The fan signing event was already approaching its final stages.

I heard they planned a generous amount of time so we could talk leisurely, and perhaps because of that, the fans carrying eco bags all wore bright smiles.

It was a sight that filled my heart.

While the sound check was underway for the stage after autograph time, I secretly peeked at the fans in the audience.

“Fans really seem to like it.”

“Of course.”

The fan manager standing beside me replied.

“If you’d given them even just one lotion, they’d have been thrilled.”

“No way.”

“Really. At Scarlet’s first fan sign, they handed out rice cakes as gifts.”

“Rice cakes?”

“One of the members has a family mill. Anyway, just giving one rice cake made the fans so happy. I read online reviews—some kept the rice cake until it molded.”

She pointed at the fans.

“Look. Their expressions.”

They all hugged their eco bags and smiled brightly.

“If they reacted like that to a single rice cake, there’s no need to mention something made by our singer himself.”

I suppose.

I’m not a fan, I’m a singer, so I don’t know well. But since the staff in charge of fan events said so, I just accepted it.

I was simply grateful that the fans appreciated the gifts.

I was thinking that relying on an eco bag alone felt a bit lacking. Maybe the thought counts.

As I was thinking that, someone suddenly whispered in my ear.

“Fans really seem to like it.”

“Ah. You startled me.”

“It’s me, Jung-hyun, hyung. Don’t be surprised.”

“Please, give a warning before whispering from behind.”

Fortunately I reacted reflexively and controlled myself, but I felt that familiar sensation just before a judo throw.

That could’ve been dangerous.

When I threw a quick glare, the guy laughing gently massaged my shoulder apologetically.

“Ah, that feels good.”

I closed my eyes and sighed in relief, making the fan manager and the staff filming us laugh.

“Hyung, when you make noises like that you sound just like our grandfather.”

“All right.”

“Even that.”

While we chatted, Min-gi hyung and the younger members returned from the restroom.

I burst out laughing as soon as I saw them.

“You all look like a group who just had a daytime drinking session.”

“What are you talking about?”

Ri-hyeok, his cheeks bright red, snorted.

“You’re no different, you know.”

Well. I felt the same.

During the signing, whenever fans complimented us or said kind things, my face got so hot that now I was blushing completely.

Right now we felt more like five children who had their cheeks pinched by their older sister than a five-member idol group.

The maknae spoke with a deliberately arrogant face.

“It’s a shame it’s already ending. We could’ve done this forever.”

“If we’d done more, your neck would’ve been broken. Hey. Wang Ji-ho. How come you’re talking nonsense and not getting a sore neck?”

“Right. Because you spoke for me too much my voice hurts.”

While a fierce stare-down unfolded, Bi-joo pressed the back of her hand to her flushed cheek.

She couldn’t touch it because of makeup, so she was cooling it with the back of her hand that had grown cold after washing.

I smiled and asked,

“Were you really nervous?”

“Yes, I made so many mistakes. Wrote names wrong, said nonsense while talking...”

“You did well.”

“But it was nice having you by my side. Like Han Tae-hyeon sunbaenim said, following what you did helped me.”

“...Did you hear all that?”

“Yes.”

She raised her hand and whispered, “I’ll keep the World Cup secret just to myself.”

At that, I could only give an awkward smile.

When I heard the sound check was finished, I looked at the younger members.

“Shall we go?”

It was time to meet the fans again.

The fan signing event consists of three main parts.

First comes the main autograph time, then a photo time where we take pictures, followed by a simple performance of the title song.

And finally, a talk time.

“Members, please choose one of the post-it notes here.”

Today’s talk time was a Q&A session.

In other words, the “Ask the members anything!” corner.

There were a hundred post-it notes stuck to the panel.

Each time our turn came, we picked one.

“Promise you made to the members? I have one. The day after a radio schedule, Ri-hyeok hyung came back and teased me all day, so I got sulky. So I promised to buy him a robot vacuum. What? Oh, okay, the latest model showcased at the expo. What was that, Woo-joo hyung? Why don’t you buy anything for me? You said it was too much. Huh? You weren’t serious? Why do you keep changing your words?”

“Member you’d take to a deserted island? I’d take Sun Woo-joo-ssi. What? Why wouldn’t I take you? Are you asking because you don’t know? Fans, don’t be mistaken—I went to an amusement park with Wang Ji-ho and he kept whining all day that he was hungry, his feet hurt, and he texted asking where I was every time I went to the bathroom. No. You did that, right? But how far did I go?”

