In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

Around the same time—

Idol fans watching TV were freaking out.

"What did he bring this time?"

Last time he brought in a variety schedule; now he’d brought a one-act drama schedule.

"Two schedules in a single week..."

Fans about to gush paused.

The timeline felt off. In broadcast episodes it was week two, but inside the show it all happened over two days.

So, strictly speaking, he brought a variety slot on Sunday and a one-act drama on Monday.

"Did he just land a schedule?"

"How did he do that?"

While regular viewers laughed in bewilderment—

Online reactions rolled the same way.

A one-act for PBS Drama Department, directed by someone with solid standing.

For a rookie actor, it was the kind of chance anyone would covet.

"At that level, even a chief at one of the Big 4 would have to beg to get their idol in..."

While idol fans and viewers wondered how he did it, a friendly caption explained:

[1 hour earlier]

Chief Joo Sunwoo appeared, visiting PBS Variety with the production team.

Chief Joo Sunwoo swept in, coat fluttering.

"Hello~!"

He did a quick spin—

"Uju’s heeere~!"

—and did a little bounce-dance, laying on the cuteness for the Variety folks.

"So he’s in sales too."

"Why do I relate."

"So chief-level is basically a sales job..."

Office workers nationwide beamed as they projected themselves onto the idol on screen.

Seeing the PBS Variety staff roaring with laughter, everyone got it.

"Approved."

It was a face that made laughter cascade like a waterfall just by looking at it.

Features neatly balanced; eyes curving into half-moons as the bridge of his nose lifted and his lips moved...

A smile you could stare at all day without getting tired of it.

With someone like that grinning wide in front of you, of course you’d react like that.

"Uju! Long time~"

The Mister Producer team greeted him with delighted faces.

Chief Joo Sunwoo led the conversation smoothly—How have you been, and so on—and handed out CDs to Variety.

"We’re here to promote Street Boys’ album. Our kids’ songs are really good. When you have time, maybe..."

"Hahahahaha!"

"Why are you laughing? I mean it."

One of the writers said:

"Right, Uju, I heard you already landed something."

"Word’s already gotten around?"

"Nothing stays secret here. What schedule is it?"

Starting with the Inc slot, he chatted this and that with PD Shin Murok about variety—

"Thank you, PD."

—and also landed one for them.

A special stage on Mister Producer.

"Wow..."

"If you got stranded on a desert island with him, you’d never starve."

"I keep saying—he was going to make anything work."

Then, as he discussed Street Boys’ schedule, he was introduced to PD Oh Myunghan.

Souffles smiled, satisfied.

"Good job, Joo Sunwoo."

Since last week, the antis had a favorite line:

Even if it’s a “manager experience” show, how could he land schedules—this must be rigged!

Chief Joo Sunwoo proved the point by pulling a second deal, right in their faces.

Souffles watched idol-fan reactions with fond smiles.

Most were similar.

As everyone joked about wanting him to visit their own agency—

It felt like when people beg for him to throw the first pitch at baseball.

[At this point, the biggest question]

(photo of Chairman Park Taejun with wads of cash in both hands)

Why on earth did this old man let Joo Sunwoo go?

Was he lacking in skill? (X)

Can’t compose? (X)

Can’t manage? (X)

Can’t act? (X)

A complete mystery.

Along with posts clowning TJ Entertainment’s Chairman Park Taejun, threads praising Lemon Entertainment started appearing.

[Person who needs a swift re-evaluation]

(photo of CEO Park Gyuho, teeth and hair shining)

Perfect accounting? O

Puts money in and otherwise stays out of the way? O

Good judge of people? O

Shines on his own? O

Just light.

While random threads about label CEOs caught fire—

The most hyped people of all were Street Boys’ fans.

"This is insane..."

Other than Jusehan, they’d had just one broadcast-network variety in seven months.

In two days of Chief Joo Sunwoo passing through, they’d landed a hit HBS variety, and one member was cast in a one-act by a famous director.

At first they figured it was just a fun talk.

Then news broke that casting was locked and filming was imminent.

Likewise, HBS’s Inc would soon shoot a special at a resort in Gangwon.

And it wasn’t just any variety booking.

"A full-group variety? For real."

The curse of a nine-member idol.

Shows rarely invited whole groups that big, so appearances were usually split into smaller units.

But this time it was a full-member chase-game variety.

Concretes’ hearts started thumping, long sighs slipping out.

"How did he get schedules like these..."

Up to now, NewBlack’s image was like the top-ranked son in the family next door.

“We like that they’re close with their friends,” and that was that.

People looked at their camaraderie with other idols who worked like oxen and thought, “Good for them.”

This manager variety seemed to shift that feeling.

[This time, we’ll take care of them properly.]

[You’re going to be stunned.]

Just as he vowed, NewBlack finished the manager schedule in style.

As People Are Going headed into its latter half, a Joo Sunwoo interview cut played.

"Honestly, I’m not completely immune to shyness either. But this is work. I went in determined to really be a manager this time, and just tried to meet as many people as I could. I went and greeted them... It didn’t air, but I actually got turned down a lot too."

Here and there, flashbacks showed Uju scratching the back of his head with a sheepish smile.

"But I think... that’s probably what managers’ daily lives are like. Until a chance comes once, it’s a string of rejections every day. But that one chance is so big... you end up accepting the fear of rejection."

