In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

Chapter 126:

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: Rxel

Chapter 126:

The two members continued their debate as they looked at the tightly sealed kimchi jar.

“It must be defective, right? We’ve tried everything we could.”

“Or maybe we’re just too weak.”

“…”

“Hmm, what should we do?”

As Vivaldi’s Four Seasons softly played in the background, Bijoo changed the topic.

“Yes, it’s Spring, composed by Vivaldi.”

“Vivaldi?”

“Antonio Vivaldi, a famous composer from the Baroque era.”

Bijoo summarized the explanation he had read in a book.

“He’s like the Woojoo Hyung of Europe.”

Rihyuk couldn’t help but laugh.

But they couldn’t talk about classical music for long.

No matter how much they wanted to escape reality, the kimchi jar was still standing proudly in the middle of the living room.

“I think we have two options left. First, we give up on the kimchi dumplings. Second, we ask for help from other people.”

“Do we have to ask someone else?” Bijoo stroked his chin and said, “But wouldn’t that be weird? We’ve never met the neighbor next door.”

“Well, that’s true. And it would be strange to suddenly go and ask them to open the kimchi jar for us.”

“What about upstairs?”

“The upstairs?”

“Yeah, there’s someone who works at a company, right? They always greet us kindly whenever we meet.”

“We can’t ask them. I, uh…”

“Oh. Right.”

Bijoo realized his mistake as he saw his brother’s face turn red in an instant.

He was the one who always banged on the wall and screamed whenever the upstairs neighbor turned on the water and made the shower hot.

Bijoo comforted his embarrassed brother and smiled.

“Then let’s call someone and ask for help.”

“Call? Who? Not our managers, right?”

“Of course not. Someone else.”

Soon, a chubby face appeared on the video call.

“Hello, Grandma.”

-What’s up? What’s going on with our Bijoo at this hour?

“Are you busy?”

-No. I was just watching TV and eating snacks. The customers all left. Yeah, Sukja. They’re the ones who work with Woojoo. You’re not going to introduce them, so go peel some tangerines.

Kim Deoksoon greeted them with a bright smile, apparently bored.

They chatted with her for a while, then explained the situation.

-Why are you asking me that?

“Well, Grandma, you know a lot about cooking, so I thought you might know how to open the jar.”

-Bijoo, you were afraid your mom would scold you, so you called me, right?

“…Yes.”

Kim Deoksoon laughed and gave them some tips.

As the reality camera and the video call screen watched, the two members started to exert their strength.

“Huuh!”

-Yeah! Put some strength into it! Strength!

“Aaah!”

-Oh my, look at that, look at that. You guys can’t even peel garlic. You’re so flimsy. And your names are even Biri Biri.

“Hey! I can peel garlic! Huuh!”

-Your mouth is alive, Rihyuk. You’ll float on the water.

She calmly put in some extreme damage, as expected of Woojoo’s grandma.

But thanks to Kim Deoksoon’s honey tips, the lid was gradually opening.

As Summer from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons reached its climax, the person on the screen muttered.

-But usually, when the jar doesn’t open like that…

She was about to say something, when Bijoo and Rihyuk smiled brightly. The lid was opening.

But at that moment.

Boom!

The lid spun around and popped up, and the kimchi exploded like a mole in a whack-a-mole game.

Kimchi juice splashed everywhere.

It didn’t reach the hanger, but from the trophy they received at the year-end evaluation to the sofa.

And Bijoo and Rihyuk stared at the kimchi jar with blank eyes, covered in kimchi juice on their clothes and faces.

-What the hell is that? What happened? Are you guys okay?

The two members trembled and closed their eyes amid Mrs. Kim Deoksoon’s scream.

***

That evening.

“Hmm~”

Jiho and Junghyun, who had safely finished filming Animal Friends in Yeoncheon County, returned humming a tune.

They were in a very good mood after eating a lot of food at the rest area.

They climbed the stairs while playing rock-paper-scissors and holding the reality camera, and were surprised when they entered the dorm.

The atmosphere was gloomy.

“…”

In the dark, Rihyuk and Bijoo had lit a candle and were eating.

It was a very fancy menu.

There were all kinds of delivery food, such as pork feet, boiled pork, chicken, pizza, etc.

Jiho rubbed his belly and said, “Wow, I should have eaten less at the rest area if I knew this.”

