It was May.
The world was drenched in spring, the leaves swaying green in the wind—
but in K-POP, an unseasonal typhoon was raging.
A few weeks earlier, Black Call had broken their long silence and made a comeback.
【BLACKCALL - ‘Blackout’ Official MV】
The music video, which had already passed hundreds of millions of views, began on an endless foreign highway.
The visuals, washed in pale, low-saturation tones, carried a strange, bleak heaviness.
【Na na na na na na】
A Mustang Fastback sliced through the dark night.
A dissonant triad poured through the radio speakers.
Then, a close-up—Joo Woosung, wearing a thin black leather jacket in the driver’s seat.
He let out a faint sigh, pressed the brake, got out of the car, and searched his jacket pocket.
【Na na na na na na】
Meanwhile, the radio grew louder, the drums rolling heavy beneath the noise and static.
Joo Woosung took out a Zippo lighter engraved with a ranunculus. He flicked it open sharply.
Ping, chiiik—
【Na na na na na na—】
In slow motion, he tossed it onto the driver’s seat.
Flames burst upward, and through the rising fire, a dark silhouette flickered—then vanished.
The camera shifted to the passenger seat.
A skull, crowned crookedly with jewels, quivered in the blaze.
Its jaw snapped open as the lyrics poured out.
【It’s getting on my nerves】
Over the grinning skull’s flickering face, Chae Jungwoo’s image overlapped.
【I can’t get you out of my head】
A hexagonal die shot toward the ceiling; the roulette spun madly.
Chae Jungwoo flicked a poker chip, caught it, then tossed it toward the spot marked BLACK on the betting table.
Standing beside him, Jeon Saeyoung, Lee Hanju, and Lee Beomhyeon exchanged glances, their expressions meaningful.
【I want to push you till you break
Clutch your anxious hands and ask, Are you mine?】
Doom! The drumbeat thundered again.
The scene cut—Joo Woosung staggered forward, brushing back his hair as the Mustang exploded behind him.
【When you step on my heart
That’s when our lips collide】
With black smoke swirling and a funky rhythm pounding, Joo Woosung kicked his boots to the beat and smiled like a child.
【...—Then it’s blackout】
His honey-colored hair turned crimson in the firelight,
and the title “BLACKOUT” struck the black screen. The music video ended.
《Black Call’s new song climbs the charts—Billboard debut at No.29 and still rising!》
《Overseas Hot 100: 29 → 17 → 10?! Domestic charts already all-kill!》
《Black Call breaks every K-POP record with their new album!》
Online reactions poured in:
[Black Call being Black Call again.
Everyone’s like, “Yeah, of course the new track’s a hot bag~ haha.” Unreal lolol]
[Guys, that Blackout MV isn’t CGI... They really burned a car worth over a hundred million won. Black Call’s class..........]
[“That car ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ cost how much?” → “Are these guys rolling in money?” → “Yeah, Black Call literally rolls in it.”
└ Logical thought progression LOOOOLLLL]
[Did you see the behind-the-scenes? Woosung actually went “Ah, hot!” mid-shoot but stayed totally calm when the camera rolled fuck so fucking cute LOOOOOL
└Our Woosung’s a pro, a real pro LOOOOOOOLLL]
While fans celebrated Black Call’s grand return,
elsewhere, headlines about WH Entertainment’s first-quarter earnings hinted at something off.
《WH’s Q1 profits recover but fall short of market expectations—...》
《...—Black Call’s comeback, initially planned for Q1, was delayed to Q2, causing revenue to miss forecasts. WH Entertainment stated, “We will continue to pursue active promotion and innovation.” —...》
It was only a routine quarterly report,
but to fans, every word rang ominous.
[“Active promotion”... “Innovation”...
Shut up. Don’t do anything.]
[I’m biting my nails like a nutcracker right now.]
And sure enough—
true to their reputation for blindsiding fans, WH Entertainment struck again.
《NEXT STEP》
They announced a new rookie boy group, following the lineage of Black Call, Hi-Five, and The Dawn.
Posters bearing the phrase NEXT STEP and the silhouettes of seven trainees blanketed Seoul.
Even without official info, whispers spread through WH’s fandom circles about who would debut.
[Ah!!!!!!!! Our Kkuni’s finally coming out of the jewelry box!!!]
[Whoa, new idol... that Rookiez profile reeks of WH energy... love it.]
[What the hell, Rookiez visuals exploded? Unreal. Too good.]
[Marketing’s insane this time; they’re everywhere.]
Even YouTube ads were filled with promo clips for the new boy group.
[Please... enough marketing already...]
[I can even mimic all their poses now T_T LOOOOLLLL]
Even people who didn’t care about idols knew a WH rookie was debuting—
that’s how much money they’d poured in.
And no one was angrier than existing fandoms.
[Fuck off~]
Especially since the timing couldn’t have been worse.
Fans of Black Call and Hi-Five fumed at the company’s obsession with churning out same-gender groups,
but Noeul, The Dawn’s fandom, was the most furious of all.
[No, seriously, fuck all the execs to hell.]
[Yeah, I’m happy for new kids debuting, really.
But don’t you dare touch the existing groups, you absolute bastards TT__TT]
[Did the CEO lose his mind? Get out.]
Black Call and Hi-Five were still active,
but The Dawn had gone completely silent after their February concert tour.
Kim Sunghyun and Sung Jiwon had done live content like “Let’s Have Dinner Together! feat. Dajun’s Cooking” and “Cheer for Dajun’s MC Work!”,
but even those had dwindled.
[Heard WH told The Dawn to cut back on lives.]
