Chapter 61
Chapter 61
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: This Life is Space Star 61
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The moment the results were announced, I couldn't help but break into a smile.
“The winners are New Black. Congratulations!”
The DJ and the other guests cheered and clapped.
I had no idea what they really thought inside, but Han Jo and Gi-won were smiling and clapping along too.
I bowed politely and exchanged a glance with Ri-hyeok.
“As I mentioned earlier, the winning team's song will appear three times on next week's song selection chart. Congratulations again. In honor of that, we'll listen to New Black's 'Fireworks' and return for Part 4. Stay tuned to the frequency—”
“—and keep listening!”
We all shouted the sign-off together before taking off our headphones.
What a relief.
I'd come in determined to nail the live segment and the advice corner.
And I'd just accomplished one of those goals.
Sure, it wouldn't have the massive promotional impact of a TV ad.
But having our song play three times on a popular radio show felt pretty significant to me.
As the intro to Fireworks played and I basked in that satisfaction, Jang So-won sunbae, who was tidying up her script, spoke up.
“Fireworks is such a great song. The vibe is so refreshing.”
She said with a smile.
“You must've put in a ton of work making it, huh, leader?”
“Don't even get me started. My eyes were so sunken, it was insane.”
“Nah, it wasn't that bad.”
“It was. You should've seen me back then, sunbae. I barely made it back to the dorm every day. Hyung Jung-hyun had to carry me down from the studio couch so many times after I passed out.”
“No, sunbae, that never happened.”
I tried to do some quick damage control, but Jang So-won sunbae didn't buy it.
She just burst out laughing instead.
“I can't handle you guys. You're always the same every time I see you.”
Her eyes were full of affection as she looked at us.
Up until the ad break, she'd been keeping a professional distance, but now she was the Jang So-won sunbae I knew.
Probably because the advice corner was over.
Part 4 was dedicated to each group separately, so there was no room for bias.
Of course, even in the friendly chit-chat, there were still boundaries.
Not just because the broadcast wasn't over, but mainly because of the funeral atmosphere across from us.
Street Boys were slumped over, flipping through their scripts aimlessly.
There weren't many lines for the Part 4 corner anyway, so the pointless flipping was obvious.
Ri-hyeok's gaze lingered on Gi-won for a moment.
It was an unreadable look.
As I watched quietly, trying to decipher the emotion in his eyes, So-won sunbae spoke up.
“Hey, you guys.”
The two pairs of hands flipping through scripts froze.
Han Jo and Gi-won blinked and looked at Jang So-won sunbae.
Wondering what she might say, Han Jo straightened up tensely, but she smiled at him.
“Why the long faces? Upset about losing the advice corner?”
“Oh, no, sunbae.”
Han Jo gave an awkward smile and waved it off. Gi-won did the same beside him, shaking his head with a “nope.”
The DJ glanced at the camera and propped his chin on his hand, subtly covering his mouth.
“The broadcast isn't over yet. Don't look so down. You've gotta perk up to do well in Part 4. You can't let one loss in the advice corner ruin the live too, right?”
“......Yes.”
“That's right. Don't be so intimidated.”
I was newly impressed by how impressive that was.
I don't think I could've handled it that way.
If I were him, I'd have asked them point-blank the second we met, “So you're the diss rap guys?”
Keeping personal feelings out of business is professional, but acting like that isn't easy.
Especially when you're clearly in the superior position.
Maybe because of the DJ's words, Street Boys perked up a bit from their slumped state.
They started looking at their lyric sheets like sane people again.
Jang So-won sunbae, who had been watching them, turned to us.
“By the way, how'd you prepare for the live stage?”
She nodded toward the guitar case in the corner of the radio booth.
“You brought that, so you're definitely up to something. Another self-composed song this time?”
At the keyword “self-composed,” the two across from us perked up their ears.
“Yeah, it's a self-composed song. We made it pretty recently.”
“Title?”
