Translator: MarcTempest
Editor: Rxel
Chapter 78
30 minutes later, The New Black posted a message on their official SNS.
@The_New_Black_Official
We really enjoyed the lunch boxes you sent us! Woojoo Hyung said he was so touched that he cried, because he was eating army food around this time last year. Itâs true. Junghyun and Jiho ate one more each. And Rihyuk didnât leave any rice for the first time.
Thank_you
Love_you
Along with the photos of the members eating, they also wrote a long review of each food, like a food blogger.
The fans who were at the scene also started to upload their proof shots.
@IiiiII23
I came out of the fan meeting and ended up eating chicken, thanks guys,
Iâm_becoming_a_pig_today
Diet_fail
The SNS posts of The New Blackâs fans quickly spread to the fan cafe.
-??????
-I want to tell people. Everyone. Please be a fan of our kids. Letâs be rich not in our hearts but in our bodies??
-Last time they gave us sandwiches at the music show, and today the fans who went to the fan meeting got lucky???
-Iâm at the scene right now and itâs so delicious⊠I give up on dieting today
-Chicken is legit
-Live report) Chicken 10 pieces vs eco bag debate
-????????
-Live report) Eco bag wins by a landslide
-Breaking news) A fan said, âWhat if the kids personally handed us the chicken?â and the atmosphere is buzzing
-Breaking news) âThe kids are the kids and the chicken is the chickenâ a dramatic agreement is reached
-??????????
-Wow, it must be really delicious, theyâre frying it on the spot?
-Yeah, someone from the headquarters whoâs in charge of cooking came, I heard Jihoâs dad works at that company
-Hul, thatâs awesome???
While the fan cafe was bustling, the PR team of Lemon Entertainment was working as usual.
They checked the SNS posts of The New Black members, and also sent out press releases about the heartwarming stories of the fans and the singers exchanging gifts.
When their busy work was somewhat settled, the PR team leader opened his mouth.
âIsnât it time for the ending stage soon?â
âYes, it should be.â
âTurn on the TV. We have to watch it ourselves on days like this.â
Someone picked up the remote and turned on the TV.
They switched from the terrestrial channel that they had left on to monitor the drama that their companyâs actor was in, and the number went up and up.
âHBS MTVâ was the channel name, and Showtime was being broadcast live.
As Soul Six from Oullim Entertainment was performing, the employees rolled their chairs to the front of the TV screen.
Soon after, Soul Sixâs stage ended, and the final three stages began.
Unlike usual, the order was from the highest to the lowest rank.
âOur kids are the last ones, right? They wonât make a fuss about this, will they?â
âItâs fine. Thereâs no one with a big fandom enough to make a fuss about that. Maybe if it was Teen Spirit.â
âTheyâre all pretty mediocre.â
âIâve been browsing some idol-related communities, and they say that this Showtimeâs first place is the best ever.â
Everyone gave a bitter smile, and someone asked, âWho do you think will be the first place today?â
âWell, I think Misty has the highest chance. They have the biggest fandom among the three. And their album sales have been rising since the last one, and this oneâs not bad either, right? They even got third place on some other music shows.â
âYeah, their fandom is surprisingly strong.â
âWhat about Joana? Isnât she possible?â
âReally?â
âShe was a girl group member and then her company pushed her as a solo, so she has some existing fans, right? Theyâre few but very core, I heard.â
âHer album sales are low, though.â
But there was no one who said that New Black would be the first place.
Because of the objective numbers.
It might have been possible if it was the third or fourth week, but now, their overall indicators were low.
Soon.
New Blackâs âFireworksâ stage began.
âWow.â
Someone exclaimed.
âLook at the stage quality. This is why the broadcasting station gave them the finale, right?â
âTheyâre really good.â
âTheir makeup looks good today, too, and their expressions are really, wow, this is why we feed them expensive food.â
âWoojoo is going wild, really.â
They admired the appearance of the New Black members singing the chorus of Fireworks.
And the refreshing song, too.
âFireworks is always nice to listen to. I had a feeling that this would be a hit ever since I first heard it.â
âThe A&R team said that the song is good, and even though it might not make it to the annual chart, it will stay on the chart for a few months.â
âWe have to work hard on promoting the official release of Night Sea. We might be able to rise together with the double title track.â
âLook at the kids on stage.â
Someone smiled and changed the topic.
âThey looked so young and cute when they came out on Something in March. But now they look like pros, donât they?â
âExactly. They look like celebrities now.â
âHowâs the real-time reaction?â
âItâs not explosive, but itâs not bad. There are comments asking for the membersâ names and saying theyâre handsome.â
Then, someone checked a message and asked, âTeam leader, Young Daily wants to schedule an interview for tomorrow. What should I tell them?â
âPut them on hold. We have another schedule.â
As the employee nodded, another employee asked, âSchedule? There was nothing on the management teamâs schedule except for the music show.â
âWe have an unofficial schedule. We have a meeting with TBC Broadcasting Station.â
âA meeting?â
As someone asked, New Blackâs stage ended and all the singers who appeared today gathered in one place.
The countdown starting from five ended.
