The move was swift.
There wasn’t much to pack besides the guitars and electronics, as 99 percent of our belongings were clothes and shoes.
“Rihyuk hyung, where should I put this box?”
“Take it to the back room!”
“Rihyuk, how should we arrange the hangers here?”
“Just a moment! I need to check these bathroom items!”
Thanks to our cleaning enthusiast’s lead, we managed to organize quickly, which would have taken all day with just the four of us.
The guy, who had been carrying around a densely noted room layout like a director, smirked annoyingly.
“What would you have done without me? You four would’ve struggled like fools.”
“Hey, we’re not that foolish…”I was about to retort when I heard a chant.
“Heave-ho!”
“Yeaah! Ugh! Ho!”
I saw a duo carrying a gym barbell loaded with heavy plates.
Junghyun was humming, and Jiho’s face turned red as if he was about to die.
I asked Junghyun, who was passing by me.
“Junghyun.”
“Yes, hyung?”
“Why are you carrying it with the heavy plates?”
“Ah.”
Junghyun responded with a look that said, ‘Isn’t it obvious?’
“This way, we can go in one trip without having to go back and forth.”
“…”
“Rihyuk, what do you think? I’m efficient, right?”
Rihyuk nodded and clapped sarcastically.
“Truly, I’m at a loss for words.”
“Haha.”
Junghyun laughed heartily with Jiho as they walked away holding the barbell from both ends until…
Thud!
Jiho bumped his hip against the wall.
“Ouch!”
Our youngest kept bumping into things because of the length of the bar.
“Oops. Jiho, are you hurt? Does it hurt?”
Junghyun panicked, flustered.
While I was speechless watching them, Rihyuk turned to me with a look that said, ‘Not fools, huh?’
“I’m sorry.”
I decided to apologize honestly.
“I overestimated them.”
“It’s okay as long as you realize it now. Come on, now that you’ve recognized your own incompetence, take this box to the bathroom.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll be there in five minutes to check, so do it properly. And don’t send a selfie of you working to grandma.”
“Okay…”
I did as I was told without complaint.
Though I hate to admit it, when Rihyuk gives orders, things get done in no time.
If there were a college department for cleaning, he’d be the top entrant.
Thanks to our main vocalist’s energetic efforts, we finished organizing on the first day.
We celebrated with a cake adorned with candles.
“Congratulations on the move! Congratulations on the move!”
“To our beloved soufflé!”
“We’ve moved!”
We sang a celebration song with a giant soufflé cushion from our concert merchandise, topped with a Santa hat.
We called the boss to express our gratitude.
“Boss, thank you so much. We’ll live happily and for a long time in this house.”
-Yes. There will be many tough times ahead, but a couple should be united… Oh, that’s not right.
“I’m sorry, boss. We made a statement that could be misunderstood.”
We laughed with the boss, who had naturally slipped into a wedding officiant’s speech.
We also showed our new home to our families via video call.
They all loved it.
Especially the happy waving from Bijoo’s family, to whom I waved back.
Then, after ending the call with Bijoo, I asked.
“Your place looks different from before. Did you move recently?”
“Yes. I also signed a lease for my sister’s studio. And our family home is…”
Beesoo showed me a photo.
“Minjun couldn’t move far because of school, so he found a place nearby. It’s really nice.”
“When you told him about moving, what did he say?”
“Dad cried a lot.”
He used to be a researcher before starting a business, but it failed due to bad timing, if I recall correctly.
And soon after, Minjun fell ill.
I think they said they lived in the same house for nearly 30 years. It was such a relief that things worked out.
Beesoo asked,
“How about Grandma’s house…?”
“She’s not moving.”
“Huh? Why not?”
“She said she’d feel too sorry for her daughter if she left the house she’s living in now.”
“Ah…”
“And what if we move and she can’t find us?”
I tried to persuade her several times, but it was no use.
Beesoo, nodding in understanding, asked cautiously,
“But, brother.”
“Yeah?”
“Is it… because if we move, she won’t be able to find us?”
His serious expression made me burst into laughter.
“I don’t know. That’s what she says, so I guess we just have to accept it.”
“I got nervous for a moment.”
“Well, there must be a system in place there.”
We finished the first day of moving with such conversations.
I thought it would be hard to adapt after leaving the place we were attached to.
