In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

A few hours later, when Lemon Entertainment’s official SNS posted the photos, we were all catching our breath in the practice room.

It was right after practice, during our break.

The maknae who had been resting his head on my thigh sprang up.

“Hyungs! Look at this—it just went up!”

“Really? Let me see.”

Like meerkats, the five of us gathered around the phone.

Jiho tapped the screen, and Lemon Entertainment’s official SNS feed showed our concept photos.

With each swipe, we gasped.

“Wow, we look like completely different people.”

The maknae was right—they really did look like different people. The youths in the photos seemed to belong to another world.

Jiho wore a red headband and smiled brightly.

Rihyeok sat before a canvas painted with an ocean scene, chic expression, paint on his face.

Biju held a yellow flower, gazing at it as if in love.

Junghyun lay back, taking a bite of a green apple with leisurely ease.

The concept shots, each capturing our individual colors, were so stunning I thought any idol fan would immediately want to know who they were.

“These photos are so beautiful. I’m going to send them to Mom, Dad, even my sisters. I haven’t seen such a great life shot of myself in years.”

“Wang Jiho, how do I look? Do I look good?”

“You look amazing. No question.”

“Really?”

“You look like a pirarucu”—

At that moment, the atmosphere among the maknae line collapsed into chaos as Rihyeok googled “pirarucu.”

“I look good. How about you?”

“I think I do, too. Honestly, I was worried how you guys’d look. The set was so intense that day.”

“We all got chewed out pretty badly.”

The hyung line, relieved, smiled wryly.

“Hey, there’s my shot and the group shot up now!”

“What? Why are there so many photos?”

“They’re up!”

My concept shot and the group shot had just gone live.

And... though it’s embarrassing to admit, my individual shot was absolutely the best.

“Wow...”

My juniors stood with mouths agape, staring at the photo.

In the image, I was perched on a box burst with purple fireworks, smiling.

Fresh.

Seeing that refreshing smile made me inexplicably proud.

I had tried everything to practice it—magazine shoots, bikini model expressions on MusicTube.

It was worth all the preparation.

“I thought it was amazing on set, but this is insane.”

“It’s strangely addictive to keep looking at.”

“Right? How does he make that expression?”

Rihyeok, twisting his facial muscles as if to imitate me, let out an awkward laugh.

Feeling shy, I changed the subject.

“How are our photo reactions?”

“They’re just liking them so far. Maybe our fans haven’t seen them yet—it hasn’t been long.”

Only about ten likes so far.

“I’m so curious how it’ll spread online later. Don’t you think they’ll be talking about Woo-joo hyung’s photos?”

“They will. I’m looking forward to it.”

“Honestly, even to us these are...”

As my juniors chimed in, I too felt a surge of anticipation. Great photos. I wondered what comments people would leave.

After Lemon and DNS each posted concept photos, idol community forums buzzed.

“[Picture-heavy] June debut boy group concept shots compilation”

The post listed concept shots from New Black, Street Boys, and two other groups.

“Lemon’s kids went with a fresh concept, huh?”

“Both have great shoots.”

“Who’s the brown-haired one? So pretty”

“Is that filter 100%? They didn’t look like that on music shows”

“Oh not bad”

“You never know until they debut lol profile pics kill”

“I love how unique they all are. Maybe because Lemon’s an actor agency?”

“When do they debut?”

“Hey, why’s everyone only talking about New Black? Street ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) Boys are gonna feel left out”

“The one dogging them is even worse”

“Street Boys’ concept is intense—those eyes are scary, you’d have to pay to like them”

“Fanboys already coming in hot lol wait for the performance”

Most comments praised Lemon’s concept shots—New Black clearly won the round. Understandable: Lemon’s bright concept was more accessible than Street Boys’ intense hip-hop warrior style, and the shots were by a top photographer. But there was another big reason.

“I love the brown hair so much—what’s his name?”

“One brown-haired guy, two comments? Eyes open?”

