Chapter 131

Chapter 131

“Loving the Wait,” as performed by the contestants on the show Idol Inc., was still racking up views on WeTube to this day thanks to its unique vibe and wistful mood.

The TeSTAR members had quite a few successful team battle songs besides this one under their belt, of course, and there had been a lot of different opinions regarding which ones they wanted to perform again when they were preparing for the concert.

“I think the superhero theme would be best suited to being performed on a larger scale, like at a concert, for example!” Raebin had suggested.

“‘T-To a New World’... I think we’ll do a-an even b-better... if we try it again!”

“Vampires! I want to try being a vampire!” Eugene had shouted.

“Guys, how about attempting a VTIC song? I think we could pull it off now...” Chungwoo had suggested.

“Please get it together, Chungwoo...”

Most of the suggestions were vetoed, however, since their team’s composition was too different now. Worst case scenario, they might even be accused of stealing songs from disqualified contestants, but this song, which Big Sejin had been a big proponent of, didn’t have any such concerns attached to it.

“Haha! All our team members are here!”

The entire Moon Rabbit team had debuted in TeSTAR, except for Goldie #1, who had gladly agreed via text that they could use the song, provided he could perform it at his own concert after he debuted, which would be soon.

And so we’d been able to prepare the song with great excitement for our concert. And now, seven figures appeared at the front of the stage, all wearing dark robes.

The sound of a daegeum could be heard, the notes graceful and sad. Everyone in the audience had heard this particular instrument at least once before. One of the figures smoothly spun, putting his back to the audience. He then flipped, shooting into the air while dangling upside down, robe fluttering around him.

The figure leaped higher than ever before, then tumbled forward onto the floor. The flapping navy robe he was wearing glinted with the fancy golden adornment of a royal robe.

The audience stared for a moment, trying to figure out what was going on, but they soon began to scream as soon as the iconic rabbit mask appeared onscreen.

“Oh god!”

“Holy sh*t!”

First, there had been the cute unit stage, and now the rabbits everyone had so missed had returned! They were back and in more regal attire.

At every turn of the road

you’ll find me standing, waiting for you

Pretty jade trinkets dangled from the rabbit masks, which the members pushed up to sit on top of their heads, revealing their faces. The costumes were much more ornate than they had been during Idol Inc., and the ornaments swung in pretty circles and sparkled whenever the tall figures moved.

TeSTAR recreated the strange vibe and the slightly inhuman choreography from the original performance. If anything, they’d doubled down on these elements.

I’m loving the wait

It’s always long

and it’s always great!

Because there were more members than before, the group moving in sync seemed even more impressive during the chorus as well.

When this wait is over

I know we’ll meet again

My heart is already racing

Moondae sang the high notes in the chorus with ease. His face was captured and blown up on the screen, glimmers of the glitter from the sub-unit stage still lingering on his face.

They continued into the second verse—originally excluded during Idol Inc. because of time constraints—without being cut off. The new additions to the Moon Rabbit team sang this next verse.

In every moment that flows past

My eyes are on you

Eugene grinned, utilizing some light footwork to execute a fancy dance move. Even the hem of his robe seemed to be fluttering perfectly in time with his moves.

I don’t care if it’s brief

I already know it, I do

The members danced like they were overflowing with excitement, and the audience enjoyed the performance with that same contagious energy. The air in the stadium was warm from the crowd’s enjoyment.

The bridge approached.

You’ve been waiting for me, too

So this clear sense of déjà vu tells me, ooh

The lyrics embodied a beautiful and almost fragile feeling, which the members personified by running to the thrust stage joyously. They produced fans from the inside pockets of their robes.

“Yeeeeah!”

“Eeeeek!”

Drawn-out screams rang out loudly from the standing area nearby. The members removed their robes, sweeping them across the floor, leaving them in shirts instead. They wore harnesses tied over their white t-shirts, decorated with glittering ornaments that were tied on with thread.

Then came the end of the final chorus. The members all hummed and moved their feet playfully like they were excitedly waiting for someone once more.

