Free Web Novel“Health issues, huh”
Curious what was going on, I quickly tapped the article link.
Seeing my expression turn serious, the younger boys immediately clustered around me.
Ri-hyuk narrowed his eyes.
“TNT’s comeback delayed...? What’s going on?”
“Let’s read it.”
I read through the article slowly.
Luckily, it wasn’t about anyone being seriously injured.
The flu.
It said that Seok Ji-hoon, TNT’s youngest member and main vocal, had caught influenza A while juggling drama filming and comeback prep.
According to TJ Entertainment, they planned to delay the comeback by a week “considering the artist’s health condition.”
Sympathy filled Biju’s eyes.
“Flu A sounds really painful...”
“Isn’t that the senior we saw before? When Taehyun-sunbaenim did the video call. That hotel pool scene.”
“Right. It’s him.”
Ji-hoon had been one of the juniors I was close with at TJ. We’d hung out on our days off, and since I’d been main vocal back then, I’d given him vocal tips. Now we were cordial but distant—warm hugs and greetings when meeting at broadcasts, but only occasional texts.
It felt odd to fuss over it, so I left Taehyun a quick get-well message.
Shaking off memories of past connections, I focused on the real issue.
“This is bad.”
The TNT comeback delay.
The boys stared at their phones with worried expressions.
Biju kept running a hand through his hair, Ri-hyuk scrolled with narrowed eyes, and Ji-ho leaned on my shoulder, pouting his lower lip before grabbing my phone and launching a search.
‘What’s the difference between type A flu and type B flu?’ and ‘Fans irate...TJ’s overwork schedule again under fire’ headlines swirled in his mind.
A heavy silence. Even Jung-hyun sighed while looking at his phone.
Our maknae spoke dolefully.
“Hyung.”
“Yeah.”
At my calm reply, he murmured, “Since August, hyung’s been working on our second album. We’ve all practiced so hard together.”
“That’s true.”
“What are we going to do...?”
Normally, even at bad news, our maknae would go “ehehe,” but he slumped and whispered.
TNT’s comeback had been pushed back a week.
So now their dates overlapped with ours.
We weren’t competitors, of course. If another rookie like Street Boys had overlapped with us, it’d be exhausting—they’d be in the rival spotlight. But the five-month-old us and the five-year-old TNT were at different positions; we weren’t rivals.
The problem was sheer attention. As rookies, every bit of attention counts. We need teasers and MVs to promote, but if a big group returns at the same time, they soak up all the coverage. Whether or not it truly impacts sales, it’s not good.
But still... it wasn’t worth this much gloom.
Because we’d poured so much effort into the second album, the boys took it very sensitively.
“...Um.”
Of course, Biju’s eyes rolled around helplessly. He looked at a loss—it was my birthday, so we should be upbeat, but the mood made him fidgety. His face said “hurt,” “unfair,” “this isn’t right.” I worried that if someone poked him with a needle, he’d actually cry.
“Hey, guys.”
Biju spoke.
“It’s Woo-ju hyung’s birthday today...”
“Oh.”
“Ah...”
Even the other boys scrolling online blinked awake as if from a dream, then stared at me in panic.
“Uh... hey, hyung, should I give you a massage...?”
At the sight of him shuffling his hands like a startled bear, I couldn’t help laughing. While Jung-hyun blinked, I tapped his shoulder.
“Don’t worry, dude.”
“Well, um.”
Ri-hyuk scratched his cheek and spoke.
“I wanted to keep the mood from breaking today since it’s your birthday... sorry.”
“Sorry?”
“S—sorry the situation turned out like this... Ah, what am I saying. Anyway, sorry it’s like this on your birthday.”
“Sorry?”
“I regret it.”
He raised both hands and swept back his hair—obviously to cover his ears. I stifled a chuckle.
Then our maknae removed his face from my shoulder and said, “To be honest, I’m upset.”
“About what?”
“Well... you know, since Joo-se-han hyung first told us, you’ve been dreaming about this.”
Ji-ho counted off on his fingers.
“We’d stay up late talking with the A&R team about the title track, I’d constantly check MTube for good expression-acting references to help you rehearse...”
“So you’re upset?”
“Yes. It’s like our presence disappears.”
Ji-ho added, “I know Ji-hoon-sunbaenim didn’t want to get sick, but still, it stinks.”
“He’s terrible with words, but I feel the same.”
“I get it.”
I smiled at them. They really were upset. We’d practiced so hard for the album, and I’d poured enormous effort into composing the title track, yet now our schedules clashed perfectly with a major group, and they worried our efforts would go to waste.
