Chapter 143
Chapter 143
First, I asked the staff for a moment to talk amongst ourselves.
Then, we began our discussion.
"What do you guys think?"
"I want to go to America!"
"Right. We'll count Yu-jin as a 'yes' and hear what the other hyungs have to say."
"Yeah!"
Just as Cha Yu-jin was about to be sidelined by Ryu Cheong-woo’s gentle words, Keun Se-jin cut in.
"Wait a second~ Yu-jin, have you ever heard of this show?"
"The Nerdy Andy Show? No!"
That was the name of the show that had sent the invitation. The Nerdy Andy Show. And from the look on his face, Cha Yu-jin really didn't recognize the name.
"M-maybe it's because it started recently, so Yu-jin doesn't know it...?"
"Right. They said it's been blowing up lately, didn't they?"
As the members chattered away, I pulled out my smartphone.
"Moon-dae, Moon-dae, looking it up?"
"Yeah."
"Ooh~ let me see."
Anyone watching would think he was the only one without a phone in his pocket.
Regardless, I proceeded with the members crowding around to peer at my screen, apparently too lazy to search for it themselves.
After a quick search using a translation program, the true nature of the show was revealed.
"Ah, the page is loading."
Naturally, it wasn't a flagship talk show on a major US network.
But was it some obscure, tiny program? Not exactly.
"Oh, interesting."
"It feels very... niche."
It was a lighthearted broadcast that followed a parody format of famous talk shows.
And the content... was essentially subculture.
It seemed to focus mainly on games, comics, and superhero movies, and just as the staff had said, their WeTube view counts were impressive.
"Yu-jin, you want to see this? Is it fun?"
"What is it?"
Cha Yu-jin poked his head toward my screen where a clip of the talk show was playing.
After watching for a moment, he let out a small snort.
"......?"
Did this guy spot a problem?
"Is it... n-not fun?"
"I don't know. I don't watch stuff like this. So nerdy."
"O-oh?"
...It just wasn't his cup of tea.
Cha Yu-jin pouted.
Keun Se-jin asked with a mischievous look on his face.
"But if you want to go to America, you have to go on this show~? You have to go on and sing the game song!"
"Going on it is fine. Watching it is a no."
What a professional attitude.
The question is whether we should actually go.
Looking at it, the show seemed decent enough with a fair amount of buzz.
However, I wasn't sure if this was the right choice for our first American stage.
I'd rather not get any more entangled with the game.
In the long run, the risk was significant.
TeSTAR was a K-pop group, and we would be making K-pop albums.
But even if we did well here, we might end up stuck with the image of being mere avatars for game characters.
Then, when we eventually tried to enter the overseas market with a real TeSTAR album, the gap between that and the first impression would be substantial.
There was a high probability that it would result in mockery or a sense of betrayal from the audience.
If we had no intention of expanding into the English-speaking market, it would be a fine choice for media play, but...
Since it was an appearance on an American program, it wouldn't be bad for news articles.
It would help shed the 'domestic-only' image.
It would act as a smokescreen, signaling that 'we're doing great with our global expansion, too.'
In that case, we wouldn't have to worry much about the opinion of the gaming community.
Even if people claimed we were using the game for media play, the noise would die down quickly as long as we didn't do any new collaborations.
However, the members didn't seem to be thinking that way.
They simply saw it as a career opportunity.
"Should we try it? It's a rare opportunity."
"...I don't mind."
"I also think it's a proposal worth challenging. Even if it's a game collab song, it would be great if we could let them hear our music."
It was a very progressive, rookie-like attitude. Hmm.
The surprising thing was that Seon A-hyun was the one to voice a concern.
"B-but will it be okay? M-Moon-dae said back then... that doing another collab wouldn't be good... Is this okay...?"
He looked at me as he asked the last part.
Keun Se-jin jumped in here. However, he was on the side of approval.
"Hey~ it's not like we're doing a new collab. Surely one stage is fine? We'll just do a great job and leave a good impression~"
He wasn't the type to be ignorant of the importance of first impressions, so it seemed his ambition for the US market had outweighed the risks.
He wants to grab recognition first, no matter the method.
To make matters worse, Seon A-hyun nodded, his eyes sparkling.
"D-do you think so? I-I hope we can do a cool stage...!"
I guess he secretly wanted to do it.
The others joined in, creating an atmosphere full of motivation.
...It couldn't be helped. I shook my head.
"...Fine. I'm in, too."
"Ohhh!"
"On one condition: I want us to focus on showing the group as much as possible."
"The... group?"
"Yeah."
They might have wondered what such a broad statement meant, but after my explanation, everyone was on board.
"Sounds good!"
"Hmm~ I'll have to study up."
"I'm glad our recent schedule has some breathing room."
The group discussion ended on an excited note.
And when we met the staff again, an opinion similar to what I had said earlier was relayed.
Only a bit more specific.
"First... we'd like to be able to sing one of our title tracks as well."
"Ah~ Ah! Of course. We'll definitely negotiate that!"
"Yes. Thank you. As for the stage, the program only requested the song selection—would it be correct for us to prepare everything else on our end?"
"Yes, that's right. If there's a concept or setting you want, we'll try our best to accommodate it. Within the time limits, of course!"
"That's perfect."
The timing would be just right. I let out a short laugh.
"We're planning to do a live band performance."
"Oh! That's great."
"And we won't be needing any costumes."
"......? Pardon?"
He looked at me as if I were talking nonsense. It seemed it was time for another explanation.
The news of TeSTAR's appearance on an American program hit the main entertainment news headlines once before fading.
