Chapter 251: Chapter 252:

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: Rxel

Chapter 252

The members of Iris widened their eyes.

‘Wow.’

He was really handsome.

They had been too distracted by Woojoo’s face on their way to work, but the senior singer in front of them also looked unreal.

A sharp nose.

Soft lips.

If they didn’t know who he was, they would have exclaimed ‘He’s an actor!’ at his stunning appearance.

“Are you okay?”

Jiho reached out his hand and helped the fallen member up.

“What happened? You’re covered in dust.”

“Th-thank you.”

Jiho, who had been quietly watching the staff who had already left, gave them a cheerful smile.

“I haven’t seen you before, did you debut today?”

“Yes, we… oh right! Greetings! Hey, greetings!”

The seven of them quickly lined up and bowed at a 90-degree angle.

“One, two, three! Hello, we are Iris!”

“Ah, don’t greet me. I’m embarrassed.”

Jiho waved his hand with a shy expression. Somehow, even that gesture looked elegant to Iris.

“Why are you being so formal…?”

Formal?

“Ahem, you don’t have to be so stiff and polite. We’ve only been active for a little over a year…”

“No, you’re our seniors.”

New Black had officially debuted about 11 months ago.

Even if they counted the time since Something, it was only about a year and three months. It wasn’t that long.

But to them, it felt like a distant dream.

To the eyes of a first-year student who had just entered middle school, the third-years looked like seniors. To the perspective of a rookie boy group who had just debuted, every flyer on the hallway seemed impressive.

So New Black was beyond their reach.

Popularity was everything in the entertainment industry.

As of May 2015, New Black was one of the most successful boy groups.

Out of the daily chart of 100 songs, five were New Black’s songs.

They only wished to enter the chart, but New Black seemed far away.

-Today’s two candidates for first place are both New Black’s songs.

They remembered their manager’s words. The songs were so popular that they all made it to the first-place candidates.

They had also talked about ‘A Poem About Yesterday’ while listening to it.

‘Wow. The song is really good. How did they make this?’

The member who had composing skills tried to analyze the song, but soon he started to groan and clutch his head.

As a group with the reputation of being skilled, each member of New Black was also talented.

‘Hey, do you want to try this for our monthly evaluation?’

They had first encountered New Black when they were gaining popularity among overseas fans with ‘Masquerade’.

They had found the song while searching for knife-like choreography.

‘You want me to do this?’

The trainee who was in charge of the main dancer position scoffed at the sight of Bijoo dancing in the air as if he was spinning.

The result was a bunch of patches on his waist and the trainer’s advice to train his core muscles.

The more they watched, the more they felt intimidated by his graceful moves.

The other members were the same.

‘How can they sing this high while doing this choreography?’

Rihyuk, who sang high notes while dancing intensely in Masquerade.

The trainee who was the main vocal complained ‘Just give me one! One! Either dance or sing!’ as he expressed his frustration.

‘This is weird. This rap didn’t look that hard… Don’t mumble? No! He’s just good!’

Junhyun’s rap part was also not easy.

And…

‘Who wants to try acting with changing expressions in the bridge part?’

‘…’

‘No one?’

‘…’

There was no need to mention the part of the person who was standing in front of them.

Acting with expressions was easier said than done. It was not a common level to make it look natural without making the viewers uncomfortable.

They had the same thought as they looked at the handsome man who swept his hair back.

‘He looks like a real celebrity…’

When they practiced Masquerade, they felt like ‘a successful rookie group who debuted with seniors’ at best.

But now, the gap was huge.

The media had a lot to do with it.

Before, they had to search on YouTube and such to see their faces, but now they saw them every time they turned on the TV or used SNS.

They had all kinds of variety shows in their minds: Legendary Song Discovery, History Discovery, and more.

As they thought about it, something popped into their heads.

‘Hmm? Why does he sound different?’

They remembered Jiho’s way of speaking from the shows. It was somewhere between ‘yeo’ and ‘yo’.

He smiled like a mischievous kid and said, ‘Really? For real?’ That was his vibe.

‘Ah!’

They brightened up and came to a conclusion.

‘That must be his broadcast concept!’

No wonder. How could such a nice person be so cruel to his seniors, saying ‘Hehehe! Destroy them all!’ while tormenting them.

