Chapter 187
Chapter 187
“God, this is so freaking annoying.”
It was past midnight, and Kim Rae-bin’s individual fan was glued to the internet, munching on a slice of bread.
TeSTAR’s Saturday concert—the middle day of the three-day run—which she had attended before midnight, had concluded successfully and in high spirits, just like the first day.
Public opinion regarding the quality and enjoyment of the show was still overwhelmingly positive, without a doubt.
This meant that the day’s "noise" was coming from other factors.
The first was, naturally, the company’s announcement regarding Park Moon-dae’s stage equipment.
Instead of an apology, the statement focused on future countermeasures.
If they were a company dealing with consumers of mass-produced goods, that approach might have worked, but in the entertainment business, it absolutely did not.
The reactions varied—from people ready to send trucks and bamboo spears to the agency building immediately, to those relieved that they could still see the performance. However, there was one clear commonality this time.
Either way, the evaluation of the agency had plummeted below rock bottom.
Whether it was out of concern for Park Moon-dae or contempt for the agency’s incompetence and audacity, the sentiment converged into one sharp, hostile atmosphere.
As things reached this point, even the cynical types began to form a consensus that "the agency deserves a beating."
Kim Rae-bin’s fan felt the same way. However, her thoughts were tinged with a bit of a stereotype.
‘Agencies only listen when you beat them.’
In any case, all public opinion was flowing in one direction, poised to explode into a public outcry the moment the concert ended.
The only reason they were waiting was to avoid harming Park Moon-dae and to prevent conflict with other members' individual fans.
The atmosphere was burning so fiercely that even some of Park Moon-dae’s fans, who just wanted to enjoy the concert in peace, felt a bit uncomfortable.
And in the midst of that fire, the second concert began.
“And then it all ended.”
Kim Rae-bin’s fan muttered grumpily.
Once the second day’s concert actually started and finished, the murderous atmosphere noticeably subsided.
There was only one reason.
…Because Park Moon-dae looked comfortable and happy during the concert.
While being incredibly focused on the stage, of course.
His solo stage was even more powerful than on the first day.
Even the fans who had been watching with bated breath until the performance felt their sharp edges soften by the middle of the show, moved by his ease and momentum.
Facing an idol who looked happy to see them after creating a great stage had the effect of making the fans synchronize with that emotion.
It was the feeling of sharing a perfectly successful moment.
The happiness transmitted from the person himself slightly cooled their heated heads.
Consequently, Park Moon-dae’s fans began to refine the intensity of the feedback they intended to send to the company.
From a public execution to something more like constructive criticism.
T1 Stars, who had been monitoring the situation as if they were about to bite their nails off, breathed a sigh of relief and began preparing a groveling response to the feedback.
‘Ugh.’
Kim Rae-bin’s fan, who had been searching every possible combination of keywords related to "Park Moon-dae injury" and "Park Moon-dae accident," snorted at the dampened atmosphere.
‘I don’t care if Park Moon-dae enjoyed this concert or not, the agency still needs a beating! Why are they projecting themselves onto Park Moon-dae??’
She grumbled that they should have squeezed the agency dry while they had the chance, but deep down, she was also relieved.
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FullMoon Baby
: XX1207 ‘Magic is You’ Preview
(Photo) (Photo) (Photo) (Photo)
I love you, my star.
#ParkMoonDae #TeSTAR #TeSTARCon #Enchanted-ME #MoonDengDeng #Moondae
=========================
‘…Well, he does look happy.’
The university student’s expression softened as she looked at Park Moon-dae’s sweat-drenched face while he sang the fan song during the encore. It felt like her fighting spirit was being sucked right out of her by the low-quality photos.
But she immediately switched back to her previous stance.
‘No, but shouldn’t the fact that he looks happy make me want to beat the people who almost ruined that happiness even more?’
Huffing, the university student vigorously refreshed her timeline to see if anyone else was saying something similar.
And then, out of nowhere, she saw a certain post.
“…!!”
The attached photo clearly showed a camera with the Idol Inc. Season 4 logo on it.
The true "noise" of the day—the news of the Aju-sa Season 4 contestants attending the concert—began to spread as a trending post.
It started appearing not only on fans' social media but also all over various online communities.
[Aju-sa 4 final contestants spotted at TeSTAR’s concert today.jpg]
[Is TeSTAR’s concert appearing on Aju-sa 4?]
“What is this?”
The cherry on top was that the Aju-sa production crew, delighted that this was "going viral," baited the audience as they always did.
