Superstar From Age 0

Chapter 175

Chapter 175

Im glad I came to study in LA.

Choi Yuseongs friends laughed at his words. 

Today was the premiere of the movie, and Choi Yuseong and his friends had decided to go watch it together. 

They had booked the movie tickets online and were about to leave.

Rotten, who was holding the steering wheel, opened his mouth.

Its a bit strange to watch a movie with subtitles, but Jun played for us at our school, so we have to go see it.

His popularity increased a lot after that. The professors also loved him.

Its good for us too. Our schools reputation went up.

The students who were about to graduate nodded their heads. 

If they said that it was the school where Over the Rainbow was filmed, they instantly got peoples attention. 

And if they were among the people who saw the solo concert, people listened to their stories eagerly.

But the busking was more amazing than the solo concert.

Ah. Me too.

Natalie and Choi Yuseong, who had seen the eighth week busking, improved their skills surprisingly fast.

It was as if they had broken through a limit that had been blocking them. 

Some of the other students from their department who were there also experienced that.

It was more of a change in the amount of emotion they put into their performance than a technical improvement, but the sensitive music students reacted sensitively to the small change.

Not only the students, but also the professors who taught them did the same. When they noticed that their students skills improved noticeably, they wondered what caused it.

The common factor was that they were students who were at the busking site. 

They watched the eighth week busking video over and over again, but they couldnt find the cause.

Many students sighed regretfully at that news.

Even if it was a coincidence, it was an improvement in skill. 

They wanted to believe in it even if it was a coincidence, as they tried hard and practiced to get ahead.

I wonder if hell do busking again.

Even if he does busking, he wont do it here, right?

Thats true.

Everyone agreed with Natalies words.

Before they knew it, LA Music College Park became a must-visit tourist spot in LA. People always crowded around the place where Seojoon Lee did busking, and students who majored in instruments came and took pictures. 

Of course, most of them were violin majors.

There are some people who take pictures for money at our school. They even lend violins.

Megan said and Natalie sighed with a sigh. She thought of violin again.

Why?

Because I play the violin.

Natalies words made the three of them widen their eyes. 

It had been two years since Over the Rainbow was released.

Still?

Yes.

Natalies violin.

The violin that she wanted to give to the boy who played the violin, but ended up becoming the star of the eighth week performance.

When the video was released and people learned about Natalie and Choi Yoo-sung, people started to show up one by one, wanting to buy the violin.

Rotten nodded. The car was playing Grays Concerto.

I get it. People pay a lot for celebrities stuff, let alone a violin used by an Academy Award-winning actor. And the story behind how you played that violin is very touching.

The protagonists of that story, Choi Yoo-sung and Natalie, smiled awkwardly. A year ago, some passersby would recognize them.

At first, it was a little more expensive than the violin but after Jun won the Academy Award, the price skyrocketed.

How much?

Natalies answer filled the car with silent astonishment. 

Natalie sighed.

Its been a year and the price doesnt seem to go down.

Is the violin still at Whale Studio?

Natalie nodded at Megans question.

She was afraid that thieves might steal it because of the rising price of the violin, so she entrusted it to Whale Studio, which had tight security. Whale Studio offered to pay her rent.

Its probably on display in the lobby now?

Thats right. Its here.

Choi Yoo-sung searched for Whale Studio on his phone. 

Natalies violin was on display in the center of the lobby, along with the violin that appeared in Over the Rainbow, under the spotlight in the photos taken by tourists who visited Whale Studio.

Whale Studio also said they wanted to buy it

That might be the best option. Since its Whale Studio, they might use it well in relation to the movie.

Natalie agreed with Megans words. 

She thought it might be better to sell it to Whale Studio, which had a connection with Seo-jun Lee, than to be harassed by people in the future.

Meanwhile, Choi Yoo-sung and his friends arrived at a parking lot near the theater. 

It was released simultaneously in LA, but there were few screens. This theater was the closest one from their school.

Wow.

Choi Yoo-sung blurted out in Korean without realizing it. 

