Translator: MarcTempest
Editor: Rxel
Chapter 269
Lemon Entertainment Building.
A man who was dragging an old suitcase stopped and wiped his sweat.
‘This is Lemon Entertainment.’
His eyes were full of excitement and nervousness as he looked at the sign with a lemon on a black background.
‘Really, I’m going to work here…’
He got a call last night while he was eating cup noodles.
They asked him to join the fourth album project of New Black.He calmly said ‘yes’, but after he hung up the phone, he was so happy that he jumped on the bed.
‘Finally, a chance to do some real work!’
The hardships he had gone through for eight years as a composer flashed before his eyes. At the same time, he made up his mind.
‘I have to do my best.’
He called the A&R Team to let them know he had arrived. Deputy Seo Pilgeun came down to meet him.
He smiled and spoke kindly to him. Na Sangyoon responded with an awkward smile.
He had a habit of being wary of anyone who approached him nicely, because of his past experiences.
While they were waiting for the elevator, he fiddled with the handle of his suitcase.
“Excuse me…”
“Yes?”
“Is that story true?”
“What story?”
He wanted to check the truth of the rumor that was circulating in the composer community.
“I heard that Woojoo makes almost one song a day. He just closes his eyes and mixes the colors of sounds.”
“No.”
“I see…”
“When he’s in good condition, he makes two songs a day.”
“…Really?”
Na Sangyoon blinked his eyes, and the other person laughed.
“He even sent me three songs a day by email when he went to Japan, saying he got inspired.”
“…”
“We joked among ourselves about how to disable the wifi at the Japanese hotel. Haha.”
Deputy Seo told him some trivial episodes.
He heard some stories that matched the rumors he had heard, and some that he had never known.
As he listened, he realized that Woojoo’s musical talent was real.
‘It’s a good opportunity. I have to learn his secret.’
The other person seemed to notice his thought and smiled.
“You must have applied to work with Woojoo and see what he does, not just for the money. Right?”
“Yes, haha…”
“I think it’s a good opportunity. I learned a lot from watching Woojoo work. For example, people don’t die so easily…”
“Really?”
“Haha. Just kidding.”
He felt something suspicious when Deputy Seo burst into laughter.
A sign that said ‘New Black Territory’ with a dandelion picture greeted them.
Knock, knock.
-Come in.
As he opened the door and entered the room, Na Sangyoon was surprised.
The most handsome person he had ever seen was sitting on a chair.
He had seen quite a few celebrities, but this was the first time he saw someone like this.
There was some light on his face…
“Junghyun. Turn off the magic wand.”
“Yes. Hyung.”
With a click, the light disappeared.
He turned around and saw a handsome man with a sharp face sitting on the sofa.
He was holding a one-meter-long fairy princess wand in his arms.
He smiled like a cozy bear, and Na Sangyoon blinked his eyes.
“…”
Deputy Seo introduced him.
“This is Na Sangyoon, the composer who will help us with the work. Say hello.”
Woojoo got up from his seat and came over to shake his hand politely.
“Hello. I’m Woojoo, the composer. Nice to meet you.”
“I’m Junghyun. Lee Hadong…? Lee Hadong…”
He seemed to forget the name of his school, and he fumbled for a while. Na Sangyoon smiled awkwardly.
After Deputy Seo left, Woojoo offered him a seat.
“First of all, thank you for joining our album project.”
“Oh, no! I’m the one who should thank you.”
“I’m meeting you for the first time, but I’ve been secretly watching you for a long time.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you participated in one of the songs on the Girls on Top album, right?”
“How did you know that…”
“Song analysis is my hobby, so I listen to all the new songs. Especially idol songs.”
Woojoo smiled brightly.
“One of the songs on the album that Girls on Top released with a hip-hop concept stuck in my ear. The song ‘All or Nothing’.”
“That’s right. I participated in the arrangement.”
“The arrangement was really good. You made it so cool that I wanted to work with you since then.”
“…Th, thank you.”
“All the works you’ve participated in so far were really my taste.” Woojoo added with a smile, “If you hadn’t applied, I would have gone to ask you if you wanted to work together.”
Junghyun, who was sitting on the sofa, was startled, but Na Sangyoon was happy.
‘I’ve been recognized for my music.’
Usually, when they praised him like that, they were trying to pay him less.
His heart warmed up by the sincere compliment.
“I’m so happy to work with you this time. I’ll be counting on you for the next two months.”
“Yes, I’ll do my best.”
“Me too.”
Then Woojoo said he would show him around the studio and showed him the equipment.
“Wow…!”
His timid attitude disappeared in an instant and his face was filled with innocence.
