanged messages for more than 10 years).

“Here, take this!”

“Oh, wait a minute. I have something too. Here!”

“Thank you!”

They also exchanged homemade goods and snacks.

“…This is really a coincidence.”

“Right?”

They also met sprouts who they had met by chance at the last fan meeting.

“No one would believe this if we told them.”

Kang Tae-young, Song Yu-jung, and Im Ye-na said that and smiled softly at each other.

They had hidden their faces with hats and scarves, but Kang Tae-young had met Song Yu-jung and Im Ye-na while looking for Seo-jun’s goods.

“Maybe the seats too?”

They ate the warm snacks that Seo-jun, Cocoa Entertainment, and [From Sprouts] had prepared from the food trucks and checked each other’s tickets. The three sprouts exclaimed in admiration.

“We might meet again at the next fan meeting, right?”

“Right. It’s amazing that we have the same seats…”

“Let’s talk a lot about Seo-jun today!”

At Im Ye-na’s words, Kang Tae-young and Song Yu-jung nodded vigorously.

Wow. I love having fan friends.

Kang Tae-young couldn’t control his excited heart. His invisible tail seemed to spin like a helicopter.

He was close to Seo-jun, but fan friends were a different story.

He couldn’t say things like he wanted to destroy the apartment or the earth when he saw his four works and acting in front of Seo-jun.

“What do you think Shadow and Knight will be about?”

“I think William will be the hero, right?”

“If there are two teddy bears in William’s room, that would be…”

Wow…

After chatting enthusiastically outside in the cold, the three people entered the fan meeting hall and sat down. The fan meeting hall was warm with the fans’ heat and the heater.

This atmosphere is so nice.

His heart was already pounding.

“Did you bring your light stick?”

“Of course!”

At Im Ye-na’s question, Kang Tae-young took out his light stick from his bag.

“Of course, I had a lot of trouble deciding which snow globe model to bring. But I thought he would definitely play, so I brought Over the Rainbow and My Wish, which is my favorite.”

“Us too.”

The three sprouts smiled as they took out the [Over the Rainbow] snow globe and the snow globe of their favorite work.

“What do you think he’ll do today?”

“If he does a play, I think it will be Mirror…”

“It would be better to see it again!”

The three of them had seen [Mirror] at the last fan meeting, but they never got tired of seeing their favorite’s stage.

“Besides, he was young then and now he’s an adult!”

“Right! It feels different!”

What a heartwarming conversation!

Look. Hyung Yong-jin. This is what a fan mate is.

‘What, so what.’ Kang Tae-young seemed to hear the voice of Manager Joo Yong-jin.

As they chatted excitedly, the fan meeting hall slowly darkened.

“I guess it’s time to start.”

“Let’s talk more during the break!”

With the intention of focusing only on the fan meeting, Kang Tae-young, Song Yu-jung, and Im Ye-na looked at the stage. The audience seats also became quiet at the same time, as if the other sprouts had the same idea.

It was so quiet that even the breathing sounds seemed to disappear.

[Clack!]

There was a sound of something hitting.

Unlike the last fan meeting, which started with Seo-jun’s song, this fan meeting seemed to start with a performance.

‘What is it? What is it??’

‘Is it a new play?’

The sprouts’ hearts beat faster at the unexpected performance.

[By the order of His Majesty, who is gracious today,]

A man’s voice was heard.

His Majesty? What His Majesty?

[To give you a beautiful melody, the Grand Prince and the musicians have come.]

At that one word, the sprouts’ hearts sank. And then they started to beat so fast that they felt like they would burst out. As if they had run, they felt like their hearts would explode.

“…Crazy…!”

“…No way?!”

Grand Prince.

At that word, tears filled Kang Tae-young’s eyes. No, everyone in this place looked the same. Really…really…? Some of them were murmuring.

[Clang-!]

There was another sound like before.

Kang Tae-young realized that it was the sound of an instrument, bak, that signaled the start of a Joseon-era performance. Along with that sound, the curtain on the stage rose.

Like a bird spreading its wings, the musicians stretched out on both sides.

In the center, a man in a neat but luxurious hanbok was sitting like the body of a bird. 

The man looked healthy and dignified, with no sign of illness. 

He held a bow in his right hand and lightly placed his left hand on the seven strings.

He had a zither, which looked similar to a gayageum, in front of him, and smiled brightly at the sprouts.

[This is the Grand Prince.]

It was Seong-nyeong, the Grand Prince, who had grown up.