In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: Rxel

Chapter 246 

Woojoo heard some reactions to his voice.

-Who is this~?

-It’s our leader, our leader! We miss you!

The distorted voices were laughing and making a racket, and the scene was filled with laughter.

Hanjo briefly explained the history of ‘Mint Choco-dan’ to the curious people who asked about the title of ‘leader’.

The Street Boys members who were listening cheered.

-Right!

-We thought you were our leader, but you ditched us and ran away~!

-Right! That was so~ heartbreaking!

-You won several gold medals at the Idol Sports Festival and then you left us! Happiness is not based on grades!

The eight of them were making a fuss, and Woojoo couldn’t focus at all.

When the MCs finally calmed them down, Woojoo spoke calmly.

“You are, in order, Yugeon, Giwon, Rex, and LB.”

There was a sudden silence.

And then…

-Mom?

Everyone burst into laughter at LB’s exclamation in a distorted voice.

-What is this?

-What is this? Is the filter not working? Is that it? Was this a real-name verification broadcast all along?

-What do we do? What do we do? We must have been scammed!

The MC, Yoo Changhyeon, explained the situation.

“It’s not that the filter is not applied to the Street Boys right now. Woojoo guessed your voices.”

-Wow!

-As expected, you’re our leader.

-Hanjo Hyung sometimes gets confused about us, but our leader is different!

Hanjo looked incredulous.

“When did I ever mix you up…”

-Look at him. He lies every time he opens his mouth!

-Don’t you remember leaving us at the wooden rest area last time? You checked the headcount wrong!

As their mistakes were exposed, someone asked curiously.

“But how did you know, Woojoo? Even if you’re close, you wouldn’t have met often enough to guess them right away.”

“That’s right.”

Hanjo agreed with a nod.

“I see them every day, but I don’t know either.”

“Well, that’s because.” Woojoo explained, “We had a joint stage at the TBC year-end music festival.”

“Yes. …But why did you stop talking?”

“It seemed like the time to show the data on the screen.”

The MCs laughed and told him to just talk, they would edit it later.

“I had to arrange Trend Sunbae-nim’s song, so I had to figure out the voice colors of the Street Boys. I guess I remembered the work I did hard at the time.”

But this was really fun.

“Oh, that’s amazing. You have a good memory.”

“That, and you all have distinctive and nice voices.”

Street Boys made a ‘kkyo-yot!’ sound.

-We have personality!

-Tree, stay still.

Woojoo swallowed his laughter and talked about the voice colors of each member.

“Kiwon has a flowing voice like he’s singing. Even when he speaks, his ‘r’ sounds very soft. On the other hand, LB has a rap-like voice that taps and beats.”

“Wow.” Someone exclaimed, “I have no idea what you’re talking about, but it’s fascinating.”

“I find it more amazing that you can guess like this. Do you really analyze and know these things?”

It turned into a mystery time.

Woojoo asked Street Boys to talk again, and the people who remembered his explanation tried to guess.

“I couldn’t get any right. I have no clue.”

“When this airs, Street Boys fans will be surprised.”

“Our Concrete, don’t misunderstand. It’s not that I can’t guess, it’s that Woojoo is really special.”

They all looked at Woojoo with mysterious faces, ‘…?’

Only Yoo Changhyun, who recorded with him at Patisserie Korea, smiled smugly.

On the other hand, it was natural that they had a hard time guessing.

It was analysis, but actually he just knew by listening.

Just as there were colors in sound, each person had a unique color and image in their voice.

For example, when he heard Hanjo’s voice, he saw a soft pastel tone of green with swaying bushes.

…But if he said that, he would look like a weird person, so he only thought it to himself.

Street Boys also reacted excitedly.

-It should be amazing, but it’s not.

-Yeah, yeah.

-He has a lot of special abilities! It’s not for nothing that we chose him as our leader!

-Wait, wait. I have a lot of questions now, can I ask you one?

When the MCs told them to go ahead, the members asked.

-Can we talk about him after dissing Hanjo Hyung?

As Woojoo’s face became anxious, Hanjo smiled happily.

The MCs also smiled warmly.

“Of course.”

“That’s always welcome.”

…Damn.

‘Senior, how is Shinto Rabbit?’

Woojoo asked Jang Sowon Sunbae on chat after he got cast.

When they were active as Something, she also appeared on Shinto Rabbit.

She replied to his question about the atmosphere.

‘It’s rare for the guests to have fun recording, but this one was surprisingly fun.’

Woojoo was curious.

Around the World With Dice was fun to watch on TV, but not so much when filming.

