The fan-sign event finally began.

New Black’s members started greeting fans in a flurry.

Because seats were arranged by age, the maknae greeted the first fan.

Wang Ji-ho forced a smile and swallowed hard.

“Hyungs, just trust me”

...he’d boasted before the signing began.

Now he regretted brushing off Bi-ju’s offer to swap places, thinking he’d be fine.

Ji-ho believed in his friendliness.

He made friends easily at school, so he thought he could do the same with fans.

But then...

“Um, hi. Nice to meet you. I’m Wang Ji-ho”

At the first fan’s appearance he blurted out that odd self-introduction.

Laughter rippled through the line behind the fan.

This wasn’t a blind date, what was this greeting

Embarrassed and on the verge of tears, Ji-ho apologised.

“Sorry, please give me a moment. I’m just so nervous”

“Don’t cry” voices called from the queue behind.

He took a deep breath to calm himself, but couldn’t hold back tears.

These fans came to the showcase and music shows, left supportive messages in the café.

He wanted to chat, thank them, show his best side...

But his mouth wouldn’t open.

Facing the fan, his mind went blank.

Gratitude welled # Nоvеlight # up, and nerves scattered his thoughts.

He forgot every prepared line and couldn’t speak.

Upset and apologetic, tears sprang unbidden.

The fan opposite asked,

“Are you okay?”

“I...”

Everyone tuned in.

“Do you have a tissue...?”

Great laughter broke out.

Someone rummaged through the line and offered a tissue.

Some fans whispered they remembered the Music Café.

“I’m okay now!”

After a round of laughter, Ji-ho returned to form.

Though twice as talkative as usual.

“Hi there. Oh wow your doll is so pretty. You brought it for me? What about the other members? Oh you did bring theirs. But this lion is the fluffiest and its button eyes are so cute”

Fans laughed, covering their mouths, delighted by his rambling sincerity.

He was simply adorable.

Not everyone laughed.

Seated next to him, Seo Ri-hyuk bowed his head like he was awaiting judgment.

He was doomed.

Ji-ho’s plight felt like a warning: if Ji-ho was this bad, how bad would he be

He grew anxious at the thought of making a fool of himself before fans.

Determined, he straightened his chin and kept a composed expression.

“Ri-hyuk you okay?”

“Yes. No problem”

“Your hand is trembling”

“It’s a tremor”

His signing hand shook.

He’d practised signing hundreds of times last night, yet the result looked like jagged sawteeth.

“But I practised so much”

“It’s fine”

“No. I’ll rewrite your name”

His earnest offer drew only a smile.

He tried three times, but each attempt turned ‘Su-jin’ into something like ‘hangover.’

Thanks to a fan’s joke about craving alcohol, Ri-hyuk felt a downpour inside.

‘I write so well though’

Last night lying in the top bunk, he’d imagined signing beautifully, adding a neat comment, and hearing every fan exclaim at his handwriting.

...Ha.

Another victim laughed as their name ‘Sang-eun’ became ‘shark.’

“It’s okay Ri-hyuk. It’s the thought that counts”

“I usually write so neatly”

“Sure sure I know”

“Really. Ask the members”

But no one believed him.

They just found it cute.

He resolved to ask the company SNS to post a photo of his handwriting when he returned.

‘Why do they find me so cute’

He’d always seemed harsh, so people kept their distance—but fans were fearless.

He wondered why, then realised.

“I cried when I heard the Night Sea live. It reminded me of my late grandmother. The lyrics hit me so hard. I thought that when I meet you I have to tell you how much I loved it. You sang so beautifully... Ri-hyuk?”

“...Yes?”

“You okay? Your ears are so red”

“No. My ears always turn red under lights”

“Wow it’s just like on the radio”

He recalled his appearance on Visible Radio—though he looked harsh, listeners spread word he was a softie.

Smiling kindly at fans, he vowed not to let Maknae rest easy back at the dorm.

Meanwhile, unlike the bumbling maknae line, the hyung line remained calm.

