In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

I didn't think it was possible, but it followed me all the way onto the plane.

Even the seats were all around us, as if they knew how. I was momentarily stunned by the sight of the students sitting so naturally.

what.

We figured out which plane we were taking, but how did they know where we were sitting?

The questions continued one after another, but stopped there.

I've been too sleep-deprived these days to continue thinking.

It hurts.

I frowned at the nagging headache that was starting to strike.

My body was already tired from the stress of the plane ride and lack of sleep, and now I had an unexpected problem on top of that...

I wanted to rub my temples, but I was afraid of irritating the sasaengs watching nearby, so I just ran my hand through my hair without saying a word.

“Universe.”

“Guys, over here.”

We turned our gaze to the window, ignoring anyone calling our names or clicking the camera shutter.

Even if managers try to stop it, it doesn't do much good.

How could you hear that?

Occasionally, passersby would be rude to us, like people who said they saw us on TV and said, "Hey, try to make me laugh," but they would usually back off when Wonseok straightened his shoulders and looked at him once.

But, to begin with, a grim impression wouldn't be very effective against people who would even follow me on the same plane.

The only good thing was that I was sitting by the window, surrounded by members and staff.

I glanced at my younger siblings while trying to calm my nausea.

I wonder if they're okay.

He covered his mouth and whispered to Biju, who was sitting next to him.

"Bijou. Are you okay?"

'Yes, I'm fine.'

The other person answered with a smile.

The other guys were similar.

Rather, their calm was so calm that my worries were for naught. At first, I wondered why they were acting this way, but I soon realized why.

“Space, would you like some water?”

Min-ki hyung handing me a water bottle from the front seat.

“Hey, look at this. I found the only decent one among the floral ones.”

The youngest one diverts my gaze by showing me new floral designs from an online shopping mall.

... a text message from a private life appeared on the screen.

“.......”

“.......”

Jiho quietly switched his phone to airplane mode.

He might have looked terrified or something, but seeing that his expression didn't change at all, I thought that our youngest had grown up a lot.

Swish.

Junghyun, who was sitting next to me and Biju, was using his large body to block the view like a screen.

Lee Hyuk also joined in, but he didn't contribute much. It felt like a paper doll fluttering its wings.

I felt grateful for the silent consideration.

Aren't you surprised by these guys?

This is the first time a private life has followed me on a plane.

But since there are people who are afraid of airplanes, it seems like they decided to stay calm.

Just like when adults panic in a crisis situation, children say, 'We have to protect Mom.'

Any other time, I would have waved it off and said, "Why are you doing this?", but today, I gladly accepted the help.

“Hoooo.......”

I took a deep breath and looked out at the view of Gimpo Airport.

I felt a small sense of comfort from the people surrounding me.

It was a similar sense of security to when I was little and would pull the blanket up to my chin if something scary happened.

Still, I ignored the sasaengs who kept talking to me, trying to get a reaction somehow, and put my earphones in my ears.

... ... This is so stressful.

I pride myself on having the most patience, but with so many problems coming in at once, I feel like I'm momentarily overwhelmed.

Of course, 80% of that was due to airplanes.

Brrrr.

I was almost startled when the engine started and the aircraft started to vibrate.

The vibration of the plane slowly approaching the runway made my migraine worse.

I held onto the handlebars as the plane raced towards me, gaining speed.

Even though I hadn't consumed any caffeine, the sound of my heart pounding against my eardrums began to thump.

When seconds felt like hours, I felt a sense of release, followed by a feeling of buoyancy.

... ... ... It’s over.

Biju leaned in and whispered.

'Brother, are you okay?'

'It's okay. You don't have to worry.'

I waved my hand to Biju, who was looking at me with concern, and told her it was okay, but she was covered in sweat.

I only noticed it now, but the back of the seat was already soaked with cold sweat.

He shook his head with a smile.

"You really don't have to worry. We've already taken off."

Certainly, I feel less stressed after takeoff. I'll probably face another challenge later on during landing, though.

He told the members not to worry about it and closed his eyes.

As the tension eases, sleepiness slowly creeps in.

I stayed up all night last night preparing for the plane ride, and it definitely worked.

I'll be fine after a nap.

I gently relaxed my stiff body and left the rest to sleep.

* * *

“I overcame it...!”

“What kind of overcoming is this, man?”

“I feel much better after sleeping. Hey.”

As I stretched and stretched, Lee Hyuk narrowed his eyes and began to observe me closely.

“Are you sure it’s okay? You always say it’s okay.”

