Chapter 962: Nothing Goes According to Expectations (16)

The age of the global village had truly arrived!

The moment Rabbit Uncle was uploaded onto MyTube Kids, it began spreading at the speed of light.

Naturally, children were the first spark.

“Put on Rabbit Uncle!”

“Bunny! Uncle Bunny!”

“¡Tío conejo! (Rabbit Uncle!)”

A dangerously addictive children’s song that bewitched kids like the Pied Piper.

And naturally, that same addictiveness worked on adults too.

“Hop hop~ bunny dance~”

“Where are we going~”

As parents hummed Rabbit Uncle during everyday life, people around them began growing curious.

“What’s that?”

“It’s called Uncle Bunny. My daughter’s been singing it nonstop since yesterday. I think I got addicted too.”

“Uncle Bunny?”

“It goes like this. Look.”

Parents pulled out their phones or computers to show the video.

People burst into laughter.

“What is this? A children’s song?”

“It looks like a music video.”

The video had been styled too uniquely to simply call it a nursery rhyme.

People admired the rabbit overflowing with star quality.

“He’s seriously adorable....”

“That rabbit doll dances really well. It’s got the makings of a dancer...?”

Eventually everyone laughed and returned to their normal lives.

But...

Hop hop bunny dance~ where are we going~♪

The melody lingered in their ears while they typed on keyboards or washed their hands in the bathroom.

In the end, people found themselves watching the video during lunch while eating sandwiches or sipping coffee.

‘This is addictive....’

‘Damn it, I keep replaying it.’

And then—

While continuously watching Rabbit Uncle’s music video, they froze after seeing a recommended clip where NewBlack danced while holding Rabbit Uncle.

“Wait a second... that’s.......”

It really was that NewBlack.

The globally rising superstar group NewBlack.

A group whose fandom swarmed everywhere like locusts and swept entire shopping districts clean with money.

“?”

“??”

Citizens in the United States—where NewBlack had recently been most active—stared in confusion.

‘Why is NewBlack with Rabbit Uncle......?’

People began typing NewBlack and Uncle Bunny into search engines.

And soon found the explanation.

– K-pop singers NewBlack release a children’s song featured on a Korean TV program

Apparently they had created the song for a TV show where they took care of children, but the quality turned out so good that they officially released it.

‘But the song is actually really good?’

It was far too polished to feel like a random novelty track.

American netizens tried checking the comments to see if others felt the same way—

Only to groan.

[Comments are disabled for this video.]

Since it was children’s content, comments had been turned off.

In the end, netizens migrated to social media instead, posting about it or emailing friends.

And that was how everything began.

– Apparently this is a children’s song made by NewBlack. Have you seen it? Uncle Bunny (laughing) (laughing) (crying)

– Been watching Rabbit Uncle nonstop because of my niece. But the more I hear it, the more I keep replaying it myself

– Apparently this children’s video already hit 100 million views

– Bunny bunny Uncle Bunny bunny bunny Uncle Bunny

The video spread like a virus.

And once things reached that point, influencers started pouring gasoline onto the fire.

TikTok videos.

MyTube shorts.

Challenge clips of people dancing along to Rabbit Uncle began spreading everywhere.

#unclebunnychallenge

The so-called Uncle Bunny Challenge.

Centered around influencers, rabbit videos spread across the internet like wildfire.

@Haley_Blue

(photo of daughter Summer lying sprawled across the bed watching Rabbit Uncle obsessively)

Three hours now.

Once Hollywood celebrities raising children began mentioning it on SNS, the buzz exploded even faster.

And then—

[This is today’s biggest story! NewBlack’s Uncle Bunny has officially become the fastest video in MyTube history to surpass 100 million views. Wow!]

Popular talk-show hosts began playing Rabbit Uncle clips on air, instantly launching it into mainstream television.

[Tonight on the Tonight Show, our guests will attempt the Rabbit Uncle Challenge together!]

Games where guests got blasted with water guns if they messed up the choreography.

Famous actresses like Bella Paige appearing on talk shows singing the children’s song made by NewBlack while doing the dance.

Rabbit Uncle had truly arrived like a comet.

[Today on CNN’s culture segment, we’ll be watching the Uncle Bunny music video, which became the fastest video ever to reach 100 million views. Hahaha! Rabbit Uncle’s movements are seriously adorable. I heard all of that is done by hand?]

Then came CNN.

BBC.

Even the news.

