Chapter 1012: It Was Beautiful From Far Away.. (24)

A single moment’s decision can affect the rest of your life.

Lately, there was probably nobody who understood that saying better than the composing duo Steve & Garret.

Garret Ross chugged an energy drink like it was alcohol and let out a sigh.

“How was anyone supposed to know back then? That NewBlack would blow up this much....”

“Seriously.”

Steve stroked his beard as he continued.

“...Still, if I had a time machine, I’d go back one year. I could say things differently this time.”

The two men wore expressions full of regret.

Exactly one year earlier—

NewBlack had been searching for English-language songs for their American debut.

Through World Records, the company handling NewBlack’s U.S. promotions, Steve & Garret had been given a chance to meet with them.

Honestly, back then they hadn’t been particularly desperate.

-Hello! NewBlack wants to break into America!

-What nonsense....

At the time, they were already hot composers firmly established in the American industry.

Meanwhile, NewBlack was just a Korean boy band with an enthusiastic fandom but no real mainstream success in North America.

The calculation had been simple.

‘Do we really need to give these guys our best songs? If we hand them something good and they flop, that’s a loss for us.’

Of course, it wasn’t like they hadn’t been tempted.

Even back then, NewBlack had a passionate enough fandom that their Korean-language songs were already entering Billboard’s main charts.

From their perspective, it was a risky investment—but one potentially worth taking.

Still, if the risk was high, shouldn’t they profit properly from it too?

So they deliberately pushed hard.

-You should be the ones bowing to us.

They intentionally lowballed the terms too, wanting to ensure that if NewBlack ever succeeded later, they could say it was all thanks to them.

But NewBlack’s response had basically been—

-🖕

Well, not literally.

But somehow, that was exactly how it had felt.

The two men grimaced in misery.

“Damn it....”

“I should’ve at least left them with a good impression at the meeting. Why the hell did I act like that??”

And after that, what happened to NewBlack?

They opened their own song camp and came back with a once-in-a-generation masterpiece built around future bass.

-Rolling Stone gives NewBlack’s METRO 4 out of 5 stars. “A distinctive, future-oriented challenge. The adventure of a boy band boldly entering a new market is something worth anticipating.”

-[Billboard Chart Review] NewBlack’s METRO finally reaches Billboard Hot 100 #1

-[MyTube Rewind] NewBlack’s METRO ranks in the Top 10 most-viewed music videos of 2017

And that wasn’t even the end of it.

At the Olympic opening ceremony watched by the entire world, they performed a song called Answer.

Then, together with Cold Brown—who had been inspired by the performance—they created a legendary track blending jazz and hip-hop in perfect harmony.

-Cold Brown and Wooju’s Answer sets a new record for longest-running #1 on Billboard Hot 100

It was the biggest hit of 2018, widely expected to finish #1 on Billboard’s year-end chart.

“And there was that other thing too. The rabbit.”

“Oh, that ridiculous rabbit....”

On top of that, NewBlack’s composer had recently gone insane with Uncle Bunny.

A children’s song so absurdly successful that it reached one hundred million MyTube views in record time.

The image of Rabbit Uncle still lingering vividly in their minds, the two men stared blankly ahead.

‘What even is this guy?’

‘Did the god of composition possess him or something...?’

And it wasn’t just the music.

Ever since that meeting, NewBlack had started exploding in the North {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} American market too.

-Wooju selected as Best Dressed at the Met Gala

-NewBlack selected for Time 100 Most Influential People in the World... scheduled to perform at the Time 100 Gala

-All seats SOLD OUT! NewBlack’s first-ever stadium tour begins

They were succeeding too much.

Of course, it was still somewhat ambiguous to call them full-fledged top superstars in the American market.

Every so often, a monstrous rookie would sweep the Grammys and every major rookie award while completely dominating a given year, becoming the talk of the public.

To ordinary Americans, NewBlack currently felt like that kind of artist.

-Wow! An unbelievable rookie just showed up!

America was a place overflowing with brief shooting stars, after all.

Even among Grammy-winning rookies, very few survived two or three years later—let alone climbed even higher.

Usually, singers with careers like NewBlack’s followed one of two patterns.

Either they released consecutive failed albums and faded into irrelevance—

Or they kept producing hit after hit and ascended into the top tier.

“NewBlack is the second type. It’s only a matter of time before they fully make it.”

“Agreed.”

Now that they had become such massive stars, the best talent in the world would naturally want to work with them.

And on top of that, they still had Wooju handling production personally.

NewBlack’s future looked like nothing but a smooth highway ahead.

Which was why—

‘Aaaaaaagh!’

‘Damn it!’

The opportunity they had missed felt unbearably painful.

