In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

The showcase went off without a hitch.

Perhaps thanks to wrapping up the first stage successfully, the seniors’ faces afterward showed a marked sense of ease.

“Waaaaa-!”

“Wahaha-hah! Everyone! Thank you!”

...Maybe it was simply an overactive conditioned reflex.

But I don’t think that’s all there is to it.

Honestly, how well would that even land?

It was probably just that the audience’s fevered cheers pumped them up.

“Waaaaa-!”

“Aha-hah! Why do I feel so good today?”

“I know, right? Wahaha-hah!”

“Uh-hah-hah! Everyone, I really~ love you all~! I’m not drunk! I’m just feeling great!”

As if copy-pasted Chu Gi-seok’s exuberance, the other members chuckled and made big heart gestures.

Even Hong-seok, who rarely spoke, let out an aha-hah laugh.

Seeing him hiccuping like he was drunk, I stole a glance at Ri-hyuk.

“.......”

We nodded at each other.

I tilted my head and whispered,

“Hey, that worked better than I thought.”

“Unexpected result.”

“If singing goes flat later, the two of us should set up something.”

“Not a bad idea. We could station Biju at the signup desk....”

Ri-hyuk’s gaze drifted to the goof-off duo.

Jung-hyun and Jiho, who’d been waving foam sticks, had inhaled helium and were now chanting “A-ten~! A-ten~! Kya-hat!”

CEO Heo Gang-min and choreographer Han Ah-yun burst into laughter.

“...We’re definitely not hiring those two.”

“That’s a sensible idea. We almost went out of business on opening day.”

Whispering like that, we watched the stage.

After my song, they continued with the tracks that had been passed over in the last title-song contest but made it onto the album.

Covering my mouth so the cameras wouldn’t catch me, I said,

“Overall, everyone seems to have improved a lot.”

“That’s true. Before it felt like S-level....”

Biju, who had been scrutinizing the members’ dance moves, smiled and whispered,

“Now it feels like K-level.”

“Oh....”

Jung-hyun nodded.

“As expected of Kim Biju. No mercy in dance evaluations.”

“But going from S to K is still a big jump. About eight notches of growth, right...?”

“That’s right. Now you’re performing as well as our trainees.”

“Ah....”

We applauded their remarkable progress.

Of course, it wasn’t a complete overhaul. There were still visible shortcomings.

But on the surface, the quality was extremely satisfying.

It had to be that way.

A-TEN’s stage was handled by Korea’s top experts.

Choreographer Han Ah-yun and Biju had cleverly designed the moves to conceal any lack of skill.

Ri-hyuk and I masked the vocal weaknesses.

With lighting, sound, and every other specialist on board, it looked incredibly polished.

They appeared several times better than their actual ability.

However....

“Waaaaa-!”

The audience’s cheers weren’t just for that reason.

They were cheering for the performers’ passion.

Watching entertainers on stage who seemed to be pouring their souls into it, I finally understood why this is called a national variety show.

“Wow....”

Jiho clicked his tongue and said,

“We need to work harder, hyungs.”

“Absolutely. I’m reflecting already.”

“It’s like that time I read ‘Don’t kick over the charcoal ashes’ and really felt it.”

The nearby A&R and producing staff looked like they might cry.

We waved off their frantic “Heh-hei, heh-hei” gestures, telling them not to worry and smiled.

“Alright. Let’s all work hard together~”

“.......”

“Fighting~!”

Just then, I squeezed my fist encouragingly at Hyungseop, who looked completely spaced out.

“Okay!”

The A-TEN members on stage shifted gears.

“We’re almost at the end of the showcase.”

“Awoooong-!”

“Sadly, only two songs remain. The last one isn’t by Ujuseon—it’s the fan song written by composer Sun Woo-ju.”

My face appeared on the big screen.

The audience laughed at the sight of me smiling politely, so different from Ujuseon.

Amid giggles from A-TEN, Kim Eui-ji took the mic.

“The other song is for some very special people.”

“Really important people.”

A woman I hadn’t seen before appeared on the screen, flanked by young children. Biju whispered to me,

“She’s Senior Kim Eui-ji’s wife.”

