Superstar 846
by CristaeOh…
As filming progressed, the assistant director and crew—who had been worried Seojun might be sick—were now too busy being impressed.
“I heard he can switch his acting on and off, but it’s like he actually has a switch.”
“Right?”
Because of cat Bella’s outtakes or to shoot from other angles, the scene where “Theo is in pain and gradually recovers” had to be filmed several times.
And each time, Seojun Lee acted as though someone had flipped a switch—perfectly showing feverish suffering and rapid recovery, as if he had taken real magical medicine.
His acting was so natural, it looked like they had fast-forwarded footage of someone actually recovering from illness.
At first, some crew members even thought he might actually be sick, but after seeing him repeat the performance several times, they had no choice but to accept—he wasn’t.
And they couldn’t help but admire him.
Whether or not he knew people were amazed, Seojun chatted casually with Director Wilma and Haley Rosie after filming, completely at ease.
“Haley. Do you like cookies?”
“Of course. If it weren’t for health reasons, I could eat chocolate cookies all day.”
Judging by Haley Rosie’s sparkling eyes, she really meant it. Seojun turned to Director Wilma.
“What about you, Director?”
“I like them. As long as they’re not too sweet.”
Haley Rosie gasped in horror.
“What?! Director! Cookies have to be sweet! That’s what makes them cookies!”
“Sweet things get old fast. Savory cookies are tastier.”
“Why would they get old? They’re just delicious!”
Uh. Hmm.
Watching Haley Rosie and Director Wilma bicker over cookies, Seojun shrugged and turned to Bella’s handler. He got a cheerful “I can never get enough of them” in response and burst out laughing.
“But why the cookie talk?”
Haley Rosie asked Seojun.
“If I have time, I’d like to try making some.”
“…What?”
“Cookies.”
“…Who?”
“Me.”
Seojun smiled sweetly, and everyone turned to him with wide eyes.
Striking while the iron was hot, Seojun stopped by King’s Market on his way home and bought all the ingredients he needed. After dinner, he began making cookies right away.
On the large island counter,
He laid out his ingredients and digital scale.
He started by calculating how many cookies he needed, based on how many people he wanted to share with. Then he followed the recipe and measured each ingredient.
Butter, sugar, salt, cake flour, chocolate chips—all weighed and moved into bowls with care.
“Can’t you just eyeball it?”
Since Seojun couldn’t possibly make cookies for every [New Eclipse] staff member on his own, Choi Taewoo—who had arranged a cookie shop and a coffee truck to serve snacks—asked as he watched.
“Nope.”
Seojun grinned.
“Cookies are easier than other baked goods, but if you don’t follow the recipe, they’ll flop.”
He’d learned that during a cookie-making play session with Eunsu and Subin.
‘They always wanted to throw in random things.’
He smiled, remembering his younger siblings with flour all over their faces, giggling.
‘I miss them.’
He made a mental note to call them while the cookie dough chilled in the fridge. First, he softened the room-temp butter and whipped it with a whisk.
“Want help?”
“That’d be great.”
Standing side by side in the kitchen, Seojun and Taewoo worked on the cookies together.
They creamed the butter, then added sugar and salt, mixing again. Once combined, they stirred in eggs. Finally, they sifted in flour and baking soda, folded in toppings like chocolate chips, and even added optional ingredients like vanilla extract.
“Ah, hyung. Did you know Director Wilma knew I could cook?”
“Oh, really?”
Taewoo’s eyes widened. Seojun smiled and continued.
“Yeah. She saw clips of the ‘Children of the Forest’ show on YouTube. I was so shocked when she mentioned it on set. How much research did she do?”
“No kidding. She knows about Snow White, and now this.”
Taewoo laughed.
It seemed a bit excessive for an actor in her film—but for Wilma Evans, it made perfect sense.
“How’s the shoot going? Everything okay?”
Though he went with Seojun to set, a manager’s perspective outside was different from what an actor actually experienced.
“It’s fun. Everyone’s really nice.”
“Good to hear.”
Chatting like that, they finished all the cookie doughs.
“Now we just need to chill them in the fridge for 30 minutes.”
There was dough for sweet chocolate cookies (Haley Rosie’s favorite), nutty almond cookies (for Director Wilma), and plenty more for the staff.
The kitchen counter was full of cookie dough.
As they carefully stored the dough in the fridge, one lone bowl caught Taewoo’s eye.
“Seojun, is this leftover?”
Seojun looked over and said,
“Oh, that’s for cat cookies.”
“…You made cookies for cats?”
“Of course. They’re fellow actors. I even got a fish-shaped cookie cutter for them.”
Seojun smiled and showed the silver fish-shaped cutter. Taewoo had to laugh.
The next day.
