In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: Rxel

Chapter 239

Wow. He was nervous.

Usually, it took an hour for the songs to show up on the real-time chart after they were released.

That meant they wouldn’t know if their song made it to the chart until 7 o’clock.

Even though the ranking didn’t come out right away, Woojoo’s heart was pounding and his stomach was churning.

“Huff…”

His deep breath sounded like thunder. He turned his head and met the eyes of his brothers.

They looked at each other and laughed. It felt like the tension was easing a bit.

“I wish it was released already. I’m really, really, really nervous. I can’t do anything right now.”

Woojoo felt the same way.

He wiped the sweat off his palm and started counting down from 5:55.

As he sat on the sofa in the waiting room and opened his laptop, the staff gathered around.

Seokhwan Hyung. Minki Hyung, Dowon Hyung. Manager Kim and the stylists. Hong Seoyoung from the PR Team and the intern. The fan manager. The dance and vocal trainers.

They were Team New Black, who worked hard to make the third album happen.

Everyone had a tense face.

Seokhwan Hyung put his hand on Woojoo’s shoulder and calmly comforted them.

“Oh, it’s coming, it’s coming.”

At Junghyun’s words, they all counted down 10 seconds.

Rihyuk, who was holding the mouse, kept refreshing the page.

At 6 o’clock sharp.

An album art appeared on the artist ‘New Black’ introduction page.

“Wow!”

They all clapped and congratulated the birth of the new album.

While Woojoo was telling the staff ‘You guys worked so hard’ as a producer.

“Download, let’s download it quickly. Hyung,” Bijoo said with an excited face. At his words, everyone started saying ‘Download! Download it quickly!’

They all took out their phones and downloaded the whole album.

Eleven songs were added to their phones.

The trendy album art that captured the sun in color, titled [Yellow, the Color of Sunshine].

A flower shaped like a pictogram was dotted in the middle. It was a picture that Bijoo drew himself.

“Wow…”

Woojoo smiled as he watched Bijoo look at the album art on his phone from various angles.

He looked like a child who saw a 3D picture for the first time.

“Hyung, I’m so amazed,” Bijoo said with wide eyes. “We worked on this and it came out as a product. Junghyun and I participated in composing songs too…”

“Isn’t it amazing?”

“Yes. Hyung, you’ve been feeling this way all this time.”

They were amazed by the songs they produced and participated in.

Everyone was talking excitedly.

“Dinner is here!”

The managers came with lunch boxes.

Steak sets from a family restaurant.

Seokhwan Hyung clapped his hands and gathered everyone’s attention.

“This is a lunch box that our members bought for the staff. Thank you for your hard work. Enjoy your meal.”

“Oh my.”

“Thank you! Guys, let’s eat well!”

There was a cheerful sound of cutting everywhere, and they ate the steak as if they were starving.

“Wow, this taste… I guess I was dieting for a month for today. It’s so delicious.”

“I feel like crying because it’s so delicious…”

“I already shed some tears.”

Junghyun stopped eating his steak and dabbed his eyes with a tissue.

No one was surprised.

“Did you yawn?”

“Yes.”

Well, that was that.

On the other hand, the reason they ate the steak quickly was also to avoid a certain topic.

No one was talking about it, and the staff didn’t say it for them either.

“Will our song make it to the chart?”

…their bear asked warmly.

As soon as the ranking talk came up, Woojoo’s stomach tightened.

Rihyuk coughed and looked for water. He drank so roughly that the tint on his straw came off.

And silence ensued.

“…”

“…”

Expected ranking.

The fact that they made it into the top 100 was amazing enough, so Woojoo thought he would be happy with any chart position.

In his head.

But lately, their songs from Legendary Song Discovery had been entering the charts one after another, and Something was also doing well in the top 10.

Their previous album, Masquerade, had also reached the 10th place.

Woojoo couldn’t help but have some expectations.

But nothing was certain in the music industry.

Even the strongest artists could slip if they made a mistake.

That was why he was scared.

What if they had high hopes, but the results fell short of their expectations? What if their songs didn’t receive enough love?

Woojoo could say ‘We worked hard, so that’s enough’, but the human heart was not so easy to change.

Especially since this album was a project that they led from the front.

Director Jo Gyuhwan had overseen the whole production, but they had more input in the practical aspects, from Woojoo as the producer to the other members. From the album art to the smallest details.

They had to show some results.

The company people wouldn’t blame them if they didn’t do well, but they had pride too.

They said ‘Let us try!’ and stepped up, but if the outcome was disappointing…

No. Let’s not think too pessimistically.

That was something to think about after the results came out.

