In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

“Gasp... gasp......”

The three men panted for breath.

Chased like that, they had somehow reached the entrance to the trail up the village hill.

Looking around anxiously and finding nothing, they exhaled in relief.

“Phew, shit... oh shit......”

The VJ patted his chest. Then, as if sobered, he checked the camera’s status.

Haesheon, still catching his breath, asked,

“Director, did you get all of that on film?”

“...You remember I was running in front, right?”

“Yeah, but... wow. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

Unlike the two men drenched in sweat, Kim Jung-hyun looked perfectly calm. Haesheon clicked his tongue, calling him a monster for his lung capacity.

“Aren’t you tired?”

“Oh, I was just running at jogging speed.”

“.......”

“I don’t know for sure, but you two suddenly took off running so I followed. But why were we running?”

“Yeah, why did we run?”

Now that he thought about it, there really was no reason to flee.

Even when the goat bristled its horns in a seizure-like fury, the old man—its owner—had looked entirely untroubled. Usually when a dog threatened people, its owner would panic and pull it back, but here it was more like, “There he goes again.”

That meant there must be a reason.

Perhaps thinking it ungentlemanly, the VJ and Haesheon chuckled.

“Goodness, why would we run from one goat? Looking back, it was nothing.”

“Exactly. It’s just a little goat... Ah! Watch out!”

With the sound of chain scraping the dirt, the black goat Daegil strode toward them from afar.

Kim Jung-hyun turned to look back and asked,

“...Excuse me, why are you hiding behind me?”

“You’re the one in front of us.”

“No, I’m not hiding. It’s because of all the camera gear.”

That was odd. Just moments ago they’d been laughing heartily in front.

Behind Kim Jung-hyun, the VJ was filming the goat with the camera running.

Then Daegil stopped.

Like a lion watching hyenas driven out of its territory, the black goat quietly eyed the humans, then turned and disappeared.

Truly regal for a rural king of the wild.

Kim Jung-hyun blinked.

“He’s just leaving?”

“He is.”

“...He is.”

They looked at each other and laughed.

Of course, it was a pitiful sight.

After running since the hot August morning, their faces were soaked as if they’d showered in sweat. Haesheon’s dreadlocks were especially fluffy with moisture.

Under the shade of a tree, Kim Jung-hyun gently fanned his T-shirt and looked at the two men.

“...So what should we do?”

“What about?”

“Grandfather and grandmother will be wondering where the goat went. Shouldn’t we take it back home for them?”

“Hmm... then.”

Haesheon asked the VJ,

“Director, can you contact the rest of the crew? Let’s tell them what happened, and in the meantime... well, let’s follow him.”

They trudged after the goat as it descended the slope. Once they hit the paved road, the goat’s pace slowed noticeably.

“Judging by its walk, it must have been exhausted from chasing us.”

“It’s impressive that it dragged that stone all the way here. I’ve never seen a goat with anger management issues in my life, man.”

Still, compared to before, it was a peaceful scene.

A black goat with a heavy stone on its chain strolling along, and two men following at a leisurely pace.

The VJ captured the sight on camera.

Especially Kim Jung-hyun.

The idol member wearing a happy expression as he looked at the wildflowers blooming along the roadside and rice paddy boundary.

Haesheon, following his gaze, pointed out a flower.

“That flower is really pretty. Those purple buds on the leaves hang like little bells.”

“That’s called wild sesame flower.”

“...You even know its name?”

“I saw it often when I was young. My grandfather told me that in the old days, elders used it a lot as a medicinal herb.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes, and it’s easy to confuse with perilla leaves, but they’re entirely different plants.”

Listening to his unpretentious wildflower commentary, Haesheon blinked, then draped an arm around his shoulders.

“Hey, our little brother here is a wildflower expert now. How do you know all this?”

“I dream of becoming a farmer after my idol career ends.”

At that, the two elders laughed as if they couldn’t help themselves.

When Haesheon pointed to another wildflower, Kim Jung-hyun immediately answered with detailed explanations.

The reggae-haired rapper said to the VJ,

“We’re definitely on camera, right? This is amazing.”

The VJ made an OK sign with his hand.

While following the goat, Haesheon fired various questions at Kim Jung-hyun to get good footage: why he dreamed of farming, what was growing in that field, little rural tidbits.

And each time, Haesheon felt moved by the joyful expression on Kim Jung-hyun’s face.

“Walking around with you feels like filming a healing variety show.”

“Really?”

“If it weren’t so hot, we could keep strolling like this... It reminds me of my father.”

“Your father farmed?”

“He had an orchard... and whenever fruit came up, his eyes would sparkle just like yours.”

“I think I get that feeling.”

The rapper smiled as he watched the idol nodding.

Before long, the houses of the village came into view. Once they passed this bustling road, they’d be at the village entrance.

Daegil limped along the road with familiar steps.

“We’ve got through to the other team.”

The VJ hung up and said,

“They said the goat will find its own way home, so don’t worry.”