But it wasn’t the case at all.
It felt as if it had been our home from the beginning, and we adapted naturally.
In the morning, my routine was to sprawl on the spacious sofa and stare at the ceiling.
“Ah. I don’t want to leave the house.”
“Me neither…”
“Right? It’s too nice. Shall we live here forever?”
“…”
“Why is everyone suddenly closing their eyes…?”
Anyway, it was a happy time.
From the small theater tour to the recent concert in Japan, it was time to unwind from the accumulated fatigue.
Although there was still a vacation left with the family, it was nice to be able to rest for now.
Junghyun said,
“Shouldn’t we still go to work, though?”
“The company has deactivated our access cards.”
“That’s wicked. They won’t even let us work.”
“…Wait. Am I the only one who finds this conversation strange?”
I wanted to go to the company’s practice room and just sit there, but even our access cards were suspended.
We were told to take a break for at least 2 or 3 days.
So, it was a time to rest completely and recharge without work.
And I decided to use this time to catch up with acquaintances I hadn’t contacted until now.
-Hi.
A man with brown hair appeared on the laptop screen.
He laughed heartily, like a Viking who had time-slipped into the modern era.
“It’s been a while.”
“It has. John, congratulations on winning the Director’s Award.”
“I finally did it. After 23 years in this industry.”
I smiled at John Edwards, the proud director of ‘Nostalgia.’
He deserved it.
Just a few days ago, at the Academy Awards, ‘Nostalgia’ was nominated in 9 out of 17 categories.
It won in 6 categories, including Best Director, Cinematography, Supporting Actress, and Visual Effects.
And I heard that the main OST, ‘Falling Stars,’ was chosen for Best Original Song.
Rupert Dean had sent me a link to the award ceremony performance via messenger.
“Have you talked to Rupert?”
“Yes, I congratulated him. He was thrilled about the nomination.”
After some small talk.
“So, when do you think you’ll be free? I’d like to see you in New York.”
“I think I can make it this month.”
“Fantastic. Good. Then pass your schedule to my agent. I’ll try to make time.”
“Sure, I will.”
It was for the very reason we couldn’t meet in LA last time.
The person I was supposed to introduce had an unexpected schedule and couldn’t make it that day.
I knew the purpose of the call.
After the vacation, I decided to visit the US with Director Cho and jotted down a note.
Then, I reached out to my closest friend.
“Hey, I’ve moved.”
-Oh? Moved? Where?
“Spit out the water and talk.”
-Ptooey.
As Han Taehyun spat out his toothpaste foam and I told him my location, he let out an ‘Eureka’ sound.
-You’ve made it. Finally succeeded. I can’t help but shed tears of joy for you, my brother.
He clapped his hands and then said with realization,
-Right. Isn’t that where the Teen Spirit kids live? I heard the security is so tight that they sometimes can’t even enter their own homes.
“It’s the apartment below me. I even gave them orchids this morning.”
-Pfft!
“They said the rice cakes you gave me for the move were delicious. Thanks.”
I turned the video call to show him the orchid with a ribbon that read ‘Congratulations on your move/Best of luck…!’
Behind me, Jung-hyun, wearing a straw hat, was inserting a nutrient solution into the orchid and smiled warmly, making him laugh tearfully.
Wasn’t TNT about to make a comeback with a repackaged album soon?
Seeing his shallow laughter, I thought he must be going through a tough time.
-Nice place.
The guy brushing his teeth asked as he ran his fingers through his hair.
-But, doesn’t your place have a fountain?
“A fountain?”
-It’s a rule of thumb. A good house should have a fountain. Don’t tell me you didn’t know that?
“I would have known if I had lived in a nice house before.”
I heard that all the TNT members live independently now.
I wondered how grand his house must be to have a fountain.
-I’ll show you. The fountain at my place.
“A fountain? Where?”
-Here.
With that, he held up a water pick, spraying water everywhere, and burst into laughter.
I couldn’t understand why he laughed even more at my disdainful expression.
“I’m hanging up.”
-No, we’re just getting to the good part…
Click. I ended the call and turned my gaze to Jung-hyun, who was tending to the orchid.
“Jung-hyun.”
“Yes, hyung?”
“Why are there only weird people around me?”
At my words, Jung-hyun paused in his task.
