In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

After removing all Korean characters, here is the corrected translation: 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

After the laughter died down, the formal script reading began.

Director Hwang Jeong-gu picked up the microphone.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Director Hwang Jeong-gu, directing Our Family Is Aliens.”

They all greeted him with applause.

Next came writer Hwang Jeong-yeon’s introduction, after which each actor stood up to greet the room.

“Playing the grandmother of the alien family is Teacher Yang Ok-bun. Please give her a round of applause!”

“Oh my, lovely to be here~ But are we doing this in age order?”

“No, it’s by seating order, Teacher.”

“No wonder—I saw Teacher Song here and wondered why I was told to stand up first.”

Everyone burst out laughing at her joke that she didn’t feel that old.

The room was arranged in two tables facing each other.

After Teacher Yang Ok-bun, Seo No-eul stood up from the opposite table.

“Here is our No-eul, playing the leader of the aliens, Song No-eul. It was really hard to book him.”

“Nice to meet you. Please take care of me.”

No-eul bowed in greeting and received applause.

After introducing Teacher Song Hoon, Jung In-woo, and other principal and supporting actors, it was Ara’s turn—she was sitting right next to me.

“Here is our Ara, playing Song Ara—she’s a face many of you already know, right?”

“Hello! Please look after me!”

The actors applauded as Ara gave a 90-degree bow.

Then Director Hwang’s gaze turned to me.

“And here we have the one gentleman in a suit by himself.”

“.......”

They all giggled at my embarrassed smile.

“Honestly, I don’t know if this introduction even makes sense—everyone probably knows him better than I do... Here is Uju, playing Agent Kim Uju.”

“Hello, I’m Uju. I’ll do my best!”

Following Ara, I bowed at 90 degrees, earning laughter and applause.

I was relieved the mood was light even before we began.

Before coming here, I’d gotten various tips from Ji-hoon of TNT.

–You get super nervous once the full cast script reading starts. It’s fine among the leads, but when the whole cast shows up, even the seniors come....

I’d heard you get really jittery reciting your lines in front of people with massive acting chops. Plus, the solemn atmosphere makes you worry you’ll mess up.

But since it’s a sitcom, the atmosphere felt surprisingly relaxed.

Director Hwang said,

“All right, let’s start with Episode 1. Scene 1....”

In that moment, the air turned solemn. With the sound of pages turning [rustle rustle], everyone’s eyes fixed on the script.

...So much for that relaxed vibe.

Seeing Ara beside me staring intently at her script with pen in hand, I shifted my gaze to mine as well.

The script-reading format was simple:

“Scene 1, inside the crash-landing UFO. Let’s start with Song No-eul’s lines.”

Director Hwang would read the stage directions, then the actors would dive right into their lines.

The first scene was the UFO crash-landing due to a systems failure. Inside the wildly shaking UFO, the alien family screamed and tumbled about. On the TV screen, a red siren would wail, sparks would crackle, the image would shake, and malfunction warnings would flash across the control panel.

“SYSTEM FAILURE! SYSTEM FAILURE!”

Even at Director Hwang’s over-the-top extra acting, lead Seo No-eul’s expression didn’t waver.

[What is this? Why is this happening?]

[What’s going on that it’s this noisy? I just want to sleep... no...!]

[Who is it? Who spilled a drink in here?! What kind of lunatic...!]

[You.]

[Me?! Sorry!]

I gaped, listening to their back-and-forth like a ping-pong match. The scene was so vivid I felt fully immersed.

‘Ah! Seriously! Who spilled a drink on the sofa? It’s fabric upholstery!’

‘You are.’

‘What are you talking about...? Oh, it’s me?’

‘I’ve decided: if Rihyuk hyung turns into a bird, I’ll call it “Facial Flush.”’

After the bickering, the family’s UFO finally crash-lands on Gwanak Mountain.

[...The propulsion system is broken?]

[What about the power source?]

[That’s broken too. Ah, this damned machine. I told you ages ago we should’ve bought the new model!]

All other systems work, but with propulsion and power down, they can’t return home.

[I just wanted to try playing UFO, and look at the trouble it’s caused me.]

They’d come to Earth to play “peek-a-boo, Earthlings!” but someone spilled a drink on the control panel. It sounded absurd, but the actors made it believable.

They tumbled around until the youngest, Ara, rolled off a cliff.

[Maknae!]

[Maknae...! Oh no!]

Since these aliens are tougher than humans, Ara falls without a scratch. A group of hikers discovers her.

“Eek!”

Perhaps unable to watch the director’s overacting any longer, the writer began reading again: pointy-eared, three-eyed aliens scare off the hikers.

The family devises a plan:

[I’ve sent a distress signal. We’ll have to stay here for a while... It’d be best to disguise ourselves.]

[That sounds like a good plan!]

Because they’d visited Earth before, they had a database. They transform the UFO into a thatched cottage.

[So this is what an ordinary person’s home looks like in this era.]

[It looks natural, doesn’t it?]

[Are we sure this data is correct? Their clothes earlier didn’t look like this.]

I pictured a lonely cottage mid-slope, with aliens cackling in delight. Their broken UFO had pulled the wrong data. A few actors twitched, stifling smiles.

