In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe C.213:

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: Rxel

Chapter 213 Lemon Entertainment.

It was when the A&R Team members came back with iced americanos after lunch.

They stopped in their tracks at the sight of the light coming out of the conference room.

“…Huh?”

Someone pointed at the light with their finger.

“Is someone in there?”

“Didn’t Gyuhwan Hyung come to have a meeting with Scarlet? There’s no way there’s anyone in the conference room at this time on Sunday…”

As they said that, someone who was looking at the glass window of the conference room gasped.

“Woojoo…?”

“…!”

They all backed away in horror.

They looked like herb pickers who had stumbled upon a sleeping tiger.

“…Wow. That was close.”

“They didn’t see us, right?”

“They shouldn’t. Woojoo wouldn’t be able to see us from this angle, but maybe Junghyun can.”

They took a moment to catch their breath.

As they exchanged glances with each other, an awkward silence ensued.

“…”

They cleared their throats and regained their composure.

“We’ve been suffering so much that our bodies react first now.”

“Tell me about it.”

They all smiled sadly.

Woojoo, who would flash a bright smile and say ‘I want to talk to you about music!’ whenever he met their eyes in the hallway.

Woojoo, who would blindfold them and when they opened their eyes, they would see the ceiling of the studio.

Woojoo, who would shower them with praise and delicious snacks, and by the time they came to their senses, they would be working like slaves.

Those memories surfaced in their minds.

“Ah.”

Then someone said, “Come to think of it, we’re fine now. We finished the second half of the title track for the third album a while ago.”

“Ah! That’s right.”

“We don’t have to suffer from Woojoo anymore.”

They looked relieved, as if they had found out that the tiger they had encountered in the mountain had just eaten a full meal.

As their fear subsided, curiosity arose.

“What are they doing here? They’re always in the studio, like it’s their hideout.”

“Maybe they’re studying something.”

“Foreign language?”

At first, they thought it was foreign language.

New Black had been taking intensive foreign language lessons lately, as part of their plan to expand their reach from East Asia to the rest of the world. They even had native speakers come to the company and teach them.

So they naturally assumed it was either Chinese or Japanese.

-Let’s do it together.

Following Rihyuk’s call, the others said.

-Comb-patterned pottery.

-Neolithic period.

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-Banana-patterned pottery.

-Bronze Age.

The sharp-faced member clapped his hands and said again.

-Now, let’s say it together: comb-banana-banana-bronze.

-Comb-banana-banana-bronze.

-Who’s the friend of banana-patterned pottery?

-Misong-ri style pottery.

-So, what’s the answer to question 4? That’s right, 5. Correct.

As Rihyuk turned his head and said ‘please’ to the leader, Woojoo handed out silver chocolates to those who got the answer right.

The members who were eagerly unwrapping and munching on them caught the eyes of the A&R Team members.

“…”

For some reason, New Black members were studying Korean history diligently.

They would listen and learn whatever Rihyuk taught them.

Next to them, Woojoo was tapping on his laptop and smiling contentedly like a teacher.

The A&R Team members laughed at the absurd sight.

“They’re really something else.”

“They’re so weird.”

But they also looked at the scene in the conference room with affection.

“Wow, but Rihyuk is a good teacher. His father is a professor…? I think I heard that before.”

“That’s right.”

Someone nodded and agreed.

Junghyun, who was perking up his ears as if he sensed a sound outside, said something to Woojoo.

Swish.

As Woojoo turned his head, everyone hid.

“…You said we didn’t have to hide.”

Woojoo sighed as he saw the A&R Team members who had unknowingly used stealth skills.

He heard footsteps from inside.

“Oh, he’s coming out. He’s coming out!”

“Let’s go to the office!”

Some people quickly went into the office, some went to the bathroom.

Someone stuck to the wall where the hallway turned.

They thought they shouldn’t be noticed for a comfortable day, when they heard the sound of the door opening.

“…No one.”

They heard Woojoo’s muttering.

“Did Junghyun hear it wrong?”

And then the sound of the door closing.

The people who were hiding breathed a sigh of relief, but…

Bzzz-

As the phone rang without any tact, Seo Pilgeun, who was startled, tried to turn his phone to silent.

He felt a gaze as he saw ‘Don’t answer’ on the screen.

“Oh. You were there.”

As Woojoo smiled brightly, rain poured down in Seo Pilgeun’s heart.

“I had something to ask you. Are you alone?”

“No. Oh Daeri went to the bathroom.”

Someone’s scream came from the bathroom.

Soon after, pushing and shoving followed, and the employees with sad faces were dragged out one by one.

Woojoo smiled.

“I wanted to get your opinion on the album. Oh, not the title track for the third album, don’t worry.”

“Oh, really?”

Was it about the album concept, not the song?

That wasn’t something to suffer over.

“Yes.”

Woojoo smiled and opened his laptop.

“This time, it’s the B-side tracks!”

“…”

“About 23 after narrowing it down?”

The employees’ faces turned pale as they saw the work files filling the laptop folder.

“It’s not a joke, we might as well just handle the latter part of the work at this rate. There’s nothing to touch.”