Then, with a serious expression, he said something cryptic.
“The Earth revolves around the Sun, hyung.”
“Huh?”
“Galileo said so. That the Earth revolves around the Sun.”
“What do you mean?”
“That’s just it.”
I wanted to ask more, but Jung-hyun started playing a gentle classical tune on his phone for the orchid.
After pondering, I shrugged, not quite understanding.
“By the way, Jung-hyun.”
“Yes?”
“That’s a fake orchid.”
“I know, hyung. I’m practicing for later.”
“I see.”
“Yes.”
“Alright. Let’s get back to our tasks.”
While Jung-hyun communicated with the artificial orchid, I continued composing the piece I was working on.
It was indeed a peaceful day-to-day life.
The long-awaited day when the company ban was lifted.
Beep-beep-
With a cheerful unlocking sound, I entered the company.
“Junior, the background music.”
“Got it.”
I strutted down the company hallway with the villainous theme from Star Wars playing, and the employees passing by burst into laughter at our solemn march with sunglasses on. ꭆ₳ℕＯ₿Èȿ
“Hello!”
“Hi. Did you have a good trip to Japan?”
“Yes, take this, please.”
I handed over a gift envelope from the cart.
The recipient thanked me for the small envelope filled with trinkets and post-it notes.
That was the start of my rounds to each department.
“Hello, everyone! We’re back!”
“Return with gifts.”
“Hey, bro, could you stop saying ‘with’ in front of me?”
Laughter bloomed among the employees each time I handed out a gift envelope.
“It must have been tough going straight to Japan after the small theater. You all worked hard.”
“Oh my, I’ve been eyeing this. Thank you.”
“I’ll enjoy the snacks!”
I went around delivering gift envelopes to the PR team, the business support team, the actor management team, and then to the A&R and producing teams…
“The office is empty.”
“Indeed it is.”
As we spoke, we yelled towards the sound of someone behind the open door.
“Yikes!”
“Aaaah!”
Startled, the employees from both teams ran into each other and fell over as I handed them their gift packages.
“How did you know someone was here?”
“See the steam rising from that coffee cup?”
With a smile, I told them not to hide next time.
After finishing the company tour,
I sat down in the conference room with the New Black TF team dedicated to us.
Holding the gift packages, I addressed the happy faces.
“We’ve finally returned to the company. How about a round of applause to celebrate?”
Clap, clap, clap.
We celebrated with the company staff who had been with us from the small theater tour to the two-week tour in Japan.
We had been resting, but everyone looked gaunt from working so hard.
Thinking we should treat them to beef after this, I greeted two figures seated near the head of the table.
“You’ve worked hard, Director, Executive.”
“Not at all. I had fun too, even got to sell some bread.”
The middle-aged man with horn-rimmed glasses smiled.
It was Ha Seung-ju, the composer and pianist we hadn’t seen since the special album promotion.
He had been a producer for the last special album, but this time he was advising on the next one.
Director Cho Kyu-hwan also chuckled, sipping his coffee.
“You must have had a tough time performing abroad.”
“Yes.”
“Even if you say it wasn’t hard… Ah, it was hard. Right, it was tough.”
Our executive momentarily wore an expression like Go Gil-dong.
After exchanging pleasantries and unwinding,
Team leader Seokhwan took charge of the meeting.
“Let’s start the meeting.”
As the company employees opened their laptops, we took out our diaries to prepare for notes.
Seokhwan began,
“First, let’s report on our achievements in Japan.”
He continued with the results of our two-week stint in Japan.
The concerts drew 36,000 people over four days in Kobe, 30,000 over two days in Yokohama, totaling 66,000 attendees.
The figures were staggering, almost unbelievable even upon a second look.
He went on to discuss pop-up store sales and public reactions offline.
“However, despite the great results, it seems challenging to continue activities in Japan.”
PR manager Hong Seo-young nodded.
“The local media is very hostile. They maliciously edit everything, which does affect the public. There was another incident recently.”
“Another one?”
The recent broadcast suggested, ‘New Black suddenly returns from Japan, was it due to government collusion on March 1st?’
Sounds of disapproval filled the meeting room.
Hong Seo-young continued,
“Anyway, we’re editing a new YouTube TV concept content that should help with image renewal, but the more we work there, the more malicious the editing will become.”
