In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: Rxel

Chapter 45

Huh…?

What was happening to him right now?

Without any time to think, the scenery in front of him changed.

The emergency room.

The smell of medicine and the chilly winter air, the noisy sounds of the emergency room.

It felt like he was experiencing VR.

Seon Woojoo could perceive everything, but his body was sitting on a chair and couldn’t move.

What was going on here?

Before he could even ponder, there was a familiar face in front of him.

An old man lying on a hospital bed.

It was Grandpa Choi Ikhyun, the one he saved on the day of the college entrance exam last year.

What?

Was this real?

If he could move his hand, he would have pinched his cheek.

It was so vivid.

Everything around him was realistic. Because it was literally reality.

Did he somehow go back to the past like in a movie? It was when he had such an absurd imagination.

-Cough!

His eyes turned to the old man who coughed and curled up.

The focus was on his ribs.

The area he pushed hard to save him.

At that time, Seon Woojoo felt sorry for him when he saw that.

What did he say then?

-I’m sorry you seem to be in a lot of pain because of me.

Even though he didn’t move, his mouth moved and spoke on its own. It was a very amazing experience.

The lady next to him waved her hand at his words.

-Oh, don’t say that.

And the husband next to her nodded.

-If it wasn’t for Seon Woojoo, my father wouldn’t have been able to lie on this bed, really.

-Thank you for thinking that way.

He said, handing me a business card.

There was this writing on it, along with the hospital logo.

[Professor Choi Yongjae, Pediatric and Adolescent Cancer Center]

‘Huh?’

While he was feeling bewildered, the past him chatted with the other person.

-If your grandmother is uncomfortable or if you need anything at the hospital, please contact me. I’ll help you as much as I can.

Just by looking at that, the scenery around him started to change again.

It was reality again.

The hallway leading to the ward where Kim Bijoo’s younger brother was hospitalized, he tried to move his hand as a test, and he could move it as he wanted.

It felt like Seon Woojoo had been watching some kind of memory for a minute, but the time in reality didn’t seem to flow that way.

“Hyung?”

Kim Bijoo, who was walking ahead of him, turned his head to him. He asked Seon Woojoo with a puzzled look, and he handed him the bag.

“Bijoo, you said Minjun had to have another surgery, but you couldn’t find a good professor, right?”

“Ah, yes.”

“Maybe…”

Seon Woojoo swallowed my saliva and said, “There might be a good way.”

“Huh?”

“Take this. Can you go back to the ward first?”

“Hyung, I don’t know the way…”

“Go left!”

Seon Woojoo shoved the bag of apples to the bewildered Kim Bijoo and headed towards where Professor Choi was.

Kim Bijoo was going to the right.

“Kim Bijoo, left!”

“Ah, yes!”

After confirming that he was going to the left, Seon Woojoo approached the other person.

“Hello!”

He looked puzzled as Seon Woojoo greeted him with a bright smile.

He did that for three seconds.

A hearty smile bloomed on the tired face of the middle-aged man.

“Seon Woojoo?”

“Yes, it’s been a long time. Professor.”

His mind was still in chaos.

Seon Woojoo didn’t know why the sudden flash phenomenon occurred.

But that wasn’t important right now.

“Do you have some time? I know it might be a bit sudden, but I’d like to buy you a cup of coffee.”

Seon Woojoo decided to try his luck.

***

The hospital room was quiet.

His parents had quietly left the room to have a meal, and Kim Minjun, who had a fever all night, was asleep.

His one and only brother in the world.

Every year, when the New Year came, Kim Bijoo made a wish.

Please make my brother better. I don’t care if I don’t become an idol, just make him happy.

But his wish came true in the opposite way.

He had won the music show even before his debut, and he had a dream-like happy time.

On the other hand, his brother’s health worsened as time went by.

Lately, he had to be hospitalized several times a month because of his high fever.

He didn’t know his exact condition, but he could tell from the shadow on his parents’ faces that the situation was not good.

Today was a bit better than usual.

His fever had gone down a lot, and he had a good time with his members.

It would have been nice if his sister was here too.

He wanted to show his mom a smiling face.

‘Thank you, everyone.’

He thanked them in his heart as he looked around his members.

