Chapter 1056: Overcooked (9)

My charity project, Jieum ("A Kindred Spirit"), carried out in partnership with one of the country's major banks.

"Books are companions who speak to our hearts. Our bank is promoting a project to build libraries in areas with limited access to them."

Today was the day we would finally see the first results of that project.

It was the grand opening day of the Ri Hyuk Children's Library and the Kim Deoksun Library.

Unfortunately, my members' attention was completely fixed on the rabbit statue standing in the parking lot.

[Sun Wooju Parking Lot]

The members whispered among themselves.

"Wow... Sun Wooju Parking Lot. That might genuinely be the most pathetic thing I've seen recently."

"Did it really have to go this far?"

"I kind of like it, though..."

"Of course you do. You like anything that has his name on it."

Every whisper from the others except Biju felt like a needle stabbing into my heart.

I could see Jiho whispering from a distance.

"Look at him. Even he's embarrassed by it. That's why he's pretending not to notice."

"I can hear you."

"I wanted you to hear it~!"

"...!"

I immediately chased after him, but Jiho ducked behind Junghyun and stuck his tongue out.

"Bleh!"

If there hadn't been so many people around, I would have dealt with him on the spot.

"Waaaaaaah!"

"Wow, it's really NewBlack!"

"Mom! Mom! It's the supermarket uncle!"

Around five hundred residents of Gunsan who had gathered for the opening ceremony were greeting us from a distance.

"Hello!"

We greeted everyone as we headed toward the ceremony venue.

Officials were gathered in the lobby between the Kim Deoksun Library and the Ri Hyuk Children's Library.

"Goodness, aren't you the pride of Gunsan? Hahaha!"

"Hello, Mr. Mayor."

Not only the mayor of Gunsan but also the city council chairman, city council members, and even provincial assembly members were all present.

The atmosphere practically screamed that photos taken with NewBlack today would be appearing in their next "Legislative Achievements Report."

"Hahaha!"

"Hahahahaha!"

The distinctive laughter that always appeared when a group of authoritative middle-aged men gathered in one place filled the room.

I smiled quietly.

I miss the CEO.

Us too...

Fortunately, before long, the Division Head arrived and gave us an escape route.

We happily offered him up as a sacrifice.

"This is our Division Head. He handles one of the most important positions at Lemon Entertainment."

"Oh! What a pleasure to meet you!"

As the Division Head was dragged away wearing an expression that clearly said, Important position? Me?, we cheerfully joined the opening ceremony.

And finally, the star of the day arrived.

Grandma.

I held her hand tightly.

"Grandma, how do you feel today?"

"It's so hot I could die."

"Then why'd you wear black in this weather?"

Squeeze.

Kim Deoksun crushed my hand.

"AAAAAH..."

The ceremony proceeded one event at a time.

We posed for photos holding a banner that read Library Construction Project alongside one of the bank's vice presidents.

"Go, NewBlack!"

"Go Kim Deoksun Library! Go Ri Hyuk Children's Library!"

We shouted bizarre slogans, took pictures, and participated in the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The bank employee serving as MC raised the microphone.

"Of course, no opening ceremony would be complete without a congratulatory performance. NewBlack has prepared a special stage for everyone."

"WAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

The five hundred citizens erupted in cheers.

After all, why had so many people gathered in Gunsan despite temperatures approaching 35 degrees Celsius?

A NewBlack performance?!

When we started the Rabbit Uncle stage for the children who were wilting in the heat, their eyes immediately lit up.

"Rabbit Unclllllle! We love yooooou!"

"Rabbit! Rabbit!"

The adults applauded happily.

The children giggled while staring at the rabbit doll in my hand.

I ran around energetically, waving to them and holding their hands.

"Rabbit Uncle! Me! Me! Me! I like you!"

"Rabbit Uncle likes you too!"

I danced the puppet dance with dazzling hand movements and showered the children with fan service before gathering everyone together for the ending.

While we drank water and wiped away sweat, I took the microphone.

More than five hundred audience members were still staring at us with shining eyes.

"We originally planned to perform only the Rabbit Uncle stage before leaving, but that would be a little disappointing, wouldn't it?"

