Chapter 1158: Artist of the Year (1)

After the broadcast ended.

The Souffles burst into another round of laughter.

-I seriously can’t with them lolololololol

-We told our boys to film a survival show in Alaska, and they started building a civilization

-I’m insanely excited for next week lolololol

-When I only read the text, I was like, how do you even mistake that for gold, but seeing it, I totally get why they did

Amid all the laughter, a few reactions like these appeared here and there.

-Moonlight contributed a pretty big share of the laughs too lol

-Those kids were kind of clueless

-They did seem like normal kids their age lol Our boys are just way too mature

The reactions toward Moonlight were not exactly favorable, but they were generally mild.

That did not mean the Souffles had suddenly switched to, “Hoho! The Moonlight boys are cute too! Get along with our boys~”

There was still too much bad blood built up between them.

But they did not feel nearly as much hostility toward Moonlight as they had before.

They don’t seem like bad kids.

The Souffles also realized that they had never actually known much about Moonlight in the first place.

All they had known were fragments of information.

-Hoho! Moonlight, the group destined to oppose NewBlack! I created them!

They knew the group had been created by legendary producer Terry Austin.

-Moonlight has taken second place behind NewBlack in the popularity vote. Their momentum is truly incredible!

They knew Moonlight’s survival show had become a massive hit in the English-speaking world, catapulting them into the position of the next biggest boy band after NewBlack, and that people were pushing a rivalry between the two groups.

Their defining image also included the enormous backing of the American media and their fans’ attempts to keep NewBlack in check.

Ah. Thinking about it is making me mad again.

The Souffles, who had been laughing at Moonlight, frowned.

A recent survey had shown that unfavorable opinions of NewBlack were rising in North America.

[Analysis of NewBlack’s Favorability and Unfavorability in North America]

-Awareness has risen dramatically compared to before. Positive impressions have also increased significantly… Influence of “Supernova Dodgeball” and “Alaska volunteer work”

-Meanwhile, negative impressions have risen slightly… Fatigue from the prolonged success of “Overcooked”?

Looking at it positively, it was also proof of just how successful NewBlack had become.

As the famous saying went, superstars drove both their fans and their haters insane. It was only natural that as NewBlack gained more passionate fans, the number of antis would also rise.

But in the Souffles’ eyes, Moonlight’s fandom, the Sunshines, had played a part in it.

-It’s well known that NewBlack made racist remarks on a Korean broadcast in the past. They were unknown at the time, so it passed without controversy

-I’m sick of Overcooked

-It’s a lie that NewBlack is that famous in Asia. My Japanese friend said she doesn’t even know who they are

As people spread malicious rumors and slander about NewBlack, haters who agreed with them were growing in number.

The Souffles sucked in a breath.

I’m furious, but I’ll hold it in.

It was not because they were kind.

It was because the attacks from Moonlight’s fandom had visibly weakened recently.

Back when Moonlight had enough momentum to make people wonder whether they might actually beat NewBlack, their fans had attacked relentlessly.

At the time, they had believed Moonlight would overtake NewBlack, so they had rushed in to drag NewBlack down.

But now….

They know too.

Over the six months from June until now, Moonlight had lost overwhelmingly by every metric.

The three consecutive hits of Overcooked, Supernova Dodgeball, and Alaska.

Once Moonlight’s fandom realized the gap was too large to overcome anytime soon, their attacks seemed to lose some of their force.

The reactions appearing now were little more than jealousy and envy.

Definitely…

The Souffles nodded as they snooped through overseas social media reactions.

At any other time, Moonlight fans would have thrown a fit just because their group had been associated with NewBlack, but there were fewer reactions like that this time.

They were simply fawning over their own favorites.

No one knew how they had watched it, but the hardcore fans already had screenshots and video clips from the Korean broadcast.

-Colin is the cutest man in the world

-My man♡

-It’s amazing that he hasn’t lost any of his beauty even in Alaska. It’s like God carved him carefully by hand

-Look at Jacob’s eyes sparkling

The Souffles narrowed their eyes at the screenshots from the previous day.

