Chapter 1048: Overcooked (1)

TeenSpirit had just returned to Korea after finishing their schedule in Japan.

"Everyone! We're back~!"

"Soul! We missed you!"

Having wrapped up their lengthy Japan promotions, TeenSpirit showered their fans with finger hearts and endless cute gestures.

"See you again soon~!"

The smiling boys climbed into the vehicles waiting outside the airport.

As the cars pulled away, they continued waving through the open windows.

The moment the windows closed, however, they collapsed into their seats.

"Haa..."

A wistful sadness settled over Yeonhu's delicate features.

"We seriously picked the wrong concept."

"How long do we have to keep living as pretty boys?"

"Probably forever."

That was the tragedy of TeenSpirit.

They had committed to the pure, innocent pretty-boy concept and had been suffering for it ever since.

"Sigh."

Even while complaining about choosing the wrong concept, the members were busy searching MyTube for "latest trending cute gestures."

They prided themselves on having excellent self-awareness.

Of course, they were a group with outstanding visuals and strong performance skills.

Unfortunately, the entertainment industry already had a superior version occupying the top spot.

"Then we'll survive through cuteness!"

An entertainer should never forget their selling point.

TeenSpirit had debuted with an average age of fifteen.

Now they were twenty-one.

Yet that principle remained unchanged.

As they busily scrolled through their phones—

"Hm?"

Whatever they had originally intended to search for, they eventually found themselves reading news about Mission Singer.

"Whoa. Look at how many Mission Singer articles there are."

Eungyeom stared at the internet overflowing with coverage.

"Damn. The public's spamming this thing everywhere."

"We call that public opinion, you empty-headed idiot. What, do you think people are mass-streaming the charts too?"

"Watch your mouth."

"Yes. In my humble opinion, if someone smacked your head, it would probably make a very clear ringing sound."

"Ding~"

The one making sound effects with his mouth was immediately grabbed by the collar, and the two began wrestling.

Hwiyeon smiled warmly.

When are these idiots ever going to grow up?

They were already college-age adults, yet his younger members still fought like high school students.

As he massaged the back of his neck, the others remained focused on the Mission Singer news.

"So what happened?"

"Did they announce the result?"

"Apparently they only filmed the competition yesterday."

Cha Woohyun versus Seo Ri Hyuk had become a massive topic even among singers.

Under normal circumstances, a match between the absolute king of ballads and an idol singer wouldn't even make sense.

But somehow, Seo Ri Hyuk had made it happen.

The members remembered the legendary exchange from the previous episode.

"Come properly prepared, you little scrub!"

"Sunbaenim? There may be an order when arriving, but there's no order when leaving~"

Their fingers twitched.

"Man, I want to ask."

"Should we casually ask?"

"I don't think it'll work at all. We'll just annoy them."

Then someone came to mind.

The member in NewBlack with the loosest lips.

Everyone turned toward Hahyun, who was the same age as Jiho.

Blowing a bubble with his gum, the pale-faced idol beneath his orange hair answered immediately.

"I can't ask Wang Jiho."

"Why?"

"That guy's ridiculously thorough. He's only a goofball in front of his hyungs."

Jiho acted carefree around his members.

With peers his own age, however, NewBlack's youngest member was merciless.

His social skills were absurdly good.

Back in school, whenever classmates secretly gossiped about people, the moment Jiho's name came up the consensus would always become:

Wang Jiho is freaking hilarious.

Nobody ever criticized him.

He was exactly the kind of person who would make your life difficult if you got on his bad side.

TeenSpirit reluctantly agreed.

Yet they suffered all the same.

I want to know so badly!

Just as their curiosity reached its peak—

The moment they entered their dormitory lobby, dragging their suitcases behind them—

They ran into a five-member group wheeling luggage out.

"Oh? Hyungs! Hello!"

"Hey~"

Wooju returned their greeting casually before stopping his suitcase.

His gaze landed on the rabbit-pattern luggage they were pulling.

"Where'd you guys go?"

"We just got back from Japan."

After exchanging greetings, TeenSpirit asked NewBlack in return.

"What about you, hyungs? Taking a flight?"