Kim Junghyun, who was sitting on the caregiver’s chair and reading Kim Minjun’s children’s science book, Seo Rihyuk, who was looking at his phone with a frown, Wang Jiho, who was resting his chin and lost in thought.

And Seon Woojoo, who was not here.

He covered his face with his hand as he thought of his face.

‘Ah, how embarrassing.’

He would have been embarrassed even if he had done it in a place with a mood, but he had spilled his inner thoughts while picking out things at the mart.

‘I don’t usually say things like that…’

He felt like he had told him everything, even the most trivial things.

But he couldn’t help it.

He was waiting for him with his deep eyes, as if he would listen to whatever he said.

But he felt a little relieved.

It was the first time he had told someone such a thing.

‘But why did he bring up the surgery?’

He didn’t understand what happened earlier.

Seon Woojoo had sparkled his eyes as if he had found an important opportunity.

And then he approached the man in the white coat.

‘Does he know the professor?’

Kim Bijoo thought that when he saw him.

“Hey, Hyung.”

He turned his head and saw Wang Jiho sitting next to him, crouching.

He didn’t have his usual witty expression, but a face that looked very nervous.

Kim Bijoo smiled at him.

“Is your ankle okay?”

“Yes, I put on the patch that Hyung bought for me.”

Wang Jiho lifted his ankle and showed him the patch that was stuck on it. It was poorly attached and the corners were already loose.

“Let me see.”

Kim Bijoo properly attached the patch to the youngest’s ankle. Then he looked at Wang Jiho, who was crouching as if he had something to say.

“I have something to say to Hyung.”

“What is it?”

“Well… I’m sorry for being immature all this time. I was also sorry for throwing a tantrum this morning because I was hungry. And I’m sorry for messing up the room all the time. Oh, and…”

So that was what it was.

He had been pale since he met him at the hospital, so he thought his leg was hurting a lot.

But it turned out that he was watching his mood.

“Hyung must have been worried about his brother every day, and Rihyuk and I always annoyed Hyung at the dorm.”

“Don’t drag me into this. I was good to Bijoo Hyung,” Seo Rihyuk, who was looking at his phone, said.

The youngest, who had glared at him for a moment, looked around with a dejected face.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“It’s okay.”

Kim Bijoo smiled and patted Wang Jiho’s head.

As he thought that, he wished Kim Minjun would have some hair to stroke too.

“I just thought you were cute as usual. You’re still like that.”

“I’ll do better from now on.”

“Me too.”

When Seo Rihyuk intervened, Wang Jinho frowned.

“Why are you sneaking in when I’m apologizing? Do it separately.”

“Don’t you like it?”

“Guys.”

Kim Junghyun, who was reading a book, spoke.

“Kim Minjun just fell asleep.”

The two younger brothers immediately shut their mouths. Seeing that, Kim Bijoo smiled inwardly.

It was fine if they didn’t change.

They were one of the few things that brought joy to his life.

He would feel happy whenever they liked his cooking, or whenever they wore the uniforms he ironed and left with a neat look.

While Wang Jinho and Seo Rihyuk were having a staring contest, Kim Junghyun came over.

“Where did Woojoo Hyung go?”

“I don’t know. He said he had something to say to a doctor he knew.”

Unlike the two younger brothers, Kim Junghyun was a comfortable friend to him.

He was the same age and didn’t need any special care, a friend who lived well on his own.

Maybe that was why he told him his situation early on.

Then.

‘What about Woojoo Hyung to me?’

It was hard to define in one word.

Seon Woojoo was one of those people who seemed familiar yet unfamiliar.

Sometimes he seemed very warm, but sometimes he was cold.

When he rested, he would lie on the sofa all day like the laziest person in the world, but on weekdays he would stay up all night in the practice room.

Sometimes he would lock himself up for hours working on a song.

He was a person who was hard to figure out.

One thing for sure was that he made impossible things possible.

He snatched the first place in the year-end evaluation when the morale was at its lowest, and he snatched the first place in music shows and music charts.

So if he had to define Seon Woojoo, he would say he was someone he wanted to rely on.

He felt like he could solve all his problems.

He wanted to tell him his worries.

That was why he confided in him about his brother’s reoperation earlier.

‘That’s ridiculous.’

Seon Woojoo was not Superman. How could he solve his brother’s hospital problem?

Unless he had some connections.

