In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: Rxel

Chapter 256

Five minutes before the broadcast.

As expected of a popular variety show on Thursday, the internet was ablaze with heated discussions.

-Oh, today’s guests are idols?

-Idols are boring. I remember the last time they had an idol special, it was a disaster.

-I feel like idols always ruin the vibe somehow.

–ㅋ, well, that’s obvious. You only remember the cases where you liked the idols, but there were many cases where you didn’t.

The atmosphere was generally low on expectations.

And it was understandable.

The last idol special was a legendary flop, filled with the MCs’ blunders and the guests’ stiff reactions.

After the broadcast, there were a series of critical articles asking, ‘What’s wrong with Shintoki these days?’

The loyal viewers were not happy with that.

-Who are the guests today?

-It’s an idol leader special.

-Here’s the list. “On this day, Shintoki (nickname) will feature TNT’s Seonwoong, Teen Spirit’s Hwiyeon, Wild’s Woosan, Street Boys’ Hanjo, New Black’s Woojoo, and more.”

-Oh, that’s a pretty major lineup, isn’t it?

-I think I’ve heard of all those group names.

Even the Shintoki viewers who were not interested in idols recognized the lineup.

TNT and Teen Spirit were names that anyone with a school-age acquaintance would know.

Wild was also known as a sporty idol who often appeared on athletic variety shows.

New Black was…

-New Blackㅋㅋ. Aren’t they the funny ones?

-Somehow I feel happyㅋ. I just watched something on YouTube.

-Is the one who cosplayed as Cheok Jungyeong coming today? He was the funniest.

-He’s not the leader.

-He’s Junghyun and this is Woojoo. Wait… how do I know the names of male idols…?

-I sang along to their song Deoksoon-ah at the karaoke yesterday. Nice to see themㅋㅋ.

When the viewers who initially reacted negatively to the idol keyword showed interest in the word ‘New Black’.

The broadcast finally began.

Meanwhile, a hilarious preview that seemed to have overdosed on drugs flowed out, sweeping away the negative predictions.

–ㅋㅋㅋㅋ. Today’s gonna be epic.

–ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-There’s never been a time when the preview was this good and the show was boringㅋㅋㅋㅋ.

The opening of Shintoki started with the MCs’ comments.

The guests appeared and introduced themselves, and the MCs added their comments.

New Black’s Woojoo appeared with a bright smile.

-He’s so handsome…

-He must have spent a lot of money on customizing his face.

-I’m so annoyed that my face keeps reflecting on the monitor.

-Look at the writers’ reactions.

The camera showed the writers clapping and cheering for themselves behind the scenes, and Woojoo’s smiling face.

[Hello, I’m New Black’s Woojoo.]

After a bland introduction, the MCs’ comments were added.

At the same time, the flower CG in the bright background started to wither one by one, revealing the twist.

Scenes of his past mistakes flowed for almost a minute.

Like the opening of a movie where the world news scenes flow, his black history was shown one after another.

The problem of his comment on the fan club name being Soufflé.

The comment he made when he won first place, saying ‘Oh, really?’

The scene where he thought he was drunk on a non-alcoholic drink on a music variety show.

The idol variety show where he shouted ‘Deoksoon is mine’ to a cat. And finally, the legendary Woo Jenmin that appeared on Taiwanese news.

A calligraphic caption appeared under Woojoo’s face, like a human documentary.

「Seon Woojoo (23 years old, black history master)」

While the guests opened their mouths in shock and the person in question looked at the ceiling, the viewers burst into laughter.

-You passed.

–ㅋㅋㅋㅋ. Passed.

-An idol born for Shintokiㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-This place is a black history paradise.

-Ordered one serving, got five servings.

-What are the PDs doing? Go and get him some more cushions.

-They had to bring himㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-The funniest thing is that all this happened in less than a yearㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ.

The Shintoki viewers applauded and admired his achievements in just one year of his debut.

