In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

Five of them reached their hands toward the sky.

In the gentle prelude, their wrists spun once, spun again, and their arms slowly lowered.

Like dandelion seeds fluttering in the breeze.

At last, NewBlack’s main dancer extended his hand toward the front.

In an instant, the music stopped.

With a melody that changed the atmosphere, his lips parted.

Remember

The starlight of you and me

The calm introduction suddenly transformed into a fast-tempo dance track, and the main dancer withdrew his hand.

At the same time, the members scattered around him.

Like petals, the four members surrounded the main dancer as the dance break continued.

Within seconds, the screens captured their sweat-dappled faces—an intense choreography.

Not heavy, but light.

With every gesture and step, a smooth, refreshing energy burst forth.

A huge roar erupted from the audience.

“Waaaaaah...!”

The addictive dance melody and dazzling performance naturally stirred excitement.

‘They’re so good.’

Their individual dance skills were excellent, but their unity was sublime.

When one moved and left a gap, another’s hand immediately filled it.

Even without extra dancers, the five of them filled the stage completely.

‘It looks like even their shadows are dancing.’

Perhaps it was the lighting, but it seemed as though their shadows flowed with the dance too.

‘Is it an illusion?’

Of course, it was no illusion.

Flower Dance’s choreography held many hidden details.

The lines seen from behind, the overall formation from above, even movements designed for the lighting.

NewBlack’s dance had been crafted as though world-class choreographers had squeezed every drop of artistry from them.

In Korea, Supples joked that if Flower Dance’s choreography could speak, it would ring out “clay, clay” like Emile Bell—such was its beauty.

Every gesture shed Clay’s tears, every step Clay’s daughter Joy’s tears.

‘Wow....’

Just as I marveled at their refined dance,

the main vocal appeared before the chorus.

The other members sat as though on the floor, extending their hands toward him, and the main vocal reached out and hit the high note.

Don’t turn away

Stop right here

Stay

It’s our time to bloom

With lyrics urging us to bloom together, the main choreography transformed.

Nonstop through the third verse, the choreography flew by, and at last Flower Dance’s stage concluded.

Their panting faces glistened on the screens.

“Waaaaaah!”

As the Japanese fans cheered, they wiped their sweat and beamed.

The leader lightly adjusted his dislodged headset mic and lined up the members.

“Shall we say hello? One, two, three!”

“Hello. We are NewBlack!”

Gone were their powerful dance expressions; instead, their small, smiling faces shone brightly.

After brief self-introductions, Uju spoke for the group.

“Did you have fun?”

Though he held nothing, he extended his hand like a mic, and the excited audience responded.

A few couldn’t hide their amazement.

‘Did he live here long? His pronunciation is so....’

Some fans, sensing a local accent, tentatively searched on their phones.

“Huh...? He’s Taiwanese?”

“He was mistaken for a local in Taiwan, then scouted on the street. He speaks Korean and Japanese so well.”

“World-class baby. What is this...?”

As curious misinformation and photos circulated online, the leader smiled.

“This is so exciting. I still can’t believe we’re performing in such a large venue, and overseas.”

At that, a broad-shouldered member tilted his head.

“You still can’t believe it?”

“...It feels real now, Joong-hyeon.”

“Ahaha.”

Joong-hyeon’s simple expression made the audience laugh.

Just moments ago, he’d seemed fierce, like “Want a taste of my rap?” but now his gentle demeanor felt like a local farm heir.

Then Viju, who had stayed back quietly, stepped forward.

Thanks to his standout Flower Dance performance, cheers erupted as soon as his face appeared.

Fans noticed immediately.

‘He’s different from his stage persona too.’

His on-stage charisma—“This is dance, you mere mortals!”—gave way to a gentle voice.

“I think today’s stage will be unforgettable. Thank you for giving us such wonderful memories!”

Then the main vocal gave a longer response in Japanese, and the youngest sent small, then large, then medium hearts as he greeted the audience.

It was time to end the talk segment and move to the next song.

Uju, looking at his clustered members with a smile, turned back to the fans.

