Chapter 1130: The Warmest Season, Winter (2)

Anyone who watches movies or dramas has moments like that.

-Ta-da! A devastatingly handsome man or breathtaking beauty appears!

A gorgeous actress in an old film showing off her voluminous hair, a handsome man walking out of a swimming pool and shaking the water from his hair, and so on.

At moments like that, you paused the video and hit NetPlus's ten-second rewind button three or four times.

The idol fans watching <GO! BUSTERS—!> were no different.

Oh, right. Rewind... Ah, I can't rewind this.

The people who had instinctively searched for the rewind button on their phones sighed.

It was because of the Lemon Entertainment trainees' visuals.

-HOLY SHIT

-THEY'RE ALL INSANELY HANDSOME????

-GYUHOㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ YOU DID GOOD

-WOW HOLY SHIT

-So this is what it feels like to have your eyes opened... Thrilling... New...

-Who's that next to Kim Ji Hyuk? I'm appointing him my bias starting today

The Lemon Boys' visuals overwhelmed viewers from the very start.

An interview clip showed a member named Hajun scratching his cheek in embarrassment.

[When I first saw them, they were all so handsome. I know I shouldn't have, but I felt a little intimidated.]

Interviews with the other members followed.

[Wow. They're crazy. That was exactly how it felt.]

[We're juniors to Street Boys now, while they're juniors to NewBlack, right? The moment I saw them, I thought, "Ah... they really are NewBlack's juniors."]

[Especially that guy named Jinhu. He was incredibly handsome.]

Everyone's attention gathered on the brown-haired young man smiling with crescent eyes.

He was tall.

The X Buster members looked surprised at the eighteen-year-old trainee with broad, refreshing eyes and the corners of his mouth drawn into a long smile.

[All right. Shall we introduce ourselves?]

After the rookie group and the trainees bowed ninety degrees to each other and fumbled through their greetings, they each introduced themselves and eased the awkward atmosphere a little.

Idol fans smiled fondly as the names of the Lemon Boys appeared one by one.

-Ah, the future of K-pop is bright

-If anyone asks you to look up and point out the future of K-pop, point at the crown of Gyuho's head

-Where did they find all these handsome young men, hohoho

-The K-pop talent pool is looking good

The Lemon Boys had already drawn attention for their looks at NewBlack's concert.

Now that they had broadcast makeup on top of that, their glamorous beauty was captivating idol fans.

The strikingly handsome trainee standing at the center of the Lemon Boys flashed a bright smile.

[Nice to meet you. I'm Lee Jinhu.]

Idol fans erupted.

-This is shameless as hell, but can I call you oppa...?

-He must be the center

-He looks like a big puppyㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

-You have passed the audition into my heart

Next came a handsome young man with delicate features and the model-student air of someone who looked like he would be class president.

[I'm Kim Ji Hyuk. Nice to meet you.]

Gye Hongju cheered, "Yo, my friend!" and Kim Ji Hyuk smiled bashfully.

-Wow, Ji Hyuk actually looks like a celebrity now

-I watched Next Mission and wondered what company would take someone that talented, and Lemon picked him upㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Ji Hyuk is seriously handsome too... No wonder Bang Yochan had an inferiority complex

-Yochan, are you watching??

Cheers continued as the other trainees, with names like Ben and Yoonsu, introduced themselves.

One of the X Buster members asked,

[Why are you the only one using a stage name, Ben? Everyone else is using their real names.]

[Because my real name is Boksu....]

Everyone burst out laughing at the rustic name Kim Boksu, which clashed terribly with his delicate, artistic face.

One of the X Buster members joked,

[Then is one of your siblings named Dansu?]

[Bokseon....]

[......]

[My grandfather runs a naming studio, and he insisted that all our names include the character for "fortune"....]

That remark prompted viewers across the country to complain on social media about the generational characters that had been forcibly inserted into their own names.

Meanwhile, the idol fans smiled fondly.

They're cute.

Now these are rookies.

Neither group had much broadcast experience yet, so everything felt awkward.

The idol fans giggled as they watched the members stand stiffly and try to get closer to one another.

Since the X Buster members were all good-looking too, it was an oddly pleasant scene to watch.

