Chapter 159

Chapter 159

The Japanese TV show that TeSTAR had appeared on was a morning show that aired at around 7:41 A.M.

What the… K-pop doesn’t belong on some old people’s morning show. The high schooler wasn’t entirely happy but continued watching since he’d clicked on it anyway. There were Korean captions on the video, presumably added by a fan.

[A visit from a super-special K-pop group!]

[Korea’s favorite idol group, TeSTAR]

TeSTAR’s achievements and records flashed quickly across the screen, along with clips from their music videos and various award ceremonies.

[Their recent album sold no less than 1.1 million copies!]

[What is their secret? That they are a charming group formed on a survival audition show?]

[Shino-okubo asked fans of Korean culture!]

A short segment where the show interviewed K-pop fans on the streets near Koreatown commenced.

“I think they’re the most popular group around right now.”

“Moondae is my favorite. He’s such a cute puppy who sings really well!”

“Everyone likes a different member.”

“It’s touching how hard they work, and they’re very cute.”

Wow. Seems like they’re pretty popular, even in Japan. The high school student’s frown relaxed a little. TeSTAR’s appearance was then announced on screen accompanied by shiny star effects added in post.

[Korea’s superstar idols]

[Are in the studio with us today!]

A loud drumroll played, and four or five panel members standing on a pastel-colored set applauded as TeSTAR entered. The members wore neat navy suits with traditional accessories.

Look at how long their legs are, the high schooler thought, feeling a sense of vicarious satisfaction. TeSTAR seemed relaxed as they smiled and bowed politely.

“Hey, guys. Take your STAR, we are TeSTAR!”

“Yay!”

“Welcome. Could you please introduce yourselves?”

“Of course!”

At the emcee’s request, the members all spoke in simple Japanese or English to relay their names and a fact about themselves. Knowing they didn’t have much time, they made sure to include only the most important details.

“Hey guys, I’m Ryu Chungwoo, TeSTAR’s leader. I used to be a national archery athlete.”

“No way!”

“Really?”

“Yes. I was a gold medalist, in fact.”

He promptly passed the microphone to the next person with an easy smile. Purposefully over-the-top reactions from the cast followed.

“He’s so cool about it! He’s got a dangerous charisma!”

“That’s one of his most charming points!”

Whoever had added the captions had even caught the panels whispering and subtitled them in small colorful font. The comments usually were along the lines of “Fabulous” or “Cute” whenever another smiling TeSTAR member appeared on camera.

“I’m Bae Sejin. I used to be an actor when I was a kid, and—”

“He’s a natural-born tsundere!”

Bae Sejin had been intending to leave his introduction at that, hesitating as he spoke, when Lee Sejin interrupted.

“A tsundere?”

“Haha! Oh my god!”

Winning laughter from Bae Sejin’s dazed expression, Lee Sejin smiled and introduced himself next.

“My name is Lee Sejin—same as this tsundere here—so I go by Big Sejin instead.”

“Big Sejin?”

“Yes, since I’m taller! I’m one of the group’s dancers!”

The training he’d received during his trainee days meant he spoke fluent Japanese.

“Hello... I’m... Seon Ahyeon. I majored in dance... Thank you.”

“I’m Park Moondae. I’m either a singing puppy or a Tibetan fox. You’re free to think of me as you wish.”

“HELLLLO GUYS, I’m Eugene!” Eugene cried in English. “Please remember me! Thanks!”

And with that, it was Raebin’s turn, since he was standing at the end of the line. This time, however, the panel members asked him a question. They’d noticed that the intricately disguised accessory on his foot was actually a brace.

“Are you injured?”

“Yes. But I should have no problem performing for you today.”

An interpreter relayed Raebin’s confident message, and the panel members nodded, commenting that they liked his confidence.

But the dance is so goddamn hard. How does he plan to pull that off? The high schooler had his doubts.

“And soon TeSTAR will perform for us live!”

It seemed as though an advertisement had played here, but as this was an edited recording the performance started right away. They were standing on a raised platform, the set around them cleared to make room for them, lights flashing. Japanese captions appeared on the screen.

