In childhood, Seo Rihyuk’s dream was to be a train engineer.

Whenever he saw steam locomotives or railways in children’s science books, his imagination took flight.

How on earth do those move?

Wouldn’t it feel incredible to ride that train and hear the chug chug?

“I achieved my dream today.”

Seo Rihyuk sat in the assistant seat in the cab with a happy smile.

If the members saw him, they would be shocked at how bright his grin was.

“What does this show?”

“This? It’s the switch for the fully automatic air conditioner. It automatically keeps passengers comfortable....”

“Th, then what about this?”

“That’s an uninterruptible announcement system. If there’s a dangerous safety situation, it lets us communicate even without power.”

At the engineer’s kind, step-by-step explanations, Seo Rihyuk clasped his hands, moved.

“This is the very essence of twenty-first-century science!”

The engineer, looking at the national idol with sparkling eyes, smiled.

“Shall we depart?”

“Yes!”

As the Daejeon subway engineer began the run, Seo Rihyuk wore a happy smile.

“Wooooow.”

They entered the dark tunnel, and his heart pounded.

“So this is what the inside of a subway tunnel looks like.”

He’d have to cross one off the wish list.

Pursing his lips and twitching his cheeks, he fidgeted, then picked up the mic and began the announcements.

As passengers trickled in one by one, he picked his timing and spoke.

“Hello. I’m Seo Rihyuk, and I’ll be doing today’s subway announcements.”

From Car 1 right behind him came a chorus of “Waaaah—,” and he smiled.

“I’m so happy, everyone!”

If the members saw him, they would want to seat him in the cab every day—today, Rihyuk looked like he’d been drawn in a different art style.

Sharp lines gone round and soft.

Now twenty-one, the former science kid continued in a gentle voice.

“Hmm, a fun story....”

Just as the leader advised, Rihyuk scanned the live comments and fell into thought.

— Please tell us something fun!

— It’s the city of science, so... science talk?

— Rihyuk ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

— Leehyuk’s L is Lovely

Since they were on a subway, why not talk about the greatness and wonder of trains while he was at it?

“The subway you’re riding carries tremendous kinetic energy.”

That was it!

So, excited, he began explaining how much energy it is when over a thousand riders travel at 80 km/h.

“...Huh?”

Arriving at the next station, he glanced outside and froze.

A number of people were exiting the train.

With the mentality of a main vocal famous for being fragile, it felt like a boulder went thud onto his heart.

“H-how come?”

“Sir?”

“I heard hardly anyone got off during the Seoul broadcast. Most people stayed on.”

“Uh....”

While the engineer debated whether to explain, the left brain that loved cause-and-effect spun up—and didn’t even need to. The cause was obvious.

“Ah, this.”

He’d made the classic mistake veteran science communicators always make!

The mistake scientists make when they write popular science books or give public lectures:

“To spark interest in relativity, I’ll start by ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) making the basics of time exciting.”

They think it’s fun by themselves and keep talking until the public stares with blank eyes.

“I can’t believe I did that.”

While Seo Rihyuk reproached himself—

His phone buzzed with the members’ messages flying up the screen.

Jiho: Professor

Jiho: The lecture is sooo boring ㅠㅠㅠ

Biju: I liked it!!

Biju: But people might be a tiny bit bored, Rihyuk

Junhyun: It’s fine

Biju: You’re not even listening -_-

Junhyun: Correct.

And among them, a NewBlack sticker from Sun Wooju stood out.

Wooju shaking his head “tsk tsk.”

“......”

Seo Rihyuk lifted the mic again.

“I will refrain from science talk.”

The engineer driving on burst out laughing.

From Car 1 behind him came the sound of people laughing.

Buoyed by voices telling him “It’s okay!” he steadied his tone.

“For you all, I prepared the history of Daejeon Metro...”

— EeEeEeEEEng!

Voices rose from Car 1.

He changed tack.

“Then how about I sing a short song... just one?”

— Waaaaaah!

Having dreamed all day of “Seo Rihyuk’s Fun Hour of Science & History,” Rihyuk brimmed with little tears and mourned.

