In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

The cane that had been spinning in midair snapped neatly into Spaceship’s hand, and a cheer burst from the audience.

At that moment.

The two members who had been twirling their canes elegantly began to walk forward.

As Han Taehyun and Sun Wooju walked onto the thrust stage, the standing spectators watching from up close screamed.

‘Their faces together are insane.’

The two idols flung off their hats, smoothed their hair, and walked on, the chemistry looking extremely convincing.

A handsome man grinning happily under sharp eyes, and a handsome man with dazzling looks.

Maybe because they were wearing tuxes with bow ties, they looked like a duo of spies infiltrating a lavish society party.

‘That walk is crazy.’

Spaceship, who had been walking like a model, stopped, and Han Taehyun also stopped and struck a brief pose.

At the same time, the 2006 hit “Very Very” flowed out in a 2016 arrangement and the dancers came up.

A rhythmic bass riff intro.

“Waaaaa—!”

The two members shook hands like a dance and widened their distance.

I’m frozen in this space

Savoring your air

Soft voices intertwined.

Lyrics with that mid-2000s signature “behold the world, I’m the best” bravado flowed out.

Han Taehyun, who had been rolling his shoulders smoothly, smiled bright and stepped back.

Come closer

Feel all of me

At Spaceship’s performance, where he crooked a fingertip at the audience, Soufflés erupted in delighted cheers.

Soon the two members started dancing as if trading off.

As if Han Taehyun’s right-hand move was passed straight over, it flowed out through Spaceship’s left hand.

‘Wow......’

True to their reputation as idols with superb stage command, the tension felt on stage was taut.

Like a tug-of-war where neither side gave an inch.

If this side seemed to steal the focus, that side immediately took it back.

Just as that tension was racing toward its peak—

As the fast music settled into stillness, Wooju took one step forward.

When the tips of your and my fingers touch

When the air between us

Grows hot

NewBlack’s lead vocalist’s voice climbed gently toward the high notes.

Spaceship, who had been smiling arrogantly toward the camera that had come close, made a motion of pushing the screen with his hand.

Han Taehyun, who took the focus, picked up the next part.

If you think you can’t handle it, say so

I’ll wait anytime

TNT’s main dancer handled the high notes smoothly.

Right after, in the chorus, the dancing of the two members and the dancers intensified.

Shaking their bodies smoothly and flaunting themselves with big hand moves matched perfectly with the narcissistic lyrics.

Online, praise kept rolling in for the performance by the two idols, both singled out as all-rounder types with outstanding dance and vocals.

—Maybe because it’s year-end, watching their stage makes me feel like I should live harder

—Taehyun said himself he was barely hanging on in dance and vocals as a trainee, seeing this his effort is amazing

—So this is possible in a week

—Reason Spaceship thrives even with “personality controversy” (joke): he grinds himself first

—Their onstage chemistry is insane I’m wrecked

—It’s wild how they match the choreo without looking at each other, their sync is real

—Same company trainee days? Guess the monthly evaluations and syncing together stayed with them

Fans smiled in satisfaction.

Beyond the teamwork of the performance, you could feel that they were enjoying the stage.

Energy that came through even in the tight spots of hard choreography.

In the dance break, as they danced, their eyes sparkled like starlight.

“He’s good.”

TNT members on site nodded along as they watched the stage.

Main vocalist Shin Jooyoung, who was sitting with his legs crossed, spoke to Gu Seonung seated beside him.

“Hyung.”

“Hm?”

“But Sun Wooju. What on earth happened with him?”

“How would I know.”

“Isn’t it weird no matter how you look at it? What happened that his motor skills got that good. Onstage reflexes aren’t something you get just by effort.”

“No idea.”

The leader shrugged at the member raising the question.

“Ask him yourself.”

“I did ask.”

“And?”

The other TNT members pricked up their ears. Main vocalist Shin Jooyoung relayed what Sun Wooju had said.

“He told me, if you see someone pulling a handcart, go help them.”

“......”

At that baffling answer, TNT’s members blinked and looked back at the stage.

Spaceship’s smooth waves felt unfamiliar yet welcome.

