Chapter 71
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: The Dragon's Secret
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Seojun gripped the microphone.
‘This is the last time I’ll hold this microphone.’
The hard microphone seemed to radiate warmth. Even though it was only a voice role, standing here like this made him feel as if he had truly become the Blue Dragon, acting on stage. Seojun looked around the place where he stood.
‘This is really the end.’
He felt tears welling up.
He could see his hyungs and nunas again, it wasn't a permanent farewell, yet he didn't know why he was crying. It wasn't like this when he was filming movies.
Beeeep—
The sound signaling the start of the performance rang out.
Now, it was the final show.
‘Since it’s the last one, I’ll work even harder!’
Seojun’s eyes sparkled.
[(Good) Blue Dragon Hatchling's Weak Fear has been activated.]
Seojun unleashed his ability. Seojun's irises turned the color of the sea, and the tips of his hair began to dye themselves blue. Two horns started to grow from his head, and dragon scales sprouted on his cheeks and jaw.
More.
Closing his eyes tightly, Seojun began to breathe.
[(Good) Elf's Basic Breathing has been activated.]
More.
As his transformation into a dragon continued down to the sharp claws at the tips of his five fingers gripping the microphone, his once pure-white seongi turned blue.
Realizing this, Seojun quickly understood how to use it. Seojun opened his eyes and looked in one direction.
Following the gaze of his sea-colored eyes, the blue seongi swirling inside Seojun's body traveled along the wall toward the Blue Dragon model hidden behind the screen.
The Blue Dragon-infused seongi, undulating like ocean waves, enveloped the prop. Like a shed skin, the Blue Dragon's energy overlaid the prop, breathing life into the once mechanically moving model.
Its large eyes blinked softly, and its whiskers, which had moved with robotic regularity, now rippled gently. The stiffly standing mane now seemed to sway softly in the wind. The artificial blue of its scales transformed into a vibrant, sea-like hue.
And,
Seojun became the Blue Dragon.
[Groooowl.]
The low, beast-like growl of the Blue Dragon announced the beginning of the performance.
The audience members, some wondering what today's show would be like and others who came after reading reviews, shivered at the sound.
It was a sound that struck the ear so profoundly it made the hairs on their bodies stand on end. As if the story on stage had become reality, everything felt closer and more real than ever before.
No one could utter a single word, completely engrossed in the play.
Not a cough, not the creak of a chair from someone shifting, not the chatter of children—no sound disturbed the theater. Everyone watched the stage, their bodies tense.
The children on stage, too focused on this being their final performance to even notice the audience, moved with more passion than ever.
They delivered their lines, moved their bodies, cried, and laughed. Their heart-wrenching performance made hearts pound.
And then, the Blue Dragon appeared, breaking through the screen. Not only the first-time viewers, but also the repeat audience members and even the staff who had installed the dragon themselves, unknowingly let their mouths hang open at the sight of the vividly life-like creature.
The mechanical movements of its long whiskers, its stiff fur, and the rigid blinking of its eyelids were all gone.
The Blue Dragon's once-hard scales shimmered under the lights. The blue paint had transformed into the mysterious glow of the deep sea.
It seemed as if a faint breeze was coming from the tip of the Blue Dragon's nose, as though it were breathing.
Its once painting-like blue eyes now held a mystical vitality, and the claws on its two awkwardly attached feet looked sharp enough to pierce anything. The Blue Dragon's azure mane swayed in the wind.
It was a real,
living dragon before their very eyes.
A massive Blue Dragon had stuck its head into the theater and was looking down at them.
It felt as though if they stepped outside the Eunhasu Center, they would see the rest of the Blue Dragon's enormous body floating in the sky.
[You have found the Yeouiju. Thank you.]
The Blue Dragon's mouth opened slightly, revealing sharp teeth. Suddenly, the stage director remembered something. …That mouth isn't supposed to open, is it…? In sync with its mouth's movement, its whiskers and mane swayed as if caught in a gentle breeze.
The heavy voice pierced the hearts of the audience.
As the dragon, Seojun recalled the life of the Hatchling he had discovered in the Library of Life.
He remembered the grandfather who had lived with the still-young Hatchling. A large body with a benevolent face. The Blue Dragon who was the guardian of the human kingdom.
Though gentle with the Hatchling, his grandfather never forgot to maintain a distance from humans. While generous, he maintained a cool demeanor toward them, ensuring his goodwill was not taken for granted as a right. The Hatchling had wanted to become a dragon like that.
In his first performance, he had imitated his grandfather. But as the shows went on, Seojun—the Hatchling—grew.
This form was his own, not an imitation of his grandfather or anyone else. He had died young and never became the guardian dragon of the human kingdom, but,
[As a reward, I will grant you a wish.]
