In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe - C.136:

Comeback! New Black

Lunchtime.

As the staff members grabbed their coats and went outside one by one, New Black gathered on the sofa in the break room.

On the table, they placed a smartphone stand.

And they took out the lunch boxes they got from their management team.

“Alright.”

Woojoo rubbed his palms and said, “Let’s open our lunch boxes first.”

As everyone opened their lunch boxes at the same time, a sigh escaped.

Not a good one.

Jiho stuck out his tongue.

“Seriously, I know it’s from my dad, but… at this point, I feel like something is rising up from my stomach.”

“Today it’s grilled chicken breast.”

“At least it’s not boiled.”

“True. We should be grateful and eat it.”

Inside the lunch boxes, there was grilled chicken breast.

Lately, Jiho’s father had been sending them diet lunch boxes.

They were so-called hoho lunch boxes for dieters.

Chicken breast salad.

Woojoo looked down at his and handed it to Jiho.

“Jiho, there’s a heart drawn with mustard here. It’s yours.”

“Ah. Really. I have to tell my dad to stop doing this. I mean, this makes me look like a baby. I’m already a grown-up.”

…said the youngest, who was met with scornful smiles from his brothers.

Rihyuk snapped his plastic fork.

“Stop whining, you idiot. When are you going to grow up? And it’s not ‘already’, it’s ‘finally’. What’s ‘already’? Onion?”

“Onion. I want to eat onion.”

“That grilled onion from the tripe place was so good…”

“If I had a time machine, I would go back to then.”

The younger ones looked blankly at the air.

They had been like this lately.

New Black was on a strict diet for their second album activities, and they were all suffering from hunger.

Thanks to that, their abs were showing, but they were at the age when they should eat a lot.

Rihyuk scoffed as if it was ridiculous.

“Don’t act like you’re the same age as me.”

“Hey. How much difference is there between you and me?”

“Four years is a lot. When I was in sixth grade, you were in high school.”

“True.”

“Hey, Junghyun. Don’t agree with him. Rihyuk. Didn’t you hear the story that Oseong and Haneum were best friends in the Joseon era, even though they were five years apart?”

Then the youngest’s eyes sparkled.

“Oh. Then can I use informal speech?”

“Do it. Do it.”

“Woojoo.”

The youngest’s random remark made them all laugh and clap like seals.

The youngest shook his head.

“Ah, but… it doesn’t feel as good as I thought. It feels weird and nauseous. I guess I’m meant to be the cute youngest,” he said, and they laughed and picked up their forks.

As they started to eat the dry grilled chicken breast, Bijoo tapped the smartphone on the stand.

It was to watch a mukbang.

They ate chicken breast with their mouths, but they watched a food program with their eyes, and brainwashed themselves that what they were eating was not chicken breast.

But Bijoo played a random video.

-The title is ‘Starlight’.

A fan meeting scene filled with the cheers of Soufflés.

As the video uploaded on the company’s YouTube played, the angry eyes of the mint chocolate fans turned to the main dancer.

“Bijoo.”

“Yes?”

“Didn’t you say you prepared a video that would make us full just by watching?”

“Yes. With the love of the fans…”

“Well… that’s nice, but let’s watch something else. We.”

Bijoo looked sullen, and Junghyun stepped in.

“I knew he would do this, so I prepared one. Hyung.”

“Oh, Junghyun.”

“Our tripe fairy prepared a video, I’m looking forward to it.”

Soon, Junghyun’s phone was on the stand.

The video started to play.

It was a scene of a young lion trying to hunt a gazelle, only to get slapped in the face and roll over.

-Oh dear. Leo failed to hunt again today! Haha!

As the sarcastic voice-over narrated, the sulky lion walked away towards the sunset.

“…”

They turned their heads at the same time, and Junghyun spoke.

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“Where do you feel that from…?”

“Leo failed to hunt and is starving. But we don’t hunt and get this much food.”

“That’s not a good way to think, Hyung.”

“Right. Kim Junghyun. Reflect on yourself.”

“Uh… that’s not what I meant.”

“Yeah. I’d rather watch Daegil eat cabbage, Junghyun.”

“Oh. I have that. Here.”

“Put it on. Please.”

After being scolded by them, he muttered ‘poor Leo…’ and left him alone. They ended up turning on the TV in the break room.

A food show with sushi.

They watched it with full attention and played a skit among ourselves.

“Wow, Junghyun Hyung. The tuna sushi you’re holding with a fork looks so delicious.”

“No, this is spam sushi. Can’t you see the seaweed wrapped around it?”

“Soy sauce shrimp… that looks tasty… I’m chewing on soy sauce shrimp right now. Soy sauce shrimp.”

“Why are you doing this too, Hyung, seriously. I’m not going to participate in this pathetic skit.”

As he said that, Woojoo’s phone vibrated.

It was a short text from Director Jo.

-Next to

Next to? Woojoo tilted his head as another text came.

-Right

…As Woojoo turned right, he blinked his eyes.

There was a group of people standing in the hallway.

They were company employees.

