In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe - Chapter 108:

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: Rxel

Chapter 108

The grandfather’s name was Kang Moonsik.

“Oh my, I thought you wouldn’t come to our house. Oh, you…”

He rolled his eyes as he looked at the three of them, as if he wanted to show off the celebrities who visited his house.

But he had no idea who they were.

One of them was a broadcaster who became famous through SNS, and the other two were rookie idols who had just debuted.

“What a handsome and beautiful bunch! Hahaha!”

 

…That was how he summed them up.

“Come on in! Come on in!”

They followed the excited old man into the house.

“I cleaned up the whole house since this morning, because I heard the broadcasting people were coming. It’s clean, right?”

“The house is amazing.”

Maxi admired the living room as he looked around.

The living room was spacious and elegant, decorated with a neat interior.

The sunlight was warm as it came in, and the reason why the scorching sun felt so nice was probably because of the air conditioner that was blowing strongly.

Ah. It was cool.

Woojoo was very glad to feel the coolness on his skin.

“Do you want something to drink?”

“No, we…”

“Do you have milk?”

“…”

Three glasses of milk flew in at Maxi’s words.

As they all settled in the living room, Rihyuk quickly got up and took the tray from the old man.

“Thank you very much.”

He turned his head and drank the milk like a shot, and Woojoo couldn’t help but laugh at his sight.

“So, what are your names?”

They had a brief introduction time.

Of course, he didn’t seem to recognize who they were.

He asked what SNS was, for crying out loud.

At least when they said, “We’ve been on PBS’s Music Night,” he said, “You must be famous singers, then.”

Actually, it didn’t seem to matter who they were.

He just laughed and said, “It’s important that you’re on TV.”

“I’ve been sleepless since yesterday, because the broadcasting people were coming. I even put on my best clothes.”

No wonder, he was wearing clothes he didn’t usually wear.

Woojoo was surprised by the luxury logo that was prominently stamped on his belt and polo shirt.

“I’ve done everything in my life, but I’ve never been on TV… Yeah, last time, that, on my hometown show, they showed every other house, but, well, the broadcasting people said they wouldn’t show my house because it didn’t look like a country house.”

“There are some bad people out there.”

“Right? They were all rotten. They kept the old folks standing.”

But Woojoo thought he knew why this house wasn’t on TV.

It was very modern.

It would be an inappropriate scene for a show about rural life.

Other people lived in houses with slate roofs, but this one had a tiled roof even for the doghouse.

Did Around the World With Dice assign turmeric to this place for that reason?

To make them not go…?

If that was their intention, Woojoo felt bad. No matter how nice the house was, it was a lonely house for an old man living alone.

Woojoo asked him, “Sir… Do you live alone?”

“Yes. The house was built by my children, but they don’t come by these days. They just built the house and left.”

“Oh…”

“Poor thing… You must be lonely.”

Woojoo wondered how to react, but their celeb did it for him.

Woojoo listened quietly to his story.

He let out all the chatter he had been holding back, like a floodgate that had opened.

He told them everything from catching crayfish in the ditch when he was young, to the jungle of the Vietnam War, to the love story with his late wife, to the labor he did to raise his children.

It was like a turbulent modern history of Korea.

But this was not good…

Woojoo felt sleepy.

Was it because he ran around all morning without sleeping well?

His body was weary.

Woojoo tried to keep his eyes open and smile, and react to each story, but his eyelids kept getting heavy.

Even the VJ who was filming them was half-fainted.

The other two were not much different.

Rihyuk and Maxi had a bizarre expression on their faces, like dead people with their eyes wide open and their mouths smiling, as if they were in a horror movie.

Woojoo probably looked the same.

When the story finally ended with the news that he had returned to his hometown in the 2010s.

“Ah, I talked too much about myself.”

“…No, it was very interesting.”

Woojoo clapped his hands, and Rihyuk joined him.

“That’s right. It was very educational.”

“Aw… You must be tired of talking.”

Grandpa looked at his watch and asked, “It’s about time to go. You have to do that, what, mission or something.”

“Yes, Grandpa.”

“Then, can you play a game with me?”

“A game?”

Grandpa immediately took something out of the drawer.

…It was a card game.

Woojoo and Rihyuk, who were minors, were flustered, and Maxi’s eyes sparkled, while the VJ shook his head.

It seemed like he couldn’t broadcast it.