Besides, right now, his kids are looking at him closely, like sailors looking at a compass in the middle of the sea.

“Let’s wait and see. There’s no point in guessing right now.”

“That’s right.” Bijoo chimed in, “Anyway, there’s no use in talking about whether we’re on the chart or not until the results come out. We might get disappointed if we get our hopes up too much.”

“I agree.”

“I’ll just imagine things by myself.”

They all said that, but they swallowed their saliva, blinked their eyes, or put their hands on their chests and took deep breaths.

They looked nervous.

Except for their third youngest, who was poking his fork at the broccoli and saying ‘This is delicious’.

As the kids looked at him, Woojoo looked for someone to look at and met Seokhwan Hyung’s eyes.

Bijoo whispered softly, “Hyung, don’t you think the manager’s expression is a bit… off?”

“Really, it is.”

Their manager, who was looking at his phone and frowning. The road managers were also whispering to each other.

Assistant Manager Hong from the PR Team also went outside with a serious face and a phone.

Woojoo thought he had some skill in reading people’s expressions, but they all looked a bit grim.

What was going on…

“…”

Then, Seokhwan Hyung smiled at Woojoo. But that expression made him feel more uneasy.

The kids’ eyes turned back to Woojoo.

“Let’s not worry too much,” Woojoo said with a smile. “I don’t have a bad feeling, so…”

That was when it happened.

As Woojoo was talking, as Bijoo was clasping his hands, as Junghyun was cutting a piece of steak and feeding it to Rihyuk, as Rihyuk was drinking water with a pale face.

As the youngest was taking a selfie in front of the screen with the album art.

Boom-

With a thunderous sound, everyone’s eyes turned to the window.

Outside the concert hall.

Dark clouds covered the sky and poured down rain.

“…”

Rihyuk tilted his head.

“I think I just had a bad feeling, what were you going to say?”

“…Nothing.”

Woojoo cut the steak silently.

Fan showcase rehearsal.

They moved around the stage busily, trying to digest the steak.

“I’ll be in the center with the spotlight, so Junghyun and Hyung can come in a half beat faster.”

“Got it. Should we come in at the ‘you’ part?”

“Yes. That part. And Rihyuk…”

Woojoo nodded and listened to the performance director’s suggestions on how to decorate the stage.

“Ah, five hundred won, five hundred won…”

They all cleared their throats.

Woojoo felt uneasy the whole time they were rehearsing on stage, following the director’s instructions.

“What do we do? It’s raining right now…”

The problem was the Soufflés waiting outside.

In their minds, they already saw the Soufflés soaked in rainwater, sagging and struggling.

“Minki Hyung, are the fans outside okay?”

“They all brought umbrellas. The rain has let up a bit since earlier, and they’ll start letting them in soon, so don’t worry.”

“Ah, thank goodness…”

They were all relieved.

They were happy when they heard they were coming back in spring, thinking it wouldn’t be too cold or hot, but then a shower showed up.

“Come on, let’s get our timing right again.”

They quickly checked their movements for the last time.

As they were getting off the stage, Jiho asked curiously, “But why did they remove all the chairs?”

“Huh, yeah?”

The chairs were gone from the first floor of the hall, which was divided into two floors.

That was where the reporters were sitting during the media showcase.

Rihyuk asked, “Wait a minute, how many people are coming?”

“A thousand, right?”

“But they made the seats standing now.”

“…Yeah.”

They had missed one more thing because they had cut off all the outside news.

The fan showcase attendance.

It wasn’t that they weren’t curious, but they just assumed it would be around a thousand people when they heard the venue.

That was the size of the fan meeting they had before.

But something seemed strange now.

“Let’s ask later.”

But as soon as they got back to the waiting room, they forgot all about the showcase attendance.

It was almost seven o’clock.

“…”

Woojoo massaged his stiff neck.

How did he calm down?

He hadn’t been this nervous since after their debut. It felt like they had run a hundred meters, and everyone was out of breath.

Rihyuk slapped his chest.

“I, I’ll be satisfied with whatever the result is.”

Jiho nodded his head.

“I’ve already let go… let go…”

“Let go.”

“I’ve let go. What we’ve done so far is what matters. Um… Ah, I don’t know what to say. Ugh! Rihyuk Hyung!”

“Don’t expect anything! I’m nervous too!”

While the two of them were making a fuss, they smiled calmly.

Inside, their organs were doing a dance break.

Rihyuk’s hand holding the mouse was shaking.

“Uh, I closed the window again.”

He kept making mistakes, so Bijoo took the mouse from him. Bijoo’s fingertips were steady.

