Chapter 918: We are, well... uh... henchmen. (8)

Wang Jiho checked his smartwatch.

"That’s weird."

"Hm?"

"Wooju hyung and Biju hyung... why are they taking so long?"

At his question, Junghyun brushed it off casually.

"Maybe there’s a reason they’re not coming."

"Ah... we can’t go out unless they come."

It was his first time visiting Canada.

The youngest, who had been looking forward to going around Toronto with his older members, stared at his phone with a sulky expression.

Ri Hyuk said,

"If you’re curious, go find them."

"I’m not that curious."

The youngest, yawning widely, had been rolling around with his head resting on Junghyun’s stomach when—

Flash!

Something sparked in his mind.

"Huh!"

As the youngest suddenly jumped up, the two older members asked,

"Hm?"

"What?"

Jiho covered his mouth, looking shocked.

It was obviously going to be something pointless, so the two simply looked at him with indifferent expressions.

"I figured out why Wooju hyung and Biju hyung aren’t coming!"

A confident face.

Jiho declared,

"They’re eating something delicious together."

"......."

Ri Hyuk looked at him with a pitiful expression.

"Do you only think about food?"

"Yes."

Jiho nodded confidently.

"Even when I go to sleep, I think about what I’ll eat for breakfast tomorrow, and when I’m eating lunch, I think about dinner."

"......."

"And right now, I’ve got a feeling. One hundred percent."

As Junghyun tilted his head, intrigued,

"Really?"

Ri Hyuk stretched and said,

"Well, it’s about time we head out anyway."

Then he sent a message.

"Where are you?"

Usually, they would reply within five minutes at most.

But there was no reply.

Ri Hyuk typed again.

[There’s something to discuss about composition.]

Still no reply.

Even after adding [About Kim Deoksun], there was no response.

Ri Hyuk stood up.

"That’s strange."

"See? I told you. They must be eating something, that’s why they can’t check their messages."

"I should go find them."

What could they possibly be doing that they weren’t replying?

Junghyun said,

"Won’t they come if we just wait...?"

"Get up, Junghyun hyung."

"I’m lazy."

"Aaagh!"

"Okay... okay..."

In the end, the three headed toward the kitchen.

In the spacious kitchen, the TF team was busy typing on laptops or making calls.

Assistant Manager Hong Seoyoung, who had been sipping an Americano, asked,

"Hm? What’s up?"

"We can’t find Wooju hyung and Kim Biju."

"Oh, them? They’re probably at the pool."

Ri Hyuk turned to his younger members.

"She said they’re at the pool."

"They could still be eating while swimming."

"What would they even eat?"

"Uh... I don’t know."

As Junghyun waved his hands to mediate the bickering, he sniffed the air.

The direction where the smell of chlorine came from.

Soon, as they headed toward the pool, faint sounds could be heard.

"Oh, they must be swimming."

Distant laughter.

Singing.

They were splashing around wildly, having the time of their lives.

"!"

"!!"

The three young men, who had a goblin-like tendency to jump into anything fun, ran toward the pool—

And then stopped.

The scene before them was different from what they had imagined.

Laughter.

"This is so fun!"

That was Biju, clapping and laughing maniacally.

And the singing...

"Isn’t that... that thing? Wooju hyung and Biju hyung’s legendary duo."

"The unit song."

"Ah, right. That one?"

The old had been reborn into that.

And in the water, Wooju was flailing around with a haggard face.

"......."

"......."

Every time Biju demonstrated a dance move, Wooju tried to follow along.

They didn’t need an explanation to understand what was going on.

‘He got caught.’

The eldest had been caught by a dance maniac.

If someone asked, "What kind of person is Biju as a main dancer?" the members would all give the same answer.

He’s like a big dog.

A big dog?

You know how big dogs run around for three hours, then sleep, and when they wake up they’re recharged and run again?

Uh... yeah?

Biju hyung is the same.

He dances until he collapses, sleeps, wakes up, and dances again.

It was strange.

It wasn’t like he had extraordinary stamina, but when it came to dance, it was as if his energy overflowed.

Probably because it was something he loved.

Anyway, the point was—

"It’s going to take a while for him to get out of that."

"Yeah."

As they looked at the eldest gulping water with pitiful expressions—

Something caught their attention.

"Hm?"

"Huh?"

Wooju dove underwater.

Moving in a strange, fish-like motion, he suddenly shot up into the air.

A smooth curve drawn midair.

‘A dolphin.’

