Chapter 151

Chapter 151

I quickly scrolled down.

It’s started already. The trolling I’d expected to see ever since the first episode had aired was going wild on the internet.

People who make posts like this usually start with light banter, fishing for a response. They would make it sound like a compliment.

Found one. I clicked the post.

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[How would it be if Park Moondae went solo?]

: He’s got plenty of fans since he won Idol Inc., he’s a main vocalist, and he nails every concept. All of that makes him pretty rare as far as male solo artists are concerned. I think he would do great haha

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Underhanded suggestions of this sort were usually handled by the fans rather quickly, but things seemed to be unfolding slightly differently this time around. The variety show meant that TeSTAR was at the peak of their popularity, and ordinary viewers unfamiliar with idols were responding sincerely to these posts.

- I saw Bespoke Singer. I think he’d do great

- You think he’ll go solo later? I’m a little excited to see it

- I want to hear more of his music. The concepts he does or whatever they’re called are amazing, too T_T

- I don’t think he would flop if he went solo haha

This might seem like a good thing on the surface, but the reactions were far more eager than usual, and that was a problem for me.

This all serves as a starting point. By starting point, I meant it was a stepping stone for posts like the following.

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[There’s one member of TeSTAR who obviously wants to go solo]

: Park Moondae. He skipped out on group activities for a month before his solo appearance on a variety show because of “health problems.” He’s been very unenthusiastic whenever he does appear as part of his group

(W Live announcement saying he won’t be taking part)

(Summer package GIF)

And yet he works really hard whenever he gets to do something alone. LOL

(Interview video)

Lots of fans have been noticing this for the past month, and their fears were confirmed with his recent Bespoke Singer appearance haha. Everyone believes he must really want to go solo since it’s obvious he’s only doing his best when he’s promoting by himself. His solo fans can’t seem to hide that they want the same thing.

(Screen capture)

They’re pretending to be non-fans and begging him to go solo, but please stop. We can tell it’s you. (praying emoji)

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A post of this sort was exactly what I’d feared—using the general public’s reactions to weave accusations against me. The main argument was that I was lacking in enthusiasm.

I was worried that would happen, too. I’d known that the content I’d filmed while I wasn’t doing well could become prime ammo for something like this. This post was a perfect example of that. But it wasn’t actually gunning to publicly disgrace me.

To be honest, it doesn’t matter at all whether I go solo or not. It wasn’t like I’d already tried going solo and had very poor results, giving them reason to mock me. I was extremely popular at the moment, so people on the internet were more likely to defend me than anything else.

- ?? Why can’t Moondae go solo? He’s got the skills and you know it

- Please don’t take out your inferiority complex on a member who was sick... I’ve heard there are a lot of deranged solo fans, and this seems to confirm it...

- Park Moondae’s doing really well right now. Why are you so eager to tear him down? There are lots of cases where idols will rest for a month or so to recover

- I’d want to go solo too, if I had haters like this always on my ass LMAO

- The TeSTAR posts are always such a drag. Please stop uploading stuff like this. If you’re going to fight, fight among yourselves.

The comments might explode and push the post onto the trending page, but public opinion wouldn’t be swayed. The real target here was TeSTAR itself—the author wanted to create dissension within the group. The fandom’s general like for the entire group was challenged by posts like these, and akgae, malicious fans who only liked one member and hated the rest, gained more fuel to attack each other.

There was another point of contention, dragged up for the same purpose—the fact that the second episode of Bespoke Singer featuring Park Moondae had aired on the same day as TeSTAR’s first anniversary.

- It’s their first anniversary, but all the posts are about Park Moondae. Don’t they have any tact?

- I don’t care about some bridegroom or whatever. Don’t do any harm to your group content, Moondog

- Moondae looked so peeved when the group was doing things together during the summer. I felt so hurt by it. Why is he acting so cold toward Chungwoo, anyway? Does he hate his group’s leader?

