In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: Rxel

Chapter 214 

They naturally resumed the broadcast after cleaning up.

Since they were covering educational content, they proceeded with a calmer tone than usual.

“As you can see from the picture, people lived in caves in the Stone Age.”

“Why?”

“Because caves are good for avoiding rain. Jiho, do you have the confidence to build a house when you don’t know anything?”

“Ah. That’s true. It’s best to live in a house that nature made.”

They explained as they placed one picture at a time on the table so that it was visible to the camera.

Rather than giving a rough overview of ‘this is how it goes, remember!’, they explained why each little thing was like that.

This part would be the most curious for children who didn’t know much about history.

As each picture came out, they each made inferences or talked about them, leading the flow of the broadcast.

Every time they explained the descriptions written in the script in an easy way, the writers standing behind the camera smiled with satisfaction.

The PD raised his thumb with a look that said, ‘That’s it! That’s the one!’

“Uh, but… this is really hard to remember.” Junghyun asked, scratching his cheek, “I listened to the explanation well, but this is like this. And that is like that. Is there an easy way to remember it?”

“Um… yeah.”

That was when Bijoo spoke.

“How about making a simple song out of it?”

“A song?”

“Yes, let’s try to make a song with what you just taught me…”

Woojoo agreed to the proposal that came out on the spot.

“Shall we give it a try then?”

They all thought for a moment and then sang in harmony.

Stone Age Stone Age

We built huts and lived in them

New Stone Age New Stone Age

The floor was sunken and it was a pit house

They sang casually like an a cappella to fill the broadcast time.

It was clear that having stage experience was important.

Thanks to the influence of the first round of Legendary Song Discovery, their kids were able to perform this trivial song with perfect stage manners and harmonies.

Stone Age

It’s not yours, it’s ours

Bronze Age

Now we distinguish between mine and yours

Ooh- Private Property

The production team of ‘Ooh- Private Property’ faced a crisis for a moment, as they closed their eyes tightly or shook their cheeks.

They couldn’t help but laugh.

Woojoo didn’t know how the first broadcast would go, but he thought the atmosphere was good.

***

Sok Sok! 

History Discovery Team, a 30-minute show.

The recording, which lasted for almost two hours, was slowly coming to an end.

And the production staff had a blank expression on their faces.

‘This is crazy…’

It felt like they had unleashed five hellhounds like beagles.

They couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

“Ha ha! He got it wrong, he got it wrong!”

“Kyahaha!”

“This is just a mistake, okay? I got confused for a moment. There’s no way I would lose at this!”

The five idols were going crazy as they took the final quiz that summarized today’s content.

Even considering that this was a broadcast, they wondered if they were really the same people who had a calm impression when they first met them.

They were working hard, but at this point, it seemed like they were having fun.

“Nooo!”

Rihyuk was in agony as he kept getting pushed back by the other members in the order of ringing the bell and answering the quiz.

“No…! I knew it!”

“You should have rung faster, Mr. Rihyuk. What does it matter if you’re fast at running? You need to be quick-witted.”

“Ee… Don’t tease me!”

“Oh my. I wanted to wear the primitive costume, but I can’t!”

One member’s ears turned red as the others laughed and teased him.

They were all trying their best to avoid the primitive costume, the penalty for the last place in the quiz show.

The production staff watching them were amazed at how hard they were working.

“Wow … This is almost like grinding bones for children?”

“Look at the tension. The children watching will also feel the bones.”

He was an idol famous for his sincerity in the industry, so he expected it, but it was a great feat that surpassed that prediction.

“What’s the big deal about wearing that costume, Mr. Rihyuk? We love you even if you’re from the Stone Age.”

“Yeah, who cares if you’re a primitive man? Hahaha!”

The main writer, who was watching the members laughing among themselves, said to PD Sung, “…At this point, I don’t know if they’re working hard or having fun.”

“Y-yeah.”

For the staff of Kiwoom Production, who had only handled children’s programs until then, New Black’s energy was a kind of vibe they had never experienced before.

“Are all idols like this?”

“I guess so.”

They had a strange misunderstanding.

The main writer, who was watching them have fun with their own quiz show, expressed his regret.

“It’s such a shame about the broadcast time. We have to cut out a lot of things to fit this in 30 minutes.”

“I know, right? Time is precious…”

From the Stone Age to Gojoseon.

They were sorry to have to remove many of the interesting things that New Black had produced.

And then.

“I had to cut out some jokes that the kids wouldn’t understand.”

“It was so funny, though…”

Since the program was aimed at a young audience, they had to take into account the broadcasting station’s prior censorship, and there were cases where they had to edit out some obscure references.

Things that had to be deleted, not because they were offensive, but because of the nature of the program.

Of course, even with that in mind, they thought a very informative and valuable history program would be born, but…

They still felt a bit regretful.

