Superstar 788
by CristaeEpisode 788 of *Superstar from Birth
After wrapping up his heartfelt scolding, Seojun asked,
“What about the others?”
He had expected at least one Team 1 staff member to be there, but the room was empty. Taewoo replied,
“I told them I was fine. Also… the news just came out. They’re probably all at the office right now.”
“Oh, it’s out?”
Seojun’s eyes widened. Daho was already pulling out his phone with one hand and turning on the TV with the other to find a news channel.
“Yeah. The video was first uploaded to YouTube. Looks like a fan of actor Lee Jiseok spotted him. Someone took a picture of him at Myeongjin Art Hall and uploaded it.”
“And since he was wearing the same outfit in that photo as during the soju truck accident, it would’ve been easy to connect the dots.”
At Daho’s remark, Taewoo nodded.
“Yeah. Seojun showed up in that same photo too, so people figured out they were together.”
Someone probably noticed the person sitting next to Jiseok and kept paying attention. And if that attention continued, no matter how good Seojun’s “normal life concealment” was, he was bound to be found out eventually.
‘Though it’s not like it needed to be hidden that strictly anyway.’
Soon, the photo of Seojun and Jiseok at the theater hit the internet—and chaos followed.
—Lee Jiseok, Lee Seojun spotted at Kim Jongho’s play. (photo)
==Are they friends? Mind your tone, dude.
==Okay? And what?
==Isn’t this basically a paparazzi shot? Take it down.
==They’re celebrities, so what.
==It’s not even work-related, come on.
—Wait, a Seojun sighting?! How did they even figure that out, lol
==Seriously, how did they find him, lol. This is wild.
==I wasn’t sure so I kept watching him through the whole play. It was dark, but I snapped the photo during intermission.
One fan who saw both the play sighting and the soju truck video made the connection.
—(Photo of people cleaning up broken soju bottles with a red circle) Isn’t this Jiseok oppa?
==Wait, what? Outta nowhere?
==No, seriously! The coat and pants are identical to the theater outfit. Same color and everything.
==Oh! Now that you mention it, the back view does look like our actor!!!
—But who’s the guy getting out of the car with him?
==Boyfriend?
==Well… he is old enough to date.
==Can’t argue with that 222
—Looks like a guy, though?
==Wasn’t there a sighting that said he was with Lee Seojun? Maybe it’s him?
==WHAT???
==Now that you say it… their outfits match too!!
==And wasn’t the car headed toward Myeongjin Art Hall? Where Kim Jongho was performing!
==Looks like it really is him!?
==This is insane lol. They figured it out like this??
—Seojun… really is out and about these days…
==Right? I thought he just stayed at home or at the company, but he’s everywhere.
==22 We just haven’t caught him before.
—The way both of them jumped out the moment the soju truck spilled? Legendary. 😭
==Seriously, didn’t even hesitate.
==But of course… hats and masks were still on.
—Our Seojun’s back on the news again…
==And once again, looks like he stepped out from the driver’s seat?
==Is it just me or does he end up on the news every time he drives?
==Nope, not just you. Same here, lol.
—An actor who ends up in the news all the time without causing accidents: Lee Seojun.
==LOL
“They started with a simple heartwarming report,” Taewoo explained, “but once they realized Seojun and actor Lee Jiseok were involved, news outlets began running it nonstop.”
Just as he said, even though they’d only just turned on the news channel, footage of the soju truck accident was already playing, accompanied by a reporter’s voice.
[This individual is actor Lee Jiseok, and the person beside him is actor Lee Seojun. The two were reportedly on their way to see a play starring actor Kim Jongho at Myeongjin Art Hall.]
Clips filmed by passersby on their phones, as well as CCTV footage from the road, showed everything—from the moment the truck tipped over, to the cleanup, and even Seojun’s car driving away afterward.
“There’s a lot of articles too,” Ahn Daho said as he scrolled through his phone.
Thanks to Team 1’s diligent work, there didn’t seem to be any articles requiring damage control. And since it wasn’t anything negative to begin with, there was no cause for concern.
“Well then…”
Daho turned off his phone.
