Chapter 228

Chapter 228

The creation of a dedicated artist management team for TeSTAR was, on the surface, being overseen by the Planning and Coordination Office, but I expected that the director had involved himself as well.

Given his personality, he wouldn’t have missed out on the opportunity to involve himself in something like this. Even if the order had come down from the head office, no doubt he’d wanted to have a say, attempting to direct things to his liking. For this reason, I was considering egging on the Management Office just once more so that I could intervene outwardly to mediate between the two. I’d wanted to create this opening for myself, even if it meant the staff who ended up on the team were less than ideal… but it turned out this plan wasn’t necessary.

They’re just agreeing easily.

“Of course! Your, uh, opinions must be reflected, of course…”

Simply by expressing what we wanted, I was able to get a declaration of surrender that basically stated that our opinions would be applied as much as possible when it came to the dedicated management team.

What is going on? I wondered how this was possible, but as it turned out, the situation was simple. Our current promotions were making very positive waves—more than we could even have imagined, though it had been a week since we started. This wasn’t so in only the usual measurable indicators, such as album sales and music charts—we could feel the difference this time.

[Is this how you do it? The TeSTAR “Nightmare” challenge!]

[Painting nails: TeSTAR’s “Nightmare” | I customized my nails and included some commentary :)]

Even people who weren’t fans were mimicking and talking about us, and we were coming up in communities that had nothing to do with idols. The WeTube variety shows operated by the broadcasting stations, which were very sensitive to trends, quickly copied elements from the music video in their own productions.

This might be the start of a trend. I’d actually sensed as much while performing. We’d performed live at a culture and arts promotional event yesterday.

“Wow!”

It had definitely felt like the fans of the other groups seemed especially excited to see us—even VTIC fans. Up till now, other idol fans had generally reacted with careful disinterest whenever they saw us perform, but that sense of distance was now gone. This meant the groundwork for an internet trend had already been laid. While it was true that idol fans were an internet-savvy crowd, it had still only taken them a week to do this.

Though, our own fans are also going off. I could clearly recall the endless screams and cries that had managed to make it past our earpieces.

“Oh my god!”

“Yaaaaah!”

This was probably partly due to the concept. In any case, our explosion of popularity and the rave reviews coming in suggested that this comeback wasn’t like our previous promotions. Even the bastard who had performed at the end of the event had greeted me with the following words.

“Congrats. I guess you’ll be winning daesang this year.”

“We don’t know that yet.”

“Haha. How can you say you don’t know.”

I kept quiet.

“It’s obvious what’s going to happen now,” Cheongryeo said before going up on stage.

F*ck. It didn’t seem likely that he’d take a sledgehammer to my head anymore, but why did the bastard still give me the impression that he had a screw or two loose?

The dog is the far more normal of the two. In any case, his solo track record was now just as amazing as his group’s, so he had no reason to blame TeSTAR if he found himself in a slump. And to be honest, he was right.

I think we might get a daesang. If we continued at our current pace without getting involved in any controversies, we were sure to get a daesang at a couple of the award shows based on our current performance and popularity.

There are usually two or three categories, so we’ll be able to even if VTIC secures one of them. To summarize all of this, there was a simple way of putting it—our value was skyrocketing.

“Moondae, did you see the advertising bids this time around?” Big Sejin asked.

“Yeah.”

They were twice as high as the maximum bid during our “Present” promotional cycle. The agency was picking out the most lucrative ones that wouldn’t impact our reputation negatively, of course, but even so, this was an extremely encouraging outcome.

We were already starting to get top-tier treatment during “Present.” People were starting to believe that we were on VTIC’s level, or even potentially their replacement. This was why the agency was thinking they needed to keep us as happy as possible, since we were likely to make it in the long run.

In the past, it had seemed like they were trying to make as much profit as they could for the duration of our five-year contract, since it was unclear if we would be worth renewing. Now, there was no trace of that attitude anymore. We were the golden geese they couldn’t let go after a mere five years. I suspected, of course, that they would start looking for a weakness they could exploit before the contract renewal came around, but I’d think about that later. The more important thing now was that the agency staff were willing to listen, even if TeSTAR refused to compromise on certain things.

