In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe - Chapter 130:

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: Rxel

Chapter 130

What was going on?

It wasn’t strange to get a call from the PR team.

They usually contacted the management team, but sometimes they called us too.

They would ask for our opinions on the slogans for the promotion, or tell us what to be careful of when doing interviews with reporters.

But.

“What did they want?”

 

“I don’t know.”

It didn’t seem like a good thing.

This person usually put ‘^^’ at the end of their texts as a habit, but today they sent a short and curt message.

At least it wasn’t a phone call.

It was a really urgent matter when the PR team called us directly.

I led the younger ones out of the studio.

But these guys.

They crowded around the elevator, wanting to ride it.

I laughed at the sight of them.

“You’re going to take the elevator to go up one floor?”

“Yes.”

The youngest pressed the button and said as if it was obvious.

“We have to enjoy this, the taste of success.”

“…What does taking the elevator have to do with the taste of success?”

I laughed incredulously, but Bijoo had a serious expression on his face.

“You don’t know, but there was someone who scolded us for taking the elevator before.”

“Oh, really?”

I didn’t know that.

“They said, why are you taking the elevator when you haven’t even debuted yet…”

“Some people are weird.”

“Well, back then there were more than one or two weird people, right?”

Rihyuk retorted and we waited for the elevator with the younger ones.

Taking the elevator to go up from the second floor to the third floor.

It was a funny scene, but seeing the kids’ eyes sparkle, I also felt amused.

Come to think of it, we always took the stairs when we went up from the second to the third floor.

It was the first time we took the elevator for that.

“We’re here!”

Ding, the elevator opened with a sound.

But then, a middle-aged man with a pleasant face appeared as the door opened.

We froze at the sight of the person whose head was shining under the elevator light.

“…?”

While we blinked our eyes, the CEO, the head of the department, Director Jo, and the head of the management support team who were in the elevator blinked their eyes too.

“Oh, hello.”

We greeted them, and the head of the management support team pressed the open button quickly.

The CEO smiled warmly and asked.

“Oh my. Long time no see. Haha. Do you have something to do upstairs?”

“Ah, well.”

…I said and looked at the younger ones, but they all hid behind me.

These guys always do this when something awkward happens.

I discreetly pressed the down button while smiling.

“I pressed the down button, but I accidentally pressed both.”

“I see. Well, then, take care.”

“Yes, please go ahead.”

I bowed my head politely with a friendly smile. Director Jo, who was standing behind the CEO with his tall height, watching the situation, pursed his lips.

I felt a sting on my cheek, as if he had noticed our expressions.

Damn.

As soon as the door closed, I turned my head sharply and saw the younger ones’ faces and let out a hollow laugh.

The image I saw on the internet came to my mind.

The expression of a fox who lost its country after having its prey snatched by an eagle.

I was going to scold them at first, but then I laughed. So I patted their shoulders and said.

“Let’s just go as usual, by the stairs.”

 

The PR team’s office was peaceful.

I was worried that something might have happened, but when I got there, it didn’t seem like that.

But.

“What is all that?”

Rihyuk pointed at a corner of the PR team’s office with a disgusted expression.

There were boxes of parcels stacked up.

“Did you come?”

Three men and women greeted us.

They were the manager and the assistant who were in charge of idols, and a different intern from last time.

“Hello.”

I bowed politely and asked right away.

“Did you call us because of the delivery?”

“Oh, we suddenly got a lot of packages.”

“What are these?”

Jiho asked and Hong assistant answered.

“These are gifts for you.”

“Gifts?”

That was strange.

“Didn’t you announce before that you don’t accept personal gifts from fans…?”

“We did. We clearly posted that notice, but they still sent them. They must have timed the delivery to be now as a way of congratulating you for the first episode of the reality show.”

But it was still weird.

The fans had sent us personal gifts before.

They had sent a lot of them when we got our first win after our debut.

But we had agreed with the agency’s policy of banning any kind of gifts, regardless of the amount.

So whenever we got these gifts, the PR team would open them and only keep the fan letters, and send the gifts back.

That’s how we had always done it until now…

“By the way, did you have a reason to call us?”

“Uh, well…”

The manager with a nervous expression raised his hand.

He gestured for us to come closer and opened the delivery boxes to show us.

“Wow…”

Every box had expensive items in them.

Who sends these things in delivery boxes? I thought.

Hong assistant said.

“We usually send them back right away, but there were some items that were too costly to handle carelessly.”

The answer was obvious, but they must have felt burdened by the amount and wanted to check with us first.

I looked at my siblings and they nodded as if they had the same thought.

“Yes, please send them back, no matter the amount. We’ll just take the fan letters, if there are any.”

“Got it.”

Hong assistant smiled and nodded.

The intern started to tape the boxes again, while Junhyeon asked about the boxes that were piled up separately.

“By the way, what’s in those boxes, assistant?”

“Oh, those are red ginseng.”

“Red ginseng…?”

