While the Jusae Han production team raised their glasses in a toast, the idol fans were in full festive spirits as well.
[Idols Crashed the Server Twice Today with Their Joint Live Stream]
[Fans Bursting with Laughter at Today’s Legendary Live Stream]
[They Should Declare Chuseok “Idol Peace Day” after Today’s Event]
Wherever you went in the idol communities, the joint live stream was the hot topic.
‘Hmm...?’
Even the busy fans who hadn’t checked their phones all afternoon rubbed their eyes when they finally saw it online.
‘Who did a live stream with whom...?’
At the news that NewBlack, Teen Spirit, TNT, Street Boys, and others had gathered for a live stream, they blinked in surprise.
“Is this not an April Fool’s joke??”
“Why am I only seeing this online nowㅠㅠㅠㅠ”
“Is it real??”
“Is this an April Fool’s gag? Like “Lee Geonwoo to star in Hollywood Tinker Bell” joke?”
“The joint live was such an April Fool’s gagㅋㅋㅋㅋ”
Soone even unearthed an old April Fool’s post:
[Breaking) TenTenNew Joint Live... “We’ll make a shocking announcent.”]
TNT “Today we reveal the 9th mber... Park TJ.”
NewBlack “Actually our CEO still has hair.”
Teen Spirit “We actually swear a lot.”
That ridiculous gag about three groups eting began to attract new comnts.
“I thought it was nonsense but it was prophecy”
“If we say it here will it co true?”
“Please let win the lotteryㅠㅠ”
“Please help find a job”
“I ca on a pilgrimage”
It was an event none of the idol fans had anticipated, so many were curious.
“But what’s their connection...???”
“Soone summarize today’s tiline”
“Light stan here and I’m dizzy trying to follow this”
“Even overseas fans are genuinely confusedㅋㅋㅋㅋ On Twitter they’re asking ‘Did these two even know each other?’”
“In the U.S. it’d be like Hailey Blue and Logan Smith having a birthday party together”
Overseas K-pop fan sites were full of bewildered reactions. Soone answered their question.
“It’s complicated but simply: NewBlack neighbor, leader’s friend, leader’s junior in the military, debut classmates all together”
“Yeah they beca friends through NewBlack’s connections”
So when did they beco close? As people shared deeper background info, one post appeared:
[Today’s Legendary Live Stream—A Grand Epic]
It starts with trainee Sun Wooju at TJ!!
Wooju was a TJ trainee who befriended the TNT mbers before being cut. In the military he t Kevin as his junior. After discharge he joined Lemon Entertainnt, debuted as NewBlack, grew close to debut classmates Street Boys, then t Teen Spirit next door. And today at Jusae Han all those acquaintances finally t.
‘Oh....’
Fans admired the attached photos and clips. There were variety show clips of Wooju as a trainee with TNT, the episode making Kevin the main vocalist as Wooju’s military junior, and the joint stage video where NewBlack and Street Boys beca close.
“Now it makes senseㅋㅋㅋㅋ”
“Wow that’s how it was... OP is amazing, are you NewBlack?”
“This is so fascinating... connections can form like this”
“Was I the only one not knowing they were that closeㅠㅠㅠ”
“I thought they just randomly pulled together because of Jusae Han”
“The heart of the K-idol universe is protected by the spaceship”
Idol-to-idol camaraderie that had gone unnoticed beneath fan-wars was finally in the spotlight today.
“Let’s declare today Idol Peace Day. Bang-bang. Now hug each other”
“Happy Chuseok~”
“In this chaotic world... let’s live in harmony like NewBlack and friends”
Like a temporary Christmas truce, a warm atmosphere prevailed. They visited each other’s streams, requested photos, enjoyed each other’s company. But as always, so sought to spoil the fun.
“Am I the only one who feels left out? I’m happy with the Chuseok vibe but if you’re not an idol you feel excluded...”
That comnt sparked more.
“222 feels like their own exclusive league”
“Too much showing off their connections”
“Do they have to flaunt how close they are? They can just be friends privately”
“If APLB Kevin hadn’t been there, APLB alone wouldn’t have been included”
“I liked them before but now they all seem fake”
“I thought they only hang with popular groups, now I’m turned off”
One by one, resentful voices joined in. If this had targeted one fandom it might have succeeded. But the four fandoms’ alliance quickly crushed it.
Still, so tone-deaf posts appeared.
[Today’s Y-app Viewership Comparison]
New ≥ Teen > Ten > Sbo
(Y-app only)
Posts citing stats vanished under scathing replies. Today wasn’t for sparring.
