Chapter 193
Chapter 193
The Golden Disc Awards were held over two consecutive days, divided into Digital and Physical categories.
Since boy idols tend to perform stronger in physical sales than digital streaming, they were more likely to make an appearance on the second day.
This year, TeSTAR was no exception.
The album featuring "Haengcha" had sold enough to rank within the top seven all-time idol album sales, setting a staggering record.
While their digital performance was also excellent, breaking the million-seller barrier carried a special significance.
They were now undeniably a top-tier boy group.
Even if there was still an insurmountable wall standing above them.
"Ugh, those bastards!"
The VTIC fan huffed and threw her smartphone onto the bed.
I’m so pissed... I can’t believe this is happening because of that criminal.
She hadn't liked the guy anyway because he lacked talent, but now that things had reached this point, she felt like she was going to lose her mind.
Our innocent boys are the ones suffering the consequences...
All schedules were canceled, followed by an indefinite hiatus. They hadn't appeared on a single year-end program under the guise of "resting." Based on the pre-release teasers, it looked like they had prepared something massive for their comeback, and she couldn't believe it had been delayed this long, only now finally approaching its release.
He’s been a kid who never caused a single scandal since debut...
As a fan who leaned heavily toward being a solo stan, she thought longingly of her favorite member.
Jae-hyun...
It was the leader, Cheong-ryeo.
Our Shin Jae-hyun... even when he’s resting, he’s out volunteering at dog shelters. He’s worked so hard leading a guy who got caught up in something as disgusting as a club scandal. Seriously...
Let's just think of it as a blessing in disguise, the Cheong-ryeo fan told herself, trying to change her mindset.
Yeah. This was a good chance to cut off that useless dead weight anyway. Let’s hit a career high as a four-member group.
After passing merciless judgment on the ousted former member, the fan logged onto social media. The accounts of VTIC fans, which had been somewhat quiet during the hiatus, were now buzzing with energy.
Everyone’s in a "let’s do this" mood.
Since this momentum had to translate into results, the fan carefully scanned the posts to see if there were any strange vibes. Then, she noticed the empty spaces and clicked her tongue.
They must have jumped ship.
Several accounts she used to interact with had vanished. They would be replaced by new people once promotions started, but it was inevitable that some had deserted.
"Did they all switch over to them?"
Thinking of the group that had been making noise everywhere lately, the fan was overcome by a complicated feeling.
The group with the junior who seemed quite close to Cheong-ryeo.
It was TeSTAR, from Season 3 of Idol Inc.
In fact, she had recently watched their reality show herself. She was somewhat interested in Park Moon-dae because of his friendship with Cheong-ryeo, and the show was a huge topic on the internet.
From mukbangs to the "National Pride" meta, the videos—which crammed in every element people loved—were said to have captured everyone from the general public who had no interest in idols to the middle-aged viewers on WeTube.
Riding that momentum, the show was even scheduled to air on a T1-affiliated cable channel starting next week.
Our boys would be great at that kind of thing too.
The Cheong-ryeo fan grumbled, envious of their backing from a major conglomerate's broadcasting station.
However, she couldn't deny that it was entertaining. Even the passing scenes brought the characters to life.
For instance, there was a scene toward the end of the second episode where they had to abruptly stop business due to an unexpected surge in sales on the first day.
[It really tastes like heaven. I'll order one more ice cream hotteok, please.]
[Bae Se-jin: O-okay.]
Bae Se-jin, who had been carefully drizzling chocolate on a hotteok, stiffened at the sudden "attack" from the foreigner and creaked his way into the kitchen.
[Bae Se-jin: Hotteok... we need one more ice cream hotteok.]
[Lee Se-jin: Oh no! Hyung, we just ran out of dough!]
[!!!!]
A screen-shaking impact effect rattled the close-up of Bae Se-jin's face.
[Bae Se-jin: Th-then... ju-just a moment.]
[Lee Se-jin: Ah, I'll go tell them! We'll just give them a ton of ice cream as a service or something~]
[Bae Se-jin: ...No, I'll do it!]
[BAM!]
With a heroic sports anthem playing as BGM, Bae Se-jin scooped up a massive amount of ice cream.
[Oh~ thank you!]
[...Ahem, you're welcome.]
The "additional order crisis" concluded with him wearing a proud expression after finally receiving the customer's "okay."
The following discussion about their business operations was also lighthearted and lively.
[Business suspended due to a flood of orders!]
[※ Discussion Begins ※]
Dun!
[The Recipe Purist]
[Kim Rae-bin: The fact that we prepared dough for 50 servings but only made 40 is a matter of proficiency. I will master the feel for 50 servings through practice after we close...!]
[The "Korean Generosity" (?) Faction]
[Lee Se-jin: It’s not like the cost is that high anyway, let’s just give them a lot~ Let's show them Korean generosity~]
[The "Just Make Money" Faction]
[Park Moon-dae: No matter what you're saying, don't stop kneading. We need something to sell first.]
The members looked close even as they bickered while actively voicing their opinions, and their distinct personalities were highlighted one by one.
In particular, Bae Se-jin, who froze in shock at even the smallest mistake, and Kim Rae-bin, the "broken hotteok machine," were circulating as cute memes.
It meant their charm as celebrities was definitely being felt.
That’s why there’s a leak even in our fandom...
But the Cheong-ryeo fan believed that would end today. Now that the hiatus was over and the comeback was confirmed, VTIC would suck up all the buzz again at a terrifying speed!
