Chapter 1082: I am New Black, Class of ’18 (6)

At the same time.

The Korea University community boards were in complete chaos.

[NEWBLACK IS HERE!!!!!!!!]

(Photo of a crowd gathered outside a classroom.jpg)

-???????????

-What???

-OP: They're attending a lecture

-How's the crowd? Is it packed?

-They're controlling entry outside the classroom so nobody else can get in, but there are a ridiculous number of people here holy shit

-I saw a New Universe logo on one of the cameras

The students had already been excited enough.

NewBlack is coming to our festival today!

Some people had even begun lining up near the festival grounds before dawn to secure good spots.

Then rumors spread that NewBlack had come to attend classes.

"Did you see this? NewBlack's here right now!"

"Where?!"

"They're at the Humanities Building... wow, but we can't go. Look at that crowd outside the classroom. That's insane."

As students talked among themselves, curiosity naturally followed.

What class are they even attending?

The answer quickly appeared from students already inside.

[NEWBLACK CAME TO MY CLASS!!]

(Photo of an entire classroom pointing phone cameras at five sparkling-eyed members wearing university jackets.jpg)

This is insaneㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

They look unreal in person...

-What's the class?

-OP: Understanding and Appreciation of K-Pop Culture LOL. And today's topic is NewBlack LOLLLLL

-LMAOOOOOOOO

-This is peak content LOL

-I can already imagine the professor having a mental breakdown

-Must feel like analyzing a Nobel Prize winner's work in front of the Nobel Prize winner

Everyone burst out laughing.

The idea of explaining NewBlack to NewBlack themselves was simply too ridiculous.

Even in real time, posts titled "Professor's reaction.jpg" were appearing.

The attached photo showed a professor standing at the podium with the expression of a man who had achieved enlightenment.

While NewBlack's campus visit became a hot topic online—

Professor Kim Yuchan, who taught Understanding and Appreciation of K-Pop Culture, stood inside the noisy classroom and laughed weakly.

For some reason, the lecture hall felt like the Colosseum today.

The five people seated in the highest row—the very back row—looked like Roman emperors watching from above.

Citizens! Let us raise our wine and watch the professor bleed today!

The other students looked equally delighted.

"All right..."

Holding the microphone, he made a solemn declaration.

"Today's lecture has been cancelled."

NewBlack and the students exploded with laughter.

Adjusting his glasses, Professor Kim continued.

"Am I imagining things, or do I feel like crying a little...? This might actually be the greatest crisis of my career. Of all days, the subjects of today's lecture happened to show up in person."

Looking toward NewBlack, he addressed the class.

"We have students auditing from other schools today. Since we're already here, shall we at least hear some introductions?"

The students nodded enthusiastically.

The members stood and bowed politely to their fellow students.

Every phone camera in the room immediately rose into the air again.

"Yes."

Wooju spoke first.

"I'm Sun Wooju, a member of the Class of 2018 who transferred into Korea University today. Technically I should've been Class of 2012, but there's an old saying that learning never ends. Even at my age, I've come seeking knowledge."

The silver-haired young man stood in a black hoodie after removing his university jacket.

He looked exactly like the impossibly handsome music major who was always the subject of campus rumors.

He's handsome.

Seriously handsome...

Dear God, thank You for blessing my eyes. I'll work harder from now on.

The room erupted into laughter as Wooju introduced the others.

"I transferred together with some close younger friends, and the five of us are active in a club called NewBlack~"

Everyone laughed at how committed he was to the university-student concept.

The other members cheerfully greeted the class as well.

The atmosphere immediately became warm and lively.

As expected of professional entertainers, they could make people smile with just a few words.

Professor Kim smiled inwardly.

Perfect. That's five minutes gone.

His plan was simple.

Reduce lecture time as much as possible and eventually say,

"Oh dear, looks like we'll have to cover the rest next week!"

Just as he prepared to coax out a few more comments—

Jiho, wearing his university jacket draped over one shoulder, raised his hand with a bright smile.

"Professor~ Professor~!"

"Yes?"

"Aren't you going to start the lecture?"

"..."

Everyone laughed as the professor's scheme was exposed.

Clicking his tongue, he looked up at the PowerPoint slides and sighed.

"I don't think I've ever wanted to avoid teaching a lecture this badly."

He looked at NewBlack.

"If I say anything inaccurate or get something wrong, I'd appreciate it if you'd correct me."

"Yes, sir!"

"Then shall we begin?"

The lecture started in a calm voice.

Soon, the sound of typing filled the room as 150 students focused intently.

The course was popular partly because grading was generous and the material wasn't difficult.

But more importantly—

The professor was genuinely good at teaching.

He used K-Pop culture as a gateway to discuss Korea's cultural industries as a whole.

"As you're all aware, Overcooked has achieved tremendous success recently. The response has been extraordinary worldwide. In fact, we've seen a phenomenon like this once before several years ago."

He changed slides.

Graphs and statistics appeared.

-UK Singles Chart No. 3

-Billboard Chart No. 1

-Australian Chart No. 1

"Ooooooh..."

The room filled with impressed murmurs.

