Chapter 113
Chapter 113
For the past few days, several hardcore players in the community had been busy analyzing the "BETTER ME" music video.
Because of its connection to the trailer, a strange belief had formed that there would be lore breadcrumbs related to the game.
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[I checked the latest God-star video]
: The appearance of the school-uniformed monsters in the middle is a hint.
If you go to the Gangnam Books dungeon, there are records of survivors from when the meteor fell. The description of the people who mutated because of the meteor is exactly the same as these guys. (Game Screenshot) In other words, the God-star video is a hint about the time the meteor fell seven years ago.
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Despite the potential for controversy, the more people dissected the music video, the more suspicious elements they found.
It was the kind of logic where you could make anything fit if you tried hard enough, but people were determined to talk about it anyway.
However, no major evidence surfaced, and since the video wasn't officially designated as a collaboration, the discussion remained within the realm of suspicion.
The atmosphere continued with the usual crowd occasionally appearing to chant for the original companions.
While the original companions were still a hot topic, TeSTAR uploaded a dance practice video to celebrate a belated Halloween.
The video started with a thumbnail showing all the TeSTAR members collapsed on the floor.
And the moment the intro to "BETTER ME" began, the members slid upward and took starting poses different from their original choreography.
They were the exact poses from the character illustrations that appeared when entering a battle in the game.
Because they had gone all-out with their makeup and costumes, the members looked identical to their counterparts in the trailer, even mimicking their expressions to heighten the atmosphere.
Cha Yu-jin even changed the intro.
From then on, whenever the most impressive part of a member's verse came up, they would bring out a small prop symbolizing their character and briefly reenact a battle highlight cutscene.
Most of them compromised with things like hats, flasks, or at most a bunch of small lightbulbs to keep the choreography alive, so the atmosphere remained light and fun.
However, during his chorus, Kim Rae-bin tried to drag a mannequin out from the camera's blind spot, only to trip over it and panic.
Between the flustered Kim Rae-bin and the other members trying to hold back their laughter while helping him move the mannequin, the gloomy lyrics somehow ended up sounding hilariously like a meme.
Furthermore, from the members who pulled off the act with total shamelessness to those who looked a bit awkward or embarrassed by the exaggerated battle motions, their personalities perfectly matched the impressions the characters gave in the game.
Thanks to this, the viewers' immersion deepened until it reached its peak in the final part.
It was the final dance break, where the originally gloomy atmosphere usually broke away and surged toward the climax.
But the moment the members, who had been dancing happily, waved their hands and said those words, it overlapped perfectly with the endings they met in the game.
The members had simply done it because they were excited about a slightly embarrassing but fun shoot, but the aftermath was terrifying.
The comment section was flooded with people crying.
The Korean comments were so overwhelming that they even pushed the English comments out of the top spots.
Conflicting opinions were being upvoted simultaneously, leading to a cycle of people laughing and crying in the replies.
The atmosphere was exactly the same in the gaming communities where the video was shared.
As a result, non-fan gamers joined the parade of Loviewers laughing and crying in the comments.
The innocent international fans were confused at first, unable to grasp the situation, but after figuring it out through translations on social media, they became even more distressed.
This was because had not yet launched its global service.
Along with the agony of international fans who weren't even given the chance to be sad, the Halloween dance practice video successfully became a gateway for gaming enthusiasts to join the fandom.
And so, the stormy month of October, filled with the game collaboration, came to an end.
Early November. All the game collaboration content had been released.
But naturally, the group's schedule became even busier. This was because their performance during this comeback was even better than their debut, causing their value to skyrocket.
Coincidentally, I was currently working on a schedule that proved exactly that.
A high-paying commercial.
"Lift the corners of your mouth and smile more~!"
I held the lightstick and tried my best to produce a smile that actually looked like a smile. Fortunately, the director seemed satisfied as the next instruction came.
"Now, tilt your head!"
Tilt...
For the record, I was told that a drawing of puppy ears would be edited over this.
...Isn't this going a bit too far?
To make matters worse, the title of this commercial was this:
[Magical Boy TeSTAR’s magical AI assistant, Curiosity!]
On top of that, the AI character was a dog, so it seemed they intended to use Park Moon-dae even more aggressively.
I had some doubts about whether it was really okay for this to be broadcast on TV, but...
Since it was a 350-million-won contract for three months, I decided to shut my mouth and follow the advertiser's instructions. I'm sure they know what they're doing.
"Okay. We're done~!"
"Thank you."
Anyway, the filming ended smoothly.
