Every time we see idol singers adorning various media and spreading K-POP around the world, we’ve all probably thought at least once

“How on earth did they make it?”

Experts cite their visuals or vocal ability, dance skills, or variety-show charisma as the reasons for their success. Of course, that’s not an exact analysis.

There’s no rule that skill must directly translate into popularity.

But it is true that the more talent someone has, the higher their chances of success.

Why am I talking about this?

Because I acquired a talent.

A very special talent that nobody else has.

This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe Episode 1

Chapter 1. I Developed a Strange Ability

“What?”

My head felt numb.

Summoned to the top office of headquarters, I repeated in a dazed voice a piece of news that struck like a bolt from the blue.

“What did you say?”

“It’s exactly what you heard.”

I stared blankly with my mouth open at the Director, who adjusted his glasses with a troubled expression.

“So... you’re telling me to leave the company?”

“I’m not telling you to leave the company. To be precise, I’m saying you’ve been removed from the debut lineup.”

“Why?”

I couldn’t accept it.

“Why am I being removed from the debut lineup?”

“Woo-joo.”

“No, you told me three weeks ago that I was confirmed for debut. You even said the group name was finalized as TNT. And now, all of a sudden...”

“Debuts can fall apart at any time. Woo-joo, this industry works like that. Until you officially debut, nobody is safe. This kind of thing happened all the time with your seniors.”

He wasn’t wrong.

TJ Entertainment.

Often called one of the Big Four in South Korea, TJ Entertainment has debuted numerous prominent boy and girl groups since the 2000s and earned a reputation as an idol training powerhouse.

They’ve produced so many idol groups that last-minute lineup changes were actually commonplace.

But I never imagined it would happen to me.

“I know it’s hard to accept. I understand. But...”

“Is it because of my dancing?”

He didn’t answer, but the silence spoke volumes.

“There was a planning meeting recently and there was a lot of talk. They said the choreography balance seems off. They think debuting like this would hurt the team’s overall image.”

“...”

“The Head of Management and I said let’s watch and see since you have potential, but this decision came from above me, so there’s nothing I can do.”

There was only one person above the Director.

Chairman Park Tae-jun.

CEO of TJ Entertainment and renowned in the entertainment world as having the Midas touch.

When the company’s highest executive decided to cut me from the debut lineup, I had nothing left to say.

“I’m sorry, Woo-joo.”

It felt like the sky was collapsing.

An indescribable feeling.

The company where I had invested nearly six years of my life, the company that was about to debut me, was discarding me.

They were saying I had a defect that made me unsuitable as their product.

My stomach churned.

My face burned with heat and every fiber of my being twisted.

The cucumber I’d eaten for my diet rose in my throat and fell back down.

As I struggled to calm my ragged breathing, the Director looked at me with pity.

“Are you okay?”

What felt most unfair was that I had no rebuttal. What the company said was true.

Trainee Sun Woo-joo.

I had good singing skills, but poor dancing skills, and every month at the evaluation I survived on my looks, according to the rumors.

So being cut for lack of dance ability wasn’t surprising.

But even knowing it was true, I couldn’t help my rising anger.

If this was the case, they shouldn’t have selected me for the debut lineup in the first place.

We’d already taken profile photos, and I’d already moved my things into the dorm with the rest of the debut team, and now they were telling me to leave?

It was infuriating.

“Woo-joo.”

“I’m sorry.”

Tears fell before I realized it, and I poked my eyes with a tissue.

Maybe because the tears wouldn’t stop, they kept coming.

I hadn’t cried in front of anyone since Grandma fell ill.

After a long time, I felt a bit composed, took a deep breath, and sat up.

“Feeling a bit better?”

“Yes.”

The Director’s face was calm.

Of course.

To someone who cuts trainees every month, my tears were probably an everyday sight.

“If so...”

His voice trembled.

“What will happen to me now?”

“You have three options.”

The Director explained.

“First, you drop out of the idol trainee track and move to acting.”

“Acting?”

Why acting all of a sudden?

“This suggestion came from the Management Division. You may lack dance skills, but you have excellent visuals. You photograph well on camera. Many felt it’s a waste to make you an idol.”

The Director smiled, as if to ease the mood.

“Since it’s come to this, how about shifting to acting? We’ve been recruiting actors for years, so we have plenty of know-how. We’ll be producing our own drama soon, and if you choose to do it, the company will fully support you.”

“What’s the second option?”

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

“Another agency?”

“Like Lemon or DNS, companies friendly with us but smaller in scale.”

In other words, mid-tier agencies.

He continued.

“If you don’t like those, well... eventually your only option is contract termination.”

In short, stay and switch to acting, go start over at another company as an idol trainee, or terminate the contract.

I asked.

“If I go to another company, can I debut?”

“That depends on you.”

The Director flashed an ambiguous smile.

He was basically saying start from scratch elsewhere.

I couldn’t help but laugh hollowly.

“Whatever you choose, I respect it, but we hope you’ll move to acting...”

He tried to say more, but I didn’t hear it.

I was in a daze.

Even if the world were ending tomorrow, it couldn’t feel more unreal.

My mind raced with thoughts.

Is this for real?

Am I really being cut from the debut lineup?

What do I tell Grandma?

It’ll be so embarrassing moving my things out of the dorm.

Sun Woo-joo, what have you been doing for six years?

Like vines from a seed, my thoughts branched everywhere and my head spun.

Finally, when I’d sorted my thoughts enough, I decided.

“Director.”

“Yes. Have you decided?”

