In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: Rxel

Chapter 275 Lemon Entertainment.

In the basement practice room, three idols were sitting anxiously.

“When will they call?”

“I know, right? It’s about time they should.”

Bijoo looked at his phone.

He was expecting a video call from Woojoo and Junghyun soon. He had heard that the production team would give them some time to talk.

“They’ll call, right? They have to…”

As time passed, their faces grew more worried. ‘Well, they’ll call eventually,’ thought Rihyuk, swallowing his dry saliva.

“What’s going on? Why haven’t they called yet? It’s been ten minutes past the promised time.”

“I wonder… Is something wrong?”

“Should we check if there’s anything wrong at the airport?”

He quickly grabbed his tablet PC and searched diligently, but all he could find was news related to vacationers.

‘Did something happen during the filming?’

‘I’m worried.’

‘Woojoo Hyung…’

All kinds of imaginations flashed through their minds.

Woojoo arriving at the Antarctic Sejong Science Station and curling up in the cold.

Woojoo collapsing after working hard with the medical team to eradicate malaria.

Woojoo losing a fight against some foreign elementary school kids.

But those grim imaginations were soon shattered.

‘Woohoo!’

…by Kim Junghyun, who barged into their imaginations.

No matter what they imagined, no matter what crisis they drew, Junghyun came and crushed them all.

Bijoo, who realized who Woojoo was with, smiled brightly.

“I suddenly feel less worried. Guys.”

“Me too.”

“Me too. I feel relieved. Since we’re talking about it, should we have some steak for dinner?”

They laughed and said, ‘The filming must be delayed,’ in a cheerful atmosphere.

Ziiing-

The phone vibrated and the words ‘Woojoo Hyung☆’ popped up.

“Woah!”

“They’re calling! They’re calling! Hurry up and answer.”

“Wait, wait! We need to get our placards.”

They quickly grabbed their placards and set the phone on a stand, then pressed the call button.

“Ta-da!”

They waved their placards, saying ‘Wow!’

-…

But there was no answer from the other side of the screen.

They even danced enthusiastically, but there was hardly any reaction. They looked at the phone.

“Mommy…?”

Jiho covered his mouth with his hand.

“Woojoo Hyung? Is that you?”

-…He-hello.

A slightly breathless voice.

There was a person who looked very old on the screen. He looked like he had aged a day in a day.

Bijoo quickly picked up the phone and brought it close to his face.

“Hyung! What’s wrong? What happened?”

“Me too! Me too! Are you okay? Who are you? Who did this to you?”

-Well. Guys.

Woojoo smiled, rubbing his cheekbones.

-Your voices are too loud…

“Huh.”

They whispered.

“Did we do it?”

-Just talk normally.

“Where’s Junghyun, Hyung?”

-Junghyun’s here.

The phone screen turned and showed Junghyun massaging Woojoo’s legs on the floor of the inner room.

Junghyun waved his hand with a warm smile.

-Hi.

He looked very healthy.

Well, of course, they thought, and looked at Woojoo’s face that filled the screen again.

“What’s going on? Where are you, Hyung?”

-Police Special Forces.

“…”

-It wasn’t really like the army. In many ways.

Woojoo continued to explain what had happened to him since he transferred to the Special Forces unit.

“Wow…”

“I know. I told you not to stand out. If you do too much, Junghyun Hyung will get noticed and they will make it harder for him.”

“Stop nagging, Hyung. Don’t you see the wrinkles on your forehead? You aged more in one day!”

-Are you on my side or not? You hit me and then… Jiho…

“I’m always on your side, Hyung.”

-Yeah, right. You’re more like a useless brother than a helpful one.

“Ah. Hyung!”

He chuckled.

They were worried when they saw his tired face, but he looked good when he smiled.

They could tell the difference between his fake smile when he was really struggling and his genuine smile when he was feeling better.

Woojoo’s face, which had been stiff, also bloomed with a smile.

They chatted excitedly.

“Yeah, yeah, Hanjo-ssi fell down while climbing the rope. Tell the Street Boys later. Ask them to make fun of him.”

“Just trust me.”

“And Junghyun-ah. Tell me about your muscles.”

They all laughed at the ‘get a thorough check-up’ joke that happened during the rope climbing.

‘He really got a lot of attention.’

As expected, he had been in the spotlight since the first day.

And there was something that made the youngest’s eyes sparkle.

“…What? Clothes? You get to wear the Special Forces uniform?”

-Yeah, they’ll give us some later. Jealous?

“Woah!”

-Jealous?

“Woah! Of course! That’s so cool… You mean the black uniform, right?”

The youngest begged Woojoo to let him try it on when they got back to the dorm. Woojoo told him to listen to the Hyungs who were there.

