Chapter 238
Chapter 238
This is a bit flustered.
“Park Moon-dae, are you seriously planning a concert schedule by yourself just because the tour was canceled? You’re currently hospitalized. You know why the tour was canceled in the first place.”
“I am sorry to have to say this, but Hyung, you really need to reconsider your work-life balance!”
“…Did it never occur to you to consult us before doing this on your own?”
Well, you guys aren't exactly giving me the chance to consult you.
I suppressed a sigh and looked back at how things had ended up like this.
—…Moon-dae, Yu-jin said he heard something at the company…
The moment the guys who came to visit started talking like that without even sitting down, I knew the information had leaked.
‘I was going to let them talk as much as they wanted and then get to the main point once they calmed down.’
But this felt like being a tyrant listening to a barrage of petitions from his ministers. The more I listened, the more I felt like the bad guy.
‘…I suppose they have a right to be upset.’
Yeah, I’ll admit that much.
Their activities were put on a total halt because of a guy who fell into a coma, and then that same guy is found planning his own solo concert the moment he wakes up? It’s enough to make anyone lose their mind.
Plus… they seem genuinely worried.
“I-it won’t be too late to think about that after your body is fully recovered…!”
“Exactly!”
“…….”
So, considering the complicated emotions they must have felt over the past eighteen days—wondering if I’d even wake up—I listened quietly. But…
‘Has it been about thirty minutes?’
I think that’s enough. They’re starting to repeat the same things over and over. I sighed and began to wrap things up.
“First of all… I was planning to tell you all when we met today.”
“Oh, after everything was already decided?”
Keun Sejin, this punk is at it again.
“No, nothing’s been decided yet. What I told the company was just an idea.”
I pressed my temples.
“I wasn’t planning on doing it right away, either. I just thought it would be a good way to commemorate the resumption of TeSTAR’s official activities.”
“…….”
Perhaps because that sounded fairly realistic, the hospital room fell silent as everyone got lost in thought.
After a moment’s hesitation, I added one more thing.
“…Still, I realize it must have looked like I just brought up a solo project to the company out of the blue. I’m sorry. And I apologize to you too, Hyung.”
“……!”
I was currently piecing together my words to explain the ‘But it’s actually a bait’ part.
However, Ryu Cheong-woo spoke first.
“…Moon-dae. I know you want to get back to work as soon as possible.”
“…….”
Well, yeah. Because if I don’t, I’ll die…
Ryu Cheong-woo nodded calmly.
“If you want to do a solo concert, that’s fine. And if you don’t particularly want to sue the company… it’s fine to just continue with activities.”
“……!”
“You don’t need to apologize for things like that.”
Bae Se-jin’s face flushed, but surprisingly, he didn’t argue with Ryu Cheong-woo and just nodded silently.
“But you have to take care of your health. Everything we’ve said so far is because of that.”
“…….”
“You’re overdoing it right now. I hope… you can understand that. As I say every time.”
Ryu Cheong-woo’s complexion didn’t look great as he spoke.
It seemed the sight of a steel rod piercing my chest had left him with significant trauma.
‘Whew.’
We’re back to square one. I interlaced my fingers.
I am perfectly healthy, and my full recovery is just around the corner.
How on earth am I supposed to make them accept this mysterious recovery rate…?
“I am paying plenty of attention to my health. I’m following all the medical staff’s instructions, and from what I’ve heard, I’m recovering at an incredibly fast pace.”
“…So you want to return as soon as you’re fully recovered?”
“Well, I’m considering it, provided the experts give the okay.”
Keun Sejin let out a dry chuckle.
“Hey, the fans are really going to love that.”
“…!”
“You might think the reaction will be good, but the fans know you’re human too. They’ll probably send protest trucks to the company for exploiting someone who was just in a coma.”
“…….”
“Oh, is this part of a grand scheme for the lawsuit? If so, wow, Moon-dae, you’re amazing~”
This guy, seriously.
I gritted my teeth.
“Do you have to put it that way?”
“…!”
“Stop being sarcastic. I’m being honest with you.”
