Chapter 328: Chapter 329:

At the back of the examination hall, a group of people had gathered.

“Are you feeling okay?”

“Yes…”

Her face was as white as a sheet.

The celebrity, with eyelashes long enough to be envied, set down a bottle of digestive medicine and said, “I think I’m feeling a bit better. Ugh…”

“Do you need a bag? Just in case you feel unwell during the test.”

“Th-thank you.”

Someone offered a spare plastic bag from their backpack as she retched.

“…Thank you so much.”

Rihyuk responded politely.

He wiped his mouth clean with a tissue, his pale face covered in cold sweat.

His neat movements, his seemingly frail appearance…

The students blinked in surprise.

‘She looks like a delicate princess from a comic book.’

‘Paper-thin…’

‘So the weakest character from the history adventure series was real.’

Her face looked so fragile that it seemed she might collapse without immediate help.

This was the result of the Korean spirit of compassion.

The students were trying to relieve the celebrity’s indigestion in the same examination hall.

“There’s a thick part between the thumb and index finger. Massaging it can help with stomach discomfort.”

“Really?”

Gently.

Her pale fingers rubbed her own hand, looking even weaker than an ant.

“…”

“What’s wrong?”

“…”

“I’m massaging it.”

Someone watching said, “Let me see your hand for a moment.”

“Why?”

“You won’t get relief that way. I get indigestion often, so I know.”

As Rihyuk watched warily, a student pressed hard on his hand.

The main vocalist of New Black screamed.

“Aaaah!”

His shout echoed through the examination hall, causing those around to cover their ears unwittingly.

At the same time, a clip from a recent music video came to mind.

‘The buttons were about to pop.’

‘What popped was my eardrum.’

‘What kind of scream spans octaves…’

Indeed, being a singer is not for everyone, thought the student.

Meanwhile, at the same time.

Aaaah~

The distant sound of a scream caused laughter to erupt in another examination hall.

“What’s that noise?”

“What’s this?”

“Stop barking, I thought it was a recording.”

The students in the classroom stirred.

Curious, some left to find out what was happening and soon began to return.

“What happened?”

“Well…”

The returnee struggled to hold back laughter as they explained.

“The celebrity came to take the test.”

“Ah, New Black?”

Everyone knew who it was.

Dozens of reporters with cameras were waiting in front of the examination hall, and the broadcasting station had brought recording equipment.

“But why did he…?”

“He got indigestion from eating kimbap.”

“…?”

“Someone tried to help by pressing hard on his hand, and it hurt so much he screamed.”

The students chuckled again, recalling the mournful and distant scream.

“So, did it help?”

“Yes.”

A chuckle escaped me at the mention of “the hole being pierced.”

Aaaaah~

Once again, a scream flitted through my mind.

With the third period looming, a brief, comfortable smile graced the lips of the stressed-out students.

“Thank you. I really appreciate it.”

“No problem.”

“I’ll make sure to repay you later. Thank you all so much.”

Rihyuk wiped the cold sweat beading on his forehead and offered a clumsy smile of gratitude.

The surrounding students asked him:

“Are you feeling better now?”

“Yes.”

“Then that’s good.”

As soon as they heard he was okay, the senior high school students coolly walked away.

“Phew…”

Taking a deep breath, Rihyuk also thanked the student in front of him for the antacid.

“Ah… I thought I was a goner. Seriously.”

Though his stomach still felt heavy, someone’s firm pressure had miraculously cleared his indigestion.

He wiped his sweaty palms on his pants, took off his coat, and rolled up his sweater sleeves.

“I have to do well now!”

How much had I studied for today?

Even amidst a hectic schedule, I always found time to solve practice problems and watch free online lectures.

Of course, doing well didn’t change the fact that I’d be attending the same cyber university as my brothers, Bijoo and Junghyun…

But I couldn’t take this exam lightly; it wasn’t in my nature.

Once I start something, I have to prepare thoroughly—that’s my principle.

“I have to score a grade 1 in English.”

I didn’t expect much from math since I didn’t have time to study, but I felt confident about Korean.

I perked up my ears to compare answers with others after the first period.

