Chapter 825: Is This the Land of the New Black? (1)

Fishing man’s profit.

A four-character idiom meaning a third party scoops up the benefits without lifting a finger.

Honestly, isn’t that the perfect phrase for a situation like this?

NewBlack Ri Hyuk teaches in-flight safety rules.. Koriana Air “plans to apply it on all routes”

Junhyun and I stared into empty space while we scrolled through the posts going up online.

"Junhyun. What did we even work that hard for?"

"It feels so hollow."

"How come the ones who actually ran around on the broadcast don’t get any ads, but that annoying guy keeps getting them, one after another?"

"I feel kind of unsettled."

As Junhyun and I traded complaints like that, the maknae beside us spoke up.

"Team Manager said it, didn’t he? One of us is fine, but starting from two people, the ad rate jumps like crazy, so companies avoid it."

"......"

The cause of this tragically funny incident was simple: our ad price tag was ridiculously expensive.

Even individually, each member was on par with a decent top star, so personal ads were still manageable—but if two or more of us appeared together, I’d heard you basically needed telecom-company level money.

In other words, most ordinary companies couldn’t even approach it.

"Well, in the end, it’s just supply and demand in the market."

A pale, annoyingly smug face popped into view.

Because I hated how proud he looked, Junhyun and I both averted our eyes.

"Doesn’t it just mean the airline wanted my image that badly? A safety video promoted by Seori Hyuk, the icon of safety."

"......"

"Ah, I’m in such a good mood today. Why am I this happy?"

It was the main vocalist, acting cute and even doing little dance moves right in front of Junhyun and me.

Maybe it was funny, because Biju burst out laughing—and Junhyun and I snapped our heads toward him at the same time.

"Biju. Are you laughing right now?"

"Kim Biju, this is funny to you?"

"Why are you coming at me...."

It was right when we were taking it out on an innocent bystander.

Click.

With the sound of the door opening, A&R and the producing team staff filed into the meeting room one after another.

"Good morning...."

"Hello...."

They caught sight of my ominous expression and immediately started reading the room.

Whispers drifted over.

"Did we do something wrong?"

"Just say we’re sorry first."

I explained the situation to them—how Junhyun and I had run ourselves ragged on the variety show, but Ri Hyuk swooped in and got the ad as the fishing man’s profit.

Everyone cracked up.

After chatting with the composers about how fun yesterday’s variety show had been—

"Alright, then. We’ll begin the album production meeting."

As the staff opened their laptops and started taking notes, Assistant Manager Seo Pilgeun from A&R stepped up and began the presentation.

"Before we get into the album production meeting, we’ll first show you the trends and current situation in the music industry as analyzed by the A&R team."

A briefing on the market followed.

On the PPT screen, a screenshot of the top ranks on the Mango Chart appeared.

"First, on the charts, LuckyGirl’s ‘Bada Bing, Bada Boom,’ which they released last year to celebrate the New Year, has gone viral with a reverse climb and hit big. It’s currently sitting at number one, right? Below that, singer-songwriter Hong Saetbyeol’s new song and solo singer Han Taehyeon’s new song are standing out."

"The song’s good. Bada bing bada boom."

Bada Bing Bada Boom.

An English idiom that means achieving something easily.

As a new girl group, LuckyGirl’s new track was an extremely upbeat, bouncy song.

I’d heard it even took first place on a music show not long ago.

Smiling, I said,

"I thought it would rise from the moment it came out."

"Back when you told me to try to cast that composer, I was wondering what you saw in them, but then it shot right up the chart."

Unfortunately, we couldn’t recruit the composer.

TJ Entertainment had already signed them under contract.

The A&R team leader said,

"Ever since Chairman Park Taejun stepped down and CEO Han Yeongjun took over, TJ’s been vicious. It’s like they move fast—real fast."

"Yeah. This time, Han Taehyeon’s new song was picked really well too."

"I was seriously impressed."

It seemed TJ was moving in lockstep ever since Director Han Yeongjun—Taehyeon’s uncle—became CEO.

Team Manager Na Sangyun said,

"It feels like they’re sweeping up every decent composer in the industry... like they’re trying to catch up to us."

In terms of the number of composers they already had, TJ Entertainment was overwhelmingly ahead of us.