Next, a simple talk corner with a lie detector.

While the male-dominated community of Shintoki had a lukewarm response, the idol community was hot.

-Hwiyeon is so cuteㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Sigh… He’s the treasure and truth of the world. That smile is everything.

-Hwiyeon probably never swore in his life, right??

-Woosan looks like the sports club guy that everyone had a crush on in school.

-Seonwoong drinking water is like a bear.

The fans of each group were happy and commented whenever their idols’ faces appeared on the screen.

In between, there were posts like ‘Did New Black explain their manipulation?’, ‘The rigged idols are cosplaying as popular ones’, but they were pushed away by the tearful efforts of the Soufflé fans who posted things like ‘My love, you’re the universe’, ‘Gyuho brushing his hair.jpg’.

In this atmosphere where everyone was laughing and enjoying their idols’ weaknesses being revealed.

A scene that caught the attention of the idol fans began to appear.

[Let me try to guess.]

It was a scene where New Black’s Woojoo guessed the voices of the Street Boys and TNT members.

A shoddy Sherlock Holmes costume was superimposed on Woojoo and the background music of a detective movie played.

-How can he guess that??

-I listen to my kids’ voices more than my own blood, but;;

-They distorted the voices so annoyingly, how can he tellㅋㅋ

-Even the same group members are puzzled right nowㅋ

Everyone was making negative predictions, but Woojoo started to guess the voices of each group member accurately.

Not only that, but he also explained the characteristics of each voice.

[Try it with the viewers!] The production team also laid out a board and challenged them to try it with a caption.

But there were few people who got the answer right.

• • I have no idea

• • I’m a concert king, but I only know one or two of our Stbo kids’ voices

• • I’m a Together… I thought it was Taehyun, but it was Jihun f***

• • All wrongㅋㅋㅋㅋ

• • If you listen, that voice sounds like that voice…

• • Let’s reflect on ourselves

• • ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

• • How does he… no, how does he guess?

• • What is this

• • Is he beating the fans in guessing his own group members’ voices right now? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

The reaction was quiet when it was Street Boys, but the board started to boil when TNT appeared.

The fans who had declared themselves as the real fans of the scene also failed to guess them all.

The more they failed, the more mystery piled up.

‘How does he know?’

TNT’s fans had already replayed the video that spread on SNS, but they just shook their heads every time.

They guessed the voices of some members who were easy to distinguish, but as soon as the difficulty level went up a bit, they got it wrong.

They thought it was this member, but it was that member.

They thought it was that member, but it was this member.

Some members had their voices distorted so much that they said ‘I have no idea’ when they heard them.

After trying 10 times, they finally grasped the clue and said ‘Ah…’.

TNT and Street Boys’ fans looked at the screen with blank faces.

Every time Woojoo, who was sitting on the TV, smiled faintly, it seemed like he was saying ‘You can’t do this, can you?’

‘Wow…’

The eyes of the fans who had not paid attention to the other idols on the screen began to move.

Meanwhile, there was another reason why TNT’s fans were amazed.

[We’re close!]

It was because TNT’s younger line mentioned that they were close to New Black’s Woojoo first.

Unlike the older line, who was known for having a wide network and being called a yardstick, the younger line was famous for being shy.

They had an interview answer that said it took a long time to get close to someone, but once they did, they were informal.

So it was surprising that they said ‘Eek, don’t do that, Sunbae-nim!’ and said they were close first.

• • Our kids are not the ones who say they’re close to someone

• • They must be really close? Amazing

• • I’ve seen others say they’re close to someone to get attention, but I’ve never seen our kids say they’re close to someone firstㅋㅋ

• • Yeah, kind of likeable

• • If I was close to TNT, I would brag about it every time I went on a show

• • My mouth is itching

Along with the comment that they hoped they would do well since they were trainees, the testimonies of TNT members were briefly edited and aired.

