In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

Chapter 24

Boy group TNT.

An ambitious eight-member group planned by TJ Entertainment, a powerhouse of idols.

A top boy group that has been hitting it big with every album they release since their debut in 2010.

They naturally took the throne after Sixty Seconds, who had formed a dual mountain range, collapsed with an absurd scandal, but even before that, TNT had been dominating in every index, from public popularity to album sales.

Han Tae-hyun.

He was one of the most popular members in TNT.

Even though they had similar years of experience, Girls on Top were like fireflies in front of the sun compared to him.

“Huh? Uh…”

She was about to badmouth TNT when she was almost caught, and she was flustered to see me and Tae-hyun looking close.

“Woojoo hyung?”

“Have you been well?”

“How long has it been?”

He hugged me as soon as he saw me, and Gil Chae-kyung’s face turned contemplative.

I’ve seen this in a drama.

It was the expression of a manager who found out that the subordinate he had been bullying was from a wealthy family.

“Uh…”

Gil Chae-kyung stuttered.

“What’s your relationship with Tae-hyun oppa?”

“What do you mean by relationship?”

Tae-hyun said with a completely different expression from when he was talking to me.

“Can’t you tell? We’re close.”

“Oh.”

“And I don’t really feel like talking to you right now. Can you give us some Woojoo to chat?”

He blatantly snubbed her, and Gil Chae-kyung shrank back.

This industry is all about popularity.

She was so startled that she dropped the can of soda she was holding, and she ran away as if to escape. 

I asked him as I watched her go.

“Not on good terms?”

“Neither good nor bad. Well, so-so. To be honest, I was caught badmouthing her just now. How could I look good?”

“You heard that?”

“No, I only heard TNT. I guessed the rest.”

Tae-hyun said.

“Judging by the sound, she must have been talking trash about us, but the atmosphere was not like she was close enough to anyone to gossip with. The only thing that connects New Black and TNT is the first place candidate. She probably said something like they’re having a nerve-wracking competition for the first place.”

“You’ve gotten really good at reading the situation.”

“I’ve been in this business for a while. I’m already a five-year veteran.”

He had been almost as clueless as Ji-ho when he was a trainee, but he had made a huge improvement.

He used to follow me around in the practice room, calling me hyung. 

Now he was a member of a boy group that was enjoying the highest popularity.

I was proud.

It felt like seeing a child who had grown up well.

“We shouldn’t be here, hyung. Let’s go to our waiting room. The guys will be really happy to see you.”

“Well, you have your staff and all…”

“Don’t you know how tall Ji-hoon is? Just come with me.”

He grabbed my arm and dragged me along.

Kim Bi-ju [Woojoo hyung]

Kim Bi-ju [I think I’m lost, please help me]

I read the message and let go of Tae-hyun’s hand.

“Sorry. Let’s say hi next time.”

“Why?”

“My kid got lost. I have to go get him.”

“Oh, your kid…”

There was a moment of confusion on Tae-hyun’s face.

No, was it? 

It seemed like his expression had stiffened a bit.

He quickly smiled brightly and took out his smartphone.

“Then let’s take a selfie together. That’s okay, right?”

“He’s really bad at directions. I think I should go quickly.”

“Just one shot. We would have taken a lot of pictures by the time we finish talking.”

He took a few shots and confirmed them with me, then smiled.

“Congratulations on the first place.”

“The results haven’t been announced yet.”

“Trust me, hyung.”

Tae-hyun grinned.

“I may look like this, but I’ve eaten more broadcast station food than you.”

When I returned to the waiting room with Biju, who was standing there like a deer that had wandered into a military base, everyone was awake.

“I brought some drinks.”

As I handed them out, I received greetings like ‘Thank you’ and ‘I’ll drink well’. Ri-hyuk grabbed a can of cola and made a sour face.

“Ugh, it’s lukewarm. What took you so long?”

“Sorry.”

Biju said timidly.

“I got lost after going to the bathroom.”

“Next time, call me. Not that hyung.”

The youngest, who had been listening, sparkled his eyes as if he had found something to tease.

“Ri-hyuk hyung, are you jealous that he didn’t call you?”

“What are you talking about? Just drink your soda.”

“Of course, it’s Seo Ri-hyuk when he’s upset.”

