Chapter 195
Chapter 195
“……?”
“…??”
When the words “I’m not really sure” came out during the Grand Prize acceptance speech—the finale of the day—the venue naturally froze in a chilling silence.
It wasn't even a tone of voice caught between overwhelming emotion and bewilderment; it was simply a smooth, questioning tone.
‘Is this crazy bastard really going to spout some bullshit?’
A chill ran down my spine. Of course, he had to know that if he even mentioned Park Moon-dae, the recording of VTIC’s Cheong-ryeo’s attempted murder would hit the news.
It was that awkward moment where most people watching the stage were likely darting their eyes around restlessly.
Cheong-ryeo continued speaking.
[I really don’t know. There was a time when I wanted this position so desperately that I spent sleepless nights crying, nights I thought I couldn't endure.]
While the members beside him remained frozen, Cheong-ryeo’s slow speech continued.
[And as time passed—time I thought would never come—I finally made it here.]
Cheong-ryeo tilted his head to the side.
[I still don’t really know what kind of realization that desperation gave me. But standing here now, there is a feeling that remains above all else.]
The audience held their breath. Cheong-ryeo smiled.
[Thank you. For not letting me give up.]
The speech ended there.
Belatedly, realizing that it had turned into a reasonably heartwarming and touching conclusion, the audience began to applaud normally.
The fans, of course, had been cheering enthusiastically from the start.
They probably thought such a speech was prompted by the recent public scandal involving a former member.
Though… in reality, it was likely a sentiment born from different experiences altogether.
“…….”
I quietly sat down, following the others.
On stage, the VTIC members were wiping away tears and awkwardly patting Cheong-ryeo on the back. It seemed like something they didn't usually do.
As the title track of the Grand Prize-winning album played, VTIC remained on stage until the song ended.
They only slowly descended from the stage long after the camera lights had turned off.
“Hmm.”
It looked like he gave a greeting toward us just now, but I couldn't be sure since the distance was too far.
Not that it mattered.
Regardless, the awards ceremony concluded amidst cheers.
“I want to win the Grand Prize!”
As soon as we exited and got into the car, Cha Yu-jin muttered those words with a somewhat sulky pout.
It seemed he was fixated on the fact that VTIC had taken the Grand Prize right after we had excitedly come down with the Popularity Award.
“Aw, come on~ We got one too. The Artist of the Year at the ToneA!”
“That doesn't count! The station just gave us that!”
Despite the surprisingly sharp remark, Keun Se-jin remained unfazed.
“Hey, we still received it~”
“No. We have to win it fair and square.”
Well, it was about time for Kim Rae-bin to jump in.
“You mean ‘fair and square,’ not ‘fair-fair and square.’”
I knew it.
“It’s the same thing!”
“No, it isn’t!”
“Yes, it is!”
I was just glad there were no outsiders around. I ignored the two who had already forgotten about the Grand Prize and started bickering, and I picked up my smartphone.
It wasn't the first or second time; they’d quiet down on their own even if I didn't stop them.
“A-Are you looking at the comments, Moon-dae?”
“Among other things.”
I intended to monitor the reactions out of habit, but there was something I needed to sort out first.
[You have new messages +34]
A heap of text and message notifications had popped up.
They were likely congratulatory messages. Since TeSTAR had unexpectedly won the Popularity Award, it was obvious that the news articles would be quite big.
‘Nothing urgent.’
They were mostly just polite messages from people I barely knew who had exchanged numbers with me.
I indifferently skimmed through the text and message notifications.
…And then, amidst the congratulatory posts, I saw one anomalous text.
[I brought him.]
In the message history, which contained those three words without any other explanation, a photo of a scruffy dog was attached.
Huddled in a corner of a sofa and sleeping, the fellow looked like a Golden Retriever mix.
“…….”
Well, I guess this settles it.
I moved on without deleting the message.
Just as I was about to start monitoring again, a deafening call came from behind me.
“Moon-dae hyung! Don’t you think Cha Yu-jin’s comment about the Grand Prize is a reckless and foolhardy display of youthful arrogance?!”
“We have to have dreams! Kim Rae-bin is a petty man!”
Does he even know words like ‘petty man’?
