In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

“Muca?”

“Yeah. Ha Seung-ju’s music cafe.”

Our manager said, ‘This is your chance to clean up your image!’ and brought us an opportunity that was a familiar broadcast.

“I haven’t heard the name Muca in a long time.”

“Me neither. Didn’t you go there with Jang Sowon sunbae last spring? Wow, but it feels like it was a long time ago.”

I agreed with the youngest’s words.

It felt like a distant memory when I went there to sing as Something in the beginning of last year.

I asked.

“What do you mean by cleaning up our image with this?”

“Honestly, it’s not that bad.”

My brothers agreed with me.

“That’s right. Manager. It’s not that bad.”

“I agree with Wang Jiho too.”

“Yeah. Yeah.”

“We’re hurt by the manager’s words.”

As the resentment grew louder, Seokhwan hyung raised his hands to calm us down.

“Of course, it’s not that bad, I know. I just used that expression because it’s hard to express it differently.”

“We got it. We’re not angry anymore~”

The person who was giggling coughed.

“Ahem, anyway, Muca contacted us urgently. They seemed to be very interested in the Nostalgia OST.”

“Oh.”

“They said they would treat us as the main characters of that special episode, and asked if we wanted to come.”

“Main characters?”

“Wasn’t it about 10 minutes when you went with Jang Sowon? This time, it’s more than that.”

It was a good deal.

But there were a few things to check before that. Everyone seemed to have the same thoughts, and Rihyuk opened his mouth first.

“If it’s about Nostalgia, they might ask us to sing the OST, but did you talk to the movie company about this?”

“They said OK. The movie was released after that, and by the time the broadcast airs, the OST album will be out too.”

The most important issue was solved.

We asked questions about the rough stage and talk content they wanted, and settled the details.

Bijoo asked.

“But you said you wanted to try image transformation, what do you mean by that?”

“Ah.”

Seokhwan hyung looked around us and answered.

“You guys might not know if you’re idol fans, but to the general public, you have a strong variety show image.”

“We have a strong variety show image?”

I looked around my brothers for a moment.

The innocent and cute eyes and our gentle appearance that lost to elementary school students.

We didn’t look much different from ordinary people.

Then my eyes stopped at Jung-hyun.

“…”

Suddenly, I understood what ‘variety show image’ meant.

And Jung-hyun also looked around his brothers and said ‘variety show image?’ and his eyes stopped at my face.

“…”

Nod.

I nodded my head and said.

“I accept.”

Nod nod.

Jung-hyun also looked relieved and said.

“I accept too.”

“Honestly, those two are the culprits who made our image weird. If you draw a graph, it would be about 90 percent.”

“You know that 9 percent is hyung, right?”

“…”

The youngest, who was staring at Rihyuk with his mouth shut, threw his gaze at Bijoo.

“ Bijoo hyung~”

“Yeah. We’re normal people-”

As they made a big heart with their arms, Rihyuk said, ‘The plural of people is people.’

I laughed as I watched the two who liked to call themselves normal people.

If there was a caption, I would have put an arrow above them saying ‘self-proclaimed normal people’.

“Well. I can’t feel any meaningful difference between the five of you…”

Our manager, who was amazed that we made a 5-minute story into 15 minutes, started to explain.

“Anyway, your variety show image is a bit of a poison. It’s good to be friendly to the public, but.”

“Is that bad?”

“You’re too… over-friendly.”

“…”

“Well, it’s not a bad thing, so don’t be so gloomy.”

“Yes…”

The person smiled and adjusted his glasses.

“It’s a good thing to be friendly and likable to the public as a celebrity. That’s why you get so many ads.”

“Wow.”

“You guys have a lot of popularity that other groups really want.”

I knew we were a group that was popular with the public.

Sometimes, when news of surveys like ‘Which idol do you like?’ came up, I saw our name there.

And these days, when we went out on the street, people recognized us.

Not only idol fans, but even old people and kindergarten kids pointed at us and were surprised.