‘Who’s trying to kill the mood?’
‘I’ll roast anyone dissing my Teen Spirits.’
‘It’s a good day so I won’t swear.’
After the naysayers fled, fans returned to happy smiles watching their favorites.
[Teen Spirits genuinely thrilled playing with the hyungsㅋㅋㅋ]
[Hyojun alert tone reaction gif from Hanjoh’s filial piety phone (feat. Haljoh)]
Countless clips from the live were remastered into GIFs. Every absurd mont drew attention. anwhile each group began their own live streams.
“Together~ Surprised us today? We were surprised too~”
TNT mbers waved from their van and explained how the joint live ca about.
“It was amazing.”
“It felt like a dream hour. Mafia was so fun.”
Teen Spirit in their dorm living room pressed hands to both cheeks and squealed.
“Wait, they left us out for Mafia?”
“Tickle ! Don’t tickle !”
“You guys said you wouldn’t... Ahahaha! Don’t tickle !”
Street Boys did their Chuseok live, teasing each other.
“Ha... I was so nervous earlier. You saw that on live, right?”
“Eunseong sunbaenim, stop with the nonsense.”
“Ha ru jealous? I went to hang with Biju sunbaenim~?”
Kevin held his own variety show nonsense. Though all these idols differed in personality and looks, one thing united them: their expressions on live.
“It was amazing.”
“Seriously, playing with friends was so exciting.”
“I want to play Mafia again.”
Fans watching these streams felt warm inside. When you watch soone long enough you see their true mood.
‘They’re really excited.’
Seeing their favorites carefree and happy evoked a sweet, inexplicable satisfaction. Everyone thought the sa:
‘I hope they do it again.’
Not just because they were friends—but because it was fun.
‘This is better than most variety shows.’
On most shows idols are used in previews to lure viewers but get little screen ti. On NewBlack TV’s Mafia ga they got balanced, engaging coverage—especially thanks to MC Wooju’s fair hosting.
“Wooju MC is incredibleㅋㅋㅋ”
“He’s nailing the banter and highlighting everyone’s character”
“Soul so happy todayㅠㅠ”
“How is this collab more of a lineup than a guest showㅋㅋㅋㅋ”
“NewBlack TV needs to make more idol content”
“(KM CEO Heo Kangmin dancing with a wad of cash gif)”
Amid praise for today’s live quality, fans had one burning question.
“So who were the Mafiaㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ”
“Let us know pleaseㅠㅠ”
“They picked Ri Hyuk first, then Seok Jiho and Sun Wooju... who was it???”
“Y-app owes us compensationㅋㅋㅋ”
“I keep refreshing NewBlack TVㅠ Who knows when the Mafia reveal drops???ㅠㅠㅠ”
Not only idol fans but general viewers on NewBlack TV wanted answers. Soon a video appeared:
[Revealing Today’s Mafia (Pre-release)]
Promising a fully edited version with captions later, they uploaded the cut scene lost to server errors.
‘It’s up!’
Fans rushed to Tube and views soared. Then they learned who the Mafia were.
“The Mafia were Kevin-ssi and LB-ssi~!”
“See! I said it wasn’t ! Aaaah! How incompetent are the citizens!”
“That was fun~! Heh-kyakkat!”
As fans exclaid “Ah” or “I knew it,” soone spotted sothing odd and comnted.
“All the people Ri Hyuk accused Round 1 were the actual Mafia...”
“That jerk breathes so he’s the culprit! -> True”
“Junhyun: LB is Mafia because he wore a hat (True)”
“What looked like mob rule was real deduction”
“Clueless but keen citizens...”
“@[email protected]_police Look here promising recruits”
“They say you catch a cow by backing up—these guys caught the Mafia”
“If citizens deduce like that, what were the cops doing?”
┕The cop was Junhyun.
┕Ah.
anwhile, Lemon Entertainnt’s PR team sighed in relief.
“So, Reporter Kim...”
“Yes?”
“You want to know who the Mafia were?”
“Yes, many are curious... Isn’t this the public’s right to know?”
“...Sorry, the video just went live.”
“Really?”
As they hung up, the PR team smiled warmly.
‘Our idols may be the only ones reporters ask about Mafia results.’
They thought, ‘Anything can happen.’ ‘Ti to catch our breath.’
Just then phones rang again—it was those sa reporters. They braced to redirect them to the content later, but the questions were different.
“NewBulBaek?”
