In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

Taehyun greeted us with a sly smile.

“ I was getting pretty bored, so this works out well. Come in and hang out a bit. ”

“ Where are the others? ”

He shrugged his shoulders.

“ Of course it’s just me. They all have schedules. ”

He was a solo singer set to perform the title track Mood on today’s PBS year-end music show.

He reached over and rubbed the back of my neck as he spoke.

“ Well, they’re all super busy. They’ve been practicing choreography for the HBS Music Awards in a few days, so they’ve been swamped. ”

He was also about to renew his contract.

I’d heard in passing that things were complicated in various ways, but he seemed calm.

Taehyun held out his hand to me.

“ Congratulations on the Artist of the Year award. Hyung. ”

“ Oh, thank you. ”

“ We talked on the phone for a while, but it’s different to congratulate you in person. Truly, congratulations. ”

At Taehyun’s congratulations, my younger members smiled and nodded.

We’d become quite friendly with Teen Spirit since they were neighbors, but Taehyun, due to his seniority, tended to be approached with more formality by the juniors.

Maybe because he felt more like a senior at work than a friend’s friend.

“ Are you guys not going to HBS this time? ”

“ No. ”

We had a conflict with the HBS Music Awards and did not plan to appear.

A few weeks ago he called saying, “If you say sorry for us, I’ll say sorry for you,” and our team leader was furious.

He laughed as if it was understandable, and I said,

“ Anyway, we have a schedule on Christmas Eve. ”

“ A schedule? ”

“ I have to go to the U.S. New York is holding the Nostalgia OST concert, and the producer sent me an invitation. ”

“ That musical film? ”

“ Yes. ”

“ ...That’s really on another level. ”

I’d heard that the Broadway revival of the musical Nostalgia was popular.

Because of that, they’d arranged a Christmas concert in New York with an orchestra.

As if struck by a good idea, Taehyun said in a low voice,

“ Take a proof shot that day and post it on SNS. ”

“ I was planning to anyway. ”

I smirked and nodded.

We chatted for a bit, but before long Taehyun’s dancers returned to the waiting room and the conversation ended.

As the group carried coffee in, Biju began collecting their contact information one by one.

“ Well then. ”

I waved my hand.

“ See you tomorrow. ”

“ See you tomorrow. Call us when you get to the company. ”

He smiled and waved back.

We left the room talking about meeting at the TJ Entertainment practice room tomorrow. I saw him laughing and chatting with the dancers.

Maybe because no other members were there. He did look bored.

Christmas Eve.

The day before Christmas was a big day for singers.

They promoted released carol tracks since early December, appeared on radio to sing carols to bring the Christmas mood.

When you turned on TV, the world felt green and red.

And.

“ Muahahahaha! ”

It was also a day full of happiness for me.

On the streaming chart, the song listed as NewBlack’s Merry Christmas was holding the real-time number one spot.

It was the Christmas carol we released last year.

“ It’s worth all the effort we put in. ”

“ You wrote it in an hour. ”

“ Is there long or short in music? It’s all hard work. ”

I laughed cheerfully as Ri Hyuk shook his head.

As Ri Hyuk, yawning like a sparrow, exhaled white breath, the car radio played the DJ’s calm voice.

In the sentimental BGM continuing from the opening remark, Ri Hyuk and I gazed sentimentally out the window.

The road we were driving on was a muddy mess, but the sidewalks and shops were covered in yesterday’s snow, so the whole world was white.

Then the DJ chuckled softly.

“ Ah. ”

I snapped awake.

We struggled recording a Christmas carol, Jiho ran out of the studio crying “I hate all of this!”, Biju apologized, Ri Hyuk sighed, Junghyun slept.

“ The opening was perfect, but after hearing our song I’m totally sobered. ”

“ Isn’t it ironic? Others might not notice, but we can’t listen to it ourselves. ”

At Ri Hyuk’s smile I hummed.

“ Irony~ Why are you like this~ ”

“ When people talk, at least pretend to listen. ”

“ I hear everything. Your words go in one ear, out the other. ”

I laughed and said,

“ You did that when we first met too. If you were going to quit talking later, you might as well quit now... ”

“ Ahhh! Stop it! I said I’m sorry! ”

“ Ha ha ha ha! ”

Was it the winter of ’13?

