Chapter 324: Chapter 325:

We had just finished our makeup and styling in the waiting room of the gymnastics stadium and climbed into the vehicle.

“Brr, it’s cold.”

It was November, and the weather was unforgiving.

Dressed in suits, we all flapped our hands to warm up while checking each other.

Rihyuk recited a list from his smartphone.

“Sneezing medicine.”

“Taken!”

We shouted, fists raised.

“Runny nose medicine.”

“Taken!”

“Thermal underwear.”

“Worn!”

“…There’s no need to answer with your fists raised.”

“But that’s-”

We looked at each other.

“-our spirit!”

We all answered with our fists raised again, and Rihyuk shook his head, slipping the smartphone back into his pocket.

“Anyway, with this, we’re perfectly prepared. No runny noses on the red carpet now.”

“Hey, if anyone feels like dripping, do it now.”

“Hold on.”

The youngest, with a tissue to his nose, snorted then showed an OK sign.

“All clear.”

“Well done.”

“Phew, we can’t suffer the embarrassment of last year again.”

Our meticulous preparations were because of last year’s Mango Chart Awards.

The red carpet event.

A sneeze and a sniffle there had made the headlines all about our runny noses.

That’s why this time, we were fully prepared.

“Don’t get so solemn over just one runny nose pill.”

Ignoring someone’s comment, I looked outside.

Guided by the staff holding torches, the vehicles moved one by one towards the red carpet.

The distant cheers of people were faintly audible.

“Time really flies.”

Bijoo, using his phone as a mirror to fix his bangs, said.

“Last year, when we came here, I wondered if this time next year would ever come, and now it’s already November.”

“Indeed. It’s winter.”

The thought that another year would pass in just two months felt strange.

Perhaps because of that thought, the faces of my younger brothers suddenly caught my eye.

Thanks to the camera massage, they all seemed to have that celebrity aura.

I couldn’t help but admire Jung-hyun, who, like a spy in a spy movie attending a party, was adjusting his bow tie with one hand.

“The jelly is good.”

His image, munching on bear-shaped jellies, shattered immediately, but still…

“Jung-hyun.”

“Yes?”

“Can I have one too?”

“I’ll give you two.”

I took the transparent and red gummies and chewed thoughtfully.

Is it the sweet taste?

The tension in my body, stiff as a board, seemed to ease slightly.

During the rehearsal earlier, I wasn’t that nervous, but now that I’m actually here at the awards, I feel a flutter of excitement mixed with a touch of anxiety. Ṝ�

It’s my second year.

I’ve moved on from being a rookie in my debut year to receiving a report card for a year’s work as a professional singer.

“Hey, Woojoo looks nervous. That’s his nervous face.”

Jiho asked.

“Are you nervous, hyung?”

“A bit.”

Then he grabbed my hand abruptly.

I thought he was trying to melt the anxiety with his warm intention, but…

“Since you’re nervous, take some of mine too.”

“…”

“Do you want to join in, Rihyuk hyung, and Bijoo hyung?”

“…”

“Then me too.”

As they placed their hand on mine, I could only offer a hollow laugh at their attempts to ease my tension with playful jests.

It was then that Rihyuk spoke up.

“Why are you so unnervingly tense?” he asked.

“Just a bit nervous,” I replied with a smile.

“You know that feeling, right? When you’ve finished all the problems, closed your exam booklet, and you’re doing the rough scoring, shouting ‘Wow!’ without knowing if you’ve actually done well.”

“I get what you mean.”

“It’s a bit like that. A mix of nerves and excitement.”

With that, I gave the youngest a reassuring smile.

“Of course, someone who scores 69 wouldn’t understand this feeling.”

Silence.

The youngest, who had been trembling, suddenly burst out, “I can just retake the test, right?” causing everyone to erupt in laughter.

Rihyuk chimed in again, “I think I get what you’re saying. I’m feeling a bit jittery too.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I couldn’t sleep much last night. Too anxious. Not sure if I’ll make it or not.”

Excluding one unusually calm individual, it seemed the other younger ones felt similarly.

It was inevitable.

Even as a child, receiving a single ‘Good Kid’ sticker was enough to excite anyone.

This was, after all, the first awards ceremony since we started our careers.

My heart was pounding.

As I was lost in these thoughts, the car slowly began to move.

