This was the mont when our tablet screen glowed with an image posted on Billboard’s SNS.
“Click it—hurry up!”
Bijuga swiped his finger across the tablet, but nothing happened.
Junghyeon furrowed his brow.
“Let see.”
He forced his finger down, but of course the static image wouldn’t budge.
Ri hyeok sighed.
“That won’t work, hyung.”
“Why not?”
“It’s just an image file; there’s nothing behind it to flip to.”
“Wow, even Junghyeon can’t beat it with brute strength,” Bijuga laughed.
After realizing that no amount of physical force could change a nonexistent file, we asked ourselves,
“Do they only post positions one through ten?”
We refreshed the Billboard website, but the chart didn’t update.
“I read in their Q&A that they refresh Tuesday morning. So today must be Thursday!”
“A high school senior with the college entrance exam in two days....” Ri hyeok felt faint, and we spent ages hunting online for chart-timing details.
Then a link popped up in one of our SNS feeds:
– “Blue Black’s ‘Blue Moon’ Debuts at No. 17”
It was an article reprinted straight from the magazine.
“Translate it, you Aricans.”
“I’m Korean,” I muttered, rubbing my temple.
Ri hyeok neatly translated:
“‘Blue Moon,’ the collaborative single by Hailey Blue and K-pop artist The New Black, debuted at number seventeen on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.”
pasted
We all cheered and clapped.
“It ans, despite releasing on Monday and losing three days of tracking, we still hit 17.”
“What a feat.”
According to Hailey, Billboard’s tracking week starts on Friday—so a Monday release is at a disadvantage. Yet, we still ranked.
“Anyway—seventeen!”
“Congrats, congrats—Billboard 17th place, congrats!”
We toasted with paper cups of cider, thrilled. Our goal wasn’t chart performance, and it was just a side project, so we were overjoyed. Plus, we had another purpose for this release.
“Guys, what sound do you hear?” I cupped my ear.
“The sound of clueless people tumbling into the domain of SUPLe’s,” they replied solemnly.
“Exactly—they roll in and beco our fans!”
We humd our the song, celebrating when a notification pinged on our group chat “Let’s Love Thy Neighbor.”
Yeonhu: [ㅅㅂ]
Yeonhu: [Hyungs, I’m trying to sleep]
Yeonhu: [Sleep!!!!]
We must have been too loud. I apologized.
: [Why are you sleeping in the living room?]
: [You’re gonna turn inside-out.]
Yeonhu: [A bug ca into my room]
Yeonhu: [Gross]
Yeonhu: [(photo)]
“Aaah!”
“What’s wrong with him?”
“So cute.”
Yeonhu: [What festival are you throwing?]
: [(photo)]
When we told him our Billboard main-chart news—17th place—he replied:
Yeonhu: [Oh]
Yeonhu: [Billboard is legit]
Yeonhu: [Keep going]
We leapt around in the dorm living room with our juniors, ecstatic.
While The New Black bounced around in joy, the SUPLes maintained composure.
“Stay calm,” they thought—they knew “Blue Moon” was released by Blue Black. Since it was a collab with a top U.S. artist, it didn’t feel like The New Black alone had conquered Billboard, just that the collaboration had succeeded. Still, it was gratifying.
“Congrats!”
“Amazing!”
“A spaceship heading for the world”
“Thanks to the A&R and producing teams—sending you joy”
“(Gif of a lunatic grinning wildly while blending Ri hyeok’s least‐favorite drink)”
“So good”
“The only legal drug in our country is fangirling over The New Black”
Soone quipped that fangirling felt like rolling in a poppy field. Others noted the fierce backlash from haters—yet it didn’t threaten us, like sharks hurtling onto a steel deck only to slide right off.
“Isn’t it obvious with Hailey Blue’s na value?”
“If it did well, they’re just celebrating lol”
“In the U.S., if Hailey drops a track, it basically debuts at number one.”
“Feat. The New Black—you get the idea.”
“Collab single by The New Black hit no. 1 on the Mango Chart?”
“Normal people: ‘New Black collab at 17? Nice!’ / Haters: ‘They only did well because of sothing sothing’”
Both fans and haters lacked context on U.S. charts, so information was scarce. But seeing Arican SUPLes in tears made it clear: it was a genuine success.
We also realized another thing:
“Hailey Blue is an absolute icon.”
