Superstar From Age 0

Chapter 261

The seven teams that would perform on stage today were having their final rehearsals in their respective practice rooms.

The first team to go on stage was the one with Jiho, who was busy preparing for the upcoming show time. 

The next team was the one with Juhee. 

The second team was also practicing passionately, not falling behind the first team.

And after four teams finished, it would be the mirror team’s turn.

“Let’s check everything calmly, we still have some time.”

The kids nodded at Seo-jun’s words.

As they were working hard in front of the stage, the acting teacher of the third grade came to see them. 

The teacher gathered the team leaders in the hallway and said something, and the six team leaders all looked at one person. 

At the end of their gaze was Lee Seo-jun, who had gathered the directors.

Seo-jun scratched his cheek at his friends’ stares. 

He also thought that the graduation performance video uploaded on YouTube was bland, but he never dreamed that things would turn out like this.

The teacher smiled and opened his mouth.

“Until now, we’ve been uploading the graduation performance in the same way, but since it’s come to this, there were a lot of opinions that it would be okay to change it from this year. So I’m thinking of inviting some directors to film it for you next year. If you’re okay with it, why don’t you leave this year’s filming to the three directors?”

The team leaders went back to their practice rooms and told the kids what they had heard, and they unanimously agreed to entrust the filming. 

The teacher nodded as if he expected that and said.

“Then do you all have your scripts? Mark the parts that you think would be best filmed, or that you want to emphasize, and give me one copy each. I’ll make copies and deliver them to the directors.”

“Yes!”

The kids who were nervous about the performance until a while ago gathered around their team’s script with excited faces.

***

The school gate closed at 1 p.m. 

It was to prevent outsiders from entering. 

Reporters who were looking for prey hovered around the gate, but they couldn’t get inside.

Seo Eunhye and Lee Minjun, who arrived a little early and looked around Yeoul Arts High School, sat in the seats marked on the tickets Seo-jun gave them.

The seats on the tickets were random, but they were lucky enough to get a central seat where they could see the stage well.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Seo-jun’s play.”

“Right. It was when Bom was in first grade, so it’s been eight years.”

“Seo-jun only did voice acting in Bom’s play. This is the first time I’ve seen a play where Seo-jun clearly appears, so I have to take a picture of him in makeup later. I was disappointed that he was in plain clothes back then.”

Seo Eunhye smiled brightly with a camera in her hand. 

Lee Minjun nodded with a smile and noticed some people standing on the stairs of the auditorium.

“Isn’t that Director Choi Daeman? Why is Director Choi Daeman there?”

“Huh? Director Woo Jeonghan and PD Choi Minseong are there too?”

They had heard that famous directors who gave special lectures would come to see today’s graduation performance, but they didn’t know why they were holding cameras there. 

Not only the couple, but also the parents of acting students tilted their heads.

***

As everyone took their seats, including special guest lecturers, parents of acting students, and high-ranking officials from ATR Foundation, the students entered Yeoul Hall.

The acting teacher of the first grade led the first and second graders of acting to their seats. 

The seats for the kids were right in front of the stage where Yang Juhee joked earlier, but there were no chairs there. 

Now folding chairs were placed there.

The seats near the entrance were left empty for the kids who would finish their plays.

The teacher looked at the first and second graders of acting and said.

“This is the best seat. You can hear even the breath of the actors and see their movements and tremors best. Acting first grade.”

“Yes!”

“Acting second grade.”

“Yes!”

“Watch and learn from your seniors’ acting.”

Their seniors who made a name for themselves in the world and their seniors who took classes with them for three years.

The eyes of acting kids sparkled like stars.

“Yes!!”

***

While everyone was finding their seats, the three actors spotted Lee Dajin who had just entered Yeoul Hall. 

Lee Dajin greeted So Eunjin, a writer she met for the first time, and looked surprised when she saw three directors talking with each other while looking at Team 1’s script on the stairs of auditorium.

“Wow. How did you get to meet those three?”

“The video will be pretty good too. I’m glad Seo-jun can leave his play in a cool video.”

“Six of them.”

Kim Jongho and Lee Jiseok smiled satisfied. Park Dohoon, Lee Dajin, and So Eunjin laughed at the two actors who got along well at times like this.

***

The broadcast announced that the graduation performance would begin at 1:30 p.m. 

There was also a story that there would be a break time for the next team to prepare after each team’s play ended.

