Chapter 28

Originally, it was time to go for the meeting, but thanks to someone who insists on doing something together, I managed to sit down for a moment.

The atmosphere was warm and friendly.

“Hyuk, here’s a special wrap I prepared for you, hyung.”

“Hey, that’s great. You should have some too.”

What’s going on.

The youngest member and Hyuk were passing around the boiled pork belly and chicken feet wraps, getting along well.

And the result.

“Phew-! Hey! Wang Jihoo, what did you put in there?”

“Cough! Hyung, what is this, cough-?”

Of course.

It seemed they had each added a lot of chili peppers or garlic, their faces turning red as they gulped down water.

Sometimes I wonder.

Maybe they were programmed at the DNA level to try to assassinate each other.

“Hyung, here, have this.”

Biju, like a mother bird, placed the most appetizing parts of the pork belly and chicken feet on my plate.

Maybe I was just hungry.

I didn’t have much of an appetite, but once it was in my mouth, it melted.

Unlike the constant bickering of the younger members, the older members were having a peaceful meal.

Jung-hyun, who was sucking on the pork feet, seemed to have something in mind and spoke seriously.

“Hyung, Yujeong.”

“Yeah?”

“It’s about the technique you used when you threw down the representative.”

Biju and I burst out laughing. Biju, who was laughing so hard that it could be heard, teased his peer.

“Jung-hyun, why did you attack the representative who was just standing there? The representative isn’t even a villain.”

“Ah, right. Then, ambushing the representative…?”

Hyuk clicked his tongue, watching the rapper struggle to find the right words.

“Hyung, your job is making rap, but your vocabulary is lacking?”

“I’m just focused on eating. Anyway, it’s about the technique you used when you threw the representative to the ground. Where did you learn that?”

“Just from watching various things on YouTube.”

“Is that all it takes?”

“Hyung, I learn dance moves just by watching too.”

Everyone nodded in agreement at the youngest member’s comment.

Then they started chatting among themselves.

“Well, it’s an unbelievable situation, but after seeing so many unbelievable things, it doesn’t seem so strange anymore.”

“Even when you arranged the song in just one day, it was really weird. I thought you were an alien.”

“Yeah, I was really surprised too.”

“I thought you were a weird person when you said you’d arrange the song in one day after being here for less than a week.”

“Was it that weird?”

Oh, Seo Hyuk. Are you on my side?

“Really weird.”

“...”

“Initially, it was shocking, but now it seems like you’ve adapted. Ah, look, Biju is being Biju.”

“Was I that weird?”

At my muttered question, the younger members all answered in unison.

“Really weird.”

“We thought you were an alien who came to help us.”

“You used to complain about not being able to dance, but now you get praised for your dancing. You arranged the song in one day after being here for less than a week, and you got to work with Senior Jang So-won on the year-end evaluation. When you went to work, you suddenly played the guitar and arranged the song, and it even topped the charts.”

“Now that I think about it, it really is weird.”

Biju, who was holding his chopsticks, nodded in agreement, and I laughed.

Whether it’s praise or a joke.

But even I think that everything that has happened since I joined this company is pretty weird. It’s like a chain of events, but it’s hard to believe.

“Maybe it’s all thanks to Director Jo Gyu-hwan’s special powers.”

When the youngest member brought up this strange theory, I remembered the meeting I had forgotten.

Oh, right.

I had a meeting with Director Jo.

“My head. I’m late.”

“Where are you going?”

“I had a meeting with Director Jo.”

“A meeting…?”

Looking at the puzzled expressions of the members, I stopped moving my lips.

The timing was awkward.

I thought it was something I should handle alone.

“I’ll be back soon. See you later.”

* * *

CEO’s room.

I had come up to meet with Director Jo, but when I came to my senses, I was in the representative’s office.

“Cheers~”

The uncles, their faces flushed, clinked their beer cans.

Who am I, and why am I here?

The representative smiled kindly and offered me a can.

“Wanna have a drink, Yujeong?”

“Representative, don’t say that. This kid has to perform a music show tomorrow.”

Director Jo waved his hand to stop him.

While sipping on a zero cola, the representative fed me some pork belly.

“Yujeong, you’ve worked hard. Really.”

“Thank you.”

“I’ve felt it since the year-end evaluation. Things have been going smoothly since you came. Ha, you’re our lucky charm number two after Gyu-hwan.”

“Yeah.”

Director Jo chimed in.

“I heard the head of the business support team is excited because the music revenue for this quarter is expected to break records. I haven’t seen him smile like this since a movie hit ten million viewers.”

“Yujeong has really done a great job. Manager Yoon must be proud.”

“Oh, it’s all thanks to the representative and director.”

“Is this my doing? You did well, and the kids did well. It’s the result of everyone’s efforts, ha ha.”

“If the representative hadn’t wrapped things up with Hwa Entertainment, this wouldn’t have been possible.”

Manager Yoon’s words made the representative smile.

Indeed.

This hyung didn’t get his position for nothing.

While Manager Yoon was talking, the representative’s attention shifted elsewhere.

“By the way, since a lot of money is coming in, have you thought about what to do with the royalties?”

“Not yet.”

I smiled and answered.

“I plan to save it. I’ve never managed this much money before.”

That’s the life of a trainee.

Money keeps piling up.

You don’t know how to spend it, and there’s nowhere to spend it.

“I might use it for my grandmother.”

“Good idea. What did Director Jo do when he had his first big hit? Did he buy his parents a house?”