Meanwhile, the actual people responsible sat there looking awkward.

"Pretty incredible, isn't it? What's especially notable is that unlike many of the other countries currently responding positively, North America has already embraced the song on a massive scale. It reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 by an overwhelming margin. The gap between it and All I Want at No. 2 was substantial."

A photo comparing Moonlight and NewBlack appeared.

"Recent American media have talked about this as well, but objectively speaking, it was a terribly unfavorable fight."

He looked around.

"Think about it. Imagine an American singer entering the Korean market with a Korean-language song. Their competitor is a hot idol from a survival program who just released a remake of one of the biggest songs of the year 2000."

Information that only dedicated Souffle fans or followers of the American music industry would normally know was being explained in simple terms.

Even NewBlack listened attentively.

"So then," the professor continued, "how did Overcooked manage to defeat that song and reach No. 1?"

The slide changed.

-Musical and Visual Accessibility

Several scenes from NewBlack's music video appeared.

The students immediately turned toward the actual members.

The members reenacted the scenes from their seats, drawing cheers from the room.

Excellent. Another five minutes gone.

The professor smiled smugly before returning to a serious expression.

"One reason Overcooked has resonated worldwide—not just in North America—is this accessibility. As I mentioned previously, idol music videos often contain elaborate lore and world-building. They're symbolic. Metaphorical. Stylish."

He paused.

"Overcooked has none of that."

Then he glanced uncertainly toward NewBlack.

"...It doesn't have any, right?"

The members laughed and nodded.

"It's simply a song about five people accidentally burning their food and then happily talking about their mistake."

In short:

The song was good.

And it was easy to understand.

"That characteristic played a major role in appealing to mainstream American audiences. If the song had been something else—even a masterpiece—I think the competition against Moonlight would've been much more difficult."

He pointed toward the chart data.

"When two acts have comparable fandom sizes in North America, victory ultimately comes down to mainstream appeal. A song like Overcooked can overwhelm its competition in that category."

Then he smiled and advanced the slide.

The performance metrics of both groups appeared side by side.

"As a result, NewBlack achieved a complete victory in what American media referred to as the Boy Band War."

"WOOOOOOO!"

"NEWBLACK! NEWBLACK!"

The students immediately began chanting.

The members laughed awkwardly in embarrassment.

Professor Kim looked just as uncomfortable.

"And the implications of this are extremely important."

He continued.

"Recently, critics have frequently described NewBlack's strategy as a two-track approach. K-Pop idols domestically, pop stars internationally."

He glanced toward the back row.

The members appeared genuinely interested.

"That's not entirely wrong."

He nodded.

"But Overcooked's success has a much broader meaning for K-Pop itself."

His eyes lit up.

"It demonstrates that North American audiences have adapted to the structure of K-Pop."

The slide changed again.

This time it displayed reactions from international listeners.

Responses from the early days.

-Why is there suddenly rapping in the middle of the song?? That's weird

-I can't tell where the song starts or ends

-It feels like they threw every good thing into one track... but there are too many genres mixed together

-What even is this song?

"Back during METRO, these were common reactions."

The professor smiled.

"It was similar to someone trying localized Korean food for the first time."

People laughed.

"The equivalent of eating tteokbokki and saying, 'What is this texture?! Ew!'"

The room chuckled.

"Until now, K-Pop has felt foreign to North American listeners. Its unique characteristics—such as sudden rap sections—felt unfamiliar."

He pointed toward the newer comments.

"But with Overcooked, those reactions have practically disappeared."

His smile widened.

"They've fully adapted."

The room laughed again.

"In other words, they initially reacted like people trying an unfamiliar food."

He paused.

"And now they're saying, 'This is insanely good♡.'"

More laughter.

"Language barriers make it difficult for K-Pop to become mainstream culture in other countries."

He raised a finger.

"But even if it remains a subculture, it's entirely possible to expand that subculture dramatically."

The slide changed again.

-The Expansion of K-Pop Through Overcooked's Mainstream Success

"Overcooked contains the structure and color of K-Pop while simultaneously becoming a global hit."

He spoke confidently.

"Because of that success, K-Pop will feel more approachable to listeners across many countries."

His eyes shone.

"And some of those listeners may eventually fall completely into K-Pop."

He nodded.

"I believe we're about to witness meaningful market growth."

First, Overcooked lowered the barrier for listeners who felt resistant to K-Pop.

Then some of those listeners became K-Pop fans.

That, in turn, would help an industry increasingly focused on overseas expansion rather than relying solely on the domestic market.

The impact was especially significant because the breakthrough had occurred in North America—the leading market in global popular music.

After speaking confidently for some time, Professor Kim finally paused and took a drink of water.

"Well then..."

His confidence instantly vanished.

He looked toward NewBlack and visibly shrank.

"Was any of that... wrong?"

The classroom erupted.

NewBlack applauded and shook their heads.

"We'd like to recruit you to Lemon Entertainment."

"Have you ever considered working with us~?"

The professor pretended not to hear their attempts to recruit him into a company famous for grinding people into dust.

He simply laughed awkwardly.

Then Ri Hyuk, who had been taking notes on his laptop, raised a hand.