As long as the song is good, we're nowhere near a decline!
In fact, due to the member's departure, there was a flood of interest—people wanting to see "how well they'd do" or wanting to "cheer them on for their hard work."
And in all the time since their debut, Cheong-ryeo had never once let down the fans' expectations.
[Ding~ Ding-ring!]
"Ah, it's starting."
The moment the "Parental Guidance" warning passed, she straightened her posture and turned her gaze to the TV.
"Watching the awards show comeback stage live!"
Whether it was pre-recorded or not, the faces of the artists taking their seats in the waiting area flashed briefly across the screen.
And once it passed a certain point...
"Whoa."
TeSTAR was caught on camera.
Of course, the Cheong-ryeo fan didn't exclaim simply because TeSTAR appeared. It was about time for them to show up.
However, the members appearing on screen... were firmly placing souvenir cushions they had bought at an amusement park onto their chairs.
Thwack, thwack, thwack!
They had even meticulously covered the amusement park's brand name.
And the camera went out of its way to give a lingering close-up of the animal faces on the cushions stuck to the chairs.
What is that?
Sensing something, she opened a web page to find the real-time viewers flooding the chat with "LOL" and "LMAO."
Even for those who hadn't watched TeSTAR's reality show, it was just a randomly hilarious scene.
And those who had watched the reality show were enjoying the shared background knowledge.
"Wow..."
While waiting for VTIC to appear on screen, the Cheong-ryeo fan had no choice but to admit it.
Those guys were really something else.
"I'm using the cat cushion."
"Cha Yu-jin, you're the one who popped the cat cushion! Be satisfied with the dolphin."
"I don't like the dolphin."
Cha Yu-jin had been eyeing Kim Rae-bin's cushion since we were at the salon. Watching this play out was giving me a headache.
I held up my cushion.
"...Just use the dog one."
"Okay!"
Cha Yu-jin happily snatched the dog cushion and then politely offered the dolphin with both hands.
It certainly was ugly, but I figured it didn't matter since I'd be crushing it with my butt anyway.
Sigh.
I laid down the cushion and sat. I could hear other idols nearby desperately trying to hold back their laughter.
Go ahead and laugh.
The viewers would be laughing too, so it was a good sign.
Since we had successfully appealed to the reality show fans to a reasonable degree, it was time to show a focused attitude for the awards ceremony.
Though the seating arrangement was a bit... something.
VTIC is right next to us.
Since TeSTAR had become even more popular than last year, we received good seats, so it couldn't be helped.
Besides, it wasn't Cheong-ryeo I was worried about. It was this guy sitting next to me.
What is wrong with him?
Bae Se-jin, next to me, had an incredibly solemn expression.
Fortunately, since it was an awards ceremony, people would probably misunderstand and think he was just tense about the awards; otherwise, all sorts of speculation would have already been rampant.
I suppressed a sigh and spoke softly, covering my mouth just in case.
"Hyung, your face."
"Ah...!"
Bae Se-jin immediately regained a normal expression. He certainly was talented as an actor.
Keun Se-jin is... well, nothing to worry about there.
The guy teasing Cha Yu-jin with a smirk was no different from usual.
Well, it was only natural. I recalled the conversation I had with them yesterday.
In terms of stat distribution, I was basically asking Keun Se-jin, but I addressed the elder members first out of courtesy.
And as expected, Keun Se-jin ended his reaction there without any further complaints.
However, it seemed Bae Se-jin had developed some sort of sense of mission from that conversation.
After answering like that, he had been as fired up throughout the entire trip to the ceremony as if he were an older brother escorting a younger sibling who had been bullied at school.
Is he going to be the one to cause an accident at this rate?
I wondered if I shouldn't have said anything.
However, since his effort to care for me was commendable, I decided to ease his tension in a gentle way.
Like this.
"Come to think of it, Se-jin hyung's cushion has a ribbon on it."
"That's right. Se-jin-ah, that guinea pig character was cute."
"...Well, I guess so."
"Yeah. Oh, did you buy it because you remembered it after watching the VOD commentary?"
"...!!"
Bae Se-jin's face turned beet red.
The "VOD commentary" I was referring to was this:
A video of TeSTAR reacting to their first concert rehearsal, which was included in the VOD package for this concert.
They said they were going to release it for VOD promotion.
And Bae Se-jin had been horrified when he reacted to it.
Because the rehearsal footage showed the unit stage where they were fully decked out in costumes ranging from denim jackets to giant ribbons.
To make matters worse, a question from the making-of film crew had popped up.
Cha Yu-jin had laughed mercilessly while watching the on-screen Bae Se-jin run away after saying that.
Well, it seemed he was recalling the same scene, as Bae Se-jin suddenly barked out.
"No! It's just, because it looks like a hamster...!"
"Oh, a hamster."
"I'm not saying I'm a hamster! The, the fans call me that!"
"Are guinea pigs just big hamsters?"
"Uuuugh."
Bae Se-jin was completely sunk by the members' innocent admiration. He wouldn't be surfacing for a while.
It must have looked like we're a harmonious group, so it's killing two birds with one stone.
I chuckled and looked away from Bae Se-jin.
Then, my eyes met with the guys at the next table who were just entering.
"......!"
"Ah! Moon-dae-ssi~!"
The two VTIC members I had appeared on a variety show with earlier immediately smiled and waved as soon as our eyes met.
And standing right next to them was the guy who had once tried to swing a sledgehammer at my head.