The agency had simply snatched the opportunity as soon as the offer came in, fearing that if the reaction after the broadcast was poor, they wouldn't even be able to play the media game.
The news quickly reached the fans, who were busy enjoying TeSTAR's May university festival fancams and Seon A-hyun's surprise birthday party video.
Rather than worrying about neglecting domestic activities due to an overseas tour, the overwhelming sentiment was: "The whole world needs to know how amazing my idols are."
This was because TeSTAR's fan base was significantly larger in Korea.
However, the excitement cooled slightly once the exact details of the program and the casting process were revealed.
The last comment was written with fury, character by character, on a private account belonging to a Kim Rae-bin individual fan.
"Those bastards are seriously pissing me off!!"
She slammed her keyboard.
Memories of a dogfight with toxic gamers who had been spouting absolute garbage came flooding back.
"When it first launched, they were hyping it up like crazy calling it 'God-star,' and now that the game is successful, they're trying to cut ties!"
The fact that the player base had changed significantly since then meant nothing to the enraged fan.
"I'd rather it just fizzled out. Hah!!"
She wanted to wash her hands of this game entirely!
In truth, TeSTAR doing well overseas didn't really benefit her personally.
"If they get popular because of this, they'll be on tour and won't even show up on music shows. Either way, it's bad for me!"
...But despite saying all that, she was currently waiting to watch the Nerdy Andy Show live on the day of TeSTAR's appearance.
She had even gone as far as sitting in front of her desktop, claiming her smartphone screen was too small and prone to errors.
"Whew..."
A mild sense of a reality check weighed on her shoulders.
She couldn't help it. Kim Rae-bin and Park Moon-dae were being held hostage by this pathetic program...
"Whoa, are you watching those guys again?"
"Yeah, get lost."
"Yeah, you wish."
"If you call me 'you' one more time, you're dead. Seriously."
She flipped her younger brother off and ignored him. But her brother lingered, peering at her computer screen.
"Is this that thing? Where they sing the game song in America? Are they coming out in cosplay?"
"Hey, get lost."
"They're totally milking it~ Ack! Ow!"
Only after getting smacked hard on the back did her brother flee to the sofa.
Since 127 Section had been such a hit, her brother had played the game quite a bit and knew the news through the grapevine.
People are already saying they're milking it? That makes me even angrier.
Kim Rae-bin's fan gritted her teeth and glared at the computer screen.
Fortunately, the program started shortly after.
[Welcome to the Show!]
[This is... nerdy!]
[Oh, I mean, Andy~]
"What are they even saying?"
B-movie style CG and subtitles, very American in sensibility, flew across the screen.
Then, English poured out of the speakers for a long time. To top it off, there were commercial breaks every few minutes.
In short, it was boring.
The only things she could recognize were a few superhero movie characters.
"What am I even doing..."
Kim Rae-bin's fan felt a deep sense of regret, thinking she should have just finished her assignment and watched an edited clip later.
Still, she felt it would be a waste to turn it off now, and luckily, a teaser for TeSTAR appeared.
To be precise... it was a teaser for the 127 Section OST performance.
"F*ck...!"
Are they just going to promote the game the whole time?
Feeling uneasy, she kicked her feet. She ignored her brother's nonsense about King Kong or whatever, and soon the commercials ended.
Then, the stage was shown.
"......!"
The place where TeSTAR was supposed to appear... was filled with a band.
"I guess they're doing a live band."
She focused on the screen for now.
Before long, TeSTAR walked onto the stage.
But they were... in casual clothes.
"Huh...?"
Well, they were a bit too neat to be called just 'casual.' But they weren't conceptual like their usual idol stage outfits either.
"Huh? They're not in cosplay?"
Just as her brother said, they weren't wearing the game characters' outfits or hairstyles.
TeSTAR just looked natural. They looked like they had stepped right out of a reality show.
Cha Yu-jin grinned and grabbed the standing mic.
—What makes people live?
CHOICE!
And with the band's live accompaniment, the trailer song performance began.
DOOOM DOOOM DOOOM DOOOM ZZZZ-ING!
—I’m gonna survive.
Like you did before.
Park Moon-dae entered the high-pitched intro with incredible clarity.
TeSTAR sang while holding their respective standing mics, adding ad-libs throughout.
"......!"
It sounded... better than the digital track.
Her brother shrugged.
"They're actually pretty good at singing."
TeSTAR had always been good at singing live.
But this was the first time they had given a performance that allowed the audience to focus solely on the song, without any other elements.
In fact, most of the fans watching this program had secretly assumed that TeSTAR would somehow incorporate stage production or choreography into this performance.
But there was none of that.
It was just a clean, refreshing stage where one could simply enjoy the music.
Their expressions were great and their gestures weren't awkward, which was enough to carry the entire performance.
—Choose your way
Choose your side
Confidence radiated from them.
—Survive!
TeSTAR brilliantly presented the game collab song, not as character performers, but with the image of traditional singers.
Following the applause and cheers on the screen, the siblings' mouths fell open.
"Wow..."
"Ooh~ I'll give them that."
Instead of replying with 'Who are you to give them anything?', Kim Rae-bin's fan tapped on her desk in a surge of excitement.
They're seriously so good on stage!
It was a clear declaration of boundaries.
A shout that said, 'We aren't a part of the game; we are the "singers" who made this game's OST!'
And because their skills as singers were more than sufficient, that boundary-setting worked naturally and brilliantly.
[Wow~ That’s awesome!]
This dynamic was also evident in the short talk segment following the first performance.