In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

Chapter 147:

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: Rxel

Chapter 147

There were two stages of rehearsal for a music show.

First, the camera directors planned how to film the performance based on the choreography video that was sent by the company beforehand.

Then, they checked the stage with their eyes on site. This was the dry rehearsal, where the performers wore casual clothes with name tags.

Next, they set up the costumes and makeup, and film the stage with cameras. This was the camera rehearsal.

After that, they monitored the footage and made adjustments if needed. If not, they just went on live stage as it was.

But there was one peculiar thing about PBS Music On.

This meant that they had to perform in front of all the other singers who were sitting in the audience.

Naturally, it was very nerve-wracking.

When they debuted with Something and Fireworks, they were trembling before they went on stage.

Of course, now they were used to it…

Shiver, shiver, shiver-

Woojoo thought there was an earthquake, but it was just the white face next to him shaking his legs non-stop.

Woojoo asked him with a smile, “Rihyuk, why are you shaking your legs like that?”

“I’m not shaking.”

“What are you talking about? Aren’t those your legs?”

“Ah, really.”

His already sharp eyes became like needles. He snorted and snapped at Woojoo.

The three guys next to Woojoo looked at him and did the same thing.

“Thank you?”

“Ye-es… Thank you.”

Thanks to that, everyone looked at them wondering what their relationship was. Damn.

Woojoo could already see the other teams asking them to share some of TNT’s popularity later.

Well. Let’s end the greetings here.

As Woojoo was about to take care of his awkward brothers who were only staring at the empty stage, Taehyun stepped up.

“Did you all have a good time?”

“Huh… Hello.”

He greeted their brothers warmly.

“It looks like the camera setting will take a while, so let’s have a little talk about it.”

“We want to join too.”

The always cheerful TNT’s Hyung line also joined themfor a brief conversation.

Woojoo also chatted happily with them, but cut it off at a reasonable point.

They were so powerful here that they could even grill pork belly, but they were rookies who had to be careful.

Woojoo was nervous that they might catch the eyes of the busy production staff every time their voices exceeded a certain decibel.

Then, a quiet voice called him.

“Have you been well?”

Woojoo turned my head at the heavy and clear voice.

TNT’s rapper and leader, Gu Seonwoong, held out his fist. Woojoo smiled as he greeted him.

“Oh, Hyung. Long time no see.”

“Keep in touch, man. Don’t you ever call?”

“How can I call when I don’t have your number?”

Then they burst out laughing.

‘Wow, Gu Seonwoong is so fake’, ‘Look at him, playing politics’ and other comments flew around as laughter filled the air.

TNT’s leader explained as if making an excuse.

“It’s because of the fans. I have to change my number all the time.”

Woojoo also exchanged greetings with the other Hyung line.

Unlike the younger ones who were chatting happily, it was a formal greeting.

They calmly complimented each other on how good their songs were, and congratulated each other on their albums.

There was a difference in friendliness between the younger and older ones, but there was a clear line drawn in this place.

Four years had passed.

And probably because of the awkward relationship between Woojoo and the green-haired member, who joined after he was kicked out, Baek Seungje, both sides seemed to be considerate of each other.

It was only natural.

No matter how close they were in the past, the most important thing was their current group.

The ones next to Woojoo, whom he had seen for almost six years, were the most important…

“Hyung.”

Jiho whispered in a sly face from the left.

“If you like TNT so much, why don’t you go over there?”

“…”

Rihyuk grumbled from the right.

“You were smiling so brightly when you greeted them. What about us? We see your face every day. Is that it?”

“Leave me alone. It’s my legs that are shaking.”

“Don’t be so crazy.”

“That’s right. Rihyuk.”

Jiho chimed in.

“Why are you so nervous? We’ve already released two albums. Show them your professionalism.”

“I’m just cold.”

“Rihyuk, are you cold?”

Bijoo, who looked worried, rummaged through his pockets.

“Here, I have a heat pack. Stick it on for a while.”

“As expected, you’re the best, Hyung.”

Their hypochondriac quickly grabbed the heat pack.

Woojoo wanted to ask him why he didn’t say that to him, either ‘Hyung’ or ‘best’, but he held back because there were too many eyes.

It looked too childish.

“Bijoo, I want a heat pack too.”

“Here you go, Hyung.”

Another heat pack popped out right away.

Was he Doraemon?

He looked like a squirrel with acorns in his mouth, his pants pockets bulging.

Woojoo laughed at the sight of him.

“Oh, Wild Sunbae-nims are here. Hello!”

They got up and greeted the senior singers every time they arrived. Each time, they received a warm welcome with a smile.

Most of them were faces they saw yesterday.

From the rookies like Wild, Fantanis, and Serenity, to the veteran ballad singer, Yeon.

