Chapter 26

Chapter 7. We're Singers

Inside the vehicle on our way back to the accommodation after the first music show.

“Hahaha!”

“Haha!”

“Hahaha!”

Amidst everyone's laughter, Bijoo encouraged the youngest member.

“Jiho, do that again. That thing.”

“This?”

“Yeah, that one.”

As everyone looked at him with anticipation, the acting prodigy among the youngest members cleared his throat and started to get into character.

“Ahem.”

He then perfectly mimicked someone.

“We hope you will love our soufflé~.”

The kids burst out laughing.

I covered my face with both hands.

If I were to die today, my tombstone would probably read [Seon Wooju, Died of Embarrassment].

It hurts.

The embarrassment is at its peak, making me want to die.

“Wow, it’s exactly the same.”

I felt betrayed as Bijoo, who was laughing so hard he was wiping away tears, said this.

“Bijoo, what’s exactly the same?”

“What? It’s completely the same….”

“No, when I look at it, it’s not the same at all-”

“Usually, you can’t tell when it’s you, hyung.”

The youngest member interjected.

“Do you want to compare and show it? The MV clip from today is probably out on the internet now.”

“No, no.”

But it was useless. Jang Hyun, sitting next to me, had already pulled up the video.

On the smartphone screen.

The subtitle [1st Place Something] appeared with the sound of applause from the scene.

The me in the screen looked extremely nervous. I had full makeup on, making my pale skin and sharp features stand out.

While I thought I looked fine, that wasn’t the important part.

The line I delivered with tears welling up in my eyes.

-We will work hard in the future, so please love our soufflé….

As my younger members burst into laughter again, I sighed.

“I’ve been so good to you all.”

“Good? You can’t even fold your clothes properly, mister.”

“Yeah. You just lie around and always say, ‘Jiho, bring me some water’ or something.”

Seizing the moment, the youngest member smiled brightly.

“Our youngest, you’ve had a lot of complaints about hyung, haven’t you?”

“Yes, I hated him so much. Always scolding me and making me do housework.”

“I see. Hyung has made a big mistake.”

“Yeah. I’m glad you feel sorry now… Ow!”

As the youngest member, who had just been slapped by me, held his forehead and made a pained expression, the members burst into laughter.

Ri Hyuk, who seemed to find it hilarious, took a photo as an extra.

While everyone was laughing, I noticed Jang Hyun, sitting next to me, tapping the smartphone screen with a focused look.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m saving the videos.”

Jang Hyun smiled.

“They’re all memories, right? We should keep them as records.”

“No… we don’t need to keep them.”

I had already been embarrassed to the point of death, and these guys were nailing the coffin shut.

Yun Seokhwan also seemed to be enjoying the lively atmosphere.

I ran my hand through my hair and said.

“Seokhwan hyung.”

“What?”

“Can I get out of the contract? I want to get away from these ungrateful kids.”

“Wooju, just bear with it for seven years.”

The kids chimed in with Yun Seokhwan’s joke.

“Where are you going?”

Bijoo, still laughing, put his arm around my shoulder.

“We can’t do without hyung.”

“Yeah. Who wrote the song that made us successful?”

“Do you guys know this and still act like this?”

“Ah, we do this because we like hyung. Don’t you know?”

I tried to glare at the youngest member, who was trying to act cute, but ended up laughing.

I somehow understood the feeling of pet owners.

They get angry when their pets mess up the house, but when the pets come up and act cute, their anger quickly dissipates.

Ri Hyuk, noticing my expression, chuckled.

“You look like a grandfather whose grandson’s antics have cheered him up.”

“Our Ri Hyuk speaks so nicely.”

“I know.”

“If your heart was as beautiful as your face, how nice would it be?”

“Where can you find someone as kind as me?”

At that shameless line, Jiho’s face fell.

“How can you say such things without even a hint of shame?”

“Shut up, Wang Jiho.”

“Do you always tell me to shut up when it’s not in your favor?”

While the 4th and 5th ranked members were bickering, the older members were watching and laughing, finding it cute.

But even the main vocalist and sub-vocalist, who were bickering, had smiles on their faces.

Overall, everyone was in high spirits.

Perhaps it was the best day of my life.

It felt like my chest was wide open.

With each deep breath, the pent-up frustration from the past seemed to dissipate, and the warm breeze coming through the open window felt refreshing.

Even if they offered me a fortune, I wouldn’t want to trade this feeling.

The reward for all our hard work was truly sweet.

Having come through a long, dark tunnel and seen the light for the first time, how could I not be grateful and happy?

Jang Hyun handed me his phone.

“Hyung, have you seen this?”

“What is it?”

“Your name has been mentioned quite a bit on the internet.”

“Really?”

I looked at the smartphone screen.

[New Black? The leader looks like he could fit in anywhere]

-What’s ‘fit in anywhere’ mean lol

-What’s with the dog comment lol

-I only saw the face of the guy playing the guitar

-As a genuine face fan, I’m starting to stan from today

Thanks to my 1st place speech today, my face had become a minor topic of discussion.

Below that, I clicked on the post about the acceptance speech.

-Is Jang Soowan really this beautiful?

-Soowan-ssi, take me please..

-She doesn’t look like a rookie and her live performance was great

-I was eating ramen at home and burst out laughing. It was so funny

Most of the reactions were positive.

Fortunately, the response from the TNT fandom, which I was most worried about, wasn’t bad either.

-This is the guy who took a photo with Taehyun lol

-They said he almost debuted with TNT… It must be awkward for both of them.

-I’m still skeptical about the chart performance, but seeing how they support each other, it seems to have gone well.

-It’s been a while since I’ve seen Taehyun laugh like that. Are they really best friends?

Those who had been causing a fuss about potential music chart manipulation were now showing a softer reaction.

