Chapter 782: Question (3)

Life returned to normal.

Time flew as we prepared year-end stages and the Pyeongchang Olympics.

This year there was especially more to do because, unlike last year, we were appearing on HBS’s Gayo Awards.

— NewBlack’s Wooju to host the Gayo Awards

HBS is the broadcaster in charge of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

Apparently they liked the fact that I MC’d the G-100 Gwanghwamun concert, because HBS asked me to host this year’s year-end show.

“Hello. I’m NewBlack’s Wooju, and I’ll be your host for the 2017 HBS Gayo Awards, presented in hopes of a successful 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics!”

I practiced the script while the audience across from me raised their hands.

“My score is—seventy.”

“Your confident attitude rubs me the wrong way. Fifty points.”

“That’s my style. One hundred points.”

I ignored them stubbornly and hammered the lines into memory.

Junghyeon, who was playing the temporary partner role, read the other MC’s lines from the script and I practiced answering.

“By the way, who’s the MC you’re doing this with?”

“Eunseong.”

“If it were Kevin, that would be such a comedy combo. Military guys.”

“Hey, military guys?”

I laughed at the maknae’s joke but couldn’t argue.

Military guys.

The member who would perform the special stage with me and pair with me as MC this time was one of my juniors from the military.

— Wooju, do you have anyone you want as your partner?

When the producers asked me to recommend a co-MC as the main host, my mind started turning fast.

First, they had to be quick on the uptake.

Second, they needed sharp live instincts.

Third, they had to have variety sense.

Fourth, they had to be easy for me to boss around.

“...When I weighed all those conditions, none fit better than Eunseong.”

“So you’re making him your variety servant.”

“Pretty much.”

He actually seemed pleased.

— Wait, you recommended him? No way.

Even people who don’t usually watch music shows tune in to year-end music festivals at least once.

Being an MC on such a high-interest broadcast was a great opportunity for Eunseong too.

And it made me quietly proud as well.

“I’ve always wanted to MC a year-end show. You know that feeling when you have the TV on during year-end and senior singers are MCing in glamorous dresses or suits?”

“I know that feeling.”

“I was really jealous.”

I remembered being a TNT trainee and envying seniors who MC’d year-end shows every year.

Back then I was at home in shabby sweats, slurping kimchi jjigae off a spoon, while senior singers were dazzling on TV in suits and gowns.

Anyway, that was seven years ago, I think.

“Finally, wish granted.”

It wasn’t exactly how the younger me imagined it, but wish granted nonetheless.

“All right! Practice! Practice!”

“Give me one more minute. I think I’m going to die.”

“Ri Hyuk, I always tell you: people don’t die that easily.”

“Yeeah~ I’m not even human~”

While we prepared to wrap up 2017.

Outside, time moved fast too.

— Sun Myungju special documentary tops ratings across all generations; most viewers in 40–50 age group

News arrived that PBS’s special documentary spotlighting musician Sun Myungju, Part 2: The Great Legacy, had just set a three-year record for documentary ratings.

[Yesterday, an Arctic cold snap swept the country for the first time in twenty years. The Han River has frozen over due to the threatening cold...]

A historic cold front had hit, freezing the Han River and covering Seoul in blizzard snow.

As an unprecedentedly cold Christmas approached.

We also received the news we’d been waiting for all year.

“Guys! It’s out!”

“Is it?”

The maknae ran over to us with his phone.

“We’re number one again this year!”

“Ahh.”

It was the annual public poll—lists like “Artists Who Shone This Year.”

NewBlack was named Artist of the Year for 2017.

Our song Dokkaebi topped the song category.

Looking at those rankings made your chest swell for a whole day.

“Now it’s time to check that.”

Everyone nodded.

Determined looks flashed around.

[Variety Performer of the Year]

We expected to top the music categories.

That’s why we were eagerly awaiting the unpredictable variety category.

Junghyeon asked,

“What rank were we last year?”

“We were seventh, hyung.”

“Seventh.”

Since we were seventh last year, maybe our rank improved this year?

With that vague hope I clicked the PDF from the polling agency with the others.

“Let’s see.”

The chart listed from one to ten and NewBlack’s name filled the list.

But...

[Ninth. NewBlack]

We were stunned—our rank had dropped two slots from last year.

“Ninth?”

“Not seventh... we dropped two places.”

“Why...?”

It felt like the world had collapsed.

“...”

“...”

Silence settled in the practice room.

When a singer gets busy, managers get busy too.

It’s an unchanging truth.

“Ow. My back.”

Team leader Min-gi Seo, who manages NewBlack, rubbed his lower back plastered with pain patches as he walked.

Dowonseok asked,

“You okay, team leader?”