I think the way we notified the agency of our decision to let Raebin work remotely might have set a precedent. The way I saw it, they’d been cooperative regarding the dedicated management team, and feared that we’d act completely stuck up this time around. As a result, we took the time to have a discussion within the group regarding our new dedicated management team despite our busy promotions schedule.

Not that it was of much use.

“Well… I think it would be nice if the A&R Team members who worked on ‘Magical Boys’ could join.”

Raebin raised his hand instantly. “I agree with that completely! And they’re willing to come over, too.”

Suddenly, Raebin was acting as their spokesperson.

“Raebin, uh… When did you ask them?”

Raebin replied proudly, “I spoke to them as soon as rumors started going around about the team! They agreed to come!”

I stared at him silently. “Raebin, that could have been a security issue. You need to be careful…”

“Oh! I’m sorry! The A&R Team brought it up first, you see…”

That was generally how the rest of the meeting went. Those who were interested had already heard about the team and made their desire to join clear to the relevant people. Because the agency was suddenly taking a do-whatever-you-want approach with us, most decisions we settled on were in the clear. I rubbed my chin.

Well, it looks like all the necessary decisions have been made. There was nothing we needed to ask for, beyond demanding that the existing staff we wanted, the ones the agency planned to send over to Miry-nay, be given to us instead.

“All right, then. Let’s let them know we want these people to be on our team.”

“Yes.”

As silence was about to fall, Bae Sejin spoke up cautiously. “Then we only need to worry about the new employees, right? Maybe we should observe the interviews or something.”

That’s a pretty reasonable suggestion. A third of the dedicated team would be composed of new hires, especially those in management roles.

Chungwoo nodded. “Hmm. I suppose it would be nice if we were able to get to know the new employees.”

There was a realistic issue here, however, and Big Sejin brought it up before I could.

“But I’m not sure that we have the time to do that. What do you think?”

He was right. We’d barely been able to make time for this meeting. We wouldn’t be able to sit in on all the interviews. I folded my arms.

Even coming up with questions that we want to ask them regarding their work style will take time… Oh. I’d thought of a solution we could try.

I muttered inwardly, Status window.

Perhaps it was time to take a spin on the slot machine again.

It’d be good if I could draw Sleep is for the Dead one more time. Or one that will give me thirty-hour days, or… increased work speed.

I decided to check my stats first.

[Name: Park Moondae (Ryu Geonwu)]

Level: 19

Title: None

Singing: S

Dancing: B+

Physical attractiveness: A-

Charm: A+

Trait: Infinite Potential, Time for Yearning (S), Energy Drink (B), Catch-All Ears (A)

Status abnormality: Grow Your Audience or Die!

Points Remaining: 1

One of my stats increased naturally. Perhaps all that singing had been worth it. My singing stat had gone from S- to S. No wonder people had been giving me such great reviews recently. I couldn’t deny that it gave me considerable satisfaction.

All right. Next. As for the other changes, I had earned one level-up, and two trait draws from pop-ups.

It hasn’t been that long since the last time I checked. In fact, it was amazing that I’d managed to make this much progress in only a month. It went to show how impressive the current promotions and “Spring Out” had been. I decided to leave the point alone and use up all my trait draws instead.

There are only two of them, though, so it’s silly to say that. I’d only managed to get a single S trait after five draws last time. I did know one thing for certain, however.

It’s obvious the system will give me whatever trait I need most at this time. So give me a good one. I stared at the “Click” button glittering on the pop-up window and pushed it, pretending to raise my arm for a moment. It would take no time at all to use up these draws while the others talked.

The lever in the window moved, and the slots glittered in various colors. There were some items that I recognized, and the draw came to a stop on a golden tile. It was a B-rank trait. While this draw might have seemed perfectly ordinary, reading the words in the slot made it clear this trait was anything but.

Virtual fireworks went off.

[“Energy Drink (B)” obtained!]

[Trait: Energy Drink (B)]

- Keep a clear mind and a healthy body!

: All fatigue buildup speed reduced to 50%

The anti-fatigue totem that I’d found so helpful had appeared again, followed by a pop-up that I hadn’t been sure would ever appear.

[Duplicate trait found!]

Merge both “Energy Drink (B)” traits?

I knew it! The time had finally come to enhance a trait that had proven key to my success. I balled my hands into fists without realizing it.

“M-Moondae?”

“Are you okay?”

I was more than okay. “Yeah. I’m excited about the dedicated management team. It’s going to be really great for us.”

