Chapter 1165: Artist of the Year (8)

Early in the broadcast.

Viewers watched the TV with surprised expressions.

[The correct answer is "to glare with one's eyes bulging." "Heobeondeuk" is an incorrect expression.]

Hanbyeol confidently called out the answers.

[The incorrect word usage in that sentence is "doreure." The correct spelling is "doraerae."]

[That is correct!]

As Hanbyeol continued answering correctly one after another, the audience members at the filming site looked surprised, and viewers showed similar reactions.

It was still early in the episode, so people weren’t praising her yet, but the reason their reactions were so surprised was because viewers had never really expected much from Hanbyeol.

Unless they were idol fans who had followed the industry since the 2010s.

To most people, Hanbyeol had simply been an image of a foreign member in K-pop, or more specifically, a representative entertainer from the Chinese-speaking market.

Seeing someone like that effortlessly solve fairly tricky questions was fascinating.

-Wow, but Wooju isn’t losing eitherㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

As if responding to Hanbyeol, Wooju was also raising his hand and getting answers right.

However, Wooju approached the questions differently from Hanbyeol.

Hanbyeol gave the impression of solving questions based on a solid foundation of Korean knowledge.

Wooju solved them with natural intelligence and instinctive sense.

[Q. Milk carton VS Milk box]

Wooju confidently gave his answer.

[Milk box.]

[Correct! Do you know why?]

[Because the question was clearly designed for people to choose milk carton. I thought the person who created it probably wanted to inform viewers that "milk box" was the correct spelling.]

Whenever a difficult question appeared, Wooju would analyze the intention of the person who wrote the question and answer accordingly.

And so, the Korean language quiz show continued smoothly.

While a Korean literature student and Hanbyeol led the rankings, Sun Wooju was steadily chasing after them.

But as the gap between them continued growing, Wooju made a bold move.

[I’ll challenge the high-difficulty question.]

[...!]

He selected a 30-point question to dramatically close the gap.

Viewers became interested.

What confidence does he have to pick that?

Everyone already knew Wooju was smart.

But a high-difficulty question worth that many points wasn’t something you could solve with natural intuition alone.

You needed genuine knowledge of Korean.

The strange thing was that viewers still didn’t feel like Wooju would get it wrong.

It felt like he had some kind of plan.

[I’ll use the phone-a-friend lifeline.]

Everyone burst out laughing.

A shadow appeared over the TV screen.

A thin, sly-looking shadow.

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

The announcer cheerfully said, “Connecting!” and the call went through.

As a Middle Korean question appeared and everyone waited for someone’s sharp voice...

[Hello.]

A deep voice.

While viewers went, Huh?

Wooju also froze.

[Uh, hello. Ri Hyuk, I’m—wait. Ri Hyuk?]

Then the voice answered.

[No, it’s Junghyun.]

The tone sounded strangely like a famous "No, it’s Ddoong" meme, and netizens burst out laughing.

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

A sound effect like "!" should have appeared over Wooju’s head.

Seeing his expression, netizens offered a logical solution.

-Wooju, it’s not too late. Just do the opposite

-Yeah, just answer the opposite

-Oh, this might actually work

And sure enough.

Within the 30-second limit, Wooju found a way to survive.

He asked Junghyun for the answer.

Then answered the opposite.

But...

[That answer is... incorrect! The correct answer is the order that Junghyun gave.]

[......Why?!]

As Wooju clenched his fist and protested, viewers burst into laughter together.

->>>There is absolutely no way my younger brother got ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) this right<<< The strongest possible convictionㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

The program briefly switched scenes, as if answering those viewers.

A remote interview with Junghyun appeared.

[Q. How did you know the answer?]

[A. I learned it in high school. Haha.]

Seeing Junghyun awkwardly laugh and scratch the back of his head, viewers paused.

Oh.

So he learned it in school.

It was still surprising, but giving viewers a good laugh was enough.

Because Wooju’s devastated expression had been too funny.

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ The face of someone who lost both his faith in his member and 30 points

Meanwhile, on screen, Wooju was silently screaming.

[Why......?]

The audience members and viewers laughed.

NewBlack’s leader was once again bringing joy to viewers.

After the scenes that had provided plenty of laughter in the first half passed.

As the program moved into the middle portion, the difficulty of the questions increased, and the contestants who had provided entertainment value one by one began getting eliminated.

The atmosphere of Our Language Showdown gradually became more serious.

It started feeling more like a true quiz competition.

And then viewers began paying attention to someone.

[I’ll answer.]

Hanbyeol calmly pressed the button and gave the correct answer.

When even viewers reacted with She knows that? to the fairly difficult question, the MC shouted:

[Correct!]

Did she actually know it?