But his eyelashes were trembling like crazy.

Five minutes before seven.

As everyone in the waiting room was tense, they looked at Seokhwan Hyung.

He was the same as before.

His expression was not good as he looked at his phone. Woojoo wanted to grab him and ask him what was going on, but he held back.

“Oh, the sky cleared up.”

The rain had stopped and the sky had opened up. It was dark, but the clear evening sky was visible.

A good sign!

They all nodded and started the countdown.

“Ten.”

Nine, eight, seven…

As the numbers decreased, their hearts pounded as if they would burst.

God, Deoksoon. Please make our songs do well. I’m going to make my last wish, well, not the last one, but a wish.

“Seven o’clock!”

The youngest grabbed their arms excitedly. It was when Bijoo was about to click the mouse.

Waaah-!

A sound like a scream faintly reached them.

It was a distant sound, but a scream that shook the entire concert hall. Bijoo closed the window with a flick of his finger.

Woojoo’s hand trembled as he typed Mango in the address bar.

His heart was pounding with excitement.

Could this be…

There were times like this.

When there’s a national soccer game, but the opponent was too strong, so you didn’t bother watching.

You hear a ‘Ahh!’ from somewhere and think ‘They scored on us’ and then a ‘Woohoo!’ and wonder ‘Did we score?’

The sound they just heard was the latter.

“It’s in!”

And it was when Woojoo was about to click on the chart details.

“Huh?”

Bijoo grabbed Woojoo’s arm and shouted.

“Huh! Huh!”

The other siblings were the same.

Before they even checked the detailed rankings on the real-time chart, they all gasped for breath.

“…!”

Woojoo felt goosebumps all over his body.

With an electric sensation, his arms, then his cheeks, and then his neck muscles tightened.

His mouth was dry as he swallowed saliva.

His mind was frozen.

Real-time music chart at 19:00.

There was only one album art displayed on the real-time rankings from first to tenth place.

It was the first place song.

Next to that first place song, there was a yellow album art.

First place. New Black – Windflower

The whole world stopped.

Everyone in the waiting room screamed.

“Woah-!”

At 7 p.m.

Real-time chart first place.

It was a record-breaking ranking that they had never imagined before.

It felt like a hole had been punched in a sack of rice. Their energy drained out.

“Huh…”

They all turned into squids and slid down the sofa.

Woojoo’s back was damp from leaning on it. He must have sweated without knowing it.

“Haha, wow…”

They looked at each other and laughed emptily. They couldn’t speak and just made wind noises with their mouths open.

“Congratulations!”

“Guys, congratulations!”

The staff ran over and patted their shoulders or shook their hands with excited faces.

Then the tension was released.

The reality that Woojoo didn’t feel at first hit him hard.

On the monitor, the words ‘First place. New Black – Windflower’ were waving at him.

“Congratulations, you all worked hard.”

As Woojoo saw Seokhwan Hyung’s face patting his shoulder, he asked the question he had been holding back.

“Hyung, why did you look like that from before? I was really nervous.”

“Oh, that.”

Their manager smiled and said, “I was managing my expression. I wanted to surprise you guys.”

“…?”

They tilted their heads. Bijoo asked, “What do you mean, Manager? Did you know the result beforehand?”

When a strange thought crossed Woojoo’s mind, Seokhwan Hyung and the staff burst into laughter.

“Idiots. Five-minute chart.”

“…?”

What was that?

“It’s a chart that shows the expected first, second, and third place for the next time slot.”

“…!”

“I was so surprised when I saw that, I thought I was going to die trying to manage my expression. Really. I barely held it in with a frown.”

So they were all deliberately squinting their eyes like that.

Now that they let out the laughter they had been holding back, the staff looked relieved and they made a ‘Wow, you bad people’ expression.

Then New Black soon laughed.

“Let’s look at the chart some more. We.”

At Bijoo’s urging, Woojoo clicked the mouse. When he clicked on ‘Details’, the rankings from first to tenth place popped up.

“Wow.”

As the screen changed, he exclaimed once again at the sight of Windflower at the top spot.

They gasped every time he scrolled down the mouse.

“There are also B-side tracks…!”

“What?”

This felt unreal.

Their B-side tracks were ranked at 23rd, 27th, 38th, and so on. There was Flower Dance, which they planned to promote as a follow-up song, and Intro: Wind, which Junghyun made himself.

“…This is crazy.”

They checked the top 100 and then looked at Windflower again.

It felt like all the screws that had been tightened were loosened.

They buried themselves in the sofa, leaving the screen with the number one spot on, as if it might disappear.

