In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

Chapter 336:

“An audition?” I asked, puzzled.

“Yes,” came the reply from Mr. Hong on the other side of the smartphone, his laughter audible.

“We’re currently holding auditions for new male trainees.”

“Ah, I see.”

“So, did you all run away together?”

“Run away? No, not at all,” I protested, but he only laughed, clearly not convinced.

After ending the call, I exchanged awkward glances with my siblings.

“So it was an audition.”

“...It was an audition, huh.”

I felt silly for running away, but anyone would have been startled in that situation.

The youngest slurped his fish cake soup and said, “I mean, if unknown guys start running towards you, yelling, anyone would be scared.”

“Exactly. It’s only natural to be scared.”

We all nodded in agreement.

Then, turning to the owner who was making toast, we asked with a sniffle, “Can we have some more fish cake soup?”

“Have more,” he said.

“Thank youuuu-”

At the small street toast shop, sheltered by a tent, steam rose from the tteokbokki and fried snacks.

Sipping the fish cake soup from paper cups, we sighed contentedly, and the owner chuckled.

“But it does feel quite good,” the youngest mused, fiddling with his crumpled paper cup.

“Now we’ll have juniors at the company too. Or should I say, junior candidates before they debut?”

“So, does that make the people waiting now candidates for the junior candidates?”

“Candidates for the juniors of the... candidates...”

We blinked, trying to wrap our heads around the concept as the words seemed to collapse in real-time.

“Anyway, they’re our juniors for now.”

“But as Jiho said, it does feel good. To think we’ll have trainee juniors.”

We all smiled proudly.

“Just thinking about teaching them dance makes me excited.”

“I want to buy them late-night snacks and show off a bit.”

“I wonder if any of them are interested in composing? If there are enough, it might be fun to run a composing class.”

As we excitedly discussed how we could help them, Rihyuk shook his head and gulped down his fish cake soup.

Then, with a cold expression, he said, “Before we get ahead of ourselves, shouldn’t we think about that first?”

“You mean before we count our chickens before they hatch?”

“...”

At my teasing, his ears turned red, and he asked, “How are we going to get back into the company now?”

“...”

I remembered how we had just screamed and backpedaled in front of the trainee applicants.

It seemed too embarrassing to walk past them with our heads held high now.

Chewing on toast, I pondered how we could re-enter the company as naturally as possible.

“Aha!”

Suddenly, a brilliant idea came to mind.

“This will work.”

In front of Lemon Entertainment.

As time passed, the line grew longer.

“Hoo...”

With every breath, misty puffs of air in the chilly weather.

The applicants shuffled their feet and rubbed their hands together, sniffling.

The winter wind felt even harsher here in the alley where Lemon Entertainment’s building was located.

The atmosphere was tense.

Today was the third round of evaluations.

After passing the first round of internet video evaluations and the second round of auditions.

Today was the day when, after one more audition and a camera test, the final selections would be made.

‘It’s cold.’

Everyone had different interview times, and there was still a long wait before it began.

Most applicants, fearing any unforeseen variables, didn’t dare go far and gathered in front of the company.

Some compulsively checked their messages to confirm the date.

‘I really want to pass.’

‘God, Buddha, whoever, please just let me pass.’

‘I’m not even dreaming of New Black, just to succeed as much as the dirt under their nails.’

Applicants made fervent wishes to the clear blue sky.

Some had been rejected by the big four agencies and had scoured audition notices before finding this one.

Others had heard rumors at vocal schools that ‘Lemon Entertainment is really good’ and had come.

And there were trainees who had been let go from other companies.

Each had their own story, but the decisive factor was the same.

‘New Black.’

The fact that Lemon Entertainment had New Black.

Some had come with various calculations, but for most, the reason was simple, very simple.

‘They’re so cool.’

Videos of New Black’s performances played on the smartphones of those preparing their audition songs.

From early to late teens, they all wore similar expressions.

The desire to be like them had drawn them to the audition site.

“Achoo!”

Of course, right now, I couldn’t think of anything else.

‘I wish this line would move faster.’

‘Ah, it’s so cold. It wasn’t this cold when I came for the second round.’

‘After the college entrance exams, it suddenly got so cold.’

It was cold, bitterly so.

Amidst the chill, the thought of sipping on hot broth indoors was all I could wish for.

A murmur arose from the back of the line where the applicants stood.

“Wow...!”

“Whoa!”

Shrugging shoulders and tucking hands under armpits, the applicants turned their heads towards the commotion.

And they all reacted the same.

“It’s New Black!”

It was as if a pale filter had been laid before my eyes.

Figures that seemed to brighten the dreary alleyway approached, five young men boasting a fit worthy of a puffer jacket advertisement.

“Hello.”

Greeted by New Black’s radiant salutation, the applicants bowed unwittingly, their hands coming together as if in prayer, though none had yet passed.

As a hundred eyes watched, the universe seemed to curve into a smile.

“Isn’t the weather terribly cold today?”

“Yes...!”

“We were just passing by and noticed everyone looked so cold. Reminded me of our old audition days.”

Teeth chattering, the applicants nodded vigorously.

Approaching the stoic-faced Junhyeon, who stood with a cardboard box, the members extended a bag.

Canned drinks were promptly placed inside.

“Wow...!”

Exclamations of awe spilled among the applicants.

“We’ve prepared a can drink and a hand warmer for each of you.”

Like a child hero in a movie trapping a burglar, a member in a knitted hat spoke with a voice as gentle as his warm smile.

“...We bought these from various convenience stores, so we don’t have a lot in stock.”

“Wow...”

The tips of their noses reddened slightly, reminiscent of Rudolph.

The thought that they had gathered warm canned drinks from convenience stores on the spot made everyone feel fuzzy inside.

The alleyway seemed to warm for a moment.

