Chapter 885: You’ve waited a long time, haven’t you? (14)

The next day.

We gathered in the company lounge where the cameras for Newniverse Project had been set up.

"Hello."

"Hi."

Producer Gu Jaeyoung sat on a floor cushion, warmly returning our greetings.

Judging by how bright the staff looked as they surrounded us, it seemed they had captured plenty of entertaining moments from yesterday’s test.

"Ah. I’m curious."

Jiho rubbed his hands together as he asked,

"How did it go? Did a lot of people pass?"

"I’m about to tell you now."

The assistant director clapped the slate with his hands, and filming officially began.

Producer Gu Jaeyoung skillfully took the lead.

"Everyone. The first guests for the driver’s license special have finally been confirmed!"

"Waaaaaah!"

"A total of 109 candidates took the friendship test consisting of the 20 questions you created, and out of them, 12 have passed."

It seemed they had selected three guests per member.

Jiho nodded.

"Three five twelve."

Huh?

Just as I was thinking something felt off—

Producer Gu Jaeyoung continued, drawing our attention.

"And the friendship test you created received a very enthusiastic response."

"Really?"

"Let’s take a look! First, these are the reviews for Wooju’s test."

Reviews began appearing on the screen shown by the staff.

They were responses written in a survey asking how the test was.

The very first line immediately caught my eye.

Sun Wooju, I won’t let you get away with this

The younger members burst into laughter, clapping.

I pointed at it and asked,

"No matter how I look at it, that’s Lee Hyeonjo. That’s Hanjo, right?"

"Since Newniverse guarantees anonymity, we cannot reveal real names."

That’s what they said, but some names were practically visible just from the sentences.

What prize do we get if we pass?? >ㅇ<

"Eunseong..."

"We cannot give a definite answer on behalf of Newniverse."

If I get a perfect score, collab with me ♡

"Our Han Taehyeon sunbae..."

"We also cannot give a definite answer to that."

"At this point, it’s basically a fingerprint."

The sentences were practically wriggling, begging to be recognized.

After reading through reviews left by my close friends and securing enough footage, the staff showed the score table.

Only the top three names were listed.

But the scores...

"Wow..."

"This is crazy. Three people got perfect scores on Wooju hyung’s test."

There were three people tied for first place with 100 points.

While the younger members looked on enviously, I scanned the list.

Taehyeon, who ranked first overall by even getting the bonus question right, followed by Hanjo.

And the remaining one...

Third place. Lee Gyeonwoo.

"Sunbae...?"

Someone I had never expected was in the lineup.

To think he knew me that well. A strange sense of closeness suddenly surged inside me.

And right below that.

Seeing the name ‘Jang**’ in fourth place, it seemed Hanbyeol had narrowly missed it.

Jiho spoke.

"Wow. Wooju hyung’s group is brutal. 98 points and still fourth place."

"Well. I failed at balancing the difficulty."

While Ri Hyuk chuckled, Producer Gu Jaeyoung said,

"These three are the successful candidates. Now, Wooju, you’ll inform them of their results by phone."

"I’m the one calling them?"

"Yes."

As I nodded and briefly made eye contact with the producer, a funny idea came to mind.

I scanned the list.

Among the 21 names, one person caught my eye—ranked 19th with 43 points.

19th place. Ha**

I immediately made the call.

After a few rings, a cheerful voice answered.

Nyeobtteyong~

"Eunseong!"

Yes!

"What are you doing, Eunseong?"

I’m filming a music video right now. APLB fighting! We love our CDs!

Realizing instantly that this was being broadcast, he started spouting promotional lines like a true variety pro, drawing laughter from all around.

"You took the Newniverse test yesterday, right? I’m calling to tell you the result."

As expected.

His voice was full of confidence.

I passed, right? I’ve been watching driving lesson videos since yesterday.

"Really?"

Yeah. I’ve even been researching how to scold people most efficiently. I’m going to return everything my sergeant did to me in the army! Hahaha! Get ready!

He even said he was practicing my now-trending phrase, "Please maintain your manners."

I laughed at how excited he was, assuming he had passed.

"Ha Eunseong."

Yes!

"You have failed."

...What?! Then why did you call me!

I smiled kindly.

"Because you’re special."

As expected... huh?

He started protesting in an aggrieved voice.

You don’t joke with people like that. You’re mean. °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° That’s why you rank lower than me in ‘most desirable boyfriend rankings,’ and so on.

None of it hit me at all, and the staff burst into laughter.

I won’t forget today. Sergeant. I’ll remember this humiliation, succeed, and definitely take revenge...!

Beep.

The call suddenly cut off.

Biju asked,

"Did you hang up?"

"No."

Tilting my head in confusion, I soon received a message.

I showed my phone.

