Superstar 784

Sprout From Age 0, Superstar Episode 784

• Sprout was the name of Lee Sejun’s fans, right? What did they do?
  = Summary: Sprouts voted in the WTV Awards so that Lee Sejun and Evan Block received a joint award.
  = ????
  = …Ye-e↗?
  = There were more than a few things that I wanted to question about that?
  = 22 It simply made no sense???
  = 33 The WTV voting was private, so how did the Sprouts manage that???

[Title: But It Actually Happened. (Feat. WTV Joint Award)]
I felt so itchy wanting to write this!!!

My younger sibling was a Lee Sejun fan (a Sprout), and they took my phone to cast a vote. (In exchange for ramen.)

So I ate the ramen my sibling cooked and watched them vote, and my sibling kept switching between their phone and mine, doing something.

Me: What were you doing?

Sibling: Just eat your ramen.

Me: …….

I wondered where the kid who had pleaded so desperately for my phone just moments ago went… haha.

Anyway.

I peeked and suddenly they were voting for Evan Block! But my sibling was a hardcore Lee Sejun stan!!

They plastered the room with Lee Sejun’s photos! They watched his videos every day! They even designed and made their own Lee Sejun doll!

Me: Did you switch to Evan Block?

Sibling: @&%%$!!!

I thought that day would be my last… haha.

But thanks to that, I found out!

They had been running a secret project in Sprout!

It was called the “Lee Sejun & Evan Block Joint Award Project!”

It started from a comment saying, “I wish Knight Jin and Shadow Man would receive an award together.” Well, seeing them both get it was pretty moving. (sniff)

Listening to my sibling’s explanation, it was no joke.

They even scouted(?) Evan Block’s fans and tried to calculate how many regular viewers might vote (did that even get calculated???). If it seemed like Evan Block needed more votes, a whole nation’s Sprouts would vote for Evan Block; if Lee Sejun needed more votes, then they would all vote for Lee Sejun. (In Korea, it was half Lee Sejun votes and half Evan Block votes.)

But the key point was that the WTV voting was not made public, so all of it was done based on the instincts and calculations (inaccurate) of the leadership…;;; I wondered who those Sprout leaders or officers even were haha.

(I watched it live on my sibling’s phone, yet I still couldn’t believe it.)

Anyway.

I had a question.

Me: …This would work? Didn’t seem like it would.

Sibling: That’s why we were keeping it secret. If it got reported for no reason, it could hurt Sejun.

Me: Could we hide it at all? This was worldwide in scale. And we were talking about Lee Sejun and Evan Block. Reporters would rush in, with articles everywhere.

…But it actually worked?

Weren’t reporters the type who rushed in as soon as they smelled a story?

I had been on the lookout for an article ever since I heard about it from my sibling, but not a single one popped up; even abroad, there was nothing.

I had no idea what they did… or how they did it… I spent my days amazed at how awesome the Sprouts were.

(I was too scared, so I kept my mouth shut haha.)

That was how, while the general public had no idea, huge happenings were unfolding under the surface in the WTV voting, until the voting ended and the day of the awards ceremony came.

And as everyone knew, Lee Sejun & Evan Block got a joint award!!

I never thought they would really pull it off… Sprouts were scary haha.

+) Of course the Sprouts were crying and praying that heaven helped them haha.

• Even a one-vote difference could decide the winner, and you were saying Lee Sejun’s fans manipulated that??
  = Not manipulation ㄴㄴ Adjustment ㅇㅇ
  = Sh** that was even scarier;;;
• Wow! So you were part of a Sprout family!! Thank you for keeping it a secret! (^▽^)//
  = Gasp! A real one appeared!!
• Note on using the internet: Sprouts were everywhere, at any moment.

=It sounded like that saying in martial arts novels about being wary of the elderly and children, haha.

-Were you sure it was okay to post something like this???

=22 I was worried about the author;;;

=Author: It was fine! I got my younger sibling’s permission!!

=Permission, haha.

That post was what started it all, and as if an embargo had been lifted, the story of [From Sprout]’s secret project began to spread everywhere.

If their joint award plan had failed, it would have just been a touching but somewhat amusing story of Lee Sejun’s fans’ efforts, but since they actually succeeded in making a joint award happen, it became a massive sensation.

