In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

The customers whispered among themselves.

“No wonder there are so many ads everywhere.”

“I saw the ads at my home station, and here too—so strange. Was that a bread ad?”

“The bread even looks the same shape.”

Watching the misunderstanding spread uncontrollably, my brothers and I stared blankly.

“No, actually....”

The explanation—that it wasn’t a bread launch—rose to my throat and sank back down. It was too complicated to untangle.

– Our fandom’s name is “Soufflé.” Every year we hold an event for fans, and this time we planned to repay them by making Soufflé Bread ourselves at the station...

I almost began to explain, but one kindly aunt pointed at her bag of bread.

“Ring me up for five of these, please.”

“Certainly!”

“After I taste one deliciously, I’ll advertise it around!”

“Thank you very much.”

We bowed as she disappeared with her paper bag of Soufflé Bread. Other customers were similar: amazed to see NewBlack, but only interested enough to buy bread and move on.

“That’s something. Interesting.”

“Excuse me?”

A middle-aged man who looked like an office worker smiled at us.

“You’re always on TV and in the news. Feels like you’re neighbors.”

“Very familiar, right?”

“Exactly. Like the sons next door—even though there aren’t any like you around.”

His homespun charm made us laugh. It felt good that people saw us as friendly neighbors—it meant we were widely known.

While ringing up more Soufflé Bread, a college student pointed at his phone.

“Um, may I take a picture?”

“Of course.”

“For SNS....”

“Sure. But when you post, could you hashtag #NewBlack #SouffleBread?”

Once those keywords trended, our fans would swarm.

Soon Junghyun—the tallest—took a smiling six-people selfie.

“By the way,” the student holding the bag asked, “is this bread part of an event?”

“Yes. It’s our event today.”

The maknae explained we had a one-day event. /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ The student nodded.

“A limited-time thing, then. I’ll post to SNS and help promote.”

“Thank you so much.”

“No problem. I’ll tell my friends....”

We waved him off gratefully. As we shared smiles, Ri-hyuk—maintaining his sales smile—suddenly froze.

“Hmm?”

Noticing something odd, we turned to him. His face looked stunned, blinking rapidly.

“Didn’t that seem weird just now?”

“What do you mean?”

“He said it was for fans—then said he’d tell his friends too.”

“...Huh?”

We stared at empty air, baffled.

“That’s odd.”

“Wait. Didn’t we forget something when we explained earlier?”

“The object?”

“Junghyun, just stay put.”

As Junghyun glared bear-like, we racked our brains—and a moment later realized the missing keyword. Behind us, pâtissier Myeong Se-jin called softly,

“You didn’t say it was fan-only.”

“......”

Panicking, we grabbed our phones to check SNS, while Junghyun protested,

“But we really did forget the object....”

A few minutes later.

On SNS an event post appeared:

@rhkwptlfgdj

(picture of NewBlack dressed as bakery staff and the station billboard)

I ran into NewBlack on my way to school. As soon as I came up from the station, I followed the delicious smell and found them there. They were doing an event to launch a new product, “Soufflé Bread,” and I bought five right away. Steam was still rising from the loaves. My dieting unconscious cried “No you can’t,” but my appetite won. The moment I ate one, ah—today I tasted heaven. If French writer Marcel Proust had tasted NewBlack Bread, his famous madeleine would have been NewBlack Bread instead. The moist texture and sweet sugar fragrance filled my mouth; when the cinnamon finish crowned it, I didn’t notice the empty paper bag until later. So I ran back up the long hill for more. (Right now I’m sprinting with my friends.) #NewBlack #SouffleBread #MakeItBig

That post immediately pinged all Soufflé radars. The fans were stunned:

– What? Our boys launched bread??

– Wasn’t it the 500-day Soufflé event, not 500-won? Typo?

