In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

“No, how could you take my picture so suddenly?”

For a moment I was flustered, then I struck a pose in time with the photographer’s shutter.

“Good! Good!”

He kept exclaiming in English.

The short shoot ended, and it was the younger members’ turn.

Unlike in Korea, the photographer couldn’t give detailed directions, so I wondered if I should interpret—until we realized we could rely on the universal language of body language.

“Shh—shh!”

The photographer placed his hand at his waist and roughly mimed a pose.

“Yes, yes.”

My brothers nailed the poses perfectly.

After shooting enough album covers, posters, and photo spreads, their experience had clearly grown. I felt proud seeing how far they’d come since their awkward debut-day poses.

Seeing me smile, Ri-hyeok squinted at me.

“What kind of expression is that?”

“What?”

“Like a grandfather at a kindergarten recital—grinning at the other hyungs.”

“...”

“Because you were making the same face as the director.”

“Seok-hwan hyung?”

I turned and burst out laughing.

Seok-hwan hyung was mimicking my exact expression: twitching lips and rising cheeks. He must’ve felt proud, too.

Then our eyes met.

“...”

I gave him a smirk and an “uh-huh,” and he cleared his throat and transformed into a proper gentleman.

After the group shot, I praised my brothers.

“You all did great.”

Their responses were matter-of-fact.

“Really? I think I messed up my pose back there. I had the angle wrong.”

“Yeah, it was a little off.”

“Me too. I practiced in front of the mirror like crazy last night.”

I laughed at their disappointed faces. To me, the shots looked fine, but their standards had clearly risen.

Bi-ju spoke up.

“Your photos came out so well, hyung, I wanted to do better too.”

“No way. I’m unhappy with lots of my shots. I made tons of mistakes.”

At once the four of them turned on me with narrowed eyes.

“I’m serious...”

I looked wronged, but no one sympathized.

The photographer beckoned us to the monitor. One by one he showed my brothers’ shots and gave thumbs-up.

“Good picture.”

Their faces lit up.

Then he scrolled through my photos.

“Oh.”

The members ooh’ed appreciatively, but I only saw flawed poses. I scratched the nape of my neck sheepishly when the photographer silently raised both hands.

“...?”

With a serious expression, he gave double thumbs-up.

“Very good picture.”

I avoided their resentful stares and gazed into space.

After variety show filming and interviews, we finally had free time.

The moment we checked into the hotel, we changed clothes like crazy and gathered in the lobby.

Seok-hwan hyung laughed at our excited, giddy faces on the verge of bouncing off the walls.

“Remember we have an early schedule tomorrow? We’re not here sightseeing. Just a quick one-hour look around.”

“Sir, I have a question!”

“All right. Ji-ho.”

“Does the one hour start now, or after we arrive downtown?”

“That’s...”

“Ji-ho, why are you asking that?”

I laughed.

“No matter how stingy someone is, they wouldn’t count travel time in that hour.”

“...”

“Right, hyung?”

I signaled my brothers: hands together, eyes bright.

“Please!”

Our five joined hands and shone like hopeful kids.

“Well...”

Bright eyes.

“Well...”

Bright eyes!

At last our director surrendered.

“If it takes five minutes anyway... Fine. One hour after arrival. Mingi and Wonseok will tag along nearby. Contact me immediately if anything comes up.”

“Yes!”

“Don’t run! Hey! You’ll get hurt!”

Like puppies off their leashes, the five of us dashed outside.

We took the hotel shuttle toward the night market, filming quick self-intros.

“Hello, soufflé fans! We finally have our first free time in Taiwan!”

“We’re so happy.”

“Please look forward to it. We’ll make the most of Taiwan.”

Foreign tourists on the shuttle laughed as we oohed and ahhed. I pointed the camera at Junghyun.

“Junghyun, to celebrate our night out, how about a Taiwanese acrostic poem?”

“Great.”

“Ta.”

“Tire.”

“I.”

“Teeth.”

“Wan.”

“Pea.”

Ri-hyeok swept his bangs back.

“...Junghyun hyung, let’s rethink the definition of an acrostic.”

Meanwhile we laughed at the nonsensical poem.

“Ha ha ha!”

Between giggles, I was glad there were no Koreans on the shuttle.

On an internet forum:

[Just took the same shuttle as Korean [N O V E L I G H T] idols in Taiwan...]

Five insanely handsome guys boarded the hotel shuttle.

They had such an idol vibe, we were starstruck...

Our friend said they’re called New Black?

