Chapter 100
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 100
Chapter Title: The Reveal
-----------------------------------------------------------------
While the stage was being set up for the vampire and werewolf performance, the contest's award ceremony began.
All the lights on the main stage went out, leaving only the extended stage illuminated. When the 13 teams of contestants appeared on it, the audience's gaze turned towards the extended stage.
[We will now begin the Monster Contest award ceremony. The mayor of Orci will present the trophies.]
An announcement came from the speakers. The mayor, standing next to the trophies, bowed his head. The people applauded.
[Third place!]
“Who will it be?”
“I thought the wizard and witch team that performed as a group was good too.”
[Number 2! Dancing with a Pegasus!]
At those words, laughter erupted from the audience. Everyone remembered the ridiculous contestant. Contestant number 2 came out to receive the trophy, spinning around and around.
“You did great!”
“That was hilarious!”
Hearing the congratulatory applause, contestant number 2 danced enthusiastically without any music. It was funny on screen, but seeing it in person was truly hilarious. Seojun and the other contestants gathered in the back also burst into laughter.
“I’ll give him that. Thanks to him, I was able to perform without feeling so nervous.”
“He’s really amazing.”
The mayor, too, handed the trophy to contestant number 2 with a cheerful smile.
[Second place! Number 1! Dance of the Fairy!]
Woooah!
The children's cheers could be heard. Contestant number 1 walked out gracefully, received the shining trophy, and spun around with a brilliant flourish. The two pairs of transparent, sparkling wings were incredibly beautiful.
[First place!]
“The werewolf!”
“He was the best!!”
Cheers erupted from the audience.
[Number 13! The Werewolf's Transformation!]
Seojun walked forward. It was the second time he had received an award, and though it was on a different scale from the film festival, it was nice to feel the heartfelt congratulations from the people.
As Seojun smiled brightly and waved, applause broke out from all around.
Just as the other award winners had put on a short performance, Seojun sauntered over to the mayor who was handing out the trophy.
Seeing this, the audience, still feeling the lingering excitement of his performance, sent up cheers and applause. They had wondered if he looked cooler because of the thick smoke on stage, but he was amazing even without it.
[Please give a big round of applause and cheers to all the contestants who gave us such wonderful performances!]
Once again, cheers and applause erupted from the audience. Even the contestants who didn't win an award bowed with bright faces.
[In a moment, the performance by the vampires and werewolves will begin. Please wait in your seats.]
After the announcement, the contestants went to sit in the reserved seats prepared by the organizers. The companions of the contestants who were already seated greeted them with bright smiles. Lee Minjun, who had been watching from the reserved section, greeted the two children and Seo Eunhye with a wide smile.
“You did great! You were just like a real werewolf!”
At his father's words, Seojun giggled and sat down in his chair. People sitting near the reserved section also kept expressing their admiration.
“That was an incredible performance for someone so young.”
“It was like contemporary dance. Where did you learn to dance?”
The flood of compliments directed at Seojun was enough to make his friend Charlie's shoulders puff up with pride. But the barrage of praise soon stopped, as another announcement was made.
[We will now begin the final performance of the Orci Halloween Festival.]
Soft music began to play, and a single beam of light fell onto the dark stage. A golden box rested atop a tower erected in the center of the stage.
Looking up at the stage, Seojun found the wolf head a bit uncomfortable and took off the hat. Seo Eunhye, sitting next to him, carefully adjusted it to avoid leaving marks on the wolf ears and fur.
The spotlight moved to another area. On the left side of the stage, five jet-black coffins stood upright against the backdrop of a pitch-black castle.
“Vampires.”
Charlie whispered.
The lids of the jet-black coffins slid open, and white smoke billowed out. Inside one coffin, a man with pale white skin, black hair, and a black suit lay with his eyes closed. The other coffins were the same.
The sound of a swarm of bats flying was heard. The vampires opened their eyes simultaneously. Heavy music began to play as the vampires emerged from their coffins. With aristocratic faces, they acted as if they were greeting each other and conversing. Then, one of the vampires pointed a finger at the golden box on the tower in the center of the stage.
The lights on the left side of the stage went out. This time, the spotlight shone on the right side. Someone appeared on a rock-shaped prop set up in front of a rocky background. A yellow light illuminated him.
