In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

Chapter 101:

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: Rxel

Chapter 101

The 8th ‘Find Your Dream Concert’ in 2014 ended with a finale of all the performers singing together.

As composer Ha Seungju played the piano, the singers each sang their assigned verses.

The audience members held various colors of light sticks.

The idol singers waved their hands to them.

The atmosphere at the venue rose with every verse of the song.

New Black also sang a short verse and waved their hands to the audience.

Woojoo wanted to bring his precious people up here and share this scenery, this feeling with them.

The concert hall that surrounded them in a semi-circle.

Thousands of lights sparkled like the Milky Way.

The audience who waved their light sticks, the audience who chatted with their neighbors, the audience who sent enthusiastic cheers, they all became a big heat that enveloped them like a curtain.

And when that heat met the song Woojoo sang in the middle, a magical emotion came over him.

The goosebumps that rose up his throat.

The complicated thoughts disappeared and joy filled his head.

Woojoo suddenly thought.

Woojoo, no, they also wanted to stand on this stage someday.

Woojoo wanted to sing their song together with their Soufflés.

Woojoo had such a desire.

***

After the concert, they walked around with excited faces.

The concert was over, but the social life was just beginning.

They greeted the stage staff, the senior singers, and the director one by one.

They also bowed their heads to the staff who passed by in the hallway.

“Thank you for your hard work!”

Of course, they weren’t the only ones who did that.

The three rookie groups who participated in today’s concert also greeted each other like that.

Blink.

They ran into the five-member girl group who came out of Teen Spirit’s waiting room at the door.

New Black greeted them warmly as they usually did on music shows.

“Hello.”

“Ah, yes… Hello.”

The Blink members smiled awkwardly and nodded their heads. Then they quickly left the spot.

What was going on?

Usually, when they met in the music show hallway, they were the ones who held New Black for almost five minutes and chatted.

Woojoo wondered if he was the only one who felt weird, and Junghyun tilted his head.

“What’s going on? Didn’t they always talk to us first at the broadcasting station?”

“It’s because of the advertisement now.”

They turned our heads at Rihyuk’s words.

“Advertisement?”

“We both filmed the Everdream uniform advertisement. We did the boy group version and they did the girl group version.”

“Oh…”

Woojoo guessed then.

“We both filmed the same thing, but one side got only bad comments. The other side got all the compliments and attention. Honestly, it’s enough to make you flip out. Well, I don’t think we would have done that.”

It was something Woojoo often saw when he was a trainee.

They became friends with the same entrance date, but as the monthly evaluation scores came out, their relationship gradually became awkward.

They must have felt uncomfortable with New Black.

They knocked on the waiting room and greeted the Teen Spirit members who were busy packing their stuff.

They welcomed New Black warmly even though they were busy. They said, ‘We’re so glad to see you.’

Their attitude had become much friendlier since the event lateness incident.

New Black greeted them and came out, and they ran into another rookie group.

It was Street Boys, a nine-member idol group with a hip-hop vibe.

Their smoky eye makeup was impressive, but the sound of their gold necklaces jingling as they walked was also noticeable.

“Hello, we are Street Boys!”

Woojoo didn’t know why they greeted them with their belly buttons, but they did the same.

The leader of the other team, Hanjo, acted like he knew Woojoo.

“Wow, long time no see. I think I haven’t seen you since the event last month. How have you been?”

“Yes, I’ve been busy. How about you?”

They exchanged a brief talk about their situation.

The conversation with Street Boys, their original rivals, went better than the greeting with Blink.

They both drew a clear boundary line and kept their distance.

The members of both sides also seemed to think so, and they conversed politely but not awkwardly.

Then, the youngest, Yoon Kiwon, handed a drink to their main vocal.

Rihyuk smiled faintly as he took it.

And their youngest, who had been watching all that, snorted.

Jiho looked back and forth between Yoon Kiwon and Rihyuk, as if he was displeased with something.

What was wrong?

He had a subtle expression on his face.

