Soon, Seo-jun was looking at the lightstick designs with enjoyment rather than judging them for the contest.
He saw a werewolf that he had dressed up as for Halloween, and a detective that he had cameoed as.
He also saw a baby ghost in a colorful robe, and a baby Seo-jun with a small spoon in his hand and chubby cheeks.
As he browsed the [Lightstick Contest] board with Seo-jun, Ahn Da Ho said.
âHmm. These look more like fan art than lightstick designs, donât they?â
âI agree.â
Seo-jun laughed as he found a phrase that said âSeo-jun, I love you!â on one of the designs, which the fans had written knowing that Seo-jun would see them.
After looking at the posts that were hard to tell whether they were lightstick designs, fan art, or letters with pictures for a while, Seo-jun took his eyes off the PinePad.
âDa Ho hyung. There are so many designs that I like, I donât know what to choose.â
âThatâs true⦠But most of them seem difficult to make into lightsticks.â
âWhy?â
Seo-jun tilted his head at Ahn Da Hoâs words.
âUnlike singers who have concerts or events, you wonât use them much in reality. Once you make one, youâll have to keep using it unless you change the design. I think it would be better to make a lightstick with a common image rather than one based on a single work.â
Ahn Da Ho said with a smile.
âEach fan will have their favorite work, so it would be a pity to make it only based on one work⦠And youâll have more works to do in the future.â
âThat makes sense.â
True.
He might have better works, more fun works, or even masterpieces in the future.
It would be regrettable to make a lightstick based on only one work.
âThen what should I chooseâ¦â
As Seo-jun looked at the board with a serious face, Ahn Da Ho said with a smile.
âYou still have time left for the contest, so you can choose slowly.â
Ahn Da Hoâs head turned to the clock in the practice room.
âHmm. Itâs been quite a while, so letâs stop here for today?â
âOkay.â
His eyes were a bit sore from seeing so many designs as well as the love of his fans.
Ahn Da Ho smiled as he saw Seo-jun rubbing his eyes lightly.
He brought one script. Seo-junâs eyes sparkled at the sight of the script as if he was never tired.
âIâll only give you one script at a time while youâre judging the contest. Itâs from the 2nd teamâs recommendation. You can read it when youâre bored at home.â
âWhat kind of work is it?â
âItâs from Dahong. It was pretty good. The other actors havenât been decided yet. And itâs the directorâs second work. The first one didnât do well at the box office.â
Seo-jun blinked as he listened to Ahn Da Hoâs explanation.
The first work failed and it was the second work.
It was the same history as the director he met at Han River, but it didnât seem like him since it hadnât been even a month since then.
âThereâs an audition, is that okay?â
âYes. Thatâs fine.â
What did it matter if there was an audition as long as the script was good?
He had a lot of ambition for works and even adapted and staged a play by himself. Ahn Da Ho and the 2nd team knew him well and recommended Dahongâs script without much hesitation.
âThey all know what attracts Seo-jun now.â
The vibe of the scripts that came into Cocoa Entertainmentâs 2nd team dedicated to actor Lee Seo-jun slowly changed. Of course, there were some scripts that were just thrown in, but some famous production companies started to send good works or unusual and different works that they couldnât see normally.
They realized that actor Lee Seo-jun moved when he liked the work more than any other conditions.
âSome production companies might use good works as hostages and hit him hardâ¦â
It was the job of the manager and the agency to prevent that in advance and make him act comfortably and happily in the work he liked.
âAn audition is nothing but a formality.â
He smiled confidently, believing in his actorâs skills.
Then he handed over the script to his actor who was waiting for it with sparkling eyes.
Seo-jun quickly took the script and looked at the first page.
The title, director, and production company name were written on the first page of the script.
âOh.â
Seo-jun let out an exclamation without realizing it.
He really didnât expect to see that name here.
[Working Title: Travel]
[Director: Min Hee-kyung]
[Production Company: Dahong]
Min Hee-kyung.