“I’ll listen well.”

-I know you won’t, but it’s nice to hear.

-Yeah.

Woojoo and Junghyun smiled at the youngest.

They also laughed happily, and Junghyun gave Woojoo a massage from behind.

-By the way, guys. I realized something important today.

“Something important?”

-I’m sorry…

Sorry?

“What are you sorry for? Which one?”

-Junghyun-ah. Drag him… Oh, I can’t drag him. His handler is here.

Woojoo said seriously.

-I realized something important today. I didn’t appreciate how hard you guys worked. The A&R Team, Composer Na Sangyoon-nim, our Director Jo…

Who was Director Jo?

-I really had a big epiphany. It wasn’t enough for me to have fun. Everyone should have fun.

They kind of understood what he meant, but they had no idea why he suddenly said that.

-Bear with my mistakes.

Beep.

“…?”

The call ended.

“Bear with his mistakes?”

“Bear? Repent?”

“Bearbearbear?”

They tried calling again, but they only heard a message that the phone was off.

The scheduled call time was over.

They looked at their phones with regret.

“What’s going on in there?”

“It’s weird. He apologized out of nowhere.”

“Woojoo Hyung apologizes all the time.”

“But it’s always a soulless apology. He was sincere this time.”

“Oh… You’re right. Wow. Our Rihyuk is sharp~”

Bijoo looked at his brothers bickering with a worried expression.

‘What is it?’

He thought hard, but he only remembered him rambling with a sad face.

Something about Dooly.

He couldn’t figure it out, so he decided to go back to his usual routine.

“Guys. Let’s practice.”

“Ugh…”

He dragged his reluctant siblings up and made a resolution in his mind.

‘Woojoo Hyung and Junghyun are having a hard time… I can’t just relax here.’

He thought they should all suffer equally if it was hard, and Bijoo smiled brightly.

Woojoo would have admired his military mindset.

Woojoo ended the call with regret.

He wanted to wrap things up, but the recording time was delayed and the schedule was tight.

After the rappel training.

He entered the dormitory where the police officers of the Special Forces lived and unpacked his luggage.

“Ugh…”

Then he showered with warm water and felt like nothing could be sweeter.

Maybe it was the refreshing feeling after intense exercise.

The expressions on their faces as they dried their hair were all similar.

“I feel alive after washing.”

“Wow, you guys looked like dust monsters before, but now you look like humans.”

“I want to drink some sweet rice drink at the bathhouse.”

They sat on the wooden platforms on both sides of the dormitory, facing each other and chatting.

The atmosphere was friendly and comfortable thanks to the end of today’s training.

Except for a few main cameras, most of them were observation cameras, so there was less pressure.

They were sitting in short-sleeved shirts and pants with police marks on them.

“Hello.”

Two men in black suits entered the dormitory with a deep voice.

They had rough and awkward faces. They were police officers of the Special Forces.

“Oh…”

“Are you the senior police officers here? Wow, hello.”

As in the military entertainment shows, they all got up and greeted them, but they looked embarrassed.

Well, it would be uncomfortable for the 20s to say ‘hello’ to the 30s and 40s.

Usually in the shows, when the seniors came in, they would say ‘Don’t you greet properly when the seniors come in?’ and then they would stare at each other with frozen eyes.

Maybe it was because they were police officers, but the atmosphere was different.

“You don’t have to be so stiff. This is not a place where you have to be so strict.”

“Oh. Is that so?”

Lee Pilseung, the eldest brother who was 49 years old, smiled.

“But what about the others besides you two?”

“Oh, we’re the only ones here.”

“…?”

“There’s not much for the police officers to do in the Special Forces. We’re the only ones using this dormitory.”

Oh. That was interesting.

As they listened attentively, the other members started to ask questions.

“What do you do here?”

“Oh, we’re handlers.”

“Handlers?”

“There are explosive detection dogs in the kennel, and we’re in charge of managing those dogs.”

“That’s a special job!”

They all nodded and listened.

At first, the police officers were nervous in front of the camera, but they soon started to talk comfortably with the veteran broadcasters.

They both majored in something related to dogs and had certificates.

No wonder their clothes were covered with dog hair.

“Handler, that’s amazing.”

“Wow. I’ve been to the dog training unit before, and you’re doing the same thing?”

“…Wait a minute. Don’t we have handler training the day after tomorrow?”

They nodded.

“Yes, you’ll be doing it with us.”

“Oh…”

“Yes, thank you…in advance.”

The police officers smiled awkwardly at the expectant eyes of the older men.

Then Park Hobeom asked, “Do you know any celebrities among these?”

“Well, we don’t watch much TV…”

The senior among the two police officers glanced at Woojoo. Following his gaze, everyone’s heads turned to Woojoo and Junghyun.