So Woojoo tried to mimic his expression.

But then Woojoo met Hanjo’s eyes.

“…”

It felt like a kindred spirit, like when mothers who came to visit the kindergarten met each other’s eyes. Maybe it was just his imagination.

Hanjo cleared his throat awkwardly and changed the topic.

“We haven’t seen your faces much since the radio show ended. You seem familiar, though. You’ve been on TV and stuff.”

“Did you know about our news?”

“The manager updates us every day.”

Woojoo remembered the face of Park, the manager of Street Boys, whom they met on the radio.

He was the one who was very conscious of New Black.

Hanjo gave a wry smile.

“I heard a lot. New Black is doing a school uniform ad. They’re on the Chuseok Special. They’re filming a documentary. I might know more than the Soufflé guys.”

“It’s Soufflé.”

“Oops…”

They both burst into laughter as they looked at each other.

They exchanged brief greetings, and soon they were led away by their road managers.

The other side waved and said, “Congratulations. On the real-time search ranking too.”

“Thank you. I hope your album does well too.”

With that, they left the concert hall.

Just like when they first arrived, the parking lot was now quiet and empty.

It was night, but the heat of late August was still there.

As they each held a hand fan, the two guys were noisy.

“Hey, why!”

“Give it to me. Hurry.”

“Why?”

“You’re suspicious. You even gave him a drink.”

“I gave it to him because I was grateful for what he did before.”

Jiho narrowed his eyes.

“When was that? Why are you thanking him now? I’ve never seen such a grateful person in my life.”

“It’s ‘gracious’ or ‘polite’. You language destroyer.”

“Anyway, you gave him a drink because you have something up your sleeve.”

The youngest was spouting conspiracy theories, and Rihyuk chuckled.

Woojoo stuck out his tongue.

“Do they ever stop fighting? They did it yesterday too.”

“They fought yesterday too?”

“You didn’t see it. They came to the studio and fought over dipping sauce and soy sauce.”

It was a mess.

One guy claimed that he was right about Chinese cuisine because of his royal bloodline, and another guy brought up a related paper to prove his point.

Bijoo looked confused.

“…You guys fought over something weird.”

“Exactly, dipping is the right way.”

“No way.” Junghyun intervened with a serious expression, “Hyung. Dripping is the truth.”

The opinions were divided one to one, and they both looked at one person at the same time. Bijoo blinked.

“Bijoo, what about you?”

“I like soy sauce…”

“Hey.”

“Ugh.”

“Soy sauce is good too…”

And so, the first New Black sweet and sour pork debate began, with the manager included.

It was a completely pointless conversation, but maybe because the concert was over, the atmosphere was warm and friendly.

But as Woojoo talked, he felt a nagging feeling.

It seemed like they were forgetting something.

“By the way, they were really nice.”

“Who?”

“Street Boys.” Junghyun said, “They all looked scary, so I didn’t even realize I was tensing my throat. But when I talked to them, they all seemed gentle.”

“Yeah, they did. They congratulated me on the last time I gave them a gift. They said congratulations on the real-time search ranking first place.”

“Oh? Me too.”

“Me too, I heard that.”

And Woojoo was the same.

Hanjo said to Woojoo before we parted. He congratulated them on the real-time search ranking first place.

“…?”

The six of them stopped and stared at each other.

And 3 seconds later.

“…!”

They all picked up their smartphones at the same time.

When they turned on the internet, they saw the real-time search rankings along with the familiar portal screen.

1st place Tax evasion.

No.

2nd place Heavy rain.

No.

[3rd place] New Black Woojoo

…What the hell was this?

***

There was a tense atmosphere on the way to the dorm.

Their managers seemed to be flustered too. The PR team staff who were at home on the weekend were the same.

But there was no need to figure out what was going on.

As soon as Woojoo entered the portal main, he saw a huge headline.

-PBS documentary guest New Black Woojoo, ‘Galhyeon-dong hero’ attracts attention

It was a fresh article that had been posted less than 30 minutes ago.