It was hard enough to schedule a surgery with his father’s network, who used to be a college professor.

He was thinking that when it happened.

“Bijoo!”

The sound of the door opening and the scream startled everyone.

The one who opened the door and came in was his mother.

“Mom?”

His mother, whose face was flushed, ran towards him. And then she hugged him tightly.

He was confused.

What was going on?

He wiped the tears from his mother’s eyes and asked, “Mom, what’s wrong?”

“Minjun, Minjun…”

She couldn’t finish her sentence, as if she had a lump in her throat. Kim Bijoo calmly waited for her to speak.

“Minjun’s surgery date has been set!”

“What?”

“They said they could schedule the surgery!”

What did she mean?

Not only the members, but he also stood there with a bewildered expression.

Then three men appeared at the door.

Seon Woojoo, who had a faint smile on his face, his father, who had tears in his eyes like his mother, and the doctor he had seen earlier.

His mother wiped her tears and smiled.

“Bijoo, this is Professor Choi Yongjae.”

“Ah.”

It was a name he had heard before.

He was an authority in pediatric cancer surgery. He heard that it would take at least three months to get a surgery from him.

He was thinking that when it happened.

“Professor Choi said he would supervise our Minjun’s surgery.”

“Really?”

He would not have been more surprised if the world was going to end tomorrow. Kim Bijoo opened his eyes wide and looked at his father.

He nodded.

And the calm-looking professor standing in the middle.

Kim Bijoo awkwardly greeted him and then looked at Seon Woojoo.

He felt an indescribable heaviness as he saw him nodding with a smile.

***

Seon Woojoo thought of the characters from Toy Story.

The green aliens.

The cuties who waited in the claw machine and said ‘ooh’ whenever something happened.

The people in front of him were like that.

Every time Professor Choi Yongjae continued to speak, the people in the room said oh, ah, and um.

“The surgery schedule will be like this. I don’t mean to be rude, but you must not tell anyone about what happened today. It could cause trouble if the word gets out.”

“Yes! Yes! Of course.”

Kim Bijoo’s mother kept nodding.

Kim Bijoo’s father took off his glasses and wiped his tears with his sleeve.

“How can we thank you for this… You gave up your vacation for us…”

“If you want to thank someone, you should thank Seon Woojoo here.”

Professor Choi pointed at him.

“He’s the benefactor who saved my father’s life at the risk of his own. How can I refuse his request? I have to help him as much as I can.”

They all looked at him with pressure.

Professor Choi added, “Of course, I can’t guarantee that the surgery will go well. But I can tell you this. I will do my best to supervise it.”

He didn’t give the patient any false hope, as doctors did.

But his sincerity was conveyed by his best.

Kim Bijoo’s parents and their members bowed their heads repeatedly.

Finally, when Professor Choi left the room, his siblings ran to him.

“Hyung, what’s going on?”

“Did you know that professor?”

“Is this real?”

Seon Woojoo explained to them slowly.

He was the son of the grandfather he saved on the day of the college entrance exam, and he happened to run into him today and asked him for a favor.

Seon Woojoo cautiously asked for his help, but he counter-offered to supervise the surgery himself.

Kim Bijoo’s parents met him on their way up to the ward.

When the short story was over, Kim Bijoo couldn’t continue.

“Hyung…”

But Seon Woojoo couldn’t say anything either.

Kim Bijoo’s father came up to him and hugged him.

“Thank you, really.”

Seon Woojoo heard his voice, which sounded just like his son’s, in his ear.

Before he could come to his senses, his mother and Kim Bijoo joined them. Seon Woojoo didn’t know why he was in the arms of this crying family.

He didn’t feel bad.

Rather, he felt good.

“Mom, what’s wrong?”

Kim Minjun, who was asleep when the professor came, woke up from the noise. He looked at them with a bewildered face.

Kim Bijoo quickly explained the situation to him.

And that day.

In his hand, as he returned to the hostel, was a trophy model of a board game.

It was the trophy Kim Minjun gave him.

It was much smaller than the trophy he received for winning the music show, but it was a more precious gift to him.

***

And a little later.

They were in the practice room, sitting around the phone, listening to the news.

It was the result of Kim Minjun’s surgery.

His mother, who was sobbing, told us what the professor had said.

It went very well.

So buy him a backpack and school supplies before next spring.