Chapter 1191: Extremes (2)

The production staff had already known the doctor’s name, so they were fine.

We, on the other hand, ended up choking.

“Cough!”

“Ghk!”

The name was simply too perfect.

“Funny, isn’t it?”

Dr. Pang Gwiin stroked his chin with a satisfied smile.

Perhaps it was because his name matched his appearance so well, but for some reason, I pictured a penguin raising a flipper to groom its beak.

I waved my hands, my voice cracking.

“No, no. Something just went down the wrong way…”

“It’s all right. I deliberately paused for a beat because I wanted to make you laugh.”

“Um…”

Biju cautiously raised his hand.

“Is that really your legal name…?”

“Yes. My surname is Pang, from the Zhejiang Pang clan. Gwi means ‘precious,’ and in means ‘person,’ so my name means ‘noble person.’ Hahahaha.”

Dr. Pang Gwiin explained how he had gotten his name.

“My grandfather had it chosen at a naming center. Apparently, he insisted that my parents use it. He threatened not to leave me any inheritance unless they named me Gwiin.”

“Oh dear…”

“Thanks to that, I inherited a building.”

“Ahhh!”

We pointed the camera toward the doctor.

“All right, then. Please formally introduce yourself one more time, Doctor!”

“My name is Pang Gwiin, and I study penguin ecology at King Sejong Station. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Waaaaaaaaah!”

Jiho asked,

“Did your name also have something to do with why you started studying penguins?”

“Yes.”

The penguin doctor stroked his beak and smiled.

“As you may have guessed, my school years weren’t exactly smooth. Anyone who has ever been teased because of their name will understand… and in my case, even my surname was extremely uncommon…”

“Ah, yes.”

Without him needing to explain, all sorts of scenes unfolded inside my head.

“After being teased about my name for years, I eventually became stubborn. I started thinking, ‘What’s so bad about penguins?’ That was how I first became interested in them.”

“And that led you to become a scholar?”

“Yes. I completely fell in love with penguins. I’ll probably explain them in detail during the shoot, but penguins really are fascinating creatures. Along with primates, they’re among the rare animals that live while walking upright. Their calls are fascinating too…”

“Ah… I-I see.”

Now that the conversation had entered his field, the doctor was becoming visibly excited.

We calmed him down and brought up another topic.

“Speaking of which, you once left us a comment. It was on a video from five years ago, when we did a penguin event in Myeongdong shortly after our debut. Do you remember it?”

“Of course. I never forget anything related to penguins.”

The penguin doctor nodded.

“To be honest, at the time I merely thought it was interesting and moved on. I didn’t even know who NewBlack was.”

“When did you first become aware of us?”

“The following year, maybe…? I saw you on Masterpiece Corps and thought, ‘Wait a minute!’ Then, by the time I came to my senses, you had become such… enormous stars. So when I heard you were coming to Antarctica this time, I was delighted.”

“This feels incredible to us too.”

The doctor and we smiled at each other.

Fate was a strange thing.

Back when we first read that comment, could we ever have imagined that we would someday come all the way to Antarctica to film a variety show?

“Our station members are incredibly excited too. Chile is the last stop we pass through before entering the base, and even from there, I kept hearing people talk about NewBlack…”

As he spoke, the doctor glanced at his watch, as though suddenly remembering his role.

“Ah. I forgot that I’m supposed to be your guide. I’ll be responsible for leading you throughout this shoot.”

“Yes, sir.”

“First, the local staff will give you safety training and explain the equipment. After that, you’ll need to board the aircraft, but…”

We remembered what Producer Gu had told us.

“We heard the weather is bad right now.”

“It’s extremely bad. Even during summer, the winds near Antarctica are incredibly strong. I can’t promise when the plane will take off. The weather might clear tomorrow, or in the worst case, it could take a week.”

At first, I assumed the week-long delay was an exaggeration.

Judging from Producer Gu’s face, it was not.

Ri Hyuk swallowed.

“We might have to wait an entire week?”

“Yes. It’s unlikely to take that long, but if we’re unlucky, it’s possible.”

“…We’d practically have to film for one day and leave the next.”

“For now, we’ll have to wait for the forecast.”

I turned toward Junghyun.

“Put some effort into it, Kim Junghyun.”

“Yes.”

Everyone laughed as Junghyun clasped his hands and fervently prayed for clear weather.

No.

We stopped laughing.

“Hey, hey, hey! Hey!”

“You have to wish for the oppo—no, the opposite, hyung!”

“Right…!”

While Junghyun hurriedly revised his wish, Dr. Pang Gwiin observed us with fascination.

“Does that wish system work like email?”

“Excuse me?”

“Oh. I was wondering whether wishes can be revised in real time, or whether once they’ve been sent, they can’t be recalled, like an email.”

“…It’s just a superstition.”

“Ah-ha.”

The scientist, who had asked with genuine curiosity, smiled.

“In any case, I hope Junghyun’s wish works.”

“So do we.”

Junghyun’s wish did not work.

