Translator: MarcTempest
Editor: Rxel
Chapter 160
Woojoo put down his phone on the studio table and asked his siblings, “Instead of calling them right away, which might be awkward, how about we send them a text first?”
“Yeah, Hyung. That sounds good.”
It wasn’t because they were afraid of being boring.
They were just being polite.
They all nodded their heads in agreement, and Rihyuk stopped reading the textbook and clicked his tongue.
“Ugh, you guys are so timid.”
“If we call, you’ll have to talk first.”“…People can be timid, you know. They say that all humans are inwardly timid.”
Woojoo picked up his phone and sent a text.
It was a simple message, saying hello, introducing themselves as New Black, and asking if they were available to talk.
Woojoo finished writing and showed it to his siblings.
“How is it?”
“The content is good, but how about adding an emoticon at the end?”
Following Bijoo’s suggestion, Woojoo added a ‘^^’ at the end of the last sentence, but Rihyuk shook his head.
“That looks too fake. Make it look sincere by adding something else at the back.”
“Like this?”
“Add one more on the left cheek too. Hyung.”
Woojoo followed the requests of the two youngest and sent a ‘^^’ with cheek touches.
3 minutes later.
His phone vibrated and notified him of a message.
-Hello, we are Street Boys. ٩(•◡•)۶
They replied that they were happy to meet them and that they were available to talk.
But what caught their eyes was the cute emoticon attached to it.
It took them three minutes to write a short message, probably because they spent time on the emoticon.
“We lost.”
“We lost to people who use old phones with emoticons… We all need to reflect.”
“Let’s send something cute too, Hyung.”
Because of his siblings’ nagging, Woojoo opened the emoticon collection that he had saved beforehand.
“Ah, I was saving this for Kim Deoksoon…”
It was a pity, but for the sake of New Black’s reputation and dignity, Woojoo decided to use the emoticon generously.
Copy + paste.
-Are you available for a video call now? ٩(๑•̀o•́๑)و Take my heart, Kim Deoksoon
Woojoo dragged the cursor too long and accidentally copied something else, making his siblings laugh out loud.
Soon, a reply came back.
-Yes! We are ready too! ٩(•◡•)۶
Woojoo looked at his siblings and asked cautiously, “…Should we call now?”
They all stretched and loosened their bodies.
“Hoo.”
“I guess we can’t delay it any longer. Let’s call, Hyung.”
“Just a second. Let me look at the mirror.”
“Please… don’t make such a fuss over a video call. That’s why the company people laugh at us whenever they see us… Eek! Don’t shove the video call screen in my face!”
Woojoo placed his phone on the table and made a video call.
Click.
The phone screen lit up.
The quality was not very clear, but Woojoo could see nine people huddled together in a small living room.
They were all bare-faced.
Without their usual smoky makeup, skull rings, gold necklaces, and so on, they looked softer than usual.
“…”
-…
They looked at each other awkwardly and then greeted each other.
Street Boys stood up from the living room and bowed.
-Hello, we are Street Boys!
They seemed to bow their heads, but Woojoo couldn’t see their lower bodies.
New Black also returned the greeting, but Woojoo had a feeling that they couldn’t see them either.
They finished greeting each other’s lower bodies and looked at each other’s faces.
“Is that your dorm living room?”
-Yes.
The leader of Street Boys, Hanjo, smiled and said.
-This is our dorm. And you guys are…
“Oh, we’re in the studio.”
-Ah.
“…”
-…
Sometimes there were people like that.
People who greeted each other with a ‘Hi!’ when they passed by, but didn’t know anything about each other.
New Black and Street Boys were like that.
They debuted at the same time, so they met each other at the broadcast stations for a month, and greeted each other whenever they saw each other at various events.
But they only got to know each other a little bit, because their schedules for the second album were different.
Woojoo suggested it.
“How about we introduce ourselves a little to break the ice? Like our names or…”
Before Woojoo could finish, the piranhas attacked him.
“No. What are we, at a campfire?”
“Don’t make the atmosphere more awkward, Woojoo Hyung.”