And on the screen, the total scores appeared quickly along with each groupâs album photos.
-Yes! The first place is Joanaâs âStarlightâ! Congratulations!
-Congratulations!
With a click! sound, glittering papers fell from the air.
-Please tell us how you feel about being first.
-Uh⊠Uh, yes. Me? Yes.
The solo singer with a ponytail and a leather jacket had her eyes wide open.
Soon, Joana regained her composure and mentioned the staff while giving her first-ever first-place speech.
The singers behind her clapped for her.
But what the promotion team employees were looking at was not the speech, but behind it.
âThey look really happy.â
âOur kids have great reactions.â
âWoojoo must have told them everything beforehand.â
Usually, this was the time when they had to be careful about their expressions.
In the past, Sixty Seconds caused a controversy when they crossed their arms and looked displeased when TNT won the first place.
Well. Of course, it wasnât that bad.
They were worried that they might unconsciously show their disappointment.
But after seeing the result of being third, they smiled brightly among themselves and soon sent applause to the senior singer who became first.
They must have had high expectations.
They acted professionally, and the promotion team employees smiled as well.
A loud phone rang.
âAre you here? Yes, yes, Iâll come out to meet you.â
As Hong, the deputy, got up in a hurry, the others asked, âWhoâs here?â
âOh, itâs the costumes that the kids will use in Myeongdong. The samples just arrived.â
***
ââŠâ
When they returned to the company, there were some monsters in the practice room.
âOh, my god.â
Rihyuk made a fuss and hid behind them.
They were having similar reactions.
âAm I seeing things?â
âHyung, what is this, or what are these?â
âTheyâre so ugly.â
âPlease tell me weâre not going to wear these costumesâŠâ
The youngest looked at them with a desperate look, but they had nothing to say.
Woojoo felt like crying too.
They were laughing and talking until a while ago.
But after seeing that, the thoughts of being a first-place candidate, or the fun things that happened while having a mini fan meeting flew out of their heads.
The only thing they could think of was that the âthingsâ in front of them were not the costumes they were going to wear.
The youngest shook his head and said, âHyungs, I thought about it again, and I donât think these are the costumes weâre going to wear. If they were, there would be five of them.â
There were three costumes in front of them.
âOh, right.â
As Woojoo muttered a hopeful wish, Bijoo spoke.
âWhat if theyâre just samples, and they want us to choose one out of the three?â
âChoose from there?â
That seemed like a problem in itself.
Woojooâs eyes drifted to the three dolls that were leaning against the wall of the practice room.
From the left:
A bald, flesh-colored doll that resembled a sausage.
A primitive tribesman.
A very strangely shaped teddy bear.
If there were villains in the doll world, they would be them. Their menacing appearance made Woojoo swallow hard.
âNo way,â Woojoo said. âUnless the company staff have lost their sense of aesthetics, they wouldnât have picked those things.â
âThatâs true, right?â
âYeah, Hyungs. When have you ever seen Woojoo Hyung say something wrong? If he says itâs not, then itâs not.â
âRight, right.â
âHey, you guys seem to be in denial of reality right nowâŠâ
âI canât hear you, I canât hear anything.â
Ignoring Rihyukâs words, Woojoo plugged his ears. Then, the door of the practice room opened with a click.
It was Hong Daeri from the PR team.
âOh, when did you come back?â
âIâm sorry for the delay.â
âCongratulations on becoming the first-place candidate. I wanted to congratulate you earlier, but Director Cho said it might make you nervous, so he told me to wait until it was over.â
âOh, itâs okay. Thank you.â
The smiling deputy handed Woojoo a congratulatory message and then asked him, âHow is it?â
âWhat do you meanâŠ?â
Donât tell me.
âItâs the mascot costume you promised to wear if you became the first-place candidate. The rental company sent us a sample, and weâre going to order it once you choose.â
âYou want me to choose?â
âYeah, I thought it would be fair to give you the option.â
The costume looked anything but fair.
âWhatâs wrong, Woojoo?â
âNothing.â
Woojoo wondered if this was a hidden camera prank, so he glanced at the mirror or the rail, but he didnât see anything.
Were these people serious?
âOkay, then let me explain each one to you.â
Did you order them yourself?
Woojoo tried to keep a straight face while the deputy looked excited, and she led them to the leftmost one and started explaining.
First, the bald sausage.
âThis is a finger puppet.â
âFingers?â
âYeah, theyâre originally in five sets. From the thumb to the little finger, there are exactly five of them, just like you guys.â
She showed them a picture of the complete set on her tablet PC, and Woojoo couldnât help but gasp at the sight.
It reminded him of something.
âUh, boss.â
âYeah?â
âIs it just me, or does the middle finger look a bit longâŠ?â
Woojoo was trying to find the right words to say when the most blunt member of our group blurted out.
âSir, you look like a middle finger when you stand in a line like that.â
ââŠOh.â
Their boss looked flustered.
âI didnât think of that at all, but I guess it could look that way.â
âIt would be a disaster if any of us on the side had a dance move that involved bending our knees. There are a lot of foreign tourists in Myeongdong, you knowâŠâ
âSorry. This wasnât my choice, actually.â
She revealed the behind-the-scenes story.
