Chapter 186

Chapter 186

I crossed my arms.

“So what you’re trying to say… is that you want me to revise my solo performance.”

“Correct,” Chungwoo said, nodding gravely.

We’d ordered some nice food and were eating in the dorm to celebrate a successful first day of our concert. I hadn’t expected the conversation to go like this.

Was this what he said he wanted to talk about later? The staff in charge of the equipment should be fired, rather than me being forced to give up on my performance.

It didn’t hurt anybody, since it was a solo performance, and I found it silly that they were trying to tell me what to do.

I replied bitterly, “We can just find whoever made the mistake and replace them. The performance itself isn’t that hard on me.”

“You might feel that way, but your wrists and ribs probably beg to differ.”

I withheld a sigh. “I told you it’s fine. In fact, if I hadn’t been able to endure it, I wouldn’t have attempted using the wires at all.”

Big Sejin spoke up next—the others were also listening in as if this were some kind of meeting. “Park Moondae. We have more than three months of touring coming up. We’ll be performing twelve times, not including Seoul.”

I was well aware of this.

“Can you go up on the wire twelve more times? We’ll be at a new venue each time. Can you ensure that there won’t be a single mistake in all that time?”

“As I said, a mistake is perfectly—”

“N-no. It wasn’t all right.” It was Ahyeon who spoke up this time. “You fainted, Moondae… Something really bad could happen if you’re not careful. Y-your wrists still haven’t recovered…”

My head was starting to hurt. I massaged my shoulders. “There’s still a little time left before we head overseas. I’ll be recovered by then.”

“Moondae,” Chungwoo said, a hand on his forehead. “Are you a doctor? Regardless of the type of injury… the moment you damage the bone, there’s no guarantee that there won’t be long-term side effects.” He smiled bitterly. “I’m telling you this from first-hand experience.”

Son of a b*tch, that’s not fair. I was forced to remain silent hearing this from a national athlete who’d been forced to retire before his heyday because of past injuries. I wasn’t surrendering quite yet, of course.

Maybe I should aim for their emotions first. Injuries were a sensitive topic, and I’d probably need more than just logic to convince him.

Regardless of what angle I take, if I can sound believable, my Words of Persuasion trait might activate. There was more than a fifty percent chance of this happening. I mentally formulated a suitable argument, making a show of hesitating.

This is how I’ll do it.

“But… I practiced for such a long time.”

“Well…”

“I put a lot of thought into the sequence, too. And when I actually performed it, everyone seemed to like it…” I concluded in a serious tone, “It’d be such a waste to only perform it once and then just give up. I’d like to keep going as long as I can. If I’m recovering too slowly from my injuries, I’ll ask to change my performance later.”

Chungwoo’s face fell slightly.

Did that work?

Big Sejin looked flabbergasted as he said, “You haven’t been practicing with that equipment for more than two weeks. What do you mean, you practiced for a long time?”

Bastard.

“I mean, I’ve been planning it for a long time.”

“Is that right? You only chose this performance as an excuse for your injuries, didn’t you? Doing it once will have been enough to convince everyone, so we should go with something else now. You can take it easy for a bit, and resume when you’re completely better. We’ll have more concerts in the future.”

Big Sejin continued with a frown, “You gotta think in the long term. What are you going to do, retire after our tour? You’re not, are you?”

Well, who knows? Maybe I won’t be able to do this forever. Then the realization hit me like a tonne of bricks.

I was worried that might be the case. I wasn’t certain that I would continue to be Park Moondae after the status abnormalities were done with.

So that’s why I wanted to do this, while I was still sure I could. This behavior was too emotional and almost childish. I erased the thought from my head and adopted a more reasonable line of thought.

All right, I guess I just wanted to put on a good performance while I could. Performing was more fun and rewarding than I’d expected it to be, and what was more, the pay was great. There were no downsides to it. I supposed my standards might have become a little mixed up, what with my lack of conviction in the permanence of everything and being so immersed in my role.

While I was lost in thought for a moment, Big Sejin drove his point home. “Just wait until you’re fully recovered. You don’t want any lingering side effects from your injuries slowing you down permanently.”

Fine, goddamn it. I guess you have a point. I don’t want to abuse this body too much because it isn’t even mine. Who knew? Maybe I’d continue living my life as Park Moondae. I sighed.

