Chapter 568
Chapter 568
After the song they’d self-produced in just two weeks with the mindset of "let's try everything we want to do" suddenly caught the trend and skyrocketed...
The TeSTAR guys gave it their all.
By that, I mean they gritted their teeth and prepared the performance within the limited time they had.
—From now on... let's not suddenly create new work at the end or beginning of the year...
—Yes...
—...
—Ohhhh!! Se-jin hyung is dead!
I thought I was going to kick the bucket.
And today, they finally appeared on a broadcast and succeeded in showing a proper stage.
[I turn the page
Go to the next chapter]
The simple, aesthetically pleasing freestyle Bae Se-jin had done became the official choreography, unfolding in a perfectly synchronized formation.
In the intro and build-up sections, each member performed solo parts while leaving the dancing to the backup dancers, then everyone gathered for the chorus to show off a sharp, synchronized group dance.
This method wouldn't have worked without high Star Quality stats...
Still, looking at the monitoring, the movement came alive when combined with the one-take camera work, resulting in a stage that was quite worth watching.
—The music video was one-take too, so there’s a narrative connection. Yeah, it’s good.
It was just as Keun Se-jin said.
It was different from the intense style we usually went for, but this style, which emphasized the balance with the vocals, didn't seem to have any issues in terms of quality.
And so, the time attack was a success.
"Gosh, well, there's nothing for me to even comment on. It was TeSTAR, the self-producing idols, with 'Epic'!"
The MC's exaggerated reaction was also top-notch.
The MC was already known for being gentle, but fitting the nature of this program—"Introducing This Week's Trending Musician," which was closer to an educational show—he became even more mellow.
Insightful questions related to music started flowing in.
"Often, the word 'Epic' is used to mean something strong and unique, but it originally means a 'narrative poem.' Like the kind used for old adventure stories."
"Yes, that's right!"
Kim Rae-bin nodded with a delighted expression.
"It sounds like TeSTAR used the word 'Epic' in a more emotional sense, closer to its original meaning. Is that correct?"
"You are exactly right. Just as stories always have ups and downs and obstacles, so do our lives, and I wanted to emphasize that all of it isn't just a process, but meaningful in itself!"
"Affirming the reality of the present. That's very beautiful."
A meticulous Q&A session proceeded step by step.
A clean, sincere conversation without any baiting or "aggro" took place. It was a luxury I hadn't experienced since debuting.
Truly low-stimulation healing!
"There were many reactions saying the lyrics are really pretty! I saw many comments saying there's almost no English and that the Korean was used very well. From what I know, the member Bae Se-jin took the lead in writing them...?"
"Ah, hmm. Yes... that's right."
"This hyung reads a lot of books!"
"Ah, so you're an avid reader!"
Normally, people who hate the idol concept would have clung to this and mocked it for being cringy, but results are what define public appeal.
Since it was the beginning of the year, people were feeling sentimental and highly praised the lyrics, getting swept up in the emotion.
Thanks to that, Bae Se-jin, who had participated heavily in the songwriting, looked shy yet couldn't hide his proud expression.
The MC, who was a famous former singer-songwriter, even praised how the singing style, song progression, and lyric pronunciation complemented each other, making Bae Se-jin's lips twitch as he tried to suppress a grin.
"Se-jin-ssi."
"Yes?"
"It's okay to smile as much as you want."
Ahaha!
The audience laughed comfortably and joyfully. Bae Se-jin, whose face had turned a bit red, eventually laughed too.
A shoot with zero stress!
No controversy, no competition, no probing questions.
"Then, please give us your final greeting!"
"Yes! At the start of the year, we didn't expect to receive such great love, so it's truly an honor. In the future, we, TeSTAR, will..."
After finishing the truly "healing" music talk show in a very peaceful atmosphere, the members left the set with warm expressions.
"That was very beneficial."
"Yeah. They were... a good person."
Since the program was like this from the start, one of the advantages was that no one felt like, "Man, we blew it, that was boring."
Moreover, the good news didn't end there.
"Hmm, the clip of this stage is getting a good reaction on SNS."
"Really?"
A short clip of the stage titled "TeSTAR's Raw Live" went mildly viral on SNS once again.
Since it was a performance on an educational program as a special guest rather than a music show, its rarity seemed to have concentrated the anticipation and demand.
