Chapter 101
Chapter 101
The date was Sunday, September 23rd.
TeSTAR’s fans, the Loviewers, were lamenting the drought of new content.
Of course, TeSTAR regularly posted updates on social media, and news regarding advertisements or events trickled in every few days. However, the fans couldn't forget the thrill of their debut promotion period, when content had poured down like a waterfall.
As the fans struggled between their conscience and their desires, they prepared to fall asleep, dreading the coming Monday.
That was, until that video dropped.
-
[TeSTAR ‘Bonus book’ Comeback Trailer (with 127 Section)]
People screamed in shock, but their fingers were already clicking the video.
The thumbnail was a close-up of a left eye seen through a sniper scope. Whether it was colored contacts or CG, the eye glowed with an eerie purple light.
Soon, the video began to play.
[……]
The first thing to appear was a pair of long, dark legs. Clad in sleek leather pants, the legs strode purposefully toward an unknown destination.
The camera followed the footsteps, capturing a high-speed blur of a hallway marked by decay, patched over with planks and cloth.
Then, the camera panned up from the legs to reveal a left hand wearing a black fingerless glove. In the process, a side profile was brought into a sharp close-up.
It was Cha Yu-jin, his red hair swept down.
And held in Cha Yu-jin’s hand was… a tattered red plushie.
[♫♪♩♪-]
Whistling a low, familiar melody, Cha Yu-jin flipped the plushie over.
A clockwork gear was attached to the doll’s back. Without hesitation, his right hand gripped the gear and began to wind it.
Click, click, click.
The loud grinding of the gears echoed, and soon, strange electronic notes began to bleed in.
Pi Pi Pi Pipipipipi
PPi—.
Boom.
With the sound of an explosion, the screen cut to black. A narration played over the darkness.
[WHAT makes people live?]
[…A CHOICE]
The moment the screen brightened again, the scenery had changed.
It was a half-destroyed school playground. The sand had hardened, and the goalposts were rusted and broken. For a brief moment, an aerial shot captured a strange pattern drawn in the center of the field.
A heavy, massive beat began to thrum.
DOOOM DOOOM DOOOM DOOOM
Then, a frantic orchestral string arrangement kicked in—a tense accompaniment in a minor key.
Over that, an intense electronic synth riff pierced through like a lightning strike.
- I’m gonna survive.
Like you did before
I’m gonna grab it.
Just like I dreamed
It was a high-pitched intro.
At that moment, the ground beneath the goalpost exploded. Cha Yu-jin burst out from underneath.
- Ashes to ashes, dust to dust
But NOT for me, not me
I’m alive, yeah, like
Legends never die
Brushing the dust and sand from his hair, Cha Yu-jin kicked the goalpost once as if in excitement, then sprinted across the playground toward the main gate.
The moment he kicked open the gate, which was overgrown with dark red ivy, the scene transitioned.
- Every fork in the road is a choice
But wherever you go, find
The most certain equation
You will never die
It was Lee Se-jin, the former actor, staring into a monitor in a blue laboratory filled with samples.
Contrasting with his delicate appearance in glasses, his lab coat was stained with splotches of green and dark red.
After watching Cha Yu-jin sprint past the gate on his monitor, Lee Se-jin stood up.
He walked toward the iron bars sealing the lab door, then paused to read the various warning signs plastered over them.
It was the Biohazard symbol.
At that moment, the scene cut to a hand tearing a similar symbol off a different location.
- That’s what keeps me alive
I’m chasing it fiercely
The footsteps that will complete my life
If I reach out, I can hold it
The one holding the torn paper was Keun Se-jin, dressed in neat, modern attire. He stood atop a weathered podium as if delivering a speech.
The moment he tossed the crumpled paper toward a rusted fence—
Thud.
The paper bounced weakly off the fence, but the crowd standing below the podium rushed toward the barrier in a frenzy.
Keun Se-jin shrugged, picked up a baseball cap hanging nearby, and snapped it onto his head. Then, he nonchalantly vanished from the podium.