“Yes.”

It was a decision I would surely regret later.

“I want to terminate my contract.”

“...Woo-joo.”

“...”

“Hey, Sun Woo-joo.”

“...”

Someone shook my shoulder.

I must have nodded off.

When I came to, a young man was looking at me worriedly from the driver’s seat.

A man wearing glasses.

He looked just like the ghost in the math book I saw as a child, minus the skin color and beard.

Yoon Seok-hwan.

A person who has been involved with me for a long time.

His title was Assistant Manager on the Management Team in charge of trainees.

Concern appeared on his face.

“You okay?”

“Sorry, hyung. I must have dozed off.”

“We’re in front of the dorm. You need to wake up.”

The car stopped in an apartment complex in Gangnam District.

This was the dorm where the boy group TNT, which I had belonged to, lived.

Since the company had terminated my contract, I’d come here to move my things out.

The Carnival driven by Seok-hwan hyung was the company’s final courtesy.

“How ironic.”

“What is?”

“When I was confirmed for debut, it felt like paradise. Now it feels like I’m standing at the gates of hell.”

Seok-hwan hyung couldn’t reply.

“What about the others? They’re not in the dorm, right?”

“At this hour, they’re all at the training center.”

“Right, they’d be busy with choreography practice.”

It already felt like someone else’s story.

They probably thought I’d been called away briefly for a profile shoot or something.

Yoon Seok-hwan pushed up his glasses and asked.

“Aren’t you going to tell anyone and just leave?”

“It’d be awkward.”

“But you two have history. The others would be really hurt. Especially Tae-hyun—when he finds out you left without saying a word...”

“Seok-hwan hyung.”

My voice cracked.

“Sorry, but I don’t have the mental space to worry about how others feel right now.”

“I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry for? I’ll just grab my stuff and go.”

I hopped out of the passenger seat before it got any more awkward.

Floor 17 of the apartment building.

The elevator to the dorm went straight up without stopping once.

“...”

Inside the dorm.

As fitting for an eight-member group, a row of clothes racks filled the living room, covered with clothes.

I hurried to my room and packed.

Since I hadn’t brought all my clothes from home in Gunsan, I didn’t have much to pack.

A family photo of me as a baby with my parents.

A few changes of clothes.

And some unwashed, musty training wear.

As I packed, emotions welled up.

I bit my lip hard to hold back the tears.

Back in the car, trying to hold back the sobs, Yoon Seok-hwan asked anxiously.

“The dorm... do you have somewhere to stay tonight?”

“I’m not sure...”

“Should I let you stay at my place?”

“No thanks. I don’t want to burden your family.”

“I’m living on my own, man.”

“If it’s just you living alone, I’d feel even worse.”

He chuckled lightly at my joke.

“I’m heading back to Gunsan, hyung.”

“Wasn’t your school in Seoul?”

“I quit school to focus on debut.”

The company had tried to stop me, saying it wasn’t necessary, but back then I wanted nothing but debut.

Stupid Sun Woo-joo.

“What about Grandma? Have you told her?”

“Not yet.”

“She must be worried...”

“Worried? She’ll probably curse me out passionately. She’ll be like, ‘You brat, I knew it.’”

Thinking of my grandmother’s thunderous curses made me shiver.

But at least I wouldn’t starve.

Although my grandmother ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) wasn’t a company chairman, she ran an amazing diner and was an excellent cook.

“You really quit for good?”

“Yeah.”

A spring breeze drifted in as I rolled down the window, teasing my hair.

“I think you decided too impulsively. You should take time to think. Idols aren’t the only entertainers. There are so many other paths: acting, modeling...”

“You sound more disappointed than I am.”

“Of course. If I had your face, I wouldn’t be doing this.”

“Am I really that good-looking?”

“Look in the mirror sometimes, man.”

“There are so many handsome and beautiful people in the world.”

Yoon Seok-hwan snorted as if it was absurd.

When I was a new trainee, Seok-hwan hyung was the youngest on the Management Team.

Over six years together, we built a strong bond.

But Seok-hwan hyung rose from junior to Assistant Manager.

I remained a perpetual trainee.

I said with a smile.

“I’m done with show business.”

“Why?”

“Just... reality check time. I’m tired of preparing for this for six years.”

“So what will you do next?”

“I don’t know...”

Because of the warm spring, Gangnam’s streets were crowded with people. Gazing out the window, I spoke.

“I think I’ll try living an ordinary life. Study, get into college, come see the cherry blossoms in spring, maybe fall in love. Go to the military when the time comes.”

“Ugh.”

“Why?”

“Not the military.”

He made the expression of “you’ll know when you experience it,” and I just tilted my head in response.

Before I knew it, the car stopped again.

“We’re here.”

When we arrived at the express bus terminal, Seok-hwan hyung handed me his business card.

“Woo-joo.”

“Yeah?”

“You might be too upset to make the right decision now. You can say you’ve quit idols and everything, but you never know what life holds. So if you change your mind...”

“I just call this number, right?”

“Yeah.”

He smiled and extended his hand.

“Take care. See you again.”

After shaking hands, I got out of the car.

With just my backpack slung over one shoulder, I watched the car disappear in a plume of exhaust, then looked around before entering the terminal.

Everything around me was spring.

People’s clothes, the flowers nearby, everything was spring.

“What a lovely day.”

I looked up at the clear sky and walked into the terminal.

At that moment, I thought to myself

I’d never be involved with idols again.

But that was an illusion.

Because three years later, my life changed completely.