“Personal wish? Um. I want to be more successful and move to a big dorm. And I want to bring a friend who lived with me. Woo-joo hyung, the director over there is mouthing something and getting excited—what is it? Ah. The friend I mentioned is a hamster I left at my country house. His name is Ham-sik-i. He’s male and has a personality similar to Ri-hyeok’s.”

“That’s a great question. Something I’m into these days. Oh! I’m reading that. Harry Potter. Every time I do housework, Woo-joo hyung teases me that I look like Dobby the house-elf. No, hyung. You teased me. At first I liked being called an elf but then I felt betrayed. Anyway, I’m reading it but Dobby hasn’t appeared yet. Ah. That’s because it’s the first volume? I know Voldemort died, Ji-ho. ...He comes back to life and dies again?”

It was a rather ordinary Q&A, but the fans laughed and cheered at everything we said.

Their eyes were practically sparkling.

Though it was only about thirty minutes, the talk time that followed the autograph session had matured into a warm atmosphere.

“They say only two more questions.”

At the fan manager’s signal, I spoke, and the audience reacted with regret.

We also looked at each other and smiled as if we were sorry.

“Then who wants to choose?”

“Me! I want to choose!”

“Oh, our maknae’s got spirit. All right. Ji-ho, you pick one.”

Ji-ho approached the panel and studied it from side to side.

Ri-hyeok, who was advising him what to pick, was felled by a single cheerful remark: “Hyung, you’re really a meddler.”

When I laughed watching him whisper “robot vacuum” like a chant to calm himself, Ji-ho peeled off a post-it note.

“Someone asked what we’d promise if we ever ranked first on a music show.”

“Ooh.”

“That’s a meaningful question.”

I nodded at him, asking if he’d chosen well. Before answering, I set the premise.

“First place on a music show is still too far off for us. The industry has so many formidable seniors and peers. To surpass them and rank first is something I can hardly imagine. It’s truly a someday-maybe thing. That we’d rank first...”

Seok-hwan hyung and the fan manager standing at a distance nodded approvingly, and I returned their look. That question was good but carried some risk. I worried that saying the wrong thing might let other idol fans criticize us: “They only got first once before debut because of Jang So-won?” or “Such newbies, how arrogant.” So I preempted it. To protect us and our fans from backlash later.

“It’s such a distant goal that it doesn’t immediately come to mind. Honestly, first place is too big a target.”

“Hyung. Then how about a first place nomination?”

Jung-hyun said.

“Not a first place promise, but a first place nomination promise.”

“Oh, that’s good.”

“I think that’s fine too.”

Looking at the audience’s reaction, promising something for a nomination when we became nominees didn’t seem bad.

“Then shall we each say one idea?”

I felt like the MC of a show. Our fans were the live audience, and my beloved juniors were the guests.

The maknae thought carefully before speaking.

“I’d like to do it in Myeongdong. There’s that famous street. In the middle of it, free hugs? Or a performance? I’d do something like that.”

“If it’s fans I know, okay. But I don’t want to hug strangers.”

Ri-hyeok’s decisive reply made the fans laugh.

“I’d sing the song that becomes a nominee in a female key.”

“Can you do that?”

Given how high the fireworks notes already are, it would kill his voice. We stared in surprise, and the main vocalist gave us a smug smile.

“What’s wrong? I’m New Black’s main vocalist.”

The fans’ playful exclamations made Ri-hyeok shrug.

“Um, Ri-hyeok.”

“Yes?”

“Sorry to say, but ordinary hyungs like us don’t have vocal cords like yours.”

The fans burst out laughing. But it was true. With Jung-hyun dropping out when his voice cracked even during group parts, singing in a female key was really over the top. I glanced at the one complaining about why we even asked, then turned to Jung-hyun.

“I want to try that—to wear a Teletubby costume and dance.”

“They’re four characters.”

“Oh. I’d do the vacuum cleaner.”

He made an elephant trunk with his two hands and went “shururup,” and the result was an ocean of laughter. Ah. Really. I tried not to laugh out of pride, but in the end I burst out and giggled for a long time.

“Then Bi-joo?”

“I want to swap parts and sing? I want to try that.”

“Indeed, our Bi-joo is the best.”

“I wanted to hear you rap, hyung.”

“I’ll cancel that.”

