Chapter 271

Chapter 271

So they’re making a documentary of their own?

No way. After all the fuss they’d endured, Raebin’s fan felt sickened at the mere mention of a documentary. She felt a chill go down her spine.

Is this really a good idea? It’s better to just let sleeping dogs lie, isn’t it? This thought, however, soon vanished from her mind entirely.

TeSTAR reappeared on the screen, looking very friendly and open. It seemed to be morning, since the person who was shakily filming was poking at the members who were sprawled on the floor.

[“Let’s eat.”]

[“Wow… I’m so sleepy.”]

[“I wish… I could eat meat.”]

“…?”

The footage wasn’t special because they were being particularly friendly with each other. It was more that their behavior was casual and realistic, without any obvious goals or exaggeration for the camera. There were plenty of TeSTAR videos that had been polished by the skillful planning and editing of production teams.

The members’ personalities shone through in those videos as well, but they had never released anything that made it seem like they were completely unaware of the viewers.

Then a slow accompaniment began to play—it was an acoustic version of Raebin’s “You Are the Magic,” which they’d performed earlier that night. This version sounded raw and unmixed, accompanying the scene that was playing out on screen nicely.

[“Hmm.”]

[“You can’t really tell, can you?”]

[“I guess not.”]

Between cuts of them practicing choreography for the concert, they were shown gathered together and watching their dance practice videos, monitoring how they were doing. They also sat around eating ice cream together in a hotel room while watching some foreign TV show, and in a different hotel in another country, they played board games, sometimes throwing cards at each other.

[“Haha!”]

The person behind the camera laughed over the sound of the guitar, and the screen shook. A series of short videos followed.

Raebin’s fan soon found herself staring, mesmerized, and yet somehow unaware of it. The members danced, threw objects back and forth, checked the dye in each other’s hair, and climbed down from the stage while laughing and running—all of these moments played out on screen.

As the song passed the bridge and entered the climax, an assortment of concert prep and wrap-up photos played in a fascinating slideshow. In them, they were holding fireworks on the beach. Moondae was grilling meat at a wrap party, while Lee Sejin shook a drink.

Eugene was climbing onto a stage device during rehearsal and smiling. There were countless moments, and it wasn’t even clear when or where they’d been taken. The video made it abundantly clear that TeSTAR spent a lot of time together outside of their promotions. It was practically a meteor shower of moments.

The audience was completely silent, even the intermittent screams from excited fans fading out. Raebin’s fan finally reacted, screaming internally.

That… that’s not fair! Their fandom had already been pickled in melancholy by now. The fans of TeSTAR as a group, the fans who had refused to even watch the documentary in solidarity with Eugene, were probably crying as they watched the live stream at home.

She felt a stinging in her own eyes as well. It would have been strange if she’d remained unaffected, given the mood that had settled over the stadium.

“Ha…”

Finding it strange that she suddenly felt so emotional, she was forced to acknowledge one truth.

This will help, at least for a little while… It wouldn’t last long, but the magic of a concert combined with this incredible addition would no doubt be effective.

The mood among the fans will improve, at least for a little while after the concert… TeSTAR was far from done, however.

[※Get ready for the encore※]

As captions appeared on the screen, a silent scene showing the members eating fried chicken in the studio and talking appeared. Then they were shown dressed casually as they entered a recording booth one by one.

[※In other countries, we sang songs that were famous there. We thought we’d do something similar in Korea.※]

This message appeared as a short, handwritten memo. The screen then returned to black. The gentle strumming of the guitar passed the climax of the song and slowly faded to silence. A series of captions appeared.

[※In celebration of TeSTAR※]

[※200X※]

[※The song that the greatest number of people listened to in the year when all the members were first in Korea※]

The large screen on stage parted, and fog created with dry ice slowly rolled out, filling the air with a sense of excitement. Instead of the anticipated Idol Incorporated medley, a melodic and emotional accompaniment began to play.

“…!”

It was a nice, familiar melody, a carol that had been released at the end of the same year the youngest members—Eugene and Raebin—were born.

[※It’s Getting Better※]

It had been arranged in the style of a Korean ballad, and its beautiful notes echoed through the stadium. The stage floor split in two, and a lift slowly rose through the fog. The members were standing on the lift, now wearing neat, casual winter outfits.

