Chapter 1059: Overcooked (12)

Late August.

As teasers and concept photos for Overcooked began dropping one by one ahead of release, the atmosphere slowly started to change.

"Fall's almost here."

"It's still hot."

"Junghyun. Can't you see your older brother is being sentimental right now?"

We had been practicing until dawn, and when we stepped outside, the humid Southeast Asian air greeted us.

Our accommodations in Thailand.

Having rented out an entire small hotel, we were now splashing around in the pool while staring up at the Thai night sky.

Biju, his long legs dangling in the water, kicked lazily as he spoke.

"They say it's cooled down a bit in Korea."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It's been raining too."

Apparently, once the rains had started coming in earnest around mid-August, the drought conditions across central regions had finally eased.

People were joking that the rain ritual we'd held at Woljeongsa Temple must have worked.

A few days ago, the Korea Water Resources Corporation had even sent us a plaque that read:

"Ha ha! I guess it's thanks to WooBiz!"

Ri Hyuk shook his head in disbelief.

"I don't think there's ever been an idol group that received a plaque of appreciation from the Water Resources Corporation before."

"You're just jealous."

"..."

Hitting the bullseye again today felt satisfying.

Under the moonlight, the five of us sat in silence with only our legs submerged in the lukewarm pool water, gently splashing around.

Everyone looked exhausted.

Not because we were simply tired.

This was a familiar symptom that appeared before every comeback.

Extreme tension.

The feeling that even when you rested, it didn't feel like rest.

The exhaustion of constantly thinking there was something more you should be doing.

The anxiety over results.

I spoke.

"Still, it's better than during White Night, right?"

"That's true."

Wasn't White Night itself a song about insomnia?

Lower your expectations of yourself and get some good sleep!

The concept of the song had been comic-book villains.

Rather than becoming a hero who held himself to impossibly strict standards and suffered under the stress, it was better to become a free-spirited villain.

We had written it as a way of telling ourselves, who were carrying far too much pressure, to relax.

And somehow, it really had eased our insomnia to some extent.

I always felt this way.

Lyrics had power.

Whether you were listening to them or singing them.

Because of that, we'd finally graduated from those bloodshot-eyed nights of muttering, "I can't sleep..."

But...

"The pressure's still there."

The pressure of a comeback was something no singer could ever completely escape.

At least I wasn't alone.

"Honestly, I'm really glad there are five of us."

"Me too."

"If I were a solo artist, I'd be so lonely. I'd have to carry all this pressure by myself."

There was a reason American pop stars invited family and friends over for listening parties whenever they released albums.

Junghyun nodded in agreement.

"I felt that when I released my rap album. Everything's on you. You perform alone too."

"I feel it when I go off to act," Jiho said. "Sometimes I think it'd be so reassuring if you guys were there."

We immediately pounced.

"For someone saying that, you seem pretty comfortable making friends with other actors on set. Throwing your arm around them and everything."

"Wow, look at these guys getting jealous."

"Hmph."

"I'm networking! You guys are obviously still the best."

The youngest clung to us while giggling.

Everyone laughed.

As we all shivered dramatically and tried to shake off our comeback anxiety together, Junghyun asked,

"Our comeback is after four months, right?"

"That's right."

We'd come back in mid-April and held our first stage at the Olympic Stadium.

Now it was late August.

Roughly four months.

"The things we've done in those four months..."

A brief period of reflection followed.

Biriho had gone husband-fishing and somehow reached No. 1 on search rankings for braised fish.

In North America there had been the Billboard Awards, the TIME 100 celebration party, and the Met Gala filled with fashion icons.

Back in Korea there had been Living Together, where we'd filmed a parenting variety show with the three siblings from Yeoul's family.

King of Singers Sun Wooju vs. Ri Hyuk, the king of Korean hip-hop.

Then there were the driver's license and cooking specials on NewUniverse.

Biju spoke up.

"I saw someone summarize our schedule on MyTube."

"What'd they say?"

"They commented, 'How is NewBlack still alive?'"

We all laughed awkwardly.

I said,

"This'll probably end up being the busiest year since our debut."

Maintaining the No. 1 spot in Korea.

Maintaining our image as the nation's idol group.

Breaking into the global market.

A three-piece combo meal.

Hamburger, fries, and cola.

Since we couldn't afford to drop any one of them, our schedule had become absolutely insane.

