In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: Rxel

Chapter 233 

“You heard it too, right?”

“Yes.”

The police officers descended the hill and reached the reed field.

“Hic… Sob…”

A sobbing sound came from inside the drainage tunnel.

Heo, one of the officers, flashed a light inside.

A young child in blue clothes was far away. The girl flinched at the light and covered her eyes with a grimace.

‘Oh my God.’

Her clothes were covered in mud. Her face was also smeared and mud dripped from her hair.

Her limbs were trembling and her eyes were terrified.

There were glass shards stuck in her bare feet. They looked so painful that the officers unconsciously gasped.

Heo asked carefully, “Hey, are you okay?”

She still had a fearful look.

“I’ll go in.”

His junior officer walked into the tunnel. His wet shoes made a splashing sound.

“Uh… Ah…!”

The girl ran further inside, startled by his approach. Heo grabbed his junior.

“I’ll go.”

He handed him the flashlight.

“Can you shine it for me? Diagonally, so that she can see my face without the backlight.”

“Yes.”

Heo walked slowly and crouched down to match her eye level. Then he spoke softly.

“Hi.”

She was a girl who was scared of people bigger than her. And she was in an irrational state.

He made himself as small as possible.

“Can you hear me?”

“…”

“If you can, nod your head slightly.”

Nod.

“Thank you.”

A sinister sound of water echoed in the darkness.

It felt like something was watching him. His neck was stiff, but he calmed himself and smiled gently.

“Seoyoon, right?”

Startled.

“Seoyoon’s mom asked us to find Seoyoon. See this badge? I’m a police officer.”

It wasn’t a suitable tone for a 9-year-old, but it was appropriate for someone who was regressing.

“It’s really scary here. You’re scared too, right?”

Nod.

“But you’re also scared of me getting closer, right?”

Nod.

“Let’s do this. I’ll take a step back and you take a step forward. One, two, one, two. Like that, we’ll all come out and ta-da. How about that? Can you do it?”

Nod, nod.

It was a positive sign. He gestured to his junior, who walked back. Heo adjusted his pace to the child’s speed.

‘Damn…’

She was crawling more than walking because of the glass shards in her feet.

She should cry if it hurt, but the child in shock seemed to have no sense of pain.

“You can do it.”

Finally, they got out of the tunnel.

They breathed in the fresh air and kept their distance so that the girl could come out.

She hesitated for a moment and then moved her feet.

She looked around the reed field and the night sky and burst into tears, running to Heo.

“It’s okay. It’s okay.”

He hugged the muddy child warmly and smiled reassuringly.

“Uh… Ah…!”

She cried for a while and then pointed her finger.

She still couldn’t speak, but she seemed to want to get out of here as soon as possible. They agreed.

“Let’s radio the headquarters.”

“Yes.”

Heo pressed the radio button while removing the mud from the child’s hair.

Thud.

Something fell into the water from the tunnel. A small animal’s bone, like a dog or a cat.

“Uh… uh! Uh!”

When he saw the child screaming at the sight of the bone, Officer Heo decided to get rid of it.

“Ugh.”

It was a leg bone with bloody flesh hanging from it.

He threw it deep into the drain. But the other person didn’t stop glowing, so he asked his junior to take care of him.

“Let me radio in, you take him up quickly.”

The child didn’t show any reaction and rather tried to go up first. She kept looking back at him.

Officer Heo calmly radioed in.

The control room praised him for his work and ordered him to wait at his current location.

When the news of the situation’s end came through the radio, cheerful voices were heard from here and there. Judging by the atmosphere, he would get a lot of compliments when he went back to the office. Officer Heo smiled slightly.

It was all over.

“Uh… uh!”

Except for the girl who was rolling her feet on the road.

“Don’t worry. We’ll go up.”

Officer Heo waved his hand with a smile.

Thud.

Something flew out of the drain and fell.

It was the bone from before.

“…?”

Did the water level rise?

But the water that flowed like a stream couldn’t have that much force. Officer Heo picked up the bone again and threw it inside.

He turned his back then.

As if to reply, the bone flew out and landed at his feet.

His body stiffened.

“…”

There was something inside.

Officer Heo shone a flashlight inside and felt his body freeze. Someone was twitching in the depths, looking at him.

As if smiling…

Or as if catching his breath before hunting.

