In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe - Chapter 129:

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: Rxel

Chapter 129

Seo Jihyung ran with excitement in his heart.

‘A broadcast…!’

His heart was pounding.

He had started to feel nervous when his younger brother, who worked at the store, called him and said, ‘Hyung, some celebrities are here. Idols.’

He clenched his fist and shouted ‘Yes!’ to himself. He was that happy.

It was understandable, since the sales of his tripe restaurant had been declining day by day.

 

At first, he had prospered thanks to the fame of his name, but soon enough, other tripe restaurants sprang up like mushrooms around him, and his sales plummeted.

They were mostly run by building owners.

He tried to overcome the crisis by serving customers himself on weekends, putting up signs of famous people, and doing all kinds of promotions, but it was no use.

That was why he was overjoyed when he got a mission to cook on the Chuseok Special of Around the World With Dice.

-You’re very good at cooking, aren’t you?

-Yes, I run a tripe restaurant in Hongdae.

-Jihyung, you’re like a chef with your knife skills.

-I cook often. Oh, did I not tell you that I have a tripe restaurant?

…He did all sorts of advertising, but the PD, Goo Jaeyong, was a genius.

He noticed everything and edited it all out.

That was why he was so thrilled when he heard that the broadcasting station’s camera was here.

‘But who are they?’

A boy group or a girl group?

Did they appear on a variety show? Or a food program?

He imagined all kinds of possibilities, but they were all pleasant ones.

Being on a broadcast was a very happy thing in itself.

With a fluttering heart, he flung the door open.

“Hahaha!”

A refreshing laugh burst out from the depths of his chest.

“Ah, I heard you were filming… Huh?”

As his eyes adjusted to the dim interior, his black history was smiling in front of him.

“Hello, Sunbae-nim.”

The idol group that stood up and greeted him cheerfully was the same one he had met once on a broadcast.

New Black.

He looked at the one who shone the brightest among them.

“…….”

Scenes flashed through his mind.

The scene where he tried to steal the spotlight and failed miserably, the scene where he tried to hit his shoulder in revenge and missed and fell to the ground, the scene where he confidently challenged him to a chicken fight and ended up hugging the floor.

The last one was the most vivid.

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Jihyung, come on. Is this your first time on the floor?

-It was hilarious when they showed a flashback of him saying ‘Ah, Hyungseok Hyung-nim! I was the best at chicken fighting in Majang-dong when I was young!’ before he went out ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Ack…ㅋ I would have fainted from embarrassment

-He looks like an ugly sweet potato covered in dirt

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-He looks like he lost his country, ㅋㅋ

His close comedian friends teased him by sending him boxes of sweet potatoes, and his relatives laughed out loud when they watched his show during Chuseok.

That shameful memory became Woojoo’s face and danced on his retina.

But business came first.

Yeah.

The customer is king.

“Oh, look who’s here! Our New Black friends! Haha! Long time no see!”

He winked at his brother to set things up quickly and greeted the people from the broadcasting station.

“So, which show are you from…?”

“Ah, we’re just here for a meal, actually.”

“I see. But you’re filming, right?”

“Yes, it’s a reality program, so we might need some footage.”

“Reality? Reality show…?”

“Idol reality.”

As soon as he saw the camera with the HBS MTV mark, Seo Jihyung blinked.

“…”

Yeah.

Anyway, being on TV was important.

With that thought, Seo Jihyung picked up the tongs and started grilling the tripe.

Soon, a savory smell filled the air, and the chopsticks moved busily.

“Sunbae-nim, please have a bite.”

A tall and muscular member offered him a piece of tripe, but he shook his head with a broadcast smile.

“No, thanks. I’m not hungry.”

Well, he was nice.

While he was smiling outwardly and grumbling inwardly, Seo Jihyung’s attitude changed a bit.

Junghyun called Woojoo.

“Woojoo Hyung, can I order more?”

“Sure, go ahead. I’ll pay for it today. Order whatever you want.”

“Yay.”

As they cheered happily, this time, a handsome man with a sharp face leaned in to Woojoo.

