In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

“And?”

“There were tons of these.”

We squinted our eyes at the smartphone that the youngest handed to us.

There were some weird and wacky thumbnails.

There were pictures of foreigners we had never seen before, with their mouths wide open and expressions of ‘Aaah!’ on their faces.

I tilted my head.

“Who are these people? Do you know them?”

“No. We’ve never seen them before.”

“What’s going on? They don’t know our song, but there are so many of them.”

It was ‘Reaction’.

“Oh. Reaction videos.”

It was one of the common contents on Mityube.

It was the content of foreigners who recorded their own reactions of ‘Wow, wow’ while watching a specific video.

We knew about it because we had seen some reaction videos of our music videos since the fireworks.

The problem was…

“Why are there so many?”

The number was no joke.

It didn’t seem like this much even when the overseas K-pop fans showed interest in Masquerade.

As we scrolled down the list, there were various faces with their mouths open.

“Let’s just click on one of them.”

We clicked on the reaction video with the highest views.

Click.

Then, Rihyuk lowered his head and said.

“Why do you want to check it out?”

“I’m curious.”

“What if there’s something bad in there? We’re all glass mental, you know…”

I blinked my eyes for a moment and looked at my siblings.

“Isn’t he the most glass?”

“He’s like a movie prop. He’s made of sugar, so he breaks even with a slap.”

“Maybe a matchstick.”

We were met with a shout of ‘I’m not glass!’ from our joke.

Meanwhile, the outdoor ad of Scarlet skiing and laughing ‘Kyahat! Kyahahat!’ ended and the video played.

A group of foreigners were sitting on a sofa in a living room of a house.

The youngest squinted his eyes.

“Ah, what. It’s in English. There are no subtitles?”

“It doesn’t look like it.”

“Let’s add one later. Kor sub plz.”

As we chuckled with our siblings, the conversation continued in the video.

It seemed like a gathering of American college students from different countries.

The man sitting in the middle set up the camera and looked around at his friends.

-We’re going to watch a video of a K-pop singer, following the last time.

The friends started to say one by one.

-I remember the Teen Spirit kids we saw last time. They were also a K-pop group, right?

-They were so cute, like baby angels!

-Yeah. They were really pretty, like babies!

We smiled warmly as we watched the women hug the cushions and giggle.

“They don’t know, do they?”

“I feel like it might be better if they don’t…”

“Anyway, I think they won’t react like this if they know Jonna.”

As we exchanged conversations, one of them asked a question.

-So, who are we watching today? Lucas?

The Mityuber answered ‘New Black’ and they all blinked or tilted their heads.

-Who? There was a singer like that in K-pop?

-Is the group name ‘The Trend (the new black)’? That’s unique.

-They sound like famous singers… Would I remember if I see their faces? What are they known for?

At that moment, when they started to show curiosity and search on their smartphones.

The Mityuber played the music video of ‘Nine’.

On the bottom right, there was a mini screen with New Black’s logo and the subway scene started.

-The subway is so clean.

One of the college students from New York exclaimed as he sipped his coffee, and they all laughed for a moment.

-Wow…

-Is that all graphics? That?

-Cyberpunk, huh. It’s like a scene from a SF movie.

They started to open their mouths in awe at the night view of the virtual city filled with neon signs.

Even we, the ones who made it, were amazed by how realistic the CG looked.

And so were the people who watched it.

As the song started, various reactions came out.

-They’re a group of five, huh?

-They’re so pretty, but I don’t like pretty boys that much… Wait, who’s that red-haired guy who just appeared?

-Calm down… Ugh! I like him too!

We admired the elegant walk of Bijoo, who wore a zip-up hoodie and glanced back at us while walking through the alley.

We giggled at Bijoo’s proud face as he said, ‘That’s me!’

Meanwhile.

As the main choreography of the chorus came on, the noisy reactions suddenly quieted down.

-How can their feet be so fast?

-This is insane. This is the first time I’ve seen a K-pop music video with such perfect synchronization.

-How much practice do they need to pull this off?

-I know, right? Ugh… I don’t even want to imagine. It was hard enough to match the cheerleading in school.

We smiled warmly as we saw the kind people who appreciated our hard work.

