In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: Rxel

Chapter 96

A Korean restaurant in Gunsan.

The place was busier than usual, as the regular customers and the members of the hiking club who had just returned from Seonyudo Island overlapped.

It was so hectic that it took 30 minutes to serve each table a set of side dishes.

Mrs. Kim Deoksoon wiped the sweat off her face with a tissue and sat down at a corner table.

Around the World With Dice was on TV.

They were drawing portraits of people in a place that looked like Europe.

She turned up the volume and heard the conversations of the customers.

“Where is that place?”

“It’s in Gapyeong. My daughter went there with her granddaughter the other day. The pictures looked amazing.”

“I see. It’s far away.”

“I know. We can’t go there.”

“Anyway, it must be crowded. Once they appear there, everyone will go there and it will be a mess.”

Mrs. Kim Deoksoon nodded slightly.

‘Is it a very popular show?’

She didn’t really know how great the show was.

She only thought it was a successful program because every Sunday, the customers would say, ‘Please turn on TBC!’

She preferred dramas over variety shows.

She wouldn’t have cared much if it wasn’t for her grandson.

-Grandma! I’m going on TV, on TV. You know that program I told you I used to watch a lot in the army. Yeah. That one.

It was a few weeks ago.

He was so excited when he called her that she could picture his face jumping around.

She couldn’t help but smile inwardly at his expression.

That was why she was worried.

What if he didn’t do well when he liked it so much?

Well. He said he would only be on for five minutes today and the real thing would be on Chuseok.

She was hoping he would do well when she saw the kitchen maid sitting across from her.

She handed her a glass of cold water and said, “Do you watch TV, Unnie? Oh, that one.”

“The one where Woojoo is going?”

“Yes.”

“Wow, that’s amazing. He’s on TV shows too.”

“Hey, but Sukja. Is this really famous?”

She asked as if she heard all kinds of strange things.

“Don’t you know, Unnie?”

“How would I know? I only watch dramas.”

“This is a big deal. My grandson doesn’t like TV either. But he always watches that PBS thing on Saturdays and this one on Sundays. He says he can’t talk to the kids at school if he doesn’t watch it.”

“I guess it’s really something.”

She nodded indifferently as she watched the other person make a fuss.

Then, she suddenly asked her something that came to her mind.

“By the way, you didn’t tell anyone else, did you?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“You shouldn’t. You got that, right?”

“Of course I won’t. You have no idea how much I suffered because of Unnie…”

There weren’t many people around who knew that her grandson was a celebrity.

At most, there was Sukja, who helped out in the kitchen, and Mrs. Oh, who ran a rice cake shop next door.

Mrs. Kim Deoksoon knew how to deal with fame well, thanks to her experience of having a nationally popular pianist as her son-in-law.

She was careful to behave modestly after she became known, and before that, she tried not to talk about it as much as possible.

‘I had so many troubles because of that…’

Fame was like a typhoon.

The person in the middle of it might be calm, but the surroundings were swept away by the storm.

That was the lesson she learned from living close to seventy years.

As the day got brighter, the shadow got darker. Fame meant that something corresponding to it would follow.

People around her would ask her for money, or ask them to sing a congratulatory song at their son’s or daughter’s wedding, or the landlord would raise the rent after hearing the news.

Of course, that was also a problem, but it was for the sake of her grandson.

He had wanted to be an idol since he was young, but how could he do that if the old lady blabbed about it to everyone and ruined his chances?

That was why she kept quiet.

When people asked her what her grandson was doing these days, she would just say ‘studying, studying’.

“Unnie.”

“What.”

“But until now, it was, well, you know. I could understand if it was a music show, but this is something that everyone will know once they go out. Just go to the next house and see. They must have it on. They’ll look at it and say, ‘Hey, isn’t that Woojoo?’ Right? Well, unless he changed his name to something like Kkalang or Pororong.”

“Hey, don’t talk nonsense. I’m still not going to tell anyone.”

“Jeez, you’re so stubborn. Anyway, Unnie shouldn’t be so hard-headed either. You have to know yourself… Know yourself.”

The aunt in the kitchen cringed under the glare of Mrs. Kim Deoksoon.

While she was filling up the empty side dishes for the guests or cooking the added menu items, the main show of Around the World With Dice was over.

Soon, the caption [2014 Chuseok Special] appeared and the topic of conversation changed.

“Hey, how does Seo Jihyung get on TV every time when he’s not even funny?”

“He must have some connections.”

“He’s close with Oh Hyungseok on Around the World With Dice. They’re comedy seniors and juniors, you know. They push and pull each other.”

“That industry is so dirty and cheap, right?”

“They all let their friends go out and do whatever they want.”

The guests made loud comments as each comedian, model, and girl group passed by.

When a rapper with dreadlocks danced the bong dance, Mrs. Kim Deoksoon said, ‘What a disgrace…’ and everyone burst into laughter.

She suddenly felt anxious.

‘What if he come out like that…?’

She hated the thought.

She shivered as her grandson finally appeared on the screen.