I still vividly remember the face glaring at me so sharply. He blushed like a ripe persimmon as he remembered.

“ ...Stop bringing that up. Back then I was a high school freshman, not twenty. ”

“ That’s right. Tteokbokki coat and beanie, eyes slanted like that... ”

At the look telling him to be quiet I turned to look into the distance, and Ri Hyuk coughed and said,

“ Anyway, everyone was on edge back then. Not just you, we were all really intense. ”

“ True. ”

“ Even Junghyun hyung was so sensitive. ”

The Junghyun I met that winter of ’13 and the Junghyun now had totally different impressions.

Now he seemed like a happy teddy bear, but back then he felt like a sad elephant.

For me and them, failing the hard-earned college entrance exam and living as trainees made us feel like worn-out rag dolls.

“ Ugh... ”

I shook my head.

“ It’s nostalgia now that things turned out well, but thinking about it back then gives me goosebumps. ”

“ I guess I shouldn’t have mentioned it. My stomach’s churned. ”

I stared silently out the window.

Snow drifting gently outside, carol playing on the radio, the Christmas atmosphere was thick.

I asked Wonseok, who was behind the wheel,

“ Hyung, when will we arrive? ”

“ Soon. ”

The other members had headed to their companies or other studios to prepare year-end stages.

Ri Hyuk and I were heading to TJ Ent. I had to prepare a joint stage with Taehyun, and Ri Hyuk with Sun Jaewon sunbae.

“ You moved earlier this year, right? ”

“ Yes, that’s right. ”

Sun Jaewon sunbae had finished a long contract with Why Ent and transferred to TJ Ent this year.

It had been extremely successful.

His songwriting and TJ Ent’s top A&R team teamed up and released a blockbuster album.

“ I’m so happy for sunbae’s success. ”

“ Really, thinking about how we worked together at Why Ent... ”

Our conversation drifted to Why Ent and we reminisced about past times.

“ Come to think of it, what were we doing this Christmas three years ago? Practicing year-end evaluations? ”

“ Yes. ”

Ri Hyuk added,

“ Two years ago we practiced a joint stage with Sbo at DNS Media. ”

“ Then last year... ”

“ We went on music shows and sang carols, right? ”

“ We worked like beasts. ”

And this year, preparing year-end joint stages.

Looking back on the last three Christmases, our workload was insane. I couldn’t help but smile.

“ I hope we work next Christmas too. ”

“ I agree. ”

It might sound odd, but after so many years as trainees, working on Christmas feels better than having a day off.

I’ve never had fun resting.

No—but maybe I had fun working together with the members.

“ We’ll arrive soon. ”

“ Yes~ ”

I handed Ri Hyuk a handwritten letter and a box while he gathered his things.

He paused, eyes widening as he looked at me.

“ Oh, what’s this? ”

A blush rose on his pale cheeks.

“ Did you prepare this for me? ”

“ You’d be embarrassed giving it in front of the others, so Merry Christmas present now. ”

“ I’m not finished preparing mine... ”

“ Take it first. ”

“ Hmm... ”

Ri Hyuk’s lips curved upward as he accepted the letter and box. I laughed at his half-moon eyes.

Then I said,

“ Thank you for debuting together. ”

“ Me too. ”

Having said that cheesy line, it was time to open the door and make a run for it together.

Just as I raised my hand to the doorknob.

I looked at the driver and asked,

“ ...Hyung. ”

“ Hmm? ”

“ Didn’t you say we’re here? ”

“ Ah, about that... ”

Wonseok pointed ahead with a sly smile.

“ They’re doing snow removal, road’s closed. We have to go around. ”

“ ... ”

Ding!

The navigation announced “Recalculating route” and changed the ETA.

Minus five minutes.

Ri Hyuk and I simultaneously lifted our sweaters over our heads like turtles retreating into shells.

Those were the seventh-longest five minutes of my life.

