Chapter 89

Chapter 89

Under the suddenly uploaded TeSTAR video was the title:

[TeSTAR - You Are the Magic]

There was no additional explanation and the title didn’t really give off official content vibes. Even more bizarrely, based on the way the TeSTAR members were standing together in animal pajamas, this appeared to be a cute little behind-the-scenes video.

This is nice! The fans pressed play, already pretty pleased with their surprise gift. Unfamiliar background music began to play suddenly—the refreshing and gentle notes of an electronic piano playing a medium-tempo beat. Then TeSTAR, who were all sitting around on the floor, got up and slowly assumed formation. Fans stared in shock.

Was it a new song? A cover song? They began singing, as the fans continued to watch with confusion.

I feel good today

like something great’s about to happen

You make everything okay

It may be unfamiliar, but it’ll be good

The melody wasn’t anything too outlandish, just pleasant to the ears. The TeSTAR members jumped in the air in unison, animal pajamas and all, and then began to dance. The ears attached to their hoods flapped around over their heads.

The fans instantly went wild all across social media.

- I thought it was just going to be behind-the-scenes footage from the reality show, but it’s a whole ass new song. Click it now!

- Quick, everyone, watch the video they uploaded to their account. It’s nuts

- T_T This is so cute

The choreography wasn’t anything complicated—just a few basic dance moves done as cutely as possible—but because they were wearing animal pajamas and moving around freely, without being bound by camera angles, it didn’t look half-bad.

Reality is just as incredible as dreams

In my dreams, I dream of an amazing tomorrow

When I see you then

I’ll tell you of only the best of them all

Cha Eugene, wearing snow leopard pajamas, hummed the verse while swinging his tail about, coming to stand at the front of the group. He then threw confetti into the air in time with the beat.

Seon Ahyeon, who was wearing deer pajamas, appeared through the confetti.

My dreams will never sink

They keep me going in my reality

Reality is breathing! Yeah

YES breathing (breathing!)

Hoo-ha! Hoo-ha!

Perhaps matching the energy from the others, or because of the sudden hip-hop arrangement, Seon Ahyeon was dancing in an uncharacteristically cute, almost childish way. The fans slowly began recognizing there was something familiar about the song.

These lyrics sound similar to “Magical Boys!” Some of the lyrics had come from “Magical Boys,” rearranged in a lively way to evoke the feeling of a content day well spent. The fans all came to the same conclusion at once.

It has to be Kim Raebin. Kim Raebin did this. This song had the same vibes as the moon rabbit performance. As this realization was taking place, the song entered the pre-chorus.

- I’ll run over in a heartbeat (uhmm)

Will you smile when you see me?

Park Moondae, dressed in white puppy pajamas, came to the front and suddenly fell to his knees, confusing the fans. Then he began to mimic Big Sejin, who had been center during the final part of the choreography for “Magical Boys.”

It was intended to be comedic, of course, but he did his best nevertheless, and the fans were rolling with laughter in response.

- LMAO

- Oh my god, Moondae shows off his comedic chops from time to time and I’m always happy as hell

- Big Sejin’s about to fall over laughing guys haha

- Someone make a GIF of Moondae. I need to be able to see this on repeat every now and then

The bit ended when the members pulled Park Moondae to his feet, preventing the joke from growing stale. In the midst of all this, the lyrics themselves were actually quite lovely.

Everything changes

(But even so)

The magic of this moment

Maybe it’s YOU!

The members sang the last word of the final pre-chorus together, then began executing a pretty dope choreography during the chorus. Big Sejin, wearing a black baby bear hood, was at the center.

I feel good today

like something great’s about to happen

(Ooh- yeah!)

You make everything okay

It may be strange, but it’ll be good

The feel-good lyrics and Big Sejin’s sweeping movements made the chorus feel like it was part of a chill dance practice video.

Then it was Raebin’s turn next. Wearing a pink rabbit outfit, he looked incredibly out of place.

- ROFL Raebin’s wearing pink

- What happened to our fierce-looking medieval rabbit?

- But he’s so cute T_T. Do everything you want, Raebin, but you need to get our permission to look so cute first

He was holding a carrot-shaped pen like a microphone as he delivered his lines in a sing-song kind of rap.

Life is strange

Jump lightly into the sky

Walk atop the clouds

Let it rain, I don’t care

My life is

bright, pouring out like light

All right, maybe you were right

I’m on fire today

The members were banging their heads enthusiastically like they were at a rock festival, their animal ears flapping to and fro. This shot had to be the highlight of the video.

- LMAO

- If you guys are happy, so are we

The video was mostly humor, but they managed to show their charms throughout. The song ended, however, on a more serious note, the members all wearing shy smiles.

Our meeting yesterday

Is the shining dream of today

And the magic of tomorrow.

That’s right, you are the magic

They held hands and bowed as the final notes of the song played.

- T_T

- How could they just upload this without any warning? I love them

- My quality of life suddenly skyrocketed

- I don’t know who came up with the idea to give them those pajamas but give them a raise

The fans were elated at the sudden release of a new song, their joy almost too much to handle. At the same time, however, they grew curious.

- Is this supposed to be a new release?

- I think so. I can’t find anything about it on the internet though

- Whoa. Is it okay to just reveal a new song like this?

- It’s not on any streaming site... The agency can’t have uploaded it by mistake, right?

└ That would be nuts

Having already experienced the agency’s ineptitude at times, the fans were seized with fear. The sudden drop simply didn’t make any sense to them.

Thankfully, a new post appeared on TeSTAR’s account less than a half hour later.

