Chapter 173
Chapter 173
A suggestion I hadn't even considered popped out of his mouth.
‘A unit stage with Cha Yu-jin?’
While the concert schedule was definitely set, the unit stages were still a subject of debate, unlike the rest of the setlist, which was mostly fixed.
‘Some are even saying we don't really need them since we have solo songs.’
The alternative was to just do one or two group ballads in that slot, but I was actually leaning more toward the unit stages.
I figured there would be more of the "fun" that fans look forward to.
I looked at Cha Yu-jin, who was waiting for an answer, and gave a thin smile.
Then I replied.
"No."
"Huh?? Why??"
Cha Yu-jin looked like he’d been stabbed in the back.
This kid is hilarious.
I shrugged my shoulders.
"Why do you want to do a unit stage with me anyway?"
"You're good, Hyung! It’ll be awesome if we do it together!"
"I don't know. You're a great dancer and I'm a vocalist, so I feel like we might actually clash."
"We can practice!"
He brings up hard work without a second thought. He’s basically a full-blooded Korean now.
Cha Yu-jin wore a rare expression of pure grievance. I put my smartphone down and crossed my arms.
"You chose me as your roommate specifically with a unit stage in mind, didn't you?"
"Yes!"
He nodded vigorously, not even bothering to hide it.
‘Did he pick me because he remembered how the roommates did unit stages last time?’
I stared at Cha Yu-jin without saying a word, and his spirit dampened slightly.
"Your stages are fun, Hyung... I want to do that too."
Hmm. He’s still being persistent, though.
"My stages are fun?"
"Yes... Can I speak English?"
You’ve been using it plenty already, so why ask now? I nodded, and Cha Yu-jin poured out his explanation in English.
[I’ve been thinking about this since we were on the survival reality show. The ideas you come up with for the stage are really cool. So for this concert, I want to give it my 100% and try something with you!]
Cha Yu-jin’s eyes sparkled as he pointed back and forth between himself and me.
[The best dance, the best vocals! I guarantee, with just a little more practice, it’ll be a killer stage!]
Oh, that was higher praise than I expected.
‘Come to think of it, did he keep saying we should work together next time back during Idol Inc.?’
At the time, I thought he was talking nonsense since there was no "next time" for us, but I guess he was thinking with a long-term perspective in his own way.
Well, now.
‘Should I explain it properly?’
Look at that confidence—claiming he’s the best dancer even though the team has three members in the dance line.
If I just rejected him flat out, he wouldn't accept it and would definitely keep pestering me to do a unit. I massaged the back of my neck and spoke.
"First of all, we don't even know if there will be unit stages yet. You know that, right?"
"But units are great! Just say we'll do it!"
"No. We have to think carefully about which option is better and consider everyone else's opinions before deciding. We're a team."
"……."
Cha Yu-jin looked pouting, but he seemed to understand to some extent.
I continued my explanation.
"And our positions are too different. If we do a half-baked unit when our strengths are so distinct, and it fails to meet expectations, things could get awkward."
"I'm not worried. We're talented. Let's take the challenge!"
You might not be worried, but I am, you brat.
If the 1st and 2nd place winners team up for a unit, all eyes will be on us, which means some individual fans of other members will inevitably feel slighted.
And if we underperform in that situation, we could end up losing more than we gain despite all the hard work.
In short, there was no compelling reason to do a unit with Cha Yu-jin.
"Challenges are good. But we're working. This isn't school, so we can't just take challenges for the sake of it. We have to be prudent."
"……."
Cha Yu-jin completely slumped. It was the first time I’d seen him that discouraged since Idol Inc.
‘He must have had some grand ambitions.’
In the end, I shrugged and spoke up.
"So, well... if it's decided that we're doing unit stages for the concert, and a good idea comes up... how about we talk about it again then?"
"……!"
It wasn't a rejection, but a deferral.
‘It’s not good to keep him suppressed too much.’
It was fine to bring Cha Yu-jin down to reality a bit, but there was no need to just crush him.
Who knows, a truly great idea might actually come up.
Sure enough, Cha Yu-jin was excited again.
"Okay! I have many inspirations! I will tell you many!"
He probably meant he’d give me many ideas.
"I'll only take three a day."
"Umm... Got it!"
The conversation seemed to end with Cha Yu-jin making a finger-snapping gesture, but...
[Right! How about an underwater performance??]
"……."
Think about our concert budget, please.
‘Maybe I should have just let him stay discouraged.’
I briefly regretted my choice.