“That’s okay? If we just leave it, it’ll ram into things everywhere.”

“They say it’s only beaten up village dogs, never a person.”

“Then why did we run?”

“Exactly. The elders laughed asking why we ran.”

“.......”

The three men exchanged silent looks.

Then they shared warm smiles.

It was the cozy camaraderie of men realizing they’d done something foolish.

Haesheon unfolded a map and said,

“Then let’s leave that angry goat and move on to the next mission......”

But then they heard a clatter by their ears—the sound of a metal rod catching on the drainage grate at the roadside.

More precisely, it was the metal bar stuck in the cement block the goat wore on its chain.

Clank—

The goat twisted in anger, but the bar wouldn’t budge. As it stubbornly pressed forward like an ox, they saw a vehicle hurtling toward them from afar.

A white truck.

At that rate, it would surely hit the goat.

Even if it slowed down, same thing.

The goat, noticing the oncoming truck, blinked. The situation seemed frozen in time. It could have turned back, but it still struggled to press onward.

“Hey, hey! Come here!”

As the two men anxiously called to the goat, Kim Jung-hyun took off running.

Swiftly he reached the goat, grabbed it, and ran back.

“.......”

He began applying wrestling moves to the goat.

Kim Jung-hyun’s dash wasn’t the result of a complex thought process.

‘Should I save it or not?’

If he saved it?

He could, but he’d get scolded mercilessly by Kim Bijoo.

Following Woo-joo hyung and his two younger brothers for a whole day listening to “Ri-hyuk, scold this careless kid,” “Careless? That’s Jung-hyun hyung himself,” “Ha ha ha, Jung-hyun hyung, check this GIF!” was fine.

But Kim Bijoo’s scolding... ugh.

Sitting him down in the living room and gently going through every mistake with “Okay, what exactly did you do wrong, explain it to me” would be terrifying.

But.

If he left the goat, it would get hit by that truck.

The faces of his scolding peer friend and the goat raced through his mind.

Uh......

That made his decision clear.

Life was what mattered most.

No sooner had he firmly decided than Kim Jung-hyun ran out. He scooped up the goat in the middle of the road and sprinted back.

The startled goat writhed left and right.

He considered letting it go, but if it struggled like that it would get hurt by the oncoming truck. He had to hold it, but how do you restrain a four-legged animal?

He remembered how his uncle used to subdue goats as a child—knocking them down and pressing a knee gently on the throat to immobilize them.

But that was difficult from this angle.

Then Kim Jung-hyun recalled something.

‘Ah, that technique.’

When Woo-joo hyung and Ri-hyuk were on a visible radio show, the youngest teased them in chat. Afterward, Woo-joo hyung demonstrated some jiu-jitsu or wrestling move on the youngest.

That memory came to him.

So he laid down and applied the wrestling hold to the goat. The goat still bleated and twisted, but couldn’t overcome his strength and soon calmed.

Meanwhile, a white truck roared past them.

“Hey, you idiot! What were you thinking running out there with a truck coming?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Jung-hyun. Filming is important, but if you’d gotten hurt you’d really ruin the show.”

“I’m truly sorry, Director.”

While the two men scolded him, Kim Jung-hyun scratched the back of his head. Then he pulled the metal bar from the drainage grate. The now-tamed goat looked up at him quietly.

Gently stroking its head like a puppy, Kim Jung-hyun turned to the others and apologized again.

“Well, you did well.”

Haesheon wrapped an arm around his slightly sullen shoulder and smiled.

After all, it had turned out well.

He bore responsibility for the commotion, and the VJ, as crew, surely didn’t want a guest’s negligence to kill a pet goat mid-filming.

Thus, the two who had scolded him soon thanked him.

“Hey, this footage is actually usable, right?”

“One moment.”

They huddled to review the recorded material.

“.......”

Realizing from their first meeting with Daegil until now that everything had been captured perfectly, they were seized by a strange certainty.

“Director, this will definitely air, right?”

“Unless another team builds a dog sled and races it, you won’t get better footage than this.”

“Really?”

Only Kim Jung-hyun looked puzzled.

“This will air?”

“How could it not, you fool.”

As Kim Jung-hyun beamed, eager to tell the others, the two men chuckled.

Heading back to the village, they noticed something odd.

“...Hey, Jung-hyun.”

“Yes?”

“That goat... it’s following you, isn’t it?”

The black goat Daegil was trotting along behind them, sticking close.

[● REC] 2014-08-30 10:48:31

Haesheon: By the way, I’m curious about something.

Jung-hyun: Yes?

Haesheon: That move you used on the goat... where did you learn it?

Jung-hyun: (with a bright smile) Oh, that? One of our members is really skilled physically.

Haesheon: Woo-joo?

Jung-hyun: Yes. I learned by watching him. (to the camera) Woo-joo hyung, I did well, right? Last time when I asked how to do it, you explained with a pillow in your arms. Thanks to that, I could subdue the black goat.

Haesheon: Puhahaha!