It was a new world.
All the expensive and high-performance devices were gathered in one place.
“This, this…”
“Our President bought them for us to work hard on the songs.”
“Wow, your President is a nice person.”
Woojoo smiled as if he understood his astonishment.
“Do you want to try the keyboard?”
“Yes. Yes!”
He remembered his cousin’s house where he used to go when he was young.
His cousin asked him if he wanted to play a game with this console, and he felt the same joy.
He shivered every time he pressed a device.
‘This is heaven.’
When he turned his head, he saw a smile like an angel.
“Shall we talk about the work seriously now?”
“Yes, yes!”
“We’re going to put a lot of songs on the fourth album. This is what Junghyun and I worked on recently… Do you want to listen?”
Then, instrumental music flowed from the high-quality speakers.
They were hip-hop songs with impressive drum beats.
“How is it? Please tell me without hesitation.”
“Well, the intro seems to come in a bit too strong. The space for the lyrics is also a bit tight…”
“Then, how about we do this?”
Every time he gave feedback, Woojoo clicked the mouse.
He was so good at accepting feedback that he soon changed from being timid to being talkative.
He understood everything he said and agreed with him.
Sometimes he even suggested better ideas.
They had a good musical conversation.
‘It’s fun.’
When was the last time he was so excited while working?
It was a happy work.
After about three hours.
‘I’m a little tired.’
His eyes were dry.
But he thought he had done enough work for today.
“Are you warmed up?”
“…Yes?”
Did he hear wrong?
“Now that you’re warmed up, let’s work seriously.”
“…Didn’t we just do that?”
“Yes, we just warmed up. Now we have to work properly. Shall we cheer up?”
He gave a high-five to Woojoo’s hand, but his head was blank.
Then he slowly realized the mystery.
The message from the A&R Team that told him to bring extra clothes, the smile of the staff who saw him.
He also saw Junghyun’s face, which looked somewhat crazy.
“…”
He felt that something was going wrong.
At the same time.
In the A&R Team office, a worried voice came out.
“Did you see the new composer? He looked so frail, is he okay?”
“I know. I wonder if he can handle it.”
“How did a young person end up in a wheelchair…”
“I’m so worried. What should we do?”
“Seriously, oh dear, this is bad.”
They said they were worried, saying ‘what should we do…’ but the cheeks of the employees holding the teacups were constantly smirking.
“Pffft…”
Someone’s laughter started and a burst of laughter came out.
“Hahaha!”
“Hot hot! Haha hot!”
“Uhahahaha!”
The office, which had a midday tea time for the first time in a long time, was cheerful and fun like a dwarf village.
While everyone was happily preparing for the next album, the day they had been waiting for finally came.
“Congratulations on New Black’s debut anniversary!”
“Woohoo!”
They clapped their hands like seals and cheered.
To celebrate their debut anniversary, they held an event with their fans.
They chatted with the Soufflés on live broadcast while making a self-lettering cake.
“Wow, everyone! Look at this. Our Bijoo Hyung’s hands are really golden. Hyung, do you know what golden hands are?”
“Yeah. Someone told me at the fan signing in Daejeon last year.”
“Do you remember that?”
“When the fans tell me something, it comes in here and doesn’t go out.”
Bijoo pointed to his ear and smiled.
He smiled happily when they clapped and said wow to him, who was saying ‘I did well, right?’
In the comment window, the Soufflés were moved, saying ‘Bijoo knows the new words!’
“But it’s really pretty. How do you draw that?”
“I’m good at it, right, Hyung?”
“Yeah. It’s amazing.”
Was it when they appeared on Patisserie Korea and baked?
Soufflé felt it then, too, when he saw his skill in decorating, but it was really amazing.
It was like seeing beautiful flowers drawn on the canvas every time he decorated the cake.
“How can Bijoo do everything well?”
“Everyone. Did you see that? He only favors Bijoo Hyung.”
“How can our Rihyuk be so cute?”
“…”
Jiho chuckled and patted Rihyuk’s back.
“Aigoo. Our Rihyuk, baby. Baby. Were you jealous?”
“…”
“Where are you going? Let’s play together!”
Rihyuk, who turned red and ran away from the camera angle, was caught and dragged by Jiho and Junghyun, and laughter erupted.
The teacher who was coaching them next to them looked at Bijoo’s decoration endlessly and asked Woojoo, “Woojoo, do you want to try it once? You seem to be good at art and stuff.”
“Yes. Then I won’t refuse…”
Bijoo’s pupils started to shake and the brothers shouted in unison, “No way!” and he couldn’t do it.
