Chapter 1030: We Call the Rain (14)

07:00 AM.

[HBS Morning Weather Report~]

Shhhhhhhhhhh—

[Skies will remain cloudy across the nation today, with rain expected primarily in the central regions. The rainfall will begin along the western coast before expanding into parts of North Gyeongsang Province by the afternoon.]

Shhhhhhhhhhh—

[This will come as welcome news to farmers who have been suffering from drought conditions.]

It was a rainy day.

Cars sprayed water across the roads during the morning commute.

The damp scent of rain filled the subway.

'It's been a while since it rained.'

A university student sitting on the train with an umbrella wedged between his legs paused before looking down at his phone.

"Hm?"

A woman sitting beside him had caught his attention.

'NewBlack?'

She was watching a video of Wooju and Biju doing something bizarre.

That alone wasn't strange.

The important thing was that the middle-aged man sitting on her other side was watching the exact same video on his phone.

"...?"

Curious, the student opened Facebook.

A page he'd liked had uploaded the clip.

[⌂ Today's Hot Issue] 47 Minutes Ago

(Humor) The Reason It's Raining Across the Central Region Today ㄷㄷㄷ

The post was organized as a series of images.

It summarized WooBiju traveling across the central region performing rain rituals.

-Thank you, WooBijuㅠㅠㅠㅠ

-@KimHyerin Honey, look at this.

-Isn't this fake??

-Faking the weatherㅋㅋㅋㅋ That's honestly geniusㅋㅋㅋㅋ If that were possible we'd have to crown them kings.

-King of Singers Sun Wooju controlling the weatherㄷㄷㄷ

The student scrolled through the meaningless joke comments and shrugged.

It wasn't really a big story.

WooBiju had performed a rain ritual during a TV shoot yesterday, and by coincidence it had rained afterward.

'Then why is everyone making such a fuss?'

He glanced again at the people around him watching the video.

Then a link appeared in his club group's chat room.

[Did everyone see this???]

It was a compilation post from an online community.

The student's eyes rapidly scanned the contents.

"...!"

His eyes widened.

'Th-This isn't a coincidence!'

All the previous incidents of rain falling whenever WooBiju performed WAVE suddenly connected in his mind.

'Whenever they perform, only that region gets a rain shower → They performed all over the central region, so now the entire region is getting rain!'

The theory was flawless.

His curiosity was immediately piqued.

Just how had they performed this rain ritual?

The moment he opened the MyTube app, a thumbnail appeared in his recommendations as though it had been waiting for him.

WooBiju dancing wildly.

'Oho...'

While one ordinary citizen sat on the subway watching WooBiju videos—

Links were simultaneously spreading through messaging groups used by older people.

MountainClub_OhByeongcheol_43 [Have you seen this]

MountainClub_OhByeongcheol_43 [It's a MyTube video. This is apparently why it rained!]

MountainClub_KimJeongmun_50 [How fascinating~~!!]

Office workers scanned their ID cards at work and laughed together.

"So WooBiju made it rain, right?"

"Oh yeah."

"Honestly, it's pretty amazing."

Meanwhile, radio listeners heard DJs and guests chatting about it while driving or riding buses.

[Have you heard the news? Apparently today's rain was caused by WooBiju—Wooju and Biju.]

[Really?]

[Apparently it rains every time they perform...]

Then WAVE played as a requested song.

And as the number of listeners for WAVE exploded on the real-time charts—

-WooBiju is making it rain!

A cheerful absurd rumor began spreading.

[@nonsense_account]

Guys, did you know?

The Meteorological Administration officially announced that today's rain caused by WooBiju is "a mysterious phenomenon difficult to explain scientifically" ㄷㄷㄷ

|

[Korea Meteorological Administration @kma_weather]

Please refrain from spreading baseless claims.

Tremble. Tremble.

"Ri Hyuk."

"..."

"What are you doing?"

"..."

He was staring at his phone while visibly shaking.

When I looked over his shoulder—

-Holy crap, that's amazingㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Wow, at this point it's science.

-WooBiju is science.