If aliens existed somewhere beyond Earth, and if those aliens happened to listen closely to Earth’s broadcasts, they would probably hear something like this—

[...static... Rabbit Uncle is currently causing a global craze! The popularity is so immense it can only be described as a cultural phenomenon. Professor Parker, as a cultural anthropologist, what is your opinion on...]

[...Bunny bunny Uncle Bunny... bunny bunny Uncle Bunny... static...]

[Children! Today on our program, we’ll all learn Rabbit Uncle’s dance together! Lal-la-lala-!]

Something enormous was sweeping across the planet.

The energy of the universe.

These days, Souffle genuinely felt that the universe’s energy was real.

[Next is global news! A flash mob uploaded by a university in Indonesia performing Rabbit Uncle is becoming a huge topic!]

Turn on the television and there it was.

[This is footage from a daycare center in Canada. The children are all chanting Uncle Bunny together. These children first encountered him through MyTube Kids...]

Canada.

Germany.

The Philippines.

Australia.

Brazil.

Indonesia.

Malaysia.

Countless countries all over the world.

Videos spread everywhere of children singing the song or adults attempting the choreography challenge.

Workers in the Amazon rainforest danced while wearing helmets.

Miners in Chile.

University students in the Philippines.

– Uncle Bunny EDM Remix

– Uncle Bunny Cover

– Presidents Singing Uncle Bunny

Club remixes filled with EDM.

AI-generated videos of current and former American presidents singing Uncle Bunny.

Souffle’s pupils shook at the overwhelming scale of it all.

‘W-what even is this?’

Reports flooded in from overseas fan branches.

– Unnie! The reaction in America is insane right now!

– The Chinese Souffle humbly report unto the motherland Souffle. The official Rabbit Uncle video uploaded onto Chinese-language platforms has...

– This is France. Everyone in the plaza is dancing to Rabbit Uncle! What on earth is happening!?

As overseas Souffle panicked in confusion, the Korean Souffle stared off into the distance.

‘We don’t know either. Stop asking us....’

Of course, it wasn’t a bad thing.

Mainstream popularity.

For a Korean singer to achieve genuine mainstream recognition overseas was extraordinarily difficult.

Even though NewBlack currently possessed enormous popularity among teenagers and people in their twenties around the world, their recognition still remained mostly limited to younger generations.

Adults generally only knew them as:

“NewBlack? Kids like them, right?”

And that was about it.

But now—

“Ta-da! Rabbit Uncle appears!”

......A truly unprecedented character had been born.

The ultimate weapon Wooju accidentally created to conquer children.

Even now, children all over the world were singing Uncle Bunny in daycare centers and kindergartens.

And that carried enormous significance.

Because when you capture children—

Who follows afterward?

Their parents.

“Mommy! Show me more rabbit!”

“W-wait a second!”

“RA-BBIT! UN-CLEEE! Rabbit Un-cleee!”

“I want to cry. Seriously....”

Perhaps because parents were being pressured into playing Rabbit Uncle videos nonstop, they began searching MyTube more and more.

– Rabbit Uncle @PBS Music On

– [Popular Singer Fancam] Rabbit Uncle Focus

– MusicK Behind) What exactly happened to Rabbit Uncle...?

Videos of Rabbit Uncle appearing on music shows were now pulling absurd numbers too.

And during that process, parents naturally became exposed to NewBlack as well.

‘At this point, there probably isn’t anyone left who doesn’t know the boys’ faces. This is amazing. Seriously.’

But Souffle couldn’t simply laugh happily.

Of course, this was incredible.

Global mainstream recognition that singers couldn’t buy even with billions spent on promotion.

The dream every artist longed for.

But...

‘This is definitely a good thing.......’

So why did their eyes keep growing watery?

– What is thisㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

– No but... teacher... our boys are supposed to become famous for being cool..

– [30 Years Later on Surprise] At that time, the effects caused by one children’s song were truly astonishing

– Why are we becoming famous because of a nursery rhymeㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

– Why??? Why is this selling so well..??

Souffle, who had wanted NewBlack to become famous for being cool, stared into the distance with bittersweet smiles.

At the same time, another worry crept in.

‘How are we supposed to beat this? Seriously.’

They genuinely had no idea how NewBlack’s future songs were supposed to surpass the fastest 100 million views in history.

Watching Souffle agonize over chart records, other idol fandoms shook their heads.

‘You’re literally the only fandom worrying about something like that....’

‘Who even tries to compete with a children’s song.......’

