Chapter 995: It Was Beautiful From Far Away.. (7)

People who saw the thumbnail for the NewBlack TV upload muttered to themselves.

“Lemon Entertainment....”

“Hip-hop division?”

For people familiar with idol self-produced content and variety shows, the thumbnail carried a very recognizable vibe.

‘Is this a NewBlack Company concept?’

It looked like office-worker roleplay content.

Situational skits where celebrities acted as managers, assistants, section chiefs, and employees were an extremely common format.

But...

“?”

“??”

Something about the lineup in the thumbnail felt bizarre.

‘That’s Daisy, isn’t it?!’

The pink-haired girl wearing a crop top under a suit jacket was Daisy, the youngest member of the girl group Scarlet.

She stood there with one hand on her waist, blowing bubble gum while looking delightfully delinquent.

And next to her were the gangsters.

‘...Street Boys?’

The rap line from Street Boys stood there with their arms crossed, loose ties hanging halfway down their shirts.

And crouching in front of them were two high schoolers.

‘Jihyuk and Hongju...?’

‘Wait, that’s REALLY Jihyuk!’

The winner and runner-up of the hip-hop survival show .

And then—

‘Oh... rappers!’

‘Those are actual rappers!’

Even famous rappers who regularly appeared as mentors on major hip-hop survival shows were there.

People blinked.

‘But why are all these people gathered together...?’

Curiosity won out immediately.

They clicked the thumbnail.

[Hello, everyone!]

The moment the video started, people burst out laughing.

Korea Hip-Hop’s Number One Seo Ri Hyuk waved from inside a car while wearing the crane mask.

[I’m on my way to work right now. Ta-da.]

Wooju proudly held up a hastily-made employee ID card.

On the Lemon Entertainment badge, the name read:

[Hip-Hop Division Intern | Korea Hip-Hop’s Number One Seo Ri Hyuk]

The wild-crane photo used for the ID made everyone lose it.

ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Look how lazy that photo isㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Sir excuse me you’re supposed to use an ID photo.. what kind of intern uses a selfieㅡㅡ

Hip-hop company intern but his name is Korea Hip-Hop’s Number Oneㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

???: Hello. I’m the new employee “KG Chairman Kim Charcoal Grill”

The crane clasped both hands dramatically.

[It’s my first day going to work at the Hip-Hop Division! Ahh... I’m nervous! So I decided to film a vlog!]

Bright vlog-style background music began playing.

The crane commuting to the filming set unfolded in a cheerful vlog format.

I can’t immerse myself because of the crane maskㅠㅠ

Why is this vlog aesthetic so sparkly

Ah seriously I wanna smack him on the foreheadㅋㅋ

What kind of intern films a vlog on Day 1ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

But then—

[Mr. Seo Ri Hyuk.]

The upbeat music abruptly cut off the moment he arrived at the set.

Kim Jihyuk and Gye Hongju stood there in dress shirts without jackets.

The trainees’ acting was awkward, but they were trying their best.

[Mr. Seo Ri Hyuk?]

[Yes~!]

[Are you filming a vlog on your very first day here?]

[Sorry.......]

The camera captured the crane getting dragged into a corner and scolded by two senior employees wearing assistant manager badges.

The entire thing felt like a mockumentary scene.

A Human Documentary-style narration played over the footage.

『Korea Hip-Hop’s Number One Seo Ri Hyuk gets heavily scolded on his first day.』

『The life of an intern is harsh indeed.』

Viewers burst into laughter.

Meanwhile, while the crane awkwardly stood around reading the room, the two assistant managers introduced the people on set.

[I’m Assistant Manager Kim Jihyuk. I transferred here to Lemon Entertainment from the Company.]

“A-And I’m... Hongju. Senior—I mean, Mr. Seo Ri Hyuk.”

As they spoke, subtitles introducing their affiliations appeared onscreen.

Perhaps wanting to give the trainees some screentime, the production had them introduce the senior rappers around the set.

