In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: Rxel

Chapter 281

The A&R Team members quickly regained their composure after a brief moment of panic.

“Wow, this coffee is bitter…”

“I didn’t expect that, so I spat it out.”

“How can you suddenly bring up Dooly when we’re eating? Woojoo, you made me laugh so hard that I spit out my coffee.”

The best thing to do in this situation was to act innocent.

They were amazed by their own improvisational acting skills, which came from years of working as professionals.

The youngest member, who was scanning the room, whispered to the leader of New Black with a sly expression, “Jiho said you guys are all acting right now.”

“…”

“He said your eye contact and voice are awkward.”

“…”

Their acting, which they had put all their effort into, was instantly exposed by the youngest actor.

They exchanged glances.

‘What do we do? Director Jo?’

‘Why are you looking at me? Look somewhere else.’

Director Jo Gyuhwan pretended not to notice the gazes of his junior composers and sipped his coffee.

Meanwhile, Woojoo narrowed his eyes even more.

The staff members rolled their eyes, seeing that he had already figured out the situation.

‘Does he know everything? Is this how a criminal feels when being interrogated by the police?’

‘Who leaked Dooly? Come out.’

‘No, we never mentioned it in front of the kids…’

It was a mystery.

They had only joked about ‘Woojoo’s Dooly theory’ as a prank.

As they threw suspicious looks at each other, wondering who had made their kid worry about such things.

“Junghyun heard it a while ago.” Woojoo said seriously, “Rihyuk hears well during the day, and Junghyun hears well at night.”

“That’s right.”

Junghyun answered happily, and Rihyuk covered his face with both hands, feeling embarrassed.

The staff members accepted his explanation.

It was possible for Junghyun.

They didn’t know exactly why, but it was natural for Junghyun to eavesdrop on the conversations on the third floor from the basement, with his ear against the wall.

As the situation reached this point, they smiled awkwardly.

They had teased him as ‘our music nerd’ as a joke, but it felt like they had said something behind his back.

Someone tried to laugh it off.

“That, that’s because you’re cute, Woojoo. That’s why you got that nickname.”

“…”

Only Bijoo nodded his head with a convinced expression, while the others looked dumbfounded.

As Junghyun rubbed his ears vigorously.

Woojoo smiled and said, “You don’t have to explain. I didn’t ask to verify the truth. I just wanted to say something that I felt while I was in the Special Forces.”

“What did you want to say?”

“Yes. I experienced a lot of things in the Special Forces…”

Then Woojoo told them the episode that happened in ‘Men Go’ with a sad expression.

How the Tactical Team 1 followed him to the end of hell.

How he saw the faces of the A&R Team members and Director Jo in the mirror when he went to wash his face.

“Pwahaha!”

The listeners burst into laughter, while the speaker was serious.

Jiho asked Rihyuk something, then pointed at Woojoo and cackled, saying ‘Karma! Karma!’

Woojoo sent him a cold look, and Junghyun took care of them.

“Anyway, that’s why I didn’t know how hard you guys worked until now.”

“I see. You usually would have checked the songs as soon as you came back, but you didn’t come today.”

“Yes. I was a bit embarrassed…” Woojoo smiled sheepishly and said, “I’m sorry if I was negligent in any way.”

“What are you sorry for?”

They waved their hands.

“Hey, do you know how much late-night food we got from you…”

“We should work hard, considering how much we ate. You don’t have to apologize for anything.”

“I gain 10 kilograms every time you prepare an album.”

They always joked, saying ‘Woojoo is coming! Run away!’ but it was just a playful remark.

They were always grateful for his generosity.

‘Are you hungry? What do you want to eat for the late-night snack~ Chicken feet go go?’

“I brought some gifts from Taiwan! You said Yeeun started elementary school, right? Tell her it’s from Uncle Woojoo.”

“Boss, this is the latest trendy floral shirt.”

Woojoo was always taking care of them, no matter what happened.

At first, the employees were skeptical, saying “We’re not even getting paid for this…” But gradually, they changed their views, thinking “He’s such a nice guy.”

And thanks to the success of the album, the employees who participated in the arrangement or composition also earned extra income from royalties.

“We don’t like it either, but we’re not forcing you to help us. Don’t think like that. Woojoo.”

