In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: Rxel

Chapter 15

“New Black?”

“Why?”

Yoon Seokhwan tilted his head.

“Is there a problem?”

“No. Not really.”

There was no problem.

But Seon Woojoo wondered if it was okay to use the name they made up on the spot based on the words on his clothes as the official team name.

“It might be sudden, but the President went to the fortune-telling shop after the year-end evaluation.”

“A fortune-telling shop?”

“They asked what the name of the new boy group they were launching should be, and they said to keep it as New Black. They said it felt good.”

But then Yoon Seokhwan told them the name that the President and his staff had come up with before.

And Seon Woojoo had to admit, New Black sounded way better.

“They had a few candidates in mind. I’ll read some of them to you. First, Guardians. I guess it means they protect their fans.”

“…”

“Flying Angels. Or FAG for short.”

“…”

“Hot Voice. The point was to emphasize the last sound to make it sound like Voice and Boys. Oh, this one was rejected in the middle.”

“…”

Seon Woojoo looked at the group names written on his smartphone.

With each name he read, their faces turned paler.

How did this company manage to survive without going bankrupt?

Seon Woojoo knew something was off since Lemon Boys.

When the explanation was over, they desperately squeezed out their voices.

“New Black sounds really good.”

“Yeah.”

“Now that I look at it, it’s like a gem.”

Director Yoon Seokhwan chuckled.

“See? New Black is the best, right?”

“Yes.”

“The group name might not suit your taste, but it’s not that important. Even if the name is weird, it won’t be a problem if you become famous. Look at the Americans. Have you ever seen them unable to pronounce Dostoyevsky because it’s hard?”

They nodded their heads at his logical argument.

That was how New Black became the official name of their debut team.

Yoon Seokhwan said as if he had thought of something fun, “Do you know what?”

“What?”

“The fortune-teller that the President gave a generous tip to say something strange. Just listen to this for fun.”

Yoon Seokhwan said with a smile, “He said that you have to use the name New Black to achieve great success. He said that if you use that name, you will probably become the most famous boy group in the world.”

They laughed at that.

It was a ridiculous thing to say.

***

That Sunday.

Seon Woojoo dragged his suitcase along the alley in Gangnam.

Seon Woojoo didn’t have to go far before he saw his destination.

A four-story villa.

He heard that room 301 here was their new dorm.

“Can you believe there’s no elevator in this day and age?”

Seon Woojoo groaned as he climbed the stairs with his heavy luggage.

Ugh!

When he made it big, he was going to move to a place with the best elevator ever. Seriously.

He finally reached the third floor.

Seon Woojoo entered the door lock password and opened the door.

The space was more spacious than he expected.

Not bad.

Seon Woojoo smiled contentedly as he thought it was roomy.

But then he felt something was wrong.

Wait a minute. This was not spacious…

Seon Woojoo looked around the dorm in panic, but it was exactly as he saw it.

A living room and a bathroom.

That was all.

There was one bedroom attached, but it was hardly a room.

There were three bunk beds crammed in there, and he could almost hear the President’s voice.

Haha.

Woojoo. If you want to get out of here, you have to succeed.

“…”

The place was barely furnished, so there was sawdust everywhere on the floor.

Seon Woojoo lifted his foot and saw that his sock was blackened.

“I need to clean this up.”

Was there any way he could dump this on the others and get out of here?

Seon Woojoo seriously considered it, but gave up.

It didn’t matter, right?

He turned on his smartphone and found the best angle to capture the living room. With his years of experience as a selfie expert, he took a picture.

Then Seon Woojoo sent a message to his grandmother.

Me [Grandma~ This is our dorm]

Seon Woojoo sent the picture that showed the living room in the best light.

Seon Woojoo wanted to reassure his grandmother who might be worried, so he chose the best shot.

She replied right away.

KingGodKimDeoksoon [Looks nice]

KingGodKimDeoksoon [You have to work hard]

Me [What?]

Me [What kind of grandmother tells her grandson to work hard? That’s not my grandmother, right?]

Me [Give me back my grandmother, Kim Deoksoon]

She replied shortly to Seon Woojoo’s playful message.