Each of them had spent different amounts of time with him, but they all knew how much effort he’d put into dance.

Even back in those days when he had two left feet, Sun Wooju had somehow dragged himself up to a level where debut was possible.

“He almost got carried off then. Rhabdo... what was it. He danced so much they said his muscles were melting.”

We first learned then that muscles could even melt.

“He was no joke.”

There was one trainee who would always be practicing the choreography in the exact same spot even when he went to drink water at the dispenser or to the bathroom for a moment.

For dance practice, he had even dropped out right after making the debut team.

He remembered how all the members and company staff tried to stop him.

—Hey. It’s not like school takes that much time. Just attend.

—I don’t have time for that. I need to raise my dance level more.

And everyone knew the result.

Cut.

Of course they knew why the company made that decision.

‘......Because he was slow.’

Like pro athletes, dance also requires basic neural wiring.

It didn’t fit TJ idols’ concept of syncing to each member’s top-level performance, and it’s a problem if you have a member who’s vulnerable to schedule changes.

You can somehow cover it with effort and pull off the title track choreography.

But if one member is out or you have to prepare urgently like for a year-end stage and need to change choreography, that person adapted extremely poorly to new choreo.

Even if one move changed, it was a restart from the beginning.

‘Still, it would have been nice if we’d debuted together......’

Thinking that, the TNT members soon shook their heads.

Complicated current internal and external circumstances came to mind, and right beside them the NewBlack members were going wooaang.

“Milky Sun Wooju!”

“We love you! Spaceship!”

They laughed at the minions dancing away.

He went to a good place.

And now he was doing incredibly well too.

In a way, getting removed from the debut team had been a blessing in disguise.

Gu Seonung smiled and said,

“He went through a lot too.”

“Exactly. Sticking it out at our company......”

When they thought of a certain someone who stubbornly endured at TJ when, if he’d gone to MOP, which prioritizes visuals, he would have debuted right away—

‘Wait, TeenSpirit Sun Wooju?’

Thinking of MOP Entertainment, the TNT members turned their heads and looked at the pretty boys watching the stage.

It was like you could hear the sound in their sparkling eyes.

‘Holy crap.’

‘Now that’s dance, holy crap.’

The TNT members smiled, thinking it was a good thing Sun Wooju had gone to Lemon Entertainment.

Meanwhile, as if venting on stage, Han Taehyun and Sun Wooju, who had been dancing fiercely, stood back-to-back and grinned.

Two faces came into close-up with the ending.

Along with the audience, the TNT members smiled and applauded.

“Great work!”

“Great job!”

Coming down after finishing the stage, we clapped hands with the dancers and applauded one another.

“One, two, three!”

We all took a commemorative shot to post on social, and when we took a selfie for social with Taehyun—

Taehyun clicked his tongue as he checked the photo.

“Hyung.”

“Yeah?”

“......Let’s retake the picture. Stick your face forward just a little.”

“I already stuck it out as much as I could.”

“No, the picture’s weird. You stand out too much.”

“What. I look the same as usual.”

At my words, his sharp eyes narrowed.

“So that’s why your members never include you in photos.”

“What are you talking about. The kids include me just fine.”

“Anyway, let’s just retake one.”

“Too much hassle.”

I waved my hand to brush him off and dabbed sweat on my face with the tissues I got from Wonseok hyung.

Taehyun’s manager handed over a phone.

“I shot this for monitoring.”

“Okay. Thanks... Hyung, get over here.”

Under the PBS logo, our “Very Very” stage rolled.

“Let’s see.”

No choreo mistakes.

We sang accurately too.

My expressions came out well as practiced; I was satisfied.

It felt weird that he and I were on stage in a two-shot, but in a good way, it was a strange feeling.

“Good work.”

“You worked hard too, hyung.”

We bumped fists and laughed.

I fixed my hair and was about to head to the singers’ section when I saw Taehyun standing still.

“Not going?”

“I’ve got another stage now.”

“Ah, right.”

In a bit, according to the cue sheet, there were stages for “Survivor” and “Mood.”

“Sing my song well.”

“Yessir~”

“I’ll go first then.”