“Yes you clueless? We mean that one brown-haired guy”

“the brown-haired one”

“Why the definite article? lol”

Comments asked for the name.

“He looks strangely familiar... keeps catching my eye”

“Yeah that expression... I keep staring”

“Wow look at that expression. He doesn’t look rookie at all—he has veteran vibes”

“If he’s that good in photos, imagine on stage”

Then some sharp users noted...

“He seems familiar somehow”

“I keep checking—this feels like that gif”

“?”

“Like this one”

(poolside model smiling while walking.gif)

“There it is”

“lol why is it so similar?”

“They’re totally different”

“But the mouth is similar”

“They share a vibe—like a cool summer feeling? Concept nailed it”

“Best fresh concept I’ve seen in rookie shots”

“lol after seeing that gif I feel like calling him ‘unnie’—overlapping feels strong”

“If this were a girl group, the men would lose it lol”

“Agreed lol so pure and fresh”

“Some posts already in male-majority forums”

Sure enough, the rookie boy idol’s concept shot had crossed into male-majority communities.

“[Sun Myeong-ju’s son is debuting? His visuals are insane]”

“Could he be top of his class?”

“Totally possible”

“Nationwide top material... never seen someone look like that”

“Maybe top in a smaller city—big city is iffy”

The debate over where his looks ranked soon shifted to another topic.

“He’s so charming... is it the expression?”

“If you asked him out, would he say yes?”

“He’d have to”

“What are you even saying?” 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

“People say they’d hate it, but seeing him in person might change their mind”

“lol what are these comments”

“I think it’s the expression. If that were a girl’s shoot, many would fall hard”

“Not for us guys?”

“lol”

The thread exploded, making the forum’s front page. All because of Sun Woo-joo’s expression. His fresh smile had been crafted to appeal across genders, and its effect was universal. A side effect we never anticipated.

Eulwangri Beach.

We were filming the outdoor portion of the music video, and I was suffering unexpected torment.

“Hey! There’s someone on the sand over there.”

“Woah, being drawn in.”

“Isn’t that the mesmerizing man Sun Woo-joo?”

As I sprinted, my juniors with mini cams chased me like a pack of hyenas on a hunt.

“Guys! Be careful and don’t run—you’ll get hurt!”

Even the company staff urging caution were laughing. The same people who teased me the moment they saw me.

It’s great the concept shots went viral, but why did it blow up in male forums? Then it got reimported back into idol forums, making things worse.

“Hot rookie male idol.jpg”—you know what happens next.

Every time we met someone, they teased me. Managers laughed. My juniors went wild. It was double the torture compared to when they teased me for saying “soufflé” instead of New Black.

Finally, the three brothers caught me.

“You little demons.”

“Whoa. Woo-joo hyung, our family goes to that church.”

“Oh...”

“But I don’t.”

I resisted the urge to bonk the giggling maknae on the head—had to save it for the MV shoot.

More pressingly, they held handy cams capturing my every move as part of the reality project the company was uploading.

“Aha, Woo-joo hyung’s sulking again.”

“I’m not sulking.”

“You have that look only since the soufflé incident. Fans, look—this is our hyung’s sulking face. Hey, hyung Rihyeok, what’s your deal? Your default face sucks, argh!”

When Jiho grabbed Rihyeok’s collar and dropped his camera, Junghyun plucked it from midair and pointed it at me, laughing.

“Why, you want to tease me too?”

“No. I prefer just watching.”

Junghyun’s question, tossed to me as I smirked, caught me off guard.

“How do you feel about the concept shot reactions?”

“Uh, I’m very grateful. I never expected it to be an issue like this, so I want to say thank you. After all, when it comes to fans liking an idol, gender shouldn’t matter, right...”

“Hyung, you’re crying.”

“No, must be something in my eye.”

Junghyun filmed me walking pensively against the backdrop of the sea, adjusting angles as I strolled to the sound of waves. Meanwhile, staff were still setting up equipment on the sand.

Under a parasol, Biju waved and called out.

“Guys, we have company!”