The weather forecast, which we checked constantly, neither worsened nor improved.

“Maybe it’s because we’re near Antarctica. Like a phone, Junghyun hyung needed to activate roaming, but he forgot to turn on wish roaming.”

“That makes sense.”

“The signal might be weak around Antarctica.”

Outside the hotel window, trees bent so violently that they looked ready to be swept away.

Punta Arenas was still some distance from Antarctica, yet the wind was already this fierce.

I could not even imagine what conditions were like on the continent itself.

There was probably a blizzard raging there.

While we unpacked at the hotel and recovered from the journey, we also met the local Chilean staff.

“Hola!”

They had come to explain our outdoor clothing and various pieces of safety equipment.

“My God. It really is NewBlack!”

“Wow.”

They taught us with sparkling eyes, and when we gave them signed CDs, they let out delighted screams.

We spent the rest of our break reviewing orientation materials that King Sejong Station had sent by email and taking care of our own preparations.

Everyone had some personal time.

Jiho was probably reading the script, while Ri Hyuk and Junghyun were likely resting.

Biju, who was sharing a room with me, sat upright at the table and watched something on his laptop.

“Hmm.”

“Are you watching audition videos?”

“Yes.”

The so-called Glacial Acetic Acid—no, VCS Crew.

Apparently, applicants had sent audition videos to Biju after he decided to recruit a dance team for Lemon Entertainment.

“How many are there in total?”

“About five hundred and thirty. Each one seems to be around two minutes.”

“Even watching them all is going to be work.”

“No. Watching them is fun. It’s just that everyone is so talented that it’s hard to eliminate anyone.”

Biju swept back his soft brown hair and drew his brows together.

According to our main dancer, applicants from countries all over the world had flooded in after hearing that he was forming a team to perform with us.

That was despite the condition that they would have to live in Korea.

“What are you going to do now, hyung?”

“I’m thinking.”

I was considering how best to use this spare time.

Part of me thought I could look through a college entrance exam study guide, since there was nothing else to do, but that was closer to a hobby than actual work.

I turned on my laptop and opened a blank Word document.

As the cursor blinked, I began typing.

[Goals for This Trip]

I thought through scenes that might work well in Chefs of Antarctica, along with possible roles and concepts for the guys and me, then added another item.

We were here to film a variety show, but we would not be filming twenty-four hours a day.

We were expected to have plenty of free time, so I planned to work on music as well.

In a way, that was even more important than the variety show.

It was our real job.

“The song…”

It was also the thing I had been putting off the longest.

Feeling someone watching me, I raised my head and found Biju looking in my direction.

“Are you worried about the song?”

“Yeah.”

“Where are you stuck, hyung?”

“Everywhere, really…”

The file open on my laptop was titled [Aurora].

It was a song I had begun writing while watching the aurora late one night in Alaska the previous year.

The concept was simple.

I perceived colors in music.

So what would happen if I turned colors into music?

[?—??]

Biju closed his eyes and murmured as he listened to the melody I had recorded at the time.

“Ah. It’s really good.”

“It is.”

I stopped the melody.

“The problem is that I haven’t managed to do anything with it since I wrote that part. It’s incredibly difficult to touch.”

Simply finishing the song would be easy.

Creating an intro that suited the chorus and writing a bridge would not be difficult.

The important part was deciding on the song’s concept and genre.

Biju said,

“It’s like an egg.”

“?”

“It reminds me of an ingredient. There are so many things you can make with eggs. You can fry one, steam it, make an omelet, or roll it up…”

“That’s exactly what it feels like.”

Biju’s analogy was perfect.

There were so many possibilities that choosing one had become the problem.

“Honestly, I feel like we’ve already tried nearly every concept we can.”

“Hmm…”

“Or have we?”

“What about the sexy concept we haven’t tried yet?”

“Hmm…”

I began imagining something, only for images of Jiho and Ri Hyuk rolling their abs to enter my mind.

I flinched.

My stomach turned.

“Ah. That’s indecent…”

Biju had said it, not me.

“…?”

“I pictured Kim Junghyun without a shirt.”

“Pfft!”

I burst out laughing at how merciless he was toward his same-age friend, even if he spared everyone else.

In any case, aside from the beastly sex appeal that second-generation senior groups had once done, it felt as though we had tried almost everything available to us.

After thinking for a long time, I said,

“Maybe this is why senior groups start worrying so much around their sixth year.”

Perhaps that was why so many groups suddenly returned with completely different concepts around their sixth or seventh year.

They had already tried everything worth trying, so they transformed their images in search of something new.

“Should we ask the Scarlet members later? The TNT seniors or TeenSpirit might be good too.”

“That’s not a bad idea.”

But we could not simply transform our image for the sake of novelty.

By now, the public had a firm idea of NewBlack’s identity and defining qualities.

I sighed.

“The problem is that maintaining what we have would be easy.”

“It would be easy if we just kept doing what we’ve always done.”

We could pick one of the genres we had already used and make our next song similar to it.