[Yeah I heard too. Plus, most of the old Daepaseong staff got laid off lolol
└That’s WH’s ‘innovation.’
└Fuck, this is infuriating lololol]
[Fans spinning happy delusions again~
Why would the company ban lives? If they wanted, they’d do them.
Meanwhile, the newly merged group does whatever they want lol.
Fans even bragged they were “rebellious idols who love their fans” lolol
Just admit your boys have dead fish eyes and don’t wanna stream T_T
└tap tap tap... tap!
└Damn, you really squeezed every word in there LOOOOLLLL writing contest much?]
Then came another blow—
[Kang Ichae went back to America.]
The Dawn’s fans were stunned.
[????]
[Here comes a dumbass believing rumors.]
[What’s this nonsense LOOOLL stop wasting time, go make fake news on YouTube.]
But the “rumor” started getting evidence.
[Title: Yeah, Kang Ichae really went back to the U.S.
My friend works at an airline and confirmed it.
He bought a one-way ticket.
└Isn’t that a privacy violation?;;
└You people are insane; he’s just on vacation.
└└He ditched the group and ran, that’s who’s insane.
└└? Kang Ichae loves idol life, what crap are you spouting.
└└He did everything and now he’s resting, what’s the problem?]
[Title: “He abandoned the group”? LOOOOLL??
Even when busy, Kang Ichae always drops by PopPop to greet fans lololol
Don’t you know his famous fansign clip?
When asked how idol life was, he smiled and said he was happy—it went viral for a reason.
I swear he’d never give this up.
└Girl, look at the PopPop timestamps. Obvious he’s in the States.
└Still, he’s smart.
If he breaks contract he’d owe penalties, so he’s just quietly coasting for now~
PopPop’s the only regular content with refunds, so he’s playing it safe hehe
└└Square up, you bastard.]
[Title: My friends quietly quit the fandom
Everyone’s keeping it low, but it’s true—Noeul’s fading.
I loved them too, but I’m tired.
Maybe it’s time to stop... need to live my own life.
They must know how fans feel, right? The lack of lives, it’s disappointing.
Anyone else like me?
└Miss, if you’re gonna stir public opinion, at least clean up your old posts first.
└└LMAOOOOOOOOO Polite as hell, what a comment.
└└They checked your old Rookiez posts, lmao.
└Wow, the counter-sniping’s making my heart race.
└└Damn right, can’t wait to see how far this goes.]
Still, there were people who enjoyed the chaos.
[Why? New boy groups are young and fresh, heheh.]
[Look at those fans panicking already~ can’t use their washed-up old idols anymore (emoji hands up)]
[If you’re gonna stan, stan someone with at least 10 years till enlistment T_T]
[Black Call’s good for a few more years—they’re Billboard now.
Hi-Five can hang on a year or two.
But The Dawn? No Grand Prize, no hype. Squeezing a rag at this point.]
Noeul couldn’t do much.
Complaints to WH went unanswered, as always.
[Sigh... reading hate comments makes my heart race and hands shake T_T
└Funny, for someone “shaking,” you argued online like a pro.
└You... shake pretty damn eloquently.]
Everyone had too much pent-up frustration to just laugh it off anymore.
Their private accounts filled with posts like “I fucking hate this, fuck fuck fuck” and “One day I’ll blow up WH’s building.”
Then—
《‘Vile Trial’ first stills revealed: Seo Hoyun as the genius prosecutor》
News about Seo Hoyun dropped.
《...—‘Vile Trial’ is a crime-action film directed by Kim Jehyeok, the man behind Korea’s all-time box-office record. Seo Hoyun plays ‘Kang Giyeong,’ a prosecutor deeply entangled with chaebol corruption—...》
Seeing it, Noeul burned with mixed emotions—
part fury at WH for pushing him into film work instead of music,
part desperate urge to grab Hoyun by the collar and shake him.
[Hoyun~ stay healthy and do well filming♡♡♡]
But they swallowed their frustration and chose to support him.
Because they trusted Seo Hoyun.
He rarely said it aloud, but the sincerity in his expressions and the warmth behind his words had always been real.
[We’ll wait for you... Hehe]
Above all—Noeul was strong.
[Until the enemy’s corpse floats down the river...]
***
‘Wow, the song’s really good.’
With Bluetooth earbuds in, Shin Heechan gazed out the bus window, listening to Black Call’s new track.
His recent web drama had become a hit,
but he still took public transport—
with a hat and mask, it was manageable.
Arriving at the set of Vile Trial, his new project,
Heechan greeted his manager and the staff warmly.
“Hello!”
“Heechan, hey there~.”
The staff responded kindly to his cheerful politeness.
Gotta work hard.
His role this time was a rookie prosecutor’s investigator—
newly assigned, clumsy but burning with justice.
It was a precious opportunity,
and everyone from his manager to his agency CEO had warned him:
“Heechan, be really careful on set.”
“Always be polite.”
The cast was packed with veteran actors;
if a rookie like him slipped up, the fallout could be severe.
“Still, one of the supporting actors is an idol... so it shouldn’t be too bad.”
That was what the CEO added—
but he couldn’t have been more wrong.
CEO...
After a few weeks of filming, Heechan knew.
That “idol” was anything but ordinary.
You have to be damn good just to survive near him.
He wiped a nervous tear and took a careful step forward—
when a razor-sharp voice cut through the air.
“What’s wrong with that?”
There, standing slightly off-center between multiple cameras,
a man smirked.
“Is it a crime to want money?”
Seo Hoyun, embodying “the corrupt prosecutor” himself,
stood in the spotlight.
