In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

Chapter 299:

‘Woojoo is rapping…?’

Wasn’t he the one who shook his head shyly whenever the other members said ‘rap for us, rap’?

-Everyone, I’m a vocalist, how do I rap?

He also ignored those requests when the fans said ‘we want to hear you rap’ during live broadcasts.

That’s why they naturally thought ‘he can’t do it, that’s why’.

But now, he was rapping in front of their eyes.

If it weren’t for his lips moving lively under his gray hair, they would have thought that Junghyun was singing for him.

It was an unexpected and novel sight.

“Wowwwww–!”

Like the rap line members of other groups, Woojoo showed hand gestures that matched the lyrics.

He was alone on the huge stage, but his eye contact and movements were so natural that they couldn’t tell.

‘He’s really good.’

‘I feel like I’ve been deceived, but I like it…’

‘Woojoo, just walk the rap path.’

Even if they took off the ‘our kid is the best’ filter that made them see their idol as good at everything, he did well.

At the same time, they could see the difference between Junghyun and Woojoo’s rap styles.

If New Black’s rapper was the type to tap rhythmically with his mid-low voice, the leader was the type to bang once with his lower voice.

His rap voice was completely different from his vocal voice, and it was unfamiliar, but the fact that he was good didn’t change.

They smiled as they watched Woojoo sweeping the stage with his solo spotlight.

‘That’s why the kids are annoyed by him.’

They remembered the members who were on guard and said ‘sir, sir, the grandpa is trying to take it away again’ during reality shows or lives.

Woojoo smiled and winked on the screen.

Out of time, out of luck

It might not be solved

Climbing on the repeating time

It must have gotten heavier by now Ay

As he muttered ‘Ay’ softly, Woojoo passed the baton to the youngest who came back to the stage.

As the leader turned around with his back to him, the sub-vocalist appeared like a revolver’s magazine.

The blond boy in a vintage jumper swept his body with one hand and rode the wave, and a happy scream poured out.

It’s time to let go now

Throw away what’s in your hand Set you free

Until you block everything

For a moment

He was New Black’s sub-vocalist who freely switched between notes and smiled charmingly.

‘Nine’ was a somewhat different song from New Black’s previous title songs.

It was a song that made them jump around, unlike the refreshing, seductive, or warm titles they had before.

They felt like they were in a club when they heard the futuristic electronic sound.

The rhythm that stimulated their inner dance sense made the Soufflés standing in line shake their light sticks and jump around.

It felt like their stress was relieved.

The members who were on the side smiled happily as they saw the standing seats sway like popping water droplets.

‘This title song is really awesome.’

‘I love it.’

It was a melody that stuck in their ears even though they heard it for the first time.

They thought they could add their own cheering method if they heard it one more time.

And more than anything, they liked that New Black’s color was alive.

Was it a warm message to the listeners?

If Baramkkot was a song that comforted them by saying ‘are you having a hard time? I’m watching you’, Nine was a song that said ‘are you having a hard time? Let’s go out and have fun today!’.

There were days when they had no luck and were bullied by their enemies in their repeated daily lives.

On those days, they wanted to shake off their bad memories and have fun.

In line with that intention, the Soufflés also emptied their minds and cheered for the song.

“Wowwwww–!”

Woojoo and Jeeho widened the distance on the stage.

At the same time, the main dancer entered gracefully and took the center, and the dance line came alive.

Bijoo, who smiled mysteriously as he fluttered his wine-colored hair.

The audience was thrilled by his movement of taking off his glittering jacket halfway and putting it back on while bouncing his body flexibly.

Meanwhile, the choreography changed as the main dancer led the two members out.

As Rihyuk and Junghyun joined the side of the three who were standing like a triangle formation.

The dancers in black hoodies stuck together and became 3, 5, 7, and finally 9.

The song exploded in the chorus with the main vocal’s high note.

“Wowwwww–!”

As the stage fireworks shot up, the dance unfolded under the blue lights.

The members performed a fierce choreography, as if they were striking the air with their hands, centered around the rapper in the middle.

Using the strong recoil, Junghyun grabbed the mic and sang the chorus.

