Translator: MarcTempest
Editor: Rxel
Chapter 176
Jiho cautiously turned his head.
“…Hyung, are you asleep?”
Woojoo was breathing softly with his eyes closed.
‘He’s asleep.’
He felt certain and turned his head to the other side.
Rihyuk was flipping through a Spanish textbook, Junghyun was tapping on the screen, and right next to him, Bijoo was writing a diary.
“Hyungs.” Jiho covered his mouth and whispered, “Woojoo Hyung is asleep.”The three of them stopped their actions and turned their heads at the same time.
“Asleep?”
“Hey, is that guy okay?”
“How does he look to you?”
Then, the managers in the front seats also stuck their heads over the seats.
“Is he okay?”
Maybe because of the noise around him, Woojoo ‘hmm’ed and tossed in his sleep.
Jiho hurriedly murmured, “Back to your positions, back to your positions!”
They all went back to their original places and repeated their awkward actions. It was like a scene from a comedy movie where they were doing a poor undercover investigation.
Bijoo was writing with a pen cap, and Rihyuk was holding the book upside down.
As Woojoo fell asleep again, Jiho patted his chest.
“Woojoo Hyung is asleep again. He looked really scared when we took off, but he seems okay now.”
“Phew, thank goodness.”
Sighs of relief came from everywhere.
Woojoo had not confessed his fear of flying, but everyone here knew it.
They had lived together in one house for over a year.
They already knew each other’s habits and subconscious fears.
He was the person who unconsciously flinched whenever a plane appeared on TV or in a movie.
How could they not know?
Jiho pursed his lips.
‘…He’s too proud.’
He was just the leader of an idol group, not a king of a country.
‘Just tell us.’
It would be better if he opened up to them.
Their leader was the type who was okay with someone relying on him, but hated relying on someone else.
He seemed to think that he had to hold the center.
But unlike the early days of their debut when the members were psychologically unstable, they had grown up a bit now.
‘It’s okay to lean on us a little…’
He would hate being pitied by his younger brothers.
All they could do was help him from behind, like they were doing now.
They felt relieved as they watched Woojoo sleeping soundly.
“Ah, why does he make us worry so much?”
Rihyuk grumbled.
“His face was so pale and he kept saying he was fine. Isn’t it better to just admit that he’s scared?”
“Hmm. Well.”
Junghyun answered.
“Woojoo Hyung must have his reasons.”
“Me too, I wouldn’t tell Rihyuk.”
“This is real.”
Rihyuk glared at him.
“Do you think I can’t attack you because you’re far away? I’m just holding back because of the seat belt…”
“Me too. If it wasn’t for this light.”
They growled at each other.
Ding.
The seat belt sign went off and an announcement said that they could move around now.
“I’ll let you off today.”
“Be grateful. Hyung.”
They coughed and looked away. Bijoo, who had been laughing, called the youngest.
“Jiho-ya, keep an eye on Woojoo Hyung. If he suddenly breaks out in a cold sweat or something, let me know.”
“Okay, I will.”
“And here’s a list of songs that Woojoo Hyung likes. If you play this, he’ll be able to sleep comfortably.”
“Hoo, okay…”
In the old MP3 that Bijoo handed him, there were folders sorted by members.
The songs in the folder named ‘Woojoo Hyung’ were mostly old folk songs or outdated tunes.
They were the least suitable genre for Jiho, who only listened to the latest chart hits.
‘Wow, what a grandpa’s taste…’
An angel and a devil spun around above his head.
‘Just play those songs as Bijoo Hyung said. Woojoo Hyung is sleeping, so let him rest.’
‘He’s asleep anyway. He won’t know if you play what you want.’
After some hesitation, he decided to side with the angel.
Jiho sipped his cola with a gloomy face.
It was when he looked at the clouds outside the window along with the lyrics ‘Too painful love is~’.
The scenery was so beautiful that he thought he should send some photos to his sisters as soon as he landed in Taiwan.
“…Hm?”
Woojoo’s face had changed.
He looked calm, unlike before when he was sweating coldly with a pale face.
He wondered what kind of dream he was having, as his lips twitched slightly. He seemed to be smiling, too.
