NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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(Tadol mention sorry) It looks like Tadol is accepting applications for attending the Tadol Competition..
We’re not going to participate, right..? I hope we don’t.
└ Please don’t go.
└ At this point, shouldn’t they stop calling us?
└ Just abolish the competition already, damn it ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
└ But I’m nervous because there’s no junior group from Newma right now…
└ I want to see Monochrome, but not at the competition.
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***
The next day, Jae Min moved into the dorm right away.
There had been pressure from the members, but Jae Min was also exceptionally proactive.
Since he could gradually bring or buy what he needed, he only carried a single light suitcase.
When he arrived at the dorm, he was greeted with another warm welcome from the members, following the company’s reception.
“So, which room is Jae Min hyung going to use?”
The Monochrome dorm had three rooms.
Woohyung and Haerang shared one room, Han-yi and Jun-hae shared another, and the room that Yunhwan used was currently vacant.
Even though it seemed obvious that Jae Min would take the vacant room, the members didn’t want to leave him alone.
It seemed overprotective, but it felt right.
After all, Jae Min had lived in this dorm before.
“According to the original arrangement…”
When Jae Min was a member, the room arrangement was by age: Woohyung and Haerang shared a room, Han-yi and Jae Min shared a room.
In the early days of their activities, the manager lived with them, so the youngest and the manager used the remaining room.
Afterwards, they had assigned Yunhwan to his own room to make him more comfortable, with Jun-hae moving to another room.
“Is it a reunion of the old roommates?”
Han-yi naturally thought Jae Min would room with him again.
Jae Min smiled playfully at Han-yi’s assumption.
“I want to room with Woohyung.”
“With me?”
Calling Woohyung “Woo hyung” instead of “Woohyung” was Jae Min’s habit.
Hearing Jae Min call him by his old nickname, Woohyung felt a sudden sense of Jae Min truly being back.
“We won’t be three in one room.”
While Woohyung was lost in emotion, Haerang, his current roommate, interrupted.
With one room vacant, squeezing three people into one room was inefficient.
Moreover, there wasn’t enough space for an extra bed.
“Who wants to take the lonely, solitary room?”
Woohyung looked around at the members.
Even if someone wanted a single room, no one wanted to raise their hand after that description.
However, Jun-hae raised his hand slowly.
“I want the lonely, solitary room.”
“Why?”
“Well, I need to study, but Han-yi hyung is always making noise.”
Given that Jun-hae was a college student, it was a reasonable request.
Woohyung glared at Han-yi upon hearing Jun-hae’s reason.
“Did you bother the youngest while he was studying?”
Han-yi shrugged as if he didn’t know anything.
He then deflected the question to Jae Min.
“Jae Min, be honest. Was I noisy when we shared a room?”
“Hmm?”
Jae Min shrugged in the same way Han-yi had.
“So heartless, so heartless.”
Despite often causing trouble, Han-yi was frequently teased by the members.
Jae Min joined in the teasing as if there hadn’t been any gap in time.
Though he acted indignant, Han-yi was relieved to see Jae Min acting like his old self.
“Let’s do it this way.”
After thinking for a moment, Woohyung pointed at the three doors one by one.
“Chosen Woohyung. Kicked out Haerang. Roommate-less Han-yi. Solitary Jun-hae. Any objections?”
“No objections, but why say it like that…?”
Woohyung emphasized “chosen.” Next to him, Jun-hae frowned exaggeratedly.
Han-yi, separated from both his former and current roommates, joined Haerang.
“You won’t abandon me, will you?”
“Hmm…”
“What’s with that response?”
Thus, the Monochrome dorm was bustling late into the night with the room rearrangement, reminiscent of three years ago.
***
I have been visiting the production team every day lately.
Newma Entertainment’s production team had been particularly affected by the label separation.
When I first visited the production team, it was as gloomy as my first impression of the company.
But they hadn’t expected me to be so proactive.
The initially indifferent staff began to take the meetings seriously.
Even though I had no experience in the entertainment industry, when I vaguely said, “The situation is like this, so I want to do this and that,” they supplemented it with realistic plans.
It was like I was the designer and the production team staff were the engineers.
Preparing and releasing an album would take too much time.
So, we decided on the Monochrome comeback project.
To firmly establish a completely new image for Monochrome, we planned several activities, including an album.
We started by preparing to release a self-composed song as a pre-release, and simultaneously making a project teaser.
‘And then we’ll reveal Jae Min’s return.’
To make his reappearance as impactful as possible, I worked closely with the staff, exchanging opinions.
After roughly outlining the project, I returned to the office and found documents waiting for me.
“What’s this?”
“There’s a casting request for Monochrome from the management team.”
“Really?!”
I gladly accepted the file from Secretary Choi.
The members and I had been busy with various internal company matters. But unlike me, idols needed public exposure.
There hadn’t been any suitable schedules that wouldn’t do more harm than good.
While the group’s name briefly made headlines due to a member’s departure, the media invited the departed Yunhwan, not the remaining Monochrome.
‘The more you know, the more heartless this industry is…’
In the midst of this, we received a casting request.
I eagerly opened the file to check the details.
[‘Idol Sports Competition’ Appearance Request]
As soon as I saw the title, I couldn’t help but shout.
“Will they go?!”
***
“I’ll go.”
As soon as I confirmed the details, I barely held back from tearing the papers apart.
Even if I did, I needed to inform the members about the casting offer first.
Though the title made me grind my teeth, it was still a network show. Whether we participated or not was up to the members.
The decision didn’t take long. The members exchanged glances and quickly agreed to appear.
