Chapter 206

Chapter 206

TeSTAR’s teaser began with a steam-powered train passing through a barren plain. Steam poured from it, as the brass-colored train with prominent turning gears approached the camera at an angle. Then the shot zoomed in on a window as if it were being sucked into it.

On the other side lay a cabin that was an antique mid-Joseon in style. There were two passengers seated inside, facing each other. They were wearing black and white robes, respectively, as outer coats. Under the robes, they wore more modern clothing that included leather belts and buckles.

The camera zoomed in on the person wearing the white robe. Seon Ahyeon, his hair pushed back neatly, was staring down at the ground. Opposite him, the second person was reading a newspaper with the headline, “Shocking news! Supernatural entities are being issued citizenship.” The reader lowered the paper, revealing that it was Park Moondae with silver hair. Moondae lifted his head and stared into the camera without any expression.

Then music began.

[♬♩-♪♬ ♩ ♩ ♩]

As rhythmical drums and smooth wind chimes worked together to create an old-timey feel, the video began to jump from scene to scene. There was a short glimpse of Lee Sejin wearing a monocle and flicking a golden coin, followed by Kim Raebin, holding a gas lamp in front of a coal mine.

Then there was Bae Sejin, sporting brown hair, who was staring into an odd-looking brass instrument panel. The moment he looked out the window, the camera followed his gaze and showed that the train was entering a strange city. It featured traditional architecture alongside a variety of indicators of the Industrial Revolution, then focused on the train again, which was racing over tracks built above the buildings.

Then the train abruptly went off the rails. There was a resounding screech as it crashed into a building, sending roof tiles flying in every direction. Golden dust and debris filled the air, and a pair of feet in boots popped out. A figure burst through the debris, colliding with and clinging to the side of the train. Fancy metallic medals glinted at his breast.

“Woohoo!”

Cha Eugene, wearing a refitted military uniform, hung from the train with a broad grin, debris scattering behind him. Among the many wanted posters that were now spilling from the train, the camera tracked the oldest-looking one.

[100,000 coins]

As the dark figure on the poster was just about to become visible, the camera shook as if something had collided with it. Then it dropped to the ground. There was the hiss of static as the accompaniment suddenly fell silent. In front of a shaking black background, Ryu Chungwoo glared down at the camera, a musket slung over his shoulder. His eyes gleamed blue, just like they had on the poster.

Then everything faded to black and voices began singing.

No oh, no-oh no-oh

I’m thirsty. It’s time to drink

A single line played, then silence followed along with a caption.

[TeSTAR]

[Spring Out]

The comment section was inundated with question marks and crying emojis shortly after.

***

“Phew!”

Kim Raebin’s fan took a deep breath when she saw the box that had arrived. There was no physical album for TeSTAR’s new release, but T1 hadn’t skipped on an opportunity to sell merchandise. She’d purchased new parts for her lightstick and a concept photo book. The online store had all sorts of things, including bags and hats, but she hadn’t wanted to shell out the money for everything.

T1 are impressive bastards. She hadn’t anticipated that they’d double down with photo books in the absence of a physical album. She wanted to see the photos first, but she first had to lift out the lightstick decorations sitting on top inside the box.

These are so cute! The golden gears and pocket watch connected to a pipe were an adorable addition to the lightstick. She fumed as she organized them, mad she’d been caught in T1’s trap, then thought back to the music video.

“That was wild.”

There really was no other way to describe it. The reactions online had been explosive the moment the teaser dropped. This was partly because the video had been of such high quality, of course, but there was one other, more prominent reason.

- I thought the concept was supposed to be spring! What happened to refreshing spring boys?

- Boys in spring (a train derails)

- I get it… They weren’t going for cherry blossoms, but the version of spring that is yellow dust and debris filling the air

- Who would have thought they’d actually spring a train off the rails?

They’d gotten the press to mention that the new comeback would be a refreshing spring song, but the teaser had pleasantly surprised everyone with a science fiction fantasy concept. There were far more people excited by the unexpected change than disappointed, however.

- Supernatural beings with historical elements? This has to be part of the “Present” universe for sure LOL

- No way! Chungwoo’s like the ultimate boss in the teaser. I’m losing it! The national athlete’s holding a gun!

- Steam engines, brass, gears… It’s steampunk, obviously. Joseon steampunk. Can you believe it?

- T1’s got money, at least. That’s why I’m willing to put up with them.

- Wow, they’re releasing this as a single?

The song wasn’t part of a full album, and people had expected the single to be simple fan service. TeSTAR’s fans were touched that so much capital and effort were being put into it. Given the agency was notorious for belonging to a rich corporation, people weren’t worried that too much money had been spent. Not that there weren’t haters as well, of course.

- Shouldn’t they be selling albums for something this in-depth, not just a digital track? Not sure how well this will do…

- T1’s pretty brave. They’re kind of fixating on a strange concept, though LOL

- It was a chance to give the group the most mass appeal any boy group has ever had, but they had to throw it away

People who enjoyed stirring trouble began criticizing the teaser, suddenly no longer of the opinion that songs geared toward mass appeal were boring. These criticisms abruptly disappeared, however, as soon as the song dropped.

The day’s sensations sink in

Enjoy it, the moment, the attention, the anticipation

What’s up?

