Chapter 1073: Overcooked (26)

Madison Square Garden.

The five members stood onstage with their arms folded, swaying their heads from side to side as cheers erupted around them.

"Everybody! Are you ready to have some fun?!"

At the leader's shout into the microphone, a thunderous "YEAHHHH!" rolled back from the audience.

The handsome young man grinned at the response and stepped forward, continuing the song.

If you don't mind,

While the meal is being prepared,

Would you care to enjoy

Our staff's performance?

He winked at the camera.

The shot moved away from Wooju and over to another member.

Among the adorable dancing vegetables, Biju glided through a graceful solo before lifting his microphone.

It won't take long,

Just a little while.

While the food is finishing,

Please lend us your ears.

At the same time, the choreography drew everyone's attention.

The entire dance revolved around cooking.

A flick of the wrist like tossing a frying pan.

Movements that mimicked peeling potatoes.

Every action flowed naturally into the next.

Wow.

My God, he can really dance.

Then—

The youngest member with brown hair slid smoothly beside the blond idol dancing with the vegetables.

Tapping his wristwatch, Jiho sang:

To explain what happened,

We'll need to go back

Ten minutes earlier.

We were hard at work cooking.

With a snap of his fingers, he pointed forward.

Three members stood in a line.

Dressed like chefs in a kitchen, each performed different choreography.

Junghyun washed ingredients.

Ri Hyuk sliced vegetables.

Wooju shook an imaginary frying pan as though stir-frying food.

This is fun!

The audience's eyes lit up at the song's storytelling structure.

The two members dancing as a pair suddenly slipped between the three.

Popping his head between Junghyun and Ri Hyuk, Jiho mimed dumping a huge pile of ingredients into a bowl.

We may have added

A little too much.

Salt, sugar, pepper—

At the same time, Biju appeared between Ri Hyuk and Wooju with a bright smile.

As for the heat?

Maybe we turned it up a little too high.

His hands spun as though adjusting an oven dial.

And thus the meal spiraled into disaster in real time.

Every time another seasoning was added, the vegetable dancers became more excited and danced even harder.

What is this? It's so cute!

Seriously adorable.

As the song explained exactly how the cooking catastrophe had unfolded—

The members suddenly extended their hands toward Ri Hyuk at center stage, as if answering the question of why they'd cooked that way in the first place.

To analyze the cause,

We've brought in

The greatest expert available.

The harmonies joined together.

Then the main vocalist began climbing higher and higher through the melody.

And the reason was...

He sang sweetly.

Then looked straight into the camera.

Our love for you.

The brief lyric—

Love—

—sent the audience into laughter.

Then immediately—

The chorus of Overcooked exploded.

Overcooked~ Overcooked~♬

The choreography of sprinkling sugar into the air seemed to imprint itself directly into everyone's eyes.

We only cooked it a little longer~

Guess our love for you was just too much~♬

Those who already knew the song sang along immediately.

Those hearing it for the first time somehow found themselves joining in anyway.

Black fabric fluttered softly as the choreography flowed.

Overcooked~ Overcooked~

The audience completed the ending together.

"Overcooked~ Overcooked~!"

Then the dancers slowly began removing their mascot heads.

Matching the NewBlack members dressed in black chef uniforms, the dancers changed into black versions of their costumes.

The vegetables remained vegetables.

But now they were all the same color.

"WOOOOOOOOOO!"

To North American audiences, the image felt symbolic.

-Now that today's game is over, shall we all become one?

At the start of the day, the celebrity teams had barely known one another.

American and Canadian spectators had sat separately.

Now everyone was mixed together, laughing and singing.

Like classmates who don't get along but end up eating ice cream together after playing sports.

Different ingredients.

Different flavors.

Different shapes.

Yet once placed over the same fire, they became a single dish.

People united after hardship.

No one knew exactly what the fire represented.

But many felt today's Supernova Dodgeball had been that fire.

"So that's what they were trying to say."

