Chapter 270
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 270
Chapter Title: 15 Years of Brown Black
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“Of course, just because I like it doesn’t mean it can be turned into a drama right away.”
Writer Yoo Cheonga, having managed to calm her overwhelming excitement at writer So Eunjin’s words, nodded in agreement.
To turn this script into a drama, they needed a broadcasting station to air it, a producer to bring the script to life on screen, a crew to film it with, and actors who could perfectly embody the characters.
“All I can do is introduce you to producers who are looking for scripts.”
Dramas aren’t made so easily; each project requires an immense amount of money, time, and manpower. Even if a script won a contest, it could wait three or four years and still never get produced.
“Your script has to win over the producers and the broadcasting station.”
While a star writer like So Eunjin could get things moving, the title of ‘So Eunjin’s assistant writer’ would only pique a producer’s curiosity enough to glance at the script. For that curiosity to lead to a drama production, Yoo Cheonga’s script had to be good.
“Just having you like it is more than enough for me!”
Writer So Eunjin smiled warmly at writer Yoo Cheonga’s words.
“Still, there are a few places I think could use some revision. Could you come over here, Cheonga?”
“Yes!”
At So Eunjin’s words, Yoo Cheonga picked up a pen. Her eyes sparkled as she listened to So Eunjin, drawing red lines on the script.
* * *
Today was the day Brown Black’s 15th-anniversary documentary would air.
“Hyung! Where are the forks?”
“Over there.”
At the homeowner Hwang Yejun’s words, Choi Siyun looked around, but he couldn’t see a single fork.
“Over there? Where is over there?!”
“Right here.”
“...I didn’t see them there before...?”
The forks were exactly where Hwang Yejun had pointed. Scratching his cheek, Choi Siyun shrugged, grabbed the forks, and headed to the living room.
The living room had a large television, a plush sofa, and a wide table.
Like a typical Korean, Hwang Yejun sat on the floor instead of the sofa, clearing his throat with a playful expression.
“Snacks!”
“Right here.”
Choi Siyun, also sitting on the floor, pulled snacks out of a plastic bag and spread them on the living room table. There were snacks that the Brown Black members liked, and snacks that Seojun liked.
“Drinks!”
“I’ve put cola, soda, and orange juice in the fridge.”
Kevin Kim, who grew up in the US and was in charge of drinks, was sprawled out on the sofa. Hwang Yejun smiled with satisfaction.
“Seojun!”
“Hyung. Seojun isn’t a supply item,”
Ding-dong.
“...He’s here?”
“Seojun!”
The timing was so perfect that Choi Siyun and Kevin Kim burst out laughing. Grinning from ear to ear, Hwang Yejun went to the front door and opened the firmly shut door. Seojun stood there, wearing a warm padded jacket and a scarf.
“Come on in. Isn’t it cold outside?”
“No. Daho hyung gave me a ride, so I was warm. Here’s the tteokbokki. I got some fried food and sundae too. Oh, and kimbap.”
Seojun held up a bag containing tteokbokki he’d bought from a famous spot.
“Looks delicious! Give it here.”
Hwang Yejun smiled and took the bag. As Seojun unwrapped his scarf and came inside, he tilted his head at the sound of laughter.
“Hyungs, why are you laughing?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
“Seojun. You can hang your coat over there.”
As Seojun was about to hang up his padded jacket as Choi Siyun suggested, he looked around the living room with a puzzled expression. Kevin hyung, Yejun hyung, and Siyun hyung were there, but one person was missing.
“Did Seojin hyung not come?”
“His recording is running late, so he said he’ll be here in a bit.”
Kevin Kim, who had taken the bag from Hwang Yejun and was setting up the food Seojun brought on the living room table, replied, and Seojun nodded.
“Ah. Seojin hyung’s solo album is coming out, right?”
Park Seojin, the leader and main vocalist of Brown Black, was also very active as a solo artist and was set to release a solo album this year.
“Yeah. Seojin hyung and Yejun hyung composed it.”
At Choi Siyun’s words, Hwang Yejun, who had just speared a piece of tteokbokki with his fork, grinned and made a V-sign with his left hand. Seojun chuckled.
“Well, he probably feels like he’s close to getting something good, so he can’t bring himself to leave the recording studio.”
“That’s right. We’re always like that when we record, too.”
Hoping that the song released to the public and fans would be even better, the three of them, who had recorded and re-recorded endlessly for a better song until the very end, nodded in agreement.
“Sometimes, the very last take turns out to be so good that you can’t get anything better after that.”
Seojun nodded at Kevin Kim's words.