At the [New Eclipse] set, a little cookie shop and café had appeared.
Now used to the shoot, the relaxed staff flocked to the setup like hungry hyenas. And were surprised.
“These are made by Jun himself?”
“Really?!”
There were various cookies, but the smallest ones were made by Seojun Lee.
“One per person.”
A cheerful staff member from Kings Agency, now posing as a cookie shop employee, explained.
People could take as many of the other cookies as they wanted, but Seojun’s handmade cookies were limited so more staff could try them.
“Amazing. Cookies made by a superstar…”
“Can I take a picture and post it?”
“Aaaah…! Jun’s cookies!”
Some staff were amazed by the idea of superstar-made cookies, others ran to the assistant director to ask if they could post about it, and some shy fans covered their mouths whenever they saw Seojun.
Seeing the excited reactions, Seojun smiled.
And the reviews were glowing.
“These are so good… You could seriously sell them, Jun!”
Haley Rosie, biting into a sweet chocolate cookie, looked like she might cry as she spoke.
“No, seriously. Please open a shop. Ugh. The fact that I can only eat these today… I’m going to savor every bite.”
“They suit my taste perfectly. These are truly delicious.”
Director Wilma couldn’t stop praising them either.
Meow!
And cat Jack was meowing while nibbling a fish-shaped cookie.
“…You’re making it look like I starved you, Jack.”
Despite his handler’s protest, Jack paid no attention.
“Jun, if it’s okay… could I ask for the recipe?”
As if asking for a third-generation family recipe, the handler cautiously asked.
“I think Jack’s going to keep begging for them.”
Seeing the look on the handler’s face—like a butler resigned to their master’s will—Seojun chuckled softly.
“Of course. I’ll show you.”
Oh!
Even Haley Rosie, Director Wilma, and the staff, who had been nibbling their cookies slowly while wondering, “They look normal, so why are they so good?”, all perked up.
Seojun scratched his cheek.
“But it’s not much different from recipes online.”
Ah…
Everyone sighed.
“…Must be the magic touch.”
That special something.
The world’s most secret, perfect recipe.
Impossible to teach. Impossible to buy.
Everyone was genuinely disappointed.
A little later.
Filming began.
Maybe it was the cookies, but everyone was on a sugar high, and prep went super smoothly.
Thinking she should arrange snacks more often (within the budget, of course), Director Wilma raised her voice.
“Ready, action!”
Claire’s living room.
Theo, now fever-free, sat on the sofa with Claire and Molly.
“…Can I ask how you got hurt?”
Claire remembered the scars peeking from under Theo’s sleeve when she wiped away his cold sweat.
She had once cared for children who came to orphanages with all sorts of histories. She knew those kinds of scars were built up over many years.
Gently asking, Claire watched Theo nod without hesitation.
“It’s okay. I was going to tell you anyway.”
Theo sank into the soft couch, eyes on the ceiling. He seemed to be deciding where to begin.
Claire and Molly watched him quietly.
“Did you know wolves only have one mate for life?”
“Yeah. Werewolves too. Monogamous.”
Molly, well-versed in this world, replied. Claire, still new to all this, filed it away mentally.
“My… father was the leader of the Rayfield pack. My mother was a werewolf from Asia.”
Theo’s use of “father” and “mother” sounded a bit awkward, but it was an ordinary enough story. A man and woman meeting.
“But…”
Theo furrowed his brow and continued.
“My father already had a wife.”
Ah.
Claire, who had lived with children from all kinds of backgrounds, had heard stories like this before—so she managed to stay calm.
“WHAT!?”
Molly, however, did not.
“He’s a werewolf! A werewolf!?”
As if she had just heard something that flipped the world upside down, the black cat jumped up and down.
“I’ve read stories where a mate dies and a new one appears! But Margaret said that’s sooooo rare it made it into books! An affair?! An AFFAIR?!”
“Molly.”
“But… ugh… sorry…”
Seeing Theo, Molly flopped over. Theo shrugged.
“It’s fine. I’ve never even met them. Honestly, even I feel grossed out.”
Theo’s face twisted in anger and pain.
“I just feel resentment.”
Claire asked gently,
“What happened?”
“Like Molly said, werewolves are monogamous. Having another wife or husband is unthinkable. It’s a betrayal to your mate and your pack.”
Theo’s expression darkened.
“…If that was all, maybe I’d have just been beaten and exiled.”
Penniless, injured, and cast out—he didn’t know if he’d have survived. But sometimes, Theo thought that would’ve been better.
“One day, enemies attacked the Rayfields.”
But that path was gone forever.
“In a surprise attack, all the Rayfield werewolves went to battle. All except my father.”
The Rayfield wolves always brought up that day when they saw Theo.
“Because he was with my mother. I was about to be born.”