Free Web NovelIt was just as Ri-hyeok, looking flustered, smiled back gently.
“Eh...?”
The MC, looking at the cue card, lifted his head.
“Uju, your pronunciation is amazing. You really sound like a native Japanese speaker.”
“Thank you.”
“I heard Ri-hyeok was the best, but it looks like we have another hidden talent here!”
The Supples reacted in wonder.
It felt as if they were staring at me like I was some legendary Pokémon.
“Strangely, you seem like a local here. If I closed my eyes, I wouldn’t know you were Korean.”
At that, Joong-hyun closed his eyes gently, and the MC and the Supples laughed.
After a brief exchange about my Japanese skills, they moved on to the Q&A about the K-Pop concert.
What it felt like to perform with seniors, whether I was looking forward to tomorrow’s concert, my impressions of Japan.
They were mostly the questions I expected, so I answered without hesitation.
They didn’t ask much about my Japanese ability; I guess it wasn’t that astonishing.
Compared to the Chinese I studied to a native level just to survive at TJ, in Japanese I still had to search for words in my mind as I spoke.
“According to our research, Uju is known as a ‘language prodigy.’ You were even mistaken for a local in Taiwan, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Many of us are curious—what’s your secret?”
All the members perked up their ears at once.
I gave an awkward smile to the Supples eyeing me like a TOEIC instructor.
“I wouldn’t call it a secret; I just studied hard.”
“Feels like a University of Tokyo entrance interview.”
I couldn’t help it.
Everyone, I rescued an old man pulling a handcart, and ever since I saw how his lips and vocal muscles moved, I’ve been able to mimic him perfectly. Ta-da! Haha!
If I said that, I’d wake up in some lab tomorrow, where even my grandmother couldn’t visit me.
Terrifying.
As all eyes remained on me, I decided to change the subject.
“Actually, I’m just good at pronunciation. The real language genius here is Ri-hyeok. He’s amazing.”
“That’s true. Ri-hyeok is really good.”
Everyone turned to look at Ri-hyeok.
The tension from moments ago vanished, and his cheeks twitched.
“Ahem ahem...”
A light blush floated on his pale face.
Gripping the mic, Ri-hyeok pressed his trembling cheek.
“Thank you for the compliment. I studied Japanese hard because I wanted to talk with everyone, and it’s worth it.”
When the Supples cheered at his invitation to discuss together, his pride soared even higher.
I grabbed the mic to liven up the atmosphere.
“How is it, everyone! Ri-hyeok’s Japanese is incredible, right?”
“Wow...!”
That wasn’t the reaction I wanted.
Fans who had been focused on Ri-hyeok suddenly turned their gaze to me.
Oh no. This isn’t what I wanted.
Flustered, I frantically waved my hand, then pointed at Ri-hyeok, and laughter broke out among the crowd.
...
Ri-hyeok looked wronged amidst the laughter.
Seo Ri-hyeok felt a twinge of resentment.
‘How did I end up on the same team as this guy...?’
I’ve studied so hard!
Despite a busy schedule, I used every moment abroad to drill foreign languages.
When Viju hyung sliced rice cakes, I’d jot down Japanese sentences in my notebook. When Ji-ho shopped online, I practiced pronunciation in front of the mirror.
Even when Joong-hyun hyung watched lions running across the savanna on TV, he was memorizing Japanese vocabulary.
Maybe that’s why.
Every time I met my native teacher, I got praised.
“Ri-hyeok! You scored 100 on this pop quiz. Incredible. How do you never miss a single one?”
“There was one. Ninety-nine.”
“Wow. Thirty points more than Ji-ho.”
“...Ah! Uju hyung really! Why are you laughing with the teacher?”
It was a good memory.
My teacher said at this level I could debate with locals without losing.
But then.
‘I forgot who I was teamed up with.’
There’s always someone better. In this case, Sun Woo-ju’s perfect pronunciation would startle any native.
“...Haha. Yes. That’s right. You could say that happened.”
I sat beside him, pretending to chat. He’d always say, “Oh, my vocabulary is so limited,” but inside, I was boiling with frustration.
He says his vocabulary is short, but what on earth is short about it?
Sometimes I wanted to grab his collar and shake him.
Is that short? You call that short? If that’s short, a two-meter measuring tape is threadbare.
‘...But how does he do it? Really?’
I practiced in front of the mirror every day, but I never reached native level. How on earth did he?
‘Where did he find the time?’
Even if I concede his talent covered his pronunciation, achieving free conversation without an interpreter requires tremendous effort.