Anyway, it seemed the topic had circled back to the Grand Prize while they were fighting.
‘Where’s the leader?’
Looking at Ryu Cheong-woo, he seemed busy discussing the next schedule with the manager.
Can’t be helped.
I nodded and opened my mouth.
“It would be great to win the Grand Prize.”
“Right?!”
“But it might be better not to say you’re going to win it next year too often.”
“Why??”
I chuckled.
“If you talk about it too much, the emotion might be dampened when you actually win it, don't you think?”
“……!”
Behind the shocked faces of those two, Keun Se-jin cackled.
“Wow, look at Moon-dae’s ambition.”
“That’s cool.”
“Thank you for providing advice from a new perspective.”
Don't mention it.
In fact, if TeSTAR maintained this momentum, there was a good chance we really could win the Grand Prize within a year or two.
‘Those VTIC guys will have to enlist eventually, too.’
Of course, I didn't know if I’d still be living as Park Moon-dae by then.
But for now, I had decided to assume that I would be.
“Y-Yeah, Moon-dae. Let’s definitely… work hard and win the Grand Prize…!”
“Sure.”
“Grand Prize!!”
Excited, Cha Yu-jin began humming a song, substituting the word ‘Grand Prize’ into the lyrics of ‘Haengcha.’
Bae Se-jin blocked his ears with earphones and retreated into a corner. Poor guy.
‘He’s going to be in a good mood for a while.’
Well, it wasn't just because of the Grand Prize.
“The day I finally go home, Grand Prize~”
The destination for the next reality show filming was Cha Yu-jin’s home in San Diego, which he had been singing about for so long.
Thinking about having to fry hundreds of Hotteok again in two weeks, I already felt a phantom muscle ache from the excitement.
I expected it, but food business was indeed back-breaking labor.
‘Well, my arm is all healed now.’
I looked down at my wrist, where the bruises had almost entirely vanished.
Even the medical checkups no longer showed any cautionary findings.
So by then… I should be able to resume my solo song performance.
‘That’s good.’
I was already looking forward to the Seoul encore concert.
Of course, we had to finish the remaining Japan tour in January first.
TeSTAR’s Japan concert tour was held in arena-sized venues.
It was the size just below a dome tour—often seen as the symbol of a mega-star—and it was an ambitious size they had booked before Aju-sa even aired in Japan.
For the record, Park Moon-dae had been bitter, thinking the remaining tickets would end up being dumped at a discount.
However, once Aju-sa aired, it turned out to be a very accurate demand forecast.
[TeSTAR, First Japan Arena Tour: All Seats Sold Out for 8 Performances in 4 Cities]
The concert ticket sales, conducted via a lottery system, showed quite impressive competition rates in every city.
And the performances continued to be ones that wouldn't disappoint those who had succeeded in the lottery.
-Everyone did the opening with smiling faces. So cool and cute!
-Here is an idol otaku screaming at her bias’s solo stage (lol)
-The moment the encore started, I felt like this magical moment was ending, and I really couldn't stop my tears… I’m still crying ｡ﾟ (ﾟ´Д｀ﾟ) ﾟ｡
-Even with the sweat pouring down, not a single millimeter is out of place. Are they even human? As expected, he’s definitely an angel who descended to earth.
“No, so where are the photos…!”
Thud. Kim Rae-bin’s individual fan slammed her fist onto the keyboard.
She was lucky if one or two fancams were provided per stage; often, individual shots were completely non-existent.
“Why are there so few detailed stage descriptions in the reviews either!”
The individual fan wailed, saying this was why she hated Japan tours. Because the control was so strict, it was like a content drought where it felt like there were no schedules at all.
Still, TeSTAR was better than most.
=========================
My beloved Loviewers, I’m here!
(Bear emoticon)
This is today’s penalty costumeㅋㅋㅋ But everyone’s cute, right? I know! (Sassy emoticon)
(Photo)
=========================
This was because the members took turns during the tour to consistently leave updates on their daily schedules and concert reviews on SNS.
‘This Big Bird guy seems to only pick and upload the ones where he looks good.’