Since art has no perfect answer, there were times when they pushed themselves, thinking that a little more effort might produce a better song, a better performance, or a better scene.
“Seojin hyung. Do you think he’ll even make it today?”
“He said he thinks he’ll be here before the documentary starts.”
Seojun looked up at the time. They had set the meeting time early, so there was still some time before the documentary began.
“Then what should we do until then?”
At Seojun’s words, the homeowner, Hwang Yejun, shot up from his seat.
“I have a board game. Let’s play that!”
Hwang Yejun brought out the board game.
It was a four-player game, so they each took a piece. Kevin Kim, watching Seojun and the other two wait with excited faces, spoke up.
“It’s no fun if we just play. How about the winner gets to decide the menu? It’s too late for today, but for the next time we meet.”
Hwang Yejun’s eyes gleamed.
“Ooh! Korean beef! Hanwoo!”
“That sounds good. I’ve been wanting lobster.”
“I prefer Korean food.”
“Hmm. A Michelin restaurant for me?”
Seojun and the three members’ eyes met. Sparks flew.
A bloody war began, each fighting for their desired dinner menu.
* * *
“I’m here.”
Park Seojin, finished with his recording, had arrived. Entering with a familiar press of the passcode, Park Seojin blinked at the sight of Seojun and the three members sprawled across the living room.
“What’s this? What happened to you all?”
Seojun was lying face down on the sofa, while Hwang Yejun and Choi Siyun were lying on the living room floor in a star shape with exhausted faces. Kevin Kim was huddled in a corner of the living room.
“...We played the game a little too intensely.”
“...I’m exhausted.”
Indeed, a board game was on the living room table. Seeing it, Park Seojin asked.
“How do you end up like this from playing a board game?”
“We made a bet.”
“A bet? Who won?”
Seojun, who had been lying on the sofa, shot his hand up.
He had tried his best.
The pride radiating from his vigorously raised arm made Park Seojin finally burst into laughter.
“Seojin hyung. Let’s go for Korean food next time.”
“We eat Korean food all the time!”
“I wanted to eat lobster!”
At the words of Seojun, who had gotten up from the sofa, Hwang Yejun and Choi Siyun, who were sprawled on the floor, spoke with disappointed faces.
“So it was a bet on a meal. But why is Kevin over there?”
“Ah...”
Seojun and the other two looked at Kevin Kim’s back with pitying eyes.
“Kevin hyung lost first.”
“We let him back in halfway, but he lost again.”
“About five times?”
Somehow, the shadow over Kevin Kim seemed to have grown even darker.
* * *
“It’s almost time for it to start.”
Seojun and a re-energized Brown Black took their places in front of the television. The snacks Choi Siyun had bought and the drinks Kevin Kim had brought were already set up on the table.
“With Seojun making an appearance, the ratings are going to be huge, right?”
“I know, right?”
“The internet is buzzing too.”
Hwang Yejun was checking the online reactions on his phone.
-Watching it live! I’ve been waiting for today!
-So much to watch these days, it’s great haha
-The commercials are long.
-Well, it’s a show with huge ratings.
-Oh. It’s starting!
The documentary began with Brown Black’s first start.
A long, long time ago, the four of them could be seen dancing in the old, worn-out practice room of their agency, from before Seo Eunchan took over Cocoa Entertainment.
Seojun and Brown Black marveled at the youthful faces on the screen.
“We were so young.”
“Ugh. The dancing!”
“I can’t watch.”
Seojun chuckled at his hyungs’ reactions.
For Seojun, who often saw his younger self on TV through reruns of *48 Hours*, *Naeuiwon*, and *Shadowman 1 & 2*, even his childhood self was cute, but it seemed different for Brown Black.
A story that couldn’t be omitted from Brown Black’s history also came up. On the television screen, Park Seojin spoke with a smile.
-Our CEO, who was our manager hyung back then, had been with the company for three months. He mentioned that a cute baby was popular on N-tube, so we were talking with him and the members, and the idea of an N-tube variety show came up. So we contacted them, and it turned out,
Park Seojin chuckled, finding it funny even now.
-He was our manager hyung’s nephew.
Anyone interested in Brown Black and Lee Seojun knew that the CEO of Cocoa Entertainment was his uncle.
-None of us knew it would continue for this long.
A short clip from [Brown Black and Jun’s 48 Hours] played. Brown Black was dancing and singing at a playground, and a baby in a bunny-eared hat was watching them. Soon, a man appeared, got an autograph, and disappeared.
“People were saying that was just for attention.”
“To think he’d become Team Leader Kim Sooryun’s brother-in-law.”
“You really never know what life has in store.”
