Chapter 197
Chapter 197
TeSTAR’s reality show maintained its buzz even as it entered Season 2.
In fact, in terms of public appeal, it received an even better report card.
Since Season 1, which aired on TV, recorded decent viewership ratings, the gap until the TV broadcast of Season 2 was significantly shortened.
The wait was only one week.
Furthermore, since there were slight differences between the WeTube edit and the TV edit, hardcore fans ended up watching both.
Of course, there were more viewers who simply utilized the kind and speedy labor of netizens.
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[TeSTAR Hour TV Extra Cuts (1/3)]
: (Video)
0:43 Interview with Cha Go-young’s grandmother
3:58 Keun Se-jin whistling
5:02 Park Moon-dae Smile Compilation
=========================
Since Idol Inc., this was the first time the group TeSTAR itself had been directly exposed to the public in such an entertainment-focused way.
Naturally, fans joyfully took advantage of this promotional window.
They had expected VTIC to sweep everything alone for a while, so they couldn't help but feel good seeing TeSTAR making moves even during their off-season.
[TeSTAR Hour Season 2 Begins]
[TeSTAR members called 'hot' throughout their serving shift in the US]
[Idols who can guess 30g of weight by hand]
In the first week alone, when episodes 1 and 2 of Season 2 were aired, dozens of popular posts went up and down on the internet every day.
The momentum didn't die down in episodes 3 and 4, the sightseeing episodes released the following week.
[TeSTAR’s Manito Tour!]
During this trip, the members became each other's Manito through a draw.
[Kim Rae-bin: It’s Cheong-woo hyung!]
[Ryu Cheong-woo: Ah, it’s Moon-dae.]
[Bae Se-jin: …Lee Se-jin.]
And they had to buy one of the 'gifts I want to receive' previously chosen by their assigned member as a souvenir without getting caught.
The plan was to laugh at TeSTAR as they struggled to play the role of spies, a role they were never meant for, just to avoid a penalty… or so it was intended.
[PD: Deep friendship that considers the members! This will be a tour that shows the power of friendship!]
[Ryu Cheong-woo: Ah, I see!]
[Ryu Cheong-woo: Then let’s just pretend we don’t know each other.]
[Production Crew: !!!!]
The plan was completely ruined by Ryu Cheong-woo’s innocent and transparent solution.
The members stood in a line, entered the mall one by one, and came out with completely wrapped gift boxes.
[PD: E-everyone. Aren’t you curious about who your Manito is?]
[Lee Se-jin: Nope~]
[Kim Rae-bin: Since their identity will be revealed in half a day anyway, I believe it is bearable!]
Despite the PD’s desperate pleas, TeSTAR didn't budge.
Furthermore, Cha Yu-jin even misunderstood the PD’s words as a question.
[Cha Yu-jin: Oh! Me!]
[PD: Ah, as expected! Yu-jin, you’re curious, right~?]
[Cha Yu-jin: No! I know! Manito is Spanish! Friend!]
[Park Moon-dae: !!]
[Moon-dae is unfamiliar with the youngest’s erudition….]
The PD clutching his head and the expressionless, impressed Park Moon-dae were cross-edited with a great sense of humor.
It was a cliché-breaking development made possible because they had already secured enough laughs from being toyed with by the PD while working in the previous episodes.
And that wasn't all.
In the latter half of the broadcast, they managed to capture not only fun but also professionalism and heartwarming moments.
In the evening, after a long day of exploring the safari and the mall.
[Lee Se-jin: Should we have a toast over there? With drinks!]
[Ryu Cheong-woo: Shall we? What do you think?]
[Seon A-hyun: I’d like that…!]
[Bae Se-jin: Let’s just order drinks.]
The segment started with a conversation that seemed like the members were going to have a sincere talk at a pub, creating a predictable editing point, but the nature of the scene changed because of one element.
[Lee Se-jin: Is that a karaoke machine on the stage? Oh, this place has a karaoke concept!]
The place TeSTAR had entered was a karaoke bar with a machine.
[Ryu Cheong-woo: Come to think of it, I think Moon-dae wanted to sing.]
[Park Moon-dae: Me?]
[Lee Se-jin: Wow~ Applause!!]
[Park Moon-dae: (Tibetan Fox Face)]
And while joking around, TeSTAR ended up grabbing the karaoke machine and singing.
[Park Moon-dae: (Singing passionately)]
[A professional’s rampage in a peaceful tavern]
[He sings so well it makes you wonder if it’s even necessary to go this hard…….]
Although the captions were playful, their skills were excessively solid.
It was also the first time TeSTAR’s main job was highlighted in this reality program.
[Pouring cheers and applause]
Getting validation from foreigners who had no idea who they were gave the viewers a strange sense of vicarious satisfaction.
And it wasn't just Park Moon-dae.
[Lee Se-jin: Hyung-nim~ Why don’t you do a song?]
[Ryu Cheong-woo: Shall I? Rae-bin, do you want to sing together?]
[Kim Rae-bin: I will do my best!]
The members took turns using the karaoke machine alone, or in groups of two or three.
There were almost no Korean songs, but it didn't matter since everyone knew how to sing a few pop songs anyway.
Later, caught up in the atmosphere, some even danced and sang old American boy band songs with other customers.
