In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

Chapter 344:

2 Minutes and 30 Seconds

At first, I thought I had seen it wrong.

“No way,” I muttered under my breath.

Rihyuk frowned, “2 minutes and 30 seconds? That’s barely enough time for one song. We’d have to cut more than a minute from the original track.”

“We can always rearrange the song. It’s not like we’re the only ones with just 2 minutes and 30 seconds,” I reassured him with a smile, trying to ease the tension from his reddened ears.

2 minutes and 30 seconds.

For idols not from the top four agencies, getting a solo stage of just over 2 minutes at the year-end music festival was common. Even Scarlet, excluding joint stages, always had a performance time between 2 and 3 minutes.

But still...

“It seems a bit extreme, doesn’t it? The difference from other networks is too stark,” I couldn’t help but voice my concern.

“Exactly,” I agreed.

At PBS and TBC, other terrestrial broadcasters, our solo segments were at least 7 minutes each.

It was odd that only one network had slashed our time to a third.

There had to be a reason, and one possibility immediately sprang to mind.

“Could it be because of that?” Bi-Joo suggested.

“Remember when they wanted to do ‘History Explorers Season 2’ and we declined?”

I had the same suspicion.

After ‘History Explorers’ became a sensational hit on MiTube, HBS proposed a second season right away. We refused because they seemed to be looking for a one-sided benefit.

“But didn’t they say that issue was resolved? That it was just the MiTube department that got a little upset for a while?”

“That’s true. But this time, it’s a combination of different issues,” Seok-Hwan, our manager, clicked his tongue in disapproval.

“The ‘History Explorers’ issue was settled, but then several other things came up.”

“Really?”

“You guys might not have heard, but there were failed business deals and variety show appearances that didn’t pan out.”

I listened intently to the new information.

“You hit the jackpot with ‘Classic Melodies’ on PBS, remember? The ratings soared past 15%.”

“That’s right.”

“And on TBC, Woo-Joo’s appearance on ‘New Rabbit’ became a hot topic. ‘A Man Goes’ was a ratings smash.”

The youngest member blinked in confusion, “But what does that have to do with this?”

“It seems they started to see you as some sort of ratings guarantee, constantly trying to get you on their variety shows.”

“Wow.”

“We turned them all down, though.”

I was puzzled why we would decline terrestrial variety shows, which are generally a good opportunity, when Seok-Hwan handed me the variety show proposals.

“Take a look. There’s a reason I cut these from our schedule.”

“My Own Quiz?”

I was shocked as I reviewed the proposals with my younger members.

‘Fail a quiz and the chair flies into the sky, plunging you into a swimming pool! Hot stuff!’ it read.

It felt like a throwback to the early 2000s.

“Is this a current proposal? It feels like the kind of variety show I watched in elementary school...”

“Wow. Then I wouldn’t have even been born yet.”

“The format seems too harsh on the participants,” Bi-Joo commented with a disapproving look, and we all nodded in agreement.

Seok-Hwan responded with a warm smile, “That’s why it flopped.”

“Ah...”

“It barely lasted five episodes before the viewer’s message board was flooded with complaints, leading to its cancellation.”

The conclusion strangely made sense.

Starting with ‘My Own Quiz,’ most of the variety show proposals from HBS’s entertainment department were similar.

Even as a manager, I would’ve rejected them, thinking, ‘This is a bit much...’

“HBS has been lagging in variety shows this year. They must have been ambitious in their attempts, but the results were... lacking.”

“Truly lacking indeed.”

“And yet, they seem to be under the illusion that having you as guests will solve everything, as if you’re some kind of cheat code.”

We laughed off the idea of being a variety show cheat code.

“Why would they think that? It’s not like we guarantee success just by showing up.”

“Right. We’re not that funny.”

“Honestly, even if we did appear, it wouldn’t make much of a...”

Rihyuk stopped mid-sentence, and we all paused, realizing something.

Silence filled the room, but in my mind, a vivid picture had formed.

A chair launched into the air.

Junghyun was on it, soaring through the air with a whoosh, spinning around and around before crashing down with a thud!

Or perhaps, writing ‘Kim’ in the air with his bottom before dropping out of the sky around ‘Geuk’.

“Uh...?”

“Is it even possible...?”

While I flinched at the thought of Junghyun’s flight, the other members were looking at me, each lost in their own imaginations.

