In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

I couldn’t watch it all due to time constraints, but I was curious about how it had been edited.

It was understandable, considering:

“It’s been about a month since we shot this, right? It feels like ages since I’ve seen Maeda’s face.”

“Yeah, it does feel like a long time.”

The content had been uploaded a month after filming.

On NewBlackTV’s other video comment section, the question ‘So what’s with the World Channel?’ had become a top comment.

After the account was created, there had been a long period of inactivity, and everyone was curious.

We were no exception.

“I wonder how it turned out?”

“It looks really professional.”

“It really does look like a logo you’d see on a Japanese variety show, bro.”

Just as Bijoo said, it was a logo that would fit right in on a Japanese variety show.

I remembered seeing a similar logo on a Japanese variety show that TNT had appeared on to shoot a TV concept.

From the thumbnail alone, you could sense the perfect localization.

“Wow…”

The moment I clicked on the video, I understood why it took a month of preparation before this video was uploaded.

After the colorful pop art-style caricature opening of the five-member group ended.

A deep and resonant voice of a Japanese voice actor greeted us, “Yōkoso~”

“Amazing. They even hired a voice actor.”

When I turned on the subtitles, Korean translations flowed.

Korea’s five-member handsome idol group! NewBlack lands in Japan!

My face flushed with heat as the narration played over scenes from our Kobe and Yokohama concerts.

While cooling my hands, chilled from pre-takeoff nerves, against my cheeks, the preview continued.

Maeda, with his face covered by a question mark, entered, and we were surprised.

We burst into laughter at the bleeped-out words of the mystery person, flipping over and over.

-Finally, the grand opening of ‘NewBlack Cafe!’

From there, the footage unfolded just as we had shot it.

What stood out was the excellent direction and editing.

We had planned the content with the intention of creating a TV variety show, but I hadn’t expected such well-executed localization.

“Wow. It’s just like watching Japanese TV.”

“The subtitles even use the exact font.”

From the subtitles to the set filled with vibrant primary colors and props.

There were points I hadn’t noticed during the shooting scattered everywhere.

-Maeda Shin!

When Maeda appeared, his name ‘Maeda Shin’ popped up on the screen along with his profile.

And the narration provided by the voice actor.

Soon after, an interview with Mr. Maeda followed.

-[You’re getting divorced! Definitely!]

Laughter filled the studio and resonated through my earphones.

I had a feeling this would make it into the video.

It was disappointing to stop playback as takeoff approached, but I felt incredibly good.

“It seems like it turned out really well, doesn’t it?”

“The quality seems really good. I think the Japanese fans will like it, and it’ll promote us well.”

“I hope the response is good.”

I had been worried that we might have filmed too seriously and statically, but fortunately, it turned out to be fun.

Will everyone like it?

I’m curious about how they’ll react.

Hoping for the best, I clutched a chicken doll in my hand.

Director Cho, who was reading an article about a famous AI for playing Go, asked from the seat next to me.

“What’s that?”

“Oh, this?”

I introduced it with a squeak.

“This is my takeoff mate, Bruce.”

“…”

“Director?”

As the flight attendant passed by checking on passengers, Director Cho quickly turned his gaze elsewhere.

He seemed to be pretending not to know me.

“Director…”

I whispered and gently squeezed the doll, and Director Cho burst into laughter.

On the idol community forum.

A brief post appeared along with a screenshot.

[NewBlack Creates a Japanese Variety Show]

I had taken a collection of screenshots from a video with Maeda Shin, capturing the key moments.

“Here’s the video link!”

The screenshots, which felt like they were captured from a TV variety show, were followed by a flood of questions.

“LOL, this looks fun, where’s it from?”

“Wow, when did they appear on TV…? Did they go to Japan again?”

[Author] “Huh…? I didn’t go.”

“?”

[Author] “It’s self-produced.”

“???”

The fans, accustomed to idol content, were baffled by the term ‘self-produced.’

“LOL, what did I just watch?”

“Self-produced?? This??”

“I just noticed ‘created by’ in the title LOL”

“What is this now?”

“LOL, I didn’t realize until the video ended, there was no sense of discomfort.”

“It looked so natural LOL”

“Looking at it again, there’s actually a channel logo that says ‘New Black World.’”

Even those who had been fans for a long time were momentarily fooled by the perfect quality.

“Isn’t that voice actor someone I know…?? The boycott seemed a bit much, how did you manage to cast them?”

“Money.”

“I couldn’t resist when I saw Kyuho wearing a money wig and headbanging right in front of me.”

“LOL, look at those fancy subtitles.”

The vibe was just surreal, like it was straight out of a true story, LOL.

Laughter erupted among those who watched the content as they talked about its quality.

