In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

Jo Yuri hurried over to the PD.

I had never seen anyone look so desperate.

“PD-nim.”

Her finger pointing at the potted plant trembled slightly.

“There was a hidden camera installed there?”

“Yes.”

The PD answered coolly.

“Viewers these days like realness. If the cast isn’t aware of the camera, it feels more genuine.”

There’s someone who was too genuine.

While we paused to watch, the PD narrowed his eyes as if sensing something.

“Yuri-ssi.”

“Yes, PD-nim.”

“Why that reaction? Was there something on that footage that mustn’t air?”

“No, it’s not that exactly...”

Jo Yuri forced a smile and said,

“There’s a bit I would like you to edit out...”

“Edit?”

“Yes, PD-nim.”

At that moment the PD’s face went rigid.

“Yuri-ssi. Don’t you think this is out of line?”

“......”

“You think it’s appropriate to tell the PD how to edit stuff?”

Every field has untouchable super-bosses.

In the entertainment world, broadcast PDs are in a league of their own.

They cast the entertainers and decide how to show them on screen.

“...They really got caught, huh.”

I heard Song Bohyeong mutter.

The rock band’s behavior had clearly offended the PD.

I whispered to my juniors,

“Let’s go.”

“Okay, hyung.”

Fearing any backlash, all the cast quickly filed out of the conference room.

“I’ll see you later, seniors.”

Risa and Song Bohyeong bowed to us, then went off toward their waiting room with their managers.

Behind us, the PD’s calm but cutting voice echoed chillingly.

Bi-joo asked,

“So their footage will be cut, right?”

“Probably. I think so.”

Unless this were a cable survival show doing devilish edits for ratings, in this music-focused program those nasty remarks would almost certainly be deleted.

Jo Yuri Band’s entire segment on bonding with the other cast would likely be cut.

Ri-hyeok scowled.

“I don’t like it. It should just air so they get roasted. I had words up in my throat earlier.”

“You held back well. How did you manage?”

“It feels good for a moment, but the fallout would be terrible. Besides...”

Ri-hyeok trailed off.

“I can’t have my members suffer just because I speak my mind. If this were the old days, I’d have charged straight in... Hey, why are you staring?”

“Because it’s admirable.”

“Really, don’t give me that grandpa face.”

I raised my arm to put an arm around him.

“No chance.”

Ri-hyeok batted my arm away, but it was a feint. With my other arm around his shoulder, I smiled.

“You’re the one with no chance.”

He sighed in resignation, and I chuckled.

I said to my juniors walking with me down the hall,

“You know it doesn’t matter if it airs or not. They already lost big.”

“That’s true.”

Joonghyun thought a moment and said,

“The PD and writers will see themselves on camera.”

“Once they see that, their first impression will change.”

For Jo Yuri Band it was all negative.

It’s natural for entertainers to have a different on-screen image than real life.

But if you act all nice in front of the production crew and then act entitled elsewhere, it’s infuriating.

No matter how well you treat me, if you flip your attitude depending on who’s watching, I can’t warm to you.

And that affects editing and filming too.

TV is made by people, after all.

Plus, this will reach Cha Woo-hyun’s ears, since he’s a senior cast member.

I don’t know how he’ll react, but it won’t be favorable.

They snubbed other cast members for being “lesser,” and now they themselves are being ignored and isolated.

Well. I don’t feel sorry for them.

I just remembered what Kim Deok-soon always says: you have to behave well all the time.

“Let’s leave that topic there.”

We weren’t interested in an indie band that treated people badly and earned a bad reputation from the production crew.

Once inside the waiting room labeled “New Black,” I began unpacking our gear with the other staff and said,

“The important thing is the competition coming up.”

Screen time matters, but this Song Discovery Unit focuses more on music than variety.

So whoever picks a fight with us, it doesn’t matter.

Skill and ranking will be judged by musical ability.

“It’s a singing show. We don’t need to worry about anything else. Just sing well.”

“I think so too.”

“Show them how good we are, hyung. I’ll do my best and ride that wave.”

The members voiced their agreement.

While sitting in the waiting-room chairs getting makeup done, passing around a bag of jelly beans and discussing the impending broadcast seriously, I spotted one figure hunched in a corner.

“Hyung Mingi?”