[<Idol Inc. Re-listing! Season 2> National Idols TeSTAR cheer on the final contestants ☆ Bling-bling concert is a bonus! (EP.14 Teaser)]
They released this video as the finale teaser in the early hours of that very day.
I took a sip of cold beer.
Since I had another concert tomorrow, I didn't intend to drink much; it was just to relax.
‘So this is how it turned out.’
After the concert. Lying in the bathtub at the dorm, I checked the public opinion, and it was running wild.
‘The announcement was decent enough for now.’
Disclosing only the equipment failure without explicitly mentioning the aftereffects of the injury.
Pushing through with the stages until the Seoul concert.
It was all to stitch up any unnecessary differences in opinion among the concert-goers.
Whether they were people worried about "Is Park Moon-dae fully recovered?" or people worried about "Will I be able to see that specific stage?", it was designed to satisfy both groups reasonably well.
‘I split it so the debate wouldn't even become a topic.’
As expected, that topic had stalled.
And to prevent further gossip, I tried to show as stable an appearance as possible during the concert.
…However, I didn't realize there would be so many people concerned about my mood in a positive way.
Can the fact that Park Moon-dae looks happy have this much of an impact?
“……Hmm.”
It was a bit baffling… but not bad. Though I think I pushed myself a bit too hard during today’s concert because of it.
‘I have Bacchus 500, so it should be fine.’
According to my calculations, I should recover my stamina well enough by tomorrow.
It was a slightly different direction than I predicted, but I managed to make the criticism pouring toward the agency stall and land within the expected range.
‘Now, even if a bomb explodes due to another final trigger, the company’s resentment won’t come directly to me.’
Since I wasn't the final cause.
‘Since they’re getting wrecked because of Aju-sa Season 4, the agency will resent Tnet instead.’
And in fact, that bomb was already exploding.
“Hmph.”
I pulled up the Aju-sa finale teaser that Tnet had just posted on the screen.
[Hello, we are TeSTAR!]
Familiar faces dressed in their concert outfits smiled and bowed.
Since I was going to go down anyway, I figured I might as well go down in flames, so I didn't refuse the Aju-sa finale support interview.
‘Though they didn't film any cuts of us actually meeting the contestants, perhaps trying to keep at least a minimum line.’
Thanks to that, none of the members were particularly worried, and even in their exhausted state after the concert, they filmed the messages of support and encouragement with smiling faces.
But I didn't expect them to rush the editing and drop it as the finale teaser at midnight sharp.
‘Normally, they would have just absorbed the hate through the buzz it generated. Too bad for them.’
The timing was poor.
Because of my case, the agency’s image among the fans of other members had also hit rock bottom.
‘It’s the perfect setup to get cursed out along with the agency.’
This wasn't a situation that could be smoothed over with excuses like "I guess they're appearing to promote the concert tour."
Immediately, the bottom of the video, which had more "dislikes" than "likes," was flooded with all sorts of comments.
And thanks to TeSTAR fans' anger being directed at the agency, the Aju-sa Season 4 contestants received less hate than they normally would have.
Because they were included in the bashing of the company.
The Aju-sa Season 4 fans, not wanting to be attacked, began to vigorously attack T1 and Tnet together.
Since they were in a different weight class and it was clear they would continue to be linked in the future, it was a somewhat strategic choice to avoid getting on the wrong side of things.
Of course, they probably had plenty of pent-up anger toward Tnet from watching Aju-sa anyway.
I clicked my tongue.
‘…There must be a flurry of phone calls going on at this hour.’
The state of the agency was obvious.
I felt a brief moment of sympathy for the regular employees of the company, but I stopped when I realized I had enough on my own plate.
‘Still, if I just finish this tour well, I can easily meet the conditions for the status effect.’
And once that happens, I…
“…Park Moon-dae! Are you in there?”
“……!”
A voice calling from outside the bathroom door reached me, muffled by the steam.
“Um. Yes.”
…I must have been sitting here too long. I stood up from the now-lukewarm water.
I roughly dried myself off, got dressed, and stepped out the door holding the empty beer can.
Standing outside was Bae Se-jin.
‘Was he in a hurry to use the bathroom…?’
I had intentionally waited until the others were asleep, but I guess the other bathrooms were already occupied.
I gave him a slight nod and tried to pass him to go to the trash can.
But he grabbed my shoulder.
“You, you.”
“Yes?”
What now?
Bae Se-jin gulped and kept glancing at one spot.
It was the empty beer can in my hand.
“Aren’t you… drinking too much…?”
What on earth was he talking about?