In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

It was the first time I had ever locked eyes with someone so awkwardly.

“Uh…”

“Er… um…”

As soon as we stopped running, we both let go of each other’s hands.

It was truly embarrassing.

I bowed slightly to the egg ghost who was hesitating.

“Hello there.”

“Hi! I’m a huge fan of New Black… Oh! I shouldn’t be doing this. Teeheehee!”

The woman raised her arms and shouted, “Be scared!” I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Yes?”

“There are no cameras around here.”

“Oh…”

“There is one over there, but it’s out of sight right now.”

“Wow. How do you know?”

“It’s a habit of mine to check for cameras wherever I go…”

As I pointed out the camera locations, I could see the curiosity in the eyes behind the egg ghost mask.

I asked with a smile, “So, you’re a fan?”

“Uh, yes…”

“You have a really nice voice. Your giggles really caught my ear.”

“Really? I drifted into this place from the theater.”

The low voice from behind the mask sounded delighted with a ‘Woohoo!’

After a pointless chat in the dark bushes that were just as scary for her, I pointed to the map and asked.

“Could you tell me where the ghosts are?”

I could sense her pondering behind the mask.

I mouthed the words again.

“I’m trying to find my brother.”

Soon after, the ghost lady pointed out a few places on the map with her fidgeting fingers.

I thanked her with a smile and a bow.

After parting ways, I moved to a quiet clearing and shone my light on the map.

“Where could Bijoo be?”

Bijoo and Ryuk were the first people I needed to find.

I pondered the locations of the ghosts and the possible routes my brothers might take.

Bijoo always chooses the worst paths, so I had a rough idea of where he might be.

Near a camera set up by the production team, I speculated.

“Bijoo is probably over here. And Ryuk usually zigzags away slyly…”

He’s fast but has the stamina of a faulty battery, likely drained within a minute.

Frozen with fear, he’d be standing there thinking, ‘Jung-hyun hyung… Bijoo hyung? Wang Jiho?’

I had a hunch about where he might be too.

“Ryuk should be around here. They’re both quite cowardly, so I better go check on them quickly.”

Just as I was about to move, a chirping sound came from my waist.

“Ah…!”

I had forgotten about this.

The walkie-talkie given by the production team for communication vibrated, and a pitiful voice came through.@@novelbin@@

Woojoo hyung.

“Yes, Bijoo.”

I think I’m lost…

I replied with a chuckle.

“I’ll be right there. Can you describe your location?”

Well, the moon is up in the sky, but it’s covered by clouds, and there are trees and grass all around.

“…”

Ah! And there are insects chirping nearby! Crickets, maybe?

He’s the kind who, if asked to describe someone for a sketch, would say they have eyes, a nose, and a mouth.

I paused and examined the map again.

“Can you vaguely see the lights of the lodging? Which direction are they from you?”

North.

So, it’s the south.

I pressed the walkie-talkie and responded.

“Got it. Don’t be scared; stay put, and I’ll be there soon.”

Okay.

As I hurried along, the walkie-talkie rang again.

Hyung.

“Yes, Jiho?”

…Please, someone come find me. I have no idea where I am. It’s like there are ghosts everywhere, screaming!

Another person to search for had just been added to the list.

“I thought you liked horror movies.”

“Don’t tease me, I feel like crying. It’s really scary.”

Their voice was trembling, so I comforted them and said I’d come to find them right away.

As I hurriedly moved forward, a hesitant vibration from the walkie-talkie accompanied by a quivering voice reached my ears.

“Can someone come to me, please?”

“Rihyuk, should I come then?”

“Bijoo, please, I’m begging you, just stay put.”

“Okay…”

“But why can’t I hear Junghyun’s voice? He’s been quiet for a while now.”

“I’ve been listening.”

“Oh, where are you, brother?”

“I don’t know either. I’m just following the path for now. Oh, a snake just slithered past me.”

“Is it a fake one?”

“It seems real. When I touched it, it tried to play dead.”

The walkie-talkie began to shake violently.

“…There’s a snake?! Aaah! Mom! Sister!”

“Ah! Stop talking about that! Ah! Even a snakeskin pattern on a handbag scares me!”

“It’s just a baby snake. It’s not scary.”

“That’s what you think!”

I turned down the walkie-talkie volume and walked towards where Bijoo was.

But then…

“…What’s that?”

I had a strange feeling.

Since a while ago, it felt as if someone was following and watching me.