“I can eat more.”

Bijoo and Rihyuk, who noticed their presence, waved their hands weakly and greeted them.

“Are you here?”

“Yes, we’re here.”

“Did you do well on the show?”

“Yes, but Hyung. Can we eat too?”

“Come quickly.”

Jiho and Junghyun happily loosened their pants.

Jiho quickly grabbed a chicken leg that had no owner.

“But why is the mood like this? I thought I entered a haunted house at an amusement park. It’s so dark and gloomy.”

“Ah, I was trying to create a romantic atmosphere.” Bijoo answered, “I did something wrong to Rihyuk…”

“Sigh.”

“I’m sorry…”

“Next time, please respect what I say, Hyung. If we just did our own things, there wouldn’t have been an explosion.”

Explosion?

Did he get really angry?

“Here.”

Junghyun and Jiho rolled their eyes. Of course, they were busy devouring the pork feet and chicken with their mouths.

Bijoo looked apologetic and Rihyuk had moist eyes.

Jiho came to a conclusion.

It had come.

“By the way.”

He asked Rihyuk cautiously, “Hyung, did you hit puberty?”

“Leave me alone, please…”

“He really hit puberty. This is serious.”

While Rihyuk was sighing, Jiho hugged him and said he would comfort him.

Rihyuk, who had squinted his eyes at first, soon softened.

A large green lump came in front of Bijoo’s eyes, who had been tapping his phone keyboard hard.

“Ah, surprise.”

“It’s a wrap. I made it for you to eat.”

“Thank you.”

When Junghyun gave him a large wrap, Bijoo’s mouth swelled like a squirrel.

Junghyun looked at the phone screen and asked, “Why do you keep searching for Woojoo Hyung’s name?”

“I wonder if there’s any news or something. I’m anxious too.”

“Well. He’ll be fine.”

Then, Wang Jiho, who was eating the bossam, paused.

“Come to think of it, Woojoo Hyung really likes bossam.”

“He likes pork feet too.”

“He loves spicy chicken too.”

“Hey, everyone. Who doesn’t like chicken or pork feet?”

“Oh, right.”

“Now that I think about it, Woojoo Hyung eats really well. He doesn’t have any preferences.”

Rihyuk lowered his head and said, “He can’t eat cucumbers.”

“Why cucumbers?”

“Well. When he was a trainee, he ate cucumbers every day to diet, so he hates it.”

“Wow, then he can’t eat pickles either. Poor Woojoo Hyung…”

Jiho ate a pickle and made a sad face.

“I miss Woojoo Hyung so much, I haven’t seen him for a day.”

“Me too.”

“I miss Woojoo Hyung.”

“That’s right.”

The image of Woojoo flashed in the minds of the members who were looking out the window.

About 10 seconds.

Soon, they continued to eat deliciously.

Woojoo was out of their minds.

No one knew that the camera that Jiho forgot to turn off was filming.

***

There was no word that fit the reserve training camp better than the mental hospital of time that he saw in a comic.

Woojoo had always felt that there was an inexplicable energy in the military barracks.

Even a normal person could lose their taste and fall asleep.

Just sitting still, Woojoo felt sleepy, so he slept like a honey for three days.

The other guys were amazed that his skin was glowing every day.

The three days passed without a hitch.

The officer came to get a signature for his daughter, and Woojoo received a shooting target with a hole in it for the first time in his life.

He had a good time chatting with strangers.

Sometimes people asked him to tell them some stories about the entertainment industry, but he refused vaguely and they didn’t ask him again.

Every time, he talked endlessly about his siblings, but when Woojoo came to his senses, there was no one around.

Anyway, Woojoo greeted everyone he met for three days and promoted New Black.

Some of them kindly said they would download Bambada as soon as they got their phone when they left.

***

From the first episode of HBS MTV reality show ‘It’s the New Black’ aired two weeks later

New Black’s House

While the BGM of the animation Crayon Shin-chan played, the scene showed the two members trying hard to open the kimchi jar.

The studio view appeared at the bottom of the screen.

Rihyuk said, “Wow. That’s really pathetic.”

“You know it well,” Woojoo said.

Their second oldest said, “We really struggled for an hour with that. Our hands were numb.”

Junghyun, “So did you open it?”

“You’ll see.”

Then they started to open it with the advice from a person called ‘Woojoo’s Grandma’.