"We're heading to New York for the VMAs."

"...?"

"You know, the MTV awards."

TeenSpirit stared with envy upon hearing that NewBlack was traveling to the original MTV ceremony to receive an award.

Wooju smiled.

"We've got the awards show, the Asia tour, new song promotions, more variety appearances... we're going to be insanely busy."

The members who had felt jealous just moments ago immediately shook their heads.

Not jealous at all.

How are you people still alive...?

NewBlack said goodbye and started walking away.

Then—

Fidget, fidget.

The pretty boys seemed reluctant to leave.

As though they still had something they wanted to ask.

Jiho burst out laughing.

"Hyungs, I think they're curious."

"Ah, Ri Hyuk's competition result?"

Mischief instantly appeared on NewBlack's faces.

"We already know~"

"We all went to Mission Singer yesterday and watched it together~"

"Hehehe!"

The members pouted internally while flipping NewBlack off in their minds.

Then Wooju beckoned them closer.

"Come here."

They obediently shuffled over.

The impossibly handsome man slung an arm around their shoulders.

With a mysteriously shadowed expression and an incredibly exciting smile, he whispered:

"Want a little spoiler? Just for you guys?"

...!

Nod nod nod!

"So, the winner of the competition was..."

Wooju grinned.

"I won."

"...?"

"...??"

The TeenSpirit members tilted their heads in confusion.

Wooju winked.

"Anyway, we're off to America."

"Hyung?"

"Take care, kids! Byeee~"

"Hyung, what does that even mean?!"

NewBlack's leader and his loyal followers simply laughed and walked away.

What the hell does that mean?!

Only TeenSpirit remained behind in the lobby, clutching their chests in agony.

The competition really had attracted an enormous amount of attention.

The internet was obvious enough.

Even TeenSpirit's desperate curiosity in the dorm lobby proved it.

"Whoa..."

When we arrived at the Gimpo Airport Business Center to catch our flight, reporters were already camped outside.

Jiho said,

"I saw someone online saying they were going to run facial-expression analysis on our airport photos today."

"Really?"

"They said if our expressions are bright, it means we won. If they're gloomy, it means we lost."

The rest of us burst out laughing.

As soon as we got out of the car, we waved to the reporters snapping photos.

"Hello!"

Entertainment reporters immediately shouted back.

"Ri Hyuk! Ri Hyuk! Who won?"

"Who won yesterday?!"

Ri Hyuk answered seriously.

"There's a concept in quantum mechanics called Schrödinger's Cat. Until observation occurs, you don't know the state of the cat inside the box. It's not a perfect analogy, but in that sense..."

"..."

"Well..."

Only camera shutters clicked.

An awkward silence settled over everyone.

Then we burst out laughing.

As Ri Hyuk protested, I was trying to explain it properly! and hid behind us, we stepped forward.

"King of Singers Sun Wooju won!"

"...!!"

The reporters looked startled.

We continued.

"That version should make a good headline."

Then we immediately switched expressions and declared sadly:

"King of Singers Sun Wooju has lost...!!"

"So which one is true?"

"It's one of those two. Easy, right~?"

"AAAAAAH!"

Ignoring the reporters' frustration, we bowed politely and moved on to other questions.

"Like The Sun and the Sound of the Sun soundtrack are generating tremendous buzz. How do you feel about that, Wooju?"

"We're excited by all the attention. I'd like to express my gratitude to Silver Screen."

Translation:

Spend more money on marketing.

After answering questions about the VMAs and award expectations, we were wrapping up the interview when one reporter raised a hand.

"In about a month, a new NewNiverse special will air. After the driver's license project and the restaurant project..."

"Yes."

"You said Season 1 would consist of three major specials. What's the final one?"

I smiled.

"That's a secret. But I think it might have something to do with our new song."

"...!"

"Please show lots of interest in Overcooked! Thank you!"

As the managers announced the end of the interview, we headed inside.

Then, after confidently boarding the plane...

"Hyung."

Junghyun spoke.

"What do we do?"

"...Right."

"We still don't have a plan."

We had boldly told reporters, Please look forward to it!

The problem was that we genuinely had no concrete plan for NewNiverse.