– But I want to eat it

– That poster-uploader’s totally misunderstanding lol

– Dude, they obviously made it as a fan event

– But that’s our oppas—they can’t pull their guard down

While fans talked about rushing to the station in coats, the situation slipped from their control. The post spread beyond NewBlack forums to many communities:

– Looks like NewBlack’s launching bread lol

– I saw the subway billboard going to school... thought it was a fan ad but it’s bread ad

– Random thought: their manager looks like a bakery CEO

– Reviews say it’s super tasty lol

– I’m so curious to try it

– I was going to go anyway—if I can buy some later I’ll report back

– Doubt I can buy... once it’s online they’re done for

– Guaranteed it’s packed

– Actually it’s a fan event? I hear NewBlack put the ad in the subway

Though someone explained the truth, no one listened—they just wanted to try the bread. As the rumor of “NewBlack Bread” spread even in small communities, it climbed search charts:

[10] NewBlackBread

Related: where to get NewBlackBread, what kind of bread is NewBlackBread

A momentary but impressive peak of interest. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

– They did massive advertising lol—curious what bread this is

– Their model fee must be dirt cheap, but the baker did real prep whoever they are

– But isn’t this viral marketing??

– Feels viral—whoever the marketer is, super clever

And the marketers panicked.

“What’s this? Search numbers are insane.”

“Isn’t it because NewBlack’s involved? Last time their foundation ad trended all day.”

“Ads clients call them ‘believe-Black.’”

An industry nickname indicating their ads are so effective you can trust them. Their fame from music and variety plus high likability made everyone know NewBlack—and when they model a product, they actually use it themselves. They’d even pose with the convenience-store products they advertise. Their real-world sales lifts made them the ad world’s blue chip.

So everyone wondered,

“Which company is this? Who signed NewBlack for a new product?”

Moments later the truth surfaced.

“Look: it says it’s an event for fans.”

“What?”

“They’re selling the bread they made for fans for one day.”

An absurd revelation.

“How did the story get so twisted? So?”

“I don’t know.”

One offered a reasonable guess:

“They’re famous for unique sensibility. People mistook the fan ad for a bread ad.”

“....”

“I honestly think bread ad sounds more natural.”

For a moment all nodded. Then, upon hearing the trending bread had no brand owner, their eyes sparkled like morning stars. And then:

“Hello, Lemon Ent. PR... Oh, NewBlack Bread inquiries.”

“NewBlack Bread?”

“That bread wasn’t made to sell, you know. You want to come here now?”

The PR team scrambled in typical fashion, fielding calls.

“Our boys did it again....”

“Now we’re in the bread business, too.”

“The surprise event surprised us.”

They hurried to coordinate responses.

“Did you tell the management team? If people flood the site we’ll need more security!”

“Yoon siljang already requested more staff!”

“Geez, they’re in for a rough time, too.”

The PR team shook their heads at the fallout from one misread post combined with NewBlack’s image.

“So many people will come.” They pictured the crowd and their sweating members.

Then the PR head said,

“We’ve doused the fire for now. Our team should go on-site to monitor. Who can go?”

“......”

Someone broke the silence with a solemn hand raise. On their laptop screens, Soufflé Bread looked mouth-watering.

The fan event we’d planned for Soufflés! When we brainstormed at the dorm, we imagined the perfect scene:

“Hello, dear Soufflés! We baked this bread just for you!”

“Wow! So delicious!”

“Ha-ha-ha!”

Something like that. So when scouting the venue, we had criteria: near lines fans frequent, but an almost deserted station weekday mornings. Pâtissier Myeong Se-jin promptly pointed to this branch.

“It’s a recently opened spot with poor sales.”

They’d done demand research, opened the bakery—and nobody bought. Pedestrians passed right by. Outside rush hours, it was nearly empty.

We cheered it was “the perfect place!” The scenario: ordinary commuters pass, then Soufflés spot our subway ads and discover us at work. Ji-ho sighed,

“Life’s full of twists; nothing goes as planned.”

“Not quite a fitting proverb, but I agree.”

“It’s not a proverb but a four-character idiom, and I agree too.”

“I’ll agree as well.”

Viju chimed in. Meanwhile, Junghyun kept ringing up amid a cloud of customers—a stream of people.

“Eek!”

“Ahhh!”

All ages and types jammed the scene; we wore sad smiles. Our private fan event had become everyone’s event—like booking a restaurant for a proposal only to find a 70th-birthday bash happening.

“Oppa!!!”

One Soufflé was swept away in the crowd like a log. Others cried,

“Ring me up now!”

“Can I sample? No? Why?”

“Isn’t this NewBlack Bread? Soufflé Bread’s NewBlack Bread, right?”

We bustled, smiling at each customer.

“Viju, bake more!”

“Yes!”

Together with Pâtissier Myeong Se-jin, we madly churned out bread. Luckily, it was quick to bake, but the aroma seemed to seep into our brains.

“Welcome! How many loaves?”