I guessed on one medieval Korean question, but non-fiction wasn’t too hard since I read a lot.

And English? I had lived in the U.S. as a child, so I was confident there.

“If I do well in Korean history too…!”

The thought of posting “Hey Soufflés, I scored grade 1!” on social media made my heart swell.

“No, wait. But what about those who failed? Would it be inconsiderate to brag about my grade 1? Though, I guess it’s fine since I bombed math.”

As usual, Rihyuk’s mind was clouded with all sorts of needless worries.

He twirled his mechanical pencil, then shook his head.

“I should ask Sunwooju about this.”

He decided to consult the eldest member of the team, who always provided clear guidelines on what to do and what not to do.

Despite creating numerous embarrassing moments, he had remained a leader without controversy.

Even if he laughed and said “Hehe, Kim Deoksoon, hehe,” he was meticulous in such matters.

“Please put away everything except your writing utensils.”

At the proctor’s instruction, the room filled with the sounds of chairs scraping, zippers closing, and objects clunking.

Soon after, the English listening test began.

Rihyuk carefully filled in the OMR sheet as the questions progressed.

-How many…

-It’s probably nine o’clock. Oh. Wait…

It was the latter part of the listening test, which always featured a guest at a hotel reservation desk, confused and saying, “It’s A. No, B,” while someone on the other side asked, “Oh, is it C?” like Wang Jihyo.

For Rihyuk’s group, such conversations were routine, so he answered with ease.

“Nine…”

Suddenly, the word “nine” tingled in his ears.

He shook his head to dismiss it.

The listening test ended, and the sound of pencils busily solving the English passages filled the air.

Rihyuk focused on the passages when…

-Nine Nine Nine~

The chorus sung by Junghyun kept echoing in his ears.

He shook his head again.

But this time, the other members joined in, swirling around his head like a dizzying carousel.

“…”

Rihyuk gripped his pencil firmly when the word “nine” suddenly leaped out from one of the passages.

The chorus intensified.

“…”

Meanwhile, he wasn’t the only one in the exam hall experiencing this phenomenon.

“Why does ‘nine’ keep coming up?”

“Nine…”

“I shouldn’t have listened to the Mango Chart yesterday; I’m screwed…”

The other students in the same hall.

Perhaps because they had heard Rihyuk’s voice directly, the catchy melody of “Nine” kept ringing in their heads.

Every time they worked on the test paper, the electronic beat thumped in their minds.

And this phenomenon wasn’t limited to Rihyuk’s exam hall—it was the same at his school and the neighboring schools.

-Nine Nine Nine~

It was a common occurrence for students who had listened to the top 100 Mango Chart songs while studying or on their way to and from school.

“…”

Students across the country clenched their eyes shut as the song spread every time they tackled an English passage.

English, being a foreign language, easily disrupted concentration.

And “Nine” kept drilling into their minds.

“I was relieved it wasn’t on the list of banned songs for the college entrance exam.”

“But it turns out it should have been…”

The students had carefully avoided any songs banned during the college entrance exam.

But such bans usually came after people suffered because of those songs on the exam day.

“Ah…”

And then.

“Ah, this is infuriating.”

The catchy chorus of ‘Nine’ was an earworm, and no one knew this better than Rihyuk.

While other students might hear the song a handful of times a day, Rihyuk, a member of New Black, had to listen to it hundreds of times for dance and stage rehearsals.

-Nine Nine

-Giggles! Gah!

-Rihyuk, be careful when you see an old man pulling a cart; it could be a sign!

Amidst these unheard hallucinations echoing in his mind, Rihyuk groaned as he tackled the English passages.

Outside the examination hall after the national college entrance exams.

My siblings and I were waiting in the car driven by our managers.

“It seems to be over. There’s a huge crowd coming out.”

“Wow.”

Students poured out as the second foreign language test ended.

Some wore faces of relief, others inscrutable expressions, as they stumbled out to embrace their waiting parents.

Jiho, who had been fiddling with a lollipop, said, “I think I know that feeling.”

“Really?”

“It’s like the feeling after months of album preparation, followed by the first music broadcast.”

“Ah…”

I empathized with the apt comparison.

