In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

In the end, we decided to postpone any trips or amusement-park outings. Our schedule was simply too packed. It wasn’t that there were no free slots, but once you set aside choreography and vocal practice, song work, personal training sessions, and language study, the only time left was for sleep. It felt as if the only place we could visit was Dreamland.

Yet we didn’t feel regret about this situation. Rather...

“I wish we could book one more gig,” I said.

“Is there anything else to do?” Ji-ho asked.

“There’s a water-park event not far from here. Maybe we could stop by on the way?”

Right now, we were thirsty for more schedule. We wanted to keep doing anything at all, because we are still growing. That matters because later, when our upward momentum slows and NewBlack’s place in the idol world becomes fixed, it will be hard to make further leaps. It’s all about timing. In other words, right now we are on an escalator rising toward the summit. And when you’re being carried upward no matter what you do, you have to step up one more level while you can. Once the escalator stops, you’ll have to climb on foot. After debut, as time went on, we clung to schedules and practice and work for precisely that reason.

And of course, the most important thing of all was the album.

“So we must pour body and soul into our new title, ‘Nine,’ right?” I said.

“...”

“Guys—are you listening?”

“Yessss...” they mumbled.

I clicked my tongue at my brothers sprawled on the studio sofa.

“Wow. Your stamina is so weak—complaining after just a few hours?”

“We’ve already done eleven hours, you madman. Who works on songs immediately after choreography practice?”

“Here.”

“...”

I flashed a teasing grin, and their eyes narrowed.

“Hey, Junghyun hyung—if I give you fifty cents, can you flick that guy on the head for me?” Viju asked.

“No.”

“I’ll give you five million won.”

“...!”

Junghyun’s eyes flickered. After a moment’s thought, he leaned over and whispered to Ri-hyuk, “I could do it if you pay up front.”

“Junghyun—so that’s how close we are?”

“I’ll split it with you.”

“Right—bros forever.”

The younger brothers giggled, and I laughed too. Then I climbed onto the sofa and reached out a hand.

“Come on, get up. Let’s finish ‘Nine.’”

“Uuurgh...”

“Hurry up.”

When Viju put on that stern face he uses when nagging, they all leaped up. Though tired, they joined the work seriously. Junghyun, who already knew how to compose, and Viju, who’d been learning on the side, made things much easier. The youngest line worked on lyrics. Like a small-scale workshop, we divided tasks and polished our new title track, “Nine.” Each time we finished a version, we sent it to the composers. When version 1.1 came back, I’d send 1.1.1—and so on. The version numbers climbed until I hit 33; then they replied with 33.1. We could feel ourselves inching toward completion.

“Great song,” Director Jo said when he dropped by the studio to check progress.

“He’s cleaned up the verses nicely. Just trim a bit more, and it’ll be perfect.” He pointed to a passage in the track. “I love this part. If you reveal it at the concert, I bet the reaction will be amazing.”

“I think so too. The members were talking about that section.”

“It’s unexpected, which makes it good.”

I smiled, then asked our “prophet” director, “So—do you think our song will do well?”

“Well, we won’t know until it’s out. But...”

“...?”

“It’s going ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) to drop around late August or early September. Looking at the current scene, I don’t think any big groups or highly popular soloists will be coming back then—unless TNT or TeenSpirit suddenly make a comeback...”

“Unless...?”

“As for ranking, hitting number one should be smooth sailing.”

“Oh...”

He smiled as my brothers on the sofa cheered, “Number one—thank you!”

Then we talked with him about the music video and concept photos.

“By the way, what about the budget this time...?” I asked.

“Use whatever you need. I’ll smooth it over with the CEO.”

“Thank you!”

Ri-hyuk immediately pulled out his notebook and circled “computer graphics costs,” “special location fees,” and so on. I silently apologized in advance to the CEO, who would surely clutch his hair—or rather, pat it anxiously—upon hearing the total.

“Right,” Director Jo said as he saw us out. “The PR team wants to see you. Want to talk with them?”

“Talk?”

“They’re gearing up a new project. They’ve drafted lots of proposals and want your input before deciding.”

We exchanged puzzled looks.

“A new project?”

In the PR team’s meeting room, Deputy Manager Nam and Deputy Manager Hong—an inseparable duo—presented their proposal to us.

“It is, verily, the summer of 2015.”

“The season of reality returns.”

We clapped and laughed, and they gave embarrassed smiles.

Nam-seok-woo from Scarlet said, “Why are you laughing? We worked so hard on this!”

