Superstar From Age 0

Chapter 23

Choi Si-yoon ran to get the milk formula as fast as he could.

It was the first time he was late for feeding Seo-jun, who pouted his lips.

“Come on. Let’s eat quickly.”

Seo-jun sucked on the nipple.

Slurp slurp.

While Brown Black was frantically making the formula, seo Eun-chan got up from his seat and opened the door.

“Is that you, sis? You came just in time?”

Seo Eun-hye and Lee Min-jun were standing there.

The couple smiled awkwardly.

They also wondered if they had arrived too perfectly.

The couple missed their son so much that they had been waiting in the apartment parking lot for an hour.

“Sorry for the trouble because of Seo-jun.”

Brown Black quickly waved their hands at the apologetic words.

“No, not at all! Seo-jun was very nice and we had a lot of fun.”

“Oh, welcome back!”

“Hello!”

Everyone was flustered and stammered. Seo Eun-hye and Lee Min-jun greeted them as well.

They all looked cheerful and energetic, as if the 48 hours were not too bad.

“Come in quickly. The cold wind will get in.”

Seo Eun-chan closed the door behind the couple.

Seo Eun-hye and Lee Min-jun saw Seo-jun sitting in the living room.

Seo-jun’s eyes widened.

Mommy and Daddy!

They said they would bring gifts, and they came!

Seo-jun had completely forgotten about the stuffed animals, snacks, and snow globes that his hyungs had shown him.

“Mama, Papa!”

He was overjoyed to see his parents after 48 hours.

Seo-jun rattled the bottle in his mouth and raised his arms to ask for a hug.

Seo Eun-hye lifted Seo-jun and held the bottle for him to drink easily.

Brown Black, who didn’t want to leave Seo Eun-chan’s sight, came in, dragging their feet.

They had overstayed their welcome at his sister’s place.

They had to hurry to the company and do some editing, and Brown Black had to practice for their debut in a month.

“Let’s pack up and shoot the last scene.”

At Seo Eun-chan’s words, brown Black scattered to gather their belongings.

They picked up a set of clothes and a toy, looking at Seo-jun.

“Bye, seo-jun.”

Lee Min-jun opened his mouth, feeling sorry for Brown Black’s teary-eyed faces.

“Come back again. You can come anytime.”

“…Really?”

“Chan, just tell your manager and come over again. You’re always welcome.”

They thought they were saying goodbye forever, but they weren’t?

Brown Black’s faces went blank.

They could come again?

“No way. Won’t you be busy when you debut?”

“True. It might be hard to come over when you’re busy.”

Brown Black shook their heads at Lee Min-jun and Seo Eun-hye’s jokes. Their faces were covered in tears, but they smiled the brightest today.

“No! We’ll come no matter how busy we are.”

“If we can’t come, we’ll call you at least!”

“Video call! Video call!”

“We’ll send you gifts on your birthday!”

Everyone laughed at Brown Black’s bright smiles.

Seo-jun waved his hand at Brown Black and his uncle, who got on the elevator.

“They’re gone.”

Seo Eun-hye and Lee Min-jun closed the door and went inside.

They decided to remove the camera installed in the house later.

“Ugh.”

‘It’s so quiet.’

The house that used to be bustling was now empty.

Seo Eun-hye and Lee Min-jun, who didn’t live with them, didn’t know, but Seo-jun felt it for sure.

The house felt too big.

“Wow. It’s a Christmas tree.”

“They’re still trainees, you know. How did they buy this without any money?”

They had heard that they decorated a Christmas tree, but they were surprised by how big it was.

Seo Eun-hye and Lee Min-jun headed to the tree.

Seo-jun also looked at the tree in his mother’s arms.

The tree was decorated with colorful ornaments.

Lee Min-jun, who was looking around the tree, found a transparent ball among the decorations.

“What’s this?”

“What’s wrong?”

There were four capsules.

Lee Min-jun sat on the sofa and opened the capsule. Seo Eun-hye also sat next to him and watched.

“Seo-jun.”

Lee Min-jun called his son’s name with emotion. Seo-jun, who was sucking on the pacifier he got from his mom, turned his head at his dad’s call.

“Your brothers left you letters.”

“Huh?”

“Wow, really? When did they write them?”

Lee Min-jun read the letters slowly at Seo Eun-hye’s urging. They could tell from the letters how much Brown Black enjoyed spending time with Seo-jun, and Seo Eun-hye and Lee Min-jun smiled without realizing it.

After reading all the letters, seo Eun-hye and Lee Min-jun decided to keep them in a frame. They picked the prettiest album in the house and put the letters in it carefully.

Seo Eun-chan, who came to get the camera in the evening, saw the letters from Brown Black in the frame and shouted.

“No, we have to film this! These kids!”

Seo Eun-hye shouted at him, but Seo Eun-chan wasn’t listening. He quickly took off all the cameras that were installed in the house and ran to the dorm.

Seo Eun-hye clenched her fist as her younger brother left without looking back. She would have to punch him when he came back.

“Seo-jun said so! Give me the recording later!”

In the living room, Lee Min-jun was laughing so hard that his mouth seemed to split to his ears. He lifted Seo-jun high in the air.

“Daddy, try it. Seo-jun! Daddy!”

“Dada?”

Seo Eun-hye closed the door and ran over.

“Seo-jun. Mommy. Say mommy.”

“Mama?”

Lee Seo-jun, 8 months old. He said mommy and daddy.

***

Seo-jun hugged each of Kim Hee-sang’s monster dolls once again when he returned home.

A skeleton lich king doll.

A slime.

A dragon.

An orc.

A twin-headed ogre.

A troll.

A werewolf in wolf form.

He cherished each one.

He had so much fun and lost his mind playing with Brown Black and Nonda, and filming.

He felt like he had become a real baby.

He barely touched the doppelganger bear doll that was the only one left because he thought of his mom and dad.

‘Confusion came.’

Was he the baby or was he now?

He hugged the dragon doll tightly in his complicated feelings.

He felt like he could forgive the dragon doll for now.

Before the Library of Life was created, he remembered all his past lives and almost lost his sense of self.

He was treated as a strange monster and his alignment of good and evil was mixed.

He was punished as a heretic.

Seo-jun had built a library with all his efforts.

The library was a place of sealing that prevented his previous life from affecting his next one.

All of Seo-jun’s memories from his past life had turned into books.

That way, his memories became like ‘books he had read’.

Sometimes they influenced his personality, but that was it.

‘Just don’t get lost in your baby instincts while playing for a while.’

Seo-jun hugged the dragon doll tightly.

When he fell asleep, he headed to the library of life.

There, his memories became clearer and his reason became stronger.

That was why Seo-jun, who couldn’t speak a month ago, could make sounds with his mouth in the library.

The monster doll was a very important string that held his current self together.

‘Well, I have my own taste too.’

Seo-jun giggled.

***

Seo Eun-chan sent all the videos he had taken so far to Seo Eun-hye.

Seo-jun spoke!

He should have seen that! Seo Eun-chan, who was crying and pounding the ground, got Seo Eun-hye’s permission and watched the recorded video with Brown Black at their dorm.

They all burst into tears with emotion.

After talking about Seo-jun’s cute points for a while, he returned to the company for editing.

The editing was done by Kim Su-ryeon, the head of the PR team and the younger sister of Kim Hwa-ryeon, the teacher.

“…There are a lot of videos.”

“Hahaha. Please help me.”

“Well, I’ll do well if the company does well.”

Kim Su-ryeon rolled up her sleeves. Several videos appeared on the monitor screen at the same time.

Seo Eun-chan took out a bunch of papers.

He had made a storyboard of how he wanted to compose the video while filming Brown Black.

“Let’s start with the first meeting. Put stickers on the baby’s parents’ faces…”

“Yes…”

Seo Eun-chan sat next to Kim Su-ryeon and slowly explained the editing direction. Kim Su-ryeon laughed as she edited the video.

“This is fun, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know how much I laughed.”

-Oh, seo-jun is frowning?

-Are you okay? Are you sick?

-…I’m fine.

The expression on Brown Black’s face disappeared when they heard Kim Hwa-ryeon’s teacher’s words across the camera. Park Seo-jin said.

-…It’s poop.

-oh…

Brown Black challenged their first diaper change. No matter how cute the baby was… poop… Even Brown Black, who had prepared for everything, almost gave up. But Park Seo-jin, who had studied hard, rolled up his sleeves.

-…!

The other members’ faces changed colors as they saw Park Seo-jin changing the diaper.

Park Seo-jin, who had neatly handled the diaper, left with a detached face.

-…Looking at the color, it’s very healthy poop.

“Let’s edit this.”

Kim Su-ryeon tilted her head at Seo Eun-chan’s words.

“Isn’t this okay for idols to change diapers for the first time? The reaction is good, and they’re doing well, right?”

At that moment, seo Eun-chan was more of an uncle to Seo-jun than a manager to Brown Black.

He rubbed his chin and said.

“Well, I think Seo-jun might feel a bit embarrassed when he grows up and sees this.”

He had become more picky about his nephew’s future. What could happen in the future was playing in his mind.

‘“Oh, seo-jun is frowning?”

Kim Hwa-ryeon asked, concerned.

“Are you okay? Are you sick?”

Park Seo-jin added, worried.

“…I’m fine.”

Seo-jun muttered, avoiding their eyes.’

“Kids these days are so sensitive about the smallest things. And these videos might stay with Seo-jun for the rest of his life… I don’t know about the other stuff, but the poop thing… That’s a bit…”

“Ah… I understand.”

Kim Su-ryeon nodded, empathizing with Seo Eun-chan’s concern.

“And I’d appreciate it if you could edit two more episodes for me.”

“What are they?”

“[48 Hours with Brown Black and Jun] should focus more on Jun than on Brown Black. That’s because Jun’s fans will watch it more than Brown Black’s fans. And this other video is the one that will only be uploaded to the company channel.”

Seo Eun-chan handed her another paper. Kim Su-ryeon took it and read it.

“A song?”

“Yes.”

Seo Eun-chan played one of the videos.

It was a video of Brown Black singing on the first night.

Kim Su-ryeon’s eyes widened.

She had heard the song before, but it was completely different.

“There’s another video of them dancing and singing at the playground. I’d like you to edit that separately and upload it. Only to our company account.”

[48 Hours with Brown Black and Jun] was going to be uploaded to Jun’s account. And below that, there would be a link to the Cocoa Entertainment’s YouTube channel.

“If they watch 48 hours and get interested in Brown Black, they’ll come to our company channel. Then they’ll definitely watch these two videos.”

Seo Eun-chan thought these two videos would be the foundation for Brown Black’s success.

Kim Su-ryeon smiled, nodding her head to the rhythm of Brown Black’s song.

“That sounds good. I got it.”

“Please edit the two episodes of 15 minutes each that will be uploaded this week first. Oh, and please edit out the part where a random guy appears in the playground video.”

“Okay. I finally have something to do.”

Kim Su-ryeon was the head of the PR team, but she had no singers to promote, so she was just killing time.

The company was new and Brown Black hadn’t even debuted yet, so the reporters ignored and didn’t even read the materials she sent them about Brown Black.

The best she could do was to upload introduction videos on Cocoa Entertainment’s website and YouTube channel.

“Please take good care of them.”

“Just leave it to me.”

“Haha. Okay.”

The next day, Kim Su-ryeon was relaxing at home when she made a trailer for [48 Hours with Brown Black and Jun] with the video that Seo Eun-chan sent her.

-Sorry. I forgot to ask you this first.

-Just add some simple subtitles!

“Are you kidding me? You said to leave it to me!”

Kim Su-ryeon had no choice but to work hard on the trailer, even though she complained. It was because her sister, Kim Hwa-ryeon, who had a crush on Seo-jun during the filming, kept interfering.

Kim Su-ryeon sat in front of the computer, quietly moving her hands, feeling guilty for making Kim Hwa-ryeon spend her vacation on filming.

She even got paid for the filming part-time job!

“No, make the subtitle color cuter!”

“It looks messy, okay?!”

“Isn’t there a cuter and neater color? You went to art school, didn’t you?”

“This is why you’re a science major!”

Kim Su-ryeon gritted her teeth at the polar-opposite client.