Hailey Blue nodded knowingly.

"I get it now. To eliminate conflict, you've got to throw the trash into a blazing fire."

"Honey."

"Preferably on maximum heat."

"No. That's not it."

Her husband, Chris Kyle, shook his head.

Hailey ignored him.

"Anyway, these kids came prepared today."

"They really did, didn't they?!"

Cold Brown shouted in agreement.

Because of the noise, the two singers practically had to yell at one another.

Standing among the crowd, two of North America's biggest stars watched people hopping around and singing along.

After more than a decade surviving at the top of the brutal entertainment industry, they could see it.

"WOOOOOOOOOO!"

The energy.

The screaming audience.

The massive singalong.

And the five young men onstage singing and dancing with everything they had.

"Everybody!"

Wooju stretched his microphone toward the crowd.

Sweat flew from him and sparkled like starlight beneath the lights.

"He's shining."

Hailey muttered into Cold Brown's ear.

"Do they realize it?"

"What?!"

"That everything's different now."

Cold shook his head.

"They probably don't. People on stage never notice."

NewBlack was completely immersed in the performance.

They couldn't see it.

But as outsiders—

And as veterans of the industry—

They could.

-The NewBlack before tonight and the NewBlack after tonight will be completely different.

In influence.

In impact.

In reach.

This was the kind of stage every pop musician dreamed about.

A career-defining stage.

The kind that created an icon.

This is going to become the defining performance of their lives.

The North American market was enormous.

But like everywhere else, most ordinary people didn't care much about celebrities.

Which was why images mattered.

Images people never forgot.

The actress holding down her skirt against the wind.

The British band that invaded America wearing immaculate suits.

The king of rock and roll with his pompadour and high-collared jacket.

The actor resting his chin in his hand as a mafia boss.

Creating an iconic image didn't automatically make someone a legend.

But every entertainer dreamed of becoming instantly recognizable.

This brings back memories.

Hailey smiled.

For her, it had been Coachella during her rookie years.

-This song is dedicated to my ex-boyfriend Sean... and to all of you. Fxxk You.

The image of her standing beneath the desert sky in a blue dress with an acoustic guitar slung over her shoulder had become legendary.

When people thought of Hailey Blue—

That was the image they remembered.

Cold Brown had one too.

The VMA performance from the mid-2000s.

While every rapper wore oversized clothes and mountains of jewelry, he'd appeared alone in a tuxedo.

That image had become synonymous with his name.

And now—

"WOOOOOOOOOO!"

With fifty-three million people watching live—

NewBlack's iconic image was being born.

"Wow. They're adorable."

"They're really good."

"So this is that Overcooked song everyone keeps talking about? It's actually great."

The vague image people had once held of NewBlack was transforming into something vivid.

Something unforgettable.

An image that would be reproduced endlessly in caricatures, advertisements, fan art, and media coverage.

A single image people would instantly associate with NewBlack.

Overcooked~ Overcooke~d~

Five young men in chef uniforms sprinkling sugar through the air.

That was their icon.

"One more time!"

Of course—

The members themselves had absolutely no idea.

Overcooked~ Overcooked~

We only cooked it a little longer~

Guess our love for you was just too much~♬

They were simply overwhelmed by the audience's enthusiasm.

Smiling.

Laughing.

Having fun.

That was all.

The choreography ended.

I stood there gasping for air.

The heavy breathing of my members echoed beside me as we held our ending pose.

"WOOOOOOOOOO!"

The atmosphere had been thoroughly, completely overcooked.

"Hah... hah..."

"Huff... hufffff..."

"Ah... ah..."

From our perspective, leaning shoulder-to-shoulder and struggling to breathe, everything looked white.

The original choreography for Overcooked wasn't actually this intense.

But the crowd's reactions had been so incredible that we'd gotten carried away.

"WOOOOOOOOOO!"

We waved at the cheering audience while accepting bottles of water from staff below the stage.

My throat felt like it was on fire.

Sweat streamed down my face.