At first, the pupil dilation was hilariously shocking, ROFL.

Bald Guy: Where am I…?

LOL, the twist! Why is the old man so funny, LMAO!

You’re getting divorced!!! Definitely!! LOL, I burst into real laughter watching this.

Ah, seriously, this is the hardest I’ve laughed all year, my jaw is shaking from too much laughter.

Initially, it felt like a sane person visiting a madhouse, LOL, but it turned out I was the craziest one there.

Why the heck did you have pupil dilation??

The bald guy is really likable, LOL, look at him giving advice.

Seriously, his advice is solid gold… Character, skills… he’s got it all, except for hair.

I’d love to see Kyuho and him do a friendship shoot… They seem like they’d become true friends.

Throughout the broadcast, there was non-stop chatter about Shin Maeda and the New Black members.

LOL, when Sunwooju was pulling a scam, I watched with wide eyes too.

Dice rolling = not random??

Brazenly says in Korean, ‘This is what we call ‘chance,’’ Sensei, LOL.

This place is a scam haven.

Wow, but seriously, everyone speaks Japanese so well, for real.

Japanese fans are tweeting about how admirable the kids’ efforts are… saying they’re so cool.

New Black is good at everything except being unfunny.

But as a Japanese person myself, watching this really makes them likable.

Yep, they show proper respect to senior singers, but it’s clear they seriously regard them as artists too.

I found myself desperately wanting to get entangled with NewBlack… (just the faces, not the actual body).

This meme that started in an idol community was quickly spreading to other communities.

“Everyone should stay away from alcohol.”

(The video of Maeda Shin shouting, “You’ll definitely get divorced!”)

LOLLLLLLLLLLLLL

What is this even?

ROFL, this is hilarious!

Who’s this bald guy? So funny!

When did NewBlack go to Japan? LOL

But it’s true… loving alcohol can ruin a marriage… real talk… don’t ask me how I know…

Did you get divorced?

Jerk!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

I have no idea what this is, but I gotta check it out LOL

Maeda Shin’s legendary quote had become a meme and was spreading like wildfire.

A meme with a perfect expression and bold captions.

While “The hot meme of the bald guy from his handsome days” was getting attention, his remarkable quotes were also gaining popularity.

List of wise sayings from the currently hot ‘Bald Master’:

(Screenshot collection)

Drinking = Divorce

Beauty doesn’t come back (feat. Eyes, nose, and mouth are precious ecosystems)

Stay away from romance; a career is forever

+Below are memes barely containing NewBlack’s laughter

Heyyy, NewBlack, why are you taking notes over there?

(Meme of a dictator taking notes) Must… resist… romance…

How did NewBlack manage to keep a straight face? LOL

“Eyes, nose, and mouth are precious ecosystems,” but why do I look wrecked from the start?

That’s because you’re not good-looking, nothing can be done about that, sorry…

Crossing the line first thing in the morning, you jerk!

Give me a chance to fix my looks first LOL. They say beauty doesn’t come back, but it has to arrive before it can be sent away…

But isn’t this true not just in entertainment but also in sports? Think about all the recent contract breaches…

It’s so funny every time Mr. Bald tries to hold back his laughter. Reminds me of that meme of the most respected person from elementary school.

When the meme “Stay away from romance, a career is forever” became a hot topic in communities of baseball and soccer fans.

The statement was also trending among sites filled with fans of celebrities.

Advice from Bald Maeda Shin that I want to share with my singer/actor:

(Screenshot collection)

This is the hot talk of the moment from Bald Maeda Shin.

It makes you smack your forehead.

Seriously, this advice is gold. How does he know so much?

(Photo of Maeda Shin from his handsome days)

He’s a living witness…

If anyone wants to argue, they should take a look at that head of hair first.

But it’s true though, damn…

Those who don’t understand what that person is saying are truly enjoying their blissful fandom.

“Are you watching this, Gu-oppa, the drunk driver?”

“But hey, it’s not Shin the Bald, it’s Maeda Shin… Are you Satan?”

As Maeda Shin’s remarks circulated among fans of various fields, Japan—the main target of this content—was also reacting.

While the soufflés of Japan were leaving their impressions on social media, even the general public, far removed from the idol scene, were reaching the video through algorithms.

“Hmm…?”

Eriko Kawasaki, a 43-year-old housewife, was baffled by a video she had never seen before.

“What’s this?”

She had been searching for old songs and performance videos when suddenly, a strange video appeared.

As she moved her mouse to close it with the [x] button…

“That voice sounds familiar.”

It was a very husky voice, but one she remembered.

Hovering the cursor over the playback bar on MyTube, sure enough, there was a familiar face.

“It’s Maeda Shin.”

He was a singer she had enjoyed during her school days, one with a considerable fanbase.