"He says his battery died."

The staff burst into laughter again.

Having secured good variety footage right from the start with Eunseong, Producer Gu Jaeyoung gave me a thumbs-up.

Starting with teasing Eunseong, I then called the successful candidates.

I knew I’d be first.

Taehyeon sounded pleased, convinced he was first among the first.

But what was the actual answer to that sweet potato secretary question? I just guessed...

Hanjo questioned one of the test problems.

And then—

I... passed?

Even though he tried to sound confident in front of others, his flustered tone was obvious—the Hallyu star.

He laughed politely during the call, but as soon as it ended, a message came.

Lee Gyeonwoo [Can I ask who the other participants are..?]

Lee Gyeonwoo [I’m not in the passenger seat, right? As long as I’m not, I think I’ll be fine]

I glanced at the message and looked back at the score sheet.

I should probably call the others later too, just to check in.

I didn’t want anyone feeling left out.

Meanwhile—

The members’ test results were revealed one by one.

"Next is Biju’s test. A total of 22 participants took it."

Producer Gu Jaeyoung continued.

"Amazing—20 people got perfect scores!"

"Huh...?"

"It’s been said the difficulty was too easy. For example, questions like ‘Biju’s favorite person is Sun Wooju’ were considered too obvious."

Biju had lowered the difficulty out of concern.

In the end, with 20 people observing via video call, Biju selected participants through a lottery.

Cheers, tears, and laughter erupted everywhere.

"Next is Jiho!"

"Jiho’s acquaintances..."

Jiho’s lineup was quickly finalized.

Especially, the casting of his same-age friend, Teen Spirit’s Hahyun, brought big laughs.

Did I really pass?

"You passed!"

Waaaaaah!

"Waaaaaah!"

The two laughed brightly.

But I don’t have a license. Can I still go?

"You don’t?"

Nope.

"Then why did you take the test...?"

Because you told me to.

The exchange between the two fools who had once competed neck and neck in exam scores drew huge laughter.

Like Biju, Junghyun also had many successful candidates—but he selected them in a unique way.

"Please perform a three-line acrostic rap."

Junghyun’s team was selected through a rap battle.

Each time he placed the winner’s necklace, the room erupted in laughter.

Jiho regretted not doing something like that.

Finally, it was Ri Hyuk’s turn.

"Hm?"

Jiho asked,

"But something’s weird. We’ve already seen 12 people, and earlier you said 12 passed, right?"

That was true.

If 12 were selected, why did Ri Hyuk have none?

Our main vocalist asked,

"Why do I have no successful candidates?"

"The reason Ri Hyuk has no successful candidates."

Producer Gu Jaeyoung put on a serious expression. We did the same.

He slowly opened his mouth.

"That is..."

"......"

"There are no successful candidates."

"...?"

The test reviews immediately appeared on screen.

I refuse to appear lol

These questions aren’t humanly solvable..

Do I really need to know this much about Seo Ri Hyuk?

How am I supposed to know Pluto’s asteroid number

As comments from Ri Hyuk’s close friends appeared, everyone burst out laughing.

Then the score sheet appeared.

"50 points is the passing mark... but no one scored above 50. The difficulty was widely criticized. The questions were too obscure about Ri Hyuk or involved science-related topics."

"Hahahahaha!"

"This is a serious problem. At this rate, won’t he have to drive alone?"

At the mention of driving alone, Ri Hyuk looked intrigued.

I whispered,

"You’ll have to go out on the road alone."

"...!"

"Cars honking at you, not knowing where to go... cars rushing past... while the others are laughing with their friends, you’re sweating alone..."

"!"

That was enough to make Ri Hyuk panic.

The staff chuckled at his expression.

"But we can’t send a beginner driver onto the road alone, can we? So we’ll give Ri Hyuk a special opportunity."

"......"

"Among those who scored highest on Ri Hyuk’s test—how well does Ri Hyuk know them?"

The staff handed him a test.

Questions about his friend from SVO LB and other acquaintances were included.

[Q. LB’s stage name is the word ‘tree’ translated into English (O, X)]

Ri Hyuk clutched his head at the difficult questions.

The face that had been so excited when making the test now looked blank.

Like someone who fell into his own trap.

"Hahahahaha!"

We all burst into applause and laughter.

Newniverse Project was already off to a great start even before its official launch.

A repetitive daily life.

For variety show fans living their routines, good news arrived.

"Newniverse news!"

If The Divine had been like rain after drought for drama fans—

Then Newniverse was like a summer blockbuster for variety fans.

[Today’s revealed guest lineup on the Newniverse official account]

(Instagram capture.jpg)

A massive project featuring 15 guests.