“Yeah. Why are you apologizing?”

“…Thank you.”

Woojoo smiled awkwardly and scratched his cheek at the comforting words of the employees.

“I’m so sorry, so I bought some gifts for you with the settlement I received.”

“No, what gifts. It’s fine…”

Their words changed when Woojoo pulled out the gifts.

“Woojoooo…!”

“I picked some of them, but these are also what we bought together to celebrate the settlement.”

“Guys!”

The people who saw the gifts that Woojoo prepared were moved by the wave of emotion.

“The letter was sponsored by Rihyuk.”

“Rihyuk!”

“…Please treat me like I’m not here.”

Rihyuk covered his face with both hands and groaned.

While the New Black members and the A&R Team employees were taking a friendly brotherhood photo, saying “Wow!” and “You’re the best, bro!”

“…”

Director Jo Gyuhwan, who was sitting in the seat of honor, blinked his eyes.

“Something seems weird…”

They were exchanging compliments with each other, saying “You worked hard” and “What hard work”, in a warm atmosphere.

But he felt a sense of discomfort.

It was like a “scary picture if you look closely” type of internet horror story, where there was something missing in the cheerful picture.

As Director Jo was thinking deeply, a messenger notification popped up on the bottom of his laptop screen.

Na Sangyoon [Hello… Director…]

Na Sangyoon [The work is done]

Na Sangyoon [I sent the song]

“…d?”

Director Jo blinked his eyes.

The reply of the person who spoke like he had burned everything in white had been cut off for more than 30 minutes.

It felt like he was nodding off while typing.

“Come to think of it…”

The complexion of the A&R Team employees had improved a lot.

After the external staff were brought in, their faces that had been dripping with sweat became soft and smooth.

Then he realized what was missing.

It was the external composers who were still losing their souls from their mouths, saying “Ugh…” at this hour.

“Well, at least they get royalties there.”

He thought that Woojoo, who took good care of even the passing people, would treat them well too.

Of course, it would be a little, very little bit hard.

But when the album did well, they would get rewarded as well.

“Still, it’s kind of pitiful…”

Director Jo expressed his condolences to them, looking at someone who was smiling brightly among the employees.

He sincerely felt sorry for them for three seconds.

“Wow…”

Director Jo Gyuhwan’s eyes softened as he saw the beautiful tea cup set in the gift box.

“Oh, this is exactly my taste…”

He stroked the tea cup set and smiled contentedly.

The album work progressed smoothly.

After checking the main points of the album in the producing meeting, they moved on to the confirmation of the tracks.

The songs were mostly completed.

The A&R Team employees gave OK signs every time they heard the songs that Woojoo and the composers collaborated on.

“You did a good job, didn’t you?”

The team leader stroked his beard as he reviewed each song.

“I was a bit worried when you and Junghyun said you wanted to add some hip-hop color. It’s a genre that can be neither here nor there if you touch it poorly. It’s funny like kids saying yo! yo!”

He praised the songs.

“But you really pulled it off. The hip-hop color is there, but it’s not completely hip-hop, which is good for starters.”

“I was careful about that part. I didn’t want to cause any trouble.”

“Yeah. Rappers are a bit picky, aren’t they?”

Unlike other music genres, hip hop has a strong sentiment of clearly distinguishing what was real hip hop and what was not.

So instead of trying hip hop completely, they went for a direction of adopting elements of hip hop into their music.

First of all, Woojoo knew a bit about various genres, but he was ignorant of the details of specific genres.

So he filled in the gaps of what he didn’t know about hip hop with the help of industry seniors like rapper Junghyun or Heysion.

The other staff members also praised the songs on the album.

“Who came up with the idea of adding electronic sounds in the middle? It’s really good.”

“This is good. I got a feeling from the guide. Did you write the lyrics? If you write good lyrics, I think your fans will like it.”

“It’s faster than the trend… But it’s not unfamiliar and it’s good.”

Every time the word ‘good’ came out, a smile naturally formed on Woojoo’s lips.

The composers who stayed up all night with them and worried about the sound also smiled and patted their chests.

“If we only look at the songs, ninety out of a hundred? The fans will love it when the album comes out.”

“We talked a lot about that too.”

“It’s a completely different concept from before.”

They nodded their heads.

