In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: Rxel

Chapter 235 

Beat New Black

He could barely breathe.

Someone was pushing him from above, someone else was flailing their arm next to him, and his legs were trapped between someone else’s legs.

What a mess…

“Hey! Hey! Hey! Junghyun! Don’t move!”

“Ah, who is it? Let go of my arm! My arm!”

If he had to describe their situation right now, well…

They look like a hairball coughed up by a cat. They got tangled up and fell over while eavesdropping.

Their arms and legs are restraining each other.

“Calm down! Calm down!”

“You calm down! Don’t yell in my ear!”

“Let’s just relax. Guys. When I count to three, we’ll be quiet. One, two, three!”

Silence.

“Okay. Now let’s talk calmly. Junghyun, pull your left arm back, and Bijoo, twist your body slightly.”

“Like this?”

“Right. Rihyuk, you’re useless, so just stay still.”

“What?”

“If I pull my leg out like this…”

Ta-da.

“Phew, we’re free!”

“Wow…”

“Hoo.”

They finally managed to get out.

They looked at each other with happy faces. This was teamwork. Woojoo nodded with satisfaction, but then he heard a voice from above.

“…Guys?”

They froze.

They realized something that they had forgotten in their confusion.

They exchanged uneasy glances at the shadow looming over them.

“What are you doing here?”

They were screwed.

“So you got caught, huh?”

“Hey, we didn’t get caught. We…”

They were about to protest, but they looked at Rihyuk with embarrassed faces.

“Rihyuk. Do you have a fancy word to sugarcoat this situation? Something with a Chinese character feel.”

“Uh, give me a second…”

Meanwhile, Junghyun chimed in.

“Eavesdropping?”

“Junghyun, don’t make things worse. Have some jelly.”

“I’ll give you one too.”

A sugar-free konjac jelly popped into his mouth. The four sat on the stairs in pairs.

“Hmm…”

Jiho was pacing in front of them with a devilish face, wondering what to do with them.

They had brought this upon themselves, so they all avoided his eyes.

“I have one question.”

“Yes. Ask away.”

“When did you start listening?”

“Not for long. Just about 20 minutes from the middle…”

“Ah, come on. You heard almost everything. You said you didn’t listen much, you liars.”

“We’re sorry…”

They hung their heads as the youngest sighed. Then he turned to Rihyuk.

“Rihyuk Hyung.”

“Uh, yes?”

“You always talk about respecting privacy and stuff, but whenever I go to your room to hang out, you scold me… Is this different?”

“…”

This was the first time he saw the youngest win an argument with Rihyuk.

‘Uh, well…’ Rihyuk was flustered, and Jiho moved on to Bijoo.

“Bijoo Hyung.”

“Y-yes…”

“I’m really disappointed in you. The other loser Hyungs-”

Hey, they were about to snap, but they shut their eyes at his cold gaze.

“The other Hyungs are one thing, but I didn’t expect you to join them in eavesdropping.”

“I’m sorry, Jiho,” Bijoo apologized sincerely. “I did it because I was worried. At first, I was going to leave, but Junghyun said he was worried about what he heard inside. He said that guy was talking to you a lot and then pretending he didn’t know anything.”

“Right.”

Woojoo agreed with him.

“I thought we should be witnesses in that case.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

The youngest one softened a bit, but still spoke in a grumbling voice.

“I recorded it as you told me to.”

“Good job. Our Jiho.”

“Really? I did well… oh, that’s not it.”

Woojoo laughed at the youngest one who coughed awkwardly. The one who told him not to laugh at first also chuckled soon.

Jiho, who was licking his lips, sat down in his place.

“Ugh, whatever.”

He was annoyed, but he also wanted to whine.

He had a complicated expression.

He must have scolded them for listening in because of that feeling. He said they heard everything he said.

He was embarrassed and awkward.

“So you heard almost everything?”

“Yeah.”

“Even when I was talking to myself?”

“…That too.”

“No, no… ah, ah, ah!”

Woojoo gestured to him as he tore his hair out by himself.

“Come here. Let’s sit together first.”

“…”

“Let’s have some chocolate.”

“…”

A fresh face came closer.

Everyone moved aside on both sides of the stairs and made room in the middle.

Woojoo rummaged through his pocket and took out the chocolate.

