In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: Rxel

Chapter 81

Woojoo took a seat in the middle of the practice room, enjoying the breeze from the air conditioner.

Woojoo did the three-set leg stretch that he had learned since he was a TJ trainee, and loosened up his stiff body.

“Ah…”

He let out a refreshing sound that he couldn’t make normally because of his younger siblings’ nagging, and indulged in the feeling of being alone in the practice room.

Then he stretched and wandered around the practice room.

He had been bothered by the ceiling CCTV since earlier.

He thought about covering it with an A4 paper like the detectives did in the police movies, but he soon laughed it off.

That would look too suspicious.

And he had heard a story from his siblings.

They said it was installed because of a theft incident that happened before, and the company wouldn’t check it unless there was a special reason.

Besides, he wasn’t trying to do anything weird, so it wouldn’t be a problem even if someone saw it.

They would just think, what is he doing in the practice room?

Actually, Woojoo didn’t plan to come to the practice room from the beginning.

He was going to go to the nearby school gym that was empty because of the vacation, but he was worried about the warning he heard from the company people a while ago.

Be careful, you’ll have fans following you soon.

Maybe he had a fate with the practice room that he couldn’t escape, he thought as he got up from his seat.

Woojoo finished with loosening his shoulders and started the real experiment.

Boxing skills.

Simple coin magic.

Headstand.

High-difficulty dance moves.

He didn’t need to watch the videos again.

As soon as he saw them, they were automatically stored in his body.

His body moved on its own as soon as he thought of something unconsciously.

It was a feeling of being stimulated by a strange sensory organ that was not sight, hearing, smell, touch, or taste.

If he had to express it, it was like electricity running down his spine… It was complicated to say.

Anyway, when he felt that stimulation, he understood how to do the movements without anyone explaining them to him.

For example, when he flipped over the police officer and the CEO at the hospital, it was like this.

Woojoo grabbed the opponent’s arm, bent his body, shifted the center of gravity, and slapped him down. It was like the cuts in a film that were divided into segments.

The ability to do anything by just watching it once.

But it wasn’t limitless.

He couldn’t ignore the influence of hardware and software.

For instance, he couldn’t do the same thing as the NBA basketball players who did dunk shots, or the foreigners who twisted their limbs in bizarre ways, even if he knew how to do it.

He was not a giant with a basic height of 190cm and muscles bulging, nor a normal person with a limit to flexibility.

If he did a dunk shot in this state, he would only go near the goal and fall down.

In the end, he had to have the hardware conditions to perform movements with a certain level of difficulty.

By increasing muscle mass or flexibility and changing the physical condition.

Of course, it was a great advantage to understand how the muscles moved and apply it to other movements.

Woojoo learned how the senior singers used their throats, how the models walked, and how the actors made facial expressions, and used them for his work.

But there was also a limitation on this side.

It was a software problem.

If he compared it to a game, it was like each person had a maximum level of ability that they could develop.

It was a problem that was usually called talent.

For example, if the limit that he could exert was 80 and he couldn’t go higher than that, the dance machine of their team had a limit of 120.

If it was something like singing that he was originally good at, it would be different, but Woojoo felt that he had a limit in the fields that he had no talent for.

So his position was lead vocal, lead dancer, and leader.

The second best in vocal and dance in the team.

Woojoo didn’t know about acting or rap because he didn’t challenge them, but he thought he would be the second best in the team if he did.

Woojoo couldn’t help the given limit, but it was a miraculous ability that made him reach the final destination faster than anyone else.

That was the conclusion he came to.

***

Well, anyway, this was all the information he already knew.

Woojoo had been researching and learning how to apply it since he got the ability until today.

But what he still didn’t understand was the principle.

He could fully understand how others made expressions and danced, but he didn’t understand how it worked.

It felt like holding a smartphone in his hand.

He could search for any information in the world, but he had no idea how the components inside worked.

There were so many things he couldn’t understand.

The two biggest problems were:

One was the phenomenon of experiencing the past as if it were a virtual reality, which happened when he met Professor Choi Yongjae that day or during the showcase sound accident.

The other was what happened when he imitated the emperor penguin’s movements a few days ago.

No.

Woojoo thought he was just mimicking the movements, but why did memories pop up and how could he follow the movements of an animal that wasn’t human?

