In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: Rxel

Chapter 232

“Popcorn.”

“Ready.”

“Coke.”

“Ready.”

“Zero?”

“Yes.”

“Good job, guys. We’re finally ready.”

“Let me turn on the TV, Hyung.”

Bijoo turned on the GTV channel with a serious face.

While Junghuyn and Woojoo opened the live chat and various communities on their tablet PCs, Rihyuk set up a handy cam on the table.

It was to capture the youngest’s reaction.

“Ugh…”

Jiho put his hands on his cheeks and looked miserable.

“Hyungs, can’t you just act like nothing’s happening? I’m really nervous.”

“Hey, how can we do that?”

They smiled brightly.

“Our maknae is finally on a drama, we can’t miss that.”

“Right. We have to watch it live.”

“Ugh, I want to be alone.”

Jiho rolled around on the sofa as they chuckled.

It was fun to tease him. It felt good to be on the opposite side of being teased.

Bijoo asked while slicing an apple, “Are you that embarrassed?”

“Yes…”

Jiho stopped rolling and stared at the ceiling.

“I feel like I want to astral project. You know, like becoming a light bulb on the ceiling? I wish no one would see me. Ugh, I don’t know. Anyway, ah… ugh! Ah!”

He screamed like a tyrannosaurus and clenched his fists. He was making a lot of noise by himself.

If there was an art of making noise, their maknae would be an intangible cultural heritage.

He looked calm an hour ago, but as the broadcast approached, he seemed to explode with anxiety.

“I did so badly. The staff at the set were nice to me because I was young and said I did well, but…”

“How was it for you?”

“Bad…”

They just smiled quietly at his gloomy face.

He didn’t know anything.

Even though they were gaining popularity, it wasn’t easy to make the tired drama staff cheer for them.

They praised him so much that it was obvious that he did really well.

If he did poorly, they would have given him cold glares.

And they would have to reshoot the simple scenes several times because of the cameo.

Woojoo thought about reassuring him by telling him that, but…

“Wahh, Noona… What should I do, I’m going to be humiliated at school?”

He called his eldest sister and sobbed.

“Noona, Noona! I’m on a drama and I’m so nervous! Talk to me.”

“Noona, did you tell your boyfriend to watch it too? Why did you do that? Fine. I don’t want to talk to you. No, I don’t mean I really don’t want to talk to you. I’m just expressing my feelings.”

He also called his second and third sisters and chatted nervously.

“I’m not answering dad’s call.”

He said he was sure Dad would pressure him and ignored the call, but soon he called him and said “Dad, Dad!”

He was so cute that Woojoo let him be.

To be honest, it was too fun.

Rihyuk, who was studying for the Chinese character level 1 test, wrote ‘joy and sorrow’ on his notebook and looked at Jiho to memorize it.

“…”

He met Woojoo’s eyes and wrote ‘deceiving the world and the people’. It was an idiom meaning to deceive and mislead the people of the world.

“Hey, what’s deceiving the world and the people? You should write ‘learning from the chicken’.”

He snickered and wrote ‘delusion’.

He was really…

To prevent stress, Woojoo carefully ate one popcorn that he measured in a paper cup.

Then he picked up his phone.

There were articles about the GTV Friday drama ‘Slip’ that was airing today.

As a genre drama that had attracted attention before the broadcast, the comments were full.

-How long has it been since we had a genre piece?Seriouslyㅠㅠㅠ12345

-The fans are cryingㅠㅠ

-The cast lineup is good. I personally preferred another actress for the female lead role, but Seo Noeul also looks good with a mask.

-I’ve been waiting for the first episode since I saw the trailer

-A murder committed by a primitive man who time-slipped into the modern setting? This is bound to attract attention.

-Am I the only one who’s worried about the writer being a rookie? I heard this is their first drama.

-There’s the Fox Bead writer. That person is also a rookie. Don’t be prejudiced.

There were some concerns among the drama fans about the writer’s ability to lead the story, but not too many.

It was because the PBS drama ‘Fox Bead’ that aired first was getting a successful response.

Fox Bead, the debut work of the rookie writer, received good reviews from the beginning.

The acting skills of the 20s leads were criticized on the internet, but thanks to the good CG and direction, Fox Bead pushed aside the existing Wednesday-Thursday dramas and claimed the throne.

There were already discussions about overseas rights.

