Chapter 79

"Do you know how to dig well?"

I tried to hide my surprise and asked PD, "Digging?"

"Hmm, I just wanted to check that first."

"I'm not sure if I'm good at it, but I've done it quite a bit."

"Is that so?"

He crossed his arms and fell into deep thought.

While Seok-hwan went to the counter to order coffee for PD, I recalled what happened yesterday.

"Kids! Your variety show has been confirmed!"

Last night, Seok-hwan called with a curled voice, rambling on about how hard the past month had been, how he would definitely make us shine, how much he loved Seon-woo, and how disappointed he would be if we didn't work hard, among other things.

There were many stories, but only two things stuck in our ears.

"Roll the Dice Around the World."

"Chuseok Special."

It was hard to believe, so I asked him several times.

"Roll the Dice Around the World," also known as "Jusehan," is a famous variety show, often called a national variety show.

In terms of ratings alone, it stands alone at the top.

While PBS's "Mr. Producer" is popular among young viewers, "Jusehan" is widely loved across all age groups.

It was hard to believe that we would be guests on such a show.

At first, I thought he was joking.

He should talk some sense.

What kind of show is "Jusehan" that we would appear on a Chuseok special?

Even Kim Deok-soon, who doesn't know much about TV shows, knew "Jusehan."

Honestly, we were still half-believing it.

It was just too hard to believe.

But seeing the serious man in front of me, lost in thought, made it feel real.

Koo Jae-young PD.

A star PD who created a national variety show with a very rough format of rolling dice to determine the next filming location and mission.

He was so famous that more cafe customers were looking at him than at us.

Anyway...

The interview was real.

I had read the articles to get to know him better, and what was written matched his current appearance.

He said he thinks about the show all day, and what he says comes naturally from his thoughts, but it can be surprising to others.

"Ah."

He shook his head as if coming to his senses and smiled when he saw the coffee.

"I'll enjoy the coffee, sir."

This time, he looked at us, scratching the back of his head.

"Was it surprising?"

"Not at all."

"Recently, I've been thinking about the special all day, so I was a bit hasty. I had a clear picture in my head, and I needed someone who could dig well to get the subtitles and scenes I wanted."

"Ah..."

"Anyway, I'm late in introducing myself."

He smiled and greeted us.

"Nice to meet you, New Black friends."

"Hello! We are New Black!"

We all smiled and bowed slightly.

The atmosphere was warm and friendly.

It was our first meeting, and we were just getting to know each other over a cup of coffee.

"Feeling a bit surreal, aren't you?"

"Yes, really."

"New guests always have the same expression."

"I find it especially amazing. This time last year, I was watching 'Jusehan' in the military barracks."

"Same here. At first, we thought you were joking."

He chuckled and said to Seok-hwan, "Treat the manager well. He really tried hard. He came to us every day with coffee and cake."

"...I might have been a bit of a nuisance."

"Thanks to you, we have such a good connection now."

Koo PD said with a smile.

"Usually, when I meet new guests, I can tell how they will appear on the show. New Black is particularly good. I have a feeling something great will come out, not just empty words."

He rubbed his mustache and looked at Jung-hyun.

"Jung-hyun, right? I can feel something special from you."

"From me?"

He tilted his head and sniffed his clothes, which made us laugh.

Then, Koo PD, who had been smiling politely, broke into a full grin and asked us.

"Are you usually like this?"

"Yes, he's often uncontrollable."

"Good, good. We need characters like this."

This seemed to spark his interest, and PD started asking Jung-hyun various questions.

Where did you grow up? Did you watch farming? And so on.

As the conversation continued, he drank coffee less and less.

When it was our turn to be questioned, he even took out his phone to take notes.

"Bi-ju, you're good at cooking, right?"

"Yes, I've learned a lot from blogs, TV, and books. I've always loved cooking, and it became a habit to cook for myself since I was young."

"Can you make holiday dishes?"

"Yes, I have a video of me making jeon during the Lunar New Year this year."

As Bi-ju showed the video on his phone, he nodded and took notes.

"Ri-hyuk, let's see. Singing, quizzes, cleaning...?"

"Yes, yes! I'm the main vocalist, so I love cleaning!"

While we tried to hold back our laughter at Ri-hyuk's nervous rambling, Koo PD was delighted.

"Really? You love cleaning?"

"Yes, but..."

"Phew, that's great. I can already picture the scene."

With a strange atmosphere, Ri-hyuk was nervous, but PD's gaze turned to Ji-ho.

"Ji-ho, I don't need to ask you."

"Huh?"

"I don't think you need to do anything. Just standing there, you have that charm that older people will love."

He's sharp.

The youngest member's proud expression was a bit annoying.

"And Woo-ju..."

Koo PD, who had been listening to the story of what had happened since last November due to the military, said,

"There's a lot to bring out, or rather, show. Especially with Jung-hyun."

It seemed he had just said "bring out."

The man, who looked like a thug, was intensely interested in me and Jung-hyun, which was a bit scary but good.

Being on a national variety show, especially a Chuseok special, was the best situation we could have hoped for.

The 10-minute meeting, which was supposed to be a casual get-to-know-you session, ended only when the ice in the coffee had melted.

