Chapter 1087: I am New Black, Class of ’18 (11)

Back in 2016, when we were struggling desperately to gain mainstream recognition, we ran a rather unusual promotion alongside our appearance on My Hometown Right Now.

- NewBlack is coming to you! Small Theater Tour!

It was the promotion cycle where we traveled all over the country with our title track, Winter Hibernation.

And the final stop of that tour had been Ulleungdo.

『 Ulleungdo Story Contest Winner — Special Performance for the Princess~! 』

When you're active long enough, there are certain fans who stay in your memory forever.

Princess Squid was one of them.

We had met a total of three times.

The first was when she was a high school student and we visited Ulleungdo for a special performance.

The second was at the Souffle Awards, where she won the prize for purchasing the most light sticks under the nickname Lighthouse Keeper.

And the third was right now.

[Would it be okay if we said hello for a moment?]

After the Princess gave her permission, we immediately introduced Princess Squid.

The crowd burst into hysterical laughter while her friends stared at her in amazement.

Meanwhile, the person herself looked strangely resigned to her fate.

[Then shall we invite the Princess up here for a moment?]

"YEEEEEES~!"

The Seoul National University students were thrilled, mostly because it wasn't happening to them.

While security escorted the Princess over, we lowered our microphones and called over the managers.

"Jongwan, could you bring that over?"

"Yep!"

A moment later, backstage, Princess Squid began putting on the items we handed her.

A magical-girl cape.

A mask.

Then the Princess finally made her grand entrance onto the stage.

They were props we'd prepared just in case we ever needed to bring audience members up.

"Princess! Have you been doing well?"

We gave her a quick hug, prompting another wave of cheers.

A sound halfway between laughter and spiritual enlightenment came from behind the mask.

"Oppas, I changed my nickname to Lighthouse Keeper though..."

"What are you talking about?"

Jiho shook his head.

"Once a Princess, always a Princess."

"Princess, this way."

We escorted her as if she were actual royalty.

When she started massaging her temples beneath the mask, the audience lost it.

[Everyone! This is Princess Squid!]

"WAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

[We were genuinely shocked. We first met her when she was still in high school. Are you a current student here?]

Before she could answer, we handed her a helium balloon.

A magical item capable of turning even the shyest person into the life of the party.

Fwoooooosh—!

The Princess tested it with an "Aaaaah~," causing the students to explode with laughter.

[Yes! I'm Princess Squid, Class of 2018, College of Social Sciences~!]

I heard Biju mutter under his breath.

"Whoa... Social Sciences..."

Just hearing the word "social" made our main dancer beam brightly.

Suppressing a laugh, I turned back to the Princess.

[Seoul National University. You must have studied really hard, Princess.]

[N-not that hard... but I did study a bit....]

[The reason we invited her up here is because she really is a special memory for us.]

As we talked about our memories from Ulleungdo, the students nodded in understanding.

She really was someone we were happy to see again.

And there was one thing we were especially curious about.

[Are you still a Souffle?]

[Yes!!]

The moment she declared she was still our fan, we couldn't help smiling.

Jiho's eyes sparkled.

[So what do you think? Are you enjoying the festival today?]

[Yes! I've been amazed the whole time! Like, "Wow, mainland people really know how to have fun!" Everything is so fascinating!]

The phrase mainland people sent everyone into laughter.

Growing more excited as she talked, the Princess asked,

[Can I say hi to my friends down there too?]

[Of course.]

[Guys!! I made it onto the stage!!!]

The people who appeared to be her friends immediately avoided eye contact.

We burst out laughing.

She really was our fan.

After a brief catch-up session—

[All right. We'll save the rest of the conversation for later. Princess, we'll see you again after the show.]

[Okay~!]

Princess Squid descended from the stage with her cape fluttering dramatically behind her.

Then I turned to the audience.

[Everyone, you're incredibly lucky today.]

The crowd tilted their heads.

[Meeting a fan like this has put us in an amazing mood. By any chance, are there any other Souffles here?!]

"YEEEEEEEEES!"

Souffles hidden throughout Seoul National University immediately started jumping up and down.

[Do you all want to come up on stage too~?]

"NO!!!!!!"

The immediate and passionate rejection made everyone burst into laughter.

We looked wounded.

[Come on. You didn't have to reject us that decisively.]

Shaking my head, I continued.