“Guys, get ready.”

“Okay!”

I exchanged glances and smiled with my siblings.

“Now.”

We all reached out our hands together.

I shouted with a laugh, “Flip it over~ Turn it upside down~”

“Up!”

“Down!”

Rihyuk, the only one with his palm facing down, wore a proud smile and was the first to prepare to get off.

The vehicle door slid open with a rumble, and the sound of camera shutters began to pour in. Dressed in a suit, Rihyuk elegantly stretched out his leg.

Screams erupted.

And with it, the murmuring of countless people blended into the air.

“It’s Button! That guy Button!”

“…”

“It’s New Black! It’s Fade Denim, right? Fade Denim?”

Following behind, we couldn’t help but smirk.

In front of the gymnastics stadium.

The place was filled with noisy sounds amidst the ongoing red carpet event.

“Wowww!”

The screams pouring out towards New Black made even the reporters on-site flinch.

New Black, waving to the press in front of the ‘2015 MCA’ photo wall, was a boy group that posed in formation effortlessly, without any need for instructions.

With each pose, loud cheers followed.

“Wow, these guys are seriously popular.”

“Were all these their fans?”

The reporters’ eyes sparkled with surprise.

Most of the gathered crowd were thought to be fans of TNT or Teen Spirit, but it seemed not.

The number was significant.

Among them were faces that clearly looked like they had come from overseas.

“Wow…”

Amidst such a heated response, the male and female MCs conducting the red carpet event exchanged smiles.

Announcer Chae Ji-eun lowered her microphone and said, “This is no joke.”

“Seriously. What a cheer…”

Especially Andrew from Daydream, who was hosting the red carpet for the second year in a row, widened his eyes in astonishment.

‘I’ve been hearing their name a lot lately.’

They were the hottest rookie group last year.

Idols like ‘Wind Flower’ and ‘Nine’ had secured their spots at the top of the charts.

And recently, I had seen the news that they had made it onto the Billboard Hot 100 with the OST of Nostalgia.

“I’ve finally made it to the top,” I thought to myself.

Even from the crowd’s reaction, I could feel the offline energy pulsating through the air.

This year’s response from the fans, exclaiming “So handsome!” was markedly different from the subdued reactions of NewBlack’s fans last year.

Andrew from Daydream felt a strange emotion watching the quintet walk with a newfound ease, a stark contrast to their rookie days.

“NewBlack! NewBlack!” the fans chanted, their voices rising above the din.

Like a mother guiding her child, the members steered one who had wandered off, waving his hand in the wrong direction, back to the group.

Laughter spilled from the crowd.

Famous for his poor sense of direction, the photographers eagerly snapped photos, transmitting them instantly.

“Welcome, NewBlack!” the announcer greeted.

The five handsome members of NewBlack bowed deeply, their backs at a perfect right angle.

“One, two, three, hello! We are NewBlack!” they greeted in unison, and the crowd erupted in cheers.

Andrew smiled and commented, “The cheers are incredible. It’s like the term ‘hot’ was made for this moment.”

“Thank you,” they replied.

“I’m not sure how well the audio is capturing this, but the warmth of the cheers is reaching us up here.”

While Andrew spoke about NewBlack, the announcer asked, “You’ve really heated up this year. With ‘Windflower’ topping the charts in the first half and the music video for ‘Nine’ surpassing 50 million views, we’ve heard your international popularity is soaring!”

Woojoo, holding the microphone, answered, “Yes, we’ve been feeling it firsthand during our international tour.”

The members of NewBlack smiled and responded one by one to the MCs’ comments.

But something was different today.

They seemed more subdued.

For any other group, a calm interview would be normal, but not for NewBlack.

“Is it just me, or is the atmosphere a bit different today?” Andrew inquired.

“Oops,” they all gasped, eyes wide, eliciting laughter from the crowd.

Jiho, taking the microphone, asked, “Is it that obvious?”

“You seem calmer than usual,” Andrew observed.

“Ahh, that’s because…” Woojoo began, a shy smile on his face.

“We’re a bit nervous!” they all exclaimed together, causing the MCs and the audience to burst into laughter.

“Who shouts about being nervous with such energy?” Andrew joked.

“Sorry, it’s an occupational hazard,” they apologized, returning to their composed demeanor.

