Chapter 22

We watched as Gil Chae-kyung sat next to Ji-ho.

What's a gunggungi?

The atmosphere that had been revolving around Ji-ho suddenly changed.

Every time the girl with a lively smile spoke, there were friendly reactions from all around.

Since I was standing behind Ji-ho, I couldn't see his expression.

While we were watching with tense faces, Gil Chae-kyung started to cause a stir.

It seemed like ripples spreading in a pond when a stone is thrown.

And the gazes directed at us.

"Why are you staring?"

"I'm surprised. Why is this happening?"

Unlike the flustered kids, I stroked my chin.

Gil Chae-kyung looked slightly flustered.

The fact that she failed to diss Ji-ho was evident.

The only means to diss us or Ji-ho would be the difference in recognition.

She failed.

Then, the reason the students were looking at us was probably because they knew who we were.

Once this inference was complete, I called Lee Hyuk.

"Lee Hyuk."

"Yes?"

"Can you search our names on the search engine?"

"Don't you have hands?"

Lee Hyuk took out his smartphone and quickly tapped away.

"…Huh?"

Lee Hyuk, who had searched for New Black, furrowed his eyebrows and started scanning the articles.

Wide-eyed.

Bee-ju and Jung-hyun, who had been watching, also turned their heads.

Unlike them, who were visibly tense, I had a hunch.

"Lee Hyuk, what's going on?"

"Did something happen to us?"

Without answering, Lee Hyuk continued tapping.

I had been yawning, but I caught the scene.

The smartphone slipped through his loosened fingers and fell, as if in slow motion.

My body moved automatically, lifting my heel.

Thud.

The smartphone, kicked like a soccer ball, bounced up.

I caught it and handed it back to Lee Hyuk.

"Wow."

Jung-hyun, who was standing next to me, looked at me with wide, amazed eyes.

Using my ability to mimic movements, I had been practicing acrobatic moves whenever I had the chance, and now they came naturally.

Returning to reality, I called out to Lee Hyuk, who was still in shock.

"Lee Hyuk."

"…"

"Seo-ri Hyuk."

"Yes?"

"You need to take the phone."

"Seniors."

Lee Hyuk, who met my eyes, mumbled with a half-shocked face.

"We've hit it big."

"Hit it big? What do you mean?"

"Look."

Lee Hyuk showed us his smartphone.

[Mango Chart Real-Time Rankings]

1. Jang So-won X New Black - Something

2. TNT - Blink

3. TNT - Don’t Smile

4. TNT - Pretender

5. Teen Spirit - Nana

Something was ranked number one in real-time.

* * *

We traced the cause through internet searches.

The incident began with a variety show last weekend.

Our song was used as background music in a scene where the participants in a virtual marriage program confirmed their feelings for each other.

I guess Seok-hwan had begged the PD to use it.

At this point, people didn't pay much attention.

They just thought, 'The song is good,' and moved on.

The real start was when highlights of the scene were edited and circulated on SNS.

- Woo-bin and Ji-eun, good job!

- So sweet... Really the best ㅜㅠㅠㅠ

- But does anyone know the title of this song?

- I'm curious too. It's been subtly playing on the radio and in cafes lately.

- This is Jang So-won's single! The title is Something.

Recognition gradually spread, but it was still insufficient.

However, the situation changed when a video was posted.

A BJ (internet broadcaster) sang a cover of Something with another BJ, and the video spread on SNS.

Rumors spread like wildfire.

Thanks to the video shared on SNS like a virus, our song received sudden attention, and its ranking kept rising from the early hours of yesterday morning until it finally reached number one this morning.

During the graduation ceremony, I refreshed the page nearly a hundred times.

"Is this a dream?"

"Do you want me to pinch you?"

"You pinch me first."

Bee-ju and I pinched each other's sides, but all we felt was pain.

Honestly, if it were a dream, I wouldn't want to wake up.

It was such a good dream.

Even Jung-hyun, who usually doesn't get surprised by much, was blinking like a bear waking from hibernation.

Lee Hyuk was hunched over, his hand on his chest.

