Chapter 889: You’ve waited a long time, haven’t you? (18)

The next day.

At noon, my brothers and I refreshed the music charts.

“.......”

“.......”

As the daily chart updated, all the songs that had been at the top until yesterday were pushed out.

Filling those spots—

was our album.

Every track from the full album lined up through the Top 10.

A sight that should have been satisfying.

But our expressions were... complicated.

“Uh....”

What exactly was going on?

[Daily Chart]

Kim Hajae - Hangover

NewBlack - Midnight Sun

Our title track wasn’t #1.

Biju spoke.

“It’s been a while. Usually we hit #1 on the daily chart the next day after release.”

“Yeah.”

Well. #2 wasn’t bad.

#2 was still good.

It wasn’t like we owned #1 or had to take it every time.

But—

“This is really weird.”

Ri Hyuk said, watching the chart trends since yesterday.

“The sudden spike in users overnight... there are way too many suspicious points.”

“Yeah. It’s definitely strange.”

It had been #1 before our comeback at 6 PM yesterday, but after the album dropped, we completely pushed it down.

And yet—

it suddenly surged back at dawn and took #1.

How should I put it.

It felt like a rabbit watching a turtle riding a motorcycle in a race.

Jiho narrowed his eyes.

“This is 100% manipulated. These numbers could never happen naturally. It’s like Ri Hyuk suddenly beating Junghyun in a fight with pure strength.”

We laughed at the analogy.

Junghyun turned to me.

“Hyung, what do we do?”

“Hmm.”

I gestured.

“Let’s gather.”

“Yes.”

The 12th... or whatever number—

Anyway, we started a family meeting.

“Alright. Repeat after me. NewBlack is?”

“Family.”

“That’s right. We are family. Therefore, we will begin the family meeting.”

At my signal, the secretary raised the agenda.

“Agenda: the opponent who overtook our track through suspicious methods.”

“Let’s go through it one by one.”

I asked them.

“Is there anything we can do in this situation?”

“....”

There wasn’t.

Maybe we could coordinate with the company on a statement.

But personally, there was nothing.

“So. What should we do right now?”

“Nothing.”

“So?”

“Practice.”

Separating what you can and can’t control is great for mental health.

I told them—

“Seokhwan hyung and the TF team are already discussing it. We’ll join the meeting later.”

“Yes.”

“So for now?”

“Practice.”

I smiled as I successfully brainwashed my subordinates.

Mental management: success.

The brothers looked much more relaxed.

“We’ll go when the TF team calls us.”

“Yes.”

I stretched into a split—

when Junghyun raised his hand.

“Hyung.”

“Yeah?”

“There’s something we didn’t put on the agenda.”

“What is it?”

He pulled out the cake from the fridge.

“We didn’t buy a ‘#2 candle.’”

“....”

“We have to eat the cake without candles.”

“!”

So in the end—

we ate cake with sad faces.

Golden Entertainment.

A company currently dominating charts with ballad singers.

Singer-songwriter Jin Yunseo.

Ballad singer Kim Hajae.

Artists constantly suspected by idol fans of chart manipulation.

“So what if it’s manipulation?”

CEO Hong Taeseok smirked while reading comments.

Idol fans were cursing as usual.

“They act so righteous. Like they’re any different. Everyone’s dirty when it comes to charts.”

“Exactly, sir.”

His nephew chimed in.

“They call theirs ‘good streaming’ and ours ‘bad streaming.’ Ridiculous.”

“That’s right.”

“Anyway, it’s just noise online.”

They rationalized as usual.

‘Winning is all that matters.’

If fans wanted better results, they could just do the same.

Pretending to be righteous was stupid.

Winning by any means—that was capitalism.

And they were succeeding.

“This month’s financial statement.”

“Nice. Very nice.”

Full of revenue.

Events. Streaming profits.

‘Money is pouring in!’

That was the reason.

Chart #1 meant higher event fees.

More bookings.

“What about Hajae’s schedule?”

“This month is full. Next month is insane. University festivals everywhere.”

“Wow... look at this.”

May.

Festival season.

Children’s Day, Parents’ Day, university festivals.

Schedules packed.

“How are Yunseo and Hajae doing?”

“They’re demanding higher rankings. Asking why we can’t do more even after paying.”

“...Ungrateful.”

But this month—

they couldn’t touch the charts too obviously.

-NewBlack comeback, the strongest force returns

No one dared mess with NewBlack.

Touching them was like sticking your hand into a hornet’s nest.

‘We’ve managed well so far.’

The key was not crossing the line.

