Chapter 72
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: The Fan Meeting Announcement
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The day Seojun's stage name, Jin Natra, was revealed.
Before sending out a press release to reporters, Cocoa Entertainment posted on Seojun's fan cafe. It was a post about the children's play 'Spring' and the reason for using a stage name.
Fans who were browsing through online articles and reviews all clicked on the post.
-We could have seen Seojun's acting (even if it was just his voice) in person!
-If they had just given us a little hint, we would have figured it out and gone to see it!
-I understand the reason after reading the notice... but it's still a shame.
Comments expressing disappointment popped up one after another, and the view count on the notice rose quickly. And occasionally, reviews from fans who had been forced to go by their pestering children or nephews and ended up becoming successful fans were also posted.
[Title: I came back after giving my nephew a ton of toys.]
I gave a gift to my nephew who had been whining for almost a week about wanting to see the Blue Dragon.
I also bought some delicious chicken for my sister and brother-in-law, who happened to have a lot to do.
That's right.
I went to see it with my nephew!
Honestly, you can't tell it's Seojun just from his voice. I only found out after the articles came out. I was just thinking, 'Wow, these kids are great actors. This is fun.' Then the Blue Dragon appears, and from that point on, you're just overwhelmed. You really find yourself sinking into your seat without even realizing it.
Most of the adults were like that, but the kids were so excited they didn't know what to do. Maybe that's what they mean by 'a pup that doesn't know to fear a tiger' haha.
Still, once the play is over, everyone's the same. They open the pamphlet to find the actor who played the Blue Dragon.
[Blue Dragon - Jin Natra / Age 8]
And then they're surprised by the fact that he's an 8-year-old child actor. Honestly, I was thinking, 'Wow, if this kid acted with Lee Seojun, it would be incredible. I wish they'd become friends and star in a Hollywood movie together...' but it turned out to be him haha.
Anyway, it was actor Lee Seojun, overwhelming with just his voice.
-So jealous... Genuinely jealous...
-There are so many fan cafe members, looking at the number of seats in the theater, it seems impossible that I could have seen it, but it's such a shame TT_TT
The theater was small, and few people saw it. On Seojun's fan cafe, where the overwhelming majority hadn't seen it, posts expressing disappointment were uploaded every few seconds.
The head of the PR team, Kim Sooryun, who was looking at the fan cafe, turned her head to look at Seo Eunchan.
Even though it was past closing time, the PR office was full of employees from Team 2 and the PR team. The sound of ringing phones could be heard from all over.
“Should I post it?”
“Yes. Let's post it now.”
Click.
With a single click of PR Team Leader Kim Sooryun's finger, the fan cafe exploded once again.
“It's up!”
“Oh. It's already up?”
“The timing is perfect.”
Seojun and his parents gathered in the living room, looking at a laptop. On the cafe, beautifully decorated with Seojun's photos, the most prominent post was visible.
[(Notice) Information regarding Actor Lee Seojun's fan meeting schedule.]
The notice listed the fan meeting date and time, as well as the ticketing date. The location was vaguely described for security reasons. And in particularly large letters, the restriction 'For official fan cafe members only' was written.
“Daho is so thoughtful. He even came up with a fan meeting for the fans who couldn't see the play.”
“Daho hyung, you're amazing!”
Seojun nodded at his father's words. While he was busy practicing for the play, he had tilted his head in confusion seeing Daho hyung making calls and working here and there, but to think it was all for the fan meeting!
Thanks to the slow preparations that started three months ago, the fan meeting was now in its final stages. Seojun had heard about it from An Daho before the play went on stage and nodded. It was a fan meeting for the fans who would be disappointed about not being able to see the play.
“There are a ton of comments.”
At my mom's words, I looked at the comment section. Each time I refreshed, dozens of new comments appeared. I started reading the ones that caught my eye.
-This is the kind of firepower that makes me understand why Seojun used a stage name...
-No matter how big the fan meeting venue is, I have a feeling I won't be able to go ;;;
-Iseonjwa...
“What's Iseonjwa?”
“It means 'This seat has already been selected.' It refers to a seat that's already been booked.”
“I see.”
As Seojun read through the comments, he noticed the atmosphere change at a certain point.
-They say the Brown Black fan cafe is in an uproar too.
=???Why them?
=They're saying they might come to Seojun's fan meetingㅠ
=No, they have concerts and lots of fan meetingsㅠ When it comes to ticketing, their experience is incomparable to oursㅠ Is it already Iseonjwa?ㅠ
-Only registered fan cafe members can buy tickets, right?
=Because of the 48-hour rule, a lot of Brown Black fans joined this cafe early onㅠ
=If you look at their join date, they've probably been members longer than us ㅠ
Seojun tilted his head and went to the Brown Black fan cafe, which he had joined for fun. It was also in an uproar because of his fan meeting.
At first, posts like 'That little baby is already big enough to hold a fan meetingㅠ' and 'He's grown up so muchㅠㅠ' were posted without much thought, but soon, a new post appeared. That post was the beginning of the problem.
[But a lot of acquaintances come to fan meetings, will Brown Black come too?]
