Chapter 238

Chapter 238

I was a bit taken aback by the members’ reactions.

“Park Moondae, you arranged a concert by yourself because the tour was canceled? You’re hospitalized. You know why it had to be canceled,” Chungwoo said.

“I’m sorry to have to say this, but you need to examine your work-life balance!” Raebin said.

“Did it not occur to you to speak with us before you went ahead with this?”

Well, you guys aren’t exactly giving me a chance to say anything here. Holding back a sigh, I tried to understand how the situation had become like this so quickly.

“Moondae, Eugene heard something from the agency…”

As soon as they came in talking like this, I’d know that my plan had already leaked.

I was going to let them say their piece and then explain myself. They were talking about me like I was a tyrant who ignored their wishes and complaints regularly. In fact, the longer I listened, the more I felt like a bad person.

I can understand why they might be upset… I was willing to acknowledge they had good reason to feel this way. Their work had been halted completely because I’d fallen into a coma, but I’d gone about arranging a solo concert without their permission. Of course, they were upset. And what made me feel even worse was that… They were so worried about me as well.

“Y-you can start thinking about doing things like that… a-after you recover!” Ahyeon said.

“That’s right!”

I listened quietly to their grievances for some time, since they’d probably been on edge for the entire eighteen days I was out, wondering if I would ever wake up.

Has it been about thirty minutes? I’d probably give them enough time. They were starting to repeat themselves. I sighed and launched into my explanation.

“First of all… I was going to speak to you all about it today.”

“Oh. After everything was already arranged?”

Big Sejin, that bastard. He’s always onto me.

“No, nothing’s been decided yet. I only spoke with the agency about my idea, and that’s it.” I massaged my temples. “And I wasn’t thinking of doing it right away. I thought it might be something nice I could do after we officially resume our activities as a sort of celebration.”

I must have sounded pretty practical at this moment, since the room fell silent as the members considered my words.

I hesitated slightly, but added, “But still… you probably thought I’d gone ahead with a secret plan to do something solo behind your backs. I’m really, truly sorry for giving you all that impression.”

I was about to explain that things were not exactly how they looked when Chungwoo spoke. “Moondae… You’re probably itching to get back on the stage again.”

Yes. If I don’t, I’ll die…

Chungwoo nodded understandingly. “You can do a solo concert if you want. And if you really don’t want to go ahead with suing the agency… we don’t have to. There’s no need for you to apologize.”

Bae Sejin flushed red, but to my surprise, he didn’t say anything to disagree with Chungwoo and instead nodded in silence.

“But you do need to take care of your health. That’s the only reason we’re saying all this.”

Yes.

“You’re pushing yourself too hard. I hope you can understand that. We keep telling you that over and over.” Chungwoo looked troubled as he said this. It seemed watching metal enter my chest had traumatized him considerably.

I withheld a sigh.

We’re back at square one. I intertwined my fingers. I wasn’t just healthy. I was all but completely healed at this point. But how would I explain why I was in such good condition to them?

“I’ve been paying a lot of attention to my health. I’m following all of the medical staff’s instructions, and they keep telling me that my recovery speed is incredible.”

“So you want to get back into things as soon as you recover?” Big Sejin asked.

“Well, I’ll consider it if the doctor says it’s okay.”

Big Sejin smirked. “Right. The fans will certainly love that, won’t they?” he said sarcastically. “You must think the fans will be excited to have you back. I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but they know just as well as we do that you’re only human. I wouldn’t be surprised if they sent protest trucks to the agency for taking advantage of someone who was in a coma recently.”

I stared at him.

“Or is this part of a bigger plan to sue the agency? If it is, I gotta give it to you. Props to you for your big-brained schemes, Moondae!”

What a little bastard. I gritted my teeth.

“Do you really have to talk like that?” I asked. “Don’t mock me. I’m being very serious.”

I was about to f*cking die, and it pissed me off that he kept on being sarcastic. He was pushing me too far.

Lee Sejin’s mouth dropped open, but he didn’t speak. I focused on my thoughts, trying to calm down.