The three letters reminded him of the voice of the director he met at Han River.
âIâll write a good script, so wait for me.â
Seo-jun smiled brightly and turned the first page.
âI thought it would take longerâ¦â
He was really curious about what kind of script it was.
***
Movie production company, Dahong.
The planning team was working as usual, but they seemed to be distracted by something else.
âWhen will it come?â
âI donât know. Cocoa Entertainment said they review them in the order they received, so it might be late if they have a lot of backlog.â
âItâs hard to wait even though itâs only been a few days since we sent the script.â
âWe need an answer to proceed, whether itâs yes or no.â
âCocoa Entertainment is busy these days. Seo-jun is having a lightstick contest and theyâre also planning to debut a new idol group.â
Lee Yoon-ju, who was a fan of Seo-jun, said at her colleagueâs words.
âDid you see the lightstick designs? There were a lot of good ones. Which one did you like the most?â
âI liked the snow globe with My Royal Physician. I loved how Seongnyeong Daegun and Heo Yu-seon were holding hands. But I donât think the snow globe will shake.â
âWhy?â
âItâs snowing in winter⦠Itâs sad.â
âOh. Seongnyeong Daegun died in winter.â
Sniff.
Lee Yoon-ju was choked up as she remembered the drama.
Her colleague patted her shoulder as she saw her sad.
Another employee joined the conversation.
âI saw that too. I wanted to buy one. Do you think that will win first place?â
There were quite a few designs that even ordinary people who didnât think of buying them wanted to have âone or twoâ.
Lee Yoon-ju, who got out of her sadness, opened her mouth.
âBut I like other designs too. I think Iâll regret it no matter what wins first place.â
âThatâs true. Once it comes out, itâs over. You canât change it to what you want.â
Lee Yoon-ju, who was sighing regretfully, stopped moving at her colleagueâs words. She even stopped breathing and stared blankly at her colleague sitting next to her.
ââ¦What did you say?â
âHuh? What?â
Her colleague blinked his eyes at Lee Yoon-ju, who looked like she was broken or in a strange state.
âWhat did you say just now?â
She looked at him with fire in her eyes and asked sharply. He opened his mouth with a flustered face.
ââ¦Once youâre out, itâs over?â
âWhat about after!â
ââ¦Canât you switch places?â
âThat sounds good!â
Lee Yoon-ju sparkled her eyes and took out a white paper and a pen.
Her colleague scratched his cheek at the sight of Lee Yoon-ju blatantly doing something else.
Meanwhile, the other side was buzzing with the talk of the new group coming out of Cocoa Entertainment.
âI was wondering when the next group after Red Crown would come out, and now theyâre here.â
âIt does take a while for Cocoa Entertainment to launch a new group.â
âBut they all turn the music industry upside down when they do. Brown Black, White, Red Crown. Three consecutive successes. Isnât that something only big agencies can do?â
Everyone nodded and then smirked.
âBut isnât Cocoa Entertainment a big agency by now?â
âIt seems like they have fewer artists under their label than that.â
âThey have Lee Seo-jun, donât they?â
Ah.
They all nodded in agreement.
âIs it a girl group? A boy group?â
âA boy group. I heard from a friend of a friend that some of Lee Seo-junâs friends are in it too.â
Wow.
The employees exclaimed.
âLee Seo-junâs friends? They must be really good then.â
âI know, right?â
The office, which was noisy with the stories of Lee Seo-jun and the boy group, quieted down as soon as the planning team leader came in.
A colleague tapped Lee Yoon-juâs arm, who was busy drawing something on the paper.
âIs the audition script ready?â
It was obvious that it would be a hot topic since Lee Seo-jun was participating.
And then it was obvious that the movie would be a hot topic too, and reporters who wanted exclusives could make articles about the movie content.
Dahong planned to prepare a separate audition script with an unedited script that was somewhat related to the work.
The planning team leader asked and one of the employees answered.
