Chapter 467
Chapter 467
In truth, it’s only natural for members of a senior idol group to pursue individual activities.
Once a group passes its prime, its profitability inevitably drops. It only makes sense for the members to explore ways to make a living on their own in advance.
Of course, there are many exceptions these days, and TeSTAR was one of them.
“We really haven't done much in the way of proper individual activities until now.”
“That is true.”
The group had simply been doing too well for too long...
‘Even when we did individual stuff, it was mostly just variety shows or photo shoots.’
Since we were a group born from a survival show, we had intentionally restrained individual activities for several years to help the fandom unify. Eventually, we ended up here.
I spoke up.
“But don't you think it’s about time we started?”
“Hmm.”
Bae Se-jin’s shoulders flinched. The members’ eyes instinctively turned toward him.
Cha Yu-jin raised his hand.
“So, are we having a meeting? Is Se-jin-hyung going to act?”
Quick-witted brat.
“……I did receive… a proposal.”
“…! So that was it!”
“C-congratulations…!”
Amidst the kind but oblivious guys reacting with immediate joy, Bae Se-jin’s face turned a mottled red.
“I-I said I’m not doing it…!”
“…!?”
“I told Moon-dae earlier, but… we just had our comeback! I can’t just step out to act right now!”
“Ah…!”
Exclamation points practically popped over Seon A-hyun and Kim Rae-bin’s faces.
However, Kim Rae-bin soon asked cautiously, “Um… is it structurally impossible to do both due to the schedule?”
Oh, I see! Then you can just do both!
It was a question typical of a guy who possessed a crazy efficiency trait that doubled his composing speed.
But Bae Se-jin clenched both hands.
“…What if I make a mistake?”
“Pardon?”
“I’ll… I’ll be honest. I’m the slowest at learning choreography here. I started late, and there’s… the issue of talent.”
“…Well, judgment is subjective depending on what criteria you use—,”
“But do you really think I can juggle a completely different kind of work—a role in a production—and not make a single mistake on stage even once…?”
“…!!”
Bae Se-jin looked up.
His face was pale.
“If that happens, what will people think?”
Bae Se-jin, being the first to start individual activities, would likely face a concentrated barrage of criticism.
But surprisingly, that wasn't the point he was making.
“They’ll think something is wrong! They’ll think there’s trouble within the group, that things are so bad that Bae Se-jin, who never acts out, is suddenly overextending himself to juggle group activities and acting… That’s what they’ll think!”
“…….”
“I’m not completely ignorant about idol life like I was when we first debuted. I… I understand how things work now.”
Right. I know you watch those "K-Pride" YouTube videos.
‘If you watch those, then K-Pop reaction videos, public opinion videos, and even cyber wreckers will start popping up in the related videos.’
Even just by reading the titles, he would have learned that much.
He knew about the secondary rumors spawned by rumors.
And he knew which rumors went viral and caused a stir.
“We just moved companies and had our first comeback… We can’t.”
Bae Se-jin finished speaking with a fairly resolute expression.
“That is my judgment.”
“…….”
Oh.
I rubbed my chin.
Setting aside the validity of his conclusion for a moment.
‘He mapped out the process to that conclusion quite logically and deeply.’
He wasn't trying to avoid it; rather, he had faced the situation head-on and reached a conclusion after careful analysis.
‘He really has grown up.’
Since it was a respectable attitude, I intended to start by lightly agreeing with parts of it, but…
“Why?”
“…?!”
This guy is the first to throw out a question mark?
Ryu Cheong-woo stared at Bae Se-jin amidst the wide-eyed members and continued calmly.
“Se-jin-ah. Why do you assume that you acting will definitely interfere with our stage performances?”
“Who said definitely?”
Bae Se-jin seemed momentarily frustrated, but he soon calmed down.
“…I’m saying there’s a high possibility. I can already imagine it. That situation…!”
“Imagination doesn't always become reality.”
“…!”
“Se-jin-ah.”
Ryu Cheong-woo spoke gently.
Yet, there was a hint of sternness in his tone.
“I’ve said this before… but when you imagine the future, you seem to weigh the negative possibilities much more heavily than the positive ones.”
“…….”
“There’s no rule saying it has to turn out that way.”
Bae Se-jin’s face went a bit blank.
“Even when we talked about this before, things ended up being resolved well without going the way you feared. Remember?”
“…….”
A silent affirmation.
And although Ryu Cheong-woo had phrased it vaguely on purpose, I realized what "the situation where they talked about this before" was.
