In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe - Chapter 106:

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: Rxel

Chapter 106

The Black Goat.

Junghyun was sincerely amazed as he looked at the fierce and scary goat.

“Wow, it’s really cool. The horns are huge.”

Heysion, who had felt a moment of intimidation from the goat, chuckled as he saw Junghyun’s eyes sparkle.

He then looked at the Team A members who were in a state of panic.

“Is the mission related to that goat?”

 

“No, that’s more like a bonus mission…” Han Sora said, brushing her startled chest. “They said the goat doesn’t eat much, and if we can feed it somehow, they’ll give us some extra ingredients as a bonus. The PD also said it was okay. So we tried, but…”

“That thing is so fierce, it’s unbelievable.”

Actor Lee Kangjin of Team A answered instead. His forehead was full of cold sweat.

“It’s so aggressive, it growls at us as soon as we approach.”

“…Goats growl?”

“That’s just an expression. I… oh, why am I looking at it.”

The black goat that had jumped over the wall was staring at Lee Kangjin.

It was more than just a glare, it was a gaze full of emotion.

Heysion made a suspicious expression.

“Did you just give it food?”

“That’s right. We tried to feed it something, but it suddenly got angry and flipped the bowl. So we said a few words…”

“A few words?”

“We spoke a bit harshly, and then…”

He hesitated to continue.

It was easy to imagine what kind of reaction the black goat had shown, so they didn’t ask any further.

They left the Team A members with a word of sympathy.

The two rappers heard the conversation they were having.

“Too bad. If we had succeeded, we would have gotten a decent dessert ingredient.”

“Teacher Woo Jaeyong just sent a message.”

“What did he say?”

“How can two healthy men be intimidated by a single black goat and not even feed it?”

“Did you send him a picture of the goat?”

“Just a second. Yes, I just sent it… Oh, he replied.”

“What did he say?”

“He said to warn him before sending such a picture. He said he’s taking heart medication these days.”

“…”

The two rappers listened to the conversation.

They looked at each other as they saw the goat jumping down the wall again.

“Should we give it a try?”

“Yes, Hyung.”

“Then let’s go in and say hello first.”

As he followed Heysion, Junghyun licked his dry mouth.

He felt strange.

The word ‘Hyung’ didn’t stick to his mouth.

It could be because of the huge age difference, but it just didn’t fit.

He felt uncomfortable, but he didn’t know why.

He shook his head and smiled.

Forget it.

He didn’t want to think about it.

“Hello!”

“Oh my, you scared me.”

The old lady’s eyes widened at the appearance of the reggae-haired rapper.

The old man with white hair who was waving a fan clicked his tongue.

“Don’t be so surprised. We saw them in front of the village hall earlier.”

“I didn’t see them. I was busy looking at the handsome young men. Oh my, there’s another one. The most handsome young man among the young men.”

“Thank you.”

Junghyun nodded his head.

“I’ve heard that a lot from the elders.”

He added casually that he was also the elders’ type, and the old couple laughed out loud.

The husband clicked his tongue again as he saw his wife scrutinizing Junghyun.

“He’s a handsome one, alright.”

“Be quiet, dear. You were staring at that girl who was making a fuss earlier.”

“…I should keep my mouth shut.”

Junghyun, who always had a friendly conversation with the elders whenever he went to his hometown, looked at Heysion.

A slightly awkward expression.

He didn’t know what it was.

Before they parted, Woojoo Hyung showed him a note on his phone where the camera couldn’t see.

He noticed on the way here that Heysion Sunbae-nim seemed to feel left out of the conversation because he was the crew leader and a senior in the music industry. So, when he suddenly became quiet and you couldn’t tell what his expression was, try to include him in the conversation quickly.

So Junghyun asked Woojoo.

Like when Jiho got mad?

You’re smart, Junghyun.

Junghyun smiled warmly and followed his advice. He reached out his hand to Heysion and said, “We came here to do the mission together.”

“Are you two brothers?”

“No. He’s my fan and we became sworn brothers.”

Heysion perked up and joined the conversation. Seeing him, Junghyun thought again.

Hyung really suited Woojoo Hyung the best.

After exchanging brief greetings with the elderly couple, they went straight to the mission to get the soybean paste.

The pile of firewood in the yard was their target.

“Chop the firewood?”

“Yes, just do fifty and you can go.”

“…Fifty?”

Heysion was shocked. He looked at Junghyun with a worried expression.

Specifically, at his slender body.

“Can you do it?”

“Huh?”

“I mean, you look like you lack strength. Idols don’t eat properly, right?”

“That’s true, I’ve lost some weight lately.”

“How much do you weigh?”

“I’m 67kg.”

“…That’s 15kg less than me.”

Heysion smiled at Junghyun as he expressed his concern.

“You don’t have to worry. I’ve done this a lot before.”