[Those people over there are the Street Boys Assistant Managers.]

[Whoa! So people from assistant manager level onward are allowed to sit down?!]

[That’s correct.]

The Street Boys rap line lounged casually on tiny plastic bathhouse stools while sucking on Chupa Chups.

[And over there is Manager Dae.]

Daisy from Scarlet sat on a slightly taller chair than the others.

Manager Dae lazily chewed on beef jerky and gave them a casual wave.

Everyone bowed at a perfect ninety degrees.

Kim Jihyuk smoothly added another skit line.

[Mr. Korea Hip-Hop’s Number One Seo Ri Hyuk! Bow lower. Not sixty degrees—ninety.]

[My apologies. If I bow any lower, my beak will hit the floor.]

[!]

The two trainees burst out laughing, causing an NG.

Wooju slowly raised a finger and wagged it.

A terrifying soundtrack played.

[Hsss!]

The warning to stay immersed in the situation made viewers laugh even harder.

‘How are they supposed to hold that in?!’

After the introduction to Manager Daisy ended, they finally moved on to the rappers.

[Those gentlemen are now deputy general managers.]

Veteran rappers lay sprawled out comfortably.

An overhead camera shot captured them all.

The rappers themselves looked on the verge of breaking character, lips twitching while trying not to laugh.

ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Assistant manager: allowed to sit / manager: chair / deputy GM: lying down ㅋㅋㅋ

┕Chairman: clutching the back of his neck

This company is a complete disasterㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

And finally—

The legendary Division Head.

Hation appeared lying on a foldable camping cot, causing universal laughter.

[That is our Division Head.]

[...I think he’s sleeping.]

[He only wakes up during meal times.]

[Ah~]

Then Korea Hip-Hop’s Number One Seo Ri Hyuk quietly turned the vlog camera back on.

[Everyone. I think I need to quit this company.]

Just as the intern began planning his escape from this horrifying workplace—

Someone suddenly blocked his path.

[Young man... where do you think you’re going?]

Kim Junghyun appeared in a perfectly tailored suit dressed like a true executive.

And just like that, the escape plan collapsed.

‘Ooooh.’

‘Wow, Junghyun looks incredible in a suit....’

Junghyun looked like a chaebol heir.

The filming set immediately fell into chaos.

[Assistant Manager Kim Junghyun has arrived!]

[Assistant Manager Kim Junghyun has arrived!]

At the announcement of Kim Junghyun’s arrival, everyone scrambled upright.

Even the Division Head and deputy managers jumped to their feet and stood politely.

‘What’s going on?’

The crane asked his supervisors.

[Who is that person?]

[That’s Assistant Manager Kim Junghyun....]

Gye Hongju leaned in and whispered:

[He’s the chairman’s third son.]

[Ahhh...! So THAT’S the setting.]

Everyone burst into laughter at the painfully familiar chaebol-drama trope.

Division Head Hation greeted him respectfully while Junghyun smiled in satisfaction.

[I heard a new intern joined our division today.]

[Yes, Assistant Manager.]

Junghyun looked coldly at the intern’s nametag.

[Your name is Korea Hip-Hop’s Number One Seo Ri Hyuk?]

[Yes, sir! I am Korea Hip-Hop’s Number One Seo Ri Hyuk!]

Tense background music played as the intern introduced himself as “Korea Hip-Hop’s Number One” in front of actual heavyweight hip-hop artists.

[Young man....]

Junghyun asked seriously.

[Which branch of the Guk clan are you from?]

The rappers lowered their heads, desperately holding back laughter, while viewers completely lost their minds.

Ahhh so “Guk” is his surnameㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

┕ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

┕Not a single ounce of prejudice

“Your name is Korea Hip-Hop’s Number One?” << he’s genuinely just asking out of curiosity

The crane answered smoothly.

[I’m from the Damyang Guk clan.]

[Ah. The homeland of tteokgalbi.]

And with that, the skit fully launched into its “Hip-Hop Division” office setting.