“I-I see!”

“Wow, he must really be feeling it. I’ve never heard Moondae say so many words at once.”

Enough delays. Let’s go. I pressed “Yes” immediately. A round loading indicator appeared in the status window, followed by fireworks.

[Merge succeeded!]

Energy Drink II (A) Obtained!

Keep an astute mind and a strong body!

: All fatigue buildup speed reduced to 50%

: All fatigue recovery speed increased by 100%

This was crazy.

More recovery speed? Did this mean I could get away with sleeping every other night? One thing was for certain. I would have more than enough time to create questions for the interviews without negatively affecting our promotions. This is a huge win in the long run.

As for the backlash that would set in during my vacations… that had always been something I needed to deal with, so I didn’t mind if it was a bit worse than usual. There would be no other side effects. I could deal with spending a few days in bed to recover. In fact, with the increased recovery percentage, I might not even suffer during vacations anymore.

Come to think of it, I didn’t fall sick during my last vacation. If I had to guess, caring for Raebin had been categorized as work, so the status window hadn’t deemed the period to be a vacation at all.

In any case, who would have guessed that this suspicious game system would give me something so useful? Good. I hoped it would continue to be this cooperative. I might die one day because of the status abnormalities. Surely it could help me out. I stared at the updated trait section in the status window with satisfaction and nodded to myself.

“Moondae is nodding now.”

“Maybe he’s imagining the new dedicated management team…?”

Something like that. I was already looking forward to the creation of the team—or rather, the effects it would have.

***

TeSTAR’s first manager made his way to work with a frown on his face.

F*ck. The little bastards had gotten popular and cocky, so his work was steadily becoming harder. It was often said that stars tended to start mistreating their staff when their fame got to their heads. In his opinion, that was exactly what was going on here.

Even worse, a nepo hire had come along and snatched away his hard-earned position, forcing him further down the promotion list. The way he saw it, this agency was about as terrible as a middling entertainment company could get. He was frustrated and indignant over the unfairness of the situation, but there was nothing he could do about it.

I just need to hang on a little longer. TeSTAR would be hitting their second anniversary in just a few days. That would mean he had also been working here for two years. With another year on his resume, he intended to find a better-paying job elsewhere.

I’ll stab you all in the back the first chance I get, the manager thought, though he was well aware of the terms of the NDA that bound him. He made his way to the company building lethargically. All the TeSTAR members were already gathered in a meeting room, having worked through the night. The moment he entered the lobby, however, the HR Team suddenly wanted a word with him.

There he was given shocking news.

“Huh?”

“As I said… I’m not joking. We won’t be needing your services starting tomorrow.”

He had been fired. The manager stared blankly at the team lead, argued a little, and quickly realized that this decision was non-negotiable.

“Just gather your things, all right?”

The emotion that had been brewing quietly, kept at bay by the terrifying news, soon boiled over—rage.

“Hold on, sir. What in the world… Isn’t this an unfair dismissal?”

The team lead looked nonplussed and seemed unwilling to even talk about his dismissal, only making him angrier. But then the man played a recording that left the manager rooted to the spot.

“Raebin’s grandmother has fallen sick. We’re on the way now—”

“What? At this hour?”

“Yes… Of course, at this hour. We’re on the road, so please be ready nearby as soon as possible.”

“Yeah… all right.”

The manager could be heard quietly swearing as the call ended. He was silent. If TeSTAR hadn’t become as popular as they were now, had they lacked connections in T1, or had the manager had powerful friends, this situation could have been mitigated. Perhaps the manager could have even insisted that he’d only been so rude because he was close with the group. Sadly, none of these things were the case.

“One of their phones was hacked via the cloud yesterday, and this recording nearly got out. Were you aware of that?”

“Uh… What? I don’t…”

“Just… just leave, all right? Get out of here. If this hits the news, you’ll never find employment in this field ever again in Korea. Read the room.”

There would be no recovering from this. The manager was forced to see himself out.

Park Moondae heard the news from the A&R Team upstairs as they gossiped excitedly and grinned to himself.

That idiot. He’d never once turned off the call recording feature on his phone, not since high school.

That’s one down. He was satisfied. With a body full of energy thanks to his trait, he continued to make preparations.

Our second anniversary… June 18th, the day TeSTAR had debuted, was just around the corner.