Grandpa Kang Moonsik looked genuinely sorry.

“Oh, that’s too bad. I was so envious of the others playing at the senior center.”

“Why don’t you join them?”

“They don’t let me in because I’m a man. They say I talk too much and tell me to go away, but what do I talk too much about… Huh.”

Woojoo held back the laughter that was about to burst out of his mouth.

“Well, that’s it then.”

Grandpa Kang Moonsik said with a shy expression, “Just shake hands with me before you go.”

“We’ll give you a hug.”

“That’s okay, you don’t have to do that…”

…He said, but when they hugged him one by one, his mouth reached his ears.

He waved his hand with the retriever outside the house and shouted, “I’ll go to that house for sure when I have dinner! Bring a lot of people!”

He made a boastful promise, and they smiled and nodded.

They had to walk back to the village hall, as the mission time was almost over.

Woojoo missed them so much, even though it had been only a few hours.

Woojoo wanted to see the members as soon as possible, and he quickened his pace.

Especially, Woojoo was curious about Junghyun’s story.

What happened to him after he was chased by the black goat.

***

“…Is this all sweet potatoes?”

Heysion stuck out his tongue as he looked at the two boxes of sweet potatoes. The old couple asked him with a serious face, “Is it not enough?”

“No, no.”

“Well, it could be. Let me get another box.”

“Always making me do it…”

Grandpa grumbled as he brought out a box of sweet potatoes to the yard. Heysion asked, “Isn’t this too much to give us…?”

“It’s for Daegil, so don’t feel burdened.”

“Thank you very much.”

Grandpa waved his hand.

“Don’t thank me. We should be the ones thanking you. That old goat hasn’t been eating properly lately, so we were worried. But now that you solved the problem, we’re so relieved.”

“We thought he had some kind of disease, like that goat from Hong Soon’s house that had a cyst. But the vet said he’s very healthy.”

“It’s because he ate too much ginseng.”

“That’s right, he got crazy from eating too much ginseng.”

“We didn’t know it would turn out like this…”

As the couple started to bicker again, Heysion coughed awkwardly.

Then they looked at the camera and quickly made up. And then they looked at the idol member who was sitting in front of the doghouse.

“You’re amazing. How did you manage to make Daegil so obedient?”

He couldn’t tell them that he had used a wrestling move to save the goat from being hit by a truck. That would sound ridiculous.

“…”

Junghyun was squatting in front of the doghouse, gently scratching the black goat’s chin.

He looked like a pure country boy with a gentle smile.

The goat seemed to like it too, closing its eyes and bleating as it ate. Of course, the goat spat out the cabbage that was in its bowl, shaking its head and chewing hard. But every time that happened, Junghyun whispered something in the goat’s ear.

Then the black goat obediently chewed its food.

The black goat, who had anger management issues, was now good at controlling its temper.

It still glared at Heysion and the VJ with a rude look, but it was docile to the one who subdued it.

“Grandpa, Grandma. I fed Daegil all his food.”

“Good job, good job. You’re amazing.”

Grandpa and Grandma came down and approached the black goat.

Grandpa reached out to pet it, but Daegil jerked his head away.

“It’s because of the ginseng.”

They all laughed.

Soon they left the house, carrying boxes of sweet potatoes.

Junghyun walked briskly with two boxes in his arms, a happy smile on his face.

He looked like an elementary school student who had aced a test.

Heysion asked, “Do you like it that much?”

“One of the members loves sweet potatoes and always eats dried ones. I think he’ll like it if I give him these.”

And the one who cooked would like it too. Junghyun smiled.

His smile was so bright that it lit up the surroundings.

***

The village hall.

The team members in charge of cooking were busy moving cooking utensils around the table.

The production staff informed them of the situation from time to time.

“Team A has acquired fish!”

“Wow!”

Comedian Seo Jihyung and Actress Han Yeoreum high-fived each other in joy.

Soon, good news came from the other teams as well.

“Team B, we got beef!”

“Team A, we’ll share the seasoning we got from the mission with you!”

“Team A, we just got gochujang!”

Every time, the production staff brought out the refrigerated ingredients and handed them over.

But there was not much news from Team C.

Bijoo and Ye Heeyeon, who were in charge of the cooking team, looked at the clock and tapped their feet.

“Sunbae-nim, why aren’t our teammates contacting us?”