“Hmm, you’re so old-fashioned.”
The Street Boys laughed at Woojoo’s dumbfounded expression.
Hanjo spoke softly.
-I think Woojoo’s idea is good. How about we introduce ourselves with our names, ages, and positions?
The hyenas over there attacked him too.
-Wow. The leaders get along well.
-Our leader is also very old! We call him Haljo.
-…Hey, don’t say that here.
Haljo?
Woojoo and Hanjo exchanged sympathetic glances.
‘You have a hard time.’
‘Thank you. We’re in the same boat.’
They shared a bitter smile.
The members who were having fun biting the eldest on both sides soon started to introduce themselves.
The composition was similar.
The leaders, Woojoo and Hanjo, were born in 1993 and were the same age, and the youngest, Jiho and Kiwon, were born in 1998 and were the same age.
The only difference was that there were three and seven in between.
Maybe that was why the overall atmosphere was similar. The other side was louder because they had more members, though.
A member with blue hair and a playful look came forward and greeted them.
-Hello. I’m LB.
Then someone shouted.
-His real name is Persimmon!
-What? Who is that?
LB turned his head with a sour face, but the culprit was not revealed.
He coughed and said.
-…Ahem. LB. I’m a rapper. Yeah, I always watched New Black from afar and…
-Ahhhh!
“Ah!”
Woojoo cringed at the cheesy line and screams came from both sides.
-Wood. Why are you doing this? We just got the mood going.
-Did you kill the mood? You killed it?
-No, that’s not it. The mood was already doomed from the moment he opened his mouth.
-I’m sorry. Wood is really good at saying cringy things.
“It’s okay. We understand.”
“We have someone like that in our team too. Whenever we go to a big concert hall, he says ‘Someday this hall will be our dream stage~!’ You know, that kind of person.”
“Puhahaha!”
Their kids burst into laughter at the youngest’s words.
When Woojoo coughed and looked away, Hanjo sent Woojoo a sour look from the screen.
Then, LB, who was being tormented by the members, shouted.
-Hey! It’s true. Honestly, we admire New Black’s music videos and performances when we watch them. They sing so well…
“Ehehe! Why are you doing that?”
-He’s breaking the fourth wall again.
-Anyway, that… that guy who shoots arrows in the air every time he cools down.
-Wood, go inside. Unless you want to burn.
LB went in with a sullen face and both sides clapped and laughed.
But thanks to LB, the atmosphere became much more comfortable.
At first, Woojoo was worried about how awkward it would be, but the younger ones on both sides opened the door and it became lively in no time.
The group culture was different, such as whether they used informal or formal speech among the members, but overall they had a good sense of humor.
They were already talking like best friends.
When the atmosphere calmed down a bit, a quiet-looking member from Street Boys spoke.
-Actually, we were really worried before we called you.
“Really? Why?”
-We don’t really know how to have fun, and we’re kind of boring… We thought New Black would be more outgoing and playful, so we were very worried. But we’re so glad we get along well.
“Heh, you thought you were boring?”
-Yes.
“We thought so too.”
-Really?
“Yes.”
-Heh… what a coincidence.
“Heh… what a coincidence.”
They looked at each other quietly and then screamed “Wow!”.
Jiho waved his hand and shouted like he had met his long-lost twin brother.
“Nice to meet you! We’re boring too!”
-Us too! We’re really boring! It’s so nice to meet fellow boring people!
-Wow! This is awesome!
“Should we name ourselves the Boring Family? Boring Fam?”
-Wow! That sounds exciting!
They played and laughed by themselves, and Rihyuk made a dizzy face.
Hanjo and Woojoo sat with blank faces.
Woojoo showed him an apple that he poked with a fork, and Hanjo held up a 1.5 liter bottle of water with a cheerleader gesture.
“Uh…”
Woojoo’s voice cracked.
Woojoo took a sip of water and said, “…Let’s stop the bonding here and get to the work part, shall we?”
-Yeah. We’ve been talking for 30 minutes and we haven’t even started working.