As Junghyun said that, he lightly pulled out the axe handle that was stuck in the wooden base.

With one hand.

“…”

Heysion stared blankly.

He had a strange expression on his face, so Junghyun quickly remembered Woojoo’s advice and said to the elderly couple, “The Hyung here is also very strong.”

“Really?”

But the sunbae still looked odd.

Junghyun should compliment him again.

Junghyun held the firewood with one hand and lifted the axe.

“I’m sure you’ll do better than me. I’m on the weak side.”

Clang!

The firewood split in half with ease. Then Junghyun handed the axe to Heysion with one hand.

Heysion coughed and grabbed it with both hands.

He still had a strange expression.

Junghyun spoke to the elderly couple again.

“He’s a senior who’s very strong, so he’s much better than me…”

Thwack-!

The firewood didn’t split, but bounced off like a nail that was hit wrong by a hammer. The couple chuckled at the sight of it falling to the ground.

“Oh my, he sure has a lot of strength.”

“But that’s something you need to do with skill, not force.”

Heysion made a sheepish face as Junghyun continued.

“It’s because he’s too strong…”

“Hey, Junghyun.”

“Yes?”

“Stop teasing me…”

Heysion looked gloomy as Junghyun tilted his head.

He did what Woojoo Hyung told him to do, why was he like that?

Heysion asked Junghyun as he handed him the axe handle lightly, “Have you done this a lot?”

“I grew up in the countryside since I was young.”

His father made him do all kinds of work when he was young, because he was too weak at home.

He made a strange expression again.

So Junghyun said it.

***

The firewood chopping mission was over in a flash.

Junghyun had succeeded in no time.

The previous team had struggled for a long time, and the old couple praised him for being amazing.

Of course, Junghyun never missed a chance to compliment Heysion.

The VJ laughed so hard that he held his stomach, but Junghyun couldn’t understand what that meant.

And Heysion also started to laugh a lot at the end, and Junghyun confirmed that Woojoo’s advice was right.

Bijoo had whispered to him when they left the village hall.

-If you don’t know something, just do what Woojoo Hyung does.

His friend’s words were very wise. And he was proud of himself for following that advice faithfully.

Heysion said, “By the way, this black goat…”

He pointed at the black goat that was lying down leisurely with a leash around its neck, and the old man asked, “Daegil? Why him?”

“You said you gave a mission to the team that came before us.”

“Oh, that?”

The old couple exchanged awkward smiles.

“We have too many sweet potatoes, they’re rotting. We wanted to share some with them. And Daegil hasn’t been eating well lately…”

“I had a friend who had a dog like that. Wasn’t it because it’s pregnant?”

“You bastard with balls.”

“Boss, tone it down. You’re making those young men nervous.”

“Gohani ran away.”

The two rappers bit their lips and suppressed their laughter.

Anyway, they had a mission to complete.

Feeding the Black Goat Leader!

They approached it with a brass bowl full of cabbage.

But the black goat seemed very wary.

As soon as it saw the contents, it hesitated at the barrel that was acting like a turret.

As they looked closer, they realized how big it really was.

“It’s because he ate a lot of good things. He was weak since he was young, so he had to eat ginseng roots and stuff like that.”

As soon as Grandpa said that with a smile, Grandma slapped him on the back of his head.

“He only eats spicy food like bellflower root or ginseng, that’s why his temper is so bad.”

“Is it the food? He learned it from watching you.”

“If he looked like me, he would have looked more like my muse. If he were human, he would have been baked into bread by now.”

While the couple was having a casual conversation, Heysion approached with a bowl of rice.

That was when the goat sprang up and ran towards him.

“Ah, what a shock!”

Clang!

The chains that were pulled tight like violin strings trembled and made a noise.

Junghyun watched the black goat enter combat mode, lowering its head. Heysion carefully put down the bowl of food.

“What should we do about this?”

“I know, right?”

“Junghyun.”

“Yes, Hyung.”

“It’s our job. Not someone else’s.”

“Oh, right.”

Heysion laughed at the sight of Junghyun, who had no sense of crisis.

He pondered for a moment and said, “Shall we try to approach him more friendly?”

“Friendly?”

“Like this.”

Heysion cautiously approached, put his hand on his thigh, and leaned slightly.

Then he smiled and said, “Hi, Daegil.”

The goat Daegil suddenly stopped his action and stared at him with his eyes.

Heysion smiled while maintaining eye contact.

“Hey, this seems to work.”

“…Um, Sunbae-nim.”

“Yes?”

“I saw it on an animal documentary.” Junghyun said, “Looking straight into the eyes of an animal is a signal to fight.”

“…”

“Do you want to fight me, that’s what it means.”

“…So, am I screwed now?”

Junghyun turned his head. The old couple nodded.

“Yes. You’re screwed.”

“Hey, then what should I do?” Heysion said in a crouching posture. His eyes were still dull.