-They're all cute, handsome, and nice

-The future of K-pop is bright

-Youth really is the ultimate idol cheat code

As everyone praised the visuals of the next debut team, the Lemon Boys, and called them the future of the idol industry...

[Click-]

The door opened with a knock, and the rookies swallowed hard.

[Oh... Seniors!]

[Hello!]

NewBlack's leader and main vocalist entered.

At that exact moment...

As the Lemon Boys and the NewBlack members appeared in the same shot, viewers experienced a strange phenomenon.

Hm?

The devastatingly handsome trainees suddenly began to look cute.

Why do they suddenly look so ordinary...?

All at once, they seemed like merely decent-looking young men.

The viewers rubbed their eyes, then immediately found the cause.

The legendary handsome man who had once made Moonlight's most popular member look like a potato bun.

The man who had earned the fake title of fashionista through his face alone.

Sun Wooju...!

Everyone burst into laughter when the man who radiated light just by standing still appeared.

-The future of K-pop is bright, but its past was damn dazzling...☆

Someone's summary spoke for everyone.

Ri Hyuk, who had been watching the live reactions on a tablet PC, raised his head.

"All the attention suddenly shifted to this guy."

"......"

"......"

Everyone looked at me.

I stared at the trainees, who had been happily smiling while reading the live

«N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t»

comments.

"......"

"......"

They looked dejected, as though someone had given them a sweet piece of candy and then snatched it away.

My underlings and the Scarlet members booed.

"Boooo!"

Ri Hyuk gave the biggest thumbs-down of all.

"Booo. Trash. Booo."

"Booo. A terrible person who went and got full makeup for a simple shoot just so he could crush the trainees' confidence. Booo."

"......Why me?!"

It was genuinely unfair.

The ratings for X Buster's reality show continued to climb.

@ggumming

(Lemon Boys and X Buster group shot.jpg)

Guys, turn on K Net

The future of the music industry is bright

That was because the show's buzz had skyrocketed among idol fans after the Lemon Boys appeared.

Lemon's rookies?!

Those are Lemon's kids?

Strictly speaking, DNS belonged to Lemon now too, but interest in Lemon's homegrown trainees was on another level.

-What kind of guys are going to debut as NewBlack's juniors?

It was a topic people had always shown periodic interest in.

Any idol fan would click the keyword "Lemon's new boy group" at light speed, only to remember getting angry when Rabbit Uncle appeared instead.

After such a long wait, NewBlack's juniors were exactly what everyone had expected.

"Wow...."

Their visuals were so picturesque that admiration came naturally.

But before long, people began tilting their heads.

They're rookies, but they don't really feel like rookies.

Shouldn't rookies be armed with desperation by default, like the X Buster members?

The Lemon Boys did not seem especially desperate.

They felt like sons from wealthy families.

Their relaxed, loose attitudes stood out.

[Honestly....]

Interview footage of the X Buster members appeared.

[They felt a little different from what we'd expected. We were anxious and nervous, but they seemed really relaxed.]

[I thought they'd all have stronger personalities, but they seemed kind of weak...?]

[They looked weak to me.]

They had no choice but to think that way.

While the X Buster members kept sharpening their gazes, the Lemon Boys beside them laughed brightly, as though a flower garden had bloomed.

The contrast was stark enough to call them light and darkness.

The only Lemon Boy the X Buster members seemed wary of was Kim Ji Hyuk, who maintained his composure and wore a cool expression.

[The opponent we're most wary of?]

The X Buster members answered in unison.

[Ji Hyuk.]

[Probably Ji Hyuk. He won Next Mission and even beat Hongju.]

[...Ji Hyuk is probably their ace, isn't he?]

Then came an interview clip of Gye Hongju smiling awkwardly.

[This time, I want to have a proper match against Ji Hyuk. I came in second during the live broadcast by a razor-thin margin. This time, I'll gather my strength and make sure I defeat him. Prepare yourself, Kim Ji Hyuk!]

Everyone smiled at Hongju as he clenched his fist and delivered the line for the cameras.

It felt like a scene from a sports comic.

A school sports club centered around a hot-blooded protagonist.

Their opponent was a prestigious club that relied on its reputation and acted relaxed.

[All right. Shall we watch the performances now?]

At the judges' words, the actual performances began.

X Buster went first.

