Chapter 233
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 233
Chapter Title: A Global Birthday Celebration
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Mid-February.
Actor Lee Seojun returned to Korea.
[Shadowman 3, Filming Wrapped!]
[Actor Lee Seojun Returns Home!]
[When's the Premiere? Shadowman 3 Finishes Filming!]
-Yeah. When is the premiere?
=Superhero movies use a lot of CG, so post-production will probably take a while.
=But the Marine Company CG team is top-notch, so it might be faster than we think.
-Seojun's back!!
-Glad it ended without any accidents.
-Well, there was something *like* an accident.
=I saw someone's summary, and Marine Company's response time was insane.
=Unconfirmed article pops up > Less than 30 seconds later, Marine Company releases their own article > Spreading false rumors? OK, you're getting sued > All the articles get deleted lol
-As expected of a big company. So reassuring.
=Well, Marine Company has trauma from that car accident.
=It's ironic that Shadowman and Greenwing were born because of it.
-But I just found out Jin Natra's stunt double is Korean. And not even an expat.
=Seconded. It's pretty cool. He must have been chosen because he's good, right?
=Thirded. It's the final movie, so they must have put more care into it than the others.
-Ugh. I want to see it so bad!
While Seojun was enjoying his winter break with his friends, the CG team in charge of post-production for Shadowman 3 was hard at work.
The head of the Shadowman 3 CG team scratched his chin.
With both Shadowman's and the Natra-line's weapons being shadows, there was a lot of CG work to be done.
Besides the shadows, they also had to handle the wormhole, the landscape of Natra within it, merge the footage from Gyeongbok Palace and Paris with the set footage, and touch up the scenes with the spaceship and its destruction.
"Are we really starting with this scene?"
"Yes."
"Well, alright."
At Director Ryan's firm reply, the team lead nodded and pulled up one of the many clips on the monitor.
On the screen, Jin Natra was buried under a pile of rubble. It was a scene where a rampant black shadow erupted from him, covering the sky and ground around the traditional Eastern building.
Director Ryan recalled 'it'—the sight that remained so vividly in his memory.
During the filming at Gyeongbok Palace and on set, a shadow had burst forth from Jin Natra, filling the entire location. And its movement was so vivid, so palpable against the skin.
At that moment, Director Ryan had unconsciously moved the camera to film the undulating shadows.
The movement of the shadow, which seemed like an illusion, was slightly different from the movements he had only imagined. He thought, *Perhaps this is how the 'real' Natra's shadows would move.* The impact was so powerful that he half-believed he was dreaming.
When he checked the footage after filming, the phantom shadow was gone, not a trace of it to be seen. But even now, looking at the clip, the image resurfaced clearly in his mind.
Director Ryan wanted to put what he had seen directly into the movie.
The team lead, who was jotting down Director Ryan's detailed requests on the storyboard, suddenly stopped his hand.
He couldn't see Seojun's [(Evil) Mached's Shadow Art] like Director Ryan could. But as a professional in CG, his imagination was more developed than most.
'This is...'
On the screen, Seojun Lee, playing Jin Natra, lay under a pile of prop rubble. The camera focused on Jin Natra slowly pulled back to show the entire palace. Director Ryan's fingertip traced the movement on the screen.
Though the sky was clear, the image of undulating shadows filling it came to mind, and the team lead's eyes gleamed.
'It's just too perfect.'
The empty space on the monitor, meant for the CG shadows, was neither too much nor too little.
It was just right.
'It's like the camera pulled back in time with the speed of the shadows flowing out. As if it was filming the real shadows coming from Jin Natra.'
Director Ryan Will's continuing requests were also surprisingly detailed, to the point of drawing out each scene. The team lead understood exactly what kind of scene the director wanted.
"Please work on this scene first."
"Yes, of course."
"Then I'll explain the next scene."
After that, Director Ryan Will practically lived with the CG team during post-production. It reached a point where the team lead wondered if he should be paying the director a salary.
Director Ryan Will had requested that they set everything else aside and prioritize the CG for Seojun Lee—that is, for Jin Natra. Since it was work that had to be done eventually, the team lead agreed without much fuss.
As they were nearing completion of Jin Natra's CG work, the team started to feel something strange.
"It's odd. Doesn't this feel a bit different from the shadows we made for Shadowman 1 and 2?"
"You think so too, sunbae? I watched Shadowman 1 and 2 yesterday, and they seemed a little lacking."
It was a new kind of shadow, one that had never appeared in Shadowman 1 or 2.
It wasn't an intangible presence that people paid no mind to, but a shadow with a real presence, one that could be materialized and that the Natra-line was always conscious of.
"I think we could apply this to the other scenes..."
Having worked on Jin Natra's scenes, they felt they could roughly mimic the feel of his shadows.
If they could bring this same feeling to the other Natra-line's shadows, the CG for this film might be even more impressive than in the first two.
'Is this why he had us work on Jin Natra first?'
While the team lead was marveling at Director Ryan Will's foresight, the youngest member of the CG team asked the senior colleague next to him.