Even if NewBlack hadn’t chosen their songs back then, if they’d simply left a decent impression, they probably would’ve been collaborating on something by now.

They’d heard NewBlack usually continued working with people once a relationship was established.

And in that sense, the two men who had completely ruined their first impression could only weep.

Their own voices echoed mockingly in their ears.

-Although we were arranged to meet through World Records, our songwriting schedule is extremely busy right now. We ask for your understanding that it may be difficult for us to devote our full attention to you.

‘Stop talking, past me...!’

-Honestly, the fact that you’re still rookies concerns us too. We haven’t worked with rookies in the last five years. I’d like you to understand that there’s a certain level of risk involved.

‘Aaaaaagh!’

‘Why the hell did we say that.......’

The two men who had thrown away the chance to become the legendary composers who’d been with NewBlack since the beginning of their American expansion.

Just as they beat their chests in regret—

“Hm?”

Steve Johnson, who had been staring gloomily at his laptop, suddenly widened his eyes.

“T-This opportunity...!”

“What is it?”

“NewBlack is accepting song submissions for their album??”

“They are?!”

A second chance had arrived for them.

Word had spread that NewBlack was holding an open submission process for composers.

Like college students meticulously studying competition guidelines, the two men examined every detail.

“So we just need a cooking-related theme?”

“Cooking... cooking.......”

This was another opportunity.

‘It’s not too late yet.’

From their perspective, NewBlack still hadn’t even reached their peak.

A chance to buy low.

The two men smiled in satisfaction after pouring every ounce of effort into the song.

‘At this level, we can at least make the tracklist.’

‘Worst case, we’ll still make the final slot on the album.’

NewBlack’s first impression of them might not have been very good.

But it wasn’t like they had cursed them out to their faces either. There was still room to recover.

And once NewBlack heard the incredible song they had prepared—

There was no way the record label staff wouldn’t want to sign them.

“Honestly speaking, objectively, this is absolutely good enough to make NewBlack’s new album even if it’s just a B-side.”

“One hundred percent.”

It absolutely should have been.

But then...

One day passed.

Then two days.

Then three.

A week passed.

Then two weeks.

Still, no response came.

“That makes no sense......?”

“This is literally the best song I’ve ever written.”

The two men stared at each other in confusion.

“How is this possible?”

“They passed on this song?”

“Don’t tell me Sunny’s planning to fill the whole album entirely with self-produced songs?”

“That’s impossible. No matter how genius a singer-songwriter he is, he’s still human. There’s no way he can fill even the B-sides with tracks on the level of the song we sent.”

They had sent a song good enough to be promoted as a lead single, not merely a B-side.

And yet Lemon Entertainment remained silent.

The two men looked utterly bewildered.

‘What is this?’

‘No seriously, what is this??’

‘Just how many masterpieces are they planning to put on this album...?’

What they didn’t know—

was that someone currently running a restaurant in Korea was mass-producing insane masterpieces purely because the work was so exhausting.

Inspiration exploded endlessly.

“Mmhmhm~”

Even absentminded humming produced addictive hooks.

Just tapping fingers against a table created incredible drum beats that made his head bob unconsciously.

Anyone who had ever created something could understand the feeling.

Moments where it felt like starlight was pouring down from the sky, and stopping now would be unforgivable.

“Hyung...?”

“Hm?”

Biju stared blankly at my laptop screen.

“How many are there?”

“Fifty-two total?”

“......During the three days you were running the restaurant?”

“Yep.”

Of course, not all of them were completed versions.

Some only had rough melodies.

Others only had drum beats mapped out.

If compared to architecture, it was like laying down rough structural frames across countless construction sites.

I played him a song and asked,

“What do you think?”

“Uh... it’s... good.”

“Right?”

Biju still looked deeply confused.

“S-So... you already made all the songs for the next album?”

“Basically? Though it’s not over yet. We still have to hold meetings with the Producing Team and TF Team. We’ll also compare them against submitted songs and tracks from outside producers before selecting the best ones.... I only sent part of them over.”

“How many out of the fifty-two?”

“About thirty-seven worth using.”

“.......”

Biju stared at me like I was an alien.

His expression had gone beyond admiration and entered slight horror territory, so I answered awkwardly.

“I think inspiration’s just exploding because the work is hard and I don’t want to run the restaurant anymore.”

When I mentioned there were even songs suitable for WooBees later on, Biju’s curiosity instantly skyrocketed.

Watching him grin brightly while listening through earphones and going “Wooooow—,” I turned my head.

Sure enough—

it seemed I wasn’t the only one whose inspiration was exploding right now.

“Haa... dance practice is so fun. So fresh. So thrilling. The best.”

The maknae who normally had to be dragged into the practice room while whining “Let’s practice~” was currently dancing voluntarily in the living room.