We blinked our eyes and she answered.

“Woojoo, you said you liked red ginseng on your live broadcast, and I guess the fans saw that and sent you these gifts.”

“…”

“We’re going to send those back too.”

I nodded my head.

His expression seemed to falter slightly, and Bijoo came over and stuck to me.

He looked like a hamster trying to share his body heat with me, and I smiled involuntarily.

The manager said.

“Hey, guys. Do you want to go up first? I have some fan letters for you separately, and I have something to discuss with Uju about the promotion.”

“Hmm? We have plenty of time, we can wait.”

“Me too.”

Bijoo and Rihyuk kidnapped the first-graders who answered cheerfully.

Rihyuk kept glancing at me as he looked back, so I smiled and gestured him to go quickly.

When the kids disappeared, the manager called me aside.

“Can you come over here?”

“Yes.”

What does he want?

As I walked inside, I nodded and greeted the other employees who glanced at me.

Meanwhile, I found a pile of boxes stacked inside the partition.

“What is this…?”

“It’s a personal gift that only came to you, but I thought it wouldn’t look good to the other members, so I kept it here separately.”

“Oh, okay.”

Then he handed me a bundle of fan letters that he had stored in the drawer.

The thin pile of paper that felt like a feather usually felt heavy today. Maybe it was just my mood.

Hong manager smiled and said to me.

“I guess the fandom size has grown since Around the World With Dice, and suddenly these gifts came in.”

“Yes, it’s a grateful thing.”

As I answered that, he looked at me and brought up another topic.

“Uju. Today is the first episode of the reality show. You agreed to watch it live with the fans, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“I think the timing of the gifts has nothing to do with that…”

“That’s true.”

“Should I announce on the fan cafe that today’s live broadcast is canceled?”

“No.”

I waved my hand with a smile.

“It’s a promise with the fans. We have to have fun together.”

“Okay, I got it.”

“Then I’ll go.”

I was about to say goodbye and leave, but I remembered something and called him again.

“Excuse me, manager.”

“Huh?”

“Can you tell the people who sent me the gifts that I appreciate their hearts?”

“Sure.”

The manager who was staring at me smiled.

“I’ll deliver it.”

 

I feel sorry for the fans.

I wonder if I should look back on what happened.

Lately, I’ve been talking a lot about red ginseng when I do live broadcasts or write on the fan cafe.

I was so excited and happy to see the effects of the red ginseng that I received as a prize for winning the Chuseok quiz show.

But it seemed to have a different effect on some of the fans.

Maybe I should have been more careful with my words and actions.

It seems like a chance to think about the professional aspect for a moment.

“What are you thinking? Bro?”

“Ouch. You startled me.”

“Was my beauty that surprising?”

“You’re a surprising existence in many ways, our youngest.”

I was sitting on the sofa, spacing out, when a mischievous face popped up in front of me.

He kept making jokes, so I stroked his head.

Rihyuk glanced at my expression and took out a sweet potato snack from the bag and handed it to me.

It was his way of showing his best affection.

“Was there any trouble upstairs?”

“None. Except for the ones who insisted on taking the elevator earlier.”

“Ahem.”

The younger ones coughed and avoided my gaze.

I asked with a smile.

“Are you ready for the live broadcast?”

“Yes, I set up a tripod on my phone.”

Bijoo showed me the phone mounted on the tripod with a ta-da.

He looked around and hid the red ginseng bag under the table that seemed to be visible on the camera angle.

Then he changed the subject.

“What are you watching on TV?”

“Well, I guess they’re showing the behind-the-scenes of the music show we did a few days ago.”

“I see.”

“Oh, look, there are the Scarlet sisters.”

On the laptop screen, the behind-the-scenes video of HBS MTV’s music show Showtime was being replayed.

There were many familiar faces.

The Scarlet members, wearing black feathered costumes, were being interviewed before going on stage.

I exclaimed.

“The costumes are really pretty. Is it a crow concept?”

-Our concept for this comeback is black swan. A black swan.

The leader of Scarlet, Ara, said that and the younger ones clapped and giggled.

Then Jiho fiddled with his phone.

“I have to send this to him.”

“Hey, don’t do that.”

Why would you want to make someone you haven’t even met hate you?

Next, the Street Boys, who were promoting their second album, came out wearing loose school uniforms.

Hanjo, who had smoky eye makeup, started the interview.

-Yes, our second album title ‘Deeper’ is a comeback song that is deeper than our last title. Please support us a lot.

-Peace!

They greeted roughly and then walked away shyly, thinking that the filming was over.

Bijoo smiled and said.

“He’s your friend, right?”

“He’s not my friend.”

They kept teasing me every time Hanjo came out since last time.

It would be really awkward if we met.

I imagined it in my head.

We faced each other and said, ‘I, as a friend…’, ‘Oh, yes. From the interview…’, ‘So… you did.’.

Ugh.

It was autumn outside, but for a moment it felt like the temperature around me dropped below zero.