“It feels good. It seems like even the people on the other side of the world can see how hard we worked.”

“They’re giving us recognition.”

“Rihyuk, did you hear the comment? They said you dance well…”

I stopped talking.

Rihyuk was like a cat staring at a fly, with his arms crossed and picking up every single comment from the people.

He said he didn’t want to watch this, but he was more focused than anyone else. I held back my laughter.

The music video entered the highlight of the third verse.

-Yes! Yes!

-That’s right! This is it.

-I have to add this to my playlist after this.

There was a fierce reaction to our choreography, which involved rolling and jumping like crazy.

That’s when it ended.

“What? Why did you turn it off? It’s not over yet…!”

“I think we’ve seen enough. Was there anything else to see?”

“No. I haven’t seen it all yet. I was just voting for who I liked the most…”

We decided to click on some thumbnails here and there, seeing someone’s disappointed face.

There were so many different kinds of reaction videos.

There was one where someone was drinking wine and exclaimed, ‘Wow!’

There was also one where they showed it to non-K-pop fans and filmed their awkward reactions.

Of course, not all of them were positive.

There were some that had nasty comments, so we turned them off right away.

The video we saw first was one of the most enthusiastic ones.

“But it’s fun.”

“I feel like I didn’t notice the time passing. It was so fun.”

“They really praise us a lot. I don’t think my mom ever praised me this much.”

We looked at each other with slightly flushed faces.

We had been checking the reactions to our song by looking at the music charts, album sales, and internet comments.

But this was a new and different way to see it.

The only thing that bothered me was…

“Do people actually watch this?”

“I know, right? We had fun watching it, but…”

We, the ones who made it, could enjoy seeing the reactions to our work, but we wondered if other people would too.

I didn’t care much about the reactions to other singers’ music videos.

“Well, there must be a reason why the YouTubers jumped in.”

Rihyuk pointed at the screen.

“Look at the thumbnails. They used to be mostly videos uploaded by ordinary people, but now it’s different.”

“Hmm… Oh? Really?”

It was true.

Unlike the fireworks or masquerade videos, this time there was a smell of professionalism.

From the eye-catching photos to the bold titles.

Most of the people who uploaded the videos were YouTubers who specialized in reacting to K-pop and such.

“I guess there are quite a few people who watch them.”

We nodded, concluding that there would be supply if there was demand.

Anyway, it wasn’t a bad thing.

If these videos made people curious about us, even a little bit, it would be a great thing.

It was like free publicity for us.

“Alright.”

I clapped my hands and said.

“Let’s stop watching the videos for now. Let’s go. Seokhwan hyung wants to talk about work.”

“Yes.”

My younger siblings also got up from their seats and started packing their stuff.

As we all left the practice room, the youngest one who had been thinking about something by himself spoke up.

“By the way.”

“Yeah?”

“You know those videos we saw earlier. Don’t you think there might be people who are curious about us and look for our videos now?”

“Oh. You mean they’ll become our fans after watching those?”

“It’s not impossible.”

Jiho said.

“They might watch our music videos or those videos and wonder ‘Who’s that cute blonde?’ and then become my fans.”

“We’re really jealous of your confidence, maknae.”

“Hyungs, you have to dream big.”

The youngest one wrapped his arms around us and whispered ‘Dreams☆come true’ in our ears. I chuckled and replied.

“Yeah. That would be nice.”

Mexico City.

A city of 9 million people located at an altitude of 2,200 meters.

In a house there, a teenage girl was staring blankly at her laptop screen.

‘Wow…’

On the YouTube screen, a five-member boy group was dancing.

New Black.

A K-pop idol group that she had discovered through a reaction video that was uploaded by a channel she subscribed to a few days ago.

“Está padre(Awesome)…!”

On the music show stage under the logo of K-Net, a member with gray hair was rapping.

She couldn’t understand Korean, but it sounded good.

‘How can all five of them be so eye-catching?’

She had watched the reaction video a few days ago.

When she came to her senses, she was watching the five-member group dancing in a neon-lit alley over and over again.

And now she was looking for their music show performance.

‘I’ll just watch one or two more and turn it off.’

