Chapter 155

Chapter 155

It was obvious what Goldie #1’s agency was thinking.

They won’t hit number one anyway, so they want to make any impact they can. That group couldn’t top the charts, no matter how great a song they put out.

Even if they’d made a good first impression with their debut music, their popularity was still limited to those who were interested in idols. They were a boy group that wasn’t from one of the big three agencies and had very little popularity with the general public. This meant lots of people wouldn’t even bother to give their music a listen.

That alone makes it worth trying this angle. It was a win for them if they could get their names mentioned in the same breath as TeSTAR. By stressing that this group was also from Idol Inc., while also encouraging press coverage that drew comparisons to VTIC and TeSTAR’s overlapping promotions, they were doing their best to make themselves seem like TeSTAR’s rivals.

It was worth doing even if the fans didn’t like it and tried to keep this kind of chatter in check. Since there were plenty of trolls who wanted to annoy TeSTAR and their fans any way they could, their strategy would be welcomed by some—if Golden Age didn’t live up to the hype, though, things would only end in mockery.

They must be pretty confident in their music. The agency had proved itself to be very resourceful ever since Choi Wongil’s scandal. I wished the higher-ups in my agency were as smart, but given my experiences so far, I should probably just be grateful that we had a director willing to sign anything we handed him.

My phone vibrated as a pop-up window appeared on the screen.

Speak of the devil...

It was from Goldie #1.

[Hey guys! Our promotional cycle overlaps!]

[Ahem. See you at the music shows!]

I stared at the message. Goldie #1 was a pretty nice guy. I assumed that he’d probably guessed what was going on by now, but it probably hadn’t occurred to him that this might do TeSTAR harm. At best, he was grateful and perhaps a little embarrassed.

We can’t just ignore him, either. TeSTAR was in a far better position than Goldie #1. The moment any member of TeSTAR showed discomfort around the guy, his agency would rush to claim that our fame had gotten to our heads, making us arrogant.

Well, maybe we’ll just overlook all the drama during this promotional cycle. After this round was over, they would find themselves another group to target and possibly defeat. It would make a good story if they added the taste of victory after elevating the group’s status in the public eye. And to be honest, I was confident about our current album.

We did a great job with it. This wasn’t just about completeness—the album had plenty of idol charm. Even everyone’s reactions to the teaser had been amazing, as expected.

This will be a career-high for us. Something in my gut was giving me a strong feeling that I was right. I sent off an appropriate reply to Goldie #1’s message in the group chat as I tried to guess how well we would do this time around.

A few days later, before we’d even entered the pre-recording for our first music show, we were greeted with great news.

“We sold 850,000 albums?”

“Yeah! You hit it big this time, guys!”

We’d already passed the previous album’s first-week sales on our fourth day. Predictions based on the current numbers indicated that it was very likely we’d pass a million within the first week.

That’s top-tier stuff. We’d now really become one of the top five male idol groups in the country. Only Big Sejin seemed to be thinking that far ahead, but the others also seemed plenty happy.

“My god...”

“I’ll go out on a limb and guess that our overseas sales have increased! Our concept is very traditional, and it’ll have appealed to the existing K-pop fanbase—” Raebin started.

“The album’s amazing! That’s why!” Eugene yelled over him.

Everyone was talking at once from the excitement, but we soon began encouraging each other.

“Let’s do a great job with our comeback performance and show them why our album sold so well,” Chungwoo said.

“Yes!”

“Exactly!”

“I-I want to sh-show them what we can do!”

They seemed full of spirit. This was great timing since we were about to record our performance.

“Yeah! Let’s show ‘em, TeSTAR!”

“Let’s go!”

This had almost become an official chant within our team. Given how often we said it, it was starting to feel less embarrassing. After that, we went up on stage, where we were greeted by the familiar cheering of our fans.

It felt like a long time since we’d done a pre-recording for a music show.

***

There’s something about this album. Park Moondae’s fansite master did her best to keep calm, but it was proving difficult. The signs that the album would do well were looking good.