The other Sejin suddenly said, “H-he’s just worried!” Bae Sejin stepped forward with his fists balled. “You know that’s just how he always talks!”

That sounds like an insult to Big Sejin.

“Th-that’s right. I-I’m sure S-Sejin already wants to apologize, too. Isn’t that right?” Ahyeon chimed in.

So it wasn’t an insult, then.

Big Sejin was staring at the floor with no smile on his face. “I’m… sorry.”

I nodded at him.

I guess I was just being a little too sensitive. I’d managed to find a way to clear my mission, but I’d had to wait a long time before we were even able to discuss it. It made me feel like I was running out of time.

He probably wasn’t looking to start a fight. Since he was upset with the situation as well, he’d probably thought a bit of sarcasm might help me see things from his perspective.

It can’t be helped, I guess. It wasn’t just Big Sejin who was worried about my health. As long as I was contributing something to this team, and as long as we’d been involved in the car accident, it was unavoidable that they were worried about my health. I had no doubt that they all cared for me, since we’d lived our lives together for two years now. In the end, it boiled down to a difference in access to information.

They don’t know that I’ll die unless I gather an audience of 400,000. Of course, they had other priorities. I really didn’t want to have to go this far…

Holding back a groan, I said, “To be honest… I missed the fans.”

They all stared at me silently.

“I opened my eyes, and a new month had come. The internet was on fire, and I thought they’d feel better if I did something… That’s why I brought up the concert thing with the agency.”

“Right…”

“Moondae…”

It made me cringe a little to say it out loud, but my words were persuasive. The mood in the room softened considerably.

And I’m not lying, technically speaking. Putting aside the status abnormality that was making me nervous, it might as well have been a completely accurate description of my current state.

I continued, somewhat resigned. “I won’t be staying up all night working, like before.”

That’s not possible, anyway. I don’t have the Energy Drink trait anymore.

“But still… my opinion is that we should resume our activities as soon as possible, if it’s possible to do so without pushing ourselves too hard.”

This time, they didn’t try to talk me down. It seemed to be the right time to try explaining myself again.

“And the concert I was planning was nothing big, anyway.”

“Huh?”

“I was thinking of doing a simple talk concert, you know? To show them that I’m better. There will be very minimal dancing.”

“I-is that why you were planning on doing a solo concert?” Ahyeon asked.

“No. That’s because of our W App contract. We can’t hold a free concert as a group.”

“Oh…”

They were finally starting to understand. I finished explaining the part I’d discussed with Cheongryeo.

After a moment’s pause, I said, “But actually… the solo part is kind of a sham.” I grinned. “I was going to invite all of you as guests. Would that be okay?”

It was an obvious ploy, really. While it would be pretty strange if any of them refused to come, I was confident I could convince all of them.

One of them turned pale.

“I-isn’t that a breach of contract?”

“No. I’ll be the one hosting the concert solo.”

“But that’s basically a lie!”

“Let’s say it’s a clever workaround, within the contract’s wording.”

Bae Sejin sank into a chair. He seemed to be muttering something along the lines of “They won’t like it…” But he didn’t speak up against it any further.

I guess I must seem pretty desperate. After what I’d said, he was probably trying to hold himself back, or perhaps trying to filter himself so he sounded less aggressive. He had a point, though, of course. If I went ahead with this, there would be some nasty rumors about me within the industry. W App was owned and operated by the same company that ran a very popular search engine. There was sure to be some backlash.

That’s why we’ll have to set this up correctly. I’d already chosen a format for the concert. It would be difficult for anyone to lash out at us… They would simply treat it as a performance that didn’t really fall under the definition of a concert.

I smiled and said, “And one more thing.”

“Huh?”

“I’d like to set a goal for the concert.”

“A goal?”

I explained my idea.

“Wow.”

“M-Moondae, you always have such great ideas!” Ahyeon said.

“I agree!” Raebin said.

They seemed pretty into my suggestion. Bae Sejin, who’d been slumped over in his chair, recovered his composure, which told me all I needed to know the validity of my plan.

“That sounds pretty great!”

“Yes.”

