Superstar 824
by Cristae“I should’ve just run away……!”
Waaaah!
At the words of one of the five actors, the rest all responded with loud cries of agreement instead of words. That moment, they should’ve listened to their instincts and bolted.
“That was our survival instinct…!”
Even Brian Goodell, a big fan of Seo-jun Lee, said so.
Survival instinct—something nearly lost to modern humans who have no natural predators.
But at that time, their DNA screamed that they were still very much alive. It shouted: Run!
But they noticed too late. They missed their chance to escape.
Sniff. Their eyes glistened. Was it sweat? Or tears?
And watching those actors with a satisfied smile—was the cause of all of this.
Seo-jun.
“Hahaha.”
“Don’t laugh!”
It had only been five days since training began, but Seo-jun and the five actors had already grown close enough to speak this casually.
They say shared suffering breeds camaraderie.
“Is it hard?”
At Seo-jun’s question, everyone’s eyes lit up and they shouted in unison.
“Yes! Totally!”
“It’s really hard!”
Seo-jun nodded at that.
“Your voices are still strong. Looks like you can do more.”
……Of course, Seo-jun was the one causing that suffering.
“Let’s increase the intensity.”
Seo-jun scanned the actors’ condition with sharp eyes. The trainers nodded and increased the intensity.
“His eyes are amazing.”
“Seriously.”
Just a glance, and Seo-jun could read the actors’ physical limits and adjust the training time and intensity. The trainers were impressed. He could be a trainer himself.
“Aaaargh!”
“Down with Seo-jun Lee!!”
“Hahaha.”
He hadn’t even used his powers yet, but the actors’ wild instincts seemed to be awakening, which made Seo-jun smile with satisfaction.
“Shall we continue then?”
“Yes.”
Though it was his break time, Seo-jun had been checking on the others. His trainer, smiling at him, nodded at his words.
On the long mat,
Seo-jun stood facing his trainer. He exhaled deeply and tensed his body lightly. Too much tension would cause stiffness, which leads to injury.
The trainer gave a slight nod.
In response, Seo-jun lowered his stance and took a big step forward with his right foot, charging at the trainer. The trainer raised the mitts accordingly.
‘Right shoulder first.’
Thwack!
A light hitting sound rang out.
Seo-jun’s kick struck the trainer’s mitt.
‘Next, a roll.’
When the trainer pushed Seo-jun’s leg with the mitt, Seo-jun flung himself back as if thrown and rolled.
In the film, this was the scene where the “enemy” blocked the male lead’s attack with one hand, grabbed his leg, and flung him away.
‘Get up and attack again.’
Story-wise, despite the power difference, the male lead kept charging in. Seo-jun, playing that role, ran toward the trainer again.
Thwack!
Thud!
It looked intense, but the kicks and punches exchanged between Seo-jun and the trainer were light and without force.
The actors paused their own training to watch.
They had heard Seo-jun started training at the same time as them, yet he moved with perfect coordination.
‘And……’
Even though the choreography was fixed, Seo-jun made it look like a real fight. Even after seeing it several times, it still felt real.
That must mean he was giving his full focus and effort.
‘……No way we could hate him.’
Seeing Seo-jun like that, their exhausted spirits felt reinvigorated.
“Let’s start again!”
With sparkling eyes, Brian said with determination, and the actors returned to their training with renewed focus.
Of course,
‘Still hard…!’
The difficulty hadn’t changed.
Moments later.
“Okay. Let’s take a short break.”
As soon as the trainer spoke, the five actors looked ready to collapse—
“Stretching, everyone! Stretching!”
But Seo-jun’s prompt made them do their cooldown stretches to avoid injury. Short breaks didn’t need them, but this one was longer.
“Ughhhhh……”
Groans erupted as their sore muscles and joints were stretched.
“You all worked on muscle only? No flexibility?”
“Sorry……”
At Seo-jun’s half-joking scold, the actors pouted. The trainers chuckled.
Even Seo-jun, who had pretended to scold, ended up smiling.
Despite their groaning, he was thankful they had stayed committed to training since day one.
[(Passive) Jullang Herb’s Minor Fatigue Relief activated.]
With an ability from the Library of Life, Seo-jun relieved the fatigue of the five actors and trainers—unintentionally both hurting and healing them—then stood up.
“Where are you going, Jun?”
Brian, feeling suddenly refreshed like a cool breeze had blown past, asked with a dazed expression.
Seo-jun smiled.
“I’ve got another session. Actor Kendrick’s joining from today.”
“Oh, really?”
Dan Kendrick.
He was cast as the strongest enemy in New Eclipse, the leader of the werewolf pack.
They’d heard he’d join late due to other schedules—apparently, today was the day. It seemed he was starting training with Seo-jun directly.
“Then I’ll get going.”
“Alright.”
Happy about the new cast member, Seo-jun left the B2 training hall with the actors waving him off.
One actor, watching Seo-jun disappear, made the sign of the cross over his forehead and chest.
“One poor little lamb is about to be sent in.”
Hehehe.
The five actors, sensing a new comrade in suffering, laughed cheerfully.
B1 Training Hall.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Seo-jun Lee.”
“I’m Dan Kendrick.”
Dan Kendrick smiled as he shook hands with the superstar.
