âLong time no see! Seo-jun hyung!â
âI know. Itâs nice to see you all here.â
In the year and a half that Seo-jun had been in the army, new people had entered Korea National University of Arts.
Kim Young-chan, who had played the role of Peddler 2 in [MOEB-436], Park Min-hyung, who had made his own costumes, and other juniors who had been freshmen at the time, were now first-year students at Korea National University of Arts.
The music and art majors who had been sophomores were also students at Korea National University of Arts.
Seo-jun looked around and smiled.
âI didnât expect you all to get into Korea National University of Arts.â
Seo-jun was surprised by the fact that all the first and second-year students who had been part of the [MOEB-436] team had been admitted to Korea National University of Arts.
âWe were surprised too.â
âYou donât know how hard he worked to get the minimum score.â
The tables of the [MOEB-436] team, who had gathered to celebrate Seo-junâs return, were filled with laughter.
âChae-yeon unnie went to Europe as an exchange student.â
âShe was supposed to go for six months, but she might stay longer.â
The second-year music major, who had been the music team leader, Kim Chae-yeon, told them about her exchange student experience, and Kim Joo-kyung added an explanation.
âWeâll meet again when Chae-yeon comes back.â
Of course, there were some people who couldnât join them, but they could always meet again later.
âSeo-jun oppa, what are you doing for the festival⦠oh, never mind. You must have been busy with the army and filming⦠You didnât have time to prepare.â
Park Yeon-ji answered her own question as she asked. The kids laughed out loud.
The Korea National University of Arts festival was in September.
It was almost time for the festival to start.
âWeâre having a concert. Please come and watch!â
âThe art department is also having an exhibition. We have some works that are drawn on snow, like Fire. We worked so hard on that last winter.â
âThatâs right. Ever since Fire was released, there have been a lot of works that draw on snow.â
The art team leader, Lee Sol, spoke, and the art majors nodded their heads.
Seo-jun smiled slightly.
It seemed that there was a trend in the art world, and it was interesting that the trend started with the movie [Fire].
They had a good time catching up with each other.
They talked about the festival, the independent film project team at Korea National University of Arts that they joined, their aspirations to participate in a movie like [Fire], and various other topics. In the midst of their lively conversation, someone asked.
âSeo-jun hyung. When is Over the Rainbow 2 coming out?â
Everyone became quiet as if they had agreed.
âWell. I donât know the exact schedule. Theyâre probably busy editing right now.â
He imagined Sarah Roth, the director, Emily, the assistant director, and the editors, who would have coffee and energy drinks piled up on their table, and dark circles under their eyes.
âItâs coming out with Universe, right?â
âYeah. Thatâs for sure. There are articles about it.â
They hadnât started promoting it on a large scale yet, with TV commercials or internet ads, like âMarina Studioâ, but they could see that they were mentioning [Over the Rainbow 2] and other original works along with [Universe].
âI wish it would come out soon. I love hero movies!â
âMe too. I want to see Shadowman and Redbone.â
âAssembly is the best.â
âI just paid for VOD. Sigh.â
When they talked about Marina Studioâs hero movies, they also talked about the new generation of heroes that appeared.
âThey were fun, but a bit disappointing.â
âI know. They all have their own characteristics and are good, but they donât have the same power as season 1.â
âItâs not that theyâre not fun, but⦠theyâre not worth watching multiple times.â
Especially this age group, who had grown up with Marina Studioâs hero movies season 1, were more professional and passionate.
âPhantom did a good job acting, though.â
âHe felt less than the season 1 actors.â
âEven though he was a villain, I felt for Jin Natra.â
âItâs not his acting skills⦠but his affection? Jin Natra was portrayed by the actor so well that he could make you feel that affectionâ¦â
Kim Joo-kyung, who was talking about [Phantom], looked at the friend sitting in front of her.
ââ¦but, the actor is here?â
The group room became quiet.