But since last year, Lemon Entertainment’s producing team had been racking up results all over the music scene, and we’d taken the advantage.

In other words, Lemon Entertainment was leading the trends in popular music.

Hearing that TJ was struggling to take that hegemony back, I nodded.

"That’s the current situation in the music industry."

Assistant Manager Seo Pilgeun continued the briefing.

"Next is the list of artists preparing for comebacks. Starting with solo singer Joanna in early February, SNH Entertainment’s Enoty, TJ Entertainment’s NYX, and others are preparing to return."

"Everything’s piled up in early February, huh?"

"They’re probably trying to avoid the Pyeongchang Olympics season, so they’re all aiming to come back before that."

"Ah."

Names like NYX—a girl group riding high after last year’s survival show—and the popular boy group Enoty stood out.

I was already looking forward to what kinds of songs they’d bring.

As the briefing continued, the part I’d been waiting for finally appeared.

Another Mango Chart screenshot.

[3rd] Kim Hajae - Even Tonight, Drunk Again

[4th] Jin Yunseo - Call Me

Two songs sitting at the very top across multiple charts.

Ballads: one about calling out to an ex-girlfriend while downing soju, the other about telling a boyfriend it’s over.

Those two songs were the reason I’d asked for analysis this time.

-Team Manager. What is this?

It was something Na Sangyun and I had found puzzling when we looked at the charts earlier.

-This is weird.

-It’s weird, isn’t it? One of these is a song from 2016, and the other came out early last year... I know them because I listened back then.

A reverse climb usually has a trigger.

In 2016, Fireworks climbed because of a hit variety show called Mister Producer, and LuckyGirl’s song blew up recently because a fancam went viral.

But for those songs, aside from some news about them becoming a small issue on social media, there didn’t seem to be any clear trigger.

Of course, there could’ve been something I didn’t know.

But the important part wasn’t the trigger.

-Team Manager. Is there some trend I’m missing?

-I don’t know.... I don’t know either.

The Mango Chart was a key indicator showing what the public was listening to right now.

Whether it fit my taste or not, if it was on the chart, it was worth analyzing.

Usually, when you listened, you could catch the points like, “Oh, this is why people like it,” but starting with those two tracks, there were several songs climbing the chart lately where I couldn’t understand the appeal.

As someone who made popular music, it bothered me a lot.

If I couldn’t figure out why the public liked it, that meant I had a problem as a composer.

"Actually, there’s been a lot of talk among insiders lately too."

The A&R team leader said.

"It’s not just us—everyone’s confused. They’re asking why songs from 2016 and 2017 are climbing now.... Some people say it’s viral marketing that’s hot these days."

"Can marketing alone do that?"

If you could buy a hit song with money, the charts would already be covered in new releases from the big four agencies.

The A&R team leader said,

"Marketing alone would be hard."

"Then what?"

"It’s just speculation between people in the industry, so it’s hard to say for sure... but it seems like they’re raising chart ranks through artificial means."

"Ah...."

At the suggestion that some kind of manipulation might be involved, I nodded.

"I knew it felt off."

"It’s not certain. There aren’t even rumors yet, and there’s no precedent, so.... I’ll look into this more in detail and come back."

"Okay."

It was still a relief.

It meant I hadn’t suddenly drifted away from the public’s tastes.

With that thought, I was about to move the meeting on—

when Jiho raised his hand.

"One more thing."

When we turned to him, the maknae said,

"After I heard Wooju hyung talking about it and searched, I kept seeing articles like this. They say songs rising like this lately look similar to Something."

"Really?"

"Look."

He tapped around on his phone and connected it to the TV screen to show us.

The ballads that heated up the winter music scene in 2018.. “A reverse-climb history starting with NewBlack’s Something”

As the composers narrowed their eyes, Jiho grinned.

"It feels like they’re trying to tie it to us and make it seem harmless. Later, antis might latch onto this and make an issue out of it. So I think we need to prepare for this part."

The staff nodded.

"Got it."

"I’ll coordinate with the TF team so we’re ready in case anything happens."

"Our Jiho grew up."

At that last line, laughter ran through the meeting room.

But everyone was also looking at Jiho with slightly surprised expressions.

