Chapter 357: Chapter 358: Idol Community

The idol community’s best board was buzzing with posts about NewBlack.

NewBlack’s small theater tour kicks off today

Watching the Y-app broadcast, I doubted my eyes – NewBlack’s tour giveaway

Today, Newbie Rihyuk looks like he hit legendary beauty.jpg

Thanks to the live broadcast on the Y-app, fans were uploading GIFs and captioned screenshots in real-time, capturing the funny moments on-site and the members’ photos as they left the venue.

Seeing NewBlack’s faces really makes you want to be a fan

Our Rihyuk has the beauty of a Slytherinㅠㅠㅠ Gorgeous

When I look in the mirror, I see Voldemort

LOL, what’s with the crowd? It’s like a foreign artist’s concert

Is that black mass in the front yard all people??

Aren’t small theaters usually for a few hundred people?? LOL

NewBlack’s small theater (1000 seats)

Maybe they went big because it’s in the Gyeonggi region? Other areas aren’t that large outside the metropolitan cities, right?

The concert content was substantial and pretty good

As admiration for the unusual scale flowed.

It was the event’s prizes that had other idol fans bursting into laughter.

A refrigerator LOL, even a washing machine – what kind of appliances are these?

The bicycle is seriously a highlight every time I see it LOL, is this a newspaper subscription?

I thought it was sponsored because it’s NewBlack, but it turns out it’s Lemon’s own expense LOL

And they’re not even the cheap models

Fans: Prizes?! Are these goods?? (murmuring)

NewBlack: Refrigerator

Jealous of the grad student fan in the memeㅠㅠㅠ

I’m curious about the reactions of parents and families LOL

Mom: Oh dear, what’s the use of following idols around all day? Does it leave you with money? Time? Daughter: Refrigerator Mom: Daughter: Refrigerator

Fandom that pays off LOL, why is it so funny?

Meanwhile, as everyone marveled, some were filled with curiosity.

But if they give away such prizes at every national tour, won’t they go broke?? Kyuho was brave to okay this

There were no goods for sale… How much money has NewBlack made?

If the small theater tour is free and they don’t sell goods, what’s the profit? Is it just fan service?

Questions arose about the financially unbalanced project, and some began to speculate.

It’s a move to solidify their mass appeal as idols. Collaborating with ‘My Hometown Now’ was clearly intentional. They’re exploring local specialties through regional news and MyTube content – that’s the end goal

That’s itㅇㅇ I live in Yongin, and when I heard my coworkers talking about NewBlack, it felt real

When the prize talk hits the muggle community, it says it all

It’s not a loss, it’s an investment LOL. Touring the nation like this, they’ll gather buzz and recognition, and by the end, muggles will equate modern idols with NewBlack

Everyone’s laughing now, but this is serious… Eventually, even girl groups won’t be able to compete with NewBlack’s popularity

Some of it was true, some of it wasn’t.

It was true that NewBlack and Lemon Entertainment chose to collaborate with ‘My Hometown Now’ to boost their mass appeal.

But the small theater tour and event prizes were impromptu fan services decided by the members, not planned.

Director Jo said we could use an unlimited budget for prizes. We can splurge on expensive stuff.

Really? Then what should we do?

As NewBlack members lounged around in their dorm.

[Refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners…]

After a truck blaring second-hand appliances ads passed by the apartment.

…That’s it!

That would be perfect!

That was the real reason behind the selection of appliances as prizes.

But online, serious speculations continued without knowing the truth.

Comments like ‘Kyuho is a scary guy’ or ‘The genius theory of Kyuho’ were all that surfaced.

…Fortunately, no one knew the truth.

After the first performance.

From the weekend to Monday, we toured diligently around Seoul and the Gyeonggi region.

What should we eat in Uijeongbu?

We must have the army stew!

The happiest part was the food tour.

Let’s take a moment to sincerely thank Soufflé-nim for recommending the best eatery in Uijeongbu.

“I love you, Life at Ninety!”

As I watched the bubbling army stew, I felt waves of happiness wash over me.

Happiness in life wasn’t somewhere far away.

After a spicy sip of the stew’s broth, followed by a swift bite of rice topped with sausage and ham, I sighed contentedly.

“Ah…”

Joy made my body shiver with delight.

When Junghyun, my younger siblings, and I dabbed our teary eyes with tissues, touched by the moment, my face unwittingly formed a pout.

“Isn’t this just like the stew we have in Seoul? I don’t see much difference,” I questioned.

“It’s completely different,” we all asserted firmly.

“The army stew from Uijeongbu has a depth you can’t find elsewhere.”

“What kind of logic is that?” I challenged.

