In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

In front of Jamsil Baseball Stadium.

“We’re here!”

“We’ve arrived!”

The press photographers and home-masters who had gathered in front of the stadium surged forward.

A black van pulled into the parking lot.

Entertainment reporters, home-masters, and fans—all jostled to cover NewBlack, who were doing the first pitch and first swing today.

“Ahhh! Don’t push!”

“My camera!”

Amid the chaos, the van’s door slid open and the NewBlack members began to step out one by one.

With each member’s appearance, the cheers grew louder.

“Hello~!”

First the maknae greeted with a friendly smile, then Ri Hyuk, then Biju climbed down.

Finally, Junhyun appeared.

“Hello.”

Junhyun’s warm greeting was met with a flurry of camera clicks.

The photographers murmured appreciatively.

‘He looks great today!’

Compared to his usual gentle smile, Junhyun seemed especially happy today. They’d have to check the photos later, but he really stood out.

Meanwhile...

“Hmm...?”

The last to exit was the leader, Wooju, wearing sunglasses.

Except for early mornings or late at night when his face might swell, Wooju usually never wore sunglasses or a mask—something the photographers appreciated.

They had instinctively zoomed in for close-ups to avoid his floral shirt, then backed off in alarm.

‘Right! He’s not wearing it anymore!’

Dressed in a gray hoodie under a denim jacket, the tall, slender leader stretched out his long legs as he followed Junhyun.

As the crowd with cameras pressed in, Wooju’s calm voice said,

“Hello.”

He smiled serenely and vanished inside through the staff entrance guided by KG Dragons officials.

When the long-lens cameras that rushed in after them were blocked and chased away, the photographers clicked their tongues.

“Wow....”

“It’s so hard to get one good shot.”

“It seems like more and more people are trailing them. I almost lost my camera earlier.”

“They even beat TeenSpirit’s first-week sales. That says it all.”

Thanks to their run on variety shows and now this album, many saw NewBlack as having claimed the top spot in the country.

“But the shots came out well.”

“Why is Wooju wearing sunglasses today?”

“Right. He hardly ever does.”

The photographers began selecting their uploads at speed.

“But....”

Though his eyes were hidden, somehow Wooju’s expression looked sad in the photos. Was it just them?

Someone asked,

“So who’s doing the first swing after Junhyun pitches? The company just told us to get photos of NewBlack.”

“Junhyun’s pitching... who’s batting again?”

“Not counting Ri Hyuk.”

The photographer thought, then said, “It’ll be Wooju batting.”

“Oh.”

Someone laughed,

“That’s gotta be nerve-wracking. Even if it’s just a practice swing, it’s Junhyun’s pitch—you’ll see it up close.”

“Isn’t that over a hundred kilometers per hour?”

They chuckled.

Everyone knew of NewBlack’s rapper’s overwhelming athletic ability—he’d subdued a battle-ready black goat, scored a goal-kick at the Dollympics, and raced cars on Jusehan.

A joke went around that he was faster than a baseball, so of course...

“I’d be terrified... huh?”

As the thought crossed their minds, they noticed Wooju’s face in the monitor.

“...!”

The alert photographers lit up with ‘!’ expressions and began typing headlines.

– [Photo] Junhyun “I’m pitching,” Wooju “I’m batting....”

– NewBlack at Jamsil Stadium, Wooju “I have ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) to catch Junhyun’s pitch..”

– [Photo] Junhyun “I’m throwing to Wooju~”

Those headlines were so plausible netizens laughed.

The public knew these members all too well.

And...

‘Are they playing baseball today?’

Even those indifferent to baseball took a slight interest in Game 3 of the playoffs because NewBlack was pitching.

Once inside, the outside noise faded.

Biju grinned and said,

“Hyung, you can take off your sunglasses now.”

“Okay....”

My brothers watched me expectantly. When I removed my sunglasses, they burst out laughing.

“Ahahaha! That’s amazing!”

“Ha haha!”

Their damp eyes sparkled as if they were the happiest people alive.

I truly hated the sight.

When even Wonseok hyung clutched his stomach laughing, the KG Dragons PR manager guiding us chuckled and asked,

“Did something funny happen?”

“Ah, he’s just super nervous about catching Junhyun’s pitch right in front of him.”

“Oh! Hahaha.”

The manager laughed kindly and joked,

“You’ll have to stay in his good graces now, Junhyun.”

I made a hand-heart to Junhyun and smiled; Ri Hyuk then whispered something in Junhyun’s ear. Junhyun nodded, then awkwardly ‘pthuh’ at my gesture.

“Hahaha!”