Season 1 had been designed around three major projects.

Driver's licenses.

A restaurant.

And now the final special that would conclude the season.

Three to four weeks of content.

"I'll pull up the last meeting notes."

Ri Hyuk opened his laptop.

Click.

Click.

"From what I remember, we agreed the last special should be connected to Overcooked promotions."

"Right."

Whatever it was, it needed to tie into the new song.

Once Overcooked promotions started, finding time to shoot separate variety content would become difficult.

We had an Asia tour.

A Japanese dome tour next month.

Trying to film something as involved as a restaurant variety show during all that would require every member to have Junghyun's level of stamina.

Biju made a suggestion.

"What if we just use our Overcooked promotion period itself?"

"Hmm..."

"People might be curious about our overseas activities."

"No. I don't think they'd be that interested."

Behind-the-scenes footage from the VMAs or talk shows would appeal to Souffle.

But...

Ri Hyuk pointed something out.

"It doesn't really fit the concept. NewNiverse was always designed around domestic content."

"True."

"That's why we deliberately opened the restaurant in Gurye County."

The discussion continued while staff gradually boarded the plane and the captain completed preflight checks.

Eventually, we reached a conclusion.

The special should serve as a domestic counterpart to Overcooked promotions.

Since Overcooked was an English-language song, the primary targets were obviously the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and other English-speaking countries.

And promotional activities there were already predetermined.

Major TV audition programs.

Morning talk shows.

Evening talk shows.

Late-night talk shows.

Daytime talk shows.

Radio shows.

The English-speaking entertainment industry started with talk shows and ended with talk shows.

"So we already know what we're doing overseas. Now we need to figure out what we're doing in Korea."

Even if English-speaking countries were the main target, we still believed Korean promotions were important.

That was why we had prepared a variety of activities beyond music shows.

NewNiverse was one of them.

"Since we've already done cooking, maybe something performance-related?"

"That does make the most sense."

The second condition became:

It should be related to performing.

In other words, some kind of domestic Overcooked performance project.

The real question was...

"What would viewers actually find fun?"

"Yeah..."

Ideas poured out.

A nationwide food-tour performance.

A short film built around Overcooked.

And countless others.

But none felt quite right.

Then Junghyun spoke.

"What if we stop thinking about what viewers would enjoy?"

"Hm?"

"What if we focus on something we'd enjoy?"

Biju stared at him.

"Why are you suddenly making sense?"

Junghyun shrugged.

"We might choose something because we think viewers will like it, and then they don't. We can't predict that. So maybe we should just do something we'd genuinely have fun doing."

As Biju continued looking impressed, I rubbed my chin.

"Something we'd enjoy..."

"Antarctica?"

Seokhwan hyung suddenly interjected.

"Kyaaaaaah!"

"Kiiiiyaaa!"

"The hell?!"

Everyone screamed.

Seokhwan laughed.

"I was kidding."

"You weren't."

"Antarctica's in winter right now. You couldn't even go. It's negative twenty degrees with blizzards."

"That's incredibly comforting."

"Exactly."

"But hyung."

I placed a hand on Seokhwan's shoulder.

"...What?"

"The way you're talking sounds like you're assuming you wouldn't have to go."

"Someone has to remain in Korea and hold down the fort."

"It's okay. We have the CEO."

As I slowly attached myself to him while whispering hehehehe..., Seokhwan shoved me away and changed the subject.

"Anyway. Let's focus on NewNiverse."

Our TF Team Leader rummaged through his briefcase.

Then he tossed a stack of documents at us like someone throwing toys to a puppy.

"Why don't you look through these? They're schedule proposals. Maybe something interesting will jump out."

He waved the papers like a rattle in front of a baby.

I still wanted to discuss Antarctica.

But the mountain of documents successfully distracted me.

"Let's take a look."

The members and I began reviewing the proposals.

"A building-observation reality show... kind of awkward. We can't reveal our headquarters for three weeks."

"How about conquering the cafeterias of the Big Four agencies?"

"We already did that on NewBlack TV."

We continued flipping through advertisements, films, dramas, and various project proposals.

Then—

"I've got an idea."