“My back hurts so much. Oof. Let’s go get a massage chair.”

“Yes.”

While the members were busy with year-end stages and lessons, the managers were swamped with work.

Concert documentary distribution and release issues.

Grammy Awards scheduling.

Promotion for the NetPlus drama Shin-yi.

Opening personal SNS accounts for members who became luxury brand ambassadors.

“It never ends.”

“Exactly.”

“How are the road managers doing? Seemed like everyone adapted.”

“They’re doing well. All of them.”

As the managers patted their shoulders and backs and headed for the massage chair room—

— sob, sniffle...

— sniff!

— huuuuuh.

Sounds like a ghost sobbing echoed.

“...”

The managers exchanged looks.

“Did only I hear that?”

“No, I heard it too.”

“...”

Their ears pricked up and they walked slowly toward the source of the sobbing.

‘The lounge?’

It was the lounge.

— sniff!

A sound like someone suppressing a sob burst out—sniff!

Who is it?

When they peeked into the lounge they blinked.

‘Our kids.’

The five handsome boys sat with red noses, sniffling.

“Sniff!”

“Wahhh!”

Jiho wiped his tears, Biju sniffled with a red nose and rummaged through something.

A massive pile of papers covered the floor.

NewBlack, buried in paper piles, sniffling—managers blinked.

“Did they see nasty comments...?”

The members tried to refrain from browsing the internet, but as national idols the hatred they could attract was beyond imagination.

That’s why Director Jo was expanding the company’s legal team under Director Cho’s leadership.

“What’s going on?”

As managers who must care for the artists tried to find out, a voice sounded from behind.

“You’re looking at variety proposals.”

“Wah!”

“Ah, you startled me.”

Their fearsome boss appeared with a face like a math ghost.

Min-gi asked,

“Variety proposals?”

“Yes.”

Yun Seokhwan, TF team leader, pointed at the members.

“They’re upset because of today’s Gallup rankings.”

“Ah, the Variety Performer list? They ranked ninth.”

“...It’s better not to talk about that in front of them. I don’t want to be roasted for saying it.”

Angry faces flashed in their heads.

— Ninth! They dropped two places!

— From seventh to ninth! That’s nearly a thirty-five percent drop! A stock would be suspended for trades at that level!

— It’s over. The world is over.

Yun Seokhwan rubbed his temples.

“You know how ambitious they are. If their rank drops even a little they can’t stand it.”

“That’s true.”

Isn’t that competitive nature why they’re at the top now?

“Anyway, they’re acting like the public abandoned them. Next year we have to get higher than seventh.”

“They’re saying the public abandoned them because they’re ninth...?”

“Do you get what’s in their heads?”

Isn’t it already remarkable that an idol group placed ninth in a list that ranks variety performers?

Something about the criteria felt off.

The subordinates blinked and cocked their heads; Yun Seokhwan rubbed the back of his neck and said,

“Let’s go get those massage chairs.”

“Yes.”

“If that gets out wrong we’ll hear complaints all day.”

The original three managers rushed off, ignoring the sniffles and sobbing sounds from behind.

They say there are five stages to accepting shocking news.

Denial.

“No way! The ranking is wrong!”

Anger.

“We don’t need this. Are we even variety performers? We’re singers. I don’t care about this ranking.”

Bargaining.

“We’ll do more variety from now on. Please raise our rank next year.”

Depression.

“The public must have abandoned us...?”

After passing through the shameful stages they couldn’t show others, we finally reached Acceptance.

“That makes some sense.”

“True.”

At first we denied reality with “Why!” but under our Pirarucu’s leadership we finished the analysis.

“Think about it—we did a lot of variety early in the year, but had almost no activity in the second half.”

Early in the year we did have variety.

We promoted Dokkaebi and performed a farewell stage on the older crowd’s favorite show Now My Hometown.

We made a short appearance in TBC’s popular variety Die and Travel for the Lunar New Year special in a contest format.

On the TBC show People Are Going, I played Street Boys’ manager and the “Director Juseo” character became a big hit.

“But that was January and February.”

Ri Hyuk clicked the laser pointer and a PPT slide appeared on the meeting room screen.

In red letters for emphasis:

[Variety appearances concentrated in early 2017!]

Ri Hyuk adjusted his glasses.

“And do you remember Now We Are? The escape-room concept? We did that romance fantasy escape.”

“Yes.”

“And that was it.”

We had esports events and MyTube channel activity, but no major variety presence.

Junghyeon raised his hand.

“But we had a reality show too.”

“We did have a reality show. But not every generation watches our reality.”

“Oh....”

“Our second-half activity focused on the 20–30 crowd.”

There! The cause analysis.

