In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

The younger siblings stared blankly at the TV. Then they turned to me.

“Reality? Not a documentary...?”

“Yeah. Back then two teams came along with the documentary team. They were the writers filming our reality show.”

I asked in return.

“Didn’t you think it was weird? Two teams showing up saying they’d shoot one shot while passing by during a documentary.”

“...How could we notice that, you dummy.”

While Ri-hyuk glared at me, Ji-ho pointed at the screen.

“Oh? Bi-ju hyung is on there.”

“Ugh...”

“Hyung, what’s wrong with you?”

And the protagonist was bent at the waist, burying his face in his knees.

Like an herbivore hiding from its predator.

I whispered in his ear.

“Bi-ju, even if you hide your ears, you can still hear everything.”

“Ugh, I don’t care.”

Then he covered his ears completely.

After a moment he realized how silly he looked and sat back up, but his expression watching the screen was bleak.

“I said so many cringey things...”

“You’re not the only one. Same here.”

Ri-hyuk’s ears had turned into Rudolph noses. Soon they’d glow like LED lights too.

“Anyway, this is payback for pranking me during the uniform ad, right?”

“No, I’m not doing this for revenge...”

“See? He’s lying.”

The youngest smiled slyly.

“I know you. From acting together I learned that when Woo-joo hyung has different thoughts inside but says no, you have a habit of...”

“Shut up.”

Meanwhile on screen Bi-ju was listening to the crew’s question and pondering thoughtfully.

He had a lot to say but looked like he couldn’t organize it in his head.

Not only he looked pained, but my other siblings did too.

What did I say to make them react like this?

I’d expected the members’ routine praise.

It was an interview at the station, so I’d planned simple textbook lines: ‘Woo-joo is always diligent and a role model to others...’ and capture his embarrassment delivering them.

But the kids’ reaction was over the top.

Like middle schoolers opening their diaries to Mom and Dad.

Then on screen Bi-ju answered with a calm face.

“Woo-joo hyung is... I think he’s a very warm person. It’s been a while since we learned he was a hero, but when we first found out, we were so surprised. ‘Huh? That guy...?’”

Then he laughed.

“Because that was right after our year-end evaluations, like after exams ended. He led us so well—he seemed capable and smart.”

When Bi-ju covered his eyes as if he couldn’t bear to look, Jung-hyun covered his ears for him.

I was feeling embarrassed too.

This wasn’t going how I’d planned.

“But... as time passed and we got to know each other better, I thought he was really warm. Now, even if I heard he’d done something good somewhere, I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“Could you give us a specific example?”

“I personally went through a really hard time once, and I made a snack for Woo-joo hyung. He was working on his debut title track and stayed up nights for almost a week.”

He did.

“I brought it to him resting in the dorm. He took a few bites and said it was so good he asked if there was any dough left. I said I wanted to give some to the other members too. He said it was so delicious that he wanted it all to himself.”

“To himself?”

The crew asked as if they couldn’t understand what kind of consideration that was.

On screen Bi-ju nodded with a smile.

“Yes. And I thought it was strange... Later I found out I’d put salt instead of sugar.”

“Oh...”

“After a long time I asked Woo-joo hyung about it. ‘Hyung, why did you do that?’ I asked. He said he saw I looked really tired and didn’t want to stress me out.”

“That was his way of caring.”

“Yeah, I think I realized that then. A guy staying up nights for a week so I wouldn’t get hurt kept eating it saying it was delicious...”

The other members looked amazed as if to ask, “That happened?” and Bi-ju and I wore extremely awkward expressions.

I didn’t know what to call this feeling.

It was awkward and embarrassing.

I felt like hiding behind Kim Deok-soon like she was nearby.

Then Jung-hyun, puzzled, asked.

“Hyung, I’m curious about something.”

“Yeah.”

“Usually with pranks like this the person being pranked is embarrassed and it’s for the viewers’ sake, right?”

“Right?”

“But isn’t this embarrassing for you too?”

“......”

Jung-hyun had hit the nail on the head.

That was exactly how I felt.

No matter that I’d planned the hidden camera surprise.

I realized my mistake then.

“Ugh...”

While the video continued, the members took turns covering their faces and uncovering them like cuckoo-clock doors.

And my empty plea echoed.