-This is what a singer is.
-Wow, they're all seriously handsome. They're the pride of Korea. At this point, even if you're drunk on national pride, it's justified lol.
-Kuuu, can someone tell me when these younger brothers are having a concert? I want to go see them.
└They're doing a world tour soon~ but there are no tickets ㅠ
People who weren't usually interested in male idols were occasionally spotted showing interest just to show off that they were "on top of the trends."
Since there was no album and no prior promotion, there was nothing to nitpick regarding other stats.
It was a complete shutdown of any potential "aggro"!
And this demand was reflected in reality as well.
"I heard we got a scouting request for a concert hosted by Osung Card."
"Ah, that's where the VTIC sunbaenims performed last year, right?"
It was now almost like a formal promotion period.
Even when attending advertising events or K-POP concerts, there were many requests to include this song, "Epic," in the setlist.
Then, the song that actually required the least physical exertion would ironically become the highlight of the stage.
"Phew..."
"Huuu."
After the stage ended, several members were seen touching their ribs as if the experience of not being out of breath to the point of their lungs bursting was awkward.
"Ahem, it definitely is less of a burden."
"Right."
It was almost the first time we had used a song with so little choreography as an event song.
It was different from before, when we would desperately create highlights by adding ad-libbed choreography where there was none.
—Epic! Epic!
[Yes, the song you've been waiting for is coming up now.]
—Ohhhh!
It was enough just to sing the song properly so it could be heard.
Keun Se-jin, who had been working on an arrangement with Kim Rae-bin because he wanted to use flashier and stronger choreography for the concert, was even quietly advised by the company through the leader.
"Um, since this wasn't a planned activity, the opinion came up that it might be better not to overdo it... since you're also preparing for the next comeback at the same time."
"Hmm... yes. I'll take the members' physical condition into account and manage it well."
The song itself was doing so well that the reaction was already great.
Their bodies were much more comfortable, yet they could hear massive sing-alongs during performances.
Keun Se-jin muttered this, looking pleased yet slightly conflicted.
"Oh~ is this how Young-rin sunbaenim feels?"
"From a composer's perspective, I think it's a very grateful and meaningful experience to satisfy such diversity!"
As he said, it was fresh.
Everyone spent their days handling the schedule with faces that seemed to say, "I guess things like this happen too."
Of course, everyone thought this would end eventually.
The timing was just good.
So they just spent their days busily working and sleeping, enjoying it like a pleasant event.
Then one day, a few weeks later.
"Hmm."
It was dawn after finishing the schedule. While lying in bed scrolling through my smartphone, I found an article on a portal site.
[The monster rookie who pushed TeSTAR off the charts...]
I had a feeling before I even finished reading it.
It's a media play article.
Another monster rookie?
Still, seeing the expression "pushed off the charts" meant we had lost the number one spot on the digital charts.
It means a team has climbed up while I wasn't monitoring closely.
I clicked to check the content of the article.
Of course, I had no intention of saying something stupid like "How can a rookie beat our group?"
I'm already grateful for how many weeks we've held on with this song.
Besides, if it was a girl group or a solo artist, it was quite common for a rookie's song to suddenly pop up. It wasn't anything to be surprised about.
This is an industry where seniority means nothing.
Which rookie girl group from a big agency made a comeback or debuted... Hmm, it could be a rapper.
Predicting a few teams and names, I scrolled through the article.
And I encountered an unexpected description.
—The co-ed idol group HaloHe-im has been drawing attention with the #Look_up challenge on video platforms, capturing the MZ generation...
"..."
Even after re-reading it, the description didn't change.
Co-ed?
A co-ed idol group made a proper debut... hit it big on SNS... and took number one?
It was a description where I didn't even know where to start rebutting.
I thought co-ed groups were extinct.
Of course, there are exceptions to every formula and trend.
Instead of scoffing, I immediately ran a search for the group.
—HaloHe-im.
They had only debuted a week ago.
As expected.
I figured it hadn't been long.
They seemed to have released image teasers on January 1st and ran promotions and viral marketing mainly on video platforms like TickTackTok.
And the company...
Hmm, it's a label I've never heard of.
Of course, there was almost no chance it was a truly zero-base small company.