“I know, right? Does Ye Heechan have any brains? He should hurry up and complete the missions like the other teams!”

“…Should we send them a message?”

“No. Let’s wait and see.”

Then, they heard a commotion from the production staff.

“…A black goat? Who filmed the black goat scene? They said Doyoung did.”

“What black goat?”

“One of the members of Team C, Heysion and New Black, the tall guy, had a chase with a black goat, but they missed that part.”

“A chase? With a black goat?”

Ye Heeyeon looked at the person next to her who was covering his forehead. Bijoo was muttering ‘Kim Junghyun…’ under his breath.

“Junghyun must have done something.”

“…I’ll definitely ask him what happened when he comes back.”

As she smiled at the sight of the handsome boy with a sinister glint in his eyes, Seo Jihyung from Team A said mockingly, “Your team can change your menu to black goat soup.”

“Mr. Seo.”

“What?”

“Mind your own business and look at your frying pan. It’s burning.”

“Oh, no…!”

Ye Heeyeon thought he was a person with no redeeming qualities.

She wondered why Oh Hyungseok always favored him and brought him along for every special episode.

But today, she could understand him a little.

‘He’s good.’

She had only heard that he ran a tripe restaurant in Hongdae, but she didn’t know he was such a good cook.

He was perfect in terms of skill, except for the fact that he was subtly flirting with Han Yeoreum, who was on the same cooking team.

“Is he good?”

Yang Okbun, a veteran actress from Team A, came over to Team C with a tangerine in her hand.

Ye Heeyeon asked, “Ma’am, don’t you cook?”

“Kid, I don’t even touch water in dramas, let alone cook. They’re doing so well together that they don’t like me interfering.”

“Mr. Seo is like that, but the actress over there is good too.”

“She’s not ordinary. Her knife skills are amazing. Kid, I’ve never seen anyone use a knife like that in my life.”

As she said, Han Yeoreum, who had graduated from an American culinary school, was flawless.

She was a bit clumsy at first, but soon she remembered how to cook and proceeded smoothly.

Ye Heeyeon peeled an orange and pointed at Team B.

“They look pretty tired.”

“Doesn’t Jinwoo Oppa know how to cook a little? He sometimes posts pictures of his cooking on SNS.”

“That’s just for show.”

She heard Song Jinwoo chopping ingredients on the cutting board from afar.

“Because of that delivery app that you and Heechan advertise, I don’t have time to cook anymore.”

“Right, that’s convenient, isn’t it?”

“The delivery samgyeopsal was really delicious.”

“Is that good?”

She moved to Team B and chatted with them.

She wanted to get some talk out of Song Jinwoo and Joo Hana from Girls on Top, who were on the cooking team.

The veteran actor admired the hands of the girl group member.

“Your hands are so pretty, and your arms are thin. Can you handle cooking?”

“I’m working hard, sir.”

“But working hard and doing well are different things.”

“Ah, teacher.”

Song Jinwoo laughed.

“Stop teasing other people and help your teammates. You’ve been eating oranges all day.”

“I was about to do that.”

…She said and went back to Team C.

This time, she showed interest in Kim Bijoo.

“Hey, you’re an idol too, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” Bijoo answered politely.

“How did you learn to cook?”

“I did it as a hobby…”

“Then we have no choice but to win.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Yeo Heeyeon snapped.

“You never know who will win until the end. Don’t you remember the golden goal in 2002, sir?”

“Wow, kid. You scare me when you talk about the game.”

And then.

“Team C! We got soy sauce!”

“Team C! We’ll give you the noodles we got!”

The ingredients started to arrive one after another.

There was a slight gap after the first mission, but after that, it was smooth sailing.

As they blinked at the incredible speed, Bijoo looked at the map and said, “I guess Woojoo Hyung is on the move.”

“…Yeah.”

Woojoo was solving the missions like a super-fast typhoon.

It was the same for the other teams with Jiho and Junghyun.

They took the many ingredients and started to move after sorting out the cooking materials.

“I’ll chop some carrots first.”

“Okay, be careful. Don’t hurt yourself…”

Chop, chop, chop, chop, chop-

“…?”

Ye Heeyeon blinked her eyes.

The carrot was sliced in an instant.

Bijoo moved the knife with focused eyes.

He was not a novice who had only done it for a year or two.

“Bijoo.”

“Yes?” he answered while keeping his eyes on the ingredients.