Now, he regularly featured in magazines’ ‘Top 10 Washed-Up Singers’ lists.

And then…

“New Black?”

The name was familiar for similar reasons.

Like Maeda Shin, but not in a good way.

“…Hmm.”

Wasn’t he called Korea’s national singer?

Every time she heard his name on TV, it carried a bad vibe.

There was that controversy caused by his fans during his recent visit to Osaka.

For a moment, she narrowed her eyes in natural association.

But as she smiled at the visuals that were a feast for the eyes, her mouse cursor drifted away from the browser’s [x].

“Hmm-hmm.”

The diverse visuals gathered like a French dessert set naturally drew a smile.

After a minute or two, she was immersed.

Maeda Shin himself was commenting on songs popular in the ’80s and ’90s.

There were even live performances that one couldn’t see without paying.

It felt like a trip down memory lane.

And then…

“Ah. So this is why he became famous in Korea.”

She was amazed by New Black, who arranged and sang Maeda Shin’s hidden hits on the spot.

It was a refreshing shock.

Given his visuals that would naturally attract fans even if he just breathed, she had assumed his talents would be mediocre.

“Amazing…”

Not just Uju, who was responsible for the arrangements, but the other members were also exceptional, each with their own special skills.

Had they debuted in Japan, the talents who would have scattered as dancers, vocalists, and producers are now gathered in one place.

It’s no wonder they’re doing well in Korea.

I was captivated by the sight of them effortlessly arranging and performing the hidden gem ‘House of the Butterfly’ with Maeda Shin.

Especially Seori Hyuk, as he casually flips his hair.

‘Adorable.’

Despite his usually cold expression, he looks as cozy as a cotton doll filled with warm air when he sings.

Every time he sings, his body seems to inflate and deflate like a tiny bird.

And his voice, how incredibly sweet it is.

“…”

The video’s aftertaste lingered long after it ended.

Eriko typed ‘House of the Butterfly’ into the MyTube search bar, craving to hear the original song whose dreamy melody still echoed in her ears.

While the song streamed from her computer speakers, she searched ‘NewBlack’ on the portal.

‘As expected.’

The internet was filled with stories not much different from the information she usually saw on TV.

But something didn’t add up.

There was a vast gap between the NewBlack she had been listening to with Maeda Shin and the NewBlack she was used to.

She soon realized why.

‘I’ve never actually seen them with my own eyes.’

She had seen their name often through soufflé bread displays at the mart or TV shows.

But she had never actually seen NewBlack.

‘I should watch them again.’

She reminded herself that her curiosity about NewBlack was fleeting as she turned on MyTube.

‘I need to find out which network it was on.’

As she pondered which channel it might have been on, she muttered, “Hmm…?”

She was puzzled by the odd channel name, ‘NewBlack TV World.’

It seemed to be self-produced, not a network show.

With an awkward laugh, she clicked on other Japanese content on the channel.

Meanwhile, she muted the TV talk show with her remote.

[Everyone knows the Korean government is fully backing NewBlack. As you can see, they’ve recently won a government contract for regional development ads…]

The living room fell silent except for the background music from NewBlack’s content.

Minutes and hours passed without her noticing as she became engrossed in the videos.

When the World Channel video led to NewBlackTV.

The buzz of NewBlack’s variety show hitting Japan’s real-time SNS trends caused a stir.

It topped the search trends on the largest portal site, followed by a backlash of negative comments and dislikes.

-Japan is finished now, www. Is sinking all that’s left?

-Why would anyone watch this? It’s a waste of life, a waste of time.

-Aren’t the people writing comments at this time the ones who shouldn’t talk?

-Why do Korean idols look so fierce? Their features are too strong; it’s overwhelming every time I see them.

-They seem to be trying to imitate the friendliness of Japanese idols, but it won’t be easy.

As Koreans read the Japanese comments and wondered, ‘Don’t they know how to diss properly…?’ the more the issue buzzed, the more people’s curiosity grew.

And as the buzz continued to rise.

Maeda Shin’s ‘House of the Butterfly’ began to climb Japan’s music charts.

Unlike online, where only people who disliked NewBlack seemed to exist, offline was experiencing a change.

The reaction to the MyTube video was intense.

The dislike ratio was so high it was hard to tell if it was good or bad.

But the view count confirmed its impact.

“Congratulations, Mr. Maeda! ‘House of the Butterfly’ has climbed the music charts, hasn’t it?”

“What’s there to celebrate? It’s all so bothersome.”

He scoffed during the call to check in.

“When did they treat me like a has-been, and now suddenly they’re calling to see if I’ll appear on TV?”

He bluntly expressed his disdain, and I momentarily pulled the phone away.

Still, he seemed to be in a very good mood.