Starting with Seo Rihyuk in Daejeon, the other members continued the subway broadcasts in turn.

“Hello. I’m Biju, so happy to be in the City of Light, Gwangju. I love you all!”

Biju’s Gwangju subway announcements, overflowing with adorable charm.

“Hello, I’m Junhyun in charge of your weather and food. Nice to meet you. I’ll see you home safe and comfortable.”

The rapper, in a warm voice, described famous foods from across Busan, making mouths water.

“Everyone. Who am I?”

The maknae with the instantly recognizable voice hosted cheerfully.

The members were shining in every city.

“‘NewBlackToTheGrave’ asks for a NewBlack-and-Gwangju episode. During our small-theater tour, at a clothing shop on Chungjang-ro, Wooju said he’d buy something unusual, and we said, ‘You live here now, hyung. We’re leaving,’ and we abandoned him.”

Smiles spread.

“But I’m the one who got abandoned... because I got lost. The one abandoned was me....”

At the woeful tone, the subway erupted in laughter.

So each member’s distinct broadcast continued.

Like an MC on a cooking or lifestyle show, Biju told soft, newsworthy NewBlack anecdotes in a bright voice.

“User ‘Dicotyledon’ asks, Junhyun, which baseball team do you root for? I’m a proud fan of the KG Dragons... huhhh, the boos. Feels like an away game at Sajik Ballpark.”

Junhyun approached Busan citizens like a friendly neighborhood pup.

“Here’s a quiz from me, Junhyun. When was your beloved team’s last championship?”

“Hey hey! You’re crossing the line.”

“’92. And the last time my beloved KG won was ’89....”

“You are my eternal brother, Kim Junhyun!”

Talking baseball—always big in Busan—he built a strangely bittersweet bond.

And—

“User ‘KingJihoActingGenius’ says please say ‘yeo.’ Reallye? You like this way of talkinge? Whoa... cheers. Then for the next hour with you, I’ll use ‘yeo’!”

The blissfully thoughtless maknae.

“Ohhh! Someone says their throat hurts. That won’t do... I’ll tell you what’s good for it. First, you absolutely have to drink warm water!! First check if it’s a cold, so go to the hospital, and it could be reflux esophagitis, so....”

“Did he turn the volume to max?”

“A complaint just came in that the volume is too loud. Uh... this is the minimum.”

“That was minimum?”

“Then I’ll speak in a gentle whisper!!!”

Citizens smiled at the national maknae chattering away.

It was the moment when ordinary riders realized the aura of the idol member who makes fans at signings mutter, “Ah, seriously...?” from sheer chatter.

“St-still, this is fun.”

Maybe because it was a hot, tiring summer day, something this new and fresh felt especially welcome.

Who wouldn’t welcome voices saying warmly, “Rough day? We’ll be with you.”

Smiles spread at the sight of a hard-to-see-these-days singer showing up in person for a surprise event.

“But why do they do things like this?”

“Seems they’ve got a new song out. It’s related to the subway, so they’re promoting on the subway.”

“They said it’s in English... sigh, those kids work so hard.”

Citizens viewed the upcoming English track with warm eyes.

Online, some weird louts were griping, “A Korean singer sings in English!”

But those takes weren’t gaining traction.

“What is there to gripe about with kids this good-natured, honestly.”

Whoever they were, it felt obvious they were exploding with envy at NewBlack.

For reasons unknown, seeing someone slander NewBlack felt like being personally insulted.

“Wow....”

Meanwhile—

“This is... wow....”

Souffles online went wide-eyed.

“How many articles is that?”

The subway announcements had become such a hot topic that even the Society section on news portals carried NewBlack’s announcements as quirky news.

And in Entertainment they were in bold.

— NewBlack “finds the Metro” to promote METRO... five members, five styles of announcements draw eyes

— “NewBlack appears on the subway”... part of promotions for new single “METRO”

— Unusual subway promo by NewBlack; to debut new song on the 28th at VMA... “first for a Korean act”

Public reactions were very favorable.

