Translator: MarcTempest
Editor: Rxel
Chapter 145
The clock on the wall pointed to exactly 7 o’clock.
“…”
They all gathered in front of their laptops at the sound of someone saying, “It’s 7 o’clock!” But no one dared to click the mouse.
Bijoo suggested, “How about you do it, Hyung? I heard that this kind of thing should be done by someone who has good luck.”
“That’s nonsense.” Rihyuk interrupted, “It’s not like quantum mechanics where the outcome depends on the observation. The result is already determined.”
“It’s what Woojoo Hyung’s grandmother told us…”
“Oh, that.”“Rihyuk was mean,” Junghyun said and picked up a shrimp sushi.
While someone blinked as if he had become a bad guy in an instant, their phones started ringing one by one.
With messages, texts, and calls.
“This must be a good sign, right?”
“I don’t know. The kids are sending me messages like, ‘Ahh, I can’t watch it.’”
After they put on such a farce, Woojoo decided to update the chart.
The atmosphere was tense, with even their breathing audible.
Woojoo’s fingertips were trembling.
As he clicked the mouse, the real-time chart of Mango Chart was updated to [19:00].
“Wow, TNT is here as expected.”
As Junghyun said, the first page of the chart was full of TNT’s comeback repackaged album.
A black cover with a question mark made of smoky smoke.
TNT – ‘?’ (Question)
Cha Woohyun – Time Management (Throne of Emptiness OST)
TNT – To do, or Not To do
TNT – White, Night
TNT – The Word That Is You
With a drama OST in between, TNT lined up their tracks on the chart.
Bijoo pointed.
“Let’s start from the bottom, Hyung.”
“Yeah. Let’s do that.”
Woojoo dragged the chart all the way down.
They started to climb up the chart from the 100th place.
“Uh…! Ah.”
Rihyuk screamed at the sight of ‘Something’ that appeared in the middle, but Woojoo understood.
It was still hard to get used to the fact that a song that came out in February was on the real-time chart in November.
“Come out. Come out…”
Woojoo muttered like a spell and scrolled up carefully.
There was none in the 90s.
Nor in the 80s.
Nor in the 70s.
It didn’t show up as he went up.
When he reached around the 30th place, he said, “Even if you don’t see it, don’t be disappointed…”
“Go up, Hyung.”
“Honestly, we.”
“Go up!”
“Y-yes… I’ll go up…”
But there were none of their songs in the 20s either.
“…”
A disappointed atmosphere that couldn’t be hidden filled the air.
Honestly, they expected it to be in the 70s.
Considering the mood, they thought it would be there.
They checked up to the 20s just in case, but there was none.
That meant one thing.
That their song had failed to enter the chart.
It wasn’t a strange thing.
Of course, ordinary people, including Woojoo’s grandmother, would ask if it was that hard to get into the real-time top 100.
But it was.
It was a remarkable thing for an idol from a small agency, let alone a rookie, to enter the chart.
Honestly, Woojoo was ready to cheer wherever he saw their name.
But it seemed like their name was nowhere to be found.
“Hyung. Don’t give up and go up more. It might be up there.”
“Fine, let’s see.”
Woojoo nodded at Bijoo’s encouraging words and scrolled up.
With a half-giving-up attitude, Woojoo scrolled up.
Right then.
“Uh…! Hey! Wait!”
Rihyuk screamed in surprise and pointed at the screen.
Woojoo turned his head and saw his face all contorted. He couldn’t speak and just pointed at the screen with his finger.
Woojoo tilted his head and Junghyun explained.
“Look there, at the top 10.”
“Top 10?”
And as Rihyuk said, when Woojoo scrolled up to the top 10, at the moment he thought there was nothing.
There it was, the name written in the 10th place.
A red sign that stood out between the two songs of TNT.
“…What?”
Sweet Potato Trio – You’re So Ugly
TNT – Spring Spring
New Black – Masquerade
TNT – I See You at the End of the Universe
At that moment, time stopped.
I was crazy.
That was the only thought in Woojoo’s head.
I was crazy.
Really crazy.
Everything felt like slow motion.
The sound of Bijoo dropping the wooden chopsticks in shock.