The Moonlight members looked gaunt and exhausted from all their suffering, with hollow eyes.

They had so much grime and gunk around their eyes.

No matter how I look at them, they’re like dirt-covered potatoes… Maybe their fans

/N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/

like approachable types.

They could not understand the appeal, but they were satisfied that the Sunshines were quietly focusing on their own group.

They did not know how Moonlight’s fans viewed NewBlack, but it was not bad.

Even in the scattered social media posts that mentioned NewBlack, the context suggested that Moonlight’s fans had also grown more favorable toward them than before.

“Not bad.”

The Souffles nodded as they said that, then froze.

“Huh…?”

Something was strange.

They tilted their heads while reading the English text.

Was English always this easy to read?

Even after studying English throughout their entire school years, the Souffles used to feel dizzy whenever they tried to read an English-language newspaper.

Yet now, they could follow the context of English Twitter posts.

I can even read Billboard articles…?

As a test, they searched for an article in Billboard magazine and read it in an instant.

Blinking, the Souffles opened CNN and clicked on a column.

They flew through it at lightning speed.

It was all thanks to the training they had received from needing to read and write quickly whenever they fought with the Sunshines.

“Wait a second….”

The Souffles opened the memo app on their phones and began moving their fingers.

【Stop pulling that kind of filthy backroom garbage and compete fairly with skill. You and your media were both pathetic at this awards show too, banding together and throwing a tantrum just to make sure your oppas won something.】

The English poured out smoothly.

After refining the harsher wording, the Souffles switched fields and challenged themselves with something else.

【As international oil prices rise, fuel prices are also increasing in Korea, contributing to inflation.】

A perfect sentence.

Even when something made them think, Hmm? while writing, they automatically corrected the grammar before typing it out.

After finishing, the Souffles stared in horror.

“Huh…?”

“Huh??”

Their fights with Moonlight, which had done nothing but leave them feeling suffocated and frustrated all this time.

There had actually been a positive side effect!

I can… use English?

The Souffles stared blankly into space.

They had done nothing but support their favorite group, yet somehow ended up with English skills equivalent to a TOEIC score in the 900s.

It almost felt as though Moonlight’s fandom were laughing brightly, sparkling like sunshine.

Uh… are we supposed to thank them?

It was truly confusing.

At last, December arrived.

The time had come to close out the year.

Everyone had their own way of ending a year, but celebrities generally had a set series of events to attend.

Awards ceremonies.

[For me, this year was…]

[For us, this year…]

As they sat in their seats listening to other people’s acceptance speeches and received awards recognizing their hard work throughout the year, they would finally think, Ah, another year is really over.

“Haa.”

“Why?”

“Thinking about entering my late twenties next year is depressing.”

“Huh? Aren’t you already in your late twenties?”

“You chose the perfect outfit for me to grab by the collar today, youngest. Come here.”

I crooked a finger at him, and our youngest went, “Hmph,” before running away.

The fact that I did not even have the energy to chase him seemed to prove that I really was about to enter my late twenties.

“I can’t believe I’m going to be twenty-seven….”

The thought that I would be thirty in only three more years made me dizzy.

Junghyun spoke.

“Don’t worry about it too much, hyung. My grandfather said this. Age is not what matters.”

“Oh?”

“What matters is muscle.”

“…….”

Behind the smiling Junghyun, I could almost see his grandfather, sporting a long beard like Guan Yu, swinging a guandao.

“I see….”

“He said that as long as you have enough muscle to overpower young people even in old age, you can keep living young.”

“He has a point.”

It was a strangely persuasive philosophy.

“Should I work out more in the new year?”

Since we had recently been gaining more international fans and were moving in the direction of bulking up slightly, the idea was tempting.

I did not remember caring about this last year, but I was slowly beginning to pay attention to my age.

It was not so much that I personally cared about aging.

This industry was simply extremely strict about age.

I remembered Ara, who was around my age, getting angry on the set of the sitcom in the past.

-Wow. Are they insane?

-Why, noona?

-Some lunatic commented on my article photo saying my face was starting to sag…. Wow, can’t I report this?