-Oh

-They're good

-Is that Pullup? He's really good with his expressions

The X Buster members, dressed in coordinated hip-hop fashion, began walking toward the camera.

Ri Hyuk's voice was heard.

[That's TNT's Cycle. This song is difficult.]

[It is.]

It was a song known for TNT's intense performance.

It was also famous for producing the legendary red-haired fancam of their former main dancer, Han Taehyun.

-That song is insanely hardㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Even the judges on idol survival shows beg contestants not to do it. There's a slow dance section where all your weaknesses get exposed

-TNT really has a lot of legendary songs

-Who's doing Han Taehyun's part?? Hongju?

-Isn't this song hard?

Everyone expected them to struggle.

But when the actual performance began, the viewers' eyes widened.

They're good...!

Why had Street Boys become the miracle of a small agency?

Because their skill had surpassed their somewhat lacking visuals.

Overseas fans had begun flocking to them because of their incredible talent, and they were now nearly as popular as TeenSpirit, who had conquered Japan.

Their juniors had inherited those seniors' skills perfectly.

[Wooju. See that? Those are my juniors.]

[Hanjo, you're interfering with my appreciation of the song. Please be quiet.]

[......]

Aggressive hand movements.

Fast rap.

Tightly constructed choreography.

X Buster was dyeing the originally powerful dance track in their own hip-hop colors.

They're good.

Wow... These guys are seriously good onstage.

The idol fans who had come to scout the rookies smiled in satisfaction.

The usual route was to fall for a group because of their looks, then become a real fan after seeing their skill.

The X Buster members, who displayed stable ability despite being rookies, caught their interest.

Of course, rookies were still rookies.

[There were a few things that disappointed me.]

Everyone nodded in agreement as Seo Ri Hyuk pointed out flaws in the arrangement, mistakes in their formation, and several other issues.

It was not harsh criticism thrown around for television. It was genuine advice born of experience.

The X Buster members repeatedly nodded as they listened carefully.

When asked how they felt about their performance, an interview clip played.

[I was disappointed because I don't think we showed one hundred percent of what we wanted to show. But I completely agreed with what our senior said. There was a lot of advice worth taking to heart....]

Next came the Lemon Boys' performance.

[We'll be back in sixty seconds!]

After sixty seconds of commercials...

The Lemon Boys, who had been crouching in one corner of the practice room, casually walked forward.

Hmm....

The viewers watched with suspicion.

They don't seem hungry enough.

Are they this loose because they came from a big agency?

A certain scene came to mind.

Contestants on a survival program who drew everyone's attention early on and strutted around with their shoulders raised.

People who became drunk on their own titles and arrogance, only to perform, get scolded by the judges, and burst into tears.

Just as those familiar scenes began playing automatically in idol fans' minds, familiar music came through the speakers.

[Oh.]

[That's a TeenSpirit song.]

As the intro began, the Lemon trainees' attitudes changed completely.

-Huh???

-What the hell, the art style is changing in real time

-?

-What is this, what's happening

The relaxed smile vanished from Jinhu's face, replaced by sudden intensity.

The handsome trainee placed a hand over his chest, slowly turned his head, and began singing toward the camera.

It was a rewritten version of the chorus from TeenSpirit's , famous for its high notes.

[Ooooooh-]

As the note climbed and climbed, goosebumps rose across the viewers' bodies.

What? He was the main vocalist?

With that face, he's the main vocalist?

Then the Lemon Boys' performance began in earnest, and everyone looked stunned.

The moment the song started, the trainees' expressions changed as though they had planned it.

Only then did the viewers understand the source of their confidence.

-No, seriously... their practice volume must be insaneㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Gyuho must be so damn happy, he hit the jackpot again

-They look like they could debut right nowㅋㅋㅋ

-So they weren't relaxed because they were lazy. They were relaxed because there was literally no more practicing left for them to do

They were like the top-ranked student in the country the day before the college entrance exam.

Only then did the impression of a prestigious sports club lounging around on the strength of its reputation disappear.

They were more like this instead.

The final bosses of a sports comic who looked like an airheaded flower garden and made everyone wonder what was wrong with them, only for the art style to change the moment they entered the actual match.