No matter how smart, he’d need absolute study time. How did he manage that in his schedule?
NewBlack’s domestic schedule was organized by the minute.
After an exhausting day, vocal lessons and choreography practice started well past midnight. Plus, Uju was preparing for the fourth album.
The only time left was for sleep.
The conclusion was simple.
He must have studied Japanese by carving out even his sleep time.
‘...He’s insane.’
Imagining him cutting into his sleep every day to study made me laugh dryly.
And sigh.
‘Then what was the point of my studying Japanese?’
I’d started to share the load overseas, so at least one of us wasn’t overwhelmed.
But now, what’s the use?
‘Though before debut I lazed around in the dorm.’
If someone told me to bring clothes, I’d wiggle my toes instead. If they told me to eat, I’d roll around on the living room floor.
But after debut, I went mad for success, shouting, “Success! Deok-soon! Success!” and working even in the dorm. Every time I went to the bathroom at night, I’d find him still working in the living room.
‘Won’t he collapse? He needs to live long...’
Even his favorite, King Sejong, suffered from overwork.
Watching our leader’s eyes sparkle at overseas fans, I couldn’t help worrying about his health.
He mustn’t break down.
If there were a wishing stone, I’d pray for Sun Woo-ju’s long life.
He’s annoying 95 percent of the time, but I’m grateful to our leader who works so hard for the group...
“Here’s a cute story! One time Ri-hyeok tried to prove his strength by replacing the water jug on the dispenser and nearly toppled over! I lifted it, and his whole body trembled.”
“Haha yes! Yes!”
“...Hmm? Is this supposed to be funny?”
“It was really adorable then! Right, laugh Joong-hyun.”
“Hahaha!”
“Hahaha!”
...They never let him feel grateful.
Because the fans erupted in laughter, his ears and cheeks heated up.
Watching his embarrassed reaction, Seo Ri-hyeok grabbed the mic.
“I know a funny anecdote too.”
“Oh? What is it?”
“Uju really loves floral patterns. He loves them so much that when you enter his room, all you see is flowers.”
Ji-ho, excited, teased him like a grandmother, “Obasan, obasan,” and the Supples laughed even harder.
Just as Uju joined in the cheerful laughter.
“But he only likes floral patterns that don’t suit him, so we seized most of them. We agreed he could only wear the ones Viju’s family gave him, and we locked up the rest.”
“Really?”
“A while ago, I saw him sneaking into Joong-hyun’s room late at night.”
“...Eh.”
Uju’s laughter vanished from his face as he spoke urgently.
“Ri-hyeok, let’s stop there. Let’s have some manners.”
“It’s fine. Everyone will find it funny.”
Seeing Uju smiling with polite words but glaring with his eyes made Ri-hyeok feel refreshed.
“He opened the wardrobe drawer and carefully took out the floral shirts.”
“No way...”
“...What’s happening? Uju hyung went into my room? Why?”
“To find out which ones they were Joong-hyun.”
“Okay. Intriguing.”
Everyone watched with rapt interest.
“As it turned out, some of the shirts we thought Viju’s family had sent were actually shirts he’d hidden himself.”
“Huh... no wonder!”
Viju clapped, “My sister would never pick those!”
The MC, intrigued, said, “He was sneaking them out at night.”
“Yes. That’s what was going on.”
The members nodded and muttered.
“No wonder. No matter how many I wore, there were always new ones.”
“...So all those shirts were hidden in your closet, hyung?”
“Wow. I had no idea.”
The interpreters translated the members’ chatter lively, and as the fans started laughing, the MC asked,
“Joong-hyun, didn’t you know about this?”
“No!”
Kim Joong-hyun nodded confidently.
“I didn’t even know what was in my own closet.”
“...You have a strange charm, Joong-hyun.”
As the MC laughed, everyone’s gaze turned to Uju.
He gave a wry smile, thinking, ‘I’m doomed.’
Then he spotted the members looking at him accusingly and shuddered.
...
Avoiding their eyes, he rolled them and then shrank like a criminal.
“Everyone.”
His meek voice echoed through the convention hall.
“I’m sorry.”
The members erupted in shouts.
Like hyenas pouncing on fresh prey, Uju kept repeating, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
In the end, in front of the fans, he pinky-swore with Kim Viju.
“Since I promised in front of the fans, I won’t wear them anymore.”
“Starting today...?”
“Yes.”
With a drooping look like a wilted flower.
Seo Ri-hyeok smiled as if he found it enticing, and Uju suddenly snapped his fingers.
“Ah... right! I remember why Ri-hyeok went to the bathroom that night.”