However, I never imagined that a fuse would be lit by something even more trivial than a concert unit.
A few days later, TeSTAR’s roommate reassignment content was uploaded to WeTube.
It was released a week early for those who joined the channel membership, but naturally, illegal pirated versions were rampant everywhere.
While that was partly due to TeSTAR’s fame, there was another reason why those illegal uploads were racking up views.
Because it was incredibly hilarious.
As is the case with most idol self-produced content aimed at fans, TeSTAR’s recent WeTube content had been moderately heartwarming and less provocative.
However, starting with this roommate content, the production PD had changed, bringing back the "spicy" flavor from TeSTAR’s debut reality show days.
When T1 revamped TeSTAR’s self-produced content, they had also recruited the production team that filmed their debut reality show.
They were experts at highlighting character traits, cornering the members, and utilizing plot twists in editing.
[Bae Se-jin (Investment Addict): (Everything is invested, and all that's left is 2 coins...! Now, it's really all about the coins!)]
[Seon A-hyun (Property Owner): Oh, um... it says I have to collect 3 coins from Se-jin Hyung...]
[Bae Se-jin (Just went bankrupt): !!!!]
On top of that, the game itself was full of unexpected situations.
Thanks to that, the comment sections of every video were flooded with laughter in various languages.
└ It’s like they’ve been making real money since they were kids, so they never got to play games about making fake money... (pitying emoji)
└ LOL No, are you talking about a national athlete and a child actor like they were victims of illegal child labor!!
While fans encouraged each other to report the illegal videos in writing, they secretly loved them because the content was just too good.
And the PD also did a great job bringing the roommate formation after the game to life.
[Cha Yu-jin: Wow!! Moon-dae Hyung! We're roommates!]
[Park Moon-dae: ...Wow? (Doesn't know why, but is thankful for now)]
This was because the PD maximized the slight emotions expressed by each member during the roommate assignment in a positive direction.
Among them, the combination of Cha Yu-jin and Park Moon-dae, which had rarely been seen since their debut, was quite interesting and received a good response.
Fans who liked TeSTAR as a whole or Park Moon-dae’s fans mostly loved this dynamic. It was fun because the characters were vivid and the vibe was heartwarming.
However, there were some who weren't pleased.
They were a few "old-timers" among Cha Yu-jin’s individual fans who had been around since the very early days of Idol Inc.
Their argument was that Park Moon-dae’s mistreatment of Cha Yu-jin was being forcibly edited to look heartwarming.
Of course, this wasn't the general opinion of Cha Yu-jin’s fandom.
Their aggression had softened significantly after Cha Yu-jin’s successful debut, and their exclusivity had decreased as they mixed with new fans.
However, there were still fans who implicitly questioned the legitimacy of Park Moon-dae’s 1st place rank.
And their sentiments translated into a dislike for Park Moon-dae’s individual activities.
That was why, occasionally, people would make such hateful comments not only on anonymous sites or private accounts but also in public spaces.
It was a day like any other.
The difference from before, however, was that Park Moon-dae’s fans didn't feel the need to hold back anymore.
During Idol Inc., they had to hold back and settle for behind-the-scenes maneuvering because they were overwhelmed by the first-mover advantage of Cha Yu-jin’s fandom, which had been at the top since the very beginning. But now, the situation was different.
It was because Park Moon-dae’s performance after debut had been so stellar.
His visuals and stage presence were constantly improving, leading to a visible influx of new fans, and every time he appeared on a variety show, he hit a home run.
Even for this album, the market price for his photocards had become similar to Cha Yu-jin’s.
So, it was perhaps natural that Park Moon-dae’s aggressive individual fans began to think like this:
‘Isn't it okay to openly bash them now?’
And once they started hitting back, insults and criticism began to pour down like a reservoir with a broken dam.
Of course, Cha Yu-jin’s malicious individual fans didn't just sit still.
While some deleted their posts and disappeared, those who remained went underground and began to respond even more aggressively.
It was a total mess.
As exposures followed exposures, rumors and fake testimonies began to creep out.
Among the fans who weren't involved, those who noticed the situation were mostly disgusted or ignored it, but there were also a significant number of people voicing their opinions.
It looked like only a matter of time before the issue spread to trending posts on social media or online communities.
‘Fck.’*
And that was exactly when Park Moon-dae saw this mess.
"...Yu-jin."
"Yes!"
"Let's do a W Live."
After a short call with the company, Park Moon-dae started a personal live broadcast with Cha Yu-jin.
It hadn't even been half a day since he’d checked the situation.