“But this is not always a good thing for your artistic side.”

“That’s right.”

We agreed with that part.

“Korea is a place where the more mysterious you are, the more artistic you are. The performances of popular singers and actors are often underrated.”

“That’s right. We’ve been worried about that lately.”

We had to be cool and mysterious when we performed, but the more we appeared on TV, the more that mystery disappeared. That was a fact.

Actors who appear frequently in variety shows may have a hard time acting because of that.

Their variety show image is so strong that people can’t immerse themselves in their roles.

We were also worried that our image as singers might be overshadowed by our recent variety show image.

“So we’re going to try to dilute that image a bit by appearing on Music Cafe this time.”

“Do you think it’s possible?”

“It doesn’t hurt to try.”

Our manager said confidently.

“Now is the best opportunity. You know how well Nostalgia is doing with word-of-mouth, right?”

People were already saying it might reach ten million, that’s how good Nostalgia’s domestic opening performance was.

The domestic distributor was already planning to hold additional events.

“By the time the broadcast airs, it’ll be the second or third week of release. If the movie does well until then, it’ll be the best situation for the broadcast.” �

“Oh. That’s true.”

The youngest looked at his calendar on his phone and said.

“We’ll be abroad when the broadcast airs, right? When we’re not on any other shows.”

“Yeah. That’s the plan.”

Our manager’s plan was simple.

When Nostalgia was at its peak of popularity with word-of-mouth.

When people were well aware of the OST.

That’s when the broadcast with ‘Our OST Production Behind-the-Scenes’ and such would air.

“Especially, Woojoo, you can appeal your image as a composer as much as possible. And the musical number is different from idol songs in terms of image.”

He was right.

No matter how much we told people ‘I wrote this song!’ through reality shows and other shows, they didn’t believe us.

They probably thought ‘Yeah, right, someone else did it for them’ because of that perception.

But it would be a different story if the music was of a different genre from popular music.

“It’s really a good opportunity.”

“Isn’t it?”

“Yeah. If it goes well…”

If it went well, it would be the perfect situation.

After watching the show, the viewers might think ‘Oh, the New Black kids can do music too’ and lean that way.

The problem was.

“Wouldn’t that dilute the tower we’ve built so far with our hard work?”

“…”

The younger ones agreed with me wholeheartedly.

“I honestly think it’s hard.”

“Hmm… It doesn’t seem easy.”

“You said it was image laundering, right? I think the washing machine will go round and round and then explode.”

“Woojoo hyung and I might have to do something else too.”

Our manager started to deny reality while looking at the sky.

Our appearance on Music Cafe was soon confirmed.

The production team seemed to be eagerly waiting for us, as the news came out as soon as the appearance was finalized.

It was when we were heading to the airport for our first overseas tour.

-‘OST Buzz’ New Black to appear on Music Cafe “They will sing Thousand Dreams”

-[Exclusive] New Black, Jo Yuri Band, to appear on ‘Music Cafe’ Musician Special

-New Black to appear on ‘Music Cafe’…They will reveal the production story of ‘Nostalgia OST’

It was a completely different situation from last year, and I felt amazed.

Before, Jo director had to beg Ha Seungju, the MC, ‘Please, let our kids appear…’ and barely got us on.

But this time, they asked us to come.

Of course, we had risen a lot compared to last year, but it was also thanks to the interest from the movie OST.

“We’ll meet Jo Yuri Band again.”

I smiled and said to Rihyuk, who was tapping his tablet.

“Don’t worry.”

“I’m not worried. I’m just awkward.”

“They’ll be more awkward than us.”

“That’s true.”

They were such weak-strong-weak people that I wasn’t worried.

We were almost at Incheon Airport, according to the navigation.

Third floor of Incheon Airport.

Across the crosswalk, I could see the reporters and fans crowded behind the car window.

“…”

I felt suffocated just by looking.

There seemed to be no peaceful way to get through. There were dozens of cannon cameras.