His friends also laughed bitterly. 

Rotten locked the car door and opened his mouth while rubbing his neck.

I thought there wouldnt be many people since its a historical movie from an unknown Asian country with subtitles

I honestly came to see it because I was worried it would flop in America.

That was a needless worry.

The front of the theater was crowded with people.

The most visible people were Asians. 

They seemed to be Koreans, as Korean could be heard from here and there.

But it wasnt just Asians. 

There were also many whites and blacks. 

From what they heard, some people came from other cities outside of LA.

I wonder if its like this everywhere else?

I saw on SNS that its crazy.

It wasnt just this theater. 

People flocked to the few theaters in the US where Yeok was showing. 

There were also many posts on SNS.

-Whats going on today? Why are there so many people?

=Its Yeoks opening day.

=Yeok? Whats Yeok?

=Seo-jun Lees movie. The actor who played Heo Ui-gwan in My Doctor also stars in it.

=Oh. My Doctor! Is it My Doctor 2?

=I dont think so.

-I tried to buy a ticket at the theater, but there were too many people:(

-I never thought I would watch a foreign movie on the opening day.

=Same. And its not even dubbed, it has subtitles. Seo-jun Lee is amazing:))

Sold out. Sold out. Sold out.

The four of them sighed in relief at the flashing red lights.

We did well to book online.

We almost missed it today.

Choi Yoo-sung and his friends entered the theater with relief and grabbed their posters.

The monitor inside the theater was showing Yeoks trailer. 

Natalie, who had watched the trailer countless times on YouTube, asked.

Yoo-sung. What does Yeok mean? I thought it was the protagonists name, but I guess not.

It means to rebel. To revolt against something.

Oh.

Im glad Yoo-sung is Korean. He can explain things I dont know. But I wonder how other people will watch it. My mom and dad are going too. I dont know if theyll enjoy it.

Choi Yoo-sung smiled and said.

Then Ill tell you about this site.

Site?

Yeah. It seems like the movie production company made it.

Choi Yoo-sung sent his friends the site link. His friends marveled at the neat screen design.

[Learn more about Yeok]

-Before watching Yeok

-After watching Yeok (contains spoilers)

There were two categories.

Its like a guide for people who dont know much about Joseon. Of course, there are as few spoilers as possible. Even if they explain unfamiliar words or culture with subtitles, its different from understanding and watching the movie.

Theres also a language setting.

They made it with Plus.

Oh. Plus.

His friends nodded at the appearance of the streaming site that spread all over the world. It must have been easy to find translators with Plus+.

I should send it to my parents.

Its also explained in the pamphlet, but the site has pictures too, so its easy to understand. And detailed.

Then I should read this before watching the movie.

[Learn more about Yeok-Before watching] and the pamphlet were carefully read by Choi Yoo-sung and his friends, and they entered the theater. They sat in their seats with popcorn, nachos, and drinks.

Soon the theater darkened and the screen lit up.

Boom!

An unfamiliar oriental gate appeared. 

A strange castle and two shadows reflected on a white paper were seen. 

Someone whispered.

Is that a castle?

It seems like it.

Is that paper? Not a door?

More importantly, when will the protagonist appear?

They seemed to have not watched My Doctor either. 

Choi Yoo-sung scratched his cheek.

Will they keep talking?

Damn. A spoiler on the first viewing 

Rotten and Natalie, who were sitting next to him, also seemed to sigh lightly. Choi Yoo-sung tried to ignore them and focused on the movie again. He was planning to watch it multiple times anyway.

Yeok began with the death of the previous king. 

Kim Jong-seo appeared, then Grand Prince Suyang, then Lee Hong-wi joined the coup.

And at some point, the voices that were whispering what is this, what is that, stopped. 

It was a scene where the young successor met the poor people and became a true king.

The young Danjong smiled kindly, and the theater was silent for a moment.

Wow.

Is this what they call the aura of a prince? 

Natalie admired. 