âYes. Director Min gave us a little revision yesterday.â
âBe careful not to leak any content since the audition is open.â
âTeam leader!â
Then one of the employees called out to the planning team leader.
Everyoneâs eyes turned to him.
The employeeâs bright expression made everyone in the office sense it.
The planning team leader didnât stop his rising lips.
âActor Lee Seo-jun. Heâs auditioning for it!â
***
âDid you see the new audition posted on the board?â
The kids lit up their eyes at Jeon Seong-minâs words, who came back from running an errand for the teacher.
Seo-jun, who was explaining an English problem to his friends, had a feeling what that audition was.
âWhat is it? A movie? A drama?â
âWhen is the shooting? Iâm done with my drama next monthâ¦â
âI canât. Iâm preparing for a play.â
âI wonder if it overlaps with the end-of-the-year performance practice.â
âI donât think I can do any activities next year because of my grades.â
âIâm the same. My mom says I have to study from now on.â
Except for the kids who were filming dramas or movies or appearing in plays, or who were planning not to do any filming until they took the college entrance exam, everyone was interested in Jeon Seong-minâs words.
âThe movie company is Dahong.â
âOh wow!â
âDahong is a big company!â
âThey did The Station too!â
Everyoneâs eyes turned to Seo-jun and then to Jeon Seong-min.
The friends reacted clearly to every word Jeon Seong-min uttered. Seo-jun smiled and said.
âWhat role is it?â
Kim Joo-kyung asked and Jeon Seong-min answered.
âTheyâre looking for supporting actors and the main character.â
ââ¦The main character?â
They expected supporting actors⦠but the main character?
The kids opened their eyes wide at that.
âThe main character must be young.â
âDonât they usually pick adults for young characters even if theyâre leads? They can just put them in school uniforms.â
âIsnât it like Survivors where they appear with other adult roles?â
The kids took out their phones one by one and looked up the new audition.
They were interested in the audition site even if they were filming movies or dramas or because of the college entrance exam.
Seo-jun also took out his phone and read the audition notice posted by Dahong.
The plot was different from the script he had seen because of concerns about script leakage.
âBut there are some similar parts.â
Kim Joo-kyung, who was reading the short character description posted, opened her mouth.
ââ¦This seems like something Han-seok would do well?â
ââ¦Yeah.â
At Kim Joo-kyungâs words, the kids thought of the first-year acting major who had caused a stir in the Mirinae High School a few weeks ago.
***
Mirinae High School, Acting Major, 1st Grade, Class 1.
The kids were noisy with the new audition notice.
âI canât believe thisâ¦!â
âDahong! Itâs Dahong!â
âHey! Kim Han-seok! This role seems perfect for you!â
Unlike the friends who were making a fuss, Kim Han-seok was only stunned.
The three words written in the main characterâs description stuck in Kim Han-seokâs eyes.
[Terminal Illness]
Just a few weeks ago.
He had experienced firsthand what it was like to be terminally ill right before he died.
It was a word that was familiar to him, but still made his chest sting a little.
âIâm going to audition too⦠but I think I can do better as the main characterâs friend than the main character.â
One of the kids said and everyone nodded.
âThatâs true. What made us nervous then was not the main characterâs feelings, but the feelings of the friends who were worried about him.â
âHan-seok. Do you remember how you felt then?â
Kim Han-seok recalled at his friendâs words.
âUm. I think I know what it feels like.â
Anxious and insecure and scared.
To be honest, he was stressed out by worry rather than illness and almost died.
âWho among our peers would know the main characterâs feelings better than you?â
âRight!â
Then, the door of Class 1 opened with a bang!
Kim Han-seok and his friends looked at the door.
The class president, who had the widest network among the Class 1 kids, raised his voice with a flushed face.
âHey! Senior Lee Seo-jun auditioned for Dahongâs thing!â
â¦What?
Kim Han-seok and his friends froze at the unexpected appearance of the final boss.