It seemed that Taehyun’s photo on SNS had helped.

I wondered why they kept asking for photos at the broadcasting station earlier.

I had a rough idea, but it was still gratifying to see it confirmed.

I [Thank you]

A reply came immediately.

Han Taehyun [^^]

Han Taehyun [If you’re grateful, buy me a drink]

Han Taehyun [Ah lol, right, hyung can’t drink]

Han Taehyun [Just buy me a meal]

Han Taehyun [Let’s gather with the B team members soon]

Han Taehyun [I’ll create a group chat soon h]

While sending a quick reply, I was enveloped by a strange feeling.

Han Taehyun, a 5-year idol.

The guy who used to be clueless had become so perceptive after his career in the entertainment industry. Would our naive youngest member also change like this someday?

Feeling my gaze, Jiho grinned.

“What?”

“Huh?”

“Why are you looking at me with such a loving gaze?”

“……”

It seems we still have a long way to go.

* * *

When we won our first 1st place on Music On, I thought to myself.

We’re really lucky.

Although we had consistently topped the music charts, I wondered if we could maintain the 1st place position against the strong support from the fandoms of senior groups.

I believed that if we were lucky, we might stay at 1st place for two weeks before dropping.

However, reality unfolded in the opposite direction.

-‘Something’s’ fierce run, 3 consecutive weeks at 1st place on music shows

-Rapper Hesion’s comeback, will it end ‘Something’s’ long reign?

-Intense March music battle, ‘Something’ emerged as the ultimate winner

We won the 1st place in four major music shows.

We topped the charts for three consecutive weeks on terrestrial and music specialty channels.

It was an unbelievable result.

Who could have imagined that a collaboration between an unknown idol and an unpopular singer would top the charts in the fiercely competitive month of March?

It was beyond surprising; it was absurd.

To someone who doesn’t follow the entertainment industry, the 1st place on weekly music shows might not seem like a big deal, but for the rookie New Black, it was a tremendous achievement.

Moreover, we were feeling the results every day.

First, we started getting schedules.

After our performance on the music show, various small offers started coming in from all over.

There were local festivals featuring potatoes and sweet potatoes, and even music festivals I had heard of.

Among them, the most numerous were school events.

In preparation for the university festivals starting in late April, the university sides moved quickly to secure a live performance of Something.

The theme of Something was exactly about a crush.

It was a topic that college students were most interested in on SNS.

A music critic even analyzed the success of Something as being due to “being the first to claim the popular topic of a crush.”

With a relatable theme and an addictive melody, Something was set to be the biggest hit of the first half of 2014.

Currently, the hottest song on college campuses is Something.

In such a situation, where everyone was vying to have us perform at their school, the competition surrounding Jang Soowan and New Black was intense.

The event fees offered by the universities, as I learned through Seokhwan hyung, were staggering.

When Jang Hyun, who was shocked, accidentally burst the can while gripping it, he explained as we cleaned up the spilled drink.

“Usually, there’s an agency that connects events. They rate you like cattle. They check how many 1st places you’ve won on music shows, your chart rankings, and recent buzz metrics to determine your rating. Winning 1st place on music shows is that important. Even your seniors in Scarlett saw their event fees double right after winning 1st place.”

Yun Seokhwan added with a smile.

“You’re popular now, right? Enjoy it while you can. It’s a popularity you can’t maintain, and shouldn’t.”

His words were not just sweet talk but a realistic congratulation.

A popularity you can’t maintain and shouldn’t.

He wasn’t wrong.

The 1st place on the monthly chart and three consecutive weeks of 1st place on music shows were miracles we might not achieve again in the future.

For a singer, an album is like a sports match.

Just because you were MVP in the last match doesn’t guarantee you’ll be MVP in the next one.

It’s like the probability of independent trials I learned in the college entrance exam.

Even if the previous result was a success, the next one could be a success or a failure, and there’s no certainty.

The popularity of Something is the popularity of the song.

It’s not the popularity of New Black, so it’s something we can’t maintain.

Then, what does he mean by a popularity we shouldn’t maintain?

-Honestly, it’s all thanks to Jang Soowan lol. She’s a singer-songwriter, after all. The rookie group is just being given a chance.

-New Black just adds harmonies and leaves when they appear on music shows.

-Honestly, I don’t know why they’re even there.

-It’s the adults’ decision lol. What do the kids know?

-One of them participated in the songwriting.

-The interview said it was a joint effort.

-Jang Soowan is just being nice lol. Honestly, what can idols do for songwriting? The producers do it all.

-The song is doing well, so they’re being rushed out even before their debut.

-They probably didn’t practice enough, right? lol

The internet comments I was reading were like this.

Our popularity was dependent on Jang Soowan.

Most of our schedules were the same.

When Hwa Entertainment received offers under Jang Soowan’s name, they would contact our management team to share them.

All the schedules during March.

The magazine photo shoots and interviews with Jang Soowan, and most of the events we were invited to, were like this.

Even if the offer came to us first, it would be something like, “The conditions are based on Jang Soowan being there.”

This is what Yun Seokhwan meant by a popularity we shouldn’t maintain.

It wasn’t the popularity of New Black to begin with.

Now that I think about it, something feels off.

Our current popularity is no joke, but it’s not our popularity?

Of course, to others, this might seem like a first-world problem. Receiving this much attention even before our debut is something to be grateful for.

The members also seemed satisfied.

The happy expressions of my younger members, who were enjoying each day, were so heartwarming that just watching them made me feel full.

Still, I felt it was lacking.

If we’re going to do this, we should row while the tide is high, right?

This is a chance to establish New Black’s first image, and I didn’t want the four of us, excluding Ri Hyuk, to be remembered simply as decorative pieces.

I wanted to show people.

That we also have the ability as singers.