[All right, let’s transform now!]

They adopt human forms: short ears, two eyes—identical to the actors.

“Bang!”

With the writer’s SFX, Teacher Song Hoon—now the grandfather—exclaims, “Oiyiku!”

[W-what is happening here!?]

[Father!]

[Grandfather’s become a strange creature...!]

[What on earth is this...?]

Indeed, Teacher Song Hoon had become a Maltese. After the first scenes, he would appear only as the dog’s telepathic voice.

[They say it’s a beast humans call a “dog.”]

[...No! What kind of madness is this!?]

[Father, please just keep your mouth shut. Humans might think it odd if they hear you.]

Thus the family transforms into six Joseon-era humans plus a dog, praising their natural appearance—until distant hikers spot them.

[With those bundles strapped to their backs, they must be peddlers!]

[Beware of tigers, I say!]

Their AI-patched speech amuses the hikers, who wave back.

[They seem like crazy people...?]

[Keep waving. They might hurt us otherwise.]

[Why are they on a non-trail... and why wearing hanbok?]

The hikers post photos online, alerting intelligence agents.

The next scene features Agent Kim Uju viewing the footage—no lines, just a reveal for surprise.

“I don’t know if people know Uju’s in this sitcom, so this is the surprise.”

Meanwhile, the family—dressed as Joseon noblemen roaming Seoul—asks directions at a girls’ high school.

[Excuse me. Is this indeed Hanseong?]

[What is he saying?]

[Hey, let’s go. They must be crazy.]

As the father recoils, the telepathic Maltese flies into a rage:

[You wretches! Don’t they teach manners at village schools these days!?]

The high school girls gasp, then film the talking dog:

[Cra-crazy...!]

[The dog talked!]

[Film it!]

[Remove that thing at once!]

[It even understands “remove it!” No way...!]

They chase the family until Song Hoon huffs, “Leave it to me!” and loses them. The aliens catch their breath and realize:

[The timing’s off.]

[The data our chip loaded is at least 500 years old.]

[So that’s why the youth’s speech and behavior were off.]

[This won’t do. Let’s update to the current era. Let’s ditch some of ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) these garments...]

They swap out Joseon items for wedding hanbok.

[Don’t you think the speech sounds better~?]

At Seo No-eul’s sly delivery, actors’ cheeks twitched. A bus arrives—No-eul boards gracefully in hanbok.

[May I ask you something, driver comrade? Which way to Pyeongyang?]

[...!]

[“Comrade”? Why are you calling me that?]

Everyone laughs. The bus driver, though they claim no money, discreetly calls in. The family greets new passengers, who stare wide-eyed:

[Nice to meet you~]

[...!]

The passengers’ eyes went wide; the driver signaled them. At the next stop, NIS agents drag the family off.

[Let go! Let go of me!]

[Help us! Earthlings have captured us!]

Passersby avoid them, creating a comic tableau. Then:

“Next scene: Agent Kim Uju appears.”

Everyone turned to me. I took a deep breath and began:

NIS Interrogation Room

Kim Uju toys with the mysterious orb as he walks in toward the agents, expressionless.

Kim Uju: I’m here to transfer jurisdiction of the case.

A pleasant tone and crisp enunciation reached my ears:

[I’m here to transfer jurisdiction of the case.]

The actors lifted their heads. There was Uju, delivering the line as if he were truly Agent Kim Uju.

‘...Huh?’

Though it was Sun Woo-ju’s voice, the tone and manner felt like someone else entirely. His balanced performance—neither overacted nor too limp—lit up every face.

Yang Ok-bun subtly looked at Song Hoon. They exchanged wordless smiles; Song Hoon gave the director a playful “you rascal” look.

‘If you could do this well, you should’ve told us earlier.’

Director Hwang chuckled awkwardly while others stifled giggles.

‘He’s good!’

‘Not just not bad—he’s great.’

‘Oh my, he’s good. Ha-ha.’

Eyes fixed on the script, Uju continued:

[What is your purpose in coming to Earth?]

They matched his timing:

[Earth? We’re Earthlings!]

[What year is this?]

[Isn’t it AD 2016?]

The aliens responded smoothly, but Uju’s calm interrogation cornered them. Like table tennis pros, the dialogue pinged crisply across the table.

When Uju’s scene with his bumbling superiors came up, the actors wondered:

‘...Why is he this good?’

Clearly talented and rigorously prepared, his performance had something beyond skill—like someone who’d faced real aliens.

Actors glanced at Scarlet Ara smiling beside him and realized:

‘Ah... he’s from NewBlack—he’s used to handling aliens in real life.’

While they laughed at how well he fit the role, Director Hwang announced:

“Now we’ll wrap up Episode 1 and move on to Episode 2.”

In the 50-minute format, the first half ended and they moved into the second. Curiosity buzzed:

‘I bet he’ll nail this too?’

Episode 2’s opener: the thatched-cottage UFO is cited as an unauthorized building.

“Next scene: the conversation between Kim Uju and the alien family.”

Under expectant gazes, Uju opened his mouth again:

[Yes?]

[...An unauthorized structure?]