While I was thinking that, the behind-the-scenes video was soon heading towards the end.

As a finale, Scarlet, who won first place, came down to the backstage and thanked the camera.

-Thank you to our Curtains, who always wrap us softly. We love you always!

The leader sent a hand heart, and the rest of the members danced with the trophy as the behind-the-scenes ended.

We chatted while the commercials were on.

“By the way, the fans sent us a lot of gifts today. Of course, we didn’t accept them because of the rules and all…”

“We can’t help it. We promised, right?”

“Right. And we should be the ones giving them something. I hate it when someone gives me something.”

The four of them scanned the youngest from head to toe.

The earrings he got from Bijoo, the yellow T-shirt I bought him for his birthday, the black jeans that he stole from Ryuk so many times that Ryuk clicked the quantity like crazy and ordered ten of them, and the sugar-free snacks he was holding in his hand that he got from Junghyun.

Ryuk clicked his tongue.

“Where’s your conscience? Seriously.”

“What do you mean?”

Junghyun said, looking at the shameless youngest member.

“Oh, this reminds me of that. You know, the folk tale where the triangle in your heart spins and becomes a circle.”

“Um, Junghyun Hyung. It’s spinning, not sparkling. And it’s not a folk tale, it’s a story that Native Americans told.”

“Oh, an American folk tale then.”

“…”

Rihyuk shivered at the sight of the bear rummaging through the sugar-free snack bag with a calm face.

We laughed among ourselves for a while, then the topic returned to normal.

“Anyway, I thought of something when I saw the gift earlier… Don’t you think we should give a gift to our fans at the fan meeting this time?”

“That sounds good. It would have a special meaning too.”

Bijoo agreed with a smile, and Rihyuk nodded.

“That’s fine. I was wondering what to do this time that the fans would like. The problem is…”

“What’s bothering you?”

“It’s hard to do something by hand when there are a thousand people coming, isn’t it?”

“True.”

I scratched my cheek.

“Even if we fold a thousand paper cranes, it’s only one per person.”

“But that would be really funny. Hey, our soufflés, when you leave, please take one paper crane from us.”

He mimicked handing out imaginary paper cranes, and described the expressions of the fans who were dumbfounded by his gesture. We laughed again because of the youngest.

Rihyuk bit his tongue.

“They’ll lose all their respect for us. Anyway, my point is that it’s hard to give the same gift as the first fan signing event when there are so many people.”

“How about eco-bag season 2?”

Bijoo shook his head at Junghyun’s question.

“Hmm, that might be too bland. It’s our first fan meeting, so I want to give them a more meaningful gift.”

“Any good ideas?”

“I can only think of money when you say a meaningful gift. My dad always says that the most meaningful gift is cash.”

“Wow.”

I exclaimed.

“If we give money envelopes to our fans, that would be legendary in its own way.”

“Our name would be on the front page of the society section. One of us would be arrested as the ringleader.”

“Oh, arrest.”

“…”

“…Why are you all looking at me?”

I was annoyed by the guys who looked at me at the same time.

Then, as if he had imagined something, Bijoo said with a determined face.

“We won’t let you go alone, Hyung. We’ll go with you… Pfft.”

He burst into laughter, as if he found his own words funny. That was contagious, and we started laughing again in no time.

It was strange.

Maybe it was because we were working so hard these days. Our laughter barrier was almost like an apartment garden fence.

I like it, though.

The story always jumps to unexpected places.

It’s like a hangover conversation.

When we first talk, it’s like a flower garden, but when I come to my senses, I’m already on a ship heading to a neutral country.

It’s chaotic, but every time we have this kind of conversation, the fog in my head clears and I feel the sun shining.

I clapped my hands and summarized the situation.

“Let’s think about the fan meeting gifts later, and watch the broadcast first.”

As I cleaned up the messy table, the logo of Reality Episode 1 appeared on the top right corner of the screen.

Then I turned on the live broadcast with the public phone.

We waved our hands to the camera beyond the screen, as we watched the number of viewers rise rapidly.

“Hello!”

 

“Hahaha!”

It was a brilliant decision to watch Reality Episode 1 with our Soufflés.

Usually, when I watch dramas or variety shows, it’s more fun to see the comments or jokes that people make in real time, and that’s exactly what happened.

I laughed every three minutes because of the fans who made jokes whenever there was a funny scene.

‘It’s the New Black’ started with a pink title that introduced the host of the beauty show, and it was full of rich content for 50 minutes.

From self-introduction interviews to military enlistment, discharge videos, and exploding kimchi pots.

I searched and found an article.

-New Black Woojoo, video call with TNT Taehyun on reality show ‘Golden Network’

Most of the articles were related to Taehyun.

I guess the articles about the reality show content will come up after the broadcast ends.

Meanwhile, a special video was revealed as the episode 1 ended.

-Special preview of New Black’s second album production!

…with that caption, the screen showed me sitting in the studio.