In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

Chapter 387

The second day of filming went smoothly.

“Wow…!”

I marveled at the colors of the sea from atop the white sands.

Udo Island.

Located at the eastern end of Jeju Island, this place is renowned for its picturesque scenery, especially the Coral Sand Beach, famous for its beautiful sea.

“Wow…”

Even the production crew standing beyond the camera admired the sea’s hues, their beauty undeniable.

I asked the director standing beside me, “Is the camera capturing this properly?”

The director shook his head, somehow.

“The sea is truly beautiful. How can it be this lovely?”

“Right? If only we had the time, I’d love to spend hours here.”

“Agreed.”

Normally, we would have chatted away, but now we silently appreciated the view before us.

Some moments require no words.

The sound of the waves tickled my ears, and with each breath, the fragrant scent of the sea filled my nostrils.

“It’s wonderful. Truly…”

The mental fatigue from preparing for the album seemed to fly away.

After enjoying the scenery with my siblings,

“Let’s take a picture!”

We entrusted our phones to the writer and took pictures as if we were levitating.

We struck model-like poses.

“Come over here, writers! We’ll take your picture!”

“On the count of three, shout ‘Beautiful!’”

The production crew, prompted by Bijoo’s gentle cheer, shouted ‘Beautiful!’ and then laughed sheepishly.

In such a warm and friendly atmosphere, we began our tour of Udo Island.

After enjoying a picnic with peanut ice cream and kimbap on Udo Island, we returned to Jeju Island and completed our experience at the folk village.

For an early dinner, we found a famous green bean chicken soup restaurant, which was the tastiest meal I had recently.

“I must have been born to eat this.”

“Me too.”

Junghyun and Jihyo pretended to wipe away tears, it was that delicious.

After finishing the afternoon schedule,

As the sun began to set, we returned to our lodgings to find the production crew had prepared something.

“Welcome back, everyone.”

The PD asked with a smile, “How was your picnic today? Did you enjoy it?”

“Yes!”

Rihyuk, who had wished for the picnic, answered on behalf of everyone.

“It was really fun. Thank you so much for arranging this time for us.”

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen Rihyuk hyung smile this much.”

“I didn’t smile that much, did I?”

Rihyuk turned away as if to say, wasn’t that right, and we responded,

“Our child isn’t one to smile openly, but his expression while eating kimbap today was so beautiful.”

“Rihyuk was so cute today.”

“Really. If only every day could be like today…”

Rihyuk grumbled as if we were teasing him, but he still smiled faintly.

Seeing him sway like a squid, he seemed to be in a great mood.

The PD smiled.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it. But! Your picnic isn’t over yet.”

“What?”

“You’re having dinner later, right?”

“Yes!”

“We, the production crew, have prepared a barbecue party for you tonight.”

With a flourish, the production crew stepped aside to reveal a barbecue grill set up for the party.

And even a tent.

“…A tent?”

We blinked in surprise and asked,

“PD-nim, why is there a tent here?”

“Is it a punishment? A punishment? Like the person who loses the game has to sleep outside?”

“Ah. Is it a punishment?”

The PD shook his head.

“This tent isn’t a punishment!”

“Really?”

“It’s where you’ll all be sleeping after a fun barbecue party.”

I was puzzled by the sudden mention of outdoor sleeping when, as usual, a laptop popped up.

Bijoo’s gentle voice came from the screen, “I want to try that.”

“What exactly?”

“Well, camping? Grilling meat together outdoors, sleeping together in a tent…”

Lost in thought, Bijoo soon burst into a wide smile.

“Just imagining it makes me so happy!”

“…I’ll prepare it.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll make sure to prepare it.”

The writers were so filled with resolve that they promised to prepare it, their faces beaming with joy.

Rihyuk cleared his throat and said, “Well, it’s not terribly cold. Outdoor camping doesn’t sound too bad.”

“Right.”

Jiho nodded in agreement.

“And thankfully, it’s a rather sane wish.”

