Shortage.

A situation where you cannot obtain a product even if you have money happens when its popularity is astronomical.

That is why it naturally draws people’s attention.

Especially for Koreans who have the kind of DNA that says, if others are doing it, I have to try it too!

“Hm?”

People eating at restaurants or riding public transportation looked at the news that popped up on their phones.

What is this?

There was an article about NewBlack.

– ‘NewBlack Game Console’ Content Sells Out in 17 Minutes

People swallowed hard.

‘NewBlack game console? And sold out?’

The words NewBlack and sold out began to chemically bond together.

Past incidents popped into people’s minds.

– Huff, huff! Do you have any NewBlack bread left?

– I am sorry, it is all gone.

– The previous part timer said new stock would come in at 9.

– Yes. It is already sold out.

NewBlack bread that could not be bought even with money.

It was so explosively popular that even running factories 24 hours a day could not keep up with demand.

The legendary bread whose sales skyrocketed due to word of mouth about its taste and rumors about the resale price of its character stickers.

And after the bread frenzy of 2015 passed, another storm arrived.

– Excuse me, do you have Newbulbaek in stock today...? Ah, none. I see.

– Do you have any Newbulbaek left right now?

– It did not come in today either? Do you know when new stock might arrive....

Newbulbaek that NewBlack had sold at the rest stop.

The Newbulbaek craze that made Koreans travel around their neighborhoods because of reviews calling it “insanely delicious.”

Now people laugh and say, ‘Why did we go that far?’

But the madness back then was no joke.

‘...Still, it could not be helped.’

When news keeps reporting ‘sold out’ and every segment mentions the ‘Newbulbaek crisis,’ how could people not get curious?

Now it has become more of a steady seller, but the memory of NewBlack bread and Newbulbaek remained deep in Koreans’ hearts.

That was why their gaze at the news was unusual.

‘What did NewBlack do that caused it to sell out? In just 17 minutes?’

When they clicked the article, details were written out.

[The newly released fitness game console O2 by Airsoft sold out across all online shopping malls within 17 minutes after NewBlack’s advertisement aired. Today at 6 p.m., NewBlack’s......]

People’s eyes narrowed.

‘Advertisement?’

What kind of advertisement makes a game console sell out in 17 minutes?

With curiosity filled gazes, people logged onto MyTube and searched “NewBlack game console,” and the advertisement video immediately appeared at the top.

The title itself was a cheat code.

[We Learned Games from Sun Wooju. (feat. Kim Junhyun’s Healthy Stretching)]

The thumbnail already made people laugh, showing Wooju and the underlings in instructor uniforms.

What on earth is this about?

When you think of fitness games, you usually think of functional games made by Japanese console companies.

Shooting air cannons with a ring while working out.

Swinging a controller to play tennis.

‘...It will be hard to show anything special, though?’

No matter how it is NewBlack, could a workout console really sell out in 17 minutes?

Viewers felt puzzled.

Then the advertisement properly began, and the game content played.

NPC narration voices.

[I, it is the Table Tennis Demon King!]

[If he catches you, you will turn into a table tennis ball!]

Viewers blinked as table tennis balls ran around in panic.

‘What is this game?’

Something completely different from what they expected was unfolding.

Even curious casual viewers joined in, and the view count climbed rapidly.

As they seriously watched the advertisement, viewers began bursting into laughter.

Wooju: I... this might be a bit rude to say.

Sun Wooju’s smirking expression.

Wooju: You are really bad at this game.

Professional gamers:

The sight of professional gamers collapsing like people who had lost their country made everyone laugh.

– I would collapse too LOLLLLL

– Crossing the line, spaceship... shaking

– LOLLLLL telling the best in the industry they are bad at games

– I laughed so hard I drooled fck LOL

– At this point is he not denying their entire careers?

– To people with championship records LOLLLLL

– But it feels strangely not entirely wrong yet not entirely right either and still makes me mad LOL

The trembling professional gamers made a proposal to Wooju.

Shin Hyunsu: Um, Mr. Wooju. If it is not too rude later... how about a game with us?

Wooju: Sure.

Smiling brightly as he accepted, Wooju made a counterproposal.