While new managers in some agency’s break room scribbled Notes: mindset..., Street Boys’ fans felt the NewBlack leader’s words land.

Stanning idols from mid-small agencies, they knew exactly how precious opportunity was.

So it felt like «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» he’d worked during this experience period to bring good chances to his friends.

Chief Joo Sunwoo smiled.

"When I saw their faces when I brought back schedules, I thought—so this is why being a manager is worthwhile..."

"Hyung. We’re singers."

"Ah. Right, singers. Okay. Uh... manager trial..."

We laughed at Chief Joo Sunwoo exhaling like a veteran manager, a bit too immersed in the role.

Concretes smiled.

Concretes who once sobbed to Souffles, “We’ll be your road,” “We’ll be your oil,” started tearing into DNS Media.

As the leaping Concretes tore at the dinosaur and roared,

The big cluster of Souffles huddled together dabbed at their eyes too.

"...I also want to say thank you to our manager hyungs who always bring us opportunities."

"...Honestly, we have so many reasons to be happy because of our members. I really want to tell our members we cherish you."

It was a broadcast where managers and singers seemed to speak their hearts to each other.

The two managers who’d been with them since debut early days—

Both known among fans for great manners—smiled as they received a family-trip voucher.

Soon, entertainment forums filled with posts titled [Why Manager Seo Mingi’s nickname became “Lisa-Joah”].

Of course...

"Aaaah!"

"Milk-white Lisa-Joah!"

"Go away!"

"We love you, Lisa-Joah!"

"Hey! Are you really doing this with the newbies right here?"

From the POV of the person being chased by a certain five-member group, none of it was good.

The People Are Going manager special wrapped successfully.

It fell a bit short of Jusehan, but compared to their usual ratings—which were far below Jusehan—it was a massive jump.

Highest internal rating in the last two months, they said.

And the response matched.

I worried it would be a quiet episode of nothing but work, but surprisingly, people loved it.

Seokhwan summarized the reactions for us.

"If anything, the good reaction’s because it was just work."

"...?"

"You know how there’s been that gaze lately. Since every variety you’re on does well and the albums do well too—there were quite a few people who started to take your effort lightly."

"So, saying we coast."

At Ri Hyuk’s summary, Seokhwan nodded.

"This broadcast tamped a lot of that down. Once entertainers start taking off, that stuff always comes out. ‘What’s the big deal, their life is easy,’ that kind of thing."

"True."

"It’s only some people, but... anyway, those takes existed."

With more appearances on NewBlack TV and elsewhere, exposure climbed, and with it some folks’ fatigue—so this had formed.

Where there are people who like you, there will be people who don’t.

It seems the crowd grumbling “Why do they get on TV so easily” quieted down.

Maybe that’s why news-comment reactions were good too.

"Can’t believe being serious for a moment gets reviews this good..."

Biju smiled, pleased.

"So this is why you have to be funny the rest of the time."

"Exactly."

"In manga, when the comic-relief character suddenly swings a sword in earnest, popularity explodes, right?"

"Hahahaha!"

We giggled and enjoyed the reactions.

We mostly checked responses about us, but the praise for Serenity and the People Are Going cast we worked with was just as stacked.

Some said it was the best special they’d seen on People Are Going.

Because of that, word came that TBC might launch a manager-themed variety. Likely a Chuseok pilot to test the waters, then a regular slot.

"All right, to celebrate the special’s success—three claps, go."

"Clap clap clap!"

Smiling, we dove back into work.

I was so buried leading album production I had no brain left, and then a surprising bit of news came mid-rush.

"Eighty-eighth?"

"Yeah."

"...?"

"Dokkaebi," which had been #99 on last week’s Billboard Hot 100, was now #88.

Probably because the Dockkaebi performance we recorded for The Allen Dale Show aired and drew in more listeners.

This would be the peak, and it would likely drop next week...

"Don’t tell me it’s going to be #99 next week."

"Eh~ no way~"

#111 → #99 → #88—the quirky sequence made it feel like Dokkaebi was up to tricks.

Even the results were goblin-like.

Anyway, as we stood dazed and happy at the main-chart good news from the U.S., at the same time—

"...It’s here."

"So it finally came. The day."

At last, the day arrived.

Our maknae’s high-school graduation.

"Hyungs~ today is really important, so don’t do anything weird. Got it?"

"We won’t."

"I’m really serious. I hate it when people tease me."

"I said we won’t."

To the maknae, who’d been stressing about it since the day before, we said:

"What are you worried about? What could possibly happen at a graduation?"

Early the next morning.

While congratulatory wreaths from idol fans and all walks of life filled the front yard of the arts high school,

A huge truck rolled onto the field.

"Huh?"

"Mm?"

Delivery guys lowering wreaths turned their heads.

At the sight of a truck carrying something massive, the school guard ran out in alarm, and the delivery guys’ eyes went wide.

"What is that...?"

The truck, beeping as it reversed—beep— beep——stopped, then lowered the giant thing inside.

Six staffers rushed in to assemble it.

More like a Christmas tree than a wreath, a three-meter-tall “tree” bathed the dawn sky in karaoke lights.

"..."

Along with it, sparkling letter lights:

[Congrats on your fucking graduation, Mr. WANG.]

[From. Hailey Blue]

Everyone present blinked.

"..."

"..."

From the start, the graduation at the arts high school radiated unusual energy.