Chapter 334: Chapter 335:

My body shook as a fit of coughing took over.

“Cough! Cough!”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fi—cough!”

While mother searched for a napkin, Rihyuk and I couldn’t stop coughing.

“Bro, drink this, it’ll help!”

“That’s soda with alcohol, Jiho. Rihyuk shouldn’t—ouch, he shouldn’t drink that.”

“Where should we go?”

A chaotic conversation buzzed in my ears, making no sense.

“Isn’t it just a glass of water… hic!”

“Hiccup!”

After the coughing fit subsided, Rihyuk and I were left with a duet of hiccups.

Like a round song, one hiccup led to another.

“Don’t imitate—hiccup!”

“Hiccup!”

I locked eyes with the chef bringing out the dishes, feeling utterly embarrassed.

Junghyun picked up his smartphone with a ‘hmm’.

“I could make a beat out of this.”

“…”

“Or maybe not…”

As Rihyuk and I glared at him, he quickly put away his phone and focused on the food.

After waving off Bijoo’s concern,

Mother and Yein burst into laughter at the sight of Rihyuk and me hiccupping like fools.

“I’m sorry.”

I said, smiling awkwardly.

“I have sensitive hearing. I was so surprised because I had a good first impression of Rihyuk.”

“Hmm? Was that something to be surprised about?”

“When we first met, I thought Rihyuk didn’t like me.”

I smiled, glancing at Rihyuk, who was feigning indifference.

How was our first meeting?

I was stretching in the practice room when he suddenly said, “If you’re going to give up, do it now.”

It was like a scene from a drama, where he couldn’t accept me as his daughter-in-law, his eyes fiercely determined.

So naturally, I thought he disliked me at first.

“It’s surprising. I didn’t expect you to like your first impression of me.”

“It was really good.”

Mother said, wiping her mouth with a napkin.

“The new guy is really handsome, I hope he doesn’t give up…”

“Mom.”

Rihyuk sighed, and mother stopped talking with a smile.

She seemed to really like that he called her ‘mom’ for the first time today.

Rihyuk said awkwardly,

“That would be too embarrassing for me.”

“Got it.”

“And can everyone who raised their hands put them down? Don’t ask mom about the contents of the email.”

We chuckled and lowered our hands at the sight of someone shooting lasers from their eyes, demanding privacy.

I also spoke up, smiling.

“It’s a shame. I wanted to hear more about first impressions.”

“Do you have stories about first impressions too?”

“Everyone does.”

Mother looked at us with a playful glint in her eye and then laughed at her son’s pleading look.

“I’ve always wanted to meet and talk because I’ve only heard good stories about everyone.”

She looked at each of us in turn.

“Bijoo, Junghyun, I’ve heard many good things about you. And…”

Her gaze passed the kindly smiling Bijoo and the warm-hearted Junghyun, then lingered on the youngest, who was grinning mischievously.

“I’ve heard a lot of good stories in various ways.”

“Me? Really?”

“It’s so nice to meet everyone.”

We all burst into laughter at her sudden change of topic.

Our youngest made a sad face, then quickly avoided stepping on Rihyuk’s foot—

Ouch.

“Jiho, it’s me…”

“Ah!”

“You should step on the left side.”

After whispering in the youngest’s ear, Rihyuk winced as his foot was stepped on.

In the midst of the cheerful atmosphere, as we were finishing dessert, the mansion’s owner asked,

“Will you go back to the hotel right after dinner?”

“Yes, it’s dark, and…”

“It’s quite late. How about staying here for the night?”

I glanced at my siblings, and they all seemed tempted.

But since we couldn’t just say yes without consideration, we just smiled broadly.

Rihyuk said awkwardly,

“It’s late, wouldn’t we be imposing?”

“Don’t worry about that. Brother, I’ve had the guest bedrooms prepared since before you arrived.”

“Well, then staying over doesn’t seem like a bad idea.”

We responded to the scrutinizing looks.

“We’d love to.”

“Then it’s settled.”

It seemed we had quickly decided to stay the night.

We felt bad for Minki, who would have to come back to pick us up, so it was even better.

As we were finishing the meal, mother said to Yein,

“Yein, can you show your brother’s room first?”

“Okay.”

“What room tour…”

Rihyuk hesitated, thinking it was about his room, but Yein shook her head and said,

“It’s the cleaning supplies room.”

“Where? Let’s go now.”

I laughed as the Seo siblings, who got along so well, left together.

