In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

“I didn’t cry.”

Seokhwan hyung narrowed his eyes at my answer. Then he pointed at us with his finger and said, “Hmm.”

“You guys look like you’ve been crying, no matter how I look at you.”

“Crying?”

I asked my siblings.

“We didn’t cry, right?”

“…We didn’t cry, sir.”

“It’s because the tteokbokki was too spicy. I wanted to order mild, but I accidentally ordered nuclear.”

“You know I don’t cry.”

I smiled and said to Seokhwan hyung, who was looking at the fishes.

“Look at Junghyun. You can tell we didn’t cry by looking at Junghyun.”

“Junghyun…?”

Our manager, who turned his head, looked speechless.

“…”

“What’s wrong, sir?”

“You came back healthier in an hour, Junghyun.”

Adequate tears are good for eye health, they say.

Junghyun’s eyes were clearer and brighter than usual.

Seokhwan hyung coughed and turned his gaze back to us, then chuckled.

“We have a schedule later, what are you going to do with your eyes so swollen?”

“It’s okay, it’s radio.”

“Wasn’t it a radio that you can see?”

“You just have to adjust the angle well. Like this, it looks like you barely cried on camera.”

I smirked and fixed the angle, and the managers and staff looked at me.

“Anyone can see that you came back sobbing.”

“You look really sad.”

“Can I take a picture of this and save it, hyung?”

“…”

Since it came to this, I gave a pose with a tearful expression to the staff who held the phone camera.

“Give me a line too. A sad line.”

I made a wistful expression as if looking at the sea, and uttered a word.

“110,000 copies.”

The eyes of the siblings moistened, and Seokhwan hyung burst into laughter.

After laughing together for a while, Seokhwan hyung spoke.

“I also got a call yesterday and felt a pang of tears. I’m like this, how must you feel?”

The other person looked at the laptop and said.

“You know this is not the end, right? According to our estimate, we expect to sell three times the amount of the initial sales this year.”

“Huh…”

We looked at each other.

“That’s over 300,000 copies if it’s three times.”

“That’s just an estimate for now.”

“Oh my, what is this.”

The siblings nodded and agreed.

“Why are you so surprised? The mini album 2 that came out this spring already sold over 200,000 copies.”

“Already?”

“This one will probably record around 200,000 copies too.”

It was an estimate that the company had set internally, but considering the sales so far, it was likely to be accurate.

Even if we set the minimum, it’s 500,000 copies.

“That’s amazing. If you add them up, there’s quite a gap between us and Hyper below.”

Hyper was the boy group that debuted from KM Entertainment around 09 when I was a trainee.

They won several awards too.

They were a famous boy group for their powerful, intense, and sexy choreography.

And we sold more albums than those seniors…

“It’s good, but it feels like I’m not sure if this is okay.”

“Me too. I feel like I’ve been watching Hyper seniors since elementary school…”

I know that success and debut years are not determined by lottery like seniority.

But it feels awkward to have our name above the seniors we looked up to since we were trainees.

Ace, Daydream, Daylight, etc.

They were singers we did for monthly evaluations, or had in our phone playlists.

We were happy with the fast success, but we couldn’t help feeling nervous when we thought we sold more albums than them.

“I suddenly had this thought.”

“What thought?”

Bijoo said seriously.

“Maybe we have a kingdom somewhere in an unknown world. The Soufflé King there tells his people to buy New Black’s album.”

We clapped and laughed at Bijoo’s rational hypothesis.

But the daze still didn’t go away.

I wish someone would hit me and wake me up. Except for Junghyun.

I felt like I had become the protagonist of a drama titled ‘When I Came To, I Was a Popular Idol’.

“Anyway, it’s a good thing. We’re right after Teen Spirit in the overall indicators.”

Seokhwan hyung continued.

“The problem is what will happen until next year.”

“I guess we’ll have to unplug the internet again.”

“The idol community and SNS will be a mess until the end of the year. There are already a lot of people spreading baseless rumors.”

The director said he was preparing legal action with a lawyer.

“You guys are the ones who got hurt. It doesn’t make sense to care about others. You can’t even beat elementary school students.”

Was this a compliment or an insult?

“Be careful for a while.”

“Yes.”

“It’s the way of the world that people are jealous when others do well. The better you do, the more weird things will get tangled up. I’m sure you’ll do well, but don’t give any room for error in your behavior or demeanor.”

“Yes. I understand.”

He asked us several times.

“By the way, are you okay with Teen Spirit?”

“Teen Spirit?”

