Chapter 913: We are, well... uh... henchmen. (3)

At the same time.

Online spaces across the United States were buzzing.

[Met Gala 2018 Red Carpet: Collection of All Celebrity Photos]

[2018 Met Gala Photos: Red Carpet Gallery]

[Check Out All the Looks from the Met Gala Right Now!]

The ultimate stage where attention-seekers showed off their peak attention-seeking power.

Every time a photo was uploaded, the internet shook.

—Missy Jones’ outfit this year is seriously iconic

—Lately the Met Gala fashion code has felt a bit cliché, but the attendees really nailed the theme

—Why is no one talking about Bella Page’s outfit? It’s amazing (crying emoji)

—I think Lea made an incredible choice this time. You can really see her thoughts on democracy

Amid countless comments—

A fierce debate had already begun over who the best dressed was.

“Hmm?”

Someone reposted a photo on social media, and the public opinion instantly settled.

@Souffle

(Sun Wooju photo.jpg)

There is a king in America. And he is Korean!!!

Everyone stared at the photo with their mouths wide open.

No—

It wasn’t just the photo.

“Wow...”

Americans swallowed hard as they watched the GIF clip.

An unparalleled beauty.

A figure capable of captivating the entire world stood in pure white Eastern royal attire.

And then—

The clothes began to change color.

Gasps erupted.

—Best dressed confirmed

—Top two this year are definitely Missy Jones and Sunny

—Honestly, when he was wrapped in that black cloth earlier I thought it was some joke; like the astronaut performance at the VMA. But this? This really captures the spirit of the Met Gala

—With a face like that, I’d sell my company’s secrets

It wasn’t just because the fabric changed color.

It felt like the Met Gala.

It was fashion with artistic meaning.

As the blank white filled with color—

People felt a message.

—A ruler’s dignity does not exist alone.

Just as color appeared only under sunlight—

A sovereign cannot exist without others.

It was as if the outfit was saying that.

“Wow...”

“That outfit is insane...”

While everyone stared at the GIF in a trance—

The other NewBlack members who entered afterward also received high praise.

“That’s actually really fun styling.”

Ri Hyuk wore a crown reminiscent of a Silla king.

Junghyun wore eco-friendly fashion like a druid king.

Jiho appeared in a decorated uniform filled with ornaments.

Biju’s long sleeves created trailing motion like he was dancing.

Their leader’s impact was overwhelming, but all of them were impressive.

While the general public praised them—

Souffle, their fandom, was practically vibrating with excitement.

—I have an exam tomorrow, but seeing NewBlack live was worth it

—Twitter must have a character limit so we don’t write essays about their beauty

—I’m learning Korean to marry Jiho

—It’s okay Jiho isn’t that good at Korean either

—God must have tested faces with a 6 billion prototype before making Wooju

Of course—

Where there are fans, there are haters.

@JimCharles

(Sun Wooju Met Gala photo.jpg)

Honestly this isn’t a coincidence. Men are being feminized more and more.

Bring back masculine men.

But Souffle didn’t even need to respond.

“Oh.”

“He’s getting destroyed.”

Other netizens were already tearing it apart.

As the tweet spread—

Minority communities joined in, and backlash exploded.

When a famous drag queen posted a rebuttal that went viral—

Souffle awkwardly laughed.

‘He definitely didn’t think that deeply about it.’

Knowing Sun Wooju, he probably just wore what he wanted.

Still—

Seeing people defend him with deeper interpretations made them smile.

‘Allies are always good.’

Meanwhile—

There were also those openly criticizing NewBlack.

—Don’t see what’s good about this at all

—No cohesion in their outfits (disgust emoji)

—Looks cheap

—Honestly one Colin is better than all five of NewBlack

These were fans of the seven-member group Moonlight, formed through the audition program Light It Up.

A group born to rival NewBlack.

Naturally, their fandom was hyper-aware of them.

[Moonlight’s debut track Starlight reaches #2 on Billboard Hot 100]

At first, their fandom was cheerful.

—We beat NewBlack!

—We crushed them in numbers!

Their debut surpassed NewBlack’s previous METRO stats.

Higher streams.

Higher radio score.

But—

—Why aren’t we #1?

There was one song blocking them.

[Cold Brown & Wooju - Answer]

A historic-level hit that refused to fall.

So Moonlight fans were furious.

They bragged about surpassing NewBlack—

Yet couldn’t beat a NewBlack member’s song.

