In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

As expected.

Reactions to our Biju were heating up.

Favorable comments were rising about Biju, who’d unintentionally created a perfect laugh moment.

“Wow.”

Biju’s eyes widened with delight.

“Hyung, this is the first time I’ve ever gotten attention for my personal cringey moment. This is amazing.”

“I know, right? How did this even happen?”

We looked at each other in astonishment.

After a brief silence, I spoke seriously.

“Shall we at least congratulate him?”

“Waaaaah—!”

We cheered like a ragtag team victorious in battle.

All of us did a little shoulder dance while checking more online reactions. The hottest responses were on women-centric communities.

At someone’s comment that Biju was their new bias starting today, we all beamed.

“I’m jealous. Maybe I should’ve gotten lost too.”

“You look like you know the way too well. Only someone cute like Biju should get lost.”

“No way. My noonas said I’m cute.”

“...Ugh. Can’t hear the TV. Jun-hyeon, turn up the volume.”

I patted our maknae’s pouty head and turned my gaze back to the TV.

After exactly thirty-four shouts of “Biju-ya!” and twelve of “Biju hyeong!”—forty-six in total—had played rapidly,

the pâtissiers and our crew gathered to check the results together.

“Whoa... you guys really used up all those flyers? That fast?”

Passing by Chef Park Jae-woo’s amazed face, the studio reacted similarly.

“Did you really finish that quickly?”

“It took us half a day to distribute promos. How’d they do it at that speed?”

“Oh, were these friends working as flyer distributors?”

Myung Se-jin the pâtissier in the studio answered.

“The New Black members really distributed flyers fast. Yoo Chang-hyun even joked, ‘Did you guys just come back from a part-time flyer gig?’”

On the main screen, a gentle montage showed us smiling warmly as we handed out flyers.

Ah, it felt so rewarding—stopping every passerby, saying “Please come” and “Our desserts are delicious.”

“You guys worked hard!”

A farewell scene followed, with everyone saying their goodbyes.

The pâtissier crew went off to prepare the café for opening; New Black’s part-timers headed off for their Taiwan schedule.

To show the passage of time, a camera on Yongkang Street revealed the changing sky.

With the ticking of a clock, subtitles appeared.

[Local Time AM 06:00]

Lights snapped on in the dim café as the cast began to appear.

The pâtissier crew, clad in outerwear against the early-morning chill, and we, stifling yawns as we entered.

Yoo Chang-hyun asked,

“Anything interesting happen yesterday?”

“No, after our schedule, we checked out the night market a bit.”

While chatting softly, we ramped up our café preparations.

While the kitchen crew handled separate tasks, in the dining area Ri-hyuk and Biju took charge of organizing under their direction.

Comments in the live chat praised the neat setups and tasteful interior arrangements.

“But how many customers came?”

A question came from the studio.

Time passed, and though we could hear chatter from outside, they deliberately didn’t show how many had gathered.

Viewers couldn’t help thinking, “What? I can hear them out there—how many showed up?”

Their curiosity building,

Yoo Chang-hyun finally, curious himself, opened the café door and stepped outside.

A cameraman standing by caught the moment.

In the quiet alley, the wooden door swung open with a clack, and the variety star’s face popped out.

With a “[!!!]” subtitle and a face full of shock,

“What is this, what is this?”

“What the—seriously?”

“Why are you guys surprised? We want to see too!”

While live viewers grew impatient, Yoo Chang-hyun closed the door and relayed the news to everyone inside.

And then...

A scene showed my siblings and me poking five heads through the gap of the opened door like characters in a comic strip.

Several customers in line gave almost screaming sounds.

When we, wearing “...?” expressions, were surprised,

the audio picked up Chinese callers shouting “Wu Zen-min!” as the full shot of the line from start to finish appeared.

Viewers and the studio alike were astonished at the seemingly endless line.

One pâtissier asked,

“How many people are there at this hour?”

“At that point, just over three hundred.”

“Three... three hundred?”

“We started with about thirty. No, we even had to go back out to recruit more.”

Sure enough, a subtitle flashed: [Total: 337 people!] and “Pâtico Korea Tour Record!”

The studio mouths hung open.

The live chat mirrored their shock.

As if in response, interviews with Taiwanese citizens in line began.

“After seeing Wu Zen-min yesterday, I got curious and came.”