KingGodKimDeoksoon [Crazy kid.]

“Wow, that’s harsh. Really.”

Was that his grandmother?

He sent a protest message, but there was no reply.

Should he call it a cool read receipt?

But he felt less worried when he sent her a picture.

Seon Woojoo felt relieved as he thought that.

Seon Woojoo switched the chat window and entered the group chat.

[Seon Woojoo and His Slackers (5)]

Me [I’m here!]

Me [Where are you guys? Are you coming?]

The 4 that was floating in front of the yellow message started to disappear one by one.

Kim Junghyun [I think I’ll be late]

Seo Rihyuk [Eek, Rihyuk is on his way]

Me [What’s with that weird way of talking?]

Seo Rihyuk [Teehee…]

What was this? Seon Woojoo blinked his eyes as the chat window was filled up.

Seo Rihyuk [Wang Jiho ㅣMannerless]

Seo Rihyuk [That wasn’t me who sent it]

Seo Rihyuk [I’m so pissed off]

Wang Jiho [Lolololololol]

Wang Jiho [It was me, Hyung]

Wang Jiho [We’re on the bus right now lol]

It looked like Wang Jiho had played a prank with Seo Rihyuk’s phone.

Seon Woojoo tilted his head as he saw the 1 that didn’t disappear in front of the message.

That was strange.

Usually, Kim Bijoo was the first one to read and reply.

As Seon Woojoo wondered about that, he heard the sound of the doorbell.

“Ugh!”

A face covered with sweat appeared.

A decent height and a slender figure.

He looked like a young scholar, sitting on the entrance with his hands full of luggage.

“Wow, I thought I was going to die. Hyung.”

Kim Bijoo’s hands were red from carrying so much luggage.

“You should have called me if it was hard.”

“Huh? Why? I can carry it myself.”

“Anyway, you worked hard to get here. How about a glass of water… Oh, right. There’s nothing in the fridge.”

“I brought some.”

Kim Bijoo rummaged through the mart plastic bags and took out a bottle of water.

“Wait a minute, I’ll look for a cup in the kitchen.”

“It’s okay.”

“You brought that too?”

This time, a box of paper cups came out of the plastic bag.

Seon Woojoo was sincerely impressed.

“You’re amazing at preparing. Really.”

While Kim Bijoo was drinking water slowly, Seon Woojoo looked at the mart bags.

“What did you buy so much?”

“The manager said there’s only a bed and a fridge in the house. So I stopped by the mart on the way.”

“What’s this?”

“Mold remover.”

“Then what’s this?”

“Deodorizer. I’ll put it in the closet and the shoe rack.”

Seon Woojoo stuck out his tongue as he saw that he had brought all the cleaning supplies that they needed.

He was really good at housekeeping.

As he watched Kim Bijoo neatly sort out the cleaning supplies by type, Seon Woojoo suddenly remembered something he had forgotten.

“How did you pay for this?”

“This? Of course, I paid with my own money.”

“Let me see the receipt.”

“Why?”

“Why? We have to split it by N.”

“Nah, it’s okay.”

Kim Bijoo waved his hand with a smile.

“We’re all going to use these things anyway.”

“Because we’re all going to use them, that’s why. It doesn’t make sense for you to pay alone.”

“But Hyung, I bought these on my own. Isn’t it a bit rude to ask the others for money?”

“No. It’s not.” Seon Woojoo said firmly, “Just give me the receipt.”

“…I’m fine.”

“You’ll be in trouble if you keep letting yourself get ripped off like this.”

How was he going to survive in society if he was so naive?

Seon Woojoo uploaded the receipt photo and the amount to deposit to the group chat.

Seon Woojoo was about to say, you take a picture of your account and upload it, when he put down his smartphone and met the eyes of someone staring at him curiously.

“What’s up?”

“Oh, I’m just amazed.”

“By what?”

“My sister always says that.”

“Really?”

Seon Woojoo asked with a smile and gave Kim Bijoo a brief guide on the accommodation.

After checking out the place, Kim Bijoo expressed a similar impression to mine.