But New Black’s content was endless.

When she watched a performance, a new one would come up, and when the performance ended, New Black’s YouTube content would appear.

From their own YouTube reality show to Q&A.

“Hmm.”

Mariella didn’t really want to watch it, but she had no choice.

They kindly provided English subtitles, so she thought she should at least watch it once. What could she do?

Soon, the YouTube content that showed in detail what the boy group from across the Pacific thought and lived like captivated her eyes.

In the blink of an eye, a few hours passed.

The teenage girl came to a conclusion.

‘I have to tell someone.’

She wasn’t really a fan of New Black or anything, but it was too precious to keep it to herself.

She needed someone to talk to about New Black.

She immediately thought of her sister Elena who lived in the US.

‘…She probably won’t be interested in their performances.’

She was sure that her sister, who had no interest in K-pop, wouldn’t have much of a reaction if she showed her their performances.

She pondered for a long time what to send her and finally chose a video link.

Then she sent it through a messaging app.

[Video (▶) – 16:46 PM]

[Look at this, isn’t it funny? – 16:47 PM]

And the message reached a restaurant in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

“Pfft-!”

Elena Lopez, who was drinking a shake, choked and her college friends looked at her with puzzled faces.

“What’s wrong?”

“…Look at this.”

They also laughed when they looked at the phone she handed them.

It was a short video.

Someone with gray hair was riding a unicycle with a wistful expression on his face and spinning around the studio.

Then he caught a flying pickle with chopsticks.

“Puahaha!”

The gray-haired guy smiled at the camera and disappeared with his unicycle.

Until then, the four-member group who had been holding hands and wishing for the mission to succeed ran after the unicycle, shouting ‘Wow!’

It was a scene like a soccer ceremony and laughter erupted in the restaurant.

“Let’s watch it again, one more time.”

And then."

“Ha ha ha!”

I couldn’t help laughing every time I watched the scene.

After a while of laughter.

Someone who was eating macaroni asked.

“Who are those people in the video?”

“I don’t know either. My brother in Mexico sent it to me. Just a sec…”

As everyone was curious, Elena sent a message to her brother asking ‘who are the main characters in the video’.

The answer came back right away.

[They’re New Black! – 18:02 PM]

Meanwhile, her brother who was about 4,000 kilometers away was celebrating the success of his sales.

“They’re New Black.”

“New Black?”

“I wonder if there’s more like that. It’s really fun.”

New Black’s name was slowly spreading in a foreign land.

When I visited the management team’s office, Seokhwan hyung immediately brought up his business.

“The overseas tour schedule has changed a bit.”

“How?”

“We’re going to add some countries that weren’t on the original schedule.”

It was about the overseas tour schedule that would start after Chuseok.

New countries were added to the lineup that originally included Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Australia, and so on.

“Chile and Brazil…?”

“USA is in there too.”

They were mostly countries in South America or North America.

I tilted my head at the unexpected names and the manager explained.

“These are the regions where the music video response was hot. Especially in South America.”

“Oh. So that’s why you booked them.”

“It wouldn’t be bad to go there once for promotion purposes.”

Seokhwan hyung adjusted his glasses.

“Of course, it’s a concert in name, but the venue size is small. We’re planning it at a showcase level, so you don’t have to worry too much. Just think of it as a one-time promotion like we did in Japan.” ŕ

“Yes, I understand.”

I nodded at the words that the schedule was newly added because of the music video response.

Then I sat on the office sofa and glowed my eyes.

The other person chuckled.

“Before I tell you about the album’s initial sales that you’re curious about right now…”

He paused and asked.

“You all know to some extent, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Yes, we know.”

How could we not?

I could tell just by looking around the place where the Soufflés were gathered.

But it didn’t feel real.

“I’m still nervous. My heart pounds every time I go online.”

“Honestly, I don’t believe it.”

“We were talking about ten million for almost half an hour. Manager.”

It couldn’t be helped.

It was a hard-to-believe number.

The mini album 2 that came back with ‘Wind Flower’ had recorded 70,000 copies in the initial sales and ranked sixth this year.

But this time…

“That’s right.”

Seokhwan hyung confirmed it officially.