It was accompanied by a capture screen from the documentary and the content was densely written.

‘Did you know that one of the members of a rookie idol group that is slowly making a name for themselves was the hero of last year’s college entrance exam?’

It wasn’t like the thousands or tens of thousands of comments that were attached to the current issue of celebrities’ tax evasion scandals, but there were nearly two hundred comments.

And most of them were compliments that Woojoo was ashamed to say.

-KG Group’s PR team moved.

“Ah…”

Woojoo learned the details while talking to Seokhwan Hyung.

-They must have moved quickly as soon as they heard the news of the documentary. There were several people who received the KG Hero Award in the interview today. It’s a good opportunity to promote the company, and they also got an article to post on the entertainment section.

It seemed that KG Group had released some promotional materials for image management.

No wonder there were so many articles like ‘Did you know that the hero of Galhyeon-dong was a KG Hero Award winner?’

It made sense if a large corporation moved.

But for that…

“Hyung, look at this. There’s a post about you on the idol community.”

“Oh? Me too.”

It seemed like more people had seen it than Woojoo thought…

If the reaction was this good, how did he appear in the documentary?

As he wondered that, the youngest, who was refreshing the page like a cat pressing a water dispenser, shouted, “Here it is! The replay!”

They all looked at the screen.

***

The documentary began in earnest after explaining the origin of the word ‘hero’.

It was the first time Woojoo watched a documentary since The Animal Kingdom.

Woojoo thought it would be very boring.

But he was wrong.

These days, documentaries were made with sophisticated production techniques. It felt like watching a well-directed drama rather than a documentary.

“Wow, this is the first time I’ve ever seen a documentary.”

The youngest exclaimed, seeming to enjoy it more than expected. They also agreed and watched the small screen.

The first half focused on each incident.

A college student who threw himself at a stroller rolling down a hill, firefighters who extinguished a fire that spread from an exploding oil tank.

And finally, the ‘Galhyeon-dong Hero’ appeared.

Ugh.

His hands and feet.

Woojoo clenched and unclenched his fists, repeating the motion as he watched the screen.

A data screen came up.

A white car was speeding in the distance. A circle was drawn around it, as if to tell them to look at it.

Another circle was around an old man who was on the phone in front of the rear car.

The scene changed to an interview with the old man.

[Choi Ikhyun / Victim at the time]

Oh, it was terrifying. I was talking on the phone without knowing anything, and suddenly someone ran up to me and pushed me hard. At first, I was dazed and wondered what was going on… And then, bang!

The screen switched again.

A young man in a yellow padded jacket ran out like crazy and pushed the old man.

[Choi Ikhyun / Victim at the time]

If it wasn’t for that guy, I would be in the underworld by now. You have no idea how grateful I am.

He sounded grumpy, but his sincerity was evident.

Woojoo felt warm.

He didn’t even realize that his cheek muscles were rising.

This was how it felt to do a good deed.

A smile came to Woojoo’s face.

Woojoo was so disappointed that he couldn’t take the college entrance exam, but it was as if someone whispered to him.

You did a great thing by throwing yourself then.

The expressions of his siblings who were watching the victim’s interview were the same. Bijoo touched his cheek and said, “You did the good deed, but I feel good too.”

“Me too.” Rihyuk scratched the back of his head and said, “It’s weird. I feel a bit proud too…”

“I think I know why. It’s kind of like when someone compliments our sisters for being pretty.”

Woojoo smiled as he looked at the members.

Meanwhile, on the screen, the overview of the incident was revealed.

Traffic investigator Jang Kyungil, a senior inspector, came out and gave an interview.

It seemed like he was a lieutenant back then. He must have been promoted.

Woojoo remembered the policeman who held his waist when he fainted at the hospital and smiled awkwardly.

The story of how his father had a seizure on the day of the college entrance exam and how he got a suspended sentence in the first trial came out.

…These were all things Woojoo already knew.

And finally, Woojoo’s interview came on.