“I’m so happy we could meet so many of you today. All five of us will take this energy and give our all on stage. Thank you!”

Supples waved a banner reading “You are our flowers” as the members waved back.

“Oh, right.”

Uju paused as if remembering something, a cheerful smile spreading across his face.

“I almost forgot to introduce the next song. It’s called Baramkkot, which is doing well in Korea right now.”

Supples roared in response.

“Before we start, I want to share a fun fact.”

At his signal, the main dancer reenacted Flower Dance’s final move.

“That’s the last move, but in Baramkkot, the choreography runs backward from here.”

Like an instructor, he reversed the movement to show Baramkkot’s choreography.

As curiosity buzzed, the leader smiled.

“If you reverse Flower Dance’s melody, you get Baramkkot’s melody. Keep that in mind, and you’ll enjoy it even more.”

NewBlack then formed their stage formation.

Pitch-black darkness covered the stage.

As the last glow of light lingered like blotches in the audience’s eyes, yellow lights shot in.

And then.

“Huh...? This song...!”

At the moment Baramkkot began, the audience’s eyes widened.

“I’ve heard this before!”

Though they didn’t know the artist, fans recalled hearing it in K-Pop record stores and such.

Its catchy melody made you hum along.

Only then did many recall seeing playlists labeled “Baramkkot – NewBlack.”

“Oh. So they’re that group famous in Korea.”

Their earlier mystery cleared: this rookie was placed late because they were the main act to watch.

Supples scattered around the seats waved their light sticks energetically, and the audience felt thrilled to hear a song they’d known only as a digital track.

Unlike the powerful Flower Dance, Baramkkot’s stage was gentle.

Meanwhile, a Korean Supple in the corner wore a puzzled expression.

“Backward...?”

The fact that reversing Baramkkot’s melody yielded Flower Dance’s had never been revealed before.

Excited, she cheered inwardly, but no matter how much she listened, she couldn’t discern it. Uju insisted it was reversed, but it was indistinguishable.

Other curious fans gave up too.

“I don’t know. Let’s just watch them.”

Whatever about backward, our boys were right there—what more did it matter?

A Supple waving a battered mini light stick silently chanted CEO Park Gyu-ho’s name in her heart.

“Waaaaaah!”

The soft sweet stage following the fiery one was delightful in its own way.

As Baramkkot ended and NewBlack’s members smiled,

dancers began streaming onto the stage for the final song.

“Huh?”

The music that started was an intense, epic choreography unknown to today’s audience.

It was Masquerade.

“A person is flying...?”

“He really is flying.”

“Will he collapse?”

For nearly four minutes, a dozen dancers and NewBlack executed a relentless, precise formation.

Even the supporting dancers looked spent when it ended.

Standing before the main cameras, NewBlack panted heavily but struck bright final poses.

When Masquerade concluded and NewBlack staggered like tipsy revelers,

“Waaaaaah!”

The largest cheer of the day rose from backstage performers who’d watched from the wings.

Yoon Seok-hwan and NewBlack’s staff backstage beamed.

“The response is amazing!”

“What?!”

“Really! It’s great!”

“What?!”

Staff shouted, “Our boys are the best!” and cheered.

Do Won-seok smiled warmly, looking at the audience, “This is our boys.”

“Wow, NewBlack’s response is off the charts.”

“...Maybe from sound alone, it felt like a circus show.”

“Masquerade, huh. They must’ve replaced knees at least a couple times.”

As other artists in the backstage heard the screams, they shook their heads.

“Tone it down a bit.”

“Some manners....”

“If you hog everything, what will we do?”

Said JOEanna and ACE—who followed NewBlack in the lineup.

“I’m dead...!”

“Hey! Water here! Ri-hyeok’s turned into dried squid!”

“Water! Water, coming up!”

Chaos ensued.

Backstage, we’d barely held it together waving to fans, but as soon as we escaped their view, we collapsed to the floor.

Ri-hyeok slumped against the corridor wall, tilting his head.

“Hey.”

“Don’t poke me. You’ll rattle my bones...”

