Chapter 997: It Was Beautiful From Far Away.. (9)

Around the time NewBlack boarded their flight back to Korea, a grim tension spread throughout the country.

“Everyone.”

Inside the large conference room.

The division head addressed the gathered Lemon Entertainment employees.

“At last... the day has finally come.”

At the solemn voice, everyone nodded.

The official number three at Lemon Entertainment, and ninth in the power hierarchy under the SpaceShip faction, including major shareholders.

The division head slowly swept his gaze across the room.

“First of all, thank you to everyone who came today. To our advertising partners.”

Representatives from companies with endorsement contracts tied to NewBlack nodded while typing on their laptops.

“The people from the merchandise production lines.”

“Yes.”

Representatives from companies producing Lemon Entertainment merchandise.

“And the designer of our Uncle Bunny dolls. CEO Lee Hyein.”

“Ah, hello....”

The round-faced CEO of a doll manufacturing company awkwardly sat among the entertainment industry personnel.

For a moment, everyone’s eyes focused on her.

‘So that’s the creator of the bunny doll...!’

The person responsible for giving Uncle Bunny his overwhelming star quality had appeared, making the corporate representatives push up their glasses dramatically.

The division head continued.

“And finally, representatives from our department stores, marts, and logistics companies.”

“Yes.”

After calling everyone out one by one, Division Head Choi spoke seriously.

“The time has finally come.”

Today marked the beginning of the most important week of the year for Lemon Entertainment.

The period responsible for half of NewBlack’s annual merchandise sales, and the week when all the companies using NewBlack as advertisement models became incredibly busy with promotional events.

“Is everyone fully prepared?”

“Yes.”

“This next week will be extremely busy for all of us, but even if things become chaotic, let’s work together and overcome it wisely. No matter what happens, we can handle it if we face it together.”

Today was the beginning of the week containing July 18th—the birthday of Souffle.

What had once begun as a small event NewBlack prepared for their fans had now grown into a massive annual festival.

“Then from this moment onward.”

The division head declared solemnly,

“We officially begin 2018 Souffle Week.”

What was the day Souffle fans looked forward to most every year?

First place: comeback day.

Second place: also comeback day.

There were things like self-produced content and variety appearances too, but those happened so often now that fans were used to them.

The thing Souffle anticipated most after comeback season was Souffle Week.

Souffle Week D-day

When do you think the new goods will get uploaded to the merch shop???

Should I just go to the offline store...? Is it crowded?

Charcoal embers, open your bank accounts

Bank account: Please stop... stop already..

The charcoal embers’ hearts trembled with excitement.

Naturally so.

“Oh my god, they restocked this?!”

Discontinued merchandise that had once sold out due to popularity returned after demand surveys.

Goods people had hesitated to buy because of the price suddenly received huge discounts and got swept straight into shopping carts.

And to celebrate Souffle Week, commemorative merchandise arrived too.

“Woooooow......”

Of course, since it was free, they were fairly simple items.

[Souffle Week 2018]

Badges engraved with those words, along with small goods and stickers, caught people’s attention.

‘They even included Uncle Bunny stickers this year?!’

‘I’ll have to hide these from my nephew...’

‘The lineup’s good this year. Looks like they actually listened to feedback from last year.’

You could really feel the changes at Lemon Entertainment, now called a “growth-type company.”

Gyuho finally... got... the merchandise quantities... right...?

Our CEO has changed

Light Gyuho, the man who has everything except hairㅠㅠ

I can’t believe stuff still hasn’t sold out yet

...And the moment they said that, items immediately began selling out like ghosts had heard them.

“No...!”

“Damn it!”

Souffle fans frantically swept up the merchandise they’d always wanted.

Soon delivery trucks began moving busily, and cargo planes started flying through the skies.

Because Souffle had grown far too massive to be considered a mere idol fandom anymore.

The whales of the idol industry!

Their scale was overwhelming.

Even if you combined the fandoms of the so-called Four Heavenly Kings beneath NewBlack—Teen Spirit, SVO, Wonder Child, and Trickster—it still wouldn’t come close to matching Souffle’s numbers.

That was true even counting only domestic Korean fans.

And.

Souffle weren’t the only ones making purchases right now.