The roleplay itself was complete nonsense—

But gradually, one thing became firmly imprinted in viewers’ minds.

The sheer scale of Lemon Entertainment.

Lemon really got huge holy shitㄷㄷㄷㄷ

So now Hation Records and DNS Media are both under Lemon??

┕Reports say they’re acquiring SNH too

┕Wowㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Daylight, NewBlack, Street Boys, Scarlet, and La Rose are all becoming labelmates

And when viewers realized second-generation national girl group Daylight would soon be added too, Lemon’s size suddenly felt enormous.

At the same time, viewers focused on something else as well.

‘Jihyuk and Hongju are in the same company?’

The winner and runner-up of .

Gye Hongju had participated in the show from the beginning as a DNS Media trainee.

Kim Jihyuk had been surrounded by rumors saying he would debut solo or join Hation Records, only to ultimately choose Lemon instead.

‘I was dying to hear news about those two!’

‘Good to see them again....’

Viewers looked delighted to finally see updates from the two singers who had been quiet for so long.

And idol fans felt their hearts race.

‘So are they becoming junior groups under Street Boys and NewBlack?’

‘Looks like Lemon’s preparing rookie groups.’

Considering they were the winner and runner-up of a major hip-hop survival show, it wasn’t strange for them to appear.

But the fact Lemon deliberately brought current trainees onto self-produced content and even gave them meaningful screentime?

Idol fans immediately caught the signal.

‘Within a year.’

It meant the junior groups under Street Boys and NewBlack would probably debut within the next year.

Looks like junior groups are debuting soon

┕DNS registered trademarks recentlyㅇㅇ seems close

Jihyuk please debut soonㅠㅠ

And while viewers enjoyed the NewBlack TV video—

[Now then! We’ll begin the company dinner gathering!]

The singers gathered in the center of the set under the concept of a company dinner party.

As rappers assembled one by one holding microphones, viewers’ hearts started pounding.

‘A performance?’

‘Are they performing??’

First up was Hation and his label rappers.

Flo—the original artist behind , currently charting in Mango’s Top 40—started rapping.

Beneath bright yellow hair, his freckled face delivered smooth mumble rap.

Flo really does deserve his survival-show winner title

Hation’s rappers are generally all pretty skilled

┕They’d probably be way bigger if they released albums more often. Hation’s label has absurdly long release cycles

┕I used to curse them out saying “sell the company if you’re gonna manage releases like this” and then he literally sold itㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

While viewers discussed Hation Records artists—

The dancing crane gradually stole everyone’s attention.

Ah fuck somebody stop the crane

Damn itㅋㅋㅋㅋ laughing at this hurts my prideㅠㅠㅠㅠ

18:47 Daisy’s facial expression: endure... Kim Nayoon, you must endure...

Look at the singers desperately avoiding eye contactㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

As the rappers performed, viewers smiled happily.

The atmosphere felt almost like a concert.

Ahhh only getting 30-second snippets of hit songs is torture

Gyuho please give us a Lemon concert

I wanna see this lineup at a university festival

┕Day 1: NewBlack / Day 2: school permanently closed

While Lemon Entertainment’s rappers all partied together—

Finally, Intern Korea Hip-Hop’s Number One Seo Ri Hyuk stepped forward.

ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Korea Hip-Hop’s Number One enters

A name that brings looseness into the tense world of hip-hop

But the moment he picked up the microphone—

“Huh?”

“Wait...?”

The crane suddenly performed the rap sections from and then in Korean.

Everyone blinked.

‘Why... is he good?’

No—

Not merely good.

It was genuinely impressive.

Viewers replayed Wooju’s rap section over and over.

‘Wait... what is this?’

Up until now, Sun Wooju had drawn attention in the competition mainly as a king-level vocalist.

When he introduced himself as Korea Hip-Hop’s Number One Seo Ri Hyuk, people assumed:

He named himself that to tease his younger brother!

But what he showed here...

It genuinely felt like he could become Korea Hip-Hop’s Number One.