Ri Hyuk danced beside him too.

“Dance is nice... so nice.......”

Even Ri Hyuk, who loved vocal practice but usually hated dance practice, was muttering happily to himself.

And there was Junghyun, humming while staring at lyric sheets.

“Vocal practice~ is so fun~ potatoes are nice~ sweet potatoes too~”

Everyone was the same.

Desperately trying to escape the looming horrors ahead, they’d suddenly started finding joy even in things they normally weren’t interested in.

Jiho stared toward the distant horizon where dawn was just beginning to break.

“Hyung. What is life?”

“Life is the title of Teacher Noh Jaehyun’s song.”

“I miss Teacher Noh Jaehyun. I wonder if he’s doing well.”

While the maknae and I held a completely nonsensical philosophical discussion about life—

“Guys.”

“.......”

Ignoring the deep voice calling from somewhere, we all stared blankly into the distance.

Curled up on the sofa, our entire bodies reeking of pain-relief patches from the muscle aches, we heard Producer Gu Jaeyoung speak again.

“Guys.”

“.......”

Producer Gu Jaeyoung placed warm hands on our shoulders.

“You have to go.”

“.......”

“It’s time to go work the final day.......”

“Uwaaaaaahhh...!”

The production staff burst out laughing at the sight of us openly sobbing.

That’s right.

At long last, it was the final day of business!

“Let’s go....”

“Yes.......”

NewBlack... energetically... go... going to work.......

There’s an old saying about earning money like a dog and spending it like a nobleman.

But now that saying belonged to the past.

From now on, there should be a phrase called “earning money like NewBlack.”

“Yes.”

While riding the boat to work, Producer Gu Jaeyoung glanced at the script and spoke.

“Your cumulative sales so far have reached sixty-three million won. That averages roughly twenty-one million won per day.”

“.......”

“If you think of it as monthly revenue, that’s around six hundred million won. There’s a hugely successful jokbal restaurant on Hakdong Road that makes around that amount monthly, right? That’s the level of sales you’re currently recording.”

Producer Gu asked,

“Shouldn’t you be happy?”

“Waaaaaaaah...!”

We applauded weakly with hollow eyes.

An absurd level of sales no variety show had ever seen before.

But to achieve those sales, we had to remain standing nearly fifteen hours a day.

“Well, there are various factors. Variety show exposure and the enormous number of customers.”

Ri Hyuk adjusted the glasses he was wearing to hide his swollen eyes.

“For one thing, we’re charging fairly high prices. The ingredients themselves are expensive. Even the Korean beef used in the Milanesa is premium Pyeongchang beef. Plus, we improved turnover through dishes like hamburger steak that cook quickly and through online pre-orders.......”

“Ri Hyuk-ah.”

“Yes?”

“Your nose is bleeding.”

“Uh.......”

Blood suddenly streamed from Ri Hyuk’s nose while he was talking.

“Ahhh!” Biju hurriedly pulled out a handkerchief and handed it over while I pinched Ri Hyuk’s nose between my fingers.

Our crane spoke in a nasal voice.

“Ahh~ segrusly, dis is my brird dosebleed. Gediously.......”

“Pfft!”

“Why arr yoo laffing?”

“No reason. You’re just cute....”

At being called cute, Ri Hyuk nodded and wiped his nose.

“But you shouldn’t just worry about me. You’ve got a nosebleed too.”

“Huh.”

Turns out mine was bleeding too.

Blocking my nose with one hand, I held out a fist with the other.

“Ri Hyuk-ah. Nosebleed buddies.”

“Block your nose properly first.”

That’s what he said, but he still bumped fists with me.

While Biju anxiously fussed over both of us, Jiho suddenly burst into tears.

Ri Hyuk and I laughed.

“Are you worried about us?”

“Hey, don’t worry.”

Jiho shook his head with tear-filled eyes.

“No. Looking at you guys suddenly just made me feel really sorry for myself... uwaaaahhh.......”

“.......”

“.......”

Jiho pressed both hands against his cheeks and whimpered.

Then he took a selfie while muttering to himself.

“That’s right, Jiho. It’s okay. You can do this. You’re precious.”

“Sure....”

Leaving the maknae to wallow dramatically in tragedy by himself, I looked around.

Then we all burst out laughing.

Even after exhausting performances, Junghyun was always the type to casually sip water through a straw like nothing mattered.

“Junghyun-ah.”

“Yes......?”

“Are you okay?”

“No....”

Our member was sprawled in the corner of the boat.

Maybe because he was so exhausted, his double eyelids looked much deeper than usual, making his eyes seem even sharper.

Junghyun stared into the camera and spoke solemnly.

“I think I can confidently say this to the camera now.”