Our manager pressed his head against the wall, looking desolate.

“...I’m done for.”

“Oh. Right.”

Now that I thought about it, Risa Joa had been talking his ear off for about ten minutes.

We crouched around Hyung Mingi and offered words of comfort.

“That’s right. You haven’t done anything wrong. You were just someone’s fan.”

“Want some jelly?”

“Cheer up, Mingi-hyung. We’ve got your back.”

Mingi-hyung thanked us, then asked anxiously,

“...Will this air?”

“Wait a moment.”

Ri-hyeok spread his hands and asked,

“Choose truth or dare.”

“Truth.”

“Of course it’ll air.”

We all nodded in unison.

“If I were the PD, I’d give it five-hundred percent.”

“This is a killer storyline: someone who’s been a fan for so long meets their favorite singer as the singer’s manager. It’s almost destiny’s grand epic.”

“I can already hear the background music.”

Like people gathered around a campfire, we chatted, feeding Hyung Mingi’s emotions with fuel.

Bi-joo’s eyes went wide.

“Oh wow, hyung Mingi’s eyes are moist.”

He said with a pitiful look.

“I’ve been doing a perfect job flying under the radar. If this airs, my parents will see it, my friends will see it...”

Jiho smiled and asked,

“How about your girlfriend?”

“Jiho-ya.”

“Yes?”

“Sometimes I hate you.”

Our maknae pouted at that diss, and we laughed uproariously.

The first recording of Challenge, Song Discovery Unit! took place at the PBS main building.

The five teams, with makeup done and outfits on, filed onto the stage and took their places.

“Hello.”

The show’s main MC was Baek Sang-jung.

A former announcer famous for his variety skills, he flashed a smile at the cast while checking his cue cards tucked under his arm.

“Please give us a great recording today.”

After a brief greeting, he consulted with the writers about his lead-in.

Bi-joo covered the mic in her hand and whispered to me,

“Hyung, I’m a little nervous.”

“Relax.”

...Even as I said that, I felt my own nerves.

I’d appeared once on a hit variety show, but it was a single-episode guest spot.

All my variety appearances had been that way up until now.

This was my first properly formatted prime-time competition on a terrestrial network.

It felt like ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) checking into a new hotel room every day for one night, then suddenly moving in long-term.

I was nervous.

I needed to do well. If we do well, the general public will learn about our group... No, thinking like that only makes me more anxious.

“Phew.”

Taking the Lamaze breathing I’d learned from Mitube, I calmed my mind. Joonghyun looked interested.

“What’s that, hyung?”

“Lamaze breathing. It stabilizes you.”

“Oh. Teach me.”

I taught the juniors Lamaze breathing, and soon all five of us were doing it together.

“...What are you doing?”

“Lamaze breathing.”

Song Bohyeong burst out laughing.

“That’s for childbirth, isn’t it?”

“Huh?”

“Lamaze is a delivery method. My wife taught me, so I know it.”

“...A delivery method?”

The juniors spun to look at me in embarrassment, and I waved my hand in denial.

“Oh, don’t misunderstand. I just learned it on Mitube because they recommended it under ‘Masai walking’...”

It was a breathing exercise shown by a foreign yogi.

Risa standing beside us laughed with a chuckle.

“I just remembered—the shy, clumsy soul you used to brag about having was you, Soyoon.”

“Clumsy soul?”

Where did that absurd story come from...

The juniors tapped their chins and agreed.

“It’s not wrong.”

“I do embarrass myself every day. Hyung Woo-joo’s day starts with boo and ends with boo, you could say.”

“Next nickname: Boutique Gogo?”

Really, these kids.

“Hey, pipe down. All this is being picked up by the mic.”

“It already is.”

I turned my head and saw an ENG camera capturing our tense faces before we even went on.

This PD really loves realness.

The managers gave thumbs-up from the audience seats as if to say we were doing well, but it didn’t help.

“I wanted to come off cool on this show...”

Song Bohyeong and Risa smiled encouragingly.

Well, you can start looking cool from now on.

To the general public, not just idol fans, we wanted to show a charismatic side...

Suddenly, a massive shadow fell over me.

Cha Woo-hyun.

A man whose appearance suits a soldier or police officer more than a ballad singer looked down at me and asked,

“I’m curious about something.”

For the first time, his expression showed genuine interest.