Junghyun held up a sheet of paper.

"This is an email from an event agency."

The page contained an inquiry about his individual activities.

[We would like to ask whether Junghyun is available for individual activities as the rapper Sweet Potato...]

If he was available, they wanted to place him on university festival booking lists.

Ri Hyuk and Jiho immediately perked up.

"University festivals...?"

At those words, Biju and I searched through the pile ourselves.

[Hello. We would like to inquire about rates and availability for additional WAVE activities by WooBiz...]

Another event agency asking how far the unit's activities could be extended.

We placed both documents side by side.

This is it.

We all felt it at the same time.

Junghyun spoke.

"Honestly, I never took those solo festival gigs because I didn't want to do them alone."

Then he smiled.

"But what if we went together?"

...!

"Wouldn't that be perfect for the special?"

The entire concept instantly materialized.

NewBlack Appears At Your University Festival!

From preparation to performance, it was easily enough material for three or four weeks of content.

Normally it would've been difficult.

We would have to lower our appearance fees.

The company would face pricing complications.

There were countless practical issues.

But as a one-time variety show concept?

It was fantastic.

"Oh."

We turned toward Seokhwan hyung.

At some point he'd quietly joined the discussion and was listening intently.

"What do you think?"

"It's good."

He immediately began listing advantages.

"It lets us promote Overcooked naturally without feeling forced. It'll attract viewers too. Not just anyone is showing up—it's NewBlack."

After all, university festivals had effectively stopped inviting them after 2015 and 2016.

Even a single NewBlack member now commanded the same level of attention as the entirety of Serenity.

No university could realistically afford them.

But for a one-time variety special?

Billboard artists NewBlack are coming to your university!

The slogan flashed through our minds.

All of us grinned.

Then we immediately called Producer Gu Jaeyoung.

Mid-August.

With September university festivals approaching, student councils across the country were working tirelessly.

Some schools had already completed all their bookings.

Who should we invite this year?

Student representatives sat around tables, carefully discussing options within their budgets.

University festivals always had a handful of highly sought-after performers.

"Can we get Hong Saetbyeol?"

"Probably impossible. She's fully booked through October."

"Wow..."

Popular indie singer-songwriters.

Young ballad singers.

Booking them was already like reaching for the stars.

"What about Yoo Jaechan?"

"He's insanely expensive."

Then there were idols.

The first names considered were naturally the most popular girl groups.

"Serenity's way out of our budget, right?"

"Way out."

"I think Scarlet's fully booked too..."

After conducting preliminary discussions, the student representatives met with event agencies and began reviewing price lists.

The first category contained A-list performers.

The headliners.

Artists who couldn't be booked even if you had the money, unless the schedules aligned perfectly.

"What's the average fee here?"

"For five songs, around forty to fifty million won. Take your time."

The students swallowed nervously while examining the list.

They were looking at names like Serenity and Scarlet when—

The agency employee leaned closer and lowered his voice.

"You all came at exactly the right time."

"...?"

"One of those people is doing a variety show special."

"Those people?"

"A performer who normally belongs in the S-tier. No, the SSS-tier. They've temporarily descended into the A-tier."

His tone resembled someone speaking about royalty.

As though even saying the name aloud required caution.

The employee pointed at a single name on the page.

[NewBlack]

At first, nobody understood.

"Hm? NewBlack's listed here."

"I had the same reaction {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} at first."

The employee nodded.

"I didn't understand either."

"...Oh?"

"...OH?!"

Everyone shot out of their seats.

"WHAT?!"

"WHY IS NEWBLACK HERE?!"

"Yep. That was my second reaction too."

The students covered their mouths and screamed.

"Is this real?!"

"Seriously? Seriously seriously? They're actually doing university festivals?!"

The agency employee nodded.

The student council members immediately scrambled to their feet.

"W-Wait a second! I need to make some calls!"

"I need to call people too!"

A name had appeared that absolutely had to be secured.

No matter what.

Everyone sprang into action.

Their hearts felt ready to explode.

NewBlack is available!!

The moment that message spread, a brutal recruitment war erupted throughout the previously peaceful university festival industry.