Wooju: To be fair, how about we also compete in dancing and singing?

Professional gamers: ......We will pass.

Viewers laughed at the sight of them lowering their heads dejectedly.

– Political maneuvering like a spaceship

– Basically saying “Are you not ashamed of challenging a civilian to a game because you want revenge?”

– He turned the gamers into petty people in an instant wow

– Truly a narrow minded play, Sun Narrow

– Why is Kim Biju nodding next to him LOL

– Gamers picked a fight and took two losses

– An idol who cannot be beaten unless it is a virtual world... this is rare

Without further complaints, the gamers accepted their defeat and began receiving Wooju’s coaching with sorrowful faces.

And as the coaching continued, viewers’ eyes widened.

‘What. Why is he so good at teaching?’

The way he precisely corrected their posture was unusual. It was as if he knew every muscle in the body in detail.

– I want to learn toooooo

– Surprised at how well he teaches

– Is it officially accepted that he is good at everything except fashion and games

– But Wooju seems like he would be good at anything LOL I cannot imagine him being bad at something

Each time they corrected their posture, the gamers’ scores began to rise.

‘That is fascinating.’

Viewers’ eyes gleamed.

The sensor attached to the console scored based on accuracy of movement, and it was incredibly precise.

It felt like something you would not actually use, but you kind of wanted to buy one and keep it at home.

‘I probably would not use it, but I will make my parents. Their belly fat has increased lately.’

‘I will make my kids do it.’

‘I will make my grandfather do it so he lives longer.’

The so called urge to buy began creeping in.

Just as people thought they would search again after the advertisement ended.

Wooju began throwing punches.

‘Oh my.’

With the seasoned expression of a retired kickboxing champion, he mixed kicks, jabs, and hooks flawlessly.

The comment section instantly became crowded.

– Look at how polite the gamers’ posture became

┕ Why are they so polite

┕ Of course they should be LOL after seeing that who would not

┕ It is hilarious that even the underlings became polite LOLLLLL

– I have never seen Wang Jiho in that pose LOL I do not think he even posed like that when he received Rookie of the Year

– Why does Sun Wooju make old man expressions whenever he does something; he looks like an ancient martial arts monster

┕ He is probably still more handsome than you

┕ Where do you live

Meanwhile, the person involved was going, “Ahaha! So refreshing!” while swinging his fists, and everyone around him had become polite.

At the same time.

Another piece of content within the advertisement caught viewers’ attention.

‘Stretching?’

Junhyun was diagnosing the gamers’ forward head posture and teaching stretches for it.

At first, viewers watched without much thought.

But after the stretching ended, the gamers went “Oh my?” while rubbing their necks in amazement.

‘Maybe I will try it too....’

People dragged the playback bar back and pushed their chairs away, beginning to stretch.

Some stretches had been cut in the middle, but they decided to at least follow what was shown.

And then.

“Huh?”

Surprisingly, their forward head posture had improved.

It was not as dramatic as in the video, perhaps because it was a shortened version, but they could feel some improvement.

– What give us the full version

– Looking for the full stretch version

– It actually works?????? What is this??

– Everyone looking for the stretch video, you are currently watching a national idol’s game advertisement

– Full stretch version pleaseeeee NewBlack TV does not seem to have it

There was clearly a caption at the bottom of the advertisement.

[Junhyun’s full stretching version can be viewed on NewBlack TV.]

But there was no such video on NewBlack TV.

‘...Maybe it has not been uploaded yet?’

While viewers who came for the game advertisement searched for the neck stretch video.

As the advertisement ended, everyone rubbed their cheeks.

“Ah. That was a good laugh.”

It felt like they had genuinely laughed for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, unlike those who heard the news and then watched, the people who had watched from the moment it was uploaded stretched leisurely.

Then they casually searched online shopping malls.

‘It is a fitness game console, so the competition will probably be low?’

No matter how it is NewBlack, and even if the game looks fun, would a fitness device really sell that fast?

Especially since it had not even been 30 minutes since the advertisement was uploaded.

With relaxed minds, they searched “O2” online.

“Huh?”

Why is it not showing up?