"Wow, my heart is racing."

"Are you okay?"

"It feels like the ground is shaking. My legs are trembling. Can you feel it, senior?"

"I can't really feel it because you suddenly started calling me senior."

Lee Hyuk glared at me.

While I was smiling, Bee-ju asked me,

"By the way, senior. The company must be in a frenzy right now, right?"

* * *

Lemon Entertainment's PR team.

The phones were ringing as if the place was on fire.

"Hey! Can someone answer the phone?"

"Yes, I'll go!"

"How's the press release coming along?"

"I've organized the draft to send to the journalists. I can finish it within 30 minutes."

"Good. Finish it quickly."

"Should we send someone to Ji-ho's graduation ceremony?"

"The journalists probably aren't that interested in our kids yet, right?"

"No, they will be because of the Girls on Top member."

"What?"

"Team leader, did you know? Gil Chae-kyung is in the same class as Ji-ho and Seo Il-jung."

The team leader frantically searched for a phone.

"Hey! Can someone go to the graduation ceremony? If our kids make a mistake while talking to the journalists, it could be a disaster! Especially Ji-ho, he's a bomb."

"Team leader! Manager Yoon is on his way."

"When?"

"He rushed over as soon as he heard the news."

"Okay. With Manager Yoon there, we can breathe a sigh of relief. What's going on? Really."

The chaotic PR team.

They only grasped the situation after the rankings suddenly shot up.

Honestly, who would have thought that a solo song by a singer who had been in the top 30 would reach number one?

Given that there were no signs of this happening in the past two weeks, no one could have imagined it.

"These days, I've been ignoring internet broadcasts, but they're not to be underestimated. They've really boosted a song."

"It's the song that's popular."

"Frankly, the song was really good. It's just that we lack capital."

"Don't get too carried away. It's common for a song to hit number one and then drop."

"Team leader."

Someone who had been looking at the chart opened their lips.

"It doesn't seem like it's going to drop, does it?"

* * *

In this surreal situation, it was the youngest member who brought us back to reality.

"Seniors!"

At the entrance of the auditorium, the youngest member, holding a large bouquet of flowers, ran over like a retriever.

"I'm not a middle schooler anymore!"

"Wow, you've grown up."

"Did you see our chart ranking?"

We all nodded at the youngest member's question.

"Of course we did."

Of course we did.

The youngest member, looking at us as if we were cute, pulled out a card.

"What should we eat? Dad gave me this card, and it's really unlimited. Mom said it's okay to use it for anything as long as it's under a million won."

Check the scale.

While we were excitedly discussing what to eat after the graduation ceremony and the sudden rise in our music chart performance,

"Ji-ho."

We turned our heads to see students from the school.

They didn't approach us when we were four, but now that they saw Ji-ho, who was familiar to them, they finally came over.

Well, I guess.

Even I thought we looked quite awkward and stiff.

"Can we take a photo with you?"

"Me too!"

"Me too!"

We took selfies with them.

At first, it was a bit awkward, but after dozens of repeats, we started to smile naturally.

Students asked if they could post the photos on SNS.

After responding to the surprising photo requests for a while, we were catching our breath when another group of people found us.

"Are you New Black?"

"Yes?"

"Hello, I'm a reporter from Star Daily."

The people who had just finished Gil Chae-kyung's graduation interview all gathered around us.

They probably thought it was a better news story.

Suddenly, cameras were pointed at us, and we were flustered.

"Excuse me."

A soft voice intervened.

Yoon Seok-hwan.

Our manager, whom we hadn't seen for a while, stood beside us.

"These guys are new to interviews."

Yoon Seok-hwan explained to the reporters and stood by us.

He cut off difficult questions or coached us from the side, helping us through the interview.

Thanks to him, we managed to finish, but we were still in a daze.

It was overwhelming.

Suddenly, questions were thrown at us, and our minds went blank.

Honestly, it wasn't an experience I'd want to repeat.

However, there were good points.

Gil Chae-kyung, watching us from a distance.

She smiled and posed for photos with those who asked, but if you looked closely, her lips were trembling.