"Let's survive the rest of the year."

I looked at the others.

"If Overcooked achieves the results we're aiming for, things will definitely ease up starting next year. The reason we're this busy right now is because of the overseas expansion."

With the exception of unusual projects like Goblin Restaurant, domestic schedules weren't actually that demanding anymore.

We were firmly established.

Overseas was different.

Especially in North America, where we were still positioned as a rising act that needed to stay active.

Just like our Korean schedules had been at their busiest in 2015 and 2016, the same thing was happening internationally.

Which meant that if Overcooked was a major success...

Life would become much more comfortable afterward.

"So what's our goal for Overcooked promotions?"

"Hmm..."

I hadn't really set a specific goal, so while I was thinking, Junghyun made a suggestion.

"Billboard No. 1?"

"...Let's lower our expectations a bit. The Moonlight song is doing way too well right now."

As a composer, I didn't think Overcooked was inferior in any way.

But chart results weren't something I could guarantee.

Biju stirred the water gently with his hand.

"How about surpassing our previous promotions? Surpassing ourselves."

"I like that."

So we started reviewing everything we'd accomplished musically over the previous four months.

"First of all, how many weeks did Answer, the song Cold Brown and I sang, spend at No. 1 on Billboard? Seventeen? Eighteen?"

"..."

"..."

Answer.

One of the longest-running No. 1 songs in Billboard history.

"Wasn't Uncle Bunny the fastest song to hit a hundred million views?"

"WooBiz broke that record. Then Like The Sun immediately set a new fastest-to-100-million record."

"What about Rabbit Uncle?"

"It's over 300 million views now. Probably the fastest to 300 million too."

"..."

Uncle Bunny.

The global children's song that was rewriting MyTube history.

Ri Hyuk spoke.

"And don't forget. The Mission Singer song is also coming back on Friday."

"..."

"..."

The younger members looked at me resentfully.

"Why?"

"The composer of Answer."

"The composer of Uncle Bunny."

"..."

"The composer of Like The Sun. And the person who rearranged my Mission Singer song into a masterpiece. Who was that again?"

"Me..."

I bowed my head like a guilty man before brightening immediately.

"But there's something all of you are overlooking."

"Hm?"

"The composer of the greatest masterpiece of all time, the song that will surpass every one of those songs. Who wrote Overcooked?"

"You did."

"Don't worry. Overcooked will beat them all."

"...!"

The others immediately perked up.

"Really?"

"Have you ever seen one of my title tracks lose?"

"No."

As I made my confident declaration, their eyes began sparkling adorably.

We'll trust you!

Their expressions practically screamed it.

Meanwhile, I stared into empty space.

I believe in you, Overcooked.

...Excuse me?

Half a joke.

But honestly, I couldn't imagine this song losing.

I still remembered the expressions on Bobby Ross's face and the NewUniverse staff's faces when I first sang it absentmindedly.

The expressions of the chefs who heard it during the music video shoot.

The expressions of the production crew.

The way everyone's face had gone blank for a moment before they stared and muttered,

"Uh..."

I remembered all of it.

Maybe it was okay to be a little confident.

"If things really go badly, I'll just guilt-trip Souffle with my face."

"Make sure to cry too, hyung. Then you can mobilize a hundred million people."

I burst out laughing at the youngest's joke.

Then I lightly smacked the shoulders of the members who still had only their feet in the water and stood up.

"Feels like we've rested enough. Let's get back to practice."

"Okay."

"The pressure is what it is. Let's just have fun with Overcooked promotions this time. That's the whole concept, isn't it?"

The most fun song in the world.

That was the concept of Overcooked.

After the chorus of NewUniverse had been revealed as a spoiler,

information about the new song finally began pouring out in earnest, and Souffle was in a frenzy.

The color palette is insane.

If White Night had drawn inspiration from the vibrant colors of American comic books—

What's this style called? Latte art? The thing Alan Dale did.

┕ You mean pop art and Andy Warhol?

┕ Is Jiho your bias by any chance? lol

┕ [OP] OMG how did you know?

┕ Just had a feeling lol

Exactly.

This time, the influence was unmistakably pop art.

A single poster featuring chef hats, forks, and spoons against a colorful background with the title Overcooked.

Photoshoots of NewBlack members dressed as chefs.