“…”

They made it.

That was the first thought that came to them.

Windflower waved at them, as if to greet them after they had been trembling with tension and anxiety.

…They really made it.

Woojoo closed his eyes slightly and a tear rolled down. A lump rose in his chest and something hot welled up.

As he took a deep breath, his teeth clashed with the trembling muscles in his throat.

When he let out a hot breath and another tear fell, it happened.

“Sniff…”

Woojoo opened his eyes wide at the sound of sobbing.

All of his brothers were crying.

Jiho was looking at the floor with his hands on his cheeks, and Rihyuk was swallowing his tears with his head tilted back. Even Junghyun, who looked calm, was wiping his eyes with his hand.

But the one who was crying the hardest was someone Woojoo never expected.

“Bijoo?”

It was Bijoo, who was covering his face with both hands and crying. He was shaking his body as if he was letting out a sorrowful cry.

Woojoo’s tears dried up.

“Bijoo Hyung, are you okay?”

“Hyung.”

“Bijoo.”

He only cried when we spoke to him.

He didn’t answer, so they just stared at him for a while as he sobbed and shook. After a few minutes, Bijoo waved his hand with his eyes wide open.

“I, I’m fine… Don’t worry about me. Guys.”

“You don’t look fine. Don’t cry. Our makeup will be ruined.”

At Woojoo’s words, Bijoo cried and laughed, held back and laughed, and blew his nose.

“I, I guess I was too nervous,” Bijoo said with a forced smile. “This album was centered around me. I made Windflower with Hyung…”

As he spoke, Bijoo took several deep breaths, then shuddered and started crying again.

“Wh, what if… what if we failed because of me…”

He couldn’t hold back and burst into tears again.

Bijoo’s pitiful crying made Woojoo feel both flustered and sad.

You should have told us earlier. Don’t keep it to yourself.

As Jiho quickly handed him a tissue, Woojoo wrapped his arm around his thin shoulder and comforted him.

“What do you mean, failed? Even if we did, how is that your fault?”

“But… I, I had that thought.”

“Hey, don’t cry. If you cry, I’ll cry too.”

Woojoo calmed him down for a while, and Bijoo finally settled down. It must have been a few minutes.

Woojoo asked him carefully, “Are you feeling better now?”

“…Yes. I feel much better.”

Bijoo sniffed and smiled.

“I’m so happy that it went well. We.”

They all nodded silently.

It felt like they had lifted a heavy burden off our shoulders. They could tell how each other felt without saying anything.

They hugged each other and quietly breathed for a moment.

“…You all worked hard.”

“You too, Hyung.”

They smiled and looked at each other.

The first thought that came to Woojoo when he saw the number one spot on the music chart was relief.

They made it.

The second thought was.

“Our Soufflés really gathered pearls.”

It was gratitude for their Soufflés.

They made the song, but the fans were the ones who brought it up. To be honest, he was still nervous.

Maybe the Soufflés felt the same way.

Woojoo wondered if this was really happening.

“How did you do this…?”

Of course, the ranking was not permanent, since the general public had to listen to the song to maintain it. It was not uncommon for a song to enter at 1st or 2nd place and then drop down the next day.

But this was precious to them.

8 p.m.

They had finished all the preparations for the fan showcase.

Their eyes were slightly red, but the makeup artists did their best to hide the traces of their tears.

When they were about to go on stage, they remembered a question that they had forgotten.

“By the way, Seokhwan Hyung. You cleared all the chairs. Are we doing it standing today?”

“Huh? Oh. Of course.”

Of course?

“There’s no room for chairs with 2,000 people coming. We have to do it standing.”

“Oh, right… What?”

“I’m talking about your showcase. 2,000 people are coming.”

He narrowed his eyes at them.

“You didn’t know, did you?”

“…”

“They said 2,000 people were coming this time… You really didn’t know. You guys.”

When they opened their mouths in shock, Seokhwan Hyung chuckled.

“You’re not rookies anymore. Guys.”

“…”

“My goodness, singers who don’t even know how many people are coming to their fan showcase.”

He muttered that he would use this as a promotional story and they stared at him blankly.

After a while, they looked at each other and laughed nervously.

My God.

2,000 people.

“Guys, let’s go on stage.”

Woojoo walked quietly down the hallway with the members.

They were still nervous about the 2,000 people, but as time passed, they felt more excited than anxious.

Soon, their steps became lighter.

They were going to meet their Soufflés again, who they had been waiting for so long. Their hearts were fluttering.

8 p.m.

Their ‘Windflower’, which had entered at 1st place earlier, was still swaying its petals at the top.