“What’s wrong with me…”
“Then, draw one of the flowers that Bijoo Hyung is drawing on this plate.”
“Okay.”
Woojoo boldly drew a flower with chocolate, but.
“Oh, this, this is not it…”
“See?”
“Is that a flower, Hyung?”
Junghyun tilted his head.
The teacher who advised Bijoo came to Woojoo and smiled.
“Oh, you drew it well. Is it a fly?”
“…”
“No? Then… an insect? A dragonfly?”
“…”
The brothers laughed.
Bijoo decorated the cake and they stuck macarons here and there, and they had events with the fans in between.
“We have some exciting news for you. Our official light stick has a name now. Let's hear from our reporter, Wang Jiho.”
“Yes, it's decided.”
“Our Dalbong~”
It was when Bijoo called out the nickname with a bright smile.
“The winner of the total votes is ‘Kim Dalbong'!”
“Wow… Huh? What?”
They, who were cheering, looked at each other.
Kim Dalbong? Was that for real?
Oh, no…
“Jiho, where is Dalbong, Dalbong?”
“Dalbong is second place, Hyung.”
“No way, Kim Dalbong is really first place? Is there something wrong with the vote count?”
The managers who were standing next to the camera shook their heads.
When they introduced the light stick, they joked about adding a surname, but they didn't expect it to become the official name.
“Well, it's cute, but…”
“First of all, isn't Kim Dalbong confusing? The stick looks like Kim Seondal.”
“Hmm, I'm confused too.”
It was a confusing name to call every time.
The Soufflés seemed to feel the same.
Comments popped up on the screen.
-Confused.. Confused..
-Kim Bongdal or Kim Seondal
-Bongdada Bongdal
-Should have been Dalbong;
–ㅋㅋwhy so confusing Kim Bangdol Geumbangdol
-Bongbongdal
-Schrodinger's cat is collapsing now
–ㅋㅋisn't that Gestalt
-Everything is falling apart Bongborobong
Like the Soufflés, they also hesitated every time they talked about Dalbong.
“Our Kim Bang, Kim Dol, Kim… Kim Dalbong!”
“Is this really confusing? Bongseon… Uh, I'm confused.”
“Then how about we drop the surname and just call it Dalbong?”
Everyone nodded at Woojoo’s suggestion.
“Our Dalbong will be released soon, so please look forward to it~!”
Junghyun said ‘Wow' and shook the glittering giant light stick with a laugh.
Since they were talking about it, they tried to name the giant lightstick too, but they soon gave up.
-[Unique] Kyuho's Heart (+7)
-Torch
-Ear pick..?
-Giant Baby
-Daebong
-Three sticks size, so Sambong for Jeong Dojeon
At the last joke, Rihyuk laughed so hard that he shed tears.
They said you resembled each other when you liked each other, and their hearts were warmed by the Soufflés' excellent naming sense.
Only the cake teacher next to them had his pupils shaking.
"It's done!"
They put candles and lit them, and gathered around the cake.
Woojoo decided to do the speech as the representative.
"Yes, New Black has finally turned one year old."
They clapped and smiled.
"Thank you all for spending this time with us. I'm sure the time we spent with you is different for each of you, but we will cherish every moment of it."
"Hyung."
"Let's add up your time one by one… Huh?"
Bijoo said urgently, "Hyung… The candles are burning. Hyung."
"Uh-oh!"
"Turn off the air conditioner, please! The candles are burning like crazy!"
The candles were shrinking like bomb fuses. They were freaking out and the comment section was laughing and going crazy.
"How many seconds are left?"
"About 10 seconds!"
Woojoo quickly drew a heart with both arms.
"Everyone! We love you! Stay with us until we put 100 candles here!"
"Cheers to the 100-year era!"
"Let's live long and healthy!"
The cake teacher started crying when he heard the news.
They ignored the murmurs of ‘Can’t we just put in new candles?’ and quickly blew out the candles.
“Wow, good job.”
“Great work, everyone! Let’s go for 100 years!”
“…I, I love you. Soufflé.”
“That was Rihyuk Oppa! Rihyuk Oppa, he said! Hehe!”
“Hey! Did you think I wouldn’t notice if you whispered in the dark?”
Woojoo wiped the sweat off his face as chaos ensued in the darkness.
“Man, this is crazy. Junghyun, turn on the light.”
“Okay.”
Woojoo regretted saying that.
As soon as the switch clicked, the whole world burst into flames.
Aaaah!
“Aaah!”
“My eyes!”
“Hey! Who turned on the spotlight!”
It was a memorable anniversary in many ways.
They happily wrapped up their debut anniversary.
