Chapter 958: Nothing Goes According to Expectations (12)

Another peaceful day in idol fandom culture.

-Drank and cried with my fandom friend yesterday because of my bias’s scandal fml..ㅠ

-Become a NewBlack member with your current face + gender vs just live normally <- what are you choosing??

ㄴ Above poster is Park Taejun’s girlfriend

-Is it normal or abnormal to wish my bias would stop going overseas so much?? I haven’t seen him in four months and I’m fucking pissed

Into that perfectly ordinary idol fandom ecosystem—

a new topic suddenly dropped.

[Debut teaser just released for Lemon’s rookie idol (new!)]

The hearts of idol fans immediately began pounding.

‘Lemon rookie group?’

These days, Lemon Entertainment had started being mentioned alongside TJ, MOP, and KM as one of the so-called Big Four agencies.

It had grown to the point where nobody could ignore it anymore, especially with rumors that it was currently in the process of acquiring SNH Entertainment.

But despite that, quite a few idol fans still viewed Lemon with skepticism.

-I admit Lemon’s celebrity pool is huge. They were basically already top 3 if you only count actorsㅋㅋㅋ

-But besides NewBlack and Scarlet, what idols do they even have???

-Calling them a major agency still feels a little questionable

Because among certain fans, there was a belief that to truly qualify as a major idol company, you had to successfully launch idol groups across multiple generations.

One massive hit wasn’t enough.

You needed multiple.

Of course, that argument wasn’t exactly dominant.

-What more do they need besides NewBlack and Scarlet?

-NewBlack is on another level but Scarlet’s form is insane too..?ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ People are already talking about them entering America lately

-Scarlet existed before NewBlack did

Because before NewBlack, there had already been Scarlet.

Currently in their seventh year, Scarlet was the kind of girl group that should’ve started slowing down by now, yet their song Not Fine had exploded overseas last year and sent them onto a steady upward trajectory.

There were even occasional overseas discussions asking whether they might become the first girl group invited to the United States.

They weren’t quite at the level of Serenity, the undisputed number one girl group dominating Korea, but Scarlet still ranked within the top five all-time first-week album sales for girl groups.

Up until last year, there’d been a noticeable gap between them and Serenity, but with the influx of international fans and additional viewers pulled in through last year’s survival show, they were now aggressively chasing first place.

Because of that, many people believed Lemon’s capabilities had already been proven.

-What more do they need to prove when they’ve got NewBlack and Scarlet? Their ability’s already obvious

Of course, not everyone agreed.

-Nah nah. They just got lucky. Need to see how their junior groups turn out first

Opinions clashed fiercely.

Which was exactly why Lemon Entertainment’s rookie idol group had become such an enormous topic.

Both sides were deeply interested.

For the people who believed Lemon genuinely possessed major-agency-level producing capabilities—

-Lemon rookies?? Wonder how good they’ll be

And for the people who looked at Lemon and thought, ‘Their skill level is still just mid-sized agency tier’—

-Let’s see how Lemon does without the NewBlack and Scarlet buffs

Both sides were paying close attention.

The hearts of idol fans pounded as they clicked the post.

‘If it’s rookies, are these those guys whose photos got released after NewBlack’s main stadium concert? They were all insanely handsome.’

As expected from an agency originally focused on actors, Lemon Entertainment had gathered visual gems that made people smile just from looking at them.

And recently, hadn’t Kim Jihyuk—the winner of KNet’s hip-hop survival show—become a Lemon trainee and caused a massive stir?

For a while, related articles had completely flooded SNS and online communities.

-Jihyuk went to Lemon?? Holy shitㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Huh;;; why would he become an idol

-Succeeding as a hip-hop soloist vs debuting as an idol under Lemon.. honestly the second one might be better

-Lemon seriously never misses.. Gye Hongju’s under DNS so he’s basically Lemon tooㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Jihyuk said he was a Wooju fan so maybe that’s why he joined Lemon

Fans recalling that moment lit up with excitement.

‘Did Jihyuk make the debut lineup too?’

Various fantasies filled their minds as they clicked—

only to discover...!

[Debut teaser just released for Lemon’s rookie idol (new!)]

(Video of a rabbit doll dancing)

Technically not clickbaitㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

It was an Uncle Bunny video.

“.......”

“.......”

At first they were furious at getting baited—

but curiosity quickly overtook the irritation.

‘What is this?’

They knew about the nursery song Uncle Bunny.

Apparently NewBlack had sung a children’s song on a parenting variety show, and it had become pretty popular among kids.

