In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: Rxel

Chapter 26

We are Singers

Inside the car on the way back to the dorm after the first music show.

“Puhahahahaha!”

“Hahaha!”

“Hahahaha!”

Everyone burst into laughter as Kim Bijoo egged on the youngest.

“Wang Jiho, do it again. That thing.”

“This thing?”

“Yeah, that thing.”

As everyone looked at him expectantly, the acting prodigy of the group cleared his throat and started to get into character.

“Ahem.”

Then he perfectly imitated someone.

“Please love our Soufflé a lot~.”

The kids laughed like crazy.

Seon Woojoo covered his face with both hands.

If he died today, maybe they should write on his tombstone [Seon Woojoo, died of shame].

It was painful.

He was so ashamed that he wanted to die.

“Wow, it’s exactly the same.”

Seon Woojoo felt betrayed by Kim Bijoo, who was wiping away tears from laughing so hard.

“Bijoo, what do you mean it’s the same?”

“Huh? It’s totally the same…”

“No, it’s not the same at all-”

“You don’t know because it’s yourself, Hyung.”

The youngest cut in.

“Do you want me to compare it for you? The clip from Music ON should be online by now.”

“No, no.”

“That makes me want to do it more.”

Seon Woojoo snatched the youngest’s phone, but it was useless. Kim Junghyun, who was sitting next to Seon Woojoo, had already played the video.

The smartphone screen.

With the applause from the scene, a caption appears: [1st Place Something].

On the screen, Seon Woojoo looked very nervous. He had full makeup on, making his skin pale and his features sharp.

He looked good, but that wasn’t the point.

The words he uttered with teary eyes.

-We Soufflé will work hard from now on…

The kids burst into laughter again.

Seon Woojoo lamented.

“I’ve been so good to you guys.”

“You call that good? Just change your clothes, Ajusshi.”

“Yeah. You don’t do anything and lie down, and always say ‘Wang Jiho, get me some water’ and stuff.”

The youngest took the opportunity to butt in.

“Our youngest, you had a lot of complaints about me?”

“Yes, I hated you. You always bullied me, made me do chores.”

“I see. I did a big wrong.”

“Yeah. You should feel sorry for me now… Ow!”

The youngest, who got a flick on the forehead from Seon Woojoo, clutched his forehead and made a pained face.

The members laughed.

Seo Rihyuk, who seemed to enjoy taking pictures, was a bonus.

While everyone was laughing, Seon Woojoo saw Kim Junghyun tapping the smartphone screen with a focused face.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m saving the videos,” Kim Junghyun answered with a smile. “These are all memories. I have to keep them as records.”

“No… You don’t have to.”

Seon Woojoo was already ashamed enough, but they were trying to nail him to the coffin.

Yoon Seokhwan also seemed to enjoy the noisy atmosphere.

Seon Woojoo brushed his hair back and said, “Seokhwan Hyung.”

“What.”

“Can I cancel the contract? I want to get away from these ungrateful kids.”

“Woojoo, just endure for seven years.”

Yoon Seokhwan’s tone was echoed by the kids.

“Ah, where are you going?”

Kim Bijoo hugged Seon Woojoo’s shoulder with a smile.

“We can’t do without you, Hyung.”

“Yeah. Who do you think made us successful with his songs?”

“Do they act like this even though they know?”

“Hey, it’s because we like you, Hyung. Don’t they know any better?”

Seon Woojoo tried to glare at the youngest who clung to him awkwardly, but he couldn’t help but laugh.

He felt like he understood how people who raised pets felt.

He was angry that they had made a mess of the house while he was gone, but when they came and cuddled up to him with their cute acts, his heart melted in an instant.

Seo Rihyuk saw his expression and chuckled, “You look like a grandfather who’s amused by his grandson’s jokes.”

“Our Rihyuk is so good at talking.”

“I know that too.”

“If only your heart was as good as your face.”

“Where can you find someone as kind as me?”

Wang Jiho made a face as if he had lost his appetite at that shameless remark.

“How can you say that without a steel plate on your face?”