“There’s a break time.”

“Well, it would be hard to watch seven in a row.”

Seo Eunhye and Lee Minjun nodded.

[The first order is acting third grade Han Jiho, Kim Sooyeon…]

The description of Team 1 flowed through the broadcast and Yeoul Hall darkened.

The names of the actors who appeared as actors, as well as the names of the music and art students who helped them, were all mentioned without omission.

[Please give them a round of applause.]

A loud applause sounded and the curtain slowly rose.

***

“Let’s go and get ready now.”

The teacher told the mirror team that Team 6 had gone on stage. 

Seo-jun and the kids who were having their final rehearsal in Room 5 left the practice room and headed to the waiting room next to Yeoul Hall.

The background team checked the props again and the music team leader checked the music while the actors changed their clothes. 

They all had to change their clothes because they were wearing uniforms.

“Minhyung picked these clothes. They really suit the play.”

“I think so too.”

Seo-jun agreed with Juhee’s words. 

Seo-jun gave a rough idea of the color and shape, but the clothes that Park Minhyung brought matched perfectly with the play and the characters.

“Thank you!”

Park Minhyung’s cheeks turned red with emotion at his seniors’ compliments. 

Everyone laughed at the cute first grader.

That’s how the mirror team relaxed their nerves while Team 6’s performance ended and applause rang out.

The curtain came down and only the last order was left. 

The lights in the theater turned on and there was a short break while Team 6’s stage was cleared and Team 7’s stage was set up.

“This way!”

“Minhyung! Where do I put this?”

“That goes over there!”

“Here?”

“Yes!”

The background team leader and the first grader divided the stage in half and directed it.

They checked every single decoration on the wall without missing anything. 

Park Minhyung, who was checking the checklist and comparing it with the photos taken during rehearsal, shouted.

“Seniors! We’re done!”

“Yeah. We’re done here too.”

The background team kids who had finished their work perfectly smiled and came down from the stage. 

There, all of the mirror team’s music team and actor team kids were gathered.

“Ew. Do we really have to do this?”

The background team leader shivered.

“Why? I like it.”

The third grader of music team smiled as if it was fun.

“Me too!”

“Who knows when we’ll get to do this again!”

The first and second graders also sparkled their eyes.

Seo Jun, the proposer, smiled and reached out his hand.

The indispensable thing for a play.

On top of Seo Jun’s hand, Yang Ju Hee’s hand, Kang Jae Han’s hand, Park Si Young’s hand, and Jeon Seong Min’s hand went up. 

And the music team, the background team kids also stretched out their hands.

“You all worked hard for the whole second semester.”

The kids also opened their mouths at Seo Jun’s words.

“Show us a cool play.”

“Let’s surprise everyone!”

“It’ll be awesome if you do it like rehearsal!”

The actors and Seo Jun smiled at the sparkling eyes of their friends and juniors.

“Leave it to us.”

The mirror team kids laughed happily at Seo Jun’s reliable words.

“One, two…!”

“Mirror team, fighting!”

***

The curtain that hid the stage had not risen yet.

But even though it was still break time, the expectation of Seo Jun’s play filled the Yeoul Hall with a silent anticipation.

From team 1 to team 6, the kids who had just been on stage also took their seats in the empty seats and looked at the stage. 

The team 6 kids were still in their costumes. 

The mirror team’s music team and background team kids also sat down.

The first and last stage. Maybe a stage that they would never see again.

Choi Dae Man, director, Woo Jeong Han, director, and Choi Min Seong, PD, captured the stage with the curtain down in their camera lenses. 

This silence mixed with anticipation was worth filming.

The three directors held their breaths and tried to slow down their heartbeats and maintain their composure as much as possible. 

They knew Seo Jun’s acting that captivated everyone’s eyes, so they couldn’t help but be nervous. 

They wanted to capture the heat on stage and the hearts of the audience without any disturbance in their cameras.

[This is a play based on the novel ‘Mirror’, by acting department 3rd year Lee Seo Jun, Yang Ju Hee, Park Si Young, Jeon Seong Min, music department 3rd year Kim Chae Yeon… and art department 1st year Park Min Hyung. Please give them a round of applause.]

Finally.

A loud applause filled the Yeoul Hall and the curtain slowly rose.

The stage had turned into a familiar hospital.

It seemed that they used half of the stage, as only the right side of the stage was lit. 

