In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

I turned around and almost burst out laughing.

It was because of my boys’ expressions.

I’m not entirely sure how to describe it, but they looked so proud and pleased. Their smiles were almost arrogant. It was like little kids bragging about their big brother to their friends.

Honestly, I couldn’t take it anymore.

On the other {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} hand, the nine tree friends on the screen stared at me blankly.

They looked genuinely amazed.

Street Boys started fussing noisily.

“Hey, what is this? How did you do it?”

“Wow, insane. So that’s why we got crushed in the year-end evaluation.”

“Told you, right? I saw that reality clip last time and they said this guy’s composing is next-level.”

“Why are you proud of that, Gam-namu?”

“Anyway, that traitor.”

“No, I just—”

It ended in someone bursting into tears, but Street Boys looked at me like I was an alien.

Hanjo asked,

“But how exactly did you arrange it?”

“Ah.” 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

I answered exactly what popped into my head.

“I love the senior groups’ songs, but since they’re coed, the women’s vocals are in a different range, right? So I referenced our main vocal, Rihyuk, and Giwon-ssi to match the tone appropriately.”

I pressed the keys lightly with my finger.

As I played the arranged melody right after the original, ‘ah-ha’ sounds of amazement came from all around.

“And since it’s got that ’90s vibe, I tweaked some notes to fit today’s trends. If the original was like this...”

I played a melody mixing ‘beat’ and ‘sunshine,’ then immediately followed with the revised version.

Now they looked not like aliens but monsters from another planet.

Honestly, there were several other details I’d paid attention to, but I decided not to explain them.

But even this much seemed to convince them.

“So, do you like it?”

“It’s insane.”

“For real. We could keep it just like this, right?”

Hearing the clients’ approval, I smiled quietly. It seemed there were no objections to the song choice.

Jiho shrugged his shoulders and said,

“Isn’t it amazing?”

“Yes. Completely amazing.”

“We’ll trade you our leader.”

Hanjo looked incredulous and glanced at his juniors.

“You want to sell me?”

“Please sacrifice yourself so our group can survive.”

“I’ll throw in LB too.”

“Oh. I’m confident I can do it! I wash dishes great!”

“No way.”

Bijoo said,

“Even for a billion won, Woo-ju hyung wouldn’t sell himself.”

“What about two billion?”

Bijoo’s pupils twitched and everyone burst out laughing.

As I let out a hollow laugh at suddenly becoming an auction item, Rihyuk, standing behind me, parted his lips with a serious expression.

I expected him to shut down this ridiculous banter as usual.

Yeah, Rihyuk. Lay into them.

But what came from his pale face was completely unexpected.

“Even two billion isn’t enough. You have to consider projected value. This precious asset... how much revenue will he generate next year alone?”

“That’s right. We can’t sell him cheap.”

“If we’re going to sell, might as well get top price.”

I grabbed the back of my neck at my juniors joking around. Watching them laughing on both sides, I declared,

“I’m resigning from Mint Choco-dan.”

“No way.”

“Woo-ju-nim is already the danjang.”

“That’s right. The moment we heard the arrangement, we dumped Hanjo hyung.”

“Guys...”

...Since when was I the boss?

Bijoo clapped and whooped.

“Hyung, you’re the danjang.”

“To commemorate your inauguration, shall we sing a congratulatory song?”

They surrounded me singing “Congratulations~ Congratulations~” and I was drained.

I’d seen a meme long ago.

Ten retrievers wagging their tails like crazy clinging to a single cat.

I’d saved it because it was so cute...

Cute, my foot.

I fully understood how the cat must have felt, desperately fleeing from those retrievers.

I’ll delete it from my gallery after this call.

Feeling a bit dizzy, I said,

“I must decline this honor. I resign as Mint Choco-dan danjang.”

“Haah...”

“I’ll pass the danjang position to Hanjo-ssi.”

“Hanjo hyung?”

They all stared at each other, then one after another said,

“Resign.”

“Step down, hyung.”

“Can’t I be the second danjang?”

“The tree goes in. If you don’t want to be firewood.”

Under enormous pressure, Hanjo resigned, and a vote immediately selected the third Mint Choco-dan danjang.

“Congratulations~ Congratulations~”

“U! U! Bit! Kal! Sun Woo-ju!”

“Congratulations on your inauguration as the third Mint Choco-dan danjang.”

Beagles howled in surround sound from all around.

Normally he’d be mocking, but Rihyuk patted my shoulder with a bittersweet look.

“Ugh... I hate it all.”

Hanjo said,

“Woo-ju-ssi. Let’s just start our own group with the two of us.”

“Shall we?”

If you want to get close, you have to stick together.