I don’t know why the fans were disappointed. Actually, I was going to tell them I was chosen during the TJ audition for my rap, but I shut my mouth to avoid making things complicated. The rap I did back then raises empathy levels just by listening.

“Myeongdong free hugs, singing in a female key, mascot costume, part swap. So many ideas. Which shall we choose? Let’s vote like good citizens. Those for free hugs, raise your hands.”

Tallying the results, mascot costume and part swap tied for first, with free hugs in last place. We even had the members vote, but everyone voted for only their own idea, so the result was split. The decision fell to me. I was about to choose the safe part swap, but seeing Bi-joo’s bright eyes, I changed direction sharply.

“I choose the mascot costume.”

“Why?”

“Because of you. You.”

I playfully jabbed Bi-joo and said to the fans,

“But due to copyright issues, that particular character might be difficult. If possible, we’ll consider another cute one. Until then, please keep your expectations.”

Well. I don’t know when that day will come.

When the signal came to ask the last question and wrap up the schedule, I smiled at the fans and said,

“Now we have only the final question left. This time I’m going to pick. There was one that caught my eye earlier.”

I was pondering how to finish the fan sign when I found that post-it note.

—Q. What does “fan” mean to New Black?

The atmosphere, which had been lively until just now, grew surprisingly calm.

“This is probably a question that many fans here and elsewhere might be curious about.”

All relationships are fundamentally insecure. I know my own heart, but I don’t know what the other person feels. Therefore fans are always anxious. I like you this much, I root for you from behind, but are they just treating us as a source of money or a bothersome follower? We already showed via VCR that it’s not like that, but as I conclude, I want to tell them again with my own mouth.

“I don’t think the relationship between idols and fans can be strictly defined. If there are a hundred people, there are a hundred different thoughts. So what I’m saying now is just one of those thoughts.”

I held the microphone toward their serious gazes.

“Sometimes as a joke we say we’re not a five-member group but a seven-member group. What that means is we can’t do anything on our own. We only know how to sing and dance. We don’t know how to schedule things, drive, or choose outfits. Without the company staff who support us materially and spiritually, we couldn’t do anything.”

Though I was speaking to the fans, even the staff were focused.

“And I think the other seat belongs to the fans. Just like the staff who help us, without the fans we couldn’t achieve anything either. Truly.”

The company creates the albums and events like fan signs, but the results are made by the fans. Music show first place—who gives that? The fans.

“Just as I feel grateful whenever I look at my members, whenever I look at the fans I think of you as reliable and supportive team members. That’s what we’ve wanted to say for a long time.”

I concluded with a word of request.

“It’s okay if you don’t cheer up close. Far away is fine too. I just hope you support us with a comfortable heart. If you look at us that way, we’ll keep our focus and work hard to show you our best. Yes, that’s all. This has been New Black. Thank you.”

“Thank you!”

We all bowed our heads in greeting.

But there was no response.

Looking at the heavy silence filling the audience, I wore an anxious expression.

“......”

Just as I wondered if I’d said something wrong, a very warm reaction began.

Much more than I had expected.

A few days later.

“Hyungs! Hyungs!”

“Why again?”

“They say the result is out!”

“What?”

“You remember we held a vote for the fandom name? It ended today, I think. They just said the results are in.”

“Oh, really? What is it?”

“I don’t know either! I haven’t looked yet so I can see it with you.”

With excitement, the members gathered around the smartphone.

“Wow, I’m really nervous.”

“Me too. What should we do, now we’re getting a name.”

“Exactly. Good thing we didn’t even peek at the fan cafe. We really have no idea what it’ll be.”

“Right. I feel like I’m opening a random box in a game.”

“How do you feel, Woo-joo hyung?”

“I’m so nervous. From now on, we’ll have a name that fans will call us. Like ‘who-who, New Black.’”

“That’s right.”

“Oh! Here it is, the results!”

We clicked the announcement post and the vote results appeared.

And.

“......”

Everyone glanced at one person.

[New Black Official Fan Club Name Vote!! + Voting held for 3 days, be sure to participate]

– Final results:

1st: Soufflé (85.2%)

2nd: Teammate (11.8%)

3rd: Tablet (2.9%)

4th: New Pink (0.1%)

– The fandom name has been confirmed as Soufflé~~^^!!

“......”

Silence lasted three seconds.

Then someone’s voice denying reality echoed in the practice room.