The phrase that had sounded like a joke moments earlier suddenly felt completely serious.

A shocking realization spread through viewers.

‘I can’t keep this to myself.’

The moment the video ended, viewers immediately rushed to messenger apps and communities to post about it.

The NewBlack TV video instantly exploded into a hot topic.

! Real-Time Trending Videos

-[Lemon Entertainment Hip-Hop Division] Special Ep. Korea Hip-Hop’s Number One Seo Ri Hyuk Joins the Company

The comment section immediately exploded.

Meanwhile—

“......”

“......”

Some people watched all this with hollow expressions.

Where there was fried chicken, there was seasoned chicken.

Where there was light, there was darkness.

NewBlack possessed such overwhelming popularity and public favor that their antis rarely held much power—

But they definitely existed.

Everyone had their own reasons for becoming an anti.

They’re coasting through life.

People irritated because NewBlack seemed successful without struggling.

Why does nobody ever criticize them?

People sick of seeing them endlessly praised.

NewBlack blocked everyone else from going overseas. And now Moonlight’s entering the market too so it’ll get even harder....

People who once thought, “My idol is popular overseas too... maybe they’ll break through next,” only to become bitter when NewBlack monopolized the global K-pop market.

Of course, nobody became a hardcore anti immediately.

But then—

Why do you hate NewBlack so much?

They’d casually mention it in real life—

And get stared at like lunatics.

Or they’d leave one hateful comment online and immediately get carpet-bombed by replies, causing resentment to fester further.

‘What is NewBlack, gods? We’re not allowed to touch them?’

And over time, those feelings evolved into wanting to see them fall apart just once.

For people like that—

Today had been absolute hell.

[Real-Time Chart]

#1 Korea Hip-Hop’s Number One Seo Ri Hyuk – Spring Blossoms Bloom

#2 Korea Hip-Hop’s Number One Seo Ri Hyuk – I’ll Sing This For You

The competition songs occupied both #1 and #2 on Mango’s real-time chart.

[Compilation of celebrities who appeared on Newverse today]

[Korea Hip-Hop’s Number One Seo Ri Hyuk Round 1 Performance]

[Locations currently predicted as future Goblin Restaurant sites.list]

Newverse had declared a restaurant startup project.

Mission Singer had overwhelmingly proven itself through sheer talent.

‘What even is this.......’

Regardless of their resentment toward NewBlack—

There was genuinely nothing to criticize.

Why is Goblin Restaurant overseas... ah. It’s actually in Korea?

They’re serving foreign food at domestic tourist spots... ah, but desserts use local specialties?

Even if it’s NewBlack, giving Korea Hip-Hop’s Number One Seo Ri Hyuk THIS much screentime... ah damn it’s funny though

And after grasping desperately for criticisms, the only thing they could finally settle on was—

Honestly I think the name “Korea Hip-Hop’s Number One Seo Ri Hyuk” is a bit much.

That was it.

Imagine if some rapper came out calling himself “Top Idol” and acted ridiculous like this. Wouldn’t idol fans be annoyed too?

So from hip-hop artists’ perspectives, isn’t this understandably offensive?

When rappers diss idols everyone loses their minds, but idols can casually diss rappers...?

Calculations began forming inside the antis’ heads.

‘As long as hip-hop fans take the bait a little, that’s enough.’

Souffle fans were terrifyingly protective, which made people cautious—

But there were definitely rappers who disliked NewBlack.

If those rappers joined the discourse, even better.

All it would take was a vaguely bitter Instagram story like this:

[Well, those people are globally famous and all... not that a mere hip-hop artist like me has any power, but today left me feeling a little bitterㅋ]

It didn’t matter if it felt forced.

‘As long as things get noisy and we create controversy, that’s enough.’

Just as they prepared to manufacture discourse—

DUN DUN!

A video appeared before them.

