In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe Chapter 1:

Chapter 1

Prologue

Not only do they decorate various dia, but they also make people wonder how they beca idol singers who spread K-POP worldwide.

How did they succeed?

Experts cite visual, vocal, dance, and entertainnt skills as the success factors of these idols. Of course, this is not an accurate analysis.

There is no law that says that skill necessarily leads to popularity.

But it is true that the more talented you are, the more likely you are to succeed.

Why am I telling you this?

Thats because I got a talent.

A talent that others dont have, a very special talent.

Chapter 1 I got a strange ability

Huh?

My head buzzed.

I was called to the top office of the headquarters and asked a question that was like a bolt from the blue.

What did you say?

Its exactly what you heard.

I could only open my mouth blankly at the sight of the director who was adjusting his glasses with an embarrassed expression.

So you want to leave the company?

Its not that I want you to leave the company. To be precise, its that youve been dropped from the debut team.

Why?

I couldnt accept it.

Why did I get dropped from the debut team?

Woojoo.

No, you told three weeks ago that I was confird for the debut team. You also said that the group na was TNT. But now you suddenly

Debut can be overturned at any ti. Woojoo, you know how this business is. No one can relax until they debut perfectly. This kind of thing happened a lot when your seniors debuted.

It wasnt a wrong statent.

TJ Entertainnt.

TJ Entertainnt, commonly known as one of the four major agencies in Korea, is an entertainnt agency that has produced nurous boy groups and girl groups since the 2000s and has earned the nickna of an idol powerhouse in the industry.

Thats why they produced a lot of idol groups and when I saw the cases of the senior groups who debuted from TJ Entertainnt, it was common for the mbers to change at the last minute.

But I didnt think it would be my story.

I know its hard to accept. I do too. But

Is it because of the dance?

There was no answer, but it was enough to be a positive.

There was a planning team eting a while ago and there was a lot of talk. They said the choreography balance didnt seem right. They said it would affect the team color if they debuted like this.

I and the managent director tried to protect you, saying that you were a promising kid, but it was a decision made by my superiors, so I couldnt do anything about it.

There was only one person above the director.

Park Tae-joon, the chairman.

The CEO of TJ Entertainnt and the hand of Midas who is famous in the entertainnt industry.

The top manager of this company decided to drop from the debut team.

There was nothing more to say.

Im sorry it turned out this way, Woojoo.

It felt like the sky was falling.

A feeling that couldnt be explained by anything.

The company that I had devoted nearly six years of my ti to, and that I was about to debut, was trying to cut off.

With the words that I was defective as their product.

I felt nauseous.

The heat rose up to my face and it felt like my internal organs were twisting.

The cucumber I ate for dieting ca up to my throat and went down.

The director gave a sympathetic look as I tried to calm down my rough breath.

Are you okay?

What was unfair was that I couldnt argue at all.

Because what the company said was true.

Trainee Seon Woojoo.

A trainee with good singing skills, but lacking in dancing skills, who always survives by his face in the monthly evaluations.

It wasnt strange to be eliminated for that reason.

But even if that was true, I couldnt help but be angry.

They shouldnt have picked for the debut team in the first place.

I took profile pictures, unpacked my luggage at the dorm with the debut team mbers, and now theyre telling to leave?

It was infuriating.

Woojoo.

Im sorry.

I grabbed a tissue and dabbed at my eyes, which were streaming with tears without realizing it.

Maybe it was because I had burst into tears once.

The tears kept coming.

It was the first ti I had cried in front of soone else since my grandmother had been sick.

After a while, I felt a bit calr and took a deep breath. I sat down quietly.

Are you feeling better now?

Yes.

The director had a calm expression.

Well.

He was soone who cut off trainees every month.

My tears must have been a common sight for him.

So

My voice was choked.

What will happen to ?

You have three options.

The director explained.

First, you can quit the idol trainee program and switch to the acting departnt.

Acting?

Why acting all of a sudden?

This is an opinion from the managent departnt. You have poor dancing skills, but you have excellent visuals. You also have good cara presence. There was a lot of feedback that your visuals were too good to waste on being an idol.

The director smiled, trying to lighten the mood.

How about switching to the acting departnt since its co to this? Weve recruited a lot of actors over the years and we have a lot of know-how now. Were going to produce our own drama soon. If you agree, were willing to support you a lot from the companys perspective.

Whats the second option?

If you still want to be an idol, we can connect you to another agency.

Another agency?

Lemon or DNS, for example. Theyre smaller agencies, but theyre close to us.

In other words, they were dium or small agencies.

He continued.

If you dont like these options, well the only thing left is to terminate the contract.

In the end, he was telling to choose one of three things: stay and switch to the acting departnt, go to another agency and prepare to be an idol trainee, or terminate the contract.

I asked.

Can I debut if I go to another agency?

That depends on you.

The director gave an ambiguous smile.

He was basically telling to start over from scratch at another agency.

I let out a bitter laugh without knowing it.

Ill respect whatever you choose, but wed prefer you to go to the acting departnt

The director said sothing, but I didnt hear it.

I was just spaced out.

I couldnt feel more detached from reality even if the world was ending tomorrow.

All sorts of thoughts flooded my mind.

Is this really happening?

Am I really getting cut from the debut team?

What am I going to tell my grandma?