There was also Misty, who had competed with them for the first place before, and who had won it last week.

As the singers greeted each other, their voices went up and down like volume controls, depending on their seniority and fame.

Suddenly, everyone got up, like bus passengers who had reached their final stop.

“Hello!”

“Hello. We are Fantanis!”

Of course, it was TNT.

The eight members nodded their heads as if they were familiar, and made their way up the seats.

Woojoo was about to stand up and greet them too, but he was caught by Han Taehyun’s radar, who was looking around.

“Hello…”

“Ah! Don’t! Don’t!”

Taehyun waved his hand, and the three guys behind him did the same.

The four younger members of TNT sang in chorus.

“Don’t do it!”

Then they chuckled among themselves.

Those guys.

While Woojoo was standing there dumbfounded, and the other singers were watching, his younger brothers greeted them awkwardly…

“Ah! Don’t do it there either!”

They made such a noisy entrance.

TNT quickly took their seats behind them. Taehyun, who sat behind Woojoo, tilted his head and smiled.

“Hi.”

Woojoo sighed briefly at his greeting and said, “Could you please be more professional…”

“I’m just promoting that we’re friends. Aren’t you grateful?”

“…”

“It’s no use doing well for him.”

Woojoo swallowed the words that came up to his throat.

No.

He should greet him brightly. He couldn’t say ‘hi’ with a gloomy face when he saw him after a long time.

…That was what he was thinking.

When Woojoo met his eyes, he was looking at him with narrowed eyes from afar.

Junghyun also snorted and tried to squint his eyes, but he had a spasm.

Flap-

Woojoo almost burst into laughter when he saw the whites of his eyes.

His siblings were the same, trying to hold back their laughter by closing their mouths or pinching their arms.

Anyway, Woojoo raised his hand and sent a message of apology in sign language to his siblings who were glaring at him.

He got a ‘no-no’ message back.

He changed his strategy.

Woojoo sent them a message that the next song part would be dry if they kept doing this, and they soon became polite.

***

The dry rehearsal finally began.

The singers went up and down the stage in the order of the broadcast.

While the PDs and directors sitting in the front row of the audience were discussing the camera work with the cue sheet, the singers waiting for their turn sat in the audience and yawned or swallowed their saliva.

The only ones who opened their eyes wide and fluttered their mouths like fish every time the stage continued were Fantanis, who debuted a week ago.

“Oh, it’s New Black.”

“Wow. I really wanted to see that choreography.”

After Wild, a second-year boy group, bowed their heads to the production staff and went down, New Black came up.

The attention that was playing dumb increased in an instant.

New Black.

They were a rookie group that debuted in June this year and were doing well.

Strictly speaking, they had been active since February, but they had built up a career that was unbelievable until now.

No one in this place didn’t know about the Chuseok Special broadcast.

Even if they didn’t watch the broadcast, they couldn’t help but know because the name ‘Daegil’ was plastered all over the internet.

How many memes were there?

When they saw the face of Junghyun, a member, they felt a sense of familiarity without knowing it.

The Fantanis members whispered.

“I saw it yesterday, but it’s amazing. He’s the Daegil friend we saw on Chuseok.”

“Wow…”

“He’s handsome even here, but.”

On the other hand, the singers who had a lot of ambition for singing or were thinking about solo activities were looking at someone else.

The member standing on the far left of the stage.

Woojoo, the leader who stood out among the owners of the eye-catching looks.

The so-called composer idol.

He was the co-composer of Something and the sole composer of Fireworks, which was rumored to be on the annual chart this year.

And on top of that, Masquerade, which was hitting a record-breaking performance on the music chart as an idol song.

They had never met him in person, but those who took composition lessons at each agency knew Woojoo’s name well.

The producers who gave them lessons would murmur to themselves, “What kind of thing is that?” They were talking about things like composing with his eyes closed, or seeing colors.

At first, they thought it was a lame genius concept, but everyone shut their mouths when the results of Masquerade were revealed.

“I have to get close to him later.”

A successful composer was a valuable connection wherever they went.

Especially if there was a singer who could compose like that among the same idols, he was a connection that had to be secured.

When everyone had complicated calculations in their heads.

The stage began.

“Wow…”

As Jiho, who was in the center, started his acting and singing, the members of Fantanis exclaimed.

Soon, the members of New Black started dancing to the song.

A dance without an inch of error.

It flowed precisely and smoothly as if measured by a ruler.

Then, Bijoo, who disappeared to the side that the camera couldn’t see, flew into the center of the stage.

“Wow… He really did that.”

They also admired the movement of spreading out and gathering around Woojoo in the chorus.

At the same time, the senior singers who were watching from the seats gave a sarcastic laugh.