I turned my gaze towards Rihyuk’s mother after sending her son ahead, sensing she had something to say.

“Thank you all so much,” she said, a gentle smile gracing her lips.

“You write such long emails about the members. My eldest isn’t usually one for many words.”

We shared a quiet laugh.

‘Noodles are meant to bring longevity. Cutting them short isn’t the right way. It’s not that I’m upset about my cold noodles being cut, but historically speaking…’ 𝘙�

He sure talks a lot…

“He’s not one for mood swings either.”

We smiled again.

‘Who’s the culprit! Confess now! Who dared to leave a speck of dust on my bed? Oh, it was an accident by Bi-Joo? Then it’s okay.’

His mood swings are like a rollercoaster…

Every time his mother spoke about her son, her comments were amusingly off the mark.

“He’s not one to criticize or favor anyone. I’ve only heard good things about the members from him.”

Our embarrassed laughter was met with her words of gratitude.

“Thank you.”

“No, not at all,” I replied.

“We owe a lot to Rihyuk too. He sings well and…”

“He’s amazing at cleaning.”

“He reads a lot, knows so much. And…”

We exchanged glances.

‘Ugh, this is killing me. Find Rihyuk’s strengths, quick.’

‘There’s none.’

‘He’s been less than helpful, to say the least.’

Racking our brains until steam could almost be seen, we finally burst out laughing and said,

“He’s good at singing.”

“He’s really good at it.”

“He’s truly excellent at singing.”

Our desperate search for compliments made his mother laugh as if she knew what we were thinking.

“It seems Rihyuk has found some good friends.”

“We think we’re the lucky ones to have met him,” I said, and my siblings nodded in agreement.

We relied heavily on Rihyuk, the main vocalist of New Black, for everything from vocal directing to the highlights of our performances.

‘Thousand Dreams,’ the OST for Nostalgia, was a challenging song we couldn’t have sung without him.

Sometimes we wanted to get rid of him, but he was an irreplaceable member.

“Indeed,” his mother said with a smile.

“By the way, has Rihyuk shown any particular interest in something lately?”

“He seems quite taken with the history of Goguryeo these days.”

“Goguryeo history.”

“And he likes Goguryeo dried sweet potatoes.”

“Dried sweet potatoes.”

Bi-Joo laughed, and I felt like I had said something wrong, but his mother understood perfectly.

In that way, she learned about her son’s recent interests and hobbies.

“I feel like he’s burdened when I call him.”

“Ah…”

“But I do wonder how he’s doing.”

We laughed awkwardly.

It was ironic that we both hesitated to contact each other, thinking it would be a burden.

Bi-Joo spoke cautiously.

“But it seems Rihyuk is curious about how you’re doing too.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, really.”

Since meeting us, she had shown the brightest smile.

‘Bi-Joo must be thrilled to have brought us together,’ I thought as she stood up.

“I was thinking of having a glass of wine.”

“But I might not be able to get up until my flight if I do.”

“Ah. Rihyuk told me about a new term, ‘alcohol coma.’”

“Yes, that’s me.”

I nodded with a sad face, and my siblings chuckled.

Mother’s footsteps lightened as she led us upstairs.

Her face, slightly flushed, reminded me of her son.

At concerts, it seemed he inherited his ears from his father and his face from his mother.

I thought of the equation ‘blush + blush = Rihyuk.’

“When choosing the new house, I thought all five of us might come, so I decided on it.”

“Really?”

“Rihyuk’s wish since childhood was to have friends over for sleepovers.”

It was a wish fulfilled late, but she seemed content with the fact that it had come true.

Suddenly, I realized how fluently and clearly she spoke Korean, despite her years in America. Perhaps it was connected to Rihyuk.

We asked her.

“Was it Rihyuk’s wish?”

“He always wanted to bring friends home to sleep in the same bed.”

“Ah…”

“But given his personality, it was hard to have friends…”

We couldn’t help but laugh at the oddly objective part of her statement.

Then we said our goodbyes and climbed the stairs.

In the dark room, we all looked up at the glow-in-the-dark stickers on the ceiling.

Silence.

The stars connected, forming English sentences.

As if reading a sentence from each star, I recited wistfully,

“I will become a genius scientist.”

We all burst into laughter.

While my siblings burst into laughter, Rihyuk voiced his frustration.

“Be quiet.”

“So, you wanted to be a genius scientist. Our little Hyuk.”

In the dimly lit, vast room illuminated by a soft lampstand, the bookshelf was brimming with books akin to a children’s science lab.