“I actually got a flyer yesterday... But after seeing him as Wu Zen-min, I was even more curious to see him.”

“Wu Zen-min.”

Like a “Love You, Entertainment News” segment, people repeatedly said “Wu Zen-min.”

A producer’s off-camera question was heard.

“Who is Wu Zen-min?”

The moment of truth had arrived.

My siblings clasped their hands and sparkled their eyes, while I sipped my drink with a resigned look.

In response to “Wu Zen-min?” a ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) crew member pulled out a phone to show a meme from a Taiwanese online community.

With “[!!!]” and a close-up of my picture, they began to explain the whole story.

They recapped how Taiwan’s TTS Morning News featured a person called “Wu Zen-min,” sparking the craze.

From the news clip to me clutching my face in the café, anguished, comments were flying everywhere.

Live chat:

In the communities, too. Our soufflés happily munched popcorn as they watched all these reactions.

At our soufflés’ earnest teasing, my siblings clapped and giggled.

“Hyung, there’s even an article out. The title is....”

“You don’t have to tell me. It’s fine.”

I pushed away Biju’s smartphone, which was determined to show me the article with a warm smile.

I could guess the headline without seeing it: “[Shock] New Black’s Woo-joo Mistaken for a Taiwanese Citizen...?” filled with empty content.

“Wow... look how fast comments and posts are coming in. After Wu Zen-min showed up, the reaction just shot up.”

“Really?”

“Yep. Hyung, look at this. Every time I refresh, the front page completely changes.”

It must’ve been today’s highlight scene.

The funniest, most attention-grabbing moment of Pâtico today.

The reactions were intense.

I could already picture the PD’s happy face tomorrow when they get the ratings chart.

“...Right. As long as the reaction is good.”

I decided to think of it as sacrificing myself to save the show.

My phone vibrated again, and I felt a lump in my throat at Grandma Kim Deok-soon’s “[ㅋ]” comment.

Me [Deok-soon-ee]

Me [Are you happy?]

Me [If Deok-soon-ee is happy, I’m fine...]

Typing gloomily, Grandma’s reply arrived.

Grandma [You at least raked in some face value on the news]

Me [Really..?]

I had come across well in that interview.

I twitched my cheek and sent a reply to Grandma, and Ri-hyuk, wearing a sulky expression, asked,

“Is something good happening?”

“Hm?”

“I mean, your whole face just flickered through every human emotion, and right now you look so happy.”

“Well, my grandma....”

I said seriously to the puzzled Ri-hyuk.

“She said I looked handsome there.”

“...”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I’m just pondering when exactly this meaningless conversation went off the rails.”

He shook his head with a scornful look; I poked his back with my toe.

“Eeek!”

He complained that my filthy sock brushed against his clothes, so I dodged behind Biju.

My phone kept vibrating like a crazy dance machine, perhaps because so many people were watching us everywhere.

Meanwhile, the TV continued as we’d seen.

Shots of us skillfully taking orders and the chefs and pâtissiers working hard in the kitchen appeared.

Suddenly,

“Ah...!”

A scream, and the pâtissier clutched her wrist—she’d injured it preparing desserts.

Staff and cast gathered immediately for a contingency meeting.

As the tense atmosphere rose on site, the studio murmured “Oh no...,” and Myung Se-jin’s fans in the chat were screaming.

Right then,

“Can we give it a try?”

Biju and I stepped up.

Live viewers were taken aback.

With hundreds of customers queued in line and a busy dining area, it wasn’t easy to halt filming, so viewers understood New Black’s choice.

If the pâtissier instructed them, they’d move their bodies—an admirable courage.

Still, everyone watched anxiously for how they’d perform.

Just then,

On screen, I kneaded dough and slapped it down on the table.

My movements were a bit awkward at first, but after a minute or two, they steadily became impressively smooth.

Anyone could say, “Oh, you’ve got some real dough skills.”

The studio reacted similarly.

One by one, their jaws dropped, and they scrambled to look at Myung Se-jin.

Unlike the other pâtissiers on the main screen, who wore matching stunned expressions, she in the studio smiled and said,

“Mr. Woo-joo said he binge-watched Pâtico to practice. He told me that this was actually his first proper try.”

“...?”

“Isn’t it amazing? I felt the same.”

A smattering of incredulous laughter erupted.

Next, a pâtissier watching Biju’s delicate decorations remarked,

“If there’s a Season 2, these two could even appear as a duo.”