“You stay out of it. It’s a summer horror special.”

As the youngest closed his mouth, Junhyeon raised his hand.

“But what does a barbecue party have to do with a picnic?”

“Ah. It’s all about gathering the ingredients!”

“Gathering ingredients?”

“As you can see, we have all the tools needed for a barbecue party, but we haven’t prepared any food.”

Indeed, there was no sign of meat or shellfish.

Our eyes widened in focus as the producer said, “From now on, you’ll need to secure a budget to buy ingredients at the supermarket.”

“What do we need to do?”

“The grand finale of today’s picnic, the indispensable ‘treasure hunt’!”

“Treasure hunt…!”

Exchanging knowing glances, we reacted with feigned surprise on camera.

“Just as expected.”

“We thought so.”

We had figured the unused treasure cards from yesterday’s courage test wouldn’t be left untouched.

Pointing towards the trail used for yesterday’s courage test, the producer announced, “You have 30 minutes.”

“Hold on!”

We all crouched down to tie our shoelaces tightly.

As the staff and managers burst into laughter, a fiery determination sparked in our eyes.

“Within these 30 minutes, find as many scattered treasures as you can.”

“Yes!”

“For your information, the treasure cards are graded. Gold keys are worth 50,000 won, silver 10,000 won, and bronze 1,000 won.”

Nodding at the explanation, we braced ourselves.

“Ready… go!”

At the producer’s signal, holding a stopwatch, we all dashed off without a second thought.

Thump-thump-thump.

Rihyuk, with his glass-like fragile heart, took a deep breath to calm his racing pulse.

“Stay calm.”

He slowed his pace to conserve his mayfly-like stamina.

“Yaaah!”

“I’m going to find all the treasure!”

“No way! I’ll find the most!”

Amidst the chaos of the oldest and youngest, Rihyuk shook his head.

“Blindly searching like that is foolish. You have to use your brain.”

Recalling the map he saw yesterday, he scanned the surroundings.

If I were the crew, where would I hide the treasure?

Especially the most valuable 50,000 won treasure?

“It must be in an unexpected place. Think outside the box.”

There’s no way the 50,000 won treasure would be easy to find.

Sure enough.

“I found it!” cried the youngest, only to wail, “Aaack! It’s just a 1,000 won card!”

“Oh, that blockhead.”

Wang Jiho must have noticed my sneer because he suddenly shouted, “Eeeek!”

“Don’t you dare laugh, bro! You’re just as bad!”

“I’ll find it soon enough.”

“Just finish last, you squid!”

“…Squid? Really?”

The youngest one cackled and ran away.

The camera director, who had been taking a solo shot, stifled a laugh with a “Kuh!”

“Hmm-hmm.”

Clearing his throat, he spoke to the camera, “I’ve taken a different approach from the other members. I tried to think like the production team and guess where they might have hidden it.”

“Wow.”

“Heh, follow me.”

Having completed his deduction, Seo Rihyuk headed to the spots he had marked earlier.

And then…

“Here! Just as I predicted, under this stone, there should be a treasure…”

As he struggled to lift the heavy stone with a grim expression, his heart began to race.

It has to be here.

Please let it be here!

“…Yes! There it is! Found it!”

Just as he had anticipated, there was the golden key card.

He wiped the card clean with a wet tissue, sealed it in a plastic bag, and hurried off to another location.

“Over here! Here! And here too… found them!”

He beamed at the sight of the silver key.

One by one, he collected the keys in this manner.

But not all his guesses were correct.

Sometimes he felt sure, but the key wasn’t there; it was almost a fifty-fifty chance.

“…And that’s why I thought it would be here. As you can see, there’s the silver card, right?”

“Ooh!”

“I’ve managed to find a total of nine through deduction.”

As he dusted off his hands, a whistle sounded in the distance.

Ah! It’s over, everyone! Please come back!

Walking back with the camera director, he bumped into the youngest member trudging along.

“Hey!”

“What?”

“How many did you find?”

