In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

The music director, who was flipping through the cue sheet, picked up the microphone.

-New Black. Let’s do one last rehearsal.

“Yes!”

With an enthusiastic answer, the members of New Black took the stage.

The rehearsal began shortly after.

While they were singing, the writers were holding notebooks under the stage.

They were writing down things to improve before recording the broadcast, such as eye contact with the camera.

But.

“…”

The writers looked at each other blankly.

“What did you write?”

“No, I don’t think there’s anything to give feedback on…”

“Me too. There’s nothing to pick on.”

Someone said, looking at the flawless stage.

“When they first came out, I remember we had a lot of things to point out. Was that last spring?”

“They’ve grown so much.”

“Don’t they look like country puppies? They were baby white dogs at New Year’s, but when we went back at Chuseok, they were adults.”

The writers laughed at the joke.

Thanks to the boy group that was perfect in everything from eye contact to stage manners, their work was much easier.

“They’re really good. But.”

They saw Rihyuk, who was smiling softly and making eye contact with the audience and the camera.

The main writer said.

“Maybe it’s because they had a concert? When idol groups have a solo concert, their stage skills improve a lot.”

“They were famous for being good since the Legendary Songs era.”

“Actually, they were good from the first time they came out. I’m not saying this now.”

They saw the youngest member, who was making a playful gesture with his index finger at the camera, and remembered last year.

It wasn’t that they expected it after they did well, but they really had that thought back then.

‘They’re going to make it.’

When they saw the singers who were competing every week, they developed an eye for performance.

That’s why they always thought, ‘That team is something else’, and they always came back and made it.

New Black was one of them.

“But I didn’t expect them to rise so fast. Did you see it when you came in? Their fans were waiting outside in huge numbers.”

“I thought it was another show that was recording TNT or something. That was their fans?”

“Yes.”

“Amazing…”

They clicked their tongues.

They were looking at the chicks and thinking, ‘Next time, they’ll be chickens, right?’ But they felt like a huge ostrich came back and said ‘Hi’.

It was an incredible growth.

And recently, they caused a big buzz with the musical movie OST ‘Thousand Dreams’.

-Let’s try the next song one more time. A Thousand Dreams.

“Yes!”

As New Black rehearsed the OST of Nostalgia, the writers melted with a look on their faces.

“It’s so good.”

Their ears were healed by the faint voice of Woo Joo that filled the public hall.

“Look at the MC. He’s closing his eyes.”

They saw a man with horn-rimmed glasses sitting in the audience, closing his eyes.

The pianist and composer who was famous for being picky on stage, Ha Seung Joo, closed his eyes and nodded his head.

There was a smile of satisfaction on his lips that anyone could see.

“This song is amazing. I wonder if the movie is good too.”

“My friend saw it and said it was awesome. He told me to watch it. I’m going to see it on the weekend if I have time.”

“There weren’t many tickets left. It’s word of mouth.”

After talking about the musical movie that was about to hit 3 million viewers.

Their eyes changed as they looked at Bi Joo and Junghyun, who were singing to each other, and the members of New Black.

‘There’s a distance now.’

Was it because of their external growth and their improved skills?

When they felt a strange distance from the New Black members who looked cute in the pre-interview.

“Good job!”

The five who came down from the stage calmly looked at each other with serious expressions.

There was a tense atmosphere.

The members stared at the leader’s face.

They wondered if there was something that bothered them on stage, when Woo Joo took a deep breath.

Then he quickly took his hand out of his pocket.

“Chocolate ding!”

“Ding!”

“Ding!”

The writers blinked their eyes.

Woo Joo, who broke off pieces of chocolate and handed them out, said in a logical tone.

“I’ll tell you the origin of ding, so give me some too.”

“I already know~”

“Rihyuk gets it last.”

“Hehehe!”

Then they said, ‘Let’s go get feedback from the writers~’ and walked over cheerfully.

Woo Joo, who received a box from the manager, whispered to the writers like a smuggler.

“Is there anyone who wants a sugar boost?”

The writers burst out laughing and raised their hands.

“Try this. I bought it from Malaysia.”

“Oh, thank you.”

“You’ll see, but there are twin towers engraved on the surface. Isn’t it amazing?”

They soon chatted with each other and looked excited.

The writers smiled warmly.

They were still the same New Black.

