In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

"Thank you so much for today."

After the maknae’s filming wrapped, the director personally came out to see us off.

"Thanks to you, Wooju, our drama is going to be a huge hit. That cameo performance was really..."

"It’s because you directed it so well."

"No, no. This is something that only works if talent backs it up... If you ever want to do a project later, please contact me."

I carefully accepted the business card he took out of his wallet, when the maknae beside me poked his head out.

"Director, what about me?"

"Our Jiho is of course number one. Do I even need to say that?"

"Right? I’m number one, right?"

I laughed at the maknae bouncing around happily and bowed to the director.

"Then we’ll be heading out."

"Get home safely."

"Yes, thank you! Hope it’s a huge success~!"

We bowed to Writer Bae Yejin and the staff waving at us, then got into the car.

"Hoo."

As I sank my tired body into the seat, sleep started creeping in.

While the vehicle pulled away, I looked at the lackeys sitting there clearing their throats.

"Crybabies."

At my single remark, they flared up.

"Crybabies? Watch what you say. That was sad no matter who watched it."

"Agreed."

Junhyun nodded, and Biju added,

"Hyung, you acted it way too sadly."

"Did I?"

I had deliberately eased up compared to usual, but the reaction was extremely good.

I think I finally understand what it means when people say too much force is bad.

If I had stiffened up and overplayed the independence fighter angle, the pressure would have made the character unnatural.

It was something I once heard from Chris Kyle, Hailey’s husband and a famous actor.

He said he never monitored his own work, yet he only ever received praise for his acting, never criticism.

Seeing that some Hollywood actors were like that too... maybe overthinking to the point of headaches and quality weren’t strongly correlated after all.

"Maybe I should ease up with music too."

"What?"

"It’s nothing. I realized something today."

It felt like I had truly enjoyed acting for the first time in a while.

Lately I had been feeling burdened when working on songs. Maybe approaching it with today’s mindset would help.

Relax and enjoy it.

I waved away the imaginary faces of my producing team swirling in my head like angels and devils.

"Ahem."

Anyway, that was that.

I stretched and turned to the maknae.

"So filming’s all done now?"

"Yup."

Jiho checked his scheduler.

"There are a few more supplemental shoots, then studio poster photos... After that it goes to production. Post editing and CG, so probably early next year."

"When the drama’s about to air next year, tell me. Let’s promote it on NewBlack TV."

"Oh, really? I’ll definitely bring the other actors."

I nodded at his promise to bring the supporting actors too, but stared into the distance.

I was talking with the others to shake it off, but something sticky clung to me, like I had left something behind at the set.

"Hoo."

As I shook my shoulders, Jiho smiled knowingly.

"The character’s emotions won’t leave you, right?"

"Yeah."

"It’s like that when you immerse yourself. Sometimes you feel unsettled all day."

An independence fighter who saw a future of independence right before dying.

It was heavy for a cameo, and immersing myself left a lingering aftereffect.

The maknae smiled.

"Senior actors say that too. To become a good actor, you first have to be a good person."

"What does that mean?"

"Acting starts with empathy. You have to empathize with and understand the character. If you don’t have empathy, it’s hard. So they say you should become a good person with empathy."

"I get it."

"It’s because you’re a good person, hyung."

I felt grateful for his attempt to lift my mood.

"But......."

Then why wouldn’t this uneasy feeling disappear?

Even his words couldn’t fix this subtle, dirt under the fingernails kind of discomfort.

"Ah!"

It suddenly hit me.

The others stared as my eyes widened.

"What is it, hyung?"

"I left my phone."

"......."

The car, already over twenty minutes away, pulled over.

The warm gazes from earlier turned into silent curses.

Ri Hyuk asked,

"Are you sure it’s at the set? It might be in your bag."

"No. I clearly remember. I left it in the writer’s trailer."

"Anything sensitive on it?"

"Photos with Grandma. Photos with you guys......."