The peculiar sensation after months of preparation, culminating in just three minutes on stage, followed by an emptiness tinged with overwhelming relief.

The youngest asked, “How does it feel? Similar?”

“I wouldn’t know. I never took the exams.”

“Oops.”

As we watched students exit the exam with moist eyes, Bijoo and Junghyun wore bittersweet smiles.

Looking at Mr. Wang flustered and wide-eyed, I laughed and said, “It’s regrettable, but if I had taken the exam that day, we wouldn’t have met.”

“Oh?”

“If I had entered the exam hall safely, our paths would never have crossed.”

“True…”

It’s strange how life works.

Had I gone to take the exam that day, I might have pursued a college major related to composition.

And I wouldn’t have crossed paths with them until I became a professional composer.

Bijoo remarked, “Then New Black wouldn’t exist. It all started with the logo on your sweatshirt during the year-end evaluation.”

“Right.”

Junghyun agreed, “Without you, our ‘Le…”

“Le…”

“Lemon Boys’?”

As they grasped my hand, lost in thought, they said, “The cart-pulling grandfather is truly our benefactor.”

“You’ve arrived at the right time.”

“Phew. That was close.”

As the managers chuckled at our teary-eyed relief, Jiho said, “Why are you laughing? Without you, you’d be managing Lemon Boys.”

Silence fell.

“Or perhaps the Flying Angels or Hot Voices that the boss adores…”

The managers stopped laughing, murmuring about being Lemon Boys’ managers, then looked at me with warm eyes.

“You’ve done well, Woojoo.”

The thought alone was frightening, Minki hyung said, and we all burst into laughter.

Yet, everyone seemed to share a strange feeling.

Perhaps it was the butterfly effect.

From a single variable two years ago, we had arrived at today’s New Black.

Coincidences seemed non-existent when traced back, but I felt fortunate not to have taken the exam.

Meeting them was a stroke of luck…

“If someone else had picked you up, what would we have done? Our lucky charm…”

I silenced the grumbling youngest.

Crunching on his lollipop, he exclaimed, “Did you know?”

“What?”

“When I was in middle school, my mom went to see a fortune teller. She asked about my future, and the seer said…”

We leaned in as he spoke.

“A golden chicken would roll into my future.”

“A chicken?”

“Yes. At first, I thought it meant good fortune for my dad’s chicken business. But now, I think it was you. Aren’t you born in the year of the Rooster?”

“Well, yes, but…”

“And that day, I wore a yellow jacket.”

We couldn’t help but laugh at his novel interpretation.

“So, you’re saying I rolled on the ice to bring fortune to your future?”

“It’s just an expression.”

“Such things are superstitions. If that were true, then the fortune the boss heard about us…”

What was it again?

That we’d become the world’s most famous boy group.

Back then, it seemed impossible, but considering the path we’ve walked in less than two years, I was speechless.

“What did the boss say?”

“Never mind.”

“Bro, you say you don’t believe in superstitions, but you do trust Jung-hyun’s hunches,” I pointed out.

It was when Jung-hyun muttered, “I have a good feeling about this…”

I spoke up seriously, “Jiho.”

“Yes?”

“Jung-hyun’s hunches aren’t superstitions.”

“…?”

“They’re science.”

At my words, Bijoo burst into laughter with a loud ‘Ha-ha-ha!’

While Jung-hyun sulked, muttering, “No, it’s not me…” the youngest member chimed in with a firm “Science.”

Amidst our chatter, suddenly…

“Look! He’s coming out!”

“Did Lee-hyuk come out?”

“It seems like it. There’s a huge crowd gathering.”

Hearing that Lee-hyuk was emerging, we grabbed our bouquets and disembarked.

We ran alongside the managers.

“Lee-hyuk!”

“Did you do well on the exam?”

“Our Lee-hyuk, you’ve had the toughest time in the world!”

Surrounded by people, Lee-hyuk walked out, covering his face with his hands, ignoring us.

The reporters with cameras flashed at us.

Lee-hyuk, with an embarrassed look, turned away, but soon laughed at the sight of us patting his shoulders.

“Did you do well on the test?”

“Yeah. Well, so-so.”