Even after refreshing, no image of the console appeared, and a bad premonition suddenly spread.

When they unchecked the icon labeled [Exclude Sold Out], the consoles appeared in order of lowest price.

[Sold Out]

[Sold Out]

[Sold Out]

Seeing the red “Sold Out” labels lined up made their hearts start racing.

‘No....’

People blinked blankly at the news that it was sold out everywhere.

On their once blank faces, the uniquely Korean stubborn determination began to appear.

‘I will buy it. I will definitely buy it!’

The first Souffle Bread crisis and the second Newbulbaek crisis.

And now, the third NewBlack game console crisis had erupted.

Airsoft headquarters office.

“My goodness.”

At Airsoft’s headquarters in Gangnam Samseong dong, screams were currently erupting.

“D, did you see this?”

“What?”

“They say phone inquiries asking if there are consoles in offline stores are exploding. This is a photo of people gathering at the Yeongdeungpo shopping mall.......”

“My god, this is insane.......”

“It is already listed at double the price on secondhand sites.”

People were practically bouncing in their seats to buy the console they had developed.

It was a scene they had never imagined.

‘What is this. This is scary.’

‘Why is it working so well?’

‘No... does this even make sense?’

The new console O2.

It had been about two weeks to a month since release.

Sales had been decent.

It had received high scores as a fitness game that balanced fun and quality, but sales were not that high.

‘That was inevitable.’

The developers of O2 scratched their cheeks.

Airsoft was considered one of the top game companies in the country. A large corporation listed on KOSPI after releasing numerous famous online games.

But that was the reputation of online games. In the fitness game field, they were no different from newcomers.

In a field dominated by North America and Japan, they were latecomers.

So while they had ambitiously developed it, they had considered it more of an initial investment for future success. The collaboration advertisement with NewBlack had also been planned simply to create at least a small buzz.

...But they had hit the jackpot.

“H, how did this happen?”

As Airsoft employees panicked, an emergency executive meeting was convened due to the sudden surge in sales.

On the PPT screen appeared cheerful photos of NewBlack.

The staff member in charge briefly explained the situation.

“It seems that NewBlack’s recognition combined with word of mouth created this situation.”

“Huh.......”

“The biggest driving factor in sales appears to be the positive synergy between Mr. Wooju’s image and the image of the O2 console.”

Next to Sun Wooju’s photo were speech bubbles with keywords like “All Rounder,” “Sportsman,” “Game Noob (see footnote).”

“The freshness of content where Mr. Wooju, who is known to be bad at games, teaches professional gamers. And the image of Mr. Wooju being good at everything.......”

After listening to the report, the CEO asked,

“Who proposed this advertisement plan?”

“Team Leader Jung Seyon from PR Team 2.”

“Ah, Team Leader Jung.......”

That was the moment Team Leader Jung, who had proposed the advertisement to NewBlack, secured her promotion.

The CEO of Airsoft smiled broadly.

Together with the executives, he immediately began preparing countermeasures.

“For now, the parts imported from China......”

“We need to accelerate factory operations......”

“How about creating dance content for the game as well? Featuring Mr. Biju teaching people with no rhythm.......”

Demand overwhelmingly exceeded supply.

They did not know how long this would last, but from the company’s perspective, it was sweet juice that had to be squeezed quickly.

“Haha.”

The CEO laughed happily.

“What a thing to happen.”

“Indeed. Hahaha!”

Even while holding a serious meeting, smiles never left their faces.

A project they had not expected much from had exploded.

But everything has a degree of expectation.

“......”

The next day.

The Airsoft CEO could only stare blankly at the stock price screen on his tablet.

Airsoft [KOSPI]

Compared to previous day +29.95%

“Upper limit.......”

The upper limit, the maximum allowed increase to prevent excessive stock price surges.

“It, it broke through....”

For the first time in six years since listing.

Seeing the market capitalization increase by 30 percent compared to the previous day, the CEO of Airsoft began to feel not just joy, but fear.

‘What is this. This is scary.......’

In his ears, the laughter of NewBlack echoed like ghostly wails.

