In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

Luckily I’m wearing a mask.

If I weren’t, my stunned face would have ended up plastered in an online news article.

“What’s going on?”

“What is it, hyung?”

My members clung to me with confused eyes, so I whispered, “Master Song Discovery Team.”

Their faces immediately lit up with “Ah...!”

As I’d expected, the reporters gathered here were probably from Master Song Discovery Team coverage.

“Did you watch the broadcast?”

“How did you feel about today’s show?”

“Hey buddy, when someone talks to you, you should answer.”

Unknown reporters approached us.

They were mostly from small outlets, so we simply bowed and said “Thank you,” then moved on.

We didn’t really have anything to say.

We hadn’t watched it yet.

At every opportunity during the press conference, we shouted “Don’t miss the live broadcast!” but we couldn’t say, “We haven’t watched it yet because of our schedules.”

Unless it was a major outlet like EntertainmentIN’s Oh So-hee, you never know.

Small outlets are the ones you need to be most careful of in this industry.

Big outlets coordinate with agencies’ PR teams and won’t publish anything that could spoil their relationship unless it’s a big exclusive or scandal. Small outlets—no filters.

They’ll print anything, rumor or not.

Last Chuseok, a ridiculous article about me came from a small-outlet reporter.

“Thank you!”

After greeting everyone, I hustled out to the first floor and got into the parked Grand Carnival.

“Sigh...”

I’d barely settled into the car when, as the doors closed, everyone took off their masks and went wild.

“What the—what is this?”

“Hyung, the reporters...”

“Exactly. Why are they all gathered here?”

They wore proud, expectant smiles—classic attention seekers.

I thought about asking the managers, but they were already on the phone with the PR team, so I discreetly searched online.

Cool air blew in through the window as we drove across Yeongjong Bridge, and in the darkness, five smartphones glowed.

Then:

Bzzzz—

Like a five-piece rock band headbanging, our phones vibrated wildly.

When we switched off airplane mode, all the messages and notifications we’d missed popped up.

“...Whoa.”

Something definitely happened.

Like when we appeared on Partyko, or even more, messages had piled up, and I clicked my tongue.

We skimmed the messages and looked at each other.

“Hey, the response is massive...?”

“I wasn’t expecting much from episode 1. The competition part comes out next week after all...”

Ri-hyuk held up his phone.

“But look at this. So many.”

If the guy known for having the smallest social circle among us was getting nonstop messages, that said it all. Who knew he had so many acquaintances...

“What the... Why are people I barely know messaging me?”

“...”

“I need to add them to my block list.”

Figures.

I watched him with half-resigned eyes, then opened the portal on my phone.

I could hear Mingi hyung in the passenger seat talking nonstop.

“What? Really? ...Oh, really? Yes, yes.”

He was on the phone with Seok-hwan hyung in another car, ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) and I wondered what they were talking about.

But the question was answered as soon as I opened the entertainment section of the portal.

—Today’s premiere of ‘PBS Master Song Discovery Team’... #1 in its time slot

I tapped the article and the first line I saw was, “With an 11.6% rating, it surpassed HBS’s competing program to take first place in its time slot...”

“Wow...”

This is insane.

My heart pounded.

An 11.6% nationwide rating. That’s huge.

Even though Joose-han’s show averages in the 20% range—so it skews things—the runner-up on PBS, “Mr. Producer,” hovers around 15%.

Yet this new show, barely known, scored over 11%.

All the promotion PBS poured in wasn’t wasted; the premiere ratings were incredible.

“Wow...”

“Hyung, you’re seeing this same article, right? It says 11% from episode 1.”

“Isn’t that amazing?”

I was so stunned I could hardly process it. Suppressing my trembling fingers, I scrolled down.

“Meanwhile, today’s highlight was the meeting between New Black and veteran singer Noh Jae-hyun.”

I focused intently from that point.

[...The initially awkward meeting between a rookie singer and a veteran singer quickly turned warm. Like a grandparent and grandchild, they cooperated on household chores, and their serious discussion of music across generations left a deep impression...]

Praise continued through the article.

It was oddly embarrassing.

We felt we were just doing our job, yet all these flowery descriptions were attached.

There were mentions of other singers, but both the broadcast content and the article’s focus were on us.

My heartbeat echoed in my ears.

“...”

Swallowing, I scrolled through the article with broadcast captures until I reached the comment section.

683 comments. My Adam’s apple bobbed again.

Should I read them?

I hesitated, worried there might be hate.

Jiggling the black-goat-soup AI ad between the article and comments, I decided to read.

Let’s see.

The reporter wrote “haha they did well today!” so surely there won’t be insults below.

The BEST comments came into view.