At that moment, everything flashed through Officer Heo’s mind.

The reason why the girl was here.

A bait to catch bigger prey.

“…”

His junior asked as he backed away stiffly, “What’s wrong, sir?”

“Haeseong, take her and get out of here.”

“Yes? But the control room said…”

“Shut up and run!”

“Yes, yes!”

He ran frantically, as if he had seen a bomb.

Officer Heo, who had been smiling to reassure the startled girl, also ran up the hill to get to the road.

A scream echoed from the tunnel.

He ran desperately, as if his breath would run out, but unfortunately, the other was several times faster than him.

“Ugh…!”

Something grabbed his ankle and pulled him down hard.

He was thrown into the reed field. Officer Heo saw something that was human but not human.

That was his last memory.

An hour later.

Patrol cars lined up on the road adjacent to the reed field.

The blue and red warning lights that spread ominously in the dark.

The protagonist, Park Cheoljin, got out of the car.

He crossed the police line set up in the reed field and approached the detectives who looked grim.

“This sucks.”

“Why… Why did it have to be…”

Park Cheoljin asked the senior detective, “I heard the victim was one of our agents.”

“Yoonsoo.”

“…?”

“Heo Yoonsoo. You know, the kid who always greets us brightly at the office.”

Who was that? The only one who came to mind when he said a bright kid was Sejun, the one he met earlier.

Unlike the other detectives who were sighing heavily, Park Cheoljin was calm.

He didn’t show any emotion even though someone he saw every day died.

The other detectives showed their contempt.

One of them spat and muttered, “Heaven is merciless…”

Park Cheoljin walked with a blank expression on his face.

A corpse covered with a white cloth.

As he tried to lift the cloth, a senior detective grabbed his arm.

"Just look at the face. That's the only part that's intact."

"……"

Park Cheoljin swiftly pulled the cloth.

But unlike his light movement, the face of the corpse was revealed in slow motion before his eyes.

A peaceful face with no expression in another sense. There were faint traces of blood on the hair and face.

"……"

A crack appeared on his face, which had been expressionless until now. His mind froze and his pupils shook.

For a few seconds.

The scene of a man who craved an answer and a corpse that gave none.

The two-shot was captured and the screen froze as if time had stopped.

A calm BGM.

The first episode of Slip came to an end.

Unlike the first time, this time the letters ‘S L I P' appeared one by one from the right side of the darkened screen.

* * *

"Sob! Sniff… Sniffle."

"Save Officer Heo, you wicked people…!"

"Why did you go there when I told you not to? You should avoid it when a bad OST comes on."

"Rihyuk Hyung, how can the characters hear the OST?"

"……I, I don't know! I!"

"Hyung, are you crying?"

"I'm not crying."

But Rihyuk's eyes were already swollen.

Bijoo dabbed his eyes with a tissue while sniffling, and Junghyun, who would have said ‘Oh, the drama is awesome' if it were normal, also looked quite immersed as he made a face that said he wanted a beer.

Woojoo sighed.

"That's too much. Just spare him a little."

"Right. Hyung. I'm so sad that I keep wanting to cry."

"You already cried."

"I did? Sob……"

At the words of the Hyungs who asked if he had to die there, Jiho answered brightly.

"Oh, that? Actually, I died because of me."

"……?"

"The director and the writer said they would let me appear more. Like joining the investigation team."

"Then?"

"I insisted that I had to prepare for the album and focus on the group activities, so it changed to a one-episode exit. I did well, right?"

"……"

Soon, the Hyungs looked at each other with blank faces. Then they rushed to the youngest and shook his collar.

"Ack!"

"Save Officer Heo, you devil!"

"Save him!"

"Hey, Hyungs! Why are you doing this, I'm Officer Heo who appears there!"

* * *

At the same time.

The first episode of GTV's ‘Slip' was getting an explosive response.

-‘Slip' Lee Kangjin-Seo Noeul "The worst first impression"…New Black cameo surprise appearance

-‘Slip' Murder weapon from the Stone Age? Netizens start deducing

-[Drama Fan's Exploration] ‘Slip' Actors, Writers, Directors… A perfect harmony of three beats

The director who showed off the outstanding visual beauty that earned him the praise of hitting his career high.

The rookie writer who polished and honed this drama for 10 years.

The actors who had no acting holes even in the extras.

