In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

“Going to the site” was a familiar format.

It was like those TV programs Mrs. Kim Deok-soon would turn on and watch whenever there were no customers at her rice-and-side-dish restaurant.

Like the weather forecast for this week, or a local festival somewhere, or trendy diseases these days.

They were programs that entertainingly compiled and delivered news or lifestyle information like that.

Originally, we weren’t scheduled to appear.

I heard that the reporter who interviewed us that day passed along the footage once, and because the internal reaction was good, they decided to rework the segment around us.

It would have been impossible on a terrestrial broadcaster.

Apparently it was possible only because it was cable TV, chronically short on content.

In any case, we were grateful to the reporter who created this opportunity, and we focused our attention.

A well-dressed man appeared against the studio background.

“Hello, I’m announcer Kim Seung-gwan.”

After the MC’s greeting, which began with talk about summer, the program proceeded through each segment in turn.

A typhoon ravaging the southern provinces, hunting wild boars invading farms, even a certain grilled intestines restaurant in the food alley at Gwangmyeong Intersection appeared.

Finally, our story came up.

Our thumbnail at the event venue appeared, and we stamped our feet. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

“Ugh, I guess it’s coming up now. I’m not doing anything special, so why am I this nervous.”

“Hey, Wang Jiho, stop making such a fuss. You’re shaking the screen.”

“Rihyeok, you’re shaking your leg too.”

“...I’m not. The ground is shaking.”

Amid light laughter, Biju turned up the volume.

“When you think of ‘festival,’ what words come to mind? Excitement, joy, happiness. Those words pop into your head, right? In the next corner, our stars are those who pump up the audience’s energy at festivals.”

When the thumbnail changed to NewBlack at the event venue, we all went “Ugh!” and covered our eyes.

It was an embarrassment different from our Music Café days.

It was just as embarrassing then, but showing our faces on a lifestyle information program totally unrelated to idols felt somehow shameful and humiliating, yet we wanted to watch it even as we wanted to turn it off.

“Last Friday, the 2014 Moonlight Festival hosted in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, was held in a heated atmosphere. We heard that something very special happened that day. Now, here are today’s stars, rookie idol group NewBlack, and their awkward event experience. Let’s watch!”

While we gulped, the screen changed at the announcer’s gesture.

“Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, July 18th”

Over that caption appeared the scene where a special stage was being set up.

As the on-site staff moved, the stage was constructed, and the semi-circular seats arranged around it appeared.

Because of the natural slope, you could see clearly from the back rows.

A playful voice actor narrated.

“This is Icheon, Gyeonggi Province. Preparations are in full swing for today’s festival. The staff are busy getting things ready~”

Scenes of the busy staff passed by.

“And the singers are just as nervous~”

A pungmul troupe, a rock band, a boy group, and a girl group were shown preparing one after another.

Then the footage our company shot started playing.

“Wait! Who are those five men radiating light over there?”

We burst out laughing at the lame, childish halo CG, and Rihyeok pressed a water bottle to his reddened face.

I also nearly choked on barley tea but managed to hold it back.

“Are you filming right now?”

That was what I said to Mingi hyung, but on screen it sounded like I was speaking to the VJ.

I heard that the station edited the footage that day and contacted our company separately.

They wanted to focus the festival content on NewBlack and asked if we had any additional footage.

Since it was a valuable opportunity for free promotion regardless of the channel, the company didn’t refuse and provided the materials.

The result was the flashy caption “Rookie Boy Group NewBlack” appearing on the screen now.

“What are you doing right now?”

“We’re warming up our voices.”

“It’s strange how you do it.”

“Our main vocalist taught us this method. It works well.”

Clustered together, we sang “Five hundred won, five hundred won” while warming up our voices, with fake laughter playing as BGM.

It was unbearably embarrassing.

After that, the story flowed naturally.

NewBlack cheering each other on before going on stage, fireworks performance in the rain, and finally the MC conducting a prize event in a chilly atmosphere.

“But something’s strange about the mood on site. The last singer who was supposed to appear hasn’t shown up. What’s going on?”

Because there was no camera nearby when the event agency staff and I spoke in the hectic situation, another person’s interview played as a voiceover beneath the prize-event footage.

With suspenseful BGM.

A site official explained that the last singer couldn’t come because of the rainy roads.

It wasn’t our voices because we all kept quiet about it so as not to give the Teens’ Spirit fans any excuses to nitpick.

After that voice finished, our interview voices came in.

“Our skills are lacking, but given the atmosphere, we felt we had to go up.”

Nothing else was special after that.

We performed Night Sea and Something and a trot song one after another in front of chilly-eyed spectators, and finally Sang Bo-hyung appeared and sang with us, lifting the mood until the footage seemed to end...

“Hey, what is this? It’s not over yet?”

I thought it ended warmly with our interview at the end, but the footage of us trudging offstage followed.

The footage the station shot continued without break.

“But at this moment, one of the members seems to have noticed something and starts acting unexpectedly.”

Jihō was being carried on Junghyun’s back as he shuffled along with a serious expression.

“Huh?”

Junghyun, watching the DMB next to me, blinked and asked.