The hottest item by far was Wooju’s remark:

“I’ll pass it along to the president.”

Wooju’s line about compiling common subway complaints and forwarding them drew a big response.

Soon the operator side also said they’d “improve concrete aspects,” and citizens welcomed it.

Meanwhile, humor posts popped up in idol communities.

[Why METRO needs to be a hit]

(screencap: NewBlack’s leader on a past Y-app live saying, “If we do well in the U.S., we’ll visit MyTube HQ”)

Pledged to ask for a “show Korean comments only” toggle on MyTube

— lololololololol

— NewBlack must. not. fail.

— Dude that’s just a joke lololololol

— Gimme a streaming list to spin

— I know it’s a joke, but I’m tempted

— The rage when I scroll to see Korean comments and they won’t load... lol

— Stay strong, spaceship ㅠㅠㅠ

In this cheerful mood, METRO’s promotions were steadily showing positive effects.

Souffles clenched their fists.

“We have to do something too.”

Their boys were doing everything they could to say, “Please see the English track as cute~!” to the general public.

Why do a promo like this?

“Because it’s for the U.S. push.”

With other idols, maybe not—but NewBlack were now a “national idol” group, that friendly to the public.

Like your own sons or nephews.

If such a nephew said, “I’ll use the allowance you gave me to study in America~,” anyone would feel a pang.

So clearly this was to soften any potential public disappointment or resentment.

The mood was supportive now, but given time, some might huff, “Hmph! Always America....” That’s why NewBlack were doing a little shoulder-shimmy wooing gesture, asking the public to see them kindly!

So as fans, they couldn’t just sit still.

“Hmmmm....”

Souffles pressed fingers to their temples and closed their eyes solemnly.

“If I were Sun Wooju, what would I do?”

“I am Sun Wooju. Sun Wooju. Kyarrr.... Ah, no! I must not be possessed...!”

“Floral print—begone from my mind, foul spirit!”

Switching modes to channel Manager Juseon, the Souffles pondered and came up with an idea.

“The title is Metro.”

What if they bought subway ads that played NewBlack’s songs—just perfect.

Souffles smiled shyly.

“Let’s do some modest subway ads.”

There’s a place in America called the Grand Canyon.

They say its grand, awe-inspiring terrain makes anyone go “wow.”

“Wow....”

Different in kind, but we felt awe now too.

“.......”

“.......”

The COEX view on the tablet.

On the panoramic main corridor of COEX Mall in Samseong-dong, our Metro teaser images were up.

Not only had Metro promos and our related visuals taken over COEX...

“D-did you see this?”

The maknae showed his phone with trembling hands.

“They say the stations we passed through now have Metro ads.”

“Which stations?”

“...Every station.”

At Jiho’s words, I held my breath.

If it was every station we passed...

“Every station on Line 2...?”

“Yeah.”

“.......”

They blinked hearing that in Daejeon, Daegu, Busan, and Gwangju too, ads had sprouted like mushrooms after rain.

At first we thought some Souffle federation had bought them in one go.

But the people who bought them were all different.

At some stations, Fake-Souffles or Foil put them up.

— Once again, Korea’s dollar reserves are strengthened

— The economy is NewBlack!

— Whatever you show us, we support every inch of you... uh? Lady Wooju... uh oh!

— Wishing the U.S. a surge in “ho”-peful “il”-lustrious ordinary fans — by the Foil circle (no actual organization)

“......They’re enjoying this. One hundred percent.”

“Looks like everyone’s super hyped.”

It did feel a bit like they were amusing themselves, but seeing support like this made us smile.

Support like this is always a huge boost.

I screencapped a few witty lines to save.

“For when things get hard later.”

“Are things hard, hyung?”

I just smiled at Biju.

“Not that something’s hard right now, exactly....”

Like when someone says, “Hard? I think you can do more,” and pushes extra practice, or when your breath is at your throat and they wink, “Five more minutes?” Or when they say your shadow line in the choreography isn’t pretty.

Trading glances with the other ducklings, we laughed quietly.

“Because it will get hard soon.”