“Night Sea. Ri-hyeok wrote the lyrics, and I composed it.”
“Oh, so that's what the sheet music was.”
She smoothly pulled out the score peeking from under Ri-hyeok's script.
She started with curious eyes, but soon her index finger was tapping the table.
She was reading the guitar progression.
Maybe because she's a singer-songwriter who composes.
It felt like she'd quickly grasped the core of what I'd made.
“This is self-composed, right?”
“Yeah.”
“You......”
She stopped mid-sentence.
The ad had ended, and it was time for Part 4.
Ri-hyeok looked at her with a “what was that reaction?” expression, but I just shrugged.
Beats me.
And then.
I glanced up to see Han Jo and Gi-won staring at me like I was some bad omen.
I flashed them a bright smile.
* * *
The broadcast, which had felt endless, was now rushing toward its end.
Part 4 corner: “Let Us Hear Your Voice.”
Each team got 15 minutes: 10 for album or music talk, then a live performance for the listeners.
Just like in the advice corner, Street Boys' interview started first.
But something felt off about how they were handling it.
“Your debut title 'Hunger' was co-written by you and JCM, right, Han Jo? What parts did you handle?”
“Yes, with the rap writing......”
Despite his calm demeanor, Han Jo was fumbling his answers.
The questions were mostly about composing, probably written with our composer idol images in mind by the writers.
They'd assumed he'd actually composed and prepared accordingly.
But Han Jo couldn't give proper answers.
Was the Part 3 shock that big?
His company must've drilled expected questions and responses, but he seemed too flustered.
Of course, if Han Jo really had half the credit on Hunger, he'd have answered smoothly and even built his composer image.
It was a shame to watch.
A good answer there would've made him look great.
But that was mild compared to his teammate, who was completely sinking.
“You're the main vocal, Gi-won, right? Hunger has such a strong hip-hop vibe, so there must be some regrets. How will today's live stage make up for that?”
“Uh......”
“Answer quick. Radio's a three-second rule thing—any longer and it's an accident.”
So-won sunbae smoothly lightened the mood with her cheerful tone, and Han Jo jumped in to cover.
But he seemed mentally shaken too.
Maybe the composure was fading as time went on.
They'd been overshadowed in airtime from the start, lost the advice corner, and now couldn't even liven up this last chance at talk.
In that way, Street Boys' time slipped by, and soon they were up for their live.
“......”
Silence hung during the ad.
Han Jo unbuttoned his shirt in frustration and stared at his rap sheet, checking on his teammate beside him now and then.
As a fellow leader, even I felt bad for how much he was scrambling.
Going out on a broadcast with your teammate like that must drive you nuts.
I shook my head and turned to my own member beside me.
“Ri......”
I stopped before saying his name.
Under his long lashes, jet-black eyes were intently scanning the score.
The look he got when he was focused.
Especially right before singing.
He really seemed like a different person sometimes.
Unlike his usual prickly, snappy self, right now he felt like a blank slate.
Like an actor gathering emotions before a scene, Ri-hyeok did this to get into the right headspace before singing.
Prepping to immerse fully on stage.
His face, fixed on the lyric score, flickered with emotions building and fading.
Probably the gratitude we'd talked about beforehand.
Now he was even smiling faintly.
A question I'd been wondering about for days suddenly popped up.
Who the heck is it?
The person he's so grateful to.
Thud, thud—
I'd been staring at Ri-hyeok for a while when I finally turned to the Night Sea score.
A dull sound snapped me out of it.
An empty plastic bottle was rolling on the floor.
“Whoops, sorry......”
It was Gi-won, apologizing in a fluster.
He'd dropped it trying to drink.
Realizing it had landed right by Ri-hyeok's foot made him even more panicked.
Ri-hyeok looked up from the floor at him.
Not awkwardly avoiding like in the elevator—this time, he looked straight at him.
With a subtly nuanced expression.
For one second.