“Just like how seeing Seokguram in photos is different from witnessing it in person,” they explained.

“Well done, our youngest,” I praised.

Jiho and I exchanged a high-five.

While Rihyuk pondered over the stew, Bijoo ladled some broth and asked, “Jiho, how’s your studying going?”

“I’m really aiming for the top grade this time,” Jiho replied confidently.

Even while eating, our youngest was diligently reviewing the Korean history summary Rihyuk had compiled.

With an exam scheduled for next Saturday, it seemed he was studying more earnestly than usual.

Junghyun whispered in surprise, “This is the first time I’ve seen Jiho study so hard.”

“Ah, well…”

Amidst our laughter, the youngest confessed, “Honestly, I had almost given up on studying this time, but last night, Woojoo hyung persuaded me with his words.”

“What did Woojoo hyung say?” we inquired.

“He said if I pass this, I can be promoted as an idol with a strong sense of history during historical drama shoots,” Jiho chuckled.

We all burst into laughter at such an impure motive, and I smiled sheepishly.

Well, at least the motivation worked wonders.

Jiho’s eyes sparkled as he thoroughly scanned the summary book, and I couldn’t help but feel proud.

“This is on the house,” the restaurant owner said, bringing over various dishes with a bright smile.

“Thank you!” we expressed our gratitude.

Perhaps because the sashimi restaurant where we had spicy fish stew had become an internet sensation, attracting more customers.

Every time we visited a recommended restaurant, the owners would come out with a ‘come on, baby’ vibe, reminiscent of the solicitations we often saw at seaside eateries.

“We enjoyed the meal!”

After taking commemorative photos and signing autographs, we even pocketed some scorched rice candy before leaving the restaurant. Then, we turned to our managers.

“Are you ready?” I asked.

Wonseok hyung and Minki hyung nodded seriously.

Nod.

We returned the gesture and then picked up our phones attached to selfie sticks.

“Let’s go! Time for cold noodles!”

Having savored Uijeongbu’s famous army stew, it was now time to indulge in Pyongyang cold noodles.

After that, we’d sample some chicken from Jeil Market.

And if time allowed, we’d visit the renowned tripe restaurant…

“But will we have enough time, hyung?” I pondered.

“Indeed,” they agreed.

“Rihyuk is calculating the time, and it seems we won’t be able to eat everything before the filming in my hometown,” I mused, looking at the red lines Rihyuk was drawing on the map screenshot on his phone.

“Hmm.”

“Hmmm…”

After a brief huddle with my siblings, we made a swift decision.

“Let’s run.”

“Yes.”

We tied our shoelaces and ran until we were out of breath.

“Let’s just catch a taxi.”

“Yes.”

Realizing our legs weren’t as strong as we thought, we decided to take a taxi instead.

I rented out a small theater with a thousand seats for our tour, and even on weekends, the filming for “My Hometown Now” continued.

On Saturday, I visited a village in Yangpyeong County’s Yangseo-myeon to help with farm work during the winter season.

And on Sunday, I made my way to the fish market at Incheon’s Yeonan Pier.

If there was one difference from the first shoot, it was that the number of camera directors had increased by a couple.

“Ha-ha-ha!”

If there was a similarity, it was the dazed expressions on people’s faces as they watched us energetically running around.

Even the reporter seemed bewildered.

But as time went on, I could see contentment on the faces of the assistant director and the writer, which suggested that the filming was going well.

Reporter Oh Daegi, who joined us on Sunday, laughed heartily and said, “Ah, today’s shoot is going great. For a show like this, you can’t have dead air! Usually, I talk so much that I lose my voice, but today, time is flowing sweetly.”

“Are we doing well?”

“Well, yes… but the audio could be a bit emptier than this. Just a bit.”

“Oops…”

We all shared an embarrassed laugh at the mention of the audio being too full.

Yet, each time felt different from the last, and I seemed to be adapting more and more.

Being new to lifestyle programs, I initially had no clue how to proceed, but gradually, I was getting the hang of it.

“Hello!”

“Wow, a superstar has come to our corner.”

In a deserted alleyway, the staff prepared for the shoot while a friendly-looking reporter in his thirties, wearing glasses, shook hands with us.

“I’m Jeong Yeong-jun.”

“We’re New Black~!”

“I heard you produced a full 50-minute segment for another corner, right? Please take good care of our corner today.”

After some warm chit-chat, we began filming.

Today is Monday.

The title of the segment airing on Fridays in “My Hometown Now” was “A Spin Around the Neighborhood.”

As the camera rolled, the reporter shouted with vigor, “Finally, New Black, the top idol, has graced ‘A Spin Around the Neighborhood’!”