I felt good to be on a music program after a long time.

“Wow! New Black is hot~ Hot!”

“Hot! Hot!”

I had fun dancing and playing with Kim Chul, a comedian who came to visit our waiting room.

He was a pre-show MC for PBS’s Classic Songs, and we became quite close when we recorded together back then.

He made us laugh with his colorful jokes and handed us a sheet of paper.

“Please sign this for me, our popular idols.”

“Sure!”

We gathered around the paper and picked up the markers.

“Uju, your spaceship signature is getting better every day. By next year, you’ll have a rocket launch base, huh?”

“Right? I can draw a spaceship in three seconds now.”

“Three seconds?”

“Want to see?”

He gave me a thumbs up with a respectful expression as I finished drawing a spaceship in three seconds.

Kim Chul took the paper with a fist and smiled cheerfully.

“Well, then, have a great show today! Fighting!”

“Thank you!”

“See you later~”

He left with the paper.

As a pre-show MC, he had to stir up the audience’s excitement before the recording, and he seemed to use our signatures as quiz prizes.

The youngest looked at the clock, which said 6:40.

“The audience must have finished entering by now.”

“Yeah.”

I nodded and turned my eyes to the TV.

I didn’t know how things worked before, but after appearing on a competition show with a similar recording time for almost a month, I got a rough idea of the timeline.

At this time, I could guess what the production team was doing and what the scene was like.

-Well, this is a very rare item. A rare item.

The pre-show MC, who sounded like a quack selling snake oil, said, “This doesn’t come every day,” and stirred up the excitement. His face appeared on the TV in the broadcasting station.

It was a live feed from the camera capturing the scene.

-A super-limited edition, New Black signature! Why is this a limited edition? There’s a story behind this.

Bijoo exclaimed.

“Hyung, I really want to buy our signature.”

“Me too.”

“Why do I want to buy what I wrote?”

I was so captivated by his words that I almost called him like a home shopping customer and asked, “Do you have any stock?”

Meanwhile, there was a clattering noise from the next room.

From the sound of the footsteps, it seemed like Yuri Jo Band was moving to the public hall for the recording.

Soon, the main recording began.

-Today, we have guests who are perfect for the music special.

The MC, Ha Seung-ju, introduced them.

-They are a band that has recently risen to the top of the music charts. I heard that if you didn’t know them in Hongdae before, you were a spy. This is their second visit to Music Cafe.

He said, “Let me introduce you! Yuri Jo Band!” and the audience applauded.

Yuri Jo Band’s performance continued on the TV.

“Wow, the bass sound… the song is good.”

“They were good when we were on Classic Songs, too. They’re still amazing.”

“It feels like it’s been a long time since I saw them.”

They were still impressive as a famous indie band.

When we were on Classic Songs, we had a bad first impression and an awkward relationship, but I didn’t care much about it anymore.

Rather, they were more uncomfortable there.

I went to greet the guests earlier, and they greeted us with a very awkward smile.

-Wow!

The audience response was good, too.

They said we became more popular after various activities on Classic Songs Season 2, and it seemed true.

I hummed along to the song on the TV and smiled.

“Five hundred won~ Five hundred won~”

I cleared my throat from time to time and moistened it with water.

The recording time was about three hours.

And today’s guests were us, Yuri Jo Band, and a ballad singer, The Moon.

If I calculated it mechanically, it would be about an hour each.

That’s why I had to wait for at least two hours until 9 o’clock.

I watched the TV with my eyes and thought about what I should say and what would be good to say on the music show.

“Let’s harmonize well. I’ll give you a signal.”

“Got it.”

“And, in this part, you guys sing a little bit faster. Don’t speed up the song just because you move your body faster.”

I also listened to the main vocal’s earnest advice on sound processing.

While I was killing time like that.

“New Black!”

The FD came to find us when The Moon’s talk was almost over.

“We’ll get ready!”

“Yes!”

I got up from my seat with a full of excitement.

We moved to the back stage with the manager hyungs and held hands with each other.

“No more black history.”

“Today, no funny stuff. Forbidden.”

“Coolness spewing.”

We made a firm resolution again, but this time the manager hyungs laughed and stopped us.

“Just go and do it.”

“…”

“You guys are already done.”

“Don’t say that. Hyung.”

I shook my head and declared.

