Chapter 107
Chapter 107
A few days had passed since the song was released last Monday. This meant the schedule for our first stage performance was just around the corner.
Perhaps because the company was mindful of the accident during our debut showcase, they decided not to hold a showcase for this comeback.
Instead, a new piece of content was scheduled.
"I didn't expect us to get our own comeback show."
"I'm so excited!"
Cha Yu-jin finished Ryu Cheong-woo’s slightly pressured remark, completely shifting the mood.
Anyway, it was exactly as it sounded. TeSTAR had been granted a solo comeback show slot right after MusicBOMB next Thursday.
While our previous album's performance played a part, the fact that we were from Tnet likely had some influence as well.
‘Since we debuted through Idol Inc., we’re basically the network’s true-blooded sons.’
Regardless, all the VCR filming related to it was already finished.
"Isn't it great that we have enough songs now that we don't have to perform 'Just Me' anymore? It really feels like we've established ourselves as a group. Haha!"
Keun Se-jin looked overtly pleased. This comeback show was likely one of the milestone goals he had set for himself.
‘Good for him.’
I shrugged and continued what I was doing. It was something I had wanted to check for a while but hadn't found the time for.
"Are you... are you looking at the album?"
"Yeah."
I was checking the physical copy of the new album.
Although I had received copies from the company, I had personally pre-ordered this one.
Because we had prepared the debut album in such a rush, I had discovered that many physical copies had poor finishing or defective printing on the inner pages.
‘Surely it won't be like that this time.’
If I just happened to get a bad one due to luck, there was nothing I could do, but I still wanted to order one myself and inspect it.
"Oh, Moon-dae, are you doing an unboxing? Want me to film it for you?"
"No, I'm good."
I declined Keun Se-jin’s offer as I tore off the bubble wrap.
A massive album set box was revealed before my eyes.
"Whoa..."
"...Can you even call this an album?" Bae Se-jin muttered. Oh, for the record, he had completely ditched his ankle brace last week.
Anyway, as he said, this box was the size of a small drawer.
And there was a reason it had to be that way.
"Ah, is this the set that includes the lightstick?"
"That's right."
It was because the lightstick had finally been released and was available for pre-order as part of the set.
‘Let’s check the lightstick first.’
I opened the box. Then, I froze.
"..."
The lightstick nestled between the padding on the left was... far more extravagant than I had expected.
In particular, the massive cubic zirconia shimmering with an aurora-like glow in the center was overwhelming.
‘It’s even flashier than the final design sketch...’
I could feel the madness of the staff members who decided to throw everything in since they were making it anyway.
The other guys watching from the side seemed a bit taken aback as well.
"Oh... Oh~"
"It's... it's huge."
"It's so sparkly!"
Cha Yu-jin’s vocabulary has improved a bit.
"Ah, is that thing next to it a cover for the lightstick?"
"Probably."
I pulled out the black cylinder fixed next to the lightstick.
Ah, the baseball bat shape had been rejected because it was too difficult to make it detachable in a stable way within the given time and budget.
‘Even this is actually beyond my expectations.’
I tried putting the cylinder on to change the lightstick's shape, and after confirming it fit securely, I took it off again.
‘Now for the album.’
On the right side of the box, two albums, each as thick as a hardcover textbook, were proudly secured.
"...They're really big."
"It seems to be because the photos take up a large portion of the contents."
"You could use those as weapons."
I picked up the two albums one by one and inspected them.
One had a summer watercolor landscape on a white background, while the other featured neon graffiti on a black background. However, because the basic design was the same, they felt cohesive.
Fortunately, both had clean finishes and the print quality looked good.
"Ah, the photo cards are falling~"
"...! I-I got them...!"
For the record, the photo cards were a selfie of Seon A-hyun in a classroom setting and Ryu Cheong-woo taking off a gas mask. I handed the cards to their respective owners and finished my inspection.
"Man, A-hyun is seriously handsome. How can he be this bad at taking selfies and still look this good?"
"T-thank you...?"
Since his stats had recently hit S-, it made sense.
By the time I was done, it was time to prepare for the comeback show's pre-recording.
"We're doing more than one song, so let's manage our stamina well."
"Yes!"
After finishing a few checks, we headed out to the stage for the first song's recording.
And there, I saw the long-distance view of 500 lightsticks in person.
"Waaaaaaah!!"
"..."
I had expected it... no, it was even brighter than I had imagined.
It looked like every single person was holding a disco ball.
‘...Doesn't that interfere with their view of the stage?’
Having a light source that bright so close to their eyes would surely be distracting.
It looked breathtakingly beautiful from the stage, but it would be pointless if the fans themselves found it uncomfortable.
I picked up the microphone after the other members finished exchanging a few words with the fans.
"...How is the lightstick...?"
"It's pretty!!"
"I love it so much!!"
"...Understood."
If they were satisfied, then that was that.
The early morning after TeSTAR spent the entire day filming their comeback show with fans. Naturally, reviews began to pop up online.
