Chapter 77

Chapter 77

We passed out after going through the choreography again on Sunday evening and when we woke up, a new week had begun. This meant it was time for us to learn how many albums we’d sold in the first week. The results were nothing short of astounding.

“Six hundred and seventy... thousand?”

“Yeah!”

I asked the manager for clarification, “Those are the physical sales, not just the retail pre-orders?”

“I didn’t think you’d know about stuff like that. Yes, it’s total sales!”

I had no words. By retail preorders, I was referring to the number of copies bought by retailers in anticipation of sales after release.

They buy more than the number that’ll sell in the first week, so that’s what I assumed that number was. But we’d actually sold six hundred and seventy thousand copies. That’s unreal.

Even if there was a lot of talk about how album sales were badly inflated these days, the number really was mind-blowing. Considering that TeSTAR had been born from an audition show and most of their fanbase was still within Korea, this was even more shocking. TeSTAR’s first week sales were even greater than I remembered them being in my past life.

It was only six hundred thousand last time. I was sure of it. The group that debuted from Idol Inc. had sold six hundred thousand in the first week. I had no idea where the extra seventy thousand had come from.

“Guys, we set a new record for male idol debut album sales.”

“Oh...”

“Holy moly.”

The other members seemed more overwhelmed than actually happy. If it had been three hundred thousand they might have been dancing with joy, but double that number seemed to scare them a little. Of course, most of them snapped out of their daze quickly enough. They were starting to think in practical terms.

“Does this mean we might make it to first place next week?”

A sudden tension settled over us.

Chungwoo asked, “How many albums did VTIC sell this week?”

“Let me check,” Raebin said, pulling out his phone.

The weekly sales could be seen on the album charts.

[LONG NIGHT / VTIC 312,608]

“Wow.”

That was an incredible number, considering this was their second week.

Even if the final day of their first week was included in the second-week sales... come on. Their second-week figures were basically the same as the total sales most popular male idol groups managed. At this point, I was curious to see how many albums they’d sold in the first week this time around.

“Hold on...”

I tapped at Raebin’s screen and skim-read until I found the figures for VTIC’s first week.

[1,872,863]

I stared.

Okay. There’s no way we’re topping that.

“Whoa!”

“Haha.”

“I guess we’ll hit number one someday if we keep at it!”

The tension eased and the members began laughing and joking, sharing encouraging quips. Though we had foreseen this outcome, seeing the huge gap between VTIC and ourselves had sapped any will to fight for it. We had at least reached half of their sales, which meant we still stood a chance, but we were lagging behind badly in the charts. It would be difficult to catch up.

There’s no way our album sales will spike after the first week... We probably won’t be able to reach first place even in our second week. Our place in the charts was rising slowly, but I doubted we could dislodge VTIC from their secure position at the top. I shrugged.

“Let’s get ready to leave.”

“Sounds good.”

“Good luck today!”

The members scattered to go and change out of their pajamas.

The manager muttered something along the lines of “This isn’t how it was supposed to go down...” but sighed as if resigned to his fate.

I guess there was something he didn’t get to say? But it was none of my concern.

The manager spoke up again as soon as we’d gotten in the van. “You know that the fansigns are starting two days from now, right, guys?”

“Oh!”

“Already?”

The other members reacted with visible nervousness. We’d been told about them when we debuted, but the busy schedule had caused everyone to forget the upcoming event.

The manager nodded. “Yes. You guys should put your best foot forward on this since the fans are buying so many of your albums and supporting you! Be as nice as you can!”

“Of course!”

He’d probably mentioned the album sales earlier to try and segue into this conversation. He looked relieved now that he’d gotten the words out.

A fansign, huh? We really needed to prepare ourselves if we wanted to avoid saying the wrong thing in a situation where we’d be speaking to over a hundred people.

The manager’s advice had the opposite of the desired effect on a certain member, however. Ahyeon had turned ghost white.

“I-I-I don’t think I can do it.”

“Why?”

“Huh? B-b-because I can’t speak very well, I guess?”

“Your Korean is fine,” Eugene said.

Ahyeon grew only more confused by this seemingly random comment.