‘I hope it was a good dream.’
Jiho drank his cola and smiled brightly.
Thanks to having a good dream for once, he was able to finish the 2 hour and 30 minute flight very comfortably.
Except for one problem.
“…No, I mean,” he asked again, incredulously. “You couldn’t wake me up because I was sleeping soundly?”
“Yes, exactly that,” Jiho said, gulping down the bottled water with a straw. “You were sleeping so hard, I thought, oh, I shouldn’t wake him up.”
“My little brother. I told you, didn’t I? Wake me up when the in-flight meal comes, okay? I even asked you as a favor before I fell asleep.”
“Heh, did you?”
“…I’ll never ask you anything again.”
He felt bitter. Literally, not figuratively.
He had eaten a tiny breakfast, hoping to fill his stomach with the in-flight meal.
He thought it was food when he suddenly shook him awake, but it was Taiwan.
-Hyung, we’re here.
-Food?
-No. We arrived in Taiwan.
-…
Well. On the bright side, he didn’t feel the fear of landing because he had a good sleep.
“Phew.”
He felt bitter, but he was also excited.
It was his first flight ever, and he was so scared, but after going through it once…
He still wasn’t used to it.
He shivered at the thought of taking off again.
But that was the day after tomorrow, and he decided to focus on his activities in Taipei for now.
This was Taoyuan International Airport.
An airport located on the outskirts of Taipei, the center of Taiwan.
They met up with the production team of ‘Patisserie Korea’ before leaving the baggage claim area.
“Korea is one hour ahead of here, so please adjust your watches accordingly.”
Woojoo followed the PD’s instruction and set his watch. The main and sub writers showed them the cue sheet and briefly explained today’s shooting schedule.
Usually, the main writer didn’t bother to talk to them in terrestrial TV shows, but Woojoo was surprised to see him here. It turned out that it was because of the staff reduction.
When they went to an overseas location, they minimized the staff to save costs. So the shooting crew was also small, and there were only two writers.
They listened to their explanation attentively.
“We will start the actual cafe operation tomorrow. Today, we will explore Taiwanese food. We will mainly focus on your reactions, so please exaggerate your gestures and expressions, whether you like it or not.”
They also told them the places they would visit, and Woojoo got the idea.
This must be a collaboration with the tourism bureau.
As the saying goes, three years of a dog’s life makes it recite poetry. Woojoo could guess the behind-the-scenes deal by listening to the content of the show.
In exchange for getting local assistance for the cafe operation, they had to introduce the attractions of Taiwan in an appealing way. A win-win situation.
“In the afternoon, you will each carry promotional materials and do street advertising. You all know the content, right?”
“Yes.”
Park Jaewoo, the chef, and the rest of the cast answered.
They were about to start filming from the immigration scene, but their steps stopped abruptly.
“What? What’s going on?”
Yoo Changhyun, who was cracking jokes, tilted his head.
Some local airport security officers blocked their way.
They said something, but the PD who was called as the representative looked puzzled.
“Excuse me? What?”
…He asked, but the local security officers kept saying ‘Wait’ in English, looking frustrated.
It seemed that they had a language barrier.
The PD snapped.
“Hey, you can’t speak English well at the airport? Interpreter, hey! Don’t we have a Chinese interpreter?”
“The local coordinator is waiting outside.”
“Ah, call him then. Come on!”
Then, Woojoo’s brothers glanced at him, and he cautiously stepped forward.
“Director, I can speak Chinese.”
“Oh, Woojoo? Okay, you talk to them. See what they are saying.”
The PD looked relieved and gestured him to do so.
The security officers were talking to each other in Chinese.
「Hey. Can’t they understand?」
「I heard that Koreans learn Chinese a lot these days… No? Call someone who can speak English.」
His brothers were twinkling their eyes behind him, and the camera followed him.
「Excuse me…」
Woojoo called the security officers.
「What’s going on outside, right now?」
「Oh?」
「Uh…」
The two men looked very surprised.
They smiled at him warmly and then explained the situation to him.
