KM Entertainnt practice room.
“ What is it? ”
Wang Jiho blinked.
‘ Why did Junghyun hyung beco team leader? ’
It wasn’t that he lacked leadership. How to put it... Hyung wasn’t the type you’d call a happy sweet potato for no reason.
He didn’t like stepping forward to lead, so it surprised Jiho.
Jiho [ Hyung beca team leader?? ]
Junghyun [ Yep ]
Junghyun [ They let lead because I bent the spoon ]
Wang Jiho smiled warmly as he looked at the spoon, bent as if by a psychic.
While he was checking photos sent to see how the other hyungs were doing, he also snapped one at the scene and sent it.
“ I’ll take a picture~! ”
Those nearby, awkwardly warming up, brightened and waved, and Jiho sent the photo.
He tapped his fingers against a radiant smile.
[ Lee Ssi ]
[ Here’s Gil Chaekyung!!!!!! ]
[ So jealous ]
He was deeply displeased to find he’d been lumped into the sa ’98 line as the girl-group mber he’d hated since elentary school.
Sure enough, the maknae of Girls on Top, who’d been smiling gracefully among the ’98 line, shot him an icy glare.
‘ Hmph. ’
He averted the cool stares from both sides and gave everyone else a bright smile.
“ Alright. ”
A Girls on Top mber around the sa tenure as TNT clapped to gather the ’98 line.
Hayhyun from Teen Spirit, Giwon from Street Boys, Yoran from Serenity, Petit Pumpkin from Blink, and so on. mbers of successful idol groups were almost all here.
Seven in total.
“ First, we’ll go over the choreography we all practiced. We’ll focus on parts that don’t match and adjust. ”
“ Yes! ”
“ Then let’s begin! ”
The ’98 line mbers, who would legally beco adults next year, took their positions.
As the hit song “Twinkle” by second-generation girl group Twinkle played, the maknae mbers’ synchronized moves unfolded seamlessly.
As performances were their specialty, none of them were ordinary.
“ Wow, you’re all really good~ ”
When Wang Jiho said that with a gentle laugh, the others exchanged smiles.
‘ I need to stay on guard. ’
There was a subtly competitive vibe.
With mbers of 2016’s hottest groups gathered, each naturally wanted to stand out the most.
Between correcting the choreography, complints flew among them.
‘ I’ll win! ’
The maknaes of each group had their eyes blazing.
– “ Hey, Hayhyundal, make up for your exam score. Beat Jiho. If you win or lose looking foolish, you still win! ”
– “ Against NewBlack and Serenity? Go beat them. ”
– “ Giwon. What’s more important: your stamina or our pride? Right, our pride~ hahaha! ”
It felt like their clueless hyungs and unnies were whispering in his ear.
Wang Jiho wiped the sweat at his nape with a towel as he recalled their words.
– “ Take care of your condition first. Since your concert just ended, don’t overdo it. ”
– “ Want to wrap apples for you? No? Oh... you like it? One sec! ”
– “ Oh? Jiho, you have a joint stage? When? Since a month ago? ”
The NewBlack maknae, whose height had just crossed 180cm, looked taller than the other idols here.
‘ I’ve aged a lot too! ’
He was already twenty!
Thinking of the hyungs always treating him like a kid who needed health tips, he snorted with indignation.
‘ I’ll show them my performance is killer. ’
Resolute in that thought, Wang Jiho’s eyes swept over the ’98 line.
In the still-awkward atmosphere, he pondered.
‘ What should I do? ’
Performance wasn’t a solo act.
While matching moves was important, being a single, unified body mattered most.
That’s why leadership was key—and why NewBlack’s cohesion changed after Sun Wooju arrived.
‘ But if I step up, I’ll seem like I’m showing off... ’
Though tacitly acknowledged as the best, his tenure was the sa three years as most.
Seeking a suitable alternative, Wang Jiho sidled up to Hayhyun and nudged him.