Jung-hyun: (tilting his head) Why are you laughing?

Haesheon: (wiping tears) No, later ask the person himself.

At Grandmother Im Soon-hyun’s house.

I covered Grandmother’s eyes with my hands as she stood in the yard.

“Do you have to do it like this?”

“A surprise gift is supposed to be a surprise, Grandma.”

“Oh my, how much cleaning did you do?”

Grandmother had no idea what the living room looked like now.

There were items to move, so the three of us spent the last fifteen minutes tidying. The dust was so bad she’d taken refuge outside.

Just as she returned from feeding the chickens, it was time to reveal the result.

“It’ll be dawn soon.”

“One moment.”

The door opened and Ri-hyuk stood in the living room giving a thumbs-up. I smiled brightly and said,

“Okay, please come in.”

I led Grandmother into the living room and removed my hands. Her narrow eyes swept the room.

Then they widened.

“Oh my......”

“Neat, isn’t it?”

As Grandmother surveyed the living room, I sang the BGM from the home renovation shows I used to watch.

“Da-la-la-la-la~ Da-la la-la-la~”

Ri-hyuk joined in before long. The fresh BGM filled the air, and the VJ and Maxi laughed.

They were amused by the harmony we added.

Explaining, I said,

“It’s an occupational habit.”

Whenever one of us started making music in the car, someone else would add harmony for fun.

Meanwhile, Grandmother, inspecting the room, looked moved.

“So clean. So clean.”

“Right?”

Ri-hyuk beamed.

At another time, I might have teased him, but not today.

It was well deserved.

The living room had changed astonishingly.

Earlier it looked like a storage space, but now it felt touched by human hands, a tidy interior.

Though the yellowed wallpaper and old fixtures remained, it was the most dramatic change possible in a short time.

Simply rearranging the furniture made the room look so much larger.

To Grandmother’s delighted face, I said,

“Pretty, right?”

“Don’t brag.”

Ri-hyuk interjected proudly.

“I did all the cleaning—can’t you steal the credit?”

“If we hadn’t helped, you couldn’t have moved the stuff.”

“.......”

Although he said he preferred working alone, in the end the two of us had to intervene.

He toiled to move items until his ears were red, like a red-eared turtle.

Maxi, gently scratching Doosik the Pomeranian’s chin as he sat in her arms, added in agreement,

“You’re weak... Ri-hyuk.”

Seeing his bright red face, I stifled a laugh.

Grandmother Im Soon-hyun clasped Ri-hyuk’s hand, insisting on giving him something as thanks. She wouldn’t refuse... and we accepted a little.

The crew said it was fine.

With a bulging envelope in hand, we left the house.

Then we scoured the village for other cooking ingredients. Only the first mission for beef was difficult; the rest were quick tasks.

The crew had designed it that way.

They wanted every team to visit the homes of elders living alone, ensuring no one would lack ingredients.

“Oh my, thank you. Climbing up and down the loft is so hard. I couldn’t reach what I needed until my son came.”

At the final mission spot, another grandmother clasped our hands and spoke. Then she handed us a red ticket marking ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) mission success, printed with “soy sauce.”

That was roughly the system. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Upon completing a mission and receiving a certificate, the village hall kitchen team got the ingredient.

And as soon as the ingredient arrived, they’d start cooking.

A-team, having chosen bossam which takes time, began cooking pork as soon as they got it.

Maxi, checking the group chat for us, said,

“Your members are doing well.”

“Really?”

“They say everyone’s doing great... one even befriended the black goat.”

“Must be that goat from earlier.”

“Guess fighting is how you become friends.”

Laughing at the notion of a happy ending, Maxi looked serene.

I imagined Jung-hyun dancing hand in hand with the goat, then shook my head.

Ri-hyuk asked,

“What on earth did he do to befriend the goat?”

“It’s Jung-hyun.”

“Suddenly that makes total sense.”

I chuckled and checked my watch.

Forty minutes remained. We’d gathered all the ingredients we needed, and time seemed ample. I suggested to Maxi,

“Sunbaenim.”

“Call me Maxi.”

“You lost rock-paper-scissors to me earlier.”

“......Hmph.”

Stubborn about titles, she refused, so I proposed deciding by rock-paper-scissors.

Of course I won.

Using my mimicry ability, whenever she tried paper, I threw scissors. Ri-hyuk lost, too.

“Sunbaenim, we still have some time—shall we go over there?”

“Turmeric grandfather?”

“Yes, him.”

“Sounds good. Can we stop by?”

The VJ nodded in response.

Apparently no one had gone yet. Well, turmeric isn’t much use as an ingredient.

We approached the grandfather’s house.

Unlike the others, it was a neat, newly built single-story home. The lawn was well kept, and in a pastel-painted doghouse sat a regal Labrador Retriever.

What was this?

A sense of affluence wafted from somewhere.

As I sensed something odd, the door swung open.

“Oh my, you’re here! Come in!”

The grandfather, clad head to toe in designer clothes, waved and came out.