In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

Online communities.

Someone’s image of falling asleep in real time was captured and posted.

–[SHOCKING] NewBlack leader Sunmo in live drinking broadcast controversy

Not only Suflés who hadn’t been watching the live, but ordinary internet users clicked in surprise.

‘...Controversy?’

Has NewBlack ever had anything worthy of controversy?

Maybe embarrassment, but not a word like this. While people were bewildered by this inappropriate term,

the body of the post appeared.

(wooju.gif: Laughing cheerfully, blinking, staring sleepily at a bag of chocolates)

(wooju_falling_asleep.gif)

Shocking discovery: he got drunk eating alcohol chocolates

Fans split: “How can he get drunk on chocolates?” “He’s our kid—anything’s possible”

–ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ WTF that startled me

–So cuuute lol

–I mean, is alcohol that weak...? But with these guys, nothing has ever made sense

–If you think it makes no sense, change the subject to NewBlack

–ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ human plausibility

–ㅋㅋㅋㅋ but what’s the situation?

–They were live-streaming with fans after the Japan concert, ate chocolates given by a concert official from Japan, got drunk

–I saw the headline and nearly died laughingㅋㅋㅋㅋ of course

–Their tolerance is one drop, that’s wildㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

–At that rate, I bet the alcohol is confused by going down their esophagus..?

–Alcohol: “Oh... I’m getting tipsy?” (awkward)

–Chocolates and alcohol must be awkward together in their stomachs lol

Laughter spread across the comments at the image of him nodding off.

At the same time, entertainment reporters monitoring internet reactions quickly began writing articles.

–NewBlack’s Wooju: “Got drunk on alcohol chocolates”... Netizens: “Is his tolerance real?”

–NewBlack’s Wooju ate mixed nihonshu+makgeolli Japanese chocolates: “No wonder he got drunk”

–NewBlack wraps up Japan Kobe concert successfully... drew over 36,000 in four days

Late at night, readers burst out laughing at these unexpected headlines.

While “jeotgangju chocolate” and “NewBlack Wooju drinking broadcast” trended in real-time search, news comment sections buzzed.

–Wooju, I’m so disappointed. Tolerance of one drop.

–I’m overwhelmed with disappointment lolol

–He gets drunk on non-alcoholic drinks, so real alcohol must floor him... I totally get him

–What a big controversy. Reward us with good songs next time

–If you’re writing an apology, can you mention my hamster Ppyak-i? He’s my two-year-old pet

As netizens treated news comments like celebrity controversy banter, some readers’ hearts sank.

‘...What’s happening?’

It was the elderly.

Looking at their phones, “NewBlack drinking controversy” was trending.

Their hearts raced.

‘My precious hometown stars are in trouble.’

‘This is serious.’

In the news comments people told him to be more humble, or joked about using a hamster’s name in an apology.

They sounded serious, but it made no sense what the fuss was about.

Even after looking up more news, nothing explained this clearly.

They texted their grandchildren for answers.

Grandmother: [(link)]

Grandmother: “Seongyeon, what’s this? Do you know?”

Grandmother: “I can’t make heads or tails of it.”

Then, when they learned he’d gotten drunk after eating chocolates, they thought, ‘?’ then were relieved it was nothing serious.

Those without anyone to ask fumbled on their keyboards.

[100 Internet Points] What’s this NewBlack drinking thing?

The internet is buzzing. I’ll shower infinite blessings on whoever explains this.

Also, how do I accept an answer?

#02as25ef: lol it’s not a controversy, grandpa. Everyone’s just joking around.

#sungoat: He got drunk eating alcohol chocolates, so they’re teasing him for weak tolerance.

Answers came quickly, and confusion was resolved.

Meanwhile, as NewBlack’s news spread across social networks, the leader’s sleep continued.

The live broadcast.

Not only the Suflés but other fans drifted in to watch, breaking the record for Y-App livestream viewers.

–But this is really tasty. Soba, right?

–Yes. It’s spicy flavored. Try it as a rice bowl, hyung.