Rihyuk collapsing on the sofa as if he had lost all his strength and Junghyun catching him.
The squeaky sound of the red rubber duck.
Jiho jumping up and spilling the soybean paste soup in the plastic cup on the floor.
When the soup splashed everywhere.
That was when Woojoo came to his senses.
“Wow! Wow! This…! This.”
While the youngest was flustered, Rihyuk, who had regained his senses, said, “Hey, hurry up and take a screenshot. It might be a computer error and go down later. Let’s take a screenshot first.”
“Yeah… Yeah, let’s do that.”
“Hyung! Hyungs! What is this? We’re in 10th place? No, why 10th place, ah I’m tongue-tied.”
Amidst the colorful chaos everywhere, they stared at the laptop screen in silence.
Wondering if it was a dream.
After checking that there was no change for a minute at 3.5 refreshes per second.
“Wow…”
They all stared blankly at the air.
Woojoo thought his mouth would open, but it closed instead. His throat muscles spasmed and goosebumps spread all over his body.
He felt chills from his fingertips to his toes.
As if they had been electrocuted, they trembled their cheeks and stared blankly at each other.
Was this really happening?
They stared at each other for a moment.
“Wow!”
They all jumped up and hugged each other, running around the room.
Their screams were so loud that they must have been heard in the other offices, but they didn’t care.
They had hit the jackpot.
Woojoo felt a surge of adrenaline coursing through his body as they ran around for a while.
“Mom, I have to call Mom and Dad.”
“Me too, I have to tell my sister…”
“I need to call my parents and my brother.”
“Hyung! My friends are all congratulating me. Haha. Gil Chaekyung has been silent and not saying anything…”
They each grabbed their phones and said a word, and Woojoo swallowed hard.
Woojoo wanted to tell Lady Kim Deoksoon the good news.
That their album was a huge success.
Woojoo turned on his smartphone to call her, but someone else called him first.
[Devil]
It was Seokhwan Hyung.
But as soon as Woojoo answered the phone.
“Hello…”
“Woojoo!”
A voice came from both the phone and outside the phone.
As if he couldn’t wait for the elevator, their math genius burst into the break room.
“Guys, your music…”
“We saw it, Hyung.”
“You guys, you guys…”
He stuttered, unable to hide his excitement.
“Hyung, come here. Celebrate with us.”
“Yeah, I should. I’m so nervous right now, I don’t even know what I’m saying, oh, this is…”
They all got up and welcomed Seokhwan Hyung.
“Ugh!”
He stepped on the spilled soybean paste soup on the floor and fell.
Well, he almost fell, but Woojoo moved quickly and caught him.
“Thanks, man.” He adjusted his glasses and said, “So now.”
“Wait, Hyung. Let’s calm down a bit.”
Woojoo exchanged glances with his siblings and nodded in a second.
Then they sandwiched their manager between them.
“Wow!”
They ran around the room again.
“Wow!”
And one more time.
***
『 Five Colors : The Red (2014) 』
New Black
[★★★★☆]
Finally, a group that knows how to use color has appeared.
It’s a common and boring business tactic for agencies to express the concept of an album through color, but New Black has done it.
They have succeeded with a colorful and skillful brushstroke.
The mini album produced by Member Woojoo himself is not particularly impressive in its structure, but it has achieved a delicate balance between commerciality and artistry. Without belonging to either side, they can reveal their unique color…
(Skipped)
…The fact that they have not even debuted for a year, and their potential, makes me happy for the first time in a while.
By pop music critic Hwang Hocheol
PM 07:00
-As expected, TNT… lining up at the top of the chart
-New Black’s comeback is ‘decent’, Serenity is ‘so-so’
-[Photo] A powerful dance break from the start, TNT’s comeback show Taehyun ‘I’m the dance king’
-[Entertainment IN] You have to pay attention to their color from now on… The discovery of ‘New Black’
-New Black, unprecedented chart strength “Pre-releasing the MV was a masterstroke”
PM 10:30
-New Black’s new song ‘Masquerade’, will it go all the way to the top…?
