Chapter 270

Chapter 270

The mood among the TeSTAR members’ individual fandoms was at an all-time low. Frankly, I didn’t think there was an elegant solution that would magically solve the problem. One might assume that the fans would play nice with each other since the members got along so well, but this was false hope in action.

While liking the same group might be a good place to start, personal experiences were what really mattered in the end. In that sense, the controversy with Eugene had basically crushed the fragile trust between the fandoms, which had been hard-won after Idol Inc. came to an end.

We can’t blatantly praise Eugene, either, just because we want to compensate for all the unfair criticism. Doing so would make Eugene’s solo fans feel a little better, but those who had been victims of Eugene’s obsessive solo fans early on would explode with fury.

- Eugene didn’t do anything praiseworthy, to be honest, so why are you feeding the obsessive fans?

- This is so tiring… I’m losing my mind

Comments like the above would spread like wildfire. We couldn’t allow for any one side to come out victorious.

“This is difficult…”

I could think of a few things we could try, but recovering balance between the fans would be hard, and it wasn’t clear what was the right path forward.

Maybe I need to collect a little more information. I was about to open up the internet when I paused.

Perhaps it’ll be better to ask the people who are directly involved. Even if I thought up a solution, I would still need the group’s approval before implementing it. Taking their opinion into account would make things easier.

I decided to ask the members about this problem. Explaining the situation in detail might give them the wrong idea. For instance, they might misunderstand and think our fans would actually get along one day, so I would need to use an analogy.

“So my question is, how does a group get along when the members are completely at odds with each other?”

“Okay.”

Big Sejin shrugged.

“Isn’t it best to just think of one another as business partners, and be done with it? All that matters is playing nice when it comes to work.”

This was the widely accepted thing to do and involved simply focusing on the end goal, no matter how unpleasant things got. The problem was that being a fan wasn’t an actual job, so this wasn’t the solution I was looking for. I was trying to settle the tension between our fandoms… which would probably result in some fans considering leaving for good.

Keeping the status quo isn’t going to cut it, then.

“But why are you asking me this all of a sudden, Moondae? Is there a group that this has happened to?”

“Nah. Just asking.”

He would only become stressed if I gave him the details, so I decided I’d just fill him in after I got everything sorted. I asked the same question to another member, but the results were not much better.

“I-I’m not sure. Uh… I think it’s important to listen to each other and respect each other’s opinions?”

I stared at Raebin.

Moving on.

“How to get along?” Bae Sejin asked.

“Yes.”

“Uh… You’re really asking me?” he questioned suspiciously.

He had no confidence in his social skills. I decided to pass on getting his advice, too.

Chungwoo, who happened to be sitting next to him, seemed to think the answer was easy. “Working hard together is an easy way of building bonds”

“Hmm…”

Yeah, but… They’ve already been through more than enough. Of course, Chungwoo didn’t know who I was talking about.

He added by way of an embarrassed explanation, “Oh, I’m not saying hard work is the end all, be all or anything… If there is a reward, and everyone works toward it together, people are bound to grow close. That’s what I meant.”

“Oh.”

This advice seemed to come from his previous career as a professional athlete.

That’s true, I guess. Rewards and obstacles, huh? I filed this away for now.

The next answer I got was similar to Chungwoo’s but was a little more appealing to me.

“I know! I know! They should do something fun together! Like sports, you know?” Eugene said.

“Sports?”

“Yes! Make them run around together. If they win together, they’ll become friends!”

This was, at last, a useful suggestion.

For sure… being in a fandom is sort of comparable to a sport. There were rules, victories and defeats, and a sense of emotional accomplishment. The only difference was that it was less immersive than playing an actual sport.

I was of the opinion he had presented a pretty useful viewpoint, however, so I asked again, “What if they do that, but they have bad teamwork and start fighting even more? What if one of them tries to be selfish or takes all the credit?”

“Well, those people will need something to encourage them to behave!”

Cha Eugene answered immediately in English. “You know, to make them embarrassed of their own bad behavior. If they just focus on the game and win after that, they’ll regret their previous actions and grow closer!”

“Hmm. All right.”

In the end, it meant that an authoritative third party needed to get involved if they couldn’t handle the problem themselves. TeSTAR could not fulfill this role, however.

We can’t be trying to teach the fans wrong from right. It would be a strange stance for us to take, like a company trying to educate its customers. We would rub people the wrong way. I could already imagine the backlash that we’d get for attempting it.

I guess that leaves… earning their sympathy. Maybe we need to do something to soften them and make them want to listen to us. I was starting to see a solution coming together, but I frowned. It didn’t feel all that satisfying. My idea seemed too simple.

“M-Moondae?”