Hyuk placed his hand over his eyes.

“I never expected my old room’s belongings to be preserved here just as they were.”

“It’s nice to see traces of your childhood, though.”

Time seemed to have stopped nearly a decade ago, yet the various trinkets scattered around belonged to the little Hyuk of the past.

“It feels quite strange.”

“Right?”

“Who would’ve thought I’d be living with these people ten years ago?”

“If I had known, would I have come to Korea?”

At our playful question, Hyuk shook his head.

“What are you talking about? If I had known, I would have come even sooner.”

“…Heh.”

“Ah. What’s with that ‘heh’ now?”

“Hmm…”

As we squirmed awkwardly under the blanket, Hyuk, staring at the ceiling, spoke.

“But you know,”

“Yeah?”

“Can I tell you something?”

“Of course.”

Hyuk sighed and asked,

“Why on earth are we all sprawled out on one bed like this?”

“A wish fulfillment of sorts?”

“Is it because there’s no space, so we’re lying in a row?”

“Yes.”

Our appearance, lying in a row across the bed like skewered rice cakes, elicited a look of pity from the one in the middle.

“What kind of wish is this?”

“There is such a thing.”

“Shouldn’t we leave now? Everyone’s exhausted, and here we are, lying in a row trying to sleep.”

“I wish we could leave.”

Junghyun replied with a gloomy face.

“We can’t go.”

“Why not?”

“There’s a reason for it.”

Jiho looked at me with a distant expression, and I nodded, singing a sweet ballad.

“I can’t go to my room~ Not even once~”

“No. Go! Please!”

“In case you feel neglected~”

“Go!”

With a whoosh, someone shook the blanket, and we burrowed deeper into it.

The next morning.

“Thank you for letting us stay.”

“Sure. Come visit often.”

The next morning, we bid farewell to our mother.

“I’ll come again.”

Hyuk approached his mother for the world’s most awkward hug before dashing back to us.

And so, we boarded the vehicle and headed straight for the airport.

“Now, let’s get to work! Work!”

“Work, work, work!”

Unfortunately, we weren’t immediately returning to Korea.

We had a rest in the United States to adjust to the time difference before continuing our tour in Central America, including Mexico, and then South America.

“Ahahaha!”

At every airport in Mexico and the South American countries, the Soufflés who came to greet us were always passionate.

“Jenmin! Here! I exist!”

“My existence!”

“Congratulations on the award!”

Seeing fans who had prepared Korean phrases just for us was incredibly touching.

Among them, a teenage fan who sobbed uncontrollably, begging ‘Mariela Lopez’ to be included in the autograph, was particularly memorable.

When I wrote her name and a doodle of an astronaut inside a spaceship, she collapsed in tears.

We even laughed at a sign with a typo that read ‘New Black Human.’

“Wait. Is that a typo?”

“We should seriously consider the possibility that it’s not a typo,” said Hyuk.

Junghyun pondered and then said,

“Perhaps it’s a profound lesson, suggesting we should become humans before becoming singers?”

“Don’t say it with such a surprise tone. Kim Junghyun.”

“Doo-doom.”

Someone’s perfect imitation of a sound effect made us all burst into laughter.

We also had a brief interview with a cable TV station.

“What do you think is the secret to your popularity?”

“Do we have popularity?”

We dodged the typical trap questions with a grin.

“I’m not sure about our popularity, but generally, fans seem to enjoy our performances.”

“And the lyrics of our songs seem to have an impact too.”

Before coming to South America for the tour, Seok Hwan had told us about the factors behind K-pop’s popularity.

‘Innocent lyrics.’

‘Huh?’

‘The lyrics of Nine are so pure, they love it.’

The rough choreography and lyrics of ‘Nine,’ which we crafted with all our soul and a teen spirit flavor…

‘They find it cute.’

To the Soufflés in South America, it seemed incredibly adorable.

A wholesome pop song without alcohol, drugs, or adult themes…

Our song’s roughness seemed no more intense than a kindergarten snack juice party.

Jiho shook his head.

“What are you talking about? We’re not cute.”

“Ye?”

“Yo!”

“Anyway, I should only use that ‘ye’ until I graduate.”

It felt strangely sad to say such things to an old child who was almost as tall as me now.

“It means you’re like an adult.”

“Wow!”

After fulfilling interview schedules about nostalgia OSTs and K-pop in South American countries.

Before each concert, we took deep breaths and tensed up.

