In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

The A&R and producing staff from Lemon Entertainment stepped off the tour bus, wearing satisfied smiles.

“Ahem.”

People waiting in line murmured and stared at them.

As they walked toward the staff entrance, they somehow felt like VIPs. Snippets of conversation reached their ears:

“That’s the person I saw on TV!”

Na Sang-yun PD let out a chuckle and smiled, while his colleagues all went “Oooo!”

“That’s the one who wrote that video letter to his mom!”

“Oh—! The guy who said he’d be on MiP for his mom~!”

“The one Ujuseon toyed with? The one who suffered through that Hwang-hee version?”

The Lemon Ent. staff doubled over laughing at each barb, and Na Sang-yun PD fled, shoulders slumped.

‘I’m a composer too!’

He’d helped co-compose “Attention,” yet all the viewers remembered was the video letter and the Hwang-hee court official routine. The producing team looked on enviously.

“Still, I’m jealous of you hyung. How many composers get their faces on TV?”

“Right—you should be proud.”

“If I were Sang-yun hyung, I’d have kowtowed to Uju three times. How great is that~”

They all sounded jealous, their lips twitching until they practically exploded. Na Sang-yun shivered and closed his eyes.

Soon they entered the waiting room to great applause from the ATEN members.

“Well, look! Our composers are here!”

“Hello!”

“You’ve worked so hard!”

The ATEN members offered heartfelt thanks and well wishes as the composers, holding bouquets, left the waiting room beaming.

“Wow, taking pictures with them—what’s going on?”

“Seriously, what a surprise.”

The Lemon Ent. staff grinned. The A&R and producing teams had been invited as special guests to today’s showcase. With barely any time, they’d worked on “Attention” and the album’s other tracks. This was MiP’s way of expressing thanks—and rewarding them—while acknowledging who had given them the chance.

Deputy Manager Seo Pil-geun of A&R laughed. “I’ve been through all kinds of things thanks to our kids.”

Next to him, producing team rookie Kim Hyung-seop said, “I’m honestly in disbelief.”

“Well, Hyung-seop, you must be the most shocked. You’ve only been here a month or two.”

“Yes, until recently I was just working part-time.”

An artist had messaged him after hearing his remix on MiTube, and before he knew it, he was here as a guest. The producing team sighed in admiration.

“Hyung-seop really pulled the ultimate underdog story.”

“He was doing fine, then bam—he’s talking music with Uju!”

“Oh my, so young... meeting Uju in your twenties.”

“Take care, Hyung-seop. Working with Uju ages you fast.”

The A&R team nodded in agreement. “True, that’s so true.”

“Ever since you all came on board, we’ve really come into our own.”

As Seo Pil-geun puffed his cheeks in delight and Kim Hyung-seop swallowed tears, the staff ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ slapped each other on the shoulders, laughing.

“But man, this is fun again!”

“I love that we can just relax and watch today.”

“Where are our seats?”

They found the guest section on the second floor reserved for album collaborators.

“Oh! That’s them, right?”

The front row of the second floor was theirs. Giggling, they strode down the aisle—when someone stylishly dressed rose from that row, the Lemon Ent. staff gasped.

“Hello.”

It was KM Ent. CEO Heo Gang-min, greeting them with a smile.

“Oh! Hi there...!”

“You’re from Lemon Ent., right?”

He beamed. “We were just talking about you—so good to meet you.”

“Talking about us?” They tilted their heads.

Behind Heo Gang-min, shadows lined up in a row. Then someone giggled:

“Kyah-reuk!”

Startled, Kim Hyung-seop caught himself from swearing just in time. A chill ran down his spine—then laughter rang out again:

“Kyah-reuk! Kyahahat!”

Heads poked out over Heo’s shoulder, one by one. A bright-eyed maknae waved.

“Hello! We’ve been waiting for you.”

“Why were you so late? We were waiting.”

And then:

“Hyung-seop! Come here, quick—let’s talk.”

“...”

Even NewBlack’s leader smiled brightly. As KM Ent.’s CEO laughed heartily, the NewBlack members tapped the seats beside them.

The Lemon Ent. staff paled.

‘Two hours sitting with our kids? This can’t happen.’

‘I have a bad feeling about this...’

‘Please, get me away from Sun Woo-ju.’

They forced smiles and sat down like kids being dragged to the dentist.

‘Ah well, nothing bad will happen, right?’

They thought: they’d just watch, then leave—surely it would be fine.

Outside the venue, the audience lined up with excited faces as doors opened.

‘Finally, we get in!’

They’d been waiting forever—some had come at dawn for good standing spots. This was the climax of an idol project born on the national variety show. Looking at their tickets, people marvelled:

‘I actually won this.’

So many applicants that the odds must have been over a thousand to one for ATEN’s showcase. No wonder—MiP’s ratings were nearing 30% just before its debut episode.

Even non-ticket-holders buzzed around. As they entered, conversations flew:

“Did you hear? NewBlack’s coming to watch, too.”