Ri-hyuk punched Ji-ho’s shoulder, and Ji-ho started to act as if he was in the most painful agony in the world.

Jang So-won smiled as if she found them cute.

“Do you always play like this?”

“Only those two.”

The eldest sister, who was watching the siblings bicker, had a motherly smile on her lips.

“How do you feel? Are you nervous before the live broadcast?”

“I couldn’t sleep for more than three hours yesterday.”

“Me too.”

“What about you, sunbae?”

“It’s my first time being number one as a solo. All the previous number ones were from group activities.”

Jang So-won said.

“I thought I would never be on a music show again after that incident. Honestly, who would have imagined? Our song pushed aside all the other songs and took the number one spot.”

“That’s right.”

“Isn’t it amazing? Just a month ago, we were all in a small studio.”

Memories of the past came flooding back.

It was so fun back then.

Eating snacks and drinks, staying up all night in the recording studio.

“It feels like a dream.”

She smiled faintly.

“It feels like I would wake up if someone came over and poked me with a needle. I don’t want to wake up even if it’s a dream. So many unimaginable things happened. We got flooded with calls for broadcasts and events… I thought I would never get back up.”

An idol singer who fell from the top due to the scandals of her members.

She must have faced a lot of contempt and disregard in the entertainment industry, where people change their attitudes according to popularity.

A solo activity that started from scratch again.

And then Jang So-won, who received a lot of spotlight with her self-composed song and topped the chart, was now on the terrestrial stage as a candidate for the number one music show.

It was a situation that could be called a second heyday.

“I’ve been thinking about it…”

I quietly handed her a tissue when I saw her eyes moisten slightly.

She said ‘thank you’ and dabbed her eyes.

I must have let my emotions show a bit as I spoke.

“None of this would have happened without you guys. Thank you, kids. Really.”

“Us too.”

I replied.

“If it weren’t for you, senior, we wouldn’t have received even a tenth of the attention we’re getting now. Actually, we feel like we’re just riding on your popularity…”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Leader, we couldn’t have finished this song without you.”

“No, really.”

“Stop being so modest.”

“All I did was add a few things to the melody you made, senior. We should be the ones thanking you. You know we couldn’t have come this far on our own.”

The atmosphere was so warm and sincere that it felt like we should toast or something.

The staff from Yoon’s team or Jang So-won’s side were also listening to our conversation with gentle smiles on their faces.

Usually, someone would burst into tears at a moment like this.

But the tears came from an unexpected source.

“Minki, why are you crying?”

The road manager who brought us here was sniffling.

Why is he crying?

Lee whispered something in my ear and I heard Yoon Seokhwan laugh and relay it to the others.

“He’s an original Sugarfish fan. Huh? What did you say?”

“I was Black Sugar.”

“Fan club?”

“Yes, first generation… Ugh…”

Everyone laughed at the sight of him sobbing.

Our road manager was a Sugarfish fan club member.

He must have been overwhelmed by seeing his favorite group make a comeback.

“Why didn’t you tell us?”

Jang So-won got up with a smile.

“Come here. Who did you like the most?”

“I liked Lisa…”

“I was going to hug you, but I’ll just hold your hand.”

She hugged the road manager anyway.

Pat pat.

It was touching, but also weird.

It felt like we were on a boat with the wrong people.

***

Lemon Entertainment PR team.

The PR team had been busy since morning, spreading articles about New Black’s appearance on a music show and promoting them.

But they weren’t tired.

It was hard when their artists got into accidents or scandals and they had to deal with the aftermath, but it was fun when they had good news like this.

Before they knew it, it was 5:30.

As MusicON was about to start, the PR team members took a break and gathered around the TV.

“Wow, I’m so nervous.”

“Me too. It’s the kids who are on stage, but we’re the ones who are anxious.”

“Who do you think will win first place?”

“Well, our kids are the most likely. But I can’t relax when I think about TNT’s album score.”

“But they wouldn’t have invited them if they didn’t have a chance, right?”

“We’ll have to wait and see. You know how many times the broadcasters have screwed over small agencies? Remember the year-end stage last year? We went there trusting the PD’s promise and Scarlet got their part cut for some unknown big names.”

“That was really awful.”