“Shut up, Wang Jiho.”

“You always tell me to shut up when things don’t go your way?”

While the fourth and fifth in the hierarchy were fighting like dogs, the hyungs watched them with a smile as if they were cute.

No.

Even the main vocal and sub-vocal who were arguing had smiles on their lips.

Everyone was in a good mood.

Maybe it was the best day of their lives.

It felt like his chest was wide open.

Every time Seon Woojoo took a deep breath, the knots that had built up over time were released, and the chilly wind that blew through the open car window felt refreshing.

Seon Woojoo wouldn’t want to trade this feeling for a million dollars.

The reward for all the hard work was really sweet.

He had passed through the invisible long tunnel and saw the light for the first time. How could anything not be exciting and happy?

Kim Junghyun handed Seon Woojoo his phone as he was enjoying the breeze.

“Hyung, have you seen this?”

“What is it?”

“Your story is quite popular on the internet.”

“Really?”

Seon Woojoo looked at the smartphone screen.

[New Black? The leader has amazing charisma]

He looks like he can fit anywhere

-What is charisma lol

-Is that a joke lol

-I only saw the face of the guy playing the guitar while singing

-I’m a true fan of Jin Sung and I’m starting to stan him today

Thanks to Seon Woojoo’s speech for winning first place today, his face was a hot topic.

Seon Woojoo clicked on the post below with the award speech.

-Was Jang Sowon always this pretty?

-Sowon Unnie, take me…

-They don’t look like rookies and they’re good at live ㅇㅇ

-I was eating ramen at home and I burst out laughing lol. They’re so funny

Most of the reactions were positive.

Thankfully, the reaction of the TNT fandom, which he was most worried about, was not bad either.

-He’s the one who took a picture with Taehyun lol

-He said he almost debuted with TNT… It must be awkward for both of them.

-I still find the chart movement suspicious but well… They seem to like each other when they announced our kids right after

-I haven’t seen Taehyun smile like that in a long time lol. Are they really best friends?

The ones who were making a fuss about the music manipulation a while ago were showing a soft response.

It was probably thanks to Han Taehyun posting a picture on SNS.

No wonder he kept taking pictures at the broadcasting station.

Seon Woojoo had a rough idea, but when he actually confirmed it, he was grateful.

Me [Thank you]

Seon Woojoo sent a message to the number he exchanged earlier and the reply came right away.

Han Taehyun [^^]

Han Taehyun [If you’re thankful, buy me a drink]

Han Taehyun [Ah lol. That’s right, you can’t drink, Hyung]

Han Taehyun [Just buy me food]

Han Taehyun [Let’s get together with the B group kids]

Han Taehyun [I’ll make a group chat soonㅎ]

Seon Woojoo sent a vague reply and felt a strange emotion.

Han Taehyun, a five-year idol.

The guy who had less sense than WangJiho had become so quick-witted after living in the entertainment industry. He wondered if their clueless youngest would change like that someday.

Wang Jiho chuckled softly when he felt Seon Woojoo’s gaze.

“What?”

“Huh?”

“Why are you looking at me with such a loving eye?”

“…”

They still had a long way to go.

***

That was what he thought when they won their first place on Music ON.

They were lucky.

They kept topping the charts, but they wondered if they could compete with the senior groups who had strong fandoms behind them.

Seon Woojoo hoped they could stay on top for two more weeks and then step down gracefully.

But reality went against his expectations.

-‘Something’ on a wild run, three consecutive weeks of music show wins

-Rapper Hesion’s comeback, will he end ‘Something’’s long reign?

-A breathtaking March music war, the final winner was ‘Something’

Music show grand slam.

They won first place on all three major networks and the music channel for three weeks in a row.

It was unbelievable.

Who would have imagined?

In March, when the chart competition was fierce, a collaboration between an unknown idol group and an unpopular singer took the first place.

It was beyond surprising, it was absurd.

To people who had no interest in the entertainment industry, the weekly music show wins might not mean much, but to them, the rookie group New Black, it was a huge achievement.

