In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

The situation felt somehow surreal.

Maybe it was from being soaked in the rain.

My head was fuzzy, and so many things were happening before my eyes that my brain couldn’t keep up.

You know that feeling—

watching a movie half-asleep, the plot slipping through your fingers like sand.

The scenes keep unfolding while you just blink at the TV.

No.

Your eyes blink, but your hands keep moving.

“Your child’s name?”

“Do-yeon, Lee Do-yeon.”

“That’s a lovely name for a daughter.”

“He’s a son.”

“.......”

I cleared my throat as I signed the paper the broad-shouldered man handed me.

My hand trembled from the cold.

“Thank you,” he said, departing—and then a woman approached, asking if she could take a photo.

“Of course.”

I brushed hair off my forehead and took a selfie with her.

I bowed as she left, thanking me for the song, and caught my breath.

Glancing around, I saw my juniors similarly surrounded by fans.

My head spun.

It had been thirty minutes.

After the pump was fixed, we’d returned to the car, changed clothes, and given a brief interview to Gyeonggi TV.

No sooner had we finished than we were grabbed again.

One was a city hall staffer asking us to wait so Mayor Kim could personally thank us.

The other was—

“Damn, you’re so late!”

—That line accompanied the arrival of the handsome Teen Spirit members.

Startled, we watched as the brown-haired member approached, apologizing and asking if he could speak with us briefly.

Of course we agreed—it wasn’t a bad request.

Meanwhile, the Teen Spirit members dashed back toward the venue, cursing a solid thirty times.

So we decided to wait thirty minutes until the event ended.

The problem was, we hadn’t realized we’d bump into departing festivalgoers.

Someone’s “Huh?” quickly became “Oh!” and in an instant the crowd swelled.

It was bewildering.

Non-fans rarely approached us.

Yet these people, eyes wide with wonder, greeted us warmly, smiling.

They asked if they’d liked the song, how old we were, what our names were...

My head was in a whirl.

To compliments about our looks or singing, we bowed and smiled; for autograph requests, we signed; for photos, we posed.

Exhausted as we were, we did our best to leave a good impression.

When our strength began to wane—eyes drooping, markers slipping from our hands—Seok-hwan hyung stepped in to manage the crowd.

“Sorry, but our kids have another schedule soon. We’ll sign and take photos only with those closest to us.”

Mingi hyung joined in, dispersing most people—leaving a dozen or so, to whom we surreptitiously handed signed CDs as they grumbled away.

Still, more people pressed in, so we retreated to a quieter spot.

My head was spinning.

Only when we reached the secluded area could we catch our breath.

We collapsed onto the ground, leaving the rain-soaked, sweat-scented car behind, and my juniors huddled close.

My pants nearly soaked through, but Ri-hyuk generously unfolded a portable mat.

I’d asked why he carried it, but he offered no answer.

Sitting on the mat, catching our breath—

“Whoa!”

Ji-ho, leaning around my shoulder, pointed at the sky.

“Hyungs, look up. It’s amazing—prettiest thing I’ve seen lately.”

We laughed as he snapped away on his phone to show the “unnies.”

He was right.

The deep night sky, studded with stars.

Maybe because the rain had stopped, the humid day felt cool ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) now.

A night breeze stirred the grass and trees, and insect songs mingled with the cool caress on our skin.

The mood was unaccountably sentimental.

“......”

I felt odd.

The day’s events already seemed a blur.

The rain delaying Teen Spirit, forcing us to fill in onstage—that still felt unbelievable.

Lost in thought, my gaze settled on the member who’d kickstarted and closed it all.

Jung-hyun stared up at the sky.

He really was handsome when he wasn’t joking around—like a handsome athlete.

The way he gazed upward looked straight out of an outdoor ad, and I found myself quietly impressed.

“Hyung.”

“Yeah?”

“Maybe it’s just me, but...”

Jung-hyun asked with a serious face.

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“.......”

“I’m too hungry to appreciate the sky.”

It was like a window shattered.

I berated myself for being awed moments ago.

