In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

Chapter 55

Wonderful Night

It’s been ten days since we successfully finished our debut showcase.

During that time, we’ve been busy with music shows, photo shoots, small events, and so on.

Today, we had a new schedule to handle.

“Nice to meet you.”

A reporter greeted us at a cafe near the HBS open hall in Deungchon-dong.

She had sharp eyes and a sophisticated vibe.

“I’m Oh So-hee, a reporter from Entertainment IN. We met at the showcase, right?”

“Yes, hello!”

We bowed our waists at 90 degrees, and she smiled at us.

She told us to relax and sit down, but we kept swallowing our saliva.

Our first interview after debut.

We had done a lot of interviews during Something, but this was the first time we did it without Jangso-won sunbae or Seok-hwan hyung.

Min-gi hyung came with us, but it was hard to expect much help from him.

“I remember that the manager always followed you around. Where did he go today?”

“Yes, he’s currently unavailable because of a meeting.”

The road manager answered, and Oh So-hee nodded.

“Then let’s start with just us… Hm?”

She was about to press the record button on her phone, but she stopped at the sight of our members’ movements.

We all turned off our phones.

She smiled as if she found us cute.

“Did the company tell you to do that?”

“No, Woojoo hyung nagged us all the way here. He said that when we do interviews with reporters, we should turn off our phones. He said he would follow us around and nag us all day if our phones ring in the middle of it.”

The youngest’s words made us laugh warmly.

The atmosphere lightened up, and I relaxed my stiff shoulders.

I felt a little less nervous.

It was annoying to see the customers around us staring at us or taking pictures with their phones, but there was nothing we could do about it.

We had officially entered the entertainment industry.

Min-ki hyung walked over to the customers who were blatantly taking pictures of us, and the interview began.

“First of all, congratulations. As of the 27th, the music video for Fireworks reached one million views, right? I heard that it’s the shortest record for a rookie idol group that’s not from the Big 4 agencies.”

It was a flattering compliment, but it wasn’t wrong.

Since the 2010s, when idol fandoms started streaming 24 hours a day, the rise of Fireworks was unbelievable.

It wasn’t like Yoon Chan-hyuk, who people would listen to whenever he released a song, or TNT, who had a powerful fandom. It was a miracle that a rookie group like us achieved such results.

We were also flustered.

We would check the chart rankings as soon as we opened our eyes every morning, with our eyes wide open.

The conversation about our performance ended, and she changed the topic.

“You were also quite a hot topic in the idol community, right? Especially the acapella live video that got a lot of attention.”

“Yes, we received a lot of compliments that were too generous. Among them, I remember the comment that said we were like a group of main vocalists. We were really happy when we saw that.”

She smiled as if she knew what we meant.

“Then, how do you feel about the name New Black being hot in the idol scene right now? Does that popularity affect your daily life? Do people recognize you on the street?”

“I don’t think so.”

I answered with a smile.

“Rather, there were more people who recognized us when we were doing Something. I guess people don’t know us much because we’re rookies. And it’s more comfortable to have less attention for now.”

It would be different if we were a national idol group like TNT.

If you asked the average person on the street to name an idol, they would probably name less than three.

It was natural that people didn’t know us.

That’s why we had to work harder.

We were having a pleasant conversation, when the question I expected came out of her mouth.

“How is your relationship with Street Boys these days? There was a rivalry between the two groups before you debuted. Especially you, Woojoo, you were often compared to Hanjo because of your image as a composer-idol.”

Street Boys.

To be honest, I haven’t had a real conversation with them since we debuted.

We just exchanged brief greetings when we passed by each other.

It was awkward because of the diss, but also because we had nothing to say.

And considering the atmosphere between the two companies’ managers, it wasn’t a situation where we could chat casually.

But I couldn’t tell the reporter, ‘We don’t care about each other, and we don’t talk.’ So I was about to give the prepared answer.

“We think of them as our fellow debutants in the entertainment industry.”

Led by the calm voice of Bi-ju, the members chimed in as if to ease the leader’s burden.

Right. Good job, my kids.

Compared to the times when they froze during the interviews in the Something era, this was a huge improvement.

As I watched the members say a word or two, Reporter Oh smiled.