‘Well, there’s nothing I can do since the time slot is only 30 minutes…’

As he was wondering how to make today’s content more interesting, something suddenly popped into his head.

“Ah.”

“What is it, PD-nim?”

“Writer Sooyoung. You know how HBS has been uploading a lot of YouTube content lately?”

“Yeah, they’ve been making all kinds of stuff. They even add subtitles to the drama highlight videos.” 

He said, “What if we upload this first edited version to YouTube? So that not only kids, but also other people can watch it.”

“YouTube?”

The main writer, who had been thinking hard, said, “So you want to split it into two parts? One for the broadcast, which is 30 minutes long and suitable for children. And another one for YouTube, right?”

“That’s right. How do you like it?”

“It sounds good. The Culture Department will love it. The key point is…” The main writer asked, “Will other people find this interesting?”

“Considering it’s an educational program… Pfft!”

As Rihyuk, who was wearing a fur coat, chased them with a snowball, the members dodged in panic, and everyone burst into laughter.

That was how New Black’s appearance on ‘Sok Sok! History Discovery Team’ was decided to be released online as a separate edition.

***

The first recording of ‘Sok Sok! History Discovery Team’ ended successfully.

The atmosphere was warm and pleasant as the PD came out to see them off personally.

It felt like they were being pampered as ‘our New Black’.

It was the first time they received such a precious treatment at the filming site, so they all smiled and enjoyed it.

He suggested that they upload it separately on YouTube so that other people could see it too, and they all agreed enthusiastically.

After all, the reason they went on the show was to gain public recognition.

The second week of February passed by busily, starting with the recording of the History Discovery Team.

They visited the original singers to prepare for the second round of the Song Discovery Team and talked about the songs.

They arranged the competition songs with the A&R Team.

They also worked on the songs for the third album.

In their spare time, they continued with their foreign language studies and the preparation for the second round.

They lived like worker ants, working and working, sleeping for a few hours, then working and sleeping again.

Fortunately, Woojoo’s throat condition was fully recovered, but fatigue followed.

“Hyung, wake up. We’re almost there.”

“I’ll eat a little more…”

Bijoo kept shaking Woojoo’s arm as he was in a daze.

He was too tired to budge, so Junghyun stepped in. He gently opened Woojoo’s eyes with his fingers.

The scenery inside the car forced itself into his sight.

“…”

He woke up with a jolt.

Junghyun smiled warmly and said, “Wake up, Hyung.”

“Yeah, okay…”

Woojoo blinked and got up.

It was such a novel way of waking him up that he was speechless.

The younger ones clapped and giggled, and Woojoo also chuckled.

He dragged his exhausted body out of the parking lot.

“Ugh, I’m drained.”

In the waiting room, he regained his energy by drinking ginseng and looking at the profile pictures of their Lady Kim Deoksoon.

Friday afternoon.

Today’s schedule was the production presentation of PBS’s ‘Challenge, Legendary Song Discovery Team!’, which was to air on Sunday at 5 p.m.

Their youngest had a happy expression on his face.

“I’m so excited. I feel like I’ve become an actor.”

“Because of the production presentation?”

“Yes. I’ve been dreaming of this moment.”

He said he had always dreamed of doing a production presentation like the actors, and he was happy to have fulfilled his wish.

A production presentation was a common event that preceded the first broadcast of a drama or a variety show.

Sometimes it was done on the day of the broadcast, and sometimes a few days before. In their case, it was on Friday, two days before the first episode.

It was usually a final promotion where they invited reporters, served snacks, and said ‘please watch us well (shy)’.

“Hi, guys.”

“Hello!”

Woojoo greeted the cast members warmly in front of the hall of the Sangam-dong Hotel.

They all loosened up while the trailer with the highlights of the first episode played on the scene.

Then the staff on the scene gestured for them to enter.

-They are the hottest rookies of 2014, who have swept the idol scene. They are New Black!

They entered the hall following the MC’s introduction.

Behind them, cameras on tripods flashed, and in front of them, photographers with cameras snapped away.

They all smiled brightly and posed in front of the photo wall prepared on the stage for ‘Challenge, Legendary Song Discovery Team!’.

“One, two, three.”

“Hello, we are New Black!”

They turned their bodies sideways and put their hands on each other’s shoulders for a group photo. They also clenched their fists and shouted “Fighting!” together.

When they first debuted, he used to wink or whisper to them “Let’s wrap this up, V-sign” whenever they had this photo time. But now they didn’t need that.

They all knew what to do.

Every 2-3 seconds, when Woojoo struck a pose, the members followed him perfectly.

-Yes, shall we proceed with the group photo time?

After the individual photo time from the lowest seniority, they gathered with the senior singers and cheered together.

-Now we will have a Q&A session. If you have any questions, please raise your hand.