Director Jo stood out among them and waved his hand with a smile, and Seokhwan Hyung was taking a picture of them with his phone and holding back his laughter.

As soon as they looked at them, the employees burst into laughter.

Four of them, except for one who had no shame, felt their faces turn red.

Especially one of them, whose face turned as red as the thing on TV.

“Woojoo Hyung.”

Bijoo whispered.

“The movie you talked about. Men in Black. I watched it recently.”

“…Yeah.”

“I want to use the device in it…”

Woojoo silently agreed.

***

“Seokhwan Hyung.”

“Yeah.”

“Why did you share that on the company messenger?”

“It’s fun.”

“…I’m going to make you a diss rap with Junghyun’s help.”

“Sure. Good luck.”

Woojoo shivered as he looked at their math genius who smiled kindly.

Conference room.

The company staff chuckled at the conversation between Seokhwan Hyung and Woojoo.

When Woojoo glared at them, they all looked away.

“Please forget what you saw in the break room… Oh, team leader…”

The PR team leader coughed and laughed, making everyone laugh again.

Director Jo, who was sitting at the head of the table, also turned his head slightly, with a smile on his lips.

Woojoo didn’t feel that way when he was a trainee, but after debuting and spending some time, the atmosphere of the company changed a bit.

Woojoo felt like he became a celebrity in the company.

Maybe it was because he was more familiar to them than the actors who rarely visited the company, since he lived there like a hermit for practice.

One of the PR staff once joked that they were like unicorns in many ways, but Woojoo didn’t know exactly what he meant. Maybe it was something along those lines.

“Alright, let’s start the meeting.”

Director Jo clapped his hands and the meeting began.

The playful faces disappeared, and serious professionals remained, talking about numbers, statistics, and progress.

The album production was almost done.

They finished recording the songs and only had the visual work left, such as jacket shooting and music video production.

“This fan meeting was a huge success. Not only the fans, but also other idol fandoms reacted positively.”

They also talked about the results of the fan meeting.

Woojoo didn’t understand the details about the sales, so he just smiled at the good news.

They showed Woojoo the download numbers of the free-released song Starlight, which were increasing rapidly, along with the comments left by the fans.

Woojoo had seen them once before he came here.

“Oh, and about the schedule.” Seokhwan Hyung said, “You guys will probably go to the Mango Chart Awards in mid-December. KMA is… well, it’s not happening.”

It was already the end of 2014.

Along with that, important events for idols were also being prepared.

The K-net Music Awards, hosted by the music specialty channel K-net, were scheduled to be held in Hong Kong in December, followed by the Mango Chart Awards by the music site Mango.

KMA was a case where they were nominated for the Rookie Award, but they had almost no chance of winning.

The deadline was the end of October, and unlike Street Boys or Blink who had already done their second album activities, they had their comeback in November.

Besides, their company and K-net were on very bad terms.

Woojoo didn’t know the exact reason, but it seemed to have something to do with the actors.

Anyway, these awards and the year-end stages of the three major terrestrial broadcasters were big events for them.

Unlike the music shows with low ratings, these stages were watched by not only idol fandoms but also the general public.

It was a great opportunity to get attention if they did well, so many idol groups prepared for it.

“It’s going to be very hectic. You have to prepare for the awards and the year-end stages while doing the music shows.”

How many stages were there?

Three for the terrestrial broadcasters, plus one for the awards.

Four in total.

The terrestrial ones would probably give them a tiny fraction of time, so the most important stage would be the awards one.

“We should start preparing gradually from now on.”

Director Jo nodded.

“Think of some good ideas among yourselves. We need to plan the stage production and hire the dancers as soon as possible.”

“Okay, I’ll discuss it with the others.”

The producing meeting continued with the discussion of the staff members who would participate in the production.

From the newly contracted stylist director, to Hwang Taeseon, the photographer who worked with them on Fireworks, and Yu Geon, the director who did the Magic School CF with them.

Various names came up, and Woojoo felt nervous.

It seemed like they were spending more money than the first album…

How did they manage to get such a budget? Woojoo was amazed.

“That’s it for the staff matters. Do you have any suggestions?”

“Um…”

Woojoo hesitated and cleared his throat.

“Lately, I’ve noticed some people around our dorm and the company.”

The company people also nodded, as if they expected that.

The so-called fans.

They started to appear sporadically after their appearance on Around the World With Dice, and now they were becoming more frequent.

“We’re trying to ignore them as much as we can, but I’m worried about the others. We don’t even go to the convenience store these days.”

Woojoo didn’t like wearing masks, but he got used to wearing masks and hats whenever he went out.

Of course, Minki Hyung often accompanied him when he went outside, but there was a limit to that.

“You never know, there might be someone with bad intentions.”

“We were actually thinking of hiring one more person as a bodyguard and manager… We’ll look into it.”

“Thank you.”

They seemed to want to assign a formal road manager, not just rotating the actors’ team.

The staff members discussed among themselves, saying things like ‘someone with a very strong impression’, ‘height limit of 190’, ‘but not violent or anything’.

The meeting ended like that.

Woojoo stretched and got up to leave the meeting room, but the PR team leader stopped him.

