In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: Rxel

Chapter 93

Documentary, and Daily Life

The photo shoot took place outside.

They didn’t ask the manager, but they thought it was a bit weird for outsiders to take pictures in the classroom.

One afternoon in August.

They changed into their school uniforms and wandered around the school.

They tried the flower bud pose in front of the flower bed, crossed their legs on the bench, and sat in the pavilion.

One was for taking pictures, and the other was for communicating with the fans on live broadcast.

“Okay, let’s get some recommendations for the next pose!”

The comments poured in right away.

-How about standing side by side and raising your shoulders and hands?

-The Creation of Adam…?

-Just do everythingㅋㅋ They’re all prettyㅎㅎㅎ

-Your outfit matches your face. Astronomy.

The last comment was unusual.

It looked like a bad translator had translated the sentence ‘You look good in your uniform, Woojoo’.

Woojoo imagined the fan typing the sentence in a foreign language, translating it, and pasting it in the chat. It was kind of cute.

There weren’t many comments, so he tried to comment on each one as much as possible.

“Standing side by side and raising your hands? Let’s give it a try.”

“Thank you for saying we’re all pretty.”

“Right? The uniform suits me, right? I know it looks good on me.”

The younger ones made admiring expressions at his basic English expressions, and Woojoo felt embarrassed.

Then, he noticed an eye-catching comment.

“The Creation of Adam? I can’t remember it all of a sudden. What was it, this…”

“It’s a famous painting,” Rihyuk said. “It’s a work by Michelangelo. It’s painted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, where God and the first human touch their fingers on the clouds…”

“Oh, I remember. That’s it.”

“It sounds fun. Shall we give it a try?”

“First, Woojoo Hyung, just stay still. I’ll lift you up.”

Junghyun lifted Woojoo up like a prince.

“Hey, Junghyun. This pose is a bit awkward.”

“I’m fine. Hyung.”

“Yeah, I know that. But I’m not talking about you.”

“Be quiet and take the pose quickly. Yes. Lift your knee a little, and stretch your hand. And the angle…”

“Just do it roughly, Rihyuk Hyung. If you try to do it like the original painting, there’s no end to it. You have to be naked too.”

They laughed and posed.

Woojoo lay on the left side, and the youngest, who was lifted by Bijoo and Rihyuk, lay on the opposite side and took the pose.

Then, he stretched his finger gracefully, but his expression was so holy and solemn that Woojoo couldn’t help but laugh.

He looked at the selfie stick and saw comments like ‘ㅋㅋㅋㅋ’ in the chat.

“Wow, it came out well.”

The quality of the photo was superb.

Woojoo nodded with a smile at the fans who asked him to upload it on the fan cafe or SNS.

Of course he would.

“Hyung, where should we go next?”

“Let’s go to the end of the playground over there.”

Woojoo led his younger brothers like a teacher taking care of kindergarten students.

“Wow, the flowers here are so pretty!”

They said they would take his graduation photos, but they seemed more excited than him.

Especially their second youngest, who loved doing things together, looked so happy that he couldn’t be happier.

Woojoo felt the same way.

Surrounded by his brothers who were bouncing around like puppies, he laughed endlessly.

It was a fun day, after a long time.

***

At dusk.

In the car passing the Hangang Bridge illuminated by the sunset, they each held a can of soda.

“Good job, guys.”

Woojoo smiled and offered a can of zero cola.

They clinked their cans like a toast and laughed.

“Ah, it’s really hot.”

The youngest flapped his white shirt with the wind coming through the open window.

It was understandable.

It was summer, and they were wearing winter uniforms with jackets, not even summer ones. It was hotter than a steamer.

Rihyuk drank the barley water in the thermos and said, “Really, we have to suffer a lot because of our incompetent Hyung.”

Woojoo almost spat out my zero cola.

“Hey. Isn’t that the kind of line I should say? When I say, guys, you worked hard, you should say, no, what are we suffering for?”