-Ri Hyuk, have you seen this? This is scienceㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Ri Hyuk gritted his teeth.

"This... is not... science...!"

"But it did rain."

"Kyaaaaaaaaah!"

Why was he taking it out on me?

The main vocalist was directing his frustration toward an innocent bystander.

We gathered around him, cooing and trying to calm him down.

"Kyaaaaaaaaah!"

Hmm.

He's even angrier now.

Just like when we used to scratch Navi's chin in Gunsan, I tried reaching toward Ri Hyuk's chin.

He nearly exploded.

"No, seriously! People are talking like it's actual science! It's just a weather phenomenon and a human event happening at the same time! There's absolutely no scientific basis for it!"

"Ri Hyuk."

Junghyun smiled with the gentle expression of a veteran farmer.

"Superstitions exist because people want something that badly. We can just take it positively."

"I know that."

"The drought has been so severe that everyone was thinking, 'Please let it rain...' Then rain actually came."

The timing of people's hopes coinciding with WooBiju's activities.

We all nodded.

Jiho clasped his hands together and dramatically quoted a movie line.

"It feels like something out of a superhero movie. In this dark age... your mask will become a symbol of hope for the people...!"

"Hahahahahaha!"

The heroic duo WooBiju versus the supervillain Count Drought!

I was laughing while imagining the movie playing inside my head when the mention of superhero films reminded me of something.

"Oh right, Jiho. How are the movies going? Everything working out?"

"I'll probably be having meetings for both of them soon."

Our maknae had recently signed on for a cameo appearance in the superhero film Secret Agent III.

There was also a meeting scheduled for Four Siblings of the Chicken Shop (working title).

I nodded.

Things seemed to be progressing smoothly.

After telling Jiho to let us know if he needed anything, I turned my attention toward the table in the practice room.

"Hmm~♬"

Biju was flipping through documents one by one, reviewing incoming schedules.

Because yesterday's rain ritual had become such a hot topic, collaboration requests for rain rituals were arriving from all over the country.

I walked over and asked,

"See anything you like?"

"How about this one, hyung?"

"Georangjang?"

I'd never heard the word before.

"It's apparently an event that's been passed down in Gyeongsan and Yecheon in North Gyeongsang Province. You know how they usually hold five-day markets?"

"Uh-huh."

"Well, Georangjang means moving the market down to the river."

"Why?"

"Apparently if you hold a market there, it wakes up the Dragon God in the river and the Dragon God sends rain. Pretty cool, right?"

A rain ritual held in a marketplace, followed by a WAVE performance.

"That sounds good."

"Right? I'll keep this one on the list."

PBS1's My Hometown had already contacted us asking whether we'd be interested in additional filming.

The response was that hot.

Junghyun said,

"The drought in the central region is especially bad, but honestly the whole country has been suffering this summer."

"Yeah. The pictures shocked me."

"I think everyone's feeling anxious."

Just as Ri Hyuk said, rain rituals had no scientific effect.

People simply became desperate when the rain wouldn't come.

They worried.

They burned with anxiety.

So they tried anything they could.

Which meant there were that many people longing for rain right now.

[Oh my! It's raining!]

[Rain, rain, gently fall~]

Videos were appearing online of grandparents standing by windows saying,

"Thank you, WooBiju~!"

For some reason, WAVE was blasting from village hall speakers in the background.

I had no idea why.

Still, it felt nice.

WAVE had almost passed by as just another song.

Instead, it had become lodged in people's memories in a unique and positive way.

"Hmm..."

Requests were arriving from everywhere.

Major summer festivals.

Though some were famous for using excessive amounts of water, making them inappropriate.

Regional events.

University events...

"Hm?"

Something caught my eye in a note from the task force team.

"University events almost came in... but didn't?"

"Huh? Why? Why?"

"It sounds like they heard WooBiju's booking fee and ran away."

"Oh."

"What do we cost these days?"

The last university festival fee I remembered was from over two years ago.

"I have no idea."

"I know a little."

Junghyun raised his hand.

"I got quite a few university festival offers this fall because I released VIBE last year."

"Oh, right."

