Superstar From Age 0

Chapter 144

The kids who were playing in the hallway also came back to their classroom. 

The homeroom teacher quickly checked on the kids.

Along with the loud emergency bell, an announcement came on. 

The kids perked up their ears.

[We will now begin the evacuation drill.]

Thank goodness. It was just an evacuation drill.

I know. I was so startled.

Relieved that it was not a real situation, Seo-jun and his friends waited for the next announcement.

[There is a fire in the science lab on the third floor. Please avoid the hallway and stairs near the science lab, and use the hallway and stairs near the library to evacuate. We repeat. There is a fire in the science lab on the third floor]

The location of the science lab on the third floor popped up in the minds of the homeroom teacher and the kids.

Third floor science lab. Kids, lets get out of here quickly.

Yes.

At the teachers words, Seo-jun and his friends went out to the hallway. 

The students from the other classes, both ahead and behind, also came out in droves and lined up.

In less than a minute, all the kids who were in their classrooms came out to the hallway and stood in two lines.

Seo-jun, who was the tallest in his class and stood at the end of the line, looked ahead.

There was no one missing among his classmates who stood side by side in two lines. 

Jio, who stood next to Seo-jun, whispered to him.

It was math class in fourth period. We got lucky!

No kidding. We didnt have any math homework because of the evacuation drill.

The senior students, who were used to having evacuation drills twice a year, chatted while skillfully lining up.

One of the kids from the next class seemed to have gone to the bathroom, so their homeroom teacher asked Seo-juns homeroom teacher to look after them.

Check if there are any kids missing in front or behind you.

Yes!

Anyone missing?

No!

Then lets go down.

Under the guidance of their homeroom teacher, the students moved. 

They covered their mouths with handkerchiefs or sleeves, bent their waists, and headed for the stairs.

Seo-jun saw that not only his class but also the next class, and even the classes from lower floors, all orderly but swiftly left the building and came down to the playground.

As the senior students from higher floors came down, each grade head teacher and homeroom teacher checked on their kids and made sure no one was left behind.

The first graders are crying.

At Ji-hoos words, everyones eyes turned to where the first graders were standing. 

They seemed to be scared by the noisy sound and sudden movement, as they were crying.

They had classrooms on the first or second floor, so they evacuated quickly, but their lines were messy and they needed other grade teachers to calm them down and line them up.

The first graders cry even though we tell them beforehand.

Theyre still young.

You guys cried a lot too.

At Jios words, Mina laughed and said.

Everyone in our class cried except for Seo-jun.

They all looked embarrassed and rolled their eyes before looking at each other and bursting into laughter.

The lower grades of first and second grade were notified by their parents a few days before about having an evacuation drill, and they were explained again a day before and on that day as well. 

They also watched a video, gathered together in their class, and moved together.

But they were still afraid of the loud emergency bell and sudden situation, so they cried.

There was an opinion that it was too early for first graders to have evacuation drills because of that, but it was buried soon because emergencies did not spare young children.

I remember being surprised when they didnt tell us until that day for our evacuation drill in third grade.

Yeah. We didnt cry but still.

Seo-jun and his friends nodded their heads. 

By then, a teacher came back to the playground with a kid who had been in the bathroom.

It seemed like they were a fourth grader by looking at where they went among the groups of students. 

Seo-jun and his friends laughed.

They say disasters happen suddenly, so they dont tell us anymore starting from fourth grade.

At Minas words, Jio shook his head vigorously and said.

I really didnt know they wouldnt tell us. I was so shocked when I went to the bathroom during break time and heard the emergency bell. Luckily I heard the announcement in there too. And the teacher came right away.

I was surprised too when Jio wasnt there.

The teachers must have a hard time too.

The teachers counted the number of students again and again, and then the emergency bell stopped. 

There was no student who hid on purpose. 

They had been warned by their teachers since first grade.

But really, what if someone hid and didnt come out? Would they have to write a 100-page reflection?

Probably. They make us write a parental consent form every year. It said 100-page reflection on there.

If you write one page a day, you can finish it by the end of the year.

At Seo-juns words, they all frowned. 

A reflection paper a day. It sounded painful just by hearing it.

Then lets move to the stands.

At the teachers words, the kids moved. 

While the kids were sitting on the stands, a fire truck came into the playground.

The first graders, who had been crying, stopped their tears and shouted wow at the sight of the big red fire truck.

Seo-jun and his friends smiled at their cute appearance.

The firefighters who got off the fire truck explained to the kids how to evacuate in case of a fire in detail and taught them how to use fire extinguishers, first aid methods, and so on.

They also picked a few kids who wanted to try it out and showed them how to put out a fire together.

Seo-jun turned his eyes away from the sight of a third grader holding a fire extinguisher and putting out a fire. 

There were kids who listened attentively and kids who looked bored. 

Even the bored kids had come down to the playground without any trouble under their teachers instructions.

Dont you think our school kids would be able to evacuate well if there was a fire at school?

Everyone nodded at Seo-juns words. They hoped there would be no fire, but accidents could happen anytime. 

Ji-hoo opened his mouth.

School is one thing, but kids dont just stay at school. They go to academies, they go out to play.

They wont freeze in fear when they hear the emergency bell, though.