Because the kid who always sat here going crunch crunch on snacks was talking about contingency planning.

Somehow, it made me feel proud—like I was watching a younger brother who’d grown up well.

"Alright."

Returning to the meeting, Assistant Manager Seo Pilgeun wrapped up the briefing.

"That concludes the briefing on the music industry situation. Do you have any other questions?"

"I do."

Biju raised his hand.

"What about the music scene in April, when we’ll be making our comeback?"

"Uh...."

Assistant Manager Seo Pilgeun scratched his cheek with a smile.

"There wasn’t anything to brief there... Originally, we heard big groups like Wonder Child and Blink were coming back in April."

"...And?"

"The moment word got out that you guys were coming out in April, every group switched to March or May."

"So it was there, and then it wasn’t."

At Junhyun’s summary, everyone burst out laughing.

Hearing that all our competitors had fled elsewhere, I felt awkward and rubbed my nose lightly—

and then we dove into the album production meeting in earnest.

"I sent you Baekya this time—did everyone listen to it?"

"Yes."

"How was it?"

The composers answered one by one.

"It’s a genre you don’t hear much anymore... but it really is insanely exciting."

"Honestly, you can’t know the chart situation. Whether a song succeeds or not, you only find out after it’s out. But this feels like it’ll last a while. Whether it ranks low or high."

"It was good."

When Kim Hyeongseop—the producing team’s youngest member in charge of exciting arrangements—said that, I brightened.

"Hyeongseop. You like it?"

"Yeah. It’s really solid."

"Good. From now on, you just have to arrange it really well."

"......?"

As Hyeongseop blinked, suddenly saddled with the track, and everyone laughed—

I asked the composers who’d been complimenting the song,

"How’s the B-side work going?"

"We’re working hard on it."

"...Is it too difficult?"

At my question, they only smiled.

These were our producers who were getting strong chart results, including Team Manager Na Sangyun, who co-composed Blue Moon.

They could’ve wanted to take it easy after becoming rich off royalties and bonuses—

but they stayed up every night, pouring themselves into our album work.

I felt grateful.

"Something I realized recently."

"What?"

I told Team Manager Na Sangyun,

"Work is important, but you also have to take care of your health and rest while you work."

"......"

"Why are you all looking at me like that?"

The producers started tilting their heads and examining me from different angles.

"Is that really Sun Wooju?"

"How did something like that come out of that ruthless mouth...."

"Rest? Reeeest? The Wooju ship rests?"

While the younger guys cracked up, my lips trembled.

"Anyway, that’s why I thought we should take care of our composers’ welfare."

"I know what it is."

A Sandgirl composer who’d joined after last year’s song camp spoke up.

"Is it a red ginseng gift set?!"

"No. Not red ginseng."

When I snapped my fingers, Junhyun turned off the lights and Ri Hyuk brought up the next PPT slide.

A guitar sound played, like something you’d hear at the start of SpongeBob—

and against a backdrop of Hawaiian palm trees, pretty letters popped up with a sparkle.

[2018 Hawaii Song Camp]

I said to the composers, who had widened their eyes in amazement,

"I’m going to book lodging at a resort with a view of Waikiki Beach. So you can rest and work at the same time."

"......!"

"And we’ll invite composers from other countries too, and hold a workshop."

What people who make music love most is a chance to level up.

At the news that they’d meet foreign composers, the producers’ eyes started glittering.

"I left the schedule with plenty of breathing room, so you can enjoy sightseeing too."

"Huuuh...."

Composer Yoo Ung asked,

"Are we really allowed to go? This isn’t some hidden camera prank, right?"

"Of course not. I personally proposed it to the CEO and got approval."

"Wooju....!"

The composers stared at me with moved expressions.

Then, as if it wasn’t over, I raised a finger.

"But there’s something you’ll like even more."

"Something better than this exists?"

"Yes."

At my gesture, Ri Hyuk flipped the PPT slide.

Ta da!

A fanfare blasted.

[2018 Hawaii Song Camp Key Notices]

Wooju Ship will not attend (Important) ☆☆☆☆☆

At the bolded line, the composers sprang to their feet.

"Hooray!"

"Freedom!"

They cheered among themselves, hugged each other, and voices rang out—

"Let’s go and have a blast!"