We decided not to ask each other what we were imagining, to keep the team’s spirits high.

As we exchanged awkward glances, the manager continued speaking.

“Also, a major variety show got canceled unexpectedly. It seems like there’s some bad blood with the entertainment division over casting issues. That’s what I’ve heard from other company managers.”

I had a rough idea why we were disliked.

But...

There was something I wanted to say, but I just couldn’t find the words, so I just moved my lips silently when the youngest member spoke up.

“Adults can be so petty.”

We all burst into laughter at that comment, feeling a sense of relief as if the youngest had spoken our minds.

I said with a smile, “At least that clears up one mystery.”

“Indeed.”

As we were talking, Seokhwan adjusted his glasses and asked, “Are you okay?”

“I’m a bit worried about how the fans will feel, but apart from that, not really...”

We had exclusive stages for ‘Wind Flower’, ‘Nine’, and ‘Nostalgia OST’ at the PBS and TBC year-end music festivals.

And on the Sunday afternoon of the HBS Music Awards, we were scheduled for a live broadcast of the ‘Classic Melody’ year-end special.

Adding comeback preparations to that, our practice schedule was already more than excessive.

Honestly, I felt a sense of relief that one performance had been canceled.

It was absurd to prepare for two shows and then be told to do only one at the last minute.

“It’s embarrassing to say this myself,” said Rihyuk, touching his ear.

“If I were a broadcaster, I’d honestly love to have us on more often.”

“It’s very embarrassing, but I feel the same.”

Both of our title songs this year received great public response.

‘Wind Flower’, in particular, was being recognized as the most streamed song in South Korea this year.

The ‘Nostalgia OST’ continued to play on American radios and international TV even after the movie ended.

And there were the stages we performed with arrangements from ‘Classic Melody’.

According to producer Ha Seung-ju, it was hard to talk about this year’s music industry without mentioning us.

It wasn’t that the PBS or TBC year-end show producers were giving us more screen time because they liked us.

We had three indispensable songs, that’s why.

From that standpoint, HBS’s actions were incomprehensible.

It felt like a school kid riding a bike, wielding a switch and laughing, ‘Ha-ha-ha! New Black! Taste the spice!’ as they jammed the stick into the wheel spokes.

Normally, it would be a frightening move.

If the broadcasters had acted this way last year, it would have seemed incredibly daunting...

“But we’ll just have to ignore it and move on. It’s a bit disappointing, but...”

Seokhwan stretched and said, “This is the benefit of having mass appeal. Last year, if we lost a year-end stage, we would have been trembling. But now, everyone knows you, even the general public, so there’s nothing to regret.”

We all nodded in agreement.

The significance of the year-end stage is that not only idol fans but also the general public watch it.

Just a few days ago, when I visited a shopping mall for an event, a man in his fifties stopped me and asked:

“Eat as much as you want. There are five boxes to go through.”

“Can we eat more?”

Although we felt a bit guilty for indulging, we figured we could burn it off during practice until dawn.

While eating the tangerines, we chatted with the Soufflés about their ages and hobbies.

“Is there anything you’d like to see?”

“Oh, that dance move you did in the center at the KMA finale...”

“That one?”

We performed a wave dance together, minus the jumping to spare the neighbors below.

While Soufflé covered her cheeks, our mother seemed the most pleased.

During our mission to deliver the tickets, we made sure to charm the most important people there.

“Do our father and mother... perhaps know us?”

“Of course, we do.”

“How could we not? You’re on TV every day. I even saw you raising a dog in the army.”

We laughed at the mention of singing ‘Deoksuna’ often at karaoke. Then, we pulled out the ticket envelope.

I was ecstatic to have won the audience event this time, especially since it came with family tickets. “My parents have to come and watch us,” I said with a smile.

“This time, I’ll also be performing a trot song with the senior members of the music group.”

As I handed over the tickets to the curious faces before me, I asked with a grin, “Do you have a favorite song by any chance?”

“Delivery of Love’s Flower? It’s a song we listened to a lot when we were dating.”

“Then, may I borrow your phone for a moment...?”

I borrowed the father’s phone and handed it to Junghyun.

We adjusted the angle so everyone could be in the video, switched to video mode, and started singing in unison.

Ah-ah-

To have given birth to such wonderful soufflés,

The two soufflés covered their faces as if embarrassed.