After six years of evacuation training, I think my body will move on its own when I hear the emergency bell.

Seo-jun and his friends laughed and nodded at Jios words. 

The first semester evacuation training at Maesil Elementary School was over with the last demonstration of fire suppression by the firefighters.

***

The bidding announcement for the advertisement of the Fire Department was posted.

[Bidding Name: Childrens Fire Evacuation Tips, Public Service Advertisement Production, Announcement Agency: Fire Department]

The meeting room of the advertising production company Cloud.

The planning team members gathered to have a meeting to create a proposal to submit to the Fire Department.

[Childrens Target Fire Evacuation Tips Public Service Advertisement]

Everyone was lost in thought at the topic written on the whiteboard.

Fire evacuation tips public service advertisement.

Everyone thought of a plain advertisement with large captions like 1. 

Shout fire, 2. 

Press the emergency bell, and models acting awkwardly. 

The planning team leader, who had thought of the same advertisement, spoke up.

What kind of advertisement do you want to make, considering that the target is children?

Well We need to make it easy for children to understand.

We can also use characters that children like.

How about the Fire Department mascot?

Everyone shook their heads without even looking at the mascot.

If we use the Fire Department mascot, we might have a higher chance of winning the bid, but the advertising effect will be low. Its not a character that children like.

It would be better to use popular cartoon characters. There are characters called presidents of children, right?

The most fundamental problem is that kids these days dont watch TV. Im sure the Fire Department also wants to post it on places like SNS or YouTube, not just TV. We need to get out of the frame of TV advertisements.

The planning team members were actively exchanging opinions when Kim Ji-hyun, who had a daughter in elementary school, spoke up.

She had an easy time thinking of something that would appeal to her daughter, who was the target of this advertisement.

I think it would be better to use famous celebrities that children like, or to make an advertisement that children can easily empathize with.

Empathize?

Childrens dramas starring child actors are popular among kids these days. You know what I mean by childrens dramas, right?

Childrens dramas.

The employees in the meeting room also thought of the childrens dramas they watched when they were young.

It was a drama about a magic family. 

The children were the main characters, and their life at elementary school was shown. 

It was childish, but it was popular among their peers.

There must have been some kids among the employees who were fascinated by the drama and wanted to be magicians.

A fire evacuation tip as a childrens drama? 

Everyone pondered. Kim Ji-hyun continued.

Since children are the protagonists, it will be easier for children to learn fire evacuation tips. If they watch the drama and imitate the main character, they will naturally practice evacuation, and if there is a real fire, they will remember what the main character did one by one.

The idea is good, but

The planning team leader scratched his head.

Do you want to make a drama with such a small budget?

5 to 10 minutes would be enough. We can edit the important scenes and use them as advertisements, and people who want to see the full video will look for the Fire Department YouTube channel. That way, we can also promote the Fire Department. And we can also use it as an educational video for the Fire Department.

Kim Ji-hyuns words made everyone lean towards web drama. The planning team leader couldnt get rid of the idea that web drama would be better.

But he couldnt accept it right away because,

The government agencies are conservative and it will be hard for them to accept this proposal

With the planning team leaders groan, the dilemma of Cloud deepened.

***

A few weeks later.

The meeting room of Cloud.

The employees of Cloud gathered and read down the document sent by the Fire Department.

It seemed like a lie no matter how many times they looked at it. 

They felt like their hard work had been rewarded with this one document.

Did this really work?

? It was your idea, Ji-hyun.

Kim Ji-hyun blushed at the surprised eyes of her team leader and colleagues.

I thought it was a good idea, but like you said, they are conservative government agencies. I thought it would never work because it was a public service advertisement and a web drama

Someone told me that they got extra points for using the video as an educational video. As you said, it seems like something that children would be interested in. There were also many opinions in the Fire Department that a plain public service advertisement wouldnt work. The timing was good.

The employees nodded their heads at the planning team leaders words.

If we do well this time, we might be able to get other government agency advertisements.

We might even get a proposal for a web drama.

Do you think we can make a TV drama someday? Like Wave.

The newcomers words made everyone shake their heads. Wave was the production company that made the drama My Doctor starring Lee Seo-jun.

They became famous after making My Doctor and they have a lot of work coming in.

The employees widened their eyes at the planning team leaders words.

Its been three years and they still do?

They have a director and a writer who are close to Lee Seo-jun, and there is also the expectation that Lee Seo-jun might appear again. And almost every drama made by Wave is confirmed to be on KBC. Its like entering terrestrial broadcasting as soon as they produce it. Its no wonder they have a lot of scripts. And the dramas that were aired also had good ratings.

They really hit the jackpot. Wave, I mean.

I wish Lee Seo-jun would come to us too. Not only children, but adults would love it too. Our company would become famous too.

The employee who was making the audition promotional material for the child actors who would appear in this public service advertisement made everyone laugh. 

The planning team leader, who laughed heartily, opened his mouth.

It would be nice if Lee Seo-jun came, but the problem is his appearance fee. Its not a corporate advertisement, its a government advertisement, so we cant spend that much money.

Ah, appearance fee.

How much would they have to pay Lee Seo-jun? 

The employees shook their heads at the amount they couldnt even guess.