He thought it would be broken, but it was fine in the meantime. He unwrapped the chocolate and handed it over to the youngest one.

“Eat.”

“By myself…?”

“Hmm.”

It wasn’t agreed upon, but looking at the other brothers’ expressions, it seemed okay.

Jiho rolled his eyes as he looked at the chocolate and decided to break it into five pieces and share it.

He grew up. Their kid.

They sat there silently, melting the chocolate for a few minutes.

“But.” Jiho spoke softly. “Did I do well?”

“What?”

Jiho, who leaned on Bijoo’s back, said, “Rejecting the manager’s offer.”

“Hmm. Well.”

Woojoo wondered how to tell him, but he decided to tell him the truth.

“It’s a good thing from the team’s perspective. But it might not be if you only think about yourself.”

“Really?”

“What he said wasn’t wrong. We think you can succeed as an actor.”

Even Woojoo, who knew nothing, could see that Jiho had potential as an actor. It wasn’t for nothing that Manager Jo came to offer him an acting career.

“But we’re grateful and happy from our perspective. What you said too.”

“It’s not a big deal.” Jiho shook his head. “I just did what I had to do. Like you guys.”

“Then why are you smiling like that?”

“…The chocolate made my blood sugar go up.”

Woojoo laughed at him coughing.

Bijoo stroked Jiho’s hair.

Junghyun snapped the chocolate in half and handed it to Jiho. Rihyuk gave him his share that he wasn’t eating at all.

Jiho enjoyed the attention and touch of his brothers like a smug fat cat.

He was cute.

And impressive in a way.

He was sorry to say this to Jiho, but he didn’t know he was taking the group activity so seriously.

He always practiced hard, but he seemed to lack a sense of purpose.

If everyone else started out with the dream of becoming idols, he was the case who drifted into this side after trying to be an actor. So Woojoo secretly thought that if he ever had to choose one of the two, he would probably go for acting.

That was why Woojoo wondered what he should say if he ever told him he wanted to try acting seriously after the third album was over.

That was why the story he heard today was a twist for them.

Woojoo thought he would be at least a little tempted by Manager Jo’s offer.

Woojoo didn’t expect him to cut it off so decisively.

He was glad he didn’t see the expressions they were making outside when he said group activities came first.

Bijoo raised both hands to his cheeks and almost burst into tears.

“Anyway, I… well, well.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m promising too, right? Junghyun Hyung.”

“Anyway, I gave up my promising acting career and decided to roll with you guys, so you guys have to take responsibility for me.”

They looked at each other.

“We do?”

“…”

“Jiho. What are you talking about? You have to take responsibility for us.”

Each of them said that they would later get a job as Jiho’s personal butler, cook, cleaner, or villa keeper, and he made a dumbfounded expression.

He grumbled as he nibbled on the chocolate, joking that they should agree on a salary of 10 billion won.

“Wow. I should record this and show it to the Soufflés. They need to see this wicked side of you guys.”

“And no one knew.”

They laughed as Junghyun narrated grandly.

He cheered up quickly when they cooed at him, sulking. They chatted about nonsense for a while.

Jiho said as he ate the chocolate, “Ah. It’s delicious. Why are you so delicious?”

“Hmm.”

Junghyun tilted his head and asked.

“But don’t you think it’s terrifying from the chocolate’s perspective? A huge person is saying you’re delicious.”

“That’s true. Poor chocolate…”

“Well. What emotion would an inanimate object have?”

“My grandfather told me not to take anything in nature for granted. He said to cherish even the pebbles on the road.”

“…Why do I always end up being trash?”

They clapped and laughed.

The conversation soon shifted to the topic of ‘Why is chocolate so delicious?’

It was when they smiled quietly at the remark that it was delicious because they ate it secretly.

“But is it just me? Doesn’t this seem weird? At this time of day, the company staff usually go in and out of the emergency exit a lot.”

As Soufflé gasped, Rihyuk continued.

“It’s strange that no one comes in when we secretly eat chocolate.”

“Why? I’m fine with it.”

“Right.”

“Huh. Rihyuk is right. Now that I think about it, people really don’t come. Why is that?”

In front of the emergency exit on the fourth floor.

A large man stood in front of the door. An employee who was about to go up to the roof through the emergency exit hesitated.

“Dowon?”

“Hello.”