Then Ri-hyeok's next move was completely out of left field.
“Here, take this.”
He handed over another water bottle from the table.
With a smile on his lips.
* * *
Why am I like this?
It was a thought he had once a day, and right now, it was swirling in Yoon Gi-won's head too.
“Why am I like this?”
He wanted to do well......
It was his first live broadcast since debut—he should've done better, said even one more thing.
Park Manager had drilled it into him the whole way over.
—This isn't just any radio. Top ratings in the time slot, and this corner gets buzz. Remember that Autumn Girl from last week? The one with the leaf-colored hair, Na-hyun or whatever. She gave good advice and it blew up online as a 'class act' moment. With the live too.
Park Manager had laughed heartily.
—New Black? Come on. They just got fans 'cause they're pretty faces. Do it right, and you'll win easy. Man up, glare like you mean it. Got it?
He couldn't understand the hostility toward New Black.
Couldn't they just get along? Why oppose them?
The diss rap made the least sense.
Why pick on people who weren't bothering anyone?
Gi-won looked at Han Jo.
His leader, face stiff as he checked the lyrics.
“I want to be helpful too.”
When the company demanded a diss rap and the members all refused, he'd taken the villain role as leader.
For the sake of promotion, he'd dissed people he'd never even properly talked to.
Gi-won's gaze flicked over.
The cool-looking guy sat across.
“Would it have been different with that hyung?”
The old memory was still vivid.
Head pounding, face burning, vision pierced by a voice.
Asking what the hell they were doing.
It still amazed him whenever he recalled it.
I couldn't say a word to company people—how did that guy do it?
“If I could be like that hyung.”
If he could've spoken up against the company's pressure, been as confident.
How great would that be.
Unlike him fumbling lines and flailing, that guy calmly claimed airtime while helping his own leader too.
Even cheering him on.
No idea what he wrote on the paper, but it made their leader smile prettily.
That's what I should've done.
“You okay, Gi-won?”
He avoided his leader's caring gaze and nodded silently.
Couldn't meet his eyes.
He felt that guilty.
“What do I do?”
Worried he'd blow the stage, he reached for his water bottle—and it slipped.
Thud—
As eyes turned to him in his panic, a pale hand suddenly appeared.
“Here, take this.”
“......”
The most awkward moment of the day.
Yoon Gi-won awkwardly took the offered bottle.
He'd seen the empty one and given his own water.
Then the guy tapped his own throat.
“Your throat.”
“......?”
“You're tensing your throat muscles too much.”
Ah.
As Yoon Gi-won opened his mouth in a daze—
“Tha......”
“Thanks......”
His voice cracked like a squeak.
Han Jo beside him jumped.
He tossed aside his rap sheet, repeatedly asking if he was okay, and Gi-won kept assuring him he was.
He felt a bit dazed.
“If we'd gone straight into the live like that......”
Terrifying to even think.
If his voice cracked from the first line, the mood would've turned dead serious.
Might've even ended up a laughingstock online compared to the other live.
But thankfully, that wasn't happening now.
Thanks to unexpected help from the opponent.
“It's because of him.”
No clue why he'd helped, but it was definitely tied to the guy he'd come with, Seo Ri-hyeok.
After helping, he'd averted his gaze and focused on his side.
The reason didn't matter.
“Don't mess this up.”
Unlike his earlier flailing, his eyes settled calmly.
Leader looking out for him, DJ encouraging, and now help from the other team.
With the stage set like this, blowing it would be idiotic.
“You sure you're good?”
“Yeah. I can do this.”
He smiled reassuringly at the worried gaze.
For real, this time he believed in himself.
* * *
“Ri-hyeok.”
“Yeah?”
“Why'd you give away your water to some other guy?”
“......”
“Ri-hyeok.”
“......”
“Hyung, I'm thirsty.”
“......”
“Ri-hyeok.”
“Argh, seriously. I'll buy you a whole case after the broadcast, so quit whispering!”