“Director, can we stop this...?”

But the camera lights kept flashing.

While hidden cameras from multiple angles filmed the members’ reactions, the head writer and head PD in the side room were laughing.

“Director, writer... are you there?”

One member on screen cried out desperately at the camera.

The head writer laughed and said.

“He really can’t help it. He looks so put-together but he’s secretly clumsy.”

“Exactly. How did they not predict this?”

The key to a prank show is that you don’t fall for it, only they do.

That’s why Sun Woo-joo’s plan was odd.

He’d obviously be embarrassed.

So it was funny.

Even during the pre-interview, he hadn’t taken the bait, answering smartly, but when I explained this plan he’d had a sparkle in his eyes.

But the crew didn’t point that out.

It was a plan that could yield plenty of footage.

Next everything moved at lightning speed.

Since PBS was filming a documentary at the same time, they decided to get interview cuts from there.

They never said it was anywhere specific, but the members naturally assumed it was the doc crew.

The PD clicked his pen and said.

“If we edit this and attach it at the end of Episode 1, wouldn’t reactions be great? The members’ genuine feelings toward the leader, focusing on Woo-joo’s reaction shots.”

“We have to include it. And the members’ responses. If we pick the edit points well, we can make ten minutes easily.”

As they reviewed the footage being recorded, they discussed the reality project.

“There were other good ideas the members proposed. If we bring each one to life we could fill eight episodes in no time.”

“Right. If the reaction shots come out like this, that’s enough.”

“So if we choose one more from what they suggested...”

They skimmed the proposals the New Black members had written on A4 paper.

And immediately agreed.

“This one’s good.”

“I think it’ll get a fun reaction. Especially Woo-joo.”

They chuckled evilly watching the member covering his face on screen.

Meanwhile five members on screen were suffering, groaning “Please stop us!”

At PBS’s Factual Programming Bureau, the staff preparing a special documentary for airing were deep in editing.

In the cramped editing suite, PDs filled every tiny room like caterpillars.

They clicked their mice, sorting through dozens of hours of footage for usable cuts.

Some of those edited clips went to the junior assistant director in charge of the trailer.

Looking haggard, the AD gulped coffee as he reviewed the footage from seniors.

Finally he picked out clips for a 30-second preview.

Perhaps from sleepiness, he ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) instinctively chose what he thought was good.

When he reviewed the selected video, he blinked.

“What is this?”

A particular individual dominated the footage.

No stage lights or flashy makeup, yet he drew all eyes.

An idol member, apparently.

His features helped, but his expressions were vivid and dynamic.

Half-dazed, the AD realized he’d instinctively chosen only the eye-catching shots.

He shook his head to clear it and replaced most of the footage.

Leaving only about three seconds of that idol member for the trailer.

He pondered whether to put it at the start or end.

And he decided.

[?? Did anyone just watch PBS?]

They previewed a documentary and suddenly something flashed for an instant? Did you see the person who appeared for two seconds at the very start??

-What are you talking about;;

-No really an interview scene flashed by;; What was that I can’t explain it

-Documentary preview?

-Yeah

-What’s the title? Go to the PBS site. There’s a preview section and the trailer should be there

-Ah! Thanks!

[Found an amazing ordinary person]

(screenshot)

Here’s the doc trailer screenshot lol Looks like a hero special, and he’s in an interview cut

You gotta see it as a GIF ㅎ.ㅎ

-Oh..

-Send me the link too

-He looks familiar somehow

-Yeah I feel like I’ve seen him before

-That’s not an ordinary guy, he’s a celebrity..

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ It’s him, the one from Ju Se-han’s group

-?

-Link [Profile: “New Black”]

-??

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋ What the heck, he’s a celebrity

-Who was he? Eun-ho?

-It says Woo-joo

-Oh yeah the one in the uniform ad

-True?

-But why is he in a documentary like that? A hero..?

The dreadful reality shoot ended and time flew by.

A handful of radio schedules, dozens of events, and a live show with our Suple fans.

I wished I had ten bodies.

No—maybe just two or three.

Because Ju Se-han and the SNS ad left a good impression, ad requests came from all over.

For newcomers it was a huge number, but only about ten percent were serious offers.

We couldn’t take ads for tombstones or ionic exercise machines, obviously, and some decent ones like water purifiers were opposed by the company.