He was restraining himself, thinking this attention wouldn’t last long.

“The chart I’m on isn’t anything special.”

“Is that so?”

“There are dozens of charts in this country.”

According to Mr. Maeda, Japan has so many charts that it’s not like our country’s ‘Wow! Entered the Mango Chart!’ kind of feeling.

“But it’s still good news. You should be happy, Mr. Maeda.”

“It’s just temporary attention for a has-been. Anyway, that’s not what’s important.”

“Yes, Mr. Maeda.”

“Once again, heed my advice…”

I had listened to the teacher for about 30 minutes.

After promising to send regards next time, I ended the call and continued browsing the internet and YouTube.

The youngest one, looking at the tablet PC, said, “No matter where I go, I see Maeda’s face. It must have made quite an impact.”

“It makes sense.”

In various corners of the Korean and Japanese internet, ‘I’m getting divorced! Definitely!’ had become a cult meme.

Bijoo asked, “But is Maeda okay with this? Didn’t he say he prefers not to mention personal matters?”

“It seems the production team asked him first, and he gladly gave permission.”

He seemed to enjoy the internet fame more than his hidden hit song climbing the charts.

The reaction was unexpectedly huge.

I thought it would just be a minor topic of conversation after a quiet YouTube video upload.

Thanks to the help of Japanese netizens, it became a big issue.

“How many dislikes are there? If only they were all money…”

“Wow, that sounds like something an old person would say… Ouch!”

Rihyuk, who had been smirking at Jiho, said, “These people are fools. It’s much scarier when they don’t pay attention. This way, people get curious and search more.”

“Maybe this is the dark soufflé.”

We all burst into laughter at Junghyun’s words.

It was the perfect expression.

Screaming ‘New Black! Go away!’ like that seemed to pique the curiosity of the public, wondering, ‘What’s this about?’

Of course, I’m not sure how much impact a single YouTube video can have, but if it makes more people like us, that’s a good thing.

The Japanese hate comments filling up the ‘best’ section were annoying…

“There’s a soufflé swearing in Spanish.”

“Here’s one in Russian.”

“Wow, I didn’t know you could swear so vividly in English…”

The comments we saw were so chilling that they made us feel around for our body parts and organs.

Ever since Nine’s music video hit 100 million views, it seemed like comments from international fans had significantly increased.

At that point, I closed the tablet PC and stood up.

“Alright, let’s go to the meeting, you slackers.”

“I want to watch a bit more…”

The siblings dawdled, perhaps because it had been a while since they’d surfed the web.

“The first one to get up is slacker number one.”

“Me! Me!”

Bijoo, who had been lying on the sofa, got up with just core strength, like the protagonist dodging bullets in The Matrix.

Bursting into laughter at the sight of him beaming as slacker number one, I led the siblings to the meeting room on the third floor.

“Hello!”

“Hi.”

The A&R team and the producing team members were gathered, chatting.

The New Black TF team was also there, discussing various topics while looking at their laptops.

Today was the day to select the title song and discuss details like the costume concept.

“Did you rest well?”

“Yes.”

The producing team members greeted me as I took my seat.

“Did you submit the song? The one for this time?”

“Oh, yes.”

“You managed to finish it. You’ve worked hard.”

Producer Na Sang Yoon and the staff patted my shoulder or sent encouraging looks.

“No, I mean…”

I hesitated to speak when the composers, with a knowing look, said, “You were quite flustered when the songwriting was blocked, right? But it’s okay. Everyone goes through this at least once.”

“To think I’d live to see the day Sun Woo Ju gets stuck on a song.”

“You might worry it’s a slump, but sometimes these things happen.”

I was at a loss for words, touched by the sincere comfort from the senior composers.

“I…”

My words failed me.

Jiho and Rihyuk started laughing and then fighting, while Bijoo and Junghyun quietly cheered me on.

Why did I feel so suffocated?

“Has everyone been well?”

The CEO appeared with Director Jo and the head of the department.

Once everyone settled down, Director Jo brought up the topic of blind voting.

We were about to conduct a blind vote to select the title track. The songs would play randomly. Each of us was to choose our two favorites to advance to the final round of voting.

After everyone nodded in agreement, a solemn silence filled the conference room before the first song began to play.

“Ah…”

It was a disastrous start.

My younger colleagues unconsciously turned to look at me, and I barely managed to move my lips.

The producing team members sitting opposite seemed to notice the shift; they glanced down, a gesture of consideration for my embarrassment.

For a moment, I tried to maintain a serious demeanor, nodding along to the intro.

But within 10 seconds, the producers’ expressions transformed into one of shock, their heads snapping up with a ‘!!!’.

Silence.

The rookies’ eyes began to blaze with indignation.