“Hyung, Hyung, what about me?”

“Our youngest is growing up, so he should eat well.”

“Hyung, then what about me?”

“Of course, our Bijoo works hard every time, so he should eat a lot too.”

“…”

“…”

“Hey, what about me?”

“Let me see, should I order a soda?”

As Woojoo got up to get a soda, Seo Jihyung gestured for him to sit down.

Woojoo came closer to him and whispered, “Sunbae-nim, our kids eat a lot, don’t they? I’ll pay for it later.”

“Nah, just eat for free.”

“No, I didn’t come here to freeload today.”

“Huh?”

“I thought I should come here at least once, since you said in your ending comment last time that I should visit this grilled tripe place if I ever go to Hongdae.”

“…”

Seo Jihyung felt a pang of guilt.

Oh. He shouldn’t be doing this.

“…Well, enjoy your meal.”

Seo Jihyung looked at Woojoo with a curious eye.

And then the orders started to skyrocket.

“Can we have one more tripe, please?”

“Yeah, let’s order one more.”

“Can you give us some more intestines and honeycomb tripe? Rihyuk, trust me and try the intestines once. They’re sweet.”

As Seo Jihyung watched the five idols devour the tripe like vacuum cleaners, the production staff and he made the same expression.

And as the bill kept rising.

Seo Jihyung unconsciously clasped his hands politely.

Then he carefully picked up the menu and showed it to Woojoo.

“Do you want to try this too? It’s a new part and it’s delicious.”

“Yes. Let’s order more.”

His heart skipped a beat.

“Then how about this…”

“Yes, that too.”

His heart pounded.

They were the best customers ever.

While he was bringing out the ingredients, he heard Woojoo’s voice in my ear.

“Hey, Junghyun. Did you enjoy it? What? You want to eat more? Aren’t you tired?”

Whenever such a conversation took place, the orders increased.

As he looked at the sales slip, he did his best to grill the tripe.

Junghyun also did his best to eat.

And the camera captured that scene of a battle.

***

Two weeks later.

The idol community board.

[My rough stomach and the tripe on the grill, and the leader watching over them.gif]

The current hot reaction to New Black’s reality show episode 1ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

The impact of the kimchi explosionㅋwas a bit overshadowed, but it was one of the highlights of episode 1ㅋㅋㅋ

Behind the scenes: They said they starved the next day and had a hellish PT with the trainer because of what they ate that day.

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-He really eats like a beast

-Daegil’s friend eats well

-Whatㅋㅋㅋㅋis Daegil’s friendㅋㅋㅋ

-That’s too much. He has a name, you knowㅋㅋㅋ

-Daegil’s friendㅋㅋㅋㅋperfect match

-The shaking pupils in the gif are the kill point

-(Added) Junghyun’s official statement on the live broadcast: It must have been my mood. Every time you called me that day, you said it was Junghyeom.

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-But what kind of duel is this? Try eating it. Burning vs Don’t ignore my stomach

-Wow… I really crave tripe

Meanwhile, the GIFs of the kimchi pot explosion scene and the tripe eating scene from the first episode of ‘It’s the New Black’ started to spread slowly to other communities.

***

That evening, at the fitness center.

“Hyung, look at this.”

“What.”

“I forgot to tell you earlier. Seo Jihyung Sunbae-nim told me to come again and gave me four point cards with ten stamps each. He seems like a really nice person.”

“Well, Junghyun.”

“Yes.”

“Giving you four point cards means.”

“Yes.”

“That the tripe you ate that day cost that much, don’t you think?”

“Ah.”

He was making sounds like ‘ah’, this kid! Woojoo wanted to give him a headlock, but he had no confidence in beating his strong head with his hand.

“Hoo. Hoo.”

Woojoo just lay down on the Smith machine and did the bench press calmly.

Yeah.

Woojoo made a lot of money from composing, but what did he do with it? He spent it on Mrs. Kim Deoksoon and his siblings.

…But he felt bitter.

“Hyung, your posture is off.”

