In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

I greeted the celebrity and civilian participants as we climbed the tiered seating.

Seasoned comedians, mid-career ballad singers, music college students.

Voices of every kind exchanged greetings, but my siblings had just one question on their minds.

No sooner had we sat down than Bijoo covered her mouth and whispered.

“Hyung, I think they all recognized us. Is this for real?”

“No way. I think...”

Ji-ho whispered.

“Could it be fans from our fan café?”

“That’s possible.”

“Hey, you two do the talking. Don’t whisper in my ear.”

They leaned in over the string-cup telephone as if I were the other end, whispering between them with me in the middle.

“It makes sense.”

This time another voice joined in. From behind me, Ri-hyuk whispered with logical certainty.

“They said the show got 18.8 percent ratings last night. It’s not like 50 percent of old dramas, but statistically anything around 20 is significant.”

“Right. The internet is ablaze right now.”

“Proud as I am to say it myself, it’s the truth.”

Left, right, above. My siblings whispered in surround sound.

It reminded me of the mama ghost voice in horror films.

I itched to pop my ears, so I quietly rose and moved three seats away.

Immediately all four of them shifted seats in unison.

Back to square one.

“They really recognized us, right? Not fans but just ordinary people?”

“Hyung, I’m sure of it. Why would they know our names otherwise?”

“No.”

I burst out, incredulous, and whispered back.

“Why don’t we just ask them? Why are we having a forum about this?”

“Then I’ll ask.”

As Jung-hyun sprang up, the four of them grabbed him at once and sat him down.

“Sshh! Junghyun, sit down.”

“Sit, hyung!”

“Sit, sit, Kim Junghyun. Good.”

“Aah, people are staring.”

The people in front turned their heads to watch our squabbling.

Not the best teamwork.

All four glanced down at their phones in awkward unison.

I made up my mind.

No more hiding things from them.

Just as I sighed at their flustered faces, two college students near us chuckled together.

Then, wrapping an arm around the seatback, one spoke up.

“Excuse me.”

“...Yes?”

“Could we take a photo with you?”

“A photo?”

“Yes, for proof with our friends. We told them we saw the variety show people yesterday and they got curious.”

A photo, huh. Not now.

Broadcast staff are extremely sensitive about any picture-taking in the studio.

One click of a shutter and we’d be public enemy number one.

“Just a moment.”

I called over Minki hyung and asked if it’d be okay. Our road manager skillfully refused for me.

It’s a tip I learned in this business: a refusal from the manager feels completely different than one from the artist.

“How about after the show? You’ll have plenty of time then.”

“Oh, that’d be great.”

Their disappointed faces brightened at once.

They immediately chattered away.

“We really enjoyed last night’s show. My mom and dad watched and when the goat came out it was epic...”

“The black goat was amazing. What did you think?”

“Um, who was that? You were super cute though.”

“....”

We tried to stifle our laughter at the pouty maknae. True, he’d been the least impactful in this special.

While the two in front animatedly talked with my siblings, I felt a strange sensation.

I thought of that fake gold coin from a novel.

The fairy scatters them from the sky but they vanish after a few hours.

All along I’d watched articles and online reactions to NewBlack, secretly wondering if it was too good to be true.

Is this real? Is it fake? that doubt nagged me—even as ordinary participants pretended to know us.

Gradually, though, I began to believe.

That the gold coin in my hand was genuine.

11:40 a.m.

“Ten seconds to live broadcast! Five, four, three, two, one!”

The assistant director wearing a headset counted down in a booming voice.

Wearing hanbok, the male and female announcers beamed and called out.

“May every day be as joyful as Chuseok! Welcome to Chuseok Special Challenge! 2080 Music Quiz Show. I’m your host, announcer Yang Seok-jun.”

“I’m Kim Hye-ryung.”

As the two pros guided us through the proceedings, the cast applauded and cheered.

Behind the camera, the assistant director waved the script to prompt reactions.

The set was a semicircle.

Like a quiz show, podiums with touchscreens faced the participants.

[PBS Challenge! 2080 Music Quiz Show]

Watching those floating logos on the touchscreen, Junghyun and Ji-ho looked itching to play.

Bijoo and I grabbed their arms.

