Chapter 113

Chapter 113

A few hardcore gamers in the 127 Section community had been analyzing the “BETTER ME” music video for the past few days. A strange sort of conviction had formed among them that the trailer’s relation to the game meant there had to be some kind of clues hidden within.

========================

[I saw TeSTAR’s amazing new music video]

: The hint I found is in the appearance of the monsters wearing school uniforms you can see in the middle of the video. There’s a record of the survivors after a meteorite crash at the monster den near Gangnam Bookstore which describes the monsters perfectly (screenshot from the game). In other words, this music video is set in the time seven years ago when the meteorite was supposed to have fallen.

========================

- Wait, the collab led all the way down this rabbit hole?

- That’s pretty convincing, actually

- Do I have to watch a male idol’s music video to play this game?

- This is what you call over-analyzing, right?

- Don’t be stupid. Their faces haven’t changed in those seven years. The developers aren’t the type to miss that kind of detail

└ What if they’re no longer human since they were infected by the meteorite? The TeSTAR members are supposed to have superpowers. What if those powers came from mutations caused by the meteorite?

└ This bastard is clever

└ Did you sell off your kidney and a brain to buy the game? How is that clever? He’s delusional.

But I’m already deeply entrenched in everything Ruins Factory does. It almost sounds reasonable. It’s not a bad idea, you know?

└ You lot are out of your minds LMAO

Though there was some room for doubt, people began to find more and more suspicious details as they studied the video.

Their vague analyses could have been applied just as easily to nearly any music video, but it got them excited all the same.

- You see the calendar in the back of the classroom? The year is 2030. 127 Section is set in 2037. That means the meteorite fell in 2030. No denying that, is there? (Blurry music video screen capture)

- The TeSTAR fans seem to think P11 and Bae Sejin are the same person. That explains why only P11 has a codename. He’s like a robot clone or something that’s linked to the drones

└ LOL would you listen to this guy talking sh*t?!

But there was no conclusive proof and the video hadn’t been announced as officially part of the game’s universe. For now, all these theories remain unconfirmed. As usual, people who were crying for their starting companions to be returned to them appeared in the comments, too.

- Oh whatever. Just give me back my sniper, factory idiots! Or let me rename my companions so I can name one of them after the sniper

└ Oh god, the ailment is deep with this one

└ Poor soul

- I just started the game. I don’t have much free time, so I’d like to ask… Why did they all die? Can I have some pointers, please?

└ There’s no saving them

└ Visit the official forums. There are newbies like you asking the same question by the hour

It was plain to see that the early-game companions were still a hot topic by the time TeSTAR uploaded their belated Halloween choreography video. This video even had a thumbnail where all the members were posed lying prone on the floor.

As soon as the prelude for “BETTER ME” began to play, they slid to their feet and assumed starting postures that were different from the original song. They were the poses their characters assumed in the game when a battle was about to begin.

Their makeup was immaculate, and they looked the same as they had in the trailer. Even their expressions were similar, making the experience more authentic for fans. Cha Eugene even went so far as to change his initial intro.

Do you trust me?

It’s ME

Oooohh...

After that, each member appeared with a small prop of some kind that symbolized their character during their respective solo parts. They used these props to briefly mimic a battle highlight cutscene from the game altogether at one point.

Most of them waved around a hat, a flask, or a bundle of fairy lights that produced a soft glow as they danced, the video bathed in a light-hearted and cheery mood. However, Kim Raebin dropped a mannequin in the process of dragging it out from the camera’s blind spot during his chorus. He stared down at it, taken aback.

It’s just confusing

I don’t know when it started

I’m just confused

Umm

Where is this taking me?

The confused Raebin, as well as the other members all trying desperately not to laugh as they helped him move the mannequin, made the gloomy lyrics seem more like a hilarious meme. Some of the members acted out their roles in a very tongue-in-cheek manner, while others were a little bit embarrassed or awkward while carrying out the exaggerated battle motions.