-Right. They probably will, right?
-There's no way they wouldn't. Does Brown Black have anything scheduled that day?
-Whenever Brown Black meets Seojun, their energy is out of this world... It'll be fun.
“Mom, I think I need to call Samchon.”
“Why?”
Seojun showed his mom and dad the posts on the Brown Black fan cafe. As the couple read through the post titles, their expressions grew more and more serious.
This was a fan meeting solely for Seojun's fans. While he understood the hearts of the fans who loved Brown Black.
“Still, this isn't right.”
Seo Eunhye picked up her phone. Yeah, yeah! This isn't right! Seojun nodded his head.
Meanwhile, the internet was buzzing. Reporters who roamed various sites, turning trending topics into articles, had no time to rest.
“Anything with Lee Seojun is a huge hit!”
“Things just keep happening one after another!”
After Seojun's identity was revealed, an unprecedented event called 'article resurgence' occurred.
Articles about Jin Natra that had been buried under other news began to resurface.
An article written simply on a superior's orders, an article he thought would hardly get any views, was spreading as if it had grown wings.
[Age 8, Jin Natra. A talented voice actor!]
[The second Lee Seojun of the voice acting world! Jin Natra!]
-I thought he was the second Lee Seojun, but it was the man himself!
-How good can a kid be?! He was in a Marine Company movie!
A reporter, grinning as he watched the view count on his article shoot up, started surfing the internet again.
To post an article, the most important thing was to find a trending topic before anyone else.
“Huh, what's this?”
[Title: For some reason, computer orders have increased.]
My family's custom-built computers are famous among idol fans. If you order one set up to ignore everything else and just be good for ticketing, we'll even come to your house and check your internet speed. The success rate is pretty high.
But a few hours ago, computer orders started increasing. There have been a lot more inquiries about checking internet speeds too. Usually, this happens when there's a concert, but I've looked everywhere and can't find one.
Do you know what's going on?
-Lee Seojun's fan meeting schedule was announced. Rumor is that Brown Black, from the same agency, might come.
-OP: ...Wow. I need to go hire some part-timers.
“Lee Seojun and Brown Black...”
They were figures that even the general public would have heard of a few times, names you couldn't resist clicking on. And come to think of it, Lee Seojun's connections didn't end with Brown Black.
“I don't know if those people would come to Korea just for a fan meeting, but there's no better story than this!”
The reporter placed his hands on the keyboard.
[Lee Seojun Fan Meeting! Brown Black to Appear?!]
[Lee Seojun's First Fan Meeting to be Held!]
[Hollywood Stars Who Might Appear at Lee Seojun's Fan Meeting?]
Meanwhile, thanks to the firepower of the two fan cafes, their names appeared on the real-time rankings. And people took the bait the reporter had thrown.
1. Lee Seojun fan meeting
2. Lee Seojun Brown Black
3. Cocoa Entertainment
4. Lee Seojun Evan Block
5. Lee Seojun Richel Hill
6. Lee Seojun Jin Natra
...
new! Children's Play Spring DVD
Seo Eunchan, who received Seo Eunhye's call, answered that he already knew.
Because Cocoa Entertainment only managed two groups of celebrities, they were always monitoring both fan cafes.
“Yeah, yeah. It's fine. We have a solution.”
After hanging up, Seo Eunchan quickly posted Brown Black's schedule on their fan cafe.
The employees sighed in relief seeing the view count surpass 2,000 in the blink of an eye.
“It was a good idea to schedule them overseas.”
And it wasn't a day trip, but a week-long European schedule.
Brown Black was disappointed they couldn't attend Seojun's fan meeting, but they didn't want his first fan meeting to be filled with their fans.
They even made a pinky promise with Seojun to appear at each other's fan meetings next time.
“We've been preparing for three months. We have most countermeasures ready.”
“We should post it on Seojun's fan cafe too. And send out a press release to reporters.”
Unlike other celebrities' fan meetings where many acquaintances appear, no other acquaintances were scheduled to appear at Seojun's.
“If they were just moderately famous people, it wouldn't matter, but Seojun's acquaintances are such huge names...”
The employees, who had been diligently monitoring the reactions, nodded at the CEO's words.
Brown Black, who always topped the idol charts; actor Lee Jiseok, who was in his prime after his lead role in a drama that recorded the highest ratings among the three major broadcasters; and the Hollywood actors from Marine Company.
Seo Eunchan shook his head. Team Leader Kim Sooryun, who had posted on Seojun's fan cafe, smiled.
Soon, many comments were added to the post. Most of them were reactions of relief.
“If even one of them showed up, it would be chaos.”
“But Seojun has a lot of fans too.”
Watching the ceaselessly accumulating comments, everyone nodded. The comments here alone exceeded the number of fan meeting seats, making them think that when ticketing actually started, it would be a truly bloody battle.
“That's true.”
In the meantime, the posts on the two cafes were turned into articles.
[Lee Seojun Fan Meeting! Brown Black is Filming Overseas!]
[No One Else is Coming! A Fan Meeting Solely for Lee Seojun's Fans!]