NewBlack antis had made such a huge fuss about it that everyone knew.

People kept accusing them of being greedy for money and exploiting children through parenting shows, so most fans had naturally gone, ‘Ah, NewBlack antis are acting up again.’

‘Isn’t this just a nursery song?’

But then....

Why... did a nursery song have a teaser?

[“Uncle Bunny” M/V Teaser]

And it wasn’t even a normal teaser.

The video was full of the bright, colorful visuals typically used in K-pop music videos to create a kitschy vibe.

Inside the video, the Uncle Bunny doll danced stylishly.

Then the screen faded out as a logo appeared.

[Uncle Bunny]

The whole atmosphere felt exactly like a K-pop idol debut.

Idol fans burst into loud laughter.

‘Lemon...!’

‘Oh dear, Lemon.’

There was something strangely clumsy about Lemon Entertainment here.

They clearly knew how to market K-pop, but since they’d never sold nursery songs before, the whole thing awkwardly creaked in the funniest possible way.

-Lemon are idiots.. idiots who only know K-pop

-Ah this is fucking hilariousㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-???: Shouldn’t we just promote it like a normal K-pop release?? / Gyuho: (drying his hair) Understood, Wooju nim

-Who the hell promotes nursery songs like thisㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-The confidence somehow makes it even funnier

Because Lemon didn’t know how nursery songs were supposed to be promoted, they just marketed it like a K-pop release.

And thanks to that, Uncle Bunny, which otherwise would’ve just been “some nursery song,” suddenly became a huge topic.

‘This feels perfect for memes.’

Idol fans’ eyes sparkled.

Before they were idol fans, they were Koreans—the people of excitement and shitposting.

Lemon Entertainment’s continuing promotions only added fuel to the fire.

-[Who are U?] Exclusive Interview with Uncle Bunny

A self introduction video where Uncle Bunny introduced himself like a rookie idol.

[Hello children~! I’m Uncle Bunny!]

[Uncle was born in the Rabbit Kingdom and attended Rabbit School. Later, I studied abroad in Africa and Antarctica! I learned hunting from lions and fishing from penguins!]

[The senior artist I respect most is Baby Shark sunbaenim!]

Every time new content uploaded, more posts appeared.

[Uncle Bunny boldly reveals debut ambitions: “Baby Shark, move aside”]

Netizens immediately flooded the comments.

-This rookie’s already getting cocky because of superficial hypeㅡㅡ

-Won’t last long

-You think Baby Shark sunbaenim is your friend???

-What’s wrong with rookie nursery artists these days

-I wish Pororo sunbaenim would discipline him

Meanwhile, more and more posts appeared.

Photos of the deer and bear dolls dancing behind the rabbit doll.

[Who do you think the most popular member will be??]

[Is Tosan a solo artist? How many first-week sales do you think he’ll get?]

-Tosan’s viral marketing is crazy.. back in my day the nursery industry wasn’t like this

The comments section shook with laughter.

-Tosan aside, the dolls in the back have way more star power.. the agency has no eye for talent

-Feels like they won’t attract many fans, but could I become a top seed there???

-His eyes are bright now but give him a few years and he’ll have dead fish eyes.. probably swaps them out after hours

-There’s already rumors he changes eyes when fans aren’t lookingㅇㅇ

-He’s already got crazy antis attached to him.. guess major agency rookies really are hot topics

-Is the company asleep? Why are these photo selections so terrible?

-The comments are giving me PTSDㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

As familiar idol fandom comments flooded in, fans burst into laughter.

Meanwhile, the “rookie idol Tosan” meme started spreading into other communities too.

[Rookie idol challenges Baby Shark sunbaenim]

He’d never challenged him.

He’d literally said he respected him.

But somehow the meme had already been distorted.

-Wow this rookie’s arrogantㅋㅋㅋ

-There’s already rumors he fled overseasㅇㅇ apparently the Dragon Palace issued a warrant for him

-Honestly his past seems suspicious too.. there’s no way rabbit fur could survive Antarctic temperatures???

-Are all of you insaneㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

As everyone traded jokes and memes—

people who originally mocked it ironically started becoming genuinely interested after seeing the continuing teasers.

‘There’s just... something about it.’

Maybe because the person controlling him was who he was, but the rabbit somehow had an infuriatingly charismatic face.

And the nursery song itself, which initially made people think, ‘What is this childish nonsense...?’ gradually started worming its way into their heads.

As a result—

-Uncle, when are you debutingㅠㅠㅠㅠ

-I’m waiting only for Tosan’s debut

-Uncle Bunny♡

-Uncle please do another advice stream

Supportive comments began flooding MyTube.