“Really? I’ve got to see them. A friend saw them in person—they glow like their lightsticks.”

“Wow. They’re practically not human.”

Eavesdroppers perked up:

‘NewBlack’s coming?’

The news spread like wildfire:

“NewBlack’s coming? Think they’ll do something special?”

“Maybe some magic trick at the opening?”

“They’re doing magic in the opening show!”

Normally absurd, but somehow it made sense here. Some sensible folks pushed back:

“C’mon, even if NewBlack’s weird...”

“Look at that wreath—so extraordinary.”

“Yeah, it’s something else.”

Fans arriving on the first and second floors were overwhelmed by the massive wreath:

“Like an Ent from Lord of the Rings.”

“Seeing that, you get why ancient people worshiped standing stones. It’s the ancient of wreaths.”

“We have to take a photo.”

Among all the wreaths, NewBlack’s had become a hotspot. People draped its giant ribbons—like old-Hollywood actors—and queued up to take pictures. Those photos even hit the internet:

[Right now at the ATEN showcase: NewBlack’s wreath as the photo wall]

(Picture of a normal wreath. On closer look, you see someone with their face emoji-masked, tiny like a figurine.)

“-Is that a person?”

“-ㅋㅋㅋㅋ what’s with the perspective, holy ㅋㅋㅋㅋ”

“-ㅋㅋㅋㅋ that’s huge”

“-I stared forever before I understood from the comments ㅋㅋㅋㅋ”

“-Thought it was a kid dressed like an adult, but it really was an adult”

“-Look at Rihyuk alone filling up the ribbon ㅋㅋㅋㅋ he covered every comment spot”

“-The messages are hilarious ㅋㅋ just looking at the wreath is noisyㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ”

As Ri-hyuk’s “I enjoyed these two months...” ribbon text drew laughs, the crowd on both floors drew wide eyes.

“Woah.”

Seeing ATEN’s idol-style photos on the screen gave them a strange feeling.

“Oh right—they’re good-looking, but you barely know what they look like.”

“Because they’re TV personalities.”

“...But isn’t NewBlack idols?”

“Oh, right!”

They realized just then.

“Uh...?”

“It’s NewBlack!”

“Where? Where?”

Familiar faces stepped onto the stage and the crowd erupted.

“Waaaa!”

Lightsticks waved and PBS cameras caught it all. NewBlack waved back, smiling.

“-Hello~!”

The maknae’s bright laugh brought “woah”s from the audience. Among the handsome faces, someone with striking features grabbed the mic.

“-Hello.”

His voice carried effortlessly across the stage, drawing quiet cheers.

“-Nice to meet you. I’m Uju of NewBlack, here today as a producer.”

A bright smile—and then the crowd began chanting “Ujuseon! Ujuseon!” Uju, flushing with embarrassment, cleared his throat.

“-Uh, that person’s a bit shy. Also pretty blunt, so I’m here instead.”

“-He’s super blunt.”

“-His personality’s not great~!”

The audience laughed. Uju glanced back as the younger members pretended not to notice, looking around: “Lights are bright.”

Biju took the mic.

“-You must’ve been surprised by our sudden appearance, but we’re here as special MCs before the show.”

“-Since we raised these kids, we’re here to harvest—no, give aftercare.”

“-Junghyun hyung, if you harvest people, you’re toast.”

Soft laughter followed. And so NewBlack’s talk began, the audience laughing as smoothly as if they’d been doing variety for years. Short segments passed: quizzes about ATEN, and then:

“-Okay, let’s warm up our voices before the show! Ah—!”

“Aah—!”

“-Here’s the deal: anyone who can shout louder than Ri-hyuk hyung’s real voice today, we’ll buy you beef!”

“Aaaah!”

“-But nobody can beat him, right?”

“Eeeeek!”

“-Eheh~ you can’t even get pork belly with this~?”

“Hey you jerk!”

The contrast of a relaxed main vocal and a teasing maknae sent cheers up from the audience, who grew ever more pumped for ATEN’s entrance.

Then Uju spoke seriously:

“-Congratulations, everyone.”

“-All of you here have successfully completed NewBlack’s 30-minute hype course.”

The audience laughed.

“-Anyone want a certificate of completion?”

Junghyun asked; hands shot up.

Ri-hyuk chimed in: “We don’t actually have certificates.”

“-Just asking. Would’ve been nice.”

His teddy-bear kindness made them laugh again. As excitement peaked:

“-Now, let me teach you the cheer.”

During the song playback, they showed how to cheer. Though the track wasn’t released yet, only lyrics on screen, NewBlack taught the rhythm and melody of the cheer.

“-We need a demonstrator, right?”

“-We want to do it with the audience, so we’ll draw a random few!”

“-Yes! We’ll pick a few of you to come up on stage.”

“-There are small prizes too!”

Some audience members flinched.

‘Uh, no thanks.’

