In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

Chapter 57

I remembered the story that Ri-hyuk told me a while ago.

“I didn’t know who he was at first. But when I thought about it, his face came to mind. He looked different when I met him before. He was younger then.”

Before he came to Lemon Entertainment, Ri-hyuk was a trainee at Awullim Entertainment.

Awullim Entertainment.

One of the five small agencies that conduct annual evaluations with DNS and Lemon. 

It’s a company that has a reputation for being reliable in the industry.

Its specialty is vocal.

Unlike other agencies that emphasize dance performance, Awullim is an agency that specializes in nurturing singers.

It’s like a middle form between an idol and a singer.

If you look at the singers that came out of Awullim, there are many solo singers or vocal groups that are not idols but have an idol-like vibe.

For example, the four-member vocal group ‘Playlist’ that has a high popularity for their beautiful appearance.

It was natural for Ri-hyuk, who was weak in dance, to join Awullim.

“You remember, right? I was rejected by Hwai Entertainment because they told me to dance first. After that, I applied to other agencies, but I was eliminated every time because of my dance. I had no choice.”

Of course, the company staff who saw our monster vocal printed out a contract even before the audition was over.

That’s how Ri-hyuk became a trainee.

Everything went well.

Thanks to his overwhelming vocal skills, he was at a level where he could debut in a flash, and the company people liked him too.

The problem was that Ri-hyuk hated that place.

“Well, every company has a different atmosphere, but there, the rookie development team staff who manage the trainees were like, ‘Do this, do that.’ They would make us lie down if they told us to.”

Ri-hyuk said with a disgusted look.

“The problem was that there was a guy named Sato among the rookie development team staff.”

“Sato?”

“He was called Sato because he was a psycho on the fourth floor. Anyway, there was one guy who was too friendly with the trainees. He would give favors to the ones who were close to him, and treat them harshly if they didn’t get along.”

“How were you?”

“How do you think? He was frustrated because he couldn’t eat me. But he couldn’t touch me because the CEO liked me.”

It felt like he was the top student who was left alone no matter what he did.

“Anyway, it was really bad. The smart ones would stick to that guy and flatter him, and the trainees would split into factions. There were probably only two people who were alone there, me and that guy Yoon Kiwon.”

“So you knew him from before?”

“No. I never talked to him.”

Ri-hyuk said that he was a my-way at that time, and Yoon Kiwon was a trainee who had a faint presence that didn’t catch his eye.

The only image that came to mind was that of a timid kid.

“But usually, when there’s a mess upstairs, the kids downstairs have no place to vent their stress, right?”

“You vented it on him.”

“I think so. I didn’t care and didn’t know what was going on.”

I guessed what kind of atmosphere it was.

When people are in a stressful situation, they usually look for a target to vent their anger.

Maybe there, the youngest and weakest trainee was the target.

“It was when they were deciding the debut group, and I was almost confirmed. I was half-preparing for my debut. So I was like, ‘Let’s just do my thing and ignore them.’”

As the dissatisfaction piled up.

The incident happened on a normal day.

Ri-hyuk went to the practice room after school to practice.

He saw a strange sight.

A kid lying down in one corner of the practice room.

He could see that he was struggling so hard that his arms and legs were shaking.

There was so much sweat on the floor of the practice room that the kid had spilled.

But what was unbelievable was that the company staff and the trainees were playing and eating snacks next to him.

“It was so ridiculous. So I asked. Why is he being punished? But the answer was outrageous.”

“What did they say?”

“Just. They said just. I got so angry when I saw that. So…”

“You fought.”

“I fought big time. I don’t know why I did that, but I think I just got angry.”

Ri-hyuk was terminated from his contract that day.

“That’s the end of it. Honestly, it was a long time ago, and I wouldn’t have remembered it if they hadn’t told me first.”

“But he must have been grateful and remembered you.”

“Now? When everyone else was giving me unfavorable testimonies back then, he was the only one who kept his mouth shut.”

“Hey, what do you expect from a middle schooler?”

“I was in eighth grade then, you know?”

I asked Ri-hyuk, who narrowed his eyes.

***

“So, what about the other trainees? What happened to them?”