“Uh, I don’t know. Two…”

His spirits lifted at the sight of the youngest member’s gloomy mumbling.

“Ha ha ha!”

Zap.

“Hmm… Hey, how about giving me some of yours?”

“No need. You found them, bro.”

“I’ll give you two silver ones.”

“…Really? That’s a relief. I was worried Universe hyung would tease me a lot.”

Seo Rihyuk cleared his throat proudly as the youngest member’s face brightened up with chatter.

‘Yeah. That’s what being a big brother is all about.’

He walked back to the dormitory’s courtyard with a satisfied smile.

“But, bro.”

“What?”

“Everyone’s wishes have been coming true, one by one. Even Bijoo hyung went camping. But what do you think Universe hyung wished for?”

“Who knows.”

Could it be someone predictable?

The youngest member gazed at the round sunset sky, lost in thought.

The leader, not the CEO, came to mind, his eyes sparkling.

‘How about a children’s composition camp in Jeju Island? I’ve even made the flag design.’

‘Rest is a luxury. Let’s plan a 2-night, 3-day New Black workshop… That’ll wake everyone up…’

They both clutched their foreheads simultaneously.

“No matter what I imagine, all I can think of is work…”

“Me too.”

As they shared this sad conversation, the dormitory came into view.

“Guys! Hurry up!”

“Coming!”

Once everyone gathered.

They began to show off the treasure cards they had collected.

“I’ve got four!”

“That’s odd.”

Sunwoo-ju stroked his chin, a hint of suspicion in his voice. “You couldn’t have found more than three, did Rihyuk give you two?”

“No… No, that’s not it! What are you talking about?” The denial was evident, but it sounded like a lie to anyone listening.

As the production team burst into laughter, Seo Rihyuk clicked his tongue in disapproval and pulled out his cards. “Well, I have one gold card,” he announced.

“Wow!” The crowd cheered.

“I have a total of seven. If you count the two I gave to Wang Jiho, that makes nine.”

The members applauded his success.

While they were boasting about their deductive triumphs, Woojoo and Bijoo stepped forward. ‘…Why is Bijoo tied up?’ It seemed they had bound their wrists together with a floral scarf to prevent getting lost.

Bijoo smiled proudly, and beside him, Woojoo presented his cards. “We have 23 cards!”

“…What?” My heart sank. Had I lost again?

“How did you find all those?”

“Just had a hunch when I glanced at the places where cameras were installed.”

I had a feeling there were cards here, but more often than not, they were missing.

Woojoo smirked at my crestfallen face, and the youngest member raised his hand. “But, PD-nim, how many cards did you hide here in total?”

“A hundred,” came the reply.

Everyone’s eyes widened in shock.

“A hundred?”

“We spread them out to adjust the difficulty level,” the producer explained. In other words, ‘You guys are so bad, we had to set the difficulty to Super Easy.’

As the members stood agape at the number, Woojoo asked with a surprised look, “What? Then where did all the cards go?”

At that moment…

“I’ve been waiting for this moment.”

“…?”

“Here comes the boss.”

With a solemn declaration, Jung-hyun stepped forward.

Like a shy bear sharing a honey pot, the rapper turned his crossbody bag upside down and shook it vigorously.

Cards poured out like a waterfall.

“How many cards is that…?”

“Is he Cardcaptor Jung-hyun?”

For a moment, even the production team was as stunned as the members.

After his performance, Jung-hyun hurriedly gathered the cards. “Not sure if I counted right, but it’s 66 cards.”

“Check it out.”

Together, they made a hundred.

The production team was dumbfounded, and the other members looked on, asking, “How did you do that?”

Jung-hyun replied with a bashful smile, “When you farm, you have to be careful of harmful creatures that might eat the crops.”

His innocent laughter left everyone speechless.

The youngest mumbled, “That’s it.”

“The one who uses their head can’t beat the one with good instincts, and the one with good instincts can’t outdo the farmer…”

“If this were a game, there’d be calls for nerfing Jung-hyun on the forums.”