They didn’t want to shout “milky-white ATEN!” in front of fifteen hundred people. That anxiety, like a professor picking someone for a question. Those wanting to be picked and those not combined in a gulp.

“-I’ll pick randomly—Sun Woo-ju here will decide.”

Laughter dissipated tension. The leader looked at the crowd: “It’s random, okay?” but nobody believed it. Even on MiP there were rigged draws—NewBlack’s leader has a hand at probability manipulation.

“-Okay, here’s our mini roulette!”

He lightly tapped the wheel; it spun with the air of a totally casual move. Yet it stopped exactly on target.

“-Se.sang.e.”

“-Second floor, Row A, seats 1–7! Congratulations, you’re selected!”

“-Thi.s.i.s...!”

“-Stop it, Junghyun hyung.”

Amid laughter at someone’s hammy performance, the lighting director beamed a spotlight on those first-row seats. As the audience turned and recognized them, laughter erupted.

“That’s the guy who wrote the video letter to his mom!”

“That’s Hwang-hee court official!”

MiP’s familiar faces—the co-composer of “Attention” and Lemon Ent. staff—were in the hot seat. Cameras caught the chaos as the 2nd-floor staff shouted:

“Is this rigged?”

“-Rigged? How could we rig this? Don’t trust us?”

Ujuseon’s stern look made the Lemon Ent. staff tremble. One timid voice asked:

“So...the prizes are...?”

“-Ah! About the prizes.”

The NewBlack members looked at each other, then all at once grabbed their mics.

“-Free hugs from us!”

“...”

The crowd applauded and giggled at Uju’s deadpan delivery.

As the “milky-white ATEN!” fervor died down, we returned to our seats and loosened up.

“Feels refreshing.”

“I guess I’m a singer by nature. Playing with the audience really clears my head.”

“So fun.”

Nearby, we felt someone’s gaze. Turning, I asked, “Did you enjoy it?”

“...”

“We sure did. The audience loved it—such a happy ending!”

Junghyun said, “We gave them an unforgettable memory, hyung.”

“That’s it.”

“...Don’t be so full of yourselves.”

I whispered to the watching staff: “Unlimited beef + soju shot package.”

“...!”

“Now turn and wave to the crowd.”

Our staff waved like true celebrities to the second floor; laughter rippled back.

The atmosphere was festive—exactly what we’d intended. Exchanging triumphant looks with the younger members, we thought, ‘We did it!’

Although MiP fans made up most of today’s crowd, ordinary viewers were mixed in, so we needed to warm them up. Idol fans are used to cheering; TV viewers aren’t. I knew how crucial this was from my own showcases.

“They’re really into it,” KM Ent. CEO Heo Gang-min said with a smile.

“It feels like family. Is it like this at your company?”

“Yes—at first it wasn’t, but spending more time together...”

As I answered, I noticed Heo Gang-min tapping notes into his phone: [Secret: family-like atmosphere..?]

“Oh really? Want to talk more?”

“Well—what exactly should I say?”

“From your perspective as a producer leading an organization...”

I bit back a laugh at how eagerly the ‘Big Four’ CEO on a field visit looked like a student on internship. He was so friendly it felt like he’d come to network, not watch the showcase. From the start he’d been thrilled: “Finally, we meet!” he’d said.

“Our company just hired a chef. You can have hotel-style meals in the cafeteria!”

He kept inviting me over: “When you have time, visit us. It’d be fun to do ‘Visiting the Big Four’ on MiTube.”

“Oooh.”

I almost nodded at that idea—“A tour of the Big Four with NewBlack” would make great content. While bonding with KM Ent.’s CEO, I glanced at Biju beside me.

“Really? I choreograph, but...”

“Yeah—so at our studio this time...”

He was whispering happily with Han A-yun, the choreographer on ATEN’s debut album. Watching them talk like old friends, I laughed. Then, at exactly 6:00 PM, the house lights cut out.

Online, the track and music video were released; onstage, the MV premiered.

“Waaaa!”

Cheers erupted as “Attention” began. Hearing “Amazing! Amazing!” from nearby, I knew they loved the quality—it was clearly well made.

“Hahaha!”

Laughter followed our brief cameos in the MV. It felt like watching myself in a film or drama. Not bad at all.

As the MV’s final notes faded, a soft “taat—!” and the house lights rose. Onstage, six silhouettes stood with their backs turned, wearing white suits and white fedoras.

“Waaaaa—!”

Having already amped the crowd, fifteen hundred people screamed. I noticed shoulders heaving in deep breaths—visible trembling hands peeking from suit sleeves. They were tiny movements to most, but I knew how nervous they must be. I clenched my fist.

Tonight’s stage would show the fruits of two months’ practice on MiP. The younger members glanced at me.

‘...They’ll do great, right?’

‘They will.’

We nodded to each other and sent our support to the six onstage. Under the dim lights, the prelude to “Attention” began at last.