He was so curious that he wrote an email to a professor in the field of brain neuroscience who was famous in Korea, but he got a reply after a month.

He said it was a scientifically impossible phenomenon.

Woojoo wanted to go and show him in person, but if he did, his name would be on the world’s academic journals and he would be locked up in a secret base like CIA or NASA in the US.

That was something he wanted to avoid.

In the end, the only option left was to search the internet and think by himself.

Well, the penguin walked on two legs like a human, so he would give it that.

But what was the connection between memory and movement?

And.

How did memories flow out?

At first, Woojoo thought it was caused by pressure.

But that wasn’t it either.

Woojoo had severe stress at the recent event hall when he performed as a substitute for Teen Spirit, but there was no flashback phenomenon then.

If he knew the principle, he would use it.

The reason he focused on that part was not for anything else.

If Woojoo could vividly experience the memories of the past…

If the range of memories that this ability applied to was possible before the day he got the ability…

Maybe.

Maybe he could see his mom and dad’s faces.

Now Woojoo could only see his mom and dad’s faces in an album or by searching for ‘Seon Myungjoo couple’ on the internet.

Woojoo would really like to see them.

He wanted to smell his mom’s scent, hear his dad’s voice, and touch their skin again to feel what it was like.

It was a problem he had been thinking about for a long time.

Woojoo shook his head after thinking deeply.

Don’t be pathetic, Seon Woojoo.

That was why people needed to be busy.

If he stayed still, he would end up having pitiful thoughts.

Woojoo laid a mat on the floor and took a yoga pose to relax his tense muscles.

His phone vibrated briefly.

Movie Villain [Hyung]

Movie Villain [Did you take my card wallet??]

Woojoo tapped his fingers.

Me [ㅇㅇ]

Movie Villain [Oh, really]

Movie Villain [Don’t be so heartless like Rihyuk, ㅇㅇ]

Movie Villain [You know how cute I am]

Me [ㅗ]

Movie Villain [(Shivering emoticon)]

Movie Villain [Anyway, I charged 100,000 won, so I can’t lose it]

Me [Why did you buy a child card?]

Movie Villain [Is that what kids use??]

Me [Did you charge 100,000 won without knowing…?]

Movie Villain [Oh noㅠㅠ I bought it because the design was exactly my taste…]

Movie Villain [Please keep it for me, I want to use it as a decoration]

Woojoo replied OK and got up from his seat.

He decided to stop thinking about it.

“I should get to work.”

He had more than one or two things to do.

The most important thing was the song work.

He had to prepare for the second album soon, so he thought it would be good to make some songs in advance.

Woojoo couldn’t expect to have another title song like Fireworks, but it was better than nothing.

As he was burning with work ambition, his phone vibrated long.

It was Seokhwan Hyung this time.

“Hello.”

-Are you at the company right now?

“Well, I have something to do…”

-I wanted to tell you when I was with the kids, but I have some good news.

Woojoo heard Seokhwan Hyung’s voice clearly over the phone.

-Your school uniform ad shooting schedule came out.

***

School uniform ad.

That was the main project he wanted to tell the fans along with the Chuseok Special ‘Around the World with Dice’.

When the radio was over, Woojoo heard that they were having a meeting with the school uniform company, and they were confirmed as the first choice on the day they became the first-place candidate.

To be exact, they met with the advertiser the day after the music show ended and stamped the contract.

It was a very friendly atmosphere.

According to Seokhwan Hyung, they were a cheeky company that only poked and peeked at them until then.

“Do you know that the school uniform ad trend has changed?”

Seokhwan Hyung, who was holding the steering wheel, said to Woojoo, who was sitting in the passenger seat.

“They used to only shoot with top stars before I went to the army.”

“That’s right. When the seniors who were doing well at TJ shot a school uniform ad, the company would distribute bromides and stuff. They told the trainees to get motivated.”

“The trend has changed these days.”

The manager explained.

“There are four large companies that hold the industry tight, but the market size is limited. They have to eat all the pies, whether they have them or not. It’s hard to have fun with the old-fashioned top star marketing.”

“So they use rookies, Manager?”

“To be exact, they use rookies who look like they will make it. It’s not like the sales go up significantly if they use a very famous idol. They’d rather buy a lottery ticket with a small amount of money and enjoy the promotional effect.”