The production team roared with laughter at their dismayed expressions.

It was an enormous budget.

Despite buying a huge amount of beef, pork, clams, and various other foods, two-thirds remained.

Thanks to that, it was a joyous party.

“Now, let’s toast!”

“Make our next album a huge hit!”

“Hit big!”

We clinked our paper cups filled with soda, chanting for a blockbuster success.

“Ah, seriously, stop it. Haha.”

“Eat more. More.”

The boisterous laughter tickled my ears.

Bijoo was feeding Jung-hyun meat with chopsticks, and every time the sparks from the grill startled Rihyuk, the youngest burst into giggles.

As I sipped my cola contentedly, enjoying this peaceful scene.

“But hey.”

The youngest asked.

“What did you wish for, hyung?”

“Me?”

“Everyone else’s wishes have been mentioned, but not yours.”

“Oh, that.”

There really wasn’t anything special.

“I didn’t have any particular wish.”

“…?”

“Maybe just to get a lot of sleep?”

Even during the pre-meeting with the production team, I had only mentioned wanting to ‘sleep without worries.’

Thanks to that, I really did sleep to my heart’s content.

“Ah. That’s boring.”

“You should’ve wished for something exciting, hyung.”

The younger members urged me to make a wish even now.

“Then, opening a composition camp in Jeju Island…”

“Ahhh! Can’t hear you!”

I laughed as they covered their ears.

While we were wrapping up the barbecue party, the production team pushed something towards us.

“…?”

A large monitor.

Wondering what they were up to, I looked at it skeptically.

Pop—the screen lit up, and there was my face.

“A wish?”

“Yeah. Something you want to do on the trip.”

“I don’t really have a wish… Oh! I’d like to get some sleep.”

“Sleep?”

“Yes. I’ve been having trouble sleeping because of a song I’ve been working on.”

I looked truly exhausted on the screen.

Perhaps touched by this, Bijoo peeled a shrimp with his gloved hands and offered it to me.

But why show this?

Is there more to come?

As I pondered, the interview continued to the latter part.

“Well, if I had to wish for something, it would be for the younger members to enjoy this trip.”

I could sense a pause from those beside me.

“Lately, the pressure for success has been intense. It feels like we’re sinking if we don’t race at 100 km/h. Resting seems to stress us out more than working.”

“That must be tough.”

“People tend to conclude that if an album doesn’t do better than the previous one, it’s a failure.”

The younger members and the broadcast staff nodded in agreement.

“I don’t know if it’s because of that, but lately, it seems like the younger members can’t really relax.”

“So, you want them to relax on this trip?”

“Yes. I hope they can rest easy.”

It was somewhat embarrassing.

The younger members scratched their cheeks, and I just sipped my drink awkwardly.

On the screen, I began to talk about the members.

“Jiho loves gaming. Honestly, he’s so bad at it that I wonder why he even plays, but he’s full of determination.”

The production team burst into laughter.

Bijoo chuckled and patted Jung-hyun’s back, while Jiho grimaced.

“The guy who quits at the game tutorial is calling me a noob.”@@novelbin@@

I moved on from explaining about Jiho.

“Rihyuk is more delicate than he appears.”

“More than he looks?”

“Yes. Almost fragile as glass, so we really have to accommodate him when it’s just the members.”

I avoided Rihyuk’s glowering gaze.

“But he’s surprisingly resilient. A couple of rounds at the folk village, a photo at the Jusangjeolli Cliffs, and he’ll be so happy he’ll pass out. His diary entry that night will be incredibly long.”

“What’s this? How did you know I was writing in my diary?”

In truth, I wasn’t sure if I was actually writing or not, but if someone gets defensive over such a topic, it’s a sure sign they are. That friend of mine.

The production crew burst into laughter.

As Rihyuk clutched his head, the younger members clapped and laughed along.

“Jung-hyun likes active things. But at heart, he’s a nature lover, so he’ll enjoy anything in Jeju Island. Just keep him away from natural monuments.”