“Oh.”

“I saw her on TV when she was supervising practice at home.”

“Must’ve left quite an impression....”

The camera panned across the audience. Though most faces were unfamiliar, their eyes, noses, and mouths looked distinctly recognizable.

When Hong-seok smiled tenderly and waved toward the seat where his sister sat,

“If it weren’t for these people, none of us would be here today. They’ve been our support through the hardest times.”

“Thanks to them, we got through our biggest hurdles.”

“Sometimes we’ve driven them crazy, but they’ve always believed in us....”

Heartfelt tributes continued.

Senior Kim Eui-ji’s wife brought her hand to her mouth, eyes glistening, and the audience sighed, “Aaaah.”

Caught in that sweet atmosphere, we cooed along.

Kim Eui-ji’s voice trembled with moisture.

“To the ones who worked so hard for us.”

As A-TEN’s families wiped tears from their eyes,

“For the NewBlack members....”

“......?”

“Wait, why did it just get chilly in here...?”

The audience murmured.

While the families, tears gone, narrowed their eyes, our bewildered faces filled the screen.

Laughter erupted everywhere.

A-TEN members, who hadn’t seen the screen, cocked their heads. Kim Eui-ji looked around in confusion.

“Why are you reacting like that?”

“What’s going on?”

Just then, Senior Kim Eui-ji’s wife reappeared on the screen.

Her gaze was ice-cold.

“H-honey?”

Kim Eui-ji, slack-jawed, quickly looked between the screen and the audience and realized what was happening.

“No, no, that’s not it.”

A smile edged his lips under that frosty stare.

I swallowed hard without realizing it.

Having survived all five stages of Mrs. Kim Deok-soon’s wrath, I could empathize.

Laughter.

This far surpassed five—it was stage six, supreme rage.

The audience chuckled.

“Hey! Where’s Shin Mu-rok? How dare you film me like this?! Get Shin Mu-rok on screen!”

“No! How could you edit it like this—!”

“Shin Mu-rok...!”

As A-TEN members raged, hunting for the culprit PD Shin Mu-rok,

“Honey! Honey! Don’t misunderstand! We have one last special stage!”

“It’s not thrown together—we always planned a special stage. A surprise for our families.”

Among the explaining members, Chu Gi-seok beamed.

“But isn’t that a spoiler?”

“Gi-seok, can’t you see the situation?”

“Is the spoiler the problem, hyung?! I’m gonna get cut at the door if this leaks!”

As the audience laughed at A-TEN’s pleas of “No, no!”, music began teasingly undercutting their embarrassment.

Amid our giggles, the familiar intro riff made us widen our eyes.

“Oh...?”

This is playing now?

On the chaotic stage, the A-TEN members formed their lineup.

“Anyway, thank you, NewBlack!”

“This is the title-song cover we promised the producers! Wait—why’s the intro already playing? Just enjoy it!”

It was the intro to “Bulkkotnori.”

Since Nakhwa was too difficult to cover, we’d asked them to do the easiest track, “Bulkkotnori.”

Perhaps because it was summer.

Even upon hearing it again, the refreshing melody fit A-TEN’s moves perfectly.

Meanwhile, my siblings and I faced each other.

“Shall we go?”

“Let’s.”

Everyone in that spot knew exactly what to do.

As the full intro played, we switched on our cheering sticks and raised our voices.

“Sun Woo-ju! Kim Bi-ju! Kim Jung-hyun! Seo Ri-hyuk! Wang Jiho!”

A laugh escaped me.

I never expected we’d be chanting our own names to “Bulkkotnori.”

As we led the chant, attendees—including CEO Heo Gang-min—broke into laughter.

And when A-TEN members bent their heads, trying to suppress laughs mid-choreo,

we exchanged glances and nodded.

“NewBlack! Waaaaa-!”

We beamed and shook our cheering sticks.

The audience roared with laughter.

“Huh-hah-hah!”

Seeing idols insert their own names into a cheer induced laughter.

Jung-hyun, waving two sticks like swords, drew admiring gasps.

