Someone’s face flushed bright red, and the studio erupted into laughter.

Thanks to Ri-hyuk’s frantic fanning and the bottled water I handed him, his face quickly returned to normal.

Of course, by then everyone who wanted to laugh had already laughed.

“Thanks to you, Ri-hyuk, we had a good laugh.”

The DJ’s voice trembled with amusement.

“Come to think of it, this happened during the Something promotions too, right? Whenever the lights got a bit too strong, your face would disappear and the lighting director would sigh. Next time they’ll have to tan your face first.”

“Yes. I still hear that a lot when we go on music shows.”

As I was talking with Jang So-won, Han-jo laughed and jumped in.

“Your ears are bright red again.”

“Oh, they are.”

“It’s something we jokingly call the ‘truth ears.’ Even if Ri-hyuk doesn’t look shy, he’s actually very bashful.”

“I know, I know.”

“Whenever he’s embarrassed, his ears light up like that.”

“No, really.”

Ri-hyuk shook his head, the rosy flush still lingering on his cheeks as if he’d had one too many drinks.

“I’m not that shy.”

Anyone could see it was a blatant lie.

Everyone in the booth and the production staff watching through the glass outside were smiling.

The writers especially looked like they couldn’t handle how cute our guy was.

I didn’t understand it at all, though.

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-That’s a lie

-I saw your ears go red just nowㅋㅋ

The listeners’ reactions weren’t bad either.

If Seok-hwan hyung were monitoring, he was probably cracking up.

I felt the same during Music Cafe—whether intentional or lucky, making people like us isn’t easy.

The sight of Ri-hyuk looking like a red-eared rabbit was funny enough, but the twist that the outwardly cool Ri-hyuk was actually painfully shy seemed to leave a good impression on listeners.

Of course, he was still mortified.

“Ri-hyuk is a Piraruku......”

“Yes?”

“The username that just posted that comment belongs to our group’s maknae, Ji-ho.”

“Oh, really?”

People perked up at Ri-hyuk’s words.

I thought about stopping him, but decided to let it ride.

“He said he’d leave comments under that nickname even before we left the dorm this morning. I didn’t think he actually would.”

“So it was Ji-ho? Interesting.”

“Yes. We plan to have an honest talk when we get back to the dorm.”

“Oh dear, Ji-ho’s in trouble now.”

Jang So-won, looking like a big sister, changed the subject.

“But the nickname was Piraruku, wasn’t it?”

“Oh.”

“Is that a pet name?”

“Well... it’s......”

I couldn’t help laughing. That’s why I thought about stopping them before they spoke, but a seasoned broadcaster like So-won wouldn’t miss it.

-Piraruku?

-What’s Piraruku..?

-Can someone explain please

Han-jo and Gi-won across from me suddenly looked curious, as if they’d forgotten all about the talk.

“Ooh? Woo-joo looks like she knows something.”

“Oh, that’s because......”

Ri-hyuk shot me a look that clearly said don’t say it, or you’re dead to me, and I laughed.

Come on. Do you think people won’t look it up?

But before I could answer, someone pasted an encyclopedia entry into the comment section.

To make it clear for listeners who could only hear, So-won read the comment aloud.

“Piraruku is the largest freshwater fish in South America. It lives in the Amazon River. I’ve never heard of it before. Why does Ji-ho call Ri-hyuk that nickname?”

“It’s not a nickname.”

Ri-hyuk explained.

“Once during a brutal practice, I collapsed, and Ji-ho saw my expression and said I looked like that fish......”

“How cruel. Our Ri-hyuk is so cute.”

“Exactly. I don’t resemble a Piraruku at all, everyone. Please remember that. I am not a Piraruku.”

His desperate denial made everyone smile.

I don’t know the expressions of the listeners, but just like everyone here, they were probably smiling.

It was sweet.

Even in the recent interview with Reporter Oh, and during Music Cafe when I couldn’t handle my own segment and had to be spoon-fed, this was a huge improvement.

I suddenly felt grateful to Ji-ho for creating this opportunity.

Well done, our maknae.

Though I used Ri-hyuk as the sacrifice, thanks to that we got meaningful airtime.

At some point the flow of the show changed.

At first, Street Boys had equal airtime when the show started, but now Jang So-won, Ri-hyuk, and I were driving the broadcast, pushing Street Boys aside.