"Yeeeeees!"

"We'll do just two more songs."

"WAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Biju and I performed the choreography for our unit song WAVE, singing the refreshing summer track while the others danced backup.

Then we finished with White Night, a teenage rock song that felt like a cool breeze to the ears.

Cause You're a villain

You don't need to fear anything

The night belongs to us

The ground wasn't ideal and the space was cramped, so we kept the choreography simple while singing the chorus.

Yet every time we did, people stared at us with dreamy eyes.

Whenever Biju stepped forward to dance, cheers exploded.

Whenever Ri Hyuk sang the chorus, people widened their eyes.

Our gazes met.

Something feels different.

Yeah.

The citizens were watching us with the kind of focus usually reserved for truly legendary performers.

It felt oddly embarrassing.

Almost as though they were viewing our stage through a soft-focus filter.

The online reactions to our university festival appearances had been similar.

It was probably because of our recent international fame.

Still...

I like it.

Our job was to use every possible stage effect to make ourselves look amazing in the audience's eyes.

From that perspective, popularity itself was another kind of stage effect.

An invisible one.

And it was a very good thing.

Even when performing the exact same stage, we'd look more impressive to the audience.

"Thank you!"

We bowed deeply and pointed toward the libraries.

"This has been NewBlack. Please continue to support the Kim Deoksun Library and the Ri Hyuk Children's Library..."

"Sun Wooju Parking Lot!"

A middle-aged man's shout made my face heat up.

Laughter erupted from all directions.

Beside me, Kim Deoksun clicked her tongue and looked at me with utter disappointment.

Do you really love yourself that much?

"...!"

I wanted to deny it.

But I couldn't.

Which somehow made it even more frustrating.

"Y-yes... Please continue to support them."

Then I placed a hand on Ri Hyuk's back.

"There were several reasons I decided to launch this library project. One of them was actually Ri Hyuk right here. He used to talk about how unfortunate it was that there weren't enough libraries."

The crowd cheered.

I smiled at the embarrassed Ri Hyuk.

"You don't have to come here intending to read something profound. Feel free to stop by casually and flip through a book or two. I hope this library becomes a place of rest in your everyday lives. Thank you."

After the closing remarks, we toured the newly opened facilities alongside the project officials.

Many citizens had already entered to escape the heat.

On the first floor lounge, elderly visitors were resting comfortably.

"Juseon!"

"Yes, Grandpa?"

"I heard those big-nosed foreigners have been getting noisy lately. Go over there and flatten those noses for us!"

"Ah... Right. Sure..."

I nodded at the grandfather in a fedora leaning on a cane and accepted the warm celebratory rice cakes offered by the grandmothers.

After passing through the lounge, we toured the reading room.

People were already sitting among the shelves.

There were study spaces designed like reading rooms and even a computer room.

Watching everyone admire the facilities, Kim Deoksun wore a strange expression.

"...This feels kinda weird."

"It does, doesn't it?"

Seeing people happily spending time in a library carrying her name seemed awkward for her.

Jiho whispered to me.

"Hyung."

"Yeah?"

"My library needs to be really big. Got it? Promise me."

"..."

I was still marveling at how a touching moment had instantly become Make my library bigger in Jiho's brain when—

"Hm?"

Sparkle.

Biju and Junghyun were also looking at me with hopeful eyes.

"Hmmm..."

Sparkle. Sparkle.

Especially Biju.

Those subtly expectant eyes weakened my resolve.

At this rate, I might have to increase the donation budget.

Thinking that, I crossed the connecting hallway from the Kim Deoksun Library into the Ri Hyuk Children's Library.

Jiho asked,

"By the way, do libraries usually come in pairs like this?"

"Not usually. But children's libraries are often built as separate wings."

"Ohhh."

The youngest whispered,

"This is actually my first time ever visiting a library."

"Please don't tell anyone that..."

The moment we entered the children's reading room, we found tiny children sitting in miniature chairs reading picture books.

The mothers accompanying them noticed us.

"Oh my, the uncles are here, Miyeon."

"The uncles are here. Shall we say hello?"