The level of confidence with which they delivered their performance matched the companions they were portraying from the game exactly. The audience was drawn in, more immersed in the video as a result, as the mood built to an inevitable climax.

- Thank you!

- See you next time!

- Until we meet again!

After the high-energy, climactic ending dance break had successfully counteracted the gloom of the song, they stood waving and saying their goodbyes. However, unexpectedly, the viewers were strongly reminded of the way they met their end in the game.

The members had simply automatically said these things because they were slightly embarrassed and excited to be wrapping up a fun filming session, but the waves their words created were immense. The comments section was full of crying emojis. It was so bad that the English comments were forced from the top.

- T_T OH MY GOD!

- We get to see them again, right? Please say we do. There’s another collaboration on the horizon, right?

- I feel traumatized but happy at the same time. What is this?

- Please wait for me, guys. I’m going to drop cash at the shop right now. I’m not stopping until I have all of you in my companions list T_T

- They’re alive and well, obviously! I guess I was obsessing over the wrong people in the game. I’ll just let them go for now and wait for TeSTAR to return...

Conflicting opinions rose to the top of the comments section because they’d won so many likes, and people were crying and laughing in the replies.

The mood was no different in the gaming community where this video had been shared.

- Our dead companions are back for Halloween, huh?

└ F*ck

└ Don’t write comments like this. You’re going to make me cry

└ LOL P11 isn’t dead. What are you talking about bruh? He’s perfectly fine and living in my deck. He just has a different name.

- Don’t pull silly pranks like this when we love you so much (loudly crying face emoji)

- TeSTAR is way better than those Ruins Factory bastards

As a result, the Loviewers crying and laughing in the comments were joined by gamers who weren’t originally TeSTAR fans. Overseas fans were left confused once more, unable to figure out what was going on. Things only became more painful for them after they used online translators to try and figure things out.

127 Section hadn’t launched globally yet and was only available in Korea.

- I really want to play that game (tears of joy emoji)

- PURE JEALOUSY (fire emoji)

The foreign fans weren’t able to take part in the mourning. The Halloween choreography video successfully drew many new gamers and October, turbulent thanks to the game collaboration, came to an end.

***

Now early November, all the content from the collaboration had finally been revealed. As was to be expected, though, the group’s schedules only became more packed. We had only grown even more popular—our comeback had pulled an even better response than our debut had.

The shoot we were in the midst of was proof of this. We were filming a rather lucrative advertisement.

“Please smile more!”

I raised my lightstick and gave smiling widely my best attempt. The director seemed happy with my efforts, thankfully, so I was given my next instructions.

“Now tilt your head! To the left...”

They’d informed me that dog ears would be edited in over my likeness in post.

Isn’t that taking it a bit too far? The advertisement’s tag-line went something like this:

[Curious-C, the mystical AI assistant with magical boys, TeSTAR!]

This particular AI character was a puppy, and it seemed as though their intention was to make active use of Moondae’s puppy persona. I had wondered if I was okay with my likeness airing on TV like this, but since the service cost three hundred and fifty million won for three months of use I chose not to complain and just did as I was asked. They would do what was necessary to see the product succeed.

“There. All done!”

“Thank you.”

Filming ended without incident. The other members, all waiting around for me to finish, looked happy that work was wrapping up for the day and they’d be able to rest soon.

However, Big Sejin’s eyes were glued to his phone and he just waved absentmindedly, a smile on his face. This quiet response was rather out of character for him. It caused a bad feeling to settle in my gut.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Oh, sorry. It’s nothing,” he said with a shrug, tucking his phone away.

Eugene, who’d been looking between me and Big Sejin, suddenly piped up with a twinkle in his eye, “Was that your girlfriend?”

“What! Of course not! What are you talking about?”

“Don’t you dare even think about dating anybody!” Eugene said, shaking Big Sejin by the shoulders a few times before letting go.

“I’m not going to!” Then, with a grin, Big Sejin explained, “A few acquaintances of mine who debuted a while ago suddenly got in touch with me. I thought it was pretty interesting timing.”