The fans also shouted along with the repeated ‘Nine Nine Nine’, releasing the stress they had accumulated.

As the first verse ended and the beginning of the second verse came out, the fans held their breath.

‘The song is crazy, really.’

‘The choreography is well-made. Who did it? It’s a different vibe from Clay.’

‘They all stand out.’

It was the result of the main dancer, Bijoo, who choreographed it with the touch of a famous Latin American choreographer.

They marveled at the dance that seemed to have the sweat of the choreographer, like coffee that is made by dropping one drop at a time.

Some of the fans felt a different sensation.

‘Something is different…’

‘It feels slightly different. In a good way.’

‘What is it?’

They felt differently watching New Black’s performance than usual.

The composition was similar, but the style seemed to have changed. It was like seeing the late works of the same painter after seeing only the early works.

Soon they realized the reason and exclaimed.

‘Ah…!’

Their eyes were drawn to the main vocal who was performing the choreography with a cool expression.

Rihyuk was the main cause.

The choreography line that he was involved in was much more organic and tightly connected than before.

Before, there was a fixed line to accommodate the main vocal who was relatively lacking in dance.

While the other members or dancers backed him up from behind, he would walk slowly and sing the high note before the chorus, or use mostly upper body movements to prepare for the close-up shot.

He wasn’t bad at anything, but it was because of his relatively poor dance skills compared to the other members.

If he moved the same way, he would stand out.

But now, there was nothing like that. The main vocal blended in naturally. He confidently took one axis of the organic connection movement, like a lump of clay.

They were captivated by his sharp shoulder turn.

‘He improved.’

‘He improved more than when he was in Wind Flower.’

Their eyes followed Rihyuk as he moved to the side of the stage.

The main vocal, who wore a zip-up hoodie over his dark blue hair, clapped his hands over his head and urged the audience to applaud.

They felt a lump in their throat, wondering how much effort he had put in to reach this level.

-Now, let’s all do it together!

They heard Woojoo’s voice before the second chorus.

On the other hand, Rihyuk wasn’t the only one who changed.

They noticed something different in each member who was shaking their body with sweat.

They improved their skills in expression, rap, dance, and other specialties, but they also complemented the parts that were relatively lacking.

Woojoo, who used to dance only in a standard way, added some extra movements that made his dance line prettier.

Junghyun, who didn’t do much vocal, also did vocal.

The youngest, who had a better physique than when he was in Wind Flower, changed his dance line to be more powerful.

And among them, there was a person who showed a noticeable change along with the main vocal.

Burn hotter

Shine brightly today-

It was the main dancer of New Black, who showed a vocal skill that could threaten the lead vocal, Woojoo.

They gasped at his sight of effortlessly raising his high notes while shaking his body wildly.

Along with his dance that showed a different realm.

At the introduction of the third verse, the main dancer bent his waist back softly and sang a high note, then stood in the center.

At the same time, the music that had been stacking up gradually exploded.

Boom-!

As the gold leaf that the stage device shot up scattered around, screams erupted everywhere.

The members and dozens of dancers jumped and rolled their feet.

The main dancer and the members and dancers who backed him up moved like a strong wave, shaking their bodies with the wave.

“Waaaaah-!”

The fans screamed as if there was no tomorrow.

The first stage of ‘Nine’, which was pre-released at the first concert, was a huge success.

My ears are ringing.

Even though I have in-ears on, the fans’ cheers pierced through them.

We gasped for breath in the midst of that.

“Huh… Hoo…”

“Hoo…”

“Hoo… Hoo, hoo.”

I could hear how loud my breathing was, even as I lowered my hand holding the mic.

We looked at each other on the stage, as the dancers retreated like a low tide.

‘Well done.’

‘You did well.’

We had given our all for this song, which was our first public release.

We weren’t supposed to have a talk time, but the choreography was so intense that we had to say something.

The problem was, we were too out of breath to say anything.

My hand holding the mic was damp with sweat, even as I stood still.

I gulped down a bottle of water and gave a chin gesture to my younger brothers who were panting and clutching their thighs.

