In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

The space feels surreal, with blue and red neon lights in stark contrast.

We look even more unreal within it.

Maybe it’s because our skin looks paler than usual, our eyes are made up slightly darker, and our lips are painted red.

“Wow...”

I gawk at the photos on my laptop monitor, mesmerized.

Two concept photos have been released.

The background is the same.

An antique room lit by intensely contrasting red and blue lights.

We sit around a round wooden table.

On each of our seats rests a slightly different masquerade mask, and the five of us face the camera.

Some cross their legs, some drape an arm over the chair back, others gaze leisurely.

Each pose is different, but our expressions are identical.

At first glance they seem intense, but the more you look, the more they feel lifeless or sad.

This is the “mask” concept for our mini first album—expressions to match the theme.

“Damn, that came out great.”

I genuinely marvel, and Ri-hyuk nods.

“Of course it did. Remember that # Nоvеlight # day? We shot hundreds of frames until we got the perfect shot.”

“We did shoot a ton.”

Although he’s kinder than before, photographer Hwang Tae-sun’s perfectionism has only intensified.

Unlike the solo shots, the group shots took forever.

We really went through a lot.

Even with the air-con on, sweat poured inside our suits because of the lights.

When we changed clothes later, steam rose off our dress shirts.

Worst of all, the lights were blinding.

By the end, neon images stayed imprinted in our eyes.

Black spots danced across our vision for nearly thirty minutes.

Ji-hoon clung to me, whining, “What if I can’t see at all?” and that night he dreamed of red and blue tissue paper begging to be hired as his “tissue attendant.”

The next day at breakfast we tried to figure out what “tissue attendant” even meant—but no idea.

In any case, all that effort paid off: the photo quality is superb.

Biju says with a proud smile, “Because we shot so much, the results are this good. Especially...”

Biju points somewhere in the photo with his finger.

But anyone could tell who the MVP of this shoot is.

Right in the center of the photo.

The red-haired figure sits in a chair turned away from the camera, the closest to the lens.

He has one arm draped over the back and looks back at us with an expression that somehow feels lonely.

Under the teal blue light on the left, his expression looks one way.

Under the red light on the right, it’s the same but somehow seems like a faint smile.

Because of the different lighting, his face almost looks like it’s wearing a mask.

Not our maknae, but some noble from a parallel world.

“...”

At some point I exhale deeply, and we all shift our eyes.

Ji-hoon’s nostrils flare, and his cheeks twitch.

He looks so happy he doesn’t know what to do, and seeing the photo again, I think it makes sense.

But whenever he sees us looking, his expression snaps back.

He could just openly show his joy, but each time he looks at us, he pretends it’s ordinary with a solemn face.

Then he side-eyes us expectantly, as if hoping for a storm of praise.

“Ahem ahem ahem.”

When we stay silent, Ji-hoon clears his throat and sweeps back his hair.

“...”

“Ahem ahem ahem!”

Ri-hyuk turns his head slightly, the corner of his mouth twisting in a mocking smirk.

“...”

“I—I’m not sure if this photo is actually good or not. This... it’s good, right?”

Biju pouts and stares off into the distance, while Jung-hyun just blinks.

When I try to stifle a laugh, I catch the maknae’s eye.

He realizes the situation and shouts, “Ah, seriously! You guys are the worst!”

A storm of upset whining flies out, like a giant red chick peeping plaintively.

“I’m feeling so proud because this shot came out so well. But you hyungs haven’t praised me even once... I practiced this so many nights with Woo-ju hyung, I even skipped breakfast that morning...”

He sounds like “My dad says a little praise makes whales dance” and we all snicker.

Soon Biju and I sandwich our pouty maknae and soothe him.

“Aigo, it was just a tease.”

“Right. Just a joke. The photo came out so well, I wanted to mess with you.”

“...It did come out well?”

“Of course. It’s amazing.”

While Biju coos over our maknae, I call Ri-hyuk over.

“Hey, you opera master. Give our maknae some praise.”

“What are you on about?”

Ri-hyuk glowers.

“Why are you asking me?”

“You bought that book not long ago, remember? I got the delivery—‘Deadly Poses to Capture Women’s Hearts...’”

“The subject of this photo,” Ri-hyuk says, pen in hand as if lecturing about cultural heritage, “occupies the perfect center of the composition. This pose with his arm on the chair back exudes aristocratic elegance...”

Our maknae nods, lying across my arm.

“Yeah. I don’t know what you’re saying, but I look fancy, noble, and cute.”

“A triple fancy?”

At Jung-hyun’s pun, we all clap and cheer.