Their eyes were drawn to the Hollywood star, Seo-jun Lee.
ââ¦Oh! I forgot!â
They seemed to have stopped breathing, and they heard the sound of inhaling from everywhere.
âMaybe itâs because weâre close. Sometimes I forget that Seo-jun hyung is a Hollywood star.â
âSeo-jun oppaâs face is reallyâ¦â
They sighed or shook their heads.
Seo-jun laughed at the sight of his juniors.
âBut there are a lot of stories on the internet. That Jin Natra might appear again.â
The fans, who were more sincere about the movie than Marina Studio, wouldnât miss what Marina Studio was thinking.
Rather, they looked at every frame in the movie and treated even the accidental products as clues, and stretched out their infinite imaginations.
[10 reasons why Jin Natra has to appear again.]
[Jin Natra will appear again as a villain!]
[Phantomâs new rival! Jin Natra!]
[Villain? NO! Jin Natra will be the next generation hero!]
âThereâs also the clue of memory loss!â
âThatâs right. Seo-jun hyungâs age, and Williamâs age in the movie are still young.â
As they said, when they looked at the actors who played the other heroes, Seo-jun, who was only 22 years old, was rather young.
William Lee, who had lost his memory and returned to the age of seven in the cookie video, was the same.
ââ¦Wow.â
The fans are scary.
Of course, the director and the script were not decided yet, but Seo-jun couldnât help but chuckle at the guesses that were similar to what he had heard at the meeting with Marina Studio.
But he couldnât talk about anything that wasnât decided yet, or that he hadnât signed a contract for.
Of course, even if he signed a contract, he would have to keep his mouth shut until they said he could promote it.
âWe havenât heard anything from our side.â
Seo-jun shook his head and said, and the kids who saw the sincerity (?) in Seo-junâs acting nodded their heads with regret.
âWell, itâs okay to end it like this.â
âItâs better than having a bad sequel.â
âThatâs the sophomore jinx, right?â
Park Yeon-ji answered Kim Joo-kyungâs question, and Kim Young-chan, who had been inhaling meat, raised his head.
âSpeaking of which, I had a report on the sophomore jinx! When was the deadline?!â
Everyone laughed at Kim Young-chan, who was frantically searching his phone. Then they sighed deeply and started to complain about their assignments, professors, and lectures.
âIâm not taking only the professorâs classâ¦â
âItâs just the beginning of the semesterâ¦â
Seo-jun, Kim Joo-kyung, and Lee Sol laughed at the sight of their college-like juniors.
***
After returning from the US.
Choi Tae-wooâs work started to change drastically.
It changed from filling in the gaps where there was a lack of manpower without a designated actor, to only dealing with the actor Lee Seo-jun.
He thought his work would be easier with only one actor, but he was wrong.
There were many staff members working for the actor Lee Seo-junâs exclusive team, but the amount of work that came in was several times more than other actors, so it was hectic.
And the work was harder because of the actor.
Choi Tae-woo felt it more as he became the exclusive manager of Lee Seo-jun.
âHere you go. Tae-woo.â
âYes!â
From variety shows to dramas and movies.
He barely had time to look at what was coming in, and their actor was so active that he didnât want to miss any small work if it was fun.
ââ¦Itâs a good thing weâre a team.â
âHaha. Right?â
Choi Tae-wooâs words made the staff of Lee Seo-junâs exclusive team laugh.
âSeo-jun must be busy going to see plays.â
The staffâs words made everyone laugh.
It was mid-September now.
It was the Korea National University of Arts festival, and Seo-jun was having fun going around to see the plays that the acting department had prepared.
âMaybe heâll do a play next time.â
âHmm. Maybe.â
âShould we look for some play scripts?â
âBut wouldnât Seo-jun write his own?â
The staff who had been with Seo-junâs team for a long time nodded their heads without knowing it.
He had the experience of adapting the play [Mirror] and writing the script for the play [MOEB-436], so it was possible.