The title track from his solo album.

The massage-chair rap love song VIBE, which had become popular among people in their twenties.

Junghyun thought for a moment.

"From what I saw, my fee was about the same as Wonder Child and Serenity."

"...!"

Wonder Child.

KMT Entertainment's massively popular boy group born from a terrestrial survival show.

And Serenity.

MOP Entertainment's flagship nine-member girl group.

Even though I didn't know the exact figures, they were probably among the most expensive acts on the university circuit.

As we blinked in surprise, Jiho pointed at Junghyun.

"So Junghyun hyung by himself costs about as much as one of those groups?"

"Probably...?"

"And WooBiju is two of you..."

We instantly understood why universities weren't sending offers.

The younger members and I exchanged mournful looks.

"So that's why university festivals stopped calling..."

"We can probably only perform at Harvard now."

Unlike rain ritual events, which had a public-interest angle and were easy to request, commercial events were much rarer.

University festivals were a little disappointing, though.

Thinking that, I flipped through more documents.

"Hmm..."

Many interesting opportunities stood out.

Unfortunately, time was the problem.

Travel alone consumed hours.

And once WooBiju promotions ended, we had to immediately prepare for Overcooked.

We'd only been resting because we'd taken a break from practicing the group choreography.

Then there was the Asian tour.

"Hmm... aside from that Georangjang thing Biju mentioned, none of these schedules really fit."

"Yeah."

The most flexible time slots were today and tomorrow.

I was thinking exactly that when—

Bzzzzzz.

A call came from Seokhwan hyung.

-Hey. It's me. Busy?

"Yeah. Busy."

-Good. I've got something important. A schedule opened up tomorrow when all five of you are free. I wanted to see if you'd be interested.

"Hold on. I'll put you on speaker."

The younger members tilted their heads.

I mouthed, "Schedule."

Then Seokhwan hyung continued.

And all five of us immediately widened our eyes.

"...!"

Because the biggest rain-ritual schedule of them all had just arrived.

The next day.

Gangwon Province.

Deep green mountains stretched beneath the summer sky.

"Wow..."

It was hot, but the shade was cool.

We had arrived at Odaesan.

"Wow, the air is amazing."

The eleventh national park of South Korea.

And worthy of the title.

Everyone was smiling as we climbed the mountain.

"The air really is wonderful, isn't it?"

The middle-aged man speaking to us wore a gentle smile.

The person accompanying us was none other than the director of the Soyang River Dam Management Division at the Korea Water Resources Corporation.

"This is already our second visit this year. We held a rain ritual back in June too, but the rain still wouldn't come..."

A banner hung from a tiled roof in the distance.

[Pyeongchang County Welcomes NewBlack]

[A Woljeongsa Dharma Assembly with NewBlack]

One banner welcomed us to Pyeongchang County.

Another announced today's event at Woljeongsa.

So how exactly had all this happened?

-Can you perform a rain ritual for us?

-Who...?

-We are the Korea Water Resources Corporation.

-!!!

Soyang River Dam.

A critical source of electricity and water for the capital region and central provinces.

And recently one of the areas hit hardest by the drought.

The corporation itself had approached us.

Would NewBlack be willing to hold a rain ritual?

There was just one problem.

-Our schedule is packed.

-When are you available?

-Uh... today or tomorrow. After that, not for a while...

-Tomorrow.

-Excuse me?

Exactly.

And that was how this event came together.

"Hmm..."

The speed at which everything had been arranged left me feeling slightly pressured.

"I wish we'd had more time to prepare. It feels like we came completely unprepared."

"Why worry about that?"

The dam director laughed.

"We called it a rain ritual, but it doesn't need to be that elaborate. The real ceremony happened back in June. Today is more of a symbolic event with NewBlack."

"Ah..."

"Honestly, the important thing is the song."

So the plan was simple.

Use WooBiju's WAVE to bring rain to the drought-stricken Soyang River Dam.

Biju asked,

"Do you normally hold rain rituals?"

"No. We stopped after 2000 and only resumed occasionally around 2015. If I remember correctly, back then we simply prepared a small table of offerings in the spring. These days we work with the monks from Woljeongsa."