「The outside situation is very chaotic right now. We have security personnel controlling it, but you have to wait until it calms down a bit.」
「I see. How long will it take?」
The senior officer who was talking on the radio said.
「It will take about 5 to 10 minutes.」
「Thank you. You are working hard.」
「No, you are working harder. I support you.」
…I support you?
That was a random remark, but he didn’t have time to pay attention to it.
Woojoo explained the situation to the production team and their group who were listening with curiosity.
The PD asked, “So how long do they want us to wait?”
“They said there’s some event outside and a lot of people gathered. They said we have to wait for 5 to 10 minutes.”
“I see.”
It looked quite noisy outside. Woojoo could hear the crowd noise from here.
Park Jaewoo, the chef, praised him with a smile.
“You speak Chinese very well.”
“No, not really. I’m not that good.”
“Really? You sounded like a native. I thought you lived in China for a long time. Oh, is that it?”
Woojoo shook his head and smiled.
“No, this is my first time abroad.”
“Wow, that’s amazing.”
Min Sejin, the winner of Patisserie Korea, asked with a curious face, “Can you teach me some practical Chinese, then? Like, ‘What’s in this dish?’”
“Me too, me too. Woojoo, teach me too.”
Woojoo killed some time by teaching Yoo Changhyun and Min Sejin some basic phrases.
But it took longer than he expected, so he chatted with his younger brothers who gathered around him.
“Hyung, I thought you were Taiwanese,” Junghyun exclaimed with admiration. The younger ones looked at Woojoo with awe, so he smiled and explained.
“I learned for a long time. A long time.”
Ever since TJ Entertainment planned TNT with the Chinese market in mind, they made them take intensive Chinese lessons.
They even hired a local Chinese teacher to teach Woojoo one-on-one.
Of course, Woojoo added a few things here and there.
He practiced to sound as close to the locals as possible by watching Taiwanese shows, YouTube clips, and so on.
Taiwan also used Chinese, but there were some subtle differences from China.
Like less retroflex sounds or weaker aspiration.
Maybe it was because he changed his tone to suit the local style.
The security guards seemed to appreciate that difference too.
“But, you know.” Bijoo pointed to the noisy outside and said, “What are they doing out there?”
“Right, what’s so complicated? Are Hollywood actors coming or something?”
“I don’t think so. They don’t release blockbusters in winter,” Rihyuk said logically. “The conclusion is simple. Patisserie Korea got a reaction overseas too.”
“Oh, is that it?”
“But seriously, ask them once. Who’s coming?”
“No, why do you care so much…”
Curious about the siblings’ nagging, Woojoo approached the security guards again and asked, “Excuse me, why is it so noisy outside? Who’s coming?”
“Who’s coming, you ask?”
They started laughing as if they had heard the most amusing story in the world.
Then the radio crackled.
The employee who was exchanging radio messages told him to go out.
“Go and see for yourself.”
Woojoo stared at them, who were still snickering, and went outside with his companions.
“Uh…”
The moment he stepped into the immigration hall, a huge crowd screamed.
Everyone was startled by the noise.
“What, what is it?”
“Huh…”
The most surprised ones were New Black.
Almost by eye, hundreds of people were looking at them.
There were people with big cameras and people with placards.
Woojoo was stunned to see the words ‘Welcome, New Black!’ in Korean.
What was this nonsense situation?
“…?”
There were loud screams everywhere, and Woojoo heard people calling his name.
“Let’s move!”
The security guards lined up and made a passage to the gate, but they were having a hard time because there were so many people.
Yoo Changhyun clung to Woojoo in admiration.
“Wow, New Black was so popular overseas? Totally global.”
“We didn’t know either. Sunbae-nim.”
“Sunbae-nim? Come on, the one with a lot of money and success is the sunbae-nim. Here, let me ride on this popularity for once.”
He waved his hand as if he was cheering instead of Woojoo, and smiled mischievously.
He made a comic situation and then whispered to Woojoo, “Friend, I estimate that those are the local media. Wave your hand towards them. That way, your face will look good.”
“Thank you. I’ll do that.”
There was no need to explain anything to the siblings.
When Woojoo winked and waved his hand, they did the same.