[When referring to long, thick hair growing on a person or animal’s body, the appropriate expression is "teoreok."]

[You knew that!]

[It was something I learned while studying Korean. I didn’t really understand the expression "gureunarut," so I looked it up...]

While the audience members reacted with impressed sounds, Wooju beside her nodded in agreement.

[There was a reason for it. During our trainee days, she shared a room with me. One day, she said she was getting a neat haircut, so I didn’t think much of it. But then she came back with a strange hairstyle.]

A past photo appeared.

In a blurry phone camera image, Hanbyeol had neatly trimmed her sideburns, while a young Wooju with a bushy hairstyle teased her.

Wooju smiled on screen.

[Back then, short hair with short sideburns was unusual, right? So I asked what happened, and she said the hairdresser asked, "If we’re making it neat, should I shave the sideburns too?" But she didn’t know what sideburns were, so she said yes.]

[...It was a tragic story.]

The audience burst out laughing.

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Exactly

As they talked about things like that, the barriers in viewers’ minds slowly began lowering.

Their wariness toward an unfamiliar celebrity gradually disappeared.

Just like the audience members at the filming site, viewers became increasingly warmer toward Hanbyeol.

A large part of that was thanks to the national star beside her.

She must be really close with Wooju.

She must be a good person. If Wooju is acting like this.

It felt like receiving a guarantee from someone trustworthy.

Koreans knew that Wooju, a national idol famous for being careful about his private life and selective about his relationships, wouldn’t promote Hanbyeol this sincerely if there was nothing behind it.

Even if she was under the same company.

Because if that celebrity later caused trouble...

...the attack would eventually come toward him as well.

That was a common method antis used when attacking celebrities with extremely positive images like Wooju.

Because of that, viewers began watching Hanbyeol with more trust.

Let’s see.

The celebrity who had recently become a hot topic because of being banned from entertainment activities in China.

People began putting aside their existing assumptions and looking at Jang Hanbyeol herself.

While idol fans discussed her styling, general communities focused on her language ability.

[Foreign idol appearing on Our Language Showdown]

(Hanbyeol answering questions.twt)

They say she’s TNT’s Jang Hanbyeol, but there’s seriously no awkwardness. It’s not just that she speaks Korean well. She’s basically Korean.

-Wow

-Sometimes there are people who are just naturally gifted with languages. She seems like that kind of case;;;;

-Wasn’t she Chinese?

-She’s American apparently. They say she speaks English, Korean, and Chinese at native level

-Wow, I can barely speak Korean myself

-She really has no foreign accentㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ If you closed your eyes, you wouldn’t know

Among everything, what especially caught people’s attention was her Korean ability.

Because there was absolutely nothing in her speech, vocabulary, or manner of speaking that revealed she was foreign.

If someone had said, "Actually, she’s American but grew up in Korea from a young age," people would have immediately believed it.

What is this?

Perfect Korean ability.

And viewers who had initially dismissed it as Well, there are occasional language geniuses began noticing more things.

[That phrase appeared in Jang Jiyeon’s famous poem, A Great Sorrowful Lament on This Day. Ho ho ho!]

[......!]

She even teased Sun Wooju while showing off her historical knowledge.

It wasn’t simply that she had mastered Korean.

She seemed deeply familiar with Korean culture and the mindset of Korean people.

No.

She simply seemed Korean.

The more I watch, the stranger it gets...

Viewers tilted their heads.

Did she really want to promote in Korea?

Nobody had believed Hanbyeol was truly serious about Korean activities.

As someone had said, the more reasonable assumption had been that she was trying to ride K-pop’s recent success.

But then they heard she had been banned from entertainment activities in China.

And the Jang Hanbyeol they saw directly on screen was completely different from what they had imagined.

Huh...?

Viewers weren’t foolish enough to fail to sense the sincerity of someone showing their true feelings on screen.

That was why...

[I really wanted to promote in Korea all this time, but I don’t think I had the opportunity. I worked incredibly hard preparing this album.]

After hearing Hanbyeol’s victory speech, everyone became curious about her story.

Why did she want to promote in Korea?

Then why had she spent all this time in China instead of promoting in Korea?

......What kind of person is she?

As people began showing curiosity, those who had been quietly waiting swallowed nervously.

Now.

This is the best opportunity.

They were Hanbyeol’s few Korean fans.

They realized this was the perfect timing.

There was no obvious reaction yet, but it was certain that discussions about her would appear online soon.

Watching their favorite say that she had always wanted to promote in Korea, they felt their eyes burn.

We’ll help you.

Nearly seven years.

It had been a relationship where both singer and fans had quietly loved each other from a distance.

Except for concerts and a few group activities, their singer had always remained in China.

A singer who communicated online whenever she could despite her busy schedule.