“Well, I heard that the staff member who did that to you got fired soon after, but the rest probably debuted by now. They’re the ones who were in Playlist, you know, the ones who ate those snacks back then.”

Playlist.

I made a mental note to pay attention to that name, when Ri-hyuk spoke again, lowering his head.

“Anyway, my philosophy is that there’s no point in being nice to others. In the end, I’m the only one who gets hurt.”

He said it calmly, but he looked somehow lonely.

***

As I recalled the story he told me last Sunday, Ri-hyuk tapped the floor of the studio with his foot.

“So, I don’t really know. I’ve never relied on anyone or been someone’s support. I don’t know what that feels like.”

It was true that I had never seen him complain or lean on anyone in all this time.

“What about Ji-ho?”

“…Are you serious?”

“Don’t look at me with that contemptuous expression. You’re hurting my feelings.”

“I’m just asking honestly, do you think Ji-ho relies on me?”

He didn’t hesitate to answer.

“No.”

“See? That fox-like kid relying on me. That’s ridiculous.”

“Ji-ho is a fox? I thought he was clueless.”

“I’ve been watching him for almost three years. He’s just pretending to be dumb, but he has a lot of schemes inside.”

“Is that so? I didn’t notice.”

Well. 

One thing was certain.

Ji-ho was not the type to depend on Ri-hyuk.

He seemed to think of him as a fun brother to hang out with.

Our kids were generally independent, only relying on me when they were in trouble or danger.

“Hmm…….”

This was a headache.

“Ri-hyuk.”

“What.”

“You should have told me sooner if this was the case. You came to me three days before the song was done and said this.”

“Don’t say that. I thought I could do it then.”

He blushed and protested, and I glanced at him and pondered.

What to do.

Should I change the song now, as if promoting the album tracks?

No, no.

Then I’d have to rearrange it again.

All four of our single album tracks were songs for five people, so I had to worry about the part distribution and deal with Jung-hyun’s rap part.

Should I use Something to fill the gap, I wondered, but I was negative.

People had heard it too much, and more importantly, Jang So-won was the DJ.

He would know right away how poorly prepared our song was.

Jang So-won, a senior with a strong professional conscience, might scold us properly after the schedule was over.

I didn’t want to disappoint someone who liked us.

I thought about various things, but the conclusion was that I had to push through with the song ‘Night Sea’ that we had now.

I was silent, lost in thought, and Ri-hyuk misunderstood my expression and said.

“I’m sorry. It’s because of me.”

“No. You can’t blame yourself for this.”

You can’t ask him why he grew up in such an environment when he had no such experience since he was young.

“Maybe it would help if I watched a movie with a similar sentiment.”

“I don’t like movies, they hurt my eyes.”

“You read a lot of books, right? Then how about a …….”

“I mostly read non-fiction. Literature is only essays like Walden? I don’t like things that are too emotional.”

“…….”

I took a deep breath.

And gave him a gentle smile.

“Do you hate me?”

“No. It’s not that I hate you, it’s just that I…….”

“Just?”

“Just, I see you in a good way.”

It sounded a bit awkward, but let’s move on.

He was a bratty 18-year-old who didn’t like this or that.

Looking at him, I finally came up with a solution.

“Then let’s forget about warmth or anything else, and try to substitute it with the closest emotion you can feel. When I wrote Night Sea, I felt gratitude too. That’s the core of it.”

“Gratitude?”

“Sure, you must have someone you’re grateful for too.”

“Um…”

Don’t tell me you don’t have anyone.

The chair where he was sitting creaked as he turned. His white sneakers tapped the floor as if reflecting his train of thought.

Who is he thinking of?

I suddenly became curious.

Various emotions flickered across his pale face, which had been expressionless. 

For a brief moment, it seemed like a faint smile even touched his lips.

Ri-hyuk answered readily.

“I do, someone I’m grateful for.”

“Who?”

“Do I have to tell you that? Isn’t that my privacy?”

“Fine. Don’t tell me then. You’re so stingy.”

I chuckled and looked at the sheet music of Night Sea on the laptop screen.

“Shall we practice based on that then?”

“Sounds good.”

***

Finally, the long-awaited day arrived.

July 6th.

