In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: Rxel

Chapter 182

The one-day dessert cafe was a huge success.

It was a total hit.

The customers kept lining up until closing time, thanks to the word-of-mouth spread by the photos they posted on SNS.

The production crew had to cut off the queue at some point, but it still took an hour for it to clear.

“Thank you. Have a nice day!”

They bid farewell to the last remaining customer and gathered in the hall with the rest of the cast.

The camera’s red light went off as they ended with the closing remarks, and the PD in charge clapped his hands on behalf of them.

“You did a great job for two days!”

“Thank you for your hard work!”

They applauded each other, looking at each other.

It was a warm atmosphere, like comrades who had fought a tough battle together.

They would have liked to go out for a meal together, but unfortunately, they had different paths to take.

They had to go back to Korea and film, and they had their own Taiwan promotion schedule.

They waved their hands and said goodbye to each other, feeling a bit regretful.

“It was fun today!”

“See you in Korea!”

“Thank you for your hard work!”

The PD came out separately and thanked Seokhwan Hyung, who came to pick them up.

“I was really at death’s door. When Sejin-ssi sprained her wrist, I saw darkness in front of me. I could see the director’s face and the letter of apology, but if it weren’t for these kids, I would have been screwed today.”

He even boasted that he would edit the footage to make their performance shine.

“Oh, I see.”

Seokhwan Hyung smiled softly, but he looked confused.

Woojoo could see the questions hovering over his eyes, like ‘Did our kids make bread?’ and ‘Did they serve amazingly?’

As soon as they got in the car, the managers bombarded them with questions.

“What on earth did you do there?”

They all knew about the Woo Jenmin happening that was on the morning news, but they had no idea what happened at the cafe.

As they unraveled the episodes that happened until the cafe closed, they all lost their words and just twitched their mouths.

“So you baked instead of the pastry chef, and the customers loved it?”

“Yes, there were a lot of them.”

Bijoo answered proudly, and Woojoo drew a sign of pride with his finger.

“…”

The managers looked at each other.

They nodded their heads, making a face that said ‘Did we hear that right?’, and smiled warmly.

Seokhwan Hyung snickered.

“I thought something was wrong.”

“…?”

“That’s just you guys,” the manager said. “I feel a bit relieved now. I would have been more anxious if you said nothing happened. It’s better this way.”

“That’s right. I feel much better. How about Dowon-ssi?”

“I’m calm. I guess I got used to it.”

They blinked their eyes as they watched them.

What?

They didn’t seem to be worried that something had happened.

They had already assumed that they would cause some trouble on the variety show, and they were just curious about the details.

They immediately started talking among themselves, like ‘Should we look into some baking shows?’, ‘How was it there, what a crazy thing?’, ‘We should go as guests on the Master show.’

They narrowed their eyes as they listened to them.

“Why does it feel like our image is weird?”

“Right? The manager and the manager Hyungs look at us differently than before.”

“We’ve been weird lately.”

“Us?”

Rihyuk, who was scribbling something on his notebook in the corner, raised his head.

“Leave me out of it.”

“Why?”

“Isn’t that obvious? I’m the most normal person here.”

“Ah, who…”

They made a flustered face, and his white face started to turn red.

“No, it’s true. Is there anyone here more normal than me?”

They all raised their hands at the same time, and Rihyuk made a sour face.

“You have no conscience. These people.”

“To be honest, you’re not normal. And neither are they.”

Woojoo said this while his siblings nodded vigorously.

“I’m the most normal one in New Black. Not you.”

“…”

They shook their heads as if they were headbanging, denying it.

“Guys? Why won’t you admit it?”

“Blah, blah, blah.”

“Stop talking gibberish, Junghyun.”

“…”

“Come on, say something. Guys.”

They turned away from Woojoo, as if they had heard something they shouldn’t have.

They looked at Woojoo like he was a sweet potato stuck in a ginseng field.

That was when Rihyuk suggested.