When I waved, Taehyun grinned and waved back.

Maybe because the stage was over, as I took each step, a cool, light feeling came through with a tinge of bittersweet.

“Spaceship is baaaack~”

When I returned to the singers’ section, the minions went oaaah and flapped their hands.

“Okay, tell me. Between me and Taehyun, who did better?”

“You did, hyung~!”

“Aigoo. How can you all be so honest.”

“When he’s poking himself with his finger while asking, how are we supposed to answer Taehyun sunbae.”

I had Junghyun deal with the subversive element who insisted on being honest.

Grinning, I sat next to Biju.

“How was it? Did I do well on stage?”

“Yes. I even wanted to go in the middle and dance with you. The choreography was so pretty.”

Hearing a stream of praise about the dance, it seemed I’d definitely done well on stage.

Thank goodness.

Before long, a certain Mr. Han went up and sang “Survivor,” and the fans squealed.

With stages by Street Boys, Serenity, TeenSpirit, TNT, and so on, the year-end show headed toward its finale.

And the ending stage was ours.

We performed in the order “Falling Blossoms,” “Empire,” and “Fireworks,” and after finishing the chorus of the last “Fireworks,” the bursting confetti was beautiful.

Since there was no stage after ours, confetti really poured out in torrents.

“Cough......!”

“Cough!”

While the idols who came out for the ending greeting were hacking away joyfully, and on the rear VCR the MiF members were saying, “It’s a success!”—

“Wow......”

Smiling with the kids, I looked at the fluttering petals.

We always used to adjust the amount of confetti in stage devices because there was a next stage, but it was really coming out nonstop.

“Waaaaa—!”

We walked all over the stage and greeted the audience.

Wherever I looked in the venue, Dalbong was there. Even when I crouched at the edge of the stage and looked toward the standing section—

Even when I put my hand to my brow and looked at the far seats, Dalbong was always with us.

And smiling faces beyond that.

A sight I’d only seen at concerts was unfolding even at a year-end stage; it was embarrassing and amazing.

“Thank you.”

Doing the ending stage at the PBS Music Festival today, I felt like I finally understood why singers love ending stages so much.

It does mean you were one of the biggest acts of the year.

But the fact that as soon as the stage ends you can face the audience and see each other’s expressions—

It was, truly, an incredible feeling.

The next day.

—PBS Music Festival, “Shin Muruk’s move” worked.. average ratings 15.7%

—PD Shin Muruk: “I was inspired by NewBlack”.. NewBlack: “First we’re hearing of it.. honored”

—HBS Music Awards 7%, PBS Music Festival 16%.. same singers, why?

News came that ratings for the music festival helmed by PD Shin Muruk had more than doubled compared to last year.

Even with the same singer lineup, a whopping two-fold difference between HBS and PBS.

As people said it was because the variety PD did well, or because HBS was boring—

Public opinion in the portal news comment windows was mostly similar.

—HBS didn’t have NewBlack. The only ones who don’t know the difference are the broadcaster and reporters.

—They power-tripped last year lololol serves them right

—Drop further

—NewBlack is blessed with gifted voices and very fine countenances.

—The cameras were way better on PBS.. I wish HBS would drop the H and return to their proper place

—Honestly PBS was just more fun

While the public reacted like that—

Idol fans were also reacting positively.

[Yesterday’s legend-factory PBS Music Festival]

(a gif of TeenSpirit’s Ha Hyeon and NewBlack’s Jiho high-fiving with bright, refreshing smiles.gif)

(Blink Petite Pumpkin dancing a difficult routine while smiling cutely.gif)

(a gif of Wooju and Taehyun riding a wave.gif)

Said the camera ops were like department heads

—People who get promoted all have a reason

—Yesterday was really all legends

—Thank you ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ this concrete cried rivers yesterday I’m telling you

—They nailed each charm point

—Sad thing is only someone like Shin Muruk could mobilize those people

—Foreigners are on MiTube going good camera

—The concept was goofy yesterday but the content was actually the richest

Even with the same stage, the feeling can change because of camera work.

Even if there’s a scene where they rush to center stage and dance, depending on the camera movement the sense of speed can drop and look dull.