And at least a hundred people, including those who were curious about who was coming.

“Wait a minute, guys. We’re in contact with the security company, so let’s get off after the situation is under control.”

After the security company staff secured the route to pass through.

We finally got out of the car.

Swoosh-

The door of the new car that the company had changed for us a while ago opened automatically.

I felt a sense of pride and put my foot on the ground.

Before I did.

“Wow!”

A scream-like sound erupted among the crowd.

It was lucky that I wore sunglasses, or I would have squinted my eyes from the flash.

I smiled softly and waved my hand.

But that was only for a moment. As soon as I crossed the crosswalk, a chaotic situation unfolded.

“Ah! Ah!”

I felt like crying as the crowd pushed against my shoulders.

Even though Joon-hyun was shielding me and Bijoo from behind like a giant statue, it was still overwhelming.

“Excuse me! Excuse me!”

“…!”

I was startled when someone suddenly lunged at me and tried to grab me.

A security guard quickly pulled them away, but I flinched reflexively.

I was completely out of it.

I couldn’t tell if I was being shoved by people or walking on my own. Cold sweat ran down my back under my shirt.

It was worse than when we left for Japan.

“….”

At first, I took off my sunglasses and walked around with my bare face, but soon I had to wear a mask as well.

I didn’t have the confidence to manage my expression in this situation.

Cameras everywhere I looked, left and right.

Thankfully, I had turned my phone to silent mode. Otherwise, the fans would have called me non-stop.

When we passed the immigration gate, the commotion finally subsided a bit.

“Jiho, take your phone.”

“Huh?”

Jiho fumbled in his pocket and widened his eyes in surprise when Won-seok handed him his phone.

“It fell when the fans rushed at us earlier.”

“Wow. That was scary. Thanks, hyung.”

“Are you okay?”

He smiled with a sweaty face, but he looked exhausted. His hand was red from being stepped on when he picked up the phone.

“Are you okay, hyung?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Ouch. Ouch….”

The other person laughed when we held hands and cried.

We checked him over, but luckily he didn’t seem to be hurt.

He said he had strong bones and told us not to worry, but we felt sorry for him.

“We’ll make enough money to buy a plane, hyung.”

“Sure.”

Thankfully, it was much quieter after we left the departure hall.

Only the usual fans were there.

We ignored the ones who shouted or talked to us and walked leisurely.

I was scared at first, but I gradually got used to it and became numb, as Han-mo from TNT advised.

“You’re shaking like a leaf, hyung.”

“I’m nervous because of the plane.”

I glanced at Joon-hyun.

I quickly checked the news articles that were being uploaded in real time and boarded the plane.

We sat together, surrounded by our manager hyungs, stylists, and other staff.

I took a deep breath as I sat in the middle seat by the window.

Then I started to count the places we were going to visit, and Rihyuk became curious.

“What are you doing? Counting numbers?”

“No. The places we’re going to.”

“Oh.”

I folded my fingers and said.

“Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia….”

They were the countries we were going to visit for our first overseas tour from October to the end of the year.

Including East Asia and Southeast Asia, as well as Australia, America, Brazil, Chile, and so on.

We were going to Japan separately next year.

“I’ll have to take at least fifteen flights….”

“No.”

“Oh, really?”

He said as I smiled, thinking I would take fewer flights.

“You have to multiply by 2. It’s round-trip.”

“….”

“Why are you looking at me like that? You counted wrong.”

“….”

“I’ll give you some chocolate. Let’s make up.”

I agreed right away.

The youngest stuck his face out from behind my seat.

“I want some too. Wow… look at the silver foil.”

“Hehehe!”

They were chattering near me, as if trying to ease my tension.

I appreciated it, even though I didn’t need it.

Joon-hyun pressed my arm to calm me down, and I looked out the window.

I saw the control tower.

I remembered the time when I looked down at the planes from there during the Sagan recording.

They were not big and noisy machines like now, but cute little planes.

