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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: The Crying Challenge
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Perhaps due to *Green Wing*'s immense popularity, the initial wave of online reviews was dominated by it.
Soon, reviews for *Shadowman* also started to appear. Many commented that both films were enjoyable. Some were already looking forward to a sequel.
Then, someone posted online.
Title: Something's strange about *Shadowman*.
Author: WhyAmICrying
*Green Wing* was sold out, so I watched *Shadowman*, and I cried. I don't cry even during the sappiest melodramas. I didn't even cry when I was in enough pain to need surgery. But I cried seeing the baby's face.
-? You cried watching a Marine Company movie? You sure you watched the right film?
-Why'd you cry?
And it wasn't just them. As the days passed, more reviews and photos began to surface. Among them, posts about crying while watching *Shadowman* occasionally appeared, and it quickly became a hot topic.
The biggest buzz came from a video by the N-tuber [Moviegoer]. Moviegoer, who posts video reviews, uploaded a review for *Green Wing* first. Then, after seeing people's posts, he created and uploaded another video.
[Shadowman Crying Challenge, Attempt 15]
"Hello, this is Moviegoer. I finally succeeded!"
Moviegoer said, wiping his tears with a tissue.
"Based on my calculations so far, about 0% to 10% of the audience cried. There were showtimes when not a single person cried, and others where as many as 10% did."
Moviegoer displayed a chart he'd created on the screen. It was a table documenting the audience size and the number of people who cried during his 15 viewings. The final column listed numbers like 3, 7, 4... The highest number was 10.
"I never thought I'd watch it 15 times. I think I finally understand what everyone was talking about. How should I put it... it's like I've realized the true depth of William's performance? From the moment William smiled, I couldn't take my eyes off the child's face. Melissa's acting as the mother was incredible, but right now, I'm just feeling, deep in my heart, how truly amazing the performance of the child actor who played William is."
Moviegoer pulled up a window on the screen.
"So, I was curious about who the child actor playing William was, and I did some research... and what is this?!"
William [SEOJUN LEE]
"It was a Korean child actor! I was wondering how to find out if he was Korean-American or just Korean. This is kind of random, but my younger sister is a first-generation fan of Brown Black. The kind of fan who screencaps *48 Hours* frame by frame, down to 0.01 seconds! While I was busy researching, she looked over my shoulder at the picture of the child actor who played William and said one thing."
"'Huh? He looks like Seojun.' Seojun. Seojun Lee. They're identical, aren't they? So I asked my sister, and it turns out, he's none other than!"
Moviegoer displayed two windows on the screen. One was a picture from Seojun's ad, showing him hugging a formula can with the brand name obscured, and the other was a photo of Seojun with Brown Black.
"A Korean! And not just any Korean, but a star who's appeared in commercials and N-tube variety shows! It's Lee Seojun!"
Moviegoer's N-tube video became a sensation in just a few hours. This was because so many people were curious about the whole 'Did you cry watching *Shadowman* or not? Is it fake?' debate. Reporters, hungry for clicks, poured fuel on the fire.
[The Youngest Korean Hollywood Actor, Lee Seojun!]
[Number 1 Again This Year! Digital Chart Dominators Brown Black and Hollywood Actor Lee Seojun Met in the Past?!]
[The Child Actor Chosen by Marine Company!]
[How to Make Your Child a Hollywood Star!]
[The Common Trait of Those Who Cried? How Perceptive Are You!]
[Did You Cry Too? The Secret of *Shadowman*!]
Many people were curious about why they had cried.
One film critic said in an interview, "William's smiling face, oblivious to the urgent situation, is paradoxically what makes the scene even more heart-wrenching."
Many people found the film critic's explanation convincing, but many others shook their heads. If that were the reason, they should have cried from their very first viewing.
This phenomenon wasn't limited to Korea. In every country where *Shadowman* was released, the [Shadowman Crying Challenge] spread like a trend.
Koreans, in particular—known for their determination to complete any quest or event—watched *Shadowman* multiple times, dead set on crying.
However, those who managed to burst into tears were rare.
***
Director Choi Daeman had gotten the chance to direct his first feature film. A production company that liked his script had offered to work with him.
The production company, Movie Dream, produced and imported films of various genres, so Director Choi Daeman had already thought it would be the perfect place for his debut. That was because the movie he planned to make was a mystery, a rare genre in Korea.
And so, the film production began.
Wanting to make the film perfect, Choi Daeman traveled across the country with a location manager from Movie Dream.
A month and a half passed like that. It wasn't aimless wandering, though. He reviewed resumes and portfolios sent by the production company, looking for actors for his film. Occasionally, he would return to Seoul to hold auditions.
The production company, seeing the director diligently working while simultaneously roaming the country, threw up their hands and just asked him to finish by August.
And then,
"This is it. This is the place!"
He had found a village.
Having found the perfect village to serve as the backdrop for his film, Choi Daeman returned, only to face another obstacle. The casting manager, scratching his head with the end of a ballpoint pen, sighed softly and spoke.
"This is the third round of auditions already. We even called back a child actor who failed the paper screening and the one who scored highest in the first audition, but you rejected all of them, Director."
"I-I'm sorry."
"No, you have nothing to be sorry for, Director. I figured you'd be putting a lot of pressure on yourself since it's your first feature film."