-Calm ‘TNT’, smiling ‘New Black’, ‘Serenity’ is crying
-As of 10 pm, they rose to ‘8th’… New Black’s ‘hit’ in just 5 months after debut
-‘Masquerade’ MV reached ‘500,000 views’ in 24 hours, agency “We will release a thank you message when we reach 1 million”
-[Stock Talk] After the actor trade, now a boy group hit…? ‘Lemon Entertainment’ plans to go public by the end of the year?
***
Gunsan City.
Splash-
It was raining heavily.
The misty clouds that came from the sea shook their bodies and fog rose everywhere.
The downtown where buses splashed water on the sidewalk, and people with umbrellas hurried by.
Somewhere, the smell of delicious oil made Kim Deoksoon stop by the neighborhood fried food shop.
The merchant she knew well handed her a paper bag and said, “It’s raining a lot, isn’t it?”
“It’s awful. It’s been raining all day since yesterday. Oh, I wish the money would pour down like this rain.”
“That’s right.”
“Sure. Good luck.”
With that greeting, Kim Deoksoon left the fried food shop.
She had a mart bag with cat food in one hand and a fried food bag in the other.
She waved her hand at the neighborhood cats who found her and followed her.
“This is for our Nabi. You guys don’t even have soup, so you know that.”
Meow-
Maybe it was because of the rainy day, but Kim Deoksoon’s heart softened at the sound of the cats crying pitifully around her.
“Alright, then I’ll give you some of this. This is the last time, so I won’t give you any more next time. …You’re eating without even looking at me. Well, eat well and live well.”
She smiled as she watched the cats start to eat.
Then she returned to the store.
It was daytime, so her eyes were sore from the gray sky.
“The weather is really shitty.”
But unlike usual, there was a warm smile on her lips.
It was because of the good news she heard from her grandson.
Something about ranking high.
She didn’t know what it was, but it seemed like a very good thing.
Last night, she got a video call and answered it, and her grandson and four guys were shouting ‘I love you! Kim Deoksoon!’ and making a fuss.
She asked if they were crazy and they laughed like they were really crazy.
【 Group Chat : Back Support Group 】
Junghyun’s Dad [It’s a really beautiful night… ㅎㅎㅎ!!]
Junghyun’s Dad [I want to have a glass of wine on a night like this]
Junghyun’s Dad [Shall we all cheer up?]
Wang Hyuntak is the Chairman [Yes,]
Wang Hyuntak is the Chairman [Fi!]
Junghyun’s Dad [Re]
Bijoo’s Mom [Ting!! I love this feeling…!!]
Bijoo’s Mom [I love my son…!]
The group chat that was formed during Chuseok was also full of joy for the parents.
Pictures of the rankings and article links were posted endlessly, and stories full of laughter were exchanged.
She only typed [Good for you] because her fingers were slow, but Kim Deoksoon felt the same way.
She didn’t know how the world was going, but he was the happiest grandson she had ever seen since he said ‘Grandma, I’m going to debut!’ four years ago.
Woojoo [Grandma~]
Woojoo [I’ll send you 10 of my photocards along with the second album… Hehe]
Me [Send me the others too]
Woojoo [Hey Deoksoon]
Woojoo [Don’t be greedy]
Woojoo [Just be a fan of me]
Me [You’re crazy.]
She stopped in her tracks and shook her hand every time she replied.
Me [Did it go well today?]
Woojoo [Of course]
Woojoo [It was awesome this time]
Woojoo [The President came down to hug me and fell over]
Me [What are you talking about]
Woojoo [I should have cleaned up the soybean paste soup…]
He suddenly started talking nonsense and disappeared after saying ‘Watch the K-net live today’. He said he was going to practice for the camera.
‘You see, the monk was right. You got lucky.’ She should have said that, but she felt a bit regretful.
Meanwhile, Kim Deoksoon’s footsteps stopped as she walked around the neighborhood.
It was because of the song that came out of a cafe.
‘This…’
It was her grandson’s voice.
She opened the door and went in, curious, and the cafe owner who was sitting alone greeted her with a smile.
“Oh, our president is here. Why are you here?”
“I came in because of the song.”
“The song? Oh… this. Is it also playing outside? I was just listening to it…”
She gestured to the owner who was going to turn off the speaker.