As the slide changed, emoticons depicting grandmothers and grandfathers made angry faces.

“The problem is the middle-aged and older viewers.”

“Ah!”

“In an aging Korea, middle-aged and older people make up a large share. In surveys across all generations, we’re naturally disadvantaged.”

“Right...”

“Actually, placing ninth was not bad at all.”

The thought that we might not have even made the top ten chilled us.

Ri Hyuk brushed his bangs back.

“We’re called a ‘national’ idol now. We get attention from all generations.”

“Yes.”

“But if we continue like this, can we really be a national idol?”

“No.”

Ri Hyuk clicked the pointer with a cold expression.

On the PPT, the word [national] in [national idol] flew off the screen as if whistling into the sky.

“No, my national title...!”

When I reached out,

Ri Hyuk said flatly,

“At this rate we’ll just be an ordinary idol, not a national idol.”

“!”

“!!”

Then he laid out a plan.

“Plan is as follows. Starting from the ranking period on January 1, 2018, we’ll resume variety appearances in earnest. America? If we’re not loved in Korea, what does American love mean?”

“That’s right.”

“And we must aim for variety shows that target all generations.”

We nodded.

The slide flipped and suggested candidate shows.

Mother, the Soup’s Too Salty

A show where daughters-in-law go live at their in-laws’ homes, popular with women over fifty.

Seojun Lives at the Mart

A childcare show where famous celebrities appear as guest parents.

Woof! Stare Blankly

An educational channel show about pets that has gained popularity.

“Let’s list mass-appeal shows... Okay, Wang Jiho, you.”

“Question!”

Jiho asked.

“Do we have to go on that again? Now We Are was really fun—escaping was great.”

“That one flopped.”

We turned and Seokhwan answered from the corner of the meeting room.

“After you guys appeared the reaction in the U.S. was strong.”

“Yes.”

“HBS execs suddenly shifted the plan to aim for the U.S., and it ended up neither here nor there.”

“....”

Also, variety trends changed a lot in just one year.

“What about Jusehan?”

“Same for Jusehan these days.”

As show formats shifted, Jusehan’s ratings were slipping too.

Word was that star PD Goo Jaeyoung might retire soon.

We hummed and stroked our chins.

“So.”

Min-gi raised his hand.

“Why did the big shareholders call us here? They said they had a proposal.”

“Yes.”

Ri Hyuk spoke for us.

“This PPT is to point out things to watch when fixing our future variety plans. But there is a separate agenda.”

“Agenda?”

“Yes. Generally, which generation is the hardest for boy groups to capture?”

The managers answered immediately.

“Middle-aged men?”

“Right.”

The first sketch to boost next year’s variety rank: target the hardest group—middle-aged men.

“So we want to appear on a show for our two laugh-makers. That show is—”

Ri Hyuk flipped the slide and our managers’ eyes widened.

IBC, a general programming network.

A commotion erupted in a small office in the variety department.

“What? What?”

A PD half shaved opened the door and rushed in, cream still on his face.

“Who said they’d come?”

“PD! NewBlack contacted us!”

“NewBlack!”

Writers told the stunned PD excitedly.

“Wooju and Junghyeon said they really want to be on our show! They said they’ve been enjoying our program!”

“Really?”

“No, that was lip service.”

The cynical writers shouted again.

“But anyway, they’ll be on our show!”

The PD grabbed his fists and bounced on the spot.

His hands trembled with uncontrollable excitement.

‘What luck...!’

Who was NewBlack?

They caused explosions ratings-wise wherever they appeared.

Not just their variety sense—they had an uncanny knack for picking hits.

— When Seori-hyuk picks an OST the drama becomes a hit!

— Wooju chose a sitcom script and that sitcom hit 30 percent in its finale!

— Jiho’s chosen dramas are never ordinary.

Of course it was NewBlack’s sharp analysis plus Junghyeon’s uncanny instinct, but to outsiders it looked like whatever NewBlack picked would explode.

“Is our turn in the sun finally coming? Is this our luck?”

“PD!”

“Heeheeaaahh!”

They hugged in the shabby office.

A writer with watery eyes asked,

“Should we let our regulars know Wooju and Junghyeon are coming?”

“No. That’s not the priority.”

The PD shook his head.

“Plan first. This is a NewBlack special.”

“Ah...”

“Start with an overseas location shoot and do everything we can. If NewBlack’s on it the higher ups will boost the budget.”

“Okay. It’s around January, so plenty of prep time...”

Producers began brainstorming excitedly.

Above their office hung a falling banner half detached, next to a blue marlin photo.

[Honey, I’m going fishing]

A show where celebrity anglers appear.

It was a newly launched program at IBC with cult popularity among middle-aged men.