This album was a different concept from before, so he guessed they would change their hair color from what they had until now.

The clothes would also be similar to street fashion, even if not as much as Street Boys.

They had a lot of worries because they were trying to change their image in many ways.

Like the coolness of the deep house in Fireworks, or the sensuality of Masquerade. Or a different texture from the warm pop feeling of Windflower.

They wondered every day if the Soufflés and the public would like it.

Meanwhile, apart from that worry, another problem popped up during the meeting.

“The problem is the title song…”

The A&R Team, the composers, and New Black looked at each other with subtle expressions as they looked at the laptop screen.

“Honestly, among the songs, there’s nothing that can be a title…”

“We think so too. It’s a shame.”

The composers confirmed the vague words of the company staff.

The problem was the title.

There was no song that could be the main attraction of this album.

They originally planned to choose one of the songs, but they couldn’t find any edge.

Usually, a title song was a song that shone alone among the songs. In other words, it was like Jiho, who lived in the village with Rihyuk.

But looking at the current state of the songs, it felt like a dozen Rihyuks were hustling.

It was harmonious, but there was no punch.

The A&R Team leader, who was scratching his head due to the unexpected trouble, asked, “What kind of feeling did you want for the title song?”

“A feeling of bursting with excitement.” Junghyun answered, “Masquerade was addictive, but it wasn’t something that made your body sway just by listening. I’m of the opinion that songs should always be exciting… I wish it was a song that made you sway just by listening.”

“An unexpected taste. Junghyun.”

“Junghyun Hyung is always unexpected.”

Everyone laughed at the youngest’s words.

But they soon fell into deep thought because of the title song.

There were several alternatives, but none of them were satisfactory, so they quickly made a decision.

“We’ll try to make something new ourselves.”

“Will you make it in time?”

“Yes, as long as it comes to mind, writing is fast.”

It always took time to fine-tune, but writing a title song always ended in a short time.

That was how they agreed as the meeting continued.

The A&R Team looked through the songs that came from outside, the composers also tried to challenge the title song.

And they went their own way, trying all three routes.

“Let’s prepare exciting songs for now.” The team leader said as the meeting ended, “Like Junghyun said, something that makes anyone explode with excitement.”

“Yes.”

“Oh, Woojoo.”

“Yes?”

“Don’t prepare something like trot. With saxophone sounds and stuff.”

“Team leader.”

He treated Woojoo like a trot fan because of the way he sang ‘Deoksoon-ah’ cheerfully.

He smiled and said to him, “I’m twenty-three years old.”

Ding, ding, ding.

Woojoo stopped tapping the piano app keys on the tablet PC and turned his head to his brothers.

“How is it?”

“Uh…”

Bijoo fidgeted with his hands.

“Um, Hyung, uh…”

“Just say it. Hyung. I’m old, right?”

“Ah, no, that’s not what I meant. You’re not old, Hyung. You just have a… mature vibe, I guess…”

“Like the old songs that grandpas like, Hyung.”

Their youngest was not one to hold back.

“When you ride a bike by the Han River, there are grandpas who blast their radios and pedal like crazy. They play those old songs, with titles like Han River Ballad.”

“Wait a minute. How about this one?”

“Ugh, ugh, ugh!”

Their youngest expressed his rejection with a three-part falsetto.

Their Mrs. Deoksoon loved this song and said it was so fun and nice.

“Think of something that the general public would like, Hyung.”

“Like this?”

Woojoo gently moved his fingers.

“Wow. Hyung. That’s much better!”

“I think this is good too?”

He felt a slight pang of disappointment at their sudden improvement.

Maybe his taste was not for them.

He secretly mixed in some of his preferences, but they were pros who could catch any sound like ghosts.

“Hey, where did you hide that…!”

“You’ll get a chicken head if you lie, Hyung. You have to eat only the bones when you eat chicken.”

They didn’t fall for it.

Woojoo swallowed his regret and closed the piano app on his tablet PC.

Then he looked out the window.

Early July.

It was a hot summer day before the rainy season started.

The cool air conditioner breeze was nice, but he felt the heat every time the sun touched his skin.

They were on their way to the Olive House branch near Hapjeong Station.

It was for the TV ad they got thanks to Bijoo’s birthday party.

“The more you share, the more fun you have~!”

“Come to Olive House!”