There were plenty of malicious commenters who spoke without restraint, and in the case of idols like me, it was common for people to start judging us for supposedly showing signs of aging the moment we entered our late twenties.

More than anything, I had one major concern.

What if the fans left us for younger, cuter people?

“Absolutely not.”

“?”

“I’ll manage myself with everything I have and preserve this beauty. Hohohoho….”

Ri Hyuk said,

“Wouldn’t it be better to develop a kind heart instead? They say the face is the window to the heart.”

“Ri Hyuk. How long have you had your current mindset?”

“Since middle school.”

“Then I think that theory is wrong.”

“……?”

Three seconds later, our main vocalist finally understood what I meant and hissed, “Kyaaah!”

I spoke to the others.

“All right. Let’s start rehearsal.”

The large screen above the stage we were standing on glittered.

[2018 Mango Chart Awards]

Gocheok Dome.

Today was the Mango Chart Awards, an annual year-end ceremony hosted by the music streaming site Mango.

The awards director asked us cautiously,

“Are you ready?”

“One moment, please.”

“?”

“They’re bringing the name tags for the dry rehearsal now.”

The name tags were used during dry rehearsals to check everyone’s positions and movement.

When I explained that they were bringing tags labeled [Wooju], [Biju], and so on, the director waved both hands.

“You don’t need those. Who in broadcasting doesn’t know your names?”

“But still….”

He kept insisting that it was fine, so in the end, we proceeded with the dry rehearsal without name tags.

Combined with how respectful the staff were being, it made the others and me tilt our heads.

“Doesn’t the atmosphere feel a little different from last year?”

“It does.”

Last year, they had been friendly.

This year, they felt respectful.

We were even rehearsing without name tags, something usually reserved for senior singers with more than ten years of experience.

When we returned to the waiting room, the refreshments prepared by the awards staff had been arranged beautifully.

And it seemed this was only for our waiting room.

“Wow!”

The neighborhood kids next door, who were also candidates for Artist of the Year, burst into exclamations when they opened the door.

“Wow, Siberian husky! We didn’t have anything like this in our waiting room.”

“What does a husky have to do with anything?”

Yeonhu explained.

“We’re becoming even more adult next year, right? We decided to stop swearing from now on.”

“I see.”

“Yes. It’s fucking difficult, though….”

Apparently, that one did not count as swearing.

TeenSpirit came over as usual and began chatting noisily.

Before long, more guests joined us in the waiting room.

“Whoa. What is this? I didn’t know there were waiting rooms this big.”

The members of LB and Street Boys chatted and looked around in admiration.

After high-fiving Hanjo and having him sit beside me, he held out a gift bag.

“Hey, congratulations on the film reaching ten million admissions.”

“Oh, thanks.”

“Ah, right. Congratulations, hyung! You’re a Hollywood star now.”

“Congratulations!”

I smiled and nodded at their congratulations over Sound of the Sun reaching ten million admissions.

“Did you all watch the movie?”

“We wanted to.”

“We did too….”

Like us, they had apparently been far too busy preparing for the year-end events to find time to watch it.

For an exam student, it would have been like spending the entire day gaming at an internet café one week before the college entrance exam.

We were laughing and talking as usual when.

“Hmm….”

Biju and I exchanged glances while looking at Street Boys and TeenSpirit.

They want something.

Right?

They had come over and were chatting happily like they always did, but there was something about our friends that suggested they had another purpose.

It was as though they were waiting for the right timing or angle.

Before long, Hwiyun cleared his throat.

“Um, hyung.”

“Yeah?”

“Would it be all right if we introduced our kids to you? They’re very upright and kind.”

“Ah… the ones who debuted recently?”

“Yes.”

“Of course.”

The moment I finished speaking, a group of handsome young men who appeared to have been waiting in the hallway entered through the door.

The others and I were startled at the same time.

What!

They’re handsome!

MOP Entertainment’s first new boy group in six years, since 2012.

The rookie idols were so handsome that their looks alone made it understandable why the company had taken six years to produce them.