“It’s the TNT fans. They’ve calmed down a lot since you appeared on that show, Space Rabbit.”

Some of the TNT fans who had been spamming us with hate comments since the Masquerade had quieted down a bit.

It was probably because of the way I looked with the TNT members.

“Right now, the Teen Spirit fans are the most furious. How can they be right after Teen Spirit, does that make sense? Something like that.”

“Oh.”

“They’re young, so they’re really… How do I explain it. Their comments and stuff are generally… rough.”

“I know that. But why Teen Spirit all of a sudden?”

“I was wondering if you’re okay with their members. TNT is lucky that you guys get along well in private…”

He seemed worried that one of the Teen Spirit members might say something weird about us.

We looked at each other and said.

“That’s nothing to worry about.”

“…?”

“We might be mistaken, but it seems like they like us a bit.”

“Really…?”

His eyes narrowed as if he didn’t believe it.

“That’s strange. They’re not the type to like anyone… Well. If that’s true, then that’s good.”

“Did you solve some of your worries?”

“Somewhat.”

He nodded and said.

“Then let’s end the album talk here.”

The proposals flew at us.

“Let’s talk about your broadcast and advertising schedule this time.”

“Huh?”

We looked at the pile of documents and tilted our heads.

“Why?”

“The proposals seem to have decreased.”

If before Junghyun had to hold them with both hands, now Rihyuk could hold them with one hand.

The album was definitely doing better than ever, but the amount of proposals was inversely proportional.

“Why would they be thinner?”

The manager smiled and said.

“From now on, we have to go to bigger places, that’s why.”

As the manager said, the album was sailing smoothly.

A week after the release, it was also on the charts in various countries.

And.

-New Black, US Billboard Album Chart ‘Fourth Entry Among Boy Groups’

-New Black, Billboard 200 Chart ‘118th Place’ Record ‘TNT Followed Up to the Chin’

-First Week ‘120,000 Copies’ New Black, Emerging Album Powerhouse Threatening TNT and Teen Spirit

I heard that our album had entered the Billboard 200 chart, which meant that we had a lot of sales in the US.

I thought it was the World Album Chart that usually came out when people said ‘We made it to Billboard!’

My name made it to the Billboard 200 chart, which I only heard about a few times a year as a K-pop singer.

Han Taehyun [(emoji)]

Han Taehyun [Congrats to our popular idol ㅊㅋㅊㅋ I can’t believe our old man has grown so much]

Han Taehyun [I’m crying]

Jang Han-byul [He’s right next to me and he’s laughing so hard]

The snifflers sent me a group message to congratulate me.

Ji Han-bin [I raised Sunwoo-ju for real]

Seok Jihon [No, no, I raised him]

Jang Han-byul [What are you talking about? I’m the space mom of this area]

Han Taehyun [I raised him actually. He’s not Sunwoo-ju, he’s Hanwoo-ju]

Han Taehyun [In that sense, Hanwoo?]

Me [Where did you guys leave your conscience?]

I laughed at their claim that they raised me.

They were my trainee classmates who sincerely congratulated me on my successful album.

But on the opposite side of such a singer…

“Did you unplug the phone line again today?”

“…Yeah.”

Every time I went to the PR team, the staff either touched their foreheads or turned off the fax machine with a frustrated face.

The problem was the articles that came out as the album did well.

The reporters inserted the keywords TNT and Teen Spirit in every article to increase the views…

The internet was exploding.

And so was the PR team.

They seemed to be saying, why are you making us feel bad by dragging in someone else’s singer?

“Just think of it as getting measles once. Whatever.”

Hong, the team leader, said.

“Fortunately, there doesn’t seem to be much reaction from the public, so you don’t have to worry too much.”

“Okay, I’ll do that.”

I suddenly got a mouthful of curses, but the general public seemed to say, ‘What’s the fuss about?’ and move on.

I wasn’t too worried.

I was only worried about the Suples who were suffering.

“It’s really awkward at times like this.”

“What is?”

Rihyuk, who was looking at the fan cafe, said.

“Right now, it’s just a passing happening, but… when something bigger happens in the future, I don’t know if I should post a bright smiling picture and say we’re fine! or if I should be quiet and different from usual.”

“Yeah. I don’t know that either.”

“If we laugh and act without thinking, it seems like we have no tact. But if we’re quiet, it might make them worry.”

As the activities got longer and longer after the debut, various worries were increasing one by one.

Especially since the fans were growing exponentially in size.

If we used to have fun with the breads in a small club, now it felt like the breads were screaming in the Colosseum.

It wasn’t an easy question to answer how to build a new relationship.