[Don’t act like you don’t know us because we’re rookies!]

[Yeah!]

[Please act friendly on the official seats! You’re too formal!]

While TNT members testified that Woojoo deliberately didn’t talk about their friendship in case they would get hurt.

Woojoo smiled awkwardly on the screen.

The fans of TNT started to look at the members of New Black with softer eyes.

–ㅋㅋso that’s why they were startled every time he called him Sunbae-nim in Legendary Song Discovery 

-Mystery solved

-What’s his name? Woojoo?

-But if he’s TJ’s younger brother, he must have had a lot of fans. Why didn’t I know his name?

When stories about Woojoo started to circulate on idol communities and SNS, and a voice challenge game where people had to guess the members’ voices was popular.

Finally, Woojoo’s elementary school classmate appeared.

The story of his prince syndrome in his elementary school days made everyone laugh on and off the screen.

-He’s so cute…

–ㅋㅋI don’t know much about idols, but I think I’ll remember him

-Wasn’t he the one who blew up the board at the awards show last year? The nose-scrunch guy

-Yeah, that’s him

–ㅋㅋㅋㅋprince syndrome

-Why do I relate to this ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-But it’s funny… but kind of unluckyㅋㅋ

When his past activities and fan sign episodes came out, there were laughs but also some reactions like ‘he’s kind of unlucky…’.

[What did you look like when you were young that made you act like that?]

One of the MCs asked, and the production team showed a prepared photo.

[…Wow.]

The MCs widened their eyes in surprise.

The young Woojoo sitting in a flower bed and smiling brightly.

He looked like a child actor’s pictorial.

His eyes were rounder and shinier than foreign child models. His skin was snow-white. His nose was sharp even when he was young.

-This is like the children’s hope edition

-I was the despair edition

The people watching on their phones tried to save the image without knowing, and the people who pressed the capture screen were sad to see the black screenshot due to the prevention function.

Various communities started to explode with posts.

-I accepted it in one second

-Well… with that level of looks, he had to have prince syndrome

-That’s why the kids clapped for everything he did

-Kids love handsome and pretty things

-The ones who said he was unlucky, come out and apologize

-Apologize

-I… wrote something without knowing. I’m sorry…

-Clap! Clap! Novice crime! Novice crime…!

–ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-But he’s really handsome, super handsome…

-He’s not a millennium stone, he’s a millennium baby

-You’re my wallpaper from today

-If the agency has any sense, they’ll release his baby photos

In a short time, the young Woojoo’s photo spread everywhere.

And the production team of Shintoki, who was monitoring this reaction, blinked their eyes.

“PD-nim. The reaction is coming from an unexpected place.”

“…”

“They’re only talking about the photo…”

The reaction was exploding from a different place than the parts they had spent over 10 hours editing.

From one community to another.

From Korean community to K-pop community.

From K-pop community to other foreign internet sites.

A photo of an unknown child was spreading everywhere.

Han Taehyun [Hey Korean baby]

Han Taehyun [ㅋㅋKorean babyㅋㅋ]

Woojoo [It’s child]

Woojoo [You’re blocked for today]

Han Taehyun [No, I]

Woojoo pressed the block button and the messages stopped.

How many times had he done this?

Woojoo had probably blocked at least five people so far.

“Phew…”

The part where Woojoo appeared on Shintoki yesterday was a huge topic.

“Woojoo, Woojoo. You’re a hit!”

As soon as he visited the promotion team, they greeted him with ‘Oh, our fairy’.

They said Woojoo got a good response from the main viewers of Shintoki, the 2030 men and women.

The men liked the expression of Woojoo and Hanjo being dragged by the PD of Men Go…

No. Why did they like that kind of thing?

Every time he saw an article that said ‘Woojoo, confirmed to star in Men Go’, he felt like exploding with rage and tearing off his clothes.

“Do you want to see the comments? They’re positive.”

“I don’t want to.”