-I became a fan after just one episode.. Wow, the aftertaste of the first episode..

-I was so sad when he lifted the white cloth

-The main character's pupil dilation at the end was amazing. Lee Kangjin's acting skills have risen as much as the water.

-But what does slip mean backwards? Is it a time travel clue? Is this a thing where he goes back in time and revives the victims?

-I hope so..

-I interpreted it as a device that shows the main character's inner desire to turn back time. And the way they keep showing the clock props in each scene. Cheoljin is such a dry character.

-Did Officer Heo have to die? I mean, he's just a tool character to awaken the main character, right?

-If you mess up, you're a tool character.

-I can tell it's a hot topic by the way you're fighting already

-Is Slip that fun? There are only three pages of Slip talk ㄷㄷㄷ

-You have to watch it. This is the first perfect drama in three years

-Everyone, stop fighting and watch episode 2 next week ㅋㅋ

The first episode of the Friday drama ‘Slipp’, which received praise for being well-made, recorded an average viewership rating of 5.7%.

It was a huge hit.

The highest rating for the first episode of a cable hit drama was 3.3%, and ‘Slip’ was the first GTV drama to surpass 5% in the first episode.

The GTV Drama Department and Firefly Production were in a festive mood.

“Wow…!”

Especially the production staff and actors who rented a pub to watch the first episode screamed with excitement at the hit prediction.

“Officer Heo! Call Officer Heo and the thugs too!”

“Just a moment!”

The people in the pub cheered when they saw Jiho and the thugs on the video call on Lee Kangjin’s phone.

-Congratulations!

“We should be thankful!”

The excited people shouted.

“Give us a toast! Toast!”

-What should we do, guys?

“What should we do, guys!”

They clinked their beer glasses and enjoyed themselves, and the thugs on the screen also laughed and smiled.

Lee Kangjin said with a flushed face, “Jiho, you have to be an actor.”

-Me?

“You did so well when I watched the first episode again. It was amazing. The thugs looked like thugs, and the officer looked like an officer.”

“New Black did a great job!”

A veteran actor who had a drink praised New Black, and their faces brightened.

The production staff looked at them warmly.

It was because New Black did their role well.

They eased the tense atmosphere of the drama as scene stealers, and Wang Jiho also made the viewers immerse themselves in the drama with his excellent acting skills, along with the main character.

It was the common thought of everyone.

-Who is Officer Heo, who appeared in ‘Slip’? Jiho, the youngest member of ‘New Black’

-GTV ‘Slip’ appearance ‘New Black’ … ‘Thug Quartet’, ‘Officer Heo’ with “crazy presence”

-[Drama Talk] “Calm down, James”, about the desirable cameo acting

The reaction was the same on the internet community.

-Wow… ‘Slip’ is really an acting party even for the cameos

-Officer Heo ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

-Officer Heo my muse ㅠㅠㅠ

-I was really surprised. The quartet was so good that I thought they were actors at first, but their faces matched well so I thought they were idols, but Officer Heo??? Same group?? The youngest??

-Oppa ㅠㅠ I’m so proud

-He’s underage

-I don’t care. I already know.

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ That’s my laugh bomb from today

-Our kids have so many laugh bombs, it’s a minefield

‘Calm down, James’ was hot for a while.

The Soufflés were excited by Jiho’s acting skills.

-He can act too…?

-Jiho was an acting member???

-Other fans: Hey, fans, your youngest is good at acting. Soufflé: Yeah. Good… What? (Shocked)

-Good ㅎㅎ (Inner thoughts) What are you talking about… I didn’t know…

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ I was really confused today. Other fans asked me if he was good at acting, but I couldn’t answer

-Random box quote image please

-It’s so funny that everyone is amazed by his acting and then faints when they see his real appearance ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Agree ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-TV Officer Heo nibbling on snacks and rolling around in his brothers’ arms

-But if it were real, Jiho would have said, “Hyungs, you can’t go in there?” “Why?” “My shoes will get wet.” ㅋㅋ

-I vote for Woojoo sighing and going in.

-If it were Junghyun, the monster would have grabbed him. The reporters would have written, “Is it okay to be so monstrous and powerful?”

-Perfect castingㅋㅋ

-But is this a one-time thing? It would be troublesome if the drama ratings skyrocketed because of the regular appearance.