Bae Se-jin had momentarily glanced at Keun Se-jin.
‘I think he’s talking about when those two fought like cats and dogs.’
Back then, I took charge of talking to Keun Se-jin, and Ryu Cheong-woo handled Bae Se-jin.
It seemed they had a conversation like that at the time.
‘Bae Se-jin probably said Keun Se-jin hated his guts and would never apologize first… and that they’d never reconcile even if he apologized first.’
Ryu Cheong-woo must have gently coaxed him through it.
And well, the two namesakes had reconciled and were getting along well enough, even if they still bickered.
In short, it was true that Bae Se-jin had been excessively negative back then.
However, I understood why Bae Se-jin judged things that way.
Part of it was because the two of them were so incompatible and had let their irritations build up until they exploded.
But I suspected there was an experiential reason behind Bae Se-jin’s way of thinking.
‘…It’s probably because of his experiences since he was a child actor.’
He’d been ruined once by a shitty agency. On top of that, we had practically watched a live broadcast of him almost being ruined because his biological father was a piece of work.
It felt like a natural instinct for him to consider the worst-case scenario when faced with a critical choice.
The problem was…
‘And I….’
The fact that I could understand that.
When it comes to shitty childhood experiences, I have a few that come to mind immediately.
Situations where the worst-case assumption you thought was impossible actually becomes reality.
Someone who has experienced that will always assume the "worst-case scenario" when planning for the future.
‘It’s about being prepared.’
Well, I don’t particularly have a problem with my own thought process since I don’t think I’ve ever lost out because of it… but Ryu Cheong-woo seemed to find Bae Se-jin’s outlook quite pitiful.
“You’ve hardly ever made a mistake on stage during our entire career. Even when you couldn't sleep properly. So why would you suddenly start making mistakes now?”
“…….”
“I don’t think you will. And even if you did, there’s a chance it would pass without much issue… Wouldn't it be a shame to give up for a reason like that, of all things?”
Bae Se-jin’s eyes grew misty.
And I felt a sense of awe toward Ryu Cheong-woo.
‘How can that guy be like that?’
How could a guy who had to retire from the national team right on the cusp of his prime due to the aftereffects of a childhood accident he couldn't even remember live with such a mindset?
Even after living together for years and knowing his circumstances… no, rather, that made it even harder to understand.
‘Well, I guess not all humans are the same.’
A team needs all kinds of people to keep running.
As proof, Bae Se-jin seemed somewhat emotionally swayed by those firm words.
And as if seizing the momentum, Ryu Cheong-woo spoke.
Not to Bae Se-jin, but to me.
“What do you think?”
“…….”
Me? Really?
‘He must think I’ll back him up since I called the meeting.’
I answered somewhat reluctantly.
“Well… you’re right, Hyung. But I think Se-jin-hyung has a point too. The possibility exists.”
“……!”
“…Is that so?”
Why are you making a dejected face too, Ryu Cheong-woo?
Anyway, I shrugged.
“And even if we persuade him like this, I think Se-jin-hyung will continue to feel anxious. I don’t think he needs to do individual activities under those conditions.”
“…….”
“So, I’d like to refute Se-jin-hyung’s reasoning entirely.”
“…??”
“R-refute… you say?”
Exactly.
“I think there’s a fundamental cause for why you’re worried about making mistakes in the first place, Hyung.”
“…Fundamental cause?”
He looked like he had no idea what I was talking about.
Listen.
“It’s that the schedule during the promotion period is tight.”
Because it’s tight, there’s no breathing room, and thus no time to prepare the mind and body for the stage.
The worry is that, given his skill level, that environment will inevitably lead to mistakes.
“If the schedule were a bit more relaxed in the first place, wouldn't you have said it was okay? Since you’d have time to practice even while juggling both.”
Bae Se-jin answered with a dazed expression.
“That… is true, but.”
I nodded.
“Then you don’t need to worry.”
“…?? Why…?”
“Our schedule will be much more relaxed than before.”
“Why?!”
I interlaced my fingers.
“Because all the T1-affiliated schedules are blocked…….”
“…….”
“…….”
That was it.
Bae Se-jin, who had reflexively expected a schedule intensity similar to our previous albums, had missed this loophole.
‘We… don’t have many broadcasts to go on.’
We’ll do one or two public broadcast variety shows, a few YouTube appearances, and that’s it.
For the rest, we ironically can’t go on them because they don’t match the group’s prestige.
‘But since the game collaboration covered our buzz….’
In the end, the crazy 60 days we spent preparing for the album were essentially like doing the album promotions in advance.