Mrs. Kim Deoksoon turned up the volume by two levels.

She didn’t want to hear the comments that he was boring or that he looked fresh because he was young.

But the guests’ voices were still loud.

“Hey, what are they doing?”

“Rookie idol New Black…? I’ve never heard of them before.”

“Before, at least I knew everyone except the rapper, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen those girl group members either. This is the first time I’ve seen them.”

“I searched it up and they debuted two months ago.”

“Two months ago?”

“Ugh, why are they coming out when they’ve only debuted for two months?”

“That place is like a clam market. Seo Jihyung is like that, and they must have caught a good line too. The company is pushing them or something.”

“Hey, why are they wasting time introducing those kids like that?”

And the last man who spoke raised his hand.

“Boss, can we have more seasoned crab?”

“Yes~”

Mrs. Kim Deoksoon whispered to Sukja, who was about to get up, holding her arm.

“Just pick out the legs and give it to them.”

It was a timid revenge.

She couldn’t stop her as she smiled and disappeared into the kitchen. Mrs. Kim Deoksoon turned up the volume by two more levels and focused on the broadcast.

Her grandson was so pretty.

How could he shine alone in that dark place? She wasn’t the only one who felt that way, as a cheerful-looking young man spoke.

-Woojoo, your face is glowing by itself.

-Oh, it’s the sunlight.

He moved over a seat and the light came in.

“…”

As she coughed and drank some water, the PD gave a basketball to the New Black team, who had just finished their introduction, and explained the mission.

The guests stuck out their tongues.

“You want them to do that?”

“Wow, how are they supposed to do that? Are they basketball players or something?”

“Even the players can’t do that in one try.”

“That’s too much for the rookies. The others at least got to do something funny.”

“Hey, that’s not fair. It’s all because of him, who is he? The handsome one who rolled the dice wrong. And this… what’s with this crab? Why does it have so many thorns?”

The mission was so hard that people stuck out their tongues.

The program member who almost succeeded by kicking the ball with her foot was the closest to success.

Then the other members failed one by one, leaving only her grandson.

‘Please give him something easy…’

Mrs. Kim Deoksoon sighed deeply.

The result was obvious without looking.

She knew her grandson’s athletic ability well.

She didn’t know about dancing, but whenever he went to the school sports day, the spectators laughed loudly.

How could he be so much like Myeongeun?

When he played soccer, the ball went over the fence, and when he ran, he tripped over himself.

Well. Whenever that happened, the kids who liked him thought he was cute, but from the grandmother’s point of view, he was pitiful and sad.

She drank some water out of frustration.

“Huh, what’s that?”

“Is he good at basketball or something?”

“He’s bouncing the ball like crazy.”

She lifted her head at the conversation she didn’t understand and saw something unbelievable on the TV screen.

Woojoo was dribbling.

That was a miracle to Mrs. Kim Deoksoon. Normally, when the ball bounced off the floor, he would scream, ‘Ahh! Grandma, my nose!’ But he was bouncing the ball comfortably on the TV screen.

What the hell.

‘Did they say everything on TV is a show? Did he practice beforehand?’

But then she shook her head.

He wasn’t the type to improve by practicing.

But the one who was bouncing the ball in front of her eyes was definitely her grandson.

And he was handling the ball like a pro. Her eyes widened.

He wasn’t like that…

As she thought that, she saw a picture-like sequence of moves.

The guests who were moving their spoons busily in the restaurant now fixed their eyes on the screen with the tense background music.

And then.

A pleasant sound of the ball wrapping around the net rang through the TV speaker.

“…Wow.”

Someone exclaimed belatedly, and people started to chatter right away.

How did he do that? Did he come here as a basketball player or something? Hey, that’s why the show was long. What’s their name? Hurry up and search it up and so on.

They couldn’t help but be surprised.

They were watching some newbies on TV without much thought, when one of them made a shot that seemed impossible for any average basketball player. He scored from one end of the court to the other in one go.

It was a scene that was hard to believe for anyone who saw it.

But no one in this place was more shocked than the person who had raised that grandson for over 20 years.

“Unnie, what’s going on?”

“I don’t know…”

Her head was blank, as if a typhoon had swept through it.

He wasn’t like that.

The TV screen showed her grandson wiping his cold sweat.

He looked confident, but he must have been trembling inside.

Oh, my boy. She watched him with a proud heart.

The broadcast ended soon after, but the people in the restaurant were still talking about him.

“I wondered why they wasted so much time, but it was worth it. Amazing, really. The people who filmed that must have never expected to get that much footage from him.”

The ones who had been badmouthing her grandson earlier had now turned 180 degrees and were showing a friendly reaction.

Mrs. Kim Deoksoon got up silently and went to the kitchen.

“What’s this, boss?”

“…It’s on the house.”

She smiled brightly and gave them a plate full of seasoned crab with meat.

The regulars from the hiking club who had been chatting loudly about how the boss was in a good mood today told them to eat up quickly.

The door of the shop opened with a bang.