“ Hayhyun~? ”
“ No thanks. ”
“ Why not? ”
“ I’m useless with choreography. ”
“ Then what’s your role? ”
“ Head-tilt manager. ”
A convincing answer.
His gaze drifted to Gil Chaekyung, who was listening to the joint-stage track through one earbud nearby.
Jiho tried again.
“ Hey. ”
“ What? ”
“ Wait. ”
“ Yeah? ”
He whispered his idea for the stage to his peer, then held out his hand.
“ What do you think? Deal? ”
“ ... ”
He narrowed his eyes, considering.
Though he led by tenure, Girls on Top had been inactive recently and didn’t have much voice.
He accepted Jiho’s offer to fill that gap with a calm handshake.
“ Deal. ”
“ Okay. ”
With his tenure concern covered, he turned to the other ’98 line mbers with a radiant smile.
“ Everyone! ”
“ ? ”
“ I want to treat you all to pizza and chicken as snacks. Who’s in~? ”
“ Uh... ”
To the hesitant, NewBlack’s maknae grinned.
“ There are no managers here~ ”
Faces lit up as they waved and laughed.
Wang Jiho nodded, smiling.
‘ First, I’ll get friendly with them. ’
He’d spent years buying chicken and pizza to monopolize class rep elections. This was his ga.
“ Whew... ”
Sweat stread down his body.
He took a swig of ice water, then checked his phone.
It was Jiho.
Jiho [ I’m also a team leader ]
Jiho [ Co-CEO~~~ ]
He saw a group photo of the ’98 idols cheerfully eating chicken and pizza together.
It wasn’t surprising—our maknae was hugely popular among peers.
A ssage ca saying Biju was busy choreographing among the cast.
“ Are our mbers a bit too strong? ”
“ Who? Junghyun hyung? ”
“ No, overall... ”
Leaning against the wall, Han Mo sighed and said,
“ We feel strong when scattered, but a rabble when together. ”
“... Isn’t it usually the opposite? ”
Taehyun, tilting his head, shrugged as if to say, “Who knows?” Sweat droplets flew here and there.
Then he held out his hand.
“ Water? ”
When handed ice water, he drank and groaned.
He checked ssages from the juniors, then looked over.
“ Is it tough? ”
“ So-so? But my joints must ache like crazy. Lately when dancing I yelp a lot. ”
“... Is that okay? ”
“ The hospital said nothing serious. ”
Taehyun shrugged and said,
“ Tell Biju to save his joints too. This wear rate isn’t normal. ”
“ They’re already worn. A lot. ”
“ Well, that’s dancers. ”
Taehyun offered to recomnd a good clinic or supplents, but I said managent handled it well.
“ I’ve heard so much about it. Lemon’s a great company too. ”
It seed the ntion of TJ Ent at the end slipped out subconsciously.
There’d been noise about contract renewals lately.
I thought about asking how it was going, but stopped. He knew and I knew him.
If he wanted to say sothing, he’d say it.
But.
“ Ugh... my knee. ”
He didn’t seem inclined to talk.
I asked in passing,
“ Hanbin or Jiho? ”
“ They must have returned ho by now. They had overseas schedules. They might co by to see hyung later. We have the year-end stage too. ”
“ I’d like to see them. ”
We’d talked over video call when we won the award, but seeing their faces in person was different.
“ But hyung. ”
“ Hmm? ”
“ No, this is weird—what happened to your body? ”
He flinched.
His eyes narrowed like threads.
“ It’s weird. Even when we played basketball last ti, and now dancing—right after we fixed the choreography, you nailed it. ”
“ Did I? ”
“ It’s so weird. Did soone else take over you? ”
I told Taehyun, muttering nonsense about replacing with Sun Wooju, to whisper that into his pillow instead.
“ My body just works like this. ”
“ Oh. ”
Taehyun blinked with a puzzled look, then smiled as if it didn’t matter.
“ Whatever works is best. ”
“ You rested? ”
“ Yep. ”
He took my hand, stood, and rolled his shoulders to warm up.
I was impressed by the TNT main dancer’s moves—tiny chops of the reworked track, wielding the stage prop cane as he moved.
