In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

A few hours later.

The news about NewBlack that had been all the rage on California local broadcasts was being discussed in exactly the same way by the Korean media.

Only, unlike there, it was on every national terrestrial network here.

“Yes, the popular idol group NewBlack appeared today on the famous American talk show The Larry Gordon Show.”

“A tremendous crowd greeted them. Let’s take a look.”

A thumbnail of the five-member troupe in chaotic motion appeared, with the caption [City of Burbank, Today].

Footage from the California local news channel played identically.

As if filmed by drone, thousands of fans surrounded the streets outside the Burbank studio.

“At local time 6 p.m.,” the reporter calmly narrated, “as you can see, so many fans have encircled the broadcast station and are chanting ‘NewBlack!’ ”

Fans with Taegeuk marks painted on their cheeks or holding placards like “Junhyun Is Strong” shouted “NewBlack!”

Next came footage from someone’s phone.

With the subtitle [Courtesy of Metube], NewBlack passed right in front of the camera and the area erupted in screams.

“Even the Burbank police haven’t been able to count them. The streets are completely paralyzed.”

An LA correspondent related the news in a measured tone.

“That’s why even local broadcasts gave NewBlack front-page coverage.”

Immediately, clips of astonished reporters watching the scene appeared.

Global popularity!

With that sort of exaggeration typical of terrestrial news, Korean viewers who were watching reacted the same way.

“Wow...”

An aerial shot showed the streets—except the roads themselves—blocked solidly.

At first, when people heard that NewBlack was going to appear on an American talk show, they’d tilted their heads.

“Oh dear, why are they going all the way over there again?”

NewBlack was already a huge success in Korea.

No one could understand why they’d go through the trouble of breaking into the difficult American entertainment market.

But then.

“At that level, it’s worth going...?”

“They really pulled it off.”

“Do thousands of people usually come just to see a singer in America?”

“They wouldn’t make a fuss if that were normal.”

Elderly viewers gathered in rural homes watching TV also murmured, “They’re really popular with those Westerners.”

Meanwhile, the soufflés watching social media photos from the site and the various news reports were jumping in surprise.

“Oh my.”

The photos made mouths drop open.

Police officers staring with bulging eyes, American fans laughing evilly, “Ehehehe!”

“What is this? Why are there so many of you?”

“I thought you said American fans were so few....”

“So you’re charcoal barbecue too, huh?”

Or perhaps I should say campfire, since this is America.

The original soufflés, marveling at the fierce fan presence, turned to the internet.

Comments had been ruthless at first:

...They were nothing but mockery.

After NewBlack won the Daesang, the hate comments briefly died down, then the anti-fans furiously resumed.

“Are you insane? There are other things to talk about.”

The soufflés narrowed their eyes reading the comments, then snickered.

“But where have you all gone?”

Since the photos from the scene went online, the anti-fans had suddenly quieted.

Even comments trying to dismiss it—“Local fans are always like that”—were silenced by the sheer size of the crowd.

That many local fans couldn’t be written off as nothing.

With American fans themselves gaping in surprise, no one could call it trivial.

“What is this, though...”

While the soufflés blinked, ordinary idol fans began joining the comment threads as the anti-fans fell silent.

Some tried to belittle it as fans from all over the U.S., but it wasn’t effective.

The strange heat in the photos and videos spoke for itself.

There was something going on.

And it seemed the actual crowds were influencing the general public too.

[Review from “School Lunch Charcoal” in LA]

(today’s date and phone screenshot of U.S. school lunch certified.gif)

I’m just a high schooler who eats school lunch

ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ it was really amazing today

I got to school and people asked me who NewBlack was

┕ “I said I didn’t know... I panicked without thinking”

┕ “I’m sorry...ㅠㅜㅜ I just froze because people who never cared about foreign culture were talking about NewBlack”

┕ (Junhyun pic.gif)

┕ “Just a small buzz from last night..? Who are they to paralyze an entire street with thousands, it was something like that. But when the show airs, I think reactions will come again”

A few hundred might gather for a foreign star, but thousands is a different magnitude.

We got a real sense of the local atmosphere.

And.

Korean fans grew curious too.

“Was this promotion a bigger deal than we thought?”

The Larry Gordon Show and The Ellen Dale Show were not well known in Korea, so fans hadn’t paid much attention.

They’d assumed it was like idols appearing on Japanese variety shows, but it turned out different.

[Summary of the talk shows NewBlack appeared on]

In America they don’t have variety shows like Joo Se-han or Mif; these talk shows are like the major entertainment shows.

A morning talk show for housewives is popular, and at night the late-night talk shows are hits.

The Larry Gordon Show and The Ellen Dale Show are on terrestrial networks, so they pull in good ratings.