Meanwhile, Biju whispers, “That book? The Deadly Poses?” and I nod.

“I read it in secret.”

His whisper makes me laugh. I admit I read it too, and Biju beams.

I continue showering Ji-hoon with over-the-top compliments.

“Man, our maknae really nailed it. How did you turn out so perfect? That jawline, seriously.”

“Right. I think so too.”

“...”

“More praise, please.”

“Ugh, you’re making me nauseous. I can’t do more.”

Maknae’s ego inflates without end, and Ri-hyuk clicks his tongue.

“You really have no shame, Wang Ji-ho. If it were me hearing that...”

“Isn’t it pleasing?”

“Well, I’m not pleased. I don’t let praise sway my feelings.”

I burst out laughing.

“Ri-hyuk. What are you, a robot?”

“Huh. Wait a sec.”

At that word, Ri-hyuk frowns as if recalling something.

“Sorry to change the subject, but when is that robot vacuum coming, Wang Ji-ho? Is it ever arriving?”

“They say it’s on the way.”

“Just assemble it yourself. That’d be faster.”

Our maknae laughs and offers a high-five, and Ri-hyuk gives us both a look of disgust.

Biju, wanting to keep things cheerful, changes the topic.

“Still, I think we all look amazing. I hope tomorrow’s solo cuts turn out this good too?”

“Yeah. That’d be great.”

While we chat about the individual concept photos in the corner of the practice room, we realize it’s time.

“Let’s check the fans’ reactions.”

Jung-hyun scrolls and says, “Hm... the reaction is great. They’re all crying.”

“They’re crying?”

“They’re saying things like ‘I’m dying, Ji-hoon’s too beautiful, I’m crying so hard.’”

Overall everyone is weeping tears of joy.

It’s probably just fans on our official SNS comments.

We don’t know how other idol fans or general netizens feel, but this is great.

What matters most is that our Soufflés love it.

“Oh! Speaking of which, how about we start a live broadcast? We can share our excitement with the fans.”

“Oh, good idea. We can chat with them.”

“I agree too.”

“Then it’s decided. Let’s get permission from the PR team—what’s wrong, mister? Why the negative face?”

“Well, the thing is...”

I force a smile at the excited chatter of the boys.

Ping—

My laptop, low on power, goes into sleep mode.

And at that moment.

On the darkened screen, the five of us appear.

No makeup, hair soaked like seaweed, discolored T-shirts and sweatpants.

You can’t see it, but you can almost smell the sour sweat.

The fairytale PHOTOSTAR vanished, leaving only goblins.

“Wow, we really look awful.”

Ri-hyuk’s sincere remark sends us into peals of laughter.

Jung-hyun says, intrigued, “If we went live like this, it’d still be fun.”

“I’d bet five hundred won that it’d make headlines: ‘Shock! NewBlack’s Bare Faces Revealed.’”

“I’ll bet five thousand that the article quotes netizens saying ‘It’s even more embarrassing to watch than them.’ Biju?”

“I’ll bet five hundred too.”

“On what?”

“Just... I’ll bet.”

“...And you, mister?”

“Huh. No idea about five thousand won bets, but I bet five thousand fans will quit the café.”

My comment makes the boys roar with laughter.

Lately we’ve been weird.

Maybe from being cooped up in the practice room so much, we giggle at every brush of fabric.

I laugh and say, “Shall we practice again?”

They all stand up without a word.

We look filthy, human dignity gone, but our reflections show pure passion.

They say starting is half the battle.

From promo group photos to music video shoots, everyone’s effort and capital have gone into this.

That’s why I feel this album will do well.

For the week after Suneung, NewBlack’s mini first album ‘Five Colors: The Red’ promotions proceed step by step.

On Friday, the group photos go up. On Saturday, the individual concept photos.

Black-and-white shots set against a gray city, with only red objects in color.

We all look like people being chased: rumpled dress shirts askew.

Sun Woo-ju leans against a brick wall, looking down at the camera.

Kim Bi-ju squats in an alley, one knee bent, glancing around.

Kim Jung-hyun hesitates in a doorway.

Seo Ri-hyuk peers out a dark room window.

And Wang Ji-ho, dressed in a suit at a masquerade-like hall, turns back toward the crowd.

As soon as the concept photos appear on the official SNS, Soufflés jump for joy.

– Guys ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ Even if I die today, I have no regrets

– You can’t die ㅠㅠㅠ

– Wow.. wow.. insane photo quality

– From the group shot, don’t you feel there’s a story?

– Yeah yeah, like an apple, or a red umbrella... feels like a ton of hints

Alongside comments about our looks, fans explore the clues in the concept photos for new fun.

