Chapter 347: Chapter 348: 2 minutes and 30 seconds.

It may seem brief, but compared to the impact NewBlack has shown this year, it’s a modest duration.

Even after NewBlack left the stage, the murmurs of the idol fans in attendance didn’t subside.

“What? Are they stepping down right now?”

“It seems so.”

“They’re leaving after just that…?”

This year, the most successful idol songs for the first and second halves were “Wind Flower” and “Nine.”

With just one of them, they could have done a full 3-minute and 30-second stage.

But as the idol fans buzzed with stunned faces over the 2-minute and 30-second medley that combined both songs.

The online world was abuzz, just like the offline.

-What??? It’s really over LOL

-What just happened?

-Classic HBS LOL

-I’m at the venue, and the atmosphere is tense… Their fans are no joke, and other fans are buzzing too.

-Lemon is not a small deal, look at that attitude LOL

-Even with mainstream popularity, they’re being high-handed, amazing really.

Everyone was incredulous, and the sites and social networks where the Soufflés gathered were quickly filled with posts containing expletives.

-But every year, seeing this mess and getting angry LOL Idol fans may rage, but the broadcasters never budge.

When the year-end stages are almost entirely cut or poorly managed events lead to injuries for the singers.

The broadcasters would play ignorant without any mention.

Knowing the outcome of similar incidents that repeat every year, other idol fans could only click their tongues.

Meanwhile, something slightly different was happening.

-NewBlack was promoted as if they were going to perform, so I tuned in, but it was ridiculous;;

-Did they leave after just 2 minutes?

-LOL If this was going to happen, they shouldn’t have promoted it.

-I turned it off because it was so absurd.

The general public communities were also talking about it.

During the previews, NewBlack was featured as one of the main acts to perform.

And with PBS’s “Masterpiece Ensemble” airing earlier at a 19% viewership rating.

Naturally, the first part of the year-end music festival, usually distant from regular viewers, saw high ratings.

The problem was…

“Huh? Why is this suddenly…”

“Why is the viewership graph like this? This can’t be right.”

The joy of surpassing the recent three years’ viewership ratings in a steady climb was short-lived.

HBS was in a panic.

‘Why is the viewership dropping?’

The graph that had been on an upward trajectory suddenly started to decline.

The change began precisely around the time NewBlack exited.

It was a situation that defied common sense.

“Could it be because NewBlack didn’t appear?”

“Does that make sense? As if idol fans have that much influence on the ratings.”

“If not that, then what…”

“Hey! Someone figure this out! I already texted the director that we hit the highest ratings in three years!”

Before HBS could grasp the situation, the cause became clear.

It was because of the titles of the numerous posts on the viewer’s forum.

-If you’re going to do it like this, don’t bother.

-I didn’t want to comment, but your actions are so vile and pathetic that I must say something.

-Viewers aren’t fools. Get a grip -_-

-In this day and age, such high-handedness… It’s unbelievable.

-May those who exploit the passion of these kids be cursed.

Even the staff, who usually ignored posts by idol fans, began to notice the strange trend.

‘Why are there so many ordinary people?’

Normally, idol fans would be noisy, and regular viewers wouldn’t have a clue.

But this time, ordinary viewers were leaving messages of protest.

And they were from the older generation.

“…So, there were this many people who usually liked NewBlack?”

“That too, but today PBS happened to have the “Masterpiece Ensemble” year-end special. It was a huge hit. Right now.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“…”

“They were always popular…”

The realization of the overlooked aspect came belatedly.

It was NewBlack’s widespread popularity.

Even among the variety of impactful variety shows, once the middle-aged audience gets hooked, they tend to repeatedly watch the same videos or listen to the same songs. It was inevitable that NewBlack’s performance on the ‘Classic Song Stage’ would leave a lasting impression.

The songs that topped this year’s charts for listeners over 50, including ‘Dear Deoksoon’ and competition songs like ‘Life.’

“Other age groups too…”

NewBlack was the idol group with the highest public familiarity, thanks to the nostalgia of OSTs and various commercials.

But the most crucial platform was MeTube.

After the cancellation of the ‘History Expedition Team’ Season 2 project, HBS seemed to undervalue us, but NewBlack’s influence, with six million subscribers, was undeniable.

Even considering the idol fans, it was practically the largest MeTube channel in the country.

“It seems we had bad timing. Just when the ‘Classic Song Special’ aired, our Christmas carol was released…”

Despite NewBlack’s popularity, we weren’t always the center of attention.