[Anyway, I just wanted to tell you how happy we are right now. We're in such a good mood that we're adding a song that wasn't originally on today's setlist.]

[The song is... Winter Hibernation, from the roulette selection!]

The crowd erupted.

Winter Hibernation was normally one of the songs selected through the roulette wheel segment.

We were giving it to them for free.

Naturally, we'd also used the conversation to increase audience engagement by talking about Seoul National University and asking questions.

But even then, some people might have complained.

What is this? They should talk about that stuff privately. Why are they using a university festival for their own social gathering?

However, once you offered compensation, opinions changed quickly.

As expected, people were reacting with:

Wow! We seriously hit the jackpot today!

And more importantly—

[All right! Shall we move on to the next song?]

We really were in a fantastic mood.

My fingers danced happily across the melody as Johnny B. Goode transitioned into Rabbit Uncle.

[Let's really have some fun today. Are you ready?]

The audience's joyous roar shook the stage.

It was truly a magical performance.

As a particularly energized NewBlack delivered one spectacular stage after another, Princess Squid was overwhelmed with emotion.

This is unbelievable...

At first glance, NewBlack didn't look all that different from back then.

Of course, Jiho—who used to seem tiny—had now grown enough to rival Junghyun and Wooju in height.

But overall, they looked much the same.

And yet...

They're completely different.

The NewBlack that had once performed in small theaters and the NewBlack standing here now felt like entirely different groups.

Compared to their third year after debut, they seemed far more relaxed.

The aura they projected onstage had grown deeper and richer.

You could tell they had accumulated an enormous amount of experience.

Even in that short span of time, they'd improved yet again.

Her gaze settled on the main vocalist swaying gently in the autumn breeze.

Did it pass by?

Or did I pass through it?

I can't even see my footprints anymore

Her favorite member sang so softly it was almost a whisper.

All around her, people murmured:

"That's insane..."

Then Wooju took over.

A low voice that nonetheless stretched forward with perfect clarity.

The road back has disappeared

And on this path where I wander

All I can see is snow

Was he always this good at singing...?

The two vocalists' harmonies intertwined beautifully over the gentle piano accompaniment.

Princess Squid's eyes grew red.

Hello, Princess! We're NewBlack!

The image of NewBlack from 2016 overlapped with the present.

The main vocalist softly closed his eyes.

When you awaken from this long sleep

Spring will be waiting for you

Just close your eyes and take my hand

We'll be there

A song promising that spring would come after a winter of wandering.

A song that wrapped you in warmth.

All five members raised their microphones together.

At the end of this road

Spring will be waiting for us

We'll be there

That winter.

The song she had heard as a high school student.

Now she was hearing it again as a university student.

Princess Squid's eyes turned red.

"..."

The tip of her nose stung.

She twisted her lips and stared into the distance before lowering her head.

While her classmates asked, "Are you crying?" Oh Heewon eventually looked up with an embarrassed expression.

For a brief moment, her eyes met those of the members onstage.

Maybe she was imagining it.

But it felt like they smiled at her.

...This is bad.

Princess Squid let out a helpless laugh.

The moment she watched today's performance, she realized something.

Her future had been mortgaged to these singers too.

After the Seoul National University performance ended and left everyone floating on a cloud of happiness, she visited backstage.

"Princess~~~!!!"

"Oh my! Our Princess made it big!!"

The members rushed over to fuss over her like doting relatives.

The staff burst out laughing.

It felt less like meeting celebrities and more like being harassed by overly affectionate older cousins.

While giving her a high-five, Jiho grinned.

"How's university? Got a boyfriend yet?"

"No."

"Did you hear that, hyungs? She doesn't!"

"Hehehehehehe!"

They're enjoying this way too much.

As she pouted at the sight of singers deriving happiness from a fan's misery, Junghyun cleared his throat.

"If there's someone you're interested in, we'll help set you up."

"If you guys get involved, even a potential relationship would probably disappear."

"..."

The singers silently stared at her.

The staff exploded with laughter.

After chatting and catching up for a while, Wooju extended his hand.

"Thank you for continuing to be our fan."

As she shook his hand and renewed her determination to continue fangirling faithfully, the members suddenly asked:

"Want to take some pictures?"

"Yes! I'd love to!"

After they finished taking selfies together, Wooju spoke in a serious tone.

"Princess."

"Hm?"

"Now that everyone in New Universe knows you're a Souffle..."

"That's true...?"