-[Lemon Entertainment Hip-Hop Division] Special Ep. Korea Hip-Hop’s Number One Seo Ri Hyuk Joins the Company

And to the antis, it practically sounded like this:

Rising star of the hip-hop world! Intern Korea Hip-Hop’s Number One Seo Ri Hyuk greets his respected seniors!

Welcome, junior!

The crane bowing deeply to famous hip-hop artists like Hation while being openly accepted as a junior.

The antis suddenly couldn’t breathe.

“......”

“......”

At best, they’d hoped for reactions like, “He’s mediocre but getting overpraised.”

But—

‘He’s good.’

Wooju was displaying genuinely insane skill.

Maybe not at the level of active professional rappers, but considering rap wasn’t even his primary specialty—

And since it was just an event performance, criticizing him became nearly impossible.

‘The best move now is just staying quiet. Don’t add fuel to this.’

Unfortunately for the antis—

Things didn’t even go according to that plan.

Scattered comments began appearing.

Korean hip-hop lost all its swaggerㅋㅋㅋㅋ washed-up old men desperate for views

Fangirls, you seriously call THIS hip-hop?

An idol in a rapper gatheringㅋㅋㅋㅋ what a jokeㅋㅋㅋㅋ dude gets Billboard #1 off Cold Brown’s back and suddenly thinks rap is easy

The antis grabbed their foreheads at the aggressive comments.

‘No, fuck. If you say it THAT way, people will just push back harder.......’

‘Jesus Christ, I can’t work with these idiots.’

‘No tact. No social awareness. Nothing.’

Immediately, furious backlash from Souffle fans and ordinary viewers flooded in.

The heavily downvoted comments quietly disappeared.

And then memes began spreading through communities.

[Hot Take) Korea Hip-Hop’s Number One really IS Seo Ri Hyuk]

Who else in Korea could gather THAT lineup togetherㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Honestly true

Pretty sure even the rappers who didn’t appear would’ve come if invited

Seo Ri Hyuk really is the top dog

Kyaaa our hip-hop emperor Seo Ri Hyuk

As memes declaring Seo Ri Hyuk the true king of Korean hip-hop spread everywhere, the antis closed their eyes.

‘It’s over.’

Once something became a meme—

The situation was finished.

In an atmosphere where everyone was laughing together, trying to seriously argue, “No but objectively speaking...” was hopeless.

Thus the antis suffered another defeat.

‘Sigh.’

‘At least I won’t support them.’

‘Ignoring them is the answer.’

As they made those resolutions, something suddenly floated into their vision.

Seo Ri Hyuk VS Sun Wooju

“......”

“......”

The antis stared off into the distance.

‘Just until next week. Then I’m done watching.’

For some reason, imagining Sun Wooju smiling smugly made him especially irritating today.

They could practically picture how hard he must be laughing right now.

The next day after the broadcast ended.

“......”

“......”

The younger members cautiously watched my expression.

“Hyung.......”

“Hyung....”

Ignoring their voices, I stared silently at my phone screen.

Five minutes earlier—

I had sent Kim Deoksun a request.

Me [Grandma, change it to this one]

KingGodKimDeoksun [What now]

KingGodKimDeoksun [I’m a woman who lives life my own way]

Me 【Sun Wooju has sent you allowance money】

KingGodKimDeoksun [A woman’s heart bends like reeds]

And thus—

Kim Deoksun changed her profile picture to “Korea Hip-Hop’s Number One Seo Ri Hyuk.”

But...

KingGodKimDeoksun [Our pretty little Ri Hyuk♡]

I closed my eyes tightly and trembled.

“Why.......”

“Kghhh.”

The younger members pressed fists against their mouths while trying not to laugh.

“WHY......!”

“PWAHAHAHAHA!”

“No but seriously... PWAHAHA!”

“Kyaaaahaha!”

Ri Hyuk laughed the hardest, looking completely vindicated.

Ding dong!

A new message arrived.

KingGodKimDeoksun [Message fees are charged separately~]

KingGodKimDeoksun [Please send additional funds]

“Wow, what a bandit!”

The younger members exploded into laughter.