[Real-time search term No. 1 ‘NewBlack’—who are they..?]

[Entertainment IN = Reporter Oh So-hee]

NewBlack has claimed the No. 1 spot in real-time search rankings, drawing netizens’ attention.

This is the second time their name has appeared in the search rankings.

It’s been only two months since the collaboration single Something with Jang So-won, released last February, topped the charts. For a rookie group that hasn’t even debuted officially, it’s unprecedented.

What caused them to become such a hot topic?

The direct reason [N O V E L I G H T] was their appearance on PBS’s Ha Seung-joo’s Music Cafe yesterday (10th).

In that episode, NewBlack showcased various charms alongside the Something stage. In particular, member Woo-joo’s piano performance and the Between stage highlighted every member’s strengths, revealing them as a true powerhouse boy group whose skills were previously overshadowed by visuals.

The MC Ha Seung-joo’s high praise sent the clip into the Music Café’s Top 10 most-viewed list, and the single briefly climbed to No. 1 on the charts.

But the most talked-about moment in that episode was leader Woo-joo’s personal story.

The member, already impressing with his looks and his songwriting anecdote with Jang So-won, revealed during the talk segment that his father is Sun Myung-ju.

All the audience members looked stunned. Anyone who remembers the legendary 1990s star Sun Myung-ju could only empathize.

This story spread across various online communities and grew even bigger.

Netizens responded:

“He sang Something and he’s Sun Myung-ju’s son? Wow, insane.”

“He even composes—must’ve inherited talent from his dad.”

“Those royalties are going to be huge. So jealous.”

The agency commented, “We’re cautious because interest in NewBlack and member Woo-joo has surged since the broadcast,” adding, “We’ll all work hard to meet the public’s expectations.”

As for future plans, they said, “Nothing’s been set yet, and aside from events, NewBlack is currently inactive,” avoiding direct mention.

NewBlack aims to debut in June, and the agency stated, “The debut album will include a self-composed track by Woo-joo,” adding, “Thank you for your support.”

The excitement over Between’s chart performance was short-lived.

Once the morning commute ended, the song plummeted.

From No. 1 to No. 9, then from No. 9 to No. 23.

Still, it remained in the upper ranks of the daily chart.

We were genuinely thrilled by these unexpected results.

We’d already achieved tremendous success with Something, and Music Cafe was a closing-stage appearance, so none of us expected more.

Moreover, we had accomplished our original goal: showing NewBlack’s skills to the public.

Before Music Cafe aired, comments like “Hey? Only NewBlack’s main vocal sings, the rest just add harmonies. Maybe they aren’t ready?” were rampant.

The comments under the articles clearly showed that sentiment.

For example, the highest-viewed Entertainment IN article “Real-time search No. 1 ‘NewBlack’—who are they..?” prompted:

“They’re really good lol. They must’ve felt so unfair until now.”

“I saw them shaking during the talk, but I admit the stage was solid. Woo-joo really caught my eye.”

“I was shocked watching last night;; I didn’t know they were the ones who sang Something.”

“Skill-wise, they’re top among new acts these days.”

“Lemon Ent really loves talent. Scarlet too—they put so much care into that.”

Most comments praised NewBlack’s vocal skills.

Even sorted by likes, the majority were favorable.

That alone was enough to satisfy me, but there were also many comments reminiscing about my father:

“Sun Myung-ju... I loved him since elementary school... Young people might not know him, but during the IMF, he was a huge comfort. His final moments were heartbreaking, so it’s great to see his son doing well on TV. Hope to see more good things ^^”

“My mom teared up watching yesterday.”

“Watching, my dad was amazed at how much he resembles him.”

Those comments warmed my heart.

Of course, not every comment was positive.

If 30 out of 100 liked it, about 70 were indifferent or cold.

Honestly, some bordered on hate.

While negative votes buried them on the portal, they were plentiful across other forums:

“Who the hell is Sun Myung-ju? Am I the only one who doesn’t know?;;”

“Nowadays rookies can’t promote without their parents? I shut it off yesterday—it felt too manipulative.”

“They haven’t even debuted, and they’re already hyping themselves.”

“Stop saying they’re pitiable. The most useless thing is worrying about celebrities ㅋ That kid must be rolling in royalties—how’s that pitiable? Our lives are pitiful enough.”

But there were defenders:

“So some don’t know Sun Myung-ju? If you search a bit you’d learn. Just because you don’t know him doesn’t make him unknown. Even the U.S. president would be ‘unknown’ to you?”

“Honestly, hiding inherited talent is funnier. If they wanted to hype it, they would’ve. Something’s over now.”

“I wasn’t paying much attention, but seeing the hate, I feel like I should support them.”

“Taking out your life’s frustrations on a kid, wow.”

These sparring matches popped up here and there.

We treated the hate comments as a minority, but they still stung enough that we cautioned the guys whenever they checked their phones.

We didn’t want our members’ morale to crack.

But from another perspective, it was a good sign.

Even during the Something promotion with Jang So-won, nobody hated us.

What was NewBlack? If Jang So-won was the strawberry on the cake, we were the whipped cream.

Our presence was so faint that most didn’t even know we sang Something until Music Cafe.

But now our full name had left a mark.

Interest in us will fade quickly again, as the Between chart trend shows, but at least people will remember, “Oh, there were those guys called NewBlack.”

