Translator: MarcTempest
Editor: Rxel
Chapter 142
Health problems?
Woojoo wondered what was going on and quickly clicked on the news link.
His younger brothers also saw his serious expression and came closer to him.
Rihyuk narrowed his eyes.
âTNT postpones their comebackâŠ? What happened?â
âLetâs read it.â
Woojoo slowly scrolled down the article.
Fortunately, it was not about someone getting seriously injured.
Flu.
It was a story about Seok Jihun, the youngest and main vocal of TNT, who got infected with Type A influenza while juggling drama filming and comeback preparations.
According to TJ Entertainment, they âplan to postpone the comeback by a week considering the artistâs conditionâ.
Bijooâs eyes were full of sympathy.
âType A influenza is really painfulâŠâ
âIsnât he the senior we saw before? When we video called with Taehyun. There was a hotel swimming pool then.â
âRight. It was him.â
Jihun was also one of the younger brothers Woojoo got along well with at TJ.
They used to hang out together on their days off, and he taught him some vocal tips as the main vocal back then.
But now they were distant.
They would hug and greet each other warmly when they met at the broadcasting station, but they rarely contacted each other personally.
It felt funny to contact him out of the blue, so Woojoo left a message for Taehyun to wish him a speedy recovery.
On the other hand, after finishing his thoughts about the past connection.
âThis is serious.â
Woojoo focused on the problem of reality.
The situation of TNT postponing their comeback.
The younger brothers looked at their smartphones with worried expressions.
Bijoo kept brushing his hair back, Rihyuk scrolled down his smartphone with his eyes squinted.
Jiho rested his chin on Woojooâs shoulder and bit his lower lip, then took his phone and started searching.
âWhat is the difference between Type A influenza that TNTâs Jihun got and Type B influenza?â, âFans are angry⊠TJâs excessive schedule is on the chopping board againâ and other headlines popped up.
Heavy silence.
Even Junghyun, who usually sighed briefly while looking at his smartphone, was in a bad mood.
The youngest spoke in a gloomy voice.
âHyung.â
âYeah.â
Woojoo answered calmly and the youngest said, âYouâve been working on the second album since August, right? And we all practiced really hard too.â
âWe did.â
âWhat do we do nowâŠ?â
The youngest, who usually laughed âeheheâ even when something happened, muttered dejectedly.
TNTâs comeback was pushed back by a week.
So it overlapped with theirs.
Of course, they were not competitors.
If Street Boys had overlapped with their comeback again, it would have been a hassle.
They were their rivals, so the focus would have been on the competition.
But New Black and TNT, who had been in the industry for five years, were in different positions, so they were not in a competitive situation.
The problem was the attention itself.
They were rookies who needed every bit of attention, so they had to promote themselves with teasers or music videos, but if a big group came back at the same time, they would take all the attention.
It didnât matter how much it actually affected them, it was not a good thing.
ButâŠ
Even so, there was no need to be this depressed.
The younger brothers seemed to be very sensitive because they had put a lot of effort into preparing for the second album.
âUhâŠâ
Of course, Bijoo was rolling his eyes.
He didnât know what to do.
It was Woojooâs birthday, so they should have been having fun, but the mood was like this, so he seemed restless.
His face looked sad, frustrated, and not like this.
If Woojoo poked him with a needle, he would probably shed a tear, so he was more nervous.
âHey, guys.â Bijoo said, âToday is Woojoo Hyungâs birthdayâŠâ
âOops.â
âAhâŠâ
His other siblings, who were browsing the internet, blinked their eyes like they had just woken up from a dream.
Then they looked at Woojoo with a bewildered expression.
âUh⊠uh, Hyung, do you want me to give you a massageâŠ?â
Woojoo couldnât help but laugh at the sight of the bear fidgeting with his front paws in confusion.
While Junghyun was blinking his eyes, Woojoo tapped his shoulder.
âItâs okay, no massage.â
âUm. That.â
Rihyuk scratched his cheek and said, âI didnât want to ruin the mood today since itâs your birthday⊠but.â
âSorry?â
âBut⊠unfortunately, the situation is like this⊠ah, what am I saying. Anyway, Iâm sorry for making the mood like this on your birthday.â
âSorry?â
âI regret it.â
He raised his hands and swept his hair back, but it was obvious that he was trying to cover his ears.
Woojoo quietly held back his laughter.
Then, their youngest lifted his face from Woojooâs shoulder and said, âActually, to be honest, Iâm upset.â
âWhat is it?â
âWell⊠you see. Ever since you gave me this, youâve been working hard and dreaming.â
Jiho pointed out one by one with his finger.
âYou stayed up all night talking to the A&R team staff about the title song, and you came to tell me whenever you found something good on YouTube to help me with my facial expressionsâŠâ
âSo youâre upset?â
âYes. I feel like Iâm losing my presence.â Jiho added, âLike⊠this is not TNT Sunbaenimâs fault, but Iâm sure he doesnât want to be sick either, but I still feel upset.â
âHeâs not good at talking, but I can relate to him.â
âYeah. I get what youâre saying.â
Woojoo smiled at his siblings.
