In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

Wang Ji-ho turned his head cautiously.

“...Hyung, are you sleeping?”

Sun Woo-joo was breathing softly with his eyes closed.

He was sleeping.

Convinced, Ji-ho turned his head the other way.

Seo Ri-hyeok was leafing through a Spanish textbook, Kim Junghyun was tapping at the screen, and right beside him Kim Bi-ju was writing in her diary.

“Hyungs.”

Ji-ho pressed his hands to his lips and whispered.

“Woo-joo hyung is asleep.”

All three froze at once and whipped their heads around.

“Asleep?”

“Hey, is that hyung really okay?”

“Ji-ho, how does Woo-joo hyung look to you?”

Even the managers in the row in front poked their heads above their seats.

“Is he all right?”

At the clamor, Sun Woo-joo stirred with a soft “hmm.”

Ji-ho hissed urgently.

“Back to your positions, back to your positions!”

Everyone awkwardly resumed their previous actions. It was like a slapdash disguise scene in a comedy film.

Kim Bi-ju pretended to write with a pen cap, Seo Ri-hyeok held his book upside down.

As Woo-joo drifted back to sleep, Ji-ho breathed a sigh of relief.

“Woo-joo hyung, sleep on. I know you were scared when we took off earlier, but you look fine now.”

“Phew, that’s a relief.”

Sighs of relief rose all around.

Even though Woo-joo had never confessed to a fear of flying, everyone here already knew.

They had lived together for a year.

They knew each other’s habits and unconscious fears. Every time a plane appeared on TV or in a movie, he would flinch without realizing it. How could they not know?

Ji-ho pursed his lips.

“...His pride is unbelievable.”

He wasn’t some king leading a country, just the leader of an idol group.

He should just tell them.

He’d rather his leader open up than suffer alone.

But their leader hated relying on others, even though he didn’t mind them relying on him.

He seemed to believe he always had to hold the center.

But unlike their unstable debut days, the members had grown.

They could lean on him a little.

Given his pride, he’d hate to be treated like a poor child.

All they could do was help him from behind the scenes.

Everyone relaxed as they watched Sun Woo-joo sleep soundly.

“Geez, why do you scare us like this.”

Seo Ri-hyeok grumbled.

“His face went completely pale, and then he says he’s fine. He might as well just admit he’s scared.”

“Hmm. Well.”

Kim Junghyun replied.

“Maybe Woo-joo hyung has his reasons.”

“That’s right. I wouldn’t tell Ri-hyeok hyung either.”

“True.”

Ri-hyeok glared at him.

“Don’t think I can’t attack you because you’re out of reach. If it weren’t for that belt light....”

“Same here. If not for that seatbelt sign, I would’ve...”

They growled at each other until—

Ding.

The seatbelt sign switched off and a voice announced they could move about.

“I’ll let it slide today.”

“Count yourself lucky, hyung.”

They cleared their throats and looked away. Kim Bi-ju, unable to hold back a smile, called out to the maknae.

“Ji-ho, keep checking on Woo-joo hyung while he sleeps. If he breaks into a cold sweat again, let me know.”

“Yes, I will.”

“And here’s a playlist of songs Woo-joo hyung likes. If you play these, he’ll be able to sleep comfortably.”

“Okay....”

On the old MP3 player Kim Bi-ju handed him were folders organized by member.

The songs in the folder labeled “Woo-joo hyung” were mostly old folk songs or long-outdated tracks.

They were the exact opposite of what Wang Ji-ho, who only listened to the latest charts, would choose.

“Wow, grandpa taste...”

An angel and a devil spun over his head.

“Just play those songs, like Bi-ju hyung said. Let Woo-joo hyung sleep comfortably.”

“He’s already sleeping. He won’t even notice what you’re playing.”

After deliberation, he sided with the angel.

Ji-ho took a sad sip of his cola.

As the lyrics “Such painful love~” played, he looked out at the clouds.

They were so beautiful that he thought he should send photos to his sisters when they landed in Taiwan.

“...Hmm?”

Sun Woo-joo’s expression had changed.

Instead of the pale, cold-sweating face from earlier, his features were calm.

His mouth twitched, as if in a dream. Looking closely, it seemed he was smiling.

“I hope it’s a good dream.”

Ji-ho drank his cola and smiled brightly.

Maybe because he’d had a good dream, the two-and-a-half-hour flight ended very comfortably.

Except for one problem.

“...So what are you saying?”

He asked in disbelief.

“You mean I never woke you because you were sleeping so soundly?”

“Yes, that’s exactly it.”

Ji-ho slurped from the water bottle with the straw.

“You were sleeping so hard I thought, I shouldn’t wake him.”

“You maknae. I asked you to wake me when the in-flight meal came, remember? I even requested it before I fell asleep.”

“Huh, did you?”

“...Don’t ever ask me for anything again.”

His stomach churned—not an exaggeration.

He’d eaten only a few bites of breakfast to save room for the in-flight meal.

But when the plane lurched and Ji-ho woke him, he thought it was the meal—only to learn they were landing in Taiwan.

—Hyung, we’ve arrived.

—Is it food?

