In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

Chapter 58

The air was stiflingly awkward.

As we got on the elevator, the other side moved aside hesitantly.

“Hello.”

Hanjo, who was in the corner, whispered a greeting.

While the leaders exchanged eye contact, the two main vocals nodded at each other and started to distance themselves.

Was that a greeting or not?

One of them was digging into the corner as if he was going to sell a cave, and the other was staring at the numbers going up with a stiff posture like an ostrich.

I could only snicker.

Then a hearty voice spoke to us.

“Oh, hello there.”

The street boys’ manager, Mr. Park, was hidden behind the huge box carried by the road manager.

He smiled warmly.

“It’s nice to see you again here. Did you come alone with the road staff, New Black?”

“Yes, our manager was busy.”

“Well, it’s a busy time for you. New Black is doing so well these days. Your songs are popular and you’re on various shows.”

He knew we were only on our own radio show.

He was subtly rubbing it in, but his tone was so smooth and friendly that I couldn’t find fault with it.

If I frowned, I would be the weird one.

“I’m also out of my mind these days. Our kids are going on K-Net reality show again. There’s so much to do. I have to eat with the production team, have meetings with the writers. I feel like I need two bodies. Sigh.”

“Yes, you must be working hard.”

Mr. Park scratched his nose with a hmm, as if he was disappointed by the polite reply from Minki hyung.

He was frustrated.

In a situation where New Black’s performance was clearly better, the street boys’ manager seemed to want to show us something like ‘we’re still better at this!’ in his own way.

Ding-

12th floor.

The conversation was naturally cut off as the door opened at the radio center.

As we followed the sub-writer who came to greet us, we heard a groan from behind.

The road manager on the other side was sweating from the heavy load.

Hanjo approached him as if he wanted to help, but the road manager shook his head with a wink, glancing at Mr. Park’s back.

It felt like the company atmosphere was different from ours.

Lemon was more lenient with singers and managers, probably because they started as an actor agency, but DNS seemed to squeeze the lower staff, since they were an idol company from the start.

I was glad I joined our company.

Mr. Park misunderstood his gaze and brought up a story he didn’t ask.

“It’s the support from the street boys’ fans.”

“Huh?”

“That box.”

“Oh… yes.”

“The fans went crazy when they heard our kids were going on the radio. The company said it was enough, but they were so passionate, they sent a lot of snacks and drinks for the staff to enjoy. You can see how many fans they already have…”

He sounded like an uncle who bragged about his son’s job to his unemployed nephew on a holiday.

And his two embarrassed sons as a bonus.

“…Hmm?”

The sub-writer, who had been silent until then, turned around with a pause.

“Did you bring it for us?”

“Yes, it’s from the fans for the writers and the PD.”

“Oh, yeah… that’s a lot.”

The sub-writer smiled awkwardly, and Mr. Park tilted his head.

We felt the same.

We heard that they brought free food, but we didn’t look as happy as we thought.

What’s going on?

When we finally entered the studio, we understood why she had that expression.

The studio with a radio booth attached.

On one wall, there were stacks of boxes that looked expensive at a glance.

Dessert boxes with hotel marks.

On each box, there was a cute font that said [To the Wonderful Night production team, from New Black’s youngest Ji-ho! Enjoy!].

It felt like I was hearing a hallucination.

-I sent you a gift, so look forward to it!

I laughed as I realized what was going on.

“PD-nim, the guests are here.”

The PD, who was sitting at the console table, got up and greeted us with a smile.

“Oh, welcome. I was just about to thank you for the cake you sent me…”

Park Manager, who was looking at the expensive-looking dessert containers that cost several thousand won each, made a dumbfounded expression.

“…”

It was the kind of expression you make when you bragged about your child, but then found out that your nephew, who was a job seeker, had passed the civil service exam and was waiting for his appointment.

The PD, who was exchanging greetings with us, turned his gaze to the Street Boys.

“What is that?”

