In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: Rxel

Chapter 54

Was he seeing things?

The concert hall was filled with fans who came to see them, under the bright lights.

There were so many of them that the seats were not enough, and some people were standing in the back.

Seon Woojoo was stunned.

“What is going on…?”

Seon Woojoo was speechless. He looked at the audience who were cheering for them, then at his brothers.

Their faces were wide-eyed.

Seo Rihyuk was so scared that he hid behind Wang Jiho’s arm.

Seon Woojoo couldn’t blame him.

Were these really their fans who came to watch their showcase?

They should have greeted them as soon as they came out, but they were all flustered and panicked.

The MC grabbed the microphone and smiled.

-Oh, our New Black friends are very surprised, aren’t they? They can’t even speak. How about we say hello to the fans first, even though we’re nervous?

“Yes, yes!”

Seon Woojoo finally came to his senses and signaled to his brothers.

“One, two, three.”

-Hello! We are New Black!

They bowed their heads to the fans, and another round of cheers flew to them.

They were still nervous.

“Is this real? Not a hidden camera or something.”

Everyone laughed at his words.

The MC relayed what Yoon Seokhwan said from below the stage.

-The manager in charge said that it would cost too much to do a hidden camera with this scale, so don’t worry.

The fans and New Black burst into laughter.

They were so tense, but after laughing like this, their hearts felt lighter.

It was all thanks to their fans, right?

The hall was spacious when there were reporters earlier, but now it was so packed that there was no room to step on.

But there was something more surprising.

Their expressions.

Hundreds of pairs of eyes were sparkling like stars in the night sky. And they were looking at them.

The MC exclaimed.

-I’ve been to many showcases and hosted them, but this is the first time I’ve seen so many fans at a debut showcase. Wow, my ears are tingling from the fans’ screams.

He asked with a smile.

-How many people did you say came, Manager? Ah. Yes. He said 239 people came. I don’t know the exact number, but I think this would be among the top six in the history of debut showcase attendance.

His brothers and Seon Woojoo looked at each other in shock.

239 people?

Street Boys, who attracted fans with their reality show before their debut, had only a little over 100 people.

Twice as much.

Was this possible?

If Seokhwan Hyung had told him before he went on stage that more than 200 people would come to see their stage, he would never have believed him.

But there were people in front of them.

Fans who were holding slogans that said [You worked hard] or [Let’s walk together] and sending them cheers.

Their warmth reached their skin.

“…”

Seon Woojoo didn’t know how to describe this feeling.

His tear ducts were hot and he blinked his eyes.

The tremor that rose from under his chin spread throughout his body.

Seon Woojoo bit his lip.

Otherwise, he felt like he would cry.

His heart was beating so hard that it seemed like he could hear it in his ears.

Kim Bijoo looked at the audience with a choked expression.

-Are you really here to see us? We…

He didn’t finish his sentence, but Seon Woojoo thought he knew what he meant.

‘What are we to have so many of you…’ Maybe. They understood his feelings 100 percent and smiled silently.

The MC said surprisingly.

-I thought the members would know how many fans were coming, but it seems like they had no idea.

-The manager didn’t tell us.

Kim Junghyun grabbed the microphone.

-And… we were very worried, but thank you. We thought this. No matter how many fans come, even if one person comes, we are grateful.

Was it because of his pleasant low voice?

The fans screamed.

Kim Junghyun stopped talking and tilted his head.

The expression on his bear-like face was like saying, ‘What? Why are people cheering for me when I’m talking?’

Kim Junghyun then seemed to remember something and said.

-Ah, the remark that we’re grateful even if one person comes was said by Woojoo Hyung.

-Kim Junghyun. That was not Woojoo Hyung, that was me.

-Ah. It was you?

The fans laughed at the expression of their team’s rapper, who blinked his eyes. Kim Junghyun looked at the audience and corrected himself.

-That’s what he said.

-No, I’m telling you, it was me.

-Well. If you say so, it must be true.

-No, wait…

Everyone laughed at the sight of  Kim Bijoo’s frantic expression.