“Look at that military vibe.”

“You look too old, Hyung.”

“…”

“Why are you like that, Hyungs. Woojoo Hyung doesn’t look old, he is old. Right? Our sun old.”

“…I’ll let it go today, because I’m in a good mood, really.”

Woojoo poked the youngest’s side.

Then he laughed heartily.

They were having a lively conversation with the members about the commercial shooting and the photos they took earlier, when Minki Hyung handed Woojoo his phone.

“The manager has something to tell you guys.”

They switched to speakerphone mode and gathered around.

-Yeah, it’s me.

Seokhwan Hyung’s voice was bright like a clear sky.

-I have two news for you guys. Which one do you want to hear first? Good news, or interesting news?

Junghyun quickly answered.

“Anything.”

-Then I’ll start with the good news. You guys know HBS MTV, right? Showtime, I mean.

“Yeah. Of course we know.”

This was the first music show where they were nominated for first place.

-HBS decided to launch a new program. It’s an idol reality show starring New Black.

“A reality show? Really?”

-It’s confirmed for the next quarter. We’ll start filming in early September and air it around the time you release your second album.

They all cheered.

An idol reality show.

The program they envied every time Street Boys did it on K-net.

The dream and wish of every rookie idol.

They were going to do a TV reality show.

As they clapped and celebrated, Woojoo heard the melody of Suntus ringing in his ears like a hallucination.

“Hyung, then what’s the fun news?”

-It’s related to promotion, but I think you’d better see it for yourself. Turn on your phone and go to the official SNS account.

“The official account?”

-There should be a video tagged with you.

They went to the official SNS and immediately noticed what the fun news was.

***

PBS Current Affairs and Culture Department.

A woman was sitting at a desk with a partition, holding a phone.

“…I’m sorry, but is the interview difficult? We’re not a pro who does weird editing and stuff. It’s a documentary. Yes, teacher. A documentary. If you could spare us five minutes-”

-I don’t really want to talk about that day on the air. I’m sorry.

“Teacher, teacher! Just listen to me for a moment…”

The phone was already hung up.

Jung Woojoong, the youngest writer of the PBS special documentary team, sighed.

It was her tenth attempt at casting.

It seemed like it would work this time, but the other person suddenly changed their mind at the last minute.

‘This special is unusually hard to cast.’

Even though she put the name of the public broadcaster forward, it was hard to find someone who agreed.

It was because of the nature of the documentary topic.

The special was about righteous people.

People who did righteous deeds.

People who threw themselves into disaster scenes or various accidents without hesitation.

They were the interviewees for this documentary.

A man who ran into a burning car for a crying baby, a college student who saved a homeless man who was trying to commit suicide, a water rescue worker who ran to save a drowning person, etc.

The subject was good, but the casting was a problem.

The righteous people in public institutions such as firefighters, police, and coast guard were easy to cast, but the problem was the ordinary people.

Of course, to deal with such incidents, they needed the permission of the victims, but most of them were reluctant to do so.

They didn’t want to recall the painful memories.

And even if the victims agreed, the righteous people who were there at the time often refused because they felt burdened.

There were several cases where the victim barely said OK, but the righteous person refused.

“Please, just listen to me for a moment…!”

And now she had failed her eleventh casting.

She crossed out one contact with a pen and read the twelfth contact below.

‘Name: Choi Ikhyun. Name: Choi Yongjae, 02…’

She saw a small note that said ‘Galhyeon-dong Hero’.

It was an incident that happened on the college entrance exam day last year in Galhyeon-dong, Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, and was featured in various media.

The summary was simple.

A driver who had a seizure suddenly accelerated and ran towards an old man who was pulling a rear car at the time.

It was a close call, but a student who risked his life and jumped in prevented any casualties.

The fact that the rescuer missed the college entrance exam was a big regret.

‘Let’s give it a try.’