They’d practiced three days, but it felt like months.
I had a part too, but skipped it since it needed special props.
“ Is that even possible? ”
At first Taehyun doubted it, but once I showed him the rehearsal video he was convinced.
Wary that he might call it odd, I was relieved by his positive reaction.
We smoothly perford my part, then stood side by side for the full choreography.
On the real stage, the dancers would swoop in with an “Uaah—” at that mont.
“ Phew... ”
After two minutes of choreography, we took a short break.
“ Ah. ”
I rembered sothing I’d forgotten.
Just as Ri Hyuk brought a Christmas gift for Sun Jaewon sunbae, I’d brought one for him.
“ Here. ”
“ What’s this? ”
“ A Christmas present. ”
“ Oh! ”
He exclaid at the gift I handed him, looking truly delighted.
@Real_HanTH
( A photo of Han Taehyun in a Christmas-colored hoodie and pants looking sad, and Sun Wooju smiling fondly.jpg )
Joint stage rehearsal. No questions please.
– “ Oh my god ”
– “ Student... throw that outfit away... ”
– “ Taehyun debuting as Rudolph ”
– “ The color combo would anger Rudolph to gore you with his antlers ”
– “ That outfit is the first to outshine Taehyun’s face ”
– “ Is the concept Santa and Rudolph? ”
Amid the flurry of jokes on SNS, Seo Rihyuk shook his head.
“ A real fashion terrorist. ”
Then he realized,
‘ You can’t call soone a terrorist like that. ’
He thought of a softer term and eased his mind before checking his phone.
It looked like everyone’s practice was going well.
Biju hyung’s group was crying, Junghyun hyung’s group had a cozy kimchi-making vibe, and Wang Jiho was being Wang Jiho.
As Ri Hyuk scrolled through dynamic photos from the mbers, he said,
“ You know what, sunbae? ”
“ Yeah? ”
He said to Sun Jaewon, who smiled gently.
“ I think I’m the top mber of this group. ”
“ Relatively? ”
“ Absolutely too, isn’t it? ”
Sunbae offered no firm confirmation, so Ri Hyuk argued logically.
“ Imagine extraterrestrials visiting Earth and wanting to send one of us five as their representative. Sunbae, who would you send? ”
“ Junghyun. ”
“ ... Huh? Why? ”
“ I figure he’d communicate best—with the gitan boys. ”
An unassailable reason.
As he rolled his mind for another example, Sun Jaewon looked at him and asked,
“ But Ri Hyuk? ”
“ Yes. ”
He answered obediently, and the senior artist smiled, pointing at his forehead.
“ What’s this? ”
“ This? ”
Ri Hyuk touched his bangs, styled like sesa leaf folds, with three pink clips.
“ I thought I might get a zit on my forehead. ”
“ Not ? ”
“ Yes, I feel one coming... My skin’s really bad these days. ”
He held up a hand mirror like he genuinely worried, showing off flawless, jade-white skin.
Like Snow White from a fairy tale.
Amid that radiant, smooth skin, Ri Hyuk said anxiously,
“ I should take better care of it. ”
Why did anger suddenly rise?
“ Sunbae, # Nоvеlight # I worry I might be falling behind in skill these days. ”
His singing skill had improved five hundredfold.
“ Maybe because I practiced dancing... ”
During the joint stage, his dance suddenly improved so much that she had more practice ti than anyone.
He looked genuinely concerned.
Once more, he said “Ugh” and peered into the mirror. Sun Jaewon smiled.
‘ Now I get it. ’
He finally understood why the queen sent a poisoned apple to Snow White.
The next day, after each finished joint rehearsal.
Our spirits were at their peak on Christmas.
“ Strong when scattered, weak when united. ”
“ That’s NewBlack~! ”
“ Hahaha! ”
Today, to celebrate Christmas, we had the day off.
Since we’d collapsed into sleep as soon as we got ho at dawn, the hot topic was yesterday’s rehearsal.
