Chapter 868: Answer (21)

As the video continued, the audience’s laughter only grew louder.

A girl group dance.

A rapper who valued swagger above all else in the world was dancing in a playful, cutesy way.

“My god. This is a nightmare.”

Cold muttered, covering his eyes with the back of his hand.

“This has to be a nightmare. Sunny, could you wake me up in a bit? I think I’m dreaming.”

“It’s reality.”

“Damn it.”

As the video ended and laughter filled the studio—

The talk show host, Larry Gordon, adjusted his glasses with a sly grin.

“Cold. I had no idea you were such a good dancer. You could debut with those ladies, you know?”

“I thought that wasn’t going to be broadcast....”

Cold’s gaze drooped under the audience’s laughter.

He pretended to sulk, but he didn’t actually seem that upset.

Rather, as if seeing it as an opportunity to win over the audience, Cold pointed playfully.

“Guys! My career is about to end and you’re laughing?”

“Hahahaha!”

“I’m going to take Sunny with me, grab a chainsaw, and visit MyTube headquarters to delete that video.”

It was exactly the kind of humorous response Americans loved.

I asked,

“Am I going too?”

“Of course! This happened because of you.”

“You were the one who asked me to teach you the dance. It’s in the video....”

As we bickered and filled the broadcast time, the host raised both hands.

“Alright, alright. You two can save the honeymoon for later.”

The audience burst into laughter.

Clearly pleased with the reaction, the host smiled and looked at us.

“Cold. I have good news and bad news regarding your ‘sexy’ dance. Which would you like to hear first?”

As the host made air quotes around “sexy,” Cold covered his face with both hands and spoke timidly.

“The good news...?”

“First, the good news is that the encore fancam only has a few million views.”

A few million views sounded enormous—but for Cold and me, it was relatively small.

We both had plenty of videos with over a hundred million views.

I chuckled and nudged his side.

“See? It’s not that serious, Cold.”

“Phew.”

Cold Brown let out a sigh of relief—

Then the host grinned.

“The bad news... well, good news for us—is that your dance has gone viral.”

“......”

“Let’s take a look.”

TikTok videos imitating Cold Brown.

Clips of his dance spreading on Reddit.

Memes with captions plastered over photos of him dancing a girl group routine.

Even on MyTube, edited clips focusing only on his dance had already surpassed ten million views.

“......”

The audience burst into laughter at Cold’s resentful look toward me.

I raised my hand and asked the audience,

“Anyone want to see Cold dance again?”

“Hey!”

“Sorry, Cold. But this is a great promotional opportunity. A step closer to the Grammys....”

The moment the word “Grammys” came out—

Cold jumped up and started dancing the NYX choreography.

I immediately joined him, and the audience erupted in delighted laughter.

‘That’s good teaser material—edit it well.’

‘We love you, Sunny.’

I exchanged smiles with the producers behind the camera, who gave me thumbs up.

Like any show, American talk shows also had preview clips.

They usually released a highlight in advance to draw attention.

“Hm?”

An office worker typing on a laptop in a café, a college student scrolling on a phone in a stalled bus, students tapping their phones at school—

People all across the U.S. noticed a clip trending on social media and MyTube.

‘A Larry Gordon Show clip?’

It was a 30-second teaser.

Cold Brown, who had been teased through memes, suddenly started dancing at the word “Grammys,” and Wooju joined him.

—lol

—Oh Larry... you’re not in a position to laugh. We remember your dance too

—I was just watching a guy wrestling a goat and now I’m watching Cold and Sun dance. Thanks MyTube algorithm

—Grammys if you see this please give Cold an award

—I’ve been listening to Answer lately and it’s honestly a masterpiece. They deserve it

—Wait is his name Wooju or Sun?

—As a Souffle, this combo makes my heart race

The comments poured in rapidly.

Normally, the comment section would be filled with Souffle fans—but now general viewers were flooding in too.

Of course, Cold Brown was already a hugely recognizable star in the U.S.

But that wasn’t the only reason.

Answer had exploded among the general public.

“Have you heard Cold Brown’s new song?”

“It’s good.”

“NewBlack? He collaborated with them, right?”

No matter what platform you opened—

The track sat at No. 1.

Not just in the U.S., but also in Canada and the U.K.

There were several reasons.

“This track feels classic. Probably because of the jazz elements.”

Hip-hop listeners loved the mix of jazz and hip-hop.

Addictive melodies. Rhythmic verses.

And naturally, they began searching for similar songs—

[Question] Cold Brown and Wooju’s ‘Answer’ is insane. Anyone know similar tracks?

But nothing quite matched it.

Jazz hip-hop existed—but nothing this accessible and addictive.

It felt irreplaceable.

And so listeners kept replaying it.

And—

“This is nice.”

“It’s not noisy. I like it.”

The clean lyrics also appealed to the general public.

Even older listeners who usually disliked hip-hop found themselves humming along on their commute.