I guess I’ll learn one by one as I gain experience.

“Guys, guys, look at this.”

“What is it?”

“You know the video we uploaded to celebrate the 10 million views.”

The youngest played the video.

“Oh, this is up.”

“We’re really out of our minds. We forgot about this too.”

We and the 9-year-olds in the same outfit were dancing together.

-Let’s try it! Meat meat meat!

-Meat meat meat!

The 9-year-olds and the 20-year-olds were dancing to the Meat Song.

Rihyuk, wearing baggy pants, sang ‘Meat~~~’ in a high-pitched voice with a red face.

Then he joined the knife dance.

“This is one of the most watched videos by kids in Korea today.”

“Puhaha!”

We laughed as we looked at the comments on the MeeTube.

-Lololol Why are the kids more mature lololol Look at their expressions

-9-year-old: (serious) / 20-year-old: (lively)

-Hey, the adults are more excited

-But Nine is really addictive lololol Meat meat meat I think I’ll keep thinking about it for a while

-It would be good to sing it at karaoke to raise the tension

-They said they were shy kids lololol

-You are now watching the first 5-member idol group to do a knife dance

-Look at how they practiced perfectly with the lyrics changed. They’re really sincere in everything lololol

-I thought this was the original

-It’s a mess, but there’s a flow to it. I thought it was my own room

“Hahaha!”

We scrolled down and up the comments and stopped laughing at one point.

My heart sank at one comment that seemed to be from a soufflé.

-Guys, this is the original, right?

┕I agree, it’s a reasonable doubt

┕Yeah, me too. This sounds more like the original lol

┕Hey lol, don’t tell me the original is this… I was just saying that and then I saw the video of New Black riding a unicycle.

┕The sound is strangely different. It feels like a different song rather than an arrangement

We looked serious at the comment with the most likes.

“They’re really quick to notice.”

“What should we do, hyung?”

“Joonhyun, relax your fist and talk. Are you going to punch the comments or what?”

That’s when the maknae stepped in.

“Should we report them smartly?”

“For what reason?”

“Harassment or bullying…?”

“Who are you harassing?”

“My heart?”

He winked and said ‘You know?’ The maknae’s expression made me smile at Joonhyun.

“Joonhyun, take him away.”

“Yes, hyung.”

I smiled warmly as I watched Joonhyun tickle the maknae and the maknae laugh.

We felt embarrassed for a moment as we looked at the comments full of soufflés’ deductions.

“We’re here, guys.”

The location of today’s schedule came into view.

It was the K-Net building in Sangam-dong.

Today’s recording was ‘Show Show Show! Idol High School’, an idol program by K-Net.

They invited one idol group every episode and introduced them and played games.

It was a program that targeted idol fans, like ‘Idol Show’ by HBS that we appeared on before.

“Our New Black is here! Wahahaha!”

The entertainer Bang Moonsoo, who had a chubby raccoon-like face, greeted us with a hearty laugh as we arrived at the set.

“Oh, nice to see you! How about a hug?”

“Sure. How do you want to do it?”

He burst into laughter at our sight of preparing a group hug like Hak Ikjin.

He asked us as we smiled broadly with him.

“How long has it been since we last saw each other? Was it last March?”

“About five months? I think so.”

“You were shining on stage then and I thought you’d make it big, and you really did.”

We had a close relationship with him from Myeonggokdan.

He was a panelist on Myeonggokdan and gave us a standing ovation, saying ‘New Black! My God! Jesus!’

He also said ‘Come on our show!’ back then.

“New Black fans are already waiting for you downstairs. They’re making a fuss, asking me to take good care of you.”

“Yes, thank you very much.”

“Look forward to it.”

He smiled and went to the production team.

Meanwhile, we looked around the studio that was similar to a school classroom.

“It feels like when we filmed the school uniform CF.”

“I really wanted to come here.”

‘Idol High’, the nickname for ‘Show Show Show! Idol High School’, was a quite famous program.

It was competing with ‘Idol Show’, which was launched last year, but it was the original of idol introduction programs.

It was popular not only in Korea but also among overseas viewers.

It was one of the shows we wanted to go on at least once after debuting with music shows.

“Hello!”

“Hello!”

We greeted the two men and women who rushed in.

They were Woojin and Songsong, the male and female MCs who led the program with the main MC.

Soon after the recording preparation was over.

“Recording starts!”

The FD clapped the slate and left, and the MCs faced the ten cameras and chatted in the classroom.

It was a review corner that briefly went over what happened in the music industry for a week.

