It was the Monday following Rihyuk’s graduation ceremony.
I had just finished a cycle of dozing off and waking up in the car on the way to the airport.
“Goodness.”
An involuntary sigh escaped me.
Looking at the crowd waiting in front of Incheon Airport’s third-floor terminal, I felt overwhelmed.
“How are we supposed to get through that?”
“Wow. Look at that tight security.”
Photographers perched on ladders with their long-lens cameras, and entertainment reporters seemed ready to sprint into action.
It was a solid wall of people.
If football coaches saw this, they’d probably use it as a textbook example of defense.“We might be able to break through, though.”
Rihyuk and I waved our hands dismissively at Jung-hyun’s murmurs as he keenly searched for an opening.
“Let’s not stir up controversy, dung beetle.”
“I’d rather create a dark history than cause a scandal, hyung.”
Even the managers drove with a look of despair.
“Maybe we should move to Gate 3 instead…”
“They’re following us.”
The photographers and reporters, ladders in tow, were frantically running to take new positions.
The managers and I exchanged wry laughs.
After a breathless exchange between airport security, bodyguard company staff, and managers…
“Wowww!”
My siblings and I got out of the car.
A roar of excitement and a barrage of flashes filled Incheon Airport in an instant.
After posing for photos and smiling at the reporters at the crosswalk.
“Excuse us, we’re passing through!”
“Don’t push! Please, don’t push!”
“Step back!”
With the help of the security company staff surrounding us, we managed to escape unscathed.
Oh dear.
There were fans who charged at me like they were body slamming and ended up falling away.
Screams ensued from dropped cameras.
There were curses from collisions, and the chaos was enough to make the airport’s patrons’ eyes bulge.
“Ah!”
I gently grabbed Rihyuk’s arm, which someone had almost yanked, and pushed him in front of me.
Hands reached out between the ribs and shoulders of the security company staff.
Swoosh.
Each time, I twisted my body just enough to avoid them all.
“Huh?”
One of the security guards tilting his head at my smooth passage.
Swoosh.
It seems like I’ve developed a knack for this after doing it so many times, just as the saying goes, “Even a temple dog can recite poetry after three years.” Ȓ𝘢ΝꝋᛒËȿ
I helped my siblings dodge the hands with ease.
“Uh…? Oh!”
I grabbed the main dancer, who looked as startled as a deer that had wandered into a herbal medicine shop, and led him forward.
After completing the boarding process.
As usual, the reporters and fans followed us to the departure hall and the plane, but they couldn’t get close to us.
“It feels like we’re surrounded by walls.”
As Bijou said, the passengers sitting around our seats were all company employees.
While we were killing time by the window with my siblings.
“Have you all been well?”
A familiar voice greeted me as the Math Ghost took the seat next to mine.
My siblings and I welcomed him with smiles.
“Congratulations on your promotion, our team leader.”
“Thank you, it’s all thanks to you, singer-nim.”
Seokhwan hyung sat down with a grin.
Unlike the other staff, he stood out even more because he was dressed in a suit.
“Isn’t it uncomfortable wearing a suit?”
“I have a lot of places to go as soon as we arrive in Japan. Lots of business meetings.”
“Wow…”
We all went ‘Wow, team leader~’ and he responded with a hearty laugh.
It’s true what they say, a position can make a man seem older. Our hyung looked older than his years since his promotion.
It was an incredibly fast rise.
Even the company’s actor team leaders and the previous fourth team leader were at least in their forties.
“Is this your new business card?”
“I didn’t plan to make a new one, but the CEO handed it to me.”
The freshly printed card felt crisp to the touch, and it bore the title ‘TF Team Leader’.
The New Black TF Team.
It was a team crafted like a small company, drawing personnel from various departments such as finance, public relations, and management.
The former team leader had become the head of the newly established second division, under which were the Scarlet and New Black TF teams.
“Team Leader, huh.”