“Hoo…”

The hot energy rushed even to the backstage of the concert hall.

As the VCR played and the audience’s cheers faintly reached us, we looked at each other and nodded.

‘We must avoid it.’

‘Just follow my lead for the stage formation.’

‘This time, I’ll definitely avoid it.’

Even as the audience’s cheers were loud enough to resonate through our bodies, we didn’t let go of the tension.

The excitement could have overwhelmed us, but our minds stayed cool.

There was one reason for this.

The difference in concert culture from Korea.

-It’s… a bit tricky.

When I called Taehyun for advice about the overseas tour, he told me something.

-Over there, if the audience gets too excited, some… tricky things might fly over…

At first, I doubted it, but it turned out to be true.

During the highlight of the performance.

As everyone jumped excitedly and we performed Nine’s choreography, slapping the air with our palms.

Things that glittered in the lights, filled with the fans’ hearts, were thrown onto the stage.

Each time, my Confucian spirit awakened without me realizing it.

‘Yikes!’

Rihyuk’s eyes screamed, and we swallowed hard while dancing.

‘There it is. Flying underwear.’

‘Dodge it!’

‘That’s a man’s, it’s quite big!’

We watched the wave of underwear flying onto the stage like a swarm of missiles.

Fortunately, no one was hit until the end of the tour.

“Argh!”

Correction.

Fortunately, most could be avoided.

After successfully completing the tour in South America.

We finally returned to Korea.

“…”

I placed my hand on the shoulder of someone who looked out the car window as if they had lost everything.

“Just wash it off.”

“…”

“That’s right. Hyung. You’ve already washed a lot…”

“…”

Soon, even the managers chuckled, and Rihyuk glared with dagger eyes, which I avoided.

The driver, Wonseok hyung, said.

“You all really worked hard.”

“The hyungs worked hard too.”

“Really. Are we going straight to the company instead of the dorm?”

“Yes. I slept well on the plane, and I want to meet the A&R and producing team members soon.”

“You must be tired. Meet them tomorrow.”

I replied with a smile.

“If I announce my visit, only the junior staff are there.”

“Well, that’s true.”

When I go saying ‘I’m here!’, usually the team leaders are gone, and only the junior staff or assistant managers are left alone.

“Aren’t the hyungs going straight to a meeting?”

“Yeah, we’re meeting a TBC broadcaster PD shortly. We’ll also support the director.”

“Don’t drink too much.”

“That’s not for us to decide…”

I sent a grateful look to the managers who smiled bitterly.

Then I said.

“If you’re tight on time for the appointment, please drop us off here. We’ll enter the alley ourselves.”

“Alright.”

Leaving our luggage in the car, we all got up, feeling stiff, and got out in front of the crosswalk.

I took a deep breath.

The air of Seoul, which I had missed, seemed to pierce my lungs.

Just as I was about to enter the alley of Sinsa-dong with my brothers, heading towards the company.

“Hey, it’s New Black.”

“New Black…”

“Doesn’t it seem like New Black?”

There seemed to be more murmurs directed at us than usual.

Junghyun said.

“It might just be my imagination, but the people who just crossed the crosswalk… Aren’t they following us?”

“Seems like it.”

“They don’t seem like sasaeng fans… Be careful.”

We felt a sense of wariness towards the strange uninvited guests who seemed to be following us as we entered the alley.

“What’s going on…?”

We all blinked.

“Why are there so many people?”

It looked like at least a hundred people were lined up, stretching all the way to Lemon Enter’s building.

I hesitated, and my brothers also stopped in their tracks.

“Uh…!”

When the person at the end of the line opened their eyes wide, making a sound as if air had filled their lungs.

Waves of gasps and screams spread in an instant.

And then…

“What, what is that?”

Our first reaction to such an outburst from the crowd was,

“Where are you going?!”

“Wait, just a moment!”

It was a moment of stepping back from strangers whose identities were unknown.

In front of the Lemon Entertainment building.

The applicants gathered for the audition to select new trainees widened their eyes.

‘NewBlack!’

The reason they had applied to Lemon Entertainment was right before their eyes.

As they gazed with admiration, NewBlack, who had been staring blankly, was startled upon seeing them.

“Whoa!”

Swoosh!

Like elite cockroach warriors retreating swiftly, the trainee applicants blinked in disbelief.

‘What’s happening?’

The image they had conjured up in their minds was so splendid.

But the NewBlack they encountered in reality somehow reminded them of a sunfish, an impression that surfaced unexpectedly.