Superstar 812
by Cristae“…No… this… why…?”
Even just from his disjointed words, it was clear.
Seo-jun had broken down.
Sprouts who had heard the news during the break and reacted the same way as Seo-jun nodded in sympathy, while still gazing at his flustered expression as if it were the cutest thing.
Unfortunately, all they could see was his back…
“They’ll upload the full fan meeting video later, right?!”
If not, they’d storm Cocoa Entertainment.
The sprouts stared daggers at the cameras filming Seo-jun. Sparks were practically flying from their eyes.
Unaware that his reaction was being captured live, Seo-jun kept staring at the screen, wide-eyed. Even the fake puppy ears on his head looked like they had perked up in surprise.
[Academy Awards – Best Actor Nominee]
[(Photo) Shadow & Night – Seo-jun Lee / Age 23]
Even after rubbing his eyes and looking again, the screen didn’t change.
In fact, as if to confirm it, a grinning Team 1 staff member, in charge of Seo-jun’s fan meeting tech, scrolled up and down to show the list of other Best Actor nominees.
“…Seriously?”
His stunned voice echoed through the speakers via his custom mic, making it obvious just how shocked he was.
Naturally—
When Seo-jun had sensed something strange during the break, he had immediately thought of a past fan meeting.
He remembered it clearly.
When he’d turned around at fans’ shouts—
And seen his name listed as a nominee at the 39th WTV Film Awards.
It had been a joyful, unforgettable day, when he’d received congratulations from the fans who loved him.
Though it was a while ago, the similarity of the moment was unmistakable to Seo-jun.
But he’d dismissed the possibility right away.
Because it was February.
Sure, there were other award ceremonies, but Seo-jun knew where he stood. There was only one award show big enough to warrant a surprise event like this.
The Academy Awards.
The Oscars.
The possibility Seo-jun had firmly rejected.
Because his most recent film was [Shadow & Night].
…Then why was he nominated?
He blinked again and again, but the screen didn’t change. It didn’t feel real. It felt like a dream.
And then—
Voices, as if to prove it wasn’t a dream.
– Seo-jun! Congratulations!
– Congrats on the nomination!
On cue from the staff, the sprouts shouted their congratulations at the top of their lungs.
Seo-jun flinched at the sound. The shock must’ve been so great that he had forgotten he was in the middle of a fan meeting.
Slowly, Seo-jun turned around.
– Waaaah! Seo-jun oppa! Congrats!
– Congrats on the Best Actor nomination!!
Sprouts waved their color-shifting sprout sticks like fireworks, shouting with joy.
At that sight, Seo-jun realized—
…It really wasn’t a dream.
While the fan meeting hall was filled with celebratory cheers, the outside world was exploding too.
[Actor Seo-jun Lee Nominated for Best Actor at the Academy Awards!]
[Seo-jun Lee earns Oscar Best Actor nod for Shadow & Night!]
[Actor Seo-jun’s name appears among Oscar Best Actor nominees!]
[A Korean actor nominated twice for Best Actor at the Oscars!]
– ?? Wait, what is this??
= The Academy? Like… the actual Academy Awards?? Not like, an acting school or something??
= No, it’s the real American Oscars;;; legit.
– Wow! Congratulations, Seo-jun Lee!
= 22 Congrats!!
= 33 Nominee again? He’s amazing.
– Did the journalists mess up with copy+paste+translation?
= Seriously. Seo-jun? Oscar nominee? WHY??
= 22 Are you kidding me??
= Wow… no joke. It’s really on the official site.
– What if he wins again?
= Let’s go all the way!
The internet was chaos.
Comment sections—whether under news articles or online forums—were split into two camps: shock, and congratulations.
– Why is everyone freaking out? Seo-jun’s acting is good enough to be nominated. He already won Best Actor once with Overray.
= 222 He’s only improved since he was younger. He’s not worse.
Those celebrating were confused by the other reactions.
Wasn’t Seo-jun someone that nearly all Koreans loved and were proud of?
Normally, the comment section would’ve been flooded with cheerful “Congrats!” and “Well-deserved!” messages. But today, the mood was oddly off. Not insulting or negative—just like people had witnessed something bizarre.
– It is good news… but it doesn’t make sense???
=? Why not?
= The film was ShaeAnNa. Shadow & Night.
= I liked it! I saw it five times!
= That’s not the point… sigh…
– Argh! Someone explain the situation, please!!
– And that’s when Speedwagon appeared.
– lololol
“Yes. As a film reviewer, I couldn’t miss such a unique moment.”
FilmGek grinned.
“Besides, I watched the nominations broadcast live.”
– You’re a film reviewer, of course you did.
– 22 If not, that’s dereliction of duty.
“…That’s fair, but can’t I get some praise?”
FilmGek raised his hands at the cold viewer responses.
– We haven’t forgotten. You’re the guy who won a spot at Seo-jun’s fan signing.
– That framed picture in the back says it all, you FilmGek punk…!
“Haha. Anyway, let’s get to why people are reacting in two completely different ways.”
Laughing it off, FilmGek got straight to the point.