The scariest thing for an entertainer is indifference.

You have to be known to be hated. And right now, more people like us than hate us.

“Hyung!”

The maknae’s eyes widened as he pointed at his phone.

“What’s up?”

“Look at this. Our fan café membership has... skyrocketed! See? Yesterday it was under 200, but now....”

“Eight hundred?”

On the welcome board, posts tagged “new” appeared in a stream.

The level-up board was blinking too.

The once-dying fan café had come alive.

We stared at each other in disbelief, then yelled in joy.

Like a swarm of Minions.

Executive Jo was right.

It really is easiest for artists to gather fans through a stage.

Just a week ago we were wondering how to increase fans—maybe appear on a military variety show?—and now this.

The fan café membership slowly climbed to about 1,200.

It’s since stalled, but even that surge was massive.

It was unbelievable, and that day felt like a festival.

At the company, everyone we met congratulated us, and our families couldn’t stop boasting.

Jung-hyun’s father even sent a list of elders in the next village—“Mr. Yoon, Mr. Son”—for autographs.

He insisted on including Sun Myung-ju’s autograph too, so I signed as well.

Overnight we gained fame.

But we didn’t grow arrogant or lazy.

We’d been here before and knew how quickly interest cools.

Knowing we’d only taken one step, and how crucial the next step would be, we returned to square one.

To our debut album’s track, “Untitled.”

I told Jung-hyun the method I’d thought of during Music Cafe to discover NewBlack’s musical color.

The plan to compare the music each of us liked. Jung-hyun eagerly agreed, and after several sleepless nights we finalized the plan.

Now all that remained was execution.

Finally Monday.

Since it was officially our day off, it was easy to work.

Rather than “off,” I suppose it meant “no scheduled events.”

With Between’s small success, the company gathered us to ask our availability.

How many events per day we could handle.

How much rest we needed.

“Events are secondary. We want to seize momentum and make you earn money, but the debut album is priority. We need to know what you can manage to plan accordingly.”

Under Director Yoon Seok-hwan’s lead we gave our opinions, and the CEO approved.

Up to three events per day. Monday as a rest day.

“Well, not really rest. You’re just not booked so practice hard.”

So we practiced hard.

While our younger brothers were at school, the three of us, sweat-soaked in our sweatpants, slumped into a restaurant booth.

“Ugh, brutal.”

Jung-hyun grabbed his T-shirt and fanned himself.

The owner’s wife approached with a towel and a kettle, smiling brightly.

“Oh my, NewBlack’s here.”

“Auntie, we’ll have the bulgogi set meal.”

“And the kids?”

“They’ll be here soon—they’re on their way from school.”

She bustled toward the kitchen, loading generous side dishes.

Then she glanced at me.

It was the look you’d give a young head of household.

Since Music Cafe aired, things had changed, and she looked at me as if I were an orphan.

I almost told her I was fine, but she’d fixed not only side dishes but a bountiful meal.

“Hyung, look at this.”

“What is it?”

“It’s from my dad.”

It was an MMS from Jung-hyun’s father.

A photo of elders and uncles cheering under a banner reading “Congratulations! Kim Jung-hyun of NewBlack’s first broadcast!”

Why did I feel my empathy meter spike?

But seeing the boy beam, I felt it was right.

“Hyung, I feel like I’m wearing a gold necklace being exiled.”

“A flower necklace and being exiled, Jung-hyun? If Ri-hyuk heard that he’d have something to say.”

Our rapper laughed calmly, then pointed at the restaurant door.

“They say speak of the tiger and it appears. Here they come.”

With a jingle the door swung open energetically.

It was as if it were shouting, “Ji-ho’s here!”

The whining maknae and the main vocal who clearly didn’t want to hear it came in, ears covered.

I asked Ri-hyuk as he sat.

“What’s he like that for?”

“I don’t know. He’s got no interest. He just said he’s upset about something.”

“Woo-joo hyung, look at Ri-hyuk and say something. He’s whining about something rough happening to him, but you’re pretending not to hear.”

“I can’t hear. Didn’t you order me a bulgogi set too?”

But my concern lay elsewhere.

At the keyword “rough happening,” the hyungs’ expressions instantly turned stern.

What? Who bullied our kid?

Looking like that, the maknae spoke up.

“They....”

Them?

“They keep teasing me about snot!”

Ah, what the heck.

He’d been teased on the first day back at school, all the taunts they’d been waiting to unleash over the weekend.

The sociable maknae was friends with nearly every student.

That meant hundreds teasing him.

Not a big deal after all.

I laughed it off and was about to thank her for the fresh bulgogi set and side dishes.

...Something felt off?

A sense of discord I hadn’t noticed before.

It felt like all the puzzle pieces were in place but one was crooked.

No need to wonder what it was.

There were five of us, yet one voice had been missing since earlier.

Jung-hyun spoke, Ri-hyuk spoke, Ji-ho spoke—but today one member hadn’t said a word.

Why was Bi-joo like that?

Normally he’d smile and chime in or pat Ji-ho’s head, but he’d said nothing.

Even when the food arrived, he didn’t react.

His eyes looked at the food but unfocused, as if he was lost in thought.

That expression—I’d seen it somewhere.

I mimicked the look on his refined face using my mimicry ability, and I remembered immediately.

...Ah!