—As someone who had a bias against them, thinking they were idol newbies, I feel it’s unfair—they worked so hard. It was great to see.

...Praise.

I sighed in relief and looked further down.

—Not sure about skill, but these kids seem really kind.

—First episode was pretty decent.

—My mom is a Noh Jae-hyun fan. She watched today’s episode and loved it. This will be a healing show for moms.

—Editing style feels like something older people would like? My dad watched TV for the first time in ages lol

—Looking forward to next week’s competition haha

—I liked how each song was given a backstory before the competition... from a viewer’s perspective, meeting the original artist and singer made it a great highlight.

The article mentioned that the competing show’s ratings didn’t drop much, and I realized what that meant.

Unlike the PBS competitor full of 20–30-something tastes and internet memes, this show seemed to have drawn in the parent generation who rarely watched TV then.

It’s something families can watch together, a fresh attraction for adults.

The comments were even better than I’d imagined.

Overall the show got positive reviews, but above all, there were many good comments about us.

“Hyung, why the face?”

“...”

But despite the praise, I couldn’t smile, because half of the top comments were about that.

—Lol non-alcohol squad lol

—Watching with family today, non-alcohol had us cracking up lol

—lol non-alcohol guys and their lackeys

—I cried because of the BGM, grabbed tissues, but laughed so hard I used them for drool

—Went serious then burst out laughing lol

—Today that Gen-min carried the show

I stared at the ceiling.

“...”

Why is this happening?

We should be happy, but my throat felt on fire.

Feeling like “the idol who got drunk on non-alcohol.jpg” in front of the whole nation...

Fresh. Thrilling. Not enjoyable.

The city lights and neon signs outside looked hazy.

“Hyung, cheer up.”

Bi-joo patted me on the shoulder.

“Thanks to your dark history, we trended in search.”

“We trended?”

Jung-hyun slid his phone to me.

By now, the trending searches had already been pushed off the top.

‘New Black Woo-joo’

‘Partyko Gen-min’

‘non-alcohol’

‘New Black’

Some people must’ve searched ‘Partyko Gen-min,’ forgetting my name.

Seeing ‘Woo-Gen-min’ in related searches made me swallow hard.

“But why non-alcohol...?”

“After the show, a lot of questions popped up on Q&A boards.”

“...?”

Ri-hyuk showed me.

[Q. Can you get drunk on non-alcohol???]

Hello, I’m a fifth grader.

I saw on a show someone drank non-alcohol and got drunk. Is it possible?

(Could this be a science project topic?)

Huh. Even elementary kids are curious...

No—that’s not it.

Then I saw one reply stood out.

[A. You don’t get drunk. People say the weirdest things.]

I asked,

“But why is that reply background colored differently?”

“That’s because, hyung. When you’re logged in, your own posts are highlighted.”

“Oh, really? This...”

Seeing “Reply time: 5 minutes ago,” I narrowed my eyes.

“Hey, Seo Ri-hyuk.”

“I was just satisfying the curiosity of an elementary kid. It’s not wrong.”

“Turns out they were defaming me online? Come here.”

I reached out, and Ri-hyuk hid behind Jung-hyun.

He whispered quickly to Jung-hyun.

“Jung-hyun hyung, drag that old man over here.”

“...”

“What’s the problem?”

“Sorry. I only follow Woo-joo hyung’s orders.”

“...”

I smiled contentedly.

“Jung-hyun.”

“Yes.”

“Bring that impudent crane before me at once.”

“Yes, hyung.”

Soon Jung-hyun brought over the “crane,” flapping its wings as if struggling, and I looked pleased.

Then I flicked it on the forehead.

“Whaaa!”

At the same time.

A Souffle sitting in the back of a taxi smiled as she looked at her phone.

‘I love it.’

Because of the idol community’s reaction.

After PBS Master Song Discovery Team aired, Souffles were posting promo messages even more confidently.

Public opinion had clearly turned.

The main competition hadn’t aired yet, but when New Black sang during the self-intro segment, Cha Woo-hyun and other singers praised their talent.

With sincere endorsements from other singers and the live song on the show, it was truly excellent.

No question why they were invited—they were that skilled.

—You can hear real live breaths;;;

—The harmonies are insane

—Wait... wasn’t there a post yesterday saying their live performance declined?

—Seems like it was deleted haha

—Where are those haters now??

—I wasn’t reading because of the noise, but they’re good

—Yeah, they’re good

—Wasn’t it their skill that made them famous here too?

—And there’s no screw-up for haters to latch onto

—They only have dark history

—I thought the flow was weird yesterday so I ignored it, but they must have had wild energy too

—Mocking turned into big laughs

—My parents asked their name... watching I thought I wish my bias was here, the PD edited well

Those who criticized New Black had quietly deleted their posts.