“Because it will.”

As practice neared the end, we were approaching physical limits.

Even so, with most solo schedules wrapped, we could focus fully on practice, so it felt relaxed.

“I wasn’t supposed to be filming a drama... I was an idiot... I’m a fool... I myself don’t even know what I’ve gotten myself into....”

Ah. Except him. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Even on breaks, our maknae muttered through his script, eyes looking half out of his body.

“Well, we’ve got it easy.”

“My mixtape is done. Heart at peace.”

“He doesn’t need pity. He asked for it.”

We cackled, munching the gummies Junhyun sprinkled, and the maknae shot us a glare.

We snickered and all soothed the sulking maknae together.

“But....”

Junhyun tilted his head.

“Maybe it’s just me, but does it feel like we forgot something today? Like heading out in the rain without an umbrella.”

“Hm....”

“There is kind of that feeling....”

“Was there something today?”

He had a point.

It felt like there had been something to remember, but nothing came to mind.

“Hmmmm....”

“Hm....”

We thought hard, but nothing surfaced, so we shrugged.

“Probably nothing important.”

After that day.

News spread that the Souffle fandom had made generous donations here and there—and subways nationwide were plastered with ads.

We laughed at clever taglines—then fell silent.

“Wow, look at this.”

The quality of the ads bought by Lemon Entertainment drew admiration.

At Yangjae Citizen’s Forest Station, LED boards showed videos of NewBlack members in different suits.

At Cheonggyesan Entrance, LED boards played NewBlack holding signs that read METRO.

“Bwahaha! Look at this!”

At one station, there was an ad board with a sensor detecting the wind as trains entered.

On the pillar’s LED panel, NewBlack held METRO placards.

Every time a train arrived and whooshed past, the wind blasted them—“whoof-flap-flap”—and the signs flew.

“So cute....”

The public had put on rose-tinted NewBlack glasses.

Then came new content celebrating METRO’s release—a “Subway Mini-Game.”

“They’re doing variety too?”

Online, interest ran high for a healing reality covering NewBlack’s album behind-the-scenes.

“Sun Wooju’s Rest ‘Day’ry.”

— “Sun Wooju’s Rest ‘Day’ry”... “A new kind of variety where you rest while working”

— This time it’s “emotion” and “healing”... Lemon Entertainment: “Nothing like what you think”

— [Issue Hot] What to watch for in “Sun Wooju’s Rest Diary”

The public took interest in a description about the members painstakingly caring for their leader after he collapsed with gastritis in the U.S.

“Every word of that sounds fake.”

“An ‘emotional’ story... a story that destroys emotion, more like.”

“I’m not buying it.”

While people chattered noisily online—

Someone watched those reactions, quietly sipping a drink in his office.

“.......”

He was the chairman of a label whose artist’s new song dropped tomorrow.

[trickle]

[trickle]

As the sound of liquor pouring into a cup seemed like the sound of tears, Chairman Park Taejun composed himself.

“Heh heh, honestly....”

Since when did the world run the way you wanted.

He put on a detached smile and knocked back the drink in his teacup.

Just then—right as he was about to sip booze to sentimental classical music—

Flash.

Flash flash.

“Hmm...?”

Feeling a glimmer from somewhere, Chairman Park turned his head—and dribbled liquor down his chin.

It was the giant billboard across from TJ Entertainment’s building.

“Make way for His Majesty!”

...popped up in big letters, and—

In a dragon robe and winged black coronet, NewBlack’s leader rode in a palanquin borne by the members in a teaser video.

“What... what are they doing...?”

The figures strode straight toward the camera—then in the billboard they started dipping up and down to the beat.

Each time—pyooong! pyooong!—letters carved themselves into the air.

“Sun Wooju’s Rest ‘Day’ry”

With a ta-da, Sun Wooju raised both hands solemnly toward the words—and the ad ended.

Thump thump.

The palanquin wiggled again and turned its back.

“2017. 8. 18 (Fri) First broadcast!”

Something about the infuriating, smug font made a groan rip from Chairman Park Taejun’s mouth.