“Think long term for image management.”

Hyung Seok-hwan said.

“Ads are like acting work. You don’t take every gig just because it pays. It has to fit your image. Plenty of people wrecked their image by doing one bad ad.”

Everyone agreed.

Some got flak for starring in loan-shark ads, others for problematic historical brand ads.

We hadn’t gotten those, but we couldn’t do just anything.

For instance, a twenty-something me sitting in a massage chair saying “Ah, that feels great” would be weird.

“That’d fit perfectly.”

“Yeah, for you.”

“Oh? I think it’d suit me.”

“They’ll want you as an exclusive model.”

Ridiculous opinions cropped up.

So I mumbled about part distribution on the next song, and they all said no, the uniform ad fits me best.

I wholeheartedly agreed.

In any case, the company decided to sign two companies after reviewing long-term image management.

There were better offers, but some advertisers tried to negotiate down prices through the agency, and deals collapsed.

Our road manager Min-gi Seo said it was like “they were robbers without knives.”

After that tough selection, we picked two ads.

One was a small but financially sound low-cost airline, the other a newly listed domestic sportswear brand.

Honestly I was stunned.

We’d barely done our first album promotions, and suddenly ad offers arrived.

Turns out it was for the same reason as EverDream.

“They think it’ll do well so they want it cheap early.”

I hope we live up to that expectation.

Lately I’ve felt like a balloon inflating.

Every success pumps air in, and I’m afraid someone will prick it and it will pop.

Maybe it’s because attention’s increased so much.

Seeing that even a two-second clip from the doc trailer made news online, my siblings understood why but I found it overwhelming.

I’m a show-off but the pace of attention exceeded my expectations.

It felt like I’d put a tiny deposit in a bank and suddenly unreal interest had accrued.

Well.

I had many thoughts, but decided to focus on schedules for now.

“Wow...”

It was another “wow” since the day we visited TJ Ent.

And this time I joined in.

“Wow, it’s huge.”

On the weekend before Ju Se-han’s recording, we gathered under the massive stage wearing name tags and looked around in awe.

Sangam World Cup Stadium.

Over sixty thousand capacity had me unconsciously gasping.

Today’s schedule was the “Find-Dream Concert.”

Hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Sports, featuring about thirty idol teams.

As rookies, we were first up for rehearsal, so we entered early to survey the seats.

But my members’ expressions were strange as they looked around.

I’d probably look the same in a mirror.

Only three rookie teams out of thirty-five debuting this year were in this concert, but there was another reason.

“This would feel amazing to perform in...”

Even the usually calm Jung-hyun said it, so the others didn’t need to.

“Right. Won’t we perform here someday?”

“I guess so.”

I answered.

“Someday.”

“I want to do it now. With our Suple sitting there.”

“That’d be hard. Even if our Suple multiplied five times each, it still wouldn’t fill this.”

We all laughed.

Then we joyfully gazed at the arena.

Even if not here, someday imagining us singing alone for our fans.

“But it’s too bad.”

Said the youngest.

“The finale overlaps with the documentary so we can’t watch it.”

“Well, we can catch the rerun. And it’s not much screen time. How many heroes could they feature?”

Saying that, we walked onto the stage.

We took pride in appearing in the documentary but had no high expectations.

There are so many heroes in the world.

I wasn’t going to be in it much.

While the special stage performance raged at the World Cup Stadium, PBS began airing the documentary.

Peaceful scenes flowed with gentle background music.

A mother pushing a stroller, a youth helping an elderly man haul a cart uphill, a quiet dormitory neighborhood, and a port city panorama.

Those static images unfolded slowly.

Then.

With tense music the mood flipped.

A mother losing the stroller down a hill, a car speeding toward an elderly man, a fire starting in the dorm, an oil tank exploding at the port.

And those rushing in without hesitation were filmed like a movie.

On the darkened screen words appeared.

[Hero]

“A person with superior wisdom and courage who accomplishes what ordinary people cannot.” – Korean Dictionary

“A person who achieves something through great or brave deeds.” – Merriam-Webster 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Then the origin of Hero was explained, the word appearing in focus.

[Birth of a Hero: Innate or Cultivated]

That was the title of PBS’s 50th anniversary special documentary.