‘A dolphin.’

‘A bottlenose. Still growing.’

Biju clapped in awe.

The members blinked.

"......."

"......."

At first, it looked like Princess Wooju had been captured by an evil dance villain.

But now that princess had turned into a dolphin and was matching rhythm with the villain.

"Uh..."

Ri Hyuk was speechless.

"Anyway... both of them are weird."

"Agreed."

"The weirdest hyungs ever."

The members, who had wanted to join them in the pool, slowly backed away.

For some reason... they didn’t want to get involved.

Working on choreography with Biju was fun in its own way.

"I think this should be enough."

"......."

"Hyung?"

"...Just don’t worry about me."

It was fun, but the downside was the insane calorie burn.

"Hyung, want something to drink?"

"Anything’s fine. As long as it’s liquid."

"Here."

Biju brought a bottle of cola from the fridge by the pool.

"Are we allowed to drink that?"

"There was a Post-it saying we could."

"Oh."

Wooju brightened as he checked the label.

"Huh? It’s vanilla flavor?"

"And it’s zero."

Wooju smiled as he drank the vanilla zero cola.

Nice.

Every time he came abroad for concerts, he thought, "Korea is the best..." but moments like this made him a little envious.

There were so many different zero-calorie drinks.

And the carbonation was stronger.

If Korean carbonation was like Ri Hyuk, this one felt like Junghyun.

"Nice......."

As he sipped the cola with wrinkled hands from the water, he looked at Biju scribbling something on paper.

"Organizing choreography?"

"Yeah. I’ve got a general direction now... I want to discuss it with the choreographers once we get back to Korea."

"People who create choreography are amazing. How do they even come up with this?"

"When you do it, you just... get a feeling?"

It was an unknown world to him.

He quietly watched Biju sketch and take notes while playing a video.

It was footage they had just recorded.

A unique choreography.

As the title suggested, it was full of waves.

And—

"This is good."

It was a choreography that emphasized their synergy to the extreme.

When Wooju leaned forward with a wave toward Biju, Biju leaned back.

A slight half-turn.

Then both of them smoothly stepped forward at the same time.

It naturally created a shot where the camera looked up at them from below.

I want it to feel like a flow created by the two of you.

It turned out exactly like that.

The unit song they would promote didn’t really have a deep message or story.

If anything, the “story” was just a fish appearing in the human world like, “I’m here!!”

And then—

Humans! This is the dance of the water! Muahaha!

...that kind of song.

Of course, it had been refined by the TF team.

But overall, it was basically a song that said, “Aren’t we cool?”

"Mm... maybe tweak this part a bit..."

"Hmm."

Sitting on a sunbed, Wooju reviewed the song while Biju checked the choreography.

Bright sunlight.

Thanks to the glass walls like a greenhouse, Toronto’s chilly May weather felt warm inside.

After spacing out for a bit, Wooju spoke.

"Biju."

"Yeah?"

"How have things been lately?"

It was time to check on the members’ condition and mental state.

Even though they were together every day, it was easy not to know how someone was doing inside.

"Mm..."

Biju set down his pen and smiled.

"Honestly... it’s a bit hectic."

Wooju laughed in agreement.

"Yeah."

"It’s our first stadium tour, so every day feels unfamiliar. And doing ment in English is hectic too."

"Right."

"After the Met Gala, concerts, more concerts... and now we have to prepare for the Billboard stage. There are just so many important events."

It felt like having mock exams and certifications all piled up at once.

"But I think it’s good that it’s hectic."

Biju smiled.

"It means a lot of opportunities are coming our way."

"That’s true. Being idle isn’t great either."

"So I really like it. Back when I was a trainee, I used to wish every day for just one chance..."

Now, opportunities were pouring in.

At first, when they entered the U.S. market, he thought it would be temporary.

But now, his mindset had changed.

Every opportunity mattered.

"So it’s a bit overwhelming, but... I want to make the most of these chances. The only problem is..."

Biju smiled.

"I’m so busy that I don’t know if I’m doing well. Am I doing okay, hyung?"

"You’re doing great."

The pillar of the team’s performance.

Without Biju, one of the reasons they stood out would collapse.

As Wooju reassured him, Biju asked,

"What about you, hyung?"

"Hm?"

"How have you been lately?"

"Mm..."

"These days... I think I’ve gotten greedier."

Their North American tour had gone from arenas last year to stadiums.

The butterfly effect of success.

Having felt it firsthand, his ambition had grown.