Soon, Seo-jun was looking at the lightstick designs with enjoyment rather than judging them for the contest.
He saw a werewolf that he had dressed up as for Halloween, and a detective that he had cameoed as.
He also saw a baby ghost in a colorful robe, and a baby Seo-jun with a small spoon in his hand and chubby cheeks.
As he browsed the [Lightstick Contest] board with Seo-jun, Ahn Da Ho said.
âHmm. These look more like fan art than lightstick designs, donât they?â
âI agree.â
Seo-jun laughed as he found a phrase that said âSeo-jun, I love you!â on one of the designs, which the fans had written knowing that Seo-jun would see them.
After looking at the posts that were hard to tell whether they were lightstick designs, fan art, or letters with pictures for a while, Seo-jun took his eyes off the PinePad.
âDa Ho hyung. There are so many designs that I like, I donât know what to choose.â
âThatâs true⦠But most of them seem difficult to make into lightsticks.â
âWhy?â
Seo-jun tilted his head at Ahn Da Hoâs words.
âUnlike singers who have concerts or events, you wonât use them much in reality. Once you make one, youâll have to keep using it unless you change the design. I think it would be better to make a lightstick with a common image rather than one based on a single work.â
Ahn Da Ho said with a smile.
âEach fan will have their favorite work, so it would be a pity to make it only based on one work⦠And youâll have more works to do in the future.â
âThat makes sense.â
True.
He might have better works, more fun works, or even masterpieces in the future.
It would be regrettable to make a lightstick based on only one work.
âThen what should I chooseâ¦â
As Seo-jun looked at the board with a serious face, Ahn Da Ho said with a smile.
âYou still have time left for the contest, so you can choose slowly.â
Ahn Da Hoâs head turned to the clock in the practice room.
âHmm. Itâs been quite a while, so letâs stop here for today?â
âOkay.â
His eyes were a bit sore from seeing so many designs as well as the love of his fans.
Ahn Da Ho smiled as he saw Seo-jun rubbing his eyes lightly.
He brought one script. Seo-junâs eyes sparkled at the sight of the script as if he was never tired.
âIâll only give you one script at a time while youâre judging the contest. Itâs from the 2nd teamâs recommendation. You can read it when youâre bored at home.â
âWhat kind of work is it?â
âItâs from Dahong. It was pretty good. The other actors havenât been decided yet. And itâs the directorâs second work. The first one didnât do well at the box office.â
Seo-jun blinked as he listened to Ahn Da Hoâs explanation.
The first work failed and it was the second work.
It was the same history as the director he met at Han River, but it didnât seem like him since it hadnât been even a month since then.
âThereâs an audition, is that okay?â
âYes. Thatâs fine.â
What did it matter if there was an audition as long as the script was good?
He had a lot of ambition for works and even adapted and staged a play by himself. Ahn Da Ho and the 2nd team knew him well and recommended Dahongâs script without much hesitation.
âThey all know what attracts Seo-jun now.â
The vibe of the scripts that came into Cocoa Entertainmentâs 2nd team dedicated to actor Lee Seo-jun slowly changed. Of course, there were some scripts that were just thrown in, but some famous production companies started to send good works or unusual and different works that they couldnât see normally.
They realized that actor Lee Seo-jun moved when he liked the work more than any other conditions.
âSome production companies might use good works as hostages and hit him hardâ¦â
It was the job of the manager and the agency to prevent that in advance and make him act comfortably and happily in the work he liked.
âAn audition is nothing but a formality.â
He smiled confidently, believing in his actorâs skills.
Then he handed over the script to his actor who was waiting for it with sparkling eyes.
Seo-jun quickly took the script and looked at the first page.
The title, director, and production company name were written on the first page of the script.
âOh.â
Seo-jun let out an exclamation without realizing it.
He really didnât expect to see that name here.
[Working Title: Travel]
[Director: Min Hee-kyung]
[Production Company: Dahong]
Min Hee-kyung.