"Hewwo~"

The childish voices made us laugh.

Meanwhile, Ri Hyuk's eyes were shining with happiness.

The children of Gunsan will grow up seeing my name from now on!

Every book they held carried a barcode that read:

[Ri Hyuk Children's Library]

I crouched down to meet the children's eyes.

"Are the books fun?"

"Y-yes!"

The shy little kids clasped their hands behind their backs.

I smiled warmly.

Then I asked,

"Do you know this library's name?"

"Ri Hyung Library...?"

"Then do you know who Ri Hyung is?"

The children shook their heads.

"No."

"Don't know."

Jiho burst out laughing.

The rest of us did too.

Even the mothers cracked up.

Ri Hyuk pointed at himself in confusion.

"Then who am I?"

The children tilted their heads.

"Uncle?"

"Supermarket uncle...?"

"Rabbit Uncle's subordinate!"

Everyone completely lost it.

The innocent sincerity of the Gunsan children was absolutely devastating for Ri Hyuk.

In the end, our fourth member had successfully made his name known.

Only his name.

News of the Gunsan libraries quickly spread online.

As posts about the opening ceremony began appearing one after another, Souffle prepared themselves mentally.

Time to gather the receipts.

They already knew exactly how antis and non-fans would react.

[Photos from today's NewBlack Library opening ceremony.jpg]

A post containing fancams from NewBlack's performance and a Twitter link screaming "OMGㅠㅠㅠ".

The earliest comments were exactly what everyone expected.

Wait, did only Wooju donate? Did the other members donate nothing??

Even though they had expected it, Souffle still felt their blood pressure rise.

There it is.

The classic response whenever an idol donated to disaster relief or public causes.

So Wooju's the only one donating?

Serious question. Do the other NewBlack members donate too, or is it just Wooju?

Truly the dignity of a leader ㄷㄷ

Souffle calmly posted their prepared evidence.

They all donate, you idiotsㅡㅡ

These reactions are hilariousㅋㅋㅋㅋ Did someone assign them donation quotas?

How much have YOU donated?

The first comments are always a science experimentㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

[Original Poster] Antis please stop ruining my postㅠㅠㅠㅠ

Evidence of the members' long-standing charitable activities quickly surfaced.

The antis quietly disappeared.

In truth, NewBlack had always donated consistently.

It was only because people kept demanding, "Why aren't the others donating?" that so many of those contributions had become public.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the end.

[Comparison of total donations by NewBlack members.jpg]

Now antis were ranking members by cumulative donation amounts.

Souffle carpet-bombed the posts until they disappeared.

Seriously...

Their reactions were so predictable it was almost impressive.

Before long, everyone returned to the fun topics.

Things like Ri Hyuk Children's Library and Sun Wooju Parking Lot.

ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Sun Wooju is genuinely my favorite comedian

He gave the library to his member but still couldn't completely give up the spotlight beside itㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Ri Hyuk Children's Library fits him perfectly

Another major source of amusement was a video uploaded by a parent showing Ri Hyuk talking to the children.

Ri Hyuk standing directly in front of children who had no idea who he was.

Makes sense. Kids that age wouldn't know.

In two years those kids are gonna cry when they realize NewBlack was standing right in front of themㅋㅋㅋㅋ

They kept looking past Ri Hyuk because they were staring at Wooju...

Not Wooju. The Rabbit Uncle dollㅋㅋㅋㅋ

(Screenshot of the doll in Wooju's hand.jpg) Even the mighty Sun Wooju couldn't defeat Rabbit Uncle.

As laughter filled the comments, evening approached.

And Souffle's excitement steadily grew.

Today's finally the day.

There were two major broadcasts to watch.

First was Goblin Restaurant, the New Universe project racing toward a historic 20% rating and the highest cable variety-show rating ever recorded.

Second was Part 1 of the Mission Singer battle between Ri Hyuk and Cha Woohyun.

Cha Woohyun vs Ri Hyuk... My chest is swelling.

The fact that Ri Hyuk can even battle Cha Woohyun is already legendary.

I can't waitㅠㅠㅠㅠ

Guys, today's not the King of Singers match. That's next week.

WHYYYYㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

While Souffle mourned the fact that they still had another week to wait, the biggest topic remained New Universe.

Can New Universe break the cursed 20% barrier?

"Icebergs on the Horizon" — New Universe inches toward 20%

New Universe close to 20%; netizens say, "A chance to send NewBlack to Antarctica? Can't miss this."

The fake Souffles and foil-hat supporters began recruiting viewers.

"If you've got nothing to watch tonight, watch New Universe."

"Why?"

"If it passes 20%, NewBlack goes to Antarctica."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"Okay. Watching New Universe tonight."

They smiled innocently.

We're promoting NewBlack out of pure love.

Not because we want anything.

We're just helping them set the all-time cable variety show ratings record.

Hehehehe!

As more people than usual tuned into NBS for the first time, viewership surged.

Not just because they wanted 20%.

Not because they had suddenly become curious about Goblin Restaurant.

Anyone who wanted to watch was already watching.

The increase came from something else.

Producer Gu Jaeyoung's outrageous teaser.

[Exclusive] Producer Gu Jaeyoung teases: "Part of NewBlack's new song will be revealed in today's episode... You'll be shocked."

It was news about the highly anticipated new track:

Overcooked.

Even busy Souffles made time to turn on the television.

Their expressions, however, weren't entirely pleased.

Jaeyoung... why are you baiting people like this?

From their perspective, the producer seemed to be trying too hard.

The show would naturally hit 20% on its own.

Why drag NewBlack's comeback into it?

Anonymous comments appeared.

Variety shows are variety shows. New songs are new songs.

Souffle narrowed their eyes at what looked like an attempt to boost ratings by exploiting NewBlack's comeback.

But...

There must be a reason.

No matter how famous Gu Jaeyoung was, NewBlack was still NewBlack.

There was no way he would do something like this without the members' approval.

Most Souffles decided to wait and see.

At least until the episode aired.

Then—

"Hahahaha!"

"Bwahahahaha!"

As always, NewBlack immediately had them laughing.

The members operated the Goblin Restaurant like competent young entrepreneurs.

Then the moment they were together, they became complete idiots.

Before anyone realized it, ninety minutes had flown by.

Wait... nothing happened?

The episode was ending.

There had been no new-song teaser.

Nothing.

Did the teaser appear?

Nope.

Was Gu Jaeyoung baiting us??

Then it happened.

As the episode ended, a caption appeared.

[Post-Credits Scene]

"Huh?"

"What?"

Viewers across the country tilted their heads.

The screen faded in.

A caption appeared.

[Two Months Earlier]

The location was instantly recognizable.

The culinary studio of celebrity chef Bobby Ross, where NewBlack had learned how to cook hamburger steaks.

A scene from the recent Gourmet Special.

Is this a broadcast error??

Didn't we already see this scene?

??

The members were sweating and exhausted.

Chef Bobby Ross kept shouting:

"Again! One more time!"

The members wiped away sweat with tired expressions.

Then the camera slowly focused on Wooju.

He sat there absentmindedly, cooling himself with a portable fan.

A spark suddenly appeared in his eyes.

His lips parted.

"Overcooked~ Overcooked~"

The addictive melody, sweet as a dessert, made viewers' eyes widen.

Huh?

Wait! What? Did he write the song back then?

Everyone leaned forward on their couches.

The members smiled after hearing Wooju casually sing the chorus.

As if preparing to join in, they opened their mouths—

Cut.

Huh?

No, wait...

The screen went dark.

Then a title card appeared.

OVERCOOKED

Coming Soon

Immediately afterward, the usual Next Week preview began.

Souffle stared blankly.

Then their eyes widened.

"!"

"!!"

As fans around the world started bouncing in excitement, a mountain-like man sitting in the NBS control room turned toward an engineer.

Producer Gu Jaeyoung asked,

"What's the number?"

"The peak hit 27%. At this rate, the average definitely passed 20%. Congratulations!"

"We did it...!"

Gu Jaeyoung jumped to his feet.

The New Universe production team embraced one another.

We're going! Antarctica!

The New Universe Project.

Average viewership surpasses 20%!