“Shall we get discharged? I think you’ll need help keeping up with everything… And I just had a good nap with the IV, so I’m okay now.”
At Taewoo’s words, Daho and Seojun exchanged knowing smiles.
“Let’s go eat dinner.”
“Is there anything you want to eat, Taewoo hyung?”
They were smiling, but the pressure in the air was undeniable.
Like actor, like former manager.
“Seojun’s coming to the office today, right?”
“Yeah.”
Blue Moon members Park Ideun and Jung Eunsung jingled their plastic bags as they headed toward Cocoa Entertainment’s 8th-floor rehearsal room used by the actors.
The places Seojun was most likely to appear were Director Ahn’s office and the actor team’s rehearsal floor—but even the most carefree duo like Ideun and Eunsung didn’t have the guts to casually stroll into Director Ahn’s office.
“Hello!”
“Oh, hey.”
As the two got off the elevator and stepped onto the 8th floor—frequented often by the actor team thanks to Seojun—they were greeted by actors relaxing in the lounge.
“Is Seojun in the rehearsal room?”
“No, he stopped by briefly but went right back down.”
“Oh really? Want some ice cream?”
“Whoa! Thanks!”
So that’s what was in the plastic bags—ice cream.
It might’ve been November, but as the saying goes, “fight cold with cold.” Ice cream on a chilly day had its own charm. And besides, Cocoa Entertainment’s indoor heating was just right.
As the three actors rummaged through the bags to choose their flavors, Ideun and Eunsung got back into the elevator and headed down again.
The 7th floor was home to the PR team, business management team, and other administrative departments.
“Seojun? He stopped by for a bit earlier, then went back down.”
“Really?”
At the PR team staff member’s comment, Park Ideun and Jung Eunsung handed over the ice cream and got back into the elevator, tilting their heads in confusion.
“Is this guy making a stop on every floor?”
“I think we’re gonna run out of ice cream at this rate…”
They thought they’d bought plenty, but if Seojun was seriously visiting every single floor, they might not have enough after all.
“Actor Lee Seojun? He dropped by briefly just a bit ago.”
“I think I saw him heading down not long ago?”
Passing the 6th-floor cafeteria and arriving on their own home turf—the 5th floor where the idol team was based—Ideun and Eunsung kept hearing the same thing: Seojun had passed through, then vanished.
“…What is Seojun doing?”
“Seriously.”
It really did seem like he was visiting every floor of Cocoa Entertainment.
And always just barely missing them.
“At this rate, he’ll make it to the basement.”
“Maybe he already went home?”
Thankfully, before they had to chase him into the underground parking lot—
Park Eunsung and Jung Ideun finally found Seojun in the mini-lounge of the idol team’s 3rd-floor rehearsal room.
And there, they witnessed a very strange scene.
“Taewoo hyung! We were so worried about you!”
“Seriouslyyy. We were really worried… sniff.”
“The youngest even started crying!”
“I didn’t cry… sniff…”
“You’re crying right now!”
“You passed out a few times at our old agency too from overworking… We thought you’d stopped doing that…”
The four members of Vermillion—Seojun’s old group, whom Taewoo used to manage—were chirping around Taewoo like a flock of sparrows, surrounding him with concern.
The remaining three members, though not as close to Taewoo, also added a few words, their expressions showing genuine worry.
And a little distance away, completely ignoring his overwhelmed manager’s silent cries for help, sat Seojun—watching the scene unfold with a proud “Yes, well done” look on his face.
It was absolute chaos—but Ideun and Eunsung simply shrugged and quietly went over to sit next to Seojun.
“Want an ice cream?”
“Yeah.”
And so, without realizing that the world-famous superstar and two of their label seniors were quietly sitting there eating popsicles on the sofa, Vermillion continued their well-meaning scolding.
Seojun unwrapped a chocolate-flavored popsicle and popped it into his mouth. Ideun and Eunsung gnawed on theirs, chomping at the stick ends.
If someone only looked at this scene, they’d never guess the three seated side-by-side were “Actor Lee Seojun” and members of “Blue Moon.”
“So, what happened?”
“I heard Taewoo hyung collapsed, so I came to check on him.”
Hmm.