“Column.”

I patted the guy on the shoulder and laughed.

"Your concern for your brother is truly admirable. Don't forget that feeling, and do better in the future."

“It’s okay, it’s really okay.”

I smiled as I watched Lee Hyuk shaking his head.

Meanwhile, what I said was true.

I got off the plane, but I felt better after sleeping for nearly two hours for the first time in a while.

I'm the type of person who gets stressed out but then just needs a little sleep to relieve it.

Of course, the private life was still the same as before.

Same plane, same airport.

Because I was following along and taking pictures while walking with my younger siblings.

“Should I just run away, hyung?”

He shook his head at Junghyun's question.

"What about Biju? ​​Even though he has more stamina than Lee Hyuk, it's only by a gauge. He'll be drained quickly."

“I can just pick it up and run.”

“Huh. That’s how it is....”

I was impressed by the friendship of treating a friend like a dumbbell, but I gave up because it would be a big deal if I fell while jumping here.

An idol who got corn-faced while running at the airport, that's not how you can be known.

I decided to just ignore the stalker who followed me.

This is one of the penalties that you have to accept as you become more successful as an idol.

You can try to deal with things that could be perceived as obvious stalking, such as following someone in a taxi, but it was impossible to deal with it at this level.

The only silver lining is that it's only about a tenth of the popularity of TNT and Teen Spirit, which enjoyed similar success. The reason TNT initially moved was likely because a Chinese sasaeng bought the house next door.

Not to mention Teen Spirit.

I heard that there were cases where they were 'fucking' the sasaengs as usual, but the sasaengs got more excited by it and increased their number.

Anyway, you can't enjoy only good things.

"ah."

Just then, a good idea occurred to me.

I spoke to the members while the staff gathered our luggage and the managers surrounded us.

“I have a good solution in mind.”

“What is it?”

“If we succeed, we can buy our own plane.”

“.......”

Although I couldn't see their expressions because they were wearing masks, my siblings' eyes were blank.

Soon they looked at each other and opened their eyes wide.

“Honestly, it’s tempting.”

“If you reduce it, it will be smooth.”

“Just a moment. I’ll look up some flight prices.”

Jiho scolded Biju for holding up her cell phone.

“Brother, what if I search for flights on a price comparison site?”

“Oh... somehow only toys came out.”

“Leave it to me.”

Perhaps frustrated by the sight of his older brothers searching slowly, the youngest, a member of the new generation, started moving his fingers.

"I found a cheap model. It's owned by a famous Chinese star, and it's said to be worth 30 billion won, so it's relatively cheap."

“.......”

"This is the Gulfstream that Hollywood stars ride. It's said to cost around 80 billion won. With discounts and options removed, it's around 75 billion won...?"

“.......”

I asked seriously.

"I wonder if we can do a group purchase of this? We can split it by N with Street Boys and other idols."

"aha."

Lee Hyuk asked in a kind voice.

“Everyone gave their entire fortune?”

“.......”

"Be realistic. What Wang Ji-ho just mentioned is probably the price of the aircraft, excluding operating costs. Factoring in maintenance and fuel costs, it'll cost hundreds of millions of won annually."

“It’s not a few hundred million.”

"okay?"

"It's cheaper than I thought!" the middle-class people were delighted, and the youngest smiled brightly.

“It costs about 5 billion.”

“.......”

The private jet ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) was immediately abandoned.

So, later on, if we were successful, we talked about renting a plane and using a charter flight.

TJ Entertainment also takes charter planes when they hold their concerts.

But the more we talked about the whole world, the more unrealistic it became, and everyone had gloomy expressions.

“You never know.”

Junghyun said.

“We might really hit it big later and be able to fly around on private jets and stuff.”

“Okay. It would be great if it reached number one on Billboard.”

“I’m going to the academy.”

We giggled.

When I imagine us sitting on a private plane, sipping chocolate milk, the distance between us is so vast that I can't help but laugh.

Only Junghyun makes a face like, 'I was being serious.'

I said with a smile.

"Yeah, if I make a killing, I'll buy a private jet. Assuming things continue at this rate..."

I asked Lee Hyuk to do the calculation.

His eyes squinted upwards, muttering as if reciting a magic spell, and he held up five fingers.

“5 years?”

“50 years.”

We all burst out laughing.

“I guess I can just go and ride it when I go to my 70th birthday party.”

"Wow. We could do a world tour to celebrate our 50th anniversary. We could take our grandchildren too."

“Subtitle: In Search of Youth.”