We can’t diss our own groups, so we used the leaders of each other’s groups as firewood for a barbecue party.

After endless pushing and pulling, I ended up holding the danjang title for the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th terms of Mint Choco-dan.

Of course, meetings about the joint stage proceeded steadily in the meantime.

“Alright, we’ll prepare the performance like that. We need to talk about costumes.”

I cleared my throat.

“‘Sunshine’ is a song released when the Trend seniors were relatively young teens. It’s all about youthful freshness.”

Sensing what I wanted to say, Hanjo jumped in.

“Right. ‘Beat’ too. It’s based on their autobiographical story from the high school hip-hop club.”

“Hanjo-ssi, we’re literally on the same wavelength.”

“Are we?”

While we exchanged compliments and smiles, the twelve juniors wore reluctant expressions.

I continued,

“In that sense, there’s only one costume that suits a song like this. It’s...”

“School uniforms.”

“Exactly.”

At first they resisted, but the burning obsession with uniforms in the eyes of the two group leaders silenced them.

Jiho said,

“They want uniforms so badly should we just do it?”

“Sure. When will we ever get to wear uniforms like this?”

“Woo-ju hyung loves uniforms. Please understand.”

“Hanjo hyung too. Every time we mention uniform concept his mouth smiles ear to ear.”

My juniors and I steadfastly expounded on the aesthetics of uniforms.

“You all don’t understand the beauty of uniforms. They’re such precious outfits and concepts. You might get tired of wearing them every day, but for some, they’re clothes they’d want to wear again.”

“True. Once we get older we can’t pull off that concept.”

“I agree. Think about your leaders’ ages. A few years from now if we wear uniforms it’ll look like a high-school flashback scene.”

They burst out laughing at the high-school flashback quip.

In any case, after that persuasion we quelled the outcry from the noisy trainees in each group.

Over the 90-minute call we covered a lot.

It’d been a while since I’d had so much fun and laughter. We all had smiles on our faces.

Even if we’re not super close yet, it felt like I’d made good friends in the industry.

Most people I’d befriended so far were distant seniors.

Seniors like Jang Sowon, the Yeo siblings, Hyeision, and so on.

So I’d never had someone I could just talk to casually...

These guys were exactly such companions.

And they felt the same.

Street Boys also seemed more pumped than usual, chattering away with high energy as though they’d been lonely.

We responded in kind, chatting excitedly.

“When we hit more experience we get free time! Let’s eat together then!”

“Great! I know amazing restaurants!”

“Waaah!”

...A dinner promise already. They move fast.

But unlike us, it seemed Street Boys’ reactions had another emotion mixed in.

“This feels so good.”

Someone on the other side said,

“It’s our first time giving opinions and having a meeting like this.”

“Right.”

“It feels like we’re unexpectedly important people. Thank you, really.”

For us it was the same meeting as always, but they were so happy.

It was like kids from strict homes going to the supermarket alone for the first time.

I felt a bit touched, and we thanked them for playing along even though we’re boring.

As we began wrapping up, Hanjo asked,

“By the way, before we report to the company, when will the arrangement be complete?”

“Just a moment. I’ll ask our A&R staff. It’s not something I can handle alone timing-wise...”

As I said that, I messaged Seopilgeun-ssi from the composition team on the shared phone.

No reply.

I tried calling...

“Hey, why isn’t he answering?”

“Maybe he’s left for the day?”

“No, he said he’d work late today.”

Then a thought struck me. I reached for Junghyeon and said,

“Junghyeon, can I borrow your phone for a second?”

“Just a sec.”

He rummaged in his pocket, puzzled. Then he said ah, and handed me a phone wedged in the cushion.

...I should’ve borrowed someone else’s.

I dialed Seopilgeun-ssi from Junghyeon’s phone.

As expected.

“Hello?”

He answered immediately.

“Assistant Manager Seo?”

“...Woo-ju-ni? Uh, what’s up?”

“Why didn’t you pick up my calls?”

“I, uh, thought it was an unknown number. Haha.”

I really don’t know why everyone avoids me when it’s about composing.

This guy too—I’d only called a few times when I had questions about composition...

My juniors exchanged glances.

‘...a few times?’

‘Have some self-respect, man.’

I ignored them and explained the matter.

After the call, I looked at the nine Street Boys.

During the call they’d all avoided my gaze.

“Whatever you’re thinking, it’s a misunderstanding. Tree-ssi, stop dodging eye contact. I’m not dangerous.”

“I’m not Tree, I’m LB...”

“Anyway, about the work, Hanjo-ssi? Why are you avoiding eye contact?”

“I find looking at the screen tires my eyes.”

These guys as a group...

“If you don’t meet my eyes, you’ll have to work with me.”