“Ah, this is…”

I held back a laugh as I watched him fumble for words.

***

As the managers left the studio with mixed expressions of joy and sorrow, we entered the radio booth.

“Hello, sunbae-nim!”

“Oh, I’m glad to see you all.”

Jang So-won waved her hand and welcomed us.

We sat in a U-shaped table around the DJ, with me and Ri-hyuk on the left, and Hanjo and Kiwon on the right.

She smiled and talked to us, seeing our nervous faces.

“Is this your first time on the radio for both groups?”

“Yes.”

“You must be very nervous, but please do your best. I’ll fill in the gaps for you, so don’t be shy and be confident with your comments. Got it?”

“Yes, sunbae-nim.”

The conversation ended there.

Jang So-won gave us a faint smile and turned her eyes to the script.

The meaning was clear.

She couldn’t fill the airtime with personal friendship alone, so we had to do well on our own.

I nodded.

We had to take care of our own rice bowls.

I thought of the younger ones who were cheering for us at the dorm and looked around.

Beyond the soundproof glass, the production staff were drinking coffee and chatting, in the corner there was a camera filming us, and in front of me there was a long microphone and a monitor.

I adjusted the height of the microphone and looked at the monitor.

-Is this week’s guest also an idol???

-They’re all handsome

-Street Boys fighting!!!

The radio screen and the chat window were noisy. 

Next to it, there was a memo app, but I didn’t know what it was for.

I’ll find out later.

In the meantime, I moved my eyes to the guy next to me.

He was nervous again.

I smiled as I watched him breathe deeply.

His long, black eyelashes blinked twice per second, and under the table, he shook one leg.

Fortunately, because of his characteristic cold expression, he didn’t look very nervous unless you looked closely.

“Are you nervous?”

“Who, me?”

“Yeah. You.”

“Not at all. Don’t worry. I was a little nervous at the music cafe, but I can do well on the live broadcast today.”

“Hey. I’m nervous too. How can you not be nervous?”

I smiled at him.

“Take it easy.”

“Huh?”

“You can’t always do well. You might mess up. Don’t try too hard. Just relax. Let’s have fun chatting with you, me, and the listeners today. That’s the mindset, okay?”

“…Okay.”

He held out his fist as if to say fighting.

He stared at my fist and then quickly grabbed it and shook it like a handshake.

No.

You’re supposed to bump it, Ri-hyuk.

I wonder if he was watching me and Junghyun do it earlier.

I wish there was a short-term education program for skinship. I’d like to send him there.

By the way, it’s a mess over there.

If this is clear, then that’s cloudy.

Kiwon was swallowing saliva with a very nervous look on his face.

He opened and drank the cap of the water bottle every five seconds, and there was only half of the water left before the broadcast started.

And Hanjo, who was adjusting the headphone length for the youngest, was also quite tense.

At first, I thought they were just nervous because it was their first live broadcast, but soon I realized why they were acting like that.

It was because of Jang So-won sunbae.

Street Boys’ debut song Hunger had a diss rap aimed at our song Something.

And Jang So-won was the original composer of that song.

Of course, I didn’t know if she knew about the diss rap, or what she thought of it, but from the perspective of those rookies, they must have felt bitter even if they kept quiet.

I sneered at the sight of them glancing at the DJ who was quietly looking over the script.

They should have been more shameless.

They should have stuck to the attitude they had at the showcase Q&A, saying ‘It’s not a diss. You’re misunderstanding.’

I didn’t understand why they did that if they were going to be so cautious.

Well.

There were more than a few things that didn’t make sense if I started to reason logically, so I decided to ignore them.

It was none of my business anyway.

I had enough trouble taking care of our kids, let alone caring about the situation of another group.

There were only two things I cared about right now.

How to leave a good impression on the listeners through this broadcast, and how well we could perform ‘Night Sea’ at the live stage in the fourth part.

Nothing else was that important.

-The commercial is almost over. Please get ready.