"I have a question, Professor."

"Yes, Ri Hyuk?"

"What kind of activities do you think NewBlack should pursue moving forward?"

"...If I knew the answer to that, wouldn't I start my own entertainment company?"

The professor's timid reply made Ri Hyuk nod seriously.

"A valid point."

Everyone laughed.

"But..."

The professor continued.

"This is merely my personal opinion, but I believe Overcooked has revealed a new direction."

His expression turned thoughtful.

"Fandoms are important. However, K-Pop is ultimately an industry aimed at the general public."

The members nodded.

Then Wooju raised his hand.

"Yes, Wooju?"

"Are you absolutely sure you don't want to join Lemon Entertainment?"

"..."

The professor immediately looked away.

The classroom exploded with laughter once again.

"That concludes today's lecture. You all remember that next week is the report deadline, right? Don't forget."

"Yeeees~"

As students rose from their seats, we headed toward the podium with our managers.

"Whew..."

Professor Kim wiped cold sweat from his forehead.

I extended my hand.

"That was an excellent lecture, Professor. Seriously. I learned a lot."

"Thank you... Honestly, I thought I was going to die from the pressure."

I wasn't just being polite.

It had genuinely been a great lecture.

His analysis of Overcooked's current situation and future prospects had been thorough.

What impressed me most was that he'd independently deduced nearly eighty percent of our company's internal strategy despite having no access to confidential information.

"By the way..."

The professor looked slightly worried.

"I talked about Moonlight during the lecture. Is that okay?"

"Don't worry. That part will be edited out."

Keywords like Boy Band War and discussions involving Moonlight would obviously be cut from the final variety-show broadcast.

While we continued chatting—

I noticed students lingering in the classroom instead of heading to their next classes.

Maknae.

Yep!

I signaled to Jiho with my eyes.

He immediately stepped forward.

"Everyone~~! Should we take a commemorative photo?"

Like at a concert, we posed with Professor Kim.

Peace signs up.

One hundred fifty students gathered behind us.

Click.

A group photo.

There would undoubtedly be students wanting individual photos and autographs.

But there wasn't enough time.

We had another class to attend, and this classroom needed to be cleared.

"Thank you for the lecture, Professor! We'll come back for another one after we become even more successful."

"Please don't say terrifying things like that..."

"We'll be back~!"

"You aren't listening to me at all."

We bowed politely before leaving with the security staff.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

The moment we stepped out of the Humanities Building—

An enormous crowd greeted us.

University staff assigned to guide us hurried over.

They looked incredibly excited.

"Then we'll begin escorting everyone one by one!"

"Thank you."

This level of crowding had been anticipated from the start.

In fact, it was one of the reasons Korea University had scored so highly during the planning presentation.

-The crowds will be enormous. Do you have a solution?

-Yes. We plan to divide the filming.

If all five of us traveled together, we'd drag a human tidal wave behind us everywhere we went.

So the plan was simple.

Split the five of us apart.

"Hyungs! See you later!"

"See you later~!"

As each member departed in a different direction, sections of the crowd peeled away after them.

Eventually only Ri Hyuk and I remained.

We waved goodbye to each other.

"See you later."

Even after dividing the crowd into fifths...

"There are still a lot of people."

"Yeah... there really are."

One university staff member stared blankly at the scene.

The crowd was still enormous.

People were shouting and pulling out their phones from every direction.

I glanced at them before turning back to the staff.

"All right. Shall we go?"

After the general education lecture, each member had an individual filming assignment.

Today's theme was experiencing university activities that matched our personal interests.

And the field that interested me most was...

Professor Kim Yuchan had been forced to teach a lecture about NewBlack in front of NewBlack.

His colleagues were still laughing about it.

But he wasn't the only professor suffering today.

One of the others was Professor Lee Jiyeon.

"Hello, Professor."

The moment she entered the classroom, someone greeted her with a bright smile.

First of all—

He was absurdly handsome.

The last truly handsome man she'd seen was a random stranger near Seongsimdang on Christmas five years ago.

Compared to the person standing in front of her now, that man was little more than a cellphone flashlight held up against the sun.

The lettering on Wooju's black hoodie.

His earrings.

None of it registered.

Her eyes automatically zoomed in on his face.

But...

I'm scared.

The professor was terrified.

As she looked at Wooju, imaginary television captions seemed to scroll through her vision.

『Awards and Achievements』

-KMA Song of the Year

-Mango Chart Awards Composer of the Year

-Composer of the annual No. 1 chart-topping song for three consecutive years

-Composer of the globally successful musical film soundtrack Thousand Dreams

-Billboard No. 1 with Blue Moon featuring Haley Blue

-Longest-running Billboard No. 1 in history with Answer featuring Cold Brown

-METRO — Billboard No. 1

-Overcooked — Billboard No. 1 and No. 1 in 33 countries

The endless list kept scrolling before her eyes.

Then—

Knowing all too well what kind of accomplishments this alien spaceship had accumulated—

She slowly turned toward the blackboard.

The elective course she personally taught within the Department of Practical Music.

『Theory and Practice of Songwriting』

...

The professor wanted to run away.