“It’s so cringe,” Hong-seo-young waved her hand, and Ri-hyuk fetched paper cups of water for us: “Drink this cold water—your face will cool down,” he joked as our Embarrassment Officer.

We gathered around their table and scanned the proposals.

“Wow—there’s a ton of stuff here?”

“Do we really have to do all of this?”

There were dozens of possible activities and games. Hong-deputy shook her head.

“No—of course you only pick a few that appeal to you.”

“You must have worked so hard drafting this.”

“Actually, it was easy,” Nam-deputy said.

“...?”

“Other idol groups have to consider strict concepts and images, which limits planning. You guys have no such restrictions—no offense!”

“Not at all—we have that cool, awesome image....”

“Uh—yes, exactly!”

Though briefly crestfallen, we quickly realized she meant well. We exchanged knowing smiles—“Our image is like this!”—and turned back to the proposals. They said,

“You’ve finished your History Expedition series, right?”

“Yes.”

“It’s time to prepare something new.”

Although behind-the-scenes videos still trickled out, the “March First Movement and Provisional Government” episode had marked the end of History Expedition—a program that had been the number-one driver of our visibility, the very reason we’d earned the reputation of “the first third-generation boy group with broad appeal among 20- to 30-somethings.”

“These ideas are for people who still want to watch your content after History Expedition ended.”

“Our content?” I asked.

“Yes. Shows and variety series gain momentum—you watch at first for fun, then out of habit.”

“Do you think people really want to keep watching us?”

“Trust me—they will.”

It sounded like they had solid data. Meanwhile, I asked about HBS.

“HBS?”

“I heard they’re investing heavily in your YouTube channel. Did they react when we said we’re making separate content?”

“Ah....”

They exchanged glances, as if reluctant to say more. Understandably so: HBS’s push into YouTube content had drawn those subscribers, and now we were moving on. There was no way they’d say “Bye, good luck!” as we left. Though other stakeholders could be ignored, this was a major broadcast network—so I felt uneasy.

Deputy Manager Hong explained:

“There’s some conflict. They wanted to collaborate—keep all clips and copyrights with them.”

Nam-deputy added,

“There were all sorts of conditions, but they only favored them, so we declined.”

“Is that okay? Won’t it affect music-show appearances...?”

“No worries. Only the New-Media division, which handles SNS, is making a fuss—no impact on the drama or variety departments.”

Because our agency ranks in the top three among actor management firms, they said, “It’s fine.” A music-only channel like K-Net might complain, but other departments wouldn’t.

“That’s a relief.”

“As I’ve said, you don’t need to worry about that stuff.”

“But it’s good to know.”

While the deputies smiled, Ji-ho’s eyes widened.

“What’s this, deputy?”

“What do you mean?”

“This says ‘Y App’.”

We looked at the proposal and indeed saw “Supported by Y App” stamped across each reality concept.

“‘Y App’?”

“It’s the new live-streaming app,” Ri-hyuk said as he tapped his phone and pulled up an article:

[“Star Live” Launch by Y App: Two-way Communication Between Stars and Fans]

The poster read, “Ask the star anything: whY App!” featuring TeenSpirit winking.

“....”

The tiny slogan looked like “Curious?” but our eyes read “Curious as hell, right?”

Deputy Manager Hong explained:

“Korea’s biggest portal just released a live app connecting stars and fans. It’ll be in the app store early next month.”

“We’d heard rumors, but now it’s confirmed we’re joining.”

“So it’s like our individual live streams, but on a new platform?”

“Exactly—same, only the platform changes.”

We eyed the Y App poster warily. Is it okay to join? If we were rookies, maybe—but we’ve already built followers on existing SNS. Switching platforms worried me; I’d seen a major company’s app flop overnight.

“You’ll be fine,” she said.

“We struggled over whether Scarlet and you should join. We were ready to pull out if it got weird...”

“But the terms were too good.”

She explained, “As a brand-new app launch, they need promotion. They’ve chosen TeenSpirit and NewBlack as their two main acts: one big fandom, one broadly appealing group.”

“So Y App support meant that.”

“Yes. They’ll fund whatever reality content you shoot—very generous terms.”

“Ooh...”

Guaranteed budget, no matter what. We brightened as we scanned the reality-show ideas. Then someone spotted the perfect one.

“Travel!”

“Travel is on the list!”

“Amazing—there’s a Jeju Island trip!”

It was a domestic-travel reality proposal: a 3-night, 4-day Jeju vacation, edited into short episodes. Deputy Manager Hong smiled:

“We already gave that top priority.”