Every time we exclaimed in awe, Seokhwan hyung would get embarrassed, but I could tell he secretly enjoyed it.
The person fastening their belt waved their hand dismissively.
“Stop flying me around. It’s all thanks to you guys that things went well.”
I smiled at the bashful figure before me.
Seeing the title ‘Team Leader’ before the name Yoon Seokhwan gave me a strange yet pleasant feeling.
It reminded me of how much time had passed since we first met.
And I cherished the fact that someone I had known for so long was climbing the ladder with me.
“By the way,”
From Manager Hong Seoyoung sitting nearby to the people I passed in the company corridors.
Even excluding the dance team and band session, this was the first time so many people had accompanied us on a tour.
“Why are there so many people today?”
“There’s a lot to do for your promotion during the two weeks we’ll be in Japan.”
“Ah.”
“Director Jo will also drop by for a bit.”
It seemed there were more than a couple of matters that required the company’s attention outside the concert.
There were many plans prepared by the company.
I could feel the effort the company was putting into this Japanese tour.
“But, um…”
I lowered my voice and asked.
“There’s nothing on the schedule, right?”
“Ah.”
“Besides the concert, there’s nothing specifically written.”
Usually, before an overseas tour, there would be a brief appearance on a local broadcast for an interview.
There would be promotional schedules, like visiting certain places.
But for this trip to Japan, aside from a few items, there were no external event schedules at all.
Seokhwan hyung showed an awkward smile.
“There’s a bit of a problem with that…”
“A problem? What kind of problem?”
The youngest and Junghyun, who had been eavesdropping from the back, poked their heads over the seats and whispered.
Our team leader gave me a look that said he would talk about it later.
Then he spoke to me.
“The situation in Japan is a bit tricky right now, so it’s hard for me to give a definite answer.”
“…?”
“I think I need to go and feel out a few things myself.”
I blinked at the cryptic words left hanging but didn’t pursue the conversation further.
We were about to take off soon.
As I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, the plane began its sprint towards the vast sky.
The whirring sound that deafened my ears was matched by my firm grip on the toy in my hand.
Squeak-squeak-squeak-
It was a gift from Junghyun.
A chicken squeaky toy that was supposed to be comforting when pressed.
I pressed the toy’s belly repeatedly, focusing on my breathing.
And when the takeoff was successfully completed,
The flight attendant pushing the beverage cart caught my eye as I clutched the chicken toy, sweating.
As the attendant tried to make sense of the situation,
“It’s my friend.”
I pressed the toy, prompting a greeting, and the attendant couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
What was so funny about it?
Lately, it seemed like everyone we met was too busy laughing at us.
Kansai Airport.
We had landed at the international airport in Osaka, Japan.
The concert was to be held for a few days in a hall in Kobe City, adjacent to Osaka, and then in Yokohama.
In between the concerts, we planned to hold fan signing events and promotions to attract Japanese fans.
‘This time in Japan, let’s make our idol group’s name even more known to the fans!’
That was the goal of this Japanese promotion.
But that was the goal…
“…?”
Upon arriving at Kansai Airport, I immediately noticed the security personnel bustling about.
Blinking rapidly, I stood with my siblings, luggage in hand.
“Please wait here until the situation calms down,” an official instructed.
“What’s happening?” I asked.
The airport staff looked at me as if to say, ‘What is this person talking about?’
A staff member, donning a cap reminiscent of a police officer, said, “You have… a lot of fans.”
“Ah.”
“Like, a lot.”
The person, gesturing ‘a lot’ with their hands, was busy exchanging radio messages with other staff members.
Even the managers and other staff were puzzled.
“Uh…?”
I couldn’t tell what was happening outside, but it felt like the ground was trembling, reminiscent of a scene from The Lion King with hundreds of wildebeests stampeding.
Gulp.
Rihyuk stepped out and hid behind Junghyun.