“It’s going to be difficult to operate in Japan like other idols.”
“That’s right.”
The consensus was negative about releasing Japanese versions of songs or making an official debut in Japan.
The employees spoke up,
“And aiming for China is tough too, as they’ve been closing doors to protect domestic content lately.”
“Moreover, TNT has a tight grip on the market. Who’s that Chinese member again? I’ve heard that when Zhang Hanxing shines, a hundred million people buzz with excitement.”
“And because of the Japanese broadcast, NewBlack is rumored to be at the forefront of Korean pop culture, which will make things incredibly challenging.”
It seemed as if the idol, who appeared to be wildly popular among the Korean masses, was not welcomed to enter their own country.
Entering the two largest markets for K-pop was proving to be a difficult task.
In that case, there was only one option left.
“Then, for future overseas promotions, we should focus more on regions outside of China and Japan,” Seokhwan hyung responded.
“Right. We’re also planning towards that direction. That’s why we’re having positive discussions with K-Net.”
“K-Net?”
At the maknae’s question, our team leader nodded.
“They say there’s going to be a K-pop concert tour in Europe and North America this year. They’ve requested us as the main performers.”
“Ah.”
“Our own research shows that you guys are incredibly popular. ‘Nine’ must have really made it big.”
I nodded proudly at my younger siblings, who looked at me with admiration.
The conversation continued to revolve around our activities abroad.
“Anyway, since it’s come to this, our opinion is to target Southeast Asia and other regions.”
The staff asked us.
“What do you think?”
“We agree. It seems like the only way.”
It was a perfect consensus.
The backlash from the popularity we gained in Korea made it incredibly difficult to enter the Chinese and Japanese markets.
We had to seek a third path.
After wrapping up the discussion on overseas activities…
“The next topic is the most important…”
The atmosphere of the meeting became more serious.
“We’re talking about the next album. The A&R and producing teams are diligently collecting songs.”
“Yes, I have some tracks I’m working on too.”
“We’re currently soliciting songs that fit the concept you want, and it seems like we’ll be wrapping up soon.”
The personal color of the next album was purple.
The last in a series of five albums within the framework of ‘Five Colors.’
It was the album that would feature me as the protagonist.
After finishing the special album, I had discussed it with my younger siblings and confirmed the concept after meetings with the company.
It seemed they had been soliciting songs while we were on a small theater tour and in Japan.
I spoke to Seo Pil-geun, the representative from the A&R team.
“Could you send us the songs that have come in? We’ll take the time to listen to them.”
“I’ll give you a USB after this. But it might take a few days to listen to all of them.”
“Really?”
“Since it’s NewBlack’s next album, a lot came in. Everyone thought it was going to be a full album.”
I was almost shocked by the number of songs they said they had narrowed down.
Director Jo Gyuhwan asked.
“But considering the timing, wouldn’t it be good to release a full album after about two years of debut?”
“I don’t think now is the right time. I want the next album to be a full album.”
“From a fairness standpoint?”
“Yes.”
Albums are commonly classified as full, mini, or single based on the number of songs they contain.
Though not an exact classification, generally.
If there are more than ten songs, it’s considered a full album, and usually, more effort is put into it compared to a mini album.
Director Jo was right about the timing…
“But to suddenly make a full album when I’m the protagonist, after all the members’ albums have been minis…”
“That’s true.”
“I want to make the next album a full album after this series is over.”
Perhaps it was a downside of being the member in charge of producing.
If my part increased or I stood out more than the other members, it could be viewed negatively.
It was a sensitive topic, and I wanted to avoid any controversy.
When the other employees nodded in agreement with my point, Ha Seung-ju, who was advising us, asked me.
“By the way, Woojoo. How’s the songwriting going?”
“Um, yes.”
“Any blockages?”
“There are a few things to resolve, but I’ll discuss them with you later.”
Ha Seung-ju nodded.
There were some issues, but it was too ambiguous to discuss in this setting.
Director Jo sat opposite, squinting and smiling, while the younger siblings tilted their heads in confusion.
Seokhwan hyung said, “Let’s postpone the album discussion for a later meeting. What I’m really getting at is the next comeback.”
Our attention shifted to the new topic at hand.
“We’re planning a new concert.”
It was news about the second concert.
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