“Right. Why is that?”

“I think you’re using your muscles wrong. Don’t push with your shoulders and here, how about this? Do you feel the stimulation?”

“Junghyun. Don’t touch other people’s chests casually.”

“Can I touch it?”

“Let me finish my sentence…”

Then Woojoo followed the trainer’s posture exactly, and Junghyun assisted him with the exercise.

“Yes. You have to hold it in that state. Hyung.”

“Ugh… I’m losing strength.”

“No. Hold on. Hold on. Bite your teeth hard. Hyung.”

“Nyaaa!”

In the end, Woojoo was trained until his upper body muscles were sore.

When he loosened his body that had become limp, Junghyun tilted his head as if it was strange.

“It’s really weird.”

“What is?”

“When you made the shot at the charity event, and usually when you do that kind of thing, you need to have muscle support…”

“And?”

“You’re too weak, Hyung.”

“You’re strong.”

“Thank you. Hyung.”

“…”

Woojoo shook his head and brushed away the sweaty strands of hair from his forehead.

As he cooled down his throat with some refreshing ginseng, he saw his younger siblings rolling around in the PT room through the glass window.

Unlike Woojoo and Junghyun, who had always maintained their stamina, the rest of the weak line was being gently taken care of by the PT instructor.

Usually, Bijoo and Rihyuk were the regular customers, but today their youngest joined them because he said he was feeling sore.

By chance, the three of them looked at Woojoo as they changed their positions.

They waved their hands lightly and Woojoo mouthed to them.

‘Fighting!’

Woojoo got some rough responses back.

Well.

He felt sorry for them, but what could he do?

It wasn’t like they were doing this just to torture their bodies.

They had a producing meeting for the title song of their second album, and there was a suggestion to increase the difficulty of the choreography.

If the first album’s Fireworks emphasized the vocal part, this album would increase the dance proportion.

They decided to request the choreography from a foreign choreographer, but when they saw the sample video, they realized that they needed more core strength in their waists than they had now.

So the conclusion was ‘let’s make the kids’ bodies stronger first’.

Soon enough, the three soaked siblings opened the door and collapsed in front of Woojoo.

“Ah, I think I’m going to die.”

Rihyuk, who fell with a thud, sat down in front of Woojoo and handed him a water bottle.

“Do you want a drink?”

“Did you drink from it?”

“Yeah.”

“Then I don’t want it.”

“Just say no if you don’t like it.”

Then Woojoo suddenly remembered something he was curious about.

“Rihyuk, I’ve always wondered, what if you were stranded in the desert?”

“That’s a pointless hypothetical. I hate sand.”

“Let’s say you went there, and you were stranded.”

“Wow, that sounds awesome. I’m so happy just imagining it.”

The two youngest ones, still sprawled out, swung their sleeves at each other like cat punches.

It was a pathetic sight.

Rihyuk soon gave up and asked with a tired face, “So what’s your point? If someone gave me a water bottle that they drank from, would I drink it?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t need to. I’ll find an oasis.”

“But what if the oasis is a mirage?”

“Stop adding things to the scenario.”

He then enthusiastically explained how he would use the principle of distillation to get water, but Woojoo didn’t listen.

“Woojoo Hyung, can I drink some water?”

“Yeah. Go ahead.”

“Ew, why is there ginseng in it?”

“Sorry. I got confused.”

As Woojoo handed over the bottle of water, the youngest one gulped it down.

Meanwhile, Bijoo, who had been sitting with a blank face, took the bottle from Woojoo and said, “I’ve been feeling this lately, but it seems like the training difficulty has suddenly increased. It feels harder than before…”

“It’s because the company told us to.”

Rihyuk cut in.

“The trainer said earlier that the management team wanted us to work harder, something like that.”

“…”

“Yeah, you need strength to dance! He said that. And then he asked if we knew how to dance, and when I said yes, he added another set as if I was provoking him.”

As Woojoo’s heart burned with indignation, Junghyun changed the topic at the right moment.

“But it seems like the hard work is paying off. You guys look better too.”