“Are you sure about this program…? Is it really okay?”
“Yes. Everyone wants to go.”
Even after Jae Min’s injury, Monochrome had participated every year until last year.
However, after learning how difficult it had been because of this program, I was reluctant to send them again.
‘Do they think they have no choice but to participate?’
Somehow, it seemed like they would force themselves to do something they didn’t want to do.
I asked the members one more time.
“If you don’t want to go, you don’t have to.”
“No, we haven’t had a chance to meet the fans directly.”
Since what we were preparing was still in the early stages, it would take more time before we could reveal anything.
It was also true that we hadn’t had an opportunity to show ourselves to the fans since the profile pictures went down.
If we missed this opportunity, the fans would have to wait indefinitely for news again.
“If that’s how you feel, I have nothing more to say…”
I looked at the calendar and counted the days.
The recording for the Idol Sports Competition was in two weeks, just before or around the same time as Jae Min’s teaser release.
However, the broadcast date was a month later. By then, Jae Min’s return would have been announced and some time would have passed.
‘Hmm…’
If we matched the broadcast date, it would be chaotic if Jae Min suddenly appeared on the show. If we matched the recording date, it would be strange if Jae Min, who had decided to return, didn’t appear on the show.
After pondering, I spoke up.
“Let’s go without Jae Min.”
Performing as a four-member group could bring back painful memories for Monochrome and their fans.
But there was a reason.
“We can’t make your comeback stage on this program.”
Why hand over the grand comeback we prepared for this show?
This was a strategic retreat for a greater advance.
“You’re our hidden card.”
I looked at Jae Min with determined eyes. We could cover up the bad memories of the past with a bright future.
He responded with a grin, as if he had forgotten the past pain.
***
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Notice for attending the competition is up
The official cafe just posted the announcement
http://~>
└Are they crazy, making the first official schedule the competition in this situation?
└I thought it was just a rumor, but it’s real.
└Crazy Sports Competition, stop it already, damn it ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
└I can’t not go, though.
└Is Newma going crazy too?ㅠㅠ
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Newma vs. Idol Sports Competition
Choose one to explode
└Newma
└Newma
└Idol Sports Competition
└Def Newma
└ㄴㅁ
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Other groups with the same years of experience aren’t participating this time?
Is Newma just incompetent?
└They have two junior teams to send…
└I looked up the teams applying now, and even among the same class, some are goingㅠㅠ Ha…
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Realistically, it’s hard not to go because of the network’s power play…
But why won’t they release an album to promote on music shows?
└Why, indeed?
└Why, indeed? 2222
└Newma has no reason. They’re just incompetent.
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But if I go to the competition, I might see Black Haerang, right?
What should I do about this thought?
└Oh my gosh, so excited. But still, the competitionㅠㅠ
└Real-life Black Haerang ㅜㅜㅜㅜ;;;
└I was so annoyed I wasn’t going to apply, but now I’m reconsidering…
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***
Woohyung picked up the smartphone for VLive after a long time.
Although the owner had said to do as he pleased, he had obtained permission beforehand.
The broadcast title was
He knew what the fans were worried about. So, with an official schedule coming up, he wanted to show a reassuring image first.
“Hello~.”
Sitting on the sofa in the dorm living room, Woohyung held the smartphone and framed Han-yi next to him.
When Woohyung greeted, Han-yi also waved at the camera.
“Did you see the notice about the competition?”
[Ah..]
[Idol Sports Competition;;;]
[Saw the notice, yeah,,]
[Are you really going?]
[ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ Be careful]
“It’s been a while since we saw each other, right? I’m looking forward to it.”
[Yeah, looking forward to it]
[Woohyung is right about everything]
[So happyㅠㅠㅠㅠ]
[♡♡♡]
[Really looking forward to it]
The chat, which had shown dissatisfaction about the Idol Sports Competition, quickly changed its tone with one comment.
Woohyung found it amusing and laughed. He understood their worries, but it was true that they were appearing to see the fans.
“The members? Haerang is next to me.”
In response to a chat asking where the other members were, Woohyung angled the camera to show Haerang before returning.
“Jun-hae is in front…”
As Woohyung traced the members’ positions with his eyes, he noticed Jae Min watching from a chair by the table.
When their eyes met, Woohyung felt a rush of emotions.
Fans would have to wait a little longer to meet Jae Min.
“Meeting you all…”
“Ahhh!”
Jun-hae suddenly made a loud noise, pulling Woohyung out of the frame, and Han-yi quickly grabbed the smartphone from Woohyung’s hand.
“Ahaha. Just a moment, adjusting the screen~.”
[ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ???]
[Woohyung oppa, are you crying?]
[Why? ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ]
[Is something wrong???]
[ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ Why are you cryingㅠㅠㅠㅠ]
[Don’t cryㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ]
“No, no. Not crying, just sneezing. Right, hyung?”
When Han-yi turned the camera towards them, Woohyung, with his face in a headlock and only his arm visible, made a circle with his fingers.
The live members were suddenly Han-yi and Haerang.
After the VLive ended.
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Did Woohyung cry on VLive?
It seemed like it ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
└I rewatched it, but the quality is too poor to tell…
└I thought so too, but he seemed cheerful, so ㅠㅠㅠ
└I’m a bit worried something might be wrong…
└He said he wasn’t, so let’s not jump to conclusions.
└I could hear Jun-hae mumbling next to him. Maybe it was just a joke..? I’ll believe that.
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The broadcast, intended to soothe the fans, ended up increasing the Colors’ worries.