At the words of the vividly alive Blue Dragon, some of the children and audience members naturally clasped their hands together. Seojun could see people with earnest expressions on their faces.
Though it was a lie, in this moment, Seojun thought he might have become the guardian dragon the Hatchling had always wished to be.
The play ended. The heavy curtain descended, covering the stage.
The house lights came up, but the shock of the lifelike Blue Dragon was so immense that a heavy silence remained in the audience.
Soon, the curtain rose again, revealing the children who had appeared on stage to take their bows. Though they were dripping with sweat and breathing heavily, they were smiling brightly. As the audience saw them,
Clap, clap!!!
Clap, clap, clap!!!
Waaaaaaaaah!!
People leaped to their feet, sending a storm of applause and cheers. It was the loudest ovation yet, from children and adults alike.
“That was amazing!”
“You were the best!”
“Lee Dajin!!”
As someone called her name, Lee Dajin, dressed as a hunter, stepped forward, bowed deeply, and raised both hands, waving.
Liking her spontaneous action, audience members who had seen the play multiple times and had memorized all the actors from the pamphlet began to call out names one by one.
When a child whose name was called looked flustered, Lee Dajin grinned and gave them a gentle push from behind.
The children, though shy, bowed with bright smiles and waved their hands.
And then, one person remained. An actor who had never once appeared on stage, but had captured the hearts of children and adults with his voice alone.
The actor whose voice today was more divine and profound than ever.
The audience's gaze turned to one child. Among the children dressed in hanbok, one boy stood alone in a t-shirt and pants.
Kim Soohan, who had come to see the play with his friends again today, shouted.
“Na Jin!!”
Seojun, wearing a hat, took a step forward at the sound of his name.
From all around, the voices of children could be heard shouting, “Blue Dragon! Blue Dragon!” Seojun scanned the audience once, then bowed deeply. He then raised both hands high and waved.
“Let’s see your face in the next one!!”
The audience burst into laughter at that comment. The actors also laughed and stood side-by-side. Then they joined hands with the friends next to them.
Seojun also held his hyung's and nuna's hands tightly. He could feel the actors' overwhelming emotion through their clasped hands.
One, two.
“Thank you!”
The final performance was over.
***
“Great job!”
“It’s over!”
The play was completely finished. There would be no more rehearsals, no more performances. After hugging each other and crying their hearts out backstage, the children, with puffy eyes, raised their glasses filled with juice.
In the center of the practice room, a feast of pizza, chicken, and jokbal was laid out.
The children, relieved of their tension and hungry from all the crying, quickly began to fill their stomachs. Seojun, his eyes also red, picked up a slice of pizza and took a bite.
Munch, munch. As he chewed his pizza, Seojun thought.
Until now, the lives of his abilities had no connection to the history of the characters he researched. He had simply used suitable abilities as a matter of convenience.
But this time was different. The fact that they were both of the dragon race, that they both cared for humans, and that this was the life the Hatchling had desired. Many aspects of the play's situation resembled the life of his ability.
Was that why? It felt as if the Hatchling, who hadn't been able to grow due to its short life, was growing along with his performance.
In the end, the Hatchling had revealed a majesty all its own, not that of its grandfather.
‘Did the Hatchling become the guardian dragon it dreamed of being?’
The baby dragon pattern drawn on the center of his neck seemed to shine with satisfaction. He glanced down, and though he couldn't see the mark, the blue light it emitted was so intense it was almost blinding.
He hadn't intended to, but it felt as if he had resoundingly fulfilled the wish of one of his many past lives.
‘I should visit the library when I get back.’
Seojun popped the last piece of pizza into his mouth.
“But didn’t the Blue Dragon look really alive earlier?”
“I know, right? I saw it from backstage. Soyoung-nuna must have been totally shocked.”
Choi Soyoung, who had already finished her share of pizza and was now holding a chicken leg, nodded her head repeatedly.
“That Blue Dragon, its body actually swelled and deflated like it was breathing. The movement was so subtle I thought I was seeing things, but since everyone else felt it too, I guess it was real.”
“The stage director was so stunned he went to check on it. He ran off saying, ‘This… there’s no mechanism for this?!’”
Lee Dajin said, imitating the stage director, and the children burst out laughing.
Come to think of it, none of the guardians except An Daho, nor the staff, were around. It seemed they were all still unable to leave the stage.
“Do you think it really came to see us?”
“Could be. There are a lot of unbelievable things in the world.”
At the words of a boy who was very interested in UFOs, everyone nodded. Then they started sharing their own strange experiences.
A child who saw someone in white at night, another who saw a strange animal on the street, and one who heard a peculiar sound at school. Most were ghost stories, but everyone listened with great interest.