The twelve cast members and the CP and main PD of the program sat on makeshift chairs in a circle.

Woojoo politely bowed and sat down on the floor, and their members quickly followed his posture.

Good. His kids were doing well.

Woojoo smiled so much that his cheeks hurt, as the cameras kept flashing throughout the Q&A session.

He wondered if he would look like a mask dancer after this was over.

Most of the questions about the program’s planning and concept were handled by the CP and the main PD, and the other senior singers also answered quite a few questions.

They also got called by their names from time to time.

-Song Bohyung is a trot singer. Lisa is a musical actress. New Black is an idol representative. How do you feel about competing with the senior singers?

Interpretation: If you don’t deny it, I’ll write an article with the title ‘New Black, the idols who are excited and thrilled to represent the industry’.

Woojoo held the microphone and smiled softly.

“We don’t think we are the representatives of the idols. We are just honored to compete with other senior singers as junior singers.”

Baek Sunghyun, the PD, nodded his head with a satisfied expression next to Woojoo.

Bijoo took the microphone next.

“We learned a lot from the seniors’ stages while participating in this competition. There were so many amazing stages.”

Well done. Their second.

Bijoo finished with a shy smile.

“So, I have a favor to ask you… Can you please watch the show live…?”

The reporters laughed at the timid and cute request of their second youngest.

The members gave them a cold stare every time they asked weird questions, as if they learned from what he did at the last showcase.

-Well, since you are an idol singer, there are some reactions that question your vocal skills compared to other singers.

Interpretation: If you don’t deny it, I want to attract some attention with a headline like ‘Overcoming the limits of an idol singer’.

When Woojoo was about to step in for the sensitive question, Rihyuk intervened with a good sense.

He had a business smile on his cold face.

“I think those reactions are not because of what kind of singers we are, but because we haven’t had a chance to show you our good side yet.” He said with a serious face, “So please watch the live broadcast for that reason…”

“Live broadcast!”

They all shouted “live broadcast” together and laughter erupted from everywhere.

The CP of the program smiled with a pleased face and covered his mouth with his hand. The other cast members also looked at them with a cute expression.

But even after Rihyuk gave a sufficient answer, the questions about their skills continued.

He kept giving standard answers every time, but there was no sign of an end.

When someone asked if he could sing a verse of a song here, Cha Woohyun, their senior, stepped in.

-These kids are good. I know.

He said briefly and firmly.

-I don’t think what kind of music you do is an important issue in a place where you compete with your skills.

Cha Woohyun, who had the strongest voice in this place, blocked the question and smiled softly.

-So if you’re really curious, watch the live broadcast with us.

When they all shouted “live broadcast” together, the atmosphere that was about to get stiff softened.

Woojoo guessed that there were quite a few people who were dissatisfied with them being here, judging by how many questions related to their skills came up.

Seokhwan Hyung told him not to read the comments, so he didn’t, but he could imagine what kind of comments they were just by listening to the reporters’ questions.

Honestly, he wasn’t very happy every time he got a question, but he answered them kindly with a bright smile.

This was a problem that time would solve anyway.

When the first round of the competition came out, the talk about their skills would disappear.

Besides, the PD said he would show them a reversal during the competition, so he left out their song scene in the highlight preview, so there was no way to avoid the questions mixed with doubt.

That was why they just smiled leisurely, knowing the result of the first round.

“Don’t worry about the questions earlier.”

After the press conference.

On the way back to the dorm, Seokhwan Hyung said with a smile, “You just have to wait until next Sunday. By then, the articles will suddenly change their tone and pour out. It’s a process of making them wait. These reactions will change completely when the broadcast goes out.”

They all nodded.

Jiho smiled brightly as if he was imagining something happy.

“Right. Let’s all imagine. If we wait for a week, they’ll say ‘New Black caused a sensation’.”

“Hey. That’s a bit of a weird expression. Let’s just say ‘we did a good job’.”

“Rihyuk has prepared a comment for the interview on his smartphone. ‘We are prepared rookies’…”

“What? Hyung, how did you see that?”

Woojoo had a pleasant conversation with his younger brothers. They all had the same thoughts in their heads.

Let’s wait for a week.

Since they already won first place, it didn’t matter what the reaction was now.

That was how he thought about the first episode of the Song Discovery Team on Sunday.

“…Hm? Director.”

Their eyes turned when Minki Hyung, who was in the passenger seat, made a serious expression.

“Look at this, Director.”

“What is this?”

The car stopped briefly at a red light.

They all approached and peeked their heads at Minki Hyung’s smartphone screen.

“…?”

It was a best post on an idol community.

“New Black Live Controversy…?”

Woojoo didn’t understand what it meant, so he focused his eyes.

The video in the post was their event fancam that took place on Saturday and Sunday.