The guy, his face flushed, spoke as he exhaled a breath.

“I bombed the math since I didn’t study, but I think I did well on Korean history and the other subjects.”

“Wow.”

“But it got so tough in the middle…”

Just when I thought he might have had a stomachache from the kimbap, Lee-hyuk brought up another topic along with the kimbap.

“I didn’t know this.”

“Hm?”

“Our song…”

Lee-hyuk said, gazing into the darkening evening sky.

“Turned out to be a banned song during the exams.”

After the college entrance exam ended.

Posts about the exam started popping up on various online communities.

[From today, I’m an anti-fan of New Black, damn it]

I was solving the English section, and after I saw ‘nine,’ my brain kept repeating ‘nine nine nine,’ and I was terrorized.

Don’t listen to this song.

I thought it wasn’t on the banned list, so I was relieved, but I totally screwed up, damn it.

-LOL, you failed.

-That’s typical of those who can’t study.

-When did you listen to ‘Nine’?

-[Author] While studying the night before.

-LOL, who listens to music while studying the night before the exam?

‘Nine,’ with its addictive melody, was becoming the talk of various online communities.

-I wasn’t the only one LOL.

-When I saw ‘nine’ in the exam text, my brain went ‘nine nine nine,’ and I thought I was going crazy.

-It wasn’t on the Facebook banned list… It definitely wasn’t there…

-There must have been New Black fans among the seniors, right? I’m curious about their reactions.

And among them were the Soufflés, smiling wryly with a sad laugh.

-My favorite song kept playing in my head during the exam…

-Our oppas turned out to be harmful to students…

-I didn’t have that issue… I unknowingly made a heart sign when I saw ‘space’ in the Korean text.

-I thought only ‘Wind Flower’ was addictive, but ‘Nine’ was no less a powerful song.

-LOL, at least you guys had ‘Nine’… During the science section, I thought of Kyu-ho when I saw ‘silicon.’

-LOL!

When the ‘2015 ver. New SAT Banned Songs List’ started appearing on social media in card format.

[People made way for the New Black member who got sick at the exam center + Review]

Stories about the main vocalist of New Black at the exam center were spreading.

-Is he really that handsome in person???

-Yeah, the supervisors were startled every time they saw him. I’ve seen handsome people before, but he made me go ‘wow.’

-I’m really curious.

-Every story about New Black is extraordinary.

And the Soufflés, searching for these reviews.

Soon, promotional posts crafted in the dark started appearing on idol communities.

[Today’s sighting of New Black’s Lee-hyuk at the SAT.jpg]

-LOL, so approachable.

-There’s nothing normal about the reviews from the public… If it looks normal, it feels fake.

-Yeah, it’s said that New Black’s reviews have to be weird to be genuine.

-Look at their press photos too, they’re hilarious LOL.

-I wonder about his grades since he seemed like a good student in past reviews.

People burst into laughter at the article photos someone attached in the comments.

The members of New Black were running with bouquets of roses, and the managers ran alongside them majestically.

‘New Black, a loving sprint towards the member who took the SAT,’ read the photo article’s headline.

-What is this LOL

-It’s like a scene from a cartoon where superheroes kick trees and run LOL

-Is there anything ordinary about them? LOL

-Sometimes they seem like aliens sent to scout Earth.

And that evening and the next day.

As if proving their newfound fame, the stories that spread across the community began to turn into news articles.

-‘New Black’s Lee-hyuk, the sudden talk of the town on SAT day?’

-[Photo] New Black’s Lee-hyuk leaving the exam center, “Struggled with indigestion.”

-[Health] ‘This’ is what a New Black member ate on SAT day and got sick… Top 10 foods to be careful with for digestion

Click. Click.

“…”

Silently, I, Yoon Seok-Hwan, the director, stared into the void as I searched through the articles.

Then, I read the proposal in my hand.

‘Why on earth are we getting antacid advertisements for an idol…?’

The members of New Black, like swallows returning from a journey, always bring back the strangest ads.

I’m proud and impressed, but…

As a manager, I’m torn about whether to embrace or resist their evolving image, which is gradually straying from the idol realm.