Experience incredible prices!

Special discounts for NewBlack Friday!

☆NewBulBaek Special Sale☆

Companies using NewBlack as endorsement models had also launched various sales under the name NewBlack Friday.

“How’s NewBlack Friday week looking? Sales?”

“Forty percent up compared to last week...!”

“As expected of NewBlack....”

The corporate representatives smiled brightly.

How’s the NewBlack Friday discount rate this year?

Pretty decent

Everyone! Ri Hyuk foundation discounts are live!!

Is it okay to stockpile stuff in advance right now?

Watching ordinary consumers buy cosmetics and all kinds of products for NewBlack Friday, Souffle blinked.

‘This scale feels way too big now...’

‘When exactly did this happen?’

While Souffle were feeling dazed by the sheer scale of it all, there was another group waiting for Souffle Week just as eagerly as NewBlack’s fans.

“At last......”

“God, I’ve seriously been waiting forever for this.”

“Subin-ah! Wanna go see Uncle Bunny?”

Parents with young children.

“Uncle Bunny” stores opening nationwide for NewBlack Friday... “Available at department stores and shopping malls across Korea”

People began flooding into the Uncle Bunny stores installed inside department stores.

Families took commemorative photos in front of the giant Uncle Bunny statue set up in the center of T Square in Yeongdeungpo.

And in the middle of Seokchon Lake in Jamsil, a massive Uncle Bunny float drifted peacefully atop the water.

“Uncle Bunny!”

“It’s a bunny! A bunny!”

Children bounced around clapping excitedly.

Their parents wiped away tears.

‘We survived.’

Now that there was finally enough stock of Uncle Bunny dolls, parents could breathe again.

After the nursery rhyme Wooju had used during that parenting variety show accidentally exploded in popularity, parents had suffered endlessly at the hands of their children.

Give me the doll!

Wait just a second. Mommy and Daddy will try looking for it...

Parents who had once tried calming their children peacefully eventually screamed at Lemon Entertainment instead.

Give us the dolls!

E-everyone, please wait! No, we’re preparing too...!

Back then, even running the doll factories nonstop hadn’t been enough to keep up with demand.

People had even coined the term “Uncle Bunny open-run” because parents lined up outside stores before opening hours.

“Bunny!”

“Mommy, take my picture! Like a princess, okay?”

“Hello, Uncle Bunny.”

Watching the children play happily, parents smiled warmly.

And.

Naturally, Uncle Bunny’s popularity—currently sitting on the Billboard Hot 100 alongside NewBlack—wasn’t limited to Korea.

“Uncle Bunny!”

“Bunny...!”

“Tio conejo!”

Uncle Bunny dolls had begun exporting worldwide.

And Uncle Bunny’s global popularity was revitalizing the economies of the regions where the dolls were manufactured.

“My god...”

Near Jakarta, Indonesia, in the Bekasi region.

Workers and local government officials at a doll factory stared blankly in disbelief.

“How many orders did you say?”

“This production volume isn’t even remotely enough. We need more production lines.”

“!!”

Cheers erupted inside the Indonesian factory responsible for producing Uncle Bunny dolls for the Asian market.

Inside the factory, labels reading “Made in Indonesia” were continuously attached to fluffy bunny bottoms with mechanical whirring and clanking sounds.

The atmosphere felt like a final weapon designed to conquer the hearts of children.

“It’s magnificent every time I see it......”

“We’re saved now!”

Recently, the gaming industry’s growth had caused traditional toy manufacturers to undergo restructuring one after another.

Rumors had even spread that this factory would be shut down or sold off within a year or two.

Then—

Everyone.

No! You’re selling the factory and leaving, aren’t you?!

No.

?

A representative from a global toy company handed them a new opportunity.

Starting today, we make bunny dolls.

......!

The American toy company partnered with Lemon Entertainment had opened an entirely new market.

As a result, the factories operated more energetically than ever before.

Residents had even started humming songs like “Bunny bunny~ Uncle Bunny~” without realizing it.

And this wasn’t happening only in Indonesia.

“We survived...!”

“Everyone! Work orders are flooding in!”

“NewBlack... makes money...??”