While waiting for the album release, theories start popping up in fan communities.

Meanwhile, NewBlack’s concept photos are receiving positive reactions in idol forums.

[NewBlack concept photos trending with fans (image-heavy)]

– Wow.. I never thought I’d see Lemon produce such amazing photos

– They’ve grown... Kyu-ho-jang...

– LOL they look so good

– Who’s the red-haired oppa?

– It’s maknae Ji-ho, he’s seventeen, not oppa

– No no, if you call him oppa, he becomes oppa

– Wow. this concept really slaps. Is this level of quality normal?

– Looks like they spent a lot. If the song’s good too, this will blow up

– These guys are gonna be huge

Perfect timing.

With TNT delaying their comeback and having already exhausted hype, rookie comeback news fills the gap.

MOP’s rookie girl group Serenity with uniforms, and Lemon’s rookie boy group NewBlack with masks.

Between the two, NewBlack draws more interest.

“Reality content is a huge factor.”

Hong Seo-young from PR scrolls through idol community reactions.

Every post she clicks on is favorable to NewBlack.

Joo Se-han’s Chuseok special drew attention, but what won over idol fandom was our reality show.

Memes of the kimchi jar explosion and sitcom moments spread as GIFs and videos, boosting goodwill.

– wow.. that friend Dae-gil’s suit fit is insane

– also suit fit lol

– lmao what’s suit fit

– how does Woo-ju look like that

– Bi-ju?? right, where do you live

– why send kimchi?

– these guys have crazy gaps.. I thought I’d seen them in a recent GIF

Even as rookies, fans know our individual names.

But...

Knowing names alone doesn’t generate this much reaction.

You need two hands to clap.

This outpouring of positive posts proves the concept photos’ quality.

“What are you looking at?”

The colleague next to her asks, and she answers.

“I’m monitoring our boys’ photos.”

“Hmm... oh, the reaction’s really good. Have we seen this for a rookie before?”

“No.”

She’s astonished.

Promoting an album, and already the signs—omens—are great.

Almost unnervingly auspicious.

If fireworks were one canary singing, this is like hundreds of magpies dancing a victory break.

Seo-young cautiously runs numbers in her head: mentions of NewBlack vs. other groups.

But not against Serenity, another first-year.

“Press coverage is incomparable to TNT... but community mentions gap is smaller.”

No exact predictive metric, but one thing’s clear.

Unlike Serenity, which was swept away by TNT’s hype, NewBlack is burning bright within it.

And it’s even better than expected.

She swallows.

As an insider, she already knows the album tracks and internal quality.

These concept photos are only part of it.

Her heart flutters.

“If this goes well...”

A thought flashes in her mind, but she dares not voice it, lest it jinx things.

She simply resolves to do her job until release day.

As always, practice never ends.

Just when you think it’s perfect, you spot something lacking.

Fix that, and something else emerges.

It’s like whack-a-mole.

“Heehee, catch me if you can!” whack! “Next is me!” pop!

So in the days before D-Day, my feelings are like playing whack-a-mole, aiming for the highest score.

If only I had a few more days...

I could make that hand motion prettier, I could nail a more stunning expression on camera—I’m sure of it.

Give me a little more time, and I’ll finish it at 100%.

At the same time, I hope time flies so I can hang out with my Soufflés soon.

And above all, the recent news is nothing to ignore.

“Hyung, did you see this? Another article about us.”

At every meal, the boys and I enthusiastically search “NewBlack” or check our MTube channel.

Each time my heart pounds.

“Huh... why are so many people watching this?”

Our music video teaser, released on Sunday, is already nearing hundreds of thousands of views.

A teaser, not the MV.

Compared to TNT’s two-million views in twelve hours, it’s modest—but for a rookie boy group, it’s remarkable.

Our managers and PR staff seem reluctant to tell us, fearing we’ll get nervous, but whenever they pass by, they can’t hide their excitement.

A mix of stunned confusion and barely contained thrill.

– Trending rookie NewBlack exudes “fatal charm” in comeback teaser

– NewBlack “Masquerade” MV teaser released: “Charisma + Sexy”

– Already red hot... NewBlack MV teaser views “Interest Explodes?”

The volume of articles is on a different scale than for our first album.

We decided not to check online reactions until the comeback, so we haven’t visited forums or the fan café—but instinctively we sense the air has changed.

A taut tension.

As if awaiting something big, we spend our time calmly within it.

D-3

The new song’s music video teaser is released.

D-2

A preview video with highlights of the album tracks is released.

D-1

At midnight the story film and music video premiere—and November 17th arrives, just one day before the press showcase.