All the attention that should have been on her was taken away.

She hovered around the entertainment reporters, but except for a few, no one paid attention to her.

It was a natural outcome.

A graduation ceremony that had already been covered was less interesting than a song that suddenly went viral on SNS.

Watching Gil Chae-kyung kick the sand as she left the playground, I smiled.

She's in a bind.

* * *

The magical time that began in mid-February.

Everything started to change after we hit number one on the music chart.

- 'Something' is a hit... Weekly chart number one

- Jang So-won's glorious comeback

- 'Something's' chart run, is a collaboration boom coming to the music industry?

Our song was requested on radio whenever love stories were shared, and the same was true on TV.

Whether it was variety shows, streets, or cafes, our song played everywhere.

It was a really strange feeling.

Seeing our song used as background music on famous TV programs or hearing the cast hum our song made it feel unreal.

In a clip that Jang So-won's senior posted in the group chat, the cast members were discussing our song.

Inside a car with cameras installed.

- Holding your hand that I can't quite grasp~

- What song is that, sir?

- Hey! Jin-woo! Don't you know this? It's a hot song these days.

- Really?

Our song appearing on the popular variety show <Around the World with a Dice> was unexpected.

I thought our song was good, but I never dreamed it would be this big.

Of course, the song's success and our recognition were unrelated.

- Who are the new singers who sang 'Something' with Jang So-won?

- Jang So-won, "New Black are really talented friends"

- Lemon Entertainment, "Inquiries about New Black are pouring in"

There were articles expressing curiosity about us, but they were few and far between.

Honestly, not many people look into who the singer is just because the song is good.

It's common for people to hum a famous movie OST without knowing the singer's name.

Once, I asked Seok-hwan out of curiosity.

"Are inquiries really pouring in about who we are?"

The answer was simple.

"Would they?"

"…"

There was a gap between popularity and recognition, but we didn't mind.

We were so happy about the song's success.

We even enjoyed this gap.

When our song played in front of a mobile phone store, we recorded videos singing along to our parts.

When we visited convenience stores and our song played, we asked, "Whose song is this?"

It was a joyful time, no matter what we did.

Especially for me.

When I heard the expected copyright income from Manager Joo Gyu-hwan, I opened my mouth wide.

"Why are you so surprised?"

"Manager… That much?"

"Of course."

Manager Joo Gyu-hwan smiled softly.

"You might not know, but Something is a once-in-a-lifetime hit for a songwriter. You got lucky."

"My heart is pounding."

"Congratulations. You're a real songwriter now."

Even after splitting the royalties with Jang So-won, we still received that much.

Manager Joo said this was just the beginning.

If this trend continues, it will probably be a hit throughout the first half of the year, and with the income from karaoke and music downloads, we could buy a luxury car.

Regardless, it was hard to believe.

Every day was a mix of shock, joy, and surprise.

Of course, as with anything in the world, there were people who sent envious glances at our sudden success.

- Isn't there a suspicion of chart manipulation for Something? The trend is strange.

There were people who consistently posted such articles on the internet.

But they didn't get much traction.

- The article is really malicious.

- It could be chart manipulation, but if you look at it this way, every chart is manipulated.

- I don't buy it.

- The song is so good that such talk doesn't hold water.

- Yeah, I hum this song whenever I go to karaoke with my friends.

- The problem is that Lemon and Hwa aren't the type of companies that would do that. Lemon is too proud to do such a thing, and Hwa... I'll stop talking.

- Haha, Hwa, who was flustered during the Joo Hana incident, doing chart manipulation? These guys are too dumb to do it as much as you say.

- Oh, I'm scrolling down and feeling cold from Hwa.

We were worried it might become a problem, but such talk only circulated in certain corners of the internet and had no impact offline.

And finally.

The thing we had been waiting for arrived.

Manager Yoon Seok-hwan came down to the underground practice room where we were in the midst of intense practice.

"Guys."

He said with a face that said, "Here it comes."

"Your music show appearance has been confirmed."

And we were even a number one candidate.