I guess my work here is half done. I wouldn’t have to persuade them about this again. Following my current success in our negotiations, I would be able to cinch the deal by the time I got out of the hospital. I shrugged.

“N-now, Moondae, get some rest!” Ahyeon insisted.

“Nah, I had plenty of—”

“G-get some rest!”

I didn’t argue anymore. Finally back to behaving like ordinary visitors again, we engaged in some small talk.

“The A&R Team made some relaxing music to help you sleep better… but a program error erased it from the disk before we could even save it…” Raebin said.

“What?!”

“Tell them I’m grateful, all the same.”

I didn’t think I would ever need or want it.

Some time passed, and then it was time for my hospital meal.

“You should go and eat something.”

“It’s already dinner time, huh?”

“I had an early dinner, so I’ll stay and talk to you!”

“Me, too! Let’s have some fruit!”

Actually, it’s all right— Ah, never mind. I shrugged. As everyone filed out, Big Sejin seemed to hesitate and refused to meet my eyes. He’d been acting this way ever since I’d lashed out at him.

“See you!” he said.

“Right.”

He still seemed cheerful, however. We’d be all right. I had another member I needed to deal with.

“Moondae! Enjoy your foo—”

“You get over here.”

“Ow!”

Eugene had tattled on me after eating my tangerines. I flicked him on the forehead before letting go.

“Oww!”

Then I handed Raebin a large peach as Eugene watched. It was a bit funny since Raebin had been the one who brought the peaches, but I supposed it was all right. I’d eaten some of them as well.

“This tastes lovely!” Raebin exclaimed.

“You’re right,” I said.

Eugene drooped. “That’s mean!”

“What?” I asked.

“I didn’t mention that other thing!”

“What other thing?”

Eugene mouthed, The VTIC member!

I was silent for a moment, then said, “You eat, too.”

“Wow!”

I shoved a piece of peach in his mouth. It was a bribe to buy his continued silence.

***

Park Moondae recovered without issue and left the hospital faster than any of the medical staff had expected him to. A few weeks later, after the agency had received a healthy dose of harsh criticism and a correction advisory from the National Human Rights Commission, TeSTAR did their first activity as a group—they performed at TaKon, a joint K-pop concert.

They didn’t appear at the concert itself, of course, instead sending in a video of them performing that would be played there. Even so, it was their first public appearance since their accident, and so it generated quite a lot of talk.

The internet was filled with comments like Love you TeSTAR, our magic is forever, but there were a few rude comments as well.

- Looks like they haven’t lost their touch

- Idols are best when they’re slim. I guess the coma was a good diet, huh? Haha. No more weight!

- Wow, their moves are perfect. I guess they practiced like hell…

- Moondog looks pretty good. LOL the idol failures really need to learn from him. He nearly died, and look at the quality of his performance! Stupid idols who can’t even keep themselves on a leash

- I thought everyone was boycotting T1. What about TeSTAR? Fangirl logic, huh?

└ TeSTAR is an exception because they got into a car accident. Yup, that’s just how it is.

One thing was certain—TeSTAR was still very popular, and the sympathetic interest earned them a lot of goodwill as a result. Questions regarding when TeSTAR’s next promotions would be, when they would have their comeback, whether they would stay with their current agency, and so on flooded the internet.

Then a performance reservation platform posted an announcement on their social media out of nowhere.

- Guys, don’t tell me this is TeSTAR… (link)

It was a platform that belonged to a different company than T1 and one that TeSTAR had never used before. The question posted on social media attracted plenty of attention, however.

[What? The nation’s most popular stock is holding a ☆free☆ concert?]

“Popular stock” was a reference that was a few years old by now. People quickly latched on and began talking.

- Wow, that is so old. It’s just a troll post

- Is the next season of Idol Inc. starting with a concert? LOL

- Someone must have hacked the account

They were all wrong. A few days later, the following post was uploaded to the same social media account.

[Watch the ☆free☆ concert from the nation’s favorite stock and help children in need!]

[Host: Park Moondae. Guests: TeSTAR]

Park Moondae was holding a charity concert.