“If you stay back there and fall behind, what will you do?”
“…”
Rihyuk stepped forward, looking innocent yet determined.
Then, Bi Joo and Jiho joined him, and he looked flustered.
Standing in a triangular formation, he looked like a figurehead at the prow of a ship.
“Wait, hold on. This makes me the shield.”
We responded with warm smiles.
“You’re overestimating yourself.”
“You’re the bait, brother. The bait.”
Joking about throwing him to the Japanese fans and making our escape, he seemed to breathe fire in response.
While we were killing time,
Bi Joo asked, puzzled, “Since when did we have so many fans in Japan?”
“That’s a mystery to me too.”
“I don’t recall it being this crowded last time we were here. They hardly knew our names.”
Last spring.
It was just after we wrapped up our Windflower album activities, participating in a K-pop concert hosted by K-Net and holding a showcase.
Other than that, just an internet TV variety show and some magazine interviews?
Rihyuk commented, “Honestly, there are a lot of strange things. Starting with the size of the concert.”
The concert was much larger than we had anticipated.
Compared to the showcase for 1,000 people we held in Shibuya, it had grown tens of times larger.
Of course, I had heard that the ticketing alone had attracted tens of thousands…
In just over a year, it seemed like events had unfolded in this country that we were unaware of.
The main vocalist looked around and lowered his voice.
“And you know what’s the strangest thing?”
“What?”
“The staff here at Kansai Airport. Their expressions don’t seem to recognize us, do they?”
“…Huh?”
Looking around, the staff seemed to know exactly who we were, regardless of their intentions.
It was odd.
Even though it’s the neighboring country, it would be normal not to know the names of K-pop artists unless they were interested.
But they seemed to already know who we were.
“Could it be because of MiTube?”
“That seems most likely.”
“But those people standing over there don’t look like the type to watch MiTube.”
As we were having this conversation,
“Excuse me, but may I…” a young male security officer approached us.
“Could I ask for an autograph?”
“An autograph?”
“Yes, an autograph. If it’s not too much trouble, for the others standing over there too.”
Figures that appeared to be his seniors waved shyly from a distance.
As I diligently drew spaceships and asked for their names on the paper, their expressions brightened.
I asked the person who introduced themselves as Asuka.
“So, how do you know about us, Asuka?”
“Ah.”
As we leaned in, expecting an answer related to MiTube, they replied as if it were obvious.
“I often saw it on TV.”
“TV?”
I nodded in agreement, but I was utterly confused.
Was it about appearing on Japanese TV?
As I turned away, Seokhwan had a perplexed look on his face.
Just as I was about to approach and strike up a conversation, the airport finally announced that we could now leave.
“Alright, let’s get going.”
“Go, go, go~!”
As we pushed our luggage out through the screen door, a deafening cheer greeted us.
The crowd was absolutely buzzing.
Flashes popped, and fans holding placards waved frantically.
“…?”
I froze for a moment, my eyes wide with shock.
This place was closer to Busan than the capital region if we were to compare it to Japan.
Yet, the crowd was incomparably larger than when I had visited Tokyo.
“On the count of three!”
“Hello! We are New Black!”
Our bright smiles and greetings were met with roaring cheers.
Wow. There were so many people.
I didn’t know what was going on, but for now, I exchanged joyful glances with my siblings.
“Hellooo~!”
“Woaaaah!”
After waving to the onlookers on the second floor,
“Uju! Uju!”
“Junghyun saaaang!”
We approached the Japanese fans, signing autographs and taking selfies along the way.
The atmosphere was such that it felt wrong to just leave.
Among all the times I’ve visited foreign airports, this was the largest crowd that made my heart race.
“Wow…”
We were all tongue-tied.
“Everyone! How did you all know to come here?!”
When Rihyuk shouted, a cacophony of replies flew from all directions, blending into a noisy chorus.
It was hard to make out what they were saying.
