Chapter 128
Chapter 128
“Is everyone ready?”
“Of course we are~!”
“Let’s do this right now!”
Confident replies echoed back to Ryu Cheong-woo’s question.
The PC bang we had rented out entirely for this ‘TeSTAR Tries Ticketing Their Own Concert’ content was occupied only by us and the staff.
Each guy had claimed a PC and was sitting there with a look of pure joy, as if their faces were screaming, ‘We’re having a concert soon!’
“The seats we manage to book today will be sent to Loviewers via a lucky draw, along with our autographs!”
“I’m going to snag a great seat!”
There was tension in the air, but none of the grim determination you’d expect.
‘They probably think that, at the very worst, they’ll at least be able to grab a seat in the corner.’
To be fair, their logic made sense. The total capacity for the two-day concert was 26,000.
In other words, there were 13,000 seats available per day.
A strange sense of certainty permeated the group—the idea that there was no way they’d fail to grab even one out of 13,000 seats while using top-of-the-line computers.
But naturally, I was skeptical.
‘I have a feeling these guys are all going to crash and burn.’
I could tell just by listening to their conversation.
“Oh, it opens at 8:00, so… I just have to enter right at 8:00, right?”
“I think so.”
“I want the first floor!”
“……”
They’d probably never even see the seating chart and get stuck at the entrance loading screen.
At best, one or two might accidentally stumble into a back-row seat.
‘…I guess I should be the one to grab them.’
It would look weird if everyone failed. For the sake of variety, it was better if at least one or two succeeded.
Truthfully, I hadn’t been to many concerts myself. At most, I’d been commissioned a few times to go and pull data for someone.
However, I had tried my hand at proxy ticketing quite a bit.
And my win rate was pretty decent.
‘It was a good way to get treated to expensive meals.’
I stopped before getting any more serious about it because the chances of running afoul of the law were high. Scalping isn't a gray area; it’s just illegal.
Anyway, I figured I could at least manage to snag a decent amount this time too.
Just then, Seon A-hyun, who was sitting next to me, tentatively spoke up. Looking at his screen, it seemed he had only just managed to access the ticketing site.
“M-Moon-dae. Which section are you going to choose?”
“Hmm… I’m thinking of trying for Section 8 on the second floor.”
“The s-second floor?”
“Moon-dae, aren’t you taking the easy way out~?”
“Do the first floor with us!”
The others who overheard our conversation chimed in. Brave remarks from people who didn't know the harsh reality poured out.
Only Seon A-hyun nodded vigorously.
“T-Then should I… try the second floor too? H-How do I do it?”
His attitude of admitting his lack of experience and seeking advice was commendable.
‘…I might as well tell them what I know.’
I gave them some brief advice regarding server time and site settings.
“First, go to this site and click the Afterpark address…”
“Oh, Moon-dae’s giving us tips!”
“I’m all ears!”
“Tell us, tell us!”
“…It shows the ticketing site’s server time. You should time your entry based on that.”
Too many distractions. I finished my explanation for now.
“I-I see!”
Seon A-hyun immediately operated his PC, and soon the Afterpark server time appeared along with the server name.
[Magical Boy TeSTAR’s Magical ‘Already Selected Seat’]
[February 26th, 19:47:49]
“Ooh!”
The guys who had been eavesdropping excitedly copied the site. Even Ryu Cheong-woo and Bae Se-jin hovered around, learning the method.
‘Well, it’s better than them going in blind.’
With only ten minutes left until ticketing began, I quickly dumped everything I knew.
“And for the ticketing site, open multiple tabs across different web browsers, and then, starting from 59 seconds right before the hour…”
By the time I finished my summarized explanation, a slight sense of grimness had begun to settle over them.
“I-It requires a lot of preparation….”
“If Moon-dae hadn’t looked this up, we might have all failed.”
It seemed my tips were more detailed than they expected, and the desperation in my tone had rubbed off on them.
As the scheduled time approached, the atmosphere grew even more intense.
“Three minutes left.”
“Gulp.”
“Let’s make sure to grab great seats to send to Loviewers~”
“I will do my best!”
“F-Fighting…!”
They seemed to have already forgotten that even if they didn't grab a seat, it would still go to a Loviewer anyway.
Well, if things went wrong, the seats could end up with scalpers… so having us as a backup did technically improve the odds.
I shrugged and adjusted my grip on the mouse.
From a camera blind spot, a staff member signaled the countdown with hand gestures.
“10! 9! 8! ……3! 2! 1!”
Mouth moving along with the numbers, I began refreshing the tabs one by one just before the clock struck the hour.
“……!”
And… nothing happened.
Because the screen froze.
‘I’m screwed.’
No, there was really no other way to describe it.
Endless loading continued on every single tab. I spent about seven minutes switching between browsers, hoping the traffic would ease up, but nothing changed.
It was noisy around me too. It didn't seem like anyone had managed to see the actual page.
‘The server must have crashed.’
I abandoned the PC and opened the mobile app.
[Number of people in queue: 41,502]
It was a declaration of defeat.