“Simply put, those who are shocked by this Oscar nomination are people who usually follow movies or awards. Because they know what kind of award show the Oscars are, it’s hard for them to process what’s happened.”
– What kind of show is it?
“It’s the one that never gives Best Picture or acting awards to superhero movies.”
– 22 At most, they’d give tech awards like Visual Effects or Art Direction.
FilmGek nodded.
“Seo-jun Lee and the Marinsa team knew that too. They didn’t even enter an Oscar campaign. They wrapped everything up with the WTV Awards. That’s why it’s so impressive that Marinsa managed to get Seo-jun into the Oscar nominee list.”
He pulled up a visual on the monitor:
[Production selects candidates > Round 1 voting > Round 2 voting = Winners]
“This is how the Oscars work. If Marinsa hadn’t selected Seo-jun for Best Actor, he wouldn’t have even had a chance.”
– Seriously… how did they manage that?
– They knew it wouldn’t work (past tense). Why did they do it?
– If it were Overray 2, maybe. But ShaeAnNa for Best Actor…?
– Bold move, Marinsa. Respect.
“Exactly. If Seo-jun had been nominated for Over the Rainbow 2, people would’ve understood. It was a musical, a brilliantly done mockumentary, and full of emotional twists. His acting needed no explanation.”
FilmGek continued.
“But this time, it’s Shadow & Night. A superhero movie. So it makes sense that people familiar with the Academy would be shocked.”
He switched tabs to show the Golden Globes’ Best Actor nominees list from January.
Seo-jun’s name wasn’t there.
At the time, no one thought it odd.
“Even the Golden Globes, which are known for being more progressive than the Oscars, didn’t nominate Seo-jun for Best Actor.”
– Exactly!! If the Globes didn’t, why would the Oscars???
– 22 The Oscars have finally lost it.
– Complete 180.
– Sudden shifts like this are scary, man…
FilmGek nodded.
“Even I thought I misheard during the nomination broadcast. I imagine everyone in the room did.”
– Why do you think it happened?
FilmGek shrugged.
“My guess? Because the Academy voting isn’t done by a panel, but by thousands of individual actors. There’s more room for surprises.”
– I thought I was the only one voting for Seo-jun.
– Turns out everyone voted for him lol
– Ta-da! And now he’s a nominee!
“Last year—or two years ago now—Overray 2 being released on OTT might’ve also helped a bit.”
– Shouldn’t they vote based only on the performance?
“That’s true, but people don’t always draw such hard lines in their minds.”
He added,
“And remember, Shadow & Night is the sequel to the Shadowman series. So it’s possible that many of the AMPAS voting members have been watching Seo-jun act since he was a kid.”
– Ohhh.
– So he’s like a familiar face to them.
“He may not be a full ‘Seo-jun Kid,’ but he’s a familiar, proven actor. And one more thing.”
– There’s more??
– This is more layered than I thought.
– This is why I watch FilmGek’s reviews lol
Charmed by the compliments, FilmGek gave a polite cough. His smiling lips betrayed his mood.
“I think it may also be a signal regarding OTT. Many festivals and award shows are resisting streaming content, but that can’t last forever. Times are changing.”
– Yeah, the landscape’s totally different now.
– There are lots of good OTT films.
– 22 Some award shows already recognize them.
– So instead of streaming films, they nominated a superhero one?
“Yes. Because it’s still a film—same medium.”
He nodded seriously.
“But ultimately, Seo-jun Lee was nominated because his performance was genuinely outstanding.”
– 22 If it weren’t, no one would’ve voted for him.
– 33 Seo-jun is the best ㅠㅠ
– But he probably won’t win, right?
FilmGek nodded with a regretful look.
“Yeah. The nominees have been narrowed to five, and the other contenders gave phenomenal performances. So… ShaeAnNa likely won’t bring home the award.”
– ㅠㅠ Sad but true.
– Still, just being nominated for Best Actor is huge.
– 22 He’s the first to do it with a superhero film!
– 33 Our Seo-jun is making history ㅠㅠ
“Exactly. Even the most popular Redbone, or the record-breaking Assemble, or Shadowman never made it this far. But Seo-jun Lee, as Knight Jin, did! He’s the first! Just the nomination is an incredible achievement!”
FilmGek’s face was filled with genuine joy.
“Congratulations, Seo-jun Lee!”
– 22 Congratulations, Seo-jun Lee ㅠㅠ
– We’re so proud, Seo-jun ㅠㅠ
– Congrats!!
– He’s probably in the middle of his fan meeting. Think he knows?
– Probably. I heard he learned about his last nomination during a fan meeting too.
– ㅠㅠ Must be even more meaningful to find out with fans.
“Wow. I never thought I’d be nominated as Knight Jin.”
Putting off [Spring Spring] for a moment, Seo-jun began the second part of the fan meeting by sharing his thoughts on the Best Actor nomination.
As the nominee list disappeared from the screen and Seo-jun’s face returned, the sprouts instinctively held their breath. He looked even more radiant than usual—pure joy beaming from him.
“And he still has the puppy ears on…”
The sprouts clamped their mouths shut.
Watching him speak so happily, clearly having forgotten he was wearing the dog-ear headband, made him even more adorable—and hilarious.