As the PD’s voice rang through the speaker, pressing the talkback button, the guests put on their headphones along with the DJ.

A soft feeling.

While enjoying the old and cozy texture, the signal music sung by Girls On Top flowed out.

-Forever tonight, Jang So-won’s Wonderful Night.

The live broadcast finally began.

***

Seok-hwan hyung once told me something.

Entertainment is a war without gunfire.

That meant that we had to do all kinds of things to get one minute and one second of airtime, throwing comments, interrupting, and trying to attract attention.

But now.

The genre of the scene that was being staged in the radio studio was far from that.

“You two groups are so warm. You get along so well, but you must have been sorry that you didn’t have a chance to talk on music shows.”

The two leaders answered with a smile.

“Yes, we didn’t know we would get along so well.”

“Me too. I always wanted to be friends with New Black.”

The reason for this interesting play was simple.

-You have to do all kinds of things to get airtime when you go on air.

It was because of Seok-hwan hyung’s training.

-But that’s for recorded shows. The problematic parts are edited out. But you know the radio you’re going on is live, right? If you try to get airtime and get branded as unlikable, that’s worse.

So the manager’s advice was to create a friendly atmosphere as much as possible.

We, the rookies, didn’t have the skill to snatch airtime with a smile, let alone the status to do so.

The other side must have received similar training, as the atmosphere was friendly all the time.

Well.

I hated to admit it, but they actually didn’t have a bad chemistry either.

“Your positions overlap, too. Woojoo and Hanjo are the leaders of the group, and Kiwon and Ri-hyuk are the main vocals, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“That’s an interesting combination. It’s amazing that the two leaders have similar vibes, but the main vocals have completely different impressions.”

The monitor screen’s notepad had some text entered.

The PD was entering some of the listeners’ reactions that he thought were interesting.

“Jeong Da-eun says, ‘The temperature difference is like spring and winterㅋㅋ’. That’s true. Kiwon looks like a cute and warm chick, but Ri-hyuk has an ice princess vibe.”

“Can’t I be a prince?”

“No, you can’t. Ri-hyuk suits a princess better.”

Ri-hyuk smiled faintly at the playful comment.

“How about you, Kiwon? The listener says you have a warm impression like spring.”

“…Ah, yes. I like spring, too.”

Kiwon gave a random answer, looking nervous, and the DJ smiled.

“You can see the temperature difference in this aspect, too. Hanjo takes great care of Kiwon, but Ri-hyuk has a very independent atmosphere.”

“No, I take great care of him, too.”

I jumped in at the right timing.

“Ri-hyuk looks very independent on the outside. But when you get to know him, he’s a very needy friend. I always take care of him as an older brother.”

“That’s not true at all. I’ve always done well on my own.”

“Now you’re even lying.”

As we joked around with each other, the attention of the broadcast naturally shifted to New Black.

The DJ seemed to think that we were better than the other side, who kept missing his cues.

But.

The person who made New Black the center of the broadcast today was neither me, nor Ri-hyuk, nor Jang So-won. It was a third party.

“Hey, a funny comment just came up. Ri-hyuk, it’s from Piraruku. Looks like they’re a New Black fan.”

Yeah. That’s our youngest.

Just as I was getting nervous about what he was going to say, Jang So-won senior burst into laughter.

“They say, ‘Please lower the lights!! Ri-hyuk’s face is disappearing!’”

“What? My face?”

As soon as we checked the monitor, we all laughed.

The PD had turned up the brightness, and Ri-hyuk’s face had vanished like a ghost egg.

It was because his skin was too pale.

He looked like a sketch of a handsome boy with no face.

-His face is gone lol

-I thought he was holding a reflector lol

-Sudden ghost egg lol

The chat was filled with ‘lol’ as if they found him cute. Ri-hyuk covered his face with his hand, embarrassed.

And when the PD lowered the brightness again.

-OMG he’s like a tomato.

Just like someone commented, a very ripe persimmon had appeared on the screen.