In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: Rxel

Chapter 255 

At the end of spring

As a result, all of their lightstick designs were rejected in the internal review.

“…Really?”

“Yeah.”

They made sad faces at the news delivered by the promotion team manager.

Woojoo muttered gloomily, “Why did this happen…”

“That’s what we should be asking. Not the ones who submitted the flower fans.”

Rihyuk clicked his tongue.

The cheeky thing.

Woojoo waved his hand to shoo him away, but Junghyun took care of the troublemaker for him.

Bijoo asked, “So are our ideas all scrapped…”

“No, no, that’s not it.”

The promotion team manager hurriedly waved his hand, as if he was flustered by their sullen looks.

“It’s not like we’re going to pretend that all the ideas you submitted never existed, we’re going to take some parts from each one. Like one from Bijoo’s idea, one from Rihyuk’s idea, and so on.”

“What about me, Manager?”

“What about me?”

“Of course, we’ll also reflect Junghyun and Jiho’s ideas.”

He smiled and their eyes met.

Hmm.

…Hmm?

He swallowed and Woojoo asked him, “What’s wrong?”

“Ah, no… nothing.”

“Is my idea also reflected?”

“Uh, let me see. First, we’ll collect all the lightstick designs…”

He quickly changed the subject and Woojoo narrowed his eyes.

Was the flower fan that bad?

Woojoo even changed the color of the second draft after his siblings criticized that the color was too colorful.

The petals were black like New Black, and the center was brown like Soufflé. He changed it like this, but everyone was shocked instead of admiring it.

-It looks like a sunflower that got exposed to radiation.

-Oh. A flower that came back from hell.

-There’s a monster that looks like that in a game. It appears a lot in the low-level hunting grounds.

They were all mean.

Woojoo looked at his siblings and then turned his head to the staff.

“Did you not like the flower fan…?”

“Uh, well… the design is… depending on the perspective, it could be very pretty… pretty.”

“Thank you, Manager. But my feelings are already hurt.”

“Haha.”

Woojoo pretended to be sullen and he chuckled.

The atmosphere lightened up a bit.

It was a shame, but there was nothing he could do.

It would be worse if they released a weird design and got a name like Black History Stick.

Their fans would have to hide it deep in their bags when they came to their concerts and carefully take it out right before the stage. It would be better to have a pretty one than to have other fans sneer at them and say, ‘Ew, they’re New Black fans.’

“So what’s going to happen to our lightstick?”

“We decided to use an external designer. He’ll collect the lightstick ideas you submitted and make them well.”

“Oh…”

“Expect him to come up with something nice.”

“Thank you.”

They bowed their heads and the promotion team manager said, “By the way, we got a big budget, so we’re going to produce a lot of lightsticks. The specs will be high-end as Rihyuk requested.”

“Huh…”

Rihyuk, who had opened his eyes wide for a moment, coughed and pretended to be calm.

Of course, he didn’t look calm at all with his fists clenched.

“Then, does it have solar power?”

“That’s out.”

“What about a hand-cranked generator? So we can use it in emergencies.”

“Uh… that too.”

“Ah, okay…”

Woojoo held back his laughter as Rihyuk sulked.

He imagined the scene in his head.

The labor scene where the Soufflés would diligently turn the handle to turn on the lightstick whenever there was a concert.

The sound of the mechanical handle ‘whirring’ along with the staff of the broadcasting station gaping in astonishment.

Woojoo laughed and said, “Rihyuk. Why are you using a light stick in an emergency situation? A flower fan would be better.”

“…”

“Doesn’t anyone agree with me?”

“…”

They all shook their heads in unison.

While Woojoo was thinking about who to take to the army, the manager said with a smile, “Anyway, we’ll pick them well, so look forward to it.”

“Thank you!”

“Sure. Then, good luck.”

The other person smiled and turned away.

They were about to walk back to the company hallway, when the manager stopped and asked, “By the way, Woojoo.”

“Yes?”

“Did you do well in art classes when you were in school?”

“Uh, no…?”

Woojoo recalled his past memories.

“I was always last.”

“I see.”

“I was only good at music among the arts…”

When he was in elementary school, he always got ‘F’ in art and physical education, and his grandmother laughed when she saw it.

“Why did you ask?”

“No reason. I was just curious.”

The other person finally made a bright expression as if the mystery was solved, and turned around and walked away.

Why did he ask him that?

Woojoo’s siblings also made a ‘ah’ expression as if they finally understood the secret. They looked very convinced.

When he was about to ask them what it meant, the four of them stopped and turned their heads.