Then she asked cautiously, “Is the song that good?”
“I had the popularity chart on at the cafe yesterday and the customers kept asking me the title of the song.”
“Really?”
“Yes, I’ve been listening to it because I like the song.”
As the song of New Black ended and played again, Kim Deoksoon smiled.
It was good.
It wasn’t her taste, but it definitely had a feeling of sticking to her ears every time she listened to it.
It kept popping up in her head.
‘What is he trying to do?’
Kim Deoksoon thought of her grandson who was smiling in Seoul.
She didn’t know what had happened, but it seemed to be true that the song that Woojoo made was well received by people.
***
It felt like the dreamy day was continuing.
Yesterday, everyone at the company greeted them with ‘Congratulations!’ all day long.
They gave them candy or chocolate, saying ‘Hide it from the managers and eat it’.
It was the same at the K-net building in Sangam-dong.
Every colleague singer that Woojoo met congratulated him and greeted him from all over.
He didn’t know what Serenity really felt, but they smiled brightly and said they enjoyed their song.
TNT didn’t show up because they had a bad relationship with K-net over the fairness issue of last year’s awards ceremony, but Taehyun sent Woojoo a long message last night to congratulate him.
So he replied with a thank you.
On the other hand, the music show that he visited after five months was familiar but strange.
The facilities were the same, but the people had changed.
The hallway after the rehearsal.
Some strangers saw New Black and gasped in surprise.
“Hello! We are Fantanis! Senior!”
“Uh…”
Their younger members were more flustered.
Senior?
They bowed politely and corrected them with a smile.
“We’re not your seniors. We’re in the same year and we’re both rookies, so let’s greet each other comfortably from now on.”
“Oh. Yes! We understand!”
A six-member boy group that was tense from head to toe passed by them and then bowed again to the cleaning lady who was passing by, saying ‘Hello!’
They looked like they would greet even the fallen leaves.
Woojoo laughed at that.
And Bijoo grinned at him.
“Hyung. You said you’re not a senior, but you sounded like one.”
“…Me?”
No way.
“Yeah. You smiled kindly and said that. ‘We’re not your seniors~’ Like this. Ahh…!”
“Hahaha… Hello! We are New Black!”
They greeted the senior singer who passed by.
But they quickly adapted to the broadcasting station environment because they had seen some familiar faces at the big events.
“Hellooo…”
“…”
“Hello. Oh. That’s enough.”
They blinked their eyes at the youngest who was practicing his speech while walking down the hallway.
“Jiho, what are you doing?”
“Well, the year is almost over. And I think we’ll have some juniors soon, so I’m thinking about a serious tone of speech. You know.”
“Hmm.”
They all looked at each other and rapped like the youngest, saying ‘Yeah, you know?’
The youngest glared at them like they were the most hateful people in the world.
“Don’t tease me. I’m serious. I saw some comments on the internet yesterday…”
“Don’t mind those words, Jiho,” Bijoo said. “People have different thoughts.”
“Is that so? But, every time I read an article, there are people who say something…”
“Take a screenshot. Wang Jiho. I’ll track them down and get revenge for you.”
“That’s a good idea. Rihyuk. Take Junghyun with you when you go.”
“Where are we going, Hyung?”
They all laughed at Junghyun’s question.
It was obvious that the article comparing them to TNT after their unexpected results was the root of the problem.
The hate comments had increased overnight.
They must have been from some part of the fandom, but since they boasted the largest scale in the country, that part was bigger than any average fandom.
Should he keep the kids from seeing the comments for a while?
As Woojoo was thinking that, his phone rang briefly as he entered the partitioned rookie waiting room.
Devil [Your schedule is fixed]
It was a message from Seokhwan Hyung.
While Minki Hyung, who had been promoted to deputy, and the new manager, Seok Dowon, was in charge of the broadcast, their director was busy running the business.
“What is it, Hyung?”
“Seokhwan Hyung sent us the confirmed schedule for November and December.”
“Oh. I want to see it.”
As the younger ones gathered around Woojoo, two image files popped up briefly on the phone message.
“…Huh?”
They widened their eyes as they saw the dense letters.