[Cha Yu-jin: You got a vibe~ (Meaning: You’re pretty good)]
[Customer: I know! (Meaning: I’m drunk)]
[This stylish customer even bought them drinks, saying it was moving]
By maintaining these comedic beats while essentially satisfying the characteristics of a music variety show, the content became even richer.
TeSTAR didn't force their own songs or make promotional comments; they just let time flow naturally.
Thanks to that, viewers could enjoy the content without feeling burdened.
[Seon A-hyun: I-I think if we order more here, we’ll be in debt…!]
[Lee Se-jin: Oops.]
[Park Moon-dae: Let’s head out soon.]
Finally, when they returned to Cha Yu-jin’s house, the heartwarming atmosphere peaked with the gift-giving scene.
[Ryu Cheong-woo: Moon-dae gave up his cushion for Yu-jin. So I picked this out.]
[Seon A-hyun: What I prepared is a wrist rest. Since Rae-bin uses the computer a lot….]
Just as it was about to end with such a friendly scene.
[Cha Yu-jin: The popcorn is delicious!]
[Bae Se-jin: ????]
The camera focused on Bae Se-jin, who looked dazed after receiving a massive, oversized popcorn bucket from Cha Yu-jin.
[Bae Se-jin: W-when did I ever…!]
Bae Se-jin’s protest was cut short, and a caption appeared along with peaceful BGM.
[Analysis Result]
[In Bae Se-jin’s gift list]
[There were snacks.]
[Cha Yu-jin’s grand victory]
The final cut showed Bae Se-jin waddling away while carrying the popcorn bucket. Ending with a burst of laughter left a good aftertaste.
With the addition of a tantalizing preview, it was an excellent variety show that raised expectations.
Naturally, the response continued to be favorable.
Of course, there were some competitive comments from other groups' fans, but the popularity was becoming visible enough that people who simply liked the show itself were starting to appear.
Naturally, the fans began to scream and shout.
It was a desperate cry that they couldn't let this variety show special pass by.
During the awards season, it was less intense because they knew there was a clear influx factor—the awards ceremony stages—but now, there were no promises for other schedules.
Fortunately, however, new news broke even before the next week's reality show aired.
[TeSTAR <Enchanted ME> Seoul Encore Concert Ticket Open Notice]
It was the news of a Seoul encore concert.
As if their worries about additional tour schedules were a lie, the fans rejoiced at the addition of the Seoul concert.
It wasn't just because they could see them in person. A concert in their home base, Korea, had content scalability.
Since it meant they were entering the country, they often followed a structure of handling domestic schedules rather than immediately departing again, considering efficiency.
For example, a new album comeback.
TeSTAR even had a track record of revealing a new song at their last first concert.
With the expectation of ‘Could the comeback be near?’, TeSTAR’s fan communities everywhere began to get ahead of themselves.
It was a time when they even creatively interpreted every SNS post by the members as a comeback hint.
And not long after, a promotion notice did indeed appear from the agency.
However, it wasn't TeSTAR.
[Mirinae (Miry-nay) Debut Intro - ’NO magic in this WORLD’]
It was the debut teaser video for the juniors.
TeSTAR fans grumbled and ignored the video, or clicked on it out of curiosity.
However, some clicked because they felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
‘Magic? …Magic?’
‘The background color is purple…….’
And from the first scene of the video, they encountered a mise-en-scène that was somehow familiar.
[…….]
With the sun hanging at the edge of the earth, a teenager in a school uniform standing by a window stained orange looks back.
It was a picture they had seen somewhere before.
The association was too clear.
1:00 AM Korean time.
I was sitting in an airplane seat during a scheduled move, watching the video uploaded an hour ago.
Surprisingly, the airline provided Wi-Fi.
“Hmm.”
On the screen, an idol in a school uniform was captured in a very familiar composition by the window, then suddenly jumped through it.
Then, he suddenly fell onto a giant spider web in the dark night, turned into a cocoon, and faded out.
The scenes reminiscent of ‘Magical Boy’ lasted… for about the first 3 seconds.
“Oh.”
They used their heads.
I smirked and turned off the video.
Actually, I had already heard through the grapevine.
That the junior group’s title track was finalized as a previous candidate song they had written and composed themselves.
Then what was this?
‘They’re going to milk it to the limit, one way or another.’
They wanted to try using ‘Magical Boy’ to boost Mirinae’s title track promotion.
To the extent that it could be excused as a fragmentary ‘homage.’
They were just baiting enough so that even if TeSTAR fans openly made it a public issue and got angry, it would be ambiguous for them to receive public support.
The juniors, who had listened to my advice, had been persuaded to take only the core, and the company had merely brushed against the trap I had set.
‘…They played it well.’
Fine. I’ll admit it.
I don't know whose idea it was, but it seems the company gathered their decision-making at a level more intelligent than I thought.
And I felt worse than I expected.
‘This won't do.’
I could feel them trying to take credit for their own vision, even if just a little.
‘I really hate seeing them make decisions among themselves while leaving out the parties who will take the bullets.’
I’m starting to feel the urge to do things I hadn't bothered with because I didn't know where I’d be in six months.
‘Let’s tear the factions apart.’
I need to create some discord within the company.