In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

First to burst out laughing was the other side.

“Puhheup—”

Starting with Seok Ji-hun, Ji Han-bin and Han Tae-hyun doubled over in laughter. The two of them even clutched their stomachs.

“Puhaha!”

They grabbed each other’s shoulders and laughed uproariously. I couldn’t help laughing too. The laughter was contagious, and my brothers laughed as well.

Grandmother. Are you watching?

Your grandson is bringing joy to everyone like this.

I’m not happy... but still.

It took five minutes for the laughter to settle. After a long time giggling, they greeted our staff.

“Hello.”

“Oh, hello.”

The makeup artists who had come on assignment greeted them with amused faces. The jokers, still in good spirits, asked,

“We just popped by. Is it okay if we stay here?”

Of course we said yes.

They tried to claim seats on the waiting-room sofa, but when we hurriedly got up, they waved us off.

“Ugh, why are you greeting us so formally again? Just sit down. Sit.”

“Yeah. We’re uncomfortable with all this formality.”

“Woo-joo hyung loves being greeted formally, but we don’t.”

“......”

My brothers sat down, laughing.

“Oh, this waiting room is spacious. Is this where we used to be?”

“I think it’s a different room. That one was bigger.”

They even tested the sofa’s cushion firmness, and I snorted. We owned the room, but their casual attitude made it feel like they owned it. It was like Dooly and his gang barging into Go Gil-dong’s house.

“Hey, this room is our Daegil, our waiting room.”

I almost slipped up, but I caught myself.

“Huh? Daegil?”

Starting with Han Tae-hyun again, they laughed so hard they doubled over.

“It’s called Daegil!”

“Aigooh! Kkalkkalkkal!”

...Why do I even speak around these guys?

After teasing us for a while, they began talking to my brothers.

I smiled warmly at the two groups chatting comfortably. Then I turned to Han Tae-hyun, who was unwrapping a throat lozenge on the table.

“What brings you guys here?”

“Oh, we’re on the panel today.”

“Panel?”

“In the second season of Best Song Squad, our company’s girl group appears as idol panelists. They’re called NYX.”

“Ah.”

On today’s special stage, they would showcase performances by the Season 1 members and introduce the new Season 2 members. I’d heard a girl group would join us, but I didn’t expect them to be from TJ Entertainment.

NYX. A performance-type girl group launched ambitiously by TJ in late ’13. Each member is highly skilled, and they’re considered one of the most talented girl groups alongside Scarlet. Yet they still haven’t broken through. They’re known as the only group Chairman Park Tae-joon hasn’t made a hit.

“So the NYX members are joining us.”

“They worked really hard to get in. They even auditioned.”

“Auditioned?”

At my question, Tae-hyun lowered his voice.

“I heard the competition to get your seats was fierce. Anyone wanting to be the next NewBlack tried to squeeze in.”

That seat was indeed valuable. A fixed idol appearance on a top-five ratings show is a rare chance to build recognition. Guesting on terrestrial variety shows is like plucking stars from the sky, but this...

If it weren’t for our third-album activities, we’d have loved to stay on for a few more months. We only stopped because it was hard to juggle contest preparations with music shows.

But hearing that others had fiercely competed # Nоvеlight # for our seats made me feel strange.

“I feel like we’ve become mysteriously popular idols.”

“Well, we are popular idols. Your group is doing so well these days.”

My arm draped around me, the other side smiled.

“I was shocked. I was watching my fancam and suddenly my Daegil friend was lighting up the stage.”

I laughed without realizing it. Maybe they heard me, because Jung-hyun raised his palm in a bear-greeting. Tae-hyun bowed.

“Why are you so careful with Jung-hyun?”

“Senior Sun-woong got trauma playing futsal with Daechin. He flinches just seeing him. That company dinner, he got so drunk......”

The other side imitated someone’s aggrieved expression.

“-You feel like a cannonball whizzed between your legs. I thought I’d die. It chilled me to the bone.”

“Wow. That’s exactly it.”

I applauded, and they puffed up with pride before shaking their heads.

“Anyway, the next day he got drunk and whined he’d never play futsal again......”

“I get it. If I had to wrestle with Jung-hyun, I’d surrender first.”

“Oh. So happy?”

“Surrender. Jung-hyun. Surrender.”

The sudden line from Jung-hyun set us all roaring with laughter.