The polite greeting of the Singer Team manager. The company employee nodded as if he understood.

Then he made a conspiratorial expression.

“New Black kids are secretly eating something again, right?”

“Yes.”

“It’s fun, isn’t it? The whole company knows except for them.”

He waved his hand and told him to work hard. He bowed to the employee.

Then an A&R Team employee who came out of the office saw him and asked, “Is Woojoo inside…?”

“Yes.”

“Eek.”

He smiled as he watched the A&R Team employee quickly move away.

Woojoo [Hyung, please create a sense of crisis]

Woojoo [This is the moment]

Dowon pressed the keypad.

Dowon [Moment?]

Woojoo [The perfect timing]

Dowon [Ah, I see]

He opened the emergency exit door and cleared his throat. He changed his tone of voice.

“Ahem–”

A response came right away.

“Ahh!”

“Hey, hey!”

He heard the sound of lizards screeching and whimpering, along with the thumping of stairs as they ran down.

Seok Dowon smiled quietly.

After practice that day, Woojoo told Seokhwan Hyung about what happened with Manager Jo.

The youngest was scared to talk to the director alone, so Woojoo went with him.

The reaction of the person who heard the whole story in the office was.

“Hmm.”

It was a smile that Woojoo couldn’t understand.

“Did that happen today?”

“Yeah.”

“They say the bottom of the lamp is dark. He was doing such a trick under the water.”

His voice tone was soft, but Woojoo didn’t know why it was so scary. The math genius who had been spinning his pen for a while came to a conclusion.

“For now, you guys just stay put. Send me the recording file, and I’ll take care of the rest.”

Woojoo didn’t know what happened after that.

“Hello.”

“…”

Manager Jo, whom they ran into at the company, avoided their eyes and left without saying a word to their greeting. It seemed like things went well.

When Woojoo asked Seokhwan Hyung, he only said it was resolved.

Woojoo didn’t bother to ask what kind of conversation they had.

Sometimes, ignorance was bliss.

Time flew by.

Comeback preparation, broadcast, broadcast, and broadcast.

Woojoo went on the radio and did a live with his brothers, and he also threw jokes on talk shows.

The main purpose was mostly to promote the third album.

“Hello, we are New Black!”

There was also an event related to the History Discovery Team.

As the popularity rose on SNS, HBS suggested a signing event.

It was a public signing event for the general public, and there were a lot of funny situations.

“My child is a fan.”

Woojoo looked at the child as the mother said. The baby who was sucking his fingers looked at him briefly.

He ignored him.

The mother was flustered.

“This, this can’t be, my child is a fan…”

She handed Woojoo the autograph paper.

“To. Please write Hyesun.”

“Okay.”

Woojoo waved his hand at the baby who was hiding behind his mom and watching him.

“Hi, Hyesun~”

“I’m Hyesun.”

“Ah, oh…”

The mother’s whispering made the other people who were getting autographs from his brothers next to him lower their heads and make a snorting sound.

There were a lot of similar things.

The mothers who brought their children said ‘my child is a fan’, but the kids were too young to even know what history was.

There was one, though.

“Caveman ahjusshi!”

The boy who pointed his finger at Rihyuk. Rihyuk covered his face with both hands.

On the other hand, the most popular one was none other than Jiho.

Thanks to the drama’s buff, there were quite a few people who recognized him.

Woojoo heard the line ‘Hey, isn’t that Slip guy’ at least ten times as he passed by the event hall.

“Hello there.”

…Most of them had a blank expression when they saw his real appearance, but Woojoo guessed he would too.

James and the thugs, who were so messy, turned out to be calm guys.

And the polite 20-something young man Officer Heo was clapping and laughing ‘kyahaha’.

“Hello.”

Woojoo also saw some familiar faces in between. There was a Soufflé, who was dressed in a normal office worker’s outfit, probably stopped by after going out for work.

She smiled at them.

“Oh, you look so handsome in real life.”

He seemed to want to give off a general public vibe, so Woojoo raised his hand with a warm smile.

“Your bag charm is pretty.”

“Oops.”

The other person gave an embarrassed laugh at the sight of her bag with a New Black keyring.

Then they took the Korean history summary that Rihyuk made and got his autograph, looking happy the whole time.

Woojoo always found it amazing.

The fact that he could be someone’s happiness.

