Was I seeing things?

Under the bright lights, the concert hall was packed with the fans who had come to see us.

The seats were completely full, and people were even standing at the back.

My mind went blank.

“How did this happen...?”

At a loss for words, I looked at the cheering audience, then turned to my brothers.

Their eyes were wide with disbelief.

Ri-hyeok was even clutching Ji-ho’s arm and hiding behind him.

Could you blame them?

Were these really the fans who had come to our showcase?

Normally we would have greeted them as soon as we came on, but we were all too stunned to move.

The MC smiled and picked up the mic.

—Oh, our New Black friends look really flustered. They can’t say a word. Let’s have them greet their fans first, even if they’re surprised, shall we?

“Yes, yes!”

Finally gathering myself, I signaled to the others.

“One, two, three—”

—Hello! We’re New Black!

As we bowed, the roar of cheers washed over us again.

We were still in shock.

“This is real, right? Not hidden cameras or something?”

Everyone burst out laughing at my question.

The MC relayed a comment from our manager Yoon.

—Our director says that if this were a hidden-camera prank on this scale, the labor costs alone would be through the roof, so don’t worry.

The fans—of course—and we all laughed.

We’d been so tense, but laughing like this felt like the tension melted away.

These really are our fans, right?

When the journalists were here earlier, the hall was practically empty. Now it was so crowded you couldn’t even step.

But there was something even more astonishing.

The expressions.

Hundreds of pairs of eyes sparkled like stars in the night sky—eyes looking at us.

The MC marveled.

—I’ve hosted countless showcases, but I’ve never seen a debut showcase with this many fans. Just hearing this roar is making my ears ring!

He smiled as he asked,

—Manager, how many fans did you say came?

“Oh, yes. Exactly 239 people.”

He shrugged. “I don’t know the exact stats, but I think this ranks among the top six largest audiences for a debut showcase.”

At that, the brothers and I exchanged looks of amazement.

Two hundred and thirty-nine?

Street Boys, who had drummed up fans with their reality show, had only drawn about a hundred.

This was more than double.

How could that be real?

If Seok-hwan hyung had told me before we went on that over two hundred people would come, I never would have believed it.

But here they were.

Holding signs reading “Thank you for everything” and “Let’s walk together now,” cheering for us.

Their energy coursed across the floor.

“....”

How could I even describe this feeling?

My tear ducts warmed, and I blinked back tears, my jaw trembling up into my face.

I pressed my lips together—if I didn’t, I knew I’d cry.

My heart pounded so hard I thought I could hear it in my ears.

Bijoo looked out at the audience, his voice catching.

—Are these really people who came to see us? We—

He left the sentence unfinished, but we all understood.

‘Why would so many people come to see us...?’ We smiled silently, knowing exactly how he felt.

The MC, surprised, said,

—I assumed you all knew how many fans would come, but apparently none of you did.

“Director didn’t tell us,” Jung-hyun answered into the mic.

“And... we were really worried, but thank you. We thought: whether one fan comes or a hundred, we’d be grateful.”

His warm mid-range voice drew cheers from the fans.

Jung-hyun paused, tilting his head, his bear-like face asking, ‘Why are they cheering when I’m the one talking?’

Then he remembered something and said,

—Ah, the line about being grateful even if only one person came—that was Woo-joo hyung’s line.

“Jung-hyun, that wasn’t Woo-joo—it was me.”

“Oh. It was you?”

The fans laughed at our rapper’s bewildered expression. Jung-hyun hurried to correct himself.

—Apparently, according to this friend here...

“No, really—I said it.”

“Alright. If you say so.”

“No....”

Everyone laughed at Bijoo’s exasperated face in real time.

Thinking he’d get a scolding from Jung-hyun later, I grabbed the mic myself.

It was time for our formal greetings.

Sensing it, the MC smoothly handed the mic to me.

—I’m sure each member wants to say something to the fans. Let’s hear from Woo-joo first, then go around.

“Yes. Hello, fans. I’m Woo-joo.”

Standing here, I could see every face clearly.

So many different faces—none of them familiar, yet all looking at me with the same expression.

Unconditional warmth.

I’d done many music-show and event stages, but this was my first time looking into the eyes of fans who had come purely to see us.

I’d dreamed of this moment.

And now, actually feeling their gaze...

“Thank you.”

Even my trembling voice was met with passionate cheers.

“It’s been almost three months since Something, right?”

—Yes!

“I really don’t know how to thank you. I feel so honored. It still feels unreal. I wonder if we even deserve this much love, yet I feel grateful simply for this moment. Let me ask just once more—are you really our fans?”

Pleasant laughter rippled through the crowd.

“It feels unbelievably good. Even though we were on music shows before debut, I never imagined we’d have this many fans. Today was the first time we’ve met fans offline, too. So how do I feel right now? Uh...”

—Hyung, I feel like I’m going to pass out!

At Jung-hyun’s words I took a deep breath and the members and fans laughed.

After three seconds of thought—how to express what I felt—I found the right words.

“Thank you. Because of you, today is the greatest day of my life.”

Cheers erupted instantly, and I smiled brightly.

Truly.

This was the greatest day of my life.

Later, in the car heading back to the dorm.

“It’s over! It’s over!”

“Ow, my ears. Hey, Wang Ji-ho, keep it down.”

“Why? I’m excited! Ri-hyeok, don’t pretend—you’re smiling even though you say something else!”

“...Take your hand off me.”

We burst out laughing at our maknae playing “yolo-roll” with his fingers on Ri-hyeok’s chin.