The audience’s eyes turned to the right. 

The right side of the stage was decorated as a lobby where patients waited and applied.

There were soft sofas for patients to sit and wait, and a counter where a nurse was standing. 

Park Si Young, who played the nurse role, was organizing charts at the lobby counter.

Ring.

Then the phone rang. 

The nurse who was organizing the charts answered the phone and pretended to talk, but no voice was heard.

And shortly after.

Ding dong.

A bell rang and the nurse at the counter greeted the person who came out from the end of the stage with a smile.

“Are you here? Doctor.”

Yang Ju Hee, wearing a sky-blue striped shirt and jacket, smiled and greeted her.

“Yes. Did you have lunch?”

“I just ate. Oh, doctor. There’s a patient waiting for you in the clinic.”

“Oh, really?”

The doctor nodded his head at the nurse’s words and headed to the center of the stage. 

It was where it met with the completely dark left stage.

When Yang Ju Hee pretended to open the door, squeak, a sound of opening the door was heard and a light shone on the left side of the stage as well.

The audience’s eyes finally turned to the left side of the stage.

The left side of the stage was a clinic with a doctor’s desk and a monitor. 

Unlike ordinary clinics that only have small chairs, there were sofas and tables on the stage clinic.

The sofa was placed in a shape so that it could be seen well from the audience seats.

A man wearing a white fluffy sweater sat on the sofa facing the audience seats with his head slightly bowed.

When the doctor stepped inside, the light on the right side of the stage, which was a hospital lobby, went out. 

The audience focused entirely on the clinic.

Feeling his presence, the man raised his head. 

He was a young man with a gentle face.

“I’m sorry I’m late. It was lunchtime.”

“No, no.”

“Just a moment.”

The doctor who naturally entered inside took off his jacket on a hanger and put on a white doctor’s gown. 

He put a stethoscope around his neck and sat on an upper seat on the sofa.

The audience quietly looked at Yang Ju Hee’s side profile sitting on the sofa and Lee Seo Jun.

‘Is it because it’s the beginning? It’s ordinary?’

The doctor picked up the chart prepared on the table in front of the sofa and took out a pen from his gown pocket.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Jeong Chae Won. What’s your name?”

“Hello. I’m Kim Jin Woo.”

“Can I call you Jin Woo?”

“Yes. Doctor.”

Kim Jin Woo smiled gently as softly as his voice. 

His slightly curly hair and slightly smiling expression seemed to show Kim Jin Woo’s personality. 

Jeong Chae Won also smiled at the comfortable atmosphere.

He got up from his seat and went to one side of the clinic and brought two cups of tea.

“This is a tea I received as a gift recently. It smells good and tastes good. Would you like to try it?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Kim Jin Woo took the cup of tea from Jeong Chae Won and fiddled with the warm cup and put it down on the table.

“Did you come to our hospital because… you have something to worry about?”

“…Yes.”

A slight shadow crossed Kim Jin Woo’s face, who had been smiling softly. 

He looked pitiful, trying to smile. Jeong Chae Won asked kindly while drinking tea.

“Can you tell me if it’s not too hard for you?”

Kim Jin Woo nodded his head. 

The reason he came here in the first place was to get help from an expert. 

He leaned forward slightly, hunched over, and fiddled with his hands, then hesitated a little and opened his mouth.

“Lately… there are people who are trying to kill me.”

“…I see.”

Jeong Chae Won opened his mouth after a pause and nodded his head. 

Kim Jin Woo, who felt a moment of silence, said with a bitter face. He looked like a wet puppy.

“It’s not a lie. Doctor.”

Kim Jin Woo’s expression was not one of accusing or resenting Jeong Chae Won for not believing his words. 

He just looked a little sad that he got this reaction even at the last place he visited.

Jeong Chae Won’s eyes changed a little.

He became interested in Kim Jin Woo’s reaction, which was not stubbornly insisting.

“Who are the people who are trying to kill Jin Woo?”

“I don’t know two of them very well.”

“Two of them? Then is there someone else?”

“Yes. That person… I know who… where he is.”

Jeong Chae Won tilted his head.

“Then why don’t you report it to the police? I’m a psychiatrist, so I can’t help you.”

Kim Jin Woo sighed heavily and licked his lips before barely spitting out the words.

“I did.”

“Yes?”

“…Another me… is trying to kill me.”