Hum hu hu hum-huhu

Doo-roo doo-roo du du

The audience hummed along with them happily, not missing a single beat and pronouncing every syllable perfectly. It was cute and TeSTAR hadn’t expected it. They finished their performance with even bigger smiles than planned.

Wait for me.

Big Sejin’s final line had the crowd singing along with gusto. Big Sejin grinned, crossing his arms and tilting back to lean against the huge tree trunk set piece on the thrust stage. The screaming did not stop even after the lights had all gone out.

A pre-recorded video should have played at this time while the group prepared for the next performance, so the audience waited with eager anticipation. A few seconds passed, but the stage remained dark. Some of the seated audience began to grow confused.

“Huh?”

“What?”

“What’s going on?”

Right as they began to murmur amongst themselves, wondering if there was a problem with the lights, a single, huge spotlight came back on without warning. It was pointed at a large tree stump on the thrust stage.

The tree that had been there earlier, had now been replaced with only the stump, as if someone had torn the branches off. Sitting on top of the stump were two black-haired individuals, their heads bowed low.

A soft string instrumental solo began, and the two figures raised their heads slowly in sync. Their faces were covered completely by their rabbit masks, but they were different—slightly damaged toward the top. Paint was dribbling down the surface from these points.

The audience fell silent, noting the strange difference, and that was when the music began.

Je te donne des fleurs que...

A chanson, its pitch modified to such an extreme that it sounded a little strange, was playing from the speakers. The third sub-unit performance had begun, completely out of the blue.

***

“Yo, aren’t Chungwoo and Raebin really amazing?”

We were below the stage and Big Sejin was chatting to me even as we were quickly changing into new outfits with the help of the staff.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Why else? They’re performing without any choreography at all, only their voices and a new arrangement. That’s hella brave. And impressive, too!”

Why was he suddenly praising them while they were absent when he should have been catching his breath?

What’s he thinking? I turned and found a behind-the-scenes camera pointed at us.

Of course. So that’s how it is. He never changed. Impressed despite myself, I said, “Well, yes.”

As Big Sejin had said, Chungwoo had probably considered all the risks that came with performing an idol concert. Raebin, on the other hand, had probably never thought of their song choice as risky.

The arrangement came out well, and they’re good at singing live. He probably saw no problem at all. And the arrangement was really good. The original chanson had been released dozens of years ago and had been taken apart a hundred ways and then fused back together in an indie style that was sure to be a hit on the charts.

It was this song that would likely be the biggest hit if we ended up releasing a concert album. Big Sejin grinned when I agreed with him.

“I know, right? You were brave, too, of course. The bow thing was really something!”

“Yeah... right.”

There was a camera next to me. I reminded myself to keep this in mind.

“Oh Moondae, don’t you have anything you want to say to me? You saw the cowboys performing on stage, right?”

“Yeah, that was great.”

“A little more heartfelt, please!”

I ignored his typical bullsh*t and tuned back into the sounds coming from the stage. A blazing, catchy riff had been layered on top of the morose beat.

It’s a wound that never heals

The tears harden like scabs

Leaving tracks down below...

Then the rap began. The entire song had been converted into rap, with the exception of the iconic intro and the chorus. This was a composition most people were familiar with, and so it would make the song even more addictive to listeners.

However, I had to wonder if a song that was so focused on rap, vocals, and mood would actually work at a concert like this.

Though I suppose the vibes will do a lot to carry the performance. The set and the lighting were being utilized like they would be in a stage play, creating a powerful narrative.

Onscreen there would be translations of the original chanson’s lyrics, appearing on the screen like ink splatters.

To you, my love,

I hand my flowers

Today’s a special day

And the streets are full of laughter

The pointless moments

Pile up like fine debris

Glisten like gems

I feel your breath even now, you see

The lyrics had probably felt cheery in the original song, but they had been transformed by the morose beat and the rap.

