Superstar From Age 0

Chapter 704

Seo-jun, who was happily talking about the set, turned around at the familiar presence. 

He didn’t expect to see Ryan Will, the director, here.

“Director Ryan!”

“Huh? Uncle!”

Jonathan Will, the director, who turned around following Seo-jun, brightened up. Oh, he came to help me…

“I came to watch.”

No, he didn’t.

Well, of course not.

His expression said he was here just to watch and he wouldn’t interfere at all.

But somehow, Jonathan felt reassured.

Jonathan was smiling sheepishly when Melissa Walton and Jo Sung-hwan, who had finished their makeup, arrived at the shooting site.

“Long time no see, Director Ryan!”

Melissa Walton smiled brightly at Ryan Will, the director, who had given her advice on her acting career. Ryan Will also smiled at Melissa Walton, who had a minor role but was indispensable in the [Shadowman Series].

“I didn’t expect to see you here, Melissa. You must have had many other offers.”

He thought it might be hard to cast Melissa Walton, who had a small role and had been the lead in several works, but Jonathan did a great job of casting her. It must have been the actor’s will that played a big part.

She said as if it was obvious.

“I’m the only one who can be William’s mother!”

At that, Seo-jun and Jonathan nodded their heads.

“Nice to meet you, Director Ryan Will.”

Ryan Will shook hands with Jo Sung-hwan, who was a bit nervous to meet another famous person, and felt a bit curious.

“I didn’t expect to meet William’s father like this. I look forward to working with you.”

William’s mother was the same actor that Ryan Will had cast, but William’s father, who first appeared in [Shadow and Knight], was cast by Jonathan Will himself.

He felt a heavy feeling in his chest as he watched the stories that left his hands and were recreated.

They exchanged greetings and Ryan Will stepped back as he had said. He went to a place where he wouldn’t disturb the shooting, next to Seo-jun’s manager, Tae-woo Choi.

Ryan Will greeted Choi Tae-woo and looked at the shooting site. 

The new director and the old and new actors were talking with the set and the script.

‘I wonder what kind of movie will be made…’

He was looking forward to it.

Ryan Will, who had avoided seeing the synopsis, the script, and the rehearsal scenes of [Shadow and Knight], had a look of interest and anticipation in his eyes, as if he was a child reading the [Shadowman] comics.

***

“I feel relieved that Director Ryan is here, but I’m also nervous for some reason.”

“Me too.”

“Me too, a bit.”

The other staff members nodded in agreement with one staff member’s remark. 

Among them were some who had worked on the [Shadowman Series] together.

People who were close to Ryan Will and those who weren’t were all nervous.

“It’s like doing a group project and the professor comes to see it.”

“Right. And not just any professor, but someone who is an authority in this field.”

“So I feel very motivated, but on the other hand, I feel like every letter of my work will be scrutinized.”

They shivered at the thought.

The senior staff member who had finished the final check opened his mouth.

“But it’s not like he came from Marine Studio. He said he wouldn’t come because he attended the funeral yesterday.”

“He did come…”

At that, everyone turned their heads to the studio entrance with a surprised expression.

They saw Peilun Park (current vice president of Marine Studio) greeting Jonathan and the actors, and heading to where Ryan Will was.

“Should we check again?”

“Yes.”

The staff members scattered like a flock of sparrows to check if everything was installed as instructed and if there were any problems.

***

“We’ll start shooting!”

Matthew, the assistant director, raised his voice.

The staff members moved. 

The lights shone on the set, which was decorated like a two-story house that was common in the US, and the camera moved.

Jonathan Will, the director, who was sitting in front of the monitor, looked at the screen and the set alternately with a stiff face, checking if they were the same as he had imagined.

“How is it, okay?”

“Yes, yes!”

Jonathan, the director, who was startled by James, the cinematographer’s question, stuttered and answered.

Seeing him, Seo-jun, who was about to follow Melissa Walton and Jo Sung-hwan, who had just gone up to the set, turned his head.

‘It doesn’t seem like he’s nervous because of Director Ryan.’

He had met Peilun Park a few times, so he didn’t think he was the cause of the tension.

‘Is it because it’s his first shoot?’

As Seo-jun thought, Jonathan’s head was full of the thought that it was his first shoot.

He thought it was a movie of Marine Studio and the starting point of the series that would follow, and he felt his hands getting sweaty without knowing it.

He had to do well.

‘It’s also my first commercial movie…’

But before that, there were people who came to his mind.

The staff who worked hard for the shooting, the directors, the actors and the stuntmen, Marine Studio who invested a large production cost, and the fans who were waiting.

‘And Jun, who willingly helped me with the synopsis.’

He couldn’t disappoint them.

He wanted to do well.

Jonathan Will’s shoulders tensed up.

His tension was felt by Ryan Will and Peilun Park, who were far away. Peilun Park was about to ask Ryan Will, ‘Will he be okay?’ when someone moved first.

“Relax, Jonathan.”

It was the actor Seo-jun Lee.

“We worked really hard on the synopsis, didn’t we?”

Seo-jun smiled.

“That’s what’s going to be made into a video now. By Jonathan’s hands.”

Thump.

His heart, which had been frozen by tension, seemed to start beating.

“We’re going to show the world what we talked about. Our, no, Jonathan’s Shadowman and William Lee.”

Thump thump.

Jonathan Will’s heart, which had been beating slowly, beat faster.

“Jonathan, you’re good enough just by doing what you usually do. Leave the rest to us, the actors. If it’s a convincing scene, we’ll show you more than what Jonathan expected.”

The actor, who was one of the best in the world, said with a sincere face.