“Oh, Woojoo. About your birthday…”

“Ah, yes.”

“You said you’d leave a greeting video for the fans, right?”

“Yes, I did.”

“You don’t have to do that, you know? We care more about your emotional well-being…”

“It’s okay, team leader. I can leave a greeting video.”

Woojoo smiled and said that, and the PR team leader nodded as if he understood.

But he looked at Woojoo with a worried expression.

He was probably concerned about his birthday being the same as his parents’ death anniversary.

He looked at Woojoo with a slightly sad eye, so Woojoo smiled at him again.

Why was he like that? It was really fine.

***

As they started working on the visual concept for their second album, they finally had a big change.

It was their styling.

At the studio of Hwang Taeseon, the photographer they hired for their album jacket, Woojoo was showing off his new look.

-What changed about your hair?

“It went from brown to black.”

-Really?

“Don’t you care about me?”

-How would I know? I’m not your girlfriend. Anyway, it’s so dark that I can barely see it. You’re such a crybaby…

Woojoo lowered his volume by three levels as he saw the staff members nearby laughing.

-Show me Bijoo and Junghyun.

“Hello. This is Kim Bijoo and Kim Junghyun, transformed into Seon Woojoo~”

-Don’t do that nonsense.

“…Seriously, I’m never giving you my photo card.”

Woojoo then turned the camera to the other guys sitting next to him.

Rihyuk and Junghyun, who dyed their hair in brown tones, and Bijoo, who bleached his hair brightly, waved their hands.

“Hello!”

And then.

-Oh my, Jiho’s hair color looks like he soaked it in radish soup. Why did you make it so pink?

“Isn’t it pretty?”

-Well, it depends on who’s looking.

“You’re just like Woojoo’s grandma…”

The youngest, who dyed his hair red, made a sullen face, and Mrs. Kim Deoksoon on the screen laughed.

They also laughed with her, but then they controlled their expressions as they saw the youngest glaring at them.

After introducing his brothers, they had a warm conversation with Grandma.

-Tell me what you want to eat on your birthday.

“Really?”

-Yes.

“Then make me some lobster.”

-You…

$

%

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Woojoo switched to mute for a while as various animals corresponding to the 12 zodiac signs filled the screen.

As they were having a loving conversation, Minki Hyung called Woojoo.

“Woojoo! You’re up first.”

“Okay! …Grandma, I’ll be back.”

-Okay, don’t be rude! Be humble. You got that?

She nagged Woojoo with concern until the end.

Woojoo was about to end the call with a smile when Bijoo reached out his hand.

“Hyung, can we talk to Grandma a little more?”

Woojoo wanted to say ‘No, Kim Deoksoon is mine’, but he didn’t want to be petty, so he generously handed him his phone.

Then Woojoo bowed his head and approached Hwang Taeseon, who was welcoming him.

It was time to work again.

***

H Studio in Gangnam District

The camera approached the four members who were gathered in a dark corner.

On a small screen below, the leader was squinting his eyes in the studio.

Woojoo: What? Did you guys eat snacks without me?

Jiho: Hahaha! Look at Woojoo Hyung’s eyes popping out.

Bijoo: How could we eat without you, Hyung.

Woojoo: (Satisfied)

The question from the production staff in the VCR.

Production staff: What are you doing there?

Everyone: (Turning their heads) Uh… that.

The ones who had vampire-like makeup brushed off the cookie crumbs on their lips quickly.

(Bijoo) There’s a complicated situation, Hyung.

Production staff: What did you eat just now?

Everyone: No?

Production staff: You have a cookie bag in your hand.

Jiho: (Quickly handing it to the production staff) Now you’re an accomplice, director.

Rihyuk: Let me feed you quickly.

The members’ faces as they eagerly offered the cookies made the production staff laugh, and it was captured in the VCR.

Bijoo: Actually, we’re trying to prepare a birthday event for Woojoo Hyung… But we can’t think of any ideas. We had to eat snacks to fill up on sugar.

Junghyun: Yeah. Yeah.

Rihyuk: It’s a scientifically proven fact. You need sugar to make your brain work better.

As they said that, they discussed the upcoming birthday event for Woojoo in front of the reality camera.

Production staff: How about a hidden camera or something?

Everyone: (Gasp)

Jiho: Absolutely not. That’s the kind of taboo…

Rihyuk: Taboo rule.

Jiho: Yeah, that. There’s a rule that we can’t surprise Woojoo Hyung. He’s a human weapon…

Meanwhile, the screen changed according to the members’ story, and Park Kyuho, the President of Lemon Entertainment, made a surprise appearance in black and white.

A scene like a cable TV reenactment drama.

Woojoo turned his head sharply, and Park Kyuho’s surprised eyes were close-up.

The camera work was chaotic as the ground shook, and the middle-aged man’s acting of holding his waist and groaning in pain on the floor.

While the members in the studio laughed and flipped over, there was a serious discussion going on in the screen.

Rihyuk: How about this?

The members responded to his whisper-like words.

And when he was about to explain the details.

The episode ended with a preview and moved on to the album production.