At Ideun’s words, Seojun nodded. It must’ve been the first time someone collapsed at the company—word had clearly spread fast.
“He’s okay now. Got a four-day break to fully rest. Though at this point, I think the kids’ scolding is what’s gonna finish him off.”
At Seojun’s comment, Ideun and Eunsung chuckled.
“But seriously, why were you running around the whole company today?”
“Yeah. We literally stopped on every floor trying to find you.”
“Oh.”
Seojun, still chewing his popsicle, blinked.
That was because, after what happened with Taewoo hyung, he’d been going floor by floor engraving his ability—the one that eases mental fatigue—into the Cocoa Entertainment building. From the 10th floor all the way down to the basement.
He had just placed it on the 3rd floor, and still had the 2nd, 1st, and basement levels to go.
*‘But I can’t exactly *say* that, can I?’*
So Seojun played it off.
“Just… looking for inspiration?”
“Inspiration?”
“Yeah. I was thinking of making a track that’s good to listen to when someone’s mentally exhausted or under a lot of stress.”
As he said it, Seojun realized—it actually sounded like a pretty solid idea.
After all, it wasn’t just Cocoa Entertainment employees who suffered from stress.
“…Ah.”
Park Ideun and Jung Eunsung nodded in understanding.
“A manager collapses, and he responds by making music about it… what a scale.”
“Yeah, it’s the kind of scale normal people can’t even comprehend.”
If it had been anyone else, they’d probably have said, “What the heck are you talking about?” But because it was Seojun, it somehow made perfect sense.
“But like… can you actually make a song just because you want to?”
At Ideun’s question, Seojun replied,
“There are people who make therapeutic music, right? I think if I go for something calm—something that feels meditative—it might work.”
♬-♩-♪-
With a chocolate popsicle in his mouth, Seojun began seeing musical notes drift into his head. One by one, they linked up to form melodies, and those melodies stretched into flowing lines of music.
“Not sure what it’ll sound like, but if it’s something you’re making, Seojun, I think it’ll be good.”
“Let us hear it when it’s done.”
“Yeah.”
No one would ever guess that a future hit instrumental for stress relief and meditation—To Nature—was born during a popsicle break.
“Ah! Sunbaenim!”
“Hello!!”
Just as the popsicles were nearing their end, the Vermillion members—done with their scolding—turned around and froze the moment they spotted Seojun, Ideun, and Eunsung. But seeing that they didn’t fly off like startled sparrows, Seojun gave a wave.
“Hey.”
“Hello, sunbaenim!”
“I told you, just call me hyung.”
“Yes! Seojun-hyung!”
Nine months since their debut.
Seeing the tightly wound Vermillion kids standing at attention made Seojun and the others smile. They remembered being like that once, too.
“How’ve you all been?”
“Great!”
Shane & Anna was amazing!”
“I watched it five times!”
“Oh. Thanks.”
With how busy they were, watching it five times meant a lot. Seojun was touched.
Wondering if he had anything he could give them, his eyes landed on the black plastic bag.
“Want some ice cream?”
Gasp! Seojun-hyung is giving us ice cream!
The members of Vermillion let out silent screams as their eyes sparkled. Sure, they sometimes mooched off Seojun’s name to get free drinks at the first-floor café, but getting something directly from him was a different feeling.
“Thank you, Seojun-hyung!”
“Thanks for the treat!”
Like knights receiving sacred swords from their king, they gazed reverently at the ice cream being handed to them. Seojun-hyung even kindly asked, “Which one do you want?”
Then—
“We’re the ones who bought that.”
“Yeah. We paid for it, why are you taking credit?”
Gasp!
Mid-bite, the Vermillion members froze at Jung Eunsung and Park Ideun’s blunt words.
Seojun shrugged and said,
“What’s yours is mine, and what’s mine is—”
“—ours?”
“Mine.”
“Yah!”
“He’s not wrong. Seojun’s the biggest investor in Cocoa Entertainment.”
“Eunsung, weren’t you on my side?!”
And so, the lounge burst into playful chaos—with Park Ideun shouting, Seojun laughing, and Jung Eunsung calmly backing up the company’s real power behind the scenes: Lee Seojun.