They practiced the ad script while also discussing the title song for their fourth album.

A song that would make them explode with excitement.

It seemed like an easy thing to say, but the problem was that they were not easy kids, but difficult ones.

When Woojoo asked each other what they liked, they said:

“EDM. EDM.”

“Is it just me? I don’t get excited when I sing ballads. I love the feeling of bursting when I hit the high notes.”

“If you’re excited, it’s rapid-fire rap.”

“I feel like I explode with excitement when the choreography is fun.”

It was like an expo with all kinds of tastes on display.

Rihyuk, who was in charge of taking notes for the meeting, summarized it.

“So, to satisfy all of us, we need a retro EDM with a ballad chorus, a rap part that’s rapid-fire, and a choreography that makes us gasp for breath.”

“…”

“It feels like sprinkling sugar on kimchi.”

In the end, the first meeting about the exciting song failed due to differences in opinions.

They accepted it with a warm smile and a ‘well, that’s that’ attitude, and got out of the car when the manager said they arrived.

“Hello! We are New Black!”

They greeted the ad shooting staff one by one as they entered the Olive House store.

They smiled at the sight of them wearing the Olive House t-shirts they matched.

The empty store was filled with expensive shooting equipment and food.

“Wow…”

There were steaks, soups, and other dishes lined up on the table.

They all looked freshly cooked, with steam rising from them, and there were several of each kind prepared for the shooting.

As Woojoo drooled with his siblings, he asked a passing staff member with a serious expression, “Are we supposed to eat this?”

“Uh… yes.”

The other person’s reaction was somewhat cautious.

“Do you need a bowl or something?”

“A bowl?”

“A bowl to spit out what you chew.”

“Do we have to spit it out…?”

“Sometimes idols or actors who manage their weight chew and spit it out right away…”

“Oh, we’re on a break right now, so it’s fine.”

He smiled with relief as Woojoo nodded his head, saying ‘We eat very well.’

He must have been worried that they would throw a fit on the set, saying ‘We’re on a diet and we’re annoyed, do we have to eat this?!’

It was the same at the last commercial shoot, but Woojoo felt like the staff were treating them more and more like princes.

Maybe they thought ‘We can’t let them get upset!’

It was a good thing that they promised to be blunt with each other, to avoid getting a celebrity complex.

“Let’s go, kids.”

“Yes, boss.”

They changed into their costumes and got their makeup done in the dressing room.

Today’s concept was a casual vibe, with a birthday party at a restaurant.

As they came out of the staff dressing room, the director greeted them with a bright smile.

“Welcome.”

“Hello. Thank you for having us today!”

“I should be the one thanking you. You always prepare so hard for every commercial shoot, it makes me worry less.”

He praised them and lifted their spirits.

“Today’s concept is basically fun explosion! That’s the vibe we’re going for. We’ll play some upbeat songs for you. Just have fun and enjoy yourselves. Like you’re having a real birthday party.”

“Leave it to us. We’re good at that kind of thing.”

“Haha, are you?”

“Yes. And we also eat very well.”

“Eat?” he asked Woojoo in response. 

“Yes, there’s a scene where you eat in the script.”

“Oh. That changed a bit.”

“What?”

“We planned a scene where you all eat together, but when we rehearsed it, it looked too messy.”

“…”

Everyone’s faces fell as Bijoo asked, “Then who’s going to eat that food?”

“We changed it to the kids.”

Just then, five little kids came out of the dressing room.

They looked about kindergarten age.

They had bright eyes and clear features, and they were wearing the same clothes as them.

Normally, they would have said ‘Aw, how cute.’ But they looked at them with envy in their eyes, and the kids shrank back.

“Then…” Junghyun asked with a sullen face, “Can’t we eat?”

“No. We changed it to one person eating. We’re going to get a solo shot of the person who eats the best.”

“…”

“Is there anyone who’s confident in eating or facial expressions?”

“…”

At that moment, Woojoo’s eyes met with Junghyun’s and Jihoo’s. And then they all raised their hands.

‘First come, first served.’

‘There’s no order here, Hyung.’

‘I’m the best at eating.’

It was a fierce battle that no one could give up.

And in the midst of that, Rihyuk, who was licking his tongue at them, raised his hand with Bijoo, looking innocent.