“Did they show ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) something like that too?”

On screen, Junghyun, speaking to the site director, immediately crouched down and helped with the repairs.

With his face wet from the rain, he looked somehow cool.

When the pump finally started working again, the staff on site showed expressions of relief.

“I was really surprised.”

When did the director even give that interview?

“He just came over and said, ‘I know how to fix it.’ At first, I thought, what’s this guy talking about? But he actually fixed it. I was startled. Anyway, today’s performance and the help on site—NewBlack is absolutely top-notch!”

We laughed at the contrived scene of the scruffy-bearded man awkwardly giving double thumbs-up.

Of course, the laughter grew louder as our interview came back on.

“Junghyun? We’re surprised sometimes too.”

“I’m his friend, but I’ve been surprised more than once.”

“He’s a fascinating hyung.”

“Earlier he even predicted the rain. He was looking at the sky when it was clear and said, ‘It’s going to rain later.’”

While we burst out laughing at the maknae’s perfect impersonation, Junghyun scratched his cheek with an embarrassed look.

The DMB screen switched to his solo interview.

“How did you know how to fix it?”

“After I retired, my dream was to be a farmer.”

We laughed again at the unexpected answer.

Later that day, he had said something serious to the reporter, and this was it.

The handsome, broad-featured man scratched his sideburns on screen.

“I watched a lot of farming videos online, and since childhood, whenever I went to my hometown, the elders often handled machinery. I got lucky. I’d seen the same breakdown before...”

His slow, sincere speech and earnest expression filled the screen, giving elders a favorable impression.

When asked if he had anything to say to the people of his hometown, Junghyun said,

“Dad, Mom, I’m doing well like this. Don’t worry, okay?”

A moth kept flying in front of the camera, blocking the view, so Junghyun calmly reached out and caught it.

The reporter’s face showed surprise.

But Junghyun continued speaking, nonchalant, holding the moth in his hand.

“Anyway, may your crops do well and have a bountiful harvest. Oh, and please send some rice. You know my friend Biju. His hands are huge, and he uses rice like water.”

While our team’s rapper writhed in the waiting room, pinched by a nanny fairy, scenes began to cut rapidly.

When asked, “Who impressed you the most today?”

“Kim Gyu-hyun, Icheon, Gyeonggi Province: NewBlack. They performed passionately even in the rain.”

“No Yujeong, Icheon, Gyeonggi Province: I came to make memories with my mother, but I think the NewBlack boys stand out. They sing really well.”

“Park Daebok, Icheon, Gyeonggi Province: I don’t know. The trot singer and the young fellows were the best.”

Laughter and praise for us from the audience played, followed by interviews with officials.

“Song Bo-hyung, trot singer: The young guys are amazing. Singing trot was not an easy choice, but it was very impressive. I hope we have the opportunity to perform together someday.”

With that last interview, the day’s footage flashed by like a slideshow.

After the clichéd narration “Let’s support rookie singer NewBlack’s dreams,” the screen returned to the studio.

“...”

We felt a strange emotion.

It was the kind of stirring feeling we hadn’t realized right after it ended.

Although it was a cable program with ratings too low even to list our names, smiles spread on our faces as we watched it.

Of course, we didn’t forget to tease whoever was embarrassed.

“Hey, isn’t Junghyun a celebrity now?”

“Totally a superstar.”

“Hyung, don’t pretend you don’t know us after you blow up.”

“Junghyun, do I really use that much rice?”

And the one teased just scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

“I just fixed the pump...”

Even long after the morning broadcast of “Going to the Site” ended, the TBC Variety Department meeting room was brightly lit.

Sunday night.

While everyone else was resting, the lights were on.

“Who should we pick?”

PD Koo Jaeyoung, wearing a baseball cap pulled low, stroked his scruffy beard.

In front of him lay stacks of papers—profiles sent by various agencies.

They varied in type: actors, idols, entertainers.

It would be a matter of simply selecting them.

“Easier said than done.”

Having many options wasn’t all good.

Especially for a special feature planning to bring on multiple guests, you had to consider not only their fame but also how they’d mesh on air.

“What chemistry will they show when we put them on the show?”

“It’s tricky.”

Koo Jaeyoung was in charge of TBC’s Chuseok special this year.

Although two months remained until Chuseok, actual filming was only a month away.

Moreover, TBC’s flagship holiday variety show “Around the World with Dice” was on hiatus this year, and the higher-ups worried whether this special might lose ratings to other networks.

Because the special was so important, selecting guests carried a heavy burden.

“What are you thinking about so intently?”

While he sat in the empty meeting room looking at documents, junior co-PD Oh peeked in.

Koo PD licked his dry lips.

“Taejun. Team C.”

“Team C?”

“Who should we fix here?”

“Oh, between Daydream and NewBlack?”

Side by side were profiles of two five-member groups.

One a rookie, the other a third-year boy group.

As Oh sipped his americano, he bluntly said,

“Just go with Daydream. It’s a Chuseok special. What if the rookies mess up the mood on set?”

“I think so too, but...”

“But?”

“Somehow I can’t stop thinking about those guys.”