“Then why don’t we try it out? Who’s the most normal one in New Black?”

They had a deep discussion on their way back to the hotel.

They started to campaign for themselves, trying to prove how normal they were.

By the end, they were acting childish, saying things like ‘The Soufflés said so?’, ‘Do you want to go to the fan cafe? Go?’.

“Then let’s ask the managers!”

“Let’s do that.”

They followed the youngest’s suggestion and called the managers. They told them the whole story and asked for their opinions.

Seokhwan Hyung looked uncomfortable.

“So, you’re asking who’s the most normal among you?”

He nodded.

He thought for a while, then gave them a simple answer that sank them.

“Normal people don’t have this kind of debate.”

They couldn’t think of a better comeback than that.

After they showered and dressed up at the hotel.

They started their promotion in Taiwan.

The first thing they did was a broadcast interview.

Taiwan had MTV, just like Korea, and they appeared on a program that introduced foreign singers.

They had a lively chat with the two MCs, who spoke in English.

Rihyuk and Woojoo, who were fluent in English, led the conversation, and Bijoo occasionally chimed in.

Junghyun and Jiho made people laugh with their bodies or cuteness.

They also played a simple game that was popular in Taiwan, laughing and having fun. It was a pretty enjoyable atmosphere.

After the TV show recording, they headed straight to a shopping mall in Taipei.

They were there to hold a public fan signing event, but as soon as they passed through the entrance, the crowd screamed.

“Kyaaaah!”

“…Wow, what the!”

Rihyuk was startled and unconsciously hid behind Woojoo and Junghyun, making the Taiwanese fans laugh.

“Hmm.”

Woojoo coughed and walked coolly, but Jiho teased him with a giggle, and the others suppressed their laughter.

They acted like nothing had happened, but it was useless.

Woojoo thought everyone who wanted to take a picture had already done so, since he had seen flashes going off since earlier.

They sat on the stage that was set up in the center of the first floor of the mall and greeted their fans.

It was strange at first.

People who spoke a foreign language came up to them and said they were fans.

“I really missed you!”

They talked to them excitedly, and Woojoo greeted them back, but he couldn’t help feeling a bit stiff.

It was because he was nervous.

It wasn’t because he had never seen Taiwanese people before.

He had already spent a whole day working at the cafe, so he was used to people who spoke Chinese.

But it felt weird to think that those people were their fans.

Overseas fans.

Unlike the music show awards or the Rookie Awards that he had always dreamed of, overseas fans were something that he had never imagined before.

He had seen some English or Chinese characters written in the comments on YouTube or live broadcasts, and he thought, ‘Oh, we have fans abroad too.’ But he never expected them to exist so realistically.

Who would believe it?

That so many people across the ocean in a foreign land liked them.

But.

“…They do.”

They were right in front of him.

And they were so similar to the Soufflés in Korea that he was shocked.

Their eyes sparkled as they looked at them.

Their heads turned this way and that whenever they drank water or dusted off the clothes of their members.

Their mouths turned sad whenever they said ‘We’ll be going now’ in Chinese.

And their throats bobbed up and down whenever their eyes met.

Suddenly, Woojoo realized that fans were the same everywhere, regardless of nationality or race.

The word ‘Soufflé’ that he had defined by himself until then felt like it had expanded more widely.

The members seemed to feel the same way.

They had approached the customers without hesitation at the daily cafe, but they were shy at first, just like Woojoo. But they soon adapted.

Of course, there was some help.

Unlike the general public that they had to approach first, this time, they came to them first.

“Excuse me…”

A fan who came in front of Woojoo spoke in Korean with a trembling voice.

“I learned Korean.”

“Wow, you’re good at it. How did you learn it?”

“YouTube. Books. Academy…”

The Soufflé who spoke awkwardly in Korean looked at Woojoo with an embarrassed face and said, “Like this…”

She pointed at herself and them alternately with her shaking finger and said, “I wanted to talk to you, so I learned it.”