“Oh.”

I turned around and found Ahyeon hesitating, unable to enter the kitchen because I was standing in the way.

Nice timing.

“Can I ask you something?”

“S-sure.”

Getting out of the way, I asked Ahyeon the same question I’d asked all the other members.

“What do you think we can do to help a group that is just constantly pissed at each other?”

“Huh?” Ahyeon seemed taken aback.

Eugene watched him with keen interest.

“Hmm…” Ahyeon thought deeply for a moment, then delivered a surprising response.

“I think that’s a pretty difficult situation to be in…”

“…!”

He was saying it might be impossible to resolve.

“If they’re already on bad terms with each other… then they must have a reason for it. I think it would be hard for their relationship to… just suddenly recover.”

This was the most realistic and level-headed response I’d received yet.

“O-of course someone else might be able to think of a solution… but that’s just what I think.”

“All right…” I said, nodding.

Ahyeon smiled awkwardly, and Eugene raised his hand in the air.

“But I think my method is good, too!”

“Wh-what might that be?” Ahyeon asked.

I left them to talk and sank into my thoughts.

I’m done with gathering opinions… Let’s see now… I had my answer.

We can’t defuse the situation entirely on our own right away. Ahyeon was right. Nothing TeSTAR could do right away would instantly solve the problem. I had to do away with vague concepts like reconciliation and repairing relationships and return to my usual way of doing things. There was one very simple thing that motivated people.

Gain. Victories, rewards, accomplishment, joy—when these things existed, they often justified whatever process was necessary to achieve them. I recalled what Chungwoo had said.

“If there is a reward, and everyone works toward it together, people are bound to grow close.”

In the end, this was about making the fans acknowledge that all the members had been needed in order to accomplish what we had. We had to make a plan based on this idea.

We need to show them what they gained from each member of TeSTAR. They had to feel like we produced the best results when all seven of us were together. They needed to realize on an instinctual level that protecting the composition of the group was most beneficial to everyone. It needed to be more fun for the fans to see the group all together than it was stressful to endure the population of obnoxious solo fandoms.

We’ll give them an excuse for how they’re acting now. The emotional element would only make the process smoother.

We’ll make sure they see us as good friends working really hard together… and that will make the fans see all seven members of TeSTAR being together as something precious.

The fans would not have to justify why they had blatantly compared the pros and cons of remaining fans, because we would give them emotional, more human reasons for staying with us. They would be able to pretend that it was the enthusiasm and the warmth pervasive in the group that drew them in, and the mood among the fans would settle.

“Well, those people will need something to encourage them!”

In a sense, this was what Eugene had suggested. We couldn’t preach to our fans, however, so we’d have to come at this from a different direction.

That means what I have to do next is… We had to show them that TeSTAR wasn’t just working hard at our job as idols, but that we valued the group on a personal level and attached a lot of meaning to it. I realized in hindsight that a direct appeal would probably have the opposite of the intended effect anyway.

Though we can’t be so direct, we’ll nevertheless ensure they feel it in their bones. Doing so would lay the foundation for a healthy dose of pride in TeSTAR as a group.

“Hmm.”

“…a team battle will solve everything! Why do you think there are so many sports movies out there?” Eugene was saying in English.

“I-I think you might be right.”

Eugene was still eagerly explaining his logic and seemed to be persuading Ahyeon to his way of thinking. I laughed and left the kitchen.

“Where are you going?” Eugene called after me in Korean.

“I need to shower.”

I wanted to collect my thoughts. There would be a lot to discuss when planning out the necessary content, but there were priorities to consider.

I’ll suggest contacting W Live. First, we had to get the encore concert set list straightened out.

***

TeSTAR had successfully completed their dome tour in Japan and was holding an encore concert in Korea. Naturally, this news made everyone happy.

- Finally. Something to make life worth living

- Please let me get a ticket this time

- They’re coming back to Korea so fast? T1 is finally doing something right

The fans were gifted with even more good news. The moment ticketing ended, W Live posted an announcement.

[Failed to buy a TeSTAR concert ticket? Don’t you worry! W Live will provide real-time streaming ♡]

The concert was going to be streamed live. This was meant to draw in as many people to the concert as possible, but it also made the fans who had failed to get a ticket feel better.

- Wow, this must be because everyone enjoyed the charity concert so much. I love it LOL

- Phew. I didn’t get a ticket. This makes me feel a little better T_T

“Hmph.”

Raebin’s fan scoffed at the posts.

Streaming is unnecessary! There was a reason she was able to say this—she’d succeeded at nabbing a standing seat ticket at the upcoming concert! That was why she was currently inside the concert venue, passing the time by sifting through posts on social media.