“NewBlack?”

Junior tilted his head in question.

“When I researched them, nothing special came up. They appeared at Subangwon and Something, and a member’s father gives sermons. Other than that, no particular talking points.”

“How about Daydream?”

“Similar, but they’ve appeared on more shows. Less risk.”

“Is that so.”

“Is it because you’re worried about Director Yoon from Lemon? That guy with glasses has been coming around every day.”

“You’re something else. Do you think I’d care about a single manager after all these years in this industry?”

It was true that Lemon’s Director Yoon had recently visited and persistently pitched.

Thanks to him, Daydream and we even made the final candidate list together—something that normally wouldn’t happen.

But it wasn’t just for that reason.

Seeing the materials the writers researched, I thought, “These guys wouldn’t be bad either.”

An entertainer PD’s instinct, maybe.

The problem was there was no evidence to prove this instinct.

“After all, rookies are a gamble.”

Even if they started broadcasting from last February, including a rookie level group in a Chuseok special might be too much.

Just as that thought crossed his mind and he was moving NewBlack’s profile below Daydream’s, a voice asked,

“What are you two talking about?”

Sub-writer Yang, holding coffee in one hand, asked.

Oh PD seemed to remember something.

“Oh right, Writer Yang.”

“Yes?”

“You were in charge of preliminary research on Team C guests. You investigated NewBlack too, right?”

“Right.”

“Did you find anything special?”

“Nothing other than what I gave you before, um...!”

At her sudden exclamation, they both turned their heads.

“A junior I know sent me a video this afternoon. He works as a sub-staffer on a cable network, and I told him I was worried about guests for a rural special. He said there was a show featuring a group called NewBlack on their network. He told me to take a look.”

“What video?”

“I haven’t watched it yet either.”

To satisfy their curiosity, Writer Yang brought her laptop.

She clicked the file saved in her inbox, and the video popped up.

“What’s this ‘Going to the Site’ program?”

“It seems similar to those information-delivery shows our company does.”

“Both of you quiet down and watch.”

But before she could finish, the broadcast started, and the two fell silent.

A five-minute clip.

By the end of it, the face of the main PD bore a curious expression.

“Wait, rewind it a bit.”

“Here?”

Though no one pointed exactly, Oh PD moved the mouse on his own.

The scene where Kim Junghyun fixes machinery and says he lived in the countryside and dreamed of being a farmer.

His slow, sincere speech painted vivid images in their minds.

Deep in thought, the main PD glanced at his junior.

“Taejun. For this special, we’re going to the countryside, right?”

“Right.”

“How about it?”

“Definitely...”

“It would make a good picture, don’t you think?”

“Yes. Earlier it was ambiguous, but now it’s definite.”

As the sub-writer tilted her head, wondering what they were talking about, the main PD nodded.

“Contact him at first light.”

A faint smile played on his face.

Koo Jaeyoung.

He was the main PD of TBC’s highest-rated national variety show, “Around the World with Dice.”

Monday is our official day off.

Of course, “day off” doesn’t mean we do nothing.

Like when we were preparing for debut, we just have no scheduled activities so we can focus on self-development.

The company arranged it so we could do that.

Meanwhile, on that day off, Rihyeok and I were deep into recording.

“Rihyeok, I think the tone needs to be a bit lower.”

“Okay, I’ll fix it.”

“Woo-joo, you’re doing well, but when you sing ‘that night sea,’ it’d be good to take the breath a bit more. Please pay attention to that part.”

“Understood.”

We nodded as the A&R team members holding paper and pens outside the glass window spoke, and continued recording.

We were currently recording the official track for “Night Sea.”

With the release imminent, the atmosphere was quite serious, and our attitude toward the recording was exceptional.

“Thank you for your hard work!”

About two hours of recording later, when it was just Rihyeok and me left in the studio, we collapsed in exhaustion.

“Hey, move over.”

“I lay down first.”

“I was born first.”

“Lucky to be old, huh.”

“You impudent brat.”

“Old man.”

Battling over the sofa’s prime spot, we eventually agreed to share it equally.

Rihyeok, stretched out like a tired cat, let out a groan.

“I’m dying. Really.”

“Tired?”

“I think I still have some aches. I feel like some sleep would fix it.”

“Just hold on a bit. The day after tomorrow the music shows will be over, and we’ll get a full day off.”

“That would be perfect.”

Perhaps due to the overwhelming fatigue, our eyelids began to droop and our voices grew drowsy just as we were about to fall asleep when the door swung open abruptly.

Ah. What now.

When we lifted our heads, it was our juniors.

“Hyungs! Hyungs!”

“What is it?”

“We have amazing news!”

At first we didn’t catch on, but then we realized.

Earlier, Seok-hwan hyung said there might be good news and rushed off to the station.

Could it be an entertainment booking?

Driving away our drowsiness, we braced ourselves in anticipation.

“Hyung, us.”

But what Biju, his face all excited, said completely surprised me.

“They fixed us as a candidate for first place on Showtime tomorrow.”

“What?”

Without thinking, I jumped up so hard Rihyeok tumbled off the sofa.