Biju’s eyes shone with a “and on top of that it’s my birthday...!” expression. He looked like he’d travel to the future, bring back a universal vaccine, and give it to Ji-hoon.
Everyone seemed so upset I felt I had to comfort them.
“Aigo.”
I laughed and said, “I never knew you guys thought of me like this.”
“We always do. I’m just short-sighted.”
“Me too.”
I nodded at my foolish brothers.
“Well... it’s okay to be upset, but let’s not ride the emotional roller coaster.”
“But...”
At Biju’s protest, I shook my hand.
“Remember when we made ‘Something’? We all put in tons of effort then, too, but the day before release, the Sixty Seconds transcript scandal broke...”
“That was chaos.”
“Exactly. Compared to that, this is nothing.”
Maybe because it’s my birthday, I spoke honestly.
“We can’t control everything. No matter what we do from now on, unexpected things will always happen.”
So.
“Good or bad, big or small, until the comeback, let’s not swing with every gust of wind. Let’s prepare calmly.”
I looked at them and smiled.
“We’ve done well so far, right?”
“Right.”
Biju nodded, and the others showed they agreed.
With the mood calm again, we continued eating.
The clatter of spoons and chopsticks resumed.
“Oh, but this food is really good.”
Ri-hyuk grumbled and we laughed. Under Biju’s proud smile, Jung-hyun and Ji-hoon vigorously nodded agreement.
“I’m having another bowl.”
“Eat up. We made a lot on purpose.”
At that moment, Jung-hyun, fidgeting with his phone, suddenly showed me the screen.
“Oh, right. Hyung, fans prepared a gift for your birthday.”
“A gift?”
“On the fan café, some talented fan made a video.”
It was titled ‘To You, Our Universe,’ apparently made by our Soufflés.
“Wait, wait!”
Our maknae raised his hand.
“Stop. We have to record this.”
“Oh, nice. I want to record it too.”
“Hyung Biju, I’ll record it.”
“No, mine’s for my personal archive.”
We laughed as they raised their phones, and the video played.
The gentle melody of my song ‘Starlight’ served as BGM. Clips from fancams, broadcasts, and company MTube were stitched together.
It began, of course, with our PBS Music On #1 performance.
“We Soufflés will also work hard from now on...”
“Aah!”
My scream earned applause and laughter from the boys, and I groaned, “Why start with that...”
Then snippets of my mistakes, performance scenes, and us huddled together brought back memories. Of the VCR we made for our first fan sign, showing that just as fans waited for us, we waited for them.
This four-minute video conveyed the same message: whether I look cool, make a fool of myself, or anything in between, every version flashes like stars.
We love every side of you.
Seeing the date ‘11.9’ and the subtitle ‘You Are Our Universe’ at the end made my chest tighten. A pleasant tremor climbed along my jawline, and tears stung my eyes. I squirmed, unsure what to do with my hands and feet.
“Pfft...”
Looking up, the boys giggled at my reaction.
Our maknae, phone poised like a cameraman, asked, “Please share a word, Sun Woo-ju.”
I gathered my thoughts. My chest felt heavy, and I wondered how to put this all into words.
After a moment, I spoke.
“I’ve been so happy since this morning.”
A letter posted on NewBlack’s official SNS account.
@The_New_Black_Official
(Photo of twenty-two candles burning atop a cake)
It was a truly happy day.
I read the handwritten letters you send whenever I have time.
One letter said, “Thank you for being {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} born,” and I wanted to say the same thing back.
Thank you for being there, our Soufflés.
We’ll work our hardest until the comeback and see you again.
A moment later.
@The_New_Black_Official
(Photo of Woo-ju making a peace sign with a rubber duck floating atop his head)
Because of character limits, this second post continued from the first. Fans scrolling the account were momentarily confused.
Seeing Woo-ju with a rubber duck on his head and the fierce greeting “Hello, Soufflés,” they wondered if this was some new concept, then burst out laughing once they realized. They resumed teasing as usual.
Curious, I logged into the fan café at my brother’s mention of a new meme trend—and regretted it.
“I can’t wait to see oppas on music shows! So I can m...”
At first I clicked with a fond smile.
Right. I want to see them too...
—Hello, Soufflés
I blinked at a post with my photo in floral track pants.
“...”
“Hyung, what are you looking at? Puhahaha! Ah...”
There was truckload of posts like that. I marveled at how Koreans are truly a people of wit and humor. Out of our Soufflés’ dozens of derivative jokes, Ri-hyuk said with satisfaction:
“Sadly, I lost.”
“Lost what?”
“Ranking for creating the most embarrassing moment. You’re #1 now.”
“Ri-hyuk. Look at this.”
Our main vocal looked smug, so I clicked and showed him a post.
