Superstar From Age 0 - Chapter 154
Chapter 154
Yeoul Arts Middle School was silent.
They decided to keep their mouths shut, in case Lee Seo-jun or his parents, or Cocoa Entertainment, would cancel his admission if they spoke too soon.
It was certain that the news of his audition would spread through the students and parents on the day of the practical exam.
So even after the last day of application for Yeoul Arts Middle School, no one knew which school Lee Seo-jun had applied to.
-?? Where did Lee Seo-jun apply?
=It hasn’t been announced yet.
-What are they doing?
-Yeah. Let’s keep it a secret like in elementary school.
– We all know but we don’t say the name of that place.
-But if it’s Yeoul Arts, won’t they have a performance? I want to see that.
=That might be only for the school staff.
= Maybe they’ll upload a video on YouTube.
=But we need to know which school it is to find it
No one except the staff knew Lee Seo-jun’s middle school, and time passed until October 25th, the day of Yeoul Arts’ practical exam.
The practical exam for Yeoul Arts was conducted by the teachers who taught acting for each grade.
“Is Lee Seo-jun really coming?”
The third grade teacher asked the first grade teacher, Jung Si-woon, who smiled and nodded.
“Yes. He applied on the last day. I think he’ll be one of the last ones to perform.”
“Lee Seo-jun is coming to our school. Do we have anything to teach him?”
The second grade teacher said with a worried face.
That was a concern for the other teachers as well.
“We have to do what we can.”
The two teachers nodded at Jung Si-woon’s words.
Then, they heard a knock on the door.
The door of the interview room opened and a staff member who helped with the practical exam peeked in.
“We’ll start the practical exam now.”
“Okay. Please send in number one.”
That’s how Yeoul Arts’ practical exam began.
After a few candidates, the teachers who had been watching the audition in the same posture were tired and took a short break.
They drank some water and moved their stiff bodies.
“There are a lot of Prince Seongnyeong’s acting.”
“Prince Seongnyeong is very popular.”
Jung Si-woon scratched his cheek.
“I don’t mind if they do well, but since there’s already a perfect Prince Seongnyeong, don’t you feel like they’re overshadowed?”
“Yes. I only thought of Lee Seo-jun’s acting.”
“The acting academy must have made a wrong strategy.”
The teachers massaged their sore shoulders and continued with the audition.
While the audition was going on, there was a small commotion in the waiting room.
The appearance of one candidate made the kids who went to the same acting academy whisper.
“Is that him? Han Georeum?”
“I think his name was Kim Ju-kyung…”
“If he applied here, does that mean Lee Seo-jun is coming here too?”
Everyone thought so.
They wanted to ask, but they just rolled their eyes.
Then, the kid who was sitting next to Kim Ju-kyung gently tapped his shoulder.
Kim Ju-kyung, who was reading his script, looked up at the kid next to him.
“Hi. You’re Kim Ju-kyung, right? The one who was in Han Georeum…”
“Yeah. That’s me.”
“…Um. If you’re here, is Lee Seo-jun coming too?”
The ears of the kids and parents who were gathered in one classroom perked up.
Kim Ju-kyung opened his mouth.
“No. I don’t know where he applied.”
“…I see.”
The kid nodded with a subtle expression at Kim Ju-kyung’s words.
“Why don’t you know? You filmed together.”
“That’s true.”
“You can film together and not be close. It’s not like it was a long movie or drama. It was a short filming.”
“That’s true. Then no one knows where Lee Seo-jun applied.”
“I wish we were in the same school. He became famous because of Lee Seo-jun. It would be better if we were in the same class.”
“I don’t care. If Lee Seo-jun comes, one spot is already taken. And we have to be compared to him for three years.”
The kids whispered. Kim Ju-kyung ignored their whispers and read his script down.
He exchanged messages with Seo-jun from time to time, but he didn’t ask which school he wanted to go to, as he had said before.
He had always wanted to go to Yeoul Arts Middle School, but he was afraid he would waver if Seo-jun said he was going to another school.
Kim Ju-kyung sighed.
‘Should I have asked? I don’t know what’s better for improving my skills, the teacher’s guidance or acting with Seo-jun.’
Kim Ju-kyung shook his head and focused on his script.
The practical exam was the first priority.
***
“Hello. I’m Kim Ju-kyung.”
The teachers’ faces brightened when they saw the first candidate who came in after the break.
But they didn’t say anything else.
The exam had to be fair, and everything was being recorded by a camera.
“Please introduce yourself and show us your free acting.”
“Yes!”
Kim Ju-kyung calmly introduced himself.
The teachers nodded at his clear voice.
Kim Ju-kyung’s free acting was also refreshing.
“Thank you!”
Kim Ju-kyung bowed and left the room, and the teachers had a short conversation.
“He’s good. He’s a professional child actor, so he’s very immersed.”
“It’s amazing that a sixth grader can do this much.”
“I wonder how good Lee Seo-jun will be, since he acted with him.”
Before they could answer that question, they heard a knock.
There were a lot of applicants, enough to call it a boom of child actors, so the audition continued without a break.
Kim Ju-kyung came out of the audition room with a bright face and headed to his mom.
His mom, who had been praying hard, felt relieved at her daughter’s bright face.
That’s how the first day of Yeoul Arts’ practical exam, which was divided into two days, passed.
And the second day dawned.
The teachers who had been exhausted from watching the kids’ acting and grading them all day yesterday looked cheerful.
They were humming to themselves.
“The principal wanted to come too.”
“He can’t come. It would be unfair.”
