Chapter 1085: I am New Black, Class of ’18 (9)

After failing to even sit for the college entrance exam.

I, Sun Wooju, had somehow gone on to achieve wealth and glory.

"BOOOOOOOOOOOO—!"

The audience showered me with playful jeers, and I burst out laughing.

[Alright, alright. I'm kidding.]

I smiled at the bright-eyed university students staring up at me from the front rows.

[Honestly, coming to a university festival like this has been so much fun. I've never experienced a college festival this intense before.]

It wasn't one of those generic event-host lines like "Your school is the best!"

I genuinely meant it.

[Every audience has a different atmosphere. Billboard award shows, Japanese concerts, music-show stages. Even the same concert can feel completely different between Day One and Day Two.]

I took a breath before continuing.

[And today's Korea University festival atmosphere... is the best university festival atmosphere I've ever experienced.]

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

[Looks like everyone's ready to have fun. Let's hear you scream.]

The cheers were loud enough to make ears ring.

The person enjoying it almost as much as the audience was our youngest member.

[Me! Me! I want to try that thing.]

[??]

Jiho spoke with sparkling eyes.

[I watched videos of other singers at university festivals. They all do it. Korea University! Make some noiseeeeeee!!!]

The students exploded with laughter and cheers.

Thrilled by the sensation of controlling the crowd, Jiho raised his microphone again.

**[Anyone here my age?! Twenty-one-year-olds, make some noise!]

An enormous roar answered him.

Seeing that, Ri Hyuk elegantly lifted his microphone.

[Twenty-two?]

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH—!"

Biju and Junghyun hurriedly raised theirs as well.

[Should we try too, Mr. Junghyun?]

**[Twenty-four-year-olds! Let's hear you!]

"WAAAAAAAHHHH!"

The response was noticeably smaller than before.

The younger members looked at me mischievously.

I immediately replied with a look that said absolutely not.

[I'm not doing it.]

[Awwww! Hyung has to do it too~!]

The underlings grabbed my sleeves.

Eventually I sighed and lifted the microphone.

[Twenty-six-year-olds! Make some noise~!]

"WAAAGH—!"

A handful of people on the field yelled desperately.

The crowd erupted with laughter.

I laughed too.

One of them happened to be nearby.

I crouched down to meet him at eye level.

He was a male student wearing glasses.

[Nice to meet you. We're friends.]

After chatting briefly, I learned he was a military veteran who had repeated the exam and returned to school.

This was his final semester.

I stood back up and swept a finger across the audience.

[This is strange. There can't possibly be this few twenty-six-year-olds here. There have to be more of you. You're just refusing to speak up. So let's try that again. Mid-twenties, make some noise~!]

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH—!"

The combined battle cry of the twenty-five, twenty-six, and twenty-seven-year-olds thundered through the venue.

After building up the energy, I lifted the microphone again.

[Nice. Looks like everyone's warmed up. Shall we introduce the next song? This one was released last year.]

Most of the students tilted their heads.

Then—

[It started climbing the charts again after the new year. I think you've figured it out by now. It's Coin!]

"!"

"!!"

Coin.

The song that had surged back into popularity thanks to the cryptocurrency boom.

[It's the kind of song that makes you wonder what a 1990s idol song would sound like if it were remade in the 2010s. Students Jiho's age probably won't really get it, but our mid-twenties audience should remember their childhood.]

I gave a cue to the staff.

[Shall we go? Twenty-six-year-olds, fighting! We're still young too!]

The twenty-six-year-olds carefully avoided eye contact.

The audience burst into laughter.

The intro to Coin began.

Clink—

Clack—

It sounded like coins dropping into an arcade machine.

The kind of music that made you expect a flashing INSERT COIN message to appear on a pixel-game screen.

The NewBlack members spun around together.

Then jumped.

A choreography straight out of the nineties began.

Their faces filled the giant screens.

Cute.

The same five men who had looked impossibly cool moments ago had transformed into bright, adorable idols.

♪ Gather round, gather round ♪

♪ Everyone together ♪

♪ Listen, listen ♪

♪ Hear the sound calling you ♪

Biju's fresh, soaring vocals filled the air.

As the members walked down the extended runway, the audience sang along.