They were singing “freetime” in a cappella, and every time a scooter or car passed, they laughed like kids...

So unique.

We were quietly cracking up behind them...

Tall kid: “Look at that scooter... Should I try riding one later, hyung?”

Big hyung closed his eyes: “Uh... I see it. I see our group getting wrecked, Junghyun.”

Tall kid: “I’m not riding it... (sad)”

Then they all burst out laughing...

– LOL what is this

– Tell more, this is hilarious

– Go talk to them, take pics

– [OP] They thought we were locals... My friend and I pretended to be Chinese

– LOL that’s even funnier

Five minutes later.

– [OP] We took pics, here’s proof.

– Wow... lucky

– How’d you manage that?

– [OP] In broken Korean I said “please take a picture,” and they laughed and did it... So kind.

– LOL

– Need more deets

– [OP] One of them speaks Chinese amazingly... I said they were Japanese, and then the white guy spoke perfect Japanese and I panicked and said “su... sumimasen!” and ran. They teased him and his face went red.

– Why’d he run LOL

– LOL perfect ending

Ten minutes later.

– [OP] Ugh... ran into them again at the night market

“Oh, there are those Japanese folks. Ri-hyeok hyung, go greet them again.”

“No thanks.”

“They might’ve run off earlier because they were shy.”

“Ahem.”

Ri-hyeok timidly waved at the two distant tourists.

“...!”

They jumped and hurried away, looking like they’d met something awkward or scary.

Everyone laughed, watching our hyung steaming like a kettle.

“Ha ha ha!”

Ri-hyeok let out a dinosaur roar of “Kyaaah!” and we dodged him, creating distance.

“Seriously. How did I end up with these people?”

He sighed staring at the ground. I patted him and he cheered up, and we began exploring the market.

“Wow.”

Everything felt new.

I’d thought it’d feel familiar in another Asian country, but it was distinctly foreign.

The lit Chinese signs.

The bustling Chinese chatter.

Lanterns like those in temples glowed gold, hanging all down the alley.

My heart pounded with excitement.

“Wow...”

“It really is foreign.”

The chilly night sent goosebumps up my arms.

I reminded myself that I’d crossed the sea to this strange island.

Just a day ago I was in Seoul; now all this unfamiliar scenery and people seemed so surreal.

I vowed never to forget as I soaked in the night market scene.

Capturing frantic photos, Bi-ju asked with a smile, “Want to show Grandma?”

“Yeah.”

I had to share everything I saw with Kim Deok-soon. Bi-ju snapped pics of food stalls, signs, and shops.

“I miss my family more abroad. I wish they could come here with me.”

“Right? It’s a shame.”

“Hey, did you decide on souvenirs for them?”

“I’ll get snacks. Everyone says they buy snacks here.”

While Bi-ju and I planned snack souvenirs, Junghyun roamed with his film camera.

He’d bought it with his earnings and took his shots so seriously.

For the first thirty minutes, we wandered the market giddily, eating this and that, haggling over small souvenirs.

“This is too expensive.”

I asked the maknae, “Ji-ho, do you know how to haggle?”

“No.”

“I’ve seen movies where the youngest heir has hidden talents, loves lazing around but secretly is a genius bargain-hunter.”

“Um, no, I don’t have that.”

Ji-ho looked puzzled. “Why haggle when you have money? Just buy it.”

“Oh, true.”

“I’ve never haggled, but...”

Our maknae batted his eyes at the shopkeeper and said, “Price-down, please,” with a little hand gesture. The auntie laughed and gave us a discount. We left happily carrying bags.

“See, cuteness is universal.”

“Well done, maknae.”

Just then Ri-hyeok scolded us.

“You’re so excited. According to the internet, you buy these at half price. You cut the price by two-thirds and are still giggling.”

“Sorry.”

After bowing to Ri-hyeok, Ji-ho and I argued, “You suggested this,” “I’m the hyung, you know?” Then we smiled at each other.

It was a thoroughly fun night stroll.

“Oh, hyung, look—prizes! Prizes!”

There was a ring-toss game and lots of prizes displayed. My brothers’ eyes lit up.

“What do you want to win?”

“That fake Pokémon plush.”

“Hyung, I want the rhinoceros beetle plush as my mascot.”

We, looking like clueless tourists, approached and the owner greeted us.

“Welcome, come on in!”

He tempted us with one play for only a few dollars. I smiled, but the owner’s smug grin faded fast.

Whoosh! Thunk!