–

-You have such a bad case of chuunibyou!

They all chuckled at Hwiyeon’s shivering figure in real time.

The members of Teen Spirit kept exposing him like fish in water.

-When he was eating pork belly, some oil splashed on his forehead. Where the Buddha spot is. But instead of just putting a small band-aid on it, he bought a large one and stuck it on his forehead horizontally.

-He loves it when the fans comment ‘Oh! Hwiyeon hurt his foreheadㅠㅠ’.

-He also wore an eye patch for a while when he had an eye infection, even though the doctor said he was fine.

The set turned upside down when his true self, obsessed with the concept of a wounded and frail pretty boy, was revealed.

With a face that seemed to say ‘These bastards…’, Hwiyeon asked Woojoo, “Is that possible? Voice analysis?”

“I don’t think so. I don’t know how to…”

“Why not? Why can’t you do mine?”

He grabbed Woojoo’s sleeve and wailed, and Gu Seonwoong clapped his hands with a smug expression next to him.

The other guests also fell one by one, starting with Woojoo and Hanjo, who were exposed by the members of Street Boys.

At first, it was mostly the members who appeared, but as time went by, third parties also started to show up.

-Hello. I’m a 30-something office worker working in Seoul. I have a story about Wild’s Woosan.

For the strangers, they just revealed their identities.

Woosan’s face became tense.

The members could at least guess what kind of stories they would tell, but the strangers were really unpredictable.

Wild’s Woosan asked, “Where did you see me?”

-The bathhouse. The bathhouse.

“The bathhouse?”

-I was in the tub at dawn, thinking there was no one else. But then suddenly, bubbles started to form in front of me, and a human head popped up!

Everyone flipped over and laughed.

-I was so surprised that I gasped ‘Huh!’ But I guess you misunderstood. You said with a slightly awkward face ‘Yes. I’m Wild’s Woosan.’ That’s when I never forgot the team name Wild.

“I don’t remember that…”

-I also took a commemorative photo that day.

Everyone couldn’t help but laugh at the photo that the production team showed on the screen.

It was a picture of an idol and an office worker making a V sign in front of the bathhouse counter.

Ah. That was hilarious.

That was why their Souffles loved it when they were embarrassed and made a kyohot sound.

It was so fun to think of it as someone else’s business.

The round ended with Gu Seonwoong, who was exposed by his actor friend of the same age, for his ‘cat black history’.

The MCs laughed hard.

“Today’s water is good. I like it.”

“If we keep this atmosphere, we can aim for the second part, right?”

“Oh, are we going for the second part? Let’s go? PD Kim?”

They all looked excited, thinking they had enough content. Then they turned their eyes to Woojoo.

“But Woojoo is a bit weak.”

“Exactly. He was a promising candidate, but what is this? The members also hung up on him earlier.”

Woojoo smiled.

“Maybe it’s because they don’t have much to say about me.”

As soon as Woojoo said that, everyone reacted with a ‘yeah right’ and said that was nonsense.

Especially Yoo Changhyun, who had recorded Patisserie Korea with Woojoo, was shaking his head vigorously.

The main MC spoke.

“Speaking of which, the production team just told me that they have a phone call for you, Woojoo.”

“Is that why the members got cut off earlier?”

That was when the conversation was going on.

-Hello~

An unfamiliar voice.

Woojoo tried to recall whose voice it was, but he had no idea.

“Please introduce yourself.”

-Hello. I’m someone who went to elementary school with Woojoo.

“What…!”

Woojoo jumped up and made an X sign.

“No way. Please hang up!”

The people gathered at the scene felt a thrill.

What had happened in elementary school that made him react so sensitively?

While Woojoo was panicking and saying ‘no way!’, the voice-changed voice laughed and said.

-I was so happy to see New Black Woojoo on the broadcast preview. I’ve been waiting for this day. When will Woojoo be on Shintoki! Oh, I’m so happy!

“Please calm down first.”

-Oh, yes. I got a little excited…

The MC turned to Woojoo.

“Do you have any idea who it is?”

“A friend from elementary school… I have no clue with this voice. What do I do?”

The camera zoomed in on Woojoo’s feet tapping nervously.

“Seriously, what happened in elementary school?”

“Well…”

He made an awkward expression, and the voice-changed voice chuckled.

-Let me tell you. Woojoo, this guy had a huge pride in his appearance when he was in lower grades of elementary school.

“Not that much…”

-You admit it, right?

“Yes…”

While Woojoo was sighing deeply, the people who were curious about the story heard the testimony of his old classmate.