How am I going to face the others when I pack my stuff from the dorm?

What have I done for the past six years, Seon Woojoo?

My thoughts branched out like a stem sprouting from a seed, making my head a ss.

When I finally sorted out my thoughts, I made a decision.

Manager.

Yes. Have you decided?

Yes.

It was a decision I would surely regret later.

Ill terminate the contract.

***

Joo.

Hey, Seon Woojoo.

Soone shook my shoulder.

I must have dozed off.

When I ca to my senses, I saw a young man looking at with concern from the drivers seat.

A man with glasses.

He looked like the ghost from the book I read when I was young, minus the pale skin and beard.

Yoon Seok-hwan.

He was soone I had known for a long ti.

His title was the deputy of the managent team that handled the trainees.

His face showed a worried expression.

Are you okay?

Sorry, hyung. I guess I fell asleep.

Were here. You have to get up.

The car stopped at an apartnt complex in Gangnam-gu.

This was the dorm of the boy group TNT that I belonged to.

I ca here to pack my stuff after terminating the contract with the company.

The Carnival that Seok-hwan hyung drove was the last courtesy from the company.

Its funny.

What is?

When I was confird to debut, I felt like I was in heaven, but now I feel like Im at the gates of hell.

Seok-hwan hyung couldnt say anything.

Where are the others? Not in the dorm?

Theyre all at the training center at this ti.

Right, they must be busy with the choreography practice.

They already felt like strangers to .

They probably thought I was gone for a while for so profile shooting or sothing.

Yoon Seok-hwan adjusted his glasses and asked.

Are you really not going to say anything to them?

Itll be awkward for both sides.

But youve been together for so long, theyll be hurt. Especially Taehyun, hell be

Seok-hwan hyung.

My voice was choked.

Im sorry, but I dont think I have the energy to care about anyone elses feelings right now.

Im sorry.

What are you sorry for, hyung. Ill just pack my stuff quickly and get out.

17th floor.

The elevator went straight up to the dorm without stopping.

Inside the dorm.

As expected of an eight-mber group, there were hangers lined up in the living room, and clothes were piled up on top of them.

I quickly went into the room and packed my stuff.

I hadnt brought all my clothes from my hotown in Gunsan yet, so I didnt have much to take.

A family photo I took with my parents when I was a kid.

And a few clothes.

Lastly, so unwashed training suits that slled bad.

As I ca out with my stuff, emotions welled up inside .

I bit my lip hard to stop the tears from bursting out.

I was holding back my tears when I got back in the car.

Yoon Seok-hwan asked with concern.

Do you have a place to stay tonight?

I dont know

Do you want to stay at my place?

No, thanks. I dont want to bother your family.

I live alone, you know.

Thats even worse.

Yoon Seok-hwan chuckled at my joke.

Im going back to Gunsan, hyung.

Wasnt your school in Seoul?

I dropped out to focus on the debut group.

The company told not to do that, that it wasnt necessary, but back then I only wanted to focus on debuting.

Stupid Seon Woojoo.

Did you tell your grandmother?

Not yet.

She must be worried

Worried? Shell probably curse out. Like You son of a bitch, I knew you would do this.

I shivered at the thought of my grandmothers harsh words.

Well.

At least I wouldnt starve.

My grandmother wasnt the president of the company, but she was a great cook who ran a restaurant.

Are you really giving up?

Yeah.

The spring breeze blew in as I rolled down the window, tickling my hair.

Youre being too extre. You should take so ti to think about this. Being an idol isnt the only way to be an entertainer. There are so many other paths. You could be an actor, a model

Why do you seem more regretful than , hyung?

Of course. If I had your face, I wouldnt do this.

Am I that good-looking?

Look in the mirror, man.

There are so many handso and pretty people in the world.

Yoon Seok-hwan snorted as if that was absurd.

When I was a rookie trainee, he was the intern in the managent team.

We had spent six years together, building a strong bond.

But he went from being an intern to a Assistant Manager.

And I was still a perpetual trainee.

I said with a smile.

I dont want to be an entertainer anymore.

Why?

Just. I think Im tired of preparing for this for six years.

Then what are you going to do?

I dont know

Maybe it was because of the warm spring weather, but the streets of Gangnam were crowded with people. I looked out the window and opened my lips.

I want to live a normal life. Go to college, see the cherry blossoms in spring, date soone. And go to the army when the ti cos.

Ugh.

What?

The army never mind.

He made a face as if to say youll see when you experience it. I just shrugged.

By the ti we knew it, the car had stopped.

Were here.

When we arrived at the bus terminal, Yoon Seok-hwan handed his card.

Joo.

Yeah?

You might be too upset to make a good decision right now. You might say you want to quit being an idol or whatever. But you never know what will happen in life. So if you change your mind

I can call you at this number, right?

Yeah.

Yoon Seok-hwan smiled and reached out his hand.

Take care. See you again.

After shaking hands, I got out of the car.

With a backpack on my shoulder.

I waved at the car that left a long trail of exhaust.

Before I entered the terminal, I looked around.

Everything was spring.

The peoples clothes, the flowers around, everything was spring.

Ah, the weather is nice.

I looked at the clear sky and entered the terminal.

Thats when I thought.

I would never have anything to do with idols again.

But that was my mistake.

Three years later, my life turned upside down.