However, the newly released carol garnered interest, and the problem was the HBS Music Awards following the ‘Classic Song Stage,’ which had nearly a 20% viewership.

And for those involved, it was a headache.

“Are you only realizing this now?”

“Well… there hasn’t been an idol group like this before.”

In recent years, there hadn’t been a case like NewBlack, which was the biggest oversight.

HBS, criticized last year for poor stage management, is now noisy with ‘abuse of power’ controversy.

The first part of the ‘abuse of power’ music awards had no highlights, only plenty of PPL.

‘HBS Music Awards’ retaliatory abuse of power controversy.

Somehow, the existing discord between Lemon Entertainment and HBS, sourced from an anonymous insider, began to surface.

Ziiing—

On a Sunday rest day, a call from an executive made the HBS Music Awards staff and the main control room gulp nervously.

It was an issue that wouldn’t have mattered normally, but boasting about the highest viewership ever was now a problem.

The viewership graph had been trending lower than last year.

“Contact PD Kang and tell him to add NewBlack’s name to the corner now. That should calm things down.”

This was during the instructions for the ‘Idols to Watch in 2016’ interview segment in the second part.

The employee who put down the smartphone looked stunned.

“He’s already left the office?”

“What…?”

“They told him there was no need to stay on-site and just to go home…”

“How can you tell him to leave! Tell him to come back!”

“I already did, but traffic is so bad around Gangnam that even if he returns, it’ll be after the second part…”

Amidst the shouting in the broadcasting station…

@thenewblack.official

(NewBlack smiling brightly in the waiting room, dressed for the Music Awards.)

We did well on the Music Awards stage today! >ㅇ<

We love you, Soufflé!

NewBlack’s SNS post uploaded after the first part ended.

It wasn’t a post with any particular intent, but somehow, it seemed to hit a nerve with HBS.

“Ants?”

“Chubby.”

“Us too?”

“Chubby!”

The NewBlack members were clapping and laughing on their way to the dormitory.

“Today is my personal card.”

“Ohhh!”

“What’s a personal card? What are you talking about, Jiho?”

As the leader flashed his personal card with an excited face, the members pretended to be dazzled.

“Let’s gorge on beef at the dormitory tonight and get chubby!”

“Chubby~!”

“Thanks for the early leave!”

“Early leave! Early leave!”

Inside the car waiting for the signal, the managers covered their ears as the NewBlack members chanted for an early leave.

After the HBS Music Awards ended.

A lot had happened while we were focused on practicing for the PBS Music Festival stage.

“We had a huge fight.”

Seokhwan hyung came down to the practice room and shared the behind-the-scenes story.

Our youngest member’s eyes sparkled.

“So, did we win?”

“No, Jiho. This isn’t about winning or losing…”

“But if you’re going to be a fool whether you win or lose, it’s better to be a winning fool.”

As we nodded in agreement, calling ourselves ‘winning fools,’ the mood lightened, and everyone laughed.

“Anyway, we had a huge fight with HBS. It was the first time I saw the director and the CEO that angry.”

“Is the boss angry…?”

“His face turned incredibly red… He was so intimidating that no one dared to speak.”

It was hard to imagine our boss, who never loses his cool unless it’s about President Lim of DNS, actually getting angry.

“I can’t even picture him being that furious.”

“The drama department at HBS is a completely separate issue, so there’s no problem with the actors, but…”

“It’s the variety shows that are the problem.”

“It looks like we won’t be able to appear on HBS’s music programs starting next year. It’s almost like a ban.”

“Ah.”

“His pride must have been deeply wounded.”

The controversy over HBS’s abuse of power was still causing a stir.

If it was like a lit dynamite during the broadcast, now it felt like a series of loud explosions.

The general public’s interest played a part, but…

-[Exclusive] HBS clarifies ‘Music Awards Abuse Controversy’: “It’s merely a differential distribution based on seniority. No misunderstanding.”

HBS had added fuel to the fire with their statement.

It shouldn’t have been such a big issue, but their way of pouring oil on the fire was so skillful that I couldn’t help but applaud.

“Their explanation affected ‘New Black’? They debuted last year, so they’re low in seniority. Their airtime was similar to ‘Street Boys’.”

This year’s debut group from SNH Entertainment, Enoti, received five minutes.

And for the girl group Serenity from MOP, who also debuted this year, it was immediately revealed that they got a whopping six minutes and thirty seconds.