Honestly, if I poured this bottle directly over my head right now, nobody would even notice.

"Phew."

I grabbed the microphone to give the others a chance to rest.

After catching my breath, I peeled off my jacket and remained in a T-shirt.

The crowd erupted again.

"Thank you! The energy tonight is incredible!"

From the standing section, Hailey yelled,

"I LOVE YOU, YOU LITTLE BRATS!"

Everyone burst out laughing.

"Yes, I love you too, Hailey. Thank you."

Our performance wasn't over yet.

Each act had roughly ten minutes.

Once you removed talking segments, that amounted to about two and a half songs.

Looking up at the arena clock, I spotted Director Josh Liu giving me a thumbs-up.

You're amazing!

I grinned back before lifting the microphone.

"So? Is everyone having fun?"

The answer came back instantly.

As my breathing grew ragged again, Biju smoothly stepped in.

"We're so happy that everyone enjoyed Overcooked!"

Ri Hyuk lightly patted my back as if telling me to take a break.

The others picked up the conversation while I recovered.

They talked about the song.

The meaning behind today's performance.

Meanwhile, the dancers cleared the stage.

A grand piano was rolled into place.

I sat down immediately and adjusted the microphone.

"And now it's time for our final song tonight."

A moving piano melody straight out of a sports film filled the arena.

I looked toward the camera.

"This is a song we'd like to dedicate to everyone who participated in today's game... and to everyone who enjoyed watching it."

The lights dimmed.

The spotlight narrowed onto us.

The audience cheered.

"Many of you have probably heard this song before. More than ten million people listened to it live."

A handful of spectators immediately realized what was coming.

Most tilted their heads in confusion.

I swept my fingers across the keys and drew their attention back.

"A tremendous number of people worked together to make Supernova Dodgeball possible."

Still playing, I pointed toward comedian Benjamin Washington.

"Benjamin. Thank you for coming up with this wonderful idea. Your idea brought joy to four hundred million people."

The stand-up comedian responsible for the event puffed out his chest proudly on the giant screen.

The crowd rose to its feet, applauding him.

"And Director Liu, who turned that idea into reality. The sound crew, lighting crew, camera operators, volunteers."

"WOOOOOOOOOO!"

The directors and staff visible on camera flashed thumbs-ups.

"The players who participated today. The dodgeball coaches. Thank you for giving us such a wonderful game."

The celebrities immediately put on touched expressions when the cameras found them.

Professionals to the end.

"And to the audience who cheered so passionately for this event. You're the best."

Flags waved.

Cheers rolled through the arena.

Playing a playful little flourish, I added:

"Oh, and thank you for inviting us. As it happened, we needed to promote our new song."

Laughter spread through the crowd.

As the melody came to an end, I asked:

"Do you know how stars are born?"

One hand remained on the piano.

The other reached toward the air.

As though grasping individual particles of dust floating through the spotlight.

"These tiny specks of dust gather together. And eventually, a star is born."

I gently tapped an imaginary particle and smiled.

Then I addressed the audience staring back at me.

"This song is dedicated to every one of you. Just as countless hands came together to create Supernova Dodgeball, countless tiny particles gather together to become something bright enough to shine like the sun. It's a song about people."

Excited voices erupted throughout the arena.

"So what do you think? Isn't that the perfect way to end tonight?"

My fingers glided across the keys.

Then I announced the final song.

"Ladies and gentlemen. Our final song tonight—Like The Sun."

The roar that followed shook the arena.

I exchanged glances with the members smiling at me.

Ready?

We're ready.

Then—

Orange light, warm as sunlight itself, flooded the stage.

Sun sat at the piano.

Behind him, lighting the color of his name illuminated the stage.

We are like stars in the galaxy,

Separate, but connected with gravity.

Bathed in beautiful light, the handsome young man looked directly into the camera.

And I am the Sun.

Brilliant radiance filled his eyes.

The drummer.

The guitarist.

The band began playing.

