Superstar From Age 0

Chapter 713

Thanks to his superhuman reflexes, William was able to dodge the water that Mac spat out.

“Cough, cough!”

But Mac couldn’t prevent Sare from coughing as well. 

A scream-like voice from Bell Natra came through his earphone.

-How did you get caught, Mac!

I don’t know!

If it weren’t for William, who was standing in front of him with shining eyes, Mac would have shouted like that.

There were heroes who revealed their identities and acted openly like Redbone, and there were heroes who hid their identities and acted secretly like Shadowman.

He had been doing that for years.

‘There shouldn’t be any chance of getting caught…’

Mac glanced at William, who was looking at him with worried eyes as he coughed.

Did he notice something and ask, or did he just poke him because his physique or voice looked similar?

It was too sudden and he didn’t know what to do.

-What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?!

Bell Natra seemed to be as confused as he was.

It would have been fine if he was exposed to someone else. 

A loose-lipped civilian, or an enemy who would attack his surroundings if they knew his identity.

‘But William… no.’

-Jin, no!

He didn’t know what would trigger the lost memories of William, or Jin Natra.

While he was coughing a few times, Mac’s brain was spinning faster than ever. Maybe faster than when he fought villains with ‘Assemble’, or when he faced death!

But, unfortunately, he couldn’t find a solution.

“Are you okay?”

Mac stopped coughing at William’s kind question and answered.

“Yeah, yeah.”

He had no choice.

He just had to deny and brush it off.

-There’s no solid evidence! Just say no!

Bell Natra seemed to think the same.

‘This wasn’t the conversation I wanted…’

Mac felt tears welling up in his eyes as he thought of the pleasant conversation he had planned a while ago. But he had to make an excuse to William first.

Mac tried to smile naturally and opened his mouth.

“Sorry. I was surprised by your unexpected question. You mean Shadowman, the super hero of First? The one who appeared at the baseball stadium accident? Well, I was there too, but…”

-Idiot! Why are you talking about being at the stadium!?

Mac felt a pang of regret at Bell Natra’s scream-like words. He was so flustered that he said something unnecessary.

“…but! I was able to evacuate quickly, so I didn’t see Shadowman. It’s not very common to meet a hero, so I was a bit disappointed. But I was glad that I could escape without getting hurt. Oh, by the way, you’re the fourth batter of Bayron High School who hit a home run, right?”

-Why are you bringing that up now?!

Topic change! Topic change!

He tried to make William forget about Shadowman by talking about baseball, which was his interest.

“It was a shame. It was a great game. You said you’re going to play against the other high school again…?”

Mac stopped talking when he saw no reaction from William. Our kind William would have said something, but it was strange.

Then he looked at William’s face properly and thought.

…But William?

Why is your head down…?

He swallowed his saliva unknowingly and slowly followed William’s gaze.

Down.

Down.

Somehow,

it was,

extremely,

ominously,

ominous.

The place where William’s gaze was directed was where Mac’s feet were.

To be exact, Mac’s black shadow.

The shadow that should have been fixed according to the sun’s light and the movement of the shadow’s owner,

Poke- poke-

was poking the shadow under William’s feet as if playing a prank.

…Hey!

Mac despaired.

He was stuck.

A shadow that moved freely. It was something that could never happen with the common sense and science of the earth. 

This was no different from confessing that he was Shadowman.

-What? What are you doing now? Why are you both silent?

Bell Natra asked impatiently, not knowing the situation.

William, who was watching Mac’s shadow poking his own shadow, lifted his head. Mac, who was in despair, also lifted his head.

Their eyes met.

‘Right? Shadowman!’ As if to say that, Mac muttered at the certainty in William’s black eyes.

“…My partner messed up.”

-…Oh…

Bell Natra’s sigh came.

“Uh, were you on a mission?”

Mac’s mumbling made William notice the wireless earphone and he looked confused. Mac shook his head weakly.

There was no way to go back unless he erased William’s memory.

He could erase his memory with First’s or alien’s power, but he didn’t know if that would revive the ‘forgotten memories’, so he thought it would be better to ask him to keep his identity secret and not meet him again.

‘I guess I have to stop coming here.’

Mac swallowed his regret and said.

“No. It’s a personal call. Um. Can you sit next to me?”

“Is that okay?”

“It’s okay. I have something to talk to you about.”

William sat next to Mac with a flushed face.

Mac felt his throat burn and drank some water.

This wasn’t the conversation he wanted. He just wanted to talk about the weather or the baseball game today.

Mac swallowed the sigh that was about to come out and opened his mouth. While pressing his partner, who was still poking William’s shadow, with his right foot.

“I’m Mac Brown.”

Mac reached out his hand. William grabbed it with a bright face.

“I’m William Lee.”

-I’m Bell Natra!

He wouldn’t hear it, but.

Already exposed, Bell Natra, who was full of thoughts of listening to his brother Jin’s voice, answered excitedly.