"TNT felt the same way when they were new and appeared on our show. This feels good."

As Koo PD stood up, he said.

While discussing the main filming schedule and pre-meetings with Seok-hwan, Koo PD turned to us and said,

"I forgot to mention something."

"Huh?"

"You said you were worried about the mascot costume, right?"

Right, I talked about a lot of things today, even to someone I just met.

He rubbed his mustache and said,

"As a way to repay all the free coffee I've had, we have some props we're getting rid of. Do you want them? They were made for filming but not used."

"..."

"They're really unique and cute."

"..."

And 10 minutes later.

We went to the prop storage and let out a collective "Eureka!"

* * *

The streets of Myeongdong on a Friday afternoon were as crowded as ever.

Not only Koreans, but also Chinese and Japanese tourists on summer vacation were bustling about, each speaking their own language.

People were selling ice cream and snacks from street stalls, and the streets were bustling with customers visiting various cosmetics shops and duty-free stores.

As the lunch hour approached, staff members began setting up power lines and amplifiers in front of a building.

"What's going on? Is something happening?"

People passing by started to look with curiosity.

Though they didn't know what was happening, they felt something was about to start and stopped to watch.

The crowd grew larger and larger.

As about half of them took out their smartphones to record, a man with a gentle appearance pushed through the crowd and approached the penguins.

He seemed to be a staff member.

"Are they a dance team?"

People's eyes lit up, expecting the identities to be revealed soon.

Most thought they were a dance team.

If they were idols or celebrities, they wouldn't need to wear masks and could just appear with their faces.

If they were regular people, they must be dancers to have such skills.

Especially the noble penguin and the emperor penguin.

Actually, the most attention was on the emperor penguin.

Who could be the owner of that posture, which seemed like a real penguin?

Is he a variety show star?

Soon.

The staff helped the penguins take off their masks.

Pop.

As steam rose and sweat-soaked faces were revealed, everyone held their breath.

Someone let out a gasp.

"Wow..."

Inside were actors.

Or rather, faces so handsome they could be mistaken for actors were revealed.

The crowd's reaction changed dramatically as each face was revealed.

The cute baby penguin was a young, handsome man who smiled brightly and flapped his wings.

Inside the gentoo penguin was a very sharp-looking person flapping his wings and cooling off.

The noble penguin and the king penguin revealed a delicate-looking boy and a handsome man with prominent eyebrows, respectively.

The grand finale.

When the emperor penguin, who had been the center of attention throughout the event, took off his mask, a moment of silence fell.

"..."

The person rubbing his wet hair with his wings had features that seemed unreal.

His embarrassed smile as he looked at the audience drew gasps of admiration.

'He was that penguin...'

'Hello, we are the rookie idol New Black!' Even as they introduced themselves, people stared at their faces in amazement.

As the faces were imprinted in people's minds, the five members received microphones, seemingly preparing for a new performance.

When a very refreshing intro came from the amplifier, it was a fireworks show that no one there would forget.

* * *

The on-site reaction was really good.

It was unexpectedly delightful.

Since we weren't sure if we could meet the fans' expectations, we prepared to be as cute and funny as possible.

While imitating the penguins' movements from videos on YouTube, I felt a sense of self-doubt, but seeing the reaction made me feel it was worth it.

And our efforts paid off.

"Joo-ju, when you say 'Joo-ju' in the night sky, that 'Joo-ju'."

Explaining my name in Chinese to a Chinese tourist and in English to Western visitors.

I always wondered when I would use the Chinese and English I learned at TJ.

Finally, it feels like it's paying off.

Thanks to this, we repeated New Black to people from overseas until it was etched in their ears.

"Did you enjoy it? We are New Black."

"Thank you for watching. This was our first performance as New Black."

"Goodbye. We were New Black."

I handled the translation for languages other than Japanese, and there was a funny story when translating Chinese.

"He's asking if you're Chinese."

"Bro, what's a Chinese?"

"I'll tell him you're not."

Some people wondered why someone with the last name Wang couldn't speak Chinese.

I'll have to explain to Ji-ho what a Chinese is later.

On the other hand, because Myeongdong has a high ratio of tourists, it felt like we had become Hallyu idols.

For some reason, it made me feel very good.

After fulfilling the promise of the number one candidate, it felt like we had finally wrapped up the music show.

It felt like our first album activity was truly over.

A sense of relief and lightness.

It all started when I discovered a source in May, and it rolled like a snowball to this conclusion.

It was a new feeling.

If I had told my past self this story, would he have believed it?

Your song made it into the top 100, and the night sea, which you only roughly outlined, became a beloved demo version on the radio.

Jung-hyun's repair of the pump at the event led to a national variety show offer.

And finally, we would be lucky enough to be a candidate for the number one spot on a music show.

I wouldn't have believed it.

A joyful laugh escaped me.

Of course, the end of the first album activity doesn't mean the end of our journey. But for now, I wanted to enjoy this moment.

'Good job, guys.'

While my younger brothers were busy talking to the crowd, the sky behind them was turning orange with the setting sun.

The red sky looked like fireworks.

I smiled for a moment.

July 25, 2014.

With the dance of the five penguins, our long and arduous first album activity came to an end.