-Woojoo was very handsome even when he was a kid. He was prettier than girls. Every time he went to school, the high school girls around him would run into him and say ‘Woojoo! Woojoo!’ and adore him.

The people at the scene nodded silently.

They could see why they would say that, looking at the person sitting in front of them.

He had a face that would make anyone stare blankly at him on the street.

When they saw the curve that ran from his forehead to his nose and chin, they would marvel at such a line.

He slightly frowned as if he was embarrassed, and the writers’ noses twitched as his eyelashes fluttered.

If they turned back the time by about 15 years from there…

When he was in elementary school, they believed the testimonies that said he could get free tteokbokki and snacks from strangers if they just stuck to Woojoo’s side.

After various anecdotes, the classmate came to a conclusion.

-So I think this kid went a little crazy for a while.

“Puhaha!”

The guests and the MCs laughed at the sudden diss that came in. Woojoo coughed and asked, “I don’t remember very well, but what was so weird about me?”

-Well, who was the one who wrote a poem saying ‘I’m so pretty’ in the class anthology?

“…”

The voice that was slightly distorted sounded excited and continued.

-This kid’s face pride was no joke. Even in elementary school, he would go around saying things like ‘Why don’t people look at my inner self~?’ He was so obsessed with his own face!

“Excuse me.”

-Once, there was a friend who came back from vacation after losing a lot of weight. He became handsome and popular. Since then, he became wary of him. Even when they exchanged chocolates on anniversaries, he would go up to him and say…

“…”

-‘We’re rivals from today on, right?’ He said that! Kyakkyakya! It was awesome. Really!

Everyone fell over the table and laughed. Gu Seonwoong almost fell off his chair laughing.

The staff who were watching with a business-like face also burst into laughter.

Woojoo explained as if to justify himself.

“It was when I was in second grade. That’s normal for that age.”

-No way.

The classmate immediately refuted.

-Woojoo was really that much! It was not! A joke!

“It’s so funny.”

“Tell me more! More!”

As the MCs urged, the testimonies continued.

-When they played Secret Santa, they had to hide who they were, right? But when Woojoo did it, everyone knew. At the end, he would say ‘Who’s the most handsome one~?’ Who wouldn’t know?

“Puhaha!”

-But he was so popular that even when he did those cringy things, everyone liked him! I really didn’t get it!

The story of how he was so popular that he couldn’t accept it went on.

When school was over, everyone would go to Woojoo and ask him to play with them.

-He was so popular that even when they had a class bazaar, they would do it. Usually, they would bring things from their homes and exchange them, right?

“That’s right.”

-But he brought paper. I was curious and looked at it, and it was his autograph. He sat at the table and spread out his autographs by version.

It was then that a cute scene of a little boy spreading out his autographs was drawn.

-He sat there and played the Titanic OST on a recorder. Like background music while choosing an autograph.

Bang!

The scene that was drawn in their heads broke and they all laughed as if they were sobbing.

The person in question let out a detached laugh as if to let it be. The person who was telling the story also made a snickering sound that he found it funny.

-The funny thing is, the kids bought it. I don’t know why I have it, but I have one at home. It’s the Taegeukgi edition.

Then, a large sketchbook with ‘Seon Woojoo’ written in bold in Gulim font appeared on the data screen.

The ‘ㅇ’ was marked with a taeguk symbol.

They couldn’t stop laughing for a long time when they heard that everyone customized their ‘ㅇ’ differently at the scene.

While they were laughing, the story ended and the MC asked, “Can you introduce yourself, please?”

-Yes. I’m Lee Junghoon, a 23-year-old man who is living a normal college life.

“Oh, you!”

When Woojoo widened his eyes, the voice that had been distorted laughed.

-It’s me, the friend who lost weight and became popular.

“Ah.”

As everyone looked amazed, the other person continued.

-Actually, I’ve been friends with Woojoo since before. I used to go to his grandmother’s store every day and eat. I gained weight from eating tteokbokki next to him.

“No, you keep saying things that make people misunderstand, but that friend ate mine too, so I had nothing to eat.”

-You told me to eat a lot!

“No. That’s what you say, but do you really mean it?”

After a brief childish quarrel, the other person said.

-But he’s a good friend.

“Suddenly?”

-Yes. That’s what I say. He’s a really good memory for me. When I was in lower grades, he was the only one who came to me when I was bullied. He also wrote me a letter when no one wanted to do the Secret Santa thing.

A heartwarming anecdote followed.

-He was also the happiest when I lost weight and became popular. Um… Now that I think about it, maybe it would have been really hard for me without him.