They erased the scene of Jiho dressed like a magistrate and Woojoo next to him shouting ‘Yay!’ from their minds. The prisoners and the lowly Junghyun who were dragged away by ropes.

Jiho asked with a smile, “Don’t take what just happened to heart. The people at the station are very busy, so that’s why…”

He whispered with a thoughtful face, “That kind of thing happens a lot when you debut. It’s too hard to care about everything.”

“Yes…”

“We had a lot of that too when we released our first album. Shoulder bumps or curses…”

They felt a moment of comfort as he nodded his head as if to cheer them up.

Then one of the station staff passed by and Jiho bowed his head.

“Hello!”

“Oh, hi Jiho.”

The staff ignored the Iris members who greeted him and only smiled at Jiho before leaving.

Jiho turned his gaze awkwardly.

“The dry rehearsal is starting soon. You’re Iris, right?”

“Yes!”

“Congratulations on your debut, and I hope to see you more often.”

“Thank you!”

He was a sophomore in high school, but he didn’t look like it at all.

They looked at him with moist eyes and said ‘Thank you!’ as he exuded a senior-like aura.

“Hey!”

A sharp and clear voice rang in their ears.

As Jiho made a ‘eek’ expression, a person who showed the end of coldness walked over.

“What are you doing here, bi…”

“I was looking for you, and I ran into them.”

“Yo?”

Rihyuk asked and Jiho quickly nodded his head three times.

“Yo.”

“Ah… yo.”

Their eyes went back and forth as they exchanged words like a code.

“Hello!”

Another loud greeting.

Rihyuk calmed down and smiled after hearing the situation.

“I see. Congratulations on your debut.”

Their eyes widened.

They thought he looked very cold on TV, but he was actually warm in person.

‘So broadcasting is all about concepts!’

As they chatted.

Hmm hmm.

They heard someone humming a song somewhere.

‘…This is it. Deoksoon.’

As the song got closer like a wrestler’s entrance music, two tall figures appeared.

Woojoo and Junghyun.

All the members gasped again.

“Wow…”

They almost said ‘They’re so handsome.’

Their faces were shining like they could draw light instead of faces in a portrait.

The New Black members smiled at their admiration.

“What are you doing here… hmm?”

Woojoo’s eyes turned to the rookie boy group. He smiled and greeted them.

“Oh, you’re Iris, right?”

“Yes?”

They were shocked.

“How did you…”

“I always listen to idol songs when they come out. I liked your title track ‘I Rise’. Red participated in the composition, right? It was experimental and good. Moombahton is not very popular in Korea yet, but…”

He meant to say ‘Good song, fighting’, but the Iris members couldn’t snap out of it.

‘Wow. They know our song…’

They were greeted with compliments on their music video, which was surprising for them.

It wasn’t like he had 25 hours a day. How did he find time to listen to a junior idol’s song?

As they were touched by the wave of emotion, Woojoo said ‘Ah’.

“Am I crazy? Hey, where’s Bijoo?”

“He’s not there?”

“I didn’t see him.”

“Didn’t you guys look for him?”

Woojoo made a strange expression.

“Huh?”

“Huh.”

“Oh… huh.”

While they were murmuring to themselves, Junghyun gave them each a jelly.

A rainbow-colored bear that matched their hair color was placed on their palm.

As he silently handed them out, they felt themselves shrink, and Junghyun smiled warmly.

“Do you want more?”

He was so nice!

They were smiling happily when it happened.

The four members of New Black whispered urgently, and someone walked out of the bathroom slowly.

“…What?”

Everyone’s eyes turned to the bright brown-haired boy.

“Bijoo!”

“Bijoo Hyung.”

Then they started to worry, saying they thought they lost something.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you where I was going. I found my way today. Do you know? If you keep touching the right wall from our waiting room, you’ll find the bathroom.”

Fortunately, the members of Iris didn’t hear the whisper.

“Hyung, I was really worried.”

“Huh?”

“Huh.”

“Aha. It’s a ‘huh’ situation.”

Then Bijoo, who was smiling brightly, looked at them.

After a brief conversation, the members of New Black waved at them.

“See you at the dry rehearsal.”

“Yes!”

They watched the backs of New Black, who walked away in harmony, and their faces went blank.

‘Amazing…’

And their impression of New Black got even better.