“Not yet, representative. I bought them a car.”

“Right.”

While the adults were discussing real estate, I quietly ate the pork belly.

I had nothing to contribute to their conversation.

Someone poked my side, and I saw Manager Yoon giving me a certain look.

I nodded.

“Sorry, representative. Is your back okay?”

“It’s a bit sore, but it’ll be fine. A little patch should do it.”

“I’m really sorry.”

“No, it’s my fault for grabbing your shoulder to surprise you. They say everything is a good experience, right? Ha ha!”

Fortunately, the representative laughed it off.

I looked at the second victim, who was quietly eating.

“Hyung?”

“I have a herniated disc, you know.”

“...I’m really sorry. If anything happens, I’ll take responsibility.”

“Alright, kid. Just stay healthy.”

While Director Jo waved his hand dismissively, the representative naturally smiled warmly and interjected.

“I heard this was supposed to be a meeting with Director Jo.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Since we’re here, can we listen in?”

I didn’t hesitate.

Anything I say to the director will eventually reach the representative anyway.

What’s the point of hiding it?

I carefully brought up the recent concerns I had.

The three uncles, slightly tipsy, listened quietly to my story.

After I finished, a brief silence followed.

Director Jo was the first to speak.

“You want to show the members singing well?”

“Yes.”

“Is it really necessary?”

“Huh?”

Director Jo looked at me, who was blinking in confusion.

“Your song is at a record-breaking chart position, and your music show rankings are off the charts. The media is calling it a long-term reign. If this was your debut song, I might understand, but isn’t this a project song? Isn’t the current popularity enough?”

Director Jo finished with a somewhat indifferent expression.

It felt like I needed to give a good answer, but I decided to be honest.

“Well… I’m a bit greedy. And I think now is the time to be greedy. This kind of unexpected popularity might not come again. I want to make the most of it.”

At that moment, I realized the representative and Manager Yoon were looking at me with a fond expression.

Consulting with the members?

“Since you’re the leader, we naturally think you speak for the team. But next time, please discuss it with the members first.”

He smiled.

“New Black isn’t a group of just one person.”

* * *

Not long after, Manager Yoon brought good news.

“Your appearance on Music Cafe is confirmed.”

Time flew by.

The segment we were to appear in was only about 10 minutes, but a considerable preparation period was needed.

We had to do pre-interviews with the writers to create topics for the talk segment, and we needed to prepare a unique stage for the live performance.

We almost stayed up every night, repeatedly creating and revising our repertoire.

It was tough, but what could I do?

Opportunities are for those who regret and work hard to seize them.

There are music shows where artists spend 12 hours preparing for a 3-minute stage, so this preparation wasn’t particularly difficult.

In the waiting room of the popular music show.

“Music Cafe?”

Of course, New Black’s appearance was with Jang So-won.

We didn’t have our own song yet, except for "Something."

She seemed pleased with the news, as I had already discussed my concerns with her.

“Oh, that’s great.”

Jang So-won, eating a soufflé and coffee, was delighted.

“I’ve been leaving replies to the comments on your performances, finding them ridiculous. I want to show everyone how good you are this time.”

“Thank you for joining us.”

“Of course. We won’t see each other much after the activity ends, so I want to see you while I can.”

She smiled.

“More importantly, I’m looking forward to the stage we’ll do together. What did you prepare this time?”

* * *

PBS Broadcasting Public Hall.

It was the recording day for Ha Seung-ju’s Music Cafe, a time when spring flowers were in full bloom in early April.

We had wrapped up our music show activities.

Although we still held the top spot on the Mango Chart’s monthly rankings, we had stepped down from the top candidate position in the fourth week due to the comeback of a solo artist and a popular idol group.

Both agencies decided it was time to wrap up the activities.

And we had arrived at the final destination of this activity.

“Wow… it’s huge.”

When we came to the back stage from the waiting room for the rehearsal, we were shocked by the size of the stage.

It was on a different scale.

It was a different level of grandeur compared to a music show studio.

The tension was also amplified.

Biju kept biting and releasing his lip, and Hyuk wiped the sweat from his hands with a tissue.

Even our youngest member, who usually teases Hyuk for being nervous, was standing there with his mouth agape.

Meanwhile, Jung-hyun was as calm as a Buddha.

He was the one who, unlike the others who were startled when I threw the representative, thought, “Oh, that move was cool.” It wasn’t a strange reaction.

The floor director (FD) pushed through the busy staff and called us.

“New Black team.”

“Yes!”

The FD, wearing an intercom, listened to instructions and looked at us.

“Who’s Yujeong?”

“It’s me.”

“We’ll start with your rehearsal. We’ll check the piano sound first. After about two minutes, we’ll move on to the team rehearsal. Don’t forget to pay attention to the stage movements as we discussed earlier.”

The FD, who rattled off the instructions for a minute, quickly disappeared.

“What did he just say?”

“Uh… I think I forgot because I was nervous.”

“Jung-hyun, did you hear it?”

“Ah, I was distracted.”

The confused younger members naturally, or maybe not so naturally, looked at me.

I sighed and held out my phone.

“Here.”

“...?”

“Listen to the recording.”

“...!”

I waved to the younger members, who looked at me like a savior, and went up to the stage.

The grand piano set up in the middle.

Below the stage, the writers were taking notes to find points to improve, and the production crew was monitoring the screens.

I checked the camera positions.

Feeling the cold touch of the piano seat, I closed my eyes.

And I started playing.