“Hey, Junghoon.”

-Yeah?

“Thanks, but this heartwarming anecdote is no help to me after you cursed me out.”

-Anyone else curious about Woojoo’s story?

Everyone raised their hands and a tense moment ensued between the elementary school classmates.

But it was a warm atmosphere.

It was a contact that reached after 10 years, so they agreed to have a meal together soon.

-I have a lot of things I want to talk about, but I’ll stop here.

The other person left a closing remark.

-Was it when we were about to go up to fifth grade? You said your dream was to be an idol, and I’m so happy to see you doing so well now. I hope New Black does well, and I hope you get a lot of love in the future. And… Hey. What kind of flower is that?

“Windflower.”

-Windflower! Please love it!

The call ended with the applause of the guests. The MCs who were laughing in the warm atmosphere shrank their bodies.

“Wow, it’s heartwarming, but I can’t adapt.”

“Suddenly, the atmosphere became like TV is Riding on Love.”

“I guess we’re suited for trashy shows. Woojoo, come here. Let’s talk about our elementary school days.”

As everyone ‘naaa’ and tormented Woojoo, the production staff behind the camera smiled contentedly.

‘We got a lot of footage.’

The PD smiled with a full grin.

Of course, that was partly because he got a lot of footage, but also because he saw the list of guests waiting for him.

‘I have some juicy stories to share.’

They were waiting for the calls from the TNT members.

The one who took up most of the conversation time was Woojoo.

They thought they could go for the second part after a long time.

The idol special that they were worried about was nothing compared to the guests who had a lot of interesting stories.

That was when he saw it.

“Hmm?”

He noticed a familiar face in the corner of the studio.

A man who was looking at Woojoo with a glance, with his arms crossed. The PD called the assistant director.

“What is he doing here?”

“He said he’s waiting for the break time.”

“Why? …Oh.”

He had a feeling what he wanted, so he just laughed. The PD gave instructions to the assistant director.

“Don’t play with the camera during the break time. Keep one or two on.”

He smiled at the corner of his mouth.

“I think there will be an interesting scene.”

“Take a break for a moment!”

The first half of the recording was over. They only finished half, but Woojoo didn’t know why his body was so sore.

“Ugh…”

He stretched out and loosened up his stiff body. Hanjo said to Woojoo, “Ugh, this is harder than I thought.”

“I know. I’m sore just from sitting.”

One of the MCs who was leaving with a cigarette pack hit Woojoo’s shoulder and said, “Hey, you did well earlier.”

“Thank you!”

“Just do the same later.”

Woojoo nodded with a smile.

“Hmm?”

He felt a gaze on him.

A man standing in the corner of the studio.

At first he thought he was a manager, but he was a broadcaster with an ID card around his neck.

“…?”

When their eyes met, he smiled and waved his hand.

Hanjo asked, “Do you know him? Is he a PD or something?”

“No. I’ve never seen him before.”

As soon as Woojoo finished speaking, the man who was standing in the corner came closer.

Gu Seonwoong, who was looking at his phone near Woojoo, quietly got up and went to the bathroom.

Soon the man came up and greeted him with a big smile.

“Nice to meet you, Woojoo.”

“Yes. Hello.”

“I stopped by and saw your broadcast. You’re doing great!”

He praised Woojoo as if he liked what he saw.

“You have a way with words. And the mask adds to your charm. You just have to stand still and the viewers will love you.”

“Thank you.”

Woojoo thought it was a polite thing to say, even if it was empty. But then the other person waved his hand and looked at him seriously.

“I want to invite you to our show too.”

“Thank you. I would be very grateful if you did.”

“Hello. Mr. PD.”

Hanjo, who was next to Woojoo, bowed his head and greeted him. The other person nodded his head with a satisfied smile.

“There’s another talent here.”

“Uh, thank you.”

Hanjo was happy, thinking ‘The PD likes me…!’. Meanwhile, the two idol seniors who were nearby swallowed their saliva.

Their reaction was so subtle that Woojoo started to get a bad feeling.

“…”

No way.

Woojoo was about to ask the other person’s identity while gulping down his saliva.

“By the way, I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m a PD from the Entertainment Department here.”

“PD-nim.”

“Yes?”

“What program are you in charge of right now…”

“Oh. Our show.”

Hanjo and Woojoo, who were smiling brightly until then, turned pale with shock and horror at the next words.

“It’s called ‘Men Go’, the one that airs on weekends.”

“…”

“Are you both okay? You suddenly look pale.”

“…”