And the main OST of the second episode, which ended with the male and female leads’ eyes meeting after picking up the Fox Bead in the downtown, had already entered the chart.

It was a song by Cha Woohyun Sunbae-nim.

Woojoo wondered if he made the wrong choice, since Fox Bead was one of the options, but anyway, the OST they were going to sing was scheduled to come out after the 10th episode.

At least Woojoo was glad he didn’t do the Windmill OST.

-HBS ‘Windmill’, the ratings flew away like the wind… What was the problem?

‘Windmill’, which dealt with the work and love of prosecutors, saw its ratings evaporate like the wind.

They hired popular actors and famous directors, but the script was the main problem.

The old-fashioned narrative and dialogue, the excessive PPL from the first episode.

The scene where the chief prosecutor sat on the massage chair in the prosecutor’s office and sighed ‘Hoo…’ while getting a massage, and the scene where the prosecutors met at a sandwich shop every time they had a strategy meeting, were already circulating as meme images.

As a result, the ratings hit the all-time low.

It would have been a disaster if they did that.

Luckily, they dropped it from their priority list from the beginning.

‘This drama OST is weird,’ Rihyuk said that. ‘The drama is airing soon. The song that was recorded until the guide version was drifting until it came to me.’

Woojoo agreed with him.

The song itself was not bad, and the drama looked good on the surface.

But the fact that the OST of that drama came to them after a long time meant that there was some problem that they didn’t know.

The manager thought the same.

Seokhwan Hyung asked the Actor Team, and sure enough, the main actor and the writer were constantly fighting over the future development. Woojoo felt like the seniors in the music industry avoided it for a reason.

Woojoo heard that Jo Yuri Band took their place, and he wondered what their expression was like.

Anyway.

HBS Windmill, which was writing a new legend of ratings decline and worsening atmosphere on the set.

PBS Fox Bead, which was showing its popularity by having talks about overseas rights.

And GTV channel, which was famous for its quality dramas, was launching a new genre piece ‘Slip’.

Woojoo wondered what kind of reaction Slip would get.

He hoped the drama quality was good so that their OST could get more attention.

Especially since their kid stayed up for several nights and practiced the cameo.

Woojoo clasped his hands with the feeling of a grandmother waiting for the school play.

Please let their youngest look pretty today, Deoksoon.

“I think that’s the last commercial.”

As Bijoo said that, Woojoo looked at the TV and saw Han Taehyun wearing a snapback and dancing and shouting ‘This is it’ as the clothing brand’s ad line.

Woojoo couldn’t help but laugh.

Woojoo sent the YouTube video link to the person, and he replied that he would block him from today. Woojoo asked him if he would buy him a meal, and he answered right away, so he didn’t really block him.

Meanwhile, the youngest asked Woojoo while melting the popcorn in his mouth.

“But, I’ve been curious about something since earlier. Why are you guys so relaxed?”

“What?”

“No. There, Bijoo Hyung was like ‘Jjeimseu!’ and Junghyun Hyung was making jokes about attendance. You know.”

They snickered.

“You can tell from the script that it’s a serious atmosphere. Do you think those lines will go out as they are?”

“Right. Hyung. The Director said to say anything since it’s going to be noisy anyway.”

“You have a good memory. Our Jaim…”

“Eat an apple. Hyung.”

The youngest pouted his lips and leaned his chin on the pillow, saying ‘Hmph, you guys don’t come out well.’

“Uh, it’s starting!”

The screen went dark and the caption ‘This drama is based on real people…’ came out.

Slowly, white letters rose from the left to the right on the black screen, ‘S L I P’, one letter at a time, and Jiho explained that it was a homage to an alien movie.

Then, with a sinister flute sound that would fit in the jungle, the camera captured a dark reed field.

Early evening.

The swaying reed field under the dark blue sky. A full-body shot standing like a tombstone, and a street lamp that was sprinkling crimson light on the road.

It was like watching a movie.

The ‘slip’ began with the rough breathing of the fugitive.

Slip proceeded exactly as the script.

Woojoo thought he could see a movie in his head when he read the script, but the Slip on the screen was even more.

Woojoo was amazed by the beautiful cinematography like a movie.