And they felt the results every day.

First of all, they started to get some schedules.

After the music shows, they got some minor invitations from various places.

There were some local festivals that they had never heard of, with potatoes or sweet potatoes as their themes, and there were also some music festivals that they had heard of.

The most common thing among them was school events.

The universities were quick to move to get them to perform ‘Something’ live for their festivals starting from late April.

The theme of ‘Something’ was exactly that, something.

It was the hottest topic among college students on SNS and elsewhere.

One music critic even analyzed that the success of ‘Something’ was due to ‘being the first to capture the popular subject of something’.

‘Something’, with its relatable theme and addictive melody, was expected to be the biggest hit song of the first half of 2014.

The hottest song in the college scene right now, ‘Something’.

In this situation, where everyone wanted them to go to their school, the tension between Jang Sowon and New Black was inevitable.

The competition was so fierce that Seon Woojoo couldn’t close his mouth when he heard the event fees that the universities offered through Seokhwan Hyung.

When Kim Junghyun was startled and squeezed the can, the soda exploded, and as they were wiping the floor, he explained.

“There’s usually an agency that connects the events. They grade you like beef. They check how many times you won on the music shows, what your chart ranking is, what your recent buzz index is, and they grade you accordingly. The music show wins are that important. Your sunbae, Scarlet probably doubled her event fee as soon as she won.”

Yoon Seokhwan added with a smile, “You’re popular right now, enjoy it while you can. You can’t keep it, and you shouldn’t keep it either.”

What he said was not a sugarcoating, but a realistic congratulation.

You can’t keep it, and you shouldn’t keep it either.

It wasn’t a wrong statement.

The monthly chart first place and the three consecutive weeks of music show wins that they were enjoying now were miracles that they didn’t know if they could achieve again.

An album was like a sports game for a singer.

Just because you were the MVP in the last game didn’t mean you would be the MVP in the next game.

Maybe it was like the independent trial probability that he learned in the college entrance exam.

Even if the previous result was a success, the next result was not certain whether it would be a success or a failure.

The popularity of ‘Something’ was the popularity of the song.

It wasn’t the popularity of New Black from the beginning, so it was a popularity that they couldn’t keep.

Then, what did it mean that they shouldn’t keep it either?

-Honestly, Jang Sowon did everything, right? She used to be a singer-songwriter herself. She just gave the rookie group a chance.

-New Black only did the backing vocals without the main vocals on the music shows.

-I honestly don’t know why they’re there.

-It’s the adults’ situation, right? What do the kids know?

-One of them participated in the composition.

-The interview said it was a co-composition.

-Jang Sowon was nice to say that, right? What kind of composer is an idol? The producers at the company do everything for them.

-They’re so eager to debut even though the song is doing well.

-Isn’t it because they didn’t practice singing enough? Lol

That was what the internet comments he was reading said.

Their popularity depended on Jang Sowon Sunbae.

Most of their schedules were like that.

Whenever Jang Sowon’s name came up at Hwai Entertainment, they would contact their management team and share the work.

All the schedules they had in March.

The magazine photoshoot and interview they did with Jang Sowon sunbae, and most of the events they were invited to.

Even if they contacted them first, they would say something like ‘The condition is based on Jang Sowon being with you.’

That was what Yoon Seokhwan meant when he said their popularity was not sustainable.

It wasn’t New Black’s popularity in the first place.

Now that Seon Woojoo thought about it, it was strange.

They were so popular right now, but it wasn’t their popularity?

Of course, other people might think it was a luxury problem. It was already a fortunate situation to receive this much attention when they haven’t even debuted yet.

The members seemed satisfied too.

Their expressions were so happy every day that Seon Woojoo felt full just by looking at them.

But Seon Woojoo still felt like it wasn’t enough.

Shouldn’t they row harder when the tide was high?

Since this was their chance to imprint New Black’s first image, he didn’t want the four of them, excluding Seo Rihyuk, to be remembered as mere vases.

Seon Woojoo wanted to show people.

That they had skills as singers.