Chapter 138
Chapter 138
When she clicked on the music video, the title caught her eye even before the five-second ad could play.
[TeSTAR ‘Midnight and Next (00:01)’ Official MV]
[Views: 22,147,586]
Whoa, it hit twenty-two million.
It had been at twenty million just a short while ago. Even though it had been a week since the release, the view count was still climbing at a staggering rate.
The time it took to reach 10 million had already set a new record for the group.
Well, I’m here watching it again, too.
The graduate student shrugged, thinking it was only natural. TeSTAR’s latest music video was of a completely different caliber compared to their previous ones.
“Ah, it’s starting.”
At that moment, the ad ended, and the music video began.
[...]
The screen focused on an antique gramophone covered in dust and cobwebs.
A pale hand reached out from the corner and lowered the needle.
Snap.
As the cobwebs broke, a slow, crackling melody began to flow. It was lo-fi jazz, intentionally filtered to sound like a low-quality vintage recording. A romantic yet sorrowful piano echoed.
Suddenly, the scene cut to the foyer of a grand mansion.
The structure, though aged, still bore traces of its former opulence, offering incredible cinematography in every frame. And in the center of it all...
Under a dusty, shimmering chandelier, the focus shifted to the seven members sitting in formation.
The song began.
-Slowly sinking
The time, the night
I don’t want to escape
-It’s quiet now
The songs, the dreams
Forget them all, it’s midnight here.
Your Midnight
The choreography unfolded.
It was heavily influenced by modern dance and waltz. It was an elegant and complex routine, featuring many movements where they used their entire bodies to support one another.
Long sleeves fluttered in the air.
There were no repetitive movements designed to be easy to follow or memorize. The choreography was purely intended to make the viewer watch with their mouth agape. Those structural lines were captured in wide shots under the chandelier’s light.
-Even if the clock hands run and call for me
I can’t pull myself out, even today
I am here, your midnight
Your Midnight
The video transitioned from the old, luxurious foyer to a refined library where rain poured outside, then to a massive dining table lined with rusted birdcages, and finally to a bathroom filled with red scented candles.
With every transition, their hair and outfits changed in form and color, seamlessly blending into the backgrounds.
The visual aesthetics were insane.
Before she knew it, the setting had shifted to a bedroom where golden-blue butterflies fluttered about. The endless evolution of their outfits, all based on ornate suits, had reached its final stage.
It was a classic, lightweight shirt.
Between the shoulder blades, a rotating bronze clockwork gear was visible.
-Spreading Midnight
The distorted focus
Trembles, teasing time
The final chorus featured a blossoming choreography. Whenever the formation changed, the butterflies gathered and perched on the gears like birds on a roost. The shadows on the floor stretched out, casting long butterfly wings.
-Overflowing Midnight
The crumbling Shape
Torn apart, a new day comes
There were no cryptic cutscenes, acting, or overt narratives.
The video, composed entirely of choreography and perfectly timed close-ups, swallowed time in an instant. It was a music video where the song blended perfectly with the beautiful, enchanting visuals.
-The midnight
Where I met you
And next
The lyrics ended there. All sound ceased for a moment.
The final accompaniment began again, faintly.
As the piano and contrabass plucked along, a pale hand appeared, just like in the first scene. This time, however, the camera panned up the arm.
The owner of the pale hand was Seon A-hyun.
Stepping out of the choreography formation, Seon A-hyun walked toward a grandfather clock on one side of the bedroom. He then reached out and tore off the bottom-right wing of a taxidermied blue butterfly hanging above the clock.
Beneath the wing, a diagonal crack in the glass was revealed.
[00:01]
A subtitle in elegant cursive appeared over the grandfather clock as it was captured from the front, and the video ended.
“Whew!”
It was so good, no matter how many times she watched it!
The graduate student couldn't stop herself from smiling as she rewound to the final line where Moon-dae’s close-up appeared. Park Moon-dae, with blue butterflies fluttering near his temples and his face flushed with color as he gazed slightly upward, was truly the best.
And there was the finishing touch.
The choker on his neck!!
Though the material and vibe were completely different, it was even better because it reminded her of the Idol Inc. second team match where she had first seen Park Moon-dae.
The graduate student took another screenshot of the scene, even though she already had plenty.
Ah, I seriously love this music video! The song is so easy to listen to, too!
It suited her taste perfectly—letting her enjoy four minutes of enchanting visuals and a pleasant song without making her head spin with confusing theories.
That appeal was evident right from the thumbnail.
Originally, TeSTAR had used narrative and meaningful thumbnails—like hands, landscapes, or props—ever since "Magical Boy." This time, however, they had boldly put a close-up of a member’s upper body as the thumbnail.
It was Kim Rae-bin.
“Hmm.”
The graduate student felt a bit conflicted because it wasn't Moon-dae, and because Kim Rae-bin was the one who had left a rather poor first impression on her as a fan.
However, the shot itself was a work of art.
...Rae-bin is handsome, though.
The shot of a damp Kim Rae-bin wearing a corset choker with a blue butterfly visible under his chin was stunning. He was also the perfect fit for this song. Since the concept was very languid and opulent, Kim Rae-bin’s slightly decadent look suited it well.