Seokhwan hyung said,

“There’s no need for reconciliation. They’re practically telling us to bow down and come in.”

“What did they say?”

“They offered to invite us to their year-end program as part of their image makeover.”

“Good grief…”

I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.

Even Junghyun, with his dumbfounded expression, narrowed his eyes at such an absurd proposal, and the younger members shook their heads.

“Well, there’s nothing we can do about it.”

Excluding the concern for agency singers like Scarlet and senior Yoon Chanhyuk, it was an expected outcome.

While we were coming to terms with it, Seokhwan hyung spoke up.

“So, since it’s come to this, we’re planning to work on a lot of projects with PBS and TBC.”

“Wow.”

“It’s not just them; these days, there are more than a few places looking for you guys. Remember meeting Producer Shin Murok at the TBC Entertainment Awards?”

“Yeah.”

The face of the man in his thirties, looking quite downcast, came to mind.

He’s the main producer of ‘Mr. Producer,’ the flagship variety show of PBS, which is considered one of the top-rated programs along with Jusehan.

“They want to work on a project with us next year, so we’re actively pursuing it right now.”

“Wow.”

We looked at each other with excited faces.

“It looked fun when you went to the Sejong Science Base last time. Should we try something like that?”

“Let’s put that aside for now, Rihyuk.”

“Wasn’t the project where we visited the people living in the mountains fun? Catching salamanders and snakes together.”

“Come on. Junghyun, take Rihyuk’s hand, and let’s go.”

As I tried to join Junghyun and Rihyuk’s hands, both of them made reluctant faces.

“I want to go to an apple orchard…”

“For acting specials, we should stick to acting specials.”

Everyone was happily listing their preferences when I burst into laughter.

“If we’re doing something, it should be a composition speci…”

I was abruptly cut off.

“Hyungs! Quickly, shut this scandalous mouth!”

“Die, you composition monster!”

As Rihyuk poked me vigorously, inciting laughter from Bijoo.

Sssss.

The unexpected sound of meat grilling made us all fall silent and turn our heads. Saliva pooled in our mouths.

A video of steak sizzling was playing on someone’s phone.

“…”

Our manager flashed a crisp smile.

“Effective, isn’t it?”

“…”

“Wonseok’s suggestion worked better than expected. It’s indeed the best way to get your attention.”

We listened with sheepish expressions as the other party continued.

“I’ll tell you more about the project once things are more settled. It’s highly confidential, and leaks could be problematic.”

“That makes sense.”

“For now, it’s music-related.”

“Ah…”

As we let our imaginations soar, the person who had been organizing files stood up and said to us with a sigh, “By the way, Jiho, come up to the management team’s office when you have time. There’s something we need to discuss.”

“Yes!”

“…Not now, though.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of the youngest member, whose eyes were darting around as if he was ready to rush up immediately. Was it an act?

It was then that Seokhwan, with a smile, greeted us.

“We might not see each other until the 31st, so let’s say our goodbyes now. Have a lot of luck in the New Year.”

“You too, Director!”

“And… huh? What’s this?”

The person was taken aback as we presented our gift.

“We thought we might not see you until next year, so we prepared this in advance.”

“Thank you.”

“We even bought something expensive by Jiho’s standards.”

“Oh my, why did you go to such lengths?”

Seokhwan chided us, but the corners of his mouth twitched happily.

Upon hearing that there was also a handwritten letter from Ryuk inside, the recipient burst into laughter.

“Take it out and have a look.”

The manager carefully unwrapped the package and his eyes widened at the sight of the watch inside.

“Wow, this is…”

“You’ve earned a lot of money, so you deserve something nice.”

I took out the watch and gently fastened it around the recipient’s wrist. Then, speaking to the still astonished person, I said, “You’ve really worked hard this year, brother.”

“…”

“Next year, and in the years to come, I hope we can continue to count on you. In that spirit…”

Just as I was searching for the right words, Junghyun cut in with a pleased expression.

“This is the shackle we’ve prepared for you.”

“Junghyun.”

Bijoo poked him in the ribs, prompting Junghyun to correct himself.

“It’s a gift, Director.”

Amidst our warm laughter, I said with a heartfelt smile, “Half of it is serious.”

The laughter stopped abruptly.

We whispered to the person with trembling pupils, “A lifetime contract.”

“…”

“A lifetime contract. A lifetime contract.”

The recipient’s face turned pale at the mention of managing our dinner shows until we’re in our eighties.