“Today’s quiz show is open not only to our guests but to viewers at home.”

“There will be prizes for lucky participants.”

After quickly mentioning the viewer prizes, they added that ARS votes would be donated to charity.

“Now, let’s welcome our contestants!”

Amid cheers the introductions began.

Comedian Moon Gi-nam, mid-career ballad singer The Moon, popular music critic Hwang Ho-cheol, followed by music college students, Seoul National University music club members, and seniors from a trot club.

Each looked confident in their musical knowledge.

An impressive lineup—but I smiled with confidence.

When it comes to music quizzes, I’m unbeatable.

And finally.

“Now, we can’t forget these people when it comes to music. They’re rookies, but no one knows music better. Give it up for NewBlack!”

Facing Camera 5, we delivered our rehearsed lines.

I opened my lips first.

“We, NewBlack...”

Bijoo picked up the cue.

“...will own this music quiz show!”

Next Ri-hyuk blew a finger kiss to the camera.

“Quiz? What’s that? I’ll get every one of them right.”

At that contrived, corny line, music critic Hwang Ho-cheol on my left visibly flinched his beard.

The Seoul National University music club members on my right looked away in embarrassment.

We pressed our lips together.

No laughing. No laughing.

That line was the producers’ idea.

The moment we said we didn’t care who delivered it, my siblings shot conspiratorial glances at me. I quickly called “Rock-paper-scissors.”

Winner: our main vocal.

We all nodded warmly at the blushing Ri-hyuk.

I was relieved I wasn’t the one.

“Before we begin, let’s introduce today’s prize.”

Who cares about the prize?

This show is about NewBlack’s image...

“Today’s first-place prize is a premium Korean beef set!”

“Oooo!”

All five of us gasped in delight.

Hwang Ho-cheol trembled his beard again at the sight.

Idol community green room.

[whitewhitewhite(red)white.jpg]

This quiz show is hilarious, had to screenshotㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋI’m dyingㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-That one looks like Angry Birdsㅋㅋㅋㅋ Is that the kid who cleaned yesterday?

-Yeah, Ri-hyuk

-Feels like smoke will come out of his ears

-Title is geniusㅋㅋㅋㅋ All white then one red

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋWhat’s the context?

-It’s a quiz show, and after that cringe line he went like that!

-The part where the bearded dude trembles is killerㅋㅋㅋ

-Where is this happening?

-pbs! Live quiz show right now! Supplain user is going to die happy..

One minute later.

[today’s prize is meat.gif]

That’s a live gif

-? I can’t see the gif..

-I’ll summarize (++) (^-^) (ㅇ_ㅇ) (--) (@[email protected])

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋWho’s that top commentㅋㅋㅋ

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋperfect match

-Ah.. upload failed, reposted in comments!

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋThey’re cute

-Ri-hyuk? Why is he so wide-eyed?

-He says he gave it his all..

-Cuteㅋㅋ But it’s not easy. I flipped channels to watch the quiz show, and it’s way harder than expected

Challenge! 2080 Music Quiz Show.

True to its concept on the PBS website of “a music quiz show for all generations,” today’s questions covered Korea’s pop music history.

Round 1: crossword puzzle.

Round 2: subjective quiz.

While the announcers explained the rules, the production team huddled in the control room.

“Isn’t this too hard?”

“Hard?”

“Honestly, I think they’ll run out of time trying to solve it.”

“If it’s too tough, give more hints. If needed swap in backup questions.”

As cameras captured us from every angle, the head PD picked which shots to air.

Camera 1, Camera 3, Camera 5...

While following the cue sheet, an engineer peered curiously.

“Who do you think will win today?”

“Probably Hwang Ho-cheol. They say he knows everything about pop music.”

“You can’t count out the civilians. Those trot club seniors know music history firsthand.”

“The Moon wasn’t a pushover either. During the pre-interview, he taught us about LP collecting. We learned a lot.”

Someone surveying that formidable roster then asked.

“But how did they get NewBlack on here? What do they know about music?”

“The PD brought them himself.”

“For looks?”

“No.”

Pointing at the footage of NewBlack on Monitor 5, the PD answered.

“One of them composes. They have a solid grasp of music theory. After the Music Café shoot, Ha Seung-ju praised him. He said the kid’s musical education is top-notch.”