[Real-time calculation records from the voting period on From Sprout, omg] [Countries that voted for Evan Block and countries that voted for Lee Sejun] [Collection of WTV voting status changes in real time] [I certified my vote for Lee Sejun, and my friend cried, haha]

-Are you telling me this was really possible?

=22 I had seen fans trying to match vote counts when the voting was public, haha. But how did they do it when it was private??

=33 It was really amazing, haha. This felt like something that should go in the Guinness Book of World Records?

=Haha, right, haha. It was like uniting the entire world, haha.

-The real-time aspect was so funny, haha. Until an hour ago, it was “Vote for Lee Sejun,” but the moment the calculation results came out, it changed to “Vote for Evan Block.”

=And the Sprouts went along with that without a word of complaint.

=Haha, their coordination was incredible, haha.

-My professor in the Math Department was looking at the calculation records. “…This made no sense?? How was this even possible??” was what he said.

=Ah, haha. If they had failed, it would be “Well, they tried hard, haha,” but since they succeeded, all the calculations became “How in the world??” haha.

=Oh. Just now, he said he wanted to invite those (science-major Sprouts who calculated) to grad school.

=My professor said the same, haha.

=Run away, Sprouts!!

=No, seeing the amount of hard work and skill they showed, they might already be slaves (A.K.A graduate students).

=Haha, that was really possible, haha.

-Now that I thought about it, it was too funny. No wonder, haha. When I sent a certification post to my friend (a Sprout) saying, “I voted for Lee Sejun!” my friend just replied, “<> Thank you,” haha.

=Same here, haha. I told my friend who was a Sprout that I got myself + my family + my friends to vote for Lee Sejun, haha. At first, they just cried, “ㅠㅠㅠ,” but then they said, “Thank you so much. But… how many people voted, ㅠㅠ?” haha.

=222 I thought they cried from being touched, haha, but that wasn’t the case, haha.

=Sprout: No, no. Everyone was touched, ㅠㅠ. It’s just that we had to recalculate the vote count, and that was so ㅠㅠㅠ

=Haha.

Of course, there were articles about it.

[WTV Awards’ first joint win! Actor Lee Sejun & Evan Block’s fans stepped up!] [Coincidence? No, it was fate! The fans’ devotion that even moved the heavens!] [The hidden heroes behind the ‘Best Hero Award’ joint win!]

And the actors and directors, as well as other film industry people who attended the WTV Awards after-party, all learned about the situation.

[WTV joint award! Lee Sejun’s fans took action!] [Even the heavens were moved by Lee Sejun and Evan Block fans’ efforts!!]

They couldn’t help but be astonished at the articles pouring in real time. Once again, it made them think about the actor called ‘Lee Sejun.’

They already considered him practically a walking guarantee of box-office success, but he even had fans with such extraordinary firepower. If one took into account the unbelievable outcome of that ‘joint award,’ it felt like even heaven was helping Lee Sejun become a star.

He truly was a ‘superstar.’

And that superstar was right there.

When they turned their heads, they saw Sejun Lee, who seemed to have just received the news from his manager, reading his phone while talking with the [Shad&Kni] team.

The eyes of the actors, directors, and film industry people watching Sejun gleamed like hawks spotting prey.

“Waa…”

Sejun, who had been looking through [From Sprout] and various Korean sites on his phone, couldn’t help but exclaim.

He had thought he was visiting [From Sprout] often, but never in his wildest dreams did he imagine they were carrying out such a project.

“Jun’s fans were really amazing.”

Evan Block was also impressed.

Just skimming through a few posts, he could tell how hard the Sprouts had worked to achieve a joint award for Sejun and Evan Block.

“Of course, my own fans were amazing, too.”

Evan Block didn’t forget about his fans, who must have voted hard together with the Sprouts.

“I guessed it was too incredible to be just a coincidence, and it turned out it was the power of the fans.”

“That’s exactly it.”

At Director Jonathan’s words, Kirk Lawrence also nodded.

Sure, coincidence might have played a part, but if not for the fans’ efforts, it would never have happened.

‘Actors like him end up with fans like those.’

Kirk Lawrence laughed aloud.

“Uwaaaah! I never thought they’d actually do it!”

Unlike the people who were stunned by this unknown news, Rachel Hill beamed, looking ready to throw her hands in the air.

Huh?