Factories in Montreal and Mexico supplying the North American market.

Factories in Brazil producing bunny dolls for South America.

Cheers erupted everywhere.

But...

“......”

Inside Lemon Entertainment itself, an awkward silence hung in the air.

Reports about Souffle Week sales and performance continued pouring in from every direction.

“CEO.”

The division head reported to CEO Park Gyuho.

“Uncle Bunny sales are......”

“Mm. How are they?”

“They surpassed all NewBlack-related sales. What do we do?”

“Pffft...!”

Park Gyuho sprayed tea from his mouth.

Director Jo Gyuhwan, sitting beside him, lowered his phone with a stunned expression.

“We’ve received investment proposals related to an Uncle Bunny animation. A toy company offered a massive investment.”

“They’re getting desperate.”

“They must’ve been shocked by the doll sales.”

Major corporations had verified Uncle Bunny’s market value and were now making investment offers.

Park Gyuho and the three Lemon Entertainment veterans stared blankly into space.

“This......”

The division head asked,

“Is this... actually normal?”

“What do you mean?”

“Normally when you start a business... aren’t you supposed to struggle through endless obstacles and hardships?”

That was right.

Lemon Entertainment had been working hard to establish itself as a content company.

Part of the reason for pushing these projects was creating synergy with NewBlack, but there were also realistic reasons.

CEO.

Yeah?

After settling the artists’ payments, our net profits are tiny.

.......

And so the content business began.

But content businesses weren’t easy.

Like any industry, starting from absolutely nothing was supposed to feel overwhelming.

But instead—

CEO! NewUniverse ratings surpassed 10%!

CEO! Wooju wrote a children’s song and it just hit 100 million views on MyTube! ...We’re receiving animation offers?!

The blocked path of their content business had been forcibly smashed open.

It felt as though Lemon Entertainment had been standing before an impossible cliff wondering how to climb it—

And then Wooju suddenly appeared.

You’re stuck, right?

We are...

One second.

Hm?

Combining our strength... Deoksun Sincere Punch!

KWAANG—

And the cliff disappeared.

Tiny shining droplets formed on Park Gyuho’s forehead.

“This isn’t what I imagined at all......”

“Me neither....”

The situation felt both unreal and painfully real at the same time.

Finally, Park Gyuho reached a conclusion.

“F-first of all... keep Uncle Bunny’s sales figures secret from Wooju and the kids. If they find out, they’ll work us to death.”

“CEO.”

The division head swallowed nervously.

“There’s something I should tell you......”

“Hm?”

The division head answered immediately.

“I already reported it to Wooju.”

“No, you idiot, read the room...!”

“It’s impossible to keep secrets anyway when Ri Hyuk’s sitting there with his eyes wide open! Seriously, how does that kid know all the company’s internal documents?!”

The sounds of bickering echoed throughout the CEO’s office.

Lemon Entertainment was peaceful as always.

Copyrights were incredible.

Truly incredible.

“......”

Staring at the sales numbers for the Uncle Bunny dolls in front of me, even I was shocked as the copyright holder receiving royalties.

It felt even more unbelievable than when the royalties from Blue Moon had been settled after hitting the Billboard Hot 100.

“As expected......”

I stared blankly into the distance.

“I should’ve written children’s songs instead of K-pop......”

“No!”

“You can’t go to the dark side...!”

The others grabbed me and shook me frantically.

“Hyung, pull yourself together...!”

Junghyun grabbed both my cheeks, turning me into a goldfish.

“L-let go... Junghyun...”

“Ah.”

“Sorry. I got shaken for a second there.”

The sales numbers had been so absurd that they’d briefly stunned me, but I quickly regained my composure.

Well.

That sort of thing could happen.

“It’s fine.”

I told the underlings,

“We’ll overturn this situation with Overcook.”

“!”

“!!”

Jiho raised his hand.

“Yes, Jiho.”

“But how exactly are we overturning it?”

“......”

I stared off into the distance.

For some reason, I could practically see a mountain-sized bunny casting a shadow while laughing menacingly with glowing red eyes.

“W-we’ll figure that out starting now.”

Well, Overcook wasn’t the priority yet anyway.

The important thing was Souffle Week.

“Hello, Souffle!”