* * *
Seojun opened his eyes.
The Library of Life appeared before him.
The door in front of Seojun was the most recently opened one.
“Last time I looked, my body was too big to fit through the first door...”
Seojun gestured to his left.
“Huh?”
The door that should have been getting smaller was the same size. No, on closer inspection, the small doors were gone.
The doors for [Slime's Digestive Ability], [Fairy's Sparkle], and even the larger door for [Smiling Face Mushroom's Illusion].
Only this yellow door, slightly taller than Seojun, which had opened recently, remained.
“My body had gotten bigger, so it was hard to get in anyway, but still, my past self wouldn't have just gotten rid of the doors, right?”
Puzzled, he looked in the corner and saw that the pitch-black door of his first life was still there. The doors that had disappeared and the doors that remained. Unable to figure out the criteria, Seojun tilted his head.
“Well, it has been a very long time since the Library of Life was created.”
And it wasn't made by just one of Seojun's lives. A long, long time ago, one life laid the foundation, another built the walls, another made the bookshelves, and another created the ceiling. It was a place inscribed with the power of many lives.
The Library of Life, created by the outstanding abilities of many lives.
A place he thought he knew well, but one with many features he'd created and forgotten, or made as a joke, a place still full of wonders.
“First, should I check the hatchling's book?”
As Seojun placed his hand on the yellow door, it opened.
A pure white energy poured out. The bright atmosphere even lifted his spirits. Seojun hummed as he looked over the bookshelves.
“This book is...”
It was the book from which he'd gotten [Fairy's Sparkle]. The book next to it was the one with the [Orchestra Conductor's Connection] ability. [Summer Bear's Hibernation] was also on the shelf next to it.
Realizing this, Seojun looked around the inside of the library. It seemed the feeling that it had gotten wider than when he first opened the door wasn't just a feeling.
“It got bigger.”
The Library of Life, realizing that Seojun couldn't pass through the small doors, had gathered the libraries he could open here on its own.
“Well, it would need a function like this to be usable even when I was an ogre.”
Seojun nodded, praising his past self who had added the integration and expansion functions. But.
“Why is this one still the same?”
Coming out of the library, Seojun squatted in front of the pitch-black door of his first life. He had already placed the book from his first life in the currently open library.
Whether it was because there was no automatic display function, or because it wasn't time for it to activate yet, the book remained quietly in the spot he had moved it to.
Its tattered and worn appearance looked like it would crumble at any moment, so he had completely cleared one shelf and placed only the book of his first life there.
Seojun, who had been staring blankly at the door of his first life, scratched his cheek and stood up.
“Well, it doesn't matter. That's not what I'm here for today.”
Seojun walked on. He stood before the book of the [Blue Dragon Hatchling]. He took out the book and read through the life again. The beginning and the middle were unchanged. Even the blue dragon's death, hunted by demons, was the same.
Only, there was a newly written sentence.
[The Blue Dragon's hatchling, Seidonin, fulfilled his duty under the alias 'Blue Dragon' in a world of falsehood. Seidonin fell asleep with a sense of pride.]
That's what was written.
And after reading that sentence, a notification window appeared before Seojun's eyes.
[(Good) The ability of the Blue Dragon Hatchling's Weak Fear is transforming!]
At the news, Seojun took out the ability that had entered his throat. A blue orb popped out and landed on his hand. Seojun examined the ability.
[(Good) Blue Dragon Hatchling's Weak Fear-Mid-Low Grade]
This is the fear of a young blue dragon (hatchling).
The fear alone shows a difference in 'class'.
“Huh?”
The dragonification, which had the advantage of developing his senses, but had the major drawback of being invisible to others.
Like a gift, the dragonification that had felt like a restriction to Seojun was gone.
Now he could use this ability without hiding behind it. Seojun looked at the book with the newly added sentence and the orb, shaking his head.
“This is really amazing. Oh, then...”
Seojun thought of a certain book.
The life of the [Fairy of the Baton], which contained [Orchestra Conductor's Connection], an ability that had risen from the lowest grade to a low grade.
He found and took out the book of the [Fairy of the Baton], but it only had a brief note about the ability's grade increase. There was no story about the fairy of the baton. After thinking deeply, Seojun came to a conclusion.
“The books are about lives, so it's separate from an ability's upgrade.”
The hatchling fulfilled its dream through the ability. The Library of Life judged that to be part of the hatchling's life and reflected it in the book.
But the fairy of the baton was different. Its will and the ability's upgrade were completely unrelated, which was why no story about the fairy was included.
“Then if I destroy the world with Orchestra Conductor's Connection, it'll be written in the book.”
Unlike a world made of music, could the complex modern society be destroyed by this small ability, a musical one at that? Seojun tilted his head.
“Well, who cares!”
Closing the book, Seojun looked around at the other bookshelves.
“Now that my curiosity about the hatchling is satisfied, I need to find an ability to use at the fan meeting!”
He wanted to show a cool side of himself, solely for the fans who were coming to see him. Seojun's eyes lit up as he scoured the Library of Life.
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