The music video itself felt like it was designed to bombard the senses, regardless of the lore.
Oh, it skipped.
While she was lost in thought, the video ended, and the autoplay feature kicked in, playing a related video. It was the first performance of "Midnight and Next" from their concert.
[AAAAAAAHHH!!!]
[KYAAAAAA!!]
The screaming was so loud she could barely hear the song.
Oh, right! Everyone was like that!
She chuckled, remembering the situation back then. She had forgotten because the personal fancam link her fansite master friend had sent her had been cleanly edited with better audio.
According to her friend, the reaction had been even wilder because the concept photos released beforehand hadn't given a single hint of this.
Hmm, now that I think about it, the reaction was just like, 'The photos are pretty! I'm excited!'
That was right.
To make the impact of the first stage more dramatic, TeSTAR and the company had followed Park Moon-dae’s suggestion and kept the concept photos and teasers relatively plain. They had simply released decent-looking shots using standard suits and a mansion.
The graduate student hadn't known, but the raw reactions under the surface had been like that.
However, the moment the concert started, everything flipped. TeSTAR had even gone as far as attaching butterfly models to the gears like tails, thinking it was fine to be a bit extra since it was a concert outfit. With enough capital poured in, the outfits didn't look awkward despite being that over-the-top.
After that, they added special photos that perfectly captured the music video's concept for the album and even posted some on TeSTAR’s social media. It was a perfect execution.
Unaware of such meticulous calculations, the graduate student was simply happy.
Right, let’s watch Moon-dae’s fancam too!
She excitedly typed into the WeTube search bar and found Park Moon-dae’s music show fancam for the new song. The hairstyle that partially revealed his forehead and the loose stage suit suited him perfectly.
Blonde is the best...!
She was happily watching the video when she suddenly opened the comment section. Although she knew from experience that the top comments would be flooded with English, she was always happy to find one or two Korean comments. Seeing those "thirst" comments made her want to leave a reply of her own.
“Hmm, hmm~”
As she scrolled down the comments, she finally found a Korean one. However... it wasn't the kind of comment she was expecting.
“...?”
...Something felt off.
This concept was based on being cool and elegant, even slightly sexy... and you could tell they had put a lot of thought into the artistic elements. And Park Moon-dae was a genius idol who had pulled off that concept perfectly, neither overdoing it nor falling short!
But why are these kinds of comments at the top instead of ones about the performance...?
Of course, they were kind words, so she didn't feel bad. It just... dampened the mood a bit.
“Hmm.”
The graduate student just skipped those comments and kept scrolling. Fortunately, she soon found a thirst comment that perfectly matched her feelings and hit the heart button.
This is it!
She giggled, enjoying herself. She quickly forgot the sense of unease, but now she felt like she understood a little bit of what her friend had been worried about.
People are more interested in Moon-dae being a good person than in Moon-dae himself...
Of course, it wasn't that the majority of people were like that, but the fact that such a trend had emerged was no longer fun.
I want to see Moon-dae on a variety show soon.
While waiting for the variety show, she spent her breaks rewatching the unit stage preparation videos and fancams from the last concert.
And then came the day Saturday Party aired.
She choked on her drink from the very first scene of Park Moon-dae and Keun Se-jin’s appearance.
“Cough!!”
It was because Park Moon-dae and Keun Se-jin... were wearing pink toddler-sized fairy wings.
“...?!”
The two of them began to dance in perfect sync to the music on a stage styled like an 80s music cafe.
[Dancing magic! Soaring stocks! TeSTAR’s two shining stars have descended to earth!]
They looked cute and handsome in their overalls, of course. But the pink fairy wings completely hijacked the viewers' vision. Captions flashed across the screen.
[As if they might fly into the sky at any moment...]
[A dreamlike dance!]
[Are they fairies or humans?]
It was the DJ’s new line.
Why... why are they wearing those?
The graduate student watched the screen in confusion, then it clicked.
“Ah, butterflies!”
It seemed they were acknowledging the fact that the new song was being unofficially called "Butterfly Boys" among fans!
So cute!
It was a calculated move for both humor and promotion, but either way, it was a joy for the fans to watch.
“Aha-ha!!”
The graduate student burst into laughter and turned up the volume.
And at the same time, TeSTAR was doing the exact same thing.
“Bwahahaha!!”
“A-Ahem!”
The guys, who had gathered in the living room insisting on monitoring Saturday Party together, were roaring with laughter.
I knew this would happen.
It was a bit embarrassing... but I’d been through enough bizarre things by now for my composure to break over something like this.
“Is it really that funny?”
“Yes!!”
When Cha Yu-jin answered, Bae Se-jin doubled over. Apparently, even that answer was funny.
...Let’s just endure it.
I averted my eyes from the remote control.
...However, when the scene of Keun Se-jin and me dancing around the DJ booth came on, I couldn't take it anymore.
The 'me' on the screen shouted:
[Wow, the nation’s best MC!]
Click.
I hit the mute button.
“Huh??”
“Hey, why~”
“Moon-dae, it’s funny! It’s fine!”
It’s not fine.
I stared at the screen with bitter eyes.
I’m really... looking forward to the latter half of the shoot.