The young king of a foreign country was benevolent and compassionate. 

She wanted to keep watching the young princes future,

To rebel. To revolt against something.

Choi Yoo-sungs voice popped into her head out of nowhere, and she had a bad feeling.

No way?

Soon that ominous feeling became reality. 

The man who was related by blood to the young prince, Grand Prince Suyang, showed a fierce expression that gave her goosebumps.

The Koreans who knew well about Danjong and Suyangs story clasped their hands with a gloomy expression.

Here it comes! 

Unlike the Koreans who were prepared, not a single foreigner blinked in confusion.

The background music changed. 

The music was full of tension, and the noise in the theater decreased, and the audiences breathing slowed down. 

The hands that were eating popcorn and nachos slowly stopped. 

The small noises that were heard here and there also stopped.

And then, the rebellion began.

Natalie, Megan, and Rotten gaped at the man who stepped into the kings chamber.

No? Why?

Wait? What?

The only one among the four who watched the situation calmly (of course, the confrontation between Danjong and Suyang was tense) was Choi Yoo-sung, a Korean.

The situation worsened endlessly. 

He became the King of Sacrifice, gave up his throne, and was exiled as Lord Noryang. 

He seemed to live peacefully for a while, but then he was poisoned.

The three foreigners and one Korean shed tears. 

They were crying like faucets out of pity, and the man who killed the king and was related by blood, laughed with a crooked smile. 

They all looked at the man who became king with disgusted eyes.

Someone please kill that XX.

And then, like divine punishment, the dead king appeared.

For a moment, they felt something chilling and unknowingly sympathized with Sejo.

A small shadow sitting down and a large shadow cowering.

It was the dead Danjong and the living Suyang.

The movie ended.

The theater brightened and the four people who were drained of energy leaned back on their seats, wiping their tears. 

The ending credits rolled up and Yeoks OST played. 

It was a sad and beautiful melody.

Natalie, who wiped her tears with the tissue that Choi Yoo-sung prepared in advance, sighed deeply and said.

Ah, I cried too much.

They really act well. Lee Ji-seok, right? Jun is good too, but Lee is also good.

Jun and Lee Ji-seok are both LEEs.

The three of them laughed weakly. 

They were exhausted from crying. It was a faint laughter.

Rotten looked around after wiping his tears with a tissue. 

He saw Koreans who took out tissues from their bags and wiped their tears, and shared the remaining tissues with the people around them. 

The Korean audience seemed to have brought tissues with them.

Its a historical movie Its something that really happened, right? The Koreans all brought tissues.

Well, Danjongs story is famous. If youre Korean, you would have come prepared to cry. And the actor who played Danjong was Lee Seo-jun. Of course, they probably didnt expect to cry this much.

The four people who left the theater sat in a cafe and moistened their throats with drinks while taking a break. 

The aftertaste of the movie made their bodies ache. 

Megan, who was drinking sweet chocolate, entered the [Learn more about Yeok] site.

Theres also a link here that says to watch it after viewing.

Really?

They all took out their phones at Megans words.

[Learn more about Yeok]

-Before watching

After watching (contains spoilers)

-About Noryang Diary

-Danjong and Sejo in Noryang Diary

They quietly read one by one. 

The images of Danjong and Sejo in Noryang Diary became those of the two actors. That made them feel a lot of dissonance.

The image is very different from the movie.

History is the record of the winners.

Rotten and Megan nodded at Natalies words. Choi Yoo-sung, who had searched a lot about Danjong before the release, was looking at the Korean reactions. Korea was also noisy.

Theres something called Annals of the Joseon Dynasty.

Huh? Theres such a thing here?

Choi Yoo-sung, who was leisurely looking at the Korean reactions, turned his eyes at Megans words.

Yeah. Its here. Its amazing that they have this much data from that long ago.

There are also a lot of comments about the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty. They wrote even what the king told them not to write, thats amazing.

Its a UNESCO World Heritage.

Uh uh?

Choi Yoo-sung blinked at the reactions of his three friends.