âI ordered the remaining two, and the boss liked them. He said he wanted to help out with the kids wearing the masks.â
âAhâŠâ
âHe asked me to keep it a secret, but Iâm telling you just in case.â
It seemed like she spoke well.
But later, when the boss asked shyly, and the youngest or Junghyun said, âOh, is that the fuck-you doll?â there would be a huge commotion.
âUm, shall we move on to the other two then?â
The second one was a doll that resembled a primitive tribe.
This one was cute.
Maybe it was because it was sandwiched between a flesh-colored sausage and a murderous teddy bear, but its appearance and outfit were somewhat adorable.
âHow about this one? There were so many predictions on the fan cafe, so this was the only one left after avoiding them all.â
âNot bad,â Rihyuk said. âIt looks pretty good to me.â
âMe too.â
âUm, I donât know if it will fit my shoulders, but I agree.â
âThis is the best of the three.â
But Woojoo disagreed.
âI like the appearance too, but the dark skin of the primitive people, and the clothes that remind me of African people. There are a lot of overseas K-pop fans these days, so it might be risky. It could be seen as racial discrimination if we do it wrong. Koreans might laugh at it, but foreign tourists might feel differently.â
That was the kind of thing that caused controversy over racial discrimination on foreign websites.
Things like painting their skin black and making tribal noises.
âI think itâs better to avoid anything that could cause controversy.â
Everyone nodded and agreed.
âThen, thereâs only one left. Do we have to order again? How about this one?â
The last remaining murderous teddy bear.
If you just smeared some blood drops on that T-shirt and gave it a knife model, it would be a perfect Halloween costume.
Why did they put teeth on the teddy bear?
It was smiling, but it felt like it was saying âIâll chase you to hellâ.
Woojoo watched the teddy bear with an awkward feeling for a while, when Junghyun stepped in.
âWait a minute. I know a designer, so Iâll ask him.â
Junghyun picked up his phone and connected somewhere. He answered âcousinâ to their curious eyes.
Were they the ones with weird taste?
The designer praised all the costumes. He said the third teddy bear was the best for the public.
He said he would show it to his son and daughter.
Soon, two children appeared on the video call screen.
They looked like seven and five years old, a cute little boy and girl.
âWhat do you think?â
As Junghyun brought the video call screen close to the teddy bear, a loud cry burst out.
The call ended with the angry scream of his wife, his excuses, and the sound of his back being slapped.
ââŠâ
There was a moment of silence, and they asked, âManager, do you have anything else?â
âUm⊠Ah!â
She called somewhere and soon an intern from the PR team came down with a big doll.
It was a chicken with a red T-shirt.
âOh, itâs cute.â
They said without knowing.
The T-shirt said âHoho Chickenâ.
This was really cute.
âDid your dad send it?â
âYeah, my father said to take it and use it if you need a doll costume. Itâs cute, but the problem is that thereâs a trademark on itâŠâ
âHow about taking off the T-shirt?â
âWe already tried that. Iâll show you why it wasnât a candidate.â
He took it off.
âUmâŠâ
âUhâŠâ
âThis is too erotic for a chicken, donât you think?â
Rihyukâs philosophical expression was translated by the youngest.
âThe chicken is too sexy.â
***
In the end, they couldnât choose a doll costume that day.
They refused the managerâs words that she would look for it again.
They said they would look for it themselves.
âNo, there are so many good ones, butâŠâ
Woojoo was looking at the doll profiles on the rental site, and the youngest sipped his caramel macchiato and said, âBut theyâre too common. The fans are posting a lot of guesses on the fan cafe, and they say things like teddy bears are too boringâŠâ
They had worked too hard on the stage.
It was just a doll costume, but the fans were expecting a lot.
It felt like they had to do something like jumping out of a helicopter with a parachute.
Woojoo deleted the 8-piece teddy bear set from his wishlist, swallowing his tears at the negative reviews about them.
âAll the good ones are already rented outâŠâ
As they were browsing the site with regret, they heard Seokhwan Hyungâs voice calling them from afar.
âOh, theyâre here!â
They put away their phones and checked their outfits.
They were at a cafe inside the TBC Broadcasting Station.
They all got up nervously at the sight of someone walking with Seokhwan Hyung.
The reason they had been desperately trying to relax by talking about the teddy bear costumes was because of that person.
âHello! We are New Black!â
âOh, hi.â
He was PD Gu Jaeyong.
He was the one who created the national variety show âAround the World with Diceâ.
He might have a high status in the industry, but he was also very big and fierce-looking. Woojoo couldnât help but flinch when he glanced at him.
He looked like a scary person.
As soon as he sat down at the table, he blurted out something rather odd.
âBefore we get into the main topic, thereâs something I want to ask you first.â
âYes, PD-nim.â
âWhich one of you is the one who came out of the army?â
âThatâs me, PD-nim.â
âOh, I see. Since you came out of the army, do youâŠ?â
He was spinning his hand around for a while, like someone on their team who couldnât find the right word. He finally asked Woojoo a question.
âAre you good at digging?â
âŠWhat kind of special was this?