TeenSpirit, who looked younger than them at first glance, smiled warmly at their junior artists.

“One, two, three! Hello! We are Flawless!”

“Hello. We are NewBlack.”

We stood facing each other and exchanged greetings, congratulating them on their debut and asking whether they had brought signed CDs.

After shaking hands with the rookies, whose hands trembled, and taking photos together.

TeenSpirit gave us a final request.

“They’re good kids. They won’t do anything that would draw your attention, hyungs.”

Why are they talking as though we’re dangerous people…?

“We’d be even more grateful if you looked kindly on them. Hoho.”

As TeenSpirit left with their juniors, the leader of Street Boys spoke to us too.

“Our kids wanted to greet you first, but they missed the timing.”

“…They’re waiting right now, aren’t they? Tell them to come in instead of standing around somewhere cold.”

We also exchanged greetings with X Buster, whom we had met once before.

After our friends accomplished their goal of introducing their junior groups and left, we tilted our heads.

“What was that?”

The situation felt strangely familiar, and I was trying to figure out what it reminded me of when Biju spoke.

“Hyung, I like animal videos on MyTube, so I subscribe to a lot of channels.”

“Yeah.”

“I think it was similar to that.”

“?”

Biju watched Street Boys leave with their juniors.

“When a mother cat has kittens and brings them over to introduce them to humans….”

“!”

“Didn’t it kind of feel like that…?”

Only then did I realize what had caused the déjà vu.

The only thing I did not understand was….

Why had they needed to accompany the juniors themselves and introduce them to us as though this were a parent-teacher conference?

“Why us…?”

The others and I blinked at empty space.

7:00 p.m.

As a chilly evening wind blew, the red carpet in front of Gocheok Dome was bustling noisily.

“Please look over here!”

“Pose this way, please!”

Actors attending as award presenters waved in front of the photo wall in suits and dresses.

“Taehyun! Han Taehyun!”

“Yuli!”

“Wow, this is insane. Did you see Seolha just now?”

As idol groups entered one after another, camera shutters flashed and the crowd erupted.

Normally, people would have begun leaving once they saw their favorites.

Strangely, however, the crowd only grew larger as the red carpet approached its final stretch.

Someone looked at their phone and said,

“I think the entire lineup has entered… They should be here soon, right?”

“I think they’ll arrive any minute.”

Everyone was talking about them.

“Wow. I’m so nervous. I heard they look unbelievable in person.”

“Seriously.”

“When else would we get the chance to see them if not today?”

They were clearly idols, yet the way other idol fans spoke about them did not sound like the way people normally spoke about idols.

It was more like they were discussing something dazzling high above them.

-NewBlack.

As recently as last year, NewBlack had been the nation’s idols and the biggest stars in Korea.

This year, they had undergone yet another incredible surge in growth.

They had drawn attention at the world’s largest fashion event.

A film they were involved in had reached ten million admissions in Korea.

They had participated in a bizarre dodgeball tournament in the United States.

Overcooked had become a success.

They had achieved so much that people felt cautious even saying their name in a place like this.

They had already been extraordinary at the end of last year, but now….

There are no words.

Their status had changed beyond recognition in just one year.

Even fans of other idols waited for the slightest glimpse of NewBlack’s faces.

Then.

“They’re coming.”

“I think they’re here.”

Security guards wearing earpieces began moving busily, the red carpet hosts straightened their cue cards with tense expressions, and the on-site staff began controlling the crowd to keep the area as orderly as possible.

“…….”

“…….”

Everyone swallowed and watched as a limousine slowly glided to a stop.

A tremendous cheer erupted.

Camera flashes already poured toward the limousine even though no one had stepped out, while the roar grew loud enough to shake the entire area.

And then.

Click-

The door opened, and a long, slender leg in a suit stepped onto the carpet.

It was the exact same movement as four years ago, when they had been rookies.

But where that step had once been filled with a rookie’s nervousness and excitement, it now carried ease and confidence.

“Hello.”

NewBlack’s leader and members greeted everyone gently.

Amid overwhelming cheers, the undisputed kings of the current music industry began walking down the red carpet.