-Are you watching Slip right now?? The visuals are amazing ㄷㄷㄷ

-I’m watching the first episode of Slip and it’s so immersive

-The quality is awesome

-First of all, the opening is legendary, but I’ll have to wait and see

-Is this a one-top or a two-top? I looked at the drama introduction, but the weight is ambiguous

-I don’t know what top it is, but it’s fun; I feel like I found a masterpiece after a long time

When Woojoo watched the weekend drama with his grandmother, he said, “Who should I curse there?”, “What? Is the father-in-law the grandfather?” That was all he could do, but he saw that all the sites he saw were praising it.

There was not a single scene to throw away.

“Wow…”

At some point, they forgot to monitor and melted popcorn every five minutes.

Until the carbonated bubbles were all gone, they did that for a long time.

When the protagonist Park Cheoljin was deeply immersed in his thoughts with a murderous weapon that resembled a flint from the Stone Age.

“Here it comes. Here it comes.”

“Ugh…”

While the youngest covered his eyes with a sweet potato snack that he snatched from Rihyuk, the precious person’s back finally appeared.

“Wow!”

They cheered like a soccer team scored a goal, and Jiho bowed his head like a foreign fan caught among Korean supporters.

“Wow, our youngest is handsome from behind.”

“I have to capture this.”

“Oh. Jiho. That uniform fits you well.”

A police officer with a document on his side appeared.

He wasn’t very tall, but his legs were so long that he looked proportional. Their youngest smiled brightly and greeted him in a police uniform that looked like a stage costume.

“He has more lines than I thought?”

Woojoo thought he would just pass by, but their youngest’s upper body came out in front of the police station.

He showed his face, which meant he had some weight.

As soon as the handsome policeman appeared, various boards started to buzz with “Who is that?”

Meanwhile, the policeman’s eyes turned to the lowly high school gang.

And then they froze.

-You’re worth… Why are you hanging out with them?

-I’ve been kneeling for a year.

Woojoo thought it was okay when he read the script, but the ad-libs they made were also coming out.

“What?”

Woojoo jumped up.

The younger ones also got up and buzzed, and the youngest widened his eyes.

“Hey, why… Why is that coming out?”

“Didn’t the Director say the sound wouldn’t come out? How did this happen…?”

Woojoo’s heart sank.

Especially Bijoo, who became James, was so desperate that he sent a message to Minjun, “Turn off the TV power strip!”

‘Are you telling me to turn it off or turn it on?’ While waiting for the reply, James appeared on the screen.

-Calm down, James.

Bijoo grabbed his face and made a strange sound, “Ahui ahui…” while Rihyuk and Woojoo sighed deeply.

The only peaceful one was Pungdeng, who muttered, “Is the left side of his face better looking?”

“Puhahaha! Hahaha!”

The youngest, who had been quiet until now, ran around and said, “Look at that~”

Woojoo wanted to hit him with a chestnut. Really.

There was a wave of ‘ㅋㅋㅋ’ in the comments.

Some praised it for loosening the mood in a drama that could have been gloomy, but most of them were just ‘ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ’.

-Are they New Black?ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ12345

-They got caught off guard Jamesㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋScene stealer award at the end of the year

-Calm down JamesㅋㅋㅋㅋFrom today, you’re my laughter bell

-It’s a setting error that the American kid is scared of the Korean police.

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋI’ve never seen anyone who can’t act like a bully. That’s why I like them.

-I don’t think they’ll get robbed.

-I think they’ll pay back within a week.

-LOL, my friend graduated from a foreign language high school, but he acts like a delinquent when he talks about his high school days.

Everyone was mocking their insignificance.

“Come on, we acted so threateningly.”

“Didn’t you feel it during the regular trade? We don’t match with them from the start.”

“We were no match for elementary school kids. Us.”

Their eyes drooped and briefly glanced at the community where the Soufflés gathered, but they decided to ignore it.

They needed a break.

Besides, they couldn’t miss the youngest’s acting.

“…Eek.”

The momentum that was teasing them disappeared and he hid behind Junghyun’s back, peeking his head out and hiding it again when he saw his face.

“I messed up my expression there, and the dialogue didn’t match well.”

They reacted to his timid voice.

“What are you talking about? You did great.”

“…Really?”

“People on the internet were asking who the actor was. They didn’t think you were a singer.”

“Oh. Really?”

“See for yourself.”

The youngest’s eyes sparkled as he saw the screen full of praise.

They smiled at the smile that appeared on his white face. It wasn’t talk to cheer him up, but because he really did well.