The public and the fans would like it.

The album would sell well.

It would perform well on the charts.

But…

For some reason, taking the safe path did not appeal to me.

“I want to try something new.”

“But we’ve already tried almost everything that could be called new.”

“…That’s the problem.”

“Hmm…”

“Hmmm…”

We put our heads together and groaned for a long time before bursting into laughter.

“Ah, I don’t know. Something will work out.”

It was a completely irresponsible thing to say, but the more pressure I put on myself, the more it felt as though even things that should work would fail.

I flopped onto the bed, and Biju immediately flopped down beside me in the same way.

While we stared blankly at the ceiling of the Chilean hotel room, Biju’s voice drifted into my ears.

“But, hyung. Strangely enough, I’m not really that worried.”

“Why?”

“Don’t you have a feeling that something will come out of this trip to Antarctica? Maybe it’s only me…”

“I feel it too.”

Biju was not the only one.

Whenever I became stuck, I had always found a breakthrough in a new place.

For some reason, I had a feeling that Antarctica would give us a clue for the next album.

Whoooooosh—

Still lying down, we raised our heads and looked outside.

Beyond the glass window.

It felt as though the land on the other side of that wind-lashed sea was waiting for us.

Whoooooooooosh!

A small tree finally toppled over in the wind.

“Or maybe… it’s telling us not to come?”

“…”

At around one in the morning, we greeted Dr. Pang Gwiin, who was smiling brightly.

“It seems Junghyun’s prayer worked. The departure time has been confirmed.”

“Really?!”

“Yes.”

“When are we leaving?”

“Three hours from now. You won’t have much time to sleep…”

“That’s more than enough.”

“…”

We told the blinking doctor that we would see him shortly, then caught a little sleep.

Around four in the morning, we headed to the airport to board the flight.

“Luggage! Does everyone have all their luggage?!”

“Check everything!”

Since the production team, including the producers, consisted of only seven people, we helped take over some staff duties and checked the luggage at the airport.

Despite it being four in the morning, the outside world looked strangely bright.

A plane stood on the runway.

“Wooooow. That’s the plane to Antarctica…”

As Jiho spoke with wonder, Dr. Pang Gwiin approached us in outdoor gear identical to ours.

“That’s right. It’s the aircraft used for flights to Antarctica.”

“Ah-ha.”

“By the way… there are a lot of people watching you.”

Dr. Pang Gwiin awkwardly looked around.

Everyone nearby, dressed in caps and outdoor clothing, was staring at us.

Most appeared to be European or American.

Some openly raised their phones to film us, while others cautiously waited for a chance to make eye contact.

“!”

The moment our eyes met, people wearing backpacks slowly approached.

“Hi!”

A group who appeared to be American came over and began asking us questions.

Why were we going to Antarctica?

Would we take pictures with them for their social media?

“Of course.”

Warm laughter filled the area as we put our arms around their shoulders or made peace signs in front of their phones.

Judging from the atmosphere, each of them seemed to be heading to an Antarctic station operated by their own country.

Perhaps it was the Antarctic setting, but they all gave off the energy of lively explorers.

“They say life is a series of adventures, but I never expected to meet NewBlack on the way to Antarctica. So you’re going there to cook?”

“Yes.”

“Damn. I’m jealous of the people at the Korean station. Ah, will that comment be cut? I absolutely love the food at my station!”

Someone then asked,

“Which Korean station? Jang Bogo or King Sejong?”

“King Sejong.”

“Oh, that’s close.”

We jokingly invited them.

“Come visit sometime.”

“Sure. We will.”

As we chatted, the display board blinked along with an announcement.

[Antarctica]

At last, it was time to head for Antarctica.

The wind raged across the airport in Punta Arenas.

Whoooooosh—

The wind blowing from Antarctica was cold.

Even through layers of clothing, the chill seemed to seep into the bones.

“Ugh!”

“It’s freezing!”

Researchers and support staff headed for their respective stations shivered as they boarded the aircraft.

The seats were unbearably uncomfortable, yet everyone’s face was bright with excitement.

What will everyone back at the station say when they hear about this?

The source of their excitement was the five-member group seated nearby.

Global superstars wearing thick blue outdoor jackets, breathing white clouds into the cold air.

They were already looking forward to telling their colleagues, lovers, and friends back home that they had seen NewBlack in person.

Then someone who had arrived late spotted NewBlack and widened his eyes before taking his seat.

“What? NewBlack… Why is NewBlack here?”

“They came to film a television show.”

A researcher beside him answered in English.

“They’re going to cook for the people at King Sejong Station on King George Island.”

“Ah.”

“They invited me to join them.”

“Really?”

At the man’s startled question, the researcher nodded.

He had neatly trimmed black hair and a beard, with distinctly Germanic features.

His expression was utterly serious, without the slightest hint of amusement.

He was the same man who had spoken with NewBlack a moment ago.

“Come visit sometime.”

“Sure. We will.”

The man nodded.

They invited me, so naturally I should go.

He was German.