Jiho looked puzzled.

“Hyung, you were bad at physical education?”

“I can’t believe it.”

Rihyuk also narrowed his eyes and Junghyun tilted his head.

Bijoo also asked with a doubtful look, “Hyung… physical education? Was it not a joke, but you really couldn’t do it?”

“Yes.”

“Then, did your physical education teacher hate you or something…”

“No. He liked me. It’s not that.” Woojoo smiled. “I just wasn’t good at it back then.”

Those guys couldn’t even imagine.

He never missed a spot when he played soccer.

He tried hard to join the kids, but how could it go well?

When he came back from playing soccer, his grandmother would say ‘Did you play dodgeball today?’ and nod her head.

Woojoo still remembered vividly when he tried to practice shooting by himself, and he kicked his left leg with his right leg.

Compared to those days, he was now at a level of heaven and earth.

He was thinking about the past, and the eyes looking at him were incredulous.

“What’s wrong?”

“Hyung, I can’t believe you were bad at physical education.”

“Why.” Woojoo asked with a smile, “Is it very different from my usual image?”

“Yes.”

They all nodded.

Well. Woojoo did well in the Olympics. He was now called a good athlete.

He looked at his siblings with a fluttering feeling.

“What was my usual image like?”

“Hyung?”

Jiho smiled brightly.

“You’re like the final boss in a game.”

“…”

“The one who wears weird clothes but is very strong… Aaah!”

“…”

The youngest who was grabbed by Woojoo screamed ‘Aaah, it’s a floral monster!’ and his siblings burst into laughter.

The filming site of GTV drama ‘Slip’.

“Okay, rehearsal starts. Ready… Rehearsal cue!”

A quiet street.

Following the director’s sign, Jiho, dressed in a police uniform, walked calmly.

Next to him was an actor who played his junior role, whom he had worked with before.

Across from him was actor Lee Kangjin, who had just said to them, “New Black! You shine today!” He was now playing detective Park Cheoljin.

“Wow…”

They were watching from a distance.

They couldn’t hear what they were saying, but it seemed serious.

Today, they were reshooting some of Jiho’s cameo scenes for the 10th episode of Slip.

Rihyuk asked, flipping through the script, “So, this is the changed present, right?”

“That’s right.”

The script with Jiho’s scribbled notes.

It was the sequence where Officer Heo reappeared in the final episode of Slip.

The protagonist, Lee Kangjin, after the shocking twist in episode 7, searched for a way to change the given future.

He lived for several years in the future after the apocalypse, and found the first tunnel that connected to the 1980s.

That was the story.

Somehow, he succeeded in going back to the past, but only had one chance to stop everything.

In the process, he realized that the notes that helped him in his investigation were written by his past self.

He realized that he was in a kind of loop.

He couldn’t afford to make any mistakes.

He struggled between saving the people he loved in the past and the path for everyone, and eventually chose the latter.

He just watched as the people he cared about died.

The protagonist, who had become an old man after time passed from the 1980s.

That was the story of him going to see Officer Heo, who was his last burden.

Officer Heo’s point of view after meeting Lee Kangjin in the 2010s.

Lee Kangjin, who had special makeup on, approached Jiho, and Jiho kindly responded to the old man’s conversation.

The point was the old Park Cheoljin’s regretful face looking at Officer Heo, and Officer Heo’s bright smile without knowing the situation.

“Isn’t there a bit of a time paradox here? They said they couldn’t go back to the past in the previous episodes, but now they’re in the same time…”

Rihyuk’s words cut off the emotion.

“Rihyuk, eat an apple. An apple.”

“Uh-huh.”

Woojoo gave him a grateful look for taking care of him.

Junghyun said regretfully, “But Officer Heo still can’t live, right?”

“That’s right. It’s really unfortunate…”

…as Woojoo was saying.

“Hyuuuung…!”

Jiho, who had finished rehearsing, ran towards them with a ‘woah’.

…Give me back my Officer Heo.

Officer Heo, who looked mature until a moment ago, was now back to being their youngest.

“Ugh, look at the sweat. I thought I was going to die of heat!”

New Black and the managers cooled him down with fans and mini fans.

He was full of sweat inside because he was wearing a thick jacket.

It was chilly when he first shot Officer Heo’s scene, but now it was the end of spring.

The weather at the end of May, when summer was approaching.

He laughed with steam coming out of him, “Do you know? I got complimented again today. The director and Lee Kangjin Sunbae-nim said I was a born actor. They said I should definitely come back for season 2.”

“Season 2 is coming out?”