“I heard a rumor that the chairman also wanted to come.”
“Of course. He’s our Seo-jun.”
The two teachers laughed at Jung Si-woon’s words.
Jung Si-woon smiled awkwardly, revealing his fanboy side.
“Then, shall we start today’s audition?”
The applicants were divided into one morning session and two afternoon sessions, and the time of the practical exam was sent to their phones.
Lee Seo-jun applied on the last day, so he was scheduled to perform in the early part of the last session.
Lee Seo-jun and Lee Eun-hye arrived at Yeoul Arts around 3 o’clock.
“We’re not late, right?”
“No.”
The waiting room for the applicants was made by placing several chairs in a classroom, and the interview room was right next door.
As Seo-jun entered the classroom, the applicants who had arrived earlier unconsciously looked up at the sound of someone coming in, then blinked their eyes.
The parents were also frozen like ice and couldn’t move.
“Uh…”
“Seo-jun Lee!”
It was Seo-jun Lee’s school!
They were torn between being happy or sad that they were in the same school as Seo-jun Lee, as one seat had been reduced.
In the silence, Seo-jun and Seo-eunhye took their seats on the chairs with numbers written on their application forms.
The kids who were staring blankly at the two of them were startled when Seo-jun took out his script from his bag and started reading it, and they began to look at their own scripts.
Seo-jun was Seo-jun, and he had to pass first.
While the kids were trying to squeeze out their concentration that seemed to scatter, the parents’ fingers moved quickly on their phones.
The news that was delivered to friends, family, coworkers, acting teachers, etc. soon went up on the internet and reporters who were watching quickly posted articles.
[Actor Seo-jun Lee, takes Yeoul Arts Middle School exam!]
[Yeoul Arts Middle School, 10th anniversary of its opening, an arts middle school that encompasses music, art, and acting!]
[ATR Group’s arts middle school. The same group as Eunhasu Center!]
[Let’s find out more about Yeoul Arts Middle School!]
-Wow… Eunhasu Center here?
-They did a children’s play together in spring, right?
=Yeah, they’ve been interested in nurturing actors since a long time ago.
-Actors or artists. They have a lot of scholarships too.
-Seo-jun Lee is going here. Isn’t it a bit far from his elementary school?
-He must have a lot of money. He probably bought a new house.
=Yeah, yeah. It must be hard to live alone when you’re young.
-Doesn’t Yeoul Arts Middle School have a dormitory?
=Yeah, but they check your family situation for that, so Seo-jun can’t do it. They give a lot of scholarships and support to kids who are poor but talented, so they want to go to Yeoul Arts Middle School.
As Cocoa Entertainment’s 2nd team was watching the internet articles, Seo-jun’s turn was approaching.
“Applicant number 274.”
“Yes.”
Seo-jun got up from his seat after checking the number on his application form.
Everyone’s eyes in the waiting room turned to Seo-jun.
He showed off his aura more than anyone else as he headed to the interview room.
“Finally!”
“I’ve never felt time go so slowly before.”
The teachers who checked the next applicant’s application form waited breathlessly for the door to open.
They had been waiting for him since his application was submitted.
It was Seo-jun Lee’s turn.
Seo-jun entered the interview room.
He looked at the teachers sitting in the judges’ seats as he stood in the center of the classroom.
“Hello. I’m applicant number 274, Seo-jun Lee.”
I’m a fan. I enjoyed your acting. I hope you continue to be active in the future. There were many things they wanted to say, but Jeong Si-woon held back and opened his mouth.
“Please introduce yourself and do a free acting.”
“Yes!”
Seo-jun’s self-introduction made them feel that he loved acting and worked hard for it.
The career history he talked about was enough to make them clap even if they just heard it.
Especially the Golden Globe Award and the Academy Award.
The teachers’ eyes sparkled as if they were wandering in their dreams.
They used to dream of being famous actors when they were young, but now they were teaching children.
“Then I’ll start my free acting.”
Seo-jun’s free acting started with a heavy silence.
He quietly sat down on the floor.
His small movement made everyone’s breathing slow down.
Seo-jun sat up straight and his body slowly twitched.
His fingers fidgeting on his knees, his eyebrows moving fearfully.
His stiff expression.
Then, as if he heard a loud noise, his body jerked violently.
He straightened his back and clenched his hands tightly. He hid his trembling heart and opened his mouth.
“I…”
He looked up from looking straight ahead.
Not at the judges in front of him, but at someone far away, a beast-like man who showed his teeth and looked at him.
“I am the king of this country. Uncle.”
At that word, the three of them thought of someone. A child who became king at a young age and died by his uncle’s hand.
“Uncle.”
With that one word, the interview room turned into a battlefield.
Seo-jun, who was wearing neat clothes, suddenly wore a dragon robe, and at the end of Seo-jun’s gaze, there seemed to be a man with a terrifying aura.
The interview room was quiet.
He opened the door with a loud thud, the man who would later become Sejo, Prince Suyang.
He said something, something, but Danjong didn’t hear it.
After all, he was still a child who hadn’t even turned 15.
He couldn’t show the dignity of a king, he could only say these words.
Because,
Danjong bit his lip.
The palace and the country were all in his uncle’s hands.
The ministers who supported him were killed.
“Uncle.”
But Danjong’s eyes shone.
“All righteousness is directed towards me. Even if you take this place, that fact will not change. The people and the descendants will all know.”
That sharp truth pierced through Prince Suyang, a rebel.
“Heaven will not forgive you!”
The young dragon’s roaring cry made Prince Suyang scream as well.