In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

Chapter 41

Things Not to Miss

That day, the recording of Midnight Concert went successfully.

Maybe it was because of the joy of having our song as the title track, but we naturally performed with more enthusiasm than usual.

The audience’s reaction was also good.

After the recording, we received compliments from the PD, who said that our stage was great and that he hoped we would have another chance to perform.

“You did well, my kids.”

At the last farewell, So-won sunbae hugged us.

She had moist eyes, even though we would meet again.

Jang So-won, who looked like a big sister watching over her younger siblings, said something as if she remembered it right before we parted.

“By the way, I’m going to be a DJ on HBS evening radio.”

Music Cafe was not only good for us.

It also brought a good opportunity for the singer-songwriter who had been barely surviving with drama OSTs after her group’s disbandment.

It was a chance that So-won sunbae had finally found after years of hardship.

The DJ position of the most popular flagship program on HBS radio station.

It was partly thanks to the success of Something, but the radio station also decided that she was the right person after seeing how she skillfully took care of New Black, who were rookies in variety, and led the talk.

“When you debut, I’ll nag the PD to put Fireworks on the playlist a lot. I’ll also try to invite you as guests if you have time. Is that okay?”

“Of course. We’ll go even if you don’t invite us.”

His face was full of smiles as he waved goodbye and disappeared.

That was how we wrapped up the happy time we had from February to May.

Well, the person who was most regretful was obviously our road manager.

Min-ki hyung waved his hand faintly, like someone waving a handkerchief to a spouse going to war.

Everyone bit their lips and held back their laughter.

***

Not long after, our debut date was confirmed.

June 19th.

It was as we had heard when we signed the trainee contract.

The investors were impatient and asked when we would debut, so they set June 2014 as the target.

We had about a month and a half left.

We had to adjust our diet to lose weight, take Japanese and English lessons, go to the gym and get personal training, go to the salon and take care of our skin, and learn how to deal with variety shows. We were short on time.

But no one complained about the schedule.

Apart from the hardship, we knew that this was our only chance and we wouldn’t have any time left.

Most trainees just want to debut as soon as possible.

They think that everything will be fine once they get on the air.

We thought so too, before we started our activities.

But we realized how wrong we were when we actually went out.

When we performed on music shows, the day flew by in an instant, and even if we had events or schedules, the day flew by in an instant.

We learned how foolish it was to think that we could practice during our activities.

It was like the feeling of a working adult who knew how foolish it was for a job seeker to say, ‘Well, I can get the certificate after I get a job.’

That’s why we devoted ourselves to practice with the determination not to miss this opportunity.

And.

I had one more thing to do.

“This is a song made by a composing group called OK Ranch last year. Listen to it and let me know what you think. We thought these people would match the color of the Fireworks song, so we were thinking of giving them an outsourced track this time.”

The A&R team’s exclusive office was full of equipment that made my eyes sparkle.

I was sitting there with the staff, making the debut album.

Soon, the play button was pressed, and a cool melody tickled my ears. 

Just like Fireworks started with Junghyun’s rap, this song also started with a cool rap. 

I wondered whose song it was, and it turned out to be Scarlet’s.

Was this their second album track?

The song that started with rapper Daisy’s voice ended and I parted my lips.

“This is a song from Scarlet’s second album. Was it Summer Nights?”

“Oh, you know it?”

“I listen to all the idol songs to study the trends. Um… This song does seem to match the color of Fireworks. It has a nice summer vibe.”

“Right?”

I added to the smiling staff.

“But, if I may say so carefully, if you’re going to request a song, I hope it’s a different direction from Summer Nights. This one seems to perfectly match the color of Fireworks. The track might be overshadowed by the title. I hope it’s a song with a slightly different atmosphere.”

I recalled and said.

“There’s a song called A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the third album of Teen Spirit. It’s a future house genre with a dreamy feel, and it was also composed by OK Ranch. I think a different vibe with the theme of summer night would be nice too.”

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream, was there such a song?”

Most of the staff seemed to be unaware of it. Some of them found the song on a music site and nodded after listening to it for a while.

“This sounds good too. Well, we did ask for a different direction from Summer Nights, since it had the same color as ours.”

“You really know a lot of songs. Did you listen to this one for research?”

“I originally wanted to pursue a career in A&R. I was preparing for the music college entrance exam.”

The staff burst into laughter at that.

It sounded familiar to me. 

It was similar to the laugh I had when I met the kid at the bus stop during my vacation.

He had said he wanted to be a soldier after seeing me in uniform.

One of the staff wiped away the tears from laughing and asked.

“How do you feel about doing it yourself?”

“It feels new every day. I like working on music, but I also realize that it’s not easy to earn someone else’s money.”

The staff smiled sympathetically.

I couldn’t tell if they were laughing or crying.

One thing for sure was, if I had to choose a dream again, I wouldn’t go for A&R.

The PR team, the management, the A&R, this damn entertainment industry grinds people for work.