“Ah, the reason I asked this question is because I interviewed Street Boys a while ago, and one of their members mentioned New Black as the group they want to be friends with. Especially you, Ri-hyuk.”

“…Me? Me?”

Not only Ri-hyuk, but the kids were also surprised.

“This hyung?”

“Our Ri-hyuk?”

“Uh, why?”

A perfect raw reaction.

As our main vocal opened his eyes wide, Oh Sohee reporter burst into a hearty laugh.

Of course, I was holding my head in pain.

“Reporter, the kids’ comments just now…”

“I got it, I’ll skip this question. The PR team leader already asked me to be careful.”

Reporter Oh smiled and changed the question.

“Then let me ask you something else. I heard that Street Boys are going to start filming their second reality show on K-Net soon. What about New Black’s future activities? Do you have any plans for broadcasting?”

“We don’t have any yet, except for music shows. But we are ready to do our best for any opportunity that comes our way.”

“…Oh, so you don’t have any yet.”

She looked a bit disappointed.

“I did some research before the interview, and it seems that there are some controversies going on in the community and elsewhere because New Black has less exposure on TV.”

“Controversies?”

“Fireworks is the most successful self-composed song among idol songs. Even though the song is good, it’s too good, so some people wonder if it’s really a self-composed song.”

“Ah.”

“That’s why I asked. Does the company have any plans to show something about the composition in the future?”

It was something I hadn’t thought of at all, so I hesitated.

But not for long.

I smiled and answered calmly.

“About that…”

It was the best answer I could think of.

“I believe we will have a chance to show you in the future.”

***

Wow. That was tough.

Back to the HBS public hall for the music show <Popular Singer> schedule.

My legs were trembling as I climbed the stairs one by one.

The kids were nervous that they might make a mistake during the interview, and when it was over, they seemed to lose all their strength.

As I walked like a limp squid.

Bi-ju came up to me, misunderstanding my expression.

“Don’t worry about what the reporter said earlier.”

“Huh?”

“The composition thing.”

Oh. That.

“It’s because the song is so good that it happened. Don’t listen to the jealous people.”

“Really. I don’t understand why they leave such comments.”

Our team’s best trash talker added, and Jung-hyun followed.

“Those people will disappear soon.”

“Jung-hyun hyung, when you say that, put down your fist. It’s scary.”

“Ah, sorry.”

“Right. Woojoo hyung, ignore those weird people.”

The youngest, who was gulping down his macchiato, said casually.

Taking care of the eldest’s feelings.

Our kids are so nice.

I smiled at the sight of our main vocal’s surprised eyes.

***

But I didn’t care as much as the kids worried.

Composing music wasn’t something that could be seen with the eyes, and it was a matter that had to be proven over time.

Well. I wish I had a chance to show it, but still.

I thought about telling them that I was just tired, but I decided to keep quiet because I liked their concerned looks.

“By the way, didn’t you say that the manager went to a meeting? Is that related to our schedule? Maybe we’re going to a new show…”

“That’s right. Min-ki hyung, did you hear anything?”

The road manager seemed to recall something as he answered my question.

“Well, I heard that he went to Sangam-dong.”

“Sangam? Is it TBC?”

There was also K-Net’s headquarters, but we had a bad relationship with them.

It was highly likely to be TBC.

Since it was one of the three terrestrial broadcasters, I didn’t have any special information to know, so I stopped guessing there.

He’ll let me know when it’s confirmed.

With that thought, I returned to the waiting room on the fifth floor.

We, who were wandering around the large auditorium with blue partitions roughly divided, quickly found the waiting room.

“Oh, you’re here.”

Yoon Seok-hwan, who had already arrived, greeted us.

He had just returned, flapping his shirt hem and cooling off his sweat.

He smiled when he saw my face.

“You came back with half of your face.”

“Don’t say that. I was so nervous thinking that we had to interview each other…”

I was appealing that I was having a hard time, but the younger ones next to me waved their hands and said something with their mouths.

Roughly, ‘You’re just saying that, but you did well’ or something like that.

These guys are really.

Seok-hwan hyung chuckled and said.

“You worked hard.”

“Let’s stick together, hyung. I’m having a hard time without you. I don’t even know what to say.”