The three letters reminded him of the voice of the director he met at Han River.
âIâll write a good script, so wait for me.â
Seo-jun smiled brightly and turned the first page.
âI thought it would take longerâ¦â
He was really curious about what kind of script it was.
***
Movie production company, Dahong.
The planning team was working as usual, but they seemed to be distracted by something else.
âWhen will it come?â
âI donât know. Cocoa Entertainment said they review them in the order they received, so it might be late if they have a lot of backlog.â
âItâs hard to wait even though itâs only been a few days since we sent the script.â
âWe need an answer to proceed, whether itâs yes or no.â
âCocoa Entertainment is busy these days. Seo-jun is having a lightstick contest and theyâre also planning to debut a new idol group.â
Lee Yoon-ju, who was a fan of Seo-jun, said at her colleagueâs words.
âDid you see the lightstick designs? There were a lot of good ones. Which one did you like the most?â
âI liked the snow globe with My Royal Physician. I loved how Seongnyeong Daegun and Heo Yu-seon were holding hands. But I donât think the snow globe will shake.â
âWhy?â
âItâs snowing in winter⦠Itâs sad.â
âOh. Seongnyeong Daegun died in winter.â
Sniff.
Lee Yoon-ju was choked up as she remembered the drama.
Her colleague patted her shoulder as she saw her sad.
Another employee joined the conversation.
âI saw that too. I wanted to buy one. Do you think that will win first place?â
There were quite a few designs that even ordinary people who didnât think of buying them wanted to have âone or twoâ.
Lee Yoon-ju, who got out of her sadness, opened her mouth.
âBut I like other designs too. I think Iâll regret it no matter what wins first place.â
âThatâs true. Once it comes out, itâs over. You canât change it to what you want.â
Lee Yoon-ju, who was sighing regretfully, stopped moving at her colleagueâs words. She even stopped breathing and stared blankly at her colleague sitting next to her.
ââ¦What did you say?â
âHuh? What?â
Her colleague blinked his eyes at Lee Yoon-ju, who looked like she was broken or in a strange state.
âWhat did you say just now?â
She looked at him with fire in her eyes and asked sharply. He opened his mouth with a flustered face.
ââ¦Once youâre out, itâs over?â
âWhat about after!â
ââ¦Canât you switch places?â
âThat sounds good!â
Lee Yoon-ju sparkled her eyes and took out a white paper and a pen.
Her colleague scratched his cheek at the sight of Lee Yoon-ju blatantly doing something else.
Meanwhile, the other side was buzzing with the talk of the new group coming out of Cocoa Entertainment.
âI was wondering when the next group after Red Crown would come out, and now theyâre here.â
âIt does take a while for Cocoa Entertainment to launch a new group.â
âBut they all turn the music industry upside down when they do. Brown Black, White, Red Crown. Three consecutive successes. Isnât that something only big agencies can do?â
Everyone nodded and then smirked.
âBut isnât Cocoa Entertainment a big agency by now?â
âIt seems like they have fewer artists under their label than that.â
âThey have Lee Seo-jun, donât they?â
Ah.
They all nodded in agreement.
âIs it a girl group? A boy group?â
âA boy group. I heard from a friend of a friend that some of Lee Seo-junâs friends are in it too.â
Wow.
The employees exclaimed.
âLee Seo-junâs friends? They must be really good then.â
âI know, right?â
The office, which was noisy with the stories of Lee Seo-jun and the boy group, quieted down as soon as the planning team leader came in.
A colleague tapped Lee Yoon-juâs arm, who was busy drawing something on the paper.
âIs the audition script ready?â
It was obvious that it would be a hot topic since Lee Seo-jun was participating.
And then it was obvious that the movie would be a hot topic too, and reporters who wanted exclusives could make articles about the movie content.
Dahong planned to prepare a separate audition script with an unedited script that was somewhat related to the work.
The planning team leader asked and one of the employees answered.