In the evening, they went to the anniversary ad that the Soufflés had prepared for them and took a proof shot.
They finished celebrating their first anniversary by writing posts on their official fan cafe.
In the meantime, the number of visits to the fan cafe became a hot topic on other sites. Everyone seemed amazed that Woojoo visited every day for a year.
Was that so surprising…?
On the other hand, their debut anniversary was also the day when their K-pop concert was finally aired.
The company said that they were getting a lot of feedback from overseas fans after the broadcast.
The PR Team showed me the English comments on the YouTube clip, and they were all very positive.
One comment that impressed Woojoo the most was that they couldn’t pick a favorite (biased) member because their performance was so good.
At the same time, their short activity in Japan was also showing results.
“Do you want to see this, Woojoo? The response is good.”
“What is it?”
It was a YouTube video titled [Speak with Your Body Legend.swf].
It was the thing Woojoo did all kinds of moves to get 500,000 yen, which was broadcasted on Japanese online TV and then imported to their country.
–ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-I came to see the popular video of the day and it’s Black Again;ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Black Again, huh
-What is Black Again? Is it Tora…?
└No, it’s not thatLOL
└They’re called Black Again when they do something funny
-They’re funny inside and outside the bag. Awesome New Black
-I’ve seen all kinds of videos of Speak with Your Body, but nothing beats this one
-How did he do that???
-He should get at least 500,000 yen without tax for that.
-Pirarucu? I got everything right except for that and the last military one.ㅋㅋ.
Assistant Manager Hong said with a satisfied smile, “This is the most popular video today.”
“…”
“It also went viral on foreign tweets. Do you see the English comments below? LOL. That means laugh out loud. Hilarious.”
“But is that image okay? What if I go abroad and they call me a comedian from Korea…”
She laughed at Woojoo’s serious expression.
Meanwhile, as the Speak With Your Body video spread in Korea, Woojoo got some offers from some variety shows.
One of them was even The Legend of Chess, which made him stunned for a moment.
“You’ll face the national champion team.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Right? We think you can win too. Then the master will be embarrassed.”
Woojoo was worried about the image, but the PR Team members had different concerns.
As they were busy with album preparation, events, and broadcasts, they finally got a day off.
“Congratulations on Woojoo Hyung’s reserve duty!”
“Congratulations~ Congratulations~ We congratulate you on your reserve duty~!”
“Shall we do a three-line poem for the reserve duty, Junghyun Hyung? Seriously this time.”
“Okay.”
Junghyun nodded after thinking for a while.
“Ye!”
“Whether it’s then or now.”
“Rain!”
“On rainy days.”
“Army.”
“Army dumplings and fried udon.”
“Wow, you would have been a top scholar in the Joseon era.”
What was a top scholar?
Woojoo would have exiled him if he were the king.
The summer rain drizzled on the car window. The vehicle was heading to the reserve training camp near the company.
The production crew of ‘Men Go’ who had been waiting for them greeted them.
The assistant director and the VJ with the camera, and the writer followed Woojoo and filmed his entrance scene.
Woojoo answered their various questions lightly and checked his military uniform as he walked.
“Hyung, take care.”
“Our Hyung, you shouldn’t suffer so much…”
“Hyeeong, don’t go! If you go now… when will you come back?”
“Three days.”
“Three days-!”
“…”
They teased Woojoo in the car, but when the camera was on, they acted like they were managing their image for the national viewers.
But they still teased Woojoo with their eyes, but unlike usual, he didn’t care at all.
Rather, he felt a surge of joy in his chest every time they approached the main gate of the reserve training camp.
It was about time.
As Woojoo took out the beret from the bread pocket and shook off the raindrops, the one he had been waiting for finally appeared.
“Huh…?”
When their kids were holding umbrellas and making sullen faces.
A handsome man with an umbrella appeared from the alley near the reserve training camp.
He walked briskly like the male lead of a romance drama, and the kids were shocked when they realized who he was.
“Hanjo Hyung…?”
“Why is he here…?”
“Uh, isn’t that the PD next to him?”
The kids’ eyes met Hanjo’s, who waved his hand cheerfully.
The PD of ‘Men Go’ came with a big roulette board, smiling like a traitor.
And the moment they saw it.
The kids’ pupils started to shake and Woojoo burst into laughter.
“…!”
The roulette board with the thumbs-up of the Ministry of National Defense mascot.
Each of the densely divided lines had their kids’ names written cutely.
It was the plan that the PD and Woojoo had prepared ambitiously.
“Guys.”
Woojoo smiled warmly at the kids who looked blankly.
“Let’s go to the army with your Hyung.”