Seeing them after two months since the Dolympic, we greeted each other excitedly. TNT’s maknae Seok Ji-hun tapped Ji-ho’s phone to save his number.

“When we meet next, you can just call me hyung.”

“Okay.”

“No, um... use polite speech.”

“Yes, hyung.”

Our maknae smiled brightly. It was heartwarming, but the faces of TNT’s juniors and mine were uneasy.

Han Tae-hyun asked me,

“Did you hear? He said I’m hyung.”

“That’s a bit awkward.”

Ji Han-bin widened his eyes and asked,

“You’re hyung? Whaaat?”

“......”

“Guys. Did something happen without me knowing? Is he being called hyung now?”

“Wow, you old fogeys...!”

Though the three of them were the same age as Bi-ju and Jung-hyun, the others treated them like maknae, and they looked indignant. As they clapped and laughed, Ji Han-bin leaned in.

“He said on the way here he’d be friends with Officer Heo today. He said he’d exchange numbers.”

“No....”

They mumbled,

“I was watching Sleep, and his acting was so good......”

“Really? Was I that good?”

“Uh, yeah.”

Our maknae’s forwardness left Seok Ji-hun flustered. When Ri-hyuk pried Ji-ho’s collar loose, they looked relieved and began to speak. From which academy they’d studied to acting techniques, that was the hot topic.

“How did you capture emotion for Officer Heo?”

“Oh, that.”

Our maknae said, “It’s super easy!” and explained,

“Just swap things one by one in your mind. You imagine it. You match to the role. For Officer Heo, you imagine yourself in my mirror image wearing old dance shoes......”

“......?”

“...Once you’ve changed every detail in your imagination to fit the character, tada-a, you become someone else.”

“R-really?”

Watching Seok Ji-hun’s stunned face, I felt strangely satisfied. Yes. This is our kid. I held back my laughter. It felt like asking a perfect-score student how to ace the CSAT and hearing them whisper, ‘Just answer all of them correctly.’

“Can we talk about acting like this over chat in the future?”

“Sure, I like it.”

I smiled at Ji-ho, excited to have an acting friend, but I also watched the mood. Our guests had stayed long, and my brothers were becoming a bit uncomfortable—especially Ri-hyuk. The other younger brothers chatted freely, but playing around with them felt different for me, like being juniors to a mid-40s stranger who says, ‘Make yourselves at home!’ but still makes you uneasy.

It was fun to see them after so long, but we had to manage our condition for the performance.

“We should head out soon.”

Tae-hyun, quick to notice, rose. The others stuffed candies from the table into their pockets. We escorted them outside the waiting room.

“By the way, when do we eat?”

“Right. You said you’d buy us food.”

“You said you’d buy us food? I want some too.”

There had been one promise—but suddenly there were three.

“I’ll buy when I have time. When I have time.”

“Ooh.”

I smiled at their excitement over a free meal.

After joking around, Tae-hyun laughed,

“It’s great that NewBlack is popping off. Before, when we visited, we felt awkward, but now it’s nice.”

“Yeah, I like it too.”

We joked about doing a joint space concert on Mars if the third album was a hit, and suddenly a thought struck me—my worry about the album. I’d asked Director Jo, but they’d been on this path four years longer than us.

“Can I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

I asked the curious faces,

“When preparing an album these days, when you feel pressure... why is that?”

Before I finished, the three froze like stones. What was this reaction? They exchanged bewildered looks, and silence fell.

“Waaah!”

Together they rubbed their arms.

“Waaah, I can’t get used to it.”

“Look at my goosebumps.”

“Why are you asking us for advice? It makes it harder to get used to.”

“Aah! Don’t do this!”

As I tried to ask again, they ran away, shouting they hated this.

“......”

No matter how I think about it, they don’t seem to realize they are my senior group.

A little while after TNT’s juniors fled, there was a polite knock.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

A person who introduced themselves as NYX’s manager came in to greet us and ask if they could take a commemorative photo. Very polite.

“...May I ask this favor?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

Moments later, a six-member girl group in stylish stage outfits entered with their manager. As they swept in, we rose to greet them.

In formation, they bowed swiftly.

“The Night Comes! Hello, we are NYX!”

“Uh, they greeted first......”

Startled by the senior girl group’s thunderous greeting, we bent our waists at 90 degrees in reply.

“Hellooo! We are NewBlack!”