“That Lamaze breathing—is it diaphragmatic breathing?”

“Huh? Yes...”

“Show me. Let me try it and see if it helps singing.”

After just a few words, I got his vibe.

A singing otaku.

I could feel, “Ah, this person is the real deal.”

He was indifferent to everything else but anything related to vocal technique or style got his attention.

“He-he-hoo.”

“He, he, hoo.”

And so my resolve to make a great impression was already shipwrecked.

Watching Jo Yuri Band eyeing us with quiet envy, I wanted to say,

Want to trade places?

I could swap in for you...

“Challenge, Song Discovery Unit! First Recording, First Cut”

The camera captures the PBS main building beyond the tree-lined sidewalk and passing cars.

Typewriter sounds accompany the subtitles.

[2015.1.23 Friday, PBS Main Building Public Hall]

A full shot of the public hall appears.

The announcer-turned-MC Baek Sang-jung, dressed sharply, greets energetically.

Backstage, the cast cheers and applauds in unison.

Among them, the five idols do a little shoulder shimmy, drawing laughter.

The announcer glances at his cue card and feigns surprise.

Ramping up tension, he introduces each team to perform and introduce themselves.

First up is Risa, striding onstage like a model, belting a powerful high-note song.

Clips of her from her musical career are interspersed.

After the “Go Risa!” cheer video from Soyeon, the scene returns to the live audience marveling.

Then New Black’s members, looking delighted, smile as they listen.

When the song ends, Risa grabs the mic with a confident smile and says,

After a brief chat with the MC, Song Bohyeong, the trot world’s rising star, comes on and sings his hit.

Personal interview clips are shown.

When the topic turns to his hometown, the MC asks,

He hilariously mimics a famous movie line in his dialect, making everyone laugh.

It wasn’t even close.

Baek Sang-jung, insisting on more, asks him to sit in a seat onstage, then says,

A casually dressed five men walk onstage.

Lights dim, and a spotlight centers on New Black.

A cool-looking vocalist takes the mic and begins humming softly.

Starting with the main vocal, then the lead vocal layering on, then the main dancer, they harmonize like an a cappella group.

They smile at each other, then launch into an unaccompanied performance.

New Black’s debut song “Fireworks” plays in a cappella.

While other members add percussive “tss tss” sounds, the camera cuts to close-ups of whoever is singing that part.

They close their eyes as they sing.

It’s a stunning, a cappella-style performance.

No caption needed to feel how good they are.

Their skills outshine even their striking looks.

Cut to reactions.

Song Bohyeong nods approvingly, smiling at New Black, and Risa does a mini seal clap.

Jo Yuri Band awkwardly nods.

Cha Woo-hyun strokes his chin thoughtfully.

Then Cha Woo-hyun’s deep voice overlays:

Cha Woo-hyun: That was an intriguing stage.

Against a dark curtain, the bulky man talks with the production crew.

The crew is off-camera, and from a low angle we see his strong features.

Cha Woo-hyun: When you sing, there’s an energy that emanates. It was exceptional. And this time, it felt like another level of growth.

A writer’s voice asks, “Growth, you say?”

Cha Woo-hyun: I first saw them at last year’s Mango Awards, and they’ve improved since then. Especially that guy Ri-hyeok—he’s like a polished gem. I’d love to nurture him.

As the top ballad singer’s praise continues, the screen shifts to a close-up of Seo Ri-hyeok.

Seo Ri-hyeok: I love songs.

Like someone reading lines, he utters the cheesy line awkwardly, then his ears instantly flush red.

Then back to his brusque interview clip scolding the teasing members.

But onstage, Ri-hyeok sings more earnestly than anyone, wearing a natural, picturesque smile.

All five members exclaim delightedly like Minions at the announcer’s praise.

Baek Sang-jung asks,

All five eagerly raise a hand.

Four hands bend into an L-shape, pointing to the one standing center.

The person with dazzling looks smiles gently and grabs the mic.

Woo-joo spoke up.

The announcer teases.

Woo-joo flashed a confident smile.

From the viewer’s perspective, it was a reassuring expression: “There must be a truckload of people here who know old songs better than him. What’s with the confidence?”

As if in answer, the next scenes flashed briefly in a teaser.

With the cast’s looks of astonishment.