I’m on the verge of freaking dropping dead, and he keeps poking at me. It’s pissing me off. There’s a limit to everything.
Lee Se-jin opened his mouth, then closed it again without saying a word. I focused on my thoughts in silence to calm down.
Then, his namesake suddenly exploded.
“H-he…! He’s doing that because he’s worried!”
Bae Se-jin stepped forward, fists clenched.
“He always! Talks like that!”
“…….”
Is he… mocking him?
“T-that’s right…. Se-sejin probably wants to apologize too, r-right…?”
Seeing Seon A-hyun provide cover fire, I guess he wasn’t mocking him after all.
Keun Sejin was staring at the floor with a humorless expression.
“…I’m sorry.”
“…….”
I nodded.
Right, I was being a bit too sensitive.
I’d finally figured out a way to clear the status effect, but since it was taking so long to even discuss it, I’d lost my composure.
‘He probably didn’t mean to pick a fight.’
He was likely just frustrated with the situation himself and thought that a bit of sarcasm would snap me back to my senses.
‘…It can’t be helped.’
Yeah, it’s the same for the other members, not just Keun Sejin.
As long as I’m contributing to this team, and given that a car accident happened, these guys have no choice but to worry about my health.
I suppose living together for two years through thick and thin has built some genuine affection.
So, in the end, it’s just a difference in the amount of information we have.
‘They don’t know that I’ll die if I don’t mobilize 400,000 people.’
Naturally, our priorities are bound to be different.
‘……I didn’t want to go this far.’
I suppressed a groan and finally spoke.
“…Actually, I just really miss the fans.”
“…….”
“I woke up and suddenly it’s next month. The internet is in an uproar, and I felt like I’d be less anxious if I could just do something… That’s why I brought up the concert.”
“…I see.”
“M-Moon-dae…….”
It was a bit of a cringey thing to say, but it seemed to be persuasive as the atmosphere grew heavy with emotion.
‘…It’s not exactly a lie, either.’
Except for the fact that the reason for my anxiety is a status effect, that’s pretty much exactly how I feel.
Feeling a bit resigned, I continued.
“I don’t plan on pushing myself and staying up all night like before.”
I can’t anyway, since I don’t have Bacchus.
“But it is my wish… to resume activities as soon as possible, within reasonable limits.”
This time, a flat-out refusal didn’t come flying back.
This seems like a good time.
“The concert I was planning wasn’t anything grand to begin with.”
“Huh?”
“I was just thinking of a simple talk concert. To show everyone that I’ve recovered. Dancing would be kept to a minimum.”
“S-so that’s why it’s a solo concert…?”
“No, that’s because of the W App contract. They won’t allow a free concert stream under the group’s name.”
“Oh….”
Now we’re finally getting somewhere.
I finished explaining the parts I had agreed upon with Cheong-ryeo.
Then, after a brief pause, I spoke.
“But actually… the solo thing is just a distraction.”
“……?”
I let out a small smirk.
“I was going to invite all of TeSTAR as guests. Wouldn’t that be fine?”
“…!!”
Honestly, isn’t it an obvious trick?
If someone refused to come, it would look a bit weird, but I was confident I could persuade everyone.
However, one person shouted, his face turning pale.
“B-but isn’t that a breach of contract??”
“No. Because I am strictly the host.”
“But still… it’s a scam!”
“It’s just making good use of the contract clauses.”
“…….”
Thud. Bae Se-jin slumped into a chair.
He seemed to be muttering something like, “We’re going to get so much hate…,” but he didn’t object.
‘I guess I looked pretty desperate.’
Since they’d already had their say earlier, they seemed to be trying to restrain themselves.
Or perhaps Bae Se-jin was trying his best to organize his thoughts so his words wouldn’t come out as aggressively.
Of course, what he said made sense.
‘Doing it this way will give us a terrible reputation in the industry.’
And it’s not just any industry; W App is run by a massive search engine company. There will definitely be retaliation.
‘That’s why I have to choose the format carefully.’
And I had already chosen the format for the concert.
One that would make it awkward for them to retaliate… something that would just be treated as a ‘different kind’ of performance.