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

They’re smooth as f*ck, he thought. The group had worked hard to practice performing without Raebin, and the choreography was smooth as a result. Because the opening was done by Eugene, who was very energized to finally be performing as a complete group again, it was mesmerizing to watch.

The camera hardly seemed to move in an attempt to show all the details of the dynamic performance. The high schooler said nothing, emptying his mind of all other thoughts and just focusing on them.

Your present

He’s not showing up, though. The member whose leg was injured hadn’t appeared for an entire verse. The high schooler was puzzled, but soon pushed the thought from his mind.

The bridegroom guy is doubling during the entire chorus, isn’t he? Man, I have such good ears. He was busy watching the show. This was his first time seeing the “Present” performance properly, and it was like he was in a trance as he sat through the first verse and the start of the second. Right before the final pre-chorus, he noticed Raebin was slowly coming forward from the back.

What’s he going to do? The moment he thought the performance was at risk of being ruined, the group executed an elaborate move, spreading backward in a domino effect that resembled a rippling tide and lifting Raebin up.

Raebin’s eyes shone as he rode on the backs and arms of the other members like they were his palanquin. Then he began to sing his part.

Someone’s made an untimely night visit

The doorknob’s been torn off and crushed

Something’s falling, isn’t it

It’s crashing into the ground

The formation shifted again.

He’s back

Be warned, be warned

He’s circling around

Feeling the thrill of the game

Sliding down the arms and torsos linked together like a ramp in front of him, Kim Raebin smoothly landed on the stage and picked himself up with his arms. Standing in the center position, he glared at the camera.

It’s me

“Goddamn!” the high schooler cried, but Raebin didn’t stop rapping. In fact, he continued well into the next part.

Huh? Then he understood what was happening, TeSTAR had rearranged the song so his parts in the first and second halves of the song were together, thus dedicating an entire segment in the latter half to Raebin.

That’s hella brave. Because his rap now occupied a large, uninterrupted portion of the song, Raebin was going hard. He didn’t join in the choreography as he stepped forward, but the members moved deftly around him, acting as his arms and legs, placing him at the center of their dance performance.

Picking up where Raebin left off, Moondae’s voice rang out, kicking off the climax that signaled the song was close to its end.

That’s what I’m talking about! Then came the lively final dance break, so elaborate that Kim Raebin was able to withdraw to the back unnoticed. They all backed away to join him, ending the song together.

[Your present]

“Damn, they’re good,” the high schooler said, slapping his desk without meaning to. The cameras were zooming in on the panel members’ faces now that the song was over. They were all wide-eyed.

Oh, they got the thumbnail from this scene. The high schooler snickered. TeSTAR picked themselves up and adjusted their clothing, smiling into the camera.

“Thank you!”

“That was our song, ‘Present!’”

The video ended after that. This made the high schooler sure of something.

Honestly, they killed that. He could understand why there were so many views. Just watching made him feel proud to be Korean. Entertained, he looked through the comment section, which was full of fans and Koreans who felt the same way he did.

- Have a taste of TeSTAR, but not too much. Save some for us, okay? T_T

- Watching them perform is an eye-opening experience. We’ve already experienced it ourselves

- It’s a waste sending TeSTAR to smaller countries. The agency should focus more on the US

- Our K-pop idols! So proud of you ^^

- TeSTAR doesn’t belong on some morning show, do they? I’m sure the money is nice, but they shouldn’t be compromising

└ Morning shows like this are much more respected in Japan than in Korea. More people watch them, too! TeSTAR just hit the jackpot honestly

└ Oh, thanks for letting me know, then.

“Whoa...”

It seemed like the show was more popular than the high schooler had thought. He shrugged.

I wonder if there’s anything else to watch? Excited, he checked the related videos and saw some reviews with Japanese reactions to TeSTAR.

[Japanese TV personalities gape at the Korean traditional performance put on by TeSTAR!]