All nine looked up with big eyes. And the juniors behind me craned their necks like giraffes staring at me.

“...”

Laughter broke out all around.

...I want to do it alone. Seriously.

After the TBC year-end song festival joint stage strategy meeting, the ball passed to the adults.

Our A&R team handled the arrangement details, and each agency’s management team took care of costumes and related agreements for the joint stage.

We drew the big picture, but the finer details weren’t in our hands. Everyone has their specialty.

Above all, time was running out.

Because there wasn’t just one year-end stage.

We also had to prepare the Something stage with Senior Sowon, and besides TBC there was another joint stage.

At the COEX exhibition hall.

We looked around and gasped.

“Wow...”

Blue everywhere.

Inside the huge hall, blue tents were set up here and there.

Each tent had a signboard reading Daydream, TNT, Male Dancer, and so on.

It was the waiting area for those performing at the HBS Music Awards today, Sunday the 21st.

“Seems like not many people are here yet?”

“It’s year-end. Other seniors are busy with schedules. At this time, only rookies rehearsal.”

Rehearsals are done first by rookies because they have to wait longest.

And today the rookies’ joint stage came first.

We entered a small tent labeled New Black with our managers and staff.

“Guys, let’s sync up first.”

While the staff unpacked, we practiced the choreography we’d worked on earlier in a corner.

I knew the Masquerade moves so well I could do them blindfolded, but the joint choreography was different.

During practice, trainers and dancers helped align with other teams’ formations, but now I had to recall their positions in my head, which was tricky.

We repeated until we got it right, when Mingi hyung entered, phone in hand.

“Almost all the other teams have arrived. They said we should fine-tune formations outside. I said okay.”

“Got it.”

We headed to an open space in the hall with two managers.

When we arrived, two girl groups were already there. Over a dozen members greeted us.

“Hello!”

KM Ent’s Blink and MOP Ent’s Serenity.

Like us, they wore name tags for the dry rehearsal.

Blink members approached warmly.

“Oh, long time no see. Nice to see you!”

“Yes, really.”

After the Everdream ad they’d been distant, but now they greeted us warmly.

Serenity, having co-performed recently, also nodded greetings.

Well, we’d only had superficial chats before, but their friendliness toward us seemed especially sincere.

It felt like greeting someone you happen to know entering a room full of strangers.

The two girl groups looked awkward talking to each other.

...Weird.

I tilted my head unconsciously.

TBC paired rookies Street Boys with us for the joint stage.

Of course I expected Blink and Serenity to pair up.

But judging by the mood, that wasn’t the case.

They were stiff with each other like strangers meeting for the first time.

Could it be...

In that moment I realized KM Ent and MOP Ent were two of the Big Four.

“Hello! Street Boys here!”

Street Boys appeared and stopped my thoughts as they warmly greeted us.

“Only a week since the call and we meet again.”

“Hah, it’s the danjang.”

“Hello, danjang.”

...They ignored me.

They kept calling me Mint Choco-dan danjang in front of other teams and managers—unless you’ve felt that humiliation, you don’t know it.

To avoid more of their chatter, I parted my lips.

“All right, now that we’re all here, shall we sync up?”

“Yes!”

Over twenty idol members mixed together; forming the first lineup was chaotic.

Only after checking each other’s name tags could we find our spots.

A peculiar tension hung in the air as the four groups aligned.

“Hey! Watch out!”

“Ah, tangled foot. Spread out a bit.”

At first there were collisions everywhere, but after about five minutes we moved in perfect sync.

They must have practiced enough to impress on their own.

After thirty minutes of practice, we were informed it was time for the dry run, and rehearsal ended.

“Great work!”

We clapped hands and moved toward the stage. The youngest clung to me and whispered,

“Hyung, the atmosphere feels weird.”

“Right?”

Others quietly nodded. I wasn’t the only one who felt it.

How to say...

Maybe it’s because these are the four rookies with the best results this year, but the mood was unique.

They didn’t dislike each other, but there was a strange sense of competition and tension. No one said it aloud, but everyone’s body language screamed “We have to nail this!”

It felt like gathering contestants who’d made the finals.

As of December 21, 64 idol groups have debuted via music shows.

Among them, only four earned spots on year-end stages.

Lemon Ent’s New Black.

KM Ent’s Blink.

MOP Ent’s Serenity.

DNS Media’s Street Boys.

Though more teams could succeed later, these four are the rookies worthy of attention so far.

It was a big deal, but it didn’t guarantee future success.

It literally meant making the finals.

Performing on a year-end stage means exactly that.

Only about four rookie acts earn spots in the mainstream scene.

And at today’s HBS Music Awards there was another significance.

One of these four would win Rookie of the Year.