She took a deep breath and pressed the phone number.

Soon, she explained her purpose to Choi Yongjae, who answered the phone.

She was filming a documentary and wanted to cover the righteous person who saved someone at the time, and asked if he was available for an interview.

The other person asked her to wait and called her back after 30 minutes.

-Yes, my father agreed.

Yes.

She clenched her fist. There was only one thing left.

“Then, can I get the contact information of the person who was rescued? The name is… here, yes. Seon Woojoo.”

-Oh, I have the contact information, but…

The other person hesitated.

-I can’t give it to you without permission. He’s affiliated, no, I’ll ask him first. You’re Jung Woojoong, the writer of the PBS special documentary, right? I’ll contact you again.

The phone was cut off.

Jung Woojoong blinked. Was he cast, or not?

And he had to ask for the casting opinion on behalf of someone else.

“Who is the rescuer, some special person?”

Maybe a celebrity or something.

She laughed as she let her imagination run wild.

He was a student taking exams last November, so he probably was attending some academy for a repeat year now.

Jung Woojoong drew a triangle next to ‘Galhyeon-dong Hero’.

She also added a question mark.

***

The interesting news that their manager told them was Jang Sowon’s SNS.

@Promis.Jang

I was nominated by Lisa Unnie, and I participated in the Ice Bucket Challenge to help patients with Lou Gehrig’s disease. I donated to the Hope Foundation with a small heart, hoping that it would help. I’m so happy to be a part of this good cause.

When they played the video, her manager poured a bucket of water over Jang Sowon’s head, who closed her eyes with a nervous expression.

-Ah! Oof!

She shook her head, which was stuck like seaweed, and the other side cheered.

The so-called Ice Bucket Challenge.

It was a campaign that was popular worldwide since this summer.

The purpose was to raise awareness of Lou Gehrig’s disease, and the feature was to pour ice water over your head, donate, and nominate three people.

And Jang Sowon nominated them, who were partners of Something.

“Ha…”

“Rihyuk, stop sighing.”

“Why, I’m going to breathe with my mouth.”

“Water will get in your mouth.”

“…”

At the Han River Citizens’ Park in the morning.

The five were standing in short sleeves in a secluded place where apartments across the river and power lines were visible.

They finished the greeting and each held a bucket of water.

Splash-

The cold water snapped them out of it.

Ugh.

Woojoo didn’t think he would have to take a cold shower again after discharge.

He wrapped a big towel around his body as soon as the shooting was over.

The morning air and the cold water made him shiver.

“Hyung, here.”

Woojoo took the towel that Bijoo handed him and dried my hair.

They all got into the car in the parking lot, shivering.

Woojoo turned on the heater, but his fingers on the smartphone were still trembling.

“Wow, my fingers are shaking.”

“Type it later. Hyung. It’s not urgent.”

“I have to write it in advance, so the PR team staff can see it and confirm it.”

Woojoo soon finished the message to post on SNS today.

The content was pretty good, but the problem was the target.

“Who should we pick, guys?”

“Jang Sowon already did it with us. How about Scarlet Noonas?”

“We can’t choose idols from the same company.”

It was best not to get involved with idols from the same company, at least publicly.

Woojoo didn’t know how they were personally, but since they shared the same agency’s resources, it would only cause trouble if their groups got mixed up.

The fans would react sensitively to even the smallest things.

Why do they get that and we don’t? Don’t use them to boost their popularity. Stuff like that.

Whatever.

It was a separate issue, but it was better not to give them any reason to connect them in the first place.

His siblings agreed with him and they continued to brainstorm.

They had never met any of the other company’s celebrities, except for Daisy.

And there was no way they could choose the members of Around the World With Dice that they met recently.

Junghyun stroked his chin.

“We don’t have many friends in the entertainment industry, do we?”

“We’ve only debuted for two months, you know.”

“True.”

“And what does it matter? We’re close enough with each other.”