We laid a narration like the narrators of old movies.

Mr. Kim Yong-hoon and Ms. Sung Yoo-mi,

May you gain wealth with every inhale and health with every exhale,

Wishing your children’s success and prosperity, ready for the grand opening,

Delivery of Love’s Flower-

The soufflés buried their faces in the sofa, singing “Delivery of Love’s Flower” while their parents laughed.

After the song ended, the parents were delighted with the saved video.

“Please make sure to come.”

“Yes, we will.”

The parents happily agreed, and my siblings smiled at their joy.

Ding-dong.

At the sound of the bell, my mother, looking puzzled, got up and went outside, returning with a surprised look and a chicken delivery.

“Did someone order chicken...?”

“Oh, that was me. I thought it’d be disappointing to come in a chicken costume without any actual chicken.”

The family’s mood brightened at the sight of two steaming hot chickens, the thumbs-up chicken logo promising deliciousness.

While they were distracted by the chicken, I gestured to my siblings and whispered something.

That’s when we decided to wrap up the VCR recording.

As the PBS staff withdrew, the departing families asked, “Won’t you have some before you go?”

“No, we really shouldn’t eat this...”

I waved my hands, refusing the offer.

As the other families left, I called over the star of the ticketing event, young Miss Kim Dana, to the entrance.

Seeing her cheeks flushed with excitement, I couldn’t help but smile.

“It’s been a while.”

“Huh?”

“It feels like it’s been over a year. You came to our first fan signing and we talked, remember?”

“...!”

Her eyes widened in recognition.

I had recognized her the moment I saw her, though it was hard to mention during the VCR recording.

“That time, I made a silly mistake asking if you watched the World Cup when you were four. I was so embarrassed.”

“How did you remember that...”

“When someone speaks, it just sticks with me, and it doesn’t leave easily.”

We laughed as I handed her the gift envelope we had prepared for the end.

“Thank you for continuing to support us since then.”

“I’m so glad to see you after such a long time. Really.”

“...”

“What’s wrong?”

It was like watching the water level rise in real-time, tears welling up in her eyes.

Thump!

She dropped the envelope and burst into tears, and we were taken aback.

“No, if you drop that...”

“Oh. It burst.”

Cream oozed from the cake box onto the entrance floor.

Zzzt-zzzt-zzzt.

“Hey! Daegil! Where are you going?”

The robot inside, a black goat with red lights in its eyes, began to move to the beat.

“What’s happening?”

The family approached with stunned expressions.

Amidst the soufflé’s wailing and our confusion,

The black goat robot walked on, leaving creamy footprints.

“No, this wasn’t us...”

As the staff and families outside burst into laughter, we frantically waved our hands.

“We didn’t do anything!”

But no one believed us.

Not long after, a video was uploaded to MyTube.

[2015 PBS Music Festival – ‘NewBlack’s Ticket Delivery Mission!’ (feat. Tangerines)]

The thumbnail showed us munching on tangerines with the caption, ‘The tale of eating 40 tangerines?!’

We had eaten 40 tangerines, indeed.

Embarrassed but proud of the high view count, we decided it was worth celebrating.

The video collaboration with the TBC had a similar trajectory, with both sides’ representatives grinning at the impressive view counts.

“I had a feeling our name was being used a lot lately to attract attention on MyTube.”

“Seems like it. Trustworthy Black, perhaps?”

We didn’t think it would be such a big deal, but after HBS saw the numbers, they were thrilled with the high view count.

-NewBlack’s TBC Year-End Music Festival MyTube Promotion, ‘50 Years of Korean Music Medley’

-PBS Music Festival, “Come see the collaboration stage with the music group”... Unique promotion catches the eye

-‘6 Million Subscribers’ MyTube Star NewBlack, Promotes Year-End Stage with Terrestrial Broadcast Station

Thanks to even more subscribers than TJ Entertainment’s channel, the promotion seemed to be going well.

As I surfed the web, the car gradually came to a stop.

“We’re here, kids!”

“Yes!”

The sight of the PBS Broadcasting Station in Yeouido with its photo line came into view.

Today was December 25th.

It was the day of the Christmas special of ‘MusicOn’ and the pre-release of the carol performance.

Enhance your reading experience by removing ads:

Remove Ads Now