Chapter 157
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 157
Chapter Title: A New Home, A New Stage
-----------------------------------------------------------------
After school, Seojun headed to Cocoa Entertainment with An Daho.
“I was thinking of taking them home, but this works out well. You can look over the scripts that came in last week before you go.”
“Okay!”
Seojun nodded at An Daho’s words.
As always, Seojun and An Daho made their way to Seojun’s practice room on the third floor. When An Daho opened the door with his card, Seojun’s practice room, with one wall entirely covered in mirrors, came into view.
“Wait here a minute. I’ll go get the box.”
“Okay.”
An Daho headed to the Team 2 office, and Seojun went to sit in the rest area set up in a corner of the practice room.
“Juice. Juice.”
Seojun prepared a juice for An Daho and one for himself before sitting down. He didn’t have to wait long before An Daho reappeared, carrying a box. An Daho set the box on the floor and placed half of the papers from inside onto the table.
Seojun’s eyes sparkled at the sight of the papers on the table.
Some days there were few, other days there were many, but on average, Seojun received about five project proposals. Of course, these were the ones that had already been filtered by Team 2. But today, a single glance told him there were far more than five.
“There are more than usual, aren’t there?”
“A lot came in last week. But it’s only this much for today. Starting tomorrow, it’ll be back to the usual amount.”
*Why the sudden increase?* Tilting his head, Seojun picked up the synopsis on top just as An Daho began to speak.
“We received a lot of projects with a similar theme because of the practical exam video you filmed. All of these are like that.”
“Ah.”
Seojun was well aware of the impact of his practical exam video. It had been a hot topic for days on his fan cafe, ‘From the Sprout Up,’ which he checked from time to time.
“Everyone works fast.”
Still, he hadn't expected this kind of synopsis to appear less than two weeks after the video was released. An Daho laughed.
“Because they can make a fortune if they just land it. It feels like both big and small production companies are giving it their all. There were even directors and writers who sent in synopses personally.”
Without a production company, the pillar of filmmaking?
“Wouldn't that make it hard to turn into a movie?”
Seojun blinked.
“Everything’s possible as long as we have you, Seojun.”
An Daho smiled at Seojun’s concern.
Seeking Director.
Seeking Production Company.
Seeking Distributor.
Seeking Investors.
Seeking Actors.
For an ordinary writer with only a script, these would be insurmountable mountains to climb.
[Lee Seojun casting complete.]
This single sentence, like a ‘deus ex machina,’ could solve all problems at once.
*‘No, it would be a situation where they’d be flooded with offers and get to pick and choose to their liking.’*
“You don’t have to worry about a thing, Seojun. Just pick the project you want to do.”
“Okay. I will.”
Nodding at An Daho, Seojun began to read through the synopsis.
Since they were all based on King Danjong, the stories were quite similar. A few of them even gave off a similar vibe to the movie *King Sejo* from ten years ago.
“Compared to usual…”
Was it just his imagination, or was the quality of the synopses a bit lower? Seojun’s brow furrowed slightly. An Daho, noticing the words Seojun had swallowed, spoke up.
“These are all projects that came in after your exam video was released, so they probably took anywhere from a day to ten days to write. It’s different from the usual synopses, which are sent after long deliberation. This is the result even after Team 2 worked hard to screen them.”
“Hmm.”
An Daho smiled at Seojun’s displeased expression.
“Among them, there’s one that Team 2 recommends.”
“A recommendation?”
At those words, Seojun, who had been looking at the synopses, blinked and looked up at An Daho.
A recommendation from Team 2. That had never happened before.
“Yeah. We unanimously agreed that if you’re interested in the role of Danjong, this would be the best one. Of course, you’ll see why when you read the script.”
“What is it?”
“It’s at the very bottom of the box. Hold on, I’ll get it for you.”
An Daho quickly pulled out a stack of papers from the bottom of the box. Seojun’s eyes widened as he saw the script An Daho handed him. It wasn’t a thin, few-page synopsis like the others he’d seen, but a proper script.
“This is… a script?”
“It’s hard to prepare something like this in ten days. That alone tells you that, unlike the other synopses that were hastily made because of the recent buzz, this is a project that has been in preparation for a while.”
Seojun agreed with An Daho.