“It’s a werewolf!”
And then five werewolves appeared. Unlike the stiff-looking vampires, they sat and stood around freely. One of the werewolves pointed at the golden box.
Even without dialogue, the audience watching the stage understood. Both the vampires and the werewolves were after that golden box.
The light on the right side of the stage went out, and soon after, the entire stage lit up. The now more numerous vampires and werewolves came face to face.
One of the vampires pointed at them. The werewolves lowered their upper bodies and growled.
Tense music flowed. Like mortal enemies meeting on a narrow bridge, the vampires and werewolves began to fight.
Just as the fight was getting underway, something yellow caught the audience's eye. It was a pumpkin.
“A Jack-o'-lantern!”
The pumpkin-headed figure weaved through the fighting vampires and werewolves. The sight of it dodging the attacks from both groups drew laughter from the audience.
In the end, it was the Jack-o'-lantern who claimed the golden box.
The performance ended with a huge round of applause. The vampires and werewolves, who had performed while sweating profusely, bowed to the audience.
The Jack-o'-lantern, holding the golden box with a relaxed air, walked past them. It was a delightful performance to the very end.
All the lights on the stage went out,
Bang! Bang!
Fireworks exploded. Pretty flowers of fire bloomed in the pitch-black sky. After the short fireworks display, an announcement was made.
[Thank you to everyone who participated in the Orci Halloween Festival. We hope you all made wonderful memories. We look forward to seeing you again at next year's Halloween festival!]
The Orci Halloween Festival had come to an end. People began to leave their seats one by one with happy faces. As they were waiting in the audience for Charlie's father to arrive, they saw a witch running towards them from a distance.
“Jun! Charlie!”
“Grace!”
“Jun, you really got first place! I was cheering for you so much!”
Behind Grace, her family could be seen. They all smiled and waved.
“I forgot to give you my contact info earlier, so I was looking for you. I thought you’d already left, but here you are!”
“I’ll give you my number too! What messenger app do you use?”
While the three children were exchanging contact information, Charlie's father appeared, having changed his clothes. Seeing the suddenly larger group, Charlie's father smiled and said.
“If you don’t mind, would you like to come to my shop for a bite to eat?”
* * *
Charlie's father's shop was close to the square. Due to the chilly weather, he turned up the heat inside and prepared a table large enough for everyone.
Charlie's father quickly prepared some delicious dishes. Both the children and the adults ate, exclaiming in admiration.
“Wanna go play over there?”
“Okay!”
Charlie pointed to another table, and Seojun and Grace nodded. As they were chattering and playing, Seojun scratched his cheek.
He had been thinking about it since the performance. He figured that once the video was uploaded to N-tube, at least one person would recognize him. And that one person would soon become many. They were friends he had just met today, but he wanted to tell them himself.
“There’s something I want to tell you.”
“What is it? Is it a secret?”
At the word 'secret,' Charlie's and Grace's eyes sparkled. Seojun smiled, took out his phone, and showed them a picture.
It was a photo taken with Evan Block and Richel Hill right before filming Shadowman 2, after they had all finished getting into costume. Charlie and Grace blinked as they looked at the picture.
“What’s this?”
“Charlie, you don’t know Shadowman?”
“I know Shadowman… Don’t tell me, is that Evan Block!?”
“…And Richel Hill is here too.”
The two children's eyes widened. Next to the two actors stood the boy they had been playing with all this time.
Charlie looked back and forth between the photo and his friend. No way. There was no one else around, but Charlie lowered his voice.
“For real?”
“Yeah.”
“Is Jun really Jin Natra?”
Grace, who realized a moment later, covered her mouth as if to stifle a scream. Seojun met the astonished eyes of the two children and opened his mouth with a gentle smile.
“I’m Jin Natra, Seojun Lee.”
Charlie and Grace were frozen for a few seconds before finally letting out a gasp. My friend is Jin Natra! A Hollywood actor!
“…Wow!”
Grace's and Charlie's eyes sparkled. Seojun showed them another photo. It was one taken with Redbone, Davis Garrett.
“Redbone!”
“It’s real!”
