Translator: MarcTempest
Editor: Rxel
Chapter 145
The clock on the wall pointed to exactly 7 oâclock.
ââŠâ
They all gathered in front of their laptops at the sound of someone saying, âItâs 7 oâclock!â But no one dared to click the mouse.
Bijoo suggested, âHow about you do it, Hyung? I heard that this kind of thing should be done by someone who has good luck.â
âThatâs nonsense.â Rihyuk interrupted, âItâs not like quantum mechanics where the outcome depends on the observation. The result is already determined.â
âItâs what Woojoo Hyungâs grandmother told usâŠâ
âOh, that.â
âRihyuk was mean,â 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.
âThis must be a good sign, right?â
âI donât know. The kids are sending me messages like, âAhh, I canât watch it.ââ
After they put on such a farce, Woojoo decided to update the chart.
The atmosphere was tense, with even their breathing audible.
Woojooâs fingertips were trembling.
As he clicked the mouse, the real-time chart of Mango Chart was updated to [19:00].
âWow, TNT is here as expected.â
As Junghyun said, the first page of the chart was full of TNTâs comeback repackaged album.
A black cover with a question mark made of smoky smoke.
TNT â â?â (Question)
Cha Woohyun â Time Management (Throne of Emptiness OST)
TNT â To do, or Not To do
TNT â White, Night
TNT â The Word That Is You
With a drama OST in between, TNT lined up their tracks on the chart.
Bijoo pointed.
âLetâs start from the bottom, Hyung.â
âYeah. Letâs do that.â
Woojoo dragged the chart all the way down.
They started to climb up the chart from the 100th place.
âUhâŠ! Ah.â
Rihyuk screamed at the sight of âSomethingâ 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.
âCome out. Come outâŠâ
Woojoo muttered like a spell and scrolled up carefully.
There was none in the 90s.
Nor in the 80s.
Nor in the 70s.
It didnât show up as he went up.
When he reached around the 30th place, he said, âEven if you donât see it, donât be disappointedâŠâ
âGo up, Hyung.â
âHonestly, we.â
âGo up!â
âY-yes⊠Iâll go upâŠâ
But there were none of their songs in the 20s either.
ââŠâ
A disappointed atmosphere that couldnât 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 wasnât a strange thing.
Of course, ordinary people, including Woojooâs 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.
âHyung. Donât give up and go up more. It might be up there.â
âFine, letâs see.â
Woojoo nodded at Bijooâs encouraging words and scrolled up.
With a half-giving-up attitude, Woojoo scrolled up.
Right then.
âUhâŠ! Hey! Wait!â
Rihyuk screamed in surprise and pointed at the screen.
Woojoo turned his head and saw his face all contorted. He couldnât speak and just pointed at the screen with his finger.
Woojoo tilted his head and Junghyun explained.
âLook there, at the top 10.â
âTop 10?â
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.
ââŠWhat?â
Sweet Potato Trio â Youâre So Ugly
TNT â Spring Spring
New Black â Masquerade
TNT â I See You at the End of the Universe
At that moment, time stopped.
I was crazy.
That was the only thought in Woojooâs 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.
âWow! Wow! ThisâŠ! This.â
While the youngest was flustered, Rihyuk, who had regained his senses, said, âHey, hurry up and take a screenshot. It might be a computer error and go down later. Letâs take a screenshot first.â
âYeah⊠Yeah, letâs do that.â
âHyung! Hyungs! What is this? Weâre in 10th place? No, why 10th place, ah Iâm tongue-tied.â
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.
âWowâŠâ
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.
âWow!â
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 didnât care.
They had hit the jackpot.
Woojoo felt a surge of adrenaline coursing through his body as they ran around for a while.
âMom, I have to call Mom and Dad.â
âMe too, I have to tell my sisterâŠâ
âI need to call my parents and my brother.â
âHyung! My friends are all congratulating me. Haha. Gil Chaekyung has been silent and not saying anythingâŠâ
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.
âHelloâŠâ
âWoojoo!â
A voice came from both the phone and outside the phone.
As if he couldnât wait for the elevator, their math genius burst into the break room.
âGuys, your musicâŠâ
âWe saw it, Hyung.â
âYou guys, you guysâŠâ
He stuttered, unable to hide his excitement.
âHyung, come here. Celebrate with us.â
âYeah, I should. Iâm so nervous right now, I donât even know what Iâm saying, oh, this isâŠâ
They all got up and welcomed Seokhwan Hyung.
âUgh!â
He stepped on the spilled soybean paste soup on the floor and fell.
Well, he almost fell, but Woojoo moved quickly and caught him.
âThanks, man.â He adjusted his glasses and said, âSo now.â
âWait, Hyung. Letâs calm down a bit.â
Woojoo exchanged glances with his siblings and nodded in a second.
Then they sandwiched their manager between them.
âWow!â
They ran around the room again.
âWow!â
And one more time.
***
ă Five Colors : The Red (2014) ă
New Black
[â â â â â]
Finally, a group that knows how to use color has appeared.
Itâs 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 colorâŠ
(Skipped)
âŠThe 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 Blackâs comeback is âdecentâ, Serenity is âso-soâ
-[Photo] A powerful dance break from the start, TNTâs comeback show Taehyun âIâm the dance kingâ
-[Entertainment IN] You have to pay attention to their color from now on⊠The discovery of âNew Blackâ
-New Black, unprecedented chart strength âPre-releasing the MV was a masterstrokeâ
PM 10:30
-New Blackâs new song âMasqueradeâ, will it go all the way to the topâŠ?