It was a different kind of eeriness from when fans gaze at me, slightly unsettling.

The sensation of being watched from diagonally behind.

“Who’s there?”

I whipped my head around, but all that was there was a camera hanging from a tree.

“Is it just my imagination…”

It started as a monologue for the show, but as my unease grew, so did my self-talk.

While I chatted away, trying to overcome my fear, the walkie-talkie buzzed again.

“If you look around the corner~”

“There’s nothing but square shapes~”

Don’t start a relay song now, guys…

I could already picture the production team monitoring and laughing their heads off.

At the same time.

Junghyun was walking through the darkness.

“Excuse me.”

He passed through an area covered with suspiciously fake cobwebs.

Billowing fake fog.

‘The special effects are amazing.’

It felt thrilling to see such a cool scene, usually only seen in CG, unfold before my eyes.

A shriek that sounded like a giant spider echoed thunderously.

Thump-thump.

Hoping it was a giant spider, I entered the fog.

“Aaaaah!”

Someone screamed and ran out.

It was an actor, looking like a victim from an Alien movie, with a spider covering their face.

Junghyun tilted his head in confusion.

“…?”

The actor, who had been running towards him, panicked and then, with a scream, dashed away.

Junghyun realized his mistake.

He should have been startled by now.

“Heugh…”

He brought his left hand to his mouth and placed his right hand over his heart.

“Oh. That. Scared. Me.”

Even he thought it was a convincing reaction.

Junghyun smiled proudly and continued through the fog. There, where the spider-victim had emerged, was a key-shaped card placed on a tree stump.

In front of the installed camera.

Tucking the card into his chest, Junhyeon flashed a smile at the camera.

“Thank you, PD-nim, writers, everyone. I’ve never had this much fun before. Can you hear me?”

The camera seemed to answer as it moved up and down with a whirring sound.

Junhyeon laughed heartily.

“I’m grateful for this experience.”

He showed a finger heart in his own style and then strolled away cheerfully.

After collecting several cards…

“It seems everyone has met well.”

Junhyeon nodded as he heard Woojoo hyung’s voice over the walkie-talkie, gathering the members one by one.

“Do I need to start searching too…?”

He knew that later, Kim Bijoo would nag him for not looking after his friends once the camera was off.

He didn’t like that thought.

For a moment, he let his shoulders droop, then quickly regained his energy.

“Maybe things will get better after I give away all the treasure cards.”

As he nodded to himself and walked on, a bright clearing appeared.

“Ah. This is the place.”

Just as the production team had described, there was a well in the very center of the incredibly long promenade.

Junhyeon took out the gourd bottle he had put in his bag and walked towards the well.

He could hear the water splashing inside, and a bucket was also placed there.

“I’ll have to fill it up when we meet later, right?”

He muttered to himself and reported his arrival over the walkie-talkie.

Meanwhile, he noticed someone patrolling around.

It was a middle-aged man who looked like a security guard.

“Hello.”

No response.

Junhyeon shrugged his shoulders as the man moved away silently.

“He must not have heard me.”

Then he looked up at the night sky filled with clouds.

Hidden behind a tree, Wang Jiho shivered uncontrollably.

-I met with Bijoo.

-I met with Rihyuk. I’ll be there soon, Jiho.

-We’re coming to you, Jiho~

It had been about five minutes since he heard that Rihyuk hyung had also met up.

It wasn’t a long time, but it felt like an eternity.

He chewed on his lip and tapped his foot anxiously.

“It’s cold…”

Mid-March.

It wasn’t cold enough to see his breath, but the night air felt chilly.

He could feel the cold seeping through his windbreaker.

Whoo-whoo-whoo-whoo-

He jumped at the eerie sound periodically coming from the amplifier.

“Ugh…”

His legs gave out, and he slid down against the tree trunk.

Crouching down, he tried to preserve his warmth while frantically shining his light on the surrounding objects.

There was clearly nothing there, but he kept hearing rustling sounds.

“Yikes!”

He shone the light, but there was nothing.

He turned the flashlight desperately, but still nothing.

The cycle of tension and relaxation quickly exhausted him.

Cold, hungry, and scared.

He felt like crying and buried his face inside his windbreaker.

“I shouldn’t have agreed to this.”

He usually enjoyed horror movies enough to laugh them off, but this was different.

It was scary not knowing when and where a ghost or something might pop out.

Even though he knew it was fake, his whole body felt frozen.