After filming so much content for MiTube, their reactions had become second nature, they explained with a smile.

Following a brief discussion about simple choreography and multilingual greetings, they mentioned, “We’re currently running an event on the red carpet.”

“An event?” the MCs asked.

“Yes, it’s a relay acrostic poem challenge. We take turns creating lines based on a given word.”

“Wow,” the MCs responded, impressed.

“The TV has been abuzz with NewBlack’s spontaneous composing and lyric-writing…”

“It’s amazing how well you craft lyrics. Shall we expect some quick thinking today?”

“Yes!” NewBlack’s eyes gleamed with competitive fire.

“The prompt is ‘Mango Chart Awards.’”

“Mango Chart Awards…” they pondered.

“Let’s start with RiHyuk,” the MCs suggested, passing him the microphone.

Before the MCs could continue, the other members of NewBlack shouted energetically, “Mang!”

“You said you were nervous,” Andrew teased.

As Andrew blinked, NewBlack’s lead vocalist began, “My heart feels overwhelmed.”

It all started with a clever twist of words, turning ‘망’ into ‘막’.

With a gentle smile, a melody as lyrical as a song filled the air.

Jung-hyun took the microphone.

“Must be the sweet potatoes,” he said.

The poetic acrostic changed in an instant.

Laughter spilled from the audience, and the announcer dipped her head, her lips twitching.

The other members took their turns.

“Got any cold drinks?”

“Could use some soda to burp.”

“Ah, thank you.”

Jung-hyun pretended to drink, letting out an impressed ‘Wow-’, and everyone burst into laughter.

It was like a scene from a soda commercial.

Woojoo ended it like a commercial’s closing shot, beaming as he playfully tapped the air with his finger.

“Finally, I feel relieved.”

The male and female MCs smiled adorably at his exuberant laughter.

“I’ve heard you’ve been shooting a lot of commercials lately, maybe a soda ad is next?”

“Oh!”

The members, still smiling brightly, winked at the camera, “Call us~”

“Were you nervous?”

“Ah. Yes, I was.”

And with that, New Black calmed down again, as if to say, ‘We were nervous…’

Jung-hyun, who had been smiling warmly, watched the members closely and then transformed into a serene statue himself.

Every time I saw such a variety of expressions, I understood why New Black had such an endearing image to the public.

“Yes, thank you! We wish you success at today’s awards ceremony. We were New Black.”

“Thank you!”

“Beiju, let’s go,” I said, herding the main dancer like a parent, a small smile on my face.

As the hall filled with warm laughter.

There were those who couldn’t laugh.

-Yes, this idol captured the public’s heart this year with their pure, warm, and refreshing songs, right?

Teen Spirit entered the red carpet with innocent smiles, greeted by cheers.

But inside, they weren’t smiling.

‘No, damn. It’s our turn next.’

‘What the hell do we do.’

‘Damn, damn… those damn trolls… I’ll sue them.’

They were the refreshing pretty boys, smiling brightly while crafting rough acrostics in their heads.

“The view’s great here.”

“We’ll see the stage better from here.”

We took our seats in the artist section.

Right at the front.

In the center was TNT, with Teen Spirit and New Black seated around them.

“Hello!”

The camera director crouched in front of us, perhaps capturing our reactions before the performance.

And we were busy standing up to greet the other artists as they entered.

“Hello.”

There were people we met at last year’s awards and some we were seeing for the first time this year.

Most were familiar faces.

“Hello-”

Senior Cha Woo-hyun entered wearing sunglasses.

Scarlet and Girls On Top passed by, giving us a light greeting.

Jiho sat down triumphantly after eyeing his rival, Gil Chaekyung.

There was also the Jo Yu-ri Band.

Given that the awards were based on music chart performance, it was no surprise that these well-known artists were gathered.

Most were senior artists.

“Hello!”

Among our debut peers, only Serenity attended the ceremony.

And Enoti and Highcolor were there to receive the rookie awards. Both looked frozen, and I could guess they felt just like we did last year.

“Um…”

“Yes?”

I turned to see the Enoti members behind us, hesitating.

Rolling their eyes as if bracing for a serious conversation, they clasped their hands and said,

“We’re fans. Of you.”

“Wow, thank you. We enjoy your music too.”

“Really…?”

“Congratulations on the rookie award today.”