“That’s our seat.”

“Oh, yes…”

As they sat in the public hall seats before the dry rehearsal, there was a boy group who told them to move, saying it was their seat.

When they greeted them, a solo singer nodded his head with his ears plugged.

As time passed, the members of New Black felt more and more like angels.

“Good job!”

When the dry rehearsal was over and they returned to the waiting room.

Iris, who was about to return to the waiting room with only a partition, greeted Dream Ticket, who debuted a few weeks ago.

Thanks to some members who were friends since their trainee days, they soon started to chat.

Soon, their topic moved to New Black, who was nominated for first place today.

“New Black Sunbae-nims are so calm and nice! They’re amazing!”

“They’re great, right?”

Dream Ticket, who agreed, tilted their head.

“But calm?”

“Yes?”

The members of Dream Ticket made a face that said ‘they were a million light-years away from calm…’

Then they started to talk to each other.

“When we went to greet them in the waiting room, they were singing The Rose of Sharon Has Bloomed…”

“Jiho Sunbae-nim smiled at us so calmly…”

As the story went on, the gap between the two rookie groups’ perception of ‘New Black’ grew wider.

“…?”

“…?”

As they stared at each other blankly, one of the Dream Ticket members muttered, “What’s going on? They weren’t like that yesterday… Hey, are we talking about the same people we met?”

Woojoo imitated someone and greeted them.

“Hello. I’m Jiho from New Black.”

“Puhahaha!”

“Ah, stop teasing me, Hyungs! I did my best. And when did I ever make a cheesy face?”

Jiho glared at Woojoo, but he just smiled.

“Hmm, our little lamb… Do you want this senior to help you?”

“Yes. Please hold my hand.”

“Then let’s get up by holding this senior’s hand.”

Bijoo offered his hand and played along with the act. Their staff burst into laughter.

“Ah, seriously! So annoying!”

Jiho shook his head in frustration on the sofa and hit the back of his head on the wall. He cried out in pain.

They clapped and laughed.

“Hahaha!”

“Hehehe!”

“Ah, seriously annoying. You’ll see. I’ll…”

“What can our maknae do?”

Woojoo copied the expression of Jiho’s eldest sister and smiled. He flinched and stopped talking.

“…”

Then he seemed to have no idea how to get back at Woojoo and grumbled with a ‘humph’.

While Bijoo calmly comforted him, Rihyuk snickered.

“I thought there were five Woojoo Hyungs earlier. You all had the same smile.”

“I didn’t have the confidence to imitate him, so I kept quiet,” Junghyun said proudly.

Woojoo chuckled.

So that was who they were copying.

He wanted to protest that he didn’t smile like that, but he decided to give up.

“Well, the original is different. He has a force that can’t be copied. It’s not cheesy, it’s more harmful and provocative.”

Woojoo decided not to ask any more.

Instead.

“Jiho, Jiho.”

“Huh?”

“Hyung has something to say~”

“Aaaaah!”

He ran out of the waiting room like a flash. Woojoo grinned.

He remembered the rookie boy group they met in the morning and shuddered.

They were their seniors.

They looked at them with starry eyes as if they had done something amazing.

There was even someone older than Woojoo.

It was fine when they called other people senior, but it felt weird when he heard it. Was it just him? Should he try it on Rihyuk?

“Sunbae-nim.”

“Aaah!”

“Why are you so surprised?”

“Geez, you scared me. Why are you doing that?”

“You’re also uncomfortable when you hear Sunbae-nim, right?”

“Is there anyone who’s not?”

Junghyun started writing rap lyrics on his notebook, saying ‘Your words are awkward, awkward, awkward. If you’re awkward, you’re a turtle’.

That made Woojoo lose his train of thought.

What was he thinking?

He watched the rainbow-haired idol’s debut stage on TV and suddenly remembered something.

Woojoo [Right]

Woojoo [Eunsung, when are you debuting?]

Five minutes later, he replied with an emoji that seemed reluctant.

Kkobong [Hyung]

Kkobong [That]

Kkobong [Know]

Kkobong [Ing]

Woojoo [One more letter and you’re blocked]

Kkobong [I can’t tell you. Sergeant Seon Woojoo.]

What was with his secrets?

Woojoo knew which company he went to. He just didn’t know when.

Sigh Entertainment.