“Poohaha!”

The image of us, wrinkled and swollen, on stage and the Soufflés, slowly waving their cheering sticks with patches on their wrists, was drawn.

A concert hall where people look at each other with affection, saying, “Brother, you’re still alive...!”, “You’ve aged a lot too...!”

Suddenly, I remembered the Daejeon Expo, where soufflés from around the world gathered during a previous fan meeting. Something like a charter flight would be possible if it were a global hit.

We laughed among ourselves as we imagined the global scale.

Thanks to that story, my thoughts about private life seemed to have faded.

“Guys, let’s go.”

We followed the staff who had packed their bags.

Seok-Hwan Hyung said after finishing a call with the local coordinator who was outside.

“He said there are quite a few Japanese fans waiting for you, so be careful.”

"okay?"

“There must be more than I thought.”

We looked at each other and laughed.

It seemed like there were fans waiting for us here, just like when we went to Taiwan or Shanghai.

When I took off my mask, Lee Hyuk asked with a puzzled look on his face.

“Why are you taking off your mask all of a sudden?”

"It's not like the Japanese soufflés are seeing our faces for the first time. We have to show them our bare faces."

“.......”

My children look at me with a strange expression.

As I was secretly delighted at how great my answer was, Lee Hyuk spoke with a pitiful look in his eyes.

"excuse me."

“Why, was it cool?”

“Wipe the saliva stains from your mouth first. It’s dirty.”

“Ahh....”

While I was using my phone as a mirror to change my face to look more human, my younger siblings walked forward with excited faces.

In particular, Lee Hyuk seems to be making a rustling sound from his feet.

He was mumbling with a slightly flushed white face, as if he was preparing a Japanese greeting.

“Would you like to say hello in Japanese?”

"that's right."

Lee Hyuk laughed heartily.

"I've been waiting so long for this day. It's finally here, the day to put it to use in real combat."

“......You won’t be able to hear that.”

This is something I feel every time I travel abroad, but our voices are almost drowned out by the noise of the soufflés.

As expected.

“Gyaaaaah!”

I was startled by the sound of the fans waiting for us.

As he waved his hand and greeted the Japanese soufflés, Lee Hyuk took a deep breath.

And then say hello... ... .

“Mina-san......!”

“Waaaaaaah!”

"mina......."

“Ahhhhhhhhh!”

We held our stomachs and laughed as we watched Lee Hyuk desperately shouting that he would somehow use Japanese.

* * *

Same day.

Japanese entertainment information program.

[Here's today's show business news.]

A humorous narration flows out.

[A K-pop concert at Saitama Super Arena. This morning, popular Korean idols are arriving in the country.]

The background screen that said 'K-Pop Concert' disappeared, and the scene of the idols entering the country was briefly shown.

The faces of the Japanese panelists appear in circles at the bottom right.

The faces of idols waving their hands at the airport are flowing out.

[New Black, currently topping Korean music charts, has arrived. A five-member boy group with princely looks that will make girls go wild!]

The scene where fans who have been waiting for New Black gather in droves makes the panelists on site widen their eyes.

A reaction as if to ask, “Who is it that is causing such excitement?”

The bald male panelist who was watching the screen smiled with his gums protruding at the sight of Seonwoo waving his hand and his picturesque beauty.

and.

[Mina-san! Hello!]

Japanese displayed in bold white subtitles.

Everyone burst into laughter at the sight of the white-faced member shouting "Konnichiwa!" with all his might.

He was shouting hard as if he was trying to use Japanese somehow, but his voice was being drowned out by the fans' cheers.

I try to raise the volume, but it keeps getting buried.

The sight of Seorihyeok sadly saying "Konnichiwa."

News about a full-scale K-pop concert was broadcast, along with a female panelist with wide eyes muttering, "Kawaii..."

* * *

The entry into Japan was successful.

I didn't do anything, but I still have this many fans...

Although it wasn't a huge crowd, considering the nature of the Japanese entertainment industry, which requires separate promotions to grow from the bottom, this number of people was a very encouraging event.

Our PR team was so excited after hearing the news from our managers that they started handing out press releases to reporters.

Even after getting into the car driven by the local coordinator, fans could be seen waving placards outside the car window saying "Woozenmin!" or "James!"

...How can these things be the same even though we are of different nationalities?

It doesn't have to be the same.

While we were leaving Haneda Airport, Seok-Hwan Hyung gave us an explanation.

"You know, there's this reality show called 'It's the New Black.' It was on HBS MTV. It aired on MTV Japan."