They chatted while doing their work.
âAh, Tae-woo. Howâs the Marina Studio project going?â
âTheyâre still deciding on the director.â
Choi Tae-wooâs words made the deputy team leader scratch his chin.
âHmm. It will take some time to decide on the director, write the script, and prepare the set for filming, so maybe heâll have time to do one more work.â
Of course, it was up to Seo-jun.
âBut if they spend a lot of money on production, the preparation time might be shortened, right?â
It wasnât for nothing that it was Hollywood scale. And they could do anything if they poured money.
Hero movies had a lot of CG work, so it often took more time for post-production than filming.
âHmm. Itâs tricky.â
It was hard to set a schedule when nothing was decided.
âIt would be nice if they decided on the director soonâ¦â
Everyone agreed with the deputy team leaderâs words.
Then they would know what style it was and be prepared.
**
A few days later.
USA, LA.
Jonathan Will, who was living in Ryan Willâs house, still couldnât figure out the secret of âJ.W.â.
There were many candidates, but there was no director who made him say âThis is it!â.
âSeo-jun wouldnât lie⦠Who is it really?â
Absolutely. Sincerely.
He was Jonathan Will, the director who didnât think of himself at all.
He lay down on the sofa, looking at the list of director candidates he had written down.
âI donât know who it is, but Iâm jealousâ¦â
[Shadowman Series]
And [Jin Natra Series (tentative title)]
âI wanted to make itâ¦â
Just like Ryan Will, the director who had grown his dream by reading the comic book [Shadowman], Jonathan Will had grown his dream by watching the movie [Shadowman].
He was inspired by the actorsâ performances and the completed movie, which he saw while helping Ryan Willâs filming.
So he decided.
He wanted to make a story, a movie that would follow this one.
Of course, becoming a movie director was also a dream, but one of the works he really wanted to make as a movie director was the next story of the [Shadowman Series].
âI have a lot of ideas.â
Jonathan Will, who was lying on the sofa, turned his head and looked at the bookshelf.
There were printed copies of the unfinished stories of âJin Natraâ.
He wanted to finish those stories, cut and edit and collect them, and make them into a movie with Seo-jun casted, until Marina Studio planned the [Jin Natra Series (tentative title)].
âItâs too early.â
He didnât expect the [Jin Natra Series (tentative title)] to be planned so soon.
âI donât mind working hard.â
Even though Seo-jun and Ryan Will said that the director and the scenario team couldnât do it, as if they were rolling stones down the hill, he was also envious.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
ââ¦Thereâs nothing I can do.â
Jonathan Will, who was lying on the sofa, got up.
He had to let go of the [Jin Natra Series (tentative title)] that he wanted to make someday, and think of a new work.
âWhat would be good?â
He thought the works he had planned before were good, and he also thought a completely new content would be fine.
Jonathan Will was about to focus, when the doorbell rang.
Was it his uncleâs guest?
Jonathan headed to the entrance.
He opened the door and saw a man in a suit smiling brightly.
He was a familiar face.
âAre you from Marina Studio? Hello.â
âNice to meet you. Director Jonathan.â
He had seen him a few times while making the [Shadowman Series]. He remembered him as a high-ranking employee.
âDid he come to persuade Uncle Ryan for the new series?â
He guessed and said.
âDirector Ryan is out right now. If you tell me your contact and purpose, Iâll pass it on to him.â
âOh, I know that Director Ryan is not here.â
ââ¦What?â
Jonathan Will blinked his eyes at the employeeâs words. He knew? From whom?
The employee smiled and said.
âI came to see Director Jonathan.â
ââ¦What?â
Jonathan was stunned by his own name from the employeeâs mouth.
Without paying attention to him, the employee said with a smile.
âWill you take on the Jin Natra Series, Director Jonathan Will?â
ââ¦What?â
Director Jonathan Will was surprised.