After shaking hands with William, Mac spoke. He felt as if his energy had drained away.

“Can you keep it a secret that I’m Shadowman?”

“Yes! Of course!”

William nodded his head repeatedly.

“I won’t tell even if the villains torture me!”

“…No. Just tell them before you get hurt.”

-Right! Just blow them up, Jin!

But still.

He was happy to have a conversation with William.

“Thank you for saving me at the baseball stadium accident, Mac.”

William, who confirmed that Mac was Shadowman, thanked him first.

-My brother is so kind…

Mac ignored his sister who was out of control and smiled. But to be honest, he felt the same as Bell Natra.

“Don’t mention it. I’m glad you weren’t hurt either. You did well saving the kid. But you should evacuate first next time. What if you get hurt too? Your parents would be worried.”

He ended up nagging him.

‘But he won’t do anything reckless in the future if I say this.’

Mac’s words made William look a bit sullen, but he soon nodded.

“But can I ask how you recognized me?”

“Jay told me!”

William cleared his displeased expression and answered with a bright smile. He seemed to have been waiting for this question.

“Jay?”

-Jay?

Is there someone else who knows Shadowman’s identity?

-Mac, are you actually exposed to everyone?

I know, right.

I don’t know where my secret identity went.

“Um. How did that friend Jay know?”

“He was doubtful, but he knew right away when he met you at the stadium.”

“The stadium?”

Mac recalled the people he met at the stadium. His brow furrowed involuntarily. He had saved too many people, young and old, to guess who ‘Jay’ was.

-He knew right away… Was there something specific that he could identify? Don’t you have to be careful, Mac?

He thought the same. Mac spoke with a serious expression.

“Can I meet that friend Jay?”

“Yes! I wanted to introduce him to you too!”

William smiled brightly and nodded.

“Then we have to make an appointment…”

“No, it’s okay. He’s here.”

“Here?”

Mac looked around.

He had been on guard since Shadowman’s story came up, so he knew there was no one nearby. William wasn’t talking on a wireless earphone like him either.

“Here below.”

William smiled brightly and pointed down with his hand.

“Below?”

Mac’s eyes followed William’s hand down, to the ground. 

There was still Mac’s shadow, his partner, who was playing a prank (I’ll see you later.), and William’s shadow, who was also poking his partner as if they belonged together…?

“…No, why is he moving?”

He was so surprised that he blurted out without knowing. His face showed surprise and horror. If he had been drinking water, he would have spat it out bigger than before, or even bigger than that.

William smiled broadly and said.

“My shadow friend, Jay.”

!!!

Mac opened his mouth wide and looked at William’s feet with trembling eyes.

-What? Shadow friend? What does that mean?!

He didn’t hear Bell Natra’s voice.

Under the warm sunlight on the bench.

Two shadows with self-awareness were bickering and playing.

***

“Cut! Okay!”

Jonathan, the director, decided to take a break after a long shoot.

“The actors are so good that there’s no problem.”

James, the cinematographer, agreed with Jonathan’s words.

“That’s right. There’s no NG and no need to give any instructions.”

Seo-jun Lee and Evan Block.

They were amazing actors who finished each take without any hesitation or loss of concentration, even in the long and repetitive shooting.

“Did I do too poorly? Would it have been different if Uncle Ryan was here?”

“No. The footage was okay in my eyes. Jun and Evan didn’t ask to shoot again.”

Jonathan sighed with relief as he looked at the two actors who were monitoring. Seo-jun Lee and Evan Block, who were both very picky, seemed satisfied and smiled.

After a short break,

the shooting resumed.

“Ready, action!”

William, who was staring blankly at his shadow, or rather ‘Jay’, spoke to Mac.

“I didn’t go to save them recklessly at the baseball stadium accident, I trusted Jay and went.”

Shadowman appeared right before William, who was holding the child, shouted ‘Jay!’.

“And Jay also told me Shadowman’s identity.”

Here, Seo-jun shot a flashback scene alone.

A while ago.

When William was jogging as usual.

‘Jay’, who would have been quiet normally, stretched his shadow and tapped William’s ankle.

“Huh? What’s up?”

William, who was curious about Jay’s reaction, stopped and crouched down to communicate with his shadow friend. To avoid being seen as weird by others, he pretended to tie his shoelaces.

Then Jay stretched his shadow and made a shape like a few pillars and a net over them. William squinted his eyes.

“Where have I seen this… Baseball stadium? Shadowman?”

Jay, who popped out, nodded his head.

Then he pointed with his hand, or rather, stretched his shadow a little and pointed to one side. William turned his head following that shadow hand(?). A man sitting on a bench was opening a bottle of water.

William blinked his eyes.

Baseball stadium. Shadowman. Man.

“…Don’t tell me that guy is Shadowman, Jay?”

Jay nodded his head again.

Then William’s eyes sparkled.