‘They’re weird. Why are there so many of them?’

Meanwhile, idol fans continued joking around while Souffle spiraled in existential crisis.

[Rabbit Uncle rises to #47 on the Mango Chart]

[Tosamie currently predicted for Billboard Hot 100]

[Our Tosamie reaches #1 worldwide trending♡]

At this point, people laughed just by looking at Rabbit Uncle’s picture.

– Wow our Tosamie’s a superstarㅠㅠㅠㅠ

– His star power is insane

– Let’s go to the Grammysㅋㅋㅋ

– People were dragging him for scandals not long ago but I guess fans are innocent and nonfans are guiltyㅋ

– Heard the turtle’s preparing a press conferenceㅠㅠ Tosamie fans spread rumors about race-fixing

– Is it true the average age of this fandom is six??

And it wasn’t just idol fandom culture.

News of Tosamie’s global success had become a topic absolutely everywhere.

Financial newspapers continuously published headlines like:

“When Will Lemon Entertainment Go Public?”

Variety shows copied Rabbit Uncle’s choreography.

Naturally, daily life had descended into chaos too.

Long lines stretched across supermarkets.

“How long have you been waiting?”

“One hour....”

“Ah, I should’ve come earlier. We’ll still get one before they sell out, right?”

Parents waiting in line to buy Rabbit Uncle dolls wore determined expressions.

‘If we want to survive, we need to buy one.’

Driven by relentless pressure from their children, parents were now calling supermarkets and even hunting down wholesalers in search of Rabbit Uncle dolls.

Following the first Souffle Bread craze and the second NewBulbaek craze came the third great Rabbit Uncle shortage.

Every time stores put up [SOLD OUT] signs, sighs echoed across the country.

Rabbit Uncle’s popularity was truly explosive.

“Wow.......”

People passing by watched the scene and chatted.

“This is seriously insane. Tosamie.”

“I heard kindergarten kids only sing that song nowadays. My friend’s a kindergarten teacher and said it’s unbelievable.”

“Wow... look at that line. Should we line up too?”

“No. As human beings, I don’t think we should cross that line.”

As they talked, their eyes drifted toward Rabbit Uncle.

A face overflowing with star quality.

Cute folded ears.

Bright eyes.

The more they looked, the more they thought about the person behind Rabbit Uncle.

‘You really hit another jackpot, Wooju.’

And then similar thoughts crossed everyone’s minds.

“Lemon Entertainment must be unbelievably happy right now.”

“Seriously. They’re probably grinning nonstop.”

But that wasn’t true at all.

At first, we were happy.

“Kyaaar르륵!”

“Kya르륵! Ah this is amazing!”

My other alter ego was conquering the world!

“Ah, happiness.”

“The true winner is the person hiding behind the rabbit. Huhu.”

“These kids are gonna grow up into Souffle someday, right? That means we’re set for another thirty years, hyungs!”

But our laughter didn’t last long.

Because the scale kept growing bigger and bigger.

[Hello, Uncle Bunny! This is the Late Night Show! How does it feel becoming a superstar?]

Famous American talk shows called me asking if Rabbit Uncle could appear in video calls.

“Uncle is disappointed in your dance skills. You must work harder! If you try hard enough, you too can become stars!”

We even filmed comedy skits where Rabbit Uncle harshly judged hosts and guests performing the choreography.

“Hyung.”

“Hm?”

“I want to do Rabbit Uncle as a concert event. Teach me the human version of the choreography.”

Taehyun from TNT asked me to teach him the dance before their concert because he wanted to do it as a fan event.

Apparently Rabbit Uncle was huge among idols now too.

The craze had supposedly exploded after NYX leader Myuri performed the choreography wearing rabbit ears during a fan meeting, and the fancam went viral.

Even now, searching “Rabbit Uncle” on MyTube produced endless clips of idols dancing to it on television.

“I’ll choose the cute challenge mission!”

“Ah, cute concepts are always good! What are you going to do?”

“Rabbit Uncle... nim’s song is really popular lately. I’ll show you the Rabbit Uncle power choreography!”

Reality shows.

Variety programs.

Idols covering the choreography.

MyTubers copying it too.

“Hyung.”

“Yeah?”

“They’re saying we might actually enter the Billboard Hot 100... even if it’s low ranking. The MyTube trend is apparently insane....”

“.......”

When we heard it might chart on Billboard Hot 100, my mind went blank.

“?”

“??”

It honestly felt like the entire world was pulling a hidden-camera prank on everyone except me.