“Wowww!”

“Hello, viewers~! The idol that comes to mind every Friday, New Black, is here!”

The production team smiled contentedly as we sang the opening song prepared for each corner and danced.

The reporter joined in with perfect timing.

“So, shall we start today’s ‘A Spin Around the Neighborhood’ with New Black?”

“Let’s go~!”

The camera director smoothly lifted the camera, capturing the blue sky.

It was a unique opening technique for this segment, starting with a sweep from the reporter to the sky.

Our aspiring actor said it was similar to some bone technique (?) from a sci-fi movie, but I’m not exactly sure what that means.

“Look, a magpie!”

Bijoo, who spotted a magpie wandering the alley, smiled brightly, and we all sang.

“Magpie, magpie, New Year’s Day was~”

“Just yesterday~”

We joyfully sang along with the reporter as we walked around.

This place is Gangseo District in Seoul.

“A Spin Around the Neighborhood” focused on the lives of people in the city.

For this reason, the places we visited were predetermined for each neighborhood.

“Hello, mothers!”

“Oh my!”

The grandmothers feigned surprise at the reporter’s warm greeting.

Since the writer had already visited and mentioned the filming, their surprise was quite awkward.

But then their eyes widened when they saw us.

“Oh my goodness…!”

We all burst into laughter at their genuinely surprised reactions.

They had been blinking slowly when looking at the reporter, but their eyes went wide upon seeing us.

The reporter, holding out the broadcast microphone, said, “Now, mothers, you were all nonchalant when you saw me, but your eyes light up seeing New Black…”

“Ah! It’s because they’re handsome!”

The grandmothers laughed heartily, and amidst their amusement and the reporter’s chagrin, we stepped forward to greet them.

“Hello! We’re New Black!”

“We know. It’s been a while!”

“…Huh? Have we met before?”

“Saw you at the concert hall.”

Their cool response brought out more laughter.

After a brief special arrangement of “Dear Deok-soon” for the grandmothers…

I moved to the senior center.

“Ah, it’s warm…”

Amidst the warmth rising from the floor heating, a camera was set up in a room decorated like a family parlor.

The grandmothers finished their tasks at hand.

“What are you doing here?”

“Making money.”

They were attaching decorations to traditional Korean ornaments.

“This work, though small, brings joy and passes the time.”

“Got to earn money to play Go-Stop.”

Amidst the boisterous laughter, we listened to stories of the grandmothers’ hometowns and even gave them massages.

It was a heartwarming atmosphere.

That was before the grandmothers, chatting with us, excitedly suggested playing Go-Stop together.

“…”

30 minutes later.

A suffocating tension filled the air.

“…”

The grandmothers, holding their Hwatu cards, had tense expressions and throats that bobbed nervously.

The camera directors gripped their hands, sweaty with anticipation.

While the youngest, Ryuk, and I watched, our pupils shook as we held our cards.

“Yesss!”

With a hearty cheer, Junghyun, with a card stuck to his forehead, smiled contentedly.

Snap!

He flicked the Hwatu cards rhythmically, flipping another, as the grandmothers began to curse with their eyes.

In the language of our Mrs. Deoksoon, it was something akin to ‘That rascal…’

“Wow.”

Jiho marveled.

“Amazing. Did Junghyun major in Go-Stop?”

“Shh! Be quiet during the game!”

The grandmothers shouted excitedly, causing Jiho to shrink back, and Bijoo comforted him.

Meanwhile, the grandmothers exchanged glances.

After some unknown signal passed between them, a grandmother in flower-patterned socks snapped her card down.

And at that moment.

Junghyun looked at us with a satisfied smile.

“Yesss.”

Cautiously matching the grandmothers’ tempo with a ‘Yesss~’, Junghyun declared ‘Gostop!’

As the directors exclaimed in admiration.

“…”

A chilling silence descended.

The grandmothers, self-proclaimed Go-Stop number one and three of this neighborhood, narrowed their eyes.

Junghyun asked with a warm smile.

“Did you enjoy it?”

Five minutes later, as a response.

“…We got kicked out.”

We were all amicably expelled.

“Get out!” they slammed the door.

From inside, we heard the warm exchange, ‘Ah, how could you be so thoughtless? Who would throw that card there!’, ‘You know too much for your own good!’

Reporter Jung Youngjun blinked and said.

“It seems like the genre has changed…”

“Indeed.”

It started with the warm atmosphere of my hometown.

Somehow, when playing Go-Stop, it turned into a noir, and now it felt like a family destruction story.

While the reporter grappled with an identity crisis, the broadcast resumed.

“Life!”

“Exactly! Life!”