Among them was Park Moon-dae’s anonymous fan community.
=========================
[Comeback Show Pre-recording Review]
: Gom-meo, this crazy guy, came back with platinum blonde hair. F*ck, it’s a shock on the level of the Idol Inc. ranking ceremony. This guy needs to keep his hair blonde for the rest of his life.
The stage was great. Yeah, I’m not telling you what it was, just watch the broadcast~
=========================
Since the first comeback stage hadn't even aired yet, even if fans read detailed reviews, the only thing they could intuitively grasp from the pre-recording posts were descriptions of visual changes.
And because the first comeback stage was scheduled to air that very Thursday evening, the pre-recording for MusicBOMB was taking place in the early hours of that morning.
Naturally, the early morning in late October was quite cold.
"Don't push!"
‘...It's freezing!’
Kim Rae-bin’s fan grumbled as she entered the pre-recording site. The post she had seen earlier was still lingering in her mind.
‘...Park Moon-dae went platinum blonde again?’
It was so good... no, Park Moon-dae just looked better as a blonde.
Ever since the second team match, she had found herself subtly keeping an eye on Park Moon-dae, occasionally visiting his fansites to check for updates.
She even found herself subtly defending him when her social media acquaintances, who were individual fans of Kim Rae-bin, made snide remarks about him.
...It was mostly like that. For the record, Big Bird was a heavily modified nickname for Keun Se-jin used to avoid search results.
Regardless, she was still in denial about having feelings beyond mere interest for Park Moon-dae.
‘...Let’s just watch the stage!’
She quickly shook off her thoughts and pulled out her lightstick. Honestly, the design where you take off this black cylinder to reveal a sparkly magic wand was both hilarious and fun.
‘It’s the lightstick that’s good, just the lightstick.’
As the fans waited, each holding their lightsticks, TeSTAR walked out from beyond the stage.
"Hello~"
"Hi, Loviewers!"
Screams loud enough to burst eardrums echoed through the recording studio.
"You must be tired, right? Thank you so much for coming."
"Yeah!!"
"No, I'm not tired at all!"
It was a chaotic mix of honest people and those saying nice things, but the atmosphere itself was fun, and everyone was laughing.
TeSTAR looked nervous, but generally, they spoke well...
And above all, their outfits were incredible.
‘What is that...!’
Instead of jackets over their winter school uniforms, TeSTAR was wearing techwear accessories.
Over the student shirts and trousers, the silhouettes of gear made of black leather, plastic, and metal were layered—not excessively, but with a perfect fit.
‘I knew the vibe would be different from the title track... but still!’
She hadn't expected it to be even more intense than the concept photos, so it was a shock.
Furthermore, Kim Rae-bin had grown his hair out slightly more, styling it so that half of his forehead was exposed.
‘Half-exposed!!’
She loved that it leaned more toward a sense of precariousness rather than delinquency!
She wanted to express this excitement by hitting something with her lightstick, but she held back since the place was packed like a steamer full of bean sprouts.
And around that time, Park Moon-dae, who was standing slightly away from Kim Rae-bin, caught her eye.
"...!!"
He’s handsome?!
Why is he so handsome? She looked at Park Moon-dae, doubting her own eyes.
Park Moon-dae had a trendy, charming face and was objectively good-looking, but... he wasn't the kind of beauty that made you gasp the moment you saw him.
But today, for some reason, he looked exactly like that!!
‘Is it because of that platinum blonde hair?!’
Park Moon-dae’s hair was bleached to the point of being almost colorless.
And for some reason, it suited him incredibly well.
‘...Did he get work done?’
She suspected it for a brief moment, but she couldn't pinpoint exactly what was different about his features.
Just then, she heard people whispering nearby.
"I heard they changed their salon..."
"They must have picked a good one. The boys look even more handsome."
"..."
‘Ah, so that’s what happened.’
She quickly accepted the situation.
Whoever it was, a great expert must have been brought in.
In the meantime, TeSTAR finished their brief greetings and small talk with the fans and moved into formation to prepare for the stage.
The moment TeSTAR turned around and each took their starting positions, she lightly shook the lightstick in her hand with excitement. Then she realized.
‘Ah, the lightstick cover...’
Come to think of it, she had been told not to take off this black cylinder when she entered.
‘Are we supposed to cheer like this?’
As she looked at the black rod with a bit of skepticism, the lightstick turned on via central control connected by Bluetooth.
Then, familiar neon graffiti lit up, wrapping around the cylinder.
"...!"
It seemed the light from the inside was shining through, and for some reason, it reminded her even more of a neon sign.
"Whoa."
Since she hadn't been particularly interested in this cylinder and didn't know the details, she was momentarily startled.
However, most of the fans had probably already turned it on once at home, as they were just staring intently at the stage.
‘Ah!’
She also quickly fixed her gaze on the stage. She couldn't afford to waste time on something like this.
At that moment, the lights in the recording studio went out.
And an intense intro began to flow over the stage.