—No. We’ve arrived in Taiwan.

—...

Well, looking on the bright side, he hadn’t felt the fear of landing thanks to his deep sleep.

“Whew.”

His stomach still churned, but he felt relieved.

It was his first flight ever and he’d been terrified, but after going through it once...

He still couldn’t get used to it.

Thinking about taking off again made his skin crawl.

But that was the day after tomorrow. For now, he focused only on activities in Taipei.

They were at Taoyuan International Airport, located on the outskirts of Taipei, the heart of Taiwan.

After collecting their luggage, they joined the Partycié Korea production team before exiting the arrivals hall.

“The time difference is about one hour behind Korea, so please adjust your watches.”

Following the PD’s instructions, they set their wristwatches.

The head and sub writers showed them the cue sheets for today’s shoot and gave a brief explanation.

It was unusual to see the head writer on a variety show come all the way to us, but it made sense when we learned about the small crew size.

For overseas shoots, they minimized staff to cut costs.

So the production team was streamlined, and there were only two writers.

We listened attentively.

“The real café opening will be tomorrow. Today we’ll explore Taiwanese food. We’ll focus on reaction shots, so whether it tastes good or not, please make big motions and expressions.”

They roughly listed the places they’d visit, and I got the feeling it was in cooperation with the tourism board.

After three years of rote learning you can recite poetry. Hearing the broadcast plan, I could guess the subtext.

In exchange for local support for the pop-up café, we’d showcase Taiwan’s attractions in an appealing way.

“In the afternoon, you’ll each promote brochures on the street. You all know the details, right?”

“Yes.”

Chef Park Jae-woo and all the cast answered.

They were about to start filming the arrival scene when our party’s steps came to a halt.

“What’s going on? What is it?”

Yu Chang-hyun, who had been joking, tilted his head.

Local airport security officers appeared to be blocking our path.

They said something, and the PD who was called forward looked troubled.

“Excuse me? What?”

...he asked, but the security officers kept saying “Wait” in English, looking frustrated.

Their English seemed limited.

The PD snapped, “Do airports here even speak English? Interpreter, hey! Don’t we have a Chinese interpreter?”

“Our local coordinator is waiting outside.”

“Then get them on the phone!”

At that moment, the younger members glanced at me, and I stepped forward cautiously.

“Director, I can speak Chinese.”

“Oh, Woo-joo? Great, talk to them. Find out what they’re saying.”

The PD brightened and gestured for me to go ahead.

The security officers were speaking to each other in Mandarin.

“They can’t understand these people?”

“I heard Koreans have been studying Chinese a lot lately... or not? Call someone who speaks English.”

With cameras following beside me and my brothers’ eyes shining behind me, I addressed the officers.

“Excuse me... What’s happening outside right now?”

“Huh?”

“Uh...”

The two men looked genuinely surprised.

They exchanged friendly looks, then one officer explained the situation.

“It’s quite chaotic outside. Security is controlling it, but we need to wait until it calms down a bit.”

“How long will that take?”

The senior officer speaking into his radio replied, “About five to ten minutes.”

“Thank you. You’re doing a great job.”

“No, you’re the ones working hard. We support you.”

Support us?

It was sudden, but there was no time to dwell on it.

I relayed the situation to the crew and our party.

The PD asked, “So they said how many minutes?”

“It seems there’s some event outside. They said to wait five to ten minutes because many people have gathered.”

“I see.”

Outside did sound chaotic. We could hear the din from here.

Chef Park Jae-woo laughed in praise, “Your Chinese is fantastic.”

“It’s not that good.”

“Really? You spoke like a local. I thought you lived in China for a long time. Or did you?”

I shook my head and smiled.

“No, this is my first time overseas.”

“Wow, amazing.”

Myeong Se-jin, the winner of Patissier Korea, asked with curiosity, “Could you teach me some practical Chinese? Like ‘What’s in this dish?’ or something.”

“Me too, me too. Woo-joo, teach me as well.”

I passed along simple phrases to Yu Chang-hyun and Myeong Se-jin to pass the time.

But it took longer than expected, so the younger members huddled and chatted.

“Hyung, I thought you were Taiwanese.”

I laughed at Junghyun’s compliment. My brothers’ eyes sparkled, so I explained with a smile.

“I studied for a long time. Since TJ Entertainment planned TNT for the Chinese market, they gave us intensive Chinese lessons.”

They even brought in a local conversation teacher for one-on-one classes.

Of course, I added a few things myself.

I watched local Taiwanese broadcasts and various me-tube clips to practice sounding as local as possible.

Although Taiwan and mainland China both use Chinese, there are subtle differences.

Fewer retroflex sounds than on the mainland, weaker alveolar sounds, and so on.

Thanks to localizing my tone, the security officers seemed pleased by the difference.

“But I wonder.”

Bi-ju pointed toward the still chaotic outside.

“What’s going on out there?”

“I wonder. They said it was complicated. Maybe Hollywood actors are coming.”

“That’s unlikely. Blockbusters don’t premiere in winter.”

Ri-hyeok answered logically.

“The conclusion is simple. Patissier Korea made a splash overseas.”