Sometimes the full-formation choreography is the point, but a face close-up kills the charm.

Because of that, sometimes a regular person’s fancam shows a singer’s charm better, but this time it was the opposite.

‘Thank you. Overwhelming thanks......!’

Right after the HBS Music Awards, idol fans exhausted by foot-cam got a stream of ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ videos like a beam of light and salt.

As views on the videos posted by PBS’s official account shot up—

The most buzzed-about one was the “Very Very” collab stage by Wooju and Taehyun.

—Their chemistry is truly insane

—I can’t believe I’m watching this collab

—It was better that Wooju and Han Taehyun have different styles, both were so good

—But isn’t stage seniority advantage to Han Taehyun

—Han Taehyun ate it up,, Sun Wooju not so much

—Not so much in my heart?

Though fans on both sides were favorable, not everyone was positive.

People started fighting in an instant over the dance pecking order in idolland, going on about whose dance skill was what.

‘They’re fighting again......?’

Soft-hearted Soufflés fled to the 98-line stage video Jiho had posted.

Comments and views started exploding.

‘It’s all good......’

The quality of NewBlack’s stages at this PBS Music Festival and the joint stage videos of each member were very good.

Reactions were mostly good too.

There were some funny ones among the related videos.

[Working Magician Reacts to Spaceship’s Magic]

A Korean MiTuber had content where he covered the magician’s face and showed him the video.

The moment where the magician, who had been saying “looks like a professional,” went blank after Wooju’s face was revealed.

Soufflés burst out laughing.

—Our kid is just like that;

—It’s funny how he accepts it once Wooju’s face appears lolololol

—Something weird happened because of (parentheses). Write a name to go in (parentheses) [3 points]

—Like the 0 or 1 on a math short-answer, our kid..

—Even if it’s weird, plausibility is secured first

—The algorithm brought me, what is this? Did Spaceship do a magic show?

—Year-end stage

—Dear muggles watching this.. you have now truly become muggles (proud)

It was the dancing cane that had become such a hot topic that “Spaceship cane how much” trended in real time the day before.

Vendors were promoting it as “Spaceship’s magic cane.”

As practice videos and such went up on NewBlack TV, Soufflés happily chewed the bait.

Meanwhile.

The best thing about this year-end show was actually something else.

‘Clean.’

There’s usually a fierce fight over the ending of a year-end stage, but when news came that NewBlack had the ending this time, there was little criticism.

Thanks to the recent HBS Music Awards.

When TNT took the ending stage, the war that broke out between the two fandoms.

—Sheesh lol from the start it makes no sense that your teenage souls get the ending lol if it were NewBlack I’d at least acknowledge it

—Wow you fight well

—Does TNT even have a hit song this year, anything? Do you have even one hit like NBR?

—Nice

Maybe because they’d cussed up a storm saying, if it’s NewBlack it’s acknowledged but not you—

When NewBlack actually had the ending, there were only small grumbles and token checks, with little harsh talk.

Strictly speaking, it was more accurate to say the other big fandoms who should be checking them didn’t have the bandwidth.

‘It’s chaotic.’

Wonder Child, boosted by the audition buff, was surging up and threatening Street Boys.

Street Boys were threatening TeenSpirit.

The TeenSpirit fandom looked busy defending their current position. Because it might not be first place but second that got shaky.

They said the repackaged album released recently came out almost exactly as that fandom expected. Which means they were now stabilizing rather than growing.

And the other big fandom, TNT, was already showing movement along individual-fan lines.

‘For now, we’re in the clear.’

Soufflés felt relieved as they checked other fandoms’ situations.

It was year-end now; they had widened the gap in various rankings with other idols, but not to a perfect, unassailable degree.

‘It’d be nice if the next album pops well too......’

The soon-to-come special album was, as the name suggests, a special side story.

As they thought they wished the next full album would do even better and prayed in their hearts—

“Hm?”

A notification popped up that a video titled [Special Album II : ~Giyi (Oddity)~] had been uploaded to NewBlack TV.

‘New bait!’

Fans smiled shyly and clicked the video.

Right away, the views began to explode.