In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

The clock on the wall struck exactly seven.

“......”

Although we’d all gathered around the laptops at the maknae’s shout of “It’s seven o’clock!”, no one dared reach for the mouse.

Biju said, “Hyung, why don’t you click? I heard that kind of thing should be done by someone lucky.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

Ri-hyuk interjected, “It’s not like quantum mechanics where observation changes the result. The result’s already determined.”

“But Grandma Woo-ju’s told me....”

“Oh, that.”

“Ri-hyuk’s the jerk here.”

Jung-hyun said and popped a shrimp sushi into his mouth.

In the instant someone became the villain, our phones started buzzing one by one.

Texts, messages, calls.

“This must be a good sign, right?”

“I don’t know. They’re all sending messages, and I’m like, ahhh, I can’t watch.”

After that little farce among the five of us, I resolved to refresh the chart myself.

The tension was so thick I could hear my own breathing. My fingertips trembled.

I clicked—and the Mango real-time chart updated to [19:00].

“Oh, as expected TNT’s still there.”

Just as Jung-hyun had said, the first page was filled with TNT’s comeback repackaged album. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

A black cover with a hazy question-mark motif.

With a drama OST sandwiched in, TNT was stacking the chart with their tracks.

Biju pointed. “Scroll down to the bottom, hyung.”

“All right.”

I scrolled all the way down.

We began climbing from 100th place upward.

“Uh...! Ah.”

I jumped at Ri-hyuk’s cry when “Something” flashed by, but I understood. A February song on a November real-time chart still felt surreal.

“Come on... come on...”

I murmured like a chant as I scrolled up.

Not in the 90s. Not in the 80s. Not in the 70s.

Still nothing as I climbed.

Around the 30s, I said, “Even if you don’t see it, don’t be—”

“Scroll more, hyung.”

“Honestly, we—”

“Scroll more!”

“All right... I’ll scroll...”

But our song still wasn’t in the top 20.

“......”

A wave of disappointment swept through the room.

To be honest, we’d expected around the 70s.

Given the context, that seemed reasonable.

We’d even checked the top 20 just in case—but no luck.

Which meant our song had failed to chart.

Not exactly shocking. Regular folks—including my grandma—might ask, “Is it really that hard to crack the top 100 real-time?” But it is.

For an idol from a small agency—especially a rookie—to chart at all is huge.

We’d been ready to cheer at even seeing our name.

But apparently there was no name to see.

“Hyung. Don’t give up—maybe it’s higher up.”

“Okay, let’s see.”

At Biju’s encouragement, I nodded and scrolled up faster.

Halfheartedly, but scrolling...

And then—

“Oh...! Dang it! Wait!”

Ri-hyuk screamed, pointing at the screen, face bright red.

He stammered “Th-that...!” and pointed so hard I leaned in.

I frowned, and Jung-hyun translated, “He’s saying check the top ten.”

“The top ten?”

I scrolled up to the top ten—and just when I thought it still wasn’t there...

It was there at number ten, glaringly obvious between two TNT songs, a red highlight standing out.

“...Huh?”

Time froze.

Crazy.

That was all I could think.

This is insane.

Absolutely insane.

Everything felt in slow motion.

The sound of Biju dropping chopsticks in surprise.

Ri-hyuk collapsing onto the sofa as if his strength left him—and Jung-hyun catching him.

The squeak of the red rubber duck.

Ji-hoon leaping up, dropping the bowl of soup onto the floor.

When the soup splattered everywhere, I finally snapped back.

“Wow! Wow! This...! This.”

While the maknae babbled in shock, Ri-hyuk regained composure.

“Quick, take a screenshot. They might claim it’s a system glitch and take it down later. Screenshot it now.”

“Y-yeah, screenshot it.”

“Hyung! Guys! What is this? We’re tenth? Wait, tenth is tenth, my words are all tangled.”

Amid chaos everywhere, we silently stared at the screen.

Was this even real?

After refreshing 3.5 times per second for a full minute with no change, we confirmed it.

“Wow......”

We all stared blankly at the air.

My mouth was supposed to drop open, but it shut instead. My throat cramped, and goosebumps spread over my body.

Chills ran from fingertips to toes.

Cheeks trembling like an electric shock, we stared at each other.

Could this be real?

After a moment looking at each other—

“Waaaah...!”

We all jumped up, linked arms, and bounced around.

Our cheers were so loud they’d surely be heard in other offices, but right then we didn’t care.

We’d struck gold.

Adrenaline coursed through us as we bounced for a long time.

“I have to call my mom and dad.”

“I’m calling my sister...”

“I’m calling my parents and hyung.”

“Hyung! My friends all want to congratulate us. Haha. Gilly, Kyung’s been silent this whole time...”

As everyone grabbed phones to speak, I pulled out my own and swallowed.