“W-wait a minute.”
“That night, you cleaned the bathroom, right?”
“Uh. Yes.”
“You had your phone’s flashlight on and were scrubbing the floor while laughing.”
“I was a bit stressed...”
Seo Ri-hyeok stepped in urgently.
“Uju, calm down. If you keep going, we’ll both die.”
“I’m already dead.”
“...I have more cute anecdotes!”
“I’ll go first!”
Soon a barrage of revelations began. freewebnøvel.com
“It was so cute! Ri-hyeok is so cute, right?”
“Uju is cuter!”
“No way! You’re cuter!”
“You’re cuter! You’re the best!”
As they shouted how cute each other was, the members smiled warmly.
It looked less like a savage roast and more like kindergarteners bickering. Rather than life-or-death combat, it felt like red pandas rolling around.
While the MC hyped it up and fans recorded videos, some people watched quietly, blinking.
‘What is this’
‘Why are our boys bickering in Japanese’
‘We need subtitles’
Korean fans watching this strange scene of their idols speaking Japanese in Japan just blinked.
And then.
‘...Why did they call me?’
Watching two idols bickering in Japanese, the interpreter smiled warmly.
‘I can’t believe they’re using such advanced Japanese for an elementary school-level argument...’
The roast ended in a draw, leaving only bruised feelings.
‘Not bad.’
‘You too.’
As we shook hands, Ji-ho looked on with disdain.
After the funny-story questions, they even did a true-or-false corner.
“I think I’m cute.”
While everyone else raised X, the youngest raised O and everyone laughed.
There was also a NewBlack choreography corner led by Viju.
They tried a wave and said, “See how easy it is?” as fans’ eyes filled with tears.
They gave small gifts to fans who won rock-paper-scissors, but I had to try to lose.
I tend to win unconsciously.
“This one is the god of rock-paper-scissors.”
My juniors boasted about me, and I shook hands and played rock-paper-scissors with an elementary-school fan on stage.
I smiled and said,
“I always give my best, no matter who I’m up against.”
Though I planned to lose, I unconsciously won again...
Oh.
“Did I lose?”
“You did.”
“You lost.”
The shy fan who had thrown rock bounced with delight.
...
What's up with elementary-schoolers.
Our record against them has never been good.
I signed an autograph, carefully wrote my name in Korean, and handed it to the fan.
“If there’s ever a rock-paper-scissors tournament, you should enter.”
“Huh?”
“You seem to have talent for quick reactions.”
I smiled at the hopeful candidate, shook their hand lightly, and waved as they left the stage.
After wrapping up the talk concert in a joyful mood, we ended with a performance of our latest song, Flower Dance. freeweɓnøvel.com
“Sun Woo-ju, Kim Viju, Kim Joong-hyun...!”
Fans even cheered the chant, and we were surprised they knew it overseas.
That pumped us up more than usual for the stage.
As the excitement died down, we descended to high-five the fans who stayed.
“Thank you! Did you have fun today?”
“Yes, it was great.”
“We had a blast too. Really... oh, do we have to go already?”
With so many fans, we spoke quickly to each as they came forward.
Looking into their eyes and touching their palms, we eased their nerves with calm smiles.
Of course, we were briefly flustered when someone clasped our fingers and refused to let go or kept fiddling with our hands... but overall, it was a joyful time.
“Thank you for coming!”
“See you again tomorrow!”
That was the end of the day’s schedule, which had started with a booth tour.
After a simple dinner, we finished concert practice in the rented studio. By then the sky was dark.
And we arrived at the dormitory.
“It’s a hotel!”
“It’s a room!”
“Wow—there’s even a view of the pool!”
The hotel we checked into was the best we’d stayed in so far.
As we chattered excitedly and then suddenly quieted down, Mingi hyung tilted his head.
“What’s up? Smell something?”
“We’re sniffing the scent of success.”
The managers chuckled.
We drew lots for room assignments: three double rooms with Viju and Joong-hyun, me and Ri-hyeok, and the youngest in a single.
I flopped onto the bed and felt some of the fatigue lift.
Late at night, after washing up, I saw Ri-hyeok sitting on the adjacent bed, scrolling on a tablet.
“What are you doing?”
“Reading reviews.”
“Reviews?”
“Fan reviews posted online. Want to hear?”
“Read them to me.”
“...And Uju was amazing! Snow-white skin, tall, dazzling. Hands so warm! There’s an emoji after.”
While listening to those five-star app reviews, I perched on the bed and opened my laptop.
“Working again?”
“Yes.”
“You never take a day off.”