The younger ones on both sides said ‘Ooh!’ and ‘Just five more minutes, please. Hyung? Huh?’ but they ignored them.
Junghyun said, “But we have to submit a team name for our joint stage, right? Shouldn’t we start with that?”
-Yeah! Let’s decide on a team name! Us!
The leaders looked at each other as they saw the bouncing kids.
‘Should we just do it ourselves…?’
‘Let’s ditch them and go solo.’
But they agreed to start with the name. Wasn’t that the first step of any work?
Soon, opinions poured out from everywhere.
LB raised his hand and shouted.
-How about Black Boys, combining New Black and Street Boys?
-…
“…”
-Is that bad?
-Wood, go inside. Unless you want to burn.
LB lowered his hand, holding back his tears.
This time, it was Rihyuk who suggested an idea.
“How about News, combining New Black and Street? Or something like Neutron, the English word for a neutral particle?”
“Rihyuk,” Woojoo said. “You should go in too.”
“…”
Everyone burst into laughter as Junghyun stroked his chin and muttered to himself.
“New Street… Newt… Nutria?”
“Junghyun, you should go in and hold hands with Rihyuk.”
“Hmm, it wasn’t that bad…”
Then, one of the Street Boys spoke up.
-How about using the fandom name? You know, like Concrete with the Yogurt fans…
-Souffle, you idiot.
-What good is having a brain if you don’t use it? You don’t think like that.
-Oops, I’m sorry…
The member apologized with a clueless face as everyone laughed along with the harsh diss.
It was a relief.
Earlier, when they were having dinner, Junghyun had asked, ‘What was the name of their fan club? Granite?’
After about ten minutes of various opinions, someone came up with a brilliant idea.
-You know, we use that toothpaste-mixed color as our official color, and we gradient it with something else.
“Oh, yes.”
-New Black guys are black, right? How about mixing it with mint chocolate?
“How about adding a suffix? Mint Choco-dan.”
As Bijoo finished speaking, they looked at each other for a moment.
After that strange silence, everyone clapped and exclaimed.
-Wow… this.
“Wow… perfect.”
It was the moment when the 14-member joint group ‘Mint Choco-dan’ was formed.
Only Hanjo and Woojoo looked at each other with that astonishing naming.
‘Should we just give up?’
‘Yeah…’
They exchanged warm smiles with their silly brothers in between.
After Mint Choco-dan was formed.
The discussion about the joint stage began right away, and both groups had serious expressions on their faces.
The Street Boys looked at the handsome men on the screen.
‘Wow, they’re so good-looking.’
They must have done their makeup, but they all had such clear features that they could pierce through the video call.
They looked good when they were promoting their first album, but maybe it was because of the various care and camera massage.
They seemed to have a different vibe, and they looked even more handsome.
As they scanned their own appearances with that thought, the Street Boys felt a strong brotherhood.
They looked at each other and said, ‘You’re my brother-’ when they heard a loud noise from the other side.
New Black picked up their phone and changed the orientation of the screen.
The other members lined up behind him, while Woojoo sat in front of the synthesizer connected to the laptop.
-First of all, we need to choose a song. Do you have any song in mind?
“Uh, just a moment.”
…They didn’t.
How could they have any thoughts?
Whenever they wanted to suggest something, the company would say, ‘Just do as you’re told. Why are you so talkative?’
That was why they had a habit of not having any opinions, whether they liked the concept or not.
What was the point of thinking when they didn’t listen anyway? It only made them feel more uneasy.
They looked at each other.
“…”
They were flustered because they had never expressed their opinions before, from trainees to now.
Then, a soft voice was heard.
-Um… Actually, we haven’t known each other for long, so it’s awkward and all, right? So when you say your opinion, you might think, ‘Hmm, isn’t it embarrassing if it’s not a great idea?’ It could be like that.
Woojoo smiled and said.
-It’s really okay to say anything. For example, Junghyun.
-I want to do that song from the 90s. Hip Hop Trio’s Bus Stop.