I knew how hard it was for the PR and management from seeing the managers and the PR team regularly.

That’s why I had a utopian image of A&R as relatively relaxed, but it turned out to be a hell of a job.

First of all, there was no need to mention the workload.

From song selection, planning, composing, album design, and so on, there was no boundary to the work, so whenever I asked, “Do we have to do this too?” the answer was “Of course”.

And above all, if the album flopped, they were the first ones to be blamed by other departments, saying “They made it wrong!” So the stress was not trivial either.

The staff I saw looked more like office workers suffering from performance stress than free musicians.

“I’m sorry. You already had a tight schedule, and then the album concept changed suddenly, so you had more work to do.”

“That’s right, you should have made a decent song.”

“Yeah. You made a filler song for a long time, and then you made a title song?”

The staff joked and teased me.

I offered to buy them a late-night snack.

The reaction was successful.

We sat around the lounge on the fourth floor and spread out the food. One of the staff asked, breaking off a chopstick.

“By the way, you said you’re off tomorrow. Do you have anything planned with the others?”

“No. We decided to do our own thing. We thought about hanging out together, but Ri-hyuk said we see each other every day, so why do we have to see each other on our day off too.”

They all laughed, saying that was typical of Ri-hyuk.

Tomorrow was Buddha’s birthday.

It was the first official holiday for New Black. No lessons, no work, a perfect day off.

Just thinking about it made my heart flutter.

I should go to the dorm later, wash my hair and go to bed right away. It would be the best day ever if I fell asleep watching a movie.

That’s when it happened.

“Woojoo, didn’t you say the kids were at the dorm?”

“Uh, yes.”

“I think I just saw Bi-ju.”

“What? No way…”

I said, but Bi-ju was walking on the other side of the glass window.

The hallway beyond the glass.

Bi-ju looked serious, staring at the floor.

He didn’t seem to notice us looking at him from behind the glass window of the lounge. Soon, he knocked on the door with a grave expression.

“Isn’t this the director’s office?”

The staff murmured. Then they asked me.

“What’s going on? Woojoo, do you know anything?”

“No, I have no idea.”

I would have pretended not to know even if I did, but in this case I really didn’t.

What’s wrong with Bi-ju?

The first time he acted weird was a month ago. I tried to find out what was wrong, but I stopped.

He came back to normal, so I thought, oh, I don’t know what it was, but it’s solved.

But it seems that wasn’t the case.

I suddenly thought of something.

He got better the day after Jung-hyun asked him what was wrong.

It makes sense if I think he heard the story from Jung-hyun and pretended not to show it.

I’ve been too careless.

As the group leader, I should have checked on the condition and thoughts of my brothers every day.

I think I was too absorbed in composing and playing.

Rather, I only heard from Bi-ju that the others were worried.

Actually, when you think about it, isn’t our members more important than any career like practice or composing?

I glanced at the office door beyond the glass window.

There was no way to know what they were talking about, since the door was closed and the window was blocked by glass.

I couldn’t help but think of the worst possibilities.

I waited for Bi-ju to come out and tried to find a good timing to talk to him, but he didn’t show up until I left the break room.

***

“What are you thinking about so hard?”

“Bi-ju.”

“That’s too much, really. You have such a cute little brother next to you, and you’re thinking of someone else?”

“Stop being gross.”

I pushed the youngest’s face away with my palm. 

The people passing by looked at us with envy and smiled.

This was a complex shopping mall in Sinchon.

It was when I was running the music cafe main room.

I came here because of a promise I made to the youngest, who used to diss the eldest for being a fashion terrorist.

“You don’t even go out with me when I buy clothes for my sisters. And you’re not even buying clothes for yourself, but for your brother. Why are you so sulky? You look like Ri-hyuk right now. You have a grumpy old man vibe.”

“Hey, that’s too much for Ri-hyuk. Let’s say Jung-hyun.”

“Jung-hyun doesn’t make that face.”

As I followed him with bags full of clothes in both hands, Ji-ho chattered as if he was telling me what he had been holding back.

“I told you that you look good in warm brown tones, but you just ignored me. I carefully picked out clothes for you, but you only chose sweatpants. And when I looked for you, you were in the women’s clothing store buying grandma clothes. And above all, who wears hiking boots with jeans?”

The last sentence seemed to be the point.

It was a holiday, so I washed the sneakers I usually wore and the only shoes left were hiking boots.

Jung-hyun’s feet were too big, and Bi-ju and Ri-hyuk’s were too small.

I had no shoes that fit, so I wore a white tee, jeans, and hiking boots, but the youngest kept sneaking away and hanging his head as we walked.

He asked me while we were looking for a shoe store.

“So, why did you bring up Bi-ju?”

“He seems a bit weird lately.”

“Really? I don’t see it. Isn’t he the same as usual?”

Bi-ju came back to the dorm late last night.