It certainly leaves a strong impression. And because of the lyrics, we’d decided in a unanimous vote what the next song would be. In our first draft of the setlist, we had wanted to follow Raebin and Chungwoo’s performance immediately with the title song from the new album.

The lyrics have a similar feel. This song would have been a fantastic buildup to the title, but the agency had vetoed the idea, worried about their stamina and time restrictions.

“Raebin and Chungwoo will be far too tired!”

“It’ll lead to mistakes in the outfit changes. Why don’t we avoid taking those kinds of risks? It might be fatal to the new song’s big debut.”

Their reasoning had been perfectly logical, so we’d all accepted it with little fuss and added a short segment they would spend chatting with the audience. I wasn’t sure, though, if talking would be fitting after a song with this kind of ambiance.

I think the talking should follow an exciting song or a more lyrical one. It couldn’t be helped given our small pool of songs, but I wished things had been done differently. Tutting, I finished checking over my costume and hair one last time before heading down the corridor as planned.

Before long, the two remaining members joined them, fresh off completing the third sub-unit performance.

“Wow!”

“How was it?”

“Great. Much better than expected,” Chungwoo said.

“I think we pulled off everything we wanted to!” Raebin added.

Both of them looked happy—it seemed the crowd had enjoyed their stage.

The screams lasted for a pretty long time after it was over. The concert was going well so far, with nothing concerning cropping up.

“Going up! Please take your seats carefully!”

“Okay!”

We sat alongside each other on seven chairs as we were raised to the central stage on a lift. Countless lights filled the vast space in front of us, rippling like an ocean. It was as though each little light was loudly cheering for us.

This is incredible. I felt a little dizzy, taking a moment to try and compose myself as I sat in front of the crowd. It had been easier to handle when we’d been singing and dancing.

Over ten thousand people filled the seats, each light representing a person.

No. I need to stop. It’s hard enough to follow the script without getting in my head. I watched Chungwoo pick up the microphone as the first speaker.

“Nice to see you again, everyone! Are you enjoying the concert? How were our subunit performances?”

“Wow! Do you hear that? It looks like everyone is having fun! They loved it!” said Big Sejin.

“This is great!” Eugene chimed in.

I spoke into my microphone as well.

“Which one did you like best?”

A jumble of responses came at us from all around.

All of them!

Everything!

Rabbits!

Wires!

Moondae! Moondae!

None of them sounded angry or upset. I clammed up for a moment without meaning to, the response I prepared coming a moment later than intended.

“I... liked all of them, too.”

“Yo! It seems like Moondae’s feeling touched!” Big Sejin said.

“So am I!” Eugene said.

“This is rarer than you’d think, everyone,” Big Sejin added.

After they’d engaged in some light banter, the talk segment continued.

“Now then... It’s time to start the Things We Want to Say to TeSTAR Corner!”

We were about to follow the script into the next segment, answering questions prepared ahead of time when the lights suddenly went out.

This hadn’t been part of the plan. I exchanged glances with the other members, who looked confused.

Huh? Is there a problem with the lights? Bright light suddenly poured out from behind us—the screen had turned on. We turned immediately and found that a video was playing, one that we hadn’t known about.

That’s our debut showcase.

[You came to us like magic]

[Thank you! We love you!]

Captions appeared onscreen as the video played. Footage from our activities over the past nine months appeared in chronological order—everything from our first public television appearance to the end-of-year performances was shown, the members all appearing in an endless variety of outfits.

Then the video ended and the screen showed the audience in real-time, all of them holding the same light purple rectangle of cloth. It was a slogan that appeared clear and legible on the huge screen.

[Paper airplanes flying]

[from us Loviewers to you]

The accompaniment to a song we were familiar with suddenly played. It was “You Are the Magic,” TeSTAR’s first fan song.

I feel good today

like something great’s about to happen

Suddenly, the stadium was echoing with the sound of thousands of voices.

You make everything okay

It may be unfamiliar, but it’ll be good

Ten thousand people were singing in unison, lightsticks swaying and their voices pouring down on us from all around like countless falling stars. It took my breath away.