“Fine. I already have an alternate performance in mind, so I’ll assess tomorrow morning depending on my condition.”

Bae Sejin, who’d been listening quietly, suddenly shouted, “D-don’t just determine your condition alone! Go see a doctor!”

“Uh… All right.” I could choose to just ignore them since we were talking about my solo performance, but I decided to accept their suggestions this time around.

“Good decision.”

“Take a manager with you to the hospital tomorrow.”

“I will.”

Won’t it be hilarious if the doctor tells me I’m fine? Entertaining this unlikely hope, I delayed having to decide until the next morning. The discussion turned out to be unnecessary, however, since early the next morning, a quarrel broke out between those who had concert tickets—and a pretty big one, at that.

***

The mood among fans was at an all-time high immediately following the concert.

- I love you guys. TeSTAR forever!

- I’m losing it right now. Why don’t I have tickets to every concert? I should have gotten myself a seat for one of the middle concert days T_T

- Every single performance was seriously so good. You could feel just how much money was invested into everything, but the performances were the most impressive part... I’ll upload a detailed review after I get home

- Moon Puppy, my sweet, tiny apple rice cake! He cried again T_T (photo)

- I cried and shouted so much, I can hardly type. But the fact that I have another seat on the weekend is the best thing about my life at the moment

There were almost no complaints uploaded outside the mainstream platforms, nor were there even any slightly disappointed reactions. Everyone seemed happy. As the fansite master for Big Sejin and Moondae had guessed, their impromptu performance became a hot topic even among non-fans.

Videos of the stage taken on attendees’ phones were uploaded to WeTube one after the other as soon as the concert was over.

- Oh LMAO

- I think I’d have laughed myself to tears if I saw this in person

- They threw off their clothes. That’s hilarious! LOL

- I was enjoying the handsome members dancing at first, then things got confusing after that

- Wait, was Kim Raebin always so goofy? Incredible. I can’t believe it, LOL

- It’s so funny that they popped out of a tissue box, of all things

The agency quickly rode the wave, uploading a witty post to social media.

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All combinations are canon within our precious TeSTAR☆ Every impromptu performance from the Enchanted ME tour will be included as a special addition to the VOD package.

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

The fans were taken aback to see T1 being so responsive, but they were also relieved that they’d be able to see the performances again through an official source.

- It was nice getting to see all the solo tracks. I got shivers when Chungwoo finished his and everyone appeared as a group T_T

- Ahyeon looked like he’s really taking care of himself these days! He was killing it on stage, and he interacted with the fans a lot during the encore… I want Ahyeon to get the penalty tomorrow, though. Loviewers, please get your answers wrong (photo of Seon Ahyeon waving)

- Cha Eugene’s dance break is one of those things a person has to see with their own eyes at least once before they die

Detailed reviews were appearing online by the dozens as the concert-goers returned home. There were also many posts expressing excitement for tomorrow’s concert. Naturally, there were countless posts about Park Moondae as well.

- Park Moondae is an angel. I realized the truth about him today

- I’m not sure I paid nearly enough money for my ticket. That was the most genius performance ever. Everybody should be a Moon Puppy fan!

- How well-timed his lift into the air was, the color of everything, and the way the fabric came loose—all of it was exactly as Moondae would have wanted it. I think Moondae must have taken part in the planning. He probably wanted to show us all this even though he got hurt in the process. I had so many thoughts about this that I burst into tears on the bus and everyone stared

- I was worried he hadn’t recovered enough yet. Apparently, he’s all better, though, which is impressive. It’s a relief, Moon Puppy, but please don’t push yourself too hard T_T

Social media was flooded with various shots of him gracefully reclining as he floated through the air, taken from every angle and edited in a huge variety of ways. Many people sounded worried about his injuries, but the performance had been so good, and Park Moondae so calm, that most just seemed happy he’d recovered so fast.

It was more convenient to think this way since it meant they would get to see the same performance again at the next concert.

Things would have ended there if not for a certain post.

[Mid-concert update from a staff member at a male idol concert]

It was a post written by a temp worker at the concert who’d apparently seen an idol pass out after finishing their aerial performance. It was deleted rather quickly, but it had a photo for proof attached, and of course, screenshots had been taken.

Putting two and two together, the conclusion was the post was talking about Moondae, naturally.

- An idol passed out and… needed an oxygen mask?