I felt thankful to the maknae who made this chance.

But that gratitude didn’t last five minutes.

So-won was introducing each member to the listeners and steering the talk toward albums.

“For New Black, your song is really hot right now. I checked again before coming to the station, and ‘Fireworks’ entered the daily chart at number 39.”

“Yes. We’ve been overwhelmed by the love it’s getting.”

“There have been debut groups that got attention with their debut title tracks, but it’s the first time a group has achieved this level of success with a title track composed by a member themselves. How do you feel these days?”

“It’s hard to put into words.”

Because it really felt like a dream.

“Every time I look at the chart I feel like I’m floating.”

“I know that feeling well.”

The DJ, smiling as if to say everyone understands, began reading listeners’ comments.

“AfricanYouth says, ‘The song is amazing!!!!!!!’ Lots of exclamation marks. And GoldFleck says, ‘You could aim for music show number one.’ Oh, if things keep going like this, aiming for number one isn’t out of the question.”

“Oh my, that’s dangerous talk.”

He waved his hand dismissively.

“We think we’re doing fine as is. From the start, this success has been more than we deserve, and we’re just grateful for achieving this much.”

“Isn’t that a bit too standard for a broadcast line?”

“I’m a rookie, sunbaenim.”

When I said that playfully, she laughed.

Then, like a shark breaking the calm surface, ‘Ri-hyuk is a Piraruku’ appeared again in the chat.

The PD typed something into his notepad.

When the message ‘Comment from New Black member!!’ appeared, the DJ nodded, and I felt a bad premonition.

What now.

“As soon as number-one talk came up, comments started flooding in. Some people are jokingly asking about future promises for number one.”

“Promises?”

“Yes. One of them, again from ‘Ri-hyuk is a Piraruku,’ says, ‘Since New Black’s leader has already served in the military! How about reenlisting as a pledge?ㅋㅋ’ and then... hahahaha!”

So-won, delivering the line, burst into real laughter.

Because of my face.

“I always thought you looked so youthful whenever I saw you on music shows, but I never dreamed you’d served in the military.”

Right. I’m ex-military.

-Served in the military????

-Saw that faceㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Really served???

Yes. I really did.

“Oh, tears well up. That expression... It’s been so long since I laughed this hard on a broadcast.”

I see. I’m glad you laughed because of me......

The laughter that came at Ri-hyuk before wasn’t real laughter, apparently, since they were bursting out now.

Even Han-jo and Gi-won, who had been tense and watching the DJ, cracked up, so no one else stood a chance.

It was chaos everywhere.

Wang Ji-ho, you little devil.

When we get back to the dorm I’m not letting you off the hook.

Not only the maknae but also the one next to me smoothing his trembling cheek was irritating.

He won’t be the only one.

Our guys at the dorm must be giggling and taking screenshots.

Vi-joo is probably making a GIF in real time.

Should I laugh or cry?

Personally, it was the most °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° humiliating feeling since Soufflé, but from New Black’s perspective, it couldn’t be better.

In a rival format, we’d taken all the airtime.

By now, Station Manager Park from Street Boys must be furious, steam coming out of his ears.

Considering how he used to boast to us, he’ll be even more so now.

The broadcast atmosphere was such that it felt like a solo special for New Black rather than an up-and-coming boy group feature.

Everyone was on our side.

You could feel the warmth in the production staff’s expressions and the chat comments.

The engineer and PD, possibly comrades-in-arms from military service, looked at me with deep camaraderie.

Alright. Let it pass smoothly.

But this is definitely going online.

I don’t know how my expressions changed, but judging from everyone’s reaction, they’ll surely be circulating as reaction GIFs.

During Soufflé I was totally unknown and it died out immediately.

This time, after debut with some recognition, I don’t know what kind of reaction there’ll be.

Well.

For now, I can only pray it helps Fireworks’ success.

“Starting Part 3 with small talk like this, I didn’t expect to laugh so much. Did you have fun, everyone? Let’s give Woo-joo, who gave us such big laughs, a round of applause.”

“Waaaah-”

“Uh... thank you, everyone......”

That sunbae is planning to kill me for embarrassing me today.

I even brought a gift for later, but now I’m really unsure whether to give it.

I glared at Ri-hyuk, who was chuckling, but he was laughing to himself, obviously finding it hilarious.

Alright.