–But why don’t I feel excited...?

They were laughing but somehow wore gloomy expressions as they slurped cup noodles.

Then the members who had been eating looked up and met each other’s eyes, then glanced back.

–....

On the sofa, under a blanket, the leader slept soundly.

Junghyun shook Wooju’s body as if saying, “Wake up, hero!”

–Wake up, hyung.

–We gave up meat to have late-night snacks...! If you’re not up, Viju-hyung will be gloomy, and if Viju is gloomy, everyone is gloomy.

–No. I’m not gloomy...

–Just eat. When it’s time, you’ll wake up on your own.

We stared like solemn cats at the leader, then turned our heads sharply.

Rihyuk looked at his watch and said,

–He should wake up in about ten minutes here.

–Really?

–Rough calculation says so.

Convinced by the main vocalist’s math, we nodded.

Junghyun broke into a warm smile.

–Then we can relax.

–I thought he wouldn’t wake until tomorrow morning. Eat well, everyone.

–Cup noodles are delicious~ so good~

As the mood lightened and the members began ASMR noodles for the fans, ten minutes passed.

Ssshhh.

–Huh? He’s up!

Wooju on the sofa rose like a revived mummy, blinking.

Then he opened his eyes wide and said,

–I didn’t sleep.

As he insisted with bright eyes, we burst into laughter.

After recovering somewhat off-camera from any aftereffects,

he slipped back into the arms of his brothers on Y-App.

“Hello, everyone!”

“Waaaaa!”

“Yes. I’ve returned. Thank you, Wooju ‘one-drop tolerance’...?”

I squinted at the unusually themed ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ user nicknames while my brothers laughed.

“While I was asleep, did you eat all my snacks? Anything else happen?”

As the members prepared my share of snacks with guilty faces, comments scrolled fast.

–You’re trending in real-time, oppa!!! >ㅇ< yay

–I’m at a café watching Y-App; the couple next to me is talking about you

–[Notice] Now the whole nation knows [Congratulations]

–I’m... so proud... sometimes sad, but proud...

–Say “Annyeong Ariella”

–WJ your tolerance is smaller than my toenail

Staring blankly at the chat, I murmured,

“News?”

“Here.”

Rihyuk beamed and held up his phone.

“Real-time trending?”

“I screenshotted it! I did well, right?”

My mind swirled.

Taking a deep breath, I faced the live camera.

“This is all my reckless fault, everyone. I only studied Japanese conversationally...”

“I didn’t even notice the ‘nihonshu’ label on the chocolate.”

“The director said it was precious, so I ate without question, but from now on I’ll be more careful.”

“Yes.”

My brothers spoke solemnly.

“We forgive you.”

“Hey! Who said you could forgive me?”

They laughed at my bewildered face.

Eventually, the “Wooju-shi~” cheers softened my mood almost instantly.

After a Q&A about today’s concert and our Japan activities with the fans,

“Shall we play New Academy?”

“We have to move early tomorrow, so we don’t have much time before the stream ends, but with your help—”

“We’ll give it a try.”

Encouraged by fans claiming they’d mastered the game, we decided to play New Academy. We hadn’t had a chance to because of concert prep.

We opened our laptops, went to the site link, and entered player name “NewBlack.”

Ding!

With that Windows “no, that’s not it” sound, a notification popped up.

[That nickname is already in use.]

We stared, and the chat filled with “ㅋㅋㅋ.”

Rihyuk said, “Let’s do it in English.”

We tried “thenewblack,” but it still said the name existed.

The maknae suggested, “How about adding numbers?”

We tried “NewBlack123,” but it was rejected.

From NoBlack to SunWooJuAndHisMinions, fans had registered every variation.

Viju laughed and proposed, “How about ‘one-drop tolerance’?”

“Hohohot! That’s great. Let’s do that!”

Ding!

“...Taken, too.”

“...”

No variation linked to NewBlack worked. After deliberation, we settled on “LemonEntKids.”