They brightened up at that.

No matter what the case was, it meant that the people in the clothing industry, who were sensitive to the trend, highly evaluated their potential.

They even decided to secure them in advance.

“What should I do, I’m not ready to make it yet.”

They all laughed at the youngest’s joke.

It was fun to have a schedule for the first ad they ever shot, and everyone looked fresh after sleeping for more than twelve hours.

The dark circles that were gloomy were gone and they looked fresh.

Woojoo was the same.

He was in the studio until midnight and then went back to the dorm, but it was after he had a good sleep.

“What did you guys do yesterday?”

The kids answered his question.

“Junghyun and I had a family gathering. Junghyun’s parents suddenly came up to Seoul.”

“Oh, what did you eat?”

“Flower sirloin for eight people.”

Junghyun answered with a proud face, while Bijoo glanced at Woojoo.

His long eyelashes blinked quickly.

It felt like seeing a deer that was caught stealing crops in a field.

Why was he like that?

“I should have invited you too, but it was a sudden appointment. It was really like a lightning strike.”

“Ah, I don’t care at all.”

“I called Hyung, but…”

“He said he had his phone on silent because he was working yesterday.”

He waved his hand with a smile.

Woojoo thought he had committed some grave sin, but he seemed to feel sorry for not inviting him to that gathering, since he considered Woojoo his benefactor.

Woojoo didn’t have any particular thoughts when he waved back.

Then, Rihyuk suddenly spoke.

“I didn’t do anything special. I just read a book at the hostel yesterday.”

“What did you read?”

“The Courage to Be Disliked.”

He showed Woojoo the book he was reading.

It had a yellow cover with the title The Courage to Be Disliked.

Woojoo was impressed by the title.

“Aren’t you already enough?”

“…Be quiet, seriously. And don’t laugh, everyone.”

“I thought it was a book written by you when I saw the title.”

“Shut up, Wang Jiho.”

“Huh? Do you want to fight? If I hit me with that corner, the robot vacuum cleaner that’s on its way will go back to its hometown.”

Rihyuk’s eyes darted between the robot vacuum cleaner and Jiho’s head, holding the corner of the book.

The winner was the robot vacuum cleaner.

As Rihyuk snorted and turned his eyes to the book, Jiho stuck his head out through the gap in the front seat.

“Hyung, don’t you want to ask me?”

“You came rolling to my seat yesterday and told me what you did with the girls for an hour.”

“There’s more to tell… But never mind.”

The youngest, who was sulking, looked at Woojoo’s face and smiled slyly.

“Hyung.”

“What.”

“You look really happy today.”

“Of course, I rested well.”

“That’s not it. I know that expression. It’s the grandfather expression that comes out when you talk about the army or the old days. Is it because of the uniform?”

Woojoo felt embarrassed.

“That’s right, that’s it.”

Rihyuk closed the book and joined in.

“I wondered why you were like ‘What did you guys do~ My kids~’ today. You’re excited to wear a uniform after a long time, you old man.”

“Hyung, is it your first time wearing a uniform in a while?”

“Woojoo Hyung, you graduated from high school a long time ago.”

“No, not that.”

Woojoo explained, but they didn’t buy it.

It was true.

It had been almost four or five years.

Woojoo had some regrets about the uniform that he didn’t get to wear much because he dropped out of high school.

He was definitely thrilled.

Woojoo knew that feeling wouldn’t last long.

“…Huh?”

They were on their way to the agency to hear about the concept and schedule of the advertisement.

But then a familiar neighborhood appeared.

Woojoo saw Cheongdam-dong and some very familiar buildings.

Wait a minute, this was.

“Seokhwan Hyung.”

“Uh, yeah?”

“You didn’t tell me the name of the agency we’re going to meet today. Which company is doing this ad?”

“It’s run by a large-scale planning company…”

Seokhwan Hyung’s eyes scanned Woojoo’s face. Then he calmly said, “It’s called TJ New Media.”

That was when a familiar building that he had seen so often before started to reveal itself.

A building that was like a symbol of K-pop, boasting its artistic presence in the middle of Cheongdam-dong.

It was the headquarters of TJ Entertainment, where he had been for six years.