The situation of an idol who had to go to the army again after completing his reserve duty last year.

They said that the veterans were sympathetic, but to Woojoo, they all looked like they were laughing behind their hands.

It was a relief that the part where Eunsung ruined everything was postponed to the second half of next week.

But the point where the most heated reactions were coming from was really unexpected.

“The cutest child in the world…?”

Why was his picture circulating on some South American site?

A photo titled ‘New Black Woojoo’s Childhood’ that started from an overseas K-pop community was spreading everywhere.

“Where is this?”

“England.”

“And this?”

“It’s a personal SNS, but they say it’s South Africa?”

Some foreign news sites also posted gossip articles asking ‘Who is this child?’ with a screenshot of a Taiwanese broadcast that wrote his name as ‘Woo Jenmin’.

“Ha…”

Woojoo chuckled bitterly as he watched the fake news that was spreading around.

There was also someone who posted a picture of Actor Lee Gyeonwoo in response to a question asking who the Korean celebrity was.

Woojoo clicked the mouse next to Assistant Manager Hong’s laptop and asked, “What’s this about the skin color?”

“They say it’s too pale…”

They said that Koreans don’t have skin that pale, and wondered if the photo was overly edited.

Love yourself, huh…

“And this…?”

“Oh, this is because the Japanese people are spreading it around as a Japanese baby…”

How many nationalities did he have?

The Chinese people said it was a Chinese baby, the Japanese people said it was a Japanese baby.

As the scale grew, the scale of the fake information also grew.

Wouldn’t there be a conspiracy theory in the American community that there was a virus hidden in the photo of the Korean child that was spreading now?

Woojoo rolled his tongue as he looked at the reactions to the photo.

It really spread everywhere.

He had only heard of the global era, but this was the first time he experienced it like this.

Would his childhood photo become more famous than him…?

Woojoo sighed deeply as he looked at the photo that was spread on various internet sites around the world.

“Why, are you unhappy?”

“No. I just wish I had debuted as a kid.”

The PR staff all laughed at Woojoo’s words.

They joked that they should time travel and gather the members of their group when they were in elementary school and debut as ‘Kids Black’.

“Right, Woojoo. You were on the real-time search several times yesterday.”

“Oh. Really?”

The screen they showed Woojoo had search terms like ‘New Black Woojoo army’, ‘Woojoo goes to be a man’ and so on.

“I won’t buy you coffee next time.”

The PR staff laughed among themselves.

They talked about the new ads that came in thanks to this rabbit for a while, when someone asked Woojoo, “By the way, Woojoo.”

“Yes?”

“There’s someone who claims to be your elementary school classmate and is spreading a rumor. Do you want us to take action from the company?”

“A rumor?”

One of the staff asked cautiously, “Yeah. They say you were really bad at dancing when you were in elementary school and they’re spreading some ridiculous rumors.”

“…”

“Our fans took screenshots and reported it to us, but we need to check the facts first.”

“No, no. It’s true. I was really bad at dancing when I was in elementary school.”

“…Really?”

“Yes. I really was.”

Woojoo explained to the people who asked him several times that ‘I had such a time’ and left the office.

And his phone screen flashed.

Ha Eunsung [Boss]

Ha Eunsung [By any chance…]

Ha Eunseong [Are you a famous Korean baby??ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

“…”

Woojoo tapped my finger on the screen.

Woojoo [Your zipper is open]

Ha Eunseong [Really?]

Ha Eunseong [Where are you watching me from?]

Ha Eunseong [No, it’s not. No way]

Woojoo [ㅇㅇ]

Woojoo [Be nice to people]

He replied with a barrage of messages, but Woojoo just blocked him with a smile.

This was the sixth time.

“Sigh…”

But sadly, the ones he wanted to block the most were impossible to block.

The studio on the second floor.

As soon as Woojoo opened the door and entered, a pack of hyenas greeted him.

“Baby Jenmin!”