“ I... ”
I laughed at the maknae, all puffed up about leading peers.
“ We chose a team na too. Corner Kids. ”
“ Corner Kids? ”
“ Street Boys ans kids of the street. We et in the corner for etings, so Corner Kids! ”
Junghyun seed ecstatic after enjoying the eting with the rappers.
Ri Hyuk shared his catch-up talk with Sun Jaewon sunbae.
And the brightest star among them was...
“ Hehe. ”
“... ”
Our second maknae’s eyes glowed, as if an angel choir trumpeted behind him.
‘ Wow. ’
‘ What could have happened? ’
‘ Faces can actually glow, huh. ’
Biju returned looking extra fluffy, as if he’d had fun during practice.
He talked about enjoying this and that, but only Biju seed pleased.
Well.
‘ It’s not our business. ’
‘ True. ’
I smiled, thinking it best this way.
Today was Christmas.
Normally, we’d be busy preparing for the HBS Music Awards stage, but since we weren’t appearing, we were relaxed.
And we were enjoying the schedule we had instead.
“ Waaaaaaa! ”
New York JFK Airport.
As we exited immigration, an imnse roar greeted us.
A wave of Souffle fans waving banners and light sticks surged around the airport security, who escorted us.
“ rry Christmas! ”
Pushed about as I squeaked out a greeting, I was glad my aning ca across.
Fans waved back, wishing us a happy Christmas.
As we climbed into the van parked in front of JFK, I saw Souffle fans still crowding the windows.
The maknae’s eyes went wide as he asked,
“ Isn’t it Christmas? ”
“ Exactly. ”
We pressed our faces to the window like binoculars, and when we cheered, the fans cheered back.
“ ... Why are they laughing? ”
“ Hey guys. ”
Seokhwan hyung in the front seat said,
“ That glass isn’t tinted. ”
“ ...! ”
I struck a solemn pose, but it seed pointless.
...Photos are gonna pop up.
I rearranged my hair as I licked my lips and watched the outside.
“ Wow. ”
Everything around was decked out in Christmas.
Clothing stores hung decorations, bare branches twinkled with lights.
Shopping centers hung snowflake ornants.
Scarves and hats of passersby all exuded Christmas cheer.
“ It feels like my childhood wish ca true. ”
“ Sa here. ”
Watching Ho Alone 2 as a kid made New York’s Christmas look so magical. Now standing here, it was incredible.
While we changed behind curtains into pre-prepared suits,
I glimpsed the familiar Tis Square scene: billboards and neon lights everywhere.
Soon our destination appeared.
“ Wow... ”
Carnegie Hall in Manhattan.
“ In the movie, the pigeon keeper lived here. ”
“ Oooh. ”
Stepping out of the van, the crisp air and the façade of Carnegie Hall filled my view.
Even the flags fluttered in front.
[Nostalgia Christmas Concert]
The Nostalgia OST Christmas concert.
Seeing “Woo-joo Sun” listed under Composer made beam as I pulled out my phone.
“ Let’s take a photo first? ”
“ Go go go! ”
My cheeks flushed red in the cold as the hyungs crowded around.
At the sa ti.
In Korean ti it was the morning of the 26th, and at COEX the HBS Music Awards were in full preparation.
Singers rehearsed, stage props were set up.
“... ”
Amid it all, the main PD who’d directed the awards staff again this year looked at his phone.
A headline on the portal entertainnt page.
– “ NewBlack releases Christmas selfies... ‘We’re in New York~!’ ”
They’d posted selfies of the stylish young n in front of Carnegie Hall, and photos with world-renowned musical producer Frank Chow.
The story noted they were attending as composer of “Thousand Dreams,” one of the Nostalgia OST tracks.
Since it was a Christmas charity concert, several celebrities were present.
Could it be an illusion that the smiles of NewBlack mbers in the photos were aid at the HBS Music Awards?
‘ Should I have just apologized and participated? No. If I didn’t call them... Should I have? No. ’
The main PD muttered silently and shook his head at the grinning NewBlack selfies.
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