“Unnie!”

“Boss!”

Two owners of a snack bar and a barbecue place nearby stuck their heads in.

They looked very excited.

“Isn’t that Woojoo? Woojoo!”

“No, why is he on TV? And as a singer…”

At that, the other customers turned their eyes.

The hiker who had said the boss was in a good mood earlier asked curiously, “Is the one who was on TV someone you know, boss?”

Mrs. Kim Deoksoon felt a nervous feeling as she met their gaze.

She had no idea what was going on.

She didn’t know for sure, but the broadcast that her grandson was on seemed to be quite a famous show.

***

A family who was having a meal at a barbecue place stared blankly at the TV, and people at a rural village hall were drinking happily.

A member of a girl group threw her phone away in anger after looking at half of the group chat.

There were also people who were happy to watch the broadcast.

-Finally… Finally people are starting to notice our kids

-They’re number one on the search engine!!!

-Why am I so moved, seriously

-Woojooㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

New Black, who had only been known in the idol scene, had announced their name to the public for the first time.

Some people might say that it was just 10 minutes, but those 10 minutes were Around the World With Dice’s 10 minutes.

The fans’ hearts were bound to be different.

Their favorite singer.

He was charming, talented, and perfect, but no one knew him, so they always felt sorry for him.

He showed his face on a popular variety show for the first time.

And in an impressive scene.

The fans who had been with them since their first album felt a surge of emotion when they saw ‘New Black’ on the real-time search rankings.

Especially those who had been with them since Something.

-Today I’m going to eat chickenㅠㅠ

It was a festive atmosphere.

***

It was the first time he had such a hectic day since his debut.

[Real-time search rankings]

1st. New Black

2nd. Woojoo

3rd. Full Court Shot

4th. Around the World With Dice

As soon as the broadcast ended, they made it to the real-time search rankings.

They stayed there for an hour and then dropped off, but they were experiencing the power of broadcasting while looking at it.

They had 10 minutes of airtime.

It was more than twice as much as the others, but they didn’t know that those 10 minutes would attract people’s attention.

This was why every agency crawled up to the variety show PDs and begged them to get on the air.

To soar to the top of the real-time search rankings with just a brief appearance on a famous variety show…

Of course, it wasn’t just because they showed up.

It was because Woojoo did something amazing like a master who appeared on a show.

And the editing.

What ended with a ‘wow’ on the spot turned into a ‘wow’ after the editing.

It was a bit embarrassing.

Woojoo thought for 10 seconds and did it, but the slow motion and people’s reactions.

And they cut out the scene where he was practicing beforehand for a dramatic effect, so it looked like he did it without any hesitation.

He felt a bit of goosebumps watching it, but fortunately the response was very good.

-Who is ‘New Black’, the rookie group that Around the World With Dice appeared on…?

-Member Woojoo, former Muka’s ‘My father is Seon Myungjoo’ remark revisited

-New Black… The trendy rookie group after ‘Something’ and ‘Fireworks’

Woojoo didn’t know when they became a trendy rookie group, but there was an article with that headline.

Just a while ago, the entertainment reporters were subtly dissing them, but now they were like ‘New Black? You know who they are, right?’ and sneakily joining the bandwagon.

They laughed so much as they compared the names of the reporters.

And on the portal main, there was a clip of them from yesterday, edited as a highlight.

-Wow… ㅋㅋㅋㅋ It’s amazing even if I watch it again

-It looks like a setup

-Setup

-Where are the people who said they got casted with money?ㅋㅋㅋ

The most fortunate thing was that the hate comments had almost disappeared after New Black announced their casting news.

There were still some, but the extreme viewers seemed to have decided to wait and see for now.

-Well… I guess we’ll have to see the special episode, but they seemed to work hard. They were much better than Girls on Top, who are also idols.

-They just act pretty… ㅋㅋ Why did they even come out?

Those were the comments that would make Girls on Top and Hwai Entertainment explode.

-They seem decent. The PD must have had a reason to cast them. Good luck.

-Let’s see if they become good or bad.

-I saw them yesterday and they had good chemistry with Heechan and Heeyeon ㅋㅋ.

Those were the comments that were more or less positive.

Their goal was to introduce themselves with a non-negative image, and it seemed like they achieved more than Woojoo expected.

“What are you looking at?”

“Our article.”

“Your face is going to get sucked into the smartphone, dummy.”

Woojoo smiled and put away his smartphone at Seokhwan Hyung’s teasing.

They were on their way to a cafe that was a bit far from the company.

They moved to the third floor right away.

There was a camera set up in the quiet cafe in the morning.

Woojoo greeted the man who looked like the assistant director and the woman who looked like the writer. Among them, there was a familiar face with dark circles under her eyes.

She was the youngest writer, Jung Woojoong, whom he had met once before.

“Hello. I’m Seon Woojoo.”

Woojoo sat down and smiled at the camera that was adjusting the angle.

It was the day after Around the World With Dice aired.

Today’s schedule was a documentary shooting.