The two most important things.

My USBs with songs and pouches were safe.

With swollen fingers, Ri Hyuk pressed a speed dial and handed me the phone.

"At least call first."

"Okay."

Writer Bae Yejin picked up. She said she had it and told us to come quickly.

"Yes."

"......."

Laughter erupted over speaker.

While the others burst into laughter, I slowly looked toward the main vocal.

You rotten human.

His eyes cursed me.

After thanking her and ending the call, I raised the phone.

"Let’s see what you saved me as."

"Hey! No!"

"Hmph. You definitely saved my name as—"

I looked at the screen.

[Wooju Hyung☆]

The moment I saw the word Hyung, a cringing sensation crawled over my entire body like cockroaches.

I handed the phone back without a word.

And avoided eye contact.

"......."

"......."

The car quietly turned back toward the set.

"What’s this? Our brothers are getting all shy~?"

"Hey!"

"Be quiet!"

Amid the manager and the others laughing, an unbearable silence lingered between me and Ri Hyuk.

After the surprise cameo.

We returned to our usual routine and focused on preparing for the Mango Chart Awards.

And in between, news kept coming in.

After five weeks at No. 1, METRO was pushed to No. 2 by Mandy Spice’s full album.

Still, it was incredible.

Our song had stayed at the very top of the Billboard chart for nearly two months.

As I smiled at the news, my phone lit up.

Lee Hyeonjo: Congrats!

Lee Hyeonjo: So you really don’t need a styler?

I replied to the Street Boys leader who wanted to buy me an appliance.

Lee Hyeonjo: It’s bothering me.

Me: What is?

Lee Hyeonjo: If I’d bought you a dishwasher, would our song have charted higher..?

I told him to stop talking nonsense and go practice.

He sent a huffy squirrel hoarding acorns emoji, and I chuckled.

Street Boys and Teen Spirit had both made comebacks.

Street Boys had come back first.

Apparently DNS Media’s CEO wanted a Friday release instead of Monday, aiming for Billboard tracking.

Then the following Monday, Teen Spirit came back.

With famous girl groups returning too, the charts were chaos.

"The chart’s messy."

November was packed with idol songs.

With awards season approaching, fans were even joking that agencies should make a group chat to coordinate release dates.

I understood. I remembered overlapping with TNT during our rookie days.

"Let’s see......."

I calmly checked the chart.

No. 1 was Ri Hyuk’s OST.

No. 2 was Scarlet’s Not Fine.

No. 8 was METRO.

The new girl group songs were at No. 4 and No. 11.

Street Boys and Teen Spirit were performing decently too.

"The Street Boys title track is stronger."

"Yeah."

Their title track ranked higher than Teen Spirit’s.

But the B sides I gave Teen Spirit seemed to be performing better.

That’s why Hanjo was joking about buying appliances.

My B side tracks were firmly planted mid chart.

The maknae hummed.

"It doesn’t feel like it’ll spike up, but it’ll probably stay on the chart a long time."

"Exactly."

I nodded.

Some songs never hit the very top but stay for months.

My Friend and Throw It might be those.

"This is satisfactory."

...Just as I thought that, an article caught my eye.

I blinked.

Does this reporter even know how hard it is to chart?

I laughed.

Ri Hyuk rolled up his sleeves.

"Don’t stop me. I’m writing a rebuttal."

"Stop. Piranha."

"They’re talking nonsense!"

"If you get exposed fighting netizens, that’s embarrassing."

"How would they know it’s me?"

"Can you even write a comment without proper punctuation?"

"Th-that’s......."

I reminded him of our principle: never fight the public.

And today was important.

"Alright!"

I rubbed my hands and looked at Junhyun.

"Are you ready, little brother?"

"I am ready."

"Hoo......."

Today was the release of our teddy bear’s second mixtape.

Unlike the first, which was only on free platforms, this time we decided to release it on streaming sites too.

