While American viewers were brimming with curiosity and searching for NewBlack—

Eyes began to sparkle among the artists in the venue, along with producers and other music people.

“What is this now?”

In the world’s biggest music market, artists carry the burden of delivering good results every year.

So they do everything they can to sell a song.

They hit talk shows or SNL to do skits; if they spot a promising rookie, they show up and go, “Be my ally,” and spin a collab to sell the track.

They even pioneer new genres that make the public go, oh my!—American singers who literally lose sleep every night trying to get bigger.

Flop just one album and TV or the tabloids will shout from every street corner, “This person’s washed up now!” and mock you.

Into that pressure, boys from the New Continent appeared.

“This is... a new world.”

“Blue Moon” was always a good song.

But seeing it as a stage made it even better.

Vocals, sure—but then they suddenly snapped into razor-synced choreography, and that was the revelation.

“A boy band dances like that?”

If a U.S. group had multiple members who could dance at that level all in one team, the group would’ve already blown apart.

Because the rule here is: the hot member leaves the group and goes solo.

—“I’m the most popular here... what if I leave and take all the money for myself?”

It doesn’t always work, but plenty of successful solo acts came up that way.

Logan Smith was a classic case.

Something lit in his eyes.

“Didn’t they form three years ago? Four? Weird.”

With that level of skill and they’re still together—former boy-bander that he is, he found it mystifying.

Amazingly solid vocals and picture-perfect synchronized moves.

The ideal stage a group should aim for, shining bright—he smiled.

“Completely different.”

Right now in American pop, you could call it the era of singer-songwriters; artists who write and compose reign at the top.

But no one can do everything.

Because talent is specialized in making or singing songs, truly great dancers are rare among singers.

Ask people to name great dancer-singers, and they still cite veterans active since the 2000s.

So these days singer-songwriters lalala their songs while dancers do the dancing for them.

But...

“Wow.”

Among the current crop, a group capable of performance this intense?

Right now they’d only shown the dancing, but if they’d known NewBlack normally do fierce choreography while still singing live flawlessly, those eyes would’ve changed even more.

Even so, to people always hunting for the next bite, this was a prime target.

Because there was an issue even bigger than the dancing.

They recalled what their agents told them.

—“Uh... NewBlack—the group on stage today—apparently every member can write and compose; they’re all singer-songwriters.”

—“Really?”

—“Especially the leader, Wooju—he handles most of the composing... lots of talk that ‘Blue Moon’ is basically his one-man show.”

—“Hayley Blue hit the jackpot.”

To outsiders it might look like Hayley Blue brought in foreign singers to help her out on stage.

But peel one layer down and this benefitted Hayley Blue more.

After a lukewarm album last year compared to her name value, Halloween’s “Blue Moon” gave her a rebound.

The “Blue Moon” MV had just passed one billion views on MeTube.

“Mmm....”

Artists watching the stage started spinning their happy scenarios.

“How do I pitch a collab and get my slice.”

“Damn, should I have acted friendlier when we met in the green room?”

“They didn’t look easy to push around. The stern-looking one was a bit scary.”

Thinking that, they glanced around.

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaa—!”

The big screen showed fans screaming and applauding for the heaving singers holding their ending pose.

They shot to their feet, and the crowd around them stood too, applauding along.

Even general audience members were reacting warmly to a great performance.

The air in the venue ran hot; the artists felt that heat on their cheeks too.

“I’m boarding this vibe!”

Celebs who finished calculating stood with faces of profound emotion and started clapping.

Seeing the reaction camera approach, Logan Smith gave a thumbs-up.

Not to be outdone, Cold Brown bobbed his head with a moved expression, and NewBlack’s fans loved it.

“I’m getting that collab, no matter what.”

“Should I seed a dating rumor. A few suggestive lines in the next track and it’s instant boost.”

“Not into men, is he.”

Partner with an artist who has a massive fandom, and whatever your next track is, it’s bound to explode.

Artists stared with bright, eager eyes.

And—

“You little leeches.”

Catching those looks, Hayley Blue laid a friendly hand on NewBlack’s leader’s shoulder and smiled.

The blond stunner, briefly surprised, grinned and waved; a roar burst out.

Hayley Blue smiled wide.

“Don’t you dare outbid me on my NewBlack, you barnacles.”

At the same time—

Smiles curled on the lips of people in Korea watching NewBlack’s stage.

“Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh.”

“Oh my, they’re good. So good.”

“I told you they grew up well. Look at Jiho singing so boldly.”

Like when a national gymnast nails a big Olympic routine, some clapped with joy.

By any measure, it was a classy stage.

And after it ended, Americans stood and applauded, cheering.

—“Wow. All the famous singers are on their feet.”

—“This is NewBlack. This is NewBlack. Hahaha.”