If it was normal, he would have stopped and admired the scenery around him and said ‘Thank you, our foreign Soufflé…!’.
But he didn’t have time for that.
“Mister, ahh!”
Someone reached out and grabbed Rihyuk’s bag, and he was startled for a moment.
Woojoo went over and gently held him and walked.
People were screaming everywhere, and arms stretched out from between the security guards’ arms.
They had no mind at all.
They ran out and got into the car as if they were being chased. It was less than 40 meters, but it felt like a thousand miles.
“…”
“…”
Everyone in the car looked pale. Woojoo took a sip of water and called out to them.
“…Guys.”
They stared at him blankly.
“I guess we’re more famous than we thought.”
The local coordinator they met in the car, the one who handled the local affairs for the shooting, laughed.
“Did you have no idea?”
“Yes, we knew we had some overseas recognition, but we didn’t expect this much.” Seokhwan Hyung said, “Usually, when a Korean idol goes abroad, the airport crowd is bigger than their actual popularity in Korea, but… this is the first time we’ve experienced it.”
“That’s true, but New Black also has quite a fan base in Taiwan.”
Woojoo asked, “We have fans?”
“Yes.”
“Like this?”
“Even considering the airport crowd, yes. Why not? New Black was the hottest rookie last year,” he said, as if reminding them that they had just won a Rookie Award yesterday.
“And what was it, I heard from a friend who works at a Taiwanese broadcasting station that you’re very popular.”
Woojoo thought it was Around the World With Dice’s turn to be mentioned, but he was talking about an unexpected program.
“It’s The New Black, right?”
“…Huh? Yes. That’s right. Our reality show.”
“They have MTV in Taiwan too. That reality show was quite popular there. Well, there were a lot of unusual scenes that got a lot of attention on the web.”
Then Woojoo remembered when they were nominated for the first place after Masquerade.
The PD they met at the HBS Sangam Tower said he exported it to Japan and there was some talk in Taiwan.
Woojoo never thought it would turn out like this.
They, who had been silent, looked at each other.
“Guys.”
“Hyung.”
They immediately hugged each other with ecstatic faces.
“We’re popular!”
“I guess it was a good thing we exploded the kimchi pot.”
“Ha, the dark history we’ve built up is shining! Is this what they mean by light at the end of the tunnel?”
“There’s a reward after hardship, you idiot.”
“If we can make fans with our black history, let’s make more of it from now on.”
“Yeah, let’s do that.”
Seokhwan Hyung kept saying ‘No, guys, no. Absolutely not. That’s not it.’ from the side, but they didn’t hear him.
Woojoo shouted, “Black history.”
“Awesome!”
“Black history.”
“Hooray!”
The local coordinator and staff stopped laughing and looked at them who were cheering.
The shooting resumed at the first restaurant.
As they sat around the table, Yoo Changhyun threw a joke at New Black who were smiling brightly.
“Wow. You all have flowers on your faces?”
“No. Puhaha…”
“No? You keep laughing, and you must have had a great time at the airport?”
“No. It’s not that. Puhaha.”
“Good, right?”
“Very good. Heehee.”
Park Chef and Min Sejin burst into laughter as they saw them laughing happily as if they were thinking of something good.
Chef Park Jaewoo looked at the menu and asked Woojoo, “Then, can you order something for us, New Black, our global star? Here’s xiaolongbao.”
“Yes, I’ll order.”
Since it was a broadcast, the owner couple came out and took their order.
They ordered xiaolongbao, a Chinese dumpling, and other dishes, but while they were waiting for the food, a hot fried dish that they didn’t order came out.
“What is this?”
“It’s a service.” The owner lady looked at Woojoo with a warm face and said, “You seem to have a hard time working abroad…”
“Yes?”
“…?”
“…?”
The other person tilted her head and asked, “…Weren’t you Taiwanese?”
“Me?”
Woojoo was making a confused expression when it happened.
Suddenly, he understood what the ‘We support you’ he heard at the airport meant, and the puzzle in his head was solved.
…Wait a minute.
These people. Did they think he was Taiwanese?
“…”
Woojoo must have practiced Taiwanese-style Chinese too hard.