Removing one side of his in-ear monitor, he tilted back his head.

A smile appeared between strands of gently swaying hair.

"Wow..."

People had to admit it.

Before the song had even truly begun—

They had already fallen under the spell of NewBlack.

And of the beautiful young man leading them.

When I opened my eyes, I found only darkness.

Floating endlessly through empty space.

I was nothing more than a tiny particle of dust.

His voice felt as though it were gently cradling something impossibly small.

Waiting for the light that would someday find me.

Holding my breath and waiting.

Believing my time would come.

Then the vocals settled lower.

Waiting and waiting.

The other members joined in harmony.

The drums grew louder like an advancing army.

The world told me,

If I waited, my chance would come.

Even dust would someday stand in the sunlight.

As he sang and the harmonies layered behind him—

Director Josh Liu motioned to the staff.

Now.

Twenty years in live event production had taught him exactly what to do.

Click.

In the standing section, staff members quietly activated their phone flashlights.

Audience members followed.

One after another.

Within seconds, countless stars glittered throughout the arena.

Gasps filled the air.

Gathering every light we carry,

We can become stars.

The atmosphere truly felt like the birth of a star.

Every time the music swelled, thousands of lights swayed gently.

It's time to show a light that burns brightly.

Like the Sun.

The melody continued rising.

Like dust particles spiraling together through space.

Everything on stage began converging toward NewBlack.

Toward a single point.

And when everything finally came together—

FWAAAAAASH!

Brilliant sunlight-like illumination engulfed them.

For I am like the Sun—

Behold.

Your newly born Sun.

The giant screen displayed the lead vocalist singing directly into the camera.

For a moment, the audience was so overwhelmed that many forgot to wave their lights in rhythm.

Someone watching muttered quietly:

"...Like father, like son."

A blonde woman in a casual suit stared in admiration.

Rebecca Cassidy.

The marketing star of Silver Screen Pictures.

The woman now overseeing promotion for Sound of the Sun.

"Amazing, isn't it?"

Beside her, NewBlack's local agent, D'Angelo Costa, nodded.

"People forget he's technically still a newcomer here. He's the same performer who stood on the main stage at the Olympics."

"He really is extraordinary."

"Congratulations. This will be wonderful news for Silver Screen as well."

Rebecca nodded.

People might wonder why a film marketing executive was present tonight.

The truth was that she had played a major role in securing NewBlack's place in this event.

-The closing act?

-No way.

-Sponsor.

-...Actually, that sounds great.

Before that, there had been resistance.

Some organizers wanted a children's choir from Canada and America.

Others didn't want an Asian group closing the show.

Moonlight's producer Terry Austin had lobbied against it.

Sponsors had hesitated.

Then Silver Screen entered the discussion.

And suddenly opinions changed.

Rebecca had helped create the opportunity.

Nothing more.

I knew they'd do well...

But not this well.

Everyone in the arena had become captivated by the dazzling young man onstage.

I should revise the projections upward.

First ten million listeners.

Now fifty-three million people watching live inside Madison Square Garden.

Like The Sun echoed throughout the arena.

Rebecca looked at the two men beside her.

The local agent.

And the Korean man who looked vaguely like Satan himself while checking his phone.

"Well?"

At her question, Team Leader Yoon Seokhyuk of Lemon Entertainment looked toward the stage.

The lead vocalist played the piano passionately while the main vocalist harmonized beside him.

We are like the Sun—

Behold.

Your Sun, still shining.

Watching the artists he represented shine so brilliantly, Yoon Seokhyuk smiled.

He looked at the exploding social media reactions.

The online frenzy.

The atmosphere in the arena.

Then he said:

"We hit the jackpot."

A smile spread across his face.

Wooju had said earlier that everyone here was the star of tonight.

But Yoon Seokhyuk disagreed.

Right there.

At the very center of the stage.

Behold.

Your brilliantly shining Sun—

There stood the true star of the night.

The one every eye in the arena was fixed upon.