“Get used to it, man. You guys are debuting now and I’m busy running the business. You have to get used to hanging out with Min-ki and you guys.”

After the live without accompaniment, Seok-hwan hyung’s eyes were full of trust in me.

He seemed to think that he could trust and leave the kids to me.

I wanted to refuse that misunderstanding.

“So, how did the meeting at TBC go?”

“TBC? How do you know that?”

“I heard from Min-ki hyung that you went to Sangam-dong. I thought you went there for some show booking.”

A slightly flustered face.

As soon as he realized that we didn’t know what was going on, Seok-hwan hyung looked relieved.

It smelled very suspicious.

But before I could ask any more questions, our manager changed the topic.

And with some news that made our ears perk up.

“By the way, your show schedule is set.”

“Schedule? What is it?”

“Radio.”

The manager explained to us, who looked curious.

“It’s called Wonderful Night, a radio program hosted by Jang So-won.”

***

Jang So-won’s Wonderful Night.

HBS’s flagship radio program that runs from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.

The date we were going to was July 6th.

Exactly a week later, on Sunday.

“He said he was doing a special feature on rookie boy groups. The writer there told me that Jang So-won recommended you guys strongly.”

He joked that he would definitely call you when we parted in May.

I didn’t expect him to actually do it.

What the hell is this? We were moved by the new schedule.

Then Seok-hwan hyung delivered the unfortunate news.

“Only two of you will go.”

“Why?”

“The corner you’re going to is a competitive one. You compete with stories, and show live corners.”

So they decided to send out Ri-hyuk, who sings the best, and me, who sings the next best.

We all agreed to that.

But we frowned at the following story.

“Then who’s the other team?”

“Street Boys.”

Was it because we had been through it so much for the last month?

It was a name I didn’t want to hear at all.

***

“Cheer up, guys.”

We had finished the pre-recording and only had the live broadcast left. I was taking a break at the cafeteria.

Bi-ju and Jung-hyun had some errands to run, so they left.

I was with the two younger members.

The menu was, of course, the famous sandwich of <Popular Singer>.

I felt uneasy as I watched the youngest one devour the sandwich with enthusiasm.

“Why are you so excited when you’re telling us to cheer up?”

“Well, of course. I’m not the one who’s going on stage.”

“…”

“Aaah… Why are you like that when I’m eating?”

I grabbed his cheek, which was like a sticky rice cake, and glanced at the side.

Ri-hyuk, who would have joined me in teasing him at any other time, was quietly looking at his phone.

“What are you looking at?”

“I’m searching for an article. Someone said they wanted to be friends with me in an interview earlier.”

“Oh, that. I was curious about that too.”

Who was the one who said such a strange thing?

He tapped his smartphone with his long and slender finger, and an article popped up.

Street Boys Interview.

The reporter was right. 

There was really such a statement written there.

The speaker was the youngest member named Kiwon.

“He said he wanted to be friends with me because he saw my face at the same agency before… What does that mean? We were in the same agency?”

Ri-hyuk tilted his head, and the youngest one exclaimed as if he remembered something.

“Ah! I think I know him! Isn’t he Yoon Kiwon?”

“It doesn’t say his surname.”

“It must be him.”

Ji-ho started to chatter.

“He’s in the same school as me. Vocal class B. I heard he was from Oullim before. Didn’t you train at Oullim before you came to our company, hyung?”

“Oullim? I was there for a while.”

Ri-hyuk recalled his vague memory, while I shook my head.

Why did he do such an interview?

He must have known that he dissed us in a rap. I don’t understand why he chose one of us as the idol member he wanted to be friends with.

Was it because he didn’t like us because of our history?

Or maybe this was some kind of elaborate scheme.

As I was thinking that, a shadow loomed over us, who were eating sandwiches and chatting.

“Excuse me…”

A very calm and low voice.

Who is it, I thought, and lifted my head. I had to hide my nervous expression.

It was because of the person standing in front of me.

Hanjo.

The leader of Street Boys, and the one who had embarrassed us with his diss rap.

What the hell.

Why is he suddenly talking to me?

I was startled by the person who spoke to me for the first time in ten days since our debut.

Not only me, but also my siblings were shocked by what Hanjo did next.

“Here, take this.”

He handed me two bills worth 50,000 won each.