– Airsoft closes at upper limit amid expectations for ‘NewBlack Game Console’... “As expected, it is NewBlack”

“What do they mean, as expected it is NewBlack.......”

I muttered in confusion, and Ri Hyuk blinked.

“Why is it called the NewBlack console? We only did promotion.”

“How would I know.”

Even Souffle call Souffle Bread NewBlack Bread, so it was not strange for the console to be labeled “NewBlack.”

Biju said while scanning articles,

“They say there are fights on secondhand sites too. People are reselling them, and the atmosphere is rough.”

“It was like that with our NewBlack bread too.”

The surprised game company hurriedly announced they would meet demand, but people were shouting, ‘Hurry up and release more!’

And something that had not happened during the Newbulbaek or Souffle Bread times occurred.

“Upper limit.”

As I stared blankly at the red letters, the youngest held out his smartphone.

“Hm?”

“I found a post praising you while searching. It is from a community of people who invest in stocks.”

I glanced at it.

– Team Leader Wooseonju, we love you

– Woo men

– If you just trust Team Leader Wooseonju, money gets duplicated

– This is what stocks are

– There will ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ definitely be people jumping in today after seeing this LOL

Team Leader Wooseonju.

Seeing people writing thank you posts to a name I had never even used, I felt strangely complicated.

As I scrolled down, other posts on the board appeared.

– When is Park Taejun retiring this bastard

– The U.S. market dropped again fck

– Everything is falling except my weight you bastards

– Game stocks are all rising LOL

– Idiots the era of stocks is over now it is crypto LOL

Looking at the harsh and rough expressions, I made a decision.

I will not use the nickname Wooseonju.

“So this is a good reaction, right?”

“I think... so?”

I exchanged glances with the youngest and snickered.

Then I looked at the steadily rising view count of the game advertisement and turned my gaze.

“Oh right, Junhyun.”

“Yes.”

“When should we film that stretching?”

“We should film it soon.”

A top comment in the advertisement caught my eye.

– When is Kim Junhyun’s stretching being uploaded

┕ I am waiting only for this

┕ 2222222

I had only been thinking we should film it soon, but I had not expected this level of reaction.

Logically, who would think that stretching would become a hot topic while filming a game advertisement?

After saying we should film the stretching video soon, I looked at the TV.

“Popcorn?”

“Ready.”

The underlings answered.

“Cola?”

“Ready.”

Drinks were served neatly.

“Seo Ri Hyuk?”

“Ready~”

The members grabbed Ri Hyuk’s shoulders and smiled brightly.

Our main vocalist lowered his head shyly and hunched his shoulders.

“Well... I am not even appearing.......”

“Still, it is fun to watch in real time. I promoted it a lot at reserve forces training today.”

I had told people training with me, ‘Make sure to watch the drama tonight!’

Laughing with the younger members, we turned on the GTV channel, famous for dramas.

At the top of the screen was the title .

Today was the first broadcast of the third quarter’s most talked about work, with Ri Hyuk singing the main OST. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

“But.......”

I tilted my head as I looked at Ri Hyuk, who was fidgeting as if embarrassed.

“What is wrong with you?”

“What do you mean?”

“You look really embarrassed about something.......”

“What are you talking about. When did I.”

No, your ears are already red.

With a flush spreading across his face like a tomato, Ri Hyuk glanced toward us in distress.

What is it.

It is just an OST he sang. Why is he so embarrassed?

“......Hmm.”

I thought carefully and rewound time.

Soon, a memory from the recording day surfaced.

“Oh!”

Now that I think about it, there was something.

When I told him to sing while thinking about someone he loved and hated, he had been extremely embarrassed.

“Ah! I got it.”

“W, what?”

“The person you love and hate was me.”

“No!”

No?

As the underlings looked curious, I briefly explained the situation.

Then their eyes sparkled as they approached.

“The person Ri Hyuk loves and hates.......”

“First of all, we have confirmed his hate toward us hyung, so we need to clarify who here is receiving the love.”

“Hmm, maybe it is me?”

“I do not think so. It looks like me no matter how I see it.”

An absurd sight.

All the remaining underlings were convinced they were the object of love and hate.

I said,

“Is it not obviously me?”

“I said it is not!”