The waiting members expressed their joy at the end of today's schedule.
However, Keun Se-jin didn't take his eyes off his smartphone, only waving his hand with a smile.
Hmm, he's not the type to act like that. I have a bad feeling about this.
"What are you doing?"
"Ah, sorry. It's nothing."
Keun Se-jin shrugged and tucked his phone away.
Then, Cha Yu-jin, who had been blankly looking back and forth between me and Keun Se-jin, suddenly spoke up with sparkling eyes.
"Is it a girlfriend?"
"...!!"
"What?! No, absolutely not! Hey, what are you talking about~!"
"Uwaah!"
"Don't even think about dating yourself!"
"I'm not!"
Keun Se-jin shook Cha Yu-jin a few times before letting him go. Then, with a grin, he offered a reasonable explanation.
"Some guys I knew who debuted a while ago suddenly contacted me. Hmm~ I guess it just felt a bit strange?"
Seon A-hyun marveled from the side.
"Se-Sejin, you really have a lot of friends!"
"Ahaha, well, not exactly friends~ just acquaintances?"
Keun Se-jin smiled brightly while drawing a line.
I guess he thinks it's pathetic that they're contacting him only now.
Keun Se-jin finished his thought with a shrug.
"I'll be seeing their faces next month anyway~"
"O-Oh?"
"Ah, you mean the year-end award ceremonies?"
At Ryu Cheong-woo's words, Keun Se-jin nodded.
"Yeah. It's less than a month until our first award ceremony~"
"Wow..."
"Time really flew by."
At those words, everyone seemed to sink into their own reflections. They were undoubtedly thinking about the eventful year that started with <Aju-sa> and led up to this album.
And I had a premonition.
The schedule is going to get even more insane.
Our current schedule barely left any free time except for sleeping. And we have to prepare for the year-end award ceremonies on top of that?
It was obvious that the agency was already trying to filter out and pick only the most lucrative schedules.
It would be hard to reduce those any further, so they'd probably have to cut into our sleep.
As if I wasn't the only one who thought that far, Kim Rae-bin raised his hand.
"Then we will soon begin preparing the stages for the year-end ceremonies."
"Mmm."
"...Is there a lot to prepare separately?"
At Bae Se-jin's cautious question—since he had no prior connection to music award ceremonies—intense reactions erupted from the K-pop veterans around him.
"We do special stages!"
"I expect we'll probably make about three separate versions of the arrangements. It's still unknown how much we'll be involved, but..."
"A-And the choreography, we'll probably have to create a lot of new stuff...!"
"..."
Bae Se-jin, who had the lowest stats, already looked exhausted, but he soon nodded. His face looked grim as he grasped the situation.
"...I-I see. I'll have to work hard."
"Right. Let's work hard and attend lots of ceremonies."
"I like awards!"
"Ah, it would be really great to receive one~"
The conversation between these guys, who had cheerfully given up on having a life, continued harmoniously. The problem was that I felt the same way.
I have to focus on the Rookie Award.
I can sleep later. I checked my status effect once more.
['Death if Not an Award']
: If you do not receive the Rookie Award at the most prestigious domestic award ceremony within the set period, you will die.
Since the criteria for "most prestigious" was ambiguous, it meant I had to sweep the Rookie Awards at the three most famous ceremonies just to be safe.
The performance on the day of the ceremony isn't directly related to the award, but if the stage looks half-hearted, the people who voted for us will lose their energy.
Considering the award season would last for a month, it meant I had to put as much effort as possible into the stages.
Well, in terms of stats, we don't really have any competitors.
I definitely felt more at ease than before.
"Anyway, Moon-dae will take care of our live vocals. Doesn't that make you feel so much better?"
"R-Really!"
"I am always grateful."
"...Yeah. Thanks."
"Haha!"
While I was organizing my thoughts, I became the topic of conversation. Regardless, the team atmosphere was good.
That night, while being moved in the car, I received a text.
[VTIC Cheong-ryeo Sunbae-nim: Next is the Rookie Award, right?]
"..."
Isn't this bastard still on tour?
Regardless, I had no intention of taking the bait.
I quickly sent a reply.
[I would be very happy to receive any award. I hope you have good results as well, Sunbae-nim.]
A reply came back after a short while.
[VTIC Cheong-ryeo Sunbae-nim: Yes ^^]
I really want to block him.
I turned off the text notifications and opened the internet.
And while browsing through award-related posts, I found one that caught my eye.
[Isn't it a bit much for TeSTAR to get the Rookie Award?]