Because of public reaction last time.

Back when Souffle had to promote it manually.

So this time we increased accessibility.

"Hi, Souffle!"

We turned on Y App and sat in a circle in the practice room.

Biju smiled at the comments.

"Yes, we’re waiting for Junhyun’s album. You know it comes out at 4 PM, right?"

Hundreds of yes comments flew by.

Jiho held his hand like a mic.

"Kim Junhyun, please introduce your mixtape!"

"Yes."

Junhyun nodded.

"If the last mixtape expressed what I felt about nature, this one expresses feelings from everyday life. Moments spent with the members."

"So it’s about happiness related to us!"

"......Yes. Probably."

We burst out laughing.

"Ten minutes left. Please introduce the tracks."

"The first track is Weather Control. Recently when Wooju hyung and Biju filmed Food Before Sightseeing in Gunsan—"

"You mean Food Before Sightseeing?"

"Yes. You asked me to stop the rain. When it really stopped, I felt confident. It’s about believing you can do anything."

He continued calmly.

"And track four, Friend, was written after watching Wooju hyung and Jiho bicker."

Each song had meaning.

"What about VIBE?"

"It comes from Vibration. I got inspired while lying on a massage chair."

"Ah."

"Watching it shake made me think. It comforts people through vibration. Voices are vibration too. Everything in the world has a voice. Stones colliding, waves."

He smiled shyly.

"It’s about what true communication is."

"Wow."

So like Junhyun.

Inspired by a massage chair, yet creative.

"I’m excited too. I haven’t heard the final version."

Because he kept it secret.

He had collaborated with a few rappers and the producing team, but it was mostly his own.

So I was curious.

"Wait."

Jiho said.

"If you got inspired on the massage chair, it’s super recent?"

"Yeah."

"I wrote it for fun, but it turned out the best. Weather Control was originally the title, but we changed it after discussion."

Then he looked at the Y App phone.

"Oh, it’s almost time. Before that, I want to thank someone. Teen Spirit gifted me the massage chair. This song exists thanks to them."

"Thank you!"

"Love you, Teen Spirit!"

We smiled at the camera.

And at exactly 4 PM.

At the same time.

Teen Spirit gave him a massage chair?

Souffle tilted their heads.

But there was no time to think.

"It’s out!"

Refreshing repeatedly, Junhyun’s mixtape appeared.

The cover showed his back at a rural bus stop in winter.

[Stationery]

Seven tracks.

Originally meant to be free, now on streaming too.

More like personal music activity than commercial.

Fan service.

"Heh."

As the titles appeared, I smiled remembering the behind stories.

But.

"Huh......?"

As the songs began, Souffle’s eyes widened.

"What is this."

"What did Kim Junhyun make."

"Wait, this is insanely good."

A groovy, sophisticated sound opened up their ears.

A hip hop rapper’s calm rap wrapped around them.

Especially VIBE.

Junhyun’s vocal in the chorus.

V I B E

Everywhere, your

V I B E

Your voice fills the air

The title track seeped into ears.

Different from previous NewBlack music.

Souffle were amazed.

Meanwhile.

"Who’s Sweet Potato?"

"Isn’t that the Sweet Potato guy? Kim Junhyun."

As the real time chart updated, general listeners flooded in.

November comeback war.

Artists rehearsing for Thursday’s music show.

"We’re winning this!"

Without Wooju’s songs dominating November.

Agencies fought fiercely for the throne.

"......."

"......."

Eyes fixed on the chart.

[No. 1] Sweet Potato - VIBE

A melodic, undeniably good song.

"Wooju didn’t release, but..."

"A potato did."

"Weren’t the lackeys supposed to be weak?"

Wooju hadn’t released.

Another lackey had appeared like a final boss.

"......."

As the November throne was seized by a potato wearing a crown.

"Shit."

In a wide practice room, six beautiful boys closed their eyes and smiled with enlightenment.