When I asked him what was going on, he smiled and said it was nothing. He just had a meeting with the manager, he said, and I had nothing to say.

It was awkward to ask him if something serious was going on, with a serious face.

“Oh, right. There was something suspicious.”

“What was it?”

“Bi-ju and Jung-hyun said they were going to play basketball together today.”

“They did.”

“But Jung-hyun always wears a black top when he goes out to exercise with others. He says it makes him look strong like a burnt sweet potato.”

“And?”

“Today he wore blue. Isn’t that weird? He wouldn’t change his pattern all of a sudden, unless they were doing something other than exercising.”

I thought he was surprisingly sharp for a moment. Then the youngest asked me with a serious expression.

“Do you think they’re trying to eat something delicious without us?”

“You’re a real Sherlock Holmes.”

“Don’t talk like Ri-hyuk. It hurts my feelings.”

But Ji-ho had a point.

Come to think of it, Jung-hyun seemed to know something.

He was flustered when I asked him before, and dodged the question.

I tried to think of what it could be, but none of it made sense.

I decided to end it today.

We only had a month left until our debut.

I didn’t know what it was, but I had to find out today.

I let it go until now, thinking it was his privacy, but if there was something that could affect our team activities, I had to know.

I’ll sit them down and talk to them when they come back.

I felt a little better when I made up my mind.

“Anyway, let’s have fun shopping since we’re here.”

I smiled and playfully put my arm around the youngest’s neck.

Yeah.

Let’s not miss the small joys around us for now.

***

We finished shopping and went out to the street.

Maybe it was because of the warm weather in May.

It felt like spring was pouring out from everywhere.

The couples and young friends walking on the street seemed to have a spring scent.

We walked cheerfully and looked for a place to eat.

“You bought the clothes, so I’ll buy the food. Tell me whatever you want to eat. I can afford expensive things too.”

“I don’t like expensive things.”

“Then where do you want to go? How about that chicken place over there?”

“Hyung.”

Ji-ho turned pale.

“I ate chicken every time my dad’s company tested new products. I feel like vomiting from the smell of oil. My second sister also broke up with her boyfriend because he liked chicken too much.”

Then chicken is out of the question.

“Just a sec. I’ll ask my classmates.”

Ji-ho opened his phone messenger.

He was momentarily overwhelmed by the hundreds of friends on his list, but as soon as he wrote something in the group chat, replies came in an instant.

He felt pleased.

It was like watching a little brother who was popular in kindergarten.

“There’s a famous place for ramen and katsu nearby. There’s also a homemade burger place and a sushi restaurant. And there’s a place that’s famous for meat rice bowls. And… what? Why is Gil Chaekyung recommending a pufferfish place?”

“A pufferfish place?”

“That must be a place where people die. She’s the type who would try to kill me if she had the chance.”

“That’s interesting. You two talk to each other.”

“We act friendly in front of each other. But we curse each other behind our backs.”

The youngest, who remembered his enemy, shook his head.

He looked like he hated her a lot.

I scolded the youngest, who was buried in his phone and sending replies.

“Ji-ho, you’ll fall if you look at your phone and walk on the street.”

“Okay.”

Ji-ho answered with his head still on his phone.

“Stop looking at your phone.”

“I’m replying to Ri-hyuk hyung.”

“Oh, really? What is he doing now?”

“He’s looking at a robot vacuum cleaner with new technology. What? Why is he sending me a video?”

Our team’s main vocal was spending his time at the International Vacuum Cleaner Expo at COEX.

I couldn’t understand why such an event existed, and why he went there.

But when he left, he was humming the chorus of Fireworks, so he must have been in a good mood.

It was when Ji-ho was talking while looking at his smartphone.

“By the way, Ri-hyuk hyung said that we’re all going to have dinner together later… Eek!”

Ji-ho started to fall forward, as if his sneakers got caught in the gap between the sidewalk blocks.

At the same time, my body reacted.

It was like the nerve cells in my body woke up.

Everything looked slow-motion. And my body pulled out the necessary action right away.

I reflexively reached out and grabbed Ji-ho’s back.

A second before he would have scraped his face on the ground, the youngest was fine except for his collar choking his neck.

“Hey! Are you okay?”

“I’m, I’m okay.”

“Are you sure? Why can’t you lift your head?”

“It’s embarrassing. Aren’t people staring at me?”

“No. No one is looking.”

Actually, they all looked and walked by.

After a while, Ji-ho, who was looking around, finally relaxed.

“Thank you, hyung.”

“Be careful. If it wasn’t for me, you would have debuted with dentures.”

We stood for a while and checked if he was okay, but he seemed fine.

It was when we started walking again.

“Huh?”

I turned my head at the sound of surprise, and saw Ji-ho walking. No, his walking form looked weird.

It was like… he was limping.

When I felt a bad feeling in my spine, Ji-ho called me with a blank face.

“Hyung.”

The moment I saw his expression, I sensed that I had one more headache.

“I think I hurt my ankle.”