The members nodded at Rihyuk’s words.

After a long discussion, they decided to pick some rookie idols who had a similar debut date as them.

They sent messages to the contacts they had exchanged during last month’s music shows, and all three teams responded positively.

The leader of Soul Six was especially grateful and even sent a thank-you message.

“Wow.”

The youngest turned his head to Woojoo.

“Woojoo Hyung you’re close with TNT’s Taehyun Sunbae-nim, right? What if we pick them…”

“That would be a disaster.”

“Why?”

“Don’t you remember how we got cursed at for overlapping the first place with them on the music show? Taehyun is nice, but his fans are pretty sharp. He can act friendly with us, but we can’t do the same.”

“Ugh, what a cruel world.”

“And they’ve already done it, haven’t they? Who did they pick? The girl you hate from Girls on Top, Teen Spirit, and someone else.”

“…Really?”

The youngest smiled smugly at the mention of Gil Chaekyung, his old nemesis.

He seemed more interested than usual because of the recent news.

-Girls on Top, joining the ‘Around the World With Dice’ Chuseok Special

-Chuseok Special, Girls on Top also joining… rising expectations

-Two idol teams participating, Girls on Top and the ‘rookie’ New Black

Girls on Top was appearing on the Chuseok Special with Around the World With Dice, and their agency, Hwai Entertainment, was aggressively promoting them.

Girls on Top.

The popular girl group that was in competition with Scarlet.

When they first visited the company building to work on Something with Jang Sowon sunbae, they ran into them.

It wasn’t a pleasant memory.

Anyway, Girls on Top had been struggling since their most popular member, Joo Hana, had a dating scandal in February, but they had regained their momentum with their recent regular album release.

And since they confirmed their appearance on Around the World With Dice, Hwai Entertainment had been pouring out promotional materials with all their might.

And they, the other idol guests, were also getting some attention.

It was a problem because it wasn’t a good kind of attention.

-Newcomers on Around the World With Dice’s Chuseok Special, Who are ‘New Black’?

-Producer Koo Jaeyoung “New Black? I picked them because they have potential.”

-[Weekly Entertainment Editorial] The Nation’s Variety Show is Different. ‘From Top Stars to Newcomers’ On Around the World With Dice’s Guest Lineup…

Most articles calmly reported their appearance, but some media outlets leaked articles with a subtle nuance.

It was like ‘Lee Gyeonwoo, a top star, is on the Chuseok Special. But there’s also a totally new idol group? Haha, just saying’ kind of feeling.

They might as well curse openly.

They wanted to increase their views by attracting hate, and they were the easiest target.

They, who mainly appeared on music shows, didn’t have a popular image yet, and their fandom was small.

It was hard to get a good reaction.

As a program that was called the nation’s variety show, Around the World With Dice had more than one or two extreme viewers.

Even if they weren’t extreme, who would be happy to see a male idol group they had never heard of?

Seokhwan Hyung, who skimmed the article comments on the portal main last night instead of them, told them not to look.

He told them to wait until the broadcast on Sunday.

So they said they knew, but…

Human curiosity was scary.

Even though Woojoo had a feeling he would get hurt, he wanted to check the content. Like when someone badmouthed you behind your back, you felt bad but you wanted to verify what they said.

Should you look, or not?

It was when Woojoo was fiddling with his finger on the article title on the screen, as if he was putting his hand on the lid of Pandora’s box.

Beep-

Ah. Surprise.

Woojoo thought someone was watching him and gave him a signal.

Don’t do it.

But as soon as he saw the name on the phone screen, the thoughts of article comments or ice bucket challenge flew away.

[Professor Choi Yongjae]

…What?

Why was he contacting him all of a sudden?

“Hello.”

-It’s been a while. Seon Woojoo.

A deep voice asked how he was.

Woojoo wondered what he wanted as he exchanged light greetings with him.

Then he heard something he never expected.

“A documentary?”