I knew it.
With a simple additional search, I found out that this label was a subsidiary of Young-rin's company.
The main judge of Ajusa... and the idol who first taught me that idol data could be turned into money.
It was even said that Young-rin was in charge of producing.
—Young-rin of Saint You has been active as a producer, completing the construction of HaloHe-im's musical worldview...
The description continued, saying she had joined forces with the image director who had created her prime.
Is that where the buzz came from?
Even so, a co-ed idol group was a risky attempt.
They are vulnerable to dating rumors, and it's easy for the fandom to either not coalesce well or become excessively light.
It's several times harder to maintain the value of the name in the long run.
A company with that kind of reputation would make such an experimental attempt with trainees they're debuting?
With their own flagship idol fronting as the producer?
I pressed my brow.
...Young-rin isn't the type of person to play around with kids' lives...
No, I don't know.
I... just sold data. There's no way I'd properly know what Young-rin's personality is like.
Still, just as I was frowning at a lingering sense of unease and about to restart my search...
First, I need to find out exactly how they blew up...
At that moment, my eyes fell on HaloHe-im's profile.
"...?"
Since I reflexively check direct competitors first due to my job, I had scanned the guys' faces first.
The female members.
Those faces... looked familiar.
"..."
I immediately moved my hands and ran a search again using those members' names.
This time on WeTube.
And among the pouring videos, I found a "cyber wrecker" account.
—The reason why those who shared the same roof as TeSTAR ended up re-debuting?
"..."
Fuck.
"Hey."
"What is it, Moondae-Moondae?"
"Do you remember this group?"
I handed my smartphone screen directly to Keun Se-jin. He, who was getting ready for bed, had a "what's this all of a sudden" look on his face but took the phone without a word.
And as soon as he checked the screen.
"Ah~"
Naturally, Keun Se-jin nodded.
Then, conscious of the already sleeping Seon A-hyun, he whispered in a low voice.
"Um, the ones who almost debuted as Be My Girls... right? The ones who were originally under our agency."
That's right.
Be My Girls.
It was another idol survival program T1 had released in succession after the hit of Idol Inc.
The winners of this program naturally became part of T1 Stars and were scheduled to be the next girl group after Mirinae.
The problem was... it was all rigged.
—Be My Girls rankings were indeed rigged... Production crew arrested.
It was a bomb that exploded to the surface when T1 was being hammered for its ties to political circles.
Thanks to that, we eventually escaped T1, but...
This group hadn't even debuted, yet they were stuck for years because of their contracts.
So, Orbit, the company TeSTAR created while escaping, did this:
"Our company released them from their contracts when we acquired T1 Stars before the launch, right?"
It was a natural choice.
If you keep a group tied to the company without being able to debut them, this phenomenon occurs:
-Are you keeping the rigged idols? lol
-Wow, look at them stubbornly holding on without disbanding. Ugh.
You get challenged for supposedly supporting the rigging.
-They won't let them debut, but they won't let them go either. Wow, I feel so bad for the kids' lives.
-The company did the rigging, so why are they dumping it all on minors who aren't even adults?
-I didn't know TeSTAR would be like this even after acquiring T1 Stars. They're using the same despicable methods as other entertainment CEOs... My heart is really turning cold. That establishment-style thinking is truly disgusting.
Because you'd hear both of these opposite arguments at the same time.
In the first place, if you're not going to let them debut, it's normal to let them go.
The risk and the blow to one's conscience were too great to keep them under a "if I can't use them, no one can" dog-in-the-manger strategy.
I thought it had ended with no hard feelings on either side.
I didn't know they would do this well, though.
"...They're number one on the charts right now?"
"Yeah."
"Hmm."
Keun Se-jin rubbed his chin... then shrugged.
"Wow~ look at how the situation changed after we didn't monitor for barely two? At most three weeks. It really is a dynamic industry."
He immediately got out of bed.
"Let's check it out."
I knew he would.
We immediately moved quietly to the living room. And as we began a proper industry monitoring...
"What are you guys doing?"
"...!"
When I turned my head, Cha Yu-jin, who had come out to drink water, was staring blankly at us.
I thought my heart was going to drop.
"Sit down."
"What..."
And so, the three-man dawn overtime began.
The subject: competitor analysis.