“You okay?”

“No. Like riding a roller coaster... ugh!”

He retched into an empty pouch, and I looked away.

Only Joong-hyeon wiped sweat calmly, rifling through jelly packs for sugar; the rest were utterly spent.

More like a seaweed gathering than handsome idols.

Viju ran his hands through his hair with eyes closed. Ji-ho, worried for Ri-hyeok, soon half-lay on the floor.

“Hello, we’re NewBlack...!”

“Eh. Don’t say hello.”

“We’re NewBlack...!”

“Manager, are the artists okay?”

“Yes. They’re always like this.”

Staff passing by looked exasperated at our forced greetings.

Viju, looking dizzy, said,

“I’m so glad we had that mid-talk. Otherwise I’d have collapsed dancing Masquerade too.”

“I—I told you to pick a vocal song this time.”

Ri-hyeok ceased retching to scold us.

“I expected something lighter, but we got Flower Dance. And Baramkkot’s not exactly a soft ballad. Next time really a vocal... uuugh!”

“Calm down, Ruku.”

“Uuugh!”

“Okay, fine. Blame us all you want.”

As I patted his back, he glared at me.

Indeed, as Ri-hyeok said, the physical toll was extreme.

Like running dozens of laps nonstop.

After drinking water and deep breaths, we recovered. Finally, we could give High-Fives.

“You all did great!”

“Thank you!”

More showcase events with Japanese fans remained, but the K-Pop concert was our most polished stage recently.

We were nervous, but it went perfectly without mistakes.

If I had to nitpick, just a few awkward words in Japanese during the talk.

But the performance was flawless, and the live reaction exceeded expectations.

“Waaaaaah!”

From outside came ACE’s massive cheer.

They’d said “If you do so well, it burdens us,” but their favorite group’s arrival brought an unrivaled roar.

It felt like a solo concert.

Ji-ho, beaming, said,

“We gave it our all, so the response had to be great, right? Now when you mention NewBlack, it’ll be ‘performance masters.’ Japanese fans will say it’s not about appearance but performance!”

“Right? We poured our souls into it... hihihi.”

“Hohohaha!”

We joked we'd open “Stage-Specialty NewBlack” and laughed together.

『 Review of this Japan K-Pop con (stream of consciousness warning) 』

I live here

My Japanese friend is an ACE fan, so I tagged along lol

I’d slacked off fandom a bit, so so many unfamiliar groups, but they all performed amazingly

Boy groups, girl groups—everyone was pretty and cute

Seems the organizers prepared various VCRs, but I’ve forgotten them all;;

Honestly, the event execution was lousy

Anyway, today’s stages got great reactions. I enjoyed it

The most standout were the last three acts, and among them, the group called NewBlack really made an impact

They danced so hard lol, drenched in sweat—now I get why they’re popular in Korea lol

But their visuals were insane

Forget the dance, I just saw their faces. Their hair was almost gone but facial features popped!!! WTF, it’s me!!! That level lol my friend’s nose size expanded lol

You could see their noses even from afar

Conclusion: it’s NewBlack’s faces

– LOL real stream of consciousness

– You were going to write ACE and Joanna’s review too...?

– Stream of consciousness lol

– Oh, it’s my bias lol thanks for the nice review ㅠㅠㅠ

– NewBlack always gets good IRL reviews; are they that handsome?

– [Author] Ujuyaaaaagh

– Translation: yes

– LOLLLLL

– I’m curious lol every review mentions their bias, then ends with NewBlack

A few hours later.

After K-Net provided footage of the K-Pop concert, NewBlack’s fans were in upheaval.

– Guys ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

– Our boys hit legendary looks ㅠㅠㅠ

– That choker-like band was so pretty ㅠㅠ

– Did you know? NewBlack’s dorm is my atrium left, atrium right..☆

– I’m suddenly mad... why only you get the good stuff, Japanese fansㅠㅠ

– Gyu-ho... this should happen in Korea

– If asked the future of K-Pop, look up and see NewBlack

– This granny’s vision became 2.0 after seeing NewBlack

– Now that’s an eyewidening review

– ACE and Joanna must hear this...?