Meanwhile, I glanced at the cameras that persistently followed our every move.
“…?”
I thought they were from local stations, but the cameras on tripods bore the logos of major networks.
After finishing our greetings with the fans,
“Thank you! See you at our concert~!”
We waved to the fans and boarded the minibus parked outside Kansai Airport.
My mind was a whirlwind.
“Phew…”
Once inside the car, I took off my baseball cap, and sweat poured down.
I removed my damp gloves and took a deep breath.
“Ah, my shoulder hurts. I think someone bumped into me while I was running earlier.”
“Sorry. That was me.”
“It was you, Junghyun? No wonder. I thought I was hit by a truck.”
“Wonseok hyung! Can I get some water, please!”
As we chatted, I looked out at the bustling crowd and breathed a sigh of relief.
During that time, the car slowly started to move.
With fans continually trying to approach, the driver began to press the accelerator desperately, as if trying to escape.
-Beep…
-Beep…
The Japanese fans reached out desperately.
The sound like a peeping chick continued, but I couldn’t understand what it meant.
While this was happening, I approached our team leader, who was drinking water in the front seat of the bus.
“Hyung.”
“Yeah?”
“Can you explain what’s going on now?”
Seokhwan gestured for me to wait a moment and finished his water.
The person who had been making a ‘gurgling’ sound took a deep breath and said,
“As you can see, you guys have quite a few fans in Japan.”
“I can definitely see that.”
Certainly, it wasn’t the pandemonium that ensued when TNT or Teen Spirit came to Japan, but honestly, there aren’t many groups with this many fans.
“I get that too.”
I asked, gasping for breath.
“Where did all these fans come from?”
“Seriously, I’ve never seen this many fans when coming out of an international airport. I almost got lost.”
“I still don’t understand how this happened. It’s Japan, of all places.”
It’s a given, but the idol atmosphere varies from country to country.
In the United States, instead of being exclusively a fan of a specific group like ‘I’m a fan of TNT~! I’m a fan of Teen Spirit~!’, it’s more common to be a general K-pop enthusiast who likes a bit of everything.
In China, there’s a tendency to favor individual members over the group.
Among these, the Japanese idol market is characterized by its exclusivity.
Regardless of their popularity in Korea, they prefer to debut with Japanese songs and grow their presence in Japan.
Even if that’s not the case, appearing on Japanese broadcasts or investing significant time in local promotions is preferred.
“We only came here last year.”
As Rihyuk said, last year’s visit was a brief pop-in and out.
There were no singles released specifically for Japan.
While it’s common for groups popular in Korea to also be popular in Japan, we hadn’t really done anything.
“It’s half true.”
Seokhwan looked at us after glancing at his ringing phone.
“You haven’t done anything here.”
“…?”
“Since you guys started becoming nationally famous last year, you’ve been on TV here a lot.”
“Us?”
“It’s hard to explain. If you search the Japanese MeTube, you’ll understand quickly.”
When Rihyuk searched for New Black in Japanese, a slew of videos popped up.
“Hm? Doesn’t this look like a current affairs discussion program?”
There were many thumbnails of such programs.
We clicked on one.
In a setting divided into panelist seats like a symposium, middle-aged men were having a serious discussion.
I didn’t understand everything 100%, but I managed to grasp the gist with my halting Japanese.
The host pointed to figures next to a panel that read ‘Super Popular! New Black Bread!’ and said:
“This is the amount of New Black Bread sold in one month.”
One of the female panelists covered her mouth in surprise and exclaimed, “Wow!”
“Isn’t that incredible?”
“Wait, is that for real?”
“This ‘New Black Phenomenon’ is so popular in Korean society that it’s worth calling it just that.”
A real soufflé bread, apparently airlifted from Korea, was brought onto the discussion table.
“It does taste good.”
“It’s somewhat fluffy and has a strong sugary scent.”
We blinked in disbelief.