“Do you know our Woojoo?”

“My sister likes the group New Black.”

“Nice siblings. You know each other’s hobbies.”

As someone said, everyone laughed and Woojoo stepped forward.

“Thank you. How can I video call your sister later…?”

“That’s up to her. I’ll ask her for you.”

The military police officer joked, “We’re siblings in business,” and everyone burst into laughter.

Min Taewon asked, “So, our private…”

“Private first class.”

“Do you also like New Black?”

“I like girl groups.”

They clapped and laughed at his firm answer, as if it was obvious.

He shyly smiled and said, “I like them all,” when asked which group he liked.

They bonded with the military police officer from the Special Forces while making content for the broadcast.

Clack.

The door opened and the members of the Tactical Team 1 came in, making them all stand up.

“Oh, you’ve been waiting for a long time.”

Sergeant Go Kwangsoon came in with a large box in his arms.

When he revealed the contents, we all gasped.

“Black uniforms…!”

“Black uniforms!”

There were two sets of black uniforms wrapped in plastic, each with their names on them.

“Wow…”

Under ‘Seon Woojoo’, there was ‘Seon’ written as his surname.

While they were excited about the new clothes, Sergeant Go said, “From the moment you put on these clothes, you become a member of the Special Forces.”

“Yes!”

“Are the clothes pretty?”

They answered, “Yes!” They were so thrilled that it sounded like “Yay!”

He told them to take out the clothes and try them on. When they tore the plastic packaging.

“Huh…?”

They all tilted their heads.

Black.

They were supposed to be slightly faded, looking like they would give them +100 combat power just by wearing them.

But the color was slightly different.

The black uniforms worn by the military police and the Special Forces members had a more faded look. Of course, they would get lighter with each wash, but they felt different somehow.

Hanjo raised his hand.

“Um, the color seems a bit different.”

“Right?”

Sergeant Go smiled.

“Don’t worry. They’ll look like ours after rolling around for a few days.”

“…”

“Just like a swan is beautiful because it paddles its legs under the water, a black uniform is beautiful because of rolling.”

They were speechless at his wise words.

The two military police officers next to him nodded as if they agreed.

They all teared up and started to try on the clothes. Meanwhile, Sergeant Go came up to Woojoo.

“Oh, Number 8. I’ll see you on the last day.”

“The last day?”

“We rotate the training. Today is Team 1, tomorrow is Team 2. And so on until Team 3…”

That meant they wouldn’t see them again until the last day of the four-day trip.

They all brightened up when they heard that the hellish time with Team 1 was over.

The Special Forces members murmured.

“This is bad.”

“Team 2 people are really tough. There’s a guy there whose nickname is ‘Viper’.”

“Viper…?”

They all flinched.

“He got bitten by a viper at the picnic.”

“That’s when he got weird.”

They heard their relentless jokes.

They said funny things with serious faces, making it hard to hold back their laughter.

“Anyway, Team 2 will take over the training tomorrow. I’ve talked to them nicely, so don’t worry too much.”

“Let’s see each other on the last day.”

They applauded each other for their hard work.

When it got noisy again, Sergeant Go came up to Woojoo.

“Oh. I have to teach Number 8 more…”

“No, I learned a lot.”

“Number 8 is one of the best rookies I’ve ever seen.”

Rookie? When did he become one?

“You look like a nephew every time I see you. How about a hug?”

“Ye…yes…”

Woojoo grumbled inwardly, wondering who would treat their nephew like that.

But he guessed he had a soft spot for him. The instructor’s embrace felt warm.

Then something rustled in his pocket. It felt like a chocolate wrapped in plastic.

“Eat it by yourself~”

He winked at him with a smug smile. Woojoo saluted him.

Thank you. Uncle.

As he was thinking of secretly eating it with Junghyun and Hanjo later, the Special Forces left the barracks.

“Come on! Let’s change our clothes!”

“Woohoo!”

Everyone was excited and changed into black suits.

They had a fashion show runway with the uncles who transformed into special agents, and posed in front of the camera.

They had fun making content until bedtime, when Hanjo said with a smile, “I’m glad.”

“What are you glad about?”

“Don’t you think it’ll be better than today when Team 1 changes?”

“I guess so.”

Woojoo laughed at Hanjo’s words.

It was really liberating.

The next morning.

Unlike the cheerful Team 1, the ‘Viper’ instructor glared at the cast who gathered in the barracks with a prickly and stern atmosphere.

“Who’s breathing loudly right now?!”

Squeak.

“…Gasp.”

“I can’t see your teeth!”

Don’t laugh. Don’t laugh.

“Team 1 might have made you happy, but I won’t. I’m the Viper! I’ll make you… Who’s laughing right now? Go hit that pole and come back!”