Every terrifying new piece of news made our faces grow paler and paler.

“They’re saying it exploded in Japan too. Apparently everyone’s calling him Usa Oniichan.......”

“!”

“And apparently the jump from 100 million to 200 million views might happen even faster than before?”

“!!”

“They’re considering overseas exports for the Rabbit Uncle dolls...?”

Even we, who normally loved things on a huge scale, were getting scared now.

The younger members and I grabbed Rabbit Uncle and shook him.

“Tosamie!”

“How far are you planning to go? Why are you scaring people like this?”

“Don’t shake him! What if he gets angry?!”

The doll somehow looked arrogantly smug, but naturally no real conversation happened.

Ri Hyuk suddenly smirked.

“There’s a method for situations like this.”

“?”

“When we went fishing last time, the KAIST graduate students gave me a few gifts.”

Ri Hyuk inserted several components into Rabbit Uncle.

Then he called out.

“Tosamie.”

Bzzzzz—

The rabbit’s right arm moved, making all of us jump.

“It’s a mechanism that randomly reacts to outside voice changes. It randomly lifts either the left or right arm.”

“Oooooh!”

Junghyun called out too.

“Tosamie.”

Bzzzz—

“OHHHHHH!”

“It moved!”

Immediately, we stuck Post-it notes labeled [YES] and [NO] onto Rabbit Uncle’s hands.

“Tosamie.”

Bzzz— [YES] rose upward.

While Rabbit Uncle smiled brightly, Biju spoke gently.

“Tosamie. First of all, thank you. Thanks to you.......”

But Tosamie gave no response.

Jiho suddenly looked enlightened.

“I knew it. He’s definitely angry at us. We tried locking him in the display case without asking him first.”

“I think the battery’s just low.”

Ri Hyuk lightly tapped the doll.

“It’s just moving according to voice reactions. It’s not like the doll can actually talk.”

“No, hyung. There’s definitely something inside this rabbit.”

Ignoring Jiho’s words, Ri Hyuk picked up the rabbit to check the battery.

At that moment, my phone vibrated in my pocket.

When I answered, Director Jo Gyuhwan’s voice came through.

“Wooju, could you bring everyone to the CEO’s office for a moment?”

“What’s going on?”

“We need to discuss something related to Rabbit Uncle.”

We immediately gathered the younger members and headed to the top floor.

Director Jo Gyuhwan and CEO Park Gyuho greeted us with slightly dazed expressions.

“Come in. Want some tea?”

“Yes.”

The CEO hurried to the refrigerator and personally prepared drinks tailored to each of our tastes.

Director Jo looked at the Rabbit Uncle doll sitting on the table and laughed.

“Things are seriously insane because of him right now. I genuinely don’t know what’s happening anymore....”

“Hm?”

Seeing how bewildered he looked, we asked:

“Didn’t you predict this, Director? You started preparing business plans the moment you heard the children’s song.”

“Not to this extent....”

Director Jo stared off into the distance.

“What I imagined was maybe selling Rabbit Uncle dolls as merchandise. Or a modest children’s-song business......”

“Ahhh.”

“Wooju. No matter how good someone is at predicting trends, nobody can predict a rabbit appearing on music shows and entering Billboard, can they?”

We all laughed awkwardly.

I asked:

“Anyway... you said there was something to discuss?”

At this point, all legal matters regarding Rabbit Uncle’s profits and rights distribution had already been resolved through the legal team.

So what else was there left to discuss?

“Well, since you’re Rabbit Uncle’s original creator, and since you boys are major shareholders in the company, I thought it’d be good to update you on the business progress. And I’d like to hear your opinions too.”

“Business?”

“What kind of business?”

Director Jo answered:

“Animation.”

“Pffft—!”

All of us choked at once.

Wiping chocolate milk from my mouth, I asked:

“......Animation?”

“You know the Kids Choice Awards, right? The parent company that runs the ceremony also operates a children’s TV channel. They offered us a massive investment proposal. They want to make an animation based on Rabbit Uncle.”

“.......”

“A children’s animation. Something like The Rabbit Family or whatever.”

The completely unexpected news left us stunned.

Rabbit Uncle getting an animated adaptation.

“Uh.......”

We tilted our heads and cautiously asked:

“Will that even work...?”

“Hmm....”

Director Jo was about to answer when—

Bzzzz—

Rabbit Uncle, who had remained silent until now, slowly raised the [YES] sign.

“?”

“??”