Chapter 594
Chapter 594
“Hy-hyung! The reaction is amazing!”
“I see.”
“No, really! People are freaking out, saying the music is insane! Look!”
I looked through the bundle of comments Keun-dal handed me, which could be titled ‘Collection of Reactions to Doll Hunter New Season (OST Focused).’
The reviews were unanimously positive.
The director was smart about how he sliced it up.
Who would have thought he’d divide the OST by scene so meticulously and then drop the full version as the finishing touch during the final highlight? Even TeSTAR didn't know he'd go that far.
Thanks to that, my smartphone was blowing up too.
[Keun Se-jin: Ah, lol. TeSTAR hits it big again. Unbelievable.]
[Seon A-hyun: I’m so happy because it feels like all our hard work paid off! Watching the drama, I was really moved by how well our OST fit Se-jin hyung’s acting!]
[Ryu Cheong-woo Hyung: Agreed. Se-jin’s acting was so good it made the OST stand out even more.]
[Kim Rae-bin: Your words are most valid! If I may, I would like to ask Bae Se-jin hyung, the individual who portrayed the character in question, what his impressions were regarding this combination?]
Bae Se-jin replied a moment later.
[Bae Se-jin Hyung: I haven’t... seen it yet.]
[Keun Se-jin: ??]
[Cha Yu-jin: wwwwwhy?]
[Bae Se-jin Hyung: It’s the holiday break.]
[Bae Se-jin Hyung: Watching myself play a psychopathic murderer and die... while sitting next to my mother is a bit...]
Ah.
[Keun Se-jin: Lmao]
[Keun Se-jin: (That sounds right (C) emoticon)]
[Cha Yu-jin: Filial piety preserved lol]
[Seon A-hyun: You’ll be satisfied when you see it later! You were truly amazing!]
Well, I’m sure he will be.
I sent a link to one of the reaction posts as well.
[Bae Se-jin Hyung: ?]
[I gasped because Jung Yi-sol was so handsome when he appeared in the snowy mountains. Is it legal to cast a spell on a psycho that makes snowflakes look like flower petals? Bae Se-jin, take responsibility. Take responsibility for everything.]
The reaction was explosive.
[Ryu Cheong-woo Hyung: Those are some kind words, haha.]
[Cha Yu-jin: YEAHHHHHH]
[Kim Rae-bin: (Clapping emoticon)]
[Keun Se-jin: Lol (Screenshot of the content)]
[Keun Se-jin: They’re telling you to take responsibility, hyung-nim?]
In the end, Bae Se-jin fled.
He didn't show his face in the group chat for a while after that.
Anyway, the TeSTAR members were already busy exchanging well-wishes like this.
Of course, this is only possible because we know we’re the ones who composed it.
The fans' reactions were generally along these lines:
They were in the middle of deducing and agonizing over it.
Then, people who were starting to get a feel for it began to appear.
Jung Yi-sol’s intense theme song, which had drawn exclamations of awe as soon as the season was released.
An atmosphere of reasonable suspicion was forming, guessing that TeSTAR might have composed it.
Of course, this excited reaction was kept in check to some extent.
They were restraining themselves to that degree.
But as expected, the bastards who had been waiting for this moment were already taking screenshots and mocking them.
They never miss an opportunity.
“Um... Hyung, about what you’re looking at right now.”
“Hmm, it’s nothing.”
I turned off the smartphone screen without regret and tossed it aside.
This wasn't something that would last long, so there was no need to get worked up.
“Other people will take care of it.”
“...??”
There wasn't just one or two interested parties watching this.
I stood up leisurely.
And two days later, at midnight.
The production team of TeSTAR’s variety show, unable to hold back any longer, released a pre-release teaser.
[The hit drama, Doll Hunter Season 2]
[And the K-POP obsessives who composed the OST, TeSTAR...]
[Curious about which OST it is?]
Various OSTs and theme songs from Doll Hunter played one after another on the screen in a montage.
And just when the viewers were heart-flutteringly speculating.
[The OST composed by TeSTAR is...]
[※ None! ※]
Then, the members of TeSTAR appeared on screen one by one, sitting in a circle for a meeting with serious faces.
[Bae Se-jin: I want you to trust me and try modifying the song.]
[Lee Se-jin: We’re not the kind of group that settles for ‘this is good enough,’ right?]
[Park Moon-dae: We need to create something that will make people... gasp in shock the moment the OST starts playing in the drama.]
Then, the camera zoomed in.
Bae Se-jin, who had been silently keeping his mouth shut amidst the white noise, finally spoke.
[Bae Se-jin: What do you think?]
The screen went black.
Then, a single, elegant string melody surged in, racing toward a dissonance before suddenly blending with acapella and exploding.
[TeSTAR’s Workshop PART.2]
That was it.
The production team had openly laid out Jung Yi-sol’s theme song in the pre-release teaser.
They claimed it first!
And the viewers exploded too.
Before the day was even over, news of TeSTAR’s composition began to surface in every community and social media platform where people talked about the entertainment industry.
Including the fans' promotional posts, of course.
[Crazy, this is TeSTAR.]
[An idol participated in a drama OST, but there are no lyrics?]
[A character theme song composed by the actor himself.]
I chuckled.
It would have been fun to let this sit a bit longer.
I wondered how much the cyber wreckers would have hyped up the anonymous OST composer while putting TeSTAR down.
They would have bitten into it even more excitedly, saying it was similar to the Starry Melody account incident.
That would have gathered a lot of attention by stirring up domestic controversy, but...
Since there’s a risk of backlash, this level is just safe enough.
The timing was perfect.
The production team was happy to receive hot interest that completely killed the controversy that had flared up in Part 1, and the Doll Hunter side was happy to promote the drama once more.
And TeSTAR...
The image of ‘unique and bold attempