Superstar From Age 0

Chapter 275

A few hours ago.

“Come in!”

Writer Yu Cheonga led the three people inside.

PD Gong Hee-Chan and assistant directors Kim Dan-Bi and Choi Hyun-Woo looked around the studio with curious faces.

“So this is where Writer So Eun-Jin works.”

“I’ve seen other writers’ studios, but this one has a cafe-like vibe.”

“There are drinks and snacks too. Help yourselves.”

The two assistant directors brightened up at Writer Yu Cheonga’s words.

PD Gong Hee-Chan, who was looking around the studio, asked.

“But are you sure we can use this place?”

“Yes. Writer So Eun-Jin said she doesn’t have any plans for her next work yet, so the studio will be empty for a while. She said it’s better to have someone use it than leave it vacant.”

Writer Yu Cheonga guided them around the studio.

The three people followed behind Writer Yu Cheonga.

“This is Writer So Eun-Jin’s room and this is where we, the assistant writers, work. This is the meeting room we’ll use.”

On one side of the meeting room, there was a large whiteboard with a character relationship diagram for the drama written on it, presumably by Writer Yu Cheonga beforehand.

PD Gong Hee-Chan, who was looking around the meeting room, smiled with satisfaction.

“Nice.”

They could have used the meeting room at MBS, but they were short of rooms there too, so they had to hold meetings in an open office corner or at a cafe on the first floor.

Kim Dan-Bi and Choi Hyun-Woo also smiled happily and nodded their heads.

It was the perfect place for them: quiet, clean, and with snacks.

“Shall we start today’s meeting then?”

At PD Gong Hee-Chan’s words, the three people sat down and spread out their materials on the table.

They continued the meeting from the first scene with the script for episode 1 that Writer Yu Cheonga had completed.

PD Gong Hee-Chan, who was in charge, of course, and assistant directors Kim Dan-Bi and Choi Hyun-Woo also asked various questions to bring out the drama scenes that were in Writer Yu Cheonga’s head.

Writer Yu Cheonga also thought carefully and answered them.

There were some questions that she could answer easily and some that required a bit of thinking.

But thanks to having attended the meetings with Writer So Eun-Jin and PD Choi Min-Sung, she found it easy to express herself verbally.

“Then let’s end here for episode 1. When will episode 2 be ready?”

“I’ve written about half of it. I think it’ll be done by the day after tomorrow.”

They were having a meeting when someone’s phone rang.

“You should turn it off when you’re having a meeting.”

“Uh… I think it’s your phone, senior.”

At Choi Hyun-Woo’s words, PD Gong Hee-Chan shuddered and shook his body.

As Choi Hyun-Woo said, the owner of the ringtone that was ringing in the meeting room was PD Gong Hee-Chan.

He only realized that it was his phone then and hurriedly took out his phone, and for some reason, writer Yu Cheonga also flustered around with a startled face.

At their sight, Kim Dan-Bi and Choi Hyun-Woo tilted their heads.

PD Gong Hee-Chan smiled awkwardly at his juniors’ eyes and looked at his phone.

Hmm.

“…070.”

“It’s insurance.”

“Isn’t it a loan?”

Whether it was insurance or a loan, he had no intention of checking it out. PD Gong Hee-Chan hung up the phone.

Phew.

PD Gong Hee-Chan and Writer Yu Cheonga sighed at the same time.

Then they looked at each other with surprise.

Kim Dan-Bi smiled meaningfully at the awkward eye contact between the writer and the director.

“I have a good intuition.”

“You have a bad intuition.”

“Why? I was right last time!”

“…”

Choi Hyun-Woo closed his mouth at the correct statement.

Kim Dan-Bi, who was about to shrug her shoulders at Choi Hyun-Woo’s silence, also realized that PD Gong Hee-Chan was at the end of her intuition and drooped her shoulders.

She wished she had a bad intuition this time.

The meeting that had been interrupted resumed.

Choi Hyun-Woo, who was taking notes of the decisions made in the meeting, asked PD Gong Hee-Chan.

“We need to recruit staff members. Do you have any cinematographers in mind? I think we need to contact them soon.”

“Hmm.”

PD Gong Hee-Chan stroked his chin.

The cinematographer he wanted to work with had gone to Park Kyu-min’s team.

Kim Dan-Bi and Choi Hyun-Woo, who knew that, quietly watched PD Gong Hee-Chan’s expression.

He always had a slight shadow on his face whenever Park Kyu-min’s name came up, but now he didn’t even see the slightest bit of a shadow.

He seemed to like Writer Yu Cheonga’s work enough to not have any regrets about the stolen work.

The two assistant directors smiled at each other.

“I do have a cinematographer in mind, but he’s a thriller specialist. I need to think about it again.”

“That’s right. We can’t mix thriller with romance.”

“We need to create a floral background, but if we make it look like there’s something there, the viewers won’t be able to let go of their suspicions until the end.”

Writer Yu Cheonga, who had seen the captured images of the drama that PD Gong Hee-Chan had shown her, also nodded her head.

This cinematographer should just stick to shooting thrillers.

“Then, shoot…”

The ringtone rang again.

The same ringtone as before. It was PD Gong Hee-Chan’s phone.

Writer Yu Cheonga and PD Gong Hee-Chan, who looked at their phone screens like lightning, made Kim Dan-Bi and Choi Hyun-Woo blink their eyes.

They seemed to be waiting for some important contact that they couldn’t miss.

With the ringtone as the background sound, PD Gong Hee-Chan and Writer Yu Cheonga looked at their phone screens and drooped their shoulders.

“031…”

“It’s spam.”

“It’s a loan ad.”

At the two assistant directors’ words, PD Gong Hee-Chan sighed and flipped his phone over.

The meeting resumed again.

Choi Hyun-Woo asked Writer Yu Cheonga.

“We need to secure a shooting location. Do you have a high school in mind that you modeled after?”

“Well, there was a high school that helped me when I was planning, but… It doesn’t have to be there.”

Kim Dan-Bi and Choi Hyun-Woo’s faces lit up.

It was better to have a model than to imagine a background from scratch.

“It doesn’t matter if we can’t secure that school. It will help us find a similar shooting location. If not, we’ll have to take some pictures.”

Writer Yu Cheonga told them the high school she had modeled after.

“The school uniform there is pretty too.”

“Hmm. Yeah, we don’t need to design a new one for a four-part drama. I’ll print out the school uniform pictures. Senior, please check them.”

“Okay.”

While Choi Hyun-woo was using the printer and computer on one side of the conference room to print out the school uniform photos, Kim Dan-bi asked.

“So, we need to cast the actors, right? Do you have any actors in mind?”

It seemed that Choi Hyun-woo was in charge of the filming location and props, while Kim Dan-bi was in charge of the actors.

“We have some candidates that we discussed with the writer before.”

PD Gong Hee-chan spread out the papers that he had piled up on one side of the table.

From the photos of child actors to adult actors, they were the candidates for the characters in the drama.

Kim Dan-bi was impressed.

“Wow. That’s great. We just need to make some calls then!”

As she checked the candidate actors for each character, Kim Dan-bi tilted her head.

“Senior. There’s no child actor for the male lead, right?”

“Ah, that’s because…”

Then someone’s phone rang.

It was the third time they heard a ringtone, so they all reflexively looked at PD Gong Hee-chan, but it was a different ringtone.

Without realizing it, writer Yu Cheonga, who had also looked at PD Gong Hee-chan, noticed the ringtone and smiled awkwardly as she took out her phone.

“It’s my phone.”

It wasn’t a loan or insurance call like PD Gong Hee-chan’s.

[Writer]

It was a call from Writer So Eun-jin.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

Writer Yu Cheonga went outside the conference room and answered the phone.

“Hello. Writer?”

“Cheonga. A shooting star granted your wish.”

“…Yes?”

She was dumbfounded by the incomprehensible words that suddenly came to her ears. Writer So Eun-jin’s laughter sounded like heavenly bells in Writer Yu Cheonga’s ears.

“There’s a way to get a star from the sky.”

“Yes?”

“You just need to catch a star that falls into your hand. Like a shooting star.”

“What do you mean…?”

What was this about a star from the sky? A shooting star?

She didn’t understand what it meant and just blinked her eyes. Writer Yu Cheonga’s mind was struck by lightning.

She remembered the conversation she had with Writer So Eun-jin five days ago as if it was a vivid video.

“I talked to PD Gong as well. The chance of casting Lee Seo-jun as an actor is like getting a star from the sky, so if there’s no answer in a week, I’m going to send an offer to the child actors right away.”

…!!

Writer Yu Cheonga opened her mouth wide.

The chance of getting a star from the sky.

And the shooting star that fell into her hand.

She felt goosebumps from her toes to her back. She felt like her hair was standing on end.

She clenched her hand holding the phone.

Her eyes were filled with dazzling light and her mind was distant.

Writer So Eun-jin’s cheerful laughter sounded like heavenly bells in her ears.

“Seo-jun wants to do your drama.”

The brightest star in the sky fell into Writer Yu Cheonga’s hands.

“I was surprised too. I didn’t expect Seo-jun to want to play a child role.”

Uh, so… is this really true?

Writer Yu Cheonga’s thoughts didn’t come out of her mouth.

She was so shocked that she forgot to breathe.

Writer Yu Cheonga just listened to Writer So Eun-jin’s story without moving as if time had stopped.

“I didn’t tell you this, but I got a call from Cocoa Entertainment 2nd team a few days ago. They asked me if you were Yu Cheonga, who debuted at MBS. I told them you were my assistant writer, but it shouldn’t have affected their choice. Cocoa Entertainment 2nd team doesn’t share that kind of information with Seo-jun.”

No. I don’t know if I’m listening or just letting it pass by.

“Tell PD Gong too.”

At the familiar name, writer Yu Cheonga came to her senses.

Her mouth that had been wide open opened even wider. Her chest was so full that it felt nauseous. Her eyes were hot. Her body was trembling.

“Cheonga? Yu Cheonga?”

“Kyaaa!”

Writer Yu Cheonga’s scream filled the studio.

Was this what the face of the happiest person in the world looked like?

She looked like she was about to burst into tears, but she also felt her joy clearly.

The sound from outside made PD Gong Hee-chan open the door of the conference room and come out.

He found Writer Yu Cheonga jumping up and down and screaming with excitement.

“I’ll call you later.”

“Kyaaa!”

“She’s not even listening.”

PD Gong Hee-chan approached Writer Yu Cheonga, who was only laughing, with a dazed look on his face.

“Writer?”

“Waaah!! PD! PD!”

PD Gong Hee-chan unconsciously stepped back at the sight of Writer Yu Cheonga, who seemed to be in a frenzy.

Writer Yu Cheonga followed him.

She giggled and flashed her eyes.

“PD! Big news! Big news!”

Kim Dan-bi and Choi Hyun-woo, who had been peeking through the open door of the conference room, listened carefully.

They had only met Writer Yu Cheonga three days ago, but they had never seen her so excited.

“He’s in! He’s in our drama!”

At Writer Yu Cheonga’s words without a subject, an exclamation mark appeared over PD Gong Hee-chan’s head.

PD Gong Hee-chan’s eyes slowly widened. At the same time, his mouth opened wide.

He was so shocked that his body shivered.

Kim Dan-bi and Choi Hyun-woo, who didn’t know anything, felt frustrated.

“No, what’s going on?”

“Who’s in our drama?”

As Kim Dan-bi and Choi Hyun-woo grabbed and shook PD Gong Hee-chan’s arm and clothes, he finally came to his senses and stuttered.

From deep inside his stomach, he uttered a voice full of ecstasy.

“We have a child actor for the male lead, right?”

“Yes.”

“I think he’s cast. Right, writer Yu?”

“Yes! I got a call from Writer So!”

He didn’t know why Writer So Eun-jin called him instead of the number he wrote on the synopsis, but PD Gong Hee-chan smiled at Writer Yu Cheonga’s words.

“Hahaha.”

PD Gong Hee-chan and Writer Yu Cheonga’s laughter filled the studio.

“It’s so frustrating! What is it really?”

“Lee Seo-jun.”

“Eh?”

Kim Dan-bi and Choi Hyun-woo blinked their eyes at the familiar yet unfamiliar name.

“The child actor for the male lead is Lee Seo-jun.”

“Uh… Lee Seo-jun?”

They heard it, but it didn’t register in their minds.

Choi Hyun-woo asked hesitantly.

“Was there a child actor named Lee Seo-jun among the actors?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard of him…”

If there was a child actor with the same name as the Hollywood star Lee Seo-jun, there would have been articles about it, but they didn’t remember seeing any.

Trying to escape from reality, they desperately looked for another answer while ignoring the obvious one.

PD Gong Hee-chan smiled at their attempts.

Well, he couldn’t blame them.

He himself felt like he was dreaming right now.

“It’s the Lee Seo-jun who won the Academy Award.”

…What, are you kidding me?

At PD Gong Hee-chan’s confirmation, Kim Dan-bi and Choi Hyun-woo finally realized what he meant and screamed in the editing room.

“Are you crazy?! Why is he here?!”

“This is the child actor for the male lead! Not the male lead, but the child actor!”

“I don’t know why he’s here either. Maybe our writer Yu’s work was just that good.”

PD Gong Hee-chan and writer Yu Cheonga laughed. Seeing their expressions, it seemed like it was true.

Kim Dan-bi and Choi Hyun-woo opened their mouths wide.

They already had goosebumps on their arms.

“So you’re saying that Lee Seo-jun is really going to be in our drama?!”

“That’s what I’m saying!”

“Wow. Wow! Writer Yu, you’re amazing!”

“Hahaha. Our drama is going to be a hit!”

“Let’s eat beef today! Beef!”

A loud cheer erupted.

***

Unable to work because of the unbelievable news, the four of them decided to have dinner early.

As Kim Dan-bi suggested, they went to a nearby barbecue restaurant to eat beef.

The staff who brought the side dishes tilted their heads at the sight of the four people who were smiling from ear to ear as they entered the store.

The beef sizzled on the grill as Choi Hyun-woo, who had been laughing softly, opened his mouth.

“Kim Dan-bi.”

“Yeah?”

“Your intuition sucks.”

At Choi Hyun-woo’s words, Kim Dan-bi, who would have normally gotten angry, nodded her head with a smile on her face.

“I know. I said it was bad, but it turned out to be great.”

“Yeah. That work and that actor are incomparable.”

“Hahaha. I feel lucky somehow! Our drama is going to be a hit!”

At Kim Dan-bi’s words, choi Hyun-woo and PD Gong Hee-chan dropped their chopsticks without realizing it.

Kim Dan-bi also covered her mouth in surprise after saying that.

Only writer Yu Cheonga, who didn’t know about Kim Dan-bi’s curse, tilted her head.

“…Oh. Dear God.”

Not only the three of them, but also writer Yu Cheonga who heard the story from PD Gong Hee-chan.

With a grill full of beef in front of them, the four of them clasped their hands together and prayed.

The customers around them looked at them with curious eyes.