Superstar From Age 0

Chapter 145

They needed actors with experience, even if the drama was short.

Only one place was left out.

***

What did Team 2 of Cocoa Entertainment, the team dedicated to actor Lee Seo-jun, do?

When they arrived at work in the morning, they sat down at their desks and checked Lee Seo-juns articles and comments first.

There are a lot of posts expressing their expectations for Shadowman 3.

Many fans are also waiting for his next work.

They could check them with ease, as there were only good articles. 

Lee Seo-jun had a good image and a heavy name as a Hollywood actor, even at a young age.

The next thing to do was to print out the scripts and synopses that came in the day before. 

The printer worked fast, and the employees collected and organized the printed materials. 

Then, the meeting began with Ahn Da-ho, the team leader who would explain them to Seo-jun in person.

This production company keeps sending them. Theyve been on the blacklist for a long time

This one is not bad, right?

Ill read it too.

After filtering out the synopses of the directors, writers, production companies, and other influential figures on the blacklist, they scored the rest of them, except for the ones that made them frown just by reading them. 

They put them in a box to send to Seo-jun, along with Ahn Da-hos recommendations.

This task took the longest time, as there were many works coming in.

The next thing was advertising.

Lee Seo-jun was famous worldwide, so he could target the global market with just one advertisement. 

Thanks to that, there were also a lot of offers for appearing in advertisements. 

And they poured in from all over the world, not just Korea.

The problem was that he couldnt choose advertisements carelessly as he became more famous. 

Unlike scripts and synopses, which Ahn Da-ho and Team 2 could easily filter out, they became very careful here.

They searched for information about the products and companies and checked reviews and articles.

This one has carcinogens in it.

Everyone shook their heads at the employees words.

If that padding had been sold all over the world with Seo-juns advertisement It would have been really dark. 

It wasnt Seo-juns fault, but they didnt know if even a small spark would fly. 

Considering Seo-juns influence, it might have been a big spark.

I think it would be better if he just did dramas and movies without any advertisements.

Team 2 agreed with that. 

There were few offers for advertisements that passed through Team 2s sharp eyes today, and none of them were chosen by Seo-jun.

After sorting out all the emails and mail that came in the day before, it was time to surf the internet.

From sites that actors and production companies used frequently to cafes and blogs, they searched for [audition] with their mouths shut.

[Advertisement audition]

[Theater audition]

[Independent film audition]

They checked the occasional articles and posts while looking for auditions. 

There were more reviews of auditions and advertisements for acting schools than audition posts.

Theres an audition notice here!

An employee clicked on the post with interest. 

It was a post on a site where only audition notices were posted.

Its a public service advertisement for the Fire Department. Do you have it, team leader?

Ahn Da-ho, who was looking through the companys mailbox, shook his head. There was no F for Fire Department in it.

No.

Then Ill print it.

The employee who found the audition notice activated the printer. 

Several sheets of paper were printed out with a whirring sound. 

Team 2 divided them up and read them one by one.

[Fire Department Public Service Advertisement Audition Notice]

[Age limit: 12-13 years old (5th-6th grade elementary school)]

[Production company: Cloud]

Cloud, an advertisement production company. 

It wasnt on the blacklist.

The audition date was on the weekend.

Team 2 checked the notice familiarly.

The age limit is exactly Seo-juns age. Why didnt they send it?

Well, it must be because of the appearance fee.

After Seo-jun won the Golden Globe Award and the Academy Award, there was a time when the American media calculated his appearance fee.

His appearance fee in Hollywood, where they called movies with less than 100 billion won in production costs low-budget films, was enough to shock Korea.

Its not like you can believe that exactly

The situation is different in Korea and the US, so the appearance fee would be different too.

Team 2 nodded their heads.

There were often places that didnt send offers because they were scared of the unexpected appearance fee.

Of course, there werent many. 

Whether it was a play or a musical, if Seo-jun appeared in it, they could make enough profit from VOD or streaming sites.

Thanks to that, there were more places that threw scripts and synopses at him without any plan, saying that they would do this and that if Seo-jun appeared.

They sighed just thinking about it.

Ahn Da-ho opened his mouth.

It looks like they didnt send it because they cant make any profit from this public service advertisement.

Its good that they dont force him to donate his talent.

Everyone gave a bitter smile at that. 

They remembered the time when some association tried to force him to donate his talent.

Ahn Da-ho looked down at the paper. 

He always thought of that time when he saw audition notices on the internet.

His actor, who chose a different work that seemed fun, rather than the next work list that only aimed for box office success.

I dont know if Seo-jun will choose this audition or not, but I dont want a situation like the childrens play Spring to happen again.

Thats right. The reason why Team 2 exists is to support Seo-jun, but its absurd that Seo-jun has to look for audition notices himself.

After that, Team 2 didnt ignore any audition notice or synopsis carelessly.

Of course, there were also some auditions that smelled like scams, but it was Team 2s job to weed them out.

Lets check it out.

At Ahn Da-hos words, the employees stopped chatting and checked the audition notice.

Plus for looking like theyll make it properly.

Plus for being a public service advertisement from the Fire Department. We dont need to check it separately.

Its an advertisement, but the running time is 5 to 10 minutes. Its like a web drama. Plus for having a story.

Theres no synopsis in the notice. We need to check this.

Ill send an email to the production company.

As soon as the production company sends us the synopsis or script, we can send it to Seo-jun.

While one employee sent an email to Cloud, the advertisement production company, Team 2 started looking for audition notices again.

***

As usual, Seo-jun glanced at the titles of the scripts and synopses that Ahn Da-ho brought in a box. 

He sparkled his eyes.

Oh.

He found a paper that was at the bottom. 

It had three stars on it.