“All right, let’s start the initial route...”

The scene showed the protagonist lying on the grass as Jiho approached.

As planned, we chose Route B, the Daegil route.

“Surviving NewBlack Academy” is about a mysterious mastermind at the academy trying to resurrect the Demon King. You persuade the five Demon King’s lieutenants—NewBlack members—to defeat the Demon King, then you become the Demon King.

“To collect gear, we should take the Daegil route.”

“Opinions vary. Some prefer Route A. Let’s try to play as much as we can without spoilers first.”

“And...”

The maknae spoke confidently.

“This game’s based on us, right? We know ourselves best, so if we play—”

“Maybe we can clear it more easily?”

Rihyuk nodded in agreement, smiling triumphantly.

The chat fell silent for a moment, then fans began “ㅋㅋㅋㅋ.”

“Let’s find Junghyun first.”

Leading the protagonist, transformed into a black goat in prison, back toward the academy.

To avoid becoming a black goat carriage by a shady merchant, we chose “butt-head the merchant.” Upon arriving, the protagonist muttered,

‘Mweee... mweee... (cold and hungry)’

At that moment,

‘Oh dear. You poor thing. You must be cold and hungry.’

Junghyun, wearing a straw hat, appeared and looked kindly at the black goat.

‘Mweee... (He understands me?)’

‘Of course.’

‘Mweee... (How?)’

‘I once had a friendship with a black goat. I know the northern goat dialect well.’

As the in-game character gazed faintly at the sky, Junghyun nodded.

The character asked,

‘Then friend, what can I help you with?’

▷ Mweee! (Tell me about NewBlack Academy)

▷ Mweeeht! (How do I become human?)

We hesitated. We’d only played Route A since “it’s awkward someone’s spying on Jiho.”

After careful thought, the person in question answered,

“Option one.”

“Okay, number one.”

We selected it, and the character gave a warm smile.

‘Sorry. I don’t know either.’

‘Mwee?’

‘I thought it was break and skipped school, so I was expelled. Sorry, but I’m not a student here.’

Option one grayed out and disappeared, leaving only option two.

“Number two after all.”

“So to become human first...”

The character smiled gently.

‘I don’t know either.’

“What? What do you know?”

“I’ve never seen an NPC that gives zero info in a game.”

“But this is so like me.”

As the subject displayed odd satisfaction, 2D Junghyun said,

‘But someone who might know the answer does exist.’

‘Mweee! (Tell me!)’

‘But first you must get past me.’

The screen flickered with an effect like being attacked by a hidden Pokémon in the grass.

Tandantan serious music played.

“...Suddenly?”

Attack options appeared alongside HP. We scratched our cheeks and glanced at the chat, sharing warm smiles.

“Games are about with, not for—playing together is the fun, right, everyone?”

“That’s right!”

“Communication matters more than gameplay.”

Fans responded with “huh” and “tsk” in the chat.

We politely said,

“...Please help us.”

Instantly, tips for defeating Junghyun popped up. Following them, 2D Junghyun waved and vanished saying, “That was a good match!”

“Phew.”

We shook our heads—already drained.

“Hey, but Junghyun said he’d tell us who knows the answer, right?”

“Huh?”

We burst out laughing at the 2D Junghyun who gave nothing then left.

Anyway, having entered the academy with fans’ help, we played on.

“Rihyuk-hyung’s weak point is his uvula! Hit there and he can’t recite history! Click the uvula in the illustration!”

“Aaaah!”

“Fans say click twice per second!”

We clicked Rihyuk’s uvula with the mouse.

“Viju’s money attack has coin and bill phases.”

“Avoid both?”

“Coins hurt; bills restore HP and MP.”

“Money really is best...”

We dodged the maknae’s money attack, then tempted him with more.

“Workshop! Aaaah! Don’t want to go!”

“Die! Die!”

“You go to the workshop!”

“....”

We averted our gaze at the unexpectedly earnest clicks.

At any rate, with Suflés’ help we solved NewBlack Academy’s mystery and dealt with random mobs.