I had to tell Grandma Kim Deok-soon the good news.

Our album had exploded.

Just as I opened my phone, another call came in.

[Devil]

It was Seok-hwan hyung.

But the moment I picked up—

“Hello....”

“Woo-ju!”

Voices overlapped in and out of the handset.

Our ghost of math had burst into the lounge, as if she couldn’t even wait for the elevator.

“Guys, your song....”

“I saw it, hyung.”

“You guys... you guys...”

Hyung stuttered, unable to hide his excitement, and I said,

“Hyung, come over here. Let’s celebrate together.”

“Yeah, okay. I’m still in shock, I don’t even know what I’m saying...”

As we all stood to greet Seok-hwan hyung—

“Uhhhack!”

Hyung almost slipped on the mashed soup on the floor, but I darted in to catch him.

“Ah, thanks. Hey.”

Hyung adjusted his glasses and said, “So, now then—”

“Just a second, hyung. Let us catch our breath.”

Exchanging nods with my brothers in one second, we welcomed the manager into our circle and then—

“Waaaah...!”

We bounced again in celebration.

『 Five Colors : The Red (2014) 』

– NewBlack

– [★★★★☆]

At last, a group that truly knows how to wield color has appeared.

Using color to express an album’s concept is often a tired sales gimmick, but NewBlack succeeded.

They brushed across the spectrum with vibrant, deft strokes.

Though member Woo-ju’s self-produced mini album isn’t remarkably intricate, it masterfully treads the fine line between commercial appeal and artistry. It reveals its own unique hues without belonging wholly to either side....

(Excerpt)

...It’s astonishing that this group has been active for less than a year, and their potential is a rare joy to behold.

by pop music critic Hwang Ho-cheol

PM 07:00

– As expected, TNT lines up the chart from number one

– Among TNT’s comeback, NewBlack ‘holds strong,’ Serenity ‘uncertain’

– [Photo] From the very first dance break, TNT comeback show Taehyun ‘I am Dance God’

– [Entertainment IN] It’s time to focus on their colors... The discovery of ‘NewBlack’

– NewBlack’s unprecedented chart surge: ‘Pre-release of MV was a masterstroke’

PM 10:30

– New song ‘Masquerade’ on track for number one...?

– Stoic TNT, beaming NewBlack, weeping Serenity

– As of 10 p.m., up to number eight... NewBlack’s massive success five months after debut

– ‘Masquerade’ MV hits 500K views in 24 hours; agency promises a thank-you message at one million

– [Stock Talk] After actor trades, boy group boom? Lemon Ent plans year-end IPO?

Gunsan City.

Plink—plunk—

Rain poured down.

Mist rose from the gray clouds drifting in from the sea.

Buses sprayed water on the sidewalks, and umbrella’d people hustled through town.

Drawn by the smell of frying oil, Grandma Kim Deok-soon ducked into the neighborhood tempura shop.

The owner, a regular, handed her a paper bag.

“Terrible rain, isn’t it?”

“I can’t handle it. It’s been pouring since yesterday. Oh, I wish cash would rain down like this.”

“Yeah.”

“Right. Business booms.”

With that, Grandma left the shop, holding a bag of cat food in one hand and tempura in the other.

She waved off the neighborhood cats who followed her.

“This is for my Nabi. You guys don’t get any of it.”

Meow—

Perhaps because of the rain, the cats mewed mournfully, and Grandma’s heart softened.

“All right, I’ll share a bit. This is the last, though. No more next time. ...Heh, not even looking, they just gobble it down. Well, eat up and live well.”

Watching the kittens eating together, she clicked her tongue and headed back inside.

Though it was daytime, the gray sky still stung her eyes.

“This weather’s a bitch.”

Yet for the first time, a warm smile touched her lips.

She’d heard good news from her grandson.

He said they’d ranked high.

She didn’t know what it meant, but it sounded amazing.

Last night she’d video-called them, and the four grandkids all cried, “We love you, Grandma Kim Deok-soon!” as if wild.

When she asked if they were crazy, they giggled like lunatics.

【 Group Chat: Support Crew 】

Jung-hyun’s Dad [What a beautiful night... hehe!!]

Jung-hyun’s Dad [Makes me want a glass of wine]

Jung-hyun’s Dad [Shall we all cheer together?]

Chairman Wang Hyun-tak [Sounds good...]

Chairman Wang Hyun-tak [Hwa!]

Jung-hyun’s Dad [Lee]

Biju’s Mom [Ping!! This feels amazing..!! This feeling...!]

Biju’s Mom [Love you, my son..!]

Even the parents’ group chat formed at Chuseok overflowed with joy.

Photos of the chart ranking and article links kept popping up, and laughter-filled comments flew.

Her slow fingers could only manage “Nice~” but Grandma felt the same pride.