“Really? Which one?”

The PD’s finger lit up on the screen at one member’s bright eyes.

Live-broadcast venue.

With a premium beef set on the line, everyone steeled themselves.

“I’ve got to win.”

It wasn’t general trivia but the history of Korean music, and these people were confident.

Hwang Ho-cheol smiled, The Moon adjusted his horn-rimmed glasses, sizing up the competition.

Even the civilians looked fierce about music.

Especially the university club who’d prepared study guides and predicted questions.

As Round 1 began, everyone eyed potential rivals, but no one felt threatened by NewBlack.

It made sense.

I thought: They booked us partly for our looks.

“They know why we’re here.”

“Okay, here’s Crossword 1-Across.”

“The question: In 1989, what was the title of the third track on Eun Sera’s fourth album ‘Your Flower Is My Heart’? To give a hint, we’ll play the song.”

“Hwang Ho-cheol, correct! ‘Flower of Innocence’!”

“That’s right!”

When the critic answered before the hint, the scoreboard lit up [10] points at his podium and the contestants applauded.

Fierce competition commenced.

“Seoul National, correct! ‘Seopyeonje’!”

“Hell yeah! That’s it! ‘Love’s Sailboat’ by Bae Byung-ho!”

“It’s The Moon: ‘Law of Multiplication’ by Vector and Scalar.”

While Hwang Ho-cheol and The Moon led, the civilians surged.

But in mid-puzzle a high-value question appeared.

A snippet only three seconds long.

“NewBlack! That was Woo-joo’s folk song, ‘If Love Has Barriers’.”

“Correct!”

“....”

How did he get it from three seconds?

When asked, Woo-joo humbly said he’d studied composition and listened to countless songs.

Then immediately:

“Actually that song was on the seventh album, not the sixth. And it was 1999, not 1998. So the missing number is seventy-nine. I was seven then. I remember vividly.”

What was vivid?

“By singer Koo Jae-hak, I think it’s a masterpiece. Not just me, but my generation knows it too. The guitar sounds beautiful.” 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

The others looked astonished.

Even Hwang Ho-cheol laughed in disbelief.

“Be honest. How old are you?”

Laughter rippled through the set.

After a brief ad-lib from the announcers, NewBlack’s streak continued.

Between the critic, the ballad singer, and the rookie idols, Woo-joo shone.

But my siblings weren’t idle either.

When a familiar melody with gayageum mixed in played, Ji-ho’s eyes lit up and he raised his hand.

“Ji-ho, that’s the subway transfer song!”

“You need to be precise.”

“NewBlack, correct.”

At that, Kim Junghyun tentatively raised his hand, like a bear peeking at a honey jar.

“Line 2 transfer song...?”

“No.”

A roar of laughter filled the venue, and Woo-joo gazed off with misty eyes.

Then he answered correctly.

“It’s ‘Eolssiguya,’ created by the National Gugak Center. You asked for two instruments: gayageum and janggu.”

“That’s right!”

In today’s live quiz show, we placed third.

We’d tied early on, but the high-value late questions went to Hwang Ho-cheol and The Moon.

The critic, clutching the beef set, shook ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) our hands afterward, praising the match and saying he looked forward to our next album.

After taking photos with the civilians and cast, we left the PBS building.

Once in the car, the maknae wiped his forehead.

“Whew, that was an epic battle.”

“You worked hard.”

“You think you did anything? Sshh, hey. How can you not stare at this red ginseng? This is mine.”

I cradled the box of red ginseng jelly I’d won for third place.

Warding off my siblings’ hyena stares with a wave, I gave the jelly character’s “Hi!” wave.

Ri-hyuk clicked his tongue.

“That’s like Scrooge.”

“Hey.”

“Hyung, you should worry about yourself. Quiz, what’s that? I’ll ace it~”

“Puhahaha!”

“The fans must be going crazy over this.”

Bijoo, curious, turned on her phone and logged into the fan café.

We leaned over to see—as we peered, our cheerful expressions froze as if doused with cold water.

“Hyung, why are the forum vibes so bad...?”

The posts streaming in were far from positive. It seemed something had happened while we were live on air.