Fortunately they knew this one already. It was about NewBlack’s spicy bulgogi set “NewBulBaek” featured on Jusae Han. Celebrities had posted reviews on SNS, but why was this still trending before airing?
“What? Lee Geonwoo posted a video on SNS?”
A top Hallyu star posted it. If Kwak Si-hyun is queen of Hallyu actresses, Lee Geonwoo is king among actors.
“Hello, Jiknyeo everyone, it’s Geonwoo. I’m going to cook the NewBulBaek I got from NewBlack. It’s my first review but I’ll do my best.”
He fild himself awkwardly cooking in the kitchen, then tasted it.
“Delicious...!”
His spontaneous, wholehearted reaction made viewers laugh. But Lemon Entertainnt’s PR couldn’t laugh—phones kept ringing.
“How do we make NewBlack? That’s our CEO... Oh, the NewBulBaek? We don’t know...”
“We don’t have the recipe.”
“We’re not chefs...”
They fielded inquiries about the NewBulBaek recipe—one unusual PR experience.
For days it was uproarious. No new content as the holiday left the video team off, but Y-app views climbed. And they even reached overseas TV.
On an Arican talk show the host clapped before a screen showing the ga:
“This week’s fun video! Today we have K-pop singers’ party ga: Mafia, or Werewolf.”
Every ti the ridiculous deductions hit the real culprit, the audience roared with laughter.
“Ha, I’m so embarrassed.”
“That spot... didn’t Junhyun place in a cattle-mooing contest there before? These writers must love K-pop.”
“...Or maybe they don’t?”
They shared the clip in the group chat. Replies ca instantly.
Eunseong [(suitcase photo)]
Hanbin [Why the suitcase?]
Eunseong [We’re heading to the U.S.]
Everyone laughed.
LB [That hyung is definitely not normal]
LB [Before packing, check the passportㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
Jiho [Am I being called to Hollywood??]
Jiho [I need to get hero-movie costu asurents]
Yeonhu [Going to the U S A ?????]
Jiho [No]
Yeonhu [Then why tease us]
Jiho [Yeonhu?]
Yeonhu [Yo]
Their friendliness ant the chat was lively— 999 ssages whenever they checked in, and that buoyant vibe felt great. They spent the holiday practicing Empire choreography and preparing for upcoming video shoots, while...
[Chuseok “Dollympics” records all-ti low ratings... “Will it be canceled?”]
The Chuseok “Dollympics” ratings plunged so severely that talk of cancellation surfaced. I heard from Seokhwan-hyung that the show’s PD griped to Jusae Han’s crew, “Is this fair?”
“Excuse , the guests weren’t our pick—they were NewBlack’s...”
Jusae Han’s team had no reply. Word spread swiftly among agencies, and people were vindictive—always warning that if they didn’t appear on Dollympics, their idols wouldn’t be fun on music or variety shows. After that eventful Chuseok day...
“Hello~!”
We reconvened at TBC’s Sangam-dong headquarters. Day three of the Jusae Han×NewBlack special and the grand finale. It was ti to record at the rest stop, selling classic pork cutlets and NewBulBaek. The highlight of three days of filming—naturally everyone felt tension and pressure, but...
“Hey~!”
“Has Ju-seon arrived?”
Okbun-teach and the Jusae Han crew bead. The producers, too, all smiles—including usually stoic PD O Taejun.
“Hey now, is sothing good happening today?” he whispered to the writers.
“Well...” the junior writer said, “everyone was thrilled when we told them this special’s entire content ca from the celebrity guests.”
“Oh...”
“They said just filming the food scene today would be a win.”
It seed the previous day’s guest special had yielded so much material that they were relaxed. The writer continued,
“But I’ve never seen this at a network—usually first day and second day get a bit, then the last day is the big haul...”
We smiled at the writer’s astonishnt that the second day had produced three weeks’ worth of content. When we were ready, we approached and Director Woo Jaeyong laughed warmly.
“Goodness, I can’t rember the last ti I fild without pressure.”
“Let’s take it easy today—no pressure!”
“You don’t need to be funny; just be yourself~”
Throughout the opening shoot, a heartwarming vibe held as we and the Jusae Han cast clasped hands.
“All right, before we head to the rest stop, let’s do our fighting cheer—today’s sales!”
“Let’s make it a hit!”
“Waaaah—!”
We slapped hands enthusiastically and boarded the vehicles. Now it was ti to et custors at the rest stop and sell NewBulBaek and pork cutlets.
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