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

[This is our little gift to our Loviewers, who made everything from our debut to our music show win possible. We love you ♡

“You Are the Magic”

Soundcloudy: (link)]

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

The song was a gift for fans and downloadable in its entirety for free, leaving the fans astounded.

- That was a fan song?

- Did they just release it for free as a gift?

- I mean, guys, we appreciate it so much, but why didn’t you just release it on streaming sites? T_T This could have counted toward your score at the end-of-year awards.

└ I know, right? And the song is so great, too.

- How did they find the time to even make this? They hardly seem to have the time to sleep these days... Thank you anyway, TeSTAR. You guys are so cute

The fans were happy to receive such a sweet gift, but also a little sad that it hadn’t been uploaded to a streaming site. They believed it was a sleeper hit that would have made its way up the charts in no time.

More than anything, of course, people were touched.

- TeSTAR just threw the magic meme right back at us... I love it

- They won’t just stop here, right? At the end-of-year concert... there will be more added to the choreography, and we’ll all get to sing along, right? Just thinking about it makes me happy

- How did they think to use the lyrics from their best-performing song to make a fan song? T_T Kim Rabbit truly is a genius. He’s the one who arranged “Magical Boys”

└ It might not have been Kim Raebin. The credits included all their names

└ LOL I can tell whose fan you are. Get the hell out of my mentions

- I’m going to buy it if it’s included in the next album... I want a version with official album art and lyrics

Regardless, most of the fans were happy, and TeSTAR were also pleased by their fan’s responses.

***

“I guess it was worth it to do a little work, even while we’re away on a trip.”

“Yeah. We didn’t have much time to put it together, but it turned out well!”

“The pajamas were a nice touch,” commented Eugene, who was still wearing his snow leopard outfit.

It was 1 P.M. and the last round of content mining for our “extreme trip” was waiting for us.

Frankly, I wasn’t expecting the production team to be so flexible. We’d spent the entire evening yesterday, as well as the morning today, recording the fan song and making the video. The production team had been fine with it, enamored with the concept of filming us creating everything.

We were only planning to come up with a rough draft, but we ended up finishing it instead. We’d planned to release the finished song at a later date, but apparently, the production team had spoken with the agency and persuaded them to let us release it right away.

They probably intended to use it as promotion for the reality show. Next week’s trailer would probably include something along the lines of “How the fan song was made” in the title. Then the actual behind-the-scenes footage would appear two weeks later or something along those lines. In any case, everyone seemed happy, considering the song had gotten such a great reception.

“Should we go eat something now?”

“Yes!”

We’d skipped breakfast in order to practice the choreography and were all kind of hungry.

The production team was conscientious enough to take us to a well-known restaurant nearby. They sold marinated grilled duck and all of us probably ate three servings each.

“Thanks for the food!”

“T-th-that was great.”

“Moondae, do you have a detailed review for us?”

“The marinade had a great balance between sweet and spicy, and the meat was fantastic. The rice was delicious, too. I would definitely come again. There, happy?” I said.

“Nice!”

Our next activity was river rafting.

“Careful, we might capsize! Watch it!”

“Aaaah!”

Splat!

We endured the constant assault of water splashing in our faces but had to keep rowing regardless.

“Now, everyone! If any of you makes a mistake, you’ll all end up in the water! Let’s look out for one another!”

“R-right!”

Rowing while being splashed, perched on a shaky raft, was almost like performing manual labor.

“Yay!”

A few of the members, however, seemed to be having the time of their lives, especially Eugene and Chungwoo. I had no idea why they found it so fun, but I had a sneaking suspicion about the day’s events.

They want us to burn all the calories we ate earlier, is that it? The agency had probably suggested this activity. Unable to shake the feeling that the marinated duck was to blame for our fate, I just continued to row in silence.

“That’s right! Push, then pull!”

It reminded me of the time I’d worked part-time at a factory.

***

“Good work, everyone!”

“That was fun!”

After our foray into rafting was finally over, we showered and changed in a nearby shower facility, and the afternoon was nearly over. It was about time to wrap up filming. We chose a spot near the river that made for a great backdrop and cameras were set up all around us.

“Wow... This trip has been so much fun from start to finish.”

“It was great traveling together with just the members. Thanks for making it such a fun trip everyone.”

We all took turns giving our final thoughts, partly sincere and partly for the cameras.

“I-I’d like to come again i-if... the opportunity presents itself.” Ahyeon, however, seemed to mean every word he said.

“Yeah. Let’s travel all together again.”

“I’m in!”

“Maybe we can go overseas next time?”

Wait, does everyone else actually want to travel together, as well?

“Now then, until next time, dear fans!”

“This has been ‘TeSTAR Tests Out Life Together’!”

The members waved enthusiastically at the camera. Of course, I did so as well.

“Thanks for watching!”

“See you again!”

With that, filming was over.

“And cut! Well done, everyone!”

“Yay!”

“Thank you!”

Everyone wore bright expressions since this was yet another item on the agenda successfully handled—they all seemed to have had a good time as well.

“This place is pretty close to Seoul. I think I’ll come here again with my family,” Chungwoo said.

“Yeah, it’s pretty nice,” Lee Sejin responded.

I was returning the microphone I’d been wearing to the staff when our manager suddenly ran toward us.

“Huh?”

“Raebin, I need you for a moment,” the manager said, leading the younger guy a ways away. I could see him returning Raebin’s phone—which had been left on shore during the rafting—and whispering something quietly.

Suddenly, all the blood drained from Raebin’s face.