"That means you'll have to devote yourself exclusively to NewBlack from now on."

"..."

"Hehehehe. You can't escape anymore~ You'll be our fan forever~"

The members surrounded her in a circle.

"You can't go anywhere else~"

"You have to fangirl over us forever~"

"You have to support us~"

"And I'm adorable~"

They even promised to sing at her wedding someday.

Watching NewBlack joke around like that, she burst out laughing.

Earlier she'd thought her life had been mortgaged to fangirling.

Now she changed her mind.

So this is how they became successful...

They weren't just handsome celebrities.

They were clingy leeches who had absolutely no intention of ever letting their fans escape.

Around the same time, Souffle members everywhere were laughing hysterically.

[BREAKING NEWS) THE PRINCESS GOT INTO SEOUL NATIONAL UNIVERSITY]

As photos of Princess Squid wearing a mask onstage spread online, fans collectively lost their minds.

They couldn't see her face.

But everyone remembered the adorable high school girl from years ago.

ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Cute

Wow, the high school kid is already a university studentㅋㅋㅋ

The undisputed legendary celebrity fan of our fandomㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Greatest Souffle success story

Is this the Princess of Usan Kingdom, one of Souffle's Two Great Princesses alongside Princess Sophie of Stern?

Normally, special treatment toward a specific fan would cause controversy.

This time, hardly anyone complained.

...I'm not jealous of that.

Having your nickname permanently immortalized before the entire nation was something everyone wanted to avoid.

So many people with usernames destined for hell

Thank goodness hers is Princess Squid... Imagine if it was Park Gyuho's Girlfriend

WOW!!! PARK GYUHO'S GIRLFRIEND!!!

The next day: "Did you hear? That's Park Gyuho's Girlfriend over there."

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

This is why choosing usernames carefully is important

People began imagining their own usernames being exposed.

Then they started screaming.

Meanwhile, more and more videos from MyTube continued appearing.

Another legendary day, huh.

Souffles grinned as they watched fancams of Winter Hibernation and the rest of the performance.

Ri Hyuk's voice is a national treasure

Every NewBlack song feels designed to maximize each member's strengths

Downside: the songs are ridiculously difficultㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

According to the members, every time they think they've improved enough, Wooju brings them an even harder song

I saw today's performance liveㅠㅠㅠㅠ Winter Hibernation was genuinely incredible

The reactions were overwhelmingly positive.

Though every now and then something irritating appeared.

Like a post on an anonymous community.

[Isn't Princess Squid a rural-admissions student??]

(News photo about Ulleungdo's second-ever Seoul National University admit.jpg)

Looks like she got in through rural admissions??

Bragging on stage about studying is cringe lol

Souffles narrowed their eyes.

Maybe because the performance had been at a prestigious university, there seemed to be more trolls than usual.

[I wonder what NewBlack thought while looking at all the Seoul National students??]

Imagine seeing all those med students lol

Fortunately, almost nobody took the bait.

Probably nothingㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

What kind of thought are they supposed to haveㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Are you serious right now??

Wow, this one's genuineㅋㅋㅋ

Even Souffles were speechless.

They're amazing.

What was even more shocking was the number of people agreeing.

[Honestly it's kind of unfairㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

National #1 on the college entrance exam = doctor

National #1 idol = hundreds of millions

How is that fair??

True

Then become an idol tooㅋㅋㅋ

Not completely wrong thoughㅋㅋㅋ

Celebrities have it easy

Watching people argue endlessly in random corners of the internet, Souffles collectively shook their heads.

I don't want any part of that.

At least anti-fans reacted when you hit them.

People like this felt impossible to reason with.

So they returned to their usual anti-trolling duties.

Meanwhile, among Seoul National University students, an entirely different topic was trending.

[I don't know who Princess Squid is, but thank youㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ]

Thanks to you, we got a legendary performance.

Princessㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

Forbes' #1 Proud Alumni: Princess Squid

Queen Squid

NewBlack's energy today was absolutely insaneㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

The same conversations were happening offline.

"Who even is Princess Squid?"

"Here's a news article. Political Science, Class of 2018."

"Ohhh..."

And once the story started spreading, it spread quickly.

The next day—

Oh Heewon walked onto campus and quietly closed her eyes.

Her classmates buzzed around her like a swarm of flies.

"Princess! Good morning...!"

"The pride of our Political Science Department, Princess Squid of the Class of 2018...!"