“Why?”

“He’ll break them.”

“Ha ha ha… What?”

I opened my eyes wide as if to say ‘seriously,’ while the others nodded in agreement.

When Jung-hyun smiled proudly.

“ Bijoo is truly a kind-hearted friend. The only downside is… he’s excessively polite. Even if he wants something, he’ll give it up if someone else wants it, and then he’ll just smile, seeing them happy…?”

“Ah.”

“I keep telling him not to be too self-sacrificing, but it’s ingrained in him… He’ll definitely say ‘please prioritize what the younger ones want.’ He’s always the last one, so conversely, he’s the one we should take care of first.”

As I said this, the video continued to show me fussing over the younger members.

“Look at me, I’m rambling… Anyway, more than any grand wish, I just hope that by the end of this trip, the younger ones will have had so much fun that they’ll want to go on another one.”

That’s when the video stopped playing.

“Ah, this is really embarrassing.”

“…”

“I was asked to describe each member’s characteristics, and they edited it like this…”

I narrowed my eyes at the director and writers who were avoiding my gaze.

They must have been planning to overlay sentimental subtitles like ‘The Last Night in Jeju Island…’

Feeling embarrassed, I turned to the younger members.

“Hey, don’t get too moved. This is all to keep you in better shape…”

Just as I was about to continue.

“Guys?”

I was taken aback by the sight of the younger members silently crying.

Inside the tent.

As I lay down in my sleeping bag, the production crew came to collect the cameras.

“If you feel unwell, will you go inside and sleep? We can just shoot the waking up scene separately in the morning.”

“I’m fine!”

“Alright. Contact us immediately if anything happens.”

“Okay!”

After the writer zipped up the tent with a zip sound.

The caterpillars wriggled and cuddled up next to me in the middle.

“There, there.”

“Did you always have such admirable thoughts?”

“Good boy. Good boy.”

I rolled my eyes at the younger members treating me like a little kid, but I couldn’t help but laugh.

They looked like tadpoles with their puffy eyes.

“Why did you cry over this?”

“I didn’t cry. The acting was just spicy…”

“Rihyuk cried the most!”

“Hey!”

I laughed and turned away.

“Did Jung-hyun really cry? Or were those tears just to digest?”

“I’m not a crocodile, brother.”

In the darkness, a giant tadpole showed its sullenness.

A fluffy atmosphere.

The tadpoles seemed pleased with my earlier pre-meeting video, rubbing against each other with giggles.

While peeling them off one by one, I asked Bijoo, who was looking at his phone.

“ Bijoo, what are you doing?”

“Oh, I just remembered something. It wasn’t meant to be shared right now, but…”

“Yeah?”

“The mood seems just right, so…”

What was he talking about?

“It’s about the title track candidate for the next album.”

“The one I wrote?”

“Yes. But besides that, we have a song we wrote thinking of you, brother. Thought it might help.”

It seemed they had created a song with me, the star of the next album, in mind.

My drowsiness vanished instantly.

“Do you have it now?”

“Yes. Want to listen?”

I plugged one earphone into my ear.

“Ah…”

The prelude was laced with the sound of a gayageum.

As the overall Korean-style sound filled the air, I let out an “ah” and continued to listen to the rest of the song for about three minutes.

Four caterpillars were silently watching me, holding their breath.

“I’ve heard it all.”

“…How is it? Bro?”

“It’s good?”

The caterpillars wriggled happily, squirming with delight.

I handed over the earphones with a smile.

“If you finish it all, it’s going to be a real hit.”

“…What?”

“Huh?”

“What do you mean by finished? This is the final version…?”

“What?”

In that moment, my true thoughts inadvertently slipped out.

“The final version? This is…?”

“…”

“…Oh! No wonder it was the final version!”

“…”

I tried to quickly cover up, but it was to no avail.

Ah. What should I do now?

In the darkness, the caterpillars began to squirm menacingly.