“And, in album news, New Black’s third mini album entered the Billboard 200 chart this time!”

“That’s great news. And a while ago, Teen Spirit’s stray dog volunteer work became a hot topic. Do you want to watch the video?”

“Wow, is that Hwiyeon on the floor surrounded by small dogs? He’s smiling.”

But his smile didn’t seem genuine.

The camera was capturing us awkwardly smiling in the corner of the set.

Bang Munsoo glanced at the cue card and said cheekily.

“Well, it’s time to introduce today’s special freshmen.”

“They’re one of the hottest stars right now.”

“Munsoo teacher is a real fan, he always asked the PD to cast them.”

Bang Munsoo waved his hand at us and shouted.

“According to our own survey, the idol group that elementary students admire the most is New Black!”

The elementary school entrance song played as the BGM.

We entered the stage with a ‘Lalala!’ and jumping up and down amid the applause of the entertainers.

“Two, three!”

“Hello, we are New Black!”

After bowing to the camera, we looked at the three entertainers who were smiling at us.

“Your song was really good. This time. Nine nine nine~”

“Nine~”

We danced along with the MCs who sang our song in a rustic way.

“Last week, Yoo from Daylight said he loved the Nine choreography, and he danced it once before he left.”

“Wow. That’s an honor.”

“I’m on a diet, and Nine is the best for losing weight. He said he would lose 9 kilograms in a week.”

We clapped and laughed.

The MCs smiled warmly at us, who laughed at even the trivial jokes.

“Your reactions are so rich. New Black.”

“We have a lot of laughter…”

“Of course. It’s not for nothing that you’re the idol group that the broadcast station PDs like. You laugh even when the wind blows. You’re giving the production team reaction cuts like an unlimited buffet.”

As he said, the PD nodded his head with a pleased smile.

After a brief time of lying about the origin of our group name.

“There’s a time that can’t be missed in Idol High. The first period physical education! It’s the random play dance.”

“Oh wow… I really wanted to do this!”

We all laughed at the line of our main dancer, who raised his voice in excitement.

We also had sparkling eyes.

“You’re so excited.”

“It’s strange. You should be worried at this point. You know there’s a penalty if you fail, right?”

“We’re not going to let you off easy.”

The MCs smirked at us, and the youngest spoke up with confidence.

“It’s okay. We just have to not fail, right?”

“Right.”

“We have no fear of failure.”

We proudly said, and Bang Munsoo asked.

“You have great confidence.”

“Yes. We may not know about other things, but we’re proud of our practice time, so we’re confident no matter what song comes out.”

“The song is ingrained in your body?”

“Our body moves almost automatically when we hear the song.”

My siblings nodded and added a word to my statement.

Bang Munsoo chuckled and said.

“They all say that. I’m different from other idols.”

“Really. We are.”

“Let’s see if that’s true. We’ll try a practice game first.”

We exaggerated for the broadcast, but we were actually confident.

We practiced so much, how hard and difficult could it be?

“Let’s move as we discussed, with Riyeok as the center.”

“Okay.”

We agreed to use Riyeok as the reference point, since the movement could be chaotic.

We all put our hands together.

“One, two, three, meat!”

We lined up on the large stage and exchanged serious glances.

‘Let’s do well.’

‘Let’s get a lot of footage this time.’

We waited for the production team to start, taking a deep breath.

The second part of Masquerade, our first song, came out.

“Oh.”

“They’re flawless.”

We moved quickly, following Rihyuk’s lead.

We smiled proudly when we nailed the first song without any trouble.

“Huh…?”

“Uh-oh.”

The songs kept changing, causing confusion.

My body reacted to the parts, but it was hard to adjust to the new stage directions.

Far away, Clay seemed to smile mockingly and say, “Hard, isn’t it?”

“Hey! Move!”

“Ahh!”

We bumped into each other and made a mess. I shouted to my siblings.

“Guys, calm down… Aaah!”

Something huge came crashing in and flung me away.

I felt like I flew almost a meter.

In slow motion, Junghyun blinked and reached out his hand, as if asking, “Why are you flying?”

Jiho screamed like a drama hero, “Nooo!”

Rihyuk tried to catch me but fell, and Bi Ju said, “Don’t do this!”

Thud.

Huh?

I came to and saw that I had landed on the floor after bouncing off Junghyun.

I lay on the floor and met the eyes of the production staff, the MCs, and the cameras.

“…”

At that moment, everyone blinked and Ban Mun Su, the entertainer, said in admiration.

“Wow. You guys are definitely different from the other groups.”

Then, the production staff burst into laughter.