“Hey, Ri Hyuk. Get over here!”

“Neowaa~ I’m faster than you~”

I laughed at Ri Hyuk’s echoing retreat.

Jiho asked,

“Aren’t you following?”

“He won’t get far anyway.”

“Right.”

Sure enough, about twenty meters ahead he was panting and clutching his knee.

“They say cheetahs can run for several minutes. You get tired after that?”

“Ugh! Huh...!”

“Must be from living underwater.”

“Uhrgh!”

Ri Hyuk pounded his chest in mock horror at our banter.

I smiled.

“I like Ri Hyuk most when he’s winded. He can’t talk back.”

“Me too. He looks best then.”

We laughed, then addressed the KG Dragons behind-the-scenes cam.

“You might misinterpret this, but we really get along. Right, Ri Hyuk?”

“Ah...!”

“He said ‘Right.’ Ha ha ha.”

I looped an arm around his shoulder and smiled. The PR staff behind the camera beamed.

The manager said,

“It’s the first time I’ve seen Deputy Manager Lee laugh like that. He had that exact expression when Lee Gun-woo visited.”

“Team lead.”

“Yeah. I’ll zip my lips.”

He smiled at us and said,

“When news broke that NewBlack was coming, our staff went crazy. Look—they all spilled out into the hallway.”

Indeed, the corridor was packed.

Each time we passed, people exclaimed and gawked or raised phones. Some players sat in chairs watching.

“Hello!”

“Oh, hey~!”

A baseball player waving at us was chatting with a teammate. Teammates nudged him and he ‘Huh?’ stood up.

“Oh! Hello!”

Flustered, he removed his cap and bowed; we smiled back and waved.

His greeting, thinking we recognized him, made the surrounding players roar with laughter. The embarrassed player shouted, “I’m a fan!” in a booming voice.

“Right this way.”

The PR manager led us to a spacious waiting room. Staff handed us plastic-wrapped uniforms and caps, then left as we quickly changed.

“Oooooh....”

Standing before the waiting-room mirror, I felt pleased.

“Baseball uniforms are kind of nice, aren’t they?”

“Wooju hyung, our next album theme should be baseball boys.”

“Not bad.”

Wonseok hyung gave a thumbs-up at how it fit.

We really looked like baseball team kids—fit enough for a drama.

And especially...

“Junhyun hyung looks like a real baseball player.”

“Really?”

Junhyun, pulling his cap snug, smiled.

Tall with broad shoulders, he seemed born for the uniform. I remembered thinking he looked athletic when I first met him.

“Do I look good?”

Junhyun murmured as he studied himself in the mirror, sometimes looking pleased, sometimes shy.

He flashed me a grin and said,

“You look great too.”

“Really?”

I’d heard he always suited sports garb—if only he could play.

I recalled second grade classmates in Gunsan Elementary shouting “Wooju, you take it!” “No, you take it!”

“It’s amazing I’m wearing sports gear.”

“I think your emotional high points are odd.”

Ignoring Ri Hyuk’s remark, I beamed at the name ‘Sun Wooju’ printed on my back.

“Let’s take a photo.”

We clustered around Junhyun, made peace signs, and snapped a selfie for social media. Then we told the staff we were ready.

Time to practice the first pitch and swing.

“There’s a practice room inside the stadium.”

“How fascinating.”

They led us to a large space enclosed in netting.

When you think of a baseball stadium you think seats and a stage...

“What do you call that? The stage at a stadium?”

“A baseball stadium is a baseball stadium, right?”

“I think they call it the field.”

“Weird Stage Syndrome, our occupational hazard...”

Ri Hyuk said, and the manager laughed.

Because we always stood on stages, we sometimes forgot other professions’ terminology.

In any case, we were in a green practice room—green floor, green nets.

Behind the net, KG Dragons players clustered to watch.

“Are there always this many people?”

“They must’ve heard NewBlack was here. Usually you need an actress.”

It felt like the entire baseball club had turned out.

While Junhyun stretched his neck with a glove on, I picked up a bat from those lying around.

“Ooh....”

Heavier than I expected.

I rocked it in my hands to get a feel. As I did, my body began to adapt.

I felt the bat sync with batters’ motions from MyTube.

Once it felt natural, the maknae said,

“Hurry and attack Junhyun hyung with that! It might be better.”

“No.”

I shook my head.

“If I miss, I’ll die.”

“Well, yeah.”

As Junhyun warmed up, someone approached from behind.

At first glance:

“Wow....”

He was huge—around 190 cm, broad shoulders, a polar-bear face under his cap.