“Hello”

Kim Jung-hyun greeted fans evenly.

Yet each fan flinched at his greeting.

‘I’m not scary’

He rattled off reassuring words.

Though not loquacious, his sincerity shone and fans quickly relaxed with him.

Unlike his juniors so tense they needed soothing, he seemed naturally composed.

Outwardly.

Beneath the surface raged a whirlpool.

“Hyung, please think before you speak”

“Yes, don’t say random things”

“Jung-hyun, remember to smile. You look scary if you stay still”

His teammates’ repeated pleas drove him to do his best.

He smiled earnestly, searching for fitting comments.

“Wow you’re so slim!”

“Me?”

“Yes! You looked huge on video, but in person you’re super slim” 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

“Oh”

His brain went full throttle.

At last he found a good line.

“I actually weigh only sixty-six kilos”

“Wait really at that height?”

Unexpectedly it went down well.

Sometimes conversations veered oddly, but fans laughed and enjoyed it.

Relieved, Jung-hyun glanced at the next seat.

‘Those two have nothing to worry about’

Bi-ju and Woo-joo, ever collected and capable, showed no sign of nerves.

Of course that was Jung-hyun’s illusion too.

“Oh... it’s a fan”

Kim Bi-ju’s head buzzed ten times faster than normal.

What should I say?

Is “unnie” rude?

What honorific?

If I slip up, will I offend them?

Amid swirling thoughts, he managed a calm smile.

“Hello”

Fans found it curious.

Unlike the slightly nervous Jung-hyun, he seemed perfectly composed.

Though in his mind it was chaos.

Used to monitoring the family atmosphere from childhood illness, he was a master at controlling expressions.

Fans thought him mature for a moment.

Then glimpsed his age-appropriate self.

“Wow so this is the post-it”

“Cool huh?”

“Yes, it’s amazing. So I just write my question here and you answer?”

“Yep yep”

He checked multiple-choice questions, then wrote detailed answers with a period at the end. Fans smiled at his sincerity.

When he slipped up, his calm face disappeared, replaced by the same expression as the others.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I think I wrote the sign wrong”

He was explaining the secret to the kimchi fried rice that the members devoured in the reality series when he signed ‘from. Kimchi-ju’ instead of ‘from. Kim Bi-ju.’

“Wait, I’ll check if I have a white pen—”

“It’s fine”

A fan waved off his concern.

“Don’t worry. This is cute and good too”

“But no, the autograph’s a mess”

Fans laughed at his distressed look.

The mood was joyous.

Even the members who’d seemed in a funeral mood began to regain composure at the warm response.

‘Just relax like Woo-joo hyung said’

Loosening their shoulders, the members found their natural selves.

At every break they checked the leader on the far left.

“Forget everything I said. If you ever get stuck just watch what I do. I’ve seen you since trainee days—follow me and you’ll do fine”

Of course Woo-joo was as frazzled as anyone and couldn’t offer real help.

But being there mattered.

Knowing someone reliable was nearby gave them mental stability.

Like a lucky charm.

They’d sneak glances at the leader to calm nerves and copy him.

“Phew...”

Ji-ho, flustered with words, took a deep breath just before his fan arrived, following Woo-joo’s lead.

Ri-hyuk steadied his trembling hand with his other hand and applied that trick immediately.

Jung-hyun gave up trying to imitate.

Bi-ju watched how long the leader held eye contact and copied it at once.

And each time they improved, they couldn’t help but marvel.

Someone who’d been a bundle of mistakes at first had become effortlessly smooth in an instant.

Of course they couldn’t copy everything.

“Woo-joo I loved Night Sea so much I listened on the way here”

“Really?”

Those words startled the members.

“‘Really?’ or ‘Oh is that so?’ are strictly forbidden. Fans come prepared with things to say. If you answer with ‘oh is that so’ you’ll kill the mood”

But when Woo-joo made the same slip his recovery was different.

He lifted his head and looked at the fan.

Then he smiled—the same expression that had gone viral in the album pictorial.