“Yeah. I come back to life.”

“Come back to life?”

“There’s a scene where I go ‘ugh!’ and come back to life at the end. They said they’re going to put something in the jacket pocket that the grandfather gave me. Something like that. I already have a scene that I filmed.”

It was a scene that he had originally filmed assuming that Officer Heo would come back to life, but it was deleted because Jiho said ‘please kill me’.

“You know, there’s always a scene that hints at season 2.”

“Oh.”

“It comes out after the scene where Lee Kangjin Sunbae-nim’s old version and Seo Noeul Sunbae-nim reunite at a tea house.”

Woojoo didn’t know that.

Season 2, huh…

A thought flashed through his mind, and the same words came out of Jiho’s mouth.

“But judging by the fact that they put in this scene, the chances of season 2 coming out are slim.”

“Why?”

“I’m not even confirmed to appear, but they’re putting in a cliffhanger like this.”

Woojoo smiled silently.

Sharp.

It seemed like they only wanted to give the viewers a sense of anticipation for season 2 by saying ‘what, what’ at the end.

In reality, the chances of season 2 being made were probably low.

Woojoo said, “But you never know. Season 2 might come out in a few years.”

“It would be nice if I could still be in it then.”

Jiho cheered and smiled, saying ‘yay!’.

He looked twice as excited as usual, maybe because they were at the drama set.

He made Woojoo happy just by looking at him.

He was so hyper that he had to be calmed down by the makeup artist every time he got his makeup fixed.

But was acting that fun?

Woojoo thought of the time when they filmed the magic school CF.

Woojoo heard that he did well, but he didn’t feel that acting was that enjoyable.

Maybe it was because he was too nervous since it was only two months after their debut.

Junghyun helped Jiho with his lines and acted with him before the main shoot.

“…It does look fun.”

Woojoo felt like he wanted to try it once.

“I’ll get ready for the shoot!”

“Oh, I’ll go! Hyungs!”

Officer Heo’s and his own tone of voice mixed together. Jiho zipped up his jumper and walked away.

His steps changed from trotting to walking calmly.

His posture changed slightly too.

Woojoo admired the youngest who had successfully transformed himself before the main shoot.

“Okay, let’s go. One, two, three…! Officer Heo walks in!”

The director’s cheerful shout matched the actors’ performance.

As Woojoo watched their colorful and delicate facial expressions closely, the cameo shoot ended successfully.

“Good job, everyone!”

They greeted the busy staff.

They were done, but the production team seemed to have a tight schedule and had to move on to the next scene right away.

The Director, who had come out to see them off, tapped Woojoo’s shoulder.

“You worked hard too, our composer.”

“No, not at all.”

“If it wasn’t for your song yesterday, that scene wouldn’t have been possible. You did a great job.”

The Director held Woojoo’s arm with a pleased face.

“Next time, I don’t know where you’ll be doing the OST, but you have to work with me. Got it?”

“Yes, I will.”

“Don’t smile. I’m serious.”

Woojoo answered with a light smile, but he kept insisting that he was serious.

“The song was so good. I mostly shoot genre films, so that might be why, but this is the first time I’ve heard such a good song among OSTs.”

He kept saying ‘you’re mine, you’re mine’ for almost five minutes, so Woojoo finally smiled and said, “Yes, I understand.”

Woojoo was about to leave after finishing the conversation, but the Director said ‘ah’ as if he remembered his original purpose, “By the way, do you have any interest in acting, Woojoo?”

“Me?”

“Every time I praised you, Jiho said ‘Woojoo Hyung is better than me’ and complimented you a lot. He said you’re good at acting.”

Woojoo heard that he did the best among the extras.

“No, not really. Jiho exaggerated. That much is…”

“Do you have any thoughts of doing it if you get a chance? I think it’s a waste to hide such a good face…”

“Um…”

Woojoo thought of various things in his head.

He didn’t have any serious plans to do it, but he wanted to try it once if he ever got a chance.

That was, assuming that their group would be more established than now.

It was the same opinion as Jiho had said before.

But saying ‘I have no interest’ here would be a bit funny. Woojoo answered with a smile for now.

“Yes, if I get a chance.”

“Hmm, okay. I got it.” He said that and then asked Woojoo to confirm, “Jiho said you’re good at using your body?”

“…”

“He said it would be really good if I asked you to do some physical acting.”

Woojoo started to feel uneasy.

The long-awaited May 21st.

They started their follow-up activities with ‘Flower Dance’.

If Windflower was a song that focused on vocals, Flower Dance was a song that focused on dance, as the title suggested.