Woojoo saw himself smiling on the screen and his siblings who were huddled together cheered loudly.

“Wow…”

“This is the best casual fashion I’ve ever seen from you, Hyung. It was worth picking out your clothes.”

“Right? Anything is better than the floral tracksuit. This is a huge improvement.”

“I need to save this later. Oh…? That hair, I did it with a curling iron.”

They commented on Woojoo’s appearance and he narrowed his eyes at them, then laughed.

They did help him a lot that day.

They made such a fuss since the morning, telling him not to look bad.

They styled his hair with a curling iron and rollers, picked out his clothes and shoes…

And on top of that, they nagged him to take care of himself more often.

Anyway, thanks to their coordination, Woojoo looked pretty good on the TV screen.

Rihyuk exclaimed, “Man, you have a great shell, a great shell.”

“Isn’t that something that applies to you too?”

“…Ah, be quiet and watch the documentary.”

He was the one who started it.

While they were chatting, the interview continued.

The editing emphasized what Woojoo said by changing the angles at important moments.

Especially when he said “my body moved instinctively”.

Then a narration came on.

[Then, what were the good deeds that these so-called heroes of Korean society did? Were they born with it? Or did they learn it?]

The first half of the documentary ended and the focus shifted.

Now it showed the personal aspects of the heroes, not the individual incidents.

A college student who was in a drama club, a firefighter who walked his pet dog with his wife and daughter.

It subtly conveyed the message that they all grew up in different environments and had different personalities.

The last one was Woojoo.

[The hero is currently pursuing his dream as a rookie idol group ‘New Black’.]

A scene of him dancing with his siblings for 30 seconds, and a scene of Woojoo recording Night Sea for a similar length.

But the focus was on Woojoo, so Rihyuk’s mouth was the only thing that showed up in the recording booth.

Like a hero in a superhero movie who only revealed his mouth under a mask.

“Puhahaha!”

They all burst into laughter.

“Hey, what’s this? Why is only my mouth showing?”

“Well, at least your voice came out nicely.”

“Bijoo Hyung, that’s not a helpful consolation…”

They chatted while the documentary went into the second half.

[USA. New York University.]

A brief shot of the New York City skyline, followed by a building of a university that looked like it was just plopped on the street.

A white-haired professor who looked like an old man from a chicken shop was passionately lecturing in a classroom for about 10 seconds.

Then the scene changed to his office.

[Chris Abbott / Neuroscientist, Author]

I’ve always been curious about the brains of the heroes. How are they different from ordinary people? I focused on that.

Along with that, various research data came out.

It looked like a serious experiment, with all kinds of data coming out, and finally a brain image.

And then he said the surprising result.

There was no difference between the brains of the heroes and the ordinary people.

In other words, the conclusion of the documentary was ‘heroes are neither born nor nurtured’.

They were just people who made a choice at that moment.

The people we call heroes are all the same people, and the thing that makes the difference is not big.

So…

[Heroes are not far away. We all have the potential to be heroes in our lives.]

With that narration, music flowed.

Various scenes crossed. New Black stopped their chatter and watched the screen intently.

Like the ending of a touching movie, where the supporting and main characters were shown living in different places, the scenes changed quickly.

And when the editing reached the end.

The last one to appear was Woojoo.

The scene of Woojoo running urgently flashed by, and then it smoothly transitioned to a shot of him smiling at the camera during an interview.

Did he really smile like that?

It was such a human-like expression that Woojoo understood why they used it as the ending cut.

“…”

The documentary ended, and the car was already waiting in front of the accommodation, but they were staring blankly.

***

Meanwhile, in a back alley of Gangnam district, the members of New Black were admiring.

When the internet was flooded with the captured images of the handsome human and the related articles.

There was one person who couldn’t smile.

“Ha…”

Han Juyeon, the youngest writer of Around the World With Dice and the person in charge of New Black, received a call at home and held back her tears.

They did the same thing with the SNS ads…

Were they some kind of onions?

“I have to do more research…”