AAAAAH! THIS IS CRAZY!

WOOJU HAS SILVER HAIR! SILVER HAIR!

Wooju had dyed his hair silver, and all the members appeared in stylish, highly distinctive looks.

Each individual poster featured oversized, eye-catching typography.

[OVERCOOKED]

Junghyun, wearing a chef's hat over green hair, stood in front of the pot he was riding while holding a ladle and making an awkward expression.

Jiho, now sporting brown hair, wore a junior chef outfit and pretended to talk on a prop banana while chaos unfolded behind him.

Ri Hyuk, with dark blue-black hair, wore laboratory safety goggles and carefully measured ingredients for molecular gastronomy while completely ignoring the dish burning right in front of him.

Their personalities fit perfectly!

Biju, returning to blond hair for the first time in ages, smiled brightly while decorating food that was already completely burnt.

Madness in clear eyes.

And Wooju stood before a ruined dish, singing passionately into a ladle held like a microphone.

I have absolutely no idea what this song is going to sound like...

If it were a movie, it felt like it should be called:

NewBlack: The Great Culinary Disaster.

The posters are so prettyㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

Americans are saying they look like SNL posters lol

This feels weirdly iconic

The MV colors are exactly my taste

Nothing to analyze in these concept photos this time lol. Feels like it's just going to be a fun song

Then came the group concept photos.

A cauldron filled with mysterious green liquid bubbling away like a magic potion.

The members staring into the distance in front of a completely ruined meal made Souffle burst out laughing.

The promotion this time is so good.

Since they were releasing a single song rather than an album, there were no track lists or highlight medleys.

Instead, there were countless cooking-themed teasers.

[Welcome to NewBlack Restaurant]

A video series that had been continuously uploaded to NewBlack TV ever since promotions began.

The star of the first episode was Fireworks.

[Ep.1 Fireworks]

A bright seaside setting.

Seagulls cried overhead.

Warm sunlight poured onto the terrace tables.

Dressed as a chef, Wooju slowly pushed a serving cart toward a table before presenting a dish.

[A dish prepared especially for our Souffle [N O V E L I G H T] guests.]

Head Chef Wooju spoke directly to the camera with a serious expression.

Like a sommelier introducing a fine wine.

[Feeling hot lately? If you've had an especially exhausting day under the heat, why not try this dessert? It's the kind of dessert whose cool touch brushes across your tongue and somehow turns today's memories into happy ones.]

Then he lifted the tray cover.

[Allow me to introduce today's featured dessert: Fireworks.]

Souffle stared in fascination.

The reveal was an ice cream cake.

Decorated with colorful toppings atop a sky-blue base, it looked exactly like what Fireworks would become if it were transformed into food.

That looks seriously delicious

Why are you the only ones who get to eat thisㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

The colors are insane

A NewBlack TV staff member poked the cake with a fork in an inserted shot.

"Wow..."

Just as everyone was admiring it, Wooju flashed a bright smile at the camera.

[Want the recipe?]

The scene immediately transitioned to the recipe.

It had supposedly been developed by NewBlack members led by Biju alongside famous chefs and pastry chefs.

Soon reviews began appearing online.

[I made the Fireworks Cake]

(photo of horribly deformed cake.jpg)

As long as it tastes good, who cares

ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Is it good? It looks too difficult so I haven't tried it yet

[OP] It's seriously deliciousㅠㅠㅠ It tastes like those popping-candy ice creams. But making it is a nightmare, honestly just buy one

Yeah it's ridiculously hard to make lol

Can't wait for the next recipe

It was a uniquely NewBlack promotion.

Other fandoms were jealous.

Souffle was ecstatic.

NewBlack introduced their previous title tracks as though they were dishes.

Members who had been central to each song introduced them like chefs presenting signature creations.

"Wow..."

And every time, a new dish appeared.

For Masquerade, introduced by Jiho at a masquerade ball, there was a French dish featuring wine.

For Windflower, introduced by Biju while sitting on a picnic blanket in a field full of rapeseed flowers, there was a special picnic sandwich.

[Today, we're going to make a fragrant tea.]

For Hibernation, themed around winter travel in Korea, Ri Hyuk appeared in a traditional tea house set against snow-covered mountains, introducing aromatic tea and proper tea etiquette.