At that moment, the camera soared into the sky.
- I’m gonna survive.
Like you did before
I’m gonna grab it.
Just like I dreamed!
A sniper, equipped from head to toe in modern tactical gear, was aiming at something strange through his sights from a rooftop.
A blue light fired from the sniper’s rifle.
The moment the light hit a throbbing red mass, the mass burst into an explosion.
The camera spun around to show the sniper standing up and tossing his rifle aside. It was Ryu Cheong-woo.
As the rifle Ryu Cheong-woo threw hit the roof, it melted into a red liquid, seeping into the asphalt and vanishing without a trace.
Then, the camera dropped below the asphalt.
- I will never die
Like I did before
I’m gonna keep you
Alive- Alive- Alive!
In a massive, flooded sewer, mannequins and various broken weapons were piled high.
Kim Rae-bin lay silently at the very top of the heap. A single beam of sunlight fell upon him, but at the same time, water dripped down, soaking his black hair and face.
In that instant, Kim Rae-bin opened his eyes.
He shifted only his pupils to the side.
The camera followed his eerie gaze.
Splash.
The scene cut to the busy footsteps of people moving through the sewer.
Instead of a drop, the song became more melodic. A smooth, beautiful voice followed.
- Choose your way
Choose your side
Make your way
Decide your fate
The camera focused on a massive object resembling a water tank being moved by the people.
The tank trembled violently before the top hissed open, and a white arm shot out.
The person pulling himself out of the tank was Seon A-hyun.
Beyond the shaky camera, strangely glowing water overflowed from the tank.
A halo-like spray of glowing water droplets froze in the air behind Seon A-hyun.
At that moment, the camera followed a rising droplet out of the sewer.
It panned to a broken window of a high-rise building.
- Choose your way
Choose your side
Make your way
Decide your fate….
Standing behind the window was a boy looking down at a smartphone.
The music faded.
[…….]
The boy, wearing a black hoodie pulled low, stood with his back to the camera, staring out the window. In his hand was a worn-out smartphone.
Despite it being the middle of the night, the city was filled with shimmering lights. The backlight made the boy’s silhouette appear even darker.
As the camera slowly zoomed in on his upper body—
The boy whipped around and stared directly into the camera.
It was Park Moon-dae.
The camera jerked back as if startled. As it did, drones were revealed floating around the boy.
The drones, glowing with shimmering neon lights, glared at the camera.
Park Moon-dae, his eyes shimmering with a strange purple light, looked at the camera and tossed his smartphone out the window.
The moment Park Moon-dae stepped toward the camera, the screen cut to black.
Flicker.
Text appeared on the screen.
[Choose Your Side]
[127 Section]
[Coming Soon]
The video ended there.
The fans were left spamming question marks and exclamation points.
The trailer was a short video, only 2 minutes and 42 seconds long, and the song was cut off after the first verse.
However, due to the overwhelming visual quality, the cryptic atmosphere, and the elements connecting it to the previous album, every fan account and community on social media forgot it was Monday and immediately started buzzing about the video.
Naturally, news also broke out on general entertainment communities.
=========================
[TeSTAR Comeback Trailer is Out]
: Even the fans seem to be in a panic because they didn't see it coming.
=========================
While many were vocal about their dislike, the comments and view counts didn't lie.
And of course, the teaser text at the end of the video was immediately analyzed, and a conclusion was reached.
=========================
[TeSTAR’s new video seems to be game-related]
: I searched the text '127 section' that appeared at the end, and it’s an in-game location for a game launching in October.
(Article Screenshot)
It was originally a small development team, but T1 acquired them.
=========================
People with a casual interest in TeSTAR watched the situation unfold with curiosity.
Fans wavered between worry and anticipation, but when the album pre-order notice dropped the next day, they decided to just wait and see.
However, there was one place where the discussion was far from over.
[Hey, did you guys see this?]
It was a gaming community.