“…….”
My mistake was hesitating to use my phone because we were filming, which made me check the app too late, but still…
‘…I failed?’
Not anyone else, but me… I couldn't even snag a single seat?
I couldn't believe it.
‘…I even succeeded at VTIC concert ticketing.’
Even though that was three years ago, those bastards were top-tier even then…!
The servers had crashed back then too, but I clearly remembered how I managed to squeeze in by switching tabs.
I had no idea why it wasn't working now of all times.
‘……And it’s for my own concert.’
Honestly, I was a bit bewildered.
After checking the PC and the app a few more times, I finally accepted the reality in front of the white screen.
‘It can’t be helped.’
…It was a bit disappointing that I couldn't send out any tickets, though.
Since even I was helpless, the chances of the others succeeding were extremely lo—
“O-Oh? Oh!”
At that moment, Seon A-hyun, who was sitting next to me, let out a cry and started moving his mouse.
Glancing over, I saw that his screen had moved on to the payment window.
“……!”
“Whoa, A-hyun, you did it?”
“What kind of trick did you use to get in?!”
“I-I don’t know either…. I j-just did what Moon-dae told me…!”
While answering the guys who swarmed around him with a flustered face, Seon A-hyun faithfully followed the steps I had taught him.
After entering the personal information he had pre-copied, he correctly selected 'Bank Transfer' as the payment method and moved to the next page.
The seat was even in the center of the second floor, just as planned.
“Wow, amazing!”
“A-hyun’s the one who succeeds.”
“…Thank goodness. At least one of us made it.”
The members were already in a celebratory mood, patting Seon A-hyun on the back.
“…….”
However, I looked at Seon A-hyun’s screen with a bitter expression.
Keun Se-jin suddenly slapped my back.
“Whoa, Moon-dae, Moon-dae! Are you upset because you prepared so hard but only A-hyun succeeded?”
Seon A-hyun looked startled.
“M-M-Moon-dae explained it so well…! It’s basically the s-same as Moon-dae doing it…….”
“No, it’s not that…….”
Before I could explain, Seon A-hyun’s PC screen changed.
The message I expected appeared there.
[An error occurred during payment processing.]
“…….”
“…….”
A deathly silence fell. I knew this would happen.
‘…The loading took too long.’
Usually, when the loading is either too short or too long, this is how it ends.
Seon A-hyun stood frozen, unable to process the situation. The other guys didn't seem to have their wits about them either.
‘…There must be a lot of tickets that got kicked out during the payment stage.’
Holding onto a sliver of hope, I checked a few more ticketing pages.
Only the white screen remained.
‘Shit.’
Did anyone actually succeed?
It seemed the server had gone down because the ticketing site failed to predict the traffic, which meant everyone might be looking at the same screen.
I calmly speculated.
‘There might not be many people who have successfully booked yet.’
Of course, I was wrong.
The ticketing page that finally loaded three minutes later proved it.
[0 Seats]
“…….”
An astonishing number of people had successfully navigated this garbage server and completed their bookings.
“Seriously?”
“Is this how it ends…?”
It was over.
And as if on cue, articles about the sell-out began to pop up.
[TeSTAR’s First Concert Completely Sold Out]
[26,000 Seats Sold Out… TeSTAR’s Concert Even Causes Server Failure]
[TeSTAR’s First Concert, Only 10 Minutes to Sell Out Every Seat for Both Days]
That’s right.
I had simply… lost to the fans in ticketing.
A crushing defeat where I didn't even get to see the seats once.
Add one more loss for the former data seller.
TeSTAR’s first concert.
While the fans were bursting with anticipation and happiness, it wasn't major news to the general public. Usually, people don't even consider going to an idol concert.
Furthermore, TeSTAR had already announced their comeback date. Attention was so focused on that news that the concert itself seemed to be passing by quietly without much fanfare.
…Until the video of TeSTAR’s failed ticketing was uploaded.
=========================
[Idols who tried ticketing for their own concert and got annihilated lol.jpg]
: Even Seon A-hyun, who made it to the payment screen, got hit with an error and failed lol.
All of TeSTAR looking like they’ve lost their souls (Capture)
=========================
TeSTAR’s disastrous ticketing failure became a hot topic because it was so spectacularly ruined in a hilarious way.
In particular, there was a flood of reactions to one member who had failed miserably despite his seemingly thorough preparation.
It was Park Moon-dae.
People mingled with fans and talked about the cuteness of Park Moon-dae and TeSTAR for quite a while.
While fans enjoyed the heartwarming and cute promotion that finally hit the mark, they also cried over the terrible ticketing server and their own failures.
This led to an unexpected effect.
Content related to TeSTAR’s concert naturally absorbed the interest.
And before that atmosphere could die down, concert trailer videos and a reality show about the production of the unit stages flooded WeTube.
Even a VOD service announcement was posted early, effectively absorbing the overflowing demand for the concert.
The hype reached its peak.
Thanks to that, fans welcomed the first day of the concert amidst heart-pounding anticipation and excitement.