Boy group TNT

An eight-member unit ambitiously planned by TJ Entertainment, known as the idol powerhouse

Since debuting in 2010, every album they’ve released has been a smash hit, making them the top boy group

When the two great powers—Sixty Seconds—collapsed due to a ridiculous scandal, TNT naturally took the throne, but even before that TNT had an overwhelming lead in every metric: public popularity, album sales, everything

Han Tae-hyun

In TNT, Han Tae-hyun is among the most popular members

Even groups like Girls On Top, though similar in tenure, were like fireflies before the sun in popularity

“Oh? Uh....”

About to trash-talk TNT, Gil Cha-kyung froze when she saw me looking close with Tae-hyun

“Woo-joo hyung?”

“How have you been?”

“How long has it been?”

When he threw his arms around me, her face went pale

I’d seen this in dramas

The expression of a department head realizing that the employee she’d been bullying is actually heir to the owner’s family

“Uh....”

Gil Cha-kyung stammered out, “What’s your relationship, Tae-hyun oppa?”

“Relationship?”

In a tone 180 degrees different from how she addressed me, Han Tae-hyun said, “Can’t you tell? We’re close.”

“Oh.”

“And I’m not in the mood to talk with you right now. Could you move so we can talk among ourselves?”

Completely shutting her down, Gil Cha-kyung shrank back

Indeed, popularity rules this world

Startled enough to drop her can, she fled, and I asked Tae-hyun, “Is it not a good relationship?”

“It’s neither good nor bad. Just so-so. Honestly, I was cursing him and got caught, so I’m hardly going to look pretty.”

“You heard it.”

“No—I only heard TNT. The rest I guessed from the vibe.”

Tae-hyun said, “Judging by how guilty she looked, she was definitely bad-mouthing us, but she wasn’t close enough with anyone else to trash-talk them too. Our only intersection with TNT is being number-one candidates. She must’ve been talking about the rivalry for number one.”

“You’ve gotten perceptive.”

“I’ve been in this industry five years now. I don’t get clues sometimes, but I learn.”

He’d been as clueless as Jiho in trainee days, but he’d come a long way

The kid who followed me around in the practice room is now a member of the most popular boy group

I’m proud—like watching a child grow up well

“We shouldn’t stand here, hyung Let’s drop by our waiting room. The guys will be so happy to see you.”

“I don’t know... you’ve got your staff and all.”

“You don’t know how tall Jiho has gotten. Come on.”

Tae-hyun grabbed my arm to pull me along when I read Bijoo’s texts

Kim Bijoo [Woo-joo hyung]

Kim Bijoo [He looks lost please help]

I pried free from Tae-hyun’s grip and said, “Sorry, not now Let’s greet each other later.”

“Why?”

“My kid’s lost I have to go pick him up.”

“Oh, your kid....”

A flicker of confusion passed over Tae-hyun’s face

No—did it? His expression looked a bit stiff

Then he brightened and pulled out his phone

“Then let’s take a selfie OK?”

“He’s so hopeless with directions I should go.”

“Just one shot. You’re probably already taking pictures while talking.”

After a few snaps, he showed me and grinned, “Congrats on first place.”

“The results aren’t announced yet.”

“Trust me, hyung.”

He smiled.

“I may act like this, but I’ve been on broadcasts more than you.”

When I returned with Bijoo—who’d been standing like a deer in headlights—to the waiting room, everyone was awake

“Drinks are here.”

As I handed them out receiving thanks, Rihyuk grabbed a can and grimaced

“Ugh lukewarm Took forever”

“Sorry.”

Bijoo whispered, “I got lost after going to the bathroom.”

“Next time call me. Not this guy.”

The maknae’s eyes sparkled hunting for teasing material

“Rihyuk hyung, are you jealous I wasn’t invited?”

“What are you talking about Drink your soda.”

“As expected, Seorihyuk when you feel hurt.”

Rihyuk punched Jiho’s shoulder, and Jiho feigned agony as if in mortal pain

Senior Jang Sowon laughed at their antics

“Do they always play like this?”

“Only those two.”

Watching their banter, she wore a proud “mom” smile

“How do you feel before live broadcast? Nervous?”

“I slept less than three hours last night.”

“Me too.”

“And you, senior?”

“This is my first solo number one. All my previous ones were group activities.”

Sowon said, “After that scandal I thought I’d never appear on music shows again. Who’d have imagined? All the other songs pushed aside, ours hit number one.”

“That’s right.”

“It’s crazy right? Just a month ago we were all in a tiny studio together.”

It felt like a fond memory already—snacking and drinking through overnight recording sessions

“It’s like a dream.”

She smiled softly. “If someone poked me with a pin I’d wake up. Even if it’s a dream I don’t want to wake. I never imagined things like this: calls for shows and events pouring in... I thought I’d never get back up.”

An idol rising to the top then crashing after scandals, enduring scorn in an industry that flips you in an instant—it was all too imaginable

After struggling to restart solo, she wrote a song that hit number one, drew endless spotlight, and now stands on terrestrial stage as a number-one candidate

A second heyday indeed

“I’ve been thinking...”

Seeing her eyes moisten, I quietly offered a tissue

She said “thank you” and dabbed her eyes. Emotion welled as she spoke, “Without you guys none of this would have happened. Thank you, you guys. Truly.”

“Same here.”