Seon Woojoo thought Kim Junghyun would get a lot of scolding from Kim Bijoo and grabbed the microphone.

It was time to greet them properly.

The MC, who noticed, skillfully threw a cue.

-You must have something to say to the fans, right? Let’s hear from each of you, starting with Woojoo.

“Yes. Hello, everyone. I’m Woojoo.”

Standing up there, Seon Woojoo could see the expressions of the people clearly.

All kinds of colors.

They were all faces he had never seen before, but they all showed him the same look.

Infinite affection.

Seon Woojoo had been on music shows and event stages, but it was the first time he saw the eyes of the fans who came to see them purely.

Seon Woojoo had dreamed of this moment.

But when he actually received such a look, it was really…

“Thank you.”

The passionate response came back to his trembling voice.

“It’s been about three months since Something, right?”

-Yes!

“I really don’t know how to thank you. I feel embarrassed. I’m still nervous. I wonder if I deserve to receive so much love from so many people, but I also feel grateful for this moment itself. I’m asking you again with no ill will, but are you really our fans?”

There were pleasant laughs here and there.

“I feel so good that it’s hard to believe. I’ve been on music shows since before my debut, but I never imagined that there would be so many fans. This is also the first time I’ve seen the fans offline. So how do I feel right now? Well…”

-You feel like you can’t breathe, Woojoo Hyung.

The fans and the other members laughed as Seon Woojoo took a deep breath at Kim Junghyun’s words.

Seon Woojoo thought for 3 seconds.

He was thinking of how to express what he felt right now. And he found a suitable sentence.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, today is the best day of my life.”

Seon Woojoo smiled brightly at the screams that flew right away.

Really.

It was the best day of his life.

In the car on the way back to the dorm after the showcase.

“We did it! We did it!”

“Ow, my ears. Hey, Wang Jiho. Keep it down.”

“Why? I’m excited. I know you are too, Rihyuk. You can’t hide your smile, can you?”

“…Let go of me.”

The youngest of their group was poking Seo Rihyuk’s chin with his finger, making him laugh. The older members joined in the laughter.

He gave them a displeased look.

“Hey, don’t just laugh. Help me out. He always picks on me and you just watch.”

“Hmm. Do I?”

Seon Woojoo called out to Wang Jiho.

“Jiho.”

“Yes?”

“Good job. Keep it up.”

“Ah, come on!”

Seo Rihyuk closed his eyes in annoyance as the eldest and the youngest laughed together.

Seon Woojoo elbowed his shoulder and said, “Hey. Remember when you guys played with the souffle while I was on the radio show? This is nothing compared to that.”

“That was so fun.”

“I can do that again this time.”

“No, don’t.”

“You were quiet when I was being teased? Hey, Wang Jiho. Do it quickly.”

“Okay, just a sec!”

Their youngest brother was always good at imitating.

He cleared his throat and composed himself.

He made a dramatic expression, furrowing his eyebrows as if copying someone.

“Thanks to you, today is the best day of my life.”

“Pffft!”

“I didn’t say it like that, did I? Hey, you guys are really…”

The manager and the driver, who were sitting in the front seat, burst into laughter.

Seon Woojoo looked at  Kim Bijoo, who was laughing so hard that he had tears in his eyes, and asked with a wronged expression, “Did I really say it like that?”

“It’s okay, Hyung. The fans loved it,”  Kim Bijoo said, and Wang Jiho, who was rummaging through a snack bag, nodded.

He offered Seon Woojoo a snack.

“What is it?”

“It’s a consolation.”

“…You seem to be enjoying this.”

“Ah. Do you want me to feed you?”

He smiled sweetly and put a snack in his mouth.

Seon Woojoo couldn’t help but laugh at their team’s youngest.

“But I’m really happy. We used to say that it would be great to have fans when we were doing music cafes and events. But it feels even better than I imagined.”

“Me too. It feels like I’m flying.”

“I still can’t believe it. 239 people. I thought it was a hidden camera prank by the director.”

