In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

Chapter 380

“Did you watch the video?”

“Yes, thank you so much, PD-nim.”

“That’s a relief.”

A voice of relief came from the other end of the phone.

“It made me feel so good watching it.”

“...”

“Actually, I couldn’t really remember my mother’s face. I’ve seen photos, but strangely, I couldn’t recall her smiling expression or her voice.”

But after watching the video yesterday, it seems to be coming back to me, little by little.

“My grandmother loved it too. She said she’s going to watch it every night. She’s so grateful to you, PD-nim, she wants to send you some side dishes.”

Only then did I hear laughter from the other side, which had been silent until now.

“Just tell her I appreciate the thought.”

“Yes, I told her you probably wouldn’t accept it, but she insisted... Still, if you ever need any side dishes, please let me know.”

“Okay.”

I whispered, ‘It’s really delicious,’ like a secret, and Ha Seung-ju burst into laughter.

Then he said,

“Right. I actually have some good news.”

“Good news?”

“The video I gave you. That’s not all there is.”

“What?”

My eyes widened in surprise.

“Is there more?”

“I filmed quite a bit more than I thought. It’s on videotape, so I’ll have to check the content, but there should be a considerable amount from that time.”

Without realizing it, my cheeks flushed with excitement.

My heart raced with anticipation.

I never knew that the habit of preserving memories through photos and videos would come in handy like this, the other party joked.

“Really, this is the best news I’ve heard recently.”

“I’ll extract the video and send it to you.”

“Thank you so much.”

I bowed deeply into the air, expressing my gratitude.

The other party, who had been chuckling at my happy voice, changed the subject.

“By the way, how’s the songwriting going?”

“I’ve been working on it, but it’s not going well. I’m not sure what the solution is that the director and you mentioned.”

“It’s difficult.”

“Well, I’ll keep thinking about it in between schedules. And...”

I kicked the floor of the studio with my foot, spinning in my chair.@@@@

The studio scenery whirled before my eyes.

“After watching the video of my parents, I thought about writing a song...”

“Do you want to try making one?”

“No, I’ve already written it.”

“...Already?”

He fell silent when I said it took about three hours.

If I could see his face, he’d probably be blinking in surprise.

He laughed heartily at my quick work.

“I was thinking of including the song I wrote about my parents as a track on the album.”

“That’s a good idea. Especially since you’re the main focus of this album.”

“I’ll send it to you later, could you please give it a listen?”

“Of course. That’s what I’m here for.”

After a long conversation about the track and album consultation.

As we were wrapping up the call, I asked in a pitiful voice.

“PD-nim.”

“Yes?”

“Could you give me a hint about revising the title track...”

“I’m hanging up.”

“Ah...!”

The call ended with a click, and I wrinkled my nose in frustration.

While continuing to work on the unresolved song.

With a 3-night, 4-day reality shoot in Jeju Island approaching, we quickly went through the remaining schedule.

Mostly it was for commercial shoots.

These were the ads that came in during our small theater and Japan tours.

We did some minor video shoots and posters for print in between, but the major commercials were all scheduled for now, after the Japan tour.

“Hello! We are New Black!”

“Wow!”

As the crew’s applause greeted our arrival, it seemed they were trying to boost the model’s spirits for a successful ad shoot.

“Ha-ha-ha! The atmosphere is just too good!”

“Right?!”

Our excitement bubbled over as we danced and bounced to the rhythm, but the applause soon faded. Perhaps our enthusiasm was a bit too much. Wonseok, with a gesture for us to tone it down, drew a decrescendo in the air, and we followed suit, calming down. The staff seemed relieved. РаƝo฿ĘS

“Please take good care of us during today’s shoot!”

We entered, greeting the lighting crew, the staff, and the advertising agency employees scattered throughout the studio. Their welcome was somewhat overly enthusiastic.

And there, in the waiting room, was a spread of food like a hotel breakfast buffet. Junghyun’s eyes sparkled.

“Is this where I’ll meet my end...!”

“I want to be buried here too, bro!”

We laughed at the fools sharing a joyful high-five.

Then, we all clapped our hands softly and headed towards the food.

Bijoo bent down to look and was delighted.

“Wow. This is really pretty. Look at these macarons, don’t they look lovely?”

“I thought they were decorations.”

“I can’t even bring myself to touch them... I should take a picture for my family...”

At that moment, Junghyun grabbed a macaron and devoured it. Bijoo, holding his phone, pursed his lips and closed his eyes tightly. The one who was trying to be patient began to poke Junghyun’s side with his phone as if seeking revenge.

“You’re really... terrible, Kim Junghyun.”

“It’s meant to be eaten anyway. You should eat too.”

“No, thanks.”

“Red macaron? Blue macaron?”

“Blue.”

Junghyun tossed a blue macaron into Bijoo’s mouth.

Bijoo, munching away, suddenly opened his eyes wide and gave a thumbs up.

Jiho and I, who had been taking pictures with the macarons, reached out for one too.

And then we tasted one.

“...Delicious!”

We sat around in the waiting room chairs, deciding to find out the vendor’s name later.

Rihyuk was savoring the aroma of the hot coffee in his cup, seemingly brewed out of nowhere.