Grandpa said, “That one, he’s a nasty bastard, so just give up and go.”

“How do I go?”

“Just move your body… Ouch.”

Daegil suddenly kicked his leg and ran towards him. And the chain was pulled tight again.

But it didn’t stretch any more.

“Haha…”

When the two rappers and the VJ exchanged a smile of relief, Daegil, who was moving tightly, took another step.

Thud.

The iron rod where the chain was stuck was pulled out.

The black goat, who was staring at it, and the humans looked at each other.

“…”

Then the death sprint began.

***

“At that time, I couldn’t even dream of divorce like now, and I wondered how I should live every night. If only my son wasn’t a baby.”

“Aw… You must have had a hard time.”

As Grandma Im Soonhyun dabbed her eyes with a tissue, Maxi did the same with his eyes.

Then he spoke to Woojoo with moist eyes.

“Do you want one too?”

“No, I’m fine.”

Then Woojoo asked Grandma, who he was massaging her shoulders, “Grandma, isn’t it very cool here?”

“Yes, yes, oh my. It’s cool. How do you massage so well?”

“I practiced every day to do it for you, Grandma.”

“That’s impressive.”

Grandma Im Soonhyun nodded. She gave Woojoo some advice as they talked about her children.

“But you should also take good care of your parents.”

“Yes, I will.”

Woojoo smiled and shook his head at Maxi, who was about to say something.

“Do you want me to press here? Grandma also says it’s very cool when I massage this part…”

“Oh, good. Good.”

“So, Grandma, what did you do next?”

“Well, let me tell you.”

Grandma Im Soonhyun started to tell Woojoo about the ups and downs of her life.

She had no place to talk about these things before, so she kept unfolding her stories.

How hard she lived alone, how great the second man she met was.

She talked about her happy life, and how her husband passed away.

The VJ fixed the camera and sipped the plum tea, and Maxi listened to the stories with glistening eyes.

The Pomeranian puppy, Dusik, lay on his back on Maxi’s leopard-print pants and fell asleep.

His soft belly swelled and shrank as he breathed.

Meanwhile, another mini-cam installed on the tripod captured someone who was busy roaming the living room.

It was their main vocal.

He was wearing a black T-shirt, and his tiptoeing walk reminded Woojoo of a crow.

His cheek twitched every time he wiped the dust on the objects with a wet tissue.

…Did he like it?

Well, he was the one who sang so much that he wanted to buy a robot vacuum cleaner.

Unlike the second one who liked all the housework, their fourth one was very fond of cleanliness.

He would neatly fold the blanket as soon as he woke up in the morning, and if someone squeezed the toothpaste from the middle, he would squeeze it from the end.

So he couldn’t stand seeing anything messy.

He even cleaned the waiting room when he arrived at the music show.

“Hey, take a break.”

Grandma called out to him with embarrassment.

“It’s a bit awkward to sit here by ourselves. Don’t put all your energy here and go help them.”

“I’m fine.”

He shook his head.

“I’m comfortable alone.”

“Oh dear… It’s hard to do it alone.”

…But Maxi didn’t move an eyebrow.

Woojoo was the same.

No, Woojoo wanted to help, but he nagged too much.

Woojoo had swept the floor properly, but he said Woojoo did a sloppy job. He said Woojoo had cleaned this spot, but when he wiped it with a wet tissue, dust came off. He glared at Woojoo and asked why there was dust here.

As soon as he declared that he would do it himself, Maxi and Woojoo quickly sat on the floor.

They continued their conversation from before.

Woof! Woof!

Pomeranian, Dusik, suddenly woke up from his sleep and started barking at the outside.

“…What’s going on?”

VJ muttered and picked up the camera.

It was because all the dogs in the nearby houses started barking.

At the sound of the siren announcing the air raid, Grandma Im Soonhyun clicked her tongue.

“Daegil ran out again.”

Daegil?

Woojoo wondered if there was a scary person wandering around the neighborhood.

“They should have boiled and eaten him long ago, that bastard.”

“Ahem… You shouldn’t say that about people. Grandma.”

“What are you talking about? He’s a goat.”

“…A goat?”

“You’ll see. He’s a big, black one.”

They all went out to the yard at the incomprehensible story.

And when they peeked their heads out of the gate, they witnessed a strange scene.

VJ, wearing a yellow T-shirt, ran past them at full speed.

He was so fast that he left a trail behind him.

He made a sound like “Aaaah…!” as he passed by, like a racing car. The sound got closer and then farther away.

And then another scream came closer.

“Aaaah…!”

It was Heysion and Junghyun.

“…?”

And behind them, a black goat was chasing them with a heavy stone tied to his leash.

What did Woojoo just see?

He blinked and looked again, but the black goat was still chasing the people.

“…”

VJ, Maxi, and Woojoo looked at each other.

They nodded their heads with a warm smile.

Then they quietly closed the gate.