“Uh uh heh heh heh heh (Hurry up and say something.)”

The youngest wiped his sweat and raised his hand.

“Heh heh heh heh (You do it. You.)”

“Ha ho heh heh. Ho heh (I can’t do it. I can’t.)”

Ryeok was trying to die.

But luckily, the fans filled the audio with their cheers.

“Wooooooah!”

Finally, Junhyeon, who had some stamina left, grabbed the mic.

“How was it, everyone? Did you like it?”

“Yes!”

“How much?”

A vague ‘A lot!’ came back as a roar.

Our rapper smiled happily.

“We stayed up all night making this song. Woojoo hyung and I spent days and nights worrying over one sound that goes woong-woong. We wanted to make a perfect song.”

He said with a laugh.

“I’m so glad you liked it.”

“Yes. I’m really glad.”

I took the mic and spoke to the sparkling lights.

“I was so nervous. I had no idea if you would like it or not.”

“You liked it, right?”

The youngest’s words made the light sticks shake again.

As we talked with the fans, the lighting director kindly brightened the lights a bit.

The faces of the people in the standing and the seats came into view.

They all looked exhilarated.

They still couldn’t get out of the afterglow of ‘Nine’ and had excited eyes and expressions.

I smiled as I saw them.

That’s it.

I was sure we succeeded.

If a song that hasn’t been released yet, not even the music video or the audio, got this kind of reaction, we had said it all.

We exchanged relaxed smiles with our younger brothers, seeing the faces of the fans who were more than satisfied.

‘You worked hard. Guys.’

‘You did really well. Hyung.’

We exchanged some more words with the fans and went down after performing some pre-released songs.

Now all that was left was the encore stage.

“Makeup! Makeup!”

“Excuse me!”

There was no peace among the people running around.

While the fans in the seats watched a graceful show like swans on a lake, the stage below was no different from hell.

As the VCR prepared for the encore played, the fans laughed at various scenes.

Meanwhile, we were frantically changing clothes.

We had no time to care about our dignity.

The staff wiped our sweat and fixed our makeup as we changed clothes in a hurry.

When we changed into loose black t-shirts that were well ventilated.

“Let’s go!”

“Yes!”

We nodded and high-fived Seokhwan hyung and the managers who cheered us on.

The VCR ended and the stage went pitch black.

When only the moving light sticks were visible in the darkness, we started singing ‘Flower Fire’, the first song of the encore from our mini album.

“…?”

It was the moment when the lights came on.

As Jiho controlled his emotions and sang the first verse, the audience swayed like a wave.

From the standing to the second floor seats.

The fluttering slogans caught my eye.

“…”

The event slogan that said ‘Together at the start of spring and the end of winter’ was spread out.

I felt strange as I looked at the thousands of slogans fluttering in the sky blue.

It was supposed to be a serious song.

But I couldn’t help but laugh.

I quickly regained my composure, but the fans responded to our momentary laughter.

As we sang the encore songs, I heard the voices of the fans singing along from the shaking light sticks.

I felt bitter every time I heard the voices singing the songs we made.

I felt like I could do more, I could have done better. The regret floated in my head.

I held the microphone with a mix of pride and sadness with my brothers.

“Yes, how…”

I opened my mouth with a smile.

“Did you enjoy the show today?”

“Yes!”

“We had a lot of fun today too.”

My brothers nodded.

“It’s our first time performing in front of so many fans. We were so excited yesterday.”

“He’s my roommate. He was so restless that he kept talking to me all night.”

“Jiho, you don’t have to tell them that.”

“The fans have the right to know.”

The fans laughed at Jiho’s words.

Meanwhile, Bijoo grabbed the microphone.

“Uh…”

I smiled as I saw his hand shaking wildly. It had been a long time since I saw Bijoo so nervous.

His gentle eyes were already moist.

“I don’t know how to thank you. Really, we are so… oh, oh, don’t do that. I’ll cry.”

Bijoo waved his hand urgently as the fans went ‘oh-’. They laughed loudly.

“We were really frozen because it was our first concert. But you responded so well today that we could do it comfortably. Thank you for always making us comfortable when we are nervous.”