“No, I still need your help. I’m not making this alone, you know.”

“…”

Why did they look so sad?

Woojoo gave them some sweet snacks when he saw them wanting to run away, and they soon smiled happily.

He wanted to ask more, but they looked so tired, so he decided to let them go.

Woojoo couldn’t help but smile bitterly at the sight of the staff who were happy with just one snack.

“By the way.” One of the staff said, “Do you know who’s name is on the list for the pre-contest of the third album’s tracks?”

“Who?”

“JCM.”

“Oh… him?”

They all answered with ‘yeah, he has no shame’ to Woojoo’s remark.

JCM.

The person who would have been the composer of their first album’s title track if he hadn’t made Fireworks last year.

He was rejected and joined DNS, and they gave them a lot of trouble together.

“That’s how this industry is.” The A&R staff said, “He thinks you’re doing well, so he tries to sneak back in. The album sales are rising, too. Anyone can see that the third album will do well, too.”

“What should we do, Woojoo? Should we reject him right away?”

“No, no. We can’t do that. It’s best to just leave him alone and make him desperate.”

Woojoo smiled at the A&R Team who looked at him with hopeful eyes.

“I want to hear it first. I don’t want to reject him, but if it’s a really good song, we might be doing him a favor.”

“Well. We thought the same, so we listened to it. Do you want to hear it, too?”

They played the song with the guide recording. Woojoo listened to it from start to finish and said urgently, “I’ll reject it.”

The A&R staff clapped and laughed.

Woojoo listened to it all because he shouldn’t let emotions interfere with business, but objectively speaking, the song was not good.

He had high expectations because the Street Boys’ debut song ‘Hunger’ was of good quality, but it was a song that made him wonder if it was just luck. It was almost like a Trojan horse sent to ruin them.

As an album producer, he couldn’t accept such a song.

One of the staff stretched and got up.

“We should go back to work, too.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

As they were leaving, someone asked Woojoo, “By the way, what’s your schedule? When should we set up the internal meeting?”

“I have a lot of recordings this week. I think it will be possible around Thursday. I’ll contact you separately.”

“Okay. Then…”

“By the way, can I bring the members with me when we have the meeting? The title is co-composed by Bijoo, and Rihyuk wrote the lyrics. Junghyun also decided to put in one or two mixtapes this time.”

“What about Jiho?”

“Wouldn’t he feel left out if he’s alone?”

“I guess so.”

Laughter came from everywhere.

Usually, Woojoo only had the internal meeting with the A&R Team before the official meeting, but this time he wanted to bring his brothers with him.

The A&R staff said to Woojoo, “You’re the producer, why are you asking for permission? Just bring them comfortably.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Woojoo felt grateful for their trusting eyes and said goodbye.

At the same time, his brothers came from the other side of the hallway.

They greeted the staff with ‘hello…’ with difficulty and walked over.

Woojoo smiled warmly at the door.

“Did you learn well?”

“It was a useful and satisfying time.”

Rihyuk was the only one who had a bright glow on his face, while the others looked gloomy.

“…Guys?”

Junghyun looked at Woojoo with a sharp eye. Then he pointed his finger and said, “Slave.”

Jiho continued.

“Whoever steals another’s property shall be made a slave, and to be forgiven, he must pay 500,000 coins.”

“The Eight Laws of Gojoseon.”

Junghyun took over the speech, and this time, Bijoo said blankly, “It is a historical source that shows that Gojoseon was a class society and that money was used.”

They stared blankly.

“You’re good. You would have done well as a teacher. But because of your personality, the students would have quit soon…”

“They would have done well even if they didn’t become idols.”

They were joking around like that.

***

While Rihyuk was teaching Korean history in the conference room, Woojoo went down to the second floor with the staff and worked.

The title track for the third album was almost finished and there was nothing to fix.

The only thing left was the B-side tracks.

“How is it?”

“The tone is a bit high, don’t you think? It should match the title, but this one stands out too much.”

“What if we change it like this?”

“It got much better.”

They gave him a thumbs up, but he wasn’t satisfied.

“Hmm… I still feel like it doesn’t fit quite well. How about this?”

“…Well, it was fine just now.”

“How about this?”

“…”

“How about this one? Or should we add some drums at the beginning?”

“…”

After dozens of revisions for each song, he compressed them to about six candidates.

Of course, not all of them would be on the third album.

After deciding on the direction of the third album concept at the producing meeting with the A&R Team, Jo Gyuhwan, the production director, and Woojoo.

They would start choosing the right ones from the songs they received from other composers and his own songs.

On the other hand, most of the staff praised the songs he made.

“Wow, how do you get better as the days go by? I think some of the ones we heard today could go on the next album if they don’t make it this time.”

“You’ve improved. Did you study a lot?”

Woojoo smiled at the compliments.

Actually, he had been neglecting composition theory a bit because of other things, but he was motivated by seeing Bijoo studying recently.

He bought some new books and dug deep, and luckily the results were well received.

He turned his gaze to the guys who were rushing into the room with pale faces.

“What did you do? What did you do in class that made the kids look like wilted spinach?”