The stage director, who had been inspecting the Blue Dragon model, shook his head. The guardians and staff also tilted their heads at the cold, hard prop, which showed no sign of life.
This wasn't how it felt. Finding it hard to believe, they hesitated before one of them reached out and touched the model, which had been brought down from the stage.
Director Park Jisu, who had gone to check the recording, spoke up.
“In the recorded footage, its movements are the same as always.”
“…So we really were just seeing things?”
At someone's question, Director Park Jisu shrugged. His gesture left everyone speechless.
***
With the schedule completed, all the children went home.
And then, the moment the guardians had been waiting for arrived.
The evening of the final performance.
Posts went up on social media simultaneously. The first to hit the internet were the acting academies, which had been eagerly waiting, their posts written and ready to go with a single click.
[Child Actress Choi Soyoung, Who Acted with Lee Seojun!]
#ChildrensPlaySpring #MainRole #LeeSeojun #ChoiSoyoung
[With Hollywood Star Lee Seojun! Child Actor Lee Dajin!]
#ChildrensPlaySpring #HunterRole #LeeSeojun #LeeDajin #Hollywood
Along with the text, irrefutable evidence in the form of photos was uploaded.
Pictures of Seojun and the children eating ice cream with bright faces, and photos of them playing around. A video of Seojun and the children practicing was also posted.
Around the same time, Cocoa Entertainment released their own materials. And within minutes, the internet was flooded with articles about Seojun.
[Lee Seojun's Next Project Was a Children's Play?! And It's Already Over!]
[A Stage Name?! Lee Seojun's Stage Name is Na Jin!]
[Sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Produced by the Eunhasu Center: All About the Children's Play 'Spring'!]
[Lee Seojun Only Provided His Voice, But His Voice Acting Was Top-Tier!]
[The 'Blue Dragon' the Kids Were Looking For! It's Lee Seojun!]
And reviews of the children's play 'Spring' began to spread everywhere.
***
“Hey! This way!”
“Hold on! I’m coming!!”
After watching the children's play 'Spring', Kim Soohan and his friends were at a PC bang, intensely shooting guns. The inside of the PC bang was noisy. Everyone had a cup of instant noodles beside them as they moved their mice.
“Is that a hack? How does he dodge every time I shoot?”
“…It’s because you can’t aim.”
At Kim Soohan's words, his friends shook their heads. In the end, Kim Soohan, who died first, started surfing the internet while waiting for his friends' game to end.
He went to his most frequented site and was casually browsing the posts when he noticed it was filled with talk about ‘Lee Seojun’. Kim Soohan scratched his head and muttered.
“Did he film another Hollywood movie or something?”
“What?!”
“Nothing!”
Kim Soohan clicked on the post with the most views. The content wasn't very long. In short:
Lee Seojun, children's play, Spring, Blue Dragon role, Na Jin, stage name.
“…Huh?”
“Ah! I died.”
“Wow, how did every single one of us die?”
It seemed his friends' game was over too, as they became noisy. Kim Soohan's hand moved on its own. He went to a search engine. He checked the real-time search trends. He checked the news articles and even N-tube videos.
“Hey, why are you shaking so much?”
“What, did you get into trouble or something?”
Kim Soohan looked down at his own hand at his friends' words. The hand holding the mouse was trembling.
“Hey…”
“What?”
“I think the world’s gone crazy.”
“No, I think you’ve gone crazy.”
“…They’re saying Na Jin is Lee Seojun.”
His friends tilted their heads. Na Jin? Who’s Na Jin? That Blue Dragon. Oh, the one Soohan likes? But Na Jin is Lee Seojun? Isn’t Lee Seojun that guy? Jin Natra.
The whispering voices of his friends grew quieter. They all looked at Kim Soohan with strange expressions.
“…Are you insane?”
“Am I the one who’s insane? They’re saying Na Jin is Lee Seojun. The one who played the Blue Dragon was Lee Seojun!”
Kim Soohan shouted, goosebumps covering his entire body. The loud noise made people in the PC bang turn to look at Kim Soohan and his friends.
Ignoring them, Kim Soohan spoke as if he were about to throw up. Even as he spoke, an image flashed in his mind. Na Jin on stage, wearing a hat. The one who had waved back at him… Ugh. That was him?!
“The actor in the play I saw 8 times! The Na Jin I got an autograph from is Lee Seojun! Look at this!”
What Kim Soohan showed them was a photo of Choi Soyoung, the main character of the play ‘Spring’ they had seen, Lee Dajin, who played the hunter, and Lee Seojun, all smiling.
The pamphlet introductions for the actors in the photo were posted alongside it. Choi Soyoung, Lee Dajin, and one that particularly stood out.