“...”
Variants like “Hello, Piraruku” and “Hello, Mastermind.” When he said he’d never visit the café again, I said fine. Then he went to a corner and tapped furiously at his screen—clearly lurking the fan café.
“You said you’d never go in again?”
“It’s a reading café!”
“But the mirror behind you shows everything.”
“Ah, really!”
I smiled at his flustered face. “But there’s no mirror behind you.”
“Ah, come on!”
Watching his reddened face, I laughed. Lately, to manage stress, I’ve been teasing my brothers. Yet despite rising stress, the days after my birthday passed in serene routine: practice, sleep, practice, sleep.
Outside the practice room, the world was buzzing.
—“Who is the mysterious figure in the TNT comeback teaser? Actor Lee Gun-woo’s surprise appearance”
—“TJ Ent’s close-knit network shows again as Lee Gun-woo appears in a music video”
—“‘I am the dance god’...TNT reveals dance challenge event ahead of comeback”
TJ was pumping out press releases—dance challenges, famous actors in music videos, messages from recovered members. A big issue in a music scene quiet since Scarlet’s solo dominance.
Meanwhile, on the entertainment pages, parenting reality shows and a movie about a corn farmer traveling through a black hole dominated. The social pages buzzed over record-low CSAT difficulty controversies, and winter quietly arrived.
The weather turned cold. With lows between –3°C and 1°C, people switched to coats and parkas. Our dorm’s blankets became the thick comforters our parents sent. Because everyone fussed over Ri-hyuk, he ended up with four blankets to himself. frёewebnoѵēl.com
And then...
“What’s that?”
I snapped out of my thoughts at Ji-hoon dancing in the practice room while Jung-hyun filmed.
“What’s he doing?”
Biju answered, “He’s doing a passing-exam-prayer dance for the high-school Soufflés.”
“No way.”
Our maknae danced, drawing a triangle in the air with his hands.
“It’s the S-shaped dance. The dance to pray for early-admission success.”
“And what about the regular-admission exam?”
“Just a sec.”
He then spread his arms and legs wide, forming a J-shape with his body. We burst into laughter.
Jung-hyun filmed with his phone. “It looks like a C because of his hair.”
“Then I’ll do this.”
Our maknae curled his neck like a tortoise and we laughed again.
Honestly, for our Soufflés’ eye health and the maknae’s dignity, we’ll never upload this.
Ji-hoon, who’d been curled like a turtle, then saw Ri-hyuk and went “Ah!” He lifted both hands to his ears and fluttered them, as if illustrating sparkle.
“What’s that now...?”
“A red-eared turtle.”
“Hey!”
“This is Pirarucu.”
At his ugly face, Ri-hyuk jumped up. We all doubled over laughing, and a Tom-and-Jerry chase began in the cramped practice room. Soon they both sat in the corner, scolded by Biju.
“Hey, when will it go up?”
“They said it uploads at six sharp.”
“I hope it looks good again.”
What we were waiting for was the group concept photo. It was the first step in our promotion schedule: group photo on Friday, then music video next Wednesday. Soufflés in the fan café were eagerly awaiting details of our mini-first album, and we ourselves were thrilled.
We’d previewed it at the shoot, but studio-retouched photos look entirely different from raw shots.
While waiting for the six-o’clock upload, I web-surfed “NewBlack.”
—“NewBlack reveals mini-first album promotion schedule...comeback warming up”
—“Interview: ‘Bond forged by black goat’ producer Hae-shon talks work with NewBlack’s Jung-hyun”
—“Music Industry Talk: from Asia-dominating top groups to composer-idol rookies...November music scene ‘heating up’”
For the first album, only press-release articles appeared, but this time the tone was different. Despite TNT monopolizing attention, we were holding our own. I was surprised—I’d thought we’d be completely buried, but thanks to Joo-se-han’s influence, quite a few people were interested in our album.
It was a bit embarrassing. I never expected this many articles. I’d been worrying alone, “Rookies like us will be totally forgotten! Waaaah.”
While I planned to tell my brothers about the birthday, they shoved diet cherry tomatoes into my mouth. Objectively, it wasn’t a ton of articles, but compared to the two who debuted the same week—MOP’s rookie girl group Serenity and a five-year-veteran balladeer—we were doing quite well.
As I browsed articles and clicked likes and dislikes on comments—
“There it is!”
The group concept photo finally went up.
How did it turn out?
I clicked with anticipation.
“Ooh.”
A dark room. Blue and red lights intertwined, casting shadows. Pale blue light misted the space, while red highlights glowed like heated metal on key details. And there we stood, each in a distinct style of suit.
“Waaah......”