Some say it’s no big deal because they just sing one song, but many famous singers do just that.

This time they performed “Blue Moon,” but the attention they got can’t be ignored.

From what I roughly understood, it’s like going on those variety programs to perform and leave.

“Looks like it was bigger than I thought...”

Just as I was coming to terms with it, a notification popped up that NewBlack in America had opened the Y app.

Along with Wooju’s bright smile like “Space greetings!” the others waved and cheered “Woooaaah!”

Their faces looked slightly flushed.

Seeing them smile happily, it seemed the production team, stunned by the local crowds, had treated them kindly.

As the soufflés raised their thumbs toward the American fans watching the laughing artists, the U.S. fans sent the first messages.

The soufflés also smiled contentedly and gave thumbs-up.

“But what did we teach you?”

“I don’t know, you scare me...”

Seeing the campfire-sized American fans laughing and giving thumbs-up, the mainland fans clenched their fists.

“Through your teaching, we have grown.”

Fans living in Los Angeles and other U.S. areas monitored the local reactions with shining eyes.

The thousands gathered in Burbank became the topic of conversation everywhere the next day.

Of course, not all the coverage was positive.

“A K-pop group called NewBlack recorded yesterday’s episode of The Larry Gordon Show, right? They were incredibly popular.”

“Well... can you really call that popularity? Has anyone here ever heard of NewBlack?”

“No one~”

On a morning talk show for housewives, the hosts chatted and subtly belittled them.

“The superfans were intense. I was shocked!”

“I’m not sure what charm points people liked. I’d never heard of them—some sort of Asian mystery?”

“To be honest... it didn’t look normal. Yesterday’s scene was worrying. It felt like watching an Asian religious cult, not singers.”

On freer-speech radio programs, remarks flirting with racism also surfaced.

Still, local fans only smiled contentedly at such reactions.

“As long as it’s not too notorious, it’s fine.”

If it’s not scandalously infamous, these issues only help their singers.

Drivers listening to radio remember the name NewBlack, and housewives watching morning talk see their faces.

In American show business, the more of an issue it becomes, the more money comes in.

That’s why Hollywood stars often announce surprise divorces and reconciliations just when their box office clout is waning.

Meanwhile.

“Oh...!”

News arrived sure to excite the local fans.

“—K-pop singer NewBlack will share a short talk and their impressions on The Ellen Dale Show.”

Originally they were only going to sing, so the addition of a talk segment was welcome news.

While everyone cheered, local fans gained an important insight.

“If you make a fuss offline, it works.”

Mainstream media hadn’t budged from online votes or radio requests.

They’d invalidated votes as cheating, ignored requests.

But when fists gather offline, they respond immediately.

“Soufflés of all nations, gather...!”

Enthused fans began moving en masse.

At the same time, soufflés from neighboring countries like Canada and Mexico booked flights, and—

Fans began converging in New York for the recording of The Ellen Dale Show.

“Huh...?”

Everything was happening so fast.

After appearing on The Larry Gordon Show, interviews with local LA broadcasters suddenly piled up.

Mostly questions like, “You have so many fans, who are you?”

“Huh...?”

Then out of the blue, The Ellen Dale Show informed them they’d been given talk time.

American talk shows do pre-research, usually via phone conversations with writers about story topics.

So they had a video call preliminary interview.

“Huh...?”

Just as we were “huh”-ing, we were greeted by a refreshingly clear sky.

whisper of metal

As the private jet’s stairs smoothly descended, the cool outside breeze whooshed in.

The November weather was similar to Seoul’s.

It felt different from the LA climate we’d just left.

Our maknae, still dazed, asked, “Where did you say we are?”

“Ne...w...”

Why was all I could think of NewBlack?

Ri Hyuk closed his book and said, “New Jersey. Teterboro Airport.”

“Oh. Right.”

This was Teterboro Airport in New Jersey.

They said it had weight restrictions on aircraft, so lots of private jets used it.

They said Manhattan in New York City was only about forty minutes away.

Biju, half asleep, smiled blankly.

“I closed my eyes and opened them, and we’re already near New York.”

“I know.”

In America there are talk-show studios on both the west coast and the east coast.

It was an unfamiliar broadcast setup to us.

“Junhyun?”

“He’s sleeping. Should we wake him?”

“Yeah.”

I waved off the maknae trying to put shoes on Junhyun.

“Why?”

“Just shake him awake.”

“Hmm... okay?”

Perhaps my expression looked serious, because Jiho patted Junhyun’s body.

“Wake uppppp–!”

“Mmm.”

Junhyun woke with a bear-like stretch and a warm smile.

“I thought flies were buzzing in my dream, but it was Jiho.”

The maknae flapped his hands like a fly, “Bzzzzbzzzz,” and we burst out laughing.