She didn’t understand the idol world, but this was the happiest she’d seen her grandson since he said “Grandma, I’m debuting!” four years ago.

Woo-ju [Grandma~]

Woo-ju [I’ll send you 10 photocards of mine with this second album hehe]

Her [Send the others’ too]

Woo-ju [Hey, Deok-soon]

Woo-ju [Don’t be greedy]

Woo-ju [Focus your fan love on just me]

Her [You crazy boy.]

Her [Did it go well today?]

Woo-ju [Of course]

Woo-ju [This one’s the best yet]

Woo-ju [The CEO came down to hug me and almost fell]

Her [What are you talking about]

Woo-ju [Should’ve moved that soup out of the way..]

He started spouting nonsense, then left with “Don’t miss the live K-Net tonight” before disappearing to practice for filming.

I meant to say “See, the temple master was right—you’ve got great luck!” but I felt wistful that I didn’t.

Meanwhile, Grandma Kim Deok-soon stopped mid-step on the street.

She heard a song playing from a café.

“Is that...?”

It was her grandson’s voice.

Curious, she entered—and the lone barista brightened on seeing her.

“Well, hello, Chairman! What brings you here?”

“I came in because of that song.”

“Song? Oh... this one. Are you out there listening too? I just left it on...”

Waving off the offer to turn the speaker down, she asked gently, “Is the song really that good?”

“We had the café playing top chart hits yesterday, but customers kept asking the title.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Then I just kept listening because I liked it so much.”

As another NewBlack track played, Grandma smiled.

It was good.

Not her usual taste, but it stuck in her ears like glue each time she heard it.

It kept looping in her mind.

“What could it become, I wonder.”

Grandma thought of her grandson smiling far away in Seoul.

She didn’t know how it had come about, but clearly his song touched people’s hearts.

It felt like a dream that kept going.

Yesterday, every staffer at the company greeted us with “Congratulations!” and handed us candy or chocolate, whispering “Hide these from the managers.”

The same at K-Net’s Sangam-dong headquarters.

Every fellow singer we bumped into congratulated us with a bright smile and “Great song.”

Serenity did too, though we didn’t know their real feelings.

TNT didn’t appear—due to last year’s awards fairness dispute with K-Net—but Taehyun sent a long congratulations message last night.

So I sent back my thanks.

Meanwhile, the music show we’d returned to after five months felt both familiar and strange.

The facilities were the same, but the people had changed.

In the hallway after rehearsals, strangers saw us and jumped, exclaiming “Hello! We’re Fantanis, sunbaenims!”

“Uh....”

My brothers were even more taken aback.

“Please, just call us juniors. We debuted the same week, we’re both newbies—let’s greet each other casually from now on.”

“Oh! Yes! Got it!”

A freshly debuted six-member boy group passed us, then a cleaning lady bowed “Hello!” to us, too.

They looked like they’d greet falling leaves—they cracked me up.

Biju giggled at me.

“Hyung, you said ‘junior’ but sounded so senior.”

“...Me?”

No way.

“Exactly. You sounded so kindly, like ‘We’re no sunbaenims~’ ugh...!”

“Puhaha... Uh, hello! We’re NewBlack!”

We greeted a passing senior artist too.

Since we’d bumped into some familiar faces at big events, we quickly adapted to the broadcast station environment.

“Hellooo....”

“......”

“Hello. Ah, that’s good.”

We watched the maknae practicing his greeting in the hallway and blinked.

“Ji-ho, what are you doing?”

“Ah, soon the year ends, and juniors will debut. I’m thinking about a serious greeting tone.”

“Hmm.”

We all looked at each other and, in rap-style, mimicked the maknae’s “Like this, yo?” He glared at us as if we were his worst enemies.

“Don’t tease me. I’m serious. Yesterday I saw comments online....”

“Don’t mind those, Ji-ho.”

Biju said, “Everyone has their own thoughts.”

“Right? But every article has some people saying stuff...”

“Screenshot them, Wang Ji-ho. I’ll track them down and get revenge.”

“Good idea. Ri-hyuk, take Jung-hyun with you when you go.”

“Where am I going, hyung?”

We all laughed at Jung-hyun’s question.

Because of our unexpected chart ranking, articles comparing us to TNT had sparked a surge of malicious comments overnight.

Some had to be hidden for a while...

Lost in that thought, we entered the rookies’ waiting room, and my phone buzzed.

[Devil] You schedule’s fixed

It was Seok-hwan hyung’s message.

While Manager Mingi and new road manager Do Won-seok handle the broadcast, our director’s out hustling.

“What is it, hyung?”

“Seok-hwan hyung sent our confirmed schedules for November and December.”

“Oh. Let me see.”

Our brothers clustered around as two image files popped up in the message.

“...Huh?”

We read the densely packed text and our eyes went wide.