"iced coffee......."

I should bow in the direction where the reality producer is later.

We received a lot of responses in Taiwan thanks to our reality show, and it seems that Japan was similar.

I tilted my head.

“But will that alone create fans?”

"Well, it seems like there are quite a few influx routes. If you watch Korean entertainment, you can't miss out on them."

“We came out a lot.......”

I heard that idol fans jokingly call him 'Black Again'.

You can't avoid the New Black even when you turn on the TV, look at the music charts, or browse social media or YouTube.

I heard that this joke started when an idol fan went on a temple stay and found red ginseng with a picture of New Black on it.

It felt like, ‘Wherever I go, I see them...’

“It was worth the effort.”

“That’s right, hyung. I guess it was worth our effort.”

Biju smiled happily and said, "Let's roll some more."

The fact that I was working hard without blocking my schedule and taking as much sleep as I could was paying off.

Seok-Hwan shrugged.

"Well, it's hard to pinpoint exactly why you became a fan. The company did send out a survey to your overseas fans, and we were able to find out why they became fans and things like that."

“Oh, what’s the reason?”

“Because he’s handsome.”

“.......”

“I like it because you’re handsome.”

“.......”

I asked with a smile.

“Why do you say you’re good at performing or that it’s fun?”

“...Oh, there’s a reason for that too. Being good on stage is second place. Being fun is third place.”

“Oh. As expected.”

“About 13 percent.”

“.......”

"First place was 80 percent. If you include the fun of seeing faces, it's about 84 percent."

I hesitated for a moment whether I should like it or not, but then I decided to say 'Yay!' and get excited.

I look out the window and find differences from Korea.

I was also surprised to see that the driver's seat was on the right side.

I was killing time by doing various things, but there was one thing that took up most of my time.

“Jiho, Jiho. Try that. That.”

“Just a moment.”

We clapped our hands and laughed as we saw him say, "Mina-san~ Seorihyeokdesu~" with a holy expression.

Lee Hyuk slapped Jiho on the back.

“This is killing me. When did I ever do that?”

“Hey. Why is that? It’s exactly the same.”

“I didn’t do this?”

"okay?"

I raised one hand and shouted, copying Lee Hyuk's expression exactly.

“Mina-san...!”

With a hazy and sad expression, his greeting was buried in the cheers of the fans.

“Konnichiwa......!”

“Hahahaha!”

"Wow. Amazing. As they say, the original restaurant is different, and this is amazing. Hyung. How can you express Hyung Lee's insignificance with just one expression?"

All the customers expressed their satisfaction with a round of applause, except for one person who sighed with a red face while saying, “Please everyone leave.”

When we feel happy after offering up Lee Hyuk's shame as a sacrifice.

I heard talk about the schedule.

"We'll check into the hotel and head to the event venue, where there's a separate booth. We'll also be hosting an event there."

Seok-Hwan, who was looking at the packed schedule written on A4 paper, smiled at Lee-Hyeok.

"There are a few talk corners, too. Like before, please speak Japanese well, Lee Hyuk."

“......Why are you doing this to me, Director?”

“Because it’s fun.”

Seok-Hwan continued speaking with a kind smile.

“Lee Hyuk will be the special MC at the K-pop concert tomorrow, right?”

"yes......."

“I’ll take good care of that too. Just like before.”

“.......”

We giggled and laughed.

"After the concert, we'll be holding a separate promotional event in Tokyo. We'll probably have some free time on the last day."

“Just a moment, sir.”

The stylist manager interrupted and came in.

“In space, floral print casual wear is absolutely prohibited, even during free time!”

“Absolutely not! It looks like yakuza clothing.”

“You can’t even buy it! You can’t even wear floral pajamas.”

The stylists all shouted in unison, "No floral prints in casual wear!" and my younger siblings also shouted, "No!"

Tears clouded my vision.

I brought three sets... ... .

Then, while I was listening to the explanation about the photo shoot and magazine interview schedule, Seok-Hwan asked as if something had occurred to him.

There was a slightly uneasy look on his face.

“Oh, space.”

"yes?"

“I have a personal schedule for you... I think I should ask for your opinion on it.”

“Personal schedule?”

"Yeah. It's a casting request from a Japanese terrestrial TV variety show."

"......me?"

What kind of nonsense is that?

It was such an absurd story.

I'm getting a request to appear on a terrestrial TV program from a country I'm visiting for the first time today?

The manager's explanation came back to me with a questioning expression.