"Squid! Squid!"

Please stop, you idiots...

Even people she didn't know were whispering:

"Oh my god! That's Princess Squid!"

As she endured the spectacle, her professor entered and checked the attendance sheet.

"Student Oh Heewon."

"Yes."

"Are you the Princess from yesterday?"

"...!"

The classroom exploded with laughter.

A high-school-era déjà vu flashed before her eyes.

Wow! It's the Princess!

Princess Squid!

The flames of determination blazed in her eyes.

For the next four years, she would once again be trapped inside a squid-shaped prison.

I'm going to get revenge...!

She had escaped the island.

Yet somehow, her daily life hadn't changed at all.

Princess Squid remained Princess Squid.

Following Korea University and Seoul National University, we performed at another festival through Wednesday.

That marked the end of Part One of the university festival special.

"The remaining festivals are in October."

I checked the schedule in my notebook.

Joint Festival of Three Universities in Gwangju

Korea National Open University Online Festival

Both were unique concepts. 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

And both would serve as the highlight of this university-festival special.

After reviewing the progress, I gathered my underlings.

"Good work, everyone."

"Yep."

"All right. Time to prepare for the concert."

"..."

Everyone swallowed their tears and resumed concert preparations.

Ri Hyuk spoke.

"The students prepared so much that we decided to visit every university, but..."

"Tired?"

"Yes."

"What can we do? It's the karma we brought upon ourselves."

Nobody had forced us to perform at seven different festivals.

We'd volunteered for our own suffering.

Fortunately, there wasn't much special preparation needed for the upcoming concerts.

The tour would continue as planned.

Most of the preparation involved stage talk.

"Tokyo Dome! We've arrived!!!"

"Tokyo Dome—"

We diligently practiced the Japanese lines from the script.

Maybe because we'd been focusing so much on English while expanding into America, our Japanese felt a little rusty.

Biju smiled.

"It's exciting though. Our first dome tour."

"Definitely."

We had performed at Osaka Dome before.

But this was our first actual dome tour.

Osaka.

Nagoya.

Fukuoka.

And Tokyo Dome.

The famous Four Dome Tour.

The ultimate proof that a K-pop artist had achieved tremendous success in Japan.

No, hyungs. The Five Dome Tour is the real deal. Hehehehe!

According to the handsome boys downstairs, you weren't truly elite until you'd filled Sapporo Dome as well.

It was probably TeenSpirit's pride talking.

They still had a slightly larger fanbase in Japan than we did.

"Hehehehe. Just wait..."

I smiled, determined to catch up soon.

While the staff and members prepared for Japan, I attended a separate schedule.

Not an official one.

A personal obligation.

One was a production meeting related to Hanbyeol's album.

And the other...

Click.

The studio door opened.

A nervous-looking high school student stepped inside.

Neat black hair.

A handsome, refined face.

Still wearing his school uniform, as if he'd come straight from class.

The moment he spotted me, he bowed.

"Hello, sunbae."

"Jihyuk, you're here?"

"Yes! I came right after school."

My eyes drifted to the unusually heavy backpack hanging from his shoulders.

"Are those... books in there?"

"Huh?"

"I was comparing you to someone."

I suddenly remembered our youngest member, who used to swing around an almost-empty backpack like a cape.

A nostalgic smile appeared on my face.

Whenever Ri Hyuk cleaned it out and turned it upside down, all sorts of crushed snack crumbs and wrinkled school notices would tumble out.

After indulging in the memory for a moment, I looked back at the trainee sitting stiffly before me.

"How have you been? Everything okay?"

"Yes, sir. Everyone's treated me really well, and I get along with the other trainees, so..."

He was the winner of the hip-hop survival show whom I'd recruited into our company during the Answer promotions earlier that year.

A few months had already passed since he'd joined.

I was planning to check how well he was fitting in and whether his composition studies were progressing.

Then—

"Hm?"

Jihyuk mentioned something unexpected.

"...A trainee battle?"

"Yes, sunbae."

Apparently the trainees at our company would soon be competing against trainees from another agency.

Something similar to the year-end evaluations we used to do before debut.

"Which company?"

"Sunbae, do you remember Hongju? The runner-up from Next Mission."

"Of course I do."

The DNS Media trainee Hanjo used to brag about as his junior.

Jihyuk nodded.

"We'll be facing the DNS trainees this time."

"...!"