"Hey, sunbae. When you're looking at the monitor, do you ever see something pitch-black?"
"...You too?"
"Seeing it makes the work easier since it's almost exactly what the director is asking for... but isn't it creepy? It's gone when you look again."
"Ugh. I can't stand ghosts..."
In the future, a story that would become known in Korea as the second coming of the 악령(Akryeong) ghost—the Shadowman 3 ghost story—was slowly beginning to spread.
***
Friday, March 9th.
It was a day like any other.
Seojun, now a third-grader, went to school under the sparkling gazes of the first-graders, attended classes with his friends, and mulled over the year-end performance as his friends tried to recruit him. It was an ordinary day.
But there were people who had been waiting for this day.
It was a normal day of waking up, going to work, working, having lunch, working, and going home, but they were all waiting for midnight.
-It's 8 PM!!
-Watching Working Man, One Step, and Over the Rainbow will get us to midnight.
-I'm going to watch the edited version of Naeuiwon!
-Rewatching Yeok and Escape.
-Anyone up for a Shadowman 1 and 2 marathon?
Actor Lee Seojun's fan cafe, [From Sprout], was in an uproar. The site was usually active, but today, a single refresh would send pages of new posts flying by.
-It's not a huge amount... Is that okay?
=The amount doesn't matter! The message is more than enough!
-Is there a set format for the message?
=Nope! Just write whatever's in your heart!
And so, some watched movies, and others watched dramas to pass the time. Entertainment reporters who were members of Lee Seojun's fan cafe also monitored the situation.
Time passed, and it became 11:59 PM on March 9th.
-3!!
-2!!
-1!!
At midnight on March 10th, Korea Standard Time.
Not only Seojun's fan cafe, [From Sprout], but social media everywhere was flooded with a single message.
[Happy birthday, Seojun!]
[Happy birthday! JUN!]
Congratulatory posts began to appear not only on the Korean fan cafe but on international ones as well.
The overwhelming volume of messages filling social media was bound to become news. Reporters moved quickly on the topic that had exploded late at night.
[Today, March 10th! Actor Lee Seojun's Birthday!]
[Happy Birthday, Seojun! Social Media Flooded with Congratulatory Messages!]
[Who is the Star Receiving a Global Outpouring of Birthday Wishes?!]
The employees of Cocoa Entertainment's Team 2, who were up past midnight since the next day was the weekend, rubbed their eyes in disbelief. The news was immediately relayed to Team 2's leader, An Daho, and the CEO, Seo Eunchan, despite the late hour.
"They said they were going to send birthday messages for Seojun..."
He had heard from [From Sprout] that they wanted to celebrate Seojun's birthday in a meaningful way this year, as the Shadowman series that marked his debut was coming to an end. But he had never imagined it would be on this scale.
As Seo Eunchan browsed the sites, something suddenly occurred to him.
"Wait. If the messages are on this scale... what about the donations?"
Even if they each just donated 1,000 won... Seo Eunchan thought of Seojun's fans all over the world and broke into a cold sweat at the roughly estimated total.
***
People who were wondering what was going on with the sudden flood of posts online soon realized it was Seojun Lee's birthday and left a few words of their own, recalling the movies they had enjoyed.
The Shadowman team and the Over the Rainbow team both posted on social media. Professor James Moore and Benjamin Morton also left congratulatory messages. Oscar nominees Milan Chalon and Jessica Kim posted birthday wishes as well.
While birthday messages poured in from all over the world, the person who was supposed to be reading them, Seojun, was sound asleep.
The next day.
Seojun woke up and fumbled around his pillow. He was trying to check the time on his phone, but something else caught his eye before the clock did.
"...Huh?"
Blinking a couple of times at the enormous pile of messages, Seojun tapped on his messaging app. He saw that they were all from his acquaintances.
>Evan: Jun, happy birthday.
>Richel: Look at this! It's crazy over here too!
>Richel: (Link)
>Kim Jongho: Happy birthday.
>Lee Jiseok: Happy birthday! The scale is different for a Hollywood star, haha.
>Park Dohun: There are a ton of articles too!
>Lee Dajin: !!Happy birthday!!
>Jihu: You asleep already?
>Mina: Seojun goes to bed early.
>Jio: Happy birthday!
>Jiyun: We posted at midnight too, haha.
>Jookyung: Happy birthday!
>Jaehan: Wow. Seojun's fans are amazing!
>Jiho: I know, right? Posts are still coming in (Link)
>Joohee: A ton of articles came out! (Article)(Article)(Article)
His friends had sent him birthday wishes along with links to articles and the [From Sprout] fan cafe. As Seojun checked each of the articles and posts, he let out a gasp.
"Oh my god."
He had woken up to find that his fans all over the world were celebrating his birthday.
***
"Look at this. It says, 'Thank you for giving birth to Seojun.'"
Seo Eunhye, who was looking at her phone, laughed cheerfully.
"There's also a post thanking Nara for recommending him for the audition."