The overseas sales are through the roof! she thought, repressing a scream of glee. And it wasn’t just the album sales that were favorable.

After TeSTAR had become a hot topic in overseas K-pop communities thanks to the American talk show appearance they did, the fansite master’s social media follower count had begun to grow faster than usual.

Better still, after the recent comeback had begun, the number of shares and likes on Moondae’s photographs was twice their usual count. A variety of TeSTAR promo content on WeTube was getting user-made English subtitles, and humorous fan videos made in English were raking in views.

And most importantly... The views on the music video have gone up by so much! It had taken only twenty-six hours to surpass ten million views. This wasn’t at the level of the most popular male idols in the country, who were arguably still a class above TeSTAR, but it was still exciting.

Word-of-mouth seemed to be doing its thing since the spike in view count showed no signs of slowing down. The same could be said for the teaser video.

I thought as much. Thinking of the music video for this album’s title track, “Present,” she felt emotion swelling up in her chest.

It’s the best. It was disappointing that Ryu Chungwoo had the central role in the video rather than Moondae, but the video itself was top-notch.

Chungwoo’s going to gain quite a bit of popularity this time around. There was no need to compare the individual members anymore, but the thought came to her habitually as she prepared to cheer her group on.

They’re coming out soon! The lightsticks visible all around her featured a long cord with the album cover’s pattern printed on, tied in various ways. They were mini ribbons meant to be used to decorate the lightstick that had been included in the album as a pre-order benefit. Because the lightstick looked so much like a magic wand, apparently they’d wanted to make them match a little better with the song. They were beautiful.

I love cute stuff like this! The fansite master was only moderately enthused by the accessory, but her mind changed the moment TeSTAR came up on stage.

They were dressed in suits that incorporated hanbok elements in the strings or patterns. They also wore fabric ribbons on their wrists, around their necks, and in their earrings—the same ones that the fans had attached to their lightsticks.

“Oh my god!”

Who did their outfits? The fansite master couldn’t have been more grateful. They seemed to be running ahead of schedule, or the staff weren’t finished preparing, because TeSTAR greeted the audience instead of starting right away.

“Hey guys! Did you like the music vid—”

“Yeah! Yeah!”

“Of course!”

“We loved it!”

“Haha! All right!”

“Why don’t we each talk about one thing that we liked best about it? Let’s start with Chungwoo, who brought it up!”

TeSTAR continued to talk, stalling for time on stage. It had been only a year, but they looked far more in their element than when they’d first debuted.

“Gosh, they’re so cute...” the fansite master murmured warmly, unable to take her eyes off Moondae.

As seen in the music video, his hairstyle had changed. The fact that she’d seen it before was the only thing preventing her from screaming too loudly.

It’s been too long since he just left his hair black... She momentarily indulged in the nostalgic memory of the first press conference for Idol Inc. Moondae’s hair was longer than usual. It wasn’t overly long, but he was able to push his bangs to either side, the hairstyle matching the historical concept well.

Amazing! The fansite master resisted shouting all sorts of effusive praise as she shook her lightstick. Moondae was waving at the crowd.

“Guys, Moondae had to think long and hard before deciding to dye his hair black!”

“I’d like your honest feedback.”

“We love it!”

“It’s amazing!”

The fansite master screamed at the top of her lungs, unable to hold herself back any longer. People were screaming similar things around her.

Moondae, who’d been speaking while wearing his signature Tibetan fox face, smiled faintly at their reaction.

“Thank you.”

This is the best! She shivered with satisfaction, telling herself this was why she came to these recordings. But today’s highlight—the performance—hadn’t even begun.

“Is it time?”

“Yes.”

After a signal from the staff, TeSTAR waved at the crowd and quickly took their positions. The members formed a semicircle, crouching with their arms hanging down. There was a brief silence.

The performance began with a stage decorated with pine trees, draped in red and black fabric. Gongs and drums started out the song, soon joined by modified traditional instruments that gave the music a distinctly modern feel.