– Reviews...?

NewBlack’s joke that everyone would only talk about their looks had become reality.

And someone in NewBlack busily saved photos of the leader.

Meanwhile, on the day the K-Pop concert ended.

Stepping into the dusk outside, the audience wore satisfied expressions.

“It was fun.”

A feeling of freshness lingered.

Like the crisp fatigue after hours of enthusiastic cheering and singing.

Thinking, “How do I get home?” made me tired, but overall content.

“...I wish my bias had appeared more.”

No matter how many acts the organizers give you, it never feels enough for your bias.

With that regret, small groups chatted.

“Today was so fun.”

“Right? At first I wondered if it was worth coming here, but it sure was.”

“Don’t you want to see them again?”

Fans spoke about their own biases, and casual viewers talked about other things.

“I feel my eyes kept drifting to that group, NewBlack. Don’t you?”

“They were so handsome...”

“Now their songs keep echoing ‘flower flower flower’ in my head.”

“Me too. Me too.”

Most talk was about NewBlack. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Because their stage was the most impressive, and their song so good.

This Korean boy group, not yet active in Japan—NewBlack’s name stamped itself firmly in unfamiliar minds.

“I think they have quite a few fans.”

“I heard they’re popular in Korea.”

“I get why now.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

They were an intriguing group.

With looks like that, they’d have fans for breathing alone—like a billionaire’s bank balance adding zeros every few seconds.

Yet their performance had the passion of a veteran singer burning his soul at the end of his career.

That dazzling stage still lingered before our eyes.

Though unspoken, every Japanese viewer shared the same feeling.

“It’s amazing.”

Someone said.

“Why do I keep seeing NewBlack’s stage?”

“Exactly.”

Some said it was their faces, others said the dance or the song—but the answer was simple.

Korea.

Lemon Entertainment CEO’s office.

“CEO.”

“Oh, yes. Director Jo.”

CEO Park Gyu-ho smiled warmly.

“Did we splurge on the stage again?”

“Yes.”

“Hahaha! Of course—what’s money when it comes to our boys’ performance? Spend as much as needed! Ha-ha!”

Laughing heartily, he picked up the framed photo on the table.

It showed the five boys beaming in their album cover shoot.

He blew on the glass.

“Ho—hooo...”

CEO Park wiped the glass vigorously with his cleaning cloth, humming,

“Our boys. Our moneybags. Our boys.”

“...”

“But Director Jo, what’s with that expression?”

“Well, I thought you might be misunderstanding. About—the money.”

“Hm?”

As CEO Park turned to look, COO Jo Gyu-hwan cleared his throat.

“That money.”

“Yes.”

“It’s not that money...”

“Why? How much?”

Then COO Jo revealed the total cost, including stage equipment, VCRs, labor, everything.

“...You spent that much alone?”

“Yes.”

“Is that possible?”

“Yes.”

COO Jo nodded and added,

“Our boys’ specialty is making the impossible possible.”

“...”

My heart sank.

I told him to spend whatever was needed, but he really spent it all—every last won.

“I guess we used quite a bit on special effects, and sourcing locally drove up labor costs.”

“...”

“But thanks to that, the ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) response to NewBlack here is great... CEO?”

Clatter.

The frame slipped from CEO Park’s trembling hand and fell on the table.

In the photo, NewBlack’s members grinned radiantly.

Yet, somehow, he could hear them laughing “money, money, money, money.”

Then—

Brrring—

At that moment, CEO Park’s phone buzzed with a message.

Uju [Thank you, CEO! I’ll enjoy the meal you buy us!]

The message showed NewBlack at a sushi restaurant, drawing hearts and “CEO love you.”

“...”

Director Jo peeked his head in and said,

“That place is supposed to be expensive. How did you know about it?”

“I told them to go.”

“Oh...”

“When I didn’t know the production costs...”

As Director Jo agreed with a “That’s so them,” CEO Park still heard “money, money, money” echoing in his ears.