Everyone’s eyes turned toward Rachel Hill, who was the only one reacting differently.

“Rachel, did you already know?”

Sejun’s question made Rachel Hill giggle mischievously.

“Because it was a secret project for the fans alone, I kept it secret!”

“But Rachel, you’re an actress.”

“I’m a Sprout, too!”

When Sejun, blinking in confusion, spoke, Rachel Hill winked with a grin.

“So that was why you went wild earlier?”

Come to think of it, she had been excessively excited during the awards ceremony.

Evan Block recalled Rachel Hill repeating, “This is crazy! Absolutely insane!” and laughed softly.

“I never imagined it would actually happen. Because the voting was private, you wouldn’t believe how much we prayed. I bet your fans and mine did the same.”

Sejun pictured the Sprouts clasping their hands together in prayer as the “Best Hero Award” was being announced, and a soft smile formed on his face.

“I originally planned to return home soon, but now I have to go back even earlier.”

“Why’s that?”

At Director Jonathan’s question, Sejun answered with a laugh.

“I’m going to do a live broadcast on YouTube.”

Initially, no matter how the WTV Awards turned out, Sejun intended to leave the after-party a bit early, go home, and chat for about thirty minutes or so on YouTube Live, thanking the Sprouts who worked so hard voting for him and talking about various things.

And now, they’d given him such a wonderful surprise present, too.

He felt an eager rush to get home quickly and connect with the Sprouts.

Seeing Sejun, who was visibly thrilled, the [Shad&Kni] team smiled.

“I should also give a word of thanks to my fans.”

Evan Block decided he would also express gratitude to the fans who had worked alongside the Sprouts.

“Well then, let’s make the most of the party in a short but sweet way before we go!”

At Rachel Hill’s words, Sejun, Evan Block, Director Jonathan, and Kirk Lawrence all burst out laughing as they clinked their glasses with a toast.

---

[Dding-]
A notification rang out.

All at once, the Sprouts, who had been shedding tears of joy and toasting to the success of their project, checked their phones.

They had their notifications set to silent for almost everything – except for one particular alert, which they allowed to ring.

-Sejun has appeared!!

And it was live!

-At this time of day?

=I saw on other actors’ social media that they’re at the post-awards party.

=So is he at the party venue?

Soon, the screen lit up.

And then that breathtaking face appeared, one that made people gasp just to look at it.

“/Hello, everyone. This is Sejun Lee./”

-Kkyaaaah!

-Sejun-ah!!

-JUUUUUN!!

Sejun offered a bright smile and a fluent English greeting. Though people had just watched him on live television, seeing him in real-time on YouTube made the Sprouts feel even more enraptured. A flurry of different languages filled the chat like waves, most of them either crying out Sejun’s name or screaming with excitement, so there wasn’t much to read.

Waiting momentarily for the uproar to settle, Sejun spoke again with a smile.

“/I heard about it during the WTV Awards after-party. I heard how hard the Sprouts worked to help me and Evan get a joint award. That’s why I left the party early and came home./”

-ㅠㅠ You didn’t have to worry about that. ㅠㅠ

-We just wanted to do something nice for you. ㅠ

-/We thought it would be great if you two could win together. ㅠㅠ/

“/I couldn’t not care. Even just the fact that you voted for me is something I’m incredibly grateful for, but I never dreamed of receiving such a wonderful surprise gift on top of that. I’m truly thankful. It made me so happy to receive the Best Hero Award alongside Evan./”

-Aaah ㅠㅠ

-/We were even happier!/

-Seeing how happy he looked made me feel good!!

“/Then let’s start our own after-party now! I even prepared orange juice and cake. Oh, about my clothes?/”

Sejun moved the camera to show himself.

He said he had returned home, so I thought he might have changed into casual clothes, but he was still wearing the same suit from the awards ceremony.

Well, how should I put it?

He looked as if he had just finished getting styled, with not a single hair out of place.

He had been running around to the ceremony and party and everywhere else, so his clothes or hair should have been messy, right?

When the Sprouts wondered about it,

Sejun smiled and winked.

“/I was meeting my beloved Sprouts, so I wanted to look great. I spruced up a bit. Is it all right?/”

Screams from Sprouts, who felt dizzy from his smiling gaze, filled the chat.

-Sejun was guilty… guilty!