He lowered his gaze to the front page of the script.
[Working Title: Danjong]
[Director: Woo Jeonghan]
“Director Woo Jeonghan?”
Seojun knew that name. He was the director of the movie *King Sejo*, which Seojun had acted out for his practical exam, and also the director of *Jang Yong-yeong*, a movie starring Kim Jongho that he had read about while unpacking.
Director Woo Jeonghan, the master of historical films.
The spaces for the production and distribution companies below the director’s name were blank. The same went for the lead and supporting actors.
Seojun tilted his head. Director Woo Jeonghan was a director who had worked with many actors.
It was certain that many actors would jump at the chance to star in his film if he called, yet the script only listed:
[Danjong: Lee Seojun]
And nothing else.
“It’s Director Woo Jeonghan’s project, but the production and distribution companies haven’t been decided yet. The actors, too. Is there some kind of problem?”
“Um.”
An Daho’s eyes darted around for a moment before he spoke.
“Maybe it’s because there wasn’t enough time?”
“Hmm. I guess so.”
“Don’t worry. If you star in it and Director Woo Jeonghan directs, we’ll be able to find them in no time.”
Seojun nodded at An Daho’s words.
He was right.
Director Woo Jeonghan, who reliably surpassed the break-even point with every film he released, earning the complete trust of investors, and superstar Lee Seojun, who generated immense buzz and profit with every project he was in.
It was a combination that would make even the most cautious investors open their wallets immediately.
Nodding, Seojun turned the page and began to read the script.
***
While he was hanging out at Cocoa Entertainment, he got a call from his mom. After she told him they had moved everything, Seojun and An Daho headed to the new house.
The way to the new house from Cocoa Entertainment was in the complete opposite direction of their old home.
The unfamiliar scenery outside the window made him realize that they had really moved. Seojun felt it, and so did An Daho.
“I guess we’ll have to get used to this route now.”
“Yeah. I don’t think I’ve ever been this way before.”
Following the unfamiliar road, the car headed toward the new house.
The car’s license plate must have already been registered, as it entered the underground parking garage without any issues.
From the unfamiliar parking garage, they took the elevator and pressed the button. The new apartment was on a higher floor than the old one. After a short ride, the elevator doors opened with a ding.
“You’re here, Seojun.”
His mom and dad, who were waiting in front of the elevator, greeted him. Seojun beamed.
“I’m home! Mom, did you move everything?”
“Yes. We just need to clean and unpack.”
“Daho, welcome.”
“Hello. This is a housewarming gift from Team 2.”
“Oh, thank you. Please tell everyone we said thanks.”
At Lee Minjun’s words, An Daho handed over the box he was holding.
“Shall we go in?”
“Yeah!”
Seo Eunhye opened the door to their new home.
A brand-new home with sparkling wallpaper and floors greeted Seojun. It was larger than their old house, which felt a little awkward, but he knew he would get used to it soon.
Seo Eunhye stood in front of a doorway. There were two doors, one with a nameplate that read [Seojun’s Room] and the other with [Seojun’s Practice Room].
“This is your room, Seojun. We’ve put your things in here, so you just need to organize them.”
“Okay. Mom, my room is pretty.”
“It is, isn’t it?”
Seojun’s room, with its tasteful arrangement of sky blue, said to improve concentration, and white, which made the space look larger, appeared neat at a single glance. Seo Eunhye, who had agonized over it, smiled with satisfaction at her son’s words.
The new bed was big enough for him to use even as an adult, and so was the desk. With the room being larger, there was also an additional bookshelf.
As Seojun looked around his sparkling new room, his eyes fell on a pile of brown boxes. They were the ones he had packed himself. *Sigh.* Seojun let out a silent sigh.
*‘When am I going to organize all that?’*
Just as Seojun was mentally mapping out where to put his dolls, Lee Minjun called him.
“Seojun, this is your practice room.”
The practice room was right next to his bedroom. At Lee Minjun's words, Seojun’s eyes began to sparkle again. A practice room!
“Can I go in?”
The couple and An Daho laughed at Seojun’s hesitant demeanor.
“Of course.”
Lee Minjun opened the door to the practice room for him. Seojun’s cheeks flushed red with excitement.
The practice room was similar to the one at Cocoa Entertainment.