âYes. Director Min gave us a little revision yesterday.â
âBe careful not to leak any content since the audition is open.â
âTeam leader!â
Then one of the employees called out to the planning team leader.
Everyoneâs eyes turned to him.
The employeeâs bright expression made everyone in the office sense it.
The planning team leader didnât stop his rising lips.
âActor Lee Seo-jun. Heâs auditioning for it!â
***
âDid you see the new audition posted on the board?â
The kids lit up their eyes at Jeon Seong-minâs words, who came back from running an errand for the teacher.
Seo-jun, who was explaining an English problem to his friends, had a feeling what that audition was.
âWhat is it? A movie? A drama?â
âWhen is the shooting? Iâm done with my drama next monthâ¦â
âI canât. Iâm preparing for a play.â
âI wonder if it overlaps with the end-of-the-year performance practice.â
âI donât think I can do any activities next year because of my grades.â
âIâm the same. My mom says I have to study from now on.â
Except for the kids who were filming dramas or movies or appearing in plays, or who were planning not to do any filming until they took the college entrance exam, everyone was interested in Jeon Seong-minâs words.
âThe movie company is Dahong.â
âOh wow!â
âDahong is a big company!â
âThey did The Station too!â
Everyoneâs eyes turned to Seo-jun and then to Jeon Seong-min.
The friends reacted clearly to every word Jeon Seong-min uttered. Seo-jun smiled and said.
âWhat role is it?â
Kim Joo-kyung asked and Jeon Seong-min answered.
âTheyâre looking for supporting actors and the main character.â
ââ¦The main character?â
They expected supporting actors⦠but the main character?
The kids opened their eyes wide at that.
âThe main character must be young.â
âDonât they usually pick adults for young characters even if theyâre leads? They can just put them in school uniforms.â
âIsnât it like Survivors where they appear with other adult roles?â
The kids took out their phones one by one and looked up the new audition.
They were interested in the audition site even if they were filming movies or dramas or because of the college entrance exam.
Seo-jun also took out his phone and read the audition notice posted by Dahong.
The plot was different from the script he had seen because of concerns about script leakage.
âBut there are some similar parts.â
Kim Joo-kyung, who was reading the short character description posted, opened her mouth.
ââ¦This seems like something Han-seok would do well?â
ââ¦Yeah.â
At Kim Joo-kyungâs words, the kids thought of the first-year acting major who had caused a stir in the Mirinae High School a few weeks ago.
***
Mirinae High School, Acting Major, 1st Grade, Class 1.
The kids were noisy with the new audition notice.
âI canât believe thisâ¦!â
âDahong! Itâs Dahong!â
âHey! Kim Han-seok! This role seems perfect for you!â
Unlike the friends who were making a fuss, Kim Han-seok was only stunned.
The three words written in the main characterâs description stuck in Kim Han-seokâs eyes.
[Terminal Illness]
Just a few weeks ago.
He had experienced firsthand what it was like to be terminally ill right before he died.
It was a word that was familiar to him, but still made his chest sting a little.
âIâm going to audition too⦠but I think I can do better as the main characterâs friend than the main character.â
One of the kids said and everyone nodded.
âThatâs true. What made us nervous then was not the main characterâs feelings, but the feelings of the friends who were worried about him.â
âHan-seok. Do you remember how you felt then?â
Kim Han-seok recalled at his friendâs words.
âUm. I think I know what it feels like.â
Anxious and insecure and scared.
To be honest, he was stressed out by worry rather than illness and almost died.
âWho among our peers would know the main characterâs feelings better than you?â
âRight!â
Then, the door of Class 1 opened with a bang!
Kim Han-seok and his friends looked at the door.
The class president, who had the widest network among the Class 1 kids, raised his voice with a flushed face.
âHey! Senior Lee Seo-jun auditioned for Dahongâs thing!â
â¦What?
Kim Han-seok and his friends froze at the unexpected appearance of the final boss.