-Don’t worry, Soufflé.

–ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Everywhere the Soufflés gathered was festive.

The drama reaction was amazing yesterday.

As soon as Woojoo came to the company, Assistant Manager Hong said, “You guys are really…!” and praised them, “You’re a master of publicity!”

The reporters who used to be indifferent or rude when they sent out press releases also changed their attitude.

Woojoo heard that there were many inquiries about Jiho since this morning, and they all congratulated their youngest.

“Let’s all sing together.”

Jiho, Jiho

How can you act so well

“…Stop it!”

Our Jiho is so cute

You can do whatever you want

But promise me

Don’t leave any vegetables

“Huhuhu, I was wrong, so stop it!”

Experiment successful.

It turned out that Jiho could blush as much as Rihyuk if he had the right stimulus.

“Great actor! Please sign for me!”

“LOL!”

“King actor, when did you start dreaming of acting?”

“Actor. Please accept my letter!”

“Hey, Wang Jiho, what about normally… Wait a minute. Who’s the letter drip? I won’t let you go!”

Woojoo felt refreshed after teasing the youngest all day.

Should he call it a pleasant feeling?

Because they teased him without a break, the youngest who had learned his lesson ran away, saying, “Go away!”

“What? He’s gone. Junghyun, I’m bored, let’s tease someone else.”

“How old are you? Both of you. Grow up.”

“How about Rihyuk?”

“…Let’s do it with Bijoo Hyung. Bijoo Hyung.”

“Good idea.”

But it wasn’t easy to tease James. When we looked at him, he gave us a kind smile.

“You can tease me. But I won’t put an egg on your kimchi fried rice.”

“…!”

“And I won’t give you a knife when I give you Vienna sausages.”

“…Well, that’s.”

They gave up on attacking James and looked for the youngest, but he was hiding somewhere in the company and didn’t show up.

Anyway, Woojoo was happy to get attention for the cameo.

Along with his grandmother’s reaction, “It’s always a new disease,” his friends also sent him a message saying it was fun.

And the management team said they wanted to cast their youngest, and other production companies also contacted them.

Woojoo was happy that good things happened before the comeback.

Thanks to that, Woojoo felt a little relieved of the fatigue and stress that had accumulated.

“But where did Jiho go?”

Woojoo couldn’t find their youngest after lunch.

Junghyun said, “Earlier, Director Jo from the Actor Team called him for a moment. He said the conversation would be long and told us to eat first.”

“Really?”

What was going on?

Their youngest even refused to eat.

Woojoo wondered what he had to talk about with Director Jo for so long, but he decided to ask him when he came back.

For now, the mental care of his brothers was the priority.

“Okay, then let’s go.”

“Hehehe.”

When Woojoo showed them the chocolate from his pocket, they all smiled happily.

“Let’s go. Where to?”

“Rain.”

“I don’t want to do this. …Fine. Up.”

“Woo.”

Right now, before the comeback, he was taking care of his brothers’ mental health.

Sometimes, when he felt too stressed, he needed to find a way to relax. Usually, that meant sneaking off to the emergency exit after lunch and melting a piece of chocolate in his mouth.

At first, Woojoo ate them one by one, but soon he noticed a change in his weight and had to adjust the amount.

Woojoo followed his younger siblings and sent a message to their manager.

Woojoo [Hyung. I’m taking the kids to eat some chocolate.]

Dowon Hyung [Okay.]

Dowon Hyung [But do you have to eat it secretly? It’s not a big deal.]

Woojoo [It’s more delicious when you eat it secretly.]

Woojoo remembered when he was little, his dad would sometimes skip kindergarten and take him to the amusement park.

‘It’s a secret from Mom, son.’

‘Okay!’

Woojoo thought Mom really didn’t know, but later Grandma told him that everyone knew.

Mom said it was more fun to pretend not to know.

Dowon Hyung [Let me know if you need me.]

Dowon Hyung [I’ll create some tension with a fake cough or something at the emergency exit.]

Woojoo [I’ll ask you soon. Hyung.]

Woojoo laughed at the sight of his excited siblings moving their feet quietly as they said ‘chocolate’.

It was when they all hid in the emergency exit.

“…Huh?”

Junghyun narrowed his eyes and grabbed them.

“What’s going on?”

“I heard Jiho’s voice inside.”