We agreed.

We were trembling along with the machine vibration when the lift went up, but now we were much better.

It was thanks to the people who clapped for everything we did.

“I wondered if we would ever have a concert. Time is…”

The older ones looked at him and Jiho changed his words to “time is…”

The youngest smiled and said.

“I had so much fun today, did you have fun too?”

“Yes!”

“I knew it.”

The youngest smiled brightly at the audience and then held the microphone seriously.

“And there were so many people who worked hard for us this time. The managers, the stylists, the PR team. The band session, the dancers… so many people worked hard for the concert.”

We looked at him with admiration as he bowed and said.

“Thank you. Really.”

“Thank you!”

We bowed and thanked the staff who were scattered around.

Junghyun grabbed the microphone.

“And our parents came today.”

“Our family too!”

We waved our hands or said ‘hello!’ to the air and the lighting director turned on the lights sensibly.

As the fans cheered at the keyword ‘our parents’, we saw the people waving from the second floor.

“Wow!”

Jiho’s parents and sisters, who were waving their light sticks and saying ‘Jiho, I love you!’, were also there.

There was also Junghyun’s family, who showed the example of a ‘big family’ that we only saw in textbooks among the nuclear families.

Bijoo’s mother and family who were waving their hands.

And Kim Deoksoon, who looked at me with a fresh face and mouthed ‘well done’.

We also waved our hands to our families.

And then.

“We have our family too.”

I turned my head at Rihyuk’s words and there they were, Rihyuk’s family.

A boy and a girl with cold expressions as if they were drawn in a picture, and a younger sibling who smiled and waved.

They were Rihyuk’s parents.

Rihyuk smiled calmly and waved his hand, and they also waved their hand awkwardly.

After greeting our families for a while, the lights went off.

We could talk to our families later, but for now, this place was important to be with the fans.

“We have our families, and we have our fans.”

Junghyun said with a smile.

“I practiced really hard because the people I wanted to impress the most were coming. I wanted to be a singer, a son, a grandson, a nephew, and a cousin that everyone here could be proud of.”

We and Soufflé laughed and clapped at the complicated family tree.

And then, our main vocal picked up the microphone.

“I have so much to say to you that I prepared like this.”

We chuckled at the sight of Rihyuk taking out a paper from his pocket.

“I checked off thank yous, family, and everything else on these notes to prepare for my speech, but…”

“We took them all away, didn’t we?”

“Yes. You stole them all.”

He looked deflated because we had said everything he wanted to say.

Rihyuk, who had a slightly sullen expression, soon smiled awkwardly at the audience.

“So… instead of talking long, I’ll just say one thing and pass it on to Woo Joo. To our members, and to all of you.”

“…?”

“I really cherish and lo, lo… love you.”

Our Pirarucu got the biggest response of the night.

It was nice, but somehow embarrassing.

We avoided each other’s eyes and looked at the distant mountains, then each of us shared our feelings once more.

I also expressed my gratitude.

“Thank you so much for spending time with us today. I was really happy because of you.”

I said with a smile.

“It feels like it took a really long time to get to our first concert. Of course, it was only a couple of months of preparation time, but… we’ve been dreaming of this concert for a long time before that.”

I asked my siblings, who nodded their heads.

“How long have you been training?”

“Three years.”

“Four years.”

As each of us answered, I added up my six years of trainee time.

Then I looked at the slowly swaying stars.

“Yes, it took us 20 years to get here. I feel like we walked that long for this moment.”

The stars were silent for a moment, then exploded with noise. I smiled along with the sound.

“And just as we walked that long, I want to go further. I hope you’ll stay with us for that time, too.”

“Thank you!”

“You’ll stay with us until we grow more and become bigger, right?”

I want to see how far we can go.

As if answering me, I heard countless voices in my ears and laughed with my siblings.

“Next is our favorite song.”

It was a song that everyone knew, so we didn’t need to introduce it.

Through the concert hall, the acoustic guitar sound and the intro of a song flowed out.

It was our debut song ‘Fireworks’, arranged in a sing along version.