“Wow!”

“Oh, they say even a rolling grub can learn a trick.”

Ignoring my brothers’ chatter, I shot the bow.

Whoosh! Thunk!

Each arrow landed dead-center. The owner’s face turned red as onlookers gathered in amazement.

My brothers whispered, “I love it when people are amazed by Woo-joo hyung.”

“Me too. Feels good that I’m not the only wonder here.”

“Right.”

“Hyung is naturally talented at physical stuff, but the owner looks shook.”

Just as we were about to sweep up all the prizes, the owner announced,

“All attempts end here today!”

“But he said unlimited earlier...”

“Hey! Hey!”

His urgency was comical.

“All right, we’ll take the prizes.”

We left with one plush each.

Too bad. If we’d had more time, we could’ve conquered every game at the market—the bottle-ring toss, bingo, everything.

After bidding farewell to the vendors, we parted ways.

“See you in fifteen minutes!”

Though it was “free time,” it was hard to all stick together and explore.

So we agreed to split up briefly.

“Ri-hyeok, watch Bi-ju.”

“Don’t worry. I installed a location tracker on hyung’s phone. ‘Where are our kids?’”

“Good thinking. Bi-ju, stick close to Ri-hyeok.”

“Yes, hyung. I’ll follow him closely.”

They looked at us as if we were lost children. Bi-ju waved wistfully as Ri-hyeok led her away.

“See you later, hyung!”

“See you soon!”

Ri-hyeok snapped, “Really, don’t fuss. We’ll meet in ten minutes!”

“You’ll miss me too, Ri-hyeok.”

I waved and he awkwardly waved back.

Now I was alone, lonely and wistful...

“Just kidding.”

Humming cheerfully, I ventured back into the night.

I was mainly curious about the street music—what songs played in Taiwan’s night streets?

I heard the occasional K-pop tune.

I wandered, listening to Taiwan’s hits. Some passersby stared, but I didn’t mind.

Trouble began when I bought street food and walked on. A man followed me.

“Excuse me, are you an entertainer?”

“Huh?”

“I’m not weird... I work for a company. When I saw you, I just knew. You have the face for showbiz.”

His business card said something like “Workshop” in Chinese. I thought craft workshop, but it was a talent agency.

He said I could succeed in mainland China with my looks and passionately pressed a card into my hand before leaving.

“Think about it!”

He was only the first. Several more handed me cards, but when I said I was already a Korean idol, they awkwardly left.

I sighed looking at the cards. Was this a street-casting mecca?

When I was with the five of us, nothing happened, but alone people approached everywhere—some handing numbers, some striking up conversation whenever I stopped to eat.

It was uncomfortable in a different way from being masked.

I gave up on music and turned back—when...

“Excuse me.”

I paused, curious. Turning, I saw a reporter with a microphone and cameraman—Taiwanese TV.

“May I ask your impressions of the night market for our morning news?”

“Oh, sure.”

I gave a brief comment on today’s outing and they wrapped up the interview.

When I asked if I should give my name, they said it would air under a pseudonym.

They asked my age, so I said 21.

...Well, international age reckoning and all that.

I considered reporting to my manager but decided it was harmless.

I arrived at the rendezvous point with my brothers.

“...?”

All five wore equally exhausted expressions.

“Did that happen to you, too?”

“Even you, hyung?”

Together we counted seven business cards.

We laughed sharing our fifteen minutes of spectacular encounters. It wasn’t just me—my brothers had their own wild stories.

“Seriously, you guys manage to get into crazy situations in just fifteen minutes?”

“Nothing happened to you, right, hyung?”

“Of course not.”

Ri-hyeok tilted his head.

“Really? Aren’t you the most high-profile among us?”

“Me?”

“Yes. The Street Boys guys said you’re like K-Detective in the idol world.”

“Call me Conan. And no, nothing happened to me.”

My brothers eyed me suspiciously as I protested my innocence.

“I swear. I just came back listening to music.”

The next morning.

As we enjoyed a peaceful breakfast, Taiwan’s soufflé fans spat out their cereal watching the morning news.

“Pfft...”

On TTS’s morning news, my idol face appeared.

Sun Woo-joo, 21.

“The weather is nice, and the night market atmosphere was beautiful. Always a wonderful place to visit.”

The interview clip flashed by.

“....”

Wiping cereal off the table, the fans wore stunned expressions.

‘What just aired?’

Why was a foreign idol on our morning news?

And under a pseudonym.

They had no clue what was going on.