As we clenched our fists and shouted “Fighting!”, they timidly echoed back, “Fighting.”

Then, they turned their gaze forward again, brushing their hair back with a sweep of their hand.

“Heh… Hmm.”

“Hmm.”

I couldn’t help but suppress my flaring nostrils and pressed down on my cheeks as hard as I could.

‘I finally did it. I congratulated someone on the rookie award.’

‘I’ve successfully cosplayed as a senior.’

‘We’re not the newbies anymore.’

Last year, everyone had such a solemn face when they said ‘congratulations on the rookie award,’ and I was somewhat envious.

It feels like I’ve finally fulfilled that wish.

While we were feeling proud among ourselves, Teen Spirit and TNT had finished entering.

When the gloomy-faced Hwiyeon from Teen Spirit came in, I tilted my head, and a whisper came back.

“I lost the acrostic poem game.”

I pressed down hard to suppress my laughter.

In the meantime, the TNT members looked at my empty wrist and asked, ‘Where’s your watch?’ I pointed to the younger members.

“…”

It was our younger siblings who returned a warm gaze as if to say, ‘Was it you guys?’ The younger line of TNT dodged away.

I had expected the senior group to boast with a fiery gaze, ‘We bought it for you, why?’

As always, they were a ragtag bunch, then and now.

“Yes! Welcome to the 2015 Mango Chart Awards!”

After the opening VCR, the actor Yoo Baek-han with pomade hair took the stage as today’s MC.

Every time he recited the lineup of singers participating in the awards ceremony, the audience filled the gymnastics stadium with cheers.

“New Black!”

“Waaaaah!”

Our Suples’ cheers, gathered with all their soul, made me laugh unwittingly.

When I made a finger heart towards the camera crouched in front of me, an even louder cheer erupted.

“Teen Spirit!”

“Waaaaaak!”

“TNT!”

“Uaaaaaak!”

At the end, the noisy cheers seemed to compete in volume.

After the lineup introduction, the award ceremony proceeded swiftly.

“Yes, it’s an award you can only receive once in a lifetime.”

“It’s the rookie award given to newcomers who have achieved excellent results in the music market this year.”

I naturally processed my gaze between the audience and the camera as I recited the lines from the cue card.

We were the presenters for this year’s rookie award, having been the recipients last year.

“Shall we meet the nominees?”

“Let’s play!”

As I shouted the slogan put forth by this year’s awards ceremony organizers, the candidates flowed onto the screen.

Jung-hyun introduced them with a deep voice, like a voice actor.

“Iris, Aple B, Enoti…”

I wonder if last year’s presenters felt the same way.

It’s a strange feeling.

While the only boy group that debuted in 2015 shone their eyes, we announced the winner.

“Congratulations! Enoti!”

‘NoT’ appeared on the screen.

The boy group from one of the four major agencies, SNH, walked up with a brisk step.

As they almost reached a 90-degree angle to receive the trophy, Bijoo matched their angle, eliciting a small laugh from the audience.

“Congratulations.”

After handing the trophy to High Color, the female rookie award winner, I returned to my seat to enjoy the stage.

Last year, I was part of the first part’s opening, but this year, my turn was pushed back to the middle of the second part, so it was more relaxed.

“Waaaaah!”

As other singers performed, I hummed along to the songs and followed the key dance moves, enjoying the stage.

The Top 10 with the best results this year were called up one by one to share their thoughts.

According to the cue sheet, we were scheduled to receive our award in the second part.

While enjoying the performances, I pondered whether there were any songs worth referencing for our album.

“Yes. This next award is given to the songwriter who made the biggest impact on this year’s Mango Chart.”

“The Songwriter of the Year.”

“Congratulations!”

The announcement was followed by a roar of ‘Waaaaah!’

TNT and Teen Spirit stood up, and we also rose with our younger siblings, all clapping.

“Wuaaaaaah!”

The younger ones jumped around happily.

I clapped along and whispered to Rihyuk next to me with a smile.

“Who won it?”

“It’s you.”

“You?”

I hesitated, then recalling the subject of ‘you,’ I asked.

“…Me?”

Turning my head, I caught my own gaze on the screen, clapping for myself.

Next to it, the title ‘Songwriter of the Year’ appeared under the name ‘Woojoo.’

…Was I the composer of the year?