On a sultry summer night, with the highest temperature of 33 degrees at noon, our siblings saw us off as we got into the car in front of our dorm.

“Have a safe trip.”

Bi-ju clasped my and Ri-hyuk’s hands together with both of hers. A warm voice came along with a gentle touch.

“And don’t fight with each other.”

“When did we ever fight?”

“I heard from the staff in charge of video production. They said 70 percent of your practice videos were fights.”

“…”

She handed me a lock-and-lock container.

It was our housewife’s consideration to eat on the way to the radio station, for hydration.

“Good luck, hyung.”

Jung-hyun stuck out his fist as if to bump it with mine.

He looked like he was in pain.

Instead of bumping it, I grabbed it like a bundle and shook it playfully.

Jung-hyun smiled.

When a warm atmosphere was going back and forth, Ji-ho fanned his hand as if it was hot.

“Can I go in now? It’s too hot.”

“Hey.”

“Have a good trip~”

Ji-ho hid behind Jung-hyun as we glared at him, then peeked out his head.

He looked like a country dog on a stone wall.

“I heard it’s a radio show that you can see today. I’ll leave a lot of comments in the chat room later, so look forward to it. My nickname is ‘Ri-hyuk is a pirarucu’.”

“You’re asking for it.”

“And I sent you a gift too, so look forward to it.”

A gift?

I wanted to ask more, but Min-ki hyung’s signal to leave made us get in the Carnival.

We waved our hands to our siblings as we lowered the tinted glass window.

Anyone would think we were going to war, but well.

If you think about it, we were competing with Street Boys, so it wasn’t a wrong thing to say.

Let’s do well.

I wiped the sweat on my palm and nodded.

***

HBS building in Mok-dong.

A lobby with a glass ceiling and walls, where I was busy sending messages.

Me [Grandma. Do you know your grandson is on the radio at 9?]

The 1 disappeared right away, but the reply came after 5 minutes.

Grandma [I have it on]

Grandma [Is that the girl you sang with,?]

Me [Yes. She’s a good senior]

As I tapped the smartphone keyboard, Ri-hyuk tilted his head.

“Who are you talking to?”

“My grandma.”

“Say hello to her for me.”

“Wait a minute.”

I tapped on the keyboard.

Me [Ri-hyuk says hello]

Grandma [Who?]

Me [Ri-hyuk]

Me [The one who sings well and has slanted eyes but a very bad personality]

I made a lot of typos as I tried to fend off the phone snatcher.

Me [You know. The younger brother who can sing]

Then Ri-hyuk nodded his head.

I read the reply from grandma to the curious guy.

“Grandma says thank you. And she says to be nice to the older brother in front of you.”

“You made that up, right?”

“Of course. Do you think our grandma would say something like that? She would tell you not to bother me and behave yourself.”

“Please tell her I’m taking good care of her grandson.”

I chuckled and shook my head.

I sent him one last message, telling him to listen to my song later, and put my phone away.

It was a good thing I didn’t mention Street Boys.

There were all kinds of things that happened until the debut showcase, but grandma only knew the good ones.

Seeing her reaction now, I think I did well.

If I had told her, she would have been furious and asked me if it was okay to hang out with those bastards.

“Let’s go, guys.”

We followed Min-ki hyung, who came back from the cafe with a box of coffee.

It was Americano and cake slices that we bought for the production staff.

While waiting for the elevator.

I asked Ri-hyuk, who was busy tapping on his phone.

“Who is it?”

“Wang Ji-ho. He said he sent me a gift earlier. I asked him what it was, but he won’t tell me.”

“Well, you’ll find out soon enough.”

It seemed like Seok-hwan hyung knew, so there shouldn’t be any problem.

I thought I would find out when I got there anyway.

To be honest, Ri-hyuk didn’t seem that curious either.

It looked like he was looking for something to distract his tense nerves.

Like when people suddenly text their friends to escape from an awkward situation.

I smiled, thinking I knew why he was doing that.

Ding-

But when the elevator door opened, my smile was gone.

They say you meet your enemy on a narrow bridge.

As soon as I saw Street Boys and their managers in the elevator, I had a feeling that it would be a very awkward situation.