“Kekeke!”

“Did our millennium baby come? Kyakyakya!”

Junghyun, who was holding a handy cam, narrated ‘Today, the mood of Woojoo Hyung is not good’ as his brothers clapped and laughed.

Woojoo ignored them and opened his laptop to work on the song.

He even put on headphones and was editing the song, when Bijoo poked his back.

“Ah, right. Hyung.”

“Hmm?”

“I got a message from Street Boys, and they said to deliver this to you.”

Bijoo handed Woojoo a printed A4 paper.

At first, Woojoo thought it was some kind of certificate, but he couldn’t help laughing when he saw it.

[Honorary Concrete Member: Seon Woojoo] was written on it.

“They said they were really impressed by how you guessed the voices of Street Boys members yesterday. Their fans made this for you.”

Woojoo laughed as he saw the phrase ‘We support the friendship of the Mint Choco-dan’ on it.

Woojoo asked as he looked at the appointment letter, “Are there any benefits?”

“You can enter the broadcast. They said this came from the company.”

Soon, Junghyun showed Woojoo the screen and he laughed.

DNS Media announced the comeback showcase of Street Boys and wrote ‘Honorary Concrete Member, New Black’s Woojoo can also enter’.

The people in the PR Team over there were good at business.

Woojoo smiled and turned his eyes back to the laptop, when he suddenly remembered something he had been meaning to ask.

“By the way, Bijoo.”

“Yes?”

“Do you have anything you want to do next Monday?”

They would prepare some events separately, but it would be right to do what the birthday boy wanted as well.

Bijoo thought for a moment and opened his lips.

“I want to go there.”

“Where?”

“Family restaurant.”

“Family restaurant?”

“When I was young, my parents used to take me there on my birthday.”

He seemed to have not been able to go there since Minjun got sick.

Even when Junghyun suggested going together after becoming a trainee, he said he felt guilty about having fun by himself while thinking of his brother.

Woojoo nodded as he saw Bijoo’s expression, which hinted at his story.

“Okay. Let’s go.”

There was no music show on Monday.

The company also left the day empty and told them to just rest and do nothing.

They had plenty of time.

“Then I’ll make a reservation in advance.”

Family restaurant.

The staff at the counter received a phone call.

A pleasant voice in his ear wanted to make a reservation.

“Oh, a reservation. Monday?”

-Yes.

“Your name is…?”

-Seo Woojoo.

Then the other person asked.

-By the way, do you have any menu items that kids can eat there? Something sweet and sticky. I’ve never been to a family restaurant before…

“Yes. We do. We have a separate children’s menu.”

-Ah, I mean from the regular menu, not the kids’ menu. Our kids only order the kids’ menu when they want to get those toy goodies…

The staff member noticed something.

‘Our kids?’

He imagined elementary school kids saying ‘I’m not a kid!’ in his head.

He smiled and explained the various menu options.

‘Is he bringing his nieces or siblings?’

She told him in a pleasant voice.

“Do you need a separate chair?”

-A chair?

“Yes, to make it more comfortable to sit…”

-Oh, I didn’t know you had such chairs.

He showed a curious reaction and she nodded.

-Is it comfortable? Then please prepare one.

The staff member wrote ‘kids’ chair’ on her note and checked it with a v.

-And what else do you have? Uh… uh, ah… You said there’s a birthday celebration event at the family restaurant, right?

“Yes, we do.”

He took out a form and put his pen on the part that said ‘child’s name: ㅇㅇㅇ’.

“What’s the name?”

-Kim Bijoo.

“Okay, Kim… Bijoo.”

-Do you also give balloons? What? You want one too…? Wait a minute. Our kid is asking if…

“Yes, that’s fine.”

It seemed like someone was nagging him from the side.

“Then we’ll prepare it for you.”

-Thank you, I appreciate it.

They hung up the phone with a smile.

But they had no idea that they were talking about completely different things.