♪ Feel it, feel it ♪

♪ The fever of this shining moment ♪

♪ That we're sharing together ♪

The five members joined hands and gently swayed them.

The hopeful, cheerful song spread across the stadium.

Thousands of audience members waved back like rippling waves.

The same smile appeared on every face.

♪ Take my, my coin ♪

♪ Now take my hand ♪

♪ Oh we, we are ready ♪

♪ It's time to begin ♪

NewBlack freely roamed the stage with soft, flowing choreography.

Students couldn't stop gasping.

"This is insane..."

"Wow..."

Just as a true craftsman never blames his tools, top-class singers transcended genre itself.

Moments ago they'd been performing rebellious punk rock in White Night.

Now they looked exactly like beloved national idols from the nineties.

This is healing.

The song somehow felt like a year-end stage performance.

A song telling everyone:

You've worked hard. Let's keep going together.

It was comforting.

More than one student silently decided to add Coin to their playlist on the way home.

[Should we keep this momentum going? The next song is one everybody knows.]

The drummer struck a lively rhythm.

Stage staff walked out carrying standing microphones.

At the same time, they handed something to the members.

"Hahahahaha!"

"That's so cute!"

All five members suddenly appeared wearing animal-ear headbands.

Jiho waved enthusiastically at the audience with red fox ears perched on his brown hair.

Ri Hyuk wore cat ears and shyly made tiny finger hearts.

Biju wore reindeer antlers.

Junghyun wore a bear hat.

The two draped arms over each other's shoulders while dancing to the beat.

And then—

The silver-haired leader put on rabbit ears.

That's it!

The audience screamed.

Standing before a microphone stand, Wooju began playing electric guitar.

Just like he'd done during Supernova Dodgeball, he launched into the iconic riff from Johnny B. Goode.

Then he grinned.

[It's time to return to your childhood for a little while. Are you ready?]

The audience roared.

Soon everyone was bouncing up and down while singing Uncle Bunny.

The screens showed college students in university jackets linking shoulders.

Children laughing.

Even the university president wearing rabbit ears and shining under the lights.

The crowd smiled.

They couldn't explain exactly why.

But they felt an overwhelming affection for the people on stage.

It was as if NewBlack were saying:

We're here to make you happy.

NewBlack had already become global superstars.

At their level, they could have simply appeared on stage looking cool and untouchable.

Instead, they were exactly the same NewBlack everyone knew.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH—!"

Soon even backup dancers wearing animal ears joined them.

Toy sunglasses appeared.

Wooju gleefully played guitar.

The members sang Uncle Bunny.

Then—

"Huh...?"

As the song ended, the melody naturally began to change.

"Wait..."

"OOOOOOHHHHHH!"

The students screamed.

Even those who didn't follow NewBlack's regular performances knew exactly what was happening.

Almost everyone had seen the Supernova Dodgeball clip.

Videos titled things like:

"NewBlack absolutely destroys at American dodgeball tournament lol"

had been everywhere.

The scene was unfolding exactly as they remembered.

"Wait, isn't this that thing?"

"The musical?"

"I think so! Like... that one...!"

Amid the excited murmurs, Like The Sun began.

Most people couldn't sing along because it was in English.

Yet the song somehow united everyone.

Even spectators watching from the back whispered among themselves.

"Wow. He looks exactly like his father."

"He really does."

Their faces weren't identical.

Yet as Wooju played guitar and sang Like The Sun, he looked astonishingly similar.

This isn't the important part.

Do the thing!

The audience turned on their phone flashlights and gently waved them.

Just like the people in the Supernova Dodgeball video.

The members laughed affectionately at the sight.

The leader's hand slowly moved across the guitar pick.

The performance came to an end.

"..."

"..."

The silver-haired man on stage brushed back his messy hair.

Around him stood four equally dazzling figures.

The audience's expressions had changed.

The rebellious punk-rock hit that dominated the first half of the year.

The nostalgic retro anthem that united everyone.

A globally beloved children's song.

A movie theme song currently taking the film industry by storm.

Their range is absolutely ridiculous.

As the five members drank water and caught their breath, people exchanged looks.

This is insane.

They'd thought they understood NewBlack.

Funny variety-show personalities.

Chart-topping songs.

They'd never paid much attention to the performances themselves.