“I’d like to sometimes, but if I don’t today, I usually end up not tomorrow either.”
“I’ll do a bit then sleep,” I replied, and he stared at me.
As I clicked my mouse, focusing on the lines on the screen,
“You know...”
“What? Is the mouse clicking too loud?”
“What do you take me for... no, that’s not it. I....”
“You...?”
“Rest a bit.”
What was he talking about?
When I turned, I saw him sitting at the table by the window, nibbling dried sweet potato sticks.
“I was thinking earlier. Before, you lounged around in the dorm.”
“You did.”
“But lately, it seems like you work all day. You need to rest. You might collapse... what are you doing?”
“I was going to have some red ginseng.”
He pulled a red ginseng pouch from his suitcase and sucked it down.
Ah. That’s the taste.
He polished off two at once and grinned.
“All right, recovery...!”
“Don’t talk about recovery. What kind of potion is that?”
He said exasperatedly,
“Rather than slicing up time to study Japanese, when you have free time, rest. Like you used to. Others lose their initial drive, but since debut, you gained yours.”
“Drive....”
Now that I thought about it, I had stopped lazing in the dorm too.
Though I was an extreme case, the others were the same.
You’d think trainees work the hardest, but pros practice more. No matter how lazy, once you debut, you snap awake.
If I slack off here, I’ll get pushed out.
For that reason, I’ve been running without rest.
So far nothing terrible has happened, but considering my recent schedule, it might be too much.
My eyelids are heavy, and my body is crying out for rest.
“That makes sense. Drive.”
“Yes. Drive.”
“With that mindset....”
When I closed my laptop, Ri-hyeok smiled, saying “That’s it.”
I nodded and lay back on the bed.
That original drive....
“Ri-hyeok.”
“Yes.”
“I’m thirsty. Bring me some water.”
“...”
“You told me to find my drive.”
I laughed and gestured at the water bottle, and he trembled slightly.
Knock knock.
I heard soft footsteps from the inner room.
–Who is it?
“It’s me.”
–Oh, hyung. I’ll open—
“Wait.”
–Yes?
“Viju. What if it’s a sasaeng who recorded my voice? We need a code word.”
–Ah, yes! ...Korean history?
“Sixty-nine.”
With laughter, the door clicked open.
Viju peeked in, puzzled at seeing my suitcase.
“Huh? Why did you bring your case, hyung?”
“Ri-hyeok kicked me out.”
“....”
“I overworked, so he told me to leave. I thought—”
When I explained what happened, Viju burst out laughing. Then he beckoned me inside.
“Uju hyung’s here.”
Just then, something began to stir.
A lump of blankets on the right bed unwound like a caterpillar and peeked out.
“Whoa, you scared me!”
“Hello, hyung.”
“...Ah, Joong-hyun.”
“Hyung. Viju keeps teasing me, saying I look like No-Face, but is ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) it true?”
“You look more like a beetle larva.”
“Good to know.”
Satisfied, the larva wriggled inside again.
Then I remembered what I’d forgotten.
“I came without thinking. I should have gone to Ji-ho’s room, but I came into the room you two share...”
“No, it’s fine. Don’t leave, hyung.”
Viju waved me off, laughing.
“I have a good idea.”
“Korean history?”
–Sixty-nine.
When Seo Ri-hyeok opened the door, someone gripping the handle of a suitcase smiled warmly.
“Hi.”
“...Why are you here, hyung?”
“I’m swapping rooms with Uju hyung.”
“....”
“I’ll take the left one over there.”
“No, uh...”
Seeing Kim Joong-hyun curled up on the bed like a caterpillar, Seo Ri-hyeok’s vision blurred.
Sure enough.
One hour later.
Braaaarp!
Waaaaaah!
Rattatat!
Ri-hyeok frantically pressed his phone.
Me [Come back right now]
Me [I can’t sleep like this]
Reply.
Sun Woo-ju [Go to Ji-ho’s room]
Me [If I leave, what happens to Joong-hyun hyung]
Sun Woo-ju [Kim Joong-hyun]
I sent a harsh reply, but he just giggled.
Sun Woo-ju [You said find your drive, Ri-hyeok]
Sun Woo-ju [Remember when we slept in the same room..?]
Sun Woo-ju [this is drive]
Ri-hyeok’s hand trembled at the mocking messages in the dark.
‘...I’ve been had again.’
He lowered his trembling hands like a paper doll and covered his ears.
“Uwaaah...”
Snore.
“Uwaaah...”
Rattatat!
His pained sounds and Kim Joong-hyun’s snores formed a duet echoing through the room.