While the person in front of them was clearing out, Woojoo waved and smiled at the smartphone cameras that were taking pictures around him.

“Our History Discovery Team uploads twice a week on the HBS YouTube account, so please subscribe and like.”

“Please do!”

“Thank you!”

They put Jiho in the middle and made a giant heart with one arm each, drawing laughter from everywhere.

When Woojoo searched online later, he saw that it was the most bizarre heart he had ever seen.

Just like that, their History Discovery Team became popular on SNS and they were invited to various events.

Meanwhile, the two pillars of our pre-comeback activities, PBS Challenge, Legendary Song Discovery Team!, were also coming to an end.

-Congratulations! Mr. Song Bohyung!

On the last Wednesday of March.

The fifth round of the Legendary Song Discovery, which was held in front of six hundred spectators, ended with the victory of trot singer Song Bohyung.

This meant that Cha Woohyun had won twice, New Black once, Lisa once, and Song Bohyung once.

To put it bluntly, the Jo Yuri Band had nothing to sing on the final stage of the first season of Legendary Song Discovery.

At first, Woojoo thought it was a warm-hearted program that didn’t announce any losers or lower ranks, but when he thought about it again, it seemed like the most cruel format.

Even at the farewell party after the show, the Jo Yuri Band silently packed their instruments and left in a gloomy mood, looking like the Rocket Team that had lost and run away.

“Good job, everyone. Good job!”

They would see them again at the bonus stage, but they exchanged words of appreciation with Lisa and Song Bohyung for their hard work.

Lisa was noticeably happy with the gift they and LisaLover gave her.

Song Bohyung also said he liked the gift they prepared and offered to give them some of his glittery outfits.

“Thank you so mu…”

Someone covered Woojoo’s mouth.

“It’s okay, it’s okay!”

“We’re fine with the glitter, really!”

“Please wear them a lot!”

Those rascals.

They always made him wear ugly clothes.

Anyway, after saying goodbye to the senior singers, Woojoo faced the person whom they had put the most effort into preparing the gift for.

Woojoo had rehearsed in the dressing room with Junghyun as a stand-in to give this to him.

“Hmm.”

Cha Woohyun took the gift box and asked with an indifferent expression, “What is this?”

“It’s a gift we prepared.”

“A gift? Why?”

They answered.

“You recommended us for the OST and the cameo appearance, so we’re very grateful and wanted to give you something.”

“It’s tea that’s good for your throat.”

“Rihyuk prepared it.”

They pushed Rihyuk forward, like parents urging their shy children in front of a celebrity.

‘You wanted to greet him, right? Hurry up and say hello.’

‘Don’t be nervous.’

The other person’s eyes turned to Rihyuk. Rihyuk hesitantly stammered a greeting.

“I, I prepared it.”

“I see. Thank you.”

He patted Rihyuk’s shoulder and walked away.

Then he came back and tapped their shoulders once each.

“…He must be happy, right?”

He was so quiet that Woojoo couldn’t tell how he felt about the gift from his face.

He said he would post it on SNS, so Woojoo guessed he liked it.

In the car.

His large hand picked up the tea bag in the gift box, while the manager sitting in the passenger seat spoke to him.

“Hyung-nim.”

He had the picture of him and New Black on the SNS upload screen and called him.

“What should I write?”

“Do I have to write this? It’s a personal gift, if you think about it.”

“You have to. New Black kids are doing really well these days. You have to get in on the action, too, Hyung-nim. At least a spoon, if not a spoon.”

“Hmm. Then…”

He leaned back on the chair and said, “I got a gift from New Black.”

“Yeah.”

His manager typed away on the SNS post.

“I’m feeling good.”

Tap, tap, tap, tap.

“Um, I’ll enjoy it well. Thank you.”

Tap, tap, tap, tap.

“Do you want to check it?”

“It’s fine. You must have written it well. Just post it.”

@cha_cow

(A photo of Kim Junghyun and Cha Woohyun standing solemnly like two heavy statues. The members of New Black are scattered around them like weeds.)

A special gift from our New Blackies!

I’m so happy ><

A tea that’s good for the throat~ Thank you. I’ll drink it well!!

#SongDiscoveryTeam #Good_Juniors #NewBlack

“…”

The members of New Black who were looking at the SNS in the practice room had stunned expressions on their faces.