—“Ah, such a shame this isn’t a sports broadcast. If it were? We’d already be saying ‘proud Taegeuk warriors’ and ‘sons of Korea.’ Truly proud.”

The anchor and variety MCs on the broadcast chattered excitedly.

Netizens watching live and typing comments wore cozy smiles.

—“They got a standing O and I’m the one getting misty ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ”

—“They crushed it lolol”

—“Barmaid: wait.”

—“As expected, ourBlack ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ”

—“When the ‘Blue Moon’ intro hit I got so pumped; that song was written and composed by NewBlack with Hayley Blue.”

—“Meh... looked the same as the music shows I watch... the heaven of music shows...”

—“Those screams are insane. I thought Koreans flew over to chant fanchants lol but uh why are they Americans”

—“Can we get experts instead of variety folks on commentaryㅠ this ‘music critic’ keeps talking nonsense”

As usual, negative takes tried to sneak in through the cracks.

—“Honestly grotesque.. is this really something the whole country needs to be watching??”

—“I’m at a restaurant with foreign friends and they all say it’s weird ㅠ”

—“I’m embarrassed.”

—“Lol it’s a collab performance at Billboard with a hit—why are you overhyping K-pop like this”

—“Over there it just feels like some rando from some country is popular”

—“Americans can’t even tell south from north”

—“They hand out standing ovations to anyone lolol”

Posts slamming the nation’s “hysteria” popped up here and there, but didn’t have much effect.

—“Getting drunk on national pride over a singer who went to sing one collab song! It’s irrational, and embarrassing in front of other countries! How can one person’s success be a group’s success?”

People nodded with warm smiles.

—“You’re right. I’m a foolish person.”

—“......”

—“Kyaaa! Sun Wooju! Kim Biju! Kim Junghyeon! Seo Ri Hyuk! Wang Jiho! NewBlack! Waaaa—!”

Those who were trying to leave serious hate felt a nameless defeat and started trembling on anonymous sites.

Just as they were pivoting to, “That wasn’t even a good stage! They did poorly!”—

A post appeared on an online community:

[Proof of how huge today’s ‘Blue Moon’ stage’s impact was]

(Eilo chest-rocket.gif)

This was just ten minutes ago and everyone forgot already

People burst out laughing.

—“lolololololololololol”

—“Ahahaha right”

—“They really did kill it... I’d honestly forgotten that rocket for a moment”

—“Yikes lolol insane”

—“Still hilarious on rewatch... when that rocket fired everyone buzzed”

—“An unbeatable troll—and they beat it”

—“NewBlack are gods... they made us forget that”

A performance so shocking it made the PBS commentators fall silent.

The analysts went, “Uh... um... as always the performance... er... yes. Yes. That was Eilo’s performance.”

In Korea the camera director would’ve panicked and desperately cut to face close-ups.

To say the impact was enough to make you forget that.

At the same time, humor and info posts were covering communities like a festival.

[From today they’re ourBlack]

Because they’re precious and ours.

—“Ours indeed”

—“From today not NewBlack but ourBlack”

—“Basically the ultimate weapon raised on Korean nose-picking views...”

—“Barmaid drop the beat”

[Who’s having a drink right now]

(a photo of TJ Entertainment’s Chairman Park Taejun smiling under a headline “K-pop’s Greatest Midas Touch”... .jpg)

Self-styled Midas hand lololol

—“lololololol”

—“Oh, old man...”

—“If you tell us why you let Sun Wooju go, I’m willing to hand you like 500 won”

—“Sir! NewBlack went to America!”

—“???: Forcing their way into the U.S. with a collab handed by a famous American singer... fume fume”

They weren’t actually lurking ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) those posts, but in reality Chairman Park Taejun sat in his office watching the live broadcast with a dazed look.

“No... that’s not it? No, the dancing is... what... no...”

Watching the blond stunner at the center of the performance, Chairman TJ felt bewildered.

Director Han Youngjun, sipping tea beside him, felt the same.

“...?”

Why were they dancing so well today.

The old and middle-aged men wiped glasses with cloths and stared at the TV, faces blank.

Director Han swallowed.

“Still... it might not be a bad thing. This could grow the whole K-pop pie.”

“Right. Yes. It should.”

Chairman Park forced his happy scenario to roll.

“Starting from this, our Trickster and NYX push more globally. Who knows? If NewBlack builds a base in the U.S.... our artists could succeed on that footing.”

“R... right.”

“Honestly, this happened because the other Big Four—besides us—already laid the groundwork in the U.S.”

As he said that, Chairman Park asked,

“Speaking of America—what about Jang Hanbyeol? Still no word from the States?”

“Yes.”

“He’s been throwing more tantrums lately. He should get back and work.... Try to coax him—say we’ll give him pretty much what he wants if he comes back.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

“Hanbyeol’s a key moneymaker too.”