Originally, NewBlack’s target audience had been little children—

but strangely enough, the ones falling into the fandom first were adults.

"I say this all the time, but...."

I spoke to the people around me.

"Nothing ever goes the way we expect."

The younger members and company staff burst into laughter.

On my phone screen, Twitter’s realtime trends were visible.

#SoufflesSupportUncleBunnyDebut

I couldn’t help laughing at the sight of Souffles cheering on Lemon Entertainment’s “rookie idol.”

There were even articles continuously being uploaded.

-‘Major Rookie’ Uncle Bunny’s Debut Countdown Begins, Netizens: “Can’t Wait for the MV”

-Interview Ahead of Debut: Uncle Bunny Says “I’m Very Nervous... Please Support Me”

-[Stock Market Report] Lemon Entertainment Expanding into Children’s Music..? Analysis of Lemon Entertainment’s IPO Prospects

Apparently the fact that we’d styled everything like K-pop simply because we didn’t know how else to release it had become a huge hit with netizens.

Manager Hong Seoyeong from the TF team analyzed the phenomenon.

"I think it only worked because our company’s image is pretty good to begin with. Thanks to you guys, people already see us as competent."

"What do you mean image? It’s not just an image. You actually are competent."

After all, who was responsible for turning the song that was originally Flap Flap into the stylish track WAVE if not them?

While the TF team employees smiled shyly, Manager Hong continued.

"I think that’s why netizens reacted positively."

Apparently people found it hilarious watching a company normally associated with professionalism suddenly go ‘Uh...’ and awkwardly stumble around while trying to promote a nursery song.

If it had been a company with a bad reputation instead....

-Why are you wasting time on this shit instead of #%!

Several harsh comments immediately came to mind.

Ri Hyuk monitored the online reactions and said,

"Still, thanks to that, there don’t seem to be many negative responses. Every time Uncle Bunny comes up, it just turns into memes."

"That’s true."

The people following every article around complaining about how we were trying to profit off nursery songs weren’t getting much traction anymore.

The atmosphere was basically five upvotes versus seventy-nine downvotes.

Because Uncle Bunny had become a black hole absorbing all negativity into comedy.

"But...."

Jiho °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° picked up the Uncle Bunny doll from the table.

"Did you guys settle things properly with the doll company president?"

"Yeah."

Seokhwan hyung looked at his laptop.

"Director Jo Gyuhwan wrapped everything up cleanly. It was already settled a long time ago, so there won’t be any problems."

As we listened, our eyes shifted toward the laptop.

‘Thump thump.’

‘Ba dump.’

We were waiting for Uncle Bunny’s music video to upload.

We’d only made the nursery song itself. We had no idea how the company had produced the MV, so personally I was really looking forward to it.

"Oh right."

Seokhwan hyung suddenly asked,

"You guys got quite a few advertisement offers this time. Most are childcare-related, but there’s one that really stood out."

"What is it?"

"K Mart sent an ad proposal."

"? "

The moment we saw K Mart’s proposal, we burst into laughter.

[Supermarket Uncles Are Treating You!]

[Special Summer Vacation Discounts!]

K Mart wanted to use our photos while running storewide discount promotions.

The image came to mind immediately.

Our pictures plastered all over the supermarket while our voices echoed through the speakers going, “It’s your supermarket uncles!”

"Oho...."

The maknae looked tempted, but all of us shook our heads.

"Underlings."

"Yes!"

"What is the secret behind NewBlack’s popularity?"

"Our sense for knowing when to strike and when to retreat."

Exactly.

The reason NewBlack was loved by the public—

was because we understood proper timing.

Just because people laughed and enjoyed what we were doing now didn’t mean they’d automatically enjoy the next thing too.

Ri Hyuk nodded.

"If you ask me, this is something that should only last one verse."

"I agree."

Some jokes stay funny through the second and third verse.

Others are best wrapped up cleanly after the first.

Especially now that our seniority and influence had grown, the lifespan of public trends had become much shorter.

Back when we were rookies, Black Goat Daegil probably lasted two and a half verses.

But Supermarket Uncles felt like a clean one-verse joke.

And besides....

"We’re every supermarket’s uncles."

"Exactly."

"Supermarket uncles aren’t supposed to belong to one place. We’re supermarket uncles for all children...."

The staff burst out laughing, but we were completely serious.

"No really. If we become K Mart uncles, then we stop being supermarket uncles. At that point we’re just K Mart uncles."

"That’s right. Then we couldn’t become Costco uncles anymore."