I replied, “Without you senior we wouldn’t have gotten a tenth of this attention. Honestly we rode on your popularity...”

“Nonsense, leader You wouldn’t have finished this song without me.”

“That’s not true.”

“Stop the modesty.”

“I only added a few parts to your melody. We’re the grateful ones. We couldn’t have come this far on our own.”

It felt like a toast moment—warm and heartfelt

Manager Yoon and Senior Sowon’s staff listened with soft smiles

Usually someone bursts into tears, but tears came from an unexpected source

“Mingi, why are you crying?”

Our road manager sniffled

Why was he crying?

When he whispered something, Yoon Seok-hwan laughed and told the others, “He was an original Sugarfish fan. Huh? What was that?”

“He was black sugar.”

“Fan club?”

“Yes, first-generation... boohoo...”

People laughed at his tears

Our road manager was a Sugarfish fan

Unable to contain emotion at his favorite’s comeback

“You were a fan? Why didn’t you say?”

Sowon brightened, “Come here Who was your favorite?”

“M—Lisa...”

“I was going to hug you but I’ll just hold your hand.”

Yet she hugged him anyway—pat pat

It was touching, though somehow all mixed up

Lemon Entertainment PR team

They'd been breathless since morning, sending and promoting articles about New Black’s music show appearance

But it wasn’t hard work

It’s tough cleaning up scandals, but during good news it’s pure fun

By 5:30 the Music ON start time, the team relaxed and gathered before the TV

“I’m shaking.”

“Right? The kids are on stage but we’re on edge.”

“Who do you think will be number one?”

“Well. Our kids are the frontrunners. But TNT will score high on album points so we can’t be sure.”

“Still, being invited means they intend to win, right?”

“We’ll see. How many times has a station screwed over a small agency? Last year on year-end stage we trusted the PD’s promise and Scarlet got shafted.”

“That was awful.”

“I still clench my teeth thinking about it. Unknown big names got priority and our kids lost time.”

“Ah! It’s starting.”

As the ‘Music ON’ logo faded, the live broadcast began

Actor Kang Hyeon-min and La Vie en Rose’s Jeon Yubin held mics and smiled

– “Hot K-POP at its peak! Live broadcast Music~ON!”

They introduced themselves

– “Hello, I’m Kang Hyeon-min.”

– “Hello, I’m Jeon Yubin. Oh! Hyeon-min, something’s on your face!”

– “Yes, what is it?”

– “Steam. Handsomeness.”

– “Yubin-ssi, you too~”

After their corny banter, the MCs introduced the upcoming stage

– “We have the Jang Sowon X New Black collaboration, Something.”

– “Shall we check the second week of March chart rankings?”

As they listed songs in reverse order, staff commented

“Girls On Top are lagging.”

“Weren’t they number one last time?”

“Yes.”

“The Joo Hana controversy slowed them.”

“What did she do wrong?”

“That’s showbiz. Date crap and you’re crap.”

“Look! Something is number one.”

At Something topping the chart, cheers rose

Less than TNT’s Blink’s fans but a definite popular buzz

After song intros, the screen cut to the stage

While an unfamiliar girl group did the opening, the PR team chatted

“It’s been a while watching music shows.”

“A historic moment: a pre-debut act forced onto music shows by a number-one song. Great for articles.”

“By the way, what about the solo interviews with Woo-joo and Sowon?”

“We’ll do them.”

“Co-composer image is good too.”

“I’m jealous.”

“Even split with Sowon, Woo-joo gets enough royalties for a car each month. He’ll buy a house in Seoul by year-end.”

As someone made that remark, others licked their lips

“Does anyone have Woo-joo’s contact?”

“Why?”

“Look at this.”

A staffer showed his phone

“TNT’s Tae-hyun just posted this on his personal Twitter.”

[TNT_HanTH]

@RealHanTH

Long-overdue reunion with a great hyung

#7YearBFFs

#CongratsOnNo1Candidacy

#HandsomenessOnYourFace

The photo showed Sun Woo-joo and Han Tae-hyun with arms around each other

“Woo-joo is handsome. Next to Tae-hyun he doesn’t lose out.”

“We see him every day. People say every time he changes convenience stores, they ask Woo-joo for his number.”

“Oh, the other day someone flirted with him?”

“Pahaha!”

“Why so much fuss? Love is sacred.”

“Enough chatter Let’s get articles out about this SNS thing.”

Watching the TV, they picked up laptops and got to work

“Hallyu star is hallyu star Look at the RTs.”

“But how do they know each other?”

“Maybe they met at TJ?”

“I want to ask, but not right before live. Perfect story though.”

“Kind of envy them.”

“Why?”

“TNT is golden connections.”

Others agreed

“Anyway, thanks to whoever posted that.”

“What do you mean?”

“TNT fandom is fierce. They were flooding forums accusing chart manipulation. Those were them.”

“They’d hate us—nobodies knocking their idols off number one.”

“But seeing Tae-hyun tweet this will calm them. A TNT member directly certifies friendship with New Black and congratulates on the candidacy.”

“Sweet. Not intentional but nice.”

If I’d been there I’d ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) think “intentional,” but the PR team just felt grateful

While they busied themselves, the stage finally began

“It’s starting.”

“Turn off mute and crank it up.”

As the gentle intro played, the stage appeared on screen

The PR team watched eagerly

It was the first reveal of Something’s stage