“Didn’t you say cooking was your hobby?”

“Yes, it’s my hobby.”

“You seem to be really good at it…”

“Well, I had some circumstances, so I’ve been cooking since elementary school. It’s been about 10 years.”

“…That sounds more than just a hobby.”

Bijoo smiled and started to handle the remaining ingredients. While Ye Heeyeon was staring blankly, his hands moved swiftly.

That was when she noticed the calluses on his hands.

He skillfully tore the packaging and sorted the ingredients.

He quickly washed them.

He boiled water and blanched the ingredients.

It was like watching a cooking show. Song Jinwoo and Joo Hana from Team B were dumbfounded by them.

They had conceded that Team A was the overwhelming favorite, but they thought Team C was in a similar situation as them.

“Oh, look at him,” Yang Okbun exclaimed.

“He’s just like my daughter-in-law. You’re lucky, Heeyeon.”

“I guess so.”

Ye Heeyeon snapped out of it and looked at Bijoo who was preparing the ingredients.

She had originally planned to take the lead since they were both bad at cooking, but she changed her mind.

“Bijoo, what can I do?”

“Can you please take care of the spinach?”

“Got it!”

“…Sunbae-nim, um, taking care of the spinach is not just fiddling with it. You have to remove the dirt and the stems, ah! Don’t hold the knife like that, it’s dangerous… You can just use scissors.”

Meanwhile, the camera director captured the scene.

It was a rare sight to see Ye Heeyeon, who had a strong personality, being scolded by someone.

Of course, the one who was talking was smiling and whispering softly.

“Sunbae-nim, you have to wash the spinach thoroughly because there are wrinkles on the leaves like lettuce.”

“…Yes. No, okay.”

Ye Heeyeon vowed to get a cooking certificate as soon as this was over.

On the other hand, as the cooking began in earnest, a delicious smell started to emanate from Team C’s table.

Perhaps because of that, Team A also seemed to be aware of the new dark horse and started to heat up their cooking.

And in between them, Song Jinwoo and Joo Hana from Team B were burning.

Their cooking.

“Hey, water cup! Paper cup! Paper cup!”

“The paper cup is on fire! Sunbae-nim!”

Ye Heeyeon felt like it was none of her business as she watched the scene.

If Bijoo hadn’t been able to cook, she would have been in the same situation.

‘These kids are weird.’

One of them threw the ball from the end of the basketball court and made it in, and the other one said he had been cooking for 10 years.

Did the rest of them have something like this too?

Meanwhile, as the cooking went smoothly, Ye Heeyeon witnessed a strange phenomenon.

Whenever Bijoo hummed and looked troubled while cooking, he would ask her for permission.

“Sunbae-nim, can I go outside for a moment?”

“Outside?”

“Yes, I have something to ask about cooking, but it can’t be on TV.”

“Come back soon.”

He would come back with a very refreshed expression, and his cooking skills improved greatly every time.

And that happened more than twice.

Ye Heeyeon couldn’t contain her curiosity and asked, “Who are you asking right now? Is he a chef or a cooking researcher?”

“No, she’s not.” Bijoo smiled and said, “She’s the owner of the most famous restaurant in the neighborhood.”

***

A Korean restaurant in Gunsan City.

-Grandma, it’s me again…

A boy with a fresh face smiled shyly on the video call screen.

Mrs. Kim Deoksoon smiled.

“Yes, my Bijoo. What’s the problem this time?”

-I have a question about the fire control.

“Uh-huh, ask me anything.”

She rested her chin on her hand and smiled warmly.

How could his eyelashes be so long?

He was so handsome and unlike her grandson who had no affection, his face was fair and cute.

He spoke so earnestly and politely.

Unlike her grandson who always said ‘Grandma, you have to love only me’ and acted spoiled.

She liked him.

That was why Mrs. Kim Deoksoon passed on her 50 years of know-how to him.

“Yes. But where are you calling from? It’s so dark. Did you go into a warehouse or something?”

-I can’t tell you where I am…

“Yes. Well, then I can’t help it.”

-Yes, thank you.

As he bowed his head with his phone in his hand, the video call screen moved dynamically.

And then.

-Grandma. I owe you a lot today… Aah! A moth! A moth came into the bathroom…

Click.

As she watched the video call cut off with a scream, Mrs. Kim Deoksoon smiled affectionately.

As expected.

There was no normal person around her grandson.