On top of that, the runtime—2 minutes and 55 seconds—was perfect for streaming.

Short enough to replay endlessly.

It was, quite literally, a song that had taken over the American music scene in early 2018.

Because of that—

Major record labels were holding constant meetings.

“Cold Brown and Wooju are under the same label, right?”

“Yes. World Record.”

“They picked the perfect timing... Everyone was waiting to take this empty slot.”

Even though it was already March, the 2018 music scene had been relatively quiet.

Last year’s mega hits still dominated the charts.

It was what listeners called a “dry period.”

Meaning—

Even a moderate hit could become a mega hit.

Everyone had been preparing projects behind the scenes.

But now—

Everything was thrown into chaos.

Because Cold Brown and Wooju had released a true mega hit.

“We can’t beat this... Even in a competitive season, this would’ve hit No. 1.”

Everyone agreed.

‘Billboard No. 1 is guaranteed.’

Cold Brown’s mainstream appeal.

NewBlack’s powerful Souffle fandom.

Either one alone could reach No. 1.

Together—it was a nightmare for competitors.

The only question was—

‘How long will it stay at No. 1?’

Predictions came in.

“At this rate, at least two months. Possibly three or four.”

“It might even take the No. 1 spot for the entire year.”

“With hip-hop’s replay value...”

Everyone predicted a multi-month reign.

Record label executives held their heads.

“Damn it.”

“When do we release our artists’ music?”

“After this ends, Cold Brown’s full album will drop—and NewBlack will release something too.”

NewBlack was now a serious chart threat.

They had already proven their power with METRO.

“Spotify records are being broken.”

“If the music video had dropped, it would’ve hit 100 million views within a week—probably heading for 200 million.”

“Their fandom is insane....”

Executives shook their heads.

‘I’ve never seen anything like this.’

Boy band fans had always been passionate.

But not like this.

“They grew massively after METRO. At this rate, who knows what they’ll become in a few years....”

“And Wooju’s image has completely changed with Answer.”

Through his collaboration with Cold Brown—

Wooju had successfully established himself in the public eye.

Not just as an idol—

But as an artist.

—A performer on the Olympic stage.

—A composer who released Answer with Cold Brown.

A rare figure in a boy band.

And so, a thought emerged—

—What if Wooju wins a Grammy with Cold Brown?

Grammys had never favored boy bands.

But—

What if a boy band had a Grammy-winning singer-songwriter?

It was still unlikely.

But no longer impossible.

“This is scary... even if it wasn’t intentional.”

“They’re growing insanely fast.”

“Well... it’s not all bad.”

After calculations—

The labels reached a conclusion.

‘Stay friendly.’

Better to collaborate than compete.

Thus—

The industry landscape began to shift.

Meanwhile—

The people feeling the biggest change were Koreans in the U.S.

“Huh?”

“What...?”

Korean students blinked.

Football players humming Answer.

Wooju’s voice leaking from dorm rooms.

The song playing in cafeterias.

‘Here too... and there too....’

Just like when Something exploded in Korea—

Answer was exploding in America.

Souffle fans typed rapidly.

[Living in the U.S. and Answer is HUGE]

It’s literally everywhere;;

But—

—No proof

—Here we go again lol

—I’m American and I’ve never heard it

—Maybe it’s just Cold Brown’s popularity

—??? Wooju wrote the song

—It’s just hip-hop, relax

The backlash flooded in.

‘It’s real though!’

But Souffle fans only smirked.

‘At this rate...’

The results would speak for themselves.

Soon enough.

“Damn.”

“......”

“Damn....”

Cold stared at his phone, muttering repeatedly.

“Sunny... this can’t be deleted, right?”

“You could ask PBS to take it down. But what’s already spread... can’t be stopped.”

“Damn internet....”

I laughed and looked out the window.

California’s scenery passed by.

A warm spring breeze drifted in.

“First time in Pasadena.”

“It’s a quiet place, but nice. Ever heard of The Big Bang Theory? It’s set here.”

“Oh.”

Not that I knew much.

Ri Hyuk had texted me: ‘Caltech is there.’

Our destination—

Pasadena Convention Center.

“Excited?”

“Same as always.”

“I heard your fans don’t get along with that show.”

“Yeah.”

Honestly, neither did we.

But—

“It’s live.”

No editing tricks.

Just a 3-minute performance.

As we approached—

“...Huh?”

“Why is there a red carpet?”

Cold frowned.

“That’s not something the station would prepare....”

Then—

A massive crowd came into view.

Hundreds—maybe thousands.

“...Those are your fans.”

“...Looks like it.”

A red carpet lined with Souffle fans.

The car door opened.

Our eyes met.

‘Oppa.’

‘Souffle.’

A silent exchange.

‘Walk this path.’

Like a king arriving.

Cheers erupted.

But what I saw—

Were flowers being thrown toward me.

“So devoted....”

American pasqueflowers—my favorite—

Filled my vision beautifully.