Lee Minjun, sitting next to her and reading the comments, seemed to be completely engrossed in the fans' messages as well.
Hours had passed, but the internet was still buzzing about Lee Seojun's birthday. Since it was being mentioned alongside Shadowman 3, the excitement showed no signs of dying down.
"Seojun's fans are really amazing. They're donating at noon, too."
The couple, who had planned to relax at home for the weekend, were completely captivated by the unexpected gift.
Seojun, who had just posted a thank-you message on the fan cafe, burst into laughter at the sight of his brightly smiling parents.
-Seojun posted!
-T_T Seojun said thank you T_T
-He said it's the happiest birthday he's ever had T_T Our Seojun T_T
-But our gift doesn't end here!
-Seojun! Look forward to the second gift!
At noon, when the sun was at its highest point in the sky.
Lee Seojun's fan cafes around the world sent donations in his name to their designated charities. Proof shots were posted from all over.
[Congratulatory Messages from Fans Around the World!]
[Birthday Wishes Take a Trip Around the Globe!]
[A Birthday Gift from Fans to Lee Seojun!]
[Grains of Sand Become a Mountain: The Donations of Lee Seojun's Fans!]
-Seojun! Happy birthday!
=Seconded! Please continue to act a lot in the future!!
-Lee Seojun's fans are... scary... no, amazing.
-It really feels like the only thing on social media is happy birthday messages for Lee Seojun.
=Nah, there's other stuff.
=?
=To Seojun's father and mother, thank you so much for bringing Seojun into this world. We're truly grateful!
=lol OMG lol I guess without them, there'd be no Lee Seojun.
-There are messages for Aunt Nara too. Thanking her for taking Seojun to the audition lol. As a sign of thanks, they're planning to go to King's Market today lol
=Seconded. Today is King's Market shopping day hehe.
-Everyone's so funny lol. It's even funnier because they're being sincere lol.
=Thirded. Everyone is being dead serious (in a serious tone).
-Whoa... did you see this? [Link]
=...What is this??
=???!!!!
Seojun and his parents, who had been browsing the comments, discovered the [Link]. Seeing the shocked replies that followed, they clicked on it and saw an unexpected article headline.
After staring silently at his phone screen for a moment, Seojun shrugged.
"Well, I didn't think it would stay a secret forever."
"I know. But I never thought it would be revealed today."
"Looks like Eunchan has more work to do."
At Seo Eunhye's words, Seojun and Lee Minjun couldn't help but laugh.
Lee Seojun's fans hadn't donated to just one place. They had donated to various reliable organizations, and a reporter interviewing one of those charities had uploaded an article.
[(Exclusive) Seojun Lee Donated His Entire Salary from Over the Rainbow! "For all the Grays of the world!"]
The shocking news spread across the globe in an instant, as the world's attention was already focused on Seojun Lee's birthday.
-Oh my god... This happened, and he never said a word until now?
=Seconded. This was four years ago. It probably would have stayed buried forever if not for that reporter.
-He's a true angel! This is the kind of actor I stan!!
-If it were me, I would've had 'I donated this much' written on my forehead.
=Seconded. I would've done a world-class interview about it too.
-The fans donate, the actor donates. Why is everyone so kind?
=It's not that we're kind, it's that Seojun won't accept gifts, so donating is the only thing we can do T_T
=He really doesn't take anything?
=He accepts letters hehe. I'm sending them diligently.
The 'Happy birthday, Seojun!' messages that had filled social media began to subside after the noon donations. Of course, posts continued to flood [From Sprout].
[I've been a fan since Shadowman 1!]
[I became a fan after seeing the children's play, Spring!]
[Thank you for filming Over the Rainbow!]
[I hope Shadowman 3 will be a great finale!]
Seojun, who usually loved reading scripts, completely forgot about them as he read through each and every one of the birthday messages pouring in.
The birthday messages—no, the birthday letters—posted on [From Sprout] were long.
How they became a fan, their favorite movie, their thoughts on the films, how Seojun's movies changed their daily lives. Each post was filled to the brim with the fans' hearts, and Seojun's own heart swelled with emotion.
A pure energy began to emanate from Seojun's body as he remained glued to his phone. He seemed too happy to even notice.
Although Seo Eunhye and Lee Minjun couldn't see the energy, they knew that Seojun was happier than he had ever been.
"I can't just keep this sight to myself!"
Seeing Seojun shining so brightly, Seo Eunhye smiled and picked up her camera.
[Title: Seojun reading his birthday messages]
The photo his mom and dad secretly took showed Seojun looking so radiant it made the fans' hearts swell. Just from the picture alone, they could feel how joyful and happy he was.
The comment section of the post became a sea of tears.
The photo of Seojun smiling brightly as he looked at his phone immediately became the main image of [From Sprout], and his fans had to clutch their hearts every time they visited the site.
-It's Seojun's birthday, so why do I feel like I'm the one who got a gift?
-This is so great... but it's too much for my heart...!
-I have to take a deep breath every time I enter the cafe lol
-But I love it so much T_T
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