“What did you like about Night Sea?”

He continued seamlessly.

The fan’s response to that warm smile was wonderful.

A perfect finish.

But the members’ looks at their leader grew cold.

‘He’s using his face, Woo-joo hyung’

‘Hmph’

‘He’s covering it with his looks, that guy’

‘Wow. Using looks is cheap’

They cherished their leader, but sometimes found him annoying.

Because Tae-hyun said that...

I felt my members’ gazes on me and sat up straighter.

Not just “do well” but “if I falter they’ll falter too” sharpened my focus.

As I steadied my mind, an album was placed beside me.

A luxurious hardback with a black cover and silver “First Chapter” embossed.

Bi-ju began chatting with a fan.

My heart pounded wildly.

My mouth was dry and my palms sweaty.

With each new fan the world went white.

What comment would be right

I thought of various lines and shook my head.

Right. I’ll be sincere.

Truly sincere.

I calmed my trembling jaw and waited for the next fan.

When my seat was finally filled I recalled Tae-hyun’s advice.

“When you first meet fans you’ll freeze. There’s no formality so call them ‘unnie.’ If they seem young, just use polite speech”

So I greeted with a smile.

“Hello, unnie”

But the fan’s reaction was odd.

They hesitated, then spoke carefully.

“Oppa...”

Oppa

“I’m sixteen”

Ah

The fan manager behind coughed with laughter.

“Oh, um”

“Yes”

“If you’re sixteen, what year were you born...?”

“’99”

“Oh so ’99. I’m ’93”

My mind tangled.

I didn’t know what I was saying either.

“Well, you must have watched the 2002 World Cup”

“When I was four...?”

Laughter burst around us.

The singer seemed naive and the fan mature.

Embarrassed, I scratched my cheek. The fan held out the album.

“Please sign this”

I nodded eagerly and took the album.

Then explained,

“Please understand. It’s my first fan-sign too. I’m so nervous you can see it, right?”

“Yes, I can”

They replied.

“And that’s lovely”

I smiled at their shining eyes and drew a pen across the album’s page.

“What’s your name?”

At the same time.

Fans were having the happiest time in the world.

Their hearts warmed and smiles bloomed.

Facing the singer in person was thrilling, but the satisfaction exceeded expectations.

“Wow their faces are insane...”

Perhaps because Lemon Ent was originally an acting agency, every boy in the group was visually stunning.

It was pure eye candy.

With each autograph my brain felt five years younger.

“Next please”

When the manager gestured for them to move on it felt cruel.

I wanted another look.

If the singers opposite us were paintings in a gallery, I’d stare half a day, eat lunch, then stare until closing.

But time was limited.

Fans did their best to imprint every detail during their allotted moments.

Shaky eyelashes.

Shy expressions.

Even breaths.

They had no idea the members wore anxious frowns inside.

‘Why did they stare at me? Did I make another mistake?’

‘Wow look at their eyes they’re so beautiful...’

Throughout the signing the singer and fan each lived their own dream.

Yet the fans’ affection for the members wasn’t just about looks.

‘So this is why some people only stan rookies’

Veteran stan-ners felt wonder at the sight.

It was fresh.

A sensitivity only felt during the rookie days.

They made mistakes, blushed before fans, and every word dripped with unfiltered sincerity.

That sincerity stirred hearts.

They knew it wouldn’t last forever.

Like all idols, New Black would grow into polished professionals.

One day they’d drift away like stars.

But while they were here, no one thought of that.

It felt like watering a growing tree.

Each small sign of attention sprouted earnest, lively leaves and fans beamed.

It was a precious time nothing could replace.

And.

When fans reached the table’s end still swallowing the words they’d wanted to say, hands reached forward.

“Thank you so much for coming today”

Woo-joo shook the departing fans’ hands and offered the gift.

An eco-bag printed with the animals resting under a tree and “From The New Black” below.

A gift made by the singer himself.

As their regret faded, fans accepted the gift with relieved smiles.