“Helloooo~!”

After last year’s NewBlack Friday became a massive hit, things had admittedly grown... slightly larger in scale.

But Souffle Week was still Souffle Week.

An event for the fans.

“Starting today, all kinds of premium content prepared just for you will be released! Please look forward to it!”

Y app livestreams, various MyTube content, and more.

The concept behind Souffle Week was an online fan meeting.

Fans happily enjoyed all the new content that couldn’t normally be shown during concerts.

A nonstop flood of updates from Monday through Sunday.

To communicate smoothly with Souffle, they’d deliberately avoided all overseas schedules during this week.

Back when the TF team planned the tour schedule, Wooju had insisted:

“No matter what happens, we’re staying in Korea during the week containing July 18th.”

And.

Thanks to that free time, it became easier to focus on other work too.

“Now let’s really focus on the restaurant project.”

“Yes.”

With the gourmet special finished, it was finally time to head to Gurye County and open the restaurant.

The menu had already been finalized.

Biju had spent spare moments adjusting the recipes to fit Korean tastes.

All that remained was—

“We should start preparing to meet the chefs.”

The famous chefs who had taught them recipes and cooking techniques.

Through Producer Gu Jaeyoung, they’d asked Dante Cellini, Chef Bobby Ross, and several others whether they had time to visit Korea.

All of them had gladly agreed.

As a result, around three or four world-famous chefs would soon be visiting Korea.

Of course, that wasn’t all.

“Producer Gu contacted us. The Korean chefs all said yes too.”

“Okay.”

Since they needed to confirm whether the recipes had been properly adapted for Korean palates, meetings with domestic chefs were essential too.

The plan for this week was simple:

Receive final approval from the chefs before opening for business.

Then gather company staff and related personnel to conduct practice restaurant simulations.

Ri Hyuk asked,

“What should we do? Meet them separately?”

“Hmm....”

Looking at the schedule, that would make things awkward.

“If they’re okay with it, let’s just meet all together.”

Honestly, having everyone gather at once would probably be more entertaining for the variety show too.

The foreign chefs could broaden their perspectives by meeting Korean culinary figures.

And the Korean chefs would probably enjoy meeting world-famous chefs as well.

“They’ll definitely be excited, right?”

“They’ll probably love it.”

We burst into laughter together.

Star chef.

That was the phrase used to describe Chef Kim Hyunwook.

Excellent speaking skills, pleasantly handsome looks, and flashy culinary talent demonstrated across countless TV programs.

“Chef, did you see this?”

“Hm?”

“NewUniverse featured Chef Dante Cellini.”

“Really?”

He’d heard that his own mentor had appeared in NewBlack’s recent gourmet special.

As a result, public interest exploded.

‘Damn. Figures NewBlack would be able to meet Chef Cellini.’

He was secretly jealous too.

Of course, Dante Cellini was already famous enough that it wouldn’t benefit him much.

But for other chefs, it was a different story.

And since NewBlack were national idols, Korean chefs had started developing hopes of their own.

‘Still, there’s no way they could perfectly adapt those dishes into Korean cuisine immediately... Maybe they’ll need help from Korean chefs?’

...And right as he’d been thinking that, the call actually came.

Um, NewUniverse would like to invit—

I’ll do it!

And so the appearance was confirmed.

Back then, he’d felt like he owned the world.

Like life was beautiful.

But then—

Would it be alright if the members visited your restaurant?

Of course.

But will it be okay with the other guests there?

Who’s coming?

People like Chef Dante Cellini and Chef Bobby Ross. Probably around four of them total~

His own mentor.

World-famous chefs.

NewBlack.

All visiting his restaurant together.

Chef Kim Hyunwook slowly closed his eyes.

NewBlack had said it would be fun.

And they were right.

‘Fun for the viewers maybe......’

He felt exactly like an assistant professor suddenly hearing that Nobel Prize winners were coming to attend his thesis presentation.

The sous-chef asked nervously,

“Chef.”

“Yeah?”

“What do we do?”

“I don’t know either......”

Tears welled in the young chef’s eyes.

‘We’re doomed....’

The escalator he thought was carrying him toward heaven had suddenly begun descending straight into hell.