Hailey, who’d been sound asleep, removed her eye mask and sat up.

Her PR manager and manager only then began gathering her things, and Hailey rubbed her temple.

“Ah, fuck, headache...”

“You okay?”

“Yeah. I must have slept like a rock.”

Hailey scrunched her nose as if well rested, and we laughed with her.

Her two bodyguards, who’d gone down the stairs first to survey the area, returned and reported.

“We spotted about four people, in close proximity.”

“Four ‘paparazzi,’” I raised an eyebrow, and Ri Hyuk explained, “paparazzi.”

Hailey, still groggy, frowned and turned to me.

“Give me a blanket.”

Wrapping herself in a blanket like No-Face, Hailey began descending the stairs, chuckling.

“With this photo, sell a print once, you idiots! Hahaha!”

...She really had enviable spirit.

We laughed uproariously at the sight of Hailey wrapped in my floral blanket as she stepped down.

“She’s something, huh...”

“Not exactly a kid anymore.”

Exchanging those looks, we nodded.

“Let’s do it too.”

“This looks fun!”

We each grabbed an extra blanket and giggled as we disembarked.

“Hello! We are NewBlack!”

“Kyaaaah!”

Forming an N with our left index, right index, and middle fingers, we extended our hands as we stepped off.

Between the bodyguards holding black umbrellas, a vehicle was ready to whisk us up inside.

Jiho laughed, “Feels so celebrity-like. Heehee.”

“Well, this is common for Daesang artists. Hahaha!”

Everyone enjoyed the celebrity game—when else would we get to do this?

The vehicle carrying Hailey and the staff led the way, and ours with our managers followed closely.

“Hyung, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just completely out of it...”

Even our normally stoic TF team leader seemed amazed by the experience.

Seokhwan-hyung said, “Honestly, I’m a bit flustered.”

“You too? Good, I thought it was just us.”

We knew we were heading to the east coast to record The Ellen Dale Show.

But thanks to the fans gathered on site, we suddenly got a talk segment, and the atmosphere shifted unpredictably.

It really felt like something was going on.

Normally, I’d be freaking out about the flight, but my mind was instead filled with new thoughts.

What was this?

“Phew...”

Don’t be nervous, Sun Wooju.

At first I thought I’d just sing without pressure, but somehow I found myself looking forward to it.

My trembling brothers exchanged looks.

“Let’s think about food.”

“Let’s have New York pizza. I heard New York pizza is famous. I googled, it’s one of America’s four great pizzas.”

“Let’s eat bagels too.”

Even the managers joined in choosing the menu, as the skyline of New York City under clear skies drew closer.

At the same time, my tension slowly eased.

Well.

At this point, there was nothing I could do about it.

So I decided to just go with the flow.

New York’s Broadway.

Crowds began to fill the area around the studio where The Ellen Dale Show was being recorded.

Police cars were naturally stationed here and there.

“...”

Local officers wore astonished expressions at the sight of such a diverse crowd.

‘It’s real.’

They’d heard about the chaos caused by NewBlack in the west, and New York police were paying attention.

Just in case, they’d dispatched personnel.

“Shouldn’t we request backup from headquarters?”

“Think it’ll be okay...? They said it ended peacefully there.”

“But this is New York.”

If NewBlack showed up and random passersby made discriminatory remarks...

“...”

While the officers swallowed nervously to check for any troublemakers, one said,

“This summer, NewBlack opened a store in New York and we went to support it. It was crowded then too.”

“And?”

“Now it’s ten times that...”

Even passersby near Broadway were astonished.

It looked like an event was happening.

At the sight of fans shouting “NewBlack!” with fervent eyes, bystanders puzzled,

“Who is NewBlack...?”

Curious, ordinary citizens edged closer.

“Uh...?”

A guide leading a Korean tour group in New York wore a flustered look.

The Korean tourists murmured.

“Why is this happening, guide?”

“Normally this place isn’t this crowded... Broadway is usually pretty empty here.”

As the guide fretted, someone in the crowd asked where they were from.

When they answered “Korea,” a massive cheer broke out.

“...Why are they like that?”

“Thought it was the World Cup or something.”

As the tourists looked on in confusion,

“Waaaaaah—!”

With an enormous cheer, the gathered crowd’s gaze turned in one direction.

The Korean tourists followed their eyes.

And.

“...Huh?”

On a billboard flashed glamorous portraits of NewBlack members with the slogan “We Love You, NewBlack!”

While local fans roared at the gifts sent by Korean soufflés,

“What...?”

The tourists looked between the crowd and the billboard in bafflement.

And.

“Why is NewBlack appearing here again...?”

The bewildered Korean spectators stood there, their eyes wide in stunned disbelief.