Yet I couldn’t help chuckling at how perfectly Jung-hyun fit.

“You hungry? Hang on, I’ll see what I’ve got.”

“I have snacks.”

As Bi-ju reached into a car bag, Ji-ho rifled his pockets and produced a mountain of biscuits.

Where had he hidden them?

Seok-hwan hyung, who’d normally teased us about our diets, just laughed.

Our managers, peckish too, reached for the snacks.

“Wow, Ji-ho’s grown up—sharing snacks with the hyungs.”

“I know, right? You should appreciate this, hyungs. I snuck it past the director’s eyes.”

“Where did you hide them?”

“That’s a secret.”

“So many secrets.”

“Things need mystery and novelty to be attractive. Remember how cool Jung-hyun looked earlier?”

We smiled at his pride.

“Anyway, great job today. You too, Jung-hyun.”

I popped a caramel and looked around.

“You all did so well. I didn’t get to say before the chaos, but thank you for following my sudden trot idea.”

“Ugh, here it comes—cheesy speech.”

“.......”

“Stop smacking your lips and eat that, then talk.”

I gobbled my caramel and continued.

“No, really, thanks for coming offstage with me, pumping up the crowd, and braving the rain.”

“You all worked hard. Never want to do that again.”

“I liked it.”

Bi-ju smiled.

“It feels like it’ll become a good memory.”

“Me too.”

“If you say that, what am I...”

“I actually like it now.”

His words drifted into a pleasant silence.

It seemed my juniors found today’s events strange and special, too.

You know those times when you’re so tired your eyes close, yet you feel it’ll be a cherished memory later?

We shared that feeling in silence, until Ji-ho shifted the topic.

“Oh, since we’re talking about memories—”

He pulled out his phone.

“The sky’s gorgeous, and I found an angle where we look fresh. How about a commemorative photo?”

“Commemorative photo?”

“Our fans might’ve heard, so let’s reassure our soufflé family and save a memory.”

“Not bad.”

We nodded and gathered close.

Ji-ho attached the selfie stick and opened the camera app.

“.......”

He closed it again.

“Um, now’s not a great time.”

“Right.”

“We look rough. And someone’s making me look bad by contrast.”

“Should we touch up and try again?”

Drenched idols swiftly restored confidence with portable hair irons, BB cream, and tint.

Oh, and beauty filters.

“All set—one, two, three...!”

The result was pleasing.

Centered on Jung-hyun,

the five of us crowded together, beaming.

One hour after the 2014 Moonlight Festival ended,

posts appeared on each group’s official SNS.

@The_New_Black_Official

Photos with the hyungs after today’s Icheon Moonlight Festival!! So much fun today!!

#happy #love_you_soufflés #maknae_takes_best_selfies #thanks_managers #why_does_RiHyuk_keep_saying_he’s_the_best

@TSprit_Love

With NewBlack. Thank you so much today.

They posted our excited “proof” selfies, and one of Teen Spirit and NewBlack laughing together.

As fan-shot videos from the event surfaced,

“......?”

A fan named “Woo-joo, your face is a blessing” logged in to the fan café after an all-nighter, puzzled.

“What’s all this?”

She’d come to heal by seeing the kids’ faces, but there were so many new posts.

At first she thought it was from promotional posts about “soufflé” remnants she’d made last night.

But soon she realized it wasn’t that.

-1080p event fancam by a Teen Spirit fan

-Proof selfies keep coming

-[[Capture]] Today’s Ji-ho expression.gif

-Just saw NewBlack on GBS Morning News lol

Scrolling with narrowed eyes,

“What’s happening?”

It seemed so much had transpired overnight.

The festival ended on a warm note.

After their finale, Teen Spirit arrived with their manager, offering heartfelt apologies.

“Thank you so much,” they said bluntly—typical teenage candor.

We struggled to keep laughter in while their road manager turned pale behind them.

Then Mayor Kim appeared with his aides, saying the same.

“Thank you for ending the festival well.”

He promised to repay us in good stead, and Seok-hwan hyung’s face lit up talking with the city staff, so perhaps something was in store.