Bijoo continued.

“So it’s random, and we might run out, so some of you might get a Hovenia dulcis drink.”

While scooping up the injeolmi bingsu, we asked.

“So when will the new trainees debut?”

“Well, at the earliest...”

The A&R team leader counted on his fingers as he stared into space, then said.

“2019, I guess.”

“Yikes.”

Four years seemed reasonable, but as former trainees, we knew how long that really was.

“By the way.”

Back to the main topic.

“How’s our album plan coming along?”

“It’s almost ready. We’re waiting to see how your song work goes and will proceed accordingly.”

“There must be more than one or two plans.”

“It’s a special album, after all.”

The team members from both sides said.

“There are many unique plans. But first, we want to hear the album’s song content and adjust to that.”

“Of course, it’s not all prepared yet. And you have another award coming up.”

We nodded.

We were busy preparing for the KMA stage in Hong Kong at the beginning of next month.

It seemed like a good idea to hear about the full album promotion plan afterward.

“Looks like we’ll start with the song work.”

We asked.

“When are the producer and the teachers joining us for the work?”

“Teacher Baek Sang-gyo is preparing for his year-end dinner show, and the others are also busy with year-end schedules. It’ll be a short meeting in between.”

“I see.”

“And producer Ha Seung-ju, excluding his Music Cafe recording schedule...”

The A&R team leader grinned expectantly.

“He’s cleared his schedule, so he said he’ll come over whenever we call.”

Second Floor Studio

As the figure clad in a coat stepped through the door, we greeted them with a chorus of ‘wow’s and applause.

“Welcome! Senior!”

“Hello.”

“It’s so strange to see you in casual clothes.”

“I know, right?”

I was used to seeing them always dressed like a gentleman at the music cafe, so this relaxed attire felt unfamiliar. And it seemed the feeling was mutual.

“Wow, Woojoo, your casual wear is quite unique.”

“You like this outfit?”

“Yeah, it’s... nice.”

It was my black hoodie, adorned with a tyrannosaurus surrounded by flowers, looking almost prickly. And then there was my pink wristwatch. To the person experiencing a culture shock at my appearance, I said with a smile, “Thank you for agreeing to produce our album.”

“I should be thanking you. I was itching to compose something on the spot when I saw you guys perform. I’ve always wanted to work with you.”

“I never expected you to take on the role of producer, though.”

“I haven’t deliberately avoided idol album projects, but somehow it just turned out that way. You guys are my first.”

Although the producer had collaborated with singers to create various hit records, they had never participated in an idol album before.

“How did you end up with our album...?”

As I pondered whether they saw something musical in us, I caught a clear gaze from behind their horn-rimmed glasses.

“Kyu-hwan offered a lot of money.”

“...”

“It was a tremendous amount.”

“...”

It wasn’t clarity in their eyes, but rather the joy of capitalism.

While we blinked in surprise, they said, “Just kidding.”

We burst into laughter, though we knew there was some truth to the jest.

Ha Seung-ju.

A producer famous for commanding an extraordinary fee in the domestic music industry. They were also behind the most successful album of senior Cha Woo-hyun.

They didn’t often take on projects, but when they did, the results were almost always phenomenal.

“I’ve heard the general direction from the A&R team. It’s a special album themed around winter, right?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s listen to the tracks you’ve worked on so far.”

They sat down with a smile, and as I played one of my recent compositions, they nodded along, listening intently.

“It’s good, but?”

“Really?”

“You’ve made some changes, but it seems you haven’t done much yet.”

“Yes, I thought it would be important to get the opinions of the producer and others.”

Then they reached for the mouse to get feedback.

“I’d like to ask about this part first.”

“The third track?”

“Yes. I want to express the feeling of snow gently piling up in the chorus, but it doesn’t match the rest of the song.”

“So it’s not cohesive?”

“It feels a bit out of place, so I’ll try to make some adjustments.”

I could sense my younger colleagues tilting their heads in confusion.

They seemed clueless about what was out of place.

As I was about to ask the A&R team to listen and judge, the producer waved their hand.

“Maybe it’s better to revise the intro instead, to make the journey to the climax smoother.”

“Oh.”

“Why?”

“I had the same thought. I held off because it seemed too bold.”

At my words, the producer smiled as if they knew I would say that.

“Then I’ll tweak that part a bit.”

“Alright. In the meantime, I’ll work on it on my laptop, and then we can compare notes.”

“Okay!”

My younger colleagues blinked in surprise as they watched the producer and me turn our attention to our laptops.

I could read the confusion in their eyes.

‘That was quick.’

‘Why so fast?’

I shared their sentiment.

For some reason, I had a feeling this album project was going to be a breeze.

In Front of the Second Floor Studio

The A&R team members peered through the glass with excited faces, only to be met with disappointment.

“This isn’t right.”

“This isn’t the reaction we expected.”

“Why are they progressing so quickly and smoothly?”

It was supposed to be the moment when Woojoo would say, ‘I’ve made a tiny change, let’s compare and see which is better!’

But instead, after a swift exchange of opinions starting with Woojoo and Ha Seung-ju, the process moved along briskly.

“But about Ha Seung-ju,” one of them said.

“Hmm?”

“Don’t they handle Woojoo really well? It’s not just that their styles match, but it seems like a work method optimized for that kind of style.”

“Right...”

As everyone nodded in agreement, someone suddenly spoke up.

“Didn’t they say that person worked on a jazz album with Woojoo’s father before?”

“Really?”

“Maybe that’s why.”

The A&R team members paused and turned their gaze back to the glass.

Watching Ha Seung-ju jot down notes and quickly come up with alternatives every time Woojoo spoke.

While they were impressed by the producer’s prowess...

“...”

The A&R team couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy, wondering what had led them to this point.