“Oh, hello.”

“Yes, nice to meet you...”

“That’s right. Yes.”

Our staff laughed at the seesaw of right-angle bows. The bow battle ended in our victory. Bi-ju’s 130-degree flexible bow couldn’t be beaten.

“Eek!”

The mic pack at Bi-ju’s waist almost slid off the back of his head—such a shame it didn’t, it would have looked epic.

“Bi-ju, are you okay?”

“I’m f-fine...”

“Phew.”

“Don’t let the wind hit the wound, Kim Jung-hyun.” freeweɓnovel.cøm

“You didn’t get a hole? A hole? Our hyung’s head is pretty, it can’t get a hole.”

While we were bantering, NYX looked unsure whether to laugh. They’d debuted six months earlier, and I didn’t know what they’d been through, but all six looked very tense. Even their manager cautiously asked for photos—enough to sketch their past treatment.

I spotted familiar faces among them: Muri, the leader who’d joined two years before me, and others I’d passed by. Due to TJ’s rule separating men and women, we’d never spoken, but we knew each other. They looked even more awkward because they knew me.

While NYX stood stiff, their leader Muri spoke warmly,

“We’re the idol participants joining after NewBlack.”

“Yes, TNT seniors told us about you.”

I smiled and replied,

“I didn’t know who was coming, but really talented seniors have come.”

Thinking it was a polite compliment, they laughed.

“I like your song ‘Harsh Mistress’ among NYX’s tracks.”

“Pardon?”

“At the bridge part, I really like the ‘ooh-oo-oo’ section.”

When Muri looked surprised, another member gaped and asked,

“You know that? It’s a later track on the album......”

“Yes. I listened right after it was released.”

“You were our fan... Oh, but that can’t be.”

At that moment, a teasing voice came through the half-open door.

“He’s a composing otaku, so he listens to most idol songs.”

Han Tae-hyun poked his head in and delivered the line. Why didn’t he come in? When I glared, he squeaked and ran away again. But at “composing otaku,” everyone said, “Ahh.”

...“Composing otaku” sounds so different. Even our staff agreed. We were going to hand out drinks for everyone’s hard work, but now we’d switch to water.

“Wow, you know our song. We really like NewBlack’s songs too.”

“Masquerade!”

“Huh, we like Masquerade too.”

Anyway, talking about songs and my brothers’ friendly attitude livened the mood. Their cautious gaze turned positive, and NYX relaxed and chatted freely.

“Shall we take the photo?”

One of the top stars pacing around offered to be the photographer. While we took the commemorative shot, the others repeatedly thanked us.

“Thank you so much.”

Finally, leader Muri handed over a signed CD and left.

“......”

My brothers and I huddled, staring at the CD for a long time. I thought being treated well after some success would feel purely good, but it only left a bitter taste. I realized that people’s kindness to us, which we now take for granted, might not be so natural for someone else.

At last, the Season 1 final of Best Song Squad. The time for the special stage had come.

“Phew......”

I gathered my brothers.

“We have to do well. All of us.”

They nodded.

“My and Kim Deok-soon’s honor is on the line.”

They nodded.

“If we do well on stage today, I’ll buy you late-night snacks later.”

They nodded vigorously!

Like Nutcracker dolls losing their reason, they rattled. Then Senior Min-gi calmly reminded us,

“Guys, watch your diets.”

“Oh, right.”

I laughed at their stunned faces. Since it was the last recording and a non-competitive stage, everyone was relaxed. All the cast was. The production team had asked for a fun performance like a concert encore, not a serious contest—like how Song Bo-hyung’s rock track was turned into a trot dance.

Applause followed the sprightly rearrangement. After the stage ended and the celebrity panel and judges’ comments, Song Bo-hyung and the dancers came down.

“Great job!”

“Well done!”

Song Bo-hyung rhythmically walked down the stairs and high-fived us in a row.

“NewBlack, you’re on standby.”

I reached out my hand, and many hands covered it.

“Okay, then after comeback, let’s each say what we want to eat. I want charcoal-grilled pork belly.”

“I want water dumplings and oi-sobagi.”

“Five large orders of jokbal and bossam.”

“Dried sweet potatoes.”

“Tteokbokki.”

Before going on stage, we shouted “Let’s eat this for sure!” and cheered.

At PBS Public Hall, MC Baek Sang-joong under the spotlight cranked up the excitement.