“Ah, this next choice is crucial.”

“Random, so no help here.”

The critical “Choose Viju’s apple” challenge arrived.

Golden apple gives an extra life; poison apple makes play tricky.

We looked at Viju.

“Uh...”

“Viju, we trust you.”

“I trust hyung’s apple Four-Eyes!”

Viju hesitated. On screen, 2D Viju wore a red cape like a furoshiki on his head, smiling innocently.

He spoke carefully.

“Considering the stem’s bluish ring and the sheen, it’s the right apple.”

“Right.”

At the click, a crisp sound played, and the illustration showed 2D Viju smiling happily.

‘Congratulations!’

“We did it!”

‘It’s a poison apple!’

“What?”

We blinked in dismay as Viju’s bright-eyed smile turned into a sinister expression, like a cartoon character suddenly menacing.

‘Farewell.’

We stared dumbfounded at the illustration of Viju walking away.

The real Viju waved his hands in protest.

“That’s not me, hyung!”

“....”

“Don’t look at me like that. It’s not me.”

At that moment, the red-caped beautiful boy paused on screen, then returned.

‘...Wrong way, this way.’

We watched as Viju’s illustration walked past the protagonist.

“It’s definitely you?”

“Ah! No it isn’t!”

Meanwhile, someone encased the protagonist in a glass coffin.

A nod to Snow White, it looked like a princess in glass.

Jiho said,

“Oh, I get it. Now the prince will come and ‘Hey!’ and wake him up.”

“A kiss, right?”

“Is it really time for the prince?”

As we joked, fans typed “He’s coming...!” in the chat.

Who’s coming?

Soon, footsteps approached, and a prince-clad figure appeared—

‘Hello.’

‘If I may be so bold, I wish to share some wise words.’

At the CEO’s appearance, we swallowed nervously.

▷ Listen to more.

▷ Wake up, slap him, and run away.

We exchanged glances and unhesitatingly chose option two.

Smack!

At the sound, an illustration showed the CEO shouting “Arrogant one...!” as he chased madly—“He’s coming!”

“Get away!”

“Ahhhh!”

“Sorry, CEO! Aaah!”

The next dawn, we boarded a flight from Osaka to Tokyo.

To prepare for the Yokohama concert and other promotions.

“Waaaaa—!”

We pushed through the crowds at Kansai Airport again.

And to avoid last time’s mishap, the moment we got in the car we shouted in unison,

“U!” “Ji!” “Ho!” “Ri!” “Yuk!” “Seok!” “Min!” “Won!”

Even our managers called roll, then we clapped and cheered.

Junghyun asked,

“Jiho, why are you ‘ho’?”

“Because it’s Jiho.”

“Oh.”

After watching our cryptic banter, we waved to fans outside the vehicle as we drove off.

Seeing broadcasting vans parked around the airport, Seokhwan-hyung clicked his tongue.

“They’re so interested, yet no one invites us. They want to watch but don’t want to invite.”

“That’s right.”

Though we released news daily, we still had no TV appearances.

Oh, except one.

Since we first came to Japan, Hashimoto Gen—self-proclaimed rival of “our dad”—has been sending us love calls, unanswered so far.

And,

“Offers keep coming here too.”

“From where? The tourism board?”

“Yes. There.”

The Japan Tourism Board was wooing us with big money, asking for “Japan exploration!” content—ramen mukbangs and touring Osaka and Tokyo streets on MyTube.

It had little benefit, so the company politely declined.

Offline promotions like last time’s day-café event went well, but TV appearances remained impossible.

Today, to solve that, we moved forward with our own idea.

“Hey, there’s a new channel.”

A “NewBlackTV: World” channel appeared on MyTube.

A third channel for content in English and other languages, meant for international audiences.

Our own Japanese variety show would premiere there.

I asked my brothers,

“If TV won’t invite us—even though we need promotion—?”

“We’ll make our own TV show~!”

We chanted in harmony as the studio for today’s shoot drew near.