In any case, after that day,

we returned to normal life, enjoying small happinesses.

“Wow...”

In the waiting room for the music show “Popular Singer,”

we huddled on cramped chairs around Lemon Entertainment’s MiTube account.

“Look at the views—they’ve gone up so much.”

“Check the numbers again—you might be seeing it wrong.”

“One, ten, hundred, thousand...looks right.”

The Fireworks MV views had risen sharply.

After a plateau at one million, the curve shot upward.

Ri-hyuk clicked his tongue.

“I’d heard fancams could be legendary but didn’t expect this.”

“They say these event fancams often turn viral.”

Jung-hyun, checking a music site, held out his phone.

“Hey, look at this.”

“What is it?”

“Our real-time chart positions have jumped.”

We all gaped at Jung-hyun’s phone.

Something and Night Sea had climbed the charts.

“What’s going on?”

“13th and 105th? How is that possible?”

“It’s still less shocking than topping real-time charts with Something.”

True, but it was still dizzying.

My heart raced.

The reason we enjoyed this luck wasn’t special:

it was thanks to one video:

[Fancam] 140718 NewBlack – Night Sea/Something/Stay with Me @ Icheon_MoonlightFestival_SpecialStage

A fancam—a high-definition amateur recording from a broadcast or event.

Usually fancammers are either pros uploading various artists, or fans focusing on one group.

This video was the latter.

About 80% of the uploader’s channel was Teen Spirit, 20% were occasional recordings of other groups.

No notes explained it, but presumably they’d waited for Teen Spirit and used spare time to film us.

The quality was astonishing.

So crisp that our smiling faces in the rain were vividly clear.

Because the uploader had many subscribers, views soared, and so did comments.

The standout moment was our trot performance—not even the singing, but our attitude.

-It’s raining but they’re all smiling;;

@[email protected] lol so cute

-Not rookie-like; they all performed well. I watched Night Sea then Something straight through, but was really wowed at the trot.

-Their professionalism, sure, but turning off the lights and passing the baton was brilliant

Ji-ho’s heart gesture got praise, but the stage direction handing off to Bo-hyung was especially memorable.

-Did you know that stage was impromptu?

-??

-Expl: Teen Spirit had a minor crash so these guys filled in

–That was improvised??

Comments shifted to astonishment that the set was so last-minute.

How exactly that fancam led to Fireworks becoming the MV, I’m not sure.

So many possibilities: Teen Spirit fans stumbled on it and shared it; someone reposted; or word spread from someone at the venue.

But one thing was certain: our fill-in stage on Friday had returned in fortune.

“Hang on—let me call Promotions.”

Yoon Seok-hwan left the waiting room with a pleased grin.

He was thrilled by this boon to finish our activities. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

We were too.

“Look at this—our soufflés are going nuts.”

“Hyung, tons of praise for the stage direction. They say it was so slick, so I commented that you did it.”

“Oh, rap was praised. Gotta like that comment.”

“What? All I see is Ji-ho talk—what about my singing?”

Faces that had been pale from cold medicine and fatigue now shone with excitement.

Fan café posts showed our soufflés loved it too.

Everyone was happy, so I was happy.

I just couldn’t fully feel it—too tense that day, and this morning’s cold medicine left me foggy.

Anyhow, pleased we could end on such a high, Ji-ho suddenly said,

“Oh, soon it’ll be time for that thing.”

“That thing?”

“You know—the show they said we’d be on. Ah! ‘Going On Location.’”

We all went “Ah.”

We’d forgotten in our fancam frenzy.

There was leftover footage from Gyeonggi TV that day.

They’d said it would air on the station’s lifestyle program.

I wondered how it’d look...ah, ahem.

“Ah-choo!”

I sneezed, shivering.

Ri-hyuk jumped back in alarm.

Jung-hyun handed me a tissue box; Bi-ju poured warm barley tea.

I stared at the maknae’s set smartphone on the table.

The DMB screen cycled through home-loan and insurance ads.

How would we appear?

With anticipation,

the “Going On Location” logo disappeared, and the broadcast began.