As if nothing happened.

But imagining them deleting in frustration made Souffles grin.

It felt like bubbles in their veins.

Even now, angry comments were shaking on screen, but they had zero impact.

‘Serves them right.’

Reading claims that producers set them up, that they’d be exposed in the real competition, I just chuckled.

I somehow felt they wouldn’t fail in the competition either.

Public response was so positive anti-fans had no room to operate.

Woo-joo’s expert explanations during the song draw.

The chemistry between Non-alcohol Boy, Ri-hyuk, and Teacher Noh Jae-hyun.

Rearranging, doing chores, showing a pro’s side.

—Watched with parents for the first time in ages, they liked it

—Giving each song a story before the competition is nice, helps immersion

—Dad’s new favorite show from ep.1

—Family-friendly, calm tone... it was fun, and the cast’s chemistry is great

—Looking forward to next week lol

—Should I get tickets for my parents? Competition will be fierce after broadcast, right?

Souffles felt triumphant.

Unlike guest appearances, this was New Black’s first time headlining a terrestrial variety show.

And from episode one, 11% viewership.

And:

‘Something’s up.’

The chemistry with Noh Jae-hyun was great, but other singers’ segments were fun too.

Yet the editing seemed designed to build anticipation.

Whenever Woo-joo’s rearrangement scenes appeared, viewers would skip, thinking “What’s this?” building curiosity.

Even in the teaser, New Black appeared only briefly.

As if hiding the highlights.

‘I can’t wait...’

A feeling that something big was coming.

Feeling excitement that New Black’s public recognition was growing.

“Koff!”

Startled by the taxi driver’s cough, she asked him.

“Are you okay?”

“Ah, yes. Just... koff!”

He let out a nervous laugh.

“Why are you coughing?”

“Earlier, the car next to me was stopped. When I turned, the window was open and I saw bluish faces...”

He said they’d been watching their phones in the dark, faces glowing blue, grinning and doing funny dances like a band of rogues.

“But they danced well. The youngsters were handsome...”

“Really?”

Watching the Grand Carnival’s taillights shrink ahead, Souffle shrugged.

“People can be strange, huh.”

She ended her sentence, looking fondly at the New Black GIF on her phone.

Wednesday, February 18.

The first day of Lunar New Year and the day of the second-round competition on Challenge, Master Song Discovery Team!

“Waaaah—!”

The atmosphere was even hotter than Round 1.

The show’s impact was clear.

It felt completely different from our last visit to the open hall.

—Please welcome New Black!

From our entrance, a bigger cheer greeted us.

Every time we grabbed the mic, curious eyes stayed on us.

Sure enough.

Even for the first performance, the response was outstanding.

In bow ties and tuxedos, dancing and singing, applause and cheers burst forth.

Unlike last time’s serious tone, this time we gave a light, enjoyable performance—and the reaction was great. The stage quality was top-notch, but we could feel our recognition rising.

Reflecting that energy, the celebrity panel seemed eager to keep us talking.

And the production team looked like they were boosting us too.

Seok-hwan hyung said the PD looked at the ratings chart, and when we and Teacher Noh Jae-hyun appeared, the ratings spiked slightly.

The only one not happy was the Jo Yuri Band—understandable.

“...”

I felt a bit awkward too.

I noticed one of their cameras had started focusing on us.

Jo Yuri had a stony face and bit her lip during rehearsals, but we never spoke.

Another lesson in how cold the entertainment world can be.

After that fierce competition, today’s winner was announced.

—With 37.7% of the votes... singer Lisa! Congratulations!

The petite musical actress, draped in a red Roman cloak, beamed with joy.

She’d prepared a stage to settle last time’s grief with the children’s song “Ddorong Ddorong,” recruiting dozens of dancers.

Even we in the waiting room were impressed, saying, “She’s taking first place today.”

“Congratulations, sunbaenim.”

“Thank you... Oh my, thank you so much, Lisa-jwa!”

When Mingi hyung handed her a ribbon-tied snack, she smiled happily.

“Well done.”

“You did great, everyone!”

After the broadcast ended, we exchanged greetings.

Unlike before—when staff were nervous and anxious about ratings—the crew now wore bright smiles.

Generosity comes from a well-stocked storehouse; the production team’s goodwill came from the strong ratings.

As we finished our final bows and farewells,

“Hey, you guys.”

A deep voice called out as we walked down the corridor. Turning, I saw a burly man.

“Uh, sunbaenim.”

It was Cha Woo-hyun.

The senior artist who’d placed second today strode up to us and said abruptly,

“I have something to ask.”