[I really miss the members, but the company told me that if I build up my recognition here, it will help the group a lot... So I’m working hard.]

[I miss you. The members too, and all of you...]

Their singer had left after a scene where she communicated with a bright smile but looked exhausted underneath, taking nearly a year of rest.

That was why fans were genuinely happy when they heard she was moving to Lemon Entertainment.

And they were overjoyed when they heard she would finally release a Korean album.

Until the neighboring country poured cold water on everything.

“......”

Fans clenched their teeth and prepared to upload posts online.

We gathered everything.

They had collected moments where Hanbyeol had subtly shown dissatisfaction toward TJ Entertainment, as well as various behind-the-scenes stories from her activities.

They were ready to reveal everything.

And just as the Korean fans prepared their push at the perfect timing...

-Sob sob sob!

At a massive crying sound from somewhere, Korean Twitter users blinked.

A huge crowd of people was reacting emotionally to Our Language Showdown.

Chinese fans from her home market had flooded onto Twitter to support Hanbyeol after her Chinese SNS accounts were suspended.

Korean users questioned it.

-......

That was right.

In the winter of his fifth year as King Gwanjong, fans from the mainland who bypassed the internet through VPNs were marching toward Korea with bundles of money in their hands.

Someone repeatedly refreshed their phone.

“Hmm...”

“......”

“Hmmm...”

“......”

“HMMMM!”

As Hanbyeol made those sounds as if trying to pressure me, I spoke.

“Why.”

“You said there would be a reaction.”

Hanbyeol showed me her phone.

The online communities were still quiet.

“You said it. That there would be a reaction after the broadcast ended.”

“Hanbyeol.”

“Yeah.”

“How is a program with 8% ratings supposed to cause a reaction overnight? It’ll take at least a day or two.”

“Well, that’s true...”

After finishing our meal in the company cafeteria, Hanbyeol entered the elevator with me.

When she ran into employees, she greeted them with a slightly discouraged expression.

“Hello...”

When we arrived at the artist floor, the sixth floor, Hanbyeol spoke gloomily.

“What do those people think when they look at me now?”

“Ah. ‘I want to go home after work’?”

“......”

“The feeling of becoming really small just won’t go away. Maybe because the showcase is tomorrow.”

“That’s probably why.”

This was the timing when stress was at its highest.

Especially for someone like Hanbyeol, who was under more pressure about results than ever before.

After taking a deep breath, Hanbyeol smiled.

“Hyung.”

“Yeah?”

“If my album fails, I’m going to start a business. Promote it for me.”

“What kind?”

“A hotel.”

“......”

“Would it be okay if I bought some land in Seoul and built a luxury hotel?”

Her confidence had fallen so much that she was even making ridiculous jokes.

“I... I want to become dust... just dust...”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“I want to disappear somewhere nobody knows about. Maybe leave Earth for a while... Hahaha!”

She grabbed my arm and said:

“Hyuuung!”

“How am I supposed to deal with this?”

While I shook my arm to get my younger brother off me, Hanbyeol clung on.

Then—

Bzzzz—

My phone rang.

It was Director Jo Gyuhwan.

I showed Hanbyeol the phone and put a finger to my lips.

Still holding onto my arm, she froze.

“Yes, Director.”

-Wooju, is Hanbyeol with you right now?

“Yes... she’s attached to me.”

-Good. I have incredible news, so I wanted to tell her.

“One moment. I’ll put it on speaker.”

After switching to speakerphone, Hanbyeol tilted her head.

“Yes, Director.”

-Hanbyeol. We’re currently analyzing the incoming data. It’s not confirmed yet, but I wanted to tell you first. In a situation like this, I think you need some good news to lighten the burden.

“I definitely do~”

-It’s only a prediction, but we think your album sales might break the all-time record for an idol solo artist.

“What...?”

-We think you might hit one million copies on the first day alone.

The company’s analysis that she might sell one million copies on the first day as a solo artist left me speechless.

That would be shocking even for a group’s first-week sales.

A solo artist selling one million on the first day was absurd.

After ending the call with Director Jo...

“...Hanbyeol?”

The person still holding onto my arm began straightening up.

Ssssss—

The corners of her mouth rose.

Her shoulders surged.

Her core tightened.

Like a celebrity wearing sunglasses, she stood up with a confident “Hmph” and winked at me.

“Secretary Sun.”

“Yes, Chairman Jang.”

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

I followed behind her as she suddenly walked with a completely different attitude.

And I tilted my head.

Something about this felt familiar.

That shallow change in attitude.

That ridiculous walking style.

That frivolous laugh.

As I thought about it, I met my own reflection in the window.

“......”

No.

We’re not alike.

-The solar system revolves around the sun, hyung.

No.

I’m telling you, we’re really not alike.