[Japanese show raves about TeSTAR performance]

The particularly patriotic channels are having a blast, aren’t they? The high schooler usually found it embarrassing to watch these sorts of videos, but he made peace with it by reassuring himself that he was being generous today since he was bored. Then he clicked one of them.

It just so happened that Moondae was also taking a look at what the internet had to say at the same time.

***

- TeSTAR’s performance was so amazing that I spilled my milk. Incredible

- Who is that boy? Who is he? He has to be an angel (a picture taken of a TV screen with Seon Ahyeon on it)

- Did he learn ballet? No wonder he seems so graceful. Look at that handsome face and those angelic moves (*´ω｀)

- Another Korean idol group appeared on a morning show. But their dancing is on another level

- Someone tell me who the guy who hurt his leg is? His face is scary but good-looking, he has a lovely voice and a kind temperament. He’s like an anime character haha

- I can’t stop thinking about the Sejins. It’s amazing that their personalities are so completely opposite...

- A traditional Korean song! How energetic! (◡‿◡✿)

- He’s a neko-chan, can’t everyone see that? Why does everyone call him a Tibetan fox? I can’t understand Koreans LOL (picture of Park Moondae)

Did they cherry-pick only the good reactions? I wondered as I looked at the Japanese comments that had been translated into Korean. I got the feeling that these might not be entirely accurate. Shoving another mouthful of room service food in my mouth, I fast-forwarded through the video. These could have been uploaded as simple text, and having to look through them in video form was a hassle.

But still, I’m busy enough as it is learning English. I can’t study Japanese, too. It had only taken me two weeks to pick up how to say hello and hold a simple conversation, but that was probably only thanks to my trait.

Shrugging, I thought over the reactions I’d managed to search out from fans on social media and various WeTube channels.

Seems like Ahyeon’s getting a lot of attention. People were also talking about Raebin, maybe because his center part in the latter half of the song had left a strong impression. The remaining members seemed to be getting a pretty equal share of praise.

More people are talking about me than I expected... I had no idea how that had come about, but people apparently saw me as some sort of oddball.

Whatever. In any case, reactions to our performance were favorable overall, though this meant there had to be a fair amount of negative reactions to go along with the praise.

[Japanese netizens lose it over TeSTAR’s popularity]

This video was a good example.

- Who’s TeSTAR? LOL. I’ve never heard of them. I’ll bet only Korean-Japanese people like them

- Another anti-Japanese group? If you like Japanese money so much, show a little more respect

- LOL, these cookie-cutter groups

- A Korean concept? How long is the Korean government going to obsess over spreading their culture?

- The fancy dancing hides the noisy track. It’s a mess LMAO

The uploader of the video had added comments of their own below each screenshot, refuting and mocking it.

Run-of-the-mill stuff. It seemed as though we’d gotten the usual negative press that any K-pop group that became reasonably popular in Japan received. Apparently, we’d made a bigger splash than expected.

I shrugged and locked my phone. A few days later, we got word of some unsurprising news from the agency.

“They’re broadcasting the show in Japan?

“Yeah! People seem to like you, so a broadcast station bought the show!”

Relisted! Idol Incorporated was airing in Japan. Is that a good idea? The content was spicy enough that Japanese audiences might like it, but everyone already knew how the show ended. I wasn’t sure that many people would watch it.

“Hey, what a throwback!” Big Sejin said.

“Y-yeah.”

“It was tough, but worth it,” Raebin said.

A few of the members began sharing their thoughts, as we rarely mentioned the show.

Since we’d won and the opportunity had allowed us to debut, the memory of our time on Idol Inc. seemed to have been glamorized. Quite a few of them spoke as though it had been a difficult period spent preparing for an important exam. Not all of them felt the same, though.

“That show should never come back...” Bae Sejin said.

In any case, that wasn’t the only news we heard regarding Idol Inc.

“You guys know a new season of the show will be airing soon, right?”

“What? Really?”

“So they’re really doing it.”

“Yeah!” The manager continued furtively, “And they want you guys to make an appearance on the show!”

I should have seen that coming.