That was true.

There was no change in their physique, but their bodies felt firmer.

Their strength also improved, and they felt a clear difference when they practiced the choreography.

Even doing the same moves, their steps and limbs were more powerful.

Especially their main dancer, his change was noticeable.

His graceful dance line in a white T-shirt became more dynamic and heavy.

As Woojoo watched their guys stretching their legs, he was briefly lost in thought about the album.

He remembered the videos of the choreographers they saw as samples.

The choreography that he liked last time, it looked hard because of the jumps, but maybe they could pull it off…

As Woojoo smiled unconsciously at that thought, Rihyuk shivered.

“What’s with that look?”

“What look?”

“You just smiled at us with a bad vibe.”

“Yeah.” Jiho said, “It reminded me of that cartoon I watched when I was young. You know, the one where the wolf blows the pigs’ houses away.”

“The Three Little Pigs?”

“Oh, yeah.”

“But we’re four brothers.”

“Let’s make it five. We have to include Woojoo Hyung.”

They were caught by the trainer as they sat and talked nonsense, and they had to do the finishing exercise.

He was a huge guy, but he knew how to adjust the pace so well, he made them do it until they felt like they were going to die.

But today, Woojoo couldn’t focus.

It wasn’t because of the album they were preparing for, but because of what Junghyun said last time.

-Our trainer, doesn’t he have a great body? His arms are as big as Bijoo and Rihyuk.

He said that the left one was Bijoo and the right one was Rihyuk, and Woojoo couldn’t get that out of his mind.

Damn.

It wasn’t just him who remembered that, Bijoo also pursed his lips.

Don’t laugh.

If they laughed, they would get another set.

Of course, that effort was useless.

“Teacher, but what if our muscles get too big from working out like this? Won’t our fans be sad?”

After the trainer’s refreshing laughter, they had to do two more sets.

 

When Woojoo was in the reserve training, a day felt like ten days. But after that, ten days passed by like a day.

It was like a relay race they used to do in elementary school.

When Woojoo came to his senses, the next day would run towards him with a baton, shouting “I’m here!” and then three seconds later, “Hey, I’m here again!”

Maybe it was because he was living a busy life.

Lessons, dermatology, exercise, foreign languages…

Woojoo heard from the company that the overseas response was good, and they were considering activities in Japan or Southeast Asia after the second album.

He had to prepare for that, so he paid attention to studying Japanese and English.

Foreign Soufflé.

Woojoo still didn’t have a feel for it.

He kept thinking of a bread with colorful decorations on top. Maybe it was because of the diet?

That was how they were getting ready for the second album title practice, both physically and mentally.

And Woojoo had to attend the producing meetings as well.

He exchanged ideas with Director Jo Gyuhwan every day.

About the concept of the second album, the personal colors of the members, how to arrange the intro and outro, and so on.

And Woojoo learned by watching how to do things like lyric contests, song confirmations, and communication with designers.

The director was also happy with his ambition to become a producer idol, not just a composer idol, and gave him a lot of tips.

And time passed, and finally.

Friday, 5 p.m.

“Wow, I’m nervous.”

“Hey, Wang Jiho. Why are you making such a fuss? There’s still an hour left before the reality show starts.”

“I’m a little nervous too…”

They were gathered in the studio, rubbing their hands nervously, before the first broadcast of HBS MTV’s idol reality show <It’s the New Black>.

As a talk show with MCs’ sarcastic jokes was playing on the laptop screen, Woojoo laughed.

“I haven’t seen you guys nervous in a long time, really.”

“Maybe it’s because it’s a reality show, Hyung. It’s our first reality show on TV.”

“Well, now that I think about it, you guys were really jealous of Street Boys at the year-end evaluation. Remember? They were so…”

“Hyung, eat an apple. An apple.”

Bijoo put a neatly sliced apple in Woojoo’s mouth.

As he chewed on the apple, his phone in his pocket vibrated briefly.

It was Assistant Hong from the PR Team.

-Come to the office with the members for a sec

What was going on?