-Their vocal blend is seriously incredible

-If their songs are even halfway decent, they're going to be monster rookies

-What kind of luck does Gyuho have, seriously? Scarlet, NewBlack, and now these traineesㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Does anyone know Gyuho's fortune? I want to live that kind of life too

Then , a vocal-centered song, ended and the dance-heavy began, making everyone stare in surprise again.

Oh....

They had a similar feel to NewBlack.

Judging by their faces alone, none of them looked as though dance existed anywhere in their physiognomy, yet the way they snapped their limbs was anything but ordinary.

At first, everyone had picked Kim Ji Hyuk as the ace, but...

-Wow, Ji Hyuk is actually getting overshadowed

-I think Kim Ji Hyuk needs to practice his dancing more

-Isn't he fine considering he hasn't been a trainee that long?

-The vocals are good, but these guys are seriously incredible dancers

In particular, everyone noticed Ben, the delicately handsome member anchoring the dance.

His face gave off a somewhat fragile impression, but his core strength was so good that his movements had tremendous elasticity.

-This really shows how important the center is

-I can't see anyone else

-He's the dance member... This is the biggest shock since finding out Sun Wooju was the fashion member

-Wooju is the fashion member? Please stop giving our boy baseless praise. It's offensive

When the Lemon Boys' performance ended, opinions split down the middle.

-I think X Buster was better?

-It's just personal taste, but I liked X Buster's stage more

-I couldn't hear X Buster's song that well... If we're judging objective skill, isn't it the Lemon Boys?

-The Lemon Boys were better, yeah

If people had to cast votes, it felt as though roughly sixty percent would go to the Lemon Boys and forty percent to X Buster.

There had not been a major difference in skill, but the Lemon Boys had several factors that earned them bonus points.

X Buster was on the verge of debut, meaning their skill should already be at its peak. Meanwhile, the Lemon Boys were not scheduled to debut until next year at the earliest, so they were still less prepared.

Everyone waited for the judges' decision.

[We won't decide a winner or loser today.]

Everyone agreed with Wooju, who spoke on behalf of the judges.

It's subtle.

It really is too close to call.

The trainees also looked as though they agreed.

But whenever everyone shouted yes, there was always someone who screamed no!!

[I think we absolutely need to decide who won.]

Pullup, LB's younger brother, raised his hand and shattered the mood by saying that he still wanted a clear result.

He was exactly like his brother.

Wooju lifted the microphone.

[Pullup, you were LB's younger brother, right?]

[Yes....]

[At first, I didn't think you looked that much alike, but the more I watch you, the more you remind me of your brother.]

Pullup's face hardened like stone.

The Street Boys fans watching burst into loud laughter too.

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Wooju is an only child, so he doesn't know how offensive that is

-As someone who once flew into a rage after being told I looked like my sibling, I understand that expressionㅠㅠ

-Honestly, this was Sun Wooju's faultㅋㅋㅋㅋㄱㅋㅋ

That was why a post titled [Younger Brother Told He Looks Like His Older Brother.gif] appeared on online communities that day.

The Lemon Boys' appearance quickly came to an end.

Once the evaluation was over, the reality show returned to focusing on X Buster.

But...

"Wooooow!"

"S-Senior! C-Comments are appearing!"

"People are talking about us!"

The reaction was strong enough to make our trainees scream over and over in excitement.

From my perspective, it was so small that I wanted to ask, This much reaction...? But when I thought back to our rookie days, this level of interest was actually enormous.

While I smiled at the trainees, another TF team contacted us.

"What is it?"

"They said everything's ready."

"Ah...."

Biju nodded.

"Is it that?"

"Yeah."

As I always said, you had to row when the tide came in.

The future of Lemon Entertainment.

For our trainees, who would become one of its central pillars, we had prepared something.

[Lemon Boys]

They were temporary social media and MyTube accounts for our juniors, who would debut eight months from now.

We were just about to promote the accounts through our own and give them a boost.

"Hm?"

Junghyun was blinking.

"What's wrong, Junghyun?"

"Um... I don't think we can promote them right now, hyung."

"?"

"The number one real-time search is our Alaska travel diary."

"......"

"I guess the first teaser came out today."

We all stared off into the distance.

Sorry, guys.

Today isn't going to work.

The little boat we had launched for the trainees was being swept away by a storm we had summoned ourselves.