- I think I’m about to have a heart attack

- I don’t like that at all. The feeling that might have actually happened to Moondae is driving me crazy

- Gosh, I feel so embarrassed. You idiots, you don’t really believe that, do you? Don’t waste your shares like that

- Don’t idols usually wear oxygen masks at concerts? What’s the fuss? They’re doing their best, so just enjoy what they’re offering. You paid for that sh*t

- It must have hurt so much if he hasn’t recovered yet. If he passed out, I can’t even begin to imagine how bad it must have been. I can’t bear to even see the photo… God…

- It seems like a sh*tpost, to be honest. Why is everyone so concerned?

- There’s no official statement about this. Everybody calm down… Was this orchestrated? Are they trying to attack his genius performance in some way?

The fans were all over the place with comments representing a wide spectrum of opinions. Those who’d already been worried about his injuries felt sick to their stomachs, but the post wasn’t from an official source, and opinions differed.

This difference only grew more pronounced over time.

- I so agree with this

- There’s another concert TODAY. What if his injuries get worse after he tries it again? I couldn’t bear it

- Please don’t jump to conclusions. Do you want the m*ggles to make fun of you again?

- I think we should confirm if this is true or not first

- There’s no need to talk about it... Ugh, what good is it for the idol to kill it on stage if you’re going to react like this? Maybe I should quit this bunch of idiots

It was a hot mess as those who wanted to pressure the agency about it, and those who doubted the post was telling the truth, talked over each other. The issue would cause an all-out war soon enough. Moondae was made aware of this after he got up the next morning. It gave him a headache.

How did this even get out? He grumbled to himself that he hadn’t actually passed out and that he’d only felt dizzy for a moment. But with the situation coming to a head like this, he was forced to admit defeat.

Everything else aside, he didn’t want the audience to worry about his health as they watched him perform.

***

I admitted over breakfast, “I’ll have to stop…”

“Y-yes!”

“Wise decision.”

I looked at the other members, all of whom agreed with this decision, and said calmly, “Yes. But only after the Seoul concert is over.”

They looked at me like I was out of my mind, but it didn’t matter. I stood my ground.

“I have a way to explain myself to the audience. This will be for the best.”

“Moondae.”

“I’ll stop until I’m fully better after Seoul.”

It was silly that I had to convince them to let me do my own performance, but they did accept my plan in the end, albeit rather unwillingly.

Gosh. I contacted the agency right afterward. As the second day’s concert was about to begin, the agency uploaded a statement.

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[Hello. This is T1 Stars.]

[…]

There was a device malfunction during TeSTAR’s Enchanted ME concert, specifically during the “Last Flower” performance. Considering the risks involved with reinstallation, the performance has been revised after discussion with the artist.

The artist has requested, however, that the concert in Seoul retain the performance without any changes. There will be a professional on hand to make sure the proceedings are safe.

[…]

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

After this, a long-winded explanation was included, that basically amounted to Moondae was fine. In other words, they were saying that he was healthy, there had just been a fault in the equipment. They would be removing it in the future.

The agency seemed pretty concerned about backlash from the fans, and because everyone was already talking about it, they’d agreed to officially reveal the malfunction. They would be criticized, but they seemed to think that it would be better to make preventing further controversy the focus, rather than calling attention to my injuries if a revision to the performance was unavoidable.

That won’t change the fact that people will criticize them for being bad at their jobs. It wasn’t my problem, though. In any case, there was someone much more responsible in charge of the equipment now, so there was no further risk of accidents.

The problem was what the agency told us next.

“The finalists from Idol Inc. will be coming today. There will be cameras, but it’ll be brief, so you don’t need to worry about the editing…”

The contestants from season four of Idol Inc. would be coming to see the concert. It would be to film more content for the show, of course. The finals were going to be airing immediately after, and they probably wanted to include a few shots of contestants “reaffirming their dreams through watching a sold-out TeSTAR concert” or something like that. They would be signed at our agency once they debuted, so maybe they were testing the waters, too.

Hmm. Seems like the agency is shooting itself in the foot. The members couldn’t refuse if all they were doing was coming to the concert.

It would be weird to ask that the agency retract their invitations. Tnet would be upset. I nearly gave the matter some serious thought, but soon realized that I didn’t need to give myself a headache over it. It was none of my business.

If the agency wants to throw themselves into the fire, well, so be it. I’d leave them to it. I shrugged.