“Hm?”

“People really should work jobs suited to their natural talents.”

We nodded while the production staff laughed affectionately.

Then Jiho added,

“Just like caterpillars belong on pine needles, NewBlack belongs dancing and singing.”

“I want to dance and sing....”

We were the kind of people who rarely admitted something was difficult.

But this workload honestly felt like even the viewers would understand.

The sad part was that there was nobody we could blame.

Even when people desperately tried to stop us by saying it would be too hard, we were the ones shouting, “It’s okay! NewBlack can do it!”

“Well, what’s done is done. Let’s just focus on today. Once we finish today’s business, it’s finally over.”

“!!”

“Let’s not show weak sides of ourselves. Let’s show cute sides instead.”

I clenched my fist tightly.

“For our final day of business, let’s push through and hit one hundred million won in total sales. If we’re already doing this, we might as well go all the way.”

Nod.

After exchanging looks with the younger members, we got off the boat.

Soon, we boarded the production staff vehicles waiting near the dock and headed straight to Goblin Restaurant nearby.

“Waaaaaaaaah!”

“NewBlack fighting!”

Since it was the final day, even larger crowds than usual had gathered outside Goblin Street cheering for us.

Smiling brightly, we waved to the people before entering Goblin Restaurant.

And then—

we greeted the people already waiting inside.

“Hello! Good morning!”

“Oh! Hello!”

Including Chef Kim Hyunwook, the Korean chefs we had recently filmed with stood up from their seats.

After cheerfully shaking hands, the foreign chefs greeted us next.

“Bobby is happy. Haha! We meet again.”

“We meet again.”

Chef Bobby Ross flexed his muscles while greeting us alongside chefs like Dante Cellini.

We also happily greeted little Souffle Luna Cellini, who sat atop her father’s knee.

But for some reason, her expression looked strange today.

“?”

The little girl’s eyes suddenly became watery after seeing our gaunt faces.

Smack!

Nobody knew why she suddenly started smacking her father like she hated him, but laughter erupted everywhere.

While Chef Dante Cellini blinked in confusion—

I clapped my hands.

“Yes, thank you all so much for coming today. First of all, we’d like to express our gratitude to Chef Bobby Ross for making this possible.”

Apparently realizing his name had been mentioned, Chef Bobby Ross nodded with a smile.

Whenever I spoke, Ri Hyuk translated into English.

“Today, all of you will be helping NewBlack operate the restaurant.”

The highlight of the Goblin Restaurant project.

Today, chefs would be selling simple menu items from the empty buildings throughout Goblin Street.

The entire project had only become possible because of Chef Bobby Ross’s suggestion.

-Is there perhaps any way I can help with the restaurant operations?

A chef seriously considering expansion into Korea while also hoping for television exposure.

That was when the production staff proposed an idea.

At this scale, they said, three days might be manageable, but a fourth day would be overwhelmingly difficult.

So for the final day, instead of taking reservations specifically for Goblin Restaurant, they decided to accept separate applications for Goblin Street itself.

[In addition to Goblin Restaurant, various other restaurants will also be operating. Please keep this in mind.]

They hadn’t explained things precisely because it was a spoiler, but I had a feeling some people had probably figured it out anyway.

In any case—

because of that, visitors currently weren’t being allowed into the street yet.

“Once the guests arrive, they’ll be free to visit whichever restaurants they want.”

The plan was for visitors to use meal tickets received at the entrance at either our restaurant or the popup restaurants run by the chefs.

That way, even if they accepted more visitors than previous days, the crowds could hopefully be spread out across multiple locations.

-Not true! We’re going to NewBlack’s restaurant!

-Bulgogi! Bulgogi!

Well, maybe not.......

“I have a question.”

“Yes, Chef Kim Hyunwook?”

“How are you handling the promotion?”

“Ah. It should already be online by now.”

The smiles of victors.

“Hehe.”

“Hehehe.”

People who had visited Goblin Restaurant over the last three days were leisurely browsing the internet with relaxed expressions.

-I’m so jealous of everyone who got selectedㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

-No seriously, I’m jealous

-This is literally lottery-level luck

-People who went can brag about it for lifeㅋㅋㅋ

‘I already went, though.’

‘Ufufu~’

‘Pitiful little peasants.’

The previous winners basked smugly in air conditioning like aristocrats fanning themselves with folding fans while reading online reactions.

And then—

-???

-Holy shit

-Wowㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-The final day was the real thing

The online reactions suddenly exploded into chaos.

The former winners traced the source.

Then they froze blankly.

[Goblin Street finally reveals the lineup for its grand final day!]

It looked exactly like a K-pop teaser.

The chefs wore chef uniforms while posing dramatically like debuting idols in the video.