But now—

"This is crazy. Seriously."

"It's... it's something. I don't even know how to explain it..."

Words failed them.

The members simply seemed to shine.

Not because of the lights.

The people themselves felt luminous.

Watching from the audience, Professor Kim Yuchan of Korea University laughed awkwardly.

My entire lecture was wrong.

He'd taught a class analyzing NewBlack's popularity.

Now he realized he'd completely misunderstood.

They converted people through the stage itself.

How could performances like these not become famous?

The reason they had gathered fans from all over the world wasn't complicated.

Great songs.

Great performances.

That was all.

While one professor reflected on this revelation, the professors who had spent the day with NewBlack quietly sighed in relief.

Good thing we made them do special lectures.

Had they actually tried to teach them something, they might have become a laughingstock.

Whew. Thank goodness I made Wooju teach composition.

Good thing I settled for a dance challenge.

So Junghyun isn't only good at planting seedlings after all...

After catching their breath, the members smiled at the audience.

[Did you enjoy the performance?]

"YEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSS—!"

[The next three songs are special individual stages. Originally we were only going to perform group songs, but it didn't feel right to leave these out. Especially since we have a certain very hot performer among us recently...]

The crowd immediately screamed when Wooju looked toward Ri Hyuk.

[We've got a King of Singers right here.]

[Ah, don't embarrass me like that.]

Despite his words, Ri Hyuk clearly loved the attention.

Everyone laughed.

[The next three songs will be our individual stages. Of course, the rest of us will still be on stage while each member performs.]

He turned toward Biju.

The main dancer nodded and raised his microphone.

[The next song is from WooBiz, our unit that debuted before Overcooked. Does everyone know it? It's called WAVE.]

Biju held out his microphone hopefully.

The audience immediately shouted back.

♪ Bada— Bada— ♪

♪ No one ♪

♪ Nobody at all ♪

♪ Can stop us ♪

The distant echo spread across the stadium.

The members looked at each other in shock.

What?

How do they know it?

Biju blinked.

[How do you know that? Did everyone prepare?]

About half the audience nodded.

Preparation wasn't the only reason.

The song had already become one of the hottest summer tracks of the year.

Normally, girl-group summer songs dominated.

This year, even they were struggling against WAVE.

Biju smiled.

[Then do you know the story behind this song?]

The audience laughed and nodded.

Wooju raised his microphone.

[It's the song we used for our rain ritual. People started saying it always rains whenever we perform it. That's why we considered banning it from outdoor events.]

[That's right.]

[But people would be disappointed if we didn't perform it. Besides, the idea that rain comes whenever a specific song is performed is just superstition.]

Ri Hyuk nodded.

[Correct. It's completely unscientific.]

[With that in mind, let's perform WAVE. All you have to do is relax and...]

Biju finished the sentence.

[Go with the flow.]

The audience cheered.

A refreshing summer melody filled the night air.

Powerful waves of choreography followed.

As music like crashing ocean surf thundered across the stadium, dancers flooded onto the stage.

The other members joined the backup choreography while WooBiz took center stage.

♪ Beneath the blazing sun ♪

♪ Heated ocean blue ♪

♪ Incredibly beautiful ♪

♪ This ocean view ♪

The audience listened to the refreshing vocals.

Something felt different.

Very different.

NewBlack as a group felt like a luxury brand packaged in an elegant black box.

WooBiz felt trendy.

Colorful.

Like vibrant toys scattered together.

Each member's individuality stood out more strongly.

Yet somehow it all fit perfectly.

"Interesting."

"So that's what a unit is."

Just as people were marveling at the difference—

[Everyone together!]

Every time WooBiz gestured, the audience instinctively created waves.

Exactly as promised.

When the stage ended, the band immediately transitioned into another song.

The crowd exploded.

Halley!

It's Halley!

Eyes widened everywhere.

It was the very song Ri Hyuk had recently performed in the King of Singers battle.

And what surprised people most wasn't the song.

So that's what his face looks like when he's genuinely happy.

Ri Hyuk was smiling.

Really smiling.

As drums thundered, he clapped above his head and encouraged the crowd.

He looked like he was having the time of his life.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH—!"

His voice shot through the sky like a comet.

The high notes that would have required ordinary people to scream came effortlessly.