The two children's hearts pounded loudly. They felt like they might faint if they were any more surprised. Grace lowered her voice and asked Seojun.
“Can I tell my mom and dad? And my sister!”
“Me too! Can I tell my dad?”
“Sure.”
While the children were playing, the adults, who were chatting over tea, brought up the performance. When they said it was a wonderful performance, Charlie's father smiled shyly.
“Jun did much better than I did.”
“He was like a real werewolf.”
Everyone recalled the vivid performance. Grace's father took out his phone.
“I recorded it. Would you like to see?”
“Ah, I have one too.”
The adults took out their phones and showed the videos. Seojun's performance, seen from different spots in the audience, was still incredible and cool.
“This one captured the transformation scene well.”
“The running part looks much better from the side.”
“But Jun is so good no matter where you watch from.”
At that, the adults burst into laughter. Grace's older sister asked Seo Eunhye and Lee Minjun.
“Has Jun ever done dance or acting? If not, he should start now! He’s much better than our school’s drama club!”
“Ah…”
Hmm. What should they do? As the couple exchanged glances, Charlie and Grace ran over with shocked expressions. Only Seojun walked over with a calm look on his face.
“Dad! Dad! Da-ad!!”
Charlie kept calling for his father, his face looking as if he’d seen something incredible. Charlie's father had never seen such an expression on his son's face. His face was flushed red with excitement. Jun looked perfectly fine, but his own son was a mess.
“What is it?”
“Dad!”
Charlie kept calling for his dad as if he were broken. Seojun patted Charlie's shoulder. Charlie couldn't keep his feet still. He kept fidgeting, not knowing what to do. Hmm. The kid was a prankster, but he'd never made such a fuss before.
“Dad, Jun is Jin!”
“What?”
Jun is Jin? At those strange words, Charlie's father furrowed his brow.
Is it some kind of secret code only kids know? Charlie's father looked at the couple with a bewildered expression, but the two were smiling as if they knew something.
Just as Charlie's father was about to ask, Charlie spoke first. His heart was pounding so hard he couldn't stand it.
Grace was also eagerly explaining to her parents and sister. You could see Grace explaining with hand gestures and body language, and her family's expressions gradually turning blank.
“Jun is Jin Natra! The one from Shadowman! Seojun Lee is Jun! He even has pictures with Evan Block and Richel Hill, and with Davis Garrett! I mean, Redbone!”
“…What?”
“You saw it too, Dad! Shadowman!”
At his son's words, Charlie's father's gaze turned to Seojun. Grace's family also looked at Seojun.
When Seojun brushed his bangs back and smiled, just as he did when he played Jin Natra, the adults' jaws dropped. He really was Jin Natra.
They had thought they were just an ordinary family with an impressive wolf hat, but why was a Hollywood actor in a place like this?
“Hello. I’m the actor, Seojun Lee.”
“…Really?”
“Yes.”
“For real?”
Even after recognizing him, Charlie's father still couldn't believe it and his gaze shifted to the couple. They nodded as if to confirm it was true.
Charlie was so excited that he ran around the restaurant. He was so surprised he couldn't think of what to say, just shouting, 'Wow! Wow!' Before long, Grace was running around with him.
“…Could I ask for an autograph?”
“That’s right! An autograph! Me too!”
“Could we ask for one too?”
“Yes. That’s fine!”
The two children, who had received autographs, exclaimed with flushed faces.
“This is my treasure!”
“I’m going to frame mine!”
After signing autographs and taking pictures, it was time to part ways. Everyone was reluctant to leave, but they had plans for the next day, so they gathered their things and stood up.
It was a brief meeting, but one they would never forget. Seojun gave a tight hug to the two children, who looked like they were about to cry. Charlie and Grace hugged Seojun back.
“I’ll definitely watch Shadowman 3 later.”
“Me too! I’m going to watch all of Jun’s movies!”
“You have to come visit again!”
“You have to come to New York!”
“You two should come visit Korea too! Let’s hang out!”
Watching the children's cute farewells, the adults also shook hands to say goodbye. It was really time to leave. The children, feeling sad to part, kept looking back and waving.
“Goodbye!”
“Bye!”
“See you again!”
Seojun waved enthusiastically at his friends as they grew smaller in the distance.
#