And then, that stage appeared. The WTV music show where Brown Black debuted.
“We were good, even watching it now.”
“I don’t know how we did it back then.”
Confetti burst out during the highlight. The youthful faces of Brown Black were captured on screen. Seojun smiled faintly at their still shining faces.
On screen, Hwang Yejun spoke with a smile.
-The artist who was supposed to perform first couldn’t make it, and among several rookies, we were chosen to go on.
And that choice turned out to be the best one for both the broadcasting station and Brown Black.
A rookie idol stage that is still considered a legendary legend.
Kevin Kim spoke in a low voice.
-That was the beginning of Brown Black.
Thanks to their first music show in December and *48 Hours*, Brown Black became famous. Fans gathered, they won first place on music shows, and they received the Grand Prize at the Music Awards.
Watching his hyungs on screen, teary-eyed as they received the Grand Prize, Choi Siyun spoke with a wistful expression.
“We couldn’t get the Rookie of the Year award because we debuted in December, though.”
“But we won the Grand Prize at the Music Awards the very next year.”
“That’s true, but… the Rookie of the Year award is something you can only get once, so it’s a bit of a shame.”
Cocoa Entertainment was on the verge of bankruptcy but was revived with the help of Seo Eunchan and Lee Seojun, and they re-signed their contracts. Good days continued one after another.
On screen, Choi Siyun said.
-At some point, I felt like we had reached our limit. Like this was the limit of our skills. We didn't say it, but we were all worried.
But they surpassed what they thought was their limit. From an orchestra that accommodated each other, they transformed into a group where each member's individuality shone through.
-It was during a fan meeting stage. I think it was probably thanks to the power of our fans.
The numbers that had been visible above Brown Black's heads in the past footage disappeared after the fan meeting. At Choi Siyun's words on screen, Seojun smiled warmly. It was the power of a fan, if you could call it that.
‘I’m a fan of my hyungs, too.’
And so, Brown Black came to hold their 15th-anniversary concert.
There was a fan who had liked them since their debut, a fan who hadn't been a fan for long but loved them dearly, and a fan who had sung a Brown Black song at their wedding. There were even fans who had met as Brown Black fans and ended up getting married.
Brown Black, who had been smiling while watching the documentary and the interviews with fans lining up to enter, fell silent one by one. Seeing the fans' flushed faces as they were interviewed was a different feeling from reading posts on their fan cafe.
The empty concert hall filled up with Brown Black's fans. You could feel everyone's excitement even through the screen. They could see the faces of each and every person, which they couldn't see in detail from the stage.
Waaaaah!
The documentary ended with a shot of Brown Black's backs as they walked onto the stage, greeted by the cheers of countless fans.
Brown Black watched their own backs on the television screen, a view they couldn't normally see as they went on stage. Their faces were lost in thought, as if reminiscing about the past and contemplating the future.
Seojun smiled gently and waited for his hyungs.
* * *
[Brown Black's 15th Anniversary Documentary Airs!]
[From Brown Black's Debut to Their 15th Anniversary Concert!]
[Brown Black, “Thank you for your love!”]
[Brown Black, “We look forward to your continued support!”]
[MBS, Drama Ratings Lowest Among the Three Major Networks! Is This Okay?]
-Cried while watching the documentary ㅠ
-15 years. That’s amazing.
=This. To be active for 15 years without any major fights and to keep learning music is incredible.
=Are they going to set a record at this rate?
-I wanted to go to the Brown Black concert so bad!
=I went with a friend, and their live performance is insane. Became a fan instantly haha
=How did you even get tickets ;;;
=You have a really good friend!
-The legendary legend stage is still amazing to watch.
=This. It’s this good even now, imagine how shocking it must have been back then.
=The group that went on after them was East... Wing, was it?
=West Wing haha
-MBS dramas are boring
=This. The new one that just started isn’t great either. Always the same old stuff.
“MBS dramas are boring. The new one that just started isn’t great either. Always the same old stuff.”
MBS Drama Department.
The room fell silent at the director’s cold voice.
“The new Monday-Tuesday drama that started the day before yesterday, what were the ratings?”
“...2 percent, sir.”
“And the Wednesday-Thursday?”
“3.6 percent, sir.”
“What about KBC’s Monday-Tuesday and Wednesday-Thursday?”
“21 percent, 16 percent... sir.”
“Heh. The Monday-Tuesday drama is off by a factor of ten, is it?”
The dumbfounded director let out a hollow laugh and pressed his forehead.
He was about to say that SBC’s Monday-Tuesday drama had 12 percent, but that was still a six-fold difference and wouldn't help. It was a disastrous report, and all they could do was remain silent.