The manager laughed.

“He said he couldn’t afford it. He spent all the money on making your album. Do you think he has money for that? To be honest, I didn’t expect the 250-seat venue to be sold out either, when we first started ticketing. I’ve never seen anything like this at a debut showcase.”

“We’re still in shock. Where did the fans come from?”

“We did a lot of things, you know. We were on the top of the music charts for a month, we did music cafes, we went to a lot of events.”

“Is that so?”

“Or maybe it’s because of Street Boys? I think the fan cafe reactions got a lot better after they dissed us.”

Seo Rihyuk said that, and they suddenly remembered something they had forgotten.

“Oh. Right! Our song is released today.”

Their official debut date was tomorrow, but the company decided to release the song at 8 p.m. today.

The current time was 9:30 p.m.

They were curious about the reactions to the song that was released.

They took out their smartphones.

As they did, Seon Woojoo saw Yoon Seokhwan’s eyes smiling through the rearview mirror.

“Let me check the chart.”

They gathered around Kim Bijoo’s phone and started to scan the chart from the first to the hundredth place.

As expected, there was nothing from 1st to 50th place.

And when they turned to the 50th to 100th place page, their eyes went down and stopped at a certain point.

They went up and down several times.

[98th. New Black – Fireworks]

They blinked at the number on the screen.

“…Is this right?”

“It seems right.”

“Is it real?”

“Of course it’s real.”

The members stared at each other.

“…”

Soon, they cheered as the car drove away.

***

DNS Media Headquarters.

It was late, but the conference room was full of employees.

All of them had serious faces.

Especially the middle-aged man sitting at the head of the table. His face was ashen.

On the laptop he was looking at, there was a music chart with a yellow mango symbol.

[88th. New Black – Fireworks]

New Black’s debut song, which entered the 98th place at 10 p.m., was now up to 88th as midnight approached.

The president of DNS Media, Im Hyunsik, scanned the chart.

[24th. Jang Sowon X New Black – Something]

[88th. New Black – Fireworks]

[97th. Street Boys – Hunger]

As the already grim-faced President Im’s expression hardened, the employees in the conference room swallowed their saliva.

Meanwhile, the head of the PR team continued his explanation.

“It seems that our promotion had the opposite effect. We succeeded in creating a rival situation, but after that, Hunger’s diss rap and Hanjo’s genius remark rallied their fandom. The light-hearted ones seemed to have joined the active fan base.”

“…”

“We underestimated the size of New Black’s fandom, which had quite a lot of potential fans from music cafes, events, and broadcast appearances. The fan inflow rate was similar to Street Boys, but there was a difference in scale…”

“So.”

President Im rubbed his temples as if he had a headache.

“Are you saying that everything we did ended up doing Lemon Entertainment a favor?”

“…It seems so.”

A heavy silence hung in the air.

It was a completely different atmosphere from a week ago, when they had fired celebratory shots for entering the chart within the top 100.

The department heads started to speak up.

“Our A&R told you not to change the song…”

“We told you from the PR team’s perspective. Noise marketing could backfire…”

“From the manager’s point of view who runs the field…”

“No, wasn’t it the 2nd team’s opinion to put in the diss lyrics that weren’t even in the song? You even wrote a script for the interview and now you’re backing off…”

As they raised their voices and shifted the blame to each other, Im Hyunsik rubbed his temples.

He had a headache.

It was not that Street Boys’ performance would get worse if New Black did well.

But everything in the entertainment industry was relative.

If there was a drama that got 20% ratings on a regular basis, that drama would be considered a success.

But what if there was a 50% one at the same time slot?

Could you call that a success?

A boy group from a small agency, and their self-composed song charted in the 80s on the first day.

It was unimaginable how much more they would rise.

Then, the smartphone screen flashed.

Baldy [Park Kyuho sent you a gifticon.]

Baldy [^^]

Im Hyunsik resisted the urge to throw his phone and sent a short reply of congratulations.

‘Damn it.’

He had never felt the expression ‘giving a dog a bone’ more than today.