One entire wall was a mirror, making it easy to check his hand and foot movements while acting, and the floor was made of a non-slip material.
There was also an air conditioner for comfortable practice, a small refrigerator, a snack drawer, and a table with chairs.
“This is amazing.”
But what Seojun couldn’t take his eyes off of were the cameras installed all around. There were three movable cameras and others installed on the front, sides, and back walls. There were also three monitors to check the recorded footage.
“This is so cool!”
“Seojun. Look at this.”
Seo Eunhye smiled and called to her son, who was stomping his feet, unable to contain his joy. Seojun’s eyes sparkled, just as they did when he was acting.
“What’s this?”
“A remote control. It’s for controlling the camera positions.”
As Seo Eunhye pressed a button, the camera in front of the mirror began to move sideways. Seojun’s eyes widened, and he looked up at the ceiling where the cameras were installed to see a rail running in a straight line. The camera was moving along the rail on the ceiling.
“Oh my gosh!”
Seojun’s jaw dropped. An Daho, who was looking around the practice room from behind the family, was also speechless.
“You can adjust the height, too.”
Seo Eunhye pressed another button on the remote, and the moving camera stopped and slowly began to rise toward the ceiling. *Beep.* She pressed a button, and the camera that had gone up slowly came back down.
“You can also adjust the lens direction while looking at the monitor.”
Following Seo Eunhye’s control, the camera lens turned this way and that. The image on the monitor also shifted accordingly.
*Whirrr.* Seojun felt as if his breath was being taken away by this marvel of modern technology. His heart pounded, and he felt like he was floating.
“Oh my goooosh!!”
Seo Eunhye and Lee Minjun beamed at Seojun’s flushed face.
It seemed they had done well to listen to Director Ryan, who said it would be good to buy multiple cameras, and the other actors, who suggested it would be great if they were attached to the ceiling like a jib camera. Though they probably hadn't imagined it would turn out like this.
An Daho also looked around Seojun’s practice room with a surprised expression.
*‘This would be great to install in a dance practice room too…’*
The flashy camera movements were more suited for idols than actors. The way the cameras shifted around, the strange angles that captured the top of someone’s head.
The infamous bad camera work on music shows, so shoddy it looked like it was filmed by foot.
If they practiced while being filmed from all sides like this, wouldn’t they be able to create better shots even on those music shows?
After a moment of thought, An Daho asked Lee Minjun, who was looking at his son with a proud face, for the camera installation company.
Seojun, who had been circling the practice room, wanted to practice in this room right now.
*‘My own back while I’m acting… Oh my gosh. Oh my goooosh!’*
He even had a script on hand. Just as Seojun’s heart was pounding like a child who had seen a new toy, his parents threw cold water on his excitement.
“Alright, that’s enough looking around. Shall we start unpacking?”
“...Okay!”
Seojun replied, swallowing his tears. It was a pity, but he had to unpack first. Quickly wiping the disappointed look from his face, Seojun said goodbye to the departing An Daho and hurried to his room.
*‘I have to finish unpacking quickly and practice!’*
Seojun swiftly organized his belongings. He diligently placed the scripts on the bookshelf and quickly arranged the dolls.
The couple smiled at his speed and rolled up their sleeves. Seo Eunhye put Seojun’s clothes in the closet, and Lee Minjun organized the DVDs, scripts, and books.
“You want to practice that badly?”
“Yeah! Thanks for helping, Mom, Dad.”
Seojun’s face was shining. Seeing their son genuinely happy with his gift seemed to make the couple feel even better.
With his parents’ help, Seojun finished unpacking sooner than expected and quickly headed to the practice room. As he opened the door, Lee Minjun said:
“We have to eat dinner, so just do it for 30 minutes.”
“Okay!”
The couple couldn’t help but burst into laughter at Seojun’s hasty reply.
“Is this the right way…?”
He adjusted the camera positions while looking at the monitors. The four cameras on the ceiling moved according to his will. The feeling of controlling the cameras was strange, almost as if he had become a director.
The lenses of the four cameras turned toward Seojun, and he let out a long breath.
In that instant, Seojun’s aura changed. He recalled the script he had seen today.
“Uncle.”
A low voice echoed through Seojun’s practice room.
#