“ Why does your face look like that? You look older. ”

“ You start picking fights the moment we meet. ”

“ Yesterday you looked so fresh, how did you suddenly shrivel like that? ”

“ Something happened. ”

Taehyun, tilting his head, saw my face and laughed again.

TJ Entertainment first floor.

Being Christmas Eve, the first-floor coffee shop had no customers and the merch shop was closed.

Except for the security guard at the lobby, there was no one.

“ Where’s Ri Hyuk? ”

“ He went up. To meet Sun Jaewon sunbae. ”

“ Was that who just went up? He looked like Tomato was screaming and running. ”

“ ... ”

He swallowed his words and coughed.

As Taehyun headed toward the elevator, he suddenly remembered something.

“ Hey, since we’re here, want to draw another photocard? ”

“ Photocard? ”

“ TJ visit commemorative photocard. ”

“ Oh, that. ”

I recalled.

Last time we recorded a TJ Ent visit story, I drew a photocard and got Chairman Park Tae Joon’s photo.

To cleanse that memory, I approached the machine.

“ What are the odds of getting the chairman? ”

“ About as likely as being struck by lightning while walking. ”

I scanned the barcode on the ticket and pressed the button, triggering the random photocard draw.

Bam-pa-pa-bam-bam!

With a loud fanfare the screen glowed gold.

“ Oh...! ”

“ Rare card! ”

Taehyun and I opened our eyes wide.

“ Wahahaha! ”

“ Wahahahaha! ”

The hearty laughter froze us.

Chairman Park Tae Joon’s figure danced doom-chit-doom-chit filling the screen, and I nearly let out a colorful curse learned from the boys next door.

“ Hey. You said lightning odds. ”

“ Look on the bright side—we’ve been cleansed by our grandpa for free. ”

Taehyun chuckled as he handed over the printed photocard.

The card’s golden border framed Chairman Park Tae Joon winking dramatically.

“ Can we sell this secondhand? ”

“ Fans say photocard prices are around a million won. ”

“ Really? ”

I was about to treasure it, then Taehyun smirked.

“ If you hand it over, you’ll get slapped and probably a settlement of about a million won. So, a million. ”

“ No way. ”

I tucked it in my back pocket and walked off briskly, hoping it wouldn’t slip out.

“ I’ll show you my practice room next time. ”

“ It’s huge. ”

It was so spacious that if I shouted “yaho~” the echo would ring.

I stretched and surveyed the empty practice room.

I noticed the stack of 2017 TJ diaries on the table.

They started with “Dear TJ family,” then yearly and monthly goals for the year.

As I flipped through a diary, a head popped into view by my shoulder.

“ Want one? There’s a lot. ”

“ How many do you want? ”

To me, grabbing only four, Taehyun asked.

“ Hyung? ”

“ ... ”

“ You really hate them, huh. ”

“ I used those for six years. ”

Now I let it go, but the result of diligently writing a diary for six years was being dumped like this.

In hindsight that experience helped me grow... but they’re not diaries I’d like to write again.

I shot a side glance at Taehyun, who was giggling, then headed to the sofa and table set up in the corner of the practice room.

I turned on my laptop and started the meeting.

“ First, I received the track you guys sent from your A&R team. ”

“ How is it? ”

“ It’s fine, but I want to tweak a few things. ”

While coordinating with the TJ A&R team we made slight edits to the year-end stage track.

It wouldn’t affect the choreography, so when I explained what would change sonically, Taehyun nodded.

Then he smiled arrogantly and asked,

“ But should you have gone ahead without my input? What if I don’t like something? ”

“ Um, sunbae. ”

“ Yes. ”

“ Have you ever hit number one on Billboard...? ”

Taehyun burst out laughing.

“ Ah, that’s low. ”

“ If there’s anything you don’t like, tell me. We can fix it right here. ”

“ I have no complaints~ ”

“ Then we’ll prepare the music as is? ”

“ Yep. ”

Our joint stage was only about two minutes, so the music wasn’t a big deal.

It was the last short stage among the four teams PBS prepared for the “Music Industry Fantasy Duo Special~”.

After finishing the music discussion, Taehyun handed me a video.