‘They really came prepared.’

They were good.

That was the thought that came to the minds of those who were watching.

There was no one who hadn’t practiced for 10 hours a day among the people in this place, but that was more than that.

How much practice did it take to digest that intense choreography with that level of proficiency?

It was a performance that could only be achieved by dedicating the whole day to practice, except for the time to pick up and put down the spoon.

When they reached the third verse, the members stood still and Jiho made a mysterious expression and sang, then the dance unfolded.

There were some people who showed the most surprised reaction to New Black’s stage in this place.

“What is that?”

Seok Jihun, the main vocal of TNT, whispered with a puzzled face.

“I really can’t get used to this. Since when did Woojoo dance so well?”

“He must have practiced a lot in four years.”

“I’ve been watching him for five years…”

The TNT members who were watching the stage shook their heads repeatedly.

They remembered the image of him dancing awkwardly as if his joints were stuck when he was a trainee.

But now, he was showing a smooth and soft performance in front of their eyes.

“Really, what happened to him?”

One of the TNT members muttered and looked at Taehyun.

“Hey, Taehyun. You’re the closest to Woojoo, right? What happened to him?”

“I don’t know either.”

Han Taehyun shrugged his shoulders.

“He said he helped an old man who was driving a rear car and then his dance suddenly improved.”

“What?”

“Really, he said that. He said he did a good deed and then he danced better.”

“Hey, does that make sense? If that’s true, I’m going to volunteer around the country from today.”

The members of TNT laughed as they watched the stage, wondering about the mystery of how Woojoo could dance so well.

“It’s nice to see it with our own eyes, though.”

“Right.”

“He always wished to dance well on his birthday.”

They all nodded.

As they knew how much he had suffered because of dancing, they felt strangely happy to see him on stage.

***

They successfully finished their first week of music shows, including Sunday’s Popular Singer.

The response was very good.

The Soufflés who came to the pre-recorded or live stages screamed with joy every time they saw them, and they were happy too.

The comments captured by the promotion team were also positive.

[Today’s good reaction to New Black’s comeback stage.youtube]

-It’s a masterpiece, the more I listen to it…

-They will definitely be in the top candidate next week

-I didn’t care until I saw the live stage and fell in love

-They are so good at performing ㅋㅋㅋ

-I kept hearing their song everywhere and wondered what they were, so I watched the stage to criticize them, but I was impressed

-The song is good

-They are good at everything, vocals and dance are above average

They wanted to check the reaction on the internet, but they had no time because of the full radio and other schedules from the first week.

They promoted their CD in every studio.

Every day, as the digital music performance changed, they met with reporters for interviews or took photos for magazines.

At the same time, whenever they had a chance, they read fan letters delivered by the fan manager or took pictures to post on SNS.

When it was all over, they had to prepare for the upcoming award show with the vocal and dance teachers from late night to dawn.

It felt like a preview of the upcoming schedules, the busiest days they had recently.

Was it a day that passed when Woojoo closed and opened his eyes?

When they came to their senses, they were sleeping with their heads together in the waiting room, and when they opened their eyes again, it was time for the next schedule.

Meanwhile, Masquerade, which rose to the daily chart, was sailing steadily.

They ranked sixth on the first weekly chart and were still climbing.

Right below them was TNT’s comeback song ‘?’, which had the firepower of the fandom, but this side also had a good public opinion.

If they compared the digital music performance, it was still even.

At first, the articles said that they did well in the face of TNT’s overwhelming momentum, but the nuance gradually changed.

-‘Monster rookie’ New Black vs ‘Trend group’ TNT, will the competition be formed?

-Showing the power of a rookie group in five months after debut

-An unexpected storm of ‘New Black’ in the digital music chart ‘Will they be number one?’

Most of them described it as a fight between David and Goliath, but it was getting more and more like a confrontation.

That was why they didn’t go to the internet or their SNS these days.

According to Assistant Manager Hong, the fans on the internet were angry at the comparison with the rookie group and mocked TNT, saying ‘Are they over now? Are they declining?’

She said they didn’t have to worry because the company was prepared for any malicious rumors or hate comments.

That was how the first week passed and it was Monday.

When they finished recording Global K-pop and left the Seocho-dong Studio, Minki Hyung called them with a bright face.

“Guys! I have good news.”

They felt their hearts pounding, wondering what the news was.

“What is it?”

“You guys are fixed as the top candidates for this week’s music shows.”

“Wow…!”

Their hearts were beating fast, and they asked eagerly.

“Where? Which music show?”

“All of them.”

Their hot hearts cooled down.

“…What?”

They widened their eyes in surprise, and the manager repeated it to confirm.

“You guys are fixed. All six of them.”