“3rd album is vocal-centered, they said… 3rd album is vocal…”

That was what Rihyuk muttered with a blank face every time he came back to the dressing room.

The choreography was that hard.

If the song Windflower had gentle petals, then the song Flower Dance was more like fierce! petals!

The melody was also much stronger than Windflower.

It was a song that could be seen as an extension of Masquerade in many ways.

Of course, the public’s response was exploding with Windflower, but the Soufflés seemed to prefer Flower Dance more.

-Windflower is good, but I like Flower Dance moreㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

-Bijoo is amazingggggg

-Bijoo center is crazyㅠㅠ

-Crazy crazy he caught that thing at the bridge

-Neck…?

-Heart, heart

-Why does Junghyun look better with neck?

-I like intense songs… intense songs…

-I heard that Masquerade was very popular at the overseas cover dance contest this year; I think this will be very popular next year

During the break time, Woojoo browsed the community where the fans gathered and checked the reaction of ‘Flower Dance’.

Woojoo already expected it after seeing the response of the Soufflés on stage, but they really liked it.

Especially the chorus.

The choreography where the Bijoo, who was in the center, exploded his body powerfully received explosive reviews.

Woojoo probably saw hundreds of gifs on the fan cafe.

Some of them he even saved while watching them in awe.

Every time he saw them, he felt like saying ‘Our kid is this good!’ and bragging to his friends.

Of course, if he really bragged to his friends, he would be treated as a weird person, so they decided to unify their profile pictures with Bijoo’s stage photos.

And.

That was how four Bijoo profile pictures gathered in the ‘Bijoo-less Visual Room’.

【Notice】Birthday meeting

Woojoo [Hey, what are we doing this time?]

Junghyun [What are we doing?]

Woojoo […]

Woojoo [Junghyun…]

Woojoo [Look at the notice. Notice. Bijoo’s birthday]

Junghyun [Oh]

Junghyun [It’s been a year already?]

Woojoo [Yeah. Amazing, right?]

May 25th.

They were having a serious meeting ahead of Bijoo’s birthday, which was coming back next Monday.

Jiho [Let’s do a hidden camera!!]

Woojoo [Good]

Woojoo [Do you have a plan?]

Jiho [Rihyuk Hyung will tell us]

Jiho [Rihyuk Hyung?]

Jiho [He’s not here]

Jiho [I have to use a summoning spell]

Jiho [ (Breaking News) US NASA, launches Jupiter probe ‘Piraruku’ … as early as next month ]

The 1 that was floating in front of the message disappeared like a ghost.

Their main vocal, who ran over with excitement, spat out curses for a while as they laughed.

Woojoo should use that too. That.

Then, Bijoo, who was sitting next to him, stuck his head out.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing. There was something funny on the internet.”

“Show me later if it’s funny. Hyung.”

While the person in question was smiling brightly without knowing anything, they continued the meeting on the talk about what to do on his birthday.

Whatever they did, he liked it, and the one who said they should do this without a plan, and the one who wrote dozens of plans in long texts, they decided on a rough plan while mediating between them.

The gift was already prepared.

Meanwhile, as they were having a serious meeting, the moment they didn’t want to happen was approaching.

The first part of Shintoki.

As they sat in the living room and tapped their phones, the logo on the TV disappeared.

The eyes of the younger ones sparkled on the dark screen.

They looked like they were expecting something, so Woojoo sighed.

“Guys. Don’t expect too much. Five of us came out, and it’s not realistic that my part is that much…”

At that moment, with a caption that said ‘There has never been an idol like this!’, the narration flowed.

[There has never been an idol like this! The rising trend of black history idols!]

Woojoo’s face flashed on the screen.

The name ‘New Black Woojoo’ was stamped like a seal.

“…”

Woojoo’s siblings blinked and looked at him.

On TV, scenes of Woojoo closing his eyes in agony or brushing his hair back in horror played.

Voices distorted by sound effects.

-It’s Sergeant-niiim!

-I’m your elementary school classmate. Haha!

The narration was as crazy as the show’s theme of madness.

[The first-ever reserve idol’s weakness revealed!]

A scene of Woojoo jumping up followed.

[Who is the mysterious person who came to the set?!]

The face of the PD of Men Go was covered by a smiley emoticon, while Hanjo and Woojoo looked terrified.

There were other idol guests in today’s preview, but half of them were Woojoo.

“…”

As Woojoo stared blankly, Rihyuk spoke with a satisfied expression.

“As expected. I knew this would happen.”