“I just used various teaching methods.”

He was making excuses as if he interpreted Woojoo’s question as a reproach.

But Woojoo shook his head and put his arm around Rihyuk.

“Rihyuk.”

“What.”

“Tell me your secret.”

“…”

“Can you make the kids work better with that method?”

“Don’t even dream about it. Seriously.”

***

A studio in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul.

HBS ‘Sok Sok! History Discovery Team’ was busy preparing for the first recording.

A set with a mild wood tone and green that reminded of a mushroom village.

A table that looked like a tree trunk was set in the middle, and equipment including lighting was set up.

The budget was low, so the size of the field staff and the recording studio was small.

That was how the place that used to be the recording site for the ‘Children’s Quiz Tour!’ program was surprisingly quickly renovated.

“Hey, hey, where’s the snack for the cast? Put that down.”

“I’ll get it ready!”

One of the preparations was to make the cast, New Black, comfortable.

‘I have to treat them well.’

The field manager, PD Sung, nodded his head.

Low budget and bad time slot.

Although they had the advantage of being regulars, New Black was not the level of celebrities to appear on this program.

History Discovery Team was less influential than the other entertainment shows they were currently appearing on and making an issue.

‘Why are they coming?’

He was grateful that they agreed to appear, but he was still curious.

He heard that one of the members was a history geek, but it was still a business. He wondered what they wanted to get out of this program.

-At first, Rihyuk Hyung was like, let’s do it, but after reading the proposal that the writers sent us, Woojoo Hyung said, let’s do this.

He asked the person in question, Woojoo, what he liked about it when he heard the story at the first meeting.

-It was a children’s program, but it seemed to have a lot of room for expansion. It looked like it would be fun for parents to watch together.

Really? He thought, but it was a hard-to-understand story. It was a children’s program. What else was there?

Anyway, the important thing was that the rising rookie idol group was appearing on their program.

“Hello!”

New Black came in and everyone greeted them warmly.

“Come here. Sit here and rest.”

“Drinks! Hey, bring some drinks!”

The staff moved busily as if they were hosting a precious guest, and the parties laughed.

They chatted with the production team for a while, and then the New Black members took out the script from their bags and started reading it seriously.

Even as the stylists trimmed the ends of their hair, their eyes were nailed to the paper.

PD Sung watched them when the main writer came up to him.

“You’ve memorized the script, right?”

“Look at their atmosphere.”

“I wonder if they’re focusing on it now because they don’t have time. They said their schedule was busy too…”

It was as if he was saying that they came unprepared for their program.

That was when it happened.

When the production team handed over the props they prepared on site, the youngest one said, “Hmm?”

He immediately called the staff.

“What’s wrong?”

“Writer. This. The order of the bipa-shaped bronze sword and the se-shaped bronze sword is reversed. Bipa is first, right?”

“Oh. Wait a minute.”

He checked it right away and the staff corrected the order. It was a close call that could have resulted in incorrect information.

The member with a pale face gave the youngest a chocolate with a satisfied face.

PD Sung said with a satisfied face, “As expected, Rihyuk knows history well… Wait, isn’t that Rihyuk?”

“Yes, that was Jiho just now.”

The voice of the idol member who said ‘I don’t know much about history…’ at the first meeting passed through his head.

The PD and the writer looked at each other.

“…”

“…”

“Who was the one who knew history well? Wasn’t it Rihyuk?” PD Sung asked.

“I, I think so.”

In the midst of that, he heard voices talking.

“When we explain the founding of Gojoseon, we can say that it involved the bear tribe and the tiger tribe, right?”

“Isn’t that the best way?”

“Didn’t they say this was a whale on the petroglyphs of the hemisphere? I need to mark it.”

The PD and the writer blinked their eyes at the sight of them discussing the content of today’s broadcast seriously among themselves.

‘Did they prepare too hard for this…?’

They were pleasantly surprised.

***

“Hello, children.”

They all smiled brightly in front of the camera that turned red.

“Starting today, we will explore the interesting events in history with New Black’s Woojoo.”

“I’m Bijoo.”

They each introduced themselves.

Sok Sok! History Discovery Team was a program with various formats.

They were going to dress up like Hwarang and show the life of the Silla period, and sometimes they would visit museums.

There were various plans, but the most important thing was that it was an entertainment program for children.

-These days, children don’t like childish things.

The first plan was to chase the villain who shook the timeline and restore the events in history to their original state, but Woojoo heard that it was changed to the current form after several meetings.

Woojoo remembered that the PD said that he wanted this program to be a fun history entertainment for children.

That was why he told them to follow the script but proceed freely with the broadcast content.

“Today, let’s learn about the prehistoric era, before history. Let’s look at these pictures…”

It was when Woojoo was saying the lines.

Junghyun, who was holding a collection of panels depicting prehistoric life, scratched his ticklish nose and dropped them all.

Clatter.

Woojoo saw the siblings picking up the panels with a blank expression.

“…”

Was this okay?

He decided to just go with it instead of reshooting.

He smiled brightly and said to the camera, “Now, shall we all make this scattered history into one?”