"Uwahahahaha!"

"Ah, I can’t wait!"

Was my absence better news than the Hawaii song camp itself?

The composers who’d been gazing at the Hawaii slide just a second ago like, “Oh wow...” were now hopping in place.

Among the members laughing, I was the only one who felt bitter.

"Ah, aren’t you guys a little too happy?"

"No."

Team Manager Na Sangyun, who was laughing so hard tears were in his eyes, said,

"I’m sad, that’s why."

"That is not the face of a sad person, Team Manager."

"If you’re too sad, you cry, that’s all. Ahahahahaha!"

"......"

Still, the effect of sending them to a Hawaii song camp seemed real.

The people who’d been pounding laptop keys with exhausted faces now looked energized, shouting hooray.

Honestly, it was nice to see.

Their eyes were full of motivation.

"Seriously...."

Suddenly looking like a loyal minister saving the nation, Team Manager Na Sangyun said with blazing eyes,

"I’ll do my absolute best and bring back the B-sides, Wooju."

"I’m looking forward to it."

Smiling at the composers as they steeled themselves—

Ri Hyuk’s song camp PPT wrapped up quickly, and the composers started heading out, laughing loudly.

"I’ll bring back the best songs, Wooju!"

"I’ll work hard and come back!"

As they left with fired-up faces, Biju said,

"I guess we don’t have to worry about this album."

"Yeah."

Stretching to loosen my stiff body, I smiled.

Album prep could end here for now.

"Should we head to practice?"

"Sure."

We met each other’s eyes with determined expressions too.

This month, a very important event was waiting for us.

Incheon International Airport.

[Welcome to the host country of the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics]

At the arrivals hall, Tourism Board helpers in hanbok welcomed foreign athletes, along with the Olympic mascot.

With the athletes’ village opening not long ago, national teams from around the world were arriving one by one.

There, a woman took a deep breath.

"Hoo-ah."

Suzy Clark, wearing a Great Britain national team uniform, closed her eyes and smiled faintly.

'Oppas. I’m here.'

A Souffle who’d wanted to come at least once had finally arrived in NewBlack’s homeland.

As other national team athletes laughed happily at bouquets handed out by the hanbok helpers—

a Korean broadcast camera approached her.

"How do you feel about coming to Korea?"

"Hoo."

Suzy smiled at the camera and said,

"So this is NewBlack’s country."

At her fangirl display, the reporters burst out laughing, and her teammates laughed too.

"She’s really intense."

"On the plane the whole way here, she talked about NewBlack. Saying Korea is NewBlack’s country and all that...."

The British national team athletes shook their heads.

'Seriously.'

She’d exaggerated so much.

Saying every Korean loved NewBlack, and that people turned highways into hell just to eat food NewBlack made.

'At the end of the day, isn’t it just a boy band?'

In the minds of the British athletes, boy bands were mostly like that.

They drove teenage girls crazy, but to the general public it was more like, “I hear those guys are hot these days.”

Suzy snapped her head around.

"No. I’m right. Koreans love NewBlack."

"Hah."

At Suzy’s talk about some universally beloved boy band, a teammate turned away.

'How is that even possible?'

A British athlete asked the hanbok helpers nearby.

"I have a question."

"Yes."

"Is NewBlack really that popular in Korea? Loved by all citizens...?"

"Um...."

The helpers’ eyes shifted.

Following their gaze, the British athletes turned their heads too.

'Huh?'

A variety of advertisements hanging all over the airport came into view.

NewBlack photos cheering as Pyeongchang Olympics ambassadors.

A NewBlack member shopping at a duty-free store.

A telecom ad promoting 5G, with a NewBlack member in a sports uniform.

The helpers stared at the NewBlack photos covering half the airport ads, then spoke.

"Not everyone likes NewBlack. But...."

"But?"

"I like them."

And then the testimonies continued.

"Not everyone likes them, but I like them."

"I like them too."

"I like them too."

Even the interpreter chimed in with, “I like them too.”

Suzy Clark said to her teammates,

"See? I told you."

"......"

The British athletes blinked as they stared at the NewBlack billboards.

'So ‘NewBlack’s country’ was real...?’

They were foreign athletes who still didn’t know much about Korea.