“Really?”

“Yes. We did a survey—fans most wanted to see you on vacation.”

“Wow...”

We shared happy smiles. It felt touching. Half-joking, we said maybe next time they’d promise a luxury cruise.

“We considered overseas first, but that felt off.”

“Right—it seems like something veteran groups would do: ‘Let’s take a break~’ Domestic travel is more suitable.”

Rookies don’t usually film travel shows, so this was perfect. I was elated—thinking I’d given up on travel, yet here was a legit chance to rest. Already I could imagine the welcoming “Honjeo-opseoye” greeting from the dol hareubang stone statues.

“To see the lava tubes with my own eyes...!”

“Lava tubes!”

Ri-hyuk’s excitement made us all cheer, and even Junghyun’s joking “Diver experience?” had us laughing.

“But we’ll have to film the travel show in the fall, right?”

“Yeah—right now we’re preparing the concert and album...”

“Let’s plan what we can now; we can think about travel later.”

“Okay!”

We immediately dove into the reality and program drafts. We’d prepare YouTube content separately, then find ideas suited to the new live app. Soon we spotted something that piqued our interest.

During NewBlack’s album-preparation downtime, with fewer official updates, Souffle fans wandered the fan café and community boards, desperate for any crumbs of news:

“I miss the guys...”

“Gyu-ho-ching... I miss them, sob.”

“I heard from Gyu-ho the barber that our guys will drop some news soon.”

“Gyu-ho probably sees them every day.”

“I want Gyu-ho’s eyes.”

“Busy prepping the album...?”

“I wish they’d go on a small tour; I’ll screenshot Uju and Junghyun in all-black outfits.”

Though the members occasionally popped into the fan café—posting “Am I cute? Or is Uju hyung cuter? [3 points]”—fans still yearned for more. Then someone, like a ping from Park Bo-gum’s line, spread the news:

“OMG! The guys are on STAFIVE-something now!”

“Calm down, Souffle.”

“No way!!! Wait...”

“LOL calm down first.”

“The guys are going to be on Star Live on Y App!!!”

It seemed the country’s largest portal was featuring stars in live streams to promote their upcoming Y App launch. Fans buzzed with excitement as the evening’s live broadcast approached at 8 p.m.

On a cozy café-styled stage, comedian Yoo Chang-hyun faced the camera:

“Live Star Talk! Today’s guests are lighting up the music scene—NewBlack!”

Off-camera, we rushed in behind him, like chicks following their mother hen, and greeted:

“One, two, three—hello, we’re NewBlack!”

We settled into a plush sofa. Uju pointed off-screen:

“That’s the comments window, right?”

“Yes—just read it to interact.”

“Could you make the text a bit bigger? For the older viewers’ phones? Ah, thanks... Who just said ‘Uju = grandmother?’”

“And Viju’s the mysterious one.”

“Ha-ha!😂”

The live stream kicked off with random jokes. Yoo Chang-hyun’s witty hosting and our quick comebacks raised the energy. After some chatter, the host said,

“I hear you’re preparing Y App content?”

“Yes, that’s right,” Uju replied, clapping.

“Y stands for ‘why,’ right? So we’ve prepared...!”

“Ask us anything! The ‘Black List!’”

We all slapped our palms together with a “ba-bam!” Fans watched curiously, and Uju said,

“Anything goes—if you’ve been wondering about us, just ask.”

Immediately, comments flooded in:

“Does God exist?”

“I’m a seven-year-old—tell me about the future of quantum mechanics!”

“Who made Korea’s first fried egg?”

“What’s the survival rate of sleeping with a fan on? I lived.”

“If a squid fought an octopus, who would win?”

“I heard tigers really live in tiger caves—are they in those caves?”

We stared blankly then burst out laughing. The host covered his mouth with a cue card, bouncing. The flexible main dancer nearly fell backwards in laughter but was saved by the rapper steadying him. Uju, grinning, said,

“Good one, you jokers. Those are fun, but we’d love questions about us.”

Then one fan wrote,

“Anything?”

We all replied,

“Anything.”

“We’ll pick your questions and turn them into content. Ask away!”

“We trust you, Souffles.”

“Who can hold their breath the longest? No—that one’s not allowed.”

After explaining the Y App content, we beamed at the camera:

“On August 1, the day Y App launches, we’ll return with new content for you!”

“We will!”

“Please give us lots of love and views!”

As we smiled and waved, Souffles behind the screen beamed back at us—their smiles almost identical to our own. And with those warm smiles, countless fingers began to tap across the country.