Bae Sejin, who wore a coat, brought his microphone to his mouth first.

When the small mistakes hurt you

When the small things give you more pain than they should

He wasn’t injecting a lot of flair in his voice, sounding simple and honest instead.

I simply sit at the window

and think about next year’s me

Ahyeon’s clear, low bass voice rang out, Lee Sejin coming in to harmonize during his second line.

In the same season, on the same day

When I look back down memory lane

An orchestra began to play. The live band, which had been playing incredibly all throughout the concert, did away with its electronic sounds and instead accompanied the group with soft stringed instruments and keyboards.

TeSTAR’s clear, powerful voices grew in pitch alongside the music.

The gloomy day

Becomes food for my soul that

Helps it grow, the sharp pain

anchors me flat

Moondae’s voice rang out. He wore a gray leather jacket, his hair soft and pink as he sang, his voice powerful. A lovely harmony was laid over this, Chungwoo’s baritone voice providing support.

On the day that I head down there,

and find the real me

Eugene smiled as he sang the last verse.

I won’t feel a thing

He sounded relieved for some reason.

“Oh…”

The lyrics, the mood of the song, and the video combined to have an indescribable effect.

They… really put a lot of work into this, didn’t they? She could hear the odd muffled sounds of people trying not to cry here and there. Raebin’s fan tried to take a cool-headed and logical approach, wondering to herself if this wasn’t too blatant an attempt to manipulate the fans’ feelings.

She couldn’t believe that she was behaving exactly like the meme she’d seen online, of a person trying not to cry and pretending they weren’t touched.

You won’t feel a thing

There wasn’t too much artistry to the song, and the focus was on delivering it truthfully and affectionately. The fans slowly swayed their lightsticks back and forth, the lights flickering in unison.

TeSTAR’s voices hummed the carol’s melody.

Du, durururudu

The audience was fully immersed in the way the music and stage lights harmonized, as though they were sinking into a deep, warm sea.

Happy new year to you

I know you’ll be okay

The song ended on a fairly low note.

Wow. That was nuts. Raebin’s fan thought to herself as she watched the close-up shot on the screen of the members lowering their microphones and smiling.

They’re really working to make sure this concert reaches its full potential, aren’t they? Being a solo fan herself, she couldn’t shake the feeling she’d been tricked too. She felt like all the emotions had been drained from her body.

Do you value TeSTAR that much, guys? And Raebin… She felt a complicated sort of defeat as she watched Raebin, wearing a cute white padded jacket, holding hands with the other members and bowing.

There were plenty of fans who could resist most things their idols threw at them, but she didn’t feel that way—not now, at least. She eventually pulled herself together again, however.

This isn’t going to last, though! By next week, everyone will forget what happened here at the concert, and…

[“Thank you for listening.”]

[“How did you like the song?”]

“It was amazing!”

“Yeaaaah!”

The screams of approval were automatic, the audience’s reflexive response. The members smiled, seemingly in anticipation of what was to come, then stepped off the lift and got into formation, turning around to face the back of the stage.

[“Let’s move on to the next song.”]

In those outfits? Raebin’s fan wondered, halting her musings. She noticed the members tossing aside their winter outerwear. They were dressed in typical stage outfits underneath—leather pants and white linen shirts.

“Oh my god!”

As common as the style was, it worked. They tossed away their hats and gloves as the crowd screamed, and the lights suddenly cut out. A sweet intro rolled out. It was “Wheel.”

Give me back the wheel

Let me fly far

The melody rings. It’s beautiful

Let it pop. It touches my heart

Huh? They’d already done this song earlier. She didn’t mind watching them perform it over and over—her favorite idol had made the song—but it was slightly surprising, all the same.

Give me back the wheel

Let me find my way to your dreams

Stay unchanged, today and tomorrow

It doesn’t end here. Let me in

There was something too spicy about the outfits for them to be a good match for “Wheel.” The clothes and the song were mismatched.

Hmm. Did they have no time to prepare something else? She was a little disappointed.

And as it flies

The music was rudely interrupted by a familiar whistling.

“…!”

A powerful beat and bass flooded the airwaves smoothly, the drop coming out of nowhere.