While we chatted—

A familiar figure with a gleaming forehead approached from the distance.

We greeted him enthusiastically.

"CEO!"

"Oh, you're here! Hahaha!"

It was CEO Park Gyuho.

The reason he'd attended today was very simple.

"Hello! I'm Park Gyuho, CEO of Lemon Entertainment."

"Ah, yes. Ahn Huibaek, Director of the Soyang River Dam Management Division."

There were many important guests attending.

And in situations like this, where everyone was significantly older than us, having our CEO present was essential.

If one company sent a department head, the other company sent a department head.

It was that kind of thing.

"Hahahaha!"

"Hohohoho!"

While the middle-aged men happily exchanged pleasantries, we continued into the grounds of Woljeongsa.

"Venerable."

We pressed our palms together in greeting.

The abbot returned the gesture with a warm smile.

"How remarkable. The birds seemed unusually lively this morning. Perhaps they knew honored guests would be visiting."

The abbot.

Several monks standing respectfully behind him.

We spent some time touring the temple grounds.

"I was disappointed I couldn't visit Woljeongsa when we came for the Pyeongchang Olympics."

"Oh, really?"

"Especially Ri Hyuk."

In the distance, Ri Hyuk stood mesmerized by the architecture.

"So this is the Woljeongsa Eight-Sided Nine-Story Stone Pagoda... beautiful..."

"Yes. As you can see."

The monks chuckled.

Meanwhile Jiho whispered,

"I think I got this wrong on my Korean history exam."

"Jiho..."

"Yeees..."

"Quiet. The monks might hear."

"Okay."

Jiho immediately switched to,

"Wow, it's beautiful!"

After touring the grounds—

"Alright, let's take a photo!"

"Is there something special we're supposed to say when taking pictures at a temple~?"

"You can just take the picture, lay devotees..."

We took a group photo.

Then—

Trickle, trickle.

We drank green tea with the abbot.

We shared a pleasant tea conversation.

We even participated briefly in a Dharma assembly and listened to the monks' teachings.

After respectfully greeting the temple's devotees—

"Alright. Let's move."

Together with the monks and devotees, we headed toward Geumgangyeon.

A pond fed by the valleys of Odaesan.

Historical records described it as the origin of the Han River.

Clear water flowed beneath the blazing sun.

The pebbles on the bottom sparkled visibly.

"Wow..."

Beneath a tent near Geumgangyeon stood officials from Pyeongchang County and the Korea Water Resources Corporation dressed in formal attire.

While the monks prepared the ceremony, we stood among the devotees.

CEO Park Gyuho wiped sweat from his bald head with a handkerchief.

Then the event officially began.

The first part consisted of the abbot welcoming everyone in attendance one by one.

The county mayor.

The police chief.

Senior monks from the Jogye Order.

And many others.

I heard a child nearby squirming in boredom.

"Ugh..."

I turned my head.

"...!"

The moment our eyes met, the child stared at me.

I raised a finger to my lips.

Shh.

Nod. Nod.

The child instantly quieted down and continued staring at me with sparkling eyes.

Then the main ceremony began.

The monks bowed in sequence.

The abbot stepped forward and began reciting a prayer for wildfire prevention and relief from the drought.

Just then—

Wiggle. Wiggle.

Jiho looked ready to stretch from boredom.

I quietly grabbed his fingertips.

"Stay still..."

At that moment—

-Now then. Let us all become one in spirit...

Everyone clasped their hands together and offered their hopes toward the heavens.

"We pray. We pray."

Then the little boy from earlier tugged at his father's sleeve.

"Dad."

"Minju. You have to stay quiet."

"Dad."

I cracked one eye open.

The boy was pointing in our direction.

More specifically—

At Park Gyuho.

The child asked innocently,

"Why is that monk wearing a suit?"

The corners of the monks' mouths twitched.

One by one, they lowered their heads.

We immediately squeezed our eyes shut and bowed our heads as well.

The greatest crisis of the day had arrived before the ceremony had even properly begun.