And as if he had realized this, Bae Se-jin’s eyes turned into tiny dots.
He looked flustered.
“I… need to think about it.”
“Yes. And while you’re thinking, I brought another agenda item to discuss.”
“W-what?”
Why the look? I didn't call this meeting just to talk about your acting career.
“I was thinking that instead of just Se-jin-hyung, why don’t we all scatter and do a few individual appearances each during this promotion period?”
“Pardon??”
“W-we…?”
“Hmm, for the entire group to do individual activities right when an album is out…. Of course, anyone who wants to can do it, but I’m fine with doing it next time.”
Ryu Cheong-woo’s cautious reaction was appreciated, but that was actually the point.
“No, it’s actually because of the album.”
“Hmm?”
“The programs or events that the whole group can appear on together are limited, so I think it’s better to show our faces a few more times, even if we have to split up individually.”
“Ah.”
That way, we could at least partially compensate for the schedules cut because of T1.
We had to let the people who don’t use social media, communities, or YouTube know that TeSTAR’s album was out, didn't we?
And… there was one more advantage, which Seon A-hyun seemed to have noticed.
“Ah…! T-then Se-jin-hyung’s acting will also look like just one of those individual appearances… so it’ll be like we’re all doing it together!”
Exactly.
Bae Se-jin’s case was uniquely different in nature and more serious, but if we leaked some of the circumstances, he wouldn't be the only one taking the heat.
“…! I see, indeed! I didn't deduce that far!”
“Then I’m going on this one!”
The meeting room became boisterous with Kim Rae-bin, who had begun to admire Seon A-hyun, and Cha Yu-jin, who had actively started searching for programs.
Bae Se-jin bowed his head low.
“…Thank you. Truly.”
“…!”
“Not at all! I was moved by your resolve to even consider giving it up for the sake of the album! I’ll be rooting for your acting…!”
“Yeah. I’ll cheer for you.”
“F-fight…ing…!”
Should I add a word?
“And if it’s another sociopath role, tell them to change it.”
“…Right.”
A hint of laughter mixed into Bae Se-jin’s voice.
And when he looked up again, Bae Se-jin was clenching his fists with sparkling eyes.
“I’ll do well.”
You do that.
“I’ll… keep practicing for the stage too.”
Good.
“I’ll… um, work hard to promote the album during filming too…!”
“That’s okay.”
No, don't do that. That industry is cutthroat too; you’ll get screwed if you do that. Just focus on filming the production.
“Ahem, ah, but still…….”
Bae Se-jin seemed to want to say more, but he suddenly met someone’s eyes and shut his mouth.
It was the person who hadn't said a single word throughout the entire meeting.
“…….”
Keun Se-jin.
He was looking at Bae Se-jin with an expression that didn't reveal much emotion.
Bae Se-jin seemed to instinctively want to look away for a moment, but that impulse soon vanished.
Instead, he asked Keun Se-jin seriously.
“What… do you think?”
“…….”
“About me acting during promotions.”
Keun Se-jin looked at the table for a moment, then finally spoke.
“Well, in this situation, isn't it fine?”
“…!”
His tone was relaxed.
And it was a roundabout affirmation.
Bae Se-jin was so surprised he almost jumped out of his chair, but he soon cleared his throat.
“No, I mean, ahem, since you weren't saying anything… I thought you were holding back because you didn't like it!”
“Well, yeah…. Yep. I figured no matter how I reacted, you’d interpret it in a bad way~”
“…….”
‘Bullseye.’
Keun Se-jin had intentionally raised the end of his sentence as if joking, but he was clearly being sincere.
And Bae Se-jin seemed to feel the sting of the truth.
If Keun Se-jin had said individual activities were a good idea, he probably would have suspected sarcasm, and if he had opposed them, he would have just nodded.
Keun Se-jin rubbed the back of his neck.
“We’ve been active for a few years now… it’s about time everyone started doing individual stuff~ And you said you were going to turn it down anyway, Hyung.”
“…….”
“It’s good if we all succeed together.”
Keun Se-jin ended his words there.
It really didn't sound like empty talk.
“…Right.”
And it seemed that this time, Bae Se-jin was able to take those words at face value.
“Alright. Then… I’ll organize my thoughts and contact the director!”
“Great!”
And so, TeSTAR finished their preparations to enter the album promotion period in earnest.
In a slightly unique way, different from before.
“Um… but if cooperation with all T1-related affiliates is impossible, does that mean we won’t be able to produce a group reality program this time either?!”
“Just wait.”