“Sorry, you’ll need to wait about five minutes.”

While my brothers served customers, I darted in and out, managing the chaos.

“Hello!” I bowed to smartphone cameras, then gently said, “Thank you all for coming. But it’s crowded and could be unsafe. Please line up here.”

With our managers’ help, we formed a queue. At last, a bit of breathing room. Nearby station staff watched wide-eyed. Though commuters still passed on a clear path, “bread! bread!” sounded as new arrivals pressed in.

“Pant, pant!” I heard heavy breathing and saw a Soufflé’s eyes shining.

“Oppa....”

“Thank you so much for coming.”

“I... I smelled the bread earlier... but didn’t get any!”

“This morning?”

He nodded, and I groaned,

“That’s such a shame—there was no one here then.”

“I came to watch the live! I ran from home panting!”

“I’ll give you a big loaf.”

I whispered that as we waved goodbye to the disappointed fan. It felt pitiful: the only extra help we could offer was a bigger loaf.

“Why is business going so well?”

“Why are we good at selling...?”

It was the first time we were sad about selling so many loaves. Still, at least our Soufflés were enjoying it.

“He heh! Oppa, you suit this so well. Fighting~”

Some fans teased playfully as they left; others widened their eyes at us then focused on the bread’s aroma.

“Excuse me?”

“...”

“Can you see me?”

“Just a moment—we’re choosing the next batch.”

“...”

They smiled again when we glanced their way, then joined the throng. Despite the mixed crowd, everyone leaving with a paper bag wore similar expressions:

“Wow...”

They’d immediately pull out a loaf the size of a bao, bite in, and ooh with round eyes. Seeing those smiles filled me with pride.

“Ten Soufflé Breads, please.”

“Certainly! I’ll heap them in!”

Is this what a pâtissier feels? We filled paper bags with hot Soufflé Bread, greeting customers with smiles.

“Please come again!”

“Thank you! Come back soon!”

We even made regulars out of some. Then:

“Uju hyung! Help here! We’re running low!”

“Uju-ssi! Over here!”

“On my way!”

Together with Pâtissier Myeong Se-jin and Viju, we poured all our energy into baking. Whenever we felt tired, seeing people love our bread gave us strength. Junghyun’s gloved hands filled the bags; the maknae charmed and engaged waiting customers; Ri-hyuk rang up faster than anyone.

“Phew...”

When at last the bread was sold out, we waved goodbye to the waiting Soufflés. Inside the closed bakery, we swallowed hard. Ri-hyuk—glasses on—tapped the calculator. We and the pâtissier clasped our hands before him.

“Today’s sales are....”

Ri-hyuk rattled off numbers in a relentless torrent—I gasped. It was this branch’s highest ever after opening.

“Pâtissier-nim!”

“Uju-ssi!”

“Thank you so much!”

We cheered, clapping with Myeong Se-jin.

“We made this much from 500-won loaves.”

“We’re coin millionaires, hyungs!”

“If you converted all bills to coins, we could build a pagoda.”

“Wow!”

Celebrating our record sales, we hugged and jumped—but then abruptly stopped.

“...Why did we go to all this trouble?”

“Right.”

At some point we’d become too immersed in bread selling. We finally looked at each other.

“...”

Junghyun stood with tired eyes but a baker’s warm smile. Flour dusted his apron. As Myeong Se-jin laughed, we all wore vacant expressions in the empty bakery. What was this? Why had we poured our hearts into selling bread?

That evening.

– “NewBlack Bread” trends on real-time search; netizens ask, “What does it taste like?”

– “Thanks for the attention to our fan event,” says Lemon Ent. on “NewBlack Bread” word-of-mouth

– “From fan-made bread to word spreading—NewBlack’s uniquely NewBlack day”

Articles began to appear, propelling “NewBlack Bread” back onto real-time search. What had floated in communities and SNS now reached the press. A few days later:

– “‘NewBlack Bread’ to be test-released at convenience store KG24”

Soufflés—enjoying Soufflé Week as always—were once again astonished:

– “What?”

– “Excuse me? Did you say what?”

– (meme of surprised Hollywood actor)

– “Seriously??”

– “What is this hahahaha—is it real??”

– “Other singers bake cookies for fans; ours launched bread (seriously)”

– “The scale of this fan gift is mind-blowing...”

Soufflés gaped at the extraordinary scale of it all.