Jump off

No parachute is necessary

On the contrary

It’s Drill! The chorus of their second title track, “Drill,” suddenly took over. The wistful and refreshing feel of “Wheel” disappeared, the lighting changing to consist of mostly powerful pinpoint lights. Glow-in-the-dark paint that hadn’t been visible on their dark leather pants before now flickered into view because of the lighting. The merciless key choreography of “Drill” unfolded on stage.

“What?!”

Everyone finally realized what was going on.

Just run. I’m coming in, coming in

(Let me in)

They’d combined the two title tracks in a remix. Those who were watching the stream online were shown the following caption:

[※TeSTAR “Daybreak” (Wheel + Drill)※]

It was the title of a new song.

- What the? I was not expecting the challenge they made to be the precursor to a new song

- They’re geniuses

- Oh my god. Oh my god!

- The song is so good. I love it

The song raced on, incredibly fast, even as those watching online filled the live chat with comments. The chorus incorporated entirely new lines, mixing the two songs together perfectly.

Like a drill

Digging in, taking you in

Yes, it’s beautiful

Let it pop. It touches my heart

It was unclear exactly how they’d pulled it off, but the mood of the two songs was somehow maintained while also combining to create a fabulous remix. “Wheel” had been a great listen but slightly on the dull side, and “Drill” a little bit too in your face, though powerful. The two songs fit together like a glove, and, more impressive still, the members pulled off this precarious balance with incredible stability.

The performance was powerful and refreshing like a soft drink, but it also had a silly feeling to it.

Turn my ferris wheel around

The lights go off like stars

The choreography was a collection of everyone’s favorite parts of the two songs, and it was deeply satisfying for viewers to realize they were watching a refined combination of only the best.

“Oh my god!”

Raebin’s fan screamed, but her voice couldn’t be heard since everyone around her was doing the same. The pleasant sense of surprise and satisfaction coursing through the audience led to a rush of adrenaline, and the tension caused by how different this was from their previous performance had everyone riveted in their seats.

Enjoy the moment

That’s my thrill, ha!

As the group performed the choreography with scary precision, Eugene delivered his line as he tumbled across the stage.

Raebin’s fan groaned, feeling like she was about to pass out. She was forced to admit this much—people were going to talk about this concert for a very long time to come.

***

The first day of TeSTAR’s encore concert had come to an end. An hour had passed, and the situation online was as such.

- I guess being good at your main job is what really matters, huh? LOL

- Let me explain just how absurd this is. Combining two songs usually causes really glaring issues. It’s difficult to mix two separate songs so well

└ Yeah and the formula “good + good = even better” doesn’t normally work when it comes to music because of all kinds of issues with flow and all that. How did they pull this off?

- They are so damned good at this. Anyone who did the challenge is probably dying of embarrassment right now

Good. We seemed to have accomplished everything we’d been aiming for. Now all we needed was for all the fans, happy with the quality of the performance, to declare a truce, citing our crudely put-together documentary as the reason for it.

This already seemed to be happening.

- TeSTAR is… family

- Where is the person who said they would kill anyone who said TeSTAR was a family, you might ask? That was the past me. The past me is dead

- I just can’t wrap my head around how perfect they are as a group. It moves me to tears. TeSTAR forever…

Fans of the whole group were being heard louder than ever before.

People tend to grow relaxed when they’re happy. I shrugged and put down my phone.

“Got what you wanted?” Big Sejin asked.

“Yeah.”

“Come sit down and eat some meat, Moondae!” Bae Sejin said. Booze seemed to make him more confident.

I sat down as he suggested and ate my late dinner. Then I turned my thoughts to what would help us sustain our victory when the lingering emotions after the concert wore out.

We did all we could. We’d alleviated the fans’ wariness, giving them both satisfaction and justification for supporting us. The next step was to unite the fans in battle against a common enemy, and as it happened, we had a very appropriate enemy approaching.

This new enemy would be a good target, as well as a good point of comparison for the fans, showing them that the grass was always greener. Not only that, but the enemy I had in mind was an external one. I thought back to the article I’d just read.

[First stage of season three of Relisted! Idol Incorporated revealed]

It was a new season of Idol Incorporated, this time with male contestants instead of female. They would be the first male group to follow up behind TeSTAR.

There are few outside targets to direct the fans at as suitable as this, as long as we can keep our fans from jumping ship.

I shrugged.

Let’s see how this unfolds.