They all looked upset.
They had practiced together to make the album a success, and Woojoo had put a lot of effort into composing the title song.
But suddenly, their schedule overlapped perfectly with a big group, and they were worried that their efforts would be in vain.
âAnd on his birthdayâŠ!â Bijooâs eyes were full of exclamation.
Looking at his expression, he seemed to wish he had a time machine, so he could go to the future and get a universal vaccine for TNTâs Seok Jihun.
They were all so upset that Woojoo felt like he had to comfort them.
âAh.â Woojoo said with a smile, âI didnât know you guys cared about me so much.â
âWe always do. Iâm just short-sighted.â
âMe too.â
Woojoo nodded at the stupid brothersâ answers.
âWell⊠I guess you can be upset, but donât be too emotional about it.â
âButâŠâ
Woojoo raised his hand at Bijooâs words.
âDo you remember when we made Something?â
âSomething?â
âYeah, we all worked hard back then, even if not as much as now. But the day before the release, Sixty Secondsâ recording leakedâŠâ
âThat was a mess.â
âRight. Compared to that, this is nothing.â
Maybe it was because of Woojooâs birthday.
He spoke honestly about what he had been thinking.
âWe canât control everything anyway. No matter what we do in the future, there will always be unexpected things that will pop up like this.â
So.
âWhether itâs good or bad, big or small, letâs not get too emotional and prepare calmly until the comeback.â
Woojoo smiled and said to his siblings who were staring at him, âWeâve done well so far, havenât we?â
âYes.â
Bijoo nodded his head, followed by the others who agreed with him.
They resumed their meal in a more relaxed atmosphere than before.
The busy spoons and chopsticks.
âWow, the food is really good, by the way.â
Woojoo laughed at Rihyukâs grumbling.
Under Bijooâs proud smile, Junghyun and Jiho nodded vigorously.
âIâm going to have another bowl.â
âEat a lot. I made plenty on purpose.â
Then, Junghyun, who was fiddling with his phone, suddenly pushed the screen towards Woojoo.
âOh, right. Hyung. The fans prepared a gift for your birthday.â
âA gift?â
âI saw on the fan cafe that someone with golden hands made a video.â
It was a video titled âTo You, Our Universeâ, and it seemed to be made by a SoufflĂ©.
âWait, wait!â
The youngest raised his hand.
âStop for a moment. We have to film this.â
âOkay. I want to film it too.â fđżeđČđđČbnđšđđl.com
âBijoo Hyung, Iâll just film it for you.â
âNo, I want it for myself.â
Woojoo smiled at Bijoo and the youngest holding their phones and looked at the screen where the video was playing.
The calm melody of âStarlightâ, which Woojoo made, was the BGM.
It was a compilation of various videos from fancams, broadcasts, and YouTube that the company uploaded.
The first one was obviously the first-place video of PBS Music On.
-We, SoufflĂ©, will also work hard in the futureâŠ
âAh!â
His scream made the others clap and laugh, and Woojoo lamented.
âWhy did they start with thisâŠâ
Then, scenes of me making mistakes, performing, and cuddling with his siblings followed.
Woojoo remembered that time.
The VCR they made when they had their first fan signing.
The message they conveyed was that they were waiting for the fans, just as they were waiting for them.
Woojoo felt the same message in this four-minute video.
Whether he showed a cool, foolish, or any other side of him.
The video seemed to say that they liked all of his aspects, as they twinkled like stars.
Woojooâs heart ached as he saw the caption âYou are our universeâ with the date â11.9â.
A pleasant thrill ran up his chin.
Without knowing it, his cheeks rose slightly, and his tear ducts felt prickly.
Woojoo fidgeted, not knowing what to do with his hands and feet.
âPfftâŠâ
Woojoo lifted his head, and the others were giggling at his reaction.
The youngest, who was holding his phone like a cameraman, asked him, âPlease give us a comment, Seon Woojoo.â
Woojoo took a moment to organize his thoughts.
His heart was heavy, and he wondered how to explain this comprehensive thing.
Time passed.
Woojoo described how he felt.
âIâm really happy since this morning.â
***
The letter posted on New Blackâs official SNS account.
@The_New_Black_Official
(A picture of 22 candles burning on a cake)
[It was a really happy day.]
[Iâm reading the letters you sent me whenever I have time.]
[One of them said âThank you for being bornâ and I wanted to say the same thing to you.]
[Thank you for being here. My soufflés.]
[Weâll work really hard until our comeback and see you again]
[Soon.]
@The_New_Black_Official
(A picture of Woojoo making a V sign with a rubber duck on his head)
[Hello, Soufflés]
A second post that came up after the first one was cut off by the character limit.