“Eek!”

He was startled by the sound of bushes shaking.

Junhyeon hyung had mentioned seeing a snake earlier; it couldn’t be that, could it?

With no strength in his legs, he still managed to stand up shakily.

“Oh. I really want to cry…”

Cold, hungry, and frightened.

He checked for cameras around and then covered his eyes with his hands.

Tears welled up, threatening to spill over as I sniffled, trying to hold them back. I could feel my eyes vibrating with the effort of keeping the tears at bay. ℝ𝒶ꞐỘᛒÊʂ

“Mom. Sister. Dad.”

I wanted to throw myself into someone’s arms, confess how scared I was, and just cry it all out. But…

No.

I can’t cry.

If I cry now and get caught, my brothers will tease me for an eternity. I shook my head and swallowed hard.

“Don’t cry, Wang Jiho.”

I imagined Seo Rihyuk laughing hysterically, “Kyaahaha! Wang Jiho cried!” and steeled myself with that thought.

But that resolve lasted only a moment.

My legs gave out again.

“I miss my brothers…”

It had been barely 40 minutes, yet I couldn’t understand why I missed them so much.

Thinking of the members brought fresh tears to my eyes.

It felt like any moment now, Bijoo hyung and Woojoo hyung would appear, saying, “We’re here.”

“Why aren’t they coming, though…”

Leaning against a tree trunk, I gazed up at the empty night sky when…

Rustle-

My ears perked up.

“A sound?”

I tensed up at the noise coming from somewhere.

At first, I thought it might be my brothers, and my heart fluttered with excitement, but that was impossible.

If it were them, they’d be walking up noisily, chattering away.

“Who’s there?!”

I shone my flashlight around, but there was nothing.

Nothing.

As I swept the light around, I realized something odd.

“Why aren’t the insects making any noise?”

The lively chirping of the insects had suddenly gone silent.

I swallowed hard.

It felt like something was about to jump out at any moment and scare me.

Holding my breath and hunching my shoulders, I shone the flashlight around when…

“!”

I dropped the flashlight in shock at the sight of something indistinct in the distance.

I didn’t know what it was, but our eyes met.

My hands trembled as I picked up and dropped the flashlight several times before finally gripping it like a weapon.

“Who are you? Who…!”

As I aimed the flashlight in all directions…

Suddenly.

“Aaah!”

I jumped when a hand grabbed my shoulder.

I flailed as if a disgusting bug had landed on me, and in my panic, I stumbled and fell.

Then two hands reached out to me.

“You got quite a scare, huh? Are you okay?”

“…?”

“Jiho, we’re here.”

Bijoo hyung and Woojoo hyung were smiling kindly, extending their hands to me.

As I looked up at them blankly, Seo Rihyuk sighed and crouched beside me.

“How old are you to be this jumpy? Get up. I’ll dust you off.”

“…”

“Hey, Wang Jiho, you, um…?”

And at that moment.

The tension broke, and I burst into tears.

It had been a long time since anyone had cried so sorrowfully.

“Why are you crying?”

“…”

The youngest, clinging tightly to us three, continued to sob.

What could be so sorrowful?

Even as he wiped away his tears and snot, he kept his eyes closed, letting tears fall on our shoulders.

“Hey, why are you crying like a baby?”

“Rihyuk.”

At Bijoo’s words, Rihyuk fell silent.

Then he awkwardly patted the youngest’s back. Despite his words, Rihyuk’s eyes looked troubled too.

I patted his back and asked,

“Were you that scared? Was it this?”

“No. I… I wasn’t scared at all… sob sob.”

We couldn’t help but laugh when he answered with hiccups.

The youngest was sniffling and sobbing repeatedly.

He said he wouldn’t act like a leader anymore, that he’d always be the youngest, but I wasn’t quite sure what he meant.

We just patted him on the back until he calmed down.

About five minutes had passed when he finally said, “Ah.”

It seemed he had calmed down a bit as he rubbed his swollen eyes.

With his puffy eyes, he looked like a complete fool when he smiled.

“Do I look like I’ve been crying?”

“A lot.”

Our simultaneous response made his face fall.

“At least there’s no camera…”

“It’s right there.”

“Where?!”

“Right above the tree you were leaning on.”

“Ah!”

The youngest jumped up and down, flailing his arms and legs like a tyrannosaurus.

“What will the soufflés think when they see me?”

“They’ll think you’re cute?”