“But he’s hard to reach. He blocked everything.”

Neither man knew that person had taken Sun Wooju’s card and was enjoying a carefree life.

As they talked—

Chairman Park stroked his chin.

“Tell the planning team to consider dropping an English single for Trickster.”

“Yes.”

“With interest in K-pop rising, if we drop an English track... we might push in.”

“Yes. I’ll tell them to consider it.”

Director Han answered without argument.

“An English single would land only at about NewBlack’s level right now...”

He felt it was a tone-deaf directive somehow, but Chairman Park’s eyes shone bright—he’d clocked NewBlack’s unusual American buzz.

You could see thoughts of regret over missing a rough gem in the past, and the idea that their label could have been in that seat.

Director Han sighed lightly and watched online board reactions on his tablet.

[To K-pop labels fluttering right now]

(a still of composer Ujuseon mimicking a go-legend’s “stone-faced” look.jpg)

“I have won; K-pop has not.”

Counterpoint by Seo Ri Hyuk

Director Han’s eyes grew damp—he wanted to argue.

But... Ri Hyuk wasn’t it.

After finishing the stage and changing outfits again, we walked the corridor to return to our seats.

Hayley, reappearing in a fresh styling, spoke with her usual grumpy face.

“Wanna hear something funny?”

“What is it?”

“I monitored the stage and watched myself again. And no matter how I look at it—”

The singer said with a pleased face,

“I seem like a f—ing awesome being.”

“...”

“To think such a lovely being is alive and breathing... my husband and daughter are truly blessed humans.”

We burst out laughing at the Hollywood star’s dazzling self-love.

The maknae leading the way asked,

“It’s the Top Collaboration category next, right?”

“Yeah.”

The category where our “Blue Moon” was nominated.

Seokhwan hyung said our chances were very high, so we weren’t that worried.

But our blue-haired fairy thought differently.

“Tsk.”

Hayley scratched her head.

“This is... kinda rude to say.”

It was the first time we’d seen straight-talking Hayley hesitate like this.

“You might not win. You guys.”

“Why?”

“You said NewBlack was originally going to be up for multiple categories this year.”

“Right...?”

We traded looks, puzzled.

We’d heard we were supposed to have more nominations, but Billboard changed criteria weirdly and excluded us as foreign artists.

We’d just thought, their hearts are as petty as Ri Hyuk’s!

“Don’t you dare look at me with that insolent face.”

I nodded to the main vocal baring his teeth like a chihuahua.

“Then humbly...”

“Ahhhh! Please don’t kneel anywhere! You’re our representative!”

Smiling at frantic Ri Hyuk, I listened to Hayley.

“So... I kinda got pissed and had some words with the awards folks.”

“Ah.”

That story.

“We saw the articles in Korea. You calling them out for leaving us off multiple nomination lists.”

“Yeah. But when I get pissed... my limiter comes off.”

“...”

Ominous.

I asked,

“Exactly what did you say...?”

“Um...”

Hayley pondered, then opened her mouth.

“‘You —— pieces of ——, your hearts are truly ——.’”

“That’s enough.”

I lifted a hand to stop her.

While Junghyeon and Biju politely cupped the maknae’s ears, I asked, serious,

“Hayley.”

“Yeah?”

“You didn’t get sued for defamation?”

“Oh, we don’t really do defamation. As long as you don’t hit anyone.”

In this case, getting hit might be better.

Biju smiled.

“Don’t worry too much, Hayley.”

“Hm?”

“We’re sharing the award anyway... if we don’t win, you don’t either. And you only said that to stick up for us.”

“Uh... that wasn’t for you.”

She blinked.

“I just said it because I was mad.”

“...”

“I mean—whatever. You might not win, so if you don’t, you can blame me.”

“How could we blame you.”

We chuckled and showed the anxious star we were fine.

Then we headed back into the hall.

As Souffles’ cheers filled the MGM Grand Arena, an on-site casino sponsor ad ended and a famous supermodel came out as presenter.

After a smooth patter that made the audience laugh—

“Let’s meet the nominees for Top Collaboration.” 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

A VCR rolled on the main screen.

With a narrator’s voice-over, various music videos played. Starting from DJ Magic x Doom Doctor’s collab hip-hop to a handful of last year’s hottest U.S. tracks.

As the cheers ebbed and swelled—

“Blue Black: ‘Blue Moon.’”

At the narration chanting “Blue Moon,” undercover Souffles in the house screamed.

“NewBlack! NewBlack!”

“Give them the award! You Billboard punks!”

As the roar rose and other celebs clicked their tongues in disbelief, the supermodel’s hand holding the envelope trembled slightly.

She steadied her breath, swallowed, and opened it.

Then she spoke.

“And Billboard Music Award goes to...”