“Company?”

“I think Nayeon unnie’s here.”

“Oh, the Kakao cameo?”

“...I mean cameo. Junghyun hyung, cameo.”

Cameos are often used in MVs for later press lines.

“Long time no see.”

Behind Biju, petite girl group member Daisy appeared.

Pale skin, big eyes—like a cute block of tofu waving.

We welcomed her warmly for taking time to shoot our “Fireworks” MV.

“Hello.”

“Unnie, long time no see!”

Everyone exchanged polite greetings. Daisy, suddenly remembering something, spoke up.

“Oh right, I brought sushi for you guys later.”

Her sincere welcome was met with awkward expressions. Sushi was serious business.

The morning shoot was a success. Our manic rehearsal paid off—every move was on point, and the director kept praising us.

He said we’d finish before evening at this pace.

“Great job, everyone!”

Only after bowing to every staff member did we settle at a table under the parasol. Daisy, having completed her cameo, joined us.

“Wow, Unnie, you spent so much. Over sixty people here if you count staff and us.”

“Right? I’m a bit rich.”

Daisy laughed in her usual bubbly way—the same as when I helped her move in January, except for summer clothes.

As she chatted with the boys, she glanced at me.

“But hyung, it’s hard to see you. Our studios are next door—I expected to run into you. I came by to ask about composition several times, but you were never there.”

“Really? You should’ve left a note.”

“It wasn’t that urgent.”

She shrugged, then her eyes lit up as she remembered something.

“By the way, what do you think of ‘Fireworks’? Do you like it? The A&R team always talks about it.”

My juniors answered before I could.

“Looking forward to it, unnie. Woo-joo hyung made a really good song. We helped write the lyrics.”

“Well, I hate to admit it, but the song is good. It fits our style perfectly.”

“Hyung and I worked hard on that.”

“Every time I hear it, I feel like it’s our song.”

Though I’d made it, they were thrilled. I’d never realized how proud they were of my song.

“Wow, so it really is good.”

Curious, Daisy said,

“Even on music shows lately, everyone talks about it. Other groups ask, ‘How’s your juniors’ new song?’”

“...Excuse me?”

What was this about?

“News travels fast in this business. Because you’re competing with DNS, everyone’s interested.”

“Really? About us?”

“No, not you—this hyung.”

They laughed at Jiho’s pouty face.

“They’re amazed you wrote the title track yourself. They wonder if it’ll be another hit like ‘Something.’ Even I’m curious.”

“Do other groups really do that?”

“They act like they don’t, but they’re so interested. Yesterday I went to Teen Spirit’s waiting room and they were subtly grilling me.”

She said with a displeased tone,

“They kept asking how your juniors’ song was. Their intentions are obvious—if the song’s good, they’ll try to curry favor early.”

“...”

“That’s how it is. Even if composing is a fluke once, twice shows real skill. Since you’re rookies, they want to win you over for the next hit.”

The entertainment world is scary—kids who haven’t even graduated high school are on edge about who will succeed and who has potential. It can feel disgusting sometimes.

“Watch out for both guys and girls—there are so many foxes out there.”

“I’m fine.”

Jiho reassured.

“Hyung doesn’t like girls anyway.”

“Guys, that’s driving me crazy. What does that make me?”

“Truly the mesmerizing man.”

“Hyung, having guys like you isn’t a bad thing.”

My juniors laughed and joined in teasing me instead of helping. I couldn’t help but laugh too.

“Really, you guys are unbelievable.”

“Right?”

“Yeah, so don’t give me a solo song later—work with me or my unnie.”

“I’m intrigued.”

Their suggestions flew at me.

“Don’t tempt him, unnie.”

“Right. We’ll treat him so well.”

“Come on, hyung, say something.”

I didn’t answer. Their anxious looks made me quietly smile.

“What’s wrong? No answer?”

Seeing the ones who teased me all day now anxious made me laugh. It felt refreshing.

I picked up a piece of sushi and smiled. The rice tasted sweet.