-Calm âTNTâ, smiling âNew Blackâ, âSerenityâ is crying
-As of 10 pm, they rose to â8thâ⊠New Blackâs âhitâ in just 5 months after debut
-âMasqueradeâ MV reached â500,000 viewsâ in 24 hours, agency âWe will release a thank you message when we reach 1 millionâ
-[Stock Talk] After the actor trade, now a boy group hitâŠ? âLemon Entertainmentâ 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, âItâs raining a lot, isnât it?â
âItâs awful. Itâs been raining all day since yesterday. Oh, I wish the money would pour down like this rain.â
âThatâs right.â
âSure. Good luck.â
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.
âThis is for our Nabi. You guys donât even have soup, so you know that.â
Meow-
Maybe it was because of the rainy day, but Kim Deoksoonâs heart softened at the sound of the cats crying pitifully around her.
âAlright, then Iâll give you some of this. This is the last time, so I wonât give you any more next time. âŠYouâre eating without even looking at me. Well, eat well and live well.â
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.
âThe weather is really shitty.â
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 didnât 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 âI love you! Kim Deoksoon!â and making a fuss.
She asked if they were crazy and they laughed like they were really crazy.
ă Group Chat : Back Support Group ă
Junghyunâs Dad [Itâs a really beautiful night⊠???!!]
Junghyunâs Dad [I want to have a glass of wine on a night like this]
Junghyunâs Dad [Shall we all cheer up?]
Wang Hyuntak is the Chairman [Yes,]
Wang Hyuntak is the Chairman [Fi!]
Junghyunâs Dad [Re]
Bijooâs Mom [Ting!! I love this feelingâŠ!!]
Bijooâs Mom [I love my sonâŠ!]
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 didnât know how the world was going, but he was the happiest grandson she had ever seen since he said âGrandma, Iâm going to debut!â four years ago.
Woojoo [Grandma~]
Woojoo [Iâll send you 10 of my photocards along with the second album⊠Hehe]
Me [Send me the others too]
Woojoo [Hey Deoksoon]
Woojoo [Donât be greedy]
Woojoo [Just be a fan of me]
Me [Youâre 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 soupâŠ]
He suddenly started talking nonsense and disappeared after saying âWatch the K-net live todayâ. He said he was going to practice for the camera.
âYou see, the monk was right. You got lucky.â She should have said that, but she felt a bit regretful.
Meanwhile, Kim Deoksoonâs footsteps stopped as she walked around the neighborhood.
It was because of the song that came out of a cafe.
âThisâŠâ
It was her grandsonâs voice.
She opened the door and went in, curious, and the cafe owner who was sitting alone greeted her with a smile.
âOh, our president is here. Why are you here?â
âI came in because of the song.â
âThe song? Oh⊠this. Is it also playing outside? I was just listening to itâŠâ
She gestured to the owner who was going to turn off the speaker.
Then she asked cautiously, âIs the song that good?â
âI had the popularity chart on at the cafe yesterday and the customers kept asking me the title of the song.â
âReally?â
âYes, Iâve been listening to it because I like the song.â
As the song of New Black ended and played again, Kim Deoksoon smiled.
It was good.
It wasnât 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.
âWhat is he trying to do?â
Kim Deoksoon thought of her grandson who was smiling in Seoul.
She didnât 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 âCongratulations!â all day long.
They gave them candy or chocolate, saying âHide it from the managers and eat itâ.
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 didnât know what Serenity really felt, but they smiled brightly and said they enjoyed their song.
TNT didnât show up because they had a bad relationship with K-net over the fairness issue of last yearâs 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.
âHello! We are Fantanis! Senior!â
âUhâŠâ
Their younger members were more flustered.
Senior?
They bowed politely and corrected them with a smile.
âWeâre not your seniors. Weâre in the same year and weâre both rookies, so letâs greet each other comfortably from now on.â
âOh. Yes! We understand!â
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 âHello!â
They looked like they would greet even the fallen leaves.
Woojoo laughed at that.
And Bijoo grinned at him.
âHyung. You said youâre not a senior, but you sounded like one.â
ââŠMe?â
No way.
âYeah. You smiled kindly and said that. âWeâre not your seniors~â Like this. AhhâŠ!â
âHahaha⊠Hello! We are New Black!â
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.
âHelloooâŠâ
ââŠâ
âHello. Oh. Thatâs enough.â
They blinked their eyes at the youngest who was practicing his speech while walking down the hallway.
âJiho, what are you doing?â
âWell, the year is almost over. And I think weâll have some juniors soon, so Iâm thinking about a serious tone of speech. You know.â
âHmm.â
They all looked at each other and rapped like the youngest, saying âYeah, you know?â
The youngest glared at them like they were the most hateful people in the world.
âDonât tease me. Iâm serious. I saw some comments on the internet yesterdayâŠâ
âDonât mind those words, Jiho,â Bijoo said. âPeople have different thoughts.â
âIs that so? But, every time I read an article, there are people who say somethingâŠâ
âTake a screenshot. Wang Jiho. Iâll track them down and get revenge for you.â
âThatâs a good idea. Rihyuk. Take Junghyun with you when you go.â
âWhere are we going, Hyung?â
They all laughed at Junghyunâs 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.
âWhat is it, Hyung?â
âSeokhwan Hyung sent us the confirmed schedule for November and December.â
âOh. I want to see it.â
As the younger ones gathered around Woojoo, two image files popped up briefly on the phone message.
ââŠHuh?â
They widened their eyes as they saw the dense letters.