Bijoo: Rihyuk! Let’s try harder! Just a little more!

Rihyuk: Okay!

As the two joined forces, the kimchi jar slowly opened.

The others in the studio clasped their hands and hoped.

A large countdown number appeared on the screen: 5 seconds.

As soon as the seconds ended, the kimchi jar burst with a loud bang!

Along with that, the other three members in the studio fall to the floor and roll around laughing.

Rihyuk said to himself, “Come on, laugh. Laugh…”

Bijoo sighed.

The other members burst into laughter. 

“Hahahahaha! Hehehehe!”

As they laughed, Rihyuk was peeling off a piece of cabbage that was stuck to his face on the screen.

His face turned the same color as the kimchi.

Rihyuk: Ah, seriously! Hyung! I swear I’ll never eat kimchi dumplings again! Never!

Bijoo: Rihyuk-ah.

Rihyuk: (crying) Ouch, the kimchi juice got in my eyes.

***

[The New Black’s reality show that fans are calling a sitcom]

I thought the reality show concept was weird from the start…

(Skipping some parts)

The highlight of the first episode, the kimchi explosion scene. You have to watch this in video, not in GIF.

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ their frozen faces are epic

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ who are these guys, can someone tell me their names

-The one on the left with the devastated expression is Bijoo, and the one with the trembling lips is Rihyuk!

-I felt this when I watched Around the World With Dice, but these guys are really blessed by the comedy god ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋI became a fan after watching this

-The one who screams with his face turning the same color as the kimchi is the killer ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-I, I’ll never eat kimchi dumplings again! Never ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

***

“Thank you, sir.”

It was time to leave after the training.

Woojoo bowed to thank the person who downloaded the song for him.

He took pictures with those who wanted to take proof shots, and waved his hand with a smile to those who wanted to have a meal with him.

“I wish I could join you for dinner, but my manager scheduled something for me tonight.”

“That’s too bad.”

“I know, right. You worked hard. Please leave a good review on the internet!”

Woojoo said goodbye and left gracefully.

As he headed to the main road after receiving a text from Minki Hyung, he saw some of the people who had left earlier laughing as they passed by.

What, was there something funny?

…Woojoo wondered, but then he saw some handsome guys holding a huge placard in front of the training center’s main gate.

[Milky Seon Woojoo]

[Welcome to Society]

Like they were waiting for a guest at the airport, Junghyun and Jiho were holding the placard together, and Bijoo was waving a mini flag in between them.

Ah. Seriously.

Behind them, Rihyuk was wearing a baseball cap and a mask, and only lowered his head, and Woojoo could empathize with his feeling.

“…”

Woojoo tried to slip through the crowd and pretend he didn’t know them. But he was caught by the eyes of their Kim-something, who was like a hawk.

He immediately whispered to Jiho. 

“Hyung! Woojoo Hyung! I’m! Here! Here!”

“…”

Jiho’s voice was so loud. Really.

The people who were buzzing soon started to look at Woojoo.

It was a lethal dose of embarrassment that Woojoo hadn’t felt in a while. He sighed and walked towards them.

“Hyung! I missed you!”

“Me too!”

The younger ones ran towards him as he walked with a limp.

Now he saw that there were also reality show producers with cameras on their shoulders. The writer was laughing out loud, and Woojoo felt annoyed.

They surrounded Woojoo like a pack of retrievers, and started to sing a cheer song while jumping around.

“Ya ya~ Ya ya ya ya~ Ya ya ya ya ya~.”

“Go go go!”

“Please… guys. People are watching. I’m really embarrassed. I’ll die.”

They all stopped and looked at each other at Woojoo’s words.

A second later.

“Ya ya~ Ya ya ya ya~.”

“…”

“There’s no use in stopping them. They were all so excited to see you.”

Woojoo could only laugh at Rihyuk’s words.

The youngest clung to him, and Bijoo stayed by his side with his sparkling eyes. When the producers asked Woojoo how he felt, he said one thing.

“Oh, it’s the reserve forces. It was a meaningful time to serve the country for three days.”

“Are you serious?”

“Is your voice disguised?”

The writer laughed at Woojoo’s playful question.

What could he say?

He couldn’t admit that he was still using the equipment from 6.25. If he had told the truth as he felt it, he would have been sued by the Ministry of Defense.