Meanwhile, the maknae displayed the cheer steps on the big-screen app, pre-teaching the crowd.

“Waaaaa-!”

“NewBlack! NewBlack! NewBlack!”

Jiho even tapped out the beat with his fingers, directing the cheer.

At the same time, the audience’s interest shifted back to A-TEN’s special stage.

‘What song is this?’

They’d said it was NewBlack’s “Bulkkotnori.”

Whether intended as a summer song or not, its crisp melody washed over them.

“......!”

It was good.

Really good.

Though they’d need to hear more to be sure, any passerby on the street would stop.

Where am I right now

Strange sea, strange air

Whether they’d barely mastered the dance or not, the vocals were exactly like the original.

That soft, humming voice was undoubtedly Uju’s.

Audiences watching Hong-seok stand in for Uju’s part on stage cocked their heads.

‘What is this?’

It was great, but they’d never heard it before.

Having heard NewBlack’s major hits—“Baramkkot” in spring last year, “Nine” in autumn, “Winter’s Nap” earlier this year, and now “Nakhwa”—most fans knew their titles by heart.

During the special album, even B-sides like “Winter Trip” had topped the charts.

‘I even know “Masquerade.”’

They’d seen various concepts on the MiP broadcast.

But “Bulkkotnori”....

They’d never heard it.

“Do you know this?”

“No, you...?”

“Me neither.”

The crowd glanced at each other, but almost no one knew.

It felt vaguely familiar, but they couldn’t place it.

‘Where have I heard this before... Ah!’

They recalled a similar genre.

This spring, Serenity—MOP Ent.’s girl group—had released “REALITY.”

That hit track had propelled Serenity to the top.

Though REALITY was deep-house and tropical-house, to most people it sounded similar.

And like REALITY, “Bulkkotnori” was also...

‘This is really good.’

‘What was this called again? “Bulkkotnori”?’

‘A new song came out recently—did I miss it?’

Upon release, “Bulkkotnori” had been praised as sophisticated, and it sounded just as fresh to the 2016 audience.

No, even more on point.

Among the roughly fifteen hundred attendees, almost no one guessed it was a two-year-old track.

Like a Firework

Whatever color

Like a Firework

Yours and mine combined

A-TEN’s five-part harmonies on the cover were perfect.

The catchy melody had the audience humming along.

As “Bulkkotnori” rang out in sing-alongs,

“NewBlack! NewBlack!”

The crowd’s voices were drowned out by the five energetic cheering sticks, and the audience laughed as they cheered too.

‘Such a good song.’

It was bright and sparkling.

A rhythm and melody that made hearts flutter.

The five colors blended harmoniously, teasing the ears without pause.

Truly a delightful song.

‘Ahhhh!’

...From the perspective of entertainers doing a cover on stage, it was anything but easy.

‘This is a devil’s song.’

‘Calories melting off. What a killer choreo...’

‘Feels like a full-body PT session.’

Inner screams erupted from the members at that workout-designed routine.

Had NewBlack not shown it first, they’d never have believed it was the easiest dance.

A-TEN gave their all for the final move.

“Waaaaa-!”

They were drenched in sweat, like water-logged cotton, and the audience showered them with applause of encouragement.

Then NewBlack rose to their feet.

As Jung-hyun applauded like a dictator at a military parade, shouting “Bravo-o-o-o,” the venue shook.

Everyone whipped out their phones.

‘I have to look this up.’

They wanted to search the song they’d just heard.

Typing “Bulkkotnori” into the search engine, a thumbnail showing a clear blue sea appeared.

“Oh...?”

They widened their eyes at the release date.

‘2014...?’

At first, they thought it was a mistake, but it really said 2014.

NewBlack’s debut title track.

Blinking at how “Bulkkotnori” had predated current trends by two years,

‘Why didn’t this blow up?’

Didn’t people have ears back then?

Granted, it had done remarkably well for a debut—Lemon Ent. had even backed their own song as the title. But the audience here had no idea.

‘I need to look into this later.’

‘Such a good song...’