It was supposed to be a continuation of the first one, but since they were posted separately, the Soufflés who were looking at the SNS account were momentarily confused.
A picture of Woojoo with a serious expression and a rubber duck on his head.
âHello, SoufflĂ©sâ with a powerful greeting.
They wondered what kind of new concept this was and felt bewildered, but soon realized what happened and burst into laughter.
And then they started teasing him as usual.
***
He regretted logging in after hearing from his siblings that a new joke was trending on the fan cafe.
[I canât wait to see you guys on music shows! So please come back soonâŠ]
He clicked on it with a warm smile at first.
Right.
I miss you tooâŠ
-Hello, Soufflés
He blinked his eyes at the post with a picture of him wearing a floral tracksuit attached.
ââŠâ
âHyung, what are you looking at? Hahaha! AhhâŠ!â
There were dozens of posts like that.
He sighed as he looked at them.
No wonder Koreans were called the nation of wit.
His Soufflés had created dozens of variations of the joke.
Rihyuk made a satisfied face and said, âUnfortunately, I lost.â
âWhat?â
âThe ranking of making embarrassing history. Youâre number one now.â
âRihyuk. Look at this.â
Woojoo showed him a post with a smug expression.
ââŠâ
Posts that had changed âHello, SoufflĂ©sâ to âHello, pirarukuâ and âHello, geniusâ and so on.
He said he would never go to the fan cafe again, so Woojoo told him to do so.
Then he went to a corner and tapped his phone screen diligently, but it was obvious that he was lurking on the fan cafe.
ââŠDidnât you say you would never go there again?â
âItâs a reading cafe!â
âI can see everything in the mirror behind you.â
âHuh?â
Woojoo smiled as he saw his flustered face.
âBut thereâs no mirror behind you.â
âOh, really!â
Woojoo laughed as he saw his face turn red.
Lately, he had been teasing his younger brothers as a way of managing his stress.
But unlike the rising stress, the days that passed after his birthday were peaceful as ever.
Practice, sleep, practice, sleep.
A cycle of routine.
Of course, outside the practice room, there were a lot of noisy things going on.
TJ Entertainment was pouring out press releases like crazy.
A dance challenge event, a famous actorâs cameo in the music video, a message from a recovered member, and so on.
It was a big issue in the music industry, which had no other news except for Scarletâs domination.
Meanwhile, in the entertainment section, there was talk of a movie about a corn farmer who rides a spaceship and goes through a black hole, along with a parenting reality show.
And in the social section, there was a heated debate over the unprecedented water SAT, and winter was showing its face.
The weather suddenly got cold.
The outfits changed to coats or paddings as the lowest temperature ranged between -3 and 1 degrees Celsius.
The blankets in the dorm also changed to thick cotton ones that their parents sent them.
Thanks to the membersâ families who took care of Rihyuk, he ended up having four blankets by himself.
AndâŠ
âWhatâs that?â
His thoughts were interrupted by the guy who was dancing in the practice room.
Junghyun was holding a camera, and Jiho was dancing.
âWhat is he doing?â
Bijoo answered.
âHe said itâs a dance to wish for the admission of the high school seniors.â
âNo way.â
Their youngest made a triangle with both hands as he danced.
He said as if it was obvious, âItâs an S, you know. A dance to wish for early admission.â
âWhat about regular admission?â
âWait a sec.â
He then quickly spread his arms and legs to make a âJâ with his whole body, and they burst into laughter.
Junghyun, who was filming with his phone, said, âYour head makes it look like a C.â
âThen Iâll do this.â
They laughed again at the sight of their youngest, who shrunk his neck like a turtle.
Really.
For the sake of their kidsâ human rights and the seniorsâ eye health, he would never let him upload this.
As he was shrunk like a turtle, Jiho saw Rihyuk and exclaimed, âAh!â
He then put his hands on his ears and flapped them.
âWhatâs thatâŠ?â
âA red-eared slider.â
âHey!â
âThis is a pirarucu.â
Rihyuk got up with a loud scream as he saw the youngest making an ugly face.
They held their stomachs and laughed.
Soon, a Tom and Jerry chase began in the narrow practice room.
They both got scolded by Bijoo and sat down, but.
âAh, but when will this be uploaded?â
âThey said itâs at 6 oâclock sharp.â
âI hope it came out well this time.â
What they were waiting for today was the group concept photo.
It was the first step of the promotion schedule that would lead to the group photo reveal on Friday and the music video reveal next Wednesday.
The information about their mini album that their seniors were eagerly waiting for on the fan cafe.
Of course, they were also excited and waiting for it.
They did monitor it once at the shooting site, but the photos that were retouched in the studio were different from the originals.
As they waited for the upload at 6 oâclock sharp, they searched for New Black on the internet and surfed the web.
-New Black, mini album promotion schedule revealed⊠warming up for comeback