While discussing that and leaning toward rejecting K Mart’s offer—

Ding dong.

A notification appeared on my phone, and I smiled.

"Guys. They said it arrived."

"Really?"

"Yeah. They said they received it safely and will make sure it gets delivered properly."

The younger members looked delighted, and Seokhwan hyung asked too.

"It arrived?"

"Yep. It got there safely."

The message on my phone was an email.

With the release of the nursery song Uncle Bunny approaching—

there was a certain fan we especially wanted to take care of.

-One day we’ll make a nursery song too. What does the princess like?

-Bre....

-?

-Bread....

It was the baby princess we’d met during the Pyeongchang Olympics opening ceremony.

A tiny nation in central Europe.

The Grand Duchy of Stern.

Flutter—

Inside the palace where the flag bearing seven stars fluttered proudly, the sound of someone running echoed through the halls.

Tap tap tap—

It was none other than six-year-old Princess Sophie in her tiny dress shoes.

The only daughter born to the son of Grand Duke Richard III, and the legitimate future heir to the Grand Duchy of Stern!

Princess Sophie herself.

"Princess!"

"No!"

Wearing a frilled dress and braids tied neatly into her brown hair, the princess dashed through the palace corridors on her short little legs.

"I don’t wanna study!"

"Princess! Please stop at once!"

The elderly butler chased after her while shouting.

"That’s not it...! A letter has arrived from NewBlack!"

"......."

Princess Sophie peeked suspiciously from behind a curtain.

Adjusting his monocle, the butler pulled a letter from his coat.

[Dear Princess Sophie]

"It’s a letter NewBlack sent specifically to Your Highness."

"Sophie won’t be fooled, Butler Grandpa."

"Please examine the handwriting. They said Your Highness would recognize it because it was written in Piraruku New Roman."

"......."

Princess Sophie glanced at it—

and her eyes widened.

It really was Seo Ri Hyuk’s handwriting.

It matched the autograph she’d gotten after meeting NewBlack with her grandfather following the Pyeongchang Olympics opening ceremony.

"Butler Grandpa."

"Yes, Princess."

"Read it for me. Sophie still can’t read English."

The butler nodded and began reading the English letter aloud.

[Hello, Princess.]

[Last time we promised we would make a nursery song about bread, but unfortunately we couldn’t keep that promise. (Tears.)]

[The Korean babies were apparently terrified of Baguette Uncle...]

[It’s not about bread, but we wrote a song about rabbits instead. We hope you enjoy it.]

[With love, NewBlack.]

Princess Sophie’s eyes lit up instantly.

Her heart began pounding excitedly.

‘A nursery song!’

Princess Sophie scampered toward the butler.

"Sophie wants to hear it...!"

"If Your Highness finishes today’s studies, I shall play it for you."

"......."

"Oh? NewBlack added a postscript here as well. They said you should study hard and eat plenty of vegetables."

Princess Sophie’s pouting lips relaxed immediately at the words of her favorite idols.

The princess followed after the butler with the smile of a grandfather watching his beloved granddaughter.

"Butler Grandpa."

"Yes, Princess."

The tiny shoes suddenly stopped.

"If Sophie studies hard and becomes queen, can she marry NewBlack?"

"...That may be difficult."

"Why?"

The kindly smiling butler offered an explanation appropriate for a child’s level.

"Forgive my boldness, but the Kingdom of Souffles possesses a larger population than our Grand Duchy. Their economic scale is also far greater, so...."

"In that case... we’ll form a marriage alliance."

"!"

The face of the princess, currently studying history and political science from her tutors, suddenly became dignified.

"Sophie will marry all five of them and create an alliance. Right now Stern is a small country. But if we bring the Souffles here and rename the Grand Duchy into the Souffle Duchy... then Europe’s grea... grea...."

"A great power."

"We’ll rise into a great power!"

"Princess...!"

The butler tearfully dabbed his eyes with a handkerchief.

‘Then what happens to our country.......’

Watching the future heir passionately study so she could someday hand the nation over to foreign influence, the butler smiled wistfully.

As the princess continued crafting increasingly bizarre plans, the butler quickly changed the subject.

"Shall we... perhaps listen to the nursery song first instead of studying?"

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Waaaaaaah!"

Princess Sophie ran off happily clutching the letter, a radiant smile spread across her face.

Watching the princess enjoy the happiest day of her six-year-old life, the butler quietly smiled.

‘...As long as the princess is happy.’

For some reason, the future of the nation suddenly felt slightly bleak—

but the butler decided it was probably just his imagination.