‘This will blow up once it airs—am I the only one who thinks so?’

Even as A-TEN returned to talk, fingers tapped away on phones.

Something felt like it was about to happen once this broadcast aired.

And that energy began to build throughout the venue.

The showcase ended successfully.

A-TEN’s cover of “Bulkkotnori” got an amazing reaction.

The fan song and surprise family stage that followed also received warm responses.

It was a happy concert for everyone.

“Hey! You little—!”

“Ugh!”

“Mu-rok hyung! Just let me hit you once!”

PD Shin Mu-rok, grabbed by the collar in the middle of the green room, writhed in mock agony.

Perhaps because he was a former soccer player, Kim Eui-ji’s backhanded smacks were fierce.

“Jung-hyun! Save me!”

At the PD’s SOS, Jung-hyun waved his hand with a gentle smile.

“I’m a pacifist.”

“Aaah!”

“What about ferocious Ri-hyuk? Will you scratch him, hyung?”

Watching Ri-hyuk tremble, I couldn’t help laughing.

Though they joked menacingly, every cast and crew member still wore grins.

“Hey, man... hah-hahpuff!”

“Ouch! I’m dy-hying!”

Everyone was overjoyed.

After two months of effort, the project—an absolute ratings smash—wrapped up gloriously.

Relief and joy replaced all the pressure.

“NewBlack!”

“Our teachers are the best!”

Embraced by everyone’s joyous aura, Chu Gi-seok wiped his tears and said,

“I don’t think we could’ve done this without NewBlackTV...”

“Thank you so much, guys.”

“At the wrap party, I’m buying everyone meat!”

“Ooooo!”

As we cheered loudly,

PD Shin Mu-rok, cowering nearby, nodded.

“Be sure to come to the wrap party. The network’s kicking in a bonus, and there’ll be a company dinner.”

“The director said he really wants to meet NewBlack. He’s ready to smother you all with kisses.”

I laughed at the thought of the variety-show director waiting like a Dementor to swoop in for hugs.

Then, on behalf of our grateful team,

“You don’t have to go that far. We’ve already benefited so much from you seniors. We earned our debut by working just as hard. And the most important thing is... heh. Ahem.”

“Look at Uju smiling.”

“You’re grinning at upcoming royalties?”

“No, no, not that—”

I waved my hands, but no one believed me.

“Wow! We’re still number one!”

I turned at a staffer’s shout.

Since its 6 PM release, A-TEN’s title track and B-sides had dominated the real-time charts.

Mouths dropped open everywhere.

“Wow....”

Amid toasts all around, we clapped and congratulated them.

Then we said our goodbyes.

“You’ll be on Music On’s debut music show this week, right?”

“Yeah, looks like we’re meeting again!”

“I’ll see you then. Thanks so much today. Get some rest.”

“Yes, thank you! Teachers!”

At the right moment, we slipped away.

A-TEN members were heading off to chat happily with their families.

We had a busy schedule tomorrow too.

On the way to the parking lot with our managers, Biju beamed.

“I really feel great.”

“Right.”

“I’m so glad things turned out well.”

I felt a lightness in my step.

After debuting the trainees I’d trained for two months, I was proud but also a bit empty.

“It’s a good thing.”

“It is. Our song also hit number one again.”

“Yeah. That’s great.”

“Um...”

“......”

I started to speak, then stopped.

We exchanged warm smiles as we walked.

“Hey, hyungs, have you seen ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) the Mango chart trend? The graph’s swinging like a volatile stock.”

“......”

“They say it’s a record-shattering success!”

“Th-that’s great.”

“It really is amazing how well it’s doing.”

“Hah-hah...!”

At that moment, Jung-hyun showed me his phone.

“Hey, did you see this? The ‘Attention’ MV is projected to hit ten million views in record time.”

“......”

“NewBlack’s ‘Nakhwa’ is expected to land at number two....”

I stopped in my tracks.

“......”

“......”

After a deep breath and regaining my composure, I gave my managers and siblings a benevolent smile.

“...Alright, take out your phones.”

Everyone promptly pulled out their phones and began streaming Nakhwa.