From Hallyu star Lee Gyeonwoo to ballad singer Cha Woohyun, it was filled with rare variety appearances.

wtf

what are they doing with that lineup??

driving lessons

driving lessons with THAT lineup???? lol

looks like they’d gift cars, not learn driving lol

knowing Gu Jaeyoung, there’s definitely more

might be chaotic but they’ll handle it

insane

I’ll watch just to see what this is lol

Even just the names were generating buzz.

NewBlack’s TV variety show ‘Newniverse’ teases luxury guests from episode one

Newniverse—will the feast live up to expectations? Concerns despite lineup

First filming in April—“Gu Jaeyoung + NewBlack,” a dream combo

Souffle watched with admiration.

"It really feels like a different world."

Back in debut days, NewBlack barely appeared as guests.

Now they were launching their own show with top-tier guests.

It showed their power in the industry.

Even busy celebrities were making time to appear.

Fans of those celebrities were also excited.

omgㅠㅠㅠㅠ

Gyeonwoo on variety againㅠㅠ

already excited

finally SVO on varietyㅠㅠ

just seeing the lineup is funny lol

Watching other fandoms say, “Please take care of our fave,” Souffle smiled.

"This is great."

The show was already showing signs of success.

But more than anything—

They were waiting for something else.

"It’s about time for a comeback."

Just as they focused on album teasers—

"Hm?"

A video posted on the Newniverse official account suddenly went viral.

A poster like a college contest.

[Recruiting second-round participants for the driver’s license special]

[Souffle, you can be the main character too.]

Fans gasped.

"...No way...!"

The teaser video showed Ri Hyuk smiling coolly.

[Korea has always been a land of examinations.]

Subtitles followed.

[Answer questions about NewBlack and apply.]

A friendship test about NewBlack.

Fans checked the date.

"No! There’s not much time!"

Though it was limited to official fan members—

Even non-fans were joining, pretending interest.

To survive the fierce competition, fans began studying.

Of course—

"Why is my kid studying?"

"Is it because of the new semester?"

"Our child... studying...?"

Parents were simply emotional.

While preparations for our first solo variety show Newniverse Project progressed steadily—

We began filming for the full album jacket and music video.

"Hello, Wooju."

Manager Minsu, holding a camera, asked,

"What’s the concept of this album?"

"Villains from a comic."

I showed my outfit with accessories.

"It connects to our past concept Nine. Back then, we were weak delinquent teenagers."

"That’s right."

"As you can see, we’ve grown into proper societal villains."

We smiled mischievously, making the manager laugh.

Jiho asked,

"Isn’t it scary? We’re villains."

"Yes... very scary."

His forced response hurt us.

I touched my hair.

"I swore I wouldn’t bleach again... but I had to."

"Hyung, it looks really good."

"Thanks, Biju."

After four rounds of bleaching, I dyed it pink.

Bright pink.

It felt worth it.

Ri Hyuk nodded.

"It suits you. Looks like your best hair yet."

"Really?"

Now that got my attention.

I checked my reflection from different angles.

Everyone had colorful styling.

Junghyun joked his hair looked like a soccer field.

Then—

"Next scene! Ri Hyuk!"

"Yes."

We resumed filming.

Ri Hyuk, dressed like a mad scientist, sang in a lab set.

Everything was going smoothly.

That familiar feeling—when things just go right.

"Time flies."

It was already early April.

Spring had fully arrived.

The warm wind felt like a tailwind.

The variety show and album were progressing smoothly.

And Answer was still #1 on Billboard.

Online discussions were everywhere.

[Korea’s top girl group output]

Billboard #1 Cold Brown & Sun Wooju

I laughed at a clip of me dancing at a girl group encore stage.

Then—

"...I wonder how they’re doing."

A news article appeared.

-[Photo] Scarlet returns from North Korea performance, “We’re here for naengmyeon!”

I grew curious about our company’s “meat goddesses.”

Pyongyang, Okryugwan.

"Naengmyeon!"

"Naengmyeon!"

Scarlet cheered.

A server in traditional attire brought out Pyongyang cold noodles.

Daisy teared up.

"Unnie... today is the best day of my life."

"Agreed."

"It’s as exciting as cockles from Beolgyo..."

Nearby Serenity members laughed.

"Is it good?"

"Yes... it’s amazing..."

Seeing them eat, the server smiled warmly.

"It warms my heart."

Then Ara spoke.

"Excuse me... can we take this to go?"

Due to regulations, it wasn’t possible.

The server asked,

"You must be very close to them."

"Yes. NewBlack—"

"Ah..."

"You know them?"

"I do not know such men."

The server suddenly turned cold and walked away.

"...Wait."

"We never said they were men...?"

The Scarlet members exchanged looks.

"...Huh?"

Something about NewBlack’s recognition status seemed... strange.