How reliable that was, the directors who hadn’t shot with him would never know.

“Okay.”

Jonathan Will, the director, couldn’t help but laugh at the condition of a convincing scene that Seo-jun had set. He felt lighter in his body and mind thanks to him.

“Thank you, Jun.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Seo-jun smiled brightly.

“Then I’ll count on your amazing acting, Jun. And Melissa and Jo, too.”

At Jonathan’s words, Melissa Walton and Jo Sung-hwan, who had been listening to their conversation, smiled.

Seo-jun and the two actors went up to the set.

On the monitor screen, the three actors appeared. 

The background, the costumes, and the actors blended together to create the image of the William family that Jonathan Will had envisioned.

His tension was gone and his heart swelled.

As Jun had said, it was time to create the ‘world’ that he had diligently planned, discussed, and written down.

Maybe Uncle Ryan felt the same way?

He shouted with his heart pounding.

“Ready,”

***

The scale of Marine Studio, which had built a whole two-story house for the set, was no longer surprising to Seo-jun, who went up to the second floor where William Lee’s room was.

William’s house.

He had looked around a while ago, but it still felt a bit unfamiliar and amazing.

The pictures of William Lee (provided by Seo Eun-hye and Lee Min-joon) in the frames that the art team had worked hard to make, and the walls that looked scratched here and there. 

Everywhere was full of traces of someone’s family living there.

‘That’s William’s family.’

William Lee.

And his mom and dad.

The child who had lived without knowing whether he was alive or dead had returned. 

With all his memories of the past two years gone. But his mom and dad were grateful to the heavens for that alone, shedding tears.

How did William grow up under such parents?

Now Seo-jun had to act as ‘that’ William Lee.

He recalled the William Lee that he had come up with in the meeting (?) with Jonathan. 

He felt a bit happy, as if he was meeting an old friend.

‘Good.’

Seo-jun’s eyes sparkled as he went over the script in his head.

“Ready,”

Jonathan’s voice came in good timing. His voice was full of excitement rather than tension. 

Seo-jun, who was standing in front of the camera, felt the same way.

“Action!”

It was time to become William Lee.

***

A residential area in New York.

The two-story house that could be seen anywhere was bustling, probably because it was a weekday morning.

“Are you almost done?”

“Just a minute! Mom!”

The mom who was preparing breakfast raised her voice and an answer came from the second floor.

“Go ahead and eat!”

The mom and dad who were sitting at the table laughed at their son’s cheerful voice.

Anyone who saw this ordinary scene would smile involuntarily.

“But why am I crying?”

“It’s William…”

The staff who knew how much this couple had waited for their beloved son to return, even though it wasn’t shown clearly in the [Shadowman Series], whispered with tears in their eyes.

Meanwhile, the camera was only pointing at the living room on the first floor.

Despite their son’s words to go ahead and eat, the mom and dad decided to wait. 

It was their family rule to eat together in the morning and evening if they weren’t busy. Their son, who knew that, hurried more.

Thump thump!

The mom and dad burst into laughter at the loud noise coming from the second floor.

“Why did you oversleep?”

“Maybe it’s because he has a baseball game soon?”

The mom answered the dad’s question.

The dad nodded as he realized that there wasn’t much time left for the baseball game against another high school.

“He must have been busy with the strategy meeting.”

“Are you going to watch the game?”

“Of course! Our son is the fourth batter!”

The dad said excitedly that he had already applied for a vacation at work. The mom smiled and turned down the heat on the pot.

“Then let’s watch the news until he comes down.”

The dad pressed the remote control and turned on the TV. The news was on, and it was about the meteorite that had fallen from the sky a few days ago.

[The research on the meteorite that fell in Nevada will be conducted by FIRST first…]

Meteorite.

And FIRST.

The couple’s faces hardened at the name of the Earth defense agency that the ‘Assemble’, the group of super heroes, belonged to.

It was a world where super heroes and aliens existed, and they had become numb to the various incidents that had happened over the past decade, but they still couldn’t help but react with their bodies.

“Don’t go there, honey.”

“Don’t worry. It’s in the west, we have no reason to go there.”

As the dad said, the meteorite had fallen in the west of the US.

It was far away from New York, where their home, school, and work were located, so there was no chance for the couple, let alone their high school son, to go there.

Then, they heard a noise from the second floor.

The dad quickly turned off the TV and the mom poured the soup from the pot she had been heating and put it on the table.

The camera that had been shooting only the first floor moved to the stairs.

And it continued to shoot in a way that reminded them of a certain scene.

“Is this the underground temple from Shadowman 3?”

“It seems so.”

Peilun Park’s words made Ryan Will nod. It must have been a homage.

But the feeling that flowed out was completely different from the heavy footsteps of ‘Jin Natra’ who had walked thump thump and exuded tension.

The man who was wearing slippers walked down the stairs with a light but dignified step. The fixed camera screen showed his feet in slippers, casual pants, and a comfortable top.

From below to above.

It seemed like his face would be seen soon, but the camera quickly moved to the back of the man.

A backpack hung on one shoulder of the man swayed. His well-groomed hair, tall height, and sturdy back made him look handsome even from behind.

The camera that had been shooting the back of the man slowly turned to the side and captured his face.

Since it was the first scene where ‘William Lee’ and the audience met, Seo-jun gave a sharp look to make a strong impression.

…!

Then, there was a silent admiration from everywhere at the dazzling Seo-jun, no, William’s appearance.

“Haven’t you eaten yet? I told you to go ahead.”

He smiled gratefully at his mom and dad who had waited for him, the high school student William Lee was standing there.