“Only you think I’m cute, Bijoo. I’m supposed to be the visual, the cool one.”

“Looks like he’s fine if he’s talking nonsense,” I said, nodding in agreement.

Then I looked around.

“Let’s head towards the well where Junhyeon is.”

“Okay.”

“Oh right, Jiho. Want some chocolate?”

“Yes, please!”

Handing him a chocolate bar, our youngest’s mood brightened instantly.

After safely passing a few haunted checkpoints with the four of us.

We finally reached the well.

“Junhyeon! We’re here!”

“I’ve been waiting.”

Junhyeon greeted us warmly, then blinked at Jiho’s swollen eyes.

“Jiho…”

Desperately, the youngest gestured with his eyes, signaling ‘don’t say it,’ and Junhyeon nodded, understanding.

Then he laughed even brighter, rejecting the call.

“Jiho’s been crying!”

“…”

“Why did you cry? Was there another seagull-like thing?”

It was during this exchange between the brothers that I noticed something in the distance.

What is that?

“Who’s that over there?”

Though it was hard to see from afar, a man who looked like a security guard seemed to be patrolling through the bushes.

Junhyeon answered.

“Looks like a security guard.”

“Ah.”

“He’s dressed like one.”

Rihyuk also nodded in agreement.

While we were talking, Jiho chimed in.

“What’s going on?”

“There… oh, he’s gone.”

It seemed he was patrolling to prevent any unauthorized fans from intruding.

Meanwhile, Junhyeon handed something to Bijoo.

“I collected these for you.”

“Really?”

“It looks like treasure. You can have it all.”

Bijoo happily accepted a card with a key drawn on it.

I smiled at Junhyeon’s proud look. He’s trying not to get scolded.

Then, calling the younger ones together, we stood in front of the camera.

“Yes! New Black has braved this treacherous path for an hour…”

The sign next to us reading ‘5 minutes by foot’ shook violently.

We all moved to cover the sign.

“We’ve finally arrived at the mission site.”

“Was I supposed to fill the gourd with water? Our team’s horror ace, rapper Kim Junghyun, will fetch the water.”

“Wow!”

Jung-hyun scooped up the water vigorously with a bucket, and as he poured it into the gourd,

“Whoa!”

Magically, black letters began to appear above it.

[New Black’s next album will be a hit…]

And it stopped there.

Drip, drip, drip –

Water leaked from a hole that had been made.

Was this what they meant by ‘pouring water into a bottomless pot’?

It was absurd and laughable that water was leaking from the very spot that read ‘hit’.

“Jung-hyun.”

“Ah, why is there a hole here?”

“It’s the size of your finger.”

“…”

Jiho said,

“Then you should block it with your finger, like the toad from the fairy tale.”

“Okay.”

Jung-hyun plugged the hole in the gourd and refilled it with water.

After cheering for the ‘wish for a hit’,

“Thank you for your hard work!”

We finished the courage test that lasted over an hour and finally moved in front of the lodging.

Bang!

“Wow!”

The production crew welcomed us with bakery fireworks.

“You did great, guys!”

“Were you scared, Jiho? We’re sorry.”

“Come here.”

The production crew patted us on the back.

Though drained, it had been fun, so I smiled and said to the crew,

“You really worked hard preparing this.”

“Thank you for your hard work!”

“But it was really scary. Like, blood gushing out so realistically as they ran out… Aaah!”

The youngest and Rihyuk jumped in fright and hid behind me and Jung-hyun.

“Yikes!”

Bijoo was startled a beat later and moved to the very back.

It was because of the actors walking towards the open space in front of the lodging.

There were about a dozen of them, including someone with a bandaged head, a spider person, and an egg ghost.

The PD introduced them with a smile,

“Please give a round of applause for the actors who helped with New Black’s travel diary and courage test today. Thank you for your hard work late into the night!”

We exchanged greetings with the actors in ghost makeup and took commemorative photos.

While taking pictures to post on social media, I remembered someone we had forgotten.

“Oh, right.”

We asked the PD,

“PD, where’s the security guard who was patrolling here?”

“Huh?”

“We’d like to thank him. It was less scary because he patrolled from a distance.”

The PD looked puzzled at our question.

“What are you talking about? The security guard left earlier.”

“What?”

“There was no one else here except you and the actors. Did someone walk around?”

“What…?”

Rihyuk looked at us with wide eyes.

“What? Then who was that person?”

“…”

We all froze on the spot.