Chapter 923: We are, well... uh... henchmen. (13)

From a distance, my eyes met those of Colin Evans, the most popular member of Moonlight.

He quickly looked away.

“What’s wrong?”

Hailey Blue, who had been hugging me goodbye, turned her head.

Seeing Moonlight walking off, she said,

“Ah. You don’t like those brats, do you!”

“It’s not that.”

I just didn’t like that particular look people get when they’re trying to be clever.

Hailey said,

“Don’t worry about idiots like that. They keep calling themselves your rivals, but you crushed them with today’s stage. It’s not even comparable—you were way better.”

She patted my shoulder like an older sister comforting a younger one.

I smiled.

“Thank you, Hailey.”

“If you’re really thankful, give me a song.”

“If I get one good enough for you.”

“You’re just saying that so you don’t have to give me anything. Just send something decent we can sing together.”

I nodded.

“Okay.”

“Promise?”

I was twenty-six, making a pinky promise with someone in her thirties.

After saying goodbye to Hailey, we greeted other singers and actors nearby.

“You were incredible today. So elegant on stage.”

“They keep saying you and those guys are rivals, but it’s not even comparable. Remember—I’m on your side.”

They emphasized their support, eyes sparkling with expectation.

I smiled politely and responded.

Most of the comments were about how good our stage had been.

“Agreed.”

Junghyun smiled.

“That was a really satisfying stage today.”

“Everyone did great.”

We had shown a gap big enough to shut down the “rival” talk—for now.

Of course, considering how the other side had been playing the media, they wouldn’t stop here.

They’d just shift the topic to fandom size or chart rankings instead of stage performance.

Even that was fine.

Our stage was our strongest weapon.

“And honestly, it’s not bad.”

“What isn’t?”

“This whole rivalry setup.”

Junghyun nodded.

“Yeah. Even in baseball, if there’s only one dominant team, it gets boring.”

“Wow, is that why you’re a KG fan?”

“....”

“Jiho. Go easy on him.”

Anyway, having even one chasing team makes things more exciting.

It could become a new growth engine for us.

Like the “TenTenNew” era when competition pushed us to grow rapidly.

Biju said,

“I think it’ll be fun.”

“Yeah.”

Even if their level was lower—

A rival was still a rival.

And—

We had never lost to anyone who challenged us since debut.

“Except elementary school kids.”

“Hehehe....”

NewBlack.

The group that beat everyone except elementary schoolers.

That was us.

“Let’s head back to the waiting room.”

The moment we arrived—

Bang!

Confetti exploded.

The staff clapped.

“Congratulations!”

“Guys! Congrats on the awards!”

“Waaaaah!”

A cream cake reading [Congratulations NewBlack Billboard Awards Win!]

As we blew out three candles, Seokhwan said,

“If I knew you’d get three awards, I would’ve prepared a better message.”

“There are already tons of articles in Korea!”

Looking at the portal news—

NewBlack wins triple crown at Billboard Awards

We clapped and laughed.

Then—

“Ah.”

Manager Minki finished a call.

“Team leader, the venue is secured.”

“Really?”

We leaned in.

“For the mini fan meeting.”

Fans who couldn’t stay for the awards.

A surprise event for them.

“Where is it?”

A quiet Vegas street?

A park?

An ice cream truck street?

Minki showed the tablet.

“Wow!”

A hotel.

With a fountain.

“In front of the hotel?”

“No.”

He tapped again.

A massive concert hall appeared.

Thousands of seats.

“....”

“....”

We looked up.

“...What happened?”

“The hotel offered their venue immediately.”

“Today?”

“Condition: photo with the CEO and a short SNS thank-you.”

They wanted to attract fans to their hotel.

It was a great deal.

But—

“...This is supposed to be a mini fan meeting?”

The banner read:

[After Party for Souffle]

We exchanged glances.

‘This is...’

‘Getting big...!’

Our company was too competent.

After party.

Normally, it meant artists drinking and dancing.

But—

[After Party for Souffle]

Fans were confused.

Then—

Music started.

“Midnight Sun!”

“Waaaaaah!”

No special lighting.

Just casual outfits.

And us walking out.

Wooju grabbed the mic.

“Yes....”

“...This is a bit unexpected, right?”

Laughter.

“We originally planned a mini fan meeting... but we forgot something.”

“Our managers are too competent....”

More laughter.

Ri Hyuk said,

“Let’s show them first.”

“Ah, right!”

Junghyun brought the trophies.

Three golden microphones.

We proudly showed them.

“These are yours.”

Fans screamed.

We walked along the stage edges.

“NewBlack! NewBlack!”

Phones raised.

Faces glowing.

“We debuted in October 2016... it’s been over a year in the U.S. Thank you for always supporting us. These three trophies belong to all of you.”

Cheers.

“It’s bigger than expected... but we prepared an after party for you.”

“Curious what we prepared?”

“Yes!”

“Nothing.”

“That’s right.”

Laughter.

“All we have are our voices and our faces.”

“We’ll make up for it with songs.”

But actually—

There was a lot.

Song requests.

Q&A from sticky notes.

Fan selfies.

“Unbelievable.”

“Do Korean fans get this every time...?”

“I’m studying abroad in Korea.”

SNS exploded.

I’m so jealous

Next time I’m going no matter what

Nebraska Souffle crying again

Meanwhile—

Public reactions poured in:

NewBlack’s stage was insane

Why compare them to Moonlight?

Perfect live, harmony, everything

Their message hit hard

And comparisons:

Professor vs undergraduate

Rival (lol)

It’s disrespectful to compare them

Moonlight fans fired back:

Their English is terrible

Outfits are tacky

Korean sounds weird

Then—

Rumors.

Racism accusations

Fake scandals

Souffle laughed.

“Can’t criticize the stage, huh.”

Screenshots were sent to Korea.

Then—

Korean communities erupted.

Stop white superiority complex

Your idols are ugly lol

Who even are you?

Moonlight fans began to retreat.

They had just gained a powerful enemy.

After the awards—

Messages poured in.

NewBlack triple crown

I smiled.

Jiho said,

“Everyone in Korea is talking about us.”

Then—

“Are those Chinese comments again?”

“...No.”

Moonlight fans were flooding our SNS.

“...If you’re going to insult us, at least do it in Korean.”

Junghyun said,

“It’ll be noisy for a while.”

“Yeah.”

I played with the trophy.

We laughed at comments.

Then—

“Hmm?”

Refresh.

Articles gone.

“Wait!”

Replaced by—

Wife Fishing Episode 2: Biju’s Braised Fish Recipe

Search rankings changed:

Braised Fish

Biju Braised Fish

Junghyun Grandfather

“....”

“....”

The day we won at the Billboard Awards—

We lost to braised fish.