“ Let’s review the choreography too. ”

“ You choreographed it? ”

“ Yep. ”

I watched the video of the choreographer and me fighting like paparazzi, splitting apart and coming together, tongue clicking at how brutal the dance was.

“ Even watching again, this choreography is savage. ”

“ Any complaints? ”

“ Yes. Very much. ”

I gave him a look that said “Your existence annoys me,” and Taehyun grinned.

“ Have you ever been number one in the monthly evaluation dance...? ”

“ I’ve been number one in song many times. ”

We exchanged banter and laughed.

For this year’s PBS music festival stage, we’d perform a song by a male solo singer from ten years ago, released in 2006.

A groovy dance track with early-2000s vibes, “Even if I just walk by, people will look up to me.” It was probably chosen because the PD in charge of music shows was young back then.

That’s always why 90s covers come out at year-end stages.

“ All right. ”

Mo, who’d been seated, gestured with his chin.

“ Shall we get to practice, sunbae? ”

“ Let’s go~ ”

I wondered if the others were doing well.

As we began warming up for the real practice, Junghyun posted a photo in the group chat.

“ Heoigo. ”

It was a picture of Junghyun smiling like a happy sweet potato among Sbo’s rap line and hip-hop artist Killer Bee.

Of all of us, he’d clearly the most delicate look, but there he was, looking as docile as a herbivore.

Like a rabbit prince.

“ What’s wrong? ”

“ I’m worried about Junghyun among those fierce people... ”

“ ... ”

Taehyun quietly resumed stretching, and at my question about the atmosphere, Junghyun replied.

Junghyun [ I’m good ]

Junghyun [ They made me team leader ]

I set down my phone relieved. He seemed to be doing fine.

“ ...But why did they make him leader? ”

One hour earlier.

Those gathered in the DNS Media building practice room introduced themselves.

“ Yo, nice to meet you yo. Junghyun. I’m Killer Bee. ”

“ Hello yo. Sunbae. ”

“ Nice to meet you yo too. ”

Yo was flying around.

LB’s eyes sparkled at the sight of the partially shaved rapper Killer Bee wearing a massive gold chain.

“ Sunbae, is that real gold? ”

“ No. Fake. ”

“ Oh. ”

“ Real gold is too heavy to wear. My neck’d snap. ”

With an “Ooh, swag~” atmosphere developing, Junghyun smiled like a happy sweet potato.

“ I like the hip-hop vibe. ”

As that vibe naturally chose the team leader to be Killer Bee, he brushed at his stubbly hair and said,

“ Let’s pick someone with something like a jazzy. I don’t want the responsibility. ”

“ We don’t either! ”

“ You don’t? ”

“ Yes. ”

As everyone looked at each other with “Hee-yeah,” LB, ever the variety show role, brought over a container of spoons.

“ Okay, whoever picks the spoon with rice stuck on it becomes team leader! ”

“ Oh...! ”

Everyone laughed in agreement.

“ If Ri Hyuk saw this, he’d have something to say... ”

Just then Junghyun reached out with a gentle smile. Except for me, Rex, LB, Yugeon all grabbed spoons. Then Hanjo said,

“ Okay, draw! ”

The rappers quickly grabbed spoons with a “clang!”.

Plop!

“ ...? ”

Everyone blinked, trying to locate the sound’s origin.

“ Plop? ”

“ Plop...? ”

Junghyun’s spoon was bent, as if by a psychic.

“ No way. ”

“ It bends. ”

“ Mom. ”

Ooh, as Junghyun held up the bent spoon, a beam of light seemed to shine on his Excalibur.

“ ... ”

LB, holding the rice-covered spoon, gaped open-mouthed, and the SB members tapped him.

LB reverently offered the rice-covered spoon.

“ Hyung, you didn’t pick a spoon, right? ”

“ Huh? ”

“ Here you go. ”

As Junghyun, still stunned, smiled broadly, the rappers gazed at the bent spoon.

They must have felt like early humans beholding a powerful leader.

“ That’s the boss. ”

“ He’s the boss. ”

That’s how Kim Junghyun became leader of “Guseok Kids,” the rapper joint team with Street Boys.