I sighed and intervened. “You’re a very careful person, so you’re less likely to make mistakes, actually. Don’t worry too much.”

“Th-thanks,” he said with a faint smile despite continuing to look concerned all the same.

It’s only natural. We hadn’t spoken with the fans much up until now. Sometimes we saw fans up close on our way to and fro, but mostly all we had time to do was quickly wave or smile at them before getting in the van. The rare individual who showed up near our dorm or a convenience store was a stalker, not a fan, meaning they didn’t count.

Speaking one-on-one with a fan would make anyone nervous…

“I can’t wait! I want to talk to our fans face-to-face already.”

...except for him. Big Sejin was in the front seat, humming a tune as he stared down at his phone.

So he’s confident, is he? I guess we have the perfect example of both ends of the spectrum on this? As for me, I had no idea how to feel about it. I’d been paid a couple of times to attend public fansigns for famous idols to take pictures, but I’d never heard what the idols and their fans talked about while they were signing albums. The venues were noisier than you might expect and it was hard to hear what was being said.

I did see them put on a lot of different headbands and stuff like that, though. It would be embarrassing, but it was doable. I mentally sifted through any memories I retained, but could only really recall bits and pieces. I clicked my tongue.

I’ve got nothing useful. Maybe I’ll look up online what people usually talk about at such events. We were inside the van and there were no reality show cameras on us at the moment. I opened up my social media app and began searching.

[Fansign fan account]

Typing “fan accounts” should filter out any photos uploaded by fansites. Before I could swipe to the trending tab, however, a recent upload caught my eye.

Wait a second.

========================

[You’ll need to buy at least 120 albums if you want to get into the TeSTAR fansign. It’s nuts! I didn’t get in... Looking forward to fan accounts from those who get to attend T_T (photo)]

========================

The image attached to the post was a screenshot showing that the uploader had purchased a hundred albums but had still failed to win entry to the fansign event. I was shocked.

A hundred and twenty? To be completely honest, the first thought that came to me was, How much money does that cost?

The suggested retail price for TeSTAR’s debut mini-album was 15,000 won. Even if fans received a discount for making large purchases and whatnot, the best they could hope to pay was probably 11,000 won.

If I use that price... The total was 1,320,000 won.

“Ha...” My head was spinning.

Fans only get to talk with us for at most a couple of minutes at these events. There were seven members in our group, which meant that each fan should get around 180,000 won’s worth of interaction with each of us.

That’s a bit of a waste, isn’t it? I wondered if I was capable of interacting with someone in a worthwhile enough manner in a single minute of conversation, as to match that worth. I wasn’t sure that I could, honestly.

Maybe I’ll just humor every single request they make. I couldn’t think of any other way. Putting down my phone, I frowned. I’d been to fansigns for idols with a cut-off of over a hundred albums, but I’d never thought I’d find myself on the idol’s side of such an event. I broke out in a cold sweat just thinking about it.

***

Park Moondae’s first fansite master arrived at a performance hall located in Mok-dong, where TeSTAR’s first fansign was being held. She’d finished making all the necessary preparations. The small stage and seating could accommodate three hundred people and thus had more than enough room to house the one hundred waiting in line.

The staff gave them numbers at random which would determine what order they went up to meet the members.

[07]

Yay, a single-digit number! The fansite master gleefully set up her camera, happy that she’d be able to talk with Moondae before he was worn out.

A little past 7:30, TeSTAR arrived on stage and the resulting screams were loud enough to deafen everyone for a moment. Usually, the sound of clicking cameras would have been the predominant sound in such moments, but this was TeSTAR’s first fansign, and people were excited.

The members came in waving, looking slightly shy. Then, standing in front of the long tables set up onstage, they bowed to the audience.

“Take your STAR! Hello, we are TeSTAR!”

“Waaaaaaaaaaah!”

Giving their official greeting like this was the sort of thing a rookie group unused to fansigns might do. The fans cheered at the top of their lungs, but internally they were really chanting their bias’ name. Park Moondae’s fansite master was no exception.