- Can’t he have changed the schedule a little to avoid this? I didn’t think he’d be so inconsiderate. LOL

I would have done just that if I’d known that people would like my performances on Bespoke Singer so much.

I just wanted the fans to have a good time with it, is all... How was I to know that the internet would end up talking about it more than our first anniversary? I’d expected my appearance to be on par with our anniversary, at most.

In any case, if given a little more time, the dispute would become more broad in scope, stirring up negativity about the entire group’s activities.

- Moondae, you want to go solo? You’ve lost your touch. The fame has gone to your head. Please wake up!

- Seon Ahyeon’s filming ads by himself, and other members have been doing less group-oriented things as well. Looks like Park Moondae was the one to start it all

- If things are going to be like this, just split the group up. Make separate social media accounts. I’m sick of hearing news about members I don’t even care about

If our first anniversary was actually important to these people, they wouldn’t upload posts the very next day suggesting that the group split up.

So whoever is uploading and encouraging this stuff aren’t even fans of the group to begin with. TeSTAR had a reputation as a group born from a survival show that had heavily encouraged voting for individual members. This reputation had worn off quite a bit as time went by, of course.

Our albums’ shared universe and the variety of content we released had strengthened our group identity considerably. But many people were still fans of only one member, and there would be people swayed by arguments of this sort.

Anyone interested in the group would know that this discourse existed. As a functional adult, it was only right that I already had a solution prepared. I made a call.

“Yes, hello. Yes... Thank you. I have a question.”

After a short call with the agency, I spoke to the person who happened to be sitting next to me.

“Raebin.”

“Yes?” He said, nearly jumping. He’d been focused on listening to his own music.

“The interview will be released in the evening.”

Things were going just as planned.

“Oh!” Raebin brightened, though his natural countenance meant he still looked pretty fierce. “That was a really deep interview. I’m so excited!”

“Me, too,” I said, leaning back. For once, I wasn’t even nervous.

***

By the time that evening rolled around very little had changed. Park Moondae’s popularity was still in top form thanks to his appearances as the May Bridegroom, and the trolls were still wreaking havoc within the fandom.

An interview was uploaded to WeTube—the video had been posted by a subsidiary channel of MBS, the producer of Bespoke Singer.

[The marriage certificate is out...☆ An interview with the people behind the May Bridegroom! | Titi’s Sweeterview | EP 47 | MBS2]

The thumbnail featured Park Moondae and... Kim Raebin.

Kim Raebin? Why is he there? Anyone who clicked on the video, wondering why an unrelated member had been invited to participate in the interview, soon learned the story behind it.

First of all, there was the simple explanation that Kim Raebin had advised Park Moondae on his arrangements at every round. The real juicy content came after that.

[※Titi: Wow! So the song in the finals was your work, Raebin?※]

[※Raebin: Yes. I didn’t handle the entire process, of course, though I did try to oversee it all. I own the largest share of the copyright, and I was able to give it to Moondae as a birthday gift...※]

[※※There’s no end in sight!※※]

The footage on screen was fast-forwarded, implying that Raebin’s response had gotten too long. The fans would likely have to admit that this was necessary when it came to Raebin.

Large captions appeared onscreen.

[※Raebin... He is a master of TMI※]

[※Summary: Raebin was the lead composer, and the song was Moondae’s birthday present※]

The message was clear, at least. The song I’d sung in my final round as the May Bridegroom had been written by a TeSTAR member—it was an unreleased song by Raebin. Then came the explanation for why it had been unreleased so far.

[※Moondae: We’re having a comeback soon... and the song is going to be on the album.※]

[※Titi: Oh my god!※]

The song, “Last Flower,” was indeed going to be on the next album.

[※Moondae: A solo song from each member will feature on the album. They’re all such amazing songs, I sang mine to give people a... taste of what’s to come.※]

[※Titi: Wow! So when the album releases, we’ll get a different version of the song than what’s now streaming?※]

[※Moondae: Yes.※]

[※Titi’s experience with product placement shines here※]

In a word, Moondae had chosen the song to promote their new album.