Originally, Dan Kendrick hadn’t planned to join New Eclipse. He hadn’t even read the script and had tossed it in the reject bin.
But then news broke: Seo-jun Lee would be the male lead.
Seo-jun Lee.
A name no actor working in Hollywood—or globally—could ignore.
An Asian actor, and young, yet he had won awards at top global festivals and earned widespread recognition for his acting.
‘And every movie’s been a hit.’
Seo-jun Lee was an incredible actor.
Hearing he was joining New Eclipse, Dan’s curiosity was piqued. He read the script and accepted the offer. The remake of New Eclipse was actually quite, no, very good.
“Looking forward to working with you, Ri.”
“Please call me Jun.”
Some disliked Seo-jun, but Dan Kendrick felt a mild fondness for him. That fondness deepened when Seo-jun won the Best Actor Oscar.
‘It’s good to know a superstar.’
Even if it was calculated, so what? That’s life.
‘If I can also figure out how he acts like that, even better.’
Thoughts that would’ve sent Seo-jun’s favorability sky-high, if he knew, were exactly what actor Dan Kendrick was thinking.
“Let’s start training.”
At the martial arts director’s cue, Seo-jun and Dan Kendrick nodded.
Training in B1 followed this order:
“You’ve probably seen the storyboard and choreography, but we also prepared a video for clarity. We’ll send it to you later.”
First, the director and trainers explained the action scene in detail using a 0.5x speed video.
“Jun, you’ll move right and attack here. Watch your angle—if you hit from the wrong direction, there’s a risk of injury. Dan, you’ll…”
Seo-jun and Dan Kendrick focused intently on the trainer-shot footage.
Next came solo drills.
Practicing individually with trainers helped them learn choreography safely.
“Great job, Jun!”
“Dan, you’re picking it up fast.”
Both had prior action movie experience, so they learned quickly. It would take time to perfect, but that was what future sessions were for.
Then came pair training.
Under the watchful eyes of the director and trainers, they rehearsed their choreography, attacking and defending as practiced.
“Try relaxing your arms. You’re too strong.”
“Be careful on defense.”
Some contact was inevitable in action scenes, but the trick was to apply just enough force to look good on camera without causing harm.
‘This is the hardest part.’
Controlling strength.
If he used it wrong, Seo-jun could probably break a few things—so he focused even more.
As the session neared its end—
Seo-jun tossed in a lure.
A lure that had already caught five others.
“Dan. Want to run through it once more with acting?”
Seo-jun smiled brightly.
“Acting?”
“Yeah. Since we’ll have to act during it later, why not try it now?”
Dan Kendrick fell into thought.
Not a bad idea. With little time left in today’s session, it wasn’t enough to start something new.
Plus, acting with Seo-jun Lee was intriguing.
Rumors said seeing him live was more amazing than on video, and acting with him was even more incredible than watching him.
The director and trainers held their breath, watching Dan Kendrick.
They knew all too well where this was going.
Dan opened his mouth. And said exactly what the others had said.
“Alright. Let’s try it.”
“Yes!”
Seo-jun beamed.
The bait had been taken.
Seo-jun and Dan Kendrick took their positions on the mat.
“Ready,”
The martial arts director smiled as he spoke.
Seo-jun and Dan focused.
“Action!”
With that cue, Seo-jun Lee’s aura changed.
‘He’ crouched low, eyes gleaming black, staring at Dan Kendrick.
A growl echoed. Sharp claws seemed to aim for his throat.
He really was a wolf. A werewolf.
But strangely, Dan didn’t feel fear.
Because—
‘I’m a werewolf too.’
Not just any, but the alpha of the pack—stronger than him.
That thought wasn’t Dan’s alone. It was planted by Seo-jun’s performance.
Look at those eyes.
That expression.
That movement.
He looked ready to bare his fangs and attack—but Dan saw hidden fear within. Uncertainty. Nervousness.
This was how the weak challenged the strong.
Seeing that in his opponent, Dan could fully dive into the role.
No—this wasn’t just focus.
This was immersion.
He became the character.
‘He’ lunges. Attacks. But doesn’t land a single blow. ‘He’ gets knocked back. Trees break. Crushed grass releases its scent.
‘He’ falters.
Now it was his turn.
Dan Kendrick—no, the Alpha—looked into those black eyes and reached out his hand. Though unadorned, his fingers seemed tipped with phantom claws.
Beep-beep—
Just then, a phone notification snapped them out of it.
“Oh, training time’s over.”
Seo-jun’s once fierce eyes instantly cleared.
“……Huh?”
Dan Kendrick blinked at the sudden mood shift.
“We should wrap up. There’s stuff scheduled after this. You too, right?”
……Wait, hold on.
Seo-jun smiled brightly, left the mat, and started stretching. Dan’s mouth opened in shock.
He’d been so immersed.
He couldn’t remember the last time he had been this focused while acting. His entire being had locked into one role. The B1 training hall had felt like a dark forest of trees and stone.
His whole body tingled.
It didn’t feel like Dan Kendrick anymore—it felt like the character.
And now… it was over?
“……Just like that?”
Dan mumbled, stunned. The martial arts director and trainers barely held back laughter.
They could practically see the five earlier actors waving a banner:
[WELCOME TO THE HELL!!]