While grumbling for the sake of it, Kim Rae-bin’s individual fan preciousness saved the photo of Kim Rae-bin and Park Moon-dae that Keun Se-jin had uploaded.
“So cute….”
TeSTAR’s penalty costume for this impromptu stage was a kindergarten uniform.
Scraping together the bits mentioned in the Japanese fans’ reviews, it seemed they had performed a children’s song arrangement of the Aju-sa Season 3 theme song, ‘Shining Star.’
“Dammit…!”
She heard that in Yokohama or somewhere last week, they even performed a song from a famous idol rhythm game unit, and her stomach churned because it all ended with just one blurry photo.
The individual fan banged her head against the desk.
Bang!
“Please, just come back to Korea…!”
Fortunately, thanks to the overwhelming awards ceremony stage and the cute celebratory W Live a while ago, the domestic fan sentiment was still good.
However, there was a faint anxiety that they might lose all the new fans this year to VTIC.
This was because VTIC was still going strong and setting #1 records since their comeback stage at the awards ceremony.
‘That guy sure knows how to talk.’
Recalling how Cheong-ryeo’s awards ceremony speech had incited intense fan loyalty along with massive attention, the individual fan’s eyebrows twitched.
It was also because she remembered having a spat with a few VTIC fans who were making subtly snide remarks.
-ㅠㅠ Our boys can’t seem to be replaced by the next generation, so they must feel sorry for their juniors. They’re being so kind…
-It can’t be helped that the talented team continues to lead this industry. It follows ability! That’s why we’ll keep seeing you at the top for a long time. Love you.
└Spoken like a TICA who’s scared of the rising juniors and is beating them down under the guise of ‘ability.’
Kim Rae-bin’s fan, who had huffed and puffed even though she had secured the last word in that comment thread, fumed.
‘Guys, please release something, anything, in Korea soon!’
It was then.
Ding.
“Huh?”
A WeTube notification popped up on her smartphone.
[(Teaser) I will sell Hotteok instead of lemonade at the youngest’s house (Determined) | TeSTAR’s Idol Working Holiday Season 2]
“Holy crap!!”
At the long-awaited content with high public appeal, the fan tossed her Bluetooth keyboard into the air in celebration.
The morning immediately after finishing the Japan Arena Tour.
After a deep sleep on the plane, we arrived in Cha Yu-jin’s neighborhood as expected.
We headed to his house with some gifts in hand, but a few unexpected things happened there.
Mainly regarding the language.
It was because an elderly woman who rushed out of Cha Yu-jin’s house spread her arms wide and shouted:
“¡Bienvenido cariño!”
And Cha Yu-jin replied:
“¡Abuela, estoy aquí!”
“……??”
That’s… not English?
‘Spanish?’
Naturally, it was a language no one in the team had ever spoken.
Amidst the guys who were frozen by the unexpected language barrier, Cha Yu-jin ran forward and hugged the elderly woman.
She was clearly his grandmother.
Ryu Cheong-woo hurriedly grabbed Cha Yu-jin.
“Yu-Yu-jin? Is she your grandmother?”
“Yes! Oh, she speaks English! My grandma is good at English!”
More than that, your nonchalance in not even mentioning that you speak Spanish is astounding.
Anyway, after conducting awkward introductions, a welcome, and a gift exchange in English, we began filming the reality show in earnest.
First, naturally, was the scene where we asked Cha Yu-jin’s family to taste the Hotteok.
“Where are your parents?”
“They’re working right now!”
For that reason, instead of the others who hadn't finished work yet, a solo cut of the grandmother was filmed.
And the grandmother finished a whole plate.
“She seems to like the taste.”
“That’s a relief.”
While six grown men, who had crowded into the kitchen just to fry one Hotteok, were whispering among themselves, Cha Yu-jin, who had been chatting with his grandmother, relayed her words.
[She says it’s delicious, but, hmm, she thinks it could be a little sweeter! Since it’s a snack!]
“I see.”
I nodded.
Looking at breakfast earlier, it seemed people here generally ate sweeter food than in Korea.
“Then let’s add Dalgona on top too.”
“Pardon?”
“What?”
And a short while later, we reached the conclusion to sell a crazy snack called Dalgona Ice Cream Hotteok.