Its a public service advertisement from the Fire Department.

Why? Are you interested?

Yes. We had an evacuation drill at school last week.

Oh. Right.

Seo-jun read the audition notice and synopsis and said.

I became interested after that and looked into it a bit. Like how to evacuate in places other than school. But there were more problems than I thought.

Problems?

Like the rooftop door being locked when you have to evacuate to the rooftop, or the emergency bell being broken and ringing all the time, or the emergency door being locked and unusable in an emergency.

Ahn Da-ho nodded at Seo-juns words.

Well, yeah, there are cases where they lock the rooftop door because its dangerous.

And our school is special because we do it twice a year. I heard that other schools dont do it much.

Ahn Da-ho thought of Maesil Elementary Schools disaster drill.

It was an evacuation drill created by the principal who took office a few years before Seo-jun enrolled. 

The evacuation drills with different levels of difficulty for grades 1 to 6 seemed to be very helpful for the kids.

But you can only tell if its really helpful or not when an accident happens, and accidents shouldnt happen at elementary schools.

There were things that were better not to know. 

It would be helpful enough if they didnt panic when the emergency bell rang.

This is good.

Ahn Da-ho came to his senses at Seo-juns words.

Really? Do you want to do this?

Yes. I want to do it.

Seo-jun nodded his head.

Ahn Da-ho took the paper from Seo-jun and looked over the notice. 

This audition was for a public service advertisement that had a low budget and no other revenue, so they might hesitate to offer Seo-jun an appearance fee. 

But,

If Seo-jun wants to do it, I have to let him do it.

Lee Seo-juns manager, Ahn Da-ho smiled slyly. 

There was also a way of donating his talent, but if he did that once, they would ask him to do it everywhere.

Then I have to use another method.

Seo-jun. Do you care about the appearance fee?

No.

Then shall we use that name?

That name?

Seo-jun tilted his head and sparkled his eyes.

Na Jin?

Yeah. This is a public service advertisement, so they wont have much production cost. Na Jins appearance fee would be more appropriate than Lee Seo-juns, who won awards.

Ahn Da-ho said and Seo-jun burst into laughter.

Hahaha. Should we do that?

Lee Seo-jun and Na Jin.

It was like playing peek-a-boo, but it was a good method.

***

The audition applications piled up on the conference room table. 

The planning team members who had to do the document screening sat down with vague faces.

We did send them the synopsis, but what if we really get an application from him?

Ever since they got an email from Cocoa Entertainment that day, Clouds employees wondered how much they would have to pay him if he appeared in this advertisement, or searched for old prediction articles.

The conclusion that always reached beyond their imagination was,

Cant we ask him to donate his talent?

Donating his talent.

Since its a public service advertisement, it might not be impossible.

But wouldnt it seem like were forcing him if we suggest it from our side?

Everyone groaned at that. 

They remembered the time when some association tried to force him to donate his talent.

Well, whether its donating his talent or paying him an appearance fee, we have to get an application from him first. If theres no application, its just wishful thinking.

Everyone nodded at the planning team leaders words.

Then lets start the document screening!

Yes.

The conference room was quiet, except for the sound of papers turning and pens scratching.

There are a lot of child actors in this age group. They have at least two works of experience.

Its because of Lee Seo-jun. There was a boom of child actors because of him.

There are still many. There are many people who want to make their kids like Lee Seo-jun from a young age. And many kids who want to be like him too.

Everyone nodded.

Meanwhile, the planning team leader stopped at one application. 

He seemed to stop breathing.

The employee sitting next to him tilted his head and looked at the application that the team leader was looking at. 

The employee also froze.

Kim Ji-hyun, who was sitting next to them, was puzzled by their expressions and stretched his head to look at the application. 

He read it slowly from the top.

Name, Na Jin, age, 13.

There was nothing special about the name or age. 

There were many people with the same name in the world. 

But when this work was added, there was only one person it pointed to.

Experience, childrens play Spring?

The eyes of everyone in the office turned to Kim Ji-hyun. 

The team leader and the employee who were staring blankly at the application, and Kim Ji-hyuns pupils shook.

What?

What did you say?

They didnt hear the employees questions. 

As if they were slowly coming to their senses, the team leader and the employee started to laugh weakly.

Ah, haha. Team leader, your eyes must have gotten worse. Do you want to get glasses together?

Maybe. Im seeing things. Should I drink some herbal medicine?

Their short laughter ended and a brief silence passed. 

The employees who were sitting got up and headed toward the team leader.

Really!? Its really Lee Seo-jun!?

Na Jin. Na Jin, isnt that Lee Seo-juns stage name?

Well, its not really a stage name, but! How did this happen?! If they were going to send it, why did they send it as Na Jin instead of Lee Seo-jun?

Is someone playing a prank?

! Thats right!

Everyone nodded at the most probable opinion. The employee who suggested it picked up his phone.

Ill call Lee Seo-juns agency.

Isnt there a phone number here?

How can you trust that.

Oh.

He typed Lee Seo-juns agency on the internet search bar, and Cocoa Entertainments homepage and phone number appeared.

The phone rang. Everyone was silent as they answered the phone.

The expression of the employee who was on the phone gradually became confused. 

Everyone was curious as he hung up the phone. 

The employee opened his mouth with a pale face.

Its really Lee Seo-jun.

Wow! Lee Seo-jun is appearing in our advertisement!

Among the happy employees, the team leader was lost in thought.

But why did he send an application as Na Jin, not Lee Seo-jun? Does he want us to think of them separately?

It seems like that from only writing Spring as his experience.

Then, Na Jins appearance fee is

Well have to talk to Cocoa Entertainment to find out, but it might be okay if its less than Lee Seo-juns.

The team leaders face regained its color.