I thought of that as I looked at my face reflected in the window.

Then Joon-hyun’s face rose behind me like a moon.

He asked me with a warm face.

“Hyung, don’t I look like the sun when I do this?”

“….”

“This is sunlight.”

“….”

I was dumbfounded by his gesture of holding his hand next to his face and sparkling.

Rihyuk was the same.

He said ‘Uh-uh’ when I turned around, as if to say I shouldn’t.

“You can’t look at the sun with your bare eyes, hyung.”

“Joon-hyun.”

“Yes.”

“Go down.”

“Yes….”

He lowered his face and buckled his seat belt with a sullen look.

I chuckled at him.

But thanks to him, I felt less afraid than usual when the plane took off.

Instead of the scenery from the control tower that I had intended to recall.

I remembered someone covering their face with their hand and saying ‘This is an eclipse’.

That was the problem, but….

Our overseas tour.

Our first destination was Malaysia.

We had a few simple schedules besides the concert, since this tour was also a promotion abroad.

We extended our stay by a day to do some small recordings with local TV stations. Or some magazine interviews.

We were planning to make our name known overseas.

“What’s going on?”

As soon as we arrived at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, the airport staff guided us to the VIP passage.

Seokhwan hyung said.

“They said there’s a crowd outside.”

“Oh.”

“They said this is the first time they’ve seen so many people here.”

It was amazing to use the VIP facilities for the first time in my life.

When we got out and got on the waiting car, the screams erupted as soon as we showed our faces behind the glass.

“Waaaaah!”

The glittering placards shook like crazy.

“Why are there so many Bongdalis?”

“Snails. Snails.”

There was a wave of Dalbongs waiting for us, enough to make us speechless.

From afar, we saw Malaysian fans greeting us with ‘New Black!’ while being guarded by security guards.

They screamed louder when we smiled and waved our hands.

It was as if there was a switch on our hands that turned up the volume.

“Wow, I got goosebumps.”

“Me too.”

“I was confused for a moment. It’s our first time here.”

We chatted with excited faces after getting on the car. Then we muttered as we watched the airport fade away.

“We came to make our name known, but they already know us…”

“How do they know us?”

“Yeah.”

The Soufflés greeted us as if they had been waiting for us in a strange country we had never been to before.

“It’s because the videos you made on MeeTube are quite famous in Malaysia.”

“MeeTube videos?”

“You know. Those ones.”

When we asked with disbelief, he nodded seriously.

“I see.”

“So that’s what it was.”

Seokhwan hyung translated what the local agent said.

“Maybe because they’re from a different language country, they found it more funny to see us doing physical comedy than verbal comedy. That was the important selling point, he said.”

“That makes sense. Honestly, if I saw a singer riding a unicycle on the thumbnail, I would click it too.”

I smiled warmly and looked out the window.

“Can we wash our image?”

“Yeah…”

“Our image wasn’t limited to our country…”

We wondered how to change the image that was formed globally while the car was heading to the hotel.

“So what’s the schedule between the rehearsals?”

“We’re going to visit a dance team and teach them some moves.”

“Today?”

The Malaysian cover dance team that was participating in the ‘K-pop Festival’ finals in Changwon at the end of October.

We were going to visit them and give them some tips on the choreography.

Seokhwan hyung smiled after finishing the phone call with the local agent.

“They said the atmosphere there is no joke. They’re thrilled to dance with New Black.”

“Really?”

“They’re all your fans, so they must be excited. They’re jumping around.”

“I see.”

We looked at each other with smiles.

Bijoo smiled happily.

“It sounds so fun. They’ll love it if we practice with them, right?”

“Yeah. I’m really looking forward to it.”

We smiled happily as we thought of the Soufflés waiting for us.

And there was someone who was staring at us.

“…”

“What’s wrong, hyung?”

“Nothing. Nothing…”

He looked away.

I faintly heard him muttering, ‘They might lose their fandom…’