December 30th.

With only two days left until the New Year of 2016, news came that the production line for soufflé bread was being expanded.

And when the delightful news came that HBS, fearing a drop in their image, suggested a draw instead.

“Wow!”

We were attending the PBS Music Festival.

Opening stage.

As each singer emerged on the lift, cheers poured down, and we took our place on the lift.

[New Black!]

Our logo flowed across the giant screen, eliciting a huge roar from the crowd.

As the cameras focused on us, we walked to the center of the protruding stage, microphones in hand.

While the music played, our main vocalist sang, and the cheers grew louder.

“Wow!”

It was the opening scene where the main vocalists of each group appeared, singing a famous song one verse at a time.

As the focus remained on us, the image of a family appeared on the screen.

The heroes of the ticket delivery we had just revisited through a VCR.

The Power Soufflé family waved their light sticks and dolls, and we waved back with bright smiles.

“Welcome to the 2015 PBS Music Festival!”

Oh Hyung-seok, a member of Jusehan and a famous MC, took charge, while Juhana of Girls on Top and Hwiyeon of Teen Spirit served as the male and female MCs.

As the spotlight shifted to the newly arrived MCs, the singers who had finished their songs descended backstage.

“Wow…”

Even as we went down, we kept looking around.

It felt bigger now, filled with the audience, than during the rehearsal.

Back in the dressing room, Bijoo’s eyes widened as he watched the Gocheok Dome on TV.

“Wow. It’s really huge.”

“So, it’s true. The baseball stadium is indeed huge.”

The Gocheok Dome, which opened last month, was the venue for today’s event.

They said about 20,000 spectators came, and it certainly looked the part.

The acoustics seemed a bit off due to the structure of the concert hall, but the heat generated by the crowd made up for it.

I heard that Teen Spirit is having a solo concert here early next month.

“It would be really great if we could also hold a concert in a place like this,” said Bijoo, and we all agreed.

Having experienced a solo concert at a handball stadium, the larger the venue, the more exhilarating it felt.

After finishing the opening act, we took a short break.

Bang!

The door flung open, and the floor director (FD) shouted as he passed by.

“Rihyuk, get ready, please!”

“Yes!”

“Bijoo and Woojoo, get into costume and stand by!”

“Okay!”

Today was busier than two days ago.

There were joint stages with members from other groups, and duets with famous singers.

Looking at the cue sheet, it seemed like they intended to get the most out of us.

“Ugh…”

The hardest part was our main vocalist being ‘rented out’ here and there during the first half.

For PBS, there were many stages related to this year’s hit songs.

After each stage, we recharged our main vocalist’s drained energy, like a ritual dance.

“Come on! You can do it! Ugh!”

“Ugh.”

“Once more. Ugh!”

“Ugh…”

“I’ll read some fan cafe comments for you. ‘Is our main vocalist’s singing skill for real? Thanks to him, my shoulders went up to the Himalayas. My nose is so high now that a satellite got caught on it.’”

“…!”

The last one must have been the most successful because Rihyuk, fully recharged, said, ‘I’ll be back,’ and left.

As we and the staff smiled, the youngest member plugged his phone into the charger.

“The battery was dead.”

“Then what were you looking at?”

“I made it up.”

Jiho said naturally, and everyone burst into laughter.

At the Gocheok Dome.

“Woah!”

The crowd erupted in cheers as Rihyuk appeared on stage with ballad singer Cha Woo-hyun.

The resounding chorus, spanning high notes.

Even while duetting with Cha Woo-hyun, Rihyuk’s powerful voice and vocal skills stood out.

Families watching from home nodded along to the song.

“Wow, he’s good.”

“He’s so slim but so full of energy.”

“Don’t you know? It’s always the skinny ones who are surprisingly strong.”

Of course, internally, he was screaming ‘Ugh, ugh, ugh!’ as if dying, but outwardly, he maintained a relaxed expression.

At the climax of the song, with a gesture from him, the LED lights on the stage floor changed.

A carpet of light unfurled, and a blue glow covered the extended stage, drawing awe from the viewers.

“Ha ha ha!”

A man’s mouth stretched into a grin upon hearing the ratings from the Yeouido headquarters.

Baek Seong-hyun, the main producer of PBS’s Music Festival and the challenge, the Song Discovery Team, thought to himself.

‘The ratings are sweet.’

He was smiling broadly, having surpassed HBS’s Music Awards ratings just a few days ago.