That cracked everyone up.

Of course, baking requires background knowledge and long experience, but their on-site movements were excellent.

The two members followed every instruction perfectly, as if they were the pâtissier’s own arms.

Their seamless coordination even led someone to suspect manipulation.

But such opinions were immediately crushed.

As viewers’ attention peaked, Yoo Chang-hyun and the crew sampled the bread.

Soon,

At that, Myung Se-jin visibly sighed in relief, and the two members beamed happily.

As everyone watching live collectively breathed a sigh of relief, the people most bewildered were New Black’s fans.

Even idol communities threw questions at Pâtico in real time, but our soufflés couldn’t answer hastily.

“We don’t know either....”

They’d only known Zen-min from memes; they never expected a baking king Sun Woo-joo to appear.

Even fans usually unshaken by New Black were briefly stunned.

Everyone agreed.

But the surprise was brief.

Our online soufflés began meticulously capturing each member’s expression and action GIFs, preparing new promotional posts.

Meanwhile, on TV, the flow continued naturally.

After restocking, Woo-joo and Biju returned between the kitchen and dining area to work.

“Just a sec!”

“Add donuts at station 7!”

In the kitchen, Chef Park Jae-woo and Myung Se-jin dripped sweat perfecting the main menu; in the dining area, the idol members dashed about taking orders.

Those images left a strong impression on people watching via smartphones and TVs everywhere.

Covered in flour yet fully focused on baking, Woo-joo and Biju gave their all.

A member with a sharp look, his shirt soaked in sweat, darted between tables.

Our maknae, tired but smiling brightly, cheerfully took orders.

Another member moved precisely, steadily replenishing shortages.

Though the spotlight was on the pâtissier’s desserts and Myung Se-jin, each New Black member’s hardworking presence naturally caught viewers’ eyes.

As reporters prepared articles like “New Black Shines as Part-Time Workers on Pâtico Tour,”

On site, we gathered to tally the day.

After small clean-ups, the staff and cast calculated total earnings.

And....

Everyone beamed with huge smiles.

With a calm BGM, the Taiwan episode ended and the main screen returned to the studio.

Though the broadcast was ending, the online reactions were just getting started.

The moment the show ended, the internet buzzed.

Although the main focus was Taiwanese praise for the desserts, we were getting attention as well.

“Wow...”

Even though the articles had only just gone up, there were already over 300 comments.

Reactions on social media and communities were also quite positive.

Maybe because it was fresh off the broadcast, Pâtico-related posts were still active.

“Hyung, look at this.”

Jun-hyun showed me a set of “Best” posts from one community.

『 As a café owner, I was really impressed by New Black today 』

[As you know, visual appeal is crucial for café part-timers...

It’s not just speculation—sometimes hiring a good-looking student boosts sales dramatically;;

Even if they’re bad at work, just standing there like a decoration can triple sales during that shift.

In that respect, these New Black friends are like mythical creatures living in our imagination.

Their looks alone can boost sales tenfold... and they’re also incredibly good at work. Especially Mr. Zen-min.

He seemed really good at thinking on his feet—sorting tasks quickly, organizing other part-timers, finding work to do...

You might say, “What’s so amazing about that?” but it’s actually much harder than you think.

To break it down:]

Then the post continued with analysis from a small-business owner’s perspective on what made them such stellar part-timers.

Dozens of supportive comments followed.

Such comments poured in across communities and social media.

As we read the comments with excitement,

“Hyung, they like you!”

“Kr, I’m not even jealous of Zen-min or Ri-hyuk.”

“Hey.”

“Wow. Your popularity has skyrocketed. Feels like when we promoted Daegil.”

Our younger siblings made racing-car noises—“vroom vroom!”—and I couldn’t help but laugh.

At first, I’d been down about the cringey moment label, but the later café segment got an even better response.

Of course, Zen-min’s meme was still everywhere, but...

Thanks to the show’s popularity, reactions weren’t just online—they were happening in real life too.

ZZZZ—

My phone kept buzzing endlessly. No chance to switch to silent.

It’s the nature of being on TV—old acquaintances reach out afterward.

It wasn’t just me; my siblings’ phones were blazing too, so we turned them off briefly.

We spent time web-surfing with the members to check today’s audience reactions.

And the next day,

I saw a trending YouTube recommendation with my face in the thumbnail.