Since someone who usually shows little expression is this happy, let’s let it slide.

But not you. Wang Ji-ho.

Today’s Wonderful Night schedule is divided into three main segments.

The first is small talk.

The DJ introduces the guests and has casual chit-chat.

Thanks to my juniors’ hard carry, we secured overwhelming airtime and a positive image today.

But since it’s literally ‘small talk,’ we couldn’t end the show here just because we did well.

Two more important segments remained.

The live stage is scheduled for Part 4 at 9:30, so now it was time for the main segment of Part 3.

“Okay, shall we start the main segment of Part 3? It’s called ‘Share Your Worry~’”

“Tell us!”

At the DJ’s cue, we responded and a dramatic BGM played.

‘Share your worry.’

It’s the second most important corner after the live stage.

The format is simple.

The production team selects ‘this week’s worry,’ and each team offers advice.

The winner is decided by SMS voting.

Though simple, the guests’ expressions turned serious when the segment began.

Not only Ri-hyuk and I, but even the Street Boys members.

Even though it was just a radio corner, everyone treated it like a showdown.

But that reaction wasn’t at all excessive.

There was a reward to be won.

The winning team gets their name on next week’s Wonderful Night playlist three times.

It’s a chance to reach general listeners beyond the fixed military and idol fandom audience.

For rookie groups thirsty for promotion, it’s like an oasis in the desert.

After the previous week’s winning team, Autumn Girls’ ‘Endless Season,’ played, the DJ presented this week’s worry.

“Hello, Wonderful Night. I’m an eighteen-year-old high school student. I’m a regular listener, so I’m sending this story. I’ve had a worry since recently.”

The message went like this:

The writer had a best friend since middle school.

They always ate together, hung out after exams or any time they liked.

They even knew each other’s parents.

The problem began during last year’s second-semester midterms.

‘Wow. You really are the god of notes. I slept through most of that class, can you lend me your notes?’

The writer happily agreed.

After the exam, the friend came to them with a bright face.

‘Amazing. I got a 90 thanks to you.’

Until then the writer was genuinely happy.

But during the final exam last year and the first-semester midterm this year, it became a problem.

The number of subjects for which the friend borrowed notes kept increasing.

By the midterms, the friend who used to sleep through class was outperforming the writer.

“I started to feel this wasn’t right then.”

The writer’s worry was how to handle their five-year best friend in this situation.

With finals approaching, they wanted to know what to do.

“That’s a tough dilemma.”

As soon as I heard the message, Han-jo’s words came out.

Street Boys drew their turn by lottery and took on the worry.

The speaker was, of course, Han-jo.

“I personally related to this story. I had something similar happen in school. I think I understand how the writer feels. No matter how close a friend is, if they freeload on your effort, you get angry.”

He spoke calmly.

“But in this case, I think the writer needs to speak up. It may sound cold, but bottling it up in your heart won’t solve it.”

“So you’re saying they should talk honestly to their friend?”

“Yes. I’d like to recommend a few approaches......”

Han-jo’s answer was textbook.

It was the kind of advice anyone would give: a refined version of ‘why are you letting this happen? stand up for yourself!’

He offered appropriate empathy.

And concrete solutions, with nothing to criticize.

Though it didn’t quite match him.

I’d only known him briefly, but Han-jo’s personality seemed far from that kind of advice.

He was the type to choose his words carefully and avoid conflict, swallowing it all himself.

So when he said, ‘Why are you letting this happen? Speak your mind!’ it didn’t ring true for me.

Besides, I thought differently.

While the ad played, I thought about how I’d tell the writer to handle it.

By the time I’d organized my thoughts, a white hand appeared holding a pen, moving across my script.

At first only the initials ‘ㅎ’ and ‘ㅈ’ appeared, then were scratched out.

It looked like he was trying to write ‘Cheer up’ or ‘Do well’ but stopped.

The hand wriggled as if thinking, then finally produced neat writing.

I glanced at Ri-hyuk, who nodded.

It seemed he was returning the advice I’d given him before the broadcast.

He probably thought I was nervous too.

But I wasn’t that nervous.

I was used to live broadcasts by now, and more importantly, I knew exactly what I wanted to say to the message writer.

When the ad ended and it was finally our turn, the DJ signaled to begin the consultation.

In a calm voice, I shared what I wanted to say.

“I don’t think the writer should say anything to their best friend.”