It was a small-scale agency, but it was known as a hidden gem in the industry.

The trainees had good benefits, the company people were nice. They had two successful solo singers with good planning skills.

When Woojoo was in the army, he brainwashed him by saying ‘If you join a company, there are these places’. Luckily, it seemed to work.

But when was he debuting?

He had to create some sense of urgency for him, even if he couldn’t take him to ‘Men Go’.

“No. First of all, among our kids…”

They all pretended to be busy when Woojoo looked at them.

The PD told Woojoo to pick someone to go with him, but he had no idea who to choose.

Just as he was about to choose the genius, the savior of his siblings showed up.

“New Black! We’ll get ready!”

“Yes!”

They ran away like the wind, wearing their mic packs. Woojoo yelled at them.

“Hey, guys! Where are you going? You have to go to the army with your brother.”

Their staff burst into laughter. Minki Hyung, who was checking Woojoo’s mic pack with a smile, asked him, “Do you want to go out as a regular guest?”

“You’re such a joker…”

“The PD said he’s taking recommendations from the public. You just need to have a sense of humor.”

“…”

The color drained from Woojoo’s face.

Friday evening.

As the live broadcast of PBS’s music show ‘Music On’ was about to end, more people turned on their TVs.

–ㅋㅋㅋㅋI’m curious

-Gotta watch this live

-Is it New Black vs New Black???ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Their fans must be happy… so lucky

It was a hot topic in the recent idol scene that New Black had their names on both sides of the first-place candidates.

[Yes, New Black, please come forward.]

MC Jeon Yubin and the girl group members who were the daily MCs made room for New Black.

New Black members looked slightly nervous.

The Soufflés who were watching the show chatted like they were throwing bread crumbs.

-Our babies are a mess

-How are they supposed to stand? They look like lost sheep

-Sigh… I’m eight years old… I’m drunk on their beauty

-Don’t make them weirdㅋㅋㅋ

-Grandma cries just looking at your faces crycrycry

-Today is a real beauty legend update…n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

-Someone develop a skill to make gifs and photocards

On the screen, New Black members were seen biting their lips slightly, or taking deep breaths to calm their nerves.

Soon, the scores were revealed one by one.

The thumbnails of New Black’s ‘Windflower’ and ‘A Poem About Yesterday’ were on both sides.

[Who is the first place today?]

[Yes! Congratulations! New Black!]

Sparkles poured down with a bang.

They shouted their group name as usual, but the members still blinked their eyes.

Then, the MC realized his mistake and shouted again.

[Yes! Windflower!]

[Woww!]

New Black members hugged each other and said ‘woww!’ but soon paused and said ‘…?’

They had a strange expression that said ‘I won, but did I really win…?’

They looked awkwardly happy, as if they were thinking ‘I won, but I didn’t really win, did I?’ Their reaction made both the offline and online audiences laugh.

–ㅋㅋㅋI think I know what they’re feeling and it’s even funnier

-I feel youㅋㅋㅋㅋI won but I lost

-I won but I lostㅋㅋㅋ

–ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-But then, did they win? Did they lose? Was it a tie?

-My head hurts

-They won, right? It’s their album song… or not?

-A tie??

-Shouldn’t we look at it like gold and silver medals?

-That logic is weird… Can you win both gold and silver medals at the Olympics? Did they use shadow clones or something?

While the internet was debating whether they won, lost, or tied for a long time.

On TV, New Black members were showing their bread dance for the Soufflés as a first place celebration.

“Wow, first place!”

“First place!”

“Second place?”

“Second place!”

They were confused for a while whether they won or lost, but they decided to just enjoy the situation.

“Two, three, hello! We are New Black!”

To commemorate having two songs as first-place candidates, they did a live broadcast with the Soufflés for an hour.

They had a really fun time laughing and talking.

They were ecstatic to hear that they ranked first and second, and they chatted excitedly with each other.

When they arrived at the company, they received congratulations from their close colleagues.

“Guys! Congratulations!”

The President also appeared like a genie from a lamp, handing them a card and saying, ‘Eat whatever you want…’ with a sparkle.

They decided to reply to the texts and messages later, and they were about to choose their dinner menu.

That was when they heard another news that was waiting for them.

“What? Our concert venue?”

It was the news that their first solo concert venue had been booked.