Moondae has black hair! It looks so good! She’d already attended a few of the pre-recs and seen him with black hair before, but no matter how many times she saw it, she loved it. Maybe it was because Moondae had black hair when she’d first become his fan.

I liked the blond color, too, but black really suits him so well. She thought of her friend, who was adamant that blond hair suited him better, but soon pushed that thought away and focused her attention on her camera. She needed to take amazing pictures and share them with the world.

He seems to grow more good-looking every time I see him. He was wearing his stage outfit, white, summery clothing that was probably from the album photoshoot, and just looking at him was exhilarating.

This isn’t just my opinion as his fan. It’s the objective truth! As she muttered to herself like this, TeSTAR finished bowing and slowly began to find their seats behind the tables.

Moondae’s at the very end. She complimented herself for having the foresight to bring gifts for the other members as well, just in case. It would be a little awkward to walk all the way to the end with an armful of gifts only for Moondae.

“We’ll be starting soon. Please check your numbers!” a staff member announced.

The fansign finally began. Because she had a single-digit number, she didn’t have to wait long before going up and getting the member’s autographs. Moondae was just about to meet the first fan to go up on stage when she was called over.

Ryu Chungwoo was the first member she went up to meet.

“Hello!” he said.

“Oh, hello,” she replied, stuttering a little.

He’s so handsome, too. She’d seen people refer to him as the hot boy-next-door type, and seeing him up close, she could understand why.

He’s the sort of guy who’d play the protagonist in a webcomic, as the handsome and athletic college student… After exchanging a bit of small talk, he gave her a high five and she handed him a small box of red ginseng.

“Wow. Thank you!”

“Don’t mention it.” She’d successfully received her first autograph pleasantly enough. She moved on to the next member.

“Where should I sign?” It was Lee Sejin, the former child actor. He looked like a gentle, courteous person. While he wasn’t especially enthusiastic, he wasn’t indifferent, either. He even asked her a question.

“Who are you here to see?”

“Oh, I’m here to see all of you!”

“Is that right? Thank you.” Lee Sejin responded calmly without any sign of attitude, and before long, he’d also finished signing his autograph.

He’s more pleasant than I thought he’d be. With each signature, she was able to re-evaluate her opinion of the members, and positively so. The same was true for the remaining guys.

“Hmm. In that case, let me find a spot I can sign without obscuring any of our faces...”

She liked Kim Raebin, who seemed very nervous despite having such a tough look about him.

“Which album cover do you like best? I like the violet one!” Cha Eugene, whose signature was made up of a bunch of scribbles, bombarded attendees with questions and seemed more excited than the fans were. She found him cute as well.

He was so easy to hate early on in the show. Relieved she hadn’t posted anything negative about him, she internally commended herself for her self-control. Then it was time for her to meet Big Sejin.

“Welcome! How are you finding our first fansign? I was so nervous!” he said.

“I was anxious, too.”

“You certainly don’t look nervous!” Big Sejin talked to her like they were already friends, instantly engaging in a conversation about what she’d done earlier that day, how she was feeling now, and he even asked if she had any personal worries she was dealing with. He offered a high-five without being asked.

“See you again!” he said.

“Okay!”

I feel like we just became besties… It felt like a conversation one might have with the handsome student rep at college. When it came to those sorts of guys, everyone knew that they were this nice to everybody they met, but that didn’t stop you from developing a crush on them.

She was impressed by how friendly he was in the short two-and-a-half-minute conversation they’d had but tensed up again when she remembered she’d be speaking to Moondae soon.

Just two more! She’d originally planned to move quickly past Seon Ahyeon, excited as she was to get to Moondae.

But he’s way too good-looking for me to just pass him over like that...

“H-hey, nice to meet you,” Seon Ahyeon said, smiling at her shyly.

As they spoke, he listened carefully to everything she said. She was thoroughly mesmerized by the time he signed her album. He even wrote a caring extra message below his autograph.

[Thank you so much for coming, Jiwon! We’ll keep doing our best. I hope we can continue to show you what we can do! XOXO]

He’s a national treasure. His good looks and sweet personality were impossible to fake.

And now for my long-awaited bias!

She gulped as she turned to Moondae.