As they slipped from #2 to #4 to #7—

Answer remained #1.

And Souffle teased them.

—Congrats on your historic achievement ^^

—Your oppa is #2~

So their resentment about the Met Gala was inevitable.

‘We have to surpass NewBlack.’

They believed there was only one top spot.

And they had to take it.

@LilyMarsh

Please stop sending messages.

Met Gala attendance is decided far in advance.

Even magazine editors were complaining about obsessive fans demanding invitations.

Still, they didn’t stop.

#ColinEvansToMetGala

#Moonlight_MetGala2019

Watching this, Souffle shook their heads.

Meanwhile—

In Korea, Met Gala photos were also spreading.

[Today’s Met Gala Outfits Compilation]

—Lea’s outfit is simple but pretty

—So gorgeousㅠㅠㅠ

—Missy Jones is the supreme bestㅋㅋㅋ

—Troy Kidd is always consistentㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Then NewBlack’s photos appeared—

And Koreans paused.

—This is so weird... same over-the-top fashion, but when designers dress him Wooju becomes a fashion icon

—Color-changing outfit is insane

—Is Met Gala always this extra???

—Yeah it’s basically Hunger Games fashion

Then—

A post began trending.

[Strong suspicion: Is this person actually a real fashionista?]

A supposed fashion insider analyzed Wooju’s past outfits.

Photos from four years ago—

Matching current trends.

“...Wait.”

“Those are from 4 years ago?”

People blinked.

‘Does that mean...?’

That his current casual outfits might become future trends?

Soon—

Collections of his recent outfits spread.

Loose wide pants.

Colorful caps.

Fanny packs.

Short padding jackets.

“Shearling jackets...”

“...?”

People concluded—

—No idea

—Looks bad

—Definitely bad taste

—This will never trendㅋㅋㅋㅋ

No one believed it.

“Whoa.”

It was my first time visiting the Metropolitan Museum.

Following others, I entered a massive hall.

“This must be the Temple of Dendur.”

“Nice atmosphere, right?”

It was the cocktail party venue.

While Jimmy Robbins stepped away—

I looked around.

Crowded.

A massive Egyptian temple sat in the center of a modern museum.

“Wow...”

“Interesting, right?”

A sharp voice came from behind.

“Ri Hyuk!”

My underlings had arrived.

We admired each other’s outfits.

Ri Hyuk said,

“I really mi—”

“Mi?”

“I missed you. This time.”

I laughed.

Biju said,

“Doing interviews without you... I forgot English.”

“Still, you did well.”

“No, Jiho spoke the most.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. He was very composed.”

I praised him.

Then—

We looked at the temple.

“Did they steal this too?”

“No, Egypt gifted it.”

“Oh.”

That was unexpected.

Soon—

“Would you like a cocktail?”

“No, thank you.”

The others took drinks.

“Wow!”

“Tastes good!”

“Careful. Cocktails hit harder.”

Then—

Junghyun picked up an oyster.

“!”

“Tasty?”

“Yes. Like Korea. But good.”

“Don’t eat too much.”

Ri Hyuk avoided it.

“Why?”

“Norovirus.”

“......”

Everyone quietly put their oysters down.

“...There are a lot of famous people.”

“Yeah.”

Award shows were one thing.

But this—

Was different.

“This feels like real high society.”

Only invited guests.

Top-tier names everywhere.

“Hey.”

Ri Hyuk pointed.

“That guy—2012 presidential candidate.”

“...You’re right.”

Then I said,

“We should network.”

“Let’s go.”

We approached someone familiar.

“Hey!”

“Cold.”

We greeted Cold Brown.

“You ran away earlier.”

“Did I?”

“I called you.”

“Do you remember that Bugatti I promised?”

“Oh, I must have imagined it.”

Instant emotional recovery.

He introduced us around.

“Wooju! I wanted to meet you!”

We greeted countless people.

Then—

“Where’s Hailey?”

“She got banned.”

Everyone laughed.

Then—

A crowd gathered nearby.

“Who’s that?”

“The hottest rising actor right now.”

We looked.

“...Oh.”

“...It’s him.”

An incredibly handsome man.

But to us—

He was Count Dracula.

The actor Ronnie Lucas.

Cold asked,

“You know him?”

“He played a vampire chasing Biju. I defeated him with a holy sword.”

“...?”

Confusion spread across his face.