As long as you stayed within it, the public didn’t react much.

“Anyway, NewBlack is coming back—hm? What is it?”

His nephew froze, staring at his phone.

“Sir... this...”

The moment he saw the article—

his heart dropped.

-Ballad singer Kim Hajae takes suspicious #1... NewBlack #2

“W-what...?”

He grabbed a burner phone.

Called the broker.

“Because we didn’t pay, they did this?!”

“Not exactly... there was a miscommunication...”

“This is a disaster!”

“They didn’t expect this either.”

They hadn’t expected to beat NewBlack.

“...Should we stop now?”

“...Keep it going.”

Stopping now would be too obvious.

Dropping suddenly from #1 to outside Top 10?

That would be a confession.

“I’ll pay today. Tell them to inform me next time before pulling something like this.”

He threw the phone.

“These idiots... do they have no sense of reality? Do they even know who NewBlack is?”

Not just idols.

The biggest stars in Korea.

“Transfer the money now.”

“Yes, sir.”

“What about the media?”

“Say we don’t know. Deny everything. No comment.”

“Yes.”

“And threaten lawsuits for defamation.”

The nephew rushed out.

Alone, Hong Taeseok rubbed his cold hands.

‘It’s fine. Just survive a few days.’

That was enough.

‘Who would even care?’

NewBlack getting #2 for a day?

Not a big deal.

Or so he thought.

The next day.

The Souffle—

were on fire.

[The company that beat NewBlack is now #1]

Unbelievable.

-Damn

-This is insane

-They don’t even have basic sense

-I’m not even a fan but I’m pissed

-They really think idols are jokes

Everyone exploded.

‘They beat NewBlack?’

Impossible.

But—

-Official: Kim Hajae’s side “Honored to beat NewBlack”... no comment on manipulation

The Souffle smiled.

-#1?? Honored???

-Are they insane

-This company has no brains

-Calling it a rumor after manipulationㅋㅋㅋㅋ

They moved immediately.

Calls.

Posts.

SNS.

“War.”

They realized—

they had been too relaxed.

So they charged.

Streaming skyrocketed.

Reports flooded media.

Other fandoms joined.

‘This isn’t right.’

Like humans uniting against aliens.

Soon—

Golden Entertainment was under massive attack.

But—

“What? Can’t hear you.”

They pretended nothing was happening.

Waiting for it to die down.

And then—

Boom.

Something exploded from within.

“?”

Confusion.

And then—

a new force appeared.

So massive that idol fans looked small.

“...!”

“Regular people.”

The general public had joined.

Normally, the general public had a high tolerance.

They didn’t react to everything.

Even manipulation issues—

“Yeah, I heard about that.”

“Really?”

Mild reactions.

But—

“NewBlack got #2?”

“What’s #1?”

They looked into it.

And laughed.

“This is ridiculous.”

It wasn’t just because they liked NewBlack.

It was—

common sense.

-No awareness at all

-Do they think we’re idiots

-Even a kid wouldn’t believe this

-They don’t know moderation

If you’re going to cheat—

at least be subtle.

But this?

It crossed the line.

Anger exploded online.

Then—

-“Kim Hajae suffers from malicious comments... please refrain”

-“Legal action for defamation”

Golden Entertainment escalated.

Threats.

Lawsuits.

People being reported.

That’s when it escalated.

“Alright.”

The public changed strategy.

Calls to politicians.

Petitions.

Reports.

Data analysis posts.

Real pressure.

Because unlike fandoms—

the public shapes opinion.

And once public opinion moves—

everything moves.

Politicians.

Media.

Broadcasting.

And—

things started shifting rapidly.

Meeting room.

Our TF leader scratched his head.

“So...”

“So?”

“There’s nothing for us to do.”

“....”

He showed us the article.

[Comments: 12,789]

“Congratulations. Record-breaking comment count.”

“...Wow.”

People were already handling it.

The meeting shifted focus.

“Don’t mention it at the concert.”

“Okay.”

“And interviews...”

Preparing answers.

Ri Hyuk said—

“Looks like it’s resolving well.”

“Yeah.”

We thought—

it would pass.

Then—

“Hm?”

Seokhwan looked at his phone.

“Turn on the TV.”

“TV?”

I switched to KTN.

And—

[Police raid Golden Entertainment]

“....”

“Junghyun.”

“Yes?”

“Was this your ‘feeling’?”

“...Probably.”

Boxes of evidence being carried out.

We looked at each other.

‘This...’

‘...is getting big?’

It didn’t feel like the end.

It felt like the beginning.