At a pizza restaurant decorated with a neon sign reading Nine, Junghyun demonstrated an easy pepperoni pizza perfect for parties.

And for Falling Blossoms, Wooju prepared traditional Korean cuisine that matched the song's atmosphere.

Wow...

A promotion that satisfied not only Souffle but even fake Souffles and casual subscribers.

I seriously can't stop watching these lol

Please try the mustard leaf kimchi from Falling Blossomsㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

Guys just make Korean food forever

That mustard leaf kimchi is legendary

Among all the praise, one recipe stood above the rest.

[Goblin Tteokbokki Is Ridiculously Good]

This is actually insane

A special recipe Wooju and Biju had created to make homemade tteokbokki taste as good as possible.

The flavor was so good that testimonial posts were appearing in real time.

Seriously ridiculously ridiculously good

Everyone please try itㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ It's legendary

A little sweet but still amazing

lol apparently Jiho likes sweet food so they made it sweeter

Thank you guys I finally found my lifetime tteokbokki recipeㅠㅠ

The general public was becoming interested in NewBlack's new song as well.

Souffle couldn't help admiring it.

Was this planned by the TF team? They're seriously good at their jobs.

There was no need for lengthy explanations about the concept of Overcooked.

It was simply seeping naturally into public consciousness.

Just as people became mesmerized watching food videos or stopped channel surfing whenever a cooking show appeared, delicious food had a unique power to attract attention.

It was almost as though NewBlack was trying to say:

Songs are just like food!

Just as a special meal made by your parents or the taste of a snack shop visited with school friends became cherished memories, songs you listened to during a particular period of your life naturally became memories too.

And just as people stopped walking when they smelled delicious food, a good song playing on the street could make someone pause and wonder what it was.

In the end, songs and food were alike.

Both existed to bring happiness to people.

...Everyone understood that, right?

Souffle looked around at fellow fans.

I've eaten tteokbokki three times today hehe

Tteokbokki foreverㅠㅠ

Coin chocolate recipe complete lol

Wanna see what I made?

Falling Blossoms mustard leaf kimchi is a gift to everyone living alone

Agreed. God-tier kimchi

Judging by the reactions, everyone seemed to understand perfectly.

And when the series finally reached the recent title track White Night—

NewBlack Comeback D-Day. Overcooked Finally Revealed

The comeback day had arrived.

Around the world, Souffle waited for the music video and digital release while preparing for NewBlack's live broadcast.

"10... 9... 8..."

Hands clasped together during the countdown, their hearts pounded without rest.

Refresh.

"Oh, it's up!"

"YEAHHHH—!"

With trembling hands, everyone clicked the music video.

[The New Black - Overcooked (Official Music Video)]

Not knowing whether the video would freeze at any moment, Souffle swallowed nervously.

Then the video began.

[Bustling chatter]

A restaurant packed with waiting customers.

A demanding gourmet adjusted his monocle while studying the menu.

Guests clinked wine glasses and chatted happily.

Everyone waited for their food.

That's Bobby Ross!

The towering Black chef Bobby Ross watched the scene before returning nervously to the kitchen.

[Guys. Are you read... What the-?!]

The kitchen was filled with black smoke.

Everything was a complete disaster.

Five chefs stood there getting scolded.

[This is beyond overcooked! You've practically burned the food to ashes!]

As Bobby Ross demanded to know how they planned to fix the situation, and the waiting customers frowned toward the kitchen—

Ding—

The oven chimed at exactly the wrong moment.

Kitchen sounds began joining the scene one by one.

The bubbling of boiling pots.

Various clattering noises.

Wooju slowly began tapping his foot to the rhythm of a ladle rattling inside a pot.

Then—

The members each started lightly tapping cooking utensils.

Biju struck water-filled glasses with a spoon.

And the magical flow began to spread.

This feels like a musical.

Souffle watched casually at first.

Then their eyes widened.

The sounds of kitchen utensils, which had initially seemed random and clumsy, gradually merged together.

Drums?

The foundation was a drum beat.

Kitchen noises combined and transformed into rhythmic percussion.

Then melodies slowly layered themselves on top.

Finally, a synthesizer joined the arrangement.

Walking out before the customers, NewBlack tossed aside their chef hats and struck the opening pose.

Text appeared across the screen.

[OVERCOOKED]

The moment everyone had been waiting for.

NewBlack's new song had finally begun.