“Today, I’ll do it without any laughter.”

“Ha Seung-ju’s Music Cafe – Episode 335”

After the ballad singer The Moon’s stage.

The middle-aged MC, Ha Seung-ju, who was dressed in a gentlemanly suit, grabbed the microphone.

[The next person we’re going to introduce is someone we had a really hard time booking. They’re famous for being busy these days.]

The camera turns to the audience.

Some people are tilting their heads, wondering who it is, and some couples are whispering to each other.

[If I were to talk about this group, they’re a team with really distinct personalities for each member. They’re famous for their visuals, but they have more than that. They’re a ‘boy group’ who sweeps the music charts whenever they come out.]

After the young audience members cheered and clapped their hands to their mouths, knowing who it was.

The middle-aged audience members nodded their heads at their children’s whispers, saying ‘Who? Oh’.

Ha Seung-ju, who was looking at his wristwatch, asked with a smile.

[What time is it now, everyone?]

[9 o’clock!]

[It’s a perfect song to listen to at 9 o’clock, right? Let’s enjoy the stage of New Black’s ‘Nine’!]

Amidst the cheers and applause, the focus shifted to the stage.

The darkened stage lit up.

The audience clapped and cheered.

“Woah-!”

Wine-colored lights poured onto the stage.

New Black, dressed in casual suits, sat near the piano.

The main vocalist, wearing a vest like a bartender, was in the middle, and the members sat next to him.

And the leader, sitting in front of the piano.

The audience’s eyes were drawn to his long, slender, and white hands that stretched out.

‘What?’

The young audience members tilted their heads.

They had heard that the first stage was ‘Nine’, but it was a different atmosphere from what they had imagined.

Soon, a slow and calm piano performance began.

‘Hmm?’

It was like a performance that would come out of a jazz cafe on a rainy day.

As his fingers moved on the keyboard, the melody of ‘Nine’ changed into a sentimental jazz.

At that moment.

The main vocalist, who had swept his hair back behind his ears, closed his eyes and started humming ‘Woah’.

A smile spread across the audience’s lips.

‘Nice.’

A melody that was perfect for this time.

As the piano performance intensified, the members added harmonies one by one.

As the audience clapped along to the beat, the main vocalist’s voice deepened.

And then.

“Oh…”

One of the audience members made an ‘O’ shape with his mouth at the ad-lib that went up to a high note with a loud volume.

Click.

Woojoo took his hands off the grand piano.

And at the same time, the stage atmosphere changed 180 degrees.

Tsk tsk tsk tsk-

The drum sound followed by a cheerful jazz melody.

The tension that had filled the hall until then disappeared, and a lively applause sound filled the place.

Woojoo, who took the microphone out of the standing microphone, got up from his seat, and the other members also got up with bright smiles.

-Hello, everyone!

-We are New Black!

As the live band played the jazz version of ‘Nine’, the members clapped their hands above their heads and raised their spirits.

-Come on! Let’s all!

New Black’s sub-vocalist squinted his eyes.

The middle-aged audience members smiled like mothers and clapped their hands, and their faces were captured by the camera.

Meanwhile, the young audience members felt a strange feeling.

‘It’s weird. It feels different…’

The song that had a strong hip-hop color changed completely into a different atmosphere.

But it still felt like Nine.

They listened with curiosity as the faces of the audience members who tilted their ears were caught by the camera.

A person who had moved to the side to watch New Black’s stage smiled.

‘They did a good job with the arrangement.’

Ha Seung-ju, the MC, looked at Woojoo, who was waving his hand to the audience with a microphone in the middle, and said.

‘They arranged it cleverly.’

Most of the audience members were young, but there were quite a few middle-aged people mixed in.

They would have a hard time getting a big response if they sang a song like Nine, which had a strong electronic sound.

They would clap their hands, but with a feeling of ‘What is this’.

And the young audience members would not prefer idol songs because of the nature of the program.

Usually, they would bring a calm song or a cover song for that reason.

He smiled at the sincerity of the idol group who had arranged their title song into a different version for a one-time appearance.

‘But I wonder if they’re okay.’

As he listened to the song, he felt worried about the unexpected people.

They had laid out the framework of the arrangement very well, but they couldn’t have done it all by themselves.

They must have asked for help from the people around them for the practical part.

Ha Seung-ju muttered.