The song was trap. The members straightened up out of their crouch and began to dance. As a group, they resembled some kind of four-legged animal moving as one. Through these odd movements, they formed a triangular formation, after which the prelude ended and Eugene leaped forward.

No amount of struggle will let you off the hook

I’m coming today, coming for you

Adding another crime to your record

I’m coming today, coming for you

The song encapsulated the rhythmic, groovy feeling of a K-pop idol dance song. The traditional instruments, however, added a unique and peculiar sound.

He’s a predator

He approaches unseen

His claws are meaner than this night,

chasing you down like a machine

The clear vocal melodies inserted here and there were pleasant to listen to, contrasting with the purposefully sharp rap and filling out the audioscape nicely. And more than anything, the choreography was continuous, flowing nonstop regardless of the part.

Shouldn’t they tone it down a little? The fansite master found herself thinking as she watched everyone sink to the floor and bounce back up during Ahyeon’s part. She soon forgot the thought, however, since she had no time to do anything but watch.

Swallow the world

Melt it hot

Let the sound ring off my tongue

They returned to an arrowhead formation, with Chungwoo at the center. The beat suddenly slowed in the chorus, switching to a quieter, more imposing choreography.

He’s back

Be warned, be warned

He’s circling around

Feeling the thrill of the game

It’s me

The accompaniment exploded accompanied by a drop.

I’m finally here

I’m your present

Today’s the day

You’ll never get away from me, yeah

Moondae’s high notes combined with Raebin’s low rap.

You bow your head, but you can’t escape

Take a good look

The thrill’s coursing through you

Lee Sejin came forward from the side, bobbing his head, and a dance break began.

Your present

Catchy beat-heavy melodies had been packed into the song, and even the dance break segments with only one or two spoken words were addictive.

The dance itself was riveting. The formation changed like a gigantic beast adjusting its position, and in combination with the urgent notes of a bamboo flute and gayageum, it created a curious effect.

That’s nuts. None of the fans had seen the entire performance from beginning to end like this, since the music video had only shown snippets of the choreography. The energy was indescribable.

There were even vocal acrobatics toward the end of the song.

Stronger

Louder

Come my footsteps

Moondae let loose an ultra-high line in the bridge, and the final dance break began immediately after.

Your present

Is Moondae even breathing? Not having expected him to do this part live as well, she was at a loss from the excitement and worry coursing through her. In fact, she was concerned he might not be able to pull it off live every time.

No wonder this song is being pre-recorded! She gaped at the stage, now understanding why a title track was being pre-recorded instead of the B-side track. There wasn’t a single mistake until the very end.

As the explosive dance break ended, the choreography came together like everything was on rewind, and the formation reformed. They now looked like a well-disciplined squad of soldiers instead of a four-legged beast.

Chungwoo stood in the center, nodding gently to the sound of a Korean double reed wind instrument.

I love it!

The crowd roared. TeSTAR had never done such an obviously performance-oriented song as the title track since debuting. The fans excitedly cheered.

“Phew... Thank you.”

They did the performance one more time, saying they thought they could do better, and the second time was just as good as the first. Because Chungwoo—who started the song and ended the chorus—had such great stamina, the performance felt stable.

No wonder he was made center. Moondae got plenty of lines as well, so the fansite master was able to nod with contentment.

“Take care, everyone!”

“Be sure to eat a hearty breakfast!”

TeSTAR finished out the pre-rec and left after three recordings. They didn’t get to talk much at the end because they had to leave quickly to make way for the next team—perhaps because of the initial delay. Still, the performance had been amazing, and that was more than enough for the fans.

I feel great! The fansite master ate the honey cookies she’d been given on the way out, hoping TeSTAR would be able to keep turning out such amazing work. It tasted great.

She hoped Moondae would have an easy time of it from now on.

***

I had a feeling.

This is going to be far from easy. Goldie #1 had sent us his group’s title track, asking for our opinion on how it sounded, and I knew as soon as I heard it.

The song was way better than I’d expected it to be.