With a displeased expression, the casting manager crossed his arms and sighed. The meeting room fell silent for a moment.
"There is a child actor who's been getting a lot of attention lately. I don't know if he'd come all the way to Korea to shoot this movie, but…"
The casting manager trailed off, as if the thought had just occurred to him. Director Choi Daeman pressed.
"Then why don't we ask that child actor if he's interested in auditioning?"
"Well…"
The casting manager recalled the movie he had seen a month ago.
"He's become quite famous, so I doubt he'd agree to be in our film."
"What?"
Having wandered all over the country, Choi Daeman was behind on the latest news.
"The movie the child actor was in is from Marine Company. Plus, his acting is so good that he's a hot topic in both Korea and the US. I bet almost every major Hollywood film with a child role has sent him an offer."
"Marine Company? You mean... Hollywood?"
"Yes. The Marine Company that easily spends 100 billion won on a single film, and the monstrous Hollywood where a movie with a budget under 100 billion is considered low-budget."
The implication was that their meager 6-billion-won film couldn't compete. Director Choi Daeman wondered. Just how good was this kid's acting for the casting manager to talk like this?
The casting manager, stroking his chin, spoke.
"You should go see it now, Director."
"How will I know who it is?"
"You'll know as soon as you see him."
At the casting manager's urging, Director Choi Daeman dazedly left the meeting room and headed for the nearest movie theater.
Director Choi Daeman stepped into the theater. It had already been a month since the premiere. The number of theaters showing *Green Wing* was dwindling, but there were still plenty showing *Shadowman*.
After buying a ticket for *Shadowman*, he looked around and noticed everyone was holding a pack of pocket tissues in one hand.
Tissues?
Moreover, some people were even holding cameras.
"Hello, viewers. Today marks my 10th attempt. I heard YeopYeopBang succeeded on his 15th try! I'm going to try and break that record!"
"Fifth attempt! Let's begin!"
The other moviegoers didn't seem to mind them at all. They were busy chattering amongst themselves, betting meals on whether they would succeed or fail.
"What in the world...?"
What on earth had happened while he was wandering through the countryside? The voice of a theater employee was what cleared Choi Daeman's confused mind.
"Theater 4, the screening of *Shadowman* will begin shortly! Please make your way inside."
Amidst the crowd rushing in, Choi Daeman, with a complicated expression, also started walking.
"Yes, HaruHaru. It's about to start. Yes, CoffeeLover. I was in China for the last month. It premiered there too, but I don't know Chinese, so this is my first time seeing *Shadowman*."
There was even someone livestreaming, but the atmosphere was such that no one cared. *Why?* Choi Daeman suppressed a sigh and sat down in his seat.
He had a nagging headache, worried that the camera lights would be a distraction throughout the movie, but contrary to his fears, as soon as the theater lights dimmed, everyone turned off their lights as if on cue. The chattering crowd also fell silent.
The sudden silence was enough to give him goosebumps.
'Come to think of it…'
Everyone was holding cameras, smartphones, or tissues, but something even more important was missing.
Koreans, who considered popcorn and soda so essential they'd say 'I go to the movies to eat popcorn,' had no popcorn in their hands. No drinks, no nachos, not even the strong-smelling butter-grilled squid.
'What in the world happened in the last month?!'
A shiver ran down his spine. No matter how great a movie was, for the audience to have no food in their hands!
Choi Daeman wanted to scream at the sight, but the dark screen was already lighting up with Marine Company's signature logo.
Mac is an orphan, but he lives happily, having met good people. One day, while delivering a pizza using his ability to travel through shadows—a power he'd kept secret even from his loved ones—he discovers a blood-stained necklace in a secluded alley. The moment Mac's hand touches the necklace, a signal shoots up into the sky.
On the planet Narta, which receives the traitor's signal, a warship is launched to eliminate the traitor.
And to stop Narta, Mac uses his ability to manipulate shadows.
In response to Mac's fierce assault, Narta retaliates by creating strange wormholes all over the world. Not even Narta had anticipated what was on the other side of these wormholes.
People from all over the world were sucked into the pitch-black wormholes. Emergency news broadcasts aired on televisions worldwide, urging people to evacuate. But there was no stopping the wormholes, which appeared in an instant, absorbed people, and vanished.
Mac, the Shadowman, defeated the Nartan warship, but he couldn't prevent the casualties.
Shadowman pulled his mask down further, bowing his head at the sight of a woman weeping silently.
Flash!
The theater lights came on. The suffocating silence was broken in an instant. The theater became noisy again.
"Ah, another failure. But I'll be back for my 11th attempt in a bit!"
"*Sob*! I cried! I cried, everyone! William... *sob*!"
"The screening of *Shadowman* has now ended. For those who need tissues, they are available at the front!"
It was a bizarre scene, but Choi Daeman was in no state to care. Tears were streaming down his own face.
The image of William, smiling brightly as he disappeared into the wormhole, wouldn't leave his mind.
He got goosebumps. It was just a smiling face, yet it was so heart-wrenching. He got goosebumps again.
To think, acting of this caliber... He recalled the casting manager's words.
That almost every Hollywood movie would be sending offers to this child.
Even as he cried, Choi Daeman nodded. *If he's this good, I'd send an offer too.* He would do whatever it took, even if it meant clinging to the pants of the child and his parents, to cast him in his film.
#
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