We brightly responded to the greetings of passersby, enjoying the leisurely charm of the neighborhood while filming.

We made use of the local exercise equipment for footage.

Visited Songhwa Market.

And as the reporter rejoiced in returning to the original genre, we continued filming.

“Huh…?”

Ryuk’s eyes twitched as he passed through an alley.

“What’s wrong?”

“That grammar is bothering me. It’s incorrect.”

“Where?”

“Over there.”

As we turned our heads, we saw a sign that read “Manhwat Book Rental Shop.”

“Let’s just pass by. Right, Rihyuk?”

“…Still, I want to let them know.”

“Rihyuk, you can’t stand this kind of thing, can you?”

We answered the reporter’s question.

“Yes, he gets really anxious if he sees something wrong while walking.”

“This is a photo saved on my phone. ‘Why not?’ This is the magical meme that exorcises him.”

Soon after, Rihyuk said, “Just a moment,” and ran towards the rental shop.

Ting-a-ling.

And 20 seconds later.

The door burst open, and something crimson appeared.

“Aaagh…!”

Rihyuk’s face turned beet red as he started running towards us like mad.

“What happened?”

“The National Institute of the Korean Language says ‘Manhwat’ is standard language! Ah, it’s so embarrassing!”

“Hahaha!”

“Don’t laugh!”

While the production crew wore satisfied smiles, we burst into laughter at the sight of a tomato-red Rihyuk running towards us.

“This genre seems a bit strange…”

Only the reporter continued to tilt his head in confusion.

6 PM.

After a simple rehearsal, we were resting in the waiting room, getting our makeup done.

“Oh.”

We, along with our manager and staff, gathered in front of the waiting room TV.

“It’s starting. It’s starting.”

With a lively signal song, the opening scene with cows and fish dolls playing passed, and the logo appeared.

Now, my hometown is…

With a rustic font, the episode information appeared.

“Episode 5987…?”

“Was that even a possible episode number?”

True to its reputation as a beloved long-running program, the accumulated number of episodes was staggering.

As we were marveling at this, the broadcast began.

About 30 minutes after the broadcast started.

The male and female announcers sitting in the live studio looked at the camera and said,

“The new year has brought us joyous news, hasn’t it? We’ve heard that very special guests have visited our hometown.”

“Let’s find out who these guests are. Reporter Min Hyo-jin?”

The camera turned to the reporter seated to the left of the hosts.

“Yes, the hotter-than-roasted sweet potatoes in winter, the idol group New Black has come to ‘Now, My Hometown!’”

“We’re really looking forward to it. How was the recording?”

“Yes, it was really nice and amazing.”

“We’re curious too. It’s not every day that an idol singer visits our hometown.”

“You can look forward to it.”

“When our reporter Min Hyo-jin says something like this, there’s always a reason.”

After the announcers and the reporter exchanged witty banter,

“With a shout of ‘Shall we meet them!’ the broadcast began.”

“Wow…”

Even we were unsure how to compress this, but the professionals were different.

The editing was brilliantly done.

They trimmed the parts that might be too much for the elderly audience, leaving only the essential scenes.

“Pffft!”

The stylists and company employees clapped and laughed whenever a ridiculous scene came on.

“Here it comes!”

“Look, it’s on!”

Jung-hyun stood in front of the cows.

Accompanied by the peaceful classic BGM of oboe and flute sounds.

“Moo-oo-oo-oo”

Jung-hyun smiled contentedly at the sound of ‘moo-oo-oo-oo,’ enhanced with special effects beyond the original.

We clapped and giggled.

Our staff lay on the floor, laughing until they cried, a sight that filled us with satisfaction.

“Good job, guys.”

“You too, brother, for enduring such a strange task.”

As we praised ourselves, the footage from that day’s recording flowed smoothly.

When it ended with the caption ‘If you’re curious about the behind-the-scenes, come to MiTube,’

“Oh, yes…”

I watched intently as the segment with NewBlack concluded.

The screen then cut to the announcers, their faces a picture of contemplation, pondering what commentary to add next.

A thumbnail flashed on the studio’s background screen, showing Junghyun solemnly emitting a cow’s moo.

After much deliberation, the male announcer broke the silence.

“Wow… that mooing really has a resonant ring to it, doesn’t it?”

A soft gasp escaped me.

The female announcer slightly bowed her head, emitting a chuckle, and the male announcer’s cheeks began to twitch in amusement.

The stylists, empathizing with the scene, commented with knowing looks, “That’s just too much to handle.”

As we marveled at the announcers’ professional recovery of the moment, I checked the internet.

“Oh…”

The response was overwhelming, seemingly far more people had tuned in than I had anticipated.