After a performance that left everyone exhilarated—

[You've waited long enough. Korea University's agriculture department's greatest hope—Class of '18 Kim Junghyun's solo song.]

The crowd erupted in laughter.

Then VIBE began.

Released the previous year, it still remained in the Top 100.

One of the biggest reasons universities kept trying to book Junghyun.

I've wanted to hear this live!

No way...

Eyes closed, Junghyun began his smooth singing-rap.

The handsome potato instantly transformed into a devastatingly cool rapper.

The crowd stared.

♪ Up and down ♪

♪ Pressing and pressing again ♪

♪ That's how our conversations always went ♪

The sweet breakup song about a massage chair drifted through the stadium.

People who had experienced heartbreak found themselves unexpectedly relating.

As the solo stages continued, students realized something.

They're all completely different.

Individually, every member felt like a solo artist.

Even Jiho, who had become successful through acting.

Every single one of them felt capable of carrying an entire career alone.

[Did you enjoy our stages?]

The crowd answered with thunderous cheers.

Ri Hyuk smiled.

[There aren't many songs left now. We honestly had no idea which songs to choose because we have so many. So aside from the essential songs...]

He dramatically extended a hand toward the giant screen.

[We decided to let a completely fair roulette wheel decide.]

The audience laughed.

A cute roulette wheel appeared.

Then the smiles slowly faded.

Night Sea / Poem About Yesterday / Falling Blossoms / Goblin / Answer / Wind Flower / Hibernation / Empire...

A parade of masterpieces.

Every title was familiar.

Wooju added:

[For reference, we only included songs that reached number one on the charts.]

The audience could only laugh in disbelief.

Eventually the roulette selected Goblin and Hibernation.

After performing those, NewBlack launched into Nine.

The song that had paved the road to their current status as the strongest idol group in the industry.

When it ended—

[Only two songs remain. One of them is Overcooked. Before that, though...]

The members looked toward the side of the stage.

Someone was coming.

The president of Korea University walked up.

[The president will introduce our next song. Since we're nearing the end, something spectacular is about to happen. We thought it would be more fun if he introduced it.]

The bald president wiped his forehead and scalp with a handkerchief.

Everyone watched expectantly.

[Alright, President. Introduce the next song. Three, two, one~!]

President Sung Kiyong raised the microphone and pointed toward the sky.

As though announcing that everyone's tuition money was about to explode overhead.

[Here are our fireworks—!]

The intro to Fireworks, the song that had famously gone viral again in 2016, began playing.

The stage darkened.

"Hmm."

"Uh..."

Some students narrowed their eyes.

Tuition joke?

It's funny, but...

There was a subtle difference between students joking that their tuition money was exploding—

And authority figures joking about it.

People were just beginning to feel conflicted.

Then—

Instead of fireworks—

BZZZZZZZZZZ—

Something rose into the sky.

Huh? Drones?

Lights illuminated.

The drones formed words.

KOREA UNIVERSITY

Then the message changed.

WE LOVE YOU

The same spectacle people had seen during the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics unfolded above them.

Brilliant.

Beautiful.

Unforgettable.

The students stared at the colorful stars flowing through the sky like fireworks.

Then a voice spoke.

[Pretty, isn't it?]

The members smiled brightly.

[This is the show we prepared instead of fireworks.]

[Your tuition money is precious, after all.]

[CEO! Look! Your money is sparkling up there!]

The crowd burst into laughter.

As the intro to Fireworks continued, the members began sharing their closing remarks.

[The drone fireworks are beautiful, right?]

[Honestly, you're probably feeling the same way we are. It'd be a shame for this to end. You probably want to see more. Hear more.]

"YEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSS—!"

[Well, you'll have a chance~!]

Everyone immediately paid attention.

[Our finale concert will be held in Seoul in mid-October. Are there any Souffle here?]

[There's one over there!]

[Right? The mid-October finale concert...]

Then a nearby Souffle shouted something.

The members paused.

[Ah. The Olympic Stadium tickets are already sold out?]

[Ahhh...]

The members turned toward the audience with deeply sympathetic expressions.

[What a shame....]

[Guess you won't be able to see it, then~]

[Hehehe! Hahaha!]

...Without realizing it, the university students clenched their fists.