He was trying to scare them, but they all had a hard time holding back their laughter because they heard the origin of ‘Viper’ yesterday.

But Woojoo soon got rid of his laughter.

“By the way.”

The instructor with sunglasses looked around.

“Who’s Number 8 here?”

“…”

“I heard Number 8 is a PT hotspot. The trainee that Team 1 was talking about, who is it?”

“…Trainee Number 8, Seon Woojoo!”

Woojoo’s hand stretched out into the air trembled.

“I’ll call you later to show how good you are.”

“…”

Woojoo sighed, looking at the sky.

He thought he was free, but it was a nightmare.

The second day’s morning started with Kubo and PT as usual.

“Sing a military song! A military song is a comrade!”

“Comrade!”

“Only the first verse!”

“The strong spirit of the nation… Huh! Huh!”

The running was so hard that the breakfast came up.

But PT or whatever, the overall training intensity was much lower than Team 1’s.

It was really doable today.

As most of the training was, the first day was the hardest and most painful and annoying and tearful and angry, but from the second day on, it was at a human level.

The training content was also interesting.

“Now, everyone. Let’s talk about the possibility and threat of terrorism that could happen in Korea.”

Woojoo listened carefully to the lecture of the Bomb Disposal Team with a good sense of humor.

After lunch, they watched the actual training of the Special Forces.

“Wow…”

Maybe because they were filming for a terrestrial broadcasting station, they seemed to be promoting it properly.

The Special Forces commander came and watched the actual EOD (Bomb Disposal Team) training unfold in front of them.

The Special Forces in protective suits carefully dismantled the explosives.

A large machine carefully picked up the explosives like a doll and put them in a round barrel.

It was a container that safely detonated the explosives.

Boom-!

They were mesmerized by the realistic scene of sparks and smoke and the smell of gunpowder, and clapped their hands.

“Wow…”

The Instructor Viper turned his head to them.

“Did you hear that sound?”

“Yes!”

“What did you think when you heard it? Number 9, you.”

He seemed to be asking about their alertness to terrorism or something like that, but their guy was different from the others.

“It sounded like the ratings were going up.”

“Pfft!”

“Who’s laughing right now? I’m coming for you with a stick!”

They all ran out of breath and couldn’t help laughing. It was a true statement, no matter how you thought about it.

The ratings would go up.

They really did.

It had only been the second day, but the amount of broadcast footage and the clues that came out were not normal.

Everyone felt it, even if they didn’t say it out loud. ‘This is it.’

They couldn’t judge hastily, but they could guess from the reactions of the Men Go members who were happy even though they were under pressure.

And from the faces of the production staff that brightened up in just one day.

The greatest happiness for a broadcaster was the rise of ratings.

“Okay, this training is CQB. Close combat training.”

The gym used by the Special Forces.

Instructor Viper boasted his muscular arms and said, “When you encounter terrorists or hostage-takers in real life, you may face situations where it is difficult to use weapons due to the circumstances.”

“That’s right!”

“Then what do you do in that case? Of course, you have to suppress them with hand-to-hand combat.”

“Wow…”

Everyone’s eyes lit up as Instructor Viper showed his moves in the air.

“Seeing is believing, right? I’ll show you a demonstration before we practice. Number 8!”

“Yes!”

“Come out and show us a demonstration with me.”

Woojoo stood in front of him with a tense face, and the Instructor Viper smiled leisurely and said, “Don’t be afraid, Trainee. I will never hurt you.”

“Yes!”

“You don’t have to be scared!”

“Yes.”

“From now on, you are the criminal. If you see a cop in front of you like this, what do you do?”

“I’ll run away and hope for a better future!”

“Yeah. Run… No!”

Instructor Viper, who had been convinced, yelled out and everyone held back their laughter.

It looked like he was going to hit them with a stick again, but there was only an iron bar in the room.

Junghyun gave Woojoo a look that said, ‘You are my brother.’ Hanjo looked at them as if to say, ‘They are brothers.’

Instructor Viper bent his posture and slapped his thigh and said, “Okay, I’m going to suppress you. Run at me with the determination of a criminal.”

“…Are you sure?”

“I won’t hurt you.”

“…Yes.”

Woojoo opened his eyes slightly as he saw his intention to show him the suppression technique. What if he ended up suppressing him?

No.

He was a veteran Special Forces soldier.

He was on a different level from Woojoo, who had only watched YouTube videos. He would suppress him if he wanted to.

“What are you doing?! Are you scared?”

“No!”

“Run at me. Come on…!”

Before he finished his sentence, Woojoo ran at him.

He smiled with joy and said, ‘That’s it!’

And that was the last smile of Instructor Viper that Woojoo remembered.