“…”

“I like you.”

“…”

Woojoo stopped thinking for a moment.

He didn’t know what to say, so he opened his mouth blankly. Something rose up in a corner of his chest.

He almost teared up as he signed, so he made a sad face.

“I’ll cry if you say things like that, really.”

“You can’t cry. That’s trouble.”

The fan who spoke hastily made Woojoo swallow his tears, and he laughed like a sneeze.

Thanks to the fans who tried to get closer to them, they were able to relax and be themselves.

Their first fan signing event overseas.

What did he think of seeing the Soufflés in another country? It was similar to when he met their fans in Korea.

It was warm and cozy like the sweet breads they made today.

Woojoo looked at the clouds and the moon through the glass ceiling of the mall with a fuzzy feeling and smiled quietly.

It was good.

Woojoo thought that for the first time.

He did well by taking the plane and coming here.

If he had to come again next time, he would still be scared, but he thought it was worth it.

Woojoo gently held the hands of each person who left the seat and conveyed his feelings.

“Thank you. Really.”

He meant it.

The next day after the fan signing event.

New Black’s showcase was held at a concert hall in downtown Taipei.

After the performance, which invited a hundred reporters and conducted Q&A and stages, the general fans entered.

“Wow. I’m so nervous. I’m shaking.”

“Breathe deeply, breathe. Don’t be nervous.”

“…You’re nervous too.”

As the line got shorter and shorter, the fans from Taiwan rubbed their hands or stomped their feet nervously.

They looked more excited than the singers who were performing.

Hundreds of fans who entered the venue wandered around the dark seats to find their places.

Among the people who held placards or disposable light sticks, someone whispered to their friend next to them.

“I’m so nervous. I’ve only seen them on videos, but do they look the same in real life?”

“I went to the mall yesterday because I heard they were having a fan signing event. The line was too long so I couldn’t get a sign, but I just watched from afar.”

“How was it?”

“They were shining. They had a halo behind them like a Buddha!”

The friend who had seen them in person started to describe them excitedly, but it felt somewhat unrealistic.

‘Really?’

She had been a fan of New Black since Masquerade, and she knew everything related to New Black.

That was why she was doubtful.

‘More than the camera screen?’

Their beauty seemed to break the TV screen, but they felt even more in real life.

Honestly, they were amazing just as they appeared on the camera.

She decided that her friend’s story was a bit exaggerated and turned her eyes to the VCR on the stage.

The names and individual photos of the members were written in bold letters on different colored backgrounds.

‘…They’re so pretty.’

Soon, the lights in the venue went out.

‘It’s starting…!’

The silhouettes of the people walking behind the curtain occasionally came out, and screams erupted everywhere.

‘How can their shadows be so pretty?’

At that moment, a blue light poured over the five people who gathered on the large stage.

Ta-da!

New Black members wearing sky blue shirts and jeans.

The cool intro of Fireworks started, and the five idols smiled and reached out their hands.

The audience felt a visual shock at the sight of them.

They looked like oriental paintings drawn with a brush, and the lines that separated the members and the stage were delicate and fine.

‘I’m going crazy…’

Someone who had only laughed at their friend’s Buddha joke felt goosebumps as they looked at the distant stage.

‘It’s real.’

Should she say they had a halo?

It wasn’t just because of their visuals.

First, it was their voice.

‘It’s really live. This is.’

A soft and sweet voice flowed out.

Like coloring a blank paper, the five voice colors blended together with their own personalities.

They wanted to close their eyes and listen, but the fans couldn’t take their eyes off the stage.

What should they say?

The performance itself felt alive.

Maybe it was fitting for a song titled ‘Fireworks’ that the sparks seemed to explode according to the flow of time in the song.

They were momentarily amazed by the harmony of the five members.

But the fans quickly started to chant the cheers they had learned beforehand.

At the same time, something happy flickered and disappeared on the lips of the New Black members who were sweeping the stage.