I said with a smile.
“And one more thing.”
“……?”
“I want to give the concert a specific purpose.”
“A purpose?”
I explained my idea.
“Oh.”
“M-Moon-dae, you always seem to have such good ideas….”
“Indeed!”
The reaction was quite good.
To put it simply, even Bae Se-jin, who had been sitting in his chair looking like he’d been burned to a crisp, regained some color in his face.
“…That sounds okay!”
“Right?”
‘I guess I’ve won them over halfway.’
It didn’t seem like I needed to persuade them any further. I could just keep building on this and finalize it around the time I’m discharged.
I shrugged my shoulders.
“N-now, Moon-dae, get some rest…!”
“No, I’ve rested enough—”
“R-rest!”
“…….”
And only then, with the atmosphere finally returning to that of a normal hospital visit, did I listen to some trivial updates from them.
“The AR team made a commemorative track to help Moon-dae Hyung sleep peacefully… but they said it was lost due to a program error before it could be saved…….”
“Really?!”
“…Tell them I appreciate the thought.”
It went on for quite a while.
Time passed like that, and soon it was time for the hospital meal to arrive.
“You guys should go eat.”
“Yeah, …it’s already that time.”
“I ate early, so I shall remain and fulfill my role as a conversation partner!”
“Me too! Let’s eat fruit!”
No, it’s fine… well, whatever.
I just shrugged it off.
However, among those heading out, Keun Sejin hesitated and avoided eye contact until the very end.
He’d been like that ever since the atmosphere turned icy during our talk earlier.
“…I’ll be back~”
“Sure.”
At least his mouth is still running.
…It’ll be fine.
And the next one.
“Hyung! Enjoy your me—”
“You, come here.”
“Aaaargh!”
Where do you think you’re going after snitching on me while accepting tangerines?
I gave Cha Yu-jin a flick on the forehead before letting him go.
“Ouch!”
Then, right in front of him, I gave a large peach to Kim Rae-bin.
It was a bit funny since I was feeding him something he had brought himself, but I ate a bit of it too, so it was fine.
“The flavor is excellent!”
“I agree.”
Cha Yu-jin slumped.
“Hyung, you’re too much!”
“What is?”
“I didn’t say anything else!”
“Like what?”
Cha Yu-jin mouthed silently.
‘VTIC Sunbaenim!’
“……!!”
After a short silence.
“Eat up.”
“Wow!”
I stuffed a piece of peach into his mouth.
It was a bribe of sorts. A sign for him to keep his mouth shut in the future as well.
After that, Park Moon-dae recovered smoothly and was discharged even faster than the medical staff had anticipated.
And a few weeks later.
After the agency took a massive beating and received a recommendation for mediation from the Human Rights Commission, TeSTAR began small group activities.
Specifically, they appeared at TaKon, a K-POP joint concert.
Of course, they didn't appear on-site in person; they only aired a separately filmed video.
Still, as it was their first activity since the accident, TeSTAR’s appearance became quite a hot topic.
Amidst the internet reactions flooded with phrases like ‘I love you TeSTAR, our magic is forever,’ several blunt or rude evaluations also circulated quickly.
One thing was certain: TeSTAR had not lost the star quality that allowed them to convert even sympathetic interest into genuine appeal.
All sorts of talk swirled around the internet: ‘Will TeSTAR continue their next activities?’, ‘When will the comeback be?’, ‘Will they stay with the same agency?’, and so on.
Then, quite out of the blue, a notice appeared on the social media of a concert booking platform.
It was a platform from another company that TeSTAR had never used and had no connection to T1.
However, the words posted on social media were enough to grab everyone's attention.
[What? The National Stock is holding a ☆FREE☆ concert?]
National Stock.
A buzzword from a few years ago.
Several people quickly jumped in to comment.
None of those were correct.
Because a few days later, the next post on that social media account was this:
[Watch the National Stock’s ☆FREE☆ concert and give strength to sick children!]
[Host: Park Moon-dae, Guest: TeSTAR]
That’s right.
What Park Moon-dae had planned was a fundraising concert to help those in need.