[Na Jin / 8 years old]
-Wow. He really pops up in the most unexpected places!
-Na Jin? Don't tell me... Jin Natra?
=Ah lol, seems like it hahaha.
“…Huh.”
“Holy crap.”
The people in the PC bang started murmuring at Kim Soohan's words. What's going on? Did something happen? No, they're saying it's Lee Seojun. Lee Seojun? You know, the child actor who went to Hollywood. Ah.
Everyone started searching for Lee Seojun's name. What's all the fuss about?
A moment later, sounds of "Huh?! Really?" erupted from here and there. And all eyes turned back to the students. Among them was a reporter from the social affairs desk who had come to investigate the state of PC bangs.
“…But you got an autograph in the name of Na Jin.”
“Ah…”
“No! That actually makes it rarer! Who else would get Lee Seojun's autograph as Na Jin!”
“That’s true.”
While his friends chattered beside him, oblivious to the stares, as Kim Soohan swung between joy and despair, his phone rang.
Kim Soohan answered the call with a dazed expression.
“Hello? Yes? Yes?”
At the sound of Kim Soohan's trembling voice, his friends, who had been debating whether Na Jin's autograph was better or Lee Seojun's, asked.
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
“…It’s Cocoa Entertainment.”
“Where’s that?”
“Lee Seojun’s agency…”
“What?”
The noise in the PC bang died down. The occasional game sound could be heard, but everyone had fallen silent, watching Kim Soohan and his friends.
Kim Soohan, a fan of Na Jin (8 years old, actually Lee Seojun), who had begun his first-ever fandom journey, opened his mouth with a strange expression. He still hadn't processed the fact that Na Jin was Lee Seojun, and now things were happening like a whirlwind.
“They said thank you for watching the play 8 times. If I give them my address, they’ll send me Lee Seojun’s autograph. Is Na Jin really Lee Seojun?”
“…Whoa.”
“Excuse me. Could I get a brief interview?”
While everyone was still stunned, the social affairs reporter presented his business card and requested an interview. Whether he wrote the story himself or passed it to the entertainment desk, this was a scoop he couldn't miss.
[(Exclusive) A Special Gift from Lee Seojun to the Fan Who Attended Every Performance of the Children's Play 'Spring'!]
-Wow. He's so lucky lol. How do you go to see a cheap play and it turns out to be a Lee Seojun play?
-But if he saw every performance, doesn't that mean he used up the school's subsidy and spent his own money?
-It says he saw it 8 times because of Na Jin's acting. Just imagine how impressed he must have been to collect the tickets and ask for an autograph lol. From an 8-year-old lol.
-Thanks to that, he gets to have two autographs, Na Jin and Lee Seojun. I'm so jealousㅠㅠ
-This is what I find funnier. For the 2nd show, he went with 5 friends, for the 3rd, he brought those friends' friends, and by the 8th show, a ton of kids from his school came lol. Is this a pyramid scheme? lol.
-From now on, if you want to interview people who saw the children's play 'Spring', just go to Juyoung High School hahaha.
-The teachers must be at a loss;;; The school got famous nationwide, but in a really weird way lol.
-I want to see it. They said they had to write a review after watching the play. Someone post their review lol.
A few days later, a post appeared online. And articles about that post poured out one after another.
[It's here! Lee Seojun's autograph!]
Lee Seojun's autograph is here! There's a DVD of the play 'Spring' too! And a postcard!
(Photo of Na Jin's autograph, Lee Seojun's autograph, 'Spring' the play DVD, Lee Seojun postcard)
(Close-up on the postcard)
His handwriting is better than mine. He even wrote 'Na Jin' in tiny letters, lol.
But you really never know what life will throw at you. To think the first actor I ever became a fan of is Lee Seojun, hahaha. I thought I was his first fan, but he's already a world star, lol. Guess I should go join his fan cafe.
-Wow, his fan service… is the best.
-Honestly, this must be more special since he became a fan just from the acting, without knowing the name value. Who falls for an 8-year-old's acting—voice acting, at that—and watches the play 8 times?
-A high school freshman, at that, lol.
-But what's with the DVD?
=They start selling it next week. Pre-orders are open now.
[Lee Seojun's Next Project, the Children's Play 'Spring'! All Performances on DVD! VOD Also Available!]
[Sponsored by the Ministry of Culture! Starring Lee Seojun! Pre-orders for the Children's Play 'Spring' DVD Now Open!]
[A Fan Who Attended All Performances Shares the Highlights of Each Show!]
[You Can Skip the Others, But You Must Watch the Final, 8th Performance!]
[We Met the Child Actors Who Starred in the Children's Play 'Spring'!]