The real flavor (comes out)

The song was a rhythmic, relaxed reggae track. Energetic drops were incorporated in the instrumental breaks and bridge, presumably to aid the live performances, but the song was easy to listen to overall. It was the perfect song to bob your head to while on the road.

Only Kim Raebin could manage to kill two birds with one stone like this. Raebin’s fan mentally made a fuss over her bias’ assured victory as she continued unboxing her goods. In her head, however, reactions to the song she’d seen online were filling her mind. The majority of the general audience, whose first exposure to TeSTAR had been through the reality show and thus were experiencing a comeback for the first time, were taken aback by the teaser alone.

- It looks like a movie trailer

- Wow, they must be making a lot of money

- I was expecting an idol music video, not science fiction Joseon

- Was that Chungwoo at the end? Chungwoo can make that sort of facial expression? He’s amazing!

- Wait, where are the cuties that were selling hotteok? Their hair color is so fancy now. It reminds me of magical girls transforming or something LOL

└ You’ll be surprised to learn their debut song is actually called “Magical Boys”

└ No way!

These people were only visible on social media. The comments section on the WeTube video was filled with foreigners.

- So… This is the work they said they were doing in Korea? (thinking face emoji)

- Ahyeon’s hair styled back with pomade nearly gave me a heart attack

- Didn’t you guys know? It’s really common to see airships in the sky and steam-powered trains racing over rooftops (face with tears of joy emoji) I can’t believe they’re putting out such amazing stuff after already winning that difficult audition show. Rooting for you from Wisconsin!

- TeSTAR deserves more recognition!

The foreigners who’d learned about TeSTAR thanks to the viral meme and then gone on to watch Idol Inc. had begun to leave comments. This was possible because talk of the reality show had spread throughout the entirety of the overseas K-pop fandom, not just in the US.

The music video, impressively enough, passed thirty million views within twenty-four hours. TeSTAR’s fans were slowly beginning to joke about the difficulties of being fans of top-tier idols.

They’re going to start doing even more tours… Raebin’s fan imagined the bleak future that lay before them as she finally succeeded in taking out and unwrapping the photo book.

“Phew.”

She’d bought four of them since the greedy people at T1 had implemented the random photocard system to increase sales. Park Moondae might have stopped them from doing it had he known, but he was juggling an intense schedule and had failed to notice. She balled her fists.

Please! Let it be Raebin! She’d looked up some information on what kinds of photocards would be included for each member. There were two per member, making for a total of fourteen different kinds of photocards. There was a selfie of Raebin winking at the camera, then a behind-the-scenes shot from the music video in which he wore a traditional hat and suit.

I hope it’s the former. Raebin seldom took selfies, if at all.

[Hi guys! Kim Raebin here. I was thinking of our Loviewers while working, so I thought I’d upload this post. (photos)]

There was a simple enough reason for this—in the early days after the group’s debut, whenever he posted on social media he would often post only pictures of his equipment. If Raebin’s photocard wasn’t going to be in one of her photobooks, there was someone else she desperately wanted—or rather, she wanted both this and Raebin.

Moondae with silver hair! Moondae had never dyed his hair such a cool color before. Better still, they’d styled him with a new neat hairstyle, where only half of it was brushed to the side. It was a treat to the eyes.

- Park Moondae! Park Moondae! What is going on here?

- Please let me get into a music show. I need to see him with my own eyes

- Spring Moondae is a Siberian husky. Don’t you all agree? (screen capture)

The reactions were so enthused, that “Moondae silver hair” became a hot search keyword and was featured in a variety of trending posts as soon as the teaser dropped.

He sure knows what the people want. Ignoring that most of the other members had gotten a similar amount of attention for dying their hair a new color or wearing colored lenses, she nodded to herself, satisfied. She began to unbox her photobooks with gusto.

I can’t sell these at full price if I remove the cards, anyway! I’ll leave one unopened if I can! Her priority was checking what photocards she’d gotten. She opened the first book eagerly and quickly snatched up the cards that fell out.

The person in the photocard was… Cha Eugene.

“Damn it.”

She lamented that it was neither Raebin nor Moondae, but very quickly changed her mind.

I’ll be able to trade Eugene for anyone I want! It was obvious to her there would be plenty of Eugene stans who were eagerly on the lookout for this very card. Better still, the photocard featured him wearing his outfit from the music video and was just too good. He lay back in an antique convertible, his feet kicked up on the dashboard as he grinned cheekily at the camera. He seemed to glow with a golden sheen. There was something about it that made her fangirl self want to scream and store it away safely.

Perhaps I shouldn’t sell it. She eventually cleared her throat and set the card aside, even though she wasn’t all that much a fan of Eugene.

“Well… Maybe they’ll be in one of the other three books,” she muttered, trying to console herself. She reached for the other books, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that she probably wouldn’t end up selling the Eugene photocard.

Whatever. I can always buy more. She wondered if they would wear the same outfits from the music video on music shows. The first one would be recorded two days from now—or rather, one day, since it had just past midnight. Thinking of how absurdly packed an idol’s schedule was in the first week of a promotional cycle, she thought nonchalantly, Hmm. They must be finishing their choreography practice right about now.

Sadly, she wasn’t quite right.

At that time, the members, battered and tired, were gathering in a practice room and staring at a monitor.

“Okay… Let’s play it.”

“Right.”

After a ridiculously busy month, they were finally sitting to film a reaction video to the recent music video.