“This mini album 3 sold about 117,000 copies in total. In a week.”

“This was real…”

“First of all, congratulations.”

The other person said with a laugh that it was unbelievable.

“We’ll have to see the total sales, but you’ll be the fifth among the albums sold this year.”

“Wow…”

We looked at each other and laughed awkwardly.

“It was real.”

“I thought we were being pranked by a hidden camera.”

“We really sold over 100,000 copies.”

We kept laughing because we still couldn’t believe it.

Maybe it was because the tension was gone.

I felt a tear in my eye for a moment.

I couldn’t relax even after the concert because of the album worries, but now I felt a little more relaxed.

A drop or two of tears seeped out of my tear ducts, moistening my eyes.

“…”

“…”

As I lifted my head, a hazy veil formed in front of my siblings’ eyes.

“Just a moment.”

I pulled out some tissues and handed them one by one.

While we dabbed our eyes, Junghyun, who was staring blankly at the tissue in his hand, sniffed.

The youngest laughed with a sniffle.

“It was real. We couldn’t believe it even after seeing it.”

“The album did so well.”

“I’ll sleep soundly tonight. Really.”

It was an unbelievable record.

Among the singers who released albums this year, only two groups sold more than 100,000 copies in the first week.

TNT.

Teenspirit.

And right below them, our name was there.

I was dumbfounded.

I thought I was prepared in advance, but I felt dizzy.

“So we…”

“Our mini albums 2 and 3 will rank 5th and 6th respectively for the year.”

“…”

“If you only count singers, we’re 3rd.”

We were right below the regular and repackaged albums of TNT and Teenspirit, who dominated the top four spots.

“So…”

“You guys are the 3rd best-selling idol group of the year.”

Seokhwan hyung, who explained the situation, also seemed nervous.

“I’ve never seen anything like this before. Really.”

The other side smirked.

“It’s rare for a group to explode like this in their second year, unless they’re from a big agency like TNT or Sixty. This is…”

“We can’t believe it either. To think that…”

We couldn’t finish our sentences and closed our mouths at the same time. Silence engulfed us.

It was an amazing thing.

To achieve such a successful result in our second year.

“…”

I sat there blankly for a while.

Even when Seokhwan hyung talked about this week’s schedule and other matters, I felt drowsy.

The words barely entered my ears and slipped out like sand.

“…Sunwooju. Are you listening?”

“Yeah. I’m eating.”

“You guys don’t seem to be in your right mind.”

Seokhwan hyung took drastic measures at the sight of Bijoo, who was sitting still and smiling like a fool.

“Let’s take a break and talk later.”

“What? Eh…”

“Jiho’s nose is running. Wipe that off. I’ll give you some vodka. Ask Wonseok to buy you whatever you want and eat it.”

As he waved his hand as if to tell us to take a break, we got up awkwardly.

Then the other side said with a smile.

“Don’t cry again when you go.”

“Cry?”

I shook my head and answered.

“We don’t cry over things like this.”

Lemon Enter.

The employees who were about to go up to the rooftop were startled by a strange sound.

-Uhhuhuhu!

The sound of sobbing echoed in the dark emergency stairs.

It sounded like several ghosts were crying at the same time.

-Uhhuhu!

As the confused employees looked at each other, a strange sound mixed in with the crying.

-Hororok.

It sounded like someone was drinking something.

And then.

-Uhhuhu!

The duet of weird and ghostly sounds.

When one of the employees bravely turned on the smartphone light towards the direction of the sound.

“Uhhuhuhuhu!”

“Huhuhu!”

The five silhouettes that were faintly illuminated by the light made the employees blink.

‘New Black…?’

‘What are they doing there?’

‘What the hell is that sound?’

Soon they found out the source of the sound.

The New Black members, who noticed the light, looked at them with their faces covered in tears like sticky rice cakes.

The youngest, whose eyes were swollen, held a bowl of tteokbokki and said.

“Ah, hello…”

“…”

“We’re not crying.”

The following excuse was unconvincing to anyone.

“Ma, it’s too spicy… Huhuhu!”

“Uhhuhu!”

The employees could only blink at the sight of New Black members sobbing while eating tteokbokki.