Chapter 886: You’ve waited a long time, haven’t you? (15)

Sometimes, there are moments when things feel strange.

Almost unreal.

Like when we first debuted and heard our song playing in a convenience store or a department store.

I was feeling something similar again.

[Scarlet Pyongyang Performance – Not Fine]

I blinked as I watched Scarlet’s Pyongyang performance video uploaded on MyTube.

Seriously...

"My song made it all the way to Pyongyang."

On stage, Scarlet danced intensely, while the expressions of the North Korean audience—clearly experiencing cultural shock—stood in stark contrast.

Their faces seemed to say, Why is that woman dancing so angrily?

The younger members burst into laughter.

"Hahahahaha!"

"Hey! Don’t laugh."

Ara, who had been watching us from across the table, said,

"You wouldn’t be laughing if you performed there yourselves. We were dancing, and everyone just had blank expressions."

"They only clap at the end."

Still, judging by her expression, it seemed like they had enjoyed it.

Well, regardless of the reaction, performing in Pyongyang was bound to be memorable.

Ri Hyuk asked curiously,

"How was the sightseeing? Did you visit historical sites?"

"Just the city. They guided us around a bit."

As they spoke, our company seniors handed us gifts.

Scarlet’s main dancer, Rina, carried over a large frame.

"Here’s a gift."

"Junghyun."

On the sixth-floor artist lobby, Junghyun hammered a nail into the wall and hung the frame.

We all stood in front of it and admired it.

"Woooow..."

It was a special gift Scarlet had prepared for us.

A photo of NewBlack mini dolls sitting side by side on a bench, with a full view of the Taedong River behind them.

"A photographer took it. It turned out really well, right?"

"It’s beautiful."

It really was the perfect gift.

As everyone at Lemon Entertainment admired it—

Tilt—

The frame crooked to one side.

"Junghyun."

"Yes."

Junghyun adjusted it again.

"Woooow..."

And then—

Tilt—

It leaned again.

Junghyun looked at me with pleading eyes, like an elephant asking its keeper for help.

I stepped in.

"You just need to balance it properly."

"How?"

"Junghyun, look here. If you adjust the balance at this point—"

As I fixed the frame, the others clapped.

I smiled at the properly positioned frame.

Tilt—

It tilted again.

Almost as if it were mocking me.

"......"

"......"

Biju laughed awkwardly.

"Maybe we need professionals for this."

"Y-yeah..."

In the end, we decided to call someone to fix it later.

Even Scarlet tried, but nothing worked.

So we gave up and just chatted instead.

Talking about Pyongyang naengmyeon, what the people were like—

"Ah!"

Daisy suddenly remembered something.

"You know what? People in North Korea seemed to recognize you guys."

"Us?"

"When we said NewBlack, they acted like they knew... like they said they didn’t, but actually did."

"...?"

How would they even know us?

I’d heard stories about people secretly listening to Korean music, but hearing that they actually seemed to recognize us was surprising.

We just laughed.

Junghyun said,

"NewBlack comeback awaited even in North Korea."

"That’s right."

"Hyungs, let’s keep going until we hold a concert at Rungrado May Day Stadium."

At Jiho’s words, we all cheered.

"We can do it!"

"Let’s make this album a hit!"

Junghyun chuckled.

"This album really has a feeling..."

Right then—

Crash!

The frame fell from the wall.

Thankfully, only the glass was slightly cracked.

We all turned to Junghyun.

"......"

"......"

He spoke timidly.

"I..."

"Shh."

"No, but—"

"Shh!"

We all raised our fingers, silencing him.

Still...

...This comeback will be fine, right?

For some reason, I had a strange feeling that something unusual was about to happen.

April in the music industry.

Usually a time when spring songs are released and idol comebacks clash.

Especially after the Pyeongchang Olympics in February, March and April should have been extremely crowded.

But—

"This month feels... empty."

Idol fans blinked.

Normally, there would be constant news of comebacks.

But April was eerily quiet.

Like small fish disappearing before a giant shark appears.

"...It’s coming."

Fans swallowed nervously.

The reason artists rushed comebacks in early March—

NewBlack reveals comeback promotion schedule... Title track ‘Midnight Sun’

Even without controversy, the comment section had already surpassed 1,000 comments.

rooting for you

failed concert ticketingㅠㅠ

NewBlack fighting

something big is coming

so that’s why it’s quiet lol

Of course, big artists don’t always block others.

But—

"What kind of comeback article has 1300 comments?"

If a group with disaster-level influence was coming, it was better to avoid it.

And NewBlack’s real strength—

Their listeners weren’t just fans.

"NewBlack is coming back."

"Really? Korean song this time?"

Even casual listeners were excited.

Other idol fandoms stared blankly.

"Can we even win...?"

NewBlack felt like an unbeatable final boss.

National-level popularity.

Girl-group-level public appeal combined with boy-group fandom.

Billboard #1 artists.

But above all—

Their songs.

"What kind of song are they bringing this time..."

Their previous hits were still dominating charts.

Meanwhile, some fans were cheering them on.

"Beat the bots!"

"Humanity’s representative—NewBlack!"

Due to ongoing suspicions of chart manipulation.

Despite strong songs ranking high, doubts remained.

But without evidence, things passed.

So fans placed their hopes on NewBlack.

"Go crush them!"

"Us...?"

"You can do it!"

Millions of fans and casual listeners were expected to swarm the charts.

Amid all this attention—

Souffle’s reaction was... mixed.

They were happy.

But—

[This seat is already taken.]

"I clicked it first!"

[This seat is already taken.]

"NO I DID!"

Concert tickets were impossible to get.

Even with 140,000 seats—

Not one.

Competition had become insane.

Still—

"This is fun."

With casual fans joining, funny stories emerged.

Like the “Lee Seonja” rumor.

"Mom, who is Lee Seonja?"

"They say she takes all the tickets!"

Laughter erupted.

And then—

"It’s the comeback."

Souffle smiled.

Finally.

After a long time.

@thenewblack.official

(A GIF of Junghyun with tape over his mouth, waving)

"Did you wait long?"

Fans nodded tearfully.

it’s been so longㅠㅠ

I missed you

I’m so excited

Even though English songs had been released—

This was their first Korean comeback in a while.

Fans jumped with joy.

But then—

"Hey!"

Other fandoms started throwing metaphorical stones.

"Long time?!"

"We’ve had a 5-year hiatus!"

"You get content every month??"

Souffle read the list of their 2018 content.

"...Yeah, we deserve this."

Still—

They smiled.

"Success."

The comeback was approaching.

Schedules finalized.

Messages pouring in.

"Fighting."

Everyone supported us.

Biju said,

"It didn’t feel real before."

"Same."

But now—

It did.

We stood before a massive structure.

"Woah..."

Arm in arm, we looked up.

The Olympic Stadium.

A dream stage.

Even Ri Hyuk looked emotional.

"We really made it here."

We entered.

Our CEO greeted us.

"You’re here."

We walked through the venue.

"This place is huge."

The waiting room alone was massive.

After meeting the director, we reviewed the stage plans.

"About 1,200 staff will be involved."

"Wow..."

Then—

The CEO handed us something.

"Wear these."

Wigs.

To hide our hair before the comeback.

We put them on.

"Wow, this might actually work."

We laughed.

That day—

[NewBlack spotted at stadium – possible new hair]

Photos of us wearing middle-aged wigs were uploaded.

Souffle exploded.