“They must have worked really hard…”

He took a moment of mourning for the producing team of Lemon Entertainment, who would be collapsed by now.

“Welcome to Music Cafe. We are New Black.”

“Thank you.”

As they greeted the audience with ‘two, three’, the applause that shook the hall came back.

The MC, wearing horn-rimmed glasses, looked at the audience and said.

“You’re really popular. That was a really amazing stage just now.”

“Oh, no, it wasn’t.”

“I was expecting an electro style when I heard ‘Nine’. I was surprised when jazz came out.”

I grabbed the microphone and said to the MC, who pretended to be surprised.

“This is a special stage we prepared for Music Cafe today.”

“I heard you did the arrangement yourself.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

I smiled awkwardly at the sound of the audience’s admiration.

Ha Seung-ju smiled and said.

“You may see us as a group of handsome young men, but in fact, New Black has a lot of stories to tell musically.”

“That’s right!”

“We have so much to say with our music!”

The younger members spread their hands wide and said ‘very big’, making the people laugh. The MC asked us.

“Before that, I should ask you how you feel. How is it to come out second?”

“Uh, I’m very nervous.”

I grabbed the microphone and looked at the audience.

“We debuted before we first came out.”

“Right.”

“Maybe because I remember that time, today my head feels like a blank sheet. I can’t think of what to say.”

“So is that why your hair is ash-colored now?”

“Yes. It got whiter, right?”

I tapped my gray hair and the audience laughed loudly.

Seeing that I took his joke well, the MC’s eyes showed kindness and satisfaction.

I continued.

“Yes, anyway, we really wanted to come back to this show, so we’ll do our best.”

“Yes. It looks like it. You even brought a guitar.”

“That’s right.”

I glanced at the guitar case behind the chair and said.

“We’ve been hearing things like ‘too friendly’, ‘funny when singing’ for a while, but today we’ll change our image for good.”

“Look forward to it~”

“Please!”

The audience laughed along with Ha Seung-ju, who smiled softly and clapped.

“Where in the world is there a group that announces they’re going to change their image?”

“So we’re going to be the first to try…”

The manager hyungs showed their thumbs up from below the stage, while the younger members nodded.

The audience laughed for a moment because of Jung-hyun, who nodded his head like a warm rock next to me.

We finished the small talk and moved on to the first stage.

“The first stage was really intense. It was jazz style, right?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“The arrangement was great, but the vocal skills of the members were amazing. Especially when Rihyuk started with an ad-lib and his high note went ‘ah-ah-ah~’. You all felt that, right?”

The audience said ‘yes’.

He spoke as if he was very happy as a musician.

“It was so powerful and cool. That voice.”

“Oh…”

“You’re still shy when you’re praised.”

We agreed.

“He’s very sensitive to compliments.”

“He’s like a crayfish that lives in first-class water. He can’t stand it when a drop of praise falls…”

“No, no. That’s not it.”

His face turned red and he answered.

“It’s because the lights are hot. I’m not the kind of person who gets red ears and face from one compliment.”

“You look like a ripe persimmon.”

“…”

Rihyuk covered his face like a bean worm and the people burst into laughter.

Ha Seung-ju stopped teasing him and asked.

“Since we’re on the topic, can we hear that part again?”

“Which part?”

“The part where you go ‘hoo-ah-ah-ah’ and Nine’s chorus.”

“Yes.”

“Everyone, please cheer with applause!”

Rihyuk got up with a slightly embarrassed face and shook his head slightly.

Then he immediately composed himself and started singing without accompaniment.

His hair sparkled on the vest under the lights, and when Rihyuk took a deep breath.

“Hmm?”

Jung-hyun made a sound of ‘oh’ next to me and looked at Rihyuk.

And.

When Rihyuk sang the chorus of ‘Nine’ that he did before.

Bang- bang-

The vest buttons that were locked by our main vocal’s powerful diaphragm popped out with a ping! ping!

It exploded.

It was like a scene where the screws of a submarine door that couldn’t withstand the water pressure exploded.

“…”

Rihyuk looked at the buttons that fell to the floor with a stunned expression.

The public hall exploded with the buttons.

The MC and the audience fell to the floor with a bang, making a huge fuss.

We looked blankly in the midst of that.

We came to blow up the ratings, but what actually blew up was the buttons.