“Oh, so that’s it?”

“But really, ask them. Who’s coming.”

“No need to go that far...”

But pressed by curious younger members, I approached the security officers again.

“Excuse me, sorry, why is it so chaotic outside? Who is coming?”

“Who is coming?”

They began laughing among themselves as if they’d heard the funniest joke.

Then a radio crackled.

After exchanging words, the officer motioned for us to go outside.

“Check for yourself.”

They still chuckled as we walked out with the crew.

“Whoa...?”

The moment we stepped into the arrivals hall, an enormous crowd screamed.

Everyone jumped at the sound.

“What is this?”

“Whoa...”

We were the most surprised of all.

Easily hundreds of people were staring at us.

Some held large cameras, others held placards.

Seeing signs in Hangul like “Welcome, New Black!” left us dumbfounded.

What was this absurd situation?

“...?”

Deafening screams filled the air, and we even heard our names.

“Move along!”

Security officers lined up and formed a corridor to the gate, but it was overwhelming.

Yu Chang-hyun clung to me in amazement.

“Wow, New Black is this popular overseas? Totally global.”

“We didn’t even know,” I said.

“Senior?”

“Senior? Haha, a senior is someone rich and successful. Let me ride this popularity too.”

He joked, waving his hand as if basking in the cheers.

Then he leaned in and whispered.

“Bro, I think those over there are local reporters. Wave to them so your face gets captured well.”

“Thank you. I will.”

There was no need to explain to the younger members.

I signaled and waved, and they followed suit.

Normally I’d pause to take in the scene and think, “Thank you, our foreign soufflé...!” but there was no time.

“Mister, eek!”

Someone grabbed Ri-hyeok’s bag and startled him.

I hurried over, gently holding him as we walked.

Hands reached for us through gaps in the security line, people shouting all around.

It felt like a thousand-mile journey to the vehicle less than forty meters away.

“...”

“...”

Once in the vehicle, we all sat speechless. I drank some water, then called the younger members.

“Guys.”

I said to my brothers staring at me blankly.

“We must have become more famous than we thought.”

In the vehicle, we met our local coordinator, the person handling local arrangements for the shoot. He burst into laughter.

“You really had no idea, did you?”

“No, I thought we had some overseas recognition, but not like this.”

Seok-hwan hyung said, “I knew that when Korean idols go abroad the airport crowd often exceeds their domestic popularity, but it’s my first time experiencing it.”

“But also, I heard New Black has quite a fanbase in Taiwan.”

I asked, “We have fans?”

“Yes.”

“This much?”

“Even accounting for airport crowds, yes. Why not? New Black was the biggest rookie hit last year.”

He said we might have won Rookie of the Year just yesterday.

“And someone at a Taiwanese broadcaster told me it was quite popular there.”

I thought maybe they meant Joo Se-han, but the program was an unexpected one.

“It’s The New Black, right?”

“...Oh? Yes. That’s our reality show.”

“Taiwan even has MTV. That reality show was quite popular here. It had many unique scenes and caused a stir online.”

Only then did I recall when our Masquerade single hit number one and the PD in Jam’s Saram Tower said it was being exported to Japan and Taiwan.

I never imagined it would play out like this.

We fell into a stunned silence and looked at each other.

“Guys.”

“Hyung.”

Immediately we hugged each other, tears of joy in our eyes.

“We’re popular!”

“Seems opening the kimchi jar was a good idea after all.”

“Ha, our dark past is shining now! Is this what they mean by light after darkness?”

“Enjoy the end of hardship, you fools.”

“Who knew we could gain fans with embarrassing history? Let’s make plenty more dark history from now on.”

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

Ri-hyeok hyung kept repeating, “No, no, that’s not it,” but we didn’t hear him.

I led the chant.

“Dark history.”

“The best!”

“Dark history.”

“Hurray!”

Seeing us go wild, the local coordinator and staff burst into laughter.

Filming resumed at the first restaurant.

Seated around the table, Yu Chang-hyun looked at our beaming faces and teased us.

“Wow, you all have flowers blooming on your faces?”

“No, no, haha...”

“Really? You keep smiling. Were you that happy at the airport?”

“No, no, haha.”

“It’s great, right?”

“It’s amazing, haha.”

Watching ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) us laugh at the thought, Chef Park and Myeong Se-jin also laughed.

Chef Park Jae-woo looked at the menu and said to me, “Our global star New Black, could you place the order? Here are xiao long bao.”

“All right, I’ll order.”

Since it was for broadcast, the restaurant owners came out together to take our order.

We ordered Chinese dumplings, xiao long bao, and other dishes. While waiting, they brought out warm fried treats we hadn’t ordered.

“What is this?”

“It’s a service.”

The owner’s wife said with a warm smile.

“You must have a hard time working away from home.”

“Excuse me?”

“...?”

“...?”

She cocked her head and asked,

“Are you not Taiwanese?”

“Me?”

While I stood there looking bewildered, I suddenly understood why they had said “We support you” at the airport—it all fit together in my mind.

Wait a minute.

These people thought I was Taiwanese?

It seemed I had practiced Taiwanese-style Chinese too diligently.