I’d thought she was just famous, but watching festival crowds singing along made see her stature. And releasing a Halloween‐thed single on a Monday under the na “Blue Black”—the audacity was impressive. SUPLes giggled, hoping this would hook new fans as subscription counts on The New Black’s channel soared—like ants tumbling into a void.
At the world’s largest record label, World Music, a group gathered in the conference room. The screen displayed the latest Billboard Hot 100 data: radio spins, streams, comparisons with other songs.
“What’s going on here?”
An executive pointed at the numbers.
“These figures don’t match her usual performance. What happened?”
“It could be a small variable,” soone offered.
“Small?” he shook his head. “But a spike this big? There must be a cause.”
“It appears to be the artist she collaborated with—The New Black.”
“The boy band? They have a fandom here?”
“If we assu they have a sizable U.S. fanbase, the math works perfectly.”
The executive slapped his hands together.
“Good. Investigate The New Black later. For now, I want one thing: which label are they signed to, and can we sign them?”
A junior staffer grinned.
“Possible.”
“Contact them imdiately.”
As a few staff bustled about, the rest stared at the chart:
“A group with this many fans?”
Their expressions mirrored the amazent SUPLes had shown at Hailey Blue’s influence.
In their first full tracking week, “Blue Moon” leaped from 17 to 2 on the Hot 100—and word was it would easily clinch number one.
@HaleyBlue: “Listen more. I can’t stand my song not being number one.”
Though proud of the peak, it didn’t change much: Hailey had charted before with an OST, and here nine-tenths of the success was attributed to her. Still, it proved effective promotion in the U.S.
[“Looks like Hailey Blue has found a new muse.”]
[“The New Black, a K-pop group—its leader ‘Wooju’ played a major role in writing and composing this track.”]
[“Ha! When album sales slump, she always finds a new man.”]
[“What can you do—that’s her style.”]
We saw Arican dia panels sneer on TV—so comnts crossing the line into racism. It showed that many U.S. entertainnt outlets could be pretty cheap, hiding behind “it’s just humor.” At the sa ti, new fan subscriptions spiked noticeably every day.
“Co on in—no escape now.”
We smiled, watching our channel count climb.
anwhile, Empire’s music-show promotions entered their fourth week, sweeping first place across every broadcast. Headlines read:
– “The New Black’s Empire hits 20 million Tube views in record ti”
– “New Black’s makers plan ‘Hot Black Bean’ to celebrate Hot 100 success”
– “Record streaks—will The New Black dominate this year’s Mango Chart Awards?”
With Empire wrapped, the Mango Chart Awards were just days away. Everyone predicted The New Black would win at least one grand prize.
“I must have dreamt I won an award last night,” Junghyeon said.
“What award?”
“‘Little Brother of the Year,’ with you presenting... in a floral Hawaiian shirt, sobbing on my pant cuff.”
“That’s a nightmare. Eat sothing.”
The maknae’s energy was off the charts after steak. He shoved pens into his pocket, slung on an empty bag, and Bijuga offered,
“You need a lunchbox, too.”
Junghyeon hefted a hefty lunch container, and Ri hyeok quipped,
“Your lunch bag’s heavier than your backpack—swap them?”
Outside, a chill wind blew. Test days were always cold—today, November 17, our maknae’s college exam day.
“Did you study?”
“No, but it’s fine. I’ve won {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} awards.”
“Proud mont,” we teased, nudging him.
On the first floor, we all rode the elevator down to send him off. At the sixth floor, TeenSpirit’s mbers—Hyuhyeon and five others—climbed in wearing tracksuits.
“Did you study?” I asked.
“No, but it’s fine. I’ve won awards.”
They wore the sa expression as our maknae, and we burst out laughing. Their mbers patted each other on the back.
“Proud mont, you idiot,” they teased Ri hyeok.
The elevator shook amid the ruckus, and Ri hyeok clutched the handrail.
“Won’t fall.”
“That’s... unprovable.”
Finally we reached the first floor.
As our managers fetched cars, we realized:
“We’re taking the exam at the sa school?”
“No way!”
A happy coincidence—it felt like fate. We chatted with the test-takers until they waved and climbed into their cars. Then...
“Uh...”
Both doors opened simultaneously, and Junghyeon and Hyuhyeon stepped out, grinning sheepishly before getting in the other group’s car.
My chest tightened.
“Oh my...”
“Damn...”
And so the fierce The New Black vs. TeenSpirit college entrance exam showdown began.
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