Standing beside Junhyun, they looked like a brown bear and polar bear duo.

“Hello! I’m Song Yunho.”

“Waaaah!”

Song Yunho greeted Junhyun warmly.

“Long time no see. How have you been?”

“I’ve been well.”

Junhyun answered in his warm way, then said to us,

“He was my elementary school classmate. We played baseball together.”

“Oh, so you’re the one...!”

“Yes. I don’t know what Junhyun told you, but that’s me.”

He smiled with the easy charm of a genuinely good person. Judging by his uniform sales, he’d be a hit.

Players watching behind remarked,

“Oh, you were classmates?”

“Yunho, why didn’t you mention it to us?”

They seemed surprised too.

Song Yunho scratched his head, bowed to the seniors, then said,

“I’m not sure you need pitching lessons. He was the ace back then.”

“That was a long time ago.”

Junhyun replied as he stretched.

“I’ll have to relearn.”

“Is that so?”

Yunho appraised Junhyun’s form, then suddenly held out his hand. Junhyun shook it.

“Ooh....”

The baseball player murmured,

“You still have strength. It’ll be pretty fast.”

“Really?”

“But....”

He beamed as if genuinely pleased.

“I’m stronger now.”

We laughed; the players behind us tutted in mock scorn.

“Oh dear! Bragging that you’re stronger than ordinary people.”

“What’s the point of beating ordinary folks?”

“Ugh. A singer bragging he’s stronger than anyone who eats and works out every day.”

At the seniors’ teasing, Yunho flushed and shouted,

“No, you guys! He’s not ordinary!”

“Wooouuu!”

“He’s got it rough.”

They mock-taunted him like prankster senior soldiers.

Yunho’s eyes glistened.

“Well then, I’ll teach you the pitching motion. Hold the ball.”

Junhyun gripped the ball; Yunho nodded.

“From there, the wind-up goes like this....”

His motion was like a painting—he raised his leg high, then thrust his arm and the ball shot out with a whoosh.

Even a casual throw felt incredibly fast.

Bang!

The ball landed squarely in the crouched catcher’s glove. The catcher tossed it back; Yunho snagged it.

“Now you try.”

As other players teased that the lesson was too cursory, Junhyun took the ball and got into position.

“Good form.”

Yunho stepped aside and nodded. Junhyun focused, his brows sharpening.

He lifted his leg and extended his throwing arm.

“....”

His arm moved with a whoosh—so fast it left a blur.

I felt my hair stir as if in a breeze.

Bang!

The ball flew so swiftly its path was invisible, yet it lodged perfectly in the catcher’s glove.

“....”

Yunho blinked. The players who had been joking fell silent.

The PR manager and behind-the-scenes director gaped.

From behind came,

“How fast is that?”

“Feels like around 120 km/h. Definitely over 100.”

Was 120 fast? I overheard their whispers until...

Junhyun, satisfied, smiled at me.

“How was it?”

It felt like a whisper, “Now you can kill hyung....”

My legs gave way; Biju and Jiho supported me and Ri Hyuk draped a hand over my shoulder.

Then a player shouted,

“Yunho!”

“Yes, senior!”

“Ask him if he plays amateur baseball!”

Junhyun shook his head.

“This is my first time since elementary school.”

“First time in a while?”

“I did baseball club in elementary school, but....”

“...!”

At that, the players stopped watching and flooded forward, like discovering a rare creature.

“I told you, seniors.”

As Yunho spoke, their eyes shone.

Someone asked,

“What’s your weight?”

“Around seventy kilograms now.”

“How does that slender frame generate so much power?”

They crowded around Junhyun, marveling. I asked the PR manager,

“Is that fast?”

“Unbelievable,” he said.

“For a non-athlete, that’s nearly top speed. Even in amateur leagues, 110–120 km/h throwers are rare.”

“I see....”

“Celebrity pitchers that fast are almost unheard of. Some elite athletes do it, but Junhyun....”

When I glanced back at the manager, I saw players touching Junhyun’s arm.

“Want to throw again?”

Junhyun threw once more—just as fast, with even smoother form, and the ball snapped into the glove.

Bang!

Dust puffed from the glove.

“That’s him right there.”

“Can’t you keep quiet?”

I brushed aside the maknae’s whisper. The laughing players glanced at Junhyun, then back at his body.

“Have you had any medical checkups?”

“Yes.”

“What did they say?”

“They said my body’s just built this way.”

As the players murmured, I asked Song Yunho,

“A question—Junhyun keeps saying he was weak in elementary school. Is that true?”

Ptooey—Yunho sprayed water from his mouth like a mist machine.