-…Does such a song exist?
-No. I just made it up.
Not only New Black, but also Street Boys burst into laughter.
Woojoo continued.
-Yeah. Like this, you can say anything. Let’s all have fun talking.
-You look like it, too. Like a kindergarten teacher.
-Junghyun.
-Yes.
-Take him away.
As the main vocal disappeared off the screen, Street Boys opened their mouths.
“Uh, we’re a hip hop group, so. I hope it’s a song that can show our hip hop color well.”
“Yeah. You know, there’s dance hip hop in the 90s, right?”
As they opened their mouths, Street Boys’ members began to suggest their opinions.
The initial hesitation was only for a moment.
The atmosphere soon heated up.
“When we perform, the main dancers come forward and dance like this…”
“Yeah! And from the choreography, let’s get rid of the ones like the dog-leg dance, and also…”
“Me, me! I have something I want to do!”
Whether it was because of the pent-up frustration, or because the ideas they had in their minds were released.
The members’ mouths poured out ideas like a dam that had opened.
At first, New Black’s members also talked with them, but they soon got tired of the momentum and just agreed.
After a while, all kinds of opinions came out.
Woojoo tapped the piano keys like a school bell and drew attention.
-So, to sum up, you want a song that combines Street Boys’ hip hop color and New Black’s vocal, right?
“Yes, that’s right.”
They all answered in chorus.
Then Woojoo smiled and said.
-Um… I was thinking while listening to your stories. How about doing a song by Trend sunbae-nims?
“Trend?”
They were a group that had gained popularity among all ages with their songs that blended hip hop and vocal.
Woojoo asked cautiously.
-How about it? Are you okay with it?
“Yes. Honestly, if we can do it well, it would be great. They are famous for having many masterpieces, after all…”
Woojoo said with a smile.
-Let’s start with choosing a song first.
After an enthusiastic meeting, two songs were chosen as candidates.
They were ‘Fate’, a song with a strong hip hop color, and ‘Sunshine’, a song with a strong vocal color. Both songs were hits that had attracted a lot of fans.
The problem was…
“There’s no middle ground,” Hanjo said with a troubled face. “Fate is too hip hop, and Sunshine is too vocal. They’re both good, but…”
They were worried.
Both sides had to be happy, but if they chose one side, the other side would be buried too much.
They would rather do ‘Fate’, but they couldn’t say to New Black, ‘Hey, let’s do hip hop.’
And if they did a vocal song, the rapper line, which was their strength, would be completely overshadowed.
It was a dilemma.
Woojoo said in a very natural tone.
-How about we do both?
-How about we do both?
“What?”
They wondered if they had heard wrong, and when they looked at each other, a soft voice came in as if to confirm the kill.
-It seems like we can do both. We can just mix them. Of course, we’ll have to ask the company people about the arrangement later…
As Woojoo turned around with a ‘right?’ expression, the other younger members nodded their heads and said ‘that would be nice’.
The members of Street Boys had a blank expression on their faces.
“…”
Then they looked at each other.
‘What are they talking about?’ was the look in their eyes.
They were talking about mixing two completely different songs.
It seemed hard enough to arrange one song, but they were acting like it was natural to mix them.
Then, Woojoo, who was sitting in front of the synthesizer, called the main vocal.
-Kiwan, can you show me your vocal range?
“Oh, sure.”
Kiwan quickly demonstrated his range from low to high, while Woojoo closed his eyes and thought for a moment.
Then he moved his fingers.
The first start was the chorus melody of ‘Fate’, repeating it a few times and adding or subtracting a note or two.
It progressed like that until…
“Huh?”
Before they could even realize it, the keyboard sound had naturally transformed into the melody of ‘Sunshine’.
“…”
When everyone sitting in the living room had a bewildered expression on their faces, someone asked with a wide-eyed face, “…What the hell. What just happened?”
But no one could answer him properly.
They looked at the screen again, but all they saw was Woojoo’s relaxed smile and…
…the New Black members who were laughing like the Four Heavenly Kings under the Demon King.