Hmm. The vibes are good. She lowered her phone and looked around her. The mood among the solo fans had been touch-and-go for a while. This was an offline event, however, so everyone seemed happy.

I guess the internet is just a different world entirely.

She tutted, standing among the many excited fans, nodding to herself when she saw a social media post uploaded by someone also at the concert.

- I just tried to give someone a wolf Chungwoo cookie, and they ignored me. Turns out it’s one of those fans. I have no words LOL.

The post was quickly spreading.

So they’re just hiding it, then. It was a mess. Raebin’s fan exited the social media app, deciding to turn her focus to the concert. She had a feeling that if she didn’t, she would find herself making a few comments of her own.

I’m just going to focus on getting a good look at Raebin and Moondae. It was better than squabbling online. She waited for the concert to start from her place in the left block, which she’d chosen based on her previous experience at TeSTAR’s concerts.

Regardless of the mood among the fans, her heart was racing at the prospect of seeing her idols in person again. She heard a voice moments later.

“Hello, Seoul!”

The crowd roared, and the performance began with an explosion of energy. The concert started off with “Drill,” the group’s most recent song, and it gave off the same vibes as the previous concert in Seoul, pulling the audience in.

“Present” next! This was an encore concert, which meant it was very similar in content to the previous one, but knowing the order in advance was a good thing. It was satisfying knowing what was coming next. There was an energy to TeSTAR’s concerts that could only be felt in person, and it just wasn’t the same as watching through a screen.

Swallow your bitter self up

To your heart’s content

Title tracks, b-sides, and solo performances came one after another. TeSTAR made the audience scream until their throats were hoarse.

The concert proceeded at a deftly controlled tempo, and before long, it was already coming to an end.

“Bye-bye!”

The lights went down and settled into a normal glow.

“Phew!”

It wasn’t really over yet, of course. She knew that there were going to be at least three or four more songs in the encore.

Raebin’s fan wiped the sweat from her forehead. She had shouted “you’re handsome” so many times that she felt like she was about to descend to another dimension. She tried to calm down a little, thinking about what the next song would be.

I think the first encore song was a medley, right? This was usually where a local song was performed during the tour, but originally it had been a short arrangement of the songs they performed during Idol Inc.

There’s no reason to think they would change this, she thought, looking at the people around her, who were singing a fan song while they waited for TeSTAR to finish changing outfits backstage. Given the recent mood, any Idol Inc. songs would probably make the fans think of the vicious rivalry between the fandoms instead of bringing back pleasant memories.

Oh, whatever. We just have to live with hating each other. What did it matter as long as the group was doing well? She grumbled to herself as she pushed the thought out of her mind.

“I feel good today, like something great’s about to happen!”

The audience was singing the first fan song as they waited for the encore. This was common for this part of the concert, but from what she’d seen on social media earlier, a fourth of the people here probably hated each other. This left her feeling a little weird about standing around and singing together. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves though—that, at least, was a given

I guess the concert has that effect on everyone. Even she was singing along and, in a way, experiencing what it would be like to be a fan of the entire group.

Come out, guys! That was when the sound and lights went up on stage, and the crowd cheered.

Now was the time that the promotional video about the tour would play.

“Huh?”

This was not the case. The song coming from the huge screen wasn’t the grand intro, but the warm, soft notes of an acoustic guitar. It was the melody of the fan song people had been singing just now, “You Are the Magic.”

Raebin was on the screen… and he was playing the guitar!

“Oh my god…?”

There was something a little odd about Kim Raebin’s outfit, however. He was wearing pajama pants and a T-shirt, and even had his hair tied in a low ponytail.

“What in the world?”

She could see that the footage hadn’t been taken using a professional camera, but probably a phone camera with a filter. It felt very personal.

Next to Raebin was Eugene, who was lying down and humming, as well as Bae Sejin, who was sitting on the sofa and picking some food with a serious expression on his face.

Behind them was Moondae, bringing out drinks, and Lee Sejin, who had just come out of the shower and was looking for a towel. He spotted the camera and waved at it.

[“Hey! What are we filming?”]

[“This is just something to remember the tour by.”]

Chungwoo could be heard laughing in the background. The camera swung around wildly, circling the room once, then turned off.

“Huh?”

A caption appeared at the top of the black screen.

[TeSTAR documentary]

[Produced by: Ryu Chungwoo, Bae Sejin, Seon Ahyeon, Lee Sejin, Park Moondae, Cha Eugene and Kim Raebin]

[Sponsored by: Ryu Chungwoo! <- Important]

This was not the documentary that had turned out to be such a fiasco—instead, it was a compilation of photos and videos TeSTAR had taken themselves while preparing for their tour.