"It’s like... I can see a new goal now. Before, I thought reaching the top in Korea was enough..."

Wooju smiled.

"But now, I think we can go even further."

He looked up at the shining sun.

Higher.

More, more.

"Ugh..."

"Hyung? What’s wrong?"

"My eyes... too bright..."

Biju burst out laughing.

After finishing choreography work with Biju,

they went out to explore Toronto.

"Go out earlier next time."

Someone’s nagging made Wooju scratch his ear.

"If we’re going out together, we should keep time. What do I hate the most?"

"People who don’t wash their hands and grab candy at restaurants."

"That too, but... be on time."

They had gotten a bit late because they were immersed in choreography.

"There’s so much to see."

"Let’s just pick a few, Ri Hyuk. Just a few."

"Ah... what should we choose?"

The Royal Ontario Museum.

The CN Tower.

Ri Hyuk, waving a NewBlack flag as he guided the tour, looked regretful.

"If it weren’t for Billboard Awards prep, we could’ve gone to Niagara Falls after the concerts..."

"We can go next time."

Wooju made a mental note to suggest Niagara Falls for NewBlack Travel Diary 3.

As he hummed,

"Niagara~ Niagara~ age doesn’t matter~♪"

the members subtly distanced themselves as if they didn’t know him.

But it was useless.

"Oh my!"

"Oh my gosh!"

"Huh?"

There were many Koreans in Toronto who recognized them.

It felt like they met one Korean every street.

"Are you here for a concert?"

"Yes!"

Everyone seemed to know about their concert at Rogers Centre.

"It’s been so noisy because of it... everyone’s talking about NewBlack’s concert."

"Really?"

They exchanged information with locals and got recommendations—

especially for restaurants.

They finished dinner at a Chinatown dim sum place recommended for Korean tastes.

"Sweet."

"I shouldn’t have gotten the spicy hot chocolate. It tastes like ginger."

"Just think of it as herbal tonic chocolate, Jiho."

After drinking hot chocolate from a famous place called Soma, they returned.

Then it was back to work.

"So from here, the movement path is..."

At Rogers Centre, they reviewed the concert layout with the director and TF team.

The biggest concern for stadium concerts was the weather.

But since Rogers Centre had a roof, that wasn’t an issue.

"How many attendees?"

"Fifty thousand per day. Two days, so one hundred thousand."

"As there will be a large crowd..."

After multiple meetings and checks,

as they were about to rest before rehearsals—

Seokhwan called them.

"Got a minute?"

"Yes!"

Gathered together, the TF team leader said,

"You got a variety show offer... I wanted to ask if you’re interested."

"Really?"

The reason they were surprised—

Most offers were filtered out by the TF team.

"So what show?"

"You’ve probably heard of it. ‘Seojun.’"

"Ah, that one."

He handed them a tablet.

It was a famous variety show.

Among childcare shows, it maintained high ratings.

"But..."

Ri Hyuk tilted his head.

"What does a childcare show have to do with us?"

Seokhwan explained.

"There’s a reason they contacted you..."

And it was completely unexpected.

National idol NewBlack.

Whenever they made a comeback, the charts shook.

#1. Midnight Sun

Unshakable.

And below it, their other tracks filled the top rankings.

But—

Among all those songs,

the second highest-ranked was an extra track.

#4. Lullaby

A song Wooju wrote thinking of mothers who couldn’t sleep due to childcare.

A gentle melody.

Comforting lyrics.

Soft humming.

It felt like being healed while drinking a cup of cocoa.

It’s so goodㅠㅠㅠ

I cry every timeㅠㅠ

The song is so lovely

A lullaby for adults... I love Wooju

But then—

[Did you guys know this?]

An unusual rumor spread.

Babies fall asleep when this plays

My niece who wouldn’t sleep fell asleep in 30 minutes

It worksㅠㅠㅠ

Don’t play it too loud

Works on 3-year-olds

Works on 4-year-olds too

Babies falling asleep to the song.

"Is it real?"

"I hope so."

Sleep-deprived parents.

Then—

"Whoa..."

"Shh."

"No, it really worked..."

The baby, who had been crying, fell asleep.

And so—

Testimonials exploded.

The song became a miracle for parents.

"PD, have you seen this?"

"What?"

"They say babies fall asleep to NewBlack’s song."

"Really?"

It was real.

The exhausted production team of lit up.

‘The talent we need!’

That was why NewBlack received the casting offer.