“Wow. This is really good coffee.”

“Is it?”

“It matches the description of good coffee I read in that book.”

“Then it must be good.”

I looked around, convinced.

The flowers, decorations, food, and interior of the model’s waiting room had an air of elegance.

“Duty-free shop ads are definitely different.”

“Yeah. They prepare like this because famous top stars come here.”

The director’s gaze on NewBlack warmed. They were known for their good reputation in the industry, but that was last year’s news.

Thinking about what celebrities who rose to fame quickly were like on set...

“Ugh.”

I remembered the star who threw a fit throughout the shoot a few days ago because the fake flowers in the waiting room smelled like durian. I ended up eating two calming pills that day.

“They were embarrassed by their own fart and made a fuss at us...”

They came unprepared to sing, and we had to urgently find a vocal trainer to get them ready.

Famous individuals were desperate to be cast by any duty-free shop, so we couldn’t say much.

The advertising agency and on-site staff were so anxious in front of the client’s sour face.

But today...

“They’re smiling.”

The client clapped softly to themselves and nodded.

I felt relieved.

Having overheard the conversation with the director, the client looked at NewBlack with great favor.

After monitoring the video...

“Cut! Great work!”

We nailed the scene for the relay jingle in just a few takes.

The meeting beforehand ensured an excellent outcome.

We could have shot more, but there was no need.

However, the NewBlack members monitoring shook their heads.

“Director, sorry, but can we go one more time? I think there was a slight miss.”

“Ah, sure!”

“Okay, we’ll get ready.”

They relaxed their facial muscles and composed their expressions again.

“Ready! Three, two, one!”

The director laughed heartily as we recorded again.

Some models would frown at the suggestion of another take for a perfect cut.

They might not show it, but they often exuded an attitude of ‘Do we really need to go to such lengths for an ad?’

But this time, they were more eager.

As I was enjoying this cheerful mood, the client, followed by a string of advertising agency employees, approached.

“Director.”

“Yes?”

“I just had an idea. The relay song MV ends with just the logo appearing, right?”

“That’s correct.”

“Since we’re shooting today, how about we entrust the final logo to these guys?”

Pointing to the beaming NewBlack members, the client suggested.

“If we add a welcome message from Donga Duty Free at the end, it would be perfect.”

“That’s a good idea. I’ll discuss it with the team leader.”

Soon after, Seo Minki, the team leader in charge of NewBlack, thought it over and gave the okay sign.

As the discussion concluded...

“Cut! Great work, everyone! Ha ha!”

The director’s cheerful voice called for a cut. Yet, his expression while monitoring wasn’t bright.

“I think we can do better, right?”

“Yes. I think we should try one more time, bro.”

“Director, let’s go for another take...”

The director smiled warmly.

“Alright, let’s go for one more...”

His pleased smile was short-lived as he began to notice something off.

“Let’s go for another take.”

“Oh no, I’ve picked up the wrong envelope. Director!”

“Director!”

“...”

As the saying goes, even joy, if prolonged, can turn into pain.

The New Black members were squinting at the monitor, striving for the perfect cut.

“Maybe we can stop filming now...”

“One more time.”

“Yes...”

The director rubbed his eyes, which had become moist.

Was it out of happiness or sadness?

Looking around, he asked the assistant director.

“Hey, Ju-won. Where did the advertiser go?”

“They said they could trust us with the shoot and left for the day.”

“...”

The director laughed out loud.

‘Such dedicated models for an ad shoot.’

That was good.

But...

Why won’t these guys go home?

“Once more!”

The director’s eyes moistened again.

The duty-free shop ad shoot wrapped up without a hitch.

We shot the logo song in the studio, along with print and poster ads to be displayed at the duty-free shop.

We also filmed individual ads for each model.

Then, there were the foundation and cosmetics ads we promoted with Rihyuk, as well as clothing and shoe ads.

We even shot a new ad for a telecommunications company.

To finish, we filmed a public service ad.

[Local Autonomy and Regional Balanced Development!]

[A goal we must achieve, right?]

...and so we shot an ad addressing regional balanced development.

The reason given by the public institution for our nationwide tour collaboration was our hometown.

In fact, the regions we visited have become popular tourist destinations, and their sales have increased.

We received honorary merchant certificates and plaques of appreciation from various regions.

It was an unexpected gain from our small theater tour, along with our improved vocal skills.

As we wrapped up the spring season ad shoots.

“Hello! We are New Black!”

We visited the Yeouido PBS station for our last schedule, a pre-meeting.

PBS headquarters.

The largest partition on the fifth floor belonged to the Entertainment Department, “Mr. Producer.”

A program known as one of the two national entertainment shows, along with Joo Se-han.

It was PBS’s flagship program, and the one where the PD suggested we collaborate during last year’s entertainment awards ceremony.

“How have you been?”

The man with a gloomy expression greeted us.

“I saw Woojoo get drunk on chocolate recently.”

“Ha ha ha!”

“It was so funny. Exactly the character I wanted.”

“Th-thank you... That’s right. Bringing joy is what’s important.”

As we sat down in the meeting room, the main writer handed out binders.

It was the proposal for [Mr. Producer – Idol Debut Project].