As they were doing the interview like that, Woojoo’s phone rang and the writer’s eyes widened.

It must have been because of the name [Han Taehyun] that appeared on the video call screen.

“Is this?”

“Yes, that’s right. TNT.”

“Hey, can he say a word of support for you?”

“I’ll ask him.”

Soon, an idol member who was moving in a car swept his yellow hair and appeared on the screen.

As the writer kept nagging, Woojoo asked him and Han Taehyun gladly agreed.

-Hi, it’s. What is it, Hyung?

“It’s New Black.”

-Ah. Hello, New Black viewers. I’m TNT’s Taehyun.

As their siblings clapped and cheered, the person on the video call smiled.

-Yes, he’s a very dear and beloved Hyung to me. He’s very charming. I hope his real self will be well conveyed.

Then he asked.

-Is this enough? I want to have a personal call.

“Oh, sure. Go ahead.”

The writer nodded with a smile, as if he had gotten the necessary amount.

Wow.

He could speak so confidently to the production staff.

-Your eyes are sparkling.

“Hey, that was cool for a moment.”

-What are you talking about? You can do this too when you’re five years in.

“That’s very hopeful.”

Woojoo walked a little away and made a video call. As he did, he glanced at the other siblings and said, “But I’m filming right now, so let’s talk quickly and hang up.”

-You’re so mean. Really.

“You’ll be more generous when you’re five years in.”

The person on the screen laughed.

“So why did you call?”

-Well, I’m filming too.

“Filming?”

He turned the screen and Woojoo saw a person who looked like a manager taking a picture of Taehyun.

“You should have told me you were filming, Sunbae-nim. That was a close call.”

-Don’t worry. We’re going to give it to the production team after our PR team edits it. I called you for some advice on the show.

“You need my advice?”

-Yeah, I’m going to do that. The military variety show, Men on the Go.

At that moment, Woojoo burst out laughing.

Why did he feel so good?

Taehyun looked annoyed as he said to his camera, ‘Wow, please put this in.’

While he was doing that, Woojoo asked for a moment, “Just a second.”

Woojoo called Minki Hyung and asked him to contact Seokhwan Hyung. He said OK to this kind of call.

So Woojoo gave him some good tips.

-Thank you, Hyung. I owe you again.

“But, Taehyun. Can’t you ask your managers for these tips? They’re all veterans…”

-Huh? What? The reception is bad.

“The managers next to you…”

-Ah, I need to change this phone.

“What do you want to eat?”

-I want beef, ouch.

They laughed for a while and ended the short call.

-Mister, let’s have a meal together. We’ve been saying we’ll meet since March and it’s been six months.

“Hey, you’re the busy one.”

-No. I’m going to be active in Korea soon.

“Korea?”

-A repackaged album in November… Ah, don’t tell me to stop talking about this? Well, it’s not a secret anyway.

They repeated the words to have a meal together several times and hung up.

He would be on TV again soon.

The show ‘Real Men’ featured scenes of the guests preparing for their enlistment, and it seemed that Taehyun had chosen Woojoo as his celebrity best friend to call.

By the way, it was November.

There was a high chance that their comeback schedule would overlap with theirs.

Well.

It didn’t matter much.

Unless they and TNT competed for the first place on music shows like they did last time with ‘Something’.

New Black was not in the same league as them anyway.

“What did you talk about, hyung?”

“Nothing much. He said he was going to ‘Real Men’, so I gave him some advice and stuff.”

Woojoo answered the youngest who was asking him this and that with bright eyes, and put his arm around his shoulder.

“Let’s go. Home.”

“It’s not home, it’s the dorm.”

Someone snapped at Woojoo, and Woojoo exchanged glances with the other brothers.

“Then let’s go to the dorm~!”

“Yeah!”

“Hey, don’t leave me out!”

As they laughed and chatted about the things they had missed for three days, Woojoo’s phone vibrated briefly again.

Woojoo thought it was Taehyun, but it was Director Jo Gyuhwan.

-The title song is just finished.

The text message continued below.

-We have to start making the album now, so bring the members to the conference room by 9 a.m. tomorrow. We have some issues to discuss about the comeback schedule and the fan meeting.

This was the beginning of the album that Woojoo was participating in as a producer.

Woojoo felt a new sense of nostalgia, but the word that caught his attention the most in the text message was something else.

It was fan meeting.