“Why are they eating this on a broadcast in this country?”
“Exactly.”
After quickly skipping through the tasting reviews.
The host asked a male panelist.
“With the ‘New Black Phenomenon’ being so popular in Korean society that it’s skyrocketing, Professor, what do you make of this phenomenon?”
“Well, it’s true that New Black is popular, but I think we need to approach this from a different angle than just their songs or talent.”
“A different angle?”
“It’s strange. There hasn’t been a Korean idol group in the last decade that has gained this much popularity among Koreans.”
I watched with intrigue as the professor spoke earnestly.
“In my opinion, this unnatural trend suggests that there must be some intervention at play.”
“Ho-ho.”
“Right. It’s like the universe intervened in the human world.”
The professor continued.
“Isn’t K-pop a national project of the Korean government?”
“Ah! Was there government support?”
“In my view, New Black might be a project of the Korean government to enhance soft power…”
We marveled at the ongoing intriguing discussion.
“Everything from one to ten is wrong; I don’t even know where to start correcting them.”
“If they’re going to debate, they should at least use facts. Even elementary school kids don’t debate with baseless opinions…”
It was a debate about the secret behind New Black’s sudden popular success.
There was also talk about how the nostalgic OST ‘Thousand Dreams’ topping the Billboard Hot 100 was unnatural and so on.
“Moreover, recently New Black made a wish looking east from Ulleungdo. In my opinion…”
It must have been just about two weeks ago.
I had finished a small theater tour and even released a New Year’s greeting video for my fans, the Soufflés, from the East Sea.
After appearing in a current affairs discussion video…
“Wow…”
My mouth hung open in awe at the endless parade of our videos on Japanese TV.
From the current affairs program featuring my face with the title ‘Father pro-Japan, son anti-Japan?!’ to the terrestrial TV variety shows and news footage.
The youngest member’s pupils shook as if hit by an earthquake.
“What the… What the… Were these people watching our every move on terrestrial TV?”
“Since when have they been watching?”
Our album and the Nostalgia OST, which hadn’t been much covered in Korea, were even charting on Billboard.
It felt like making eye contact with the man across the apartment holding binoculars while I was undressing.
Seokhwan, the eldest, scratched his cheek and said,
“437 times.”
“Huh?”
“That’s how many times you’ve appeared on Japanese broadcasts since your visit last year, according to our company staff.”
“…”
“Ever since you became popular and started being called ‘National Idols’ by the media, the interest skyrocketed. Especially after the Soufflé bread incident, the mentions exploded.”
Just as I was realizing we were mentioned more times on Japanese TV than Korean…
“Bijoo, did you hear? The Soufflé bread is here…”
“Bro, the Soufflé bread…”
I suddenly became aware of a fact that had completely escaped my notice.
“Bijoo?”
The bus was eerily empty.
Seizing the moment of silence, Seokhwan also picked up his continuously ringing phone.
“Hey, Wonseok. What’s up? What?”
Then, our eyes met.
“…”
“…”
And at that moment…
I pictured the face of someone who must be with Wonseok at the airport.
“Bijoo!”
“Kim Bijoo!”
“Bijoo, heeey!”
We picked up the phone in a panic.
At Kansai Airport.
In a lounge set up as a lost children’s shelter, the main dancer of New Black sniffled with a gloomy face.
He nodded gratefully at the airport staff handing over two cups of cocoa.
“Bro, let’s drink together.”
“Sure.”
“Let’s enjoy it before everyone else arrives.”
“Let’s do that.”
As Wonseok and I were sipping cocoa…
A five-year-old girl holding a balloon and waiting for her mother asked nearby.
“Excuse me?”
“Hmm?”
“Did you lose your way too, big brother?”
“No.”
He gazed into the distance and said,
“My brothers left me behind.”
“They’re bad people.”
“Yeah. Really bad people.”
Bijoo resolved to give them a piece of his mind when they showed up.