[※Moondae: The other songs are equally as amazing. I got to sing mine first because I had the opportunity, but... Don’t you agree?※]

[※Raebin: To be honest, Moondae is the most talented singer in our group, so musically speaking he has an advantage—※]

[※Moondae: (Urgently) Right. We have more songs on the way. I hope you’re excited!※]

[※ROFL※]

The captions pointed out how amusing Park Moondae’s struggle to keep Raebin from talking for too long was.

[※Titi: Both of you are hilarious! I had so much fun today!※]

[※Raebin: Thank you! (Happy smile)※]

[※Moondae: Thank you. (Tibetan fox)※]

The interview was mildly humorous without coming off as rude, and they exchanged a bit of personal information throughout.

[※Titi: Oh, right. I heard you were quite ill before your appearance on Bespoke Singer.※]

[※Moondae: Yes... I failed to take proper care of myself and wasn’t doing well for about a month, what with the work we were doing in the US, but the members took great care of me. I felt really apologetic towards them because of it. That’s why being on Bespoke Singer meant so much to me. I could finally do something to help the group, you know?※]

[※Raebin: Moondae...※]

[※Titi: Well, Raebin certainly seems touched! You’re all right now, Moondae?※]

[※Moondae: Couldn’t be healthier.※]

[※A healthy Moon Puppy※]

Park Moondae answered this question seriously, since it had been included just in case fans were worried because of his disappearance, but it somehow came off as even more amusing.

Regardless, both guests and interviewer moved on from the topic easily, smoothly exchanging questions and answers. Then the short twelve-minute video came to an end.

[※Moondae: We’ll come back on this show with everyone else.※]

[※Raebin: I’m already looking forward to it. It should be really fun.※]

[※Titi: Yeah! That’s what I’m talking about! I’ll be waiting for that interview with Big Sejin. Apparently, he’s my long-lost twin. That does it for today’s interview! Take your marriage certificate, Bridegroom!※]

[※Moondae: Sure thing.※]

The interview ended with Park Moondae accepting the certificate with a smile. Articles dropped around the same time as the video, half of them premeditated, and half in reaction to the interview.

[TeSTAR’s comeback is on the horizon... Park Moondae May Bridegroom sang song from album in advance]

[TeSTAR is having a summer comeback. The concept this time is horror?]

[The popular group TeSTAR soon to make a comeback. The schedule’s already set]

As expected, this news distracted the fans instantly.

- OH MY GOD TeSTAR’s making a comeback!

- Moondae’s song was from the new album, no way

- Moondae has a plan for everything

- Oh my gosh, Raebin wrote it? No wonder I was so excited. My ears must have recognized his sound

- Is the entire album going to be similar to that song? That’s nuts. I’m holding my breath until it happens

As the finishing touch, TeSTAR uploaded a picture from their first-anniversary party to the official account.

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Thank you for being with us for 365 days of our journey, Loviewers ♡

Please stay with us forever ♡ We’ll never stop being TeSTAR ♡ Our love is forever ♡

(The cake was courtesy of our leader and the youngest members. It was great.)

(Photos)

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This was to show everyone that we were so close that we had a separate party in our free time, with a cake and everything.

- The members are so affectionate T_T

- This group has such a loving connection with each other. Don’t ever retire, my stars (enhanced photo)

- The first thing Moondae did after getting better was promote the album. The members took such good care of him, too. I’m gonna cry. It’s good to be a Loviewer

Because a teaser for the interview had been uploaded to social media quite a while ago, it would be pointless to argue that the interview was only meant to defeat the rising controversy.

- Let us preorder already, T1!

And so the dispute, which had only been a storm in a teacup, to begin with, quickly fizzled out as people grew excited for the comeback. As Moondae had predicted, the hype garnered by the May Bridegroom hadn’t died down and now flowed seamlessly into TeSTAR’s comeback.

The person responsible for all this, Park Moondae, was currently occupied with different affairs, however.

***

“It’s been a while, Moondae.”