Ahyeon marveled. “S-Sejin, you have s-so many friends!”

“Haha! They’re not really my friends. Just people I know,” Big Sejin replied, grinning.

He doesn’t like that they’re only getting in touch now.

He shrugged and put an end to the conversation. “I’ll probably see them around next month anyway.”

“H-huh?” Ahyeon made a quizzical noise.

“Oh, you mean at the end-of-year award ceremonies,” Chungwoo said.

Big Sejin nodded. “Yes. There’s less than a month to go until the first one!”

“Wow...”

“Time really flies, doesn’t it?”

Everyone seemed to grow a little emotional at the thought. No doubt they were thinking back on our extremely eventful year, beginning with Idol Inc. and all the events leading up to our second album. Then, a sudden realization hit me.

We’re about to get even busier. We had no free time except for when we went to bed. If we had to cram preparing for the awards ceremonies into our already busy schedules, things were about to get truly hectic. I could tell that the agency was already trying to secure only the most profitable pursuits for our schedule.

We probably couldn’t cut back on what we’d already taken on, so our only choice was to sleep less. I didn’t seem to be the only one thinking this.

Raebin raised his hand. “We’ll have to start practicing for the awards ceremonies soon as well.”

“Hmm.”

“Is there a lot of preparation needed?” Bae Sejin asked cautiously. He hadn’t paid much attention to the annual music awards before.

The K-pop experts around him reacted explosively to this question.

“We have to do a special performance!” Eugene cried dramatically.

“We’ll also have to put together different arrangements for our songs, I’d guess. It’s not clear how much involvement will be required on our end, but...” Raebin explained.

“W-we’ll also have to m-make lots of n-new choreography!” Ahyeon guessed.

Bae Sejin, who had the lowest stats of all of us, looked intimidated. Nonetheless, he nodded while wearing a grave expression as he came to understand what would be required of him.

“Oh... I see. Looks like we’ll have to work pretty hard, then.”

“Yes. Let’s prepare thoroughly and attend as many of these awards ceremonies as we can,” Chungwoo said.

“I love awards!” Eugene exclaimed.

“It would be really nice if we got a few,” Big Sejin said.

Easily accepting their fates—that they’d have no life outside of work for a while—the conversation remained pretty cheery. The problem was that I felt exactly the same as they did.

I need a Rookie of the Year award. Sleep could come later. I checked my status abnormality again.

Receive an Award or Die

: You will die unless you receive a Rookie of the Year award from the most reputable awards ceremony in Korea.

It was unclear which ceremony the task was referring to. This meant we needed to win the Rookie of the Year award from all three major ceremonies.

Though our performances won’t have any direct impact on the awards we receive, the voters will be disappointed if our showing is lackluster. This meant that we needed to do our best in the upcoming performances, considering that the awards ceremony season was spread out over at least a month.

Not that we have any real competition at the moment. I felt a lot more relaxed than before, that much was for sure.

“For now, Moondae will continue to keep an eye on things online and make sure our live performances are great. Doesn’t his dedication make you feel safe?”

“Y-yes!” Ahyeon replied.

“Thank you, as always,” Raebin said.

“Yes... Thanks,” Bae Sejin chimed in with his usual reticence.

“Haha!”

I’d become the topic of conversation while I’d been sorting through my thoughts. The team seemed to be in a good mood, at least.

I got a text that night as we were on our way home in the van.

[Cheongryeo (VTIC): Next stop, Rookie of the Year. Right?]

I stared at my phone.

Isn’t this bastard supposed to be on tour? I wouldn’t let him draw me out. I quickly typed out a response.

[I’d love any award, regardless of which one. I hope everything turns out well for you, too.]

His reply came only a few moments later.

[Cheongryeo (VTIC): Sure :)]

F*ck, I wish I could just block him. I turned off my text notifications and opened up my web browser. I was scrolling through posts regarding the awards ceremonies when a particular post caught my eye.

[It doesn’t seem right for TeSTAR to get a Rookie of the Year award. What’s your opinion?]