The sight of them elicited a roar of applause.

“Wow…!”

The refreshing opening stage ended with a bang.

The New Black members, who were smiling in the midst of the cheers, waved their hands as they cooled off their sweat.

The MC came up on the stage and the five lined up in a row.

The leader, who had been looking at the members, softly parted his lips.

“Two, three.”

The five bowed their heads and greeted at the same time.

“Hello, we are New Black!”

After the group greeting, the members introduced themselves with bright smiles.

The Taiwanese fans felt a strange sensation.

They had seemed like people from another world with their graceful movements and voices when they were performing just now, but now they felt very friendly.

While the other members were introducing themselves, they laughed happily at what they liked, made eye contact with the fans and waved their hands, blew kisses, and were really out of their minds.

Whenever there was a gap, the members grabbed the microphone and spoke.

“I love you, everyone!”

“I love you more.”

“What are you talking about? You guys. I love you the most, okay? You can’t even recite the Thousand Character Classic…”

The three had a silly conversation, while the other two smiled softly or shook their tongues in disdain.

It was a familiar sight.

And the conversation that went off the rails in an instant.

“Ha! That’s hilarious!”

“…Excuse me, New Black!”

The interpreter and the host shook the cue cards with a frantic face.

“Excuse me, we’ll proceed now. Hello!”

“Ha ha ha!”

“This is awesome! Let’s build a house here and live forever!”

The fans burst into laughter at the audio that kept pouring in, and the host looked miserable.

It was a familiar sight that they had seen a lot.

But on the other hand, there was also a strange sight.

‘He speaks so well…’

They were bewildered by the leader’s fluent Chinese, as if he had lived in Taipei for over 10 years.

‘Is he really Woo Jenmin…’

There were always interesting sights.

Q&A time.

Whenever a question that was difficult to answer in Chinese came up, the members answered in Korean.

Then the translation followed, and the fans who had been staring blankly said ‘Ah!’ and cheered.

But Woo Jen… no, Woojoo was different.

“When I was a trainee, my Taiwanese friend told me to go to Taipei, but I didn’t know it was this nice. I should have come sooner. I’m going to bring my grandmother next time.”

While the Taiwanese fans cheered at his story, the rest of the Korean singers stared blankly.

They tilted their heads like puppies trying to understand human speech.

“…?”

Then the interpreter explained what Woojoo had said in Korean.

“Ahh…!”

The fans burst into laughter at the sight of the members clapping and nodding in agreement.

‘It seems like something is going backwards.’

It was a strange scene, but what did it matter?

It was fun.

Everyone laughed happily.

The atmosphere was heated.

“Woah…!”

Even as they came down from the stage after the Masquerade performance, the fans’ cheers didn’t stop.

“Ugh, I’m dying.”

The youngest, soaked in sweat, gulped down a bottle of water and wiped his lips.

“Wow, this is no joke. This is totally different from the showcase I imagined.”

“Right, it’s like a concert.”

They nodded in sympathy.

It was officially called the Asia tour showcase, but somehow it felt like a concert.

“Huff.”

They quickly changed their costumes under the stage.

Rihyuk was about to faint as he took off his clothes, so Woojoo held him up.

“Are you okay?”

“Don’t worry. I’m fine.”

He waved his hand, but he looked exhausted.

They all did.

They were worn out from dealing with the huge crowd that came yesterday, beyond their expectations.

They managed to endure thanks to the patches.

Especially Bijoo and Woojoo, who made the bread, had patches all over their bodies.

Woojoo smiled and said to the younger ones who were changing their clothes with difficulty, “Just hang in there a little longer.”

“…Yes.”

They changed their costumes, smelling of patches.

Woojoo glanced at the MC who was conducting the lottery event on the stage, then turned his eyes to the younger ones who were ready.

“Are you ready?”

They all nodded.

It was almost the last stage.

It was time to give a surprise gift to the fans who had been waiting for them.

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