He seemed unsatisfied because his standards were high, but to them, he was amazing.

Bijoo whispered that it was worth feeding him a lot of sausages in the morning.

“You’re really good, Jiho.”

“Exactly. I don’t understand why you say you can’t act whenever the topic comes up.”

Jiho on the screen looked like an actor from the way he delivered his lines.

It felt more like they brought a real police officer from the station than his acting skills.

They clapped as the cameo scene ended.

‘I wasn’t bad, right? Really?’ he asked several times and showed a happy expression.

“But what’s the next scene you’re in? You said it was added to the script.”

“Oh. That?”

Jiho smiled brightly at their question.

“You’ll see. It’s a very fun scene.”

Officer Heo walked shakily under the power pole.

This was Oseong District.

Every time he walked, the radio crackled and spat out noisy radio calls.

-This is the situation room.

-We’re patrolling the Naeseong-dong area, but nothing unusual…

-We have the guardian with us…

-The situation room reminds you of the missing child’s appearance. About 10 years old, black hair, wearing blue clothes…

He turned down the volume with his hand as the radio noise vibrated on his shoulder without a break.

His junior who was walking with him said, “I don’t know if we’ll be up all night. If we find her at the playground or something, wouldn’t it be a waste?”

“It’s not a waste, it’s a relief.”

Officer Heo smiled softly and let out a long breath. His breath flowed out in the cold weather.

‘It’s cold.’

If he was cold, how much colder would that little girl be?

The reason they were patrolling was to find the missing 9-year-old girl. Normally, one or two patrol cars would have been enough.

But today was different.

A violent murder occurred in the area.

And the child disappeared in the neighborhood where an unknown scream was heard.

The media and the upper echelons were already on alert, and the result was a patrol that mobilized all the police and police officers in Oseong District.

The sun had set and it was already three hours.

But everyone was skeptical that they could find her.

‘But we have to try.’

His junior asked, “Do you think we’ll get a commendation or a day off if we find her?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.”

Officer Heo answered vaguely and turned up the volume.

A patrol car passing by reported that there was nothing unusual.

His eyes went to the packaged food in the car. His junior licked his tongue as he watched the car leave.

“Isn’t that like they have no intention of finding the kid if they drive at that speed?”

He agreed silently.

‘Let’s think they’re tired.’

He felt his steps slowing down, but he thought of the child who was shivering in the dark.

“…”

As they passed by a shop that sold warm tteokbokki and fish cake soup, his junior hesitated.

Officer Heo thought that he would secretly buy some for him later if they had time when they returned.

Then, he saw Park Cheoljin, the team leader of the Violent Crimes Unit, who was searching alone nearby.

Officer Heo greeted him cheerfully with a salute.

“Thank you for your hard work, sir.”

“…Oh, you. Yeah. Sejun. Good job.”

But the other didn’t know his name.

He glanced at the name on the jacket, but that was just a jacket he borrowed from another colleague.

Officer Heo smiled bitterly.

‘I thought he would at least know my name.’

Well. He must be busy.

He brightened his slightly drooping face and continued patrolling, saying ‘Let’s do this, let’s go’.

And then a clue appeared.

“A young girl? I saw her going that way.”

“Really?”

They moved their steps with excited faces.

The outskirts that divided Gyeonggi-do and Seoul.

It was beyond the patrol area, but he thought it was right to go and see.

He wondered if he should report it to the upper line, but if it was wrong information, he would surely get scolded for wasting time because of him. He decided to check it out more and report it later.

His junior opened his police jacket and shivered.

“But isn’t this area close to where the murder happened? I heard the mountain nearby was the scene.”

“It probably is. Why, are you scared?”

“Aren’t you scared?”

“I’m scared. A lot. If something comes out, I’ll run away without looking back, so you better remember that.”

He joked as they moved on.

The dark night.

The reed field swayed eerily, and he slowly felt like someone was watching them.

“…Should we go back?”

As he said that.

“Sniff… Sob…”

Under the road that crossed the reed field, he heard the sound of a girl crying from the sewer.

“No!”

“Hey, hey, hey! You idiot! Don’t go near there. Why are you going? It’s dangerous!”

“Hyung, what do we do? Our youngest.”

“Jiho. Why do you want to go to a dangerous place?”

He was shaken by the members who were everywhere like reeds, but Jiho just laughed.

‘Hyungs.’

Why were they so immersed…