Ri-hyeok glared at me, unhappy with my grin.

“Don’t just smile—say something. You always watch him tease you without doing anything.”

“Hm. Is that so?”

I called to Ji-ho. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

“Ji-ho.”

“Yes?”

“You did great. Keep it up.”

“Aaah, really!”

Seeing the oldest and youngest crack up, Ri-hyeok closed his eyes in irritation.

I slung my elbow around his shoulder and said,

“Hey, remember when you guys teased me with soufflés on music shows? That was nothing compared to this.”

“That was fun, though.”

“I could do it again now.”

“Please don’t.”

“You were silent when people teased you? Come on, Ji-ho. Show us.”

“Okay, one sec!”

The maknae, who’d been clearing his throat theatrically, caught hold of his emotions and began.

Mimicking my expression, he furrowed his brow in a cheesy way:

“Because of you, today is the greatest day of my life.”

“Bwahahaha!”

“I didn’t say it like that—ugh, you guys....”

Even Mingi and Seok-hwan in the front seats burst out laughing.

I looked over at Bijoo, who was laughing so hard he teared up, and asked in mock indignation:

“Did I really say it that cheesily?”

“It’s okay, hyung. The fans loved it.”

At Bijoo’s words, Jung-hyun—the one rummaging through snacks—nodded and offered me a chip.

“What’s this?”

“Comfort.”

“...Feels more like mocking.”

“Shall I feed you, hyung?”

Our rapper sweetly held a chip to my lips, and I couldn’t help laughing.

“But it really feels good. After Music Cafe and doing events, I always thought having fans would feel amazing, but this is even better than I imagined.”

“That’s right. It’s like flying.”

“I still can’t believe it—239 people. I thought the director had set up a hidden camera.”

Our manager laughed.

“He said the labor costs wouldn’t allow it. We poured money into your album—there’s no way we’d waste it on hidden cameras. Honestly, I never dreamed the ticketing would sell out at 250. I’ve never seen a debut showcase like this.”

“We’re stunned too. Where did these fans come from?”

“We did a lot of stuff—1st place on music shows for a month, Music Cafe, lots of events.”

“True.”

“Or maybe it’s because of Street Boys? After they dissed us, our fan café really heated up.”

As Ri-hyeok said that, the name Street Boys reminded us of something we’d almost forgotten.

“Oh, right! We released our digital single tonight.”

Although our official debut date was tomorrow, the company had moved it up to 8 PM tonight.

It was now 9:30 PM.

Curious how our single was doing, we took out our phones.

In the rearview mirror, Yoon Seok-hwan’s eyes were smiling oddly at us.

“I’ll check the charts.”

Gathered around Bijoo’s phone, we scrolled through the Top 100.

As expected, we weren’t in the Top 50.

When we switched to the 50–100 range, our eyes slid down—and then stopped at a certain point.

Up and down several times.

“#98: New Black – Firework.”

Staring at the number on the screen, we blinked.

“...Is this right?”

“I think so.”

“It’s real, right?”

“Of course it’s real.”

We stared at each other in awe.

“....”

Then we all broke into ecstatic cheers as the car sped along.

DNS Media headquarters.

Though it was late, the conference room was packed with staff, all with serious faces.

Particularly the middle-aged man at the head of the table looked ashen.

On his laptop screen was the music chart with the yellow Mango symbol:

“#88: New Black – Firework.”

Having entered at #98 at 10 PM, our debut single had climbed to #88 by nearly midnight.

CEO Im Hyun-sik of DNS Media scanned the chart:

“#24: Jang So-won x New Black – Something”

“#88: New Black – Firework”

“#97: Street Boys – Hunger”

As Im’s grim expression hardened, everyone in the room swallowed nervously.

The head of PR explained:

“It seems our promotion backfired. We succeeded in creating a rivalry, but the diss rap from Hunger and Hanzo’s genius remarks galvanized their fandom. Light-hearted listeners apparently joined their camp.”

“....”

“Underestimating New Black’s potential fanbase, which we’d built through Music Cafe, events, and broadcasts, ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ was our fatal mistake. Although the proportion of fan inflow was similar to Street Boys, our absolute numbers were smaller...”

“So...”

Rubbing his temples, Im sighed.

“Everything we’ve done has ended up benefiting Lemon Entertainment.”

“...It seems so.”

A heavy silence fell.

A week ago, we’d popped champagne for a Top-100 entry; now the mood was the exact opposite.

Department heads began to speak up:

“Our A&R said we shouldn’t change the song...”

“From PR’s perspective, noise marketing can have the opposite effect...”

“From the field managers’ standpoint...”

“Wait—wasn’t it Team Two’s idea to force a lyric change to include that diss line? And matching interview scripts, now you deny it...?”

As they bickered and pointed fingers, Im Hyun-sik massaged his temples.

His head ached.

New Black’s success didn’t mean Street Boys did poorly—but in entertainment, everything is relative.

If a drama usually gets 20% ratings, we call it a hit—but if another show pulls 50% in the same slot, can we still call the 20% show a success?

A small agency’s self-written boy-group single entered the Top 100 on its first day—and who knows how high it will climb next.

At that moment, his phone screen flashed:

—[Park Gyu-ho sent you a gifticon.]

—[^^]

Suppressing the urge to throw his phone, Im Hyun-sik sent a curt “Thank you.”

“Damn.”

He’d never felt the phrase “making a soup just for the dog to lap it up” more keenly than today.