“I still get angry when I think about it. They said they were taking care of the big names and cut our kids’ part…”

“Hey! It’s starting.”

The MusicON logo disappeared from the top of the screen and the live broadcast began.

Actor Kang Hyunmin and girl group Laviangrose’s member Jeon Yubin were holding microphones and smiling brightly.

-The hottest K-POP! The center of its popularity, live broadcast Music~ON!

They introduced themselves.

-Hello, I’m Kang Hyunmin.

-Hello, I’m Jeon Yubin. Oh! Hyunmin, you have something on your face!

-What is it?

-Kim. Handsomeness.

-Yubin, you’re too much~

The male and female MCs exchanged cheesy lines and then started to introduce the stages for today.

-We also have the collaboration stage of Jang So-won and New Black.

-Then, shall we see the chart rankings for the second week of March?

The employees chatted as they watched the songs go up in reverse order.

“The Girls on Top are not doing well.”

“Didn’t they win first place last time?”

“They did.”

“But they lost some momentum because of the Joo hana controversy.”

“What did she do wrong?”

“That’s how the entertainment industry is. If you date a loser, your image becomes a loser.”

“Look over there! Something is number one.”

As Something appeared at the top of the chart, a cheer erupted from the scene.

They were less popular than TNT’s Blink, who ranked second, but they still had a strong appeal to the public.

After the song introduction was over, the TV screen switched to the stage.

While a girl group with an unfamiliar name performed the opening stage, the promotion team staff chatted.

“It’s been a while since I watched a music show.”

“It’s a historic moment. An idol group that was forced to enter the music show after their collaboration song swept the chart before their debut. It’s a good story for the articles.”

“By the way, what are you going to do with the personal interview request that came in for Jang So-won and Woojoo together?”

“I’ll do it.”

“Well, they co-composed the song, so it’s good for their image as composer idols.”

“I’m jealous.”

“Even if they split it with Jang So-won, Woojoo’s personal royalty will be enough to buy a car every month. By the end of the year, he’ll be able to buy a house in Seoul.”

Everyone lost their appetite at someone’s remark.

“Does anyone know Woojoo’s contact number?”

“Why?”

“Well, look at this.”

One of the staff showed his smartphone.

“This is a tweet that TNT’s Taehyun just posted on his personal Twitter.”

[TNT_Taehyun]

@RealHanTH

Met a good bro after a long time

#7yearfriend_bestie

#congrats_on_number_one_candidate

#handsomeness_stuck_on_face

In the picture, Seon Woojoo and Han Taehyun were posing with their arms around each other.

“Woojoo is handsome. He doesn’t look inferior next to Taehyun.”

“We see him every day, so we don’t notice. The kids say that every time he changes his convenience store part-time job, he gets a number from Woojoo.”

“Oh, the one who got a number from a guy the other day?”

“Puhaha!”

“Why are you laughing? Love is sublime.”

“Can you all stop talking? Let’s spread some articles about this SNS thing.”

The people who were watching TV each took their laptops and started working.

“Hallyu stars are hallyu stars. Look at the RT numbers.”

“But how do they know each other?”

“Maybe they met at TJ?”

“Ah, I want to ask. If it wasn’t right before the live broadcast, I would call and ask. This is a perfect scoop.”

“By the way, aren’t you jealous?”

“Of what?”

“TNT has golden connections.”

The others agreed with that.

“By the way, thanks for letting us know.”

“What do you mean?”

“TNT’s fandom is notorious for being extreme. They’ve been spamming the community with accusations of Something’s chart manipulation since a while ago.”

“They must be bitter. A rookie group pushing their idol off the first place.”

“But if Taehyun posts a tweet like this, they’ll calm down. TNT’s member personally verified his friendship with New Black’s member and congratulated them on being the number one candidate.”

“That’s nice. He probably didn’t do it on purpose.”

If Seon Woojoo was here, he would have thought ‘he did it on purpose’, but the promotion team just thanked him.

Soon, as they were engrossed in their work, the stage finally began.

“It’s starting.”

“Turn off the mute and turn up the volume.”

A calm intro played and the stage appeared on the screen.

The promotion team staff looked at the TV with anticipation.

It was the moment when Something’s stage was shown for the first time.