“It reminds me of the movie I watched with Junghyun a while ago.”

“What movie?”

“Shawshank Redemption.”

“The one about escaping from prison?”

“Yeah…”

They laughed for a while, but at the end, it turned into a sound that he couldn’t tell if it was crying or laughing.

A sad situation that was also funny.

They looked around the cramped place and started making a list of things to clean.

“Are you going to start right away?”

“No. We have to wait for the kids.”

Seon Woojoo matched his calm smile with a warm expression.

Yeah.

They had to do this together.

As they skimmed through the cleaning list and wondered who to assign what to, the slaves arrived one by one.

“We’re here!”

Their youngest, always cheerful.

“Wow, what’s with these stairs…”

Seo Rihyuk, who came in with a half-dazed face, dropped his luggage and collapsed.

While he gulped down the water bottle that Kim Bijoo handed him, as if it was the elixir of life, the youngest looked around the place.

And then he showed a surprisingly identical reaction.

“This is all the accommodation?”

“Yeah.”

“…”

“It’s not bad if you look around.”

He had never seen him speechless before.

Seon Woojoo comforted the youngest, who looked as desolate as a man who had lost his country.

There was only one thing Seon Woojoo could say.

“…Let’s succeed.”

***

Human adaptability was truly amazing.

Seon Woojoo adapted to the New Black Prison, which he thought he could never adapt to, as if it were his own home.

Seon Woojoo got used to Kim Junghyun’s snoring every night, and to Seo Rihyuk, who muttered ‘I’m going crazy’ in sync with him, tossing and turning.

Seon Woojoo also got used to the youngest, who would always ask him ‘Hyung, are you sleeping? If you’re not, play with me.’ and wake him up, then fall asleep by himself.

They all adapted to the place.

And so, after a few days, they had a routine for our morning activities in this prison… accommodation.

“Hmm.”

Early morning.

As always, Seon Woojoo yawned and came out, and heard a clatter from the kitchen.

Kim Bijoo, who would always wake up before anyone else and prepare the meal.

“Did you sleep well, Hyung?”

“No.”

Seon Woojoo shook his head.

“Junghyun snored like crazy yesterday.”

“It was no joke.”

“I couldn’t sleep at all. Really.”

“Me neither.”

“I had a dream that I was defusing a bomb and cut the wrong wire. I woke up from the explosion, and it was Junghyun snoring from the second floor.”

Kim Bijoo chuckled.

Seon Woojoo put the water bottle back in the fridge and stuck his face in the place where the cooking was going on.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m making toast.”

It was mostly simple cooking, but making five servings every day was still a very hard task.

“Can I help you with anything?”

“Just set the plates, please.”

“Okay.”

They spread the table in the cramped living room and put the plates on it. Around then, another member would wake up from his sleep.

“I’m up.”

He opened his eyes wide and flopped down on the sofa in the living room.

The youngest.

He’d be better off sleeping.

He repeated opening and closing his eyes, nodding his head.

The reason why this guy, who slept the most among the members, got up so well was because of breakfast.

“Jiho.”

“…Hm? Yes?”

“Just sleep.”

“No. I have to eat the biggest toast.”

At this point, it was a great obsession.

He would glance at the food when Kim Bijoo divided it with a frying pan and take the biggest one for himself.

“Don’t eat and wait. I’ll wake up the kids and come back.”

While the youngest and Seon Woojoo drooled over the toast, Kim Bijoo went to wake up the members.

It was obvious who would get up first.

“I’m not eating, Hyung.”

Seo Rihyuk, the main vocal who always skipped breakfast because of his small appetite, went straight to the bathroom.

Kim Bijoo’s regretful expression.

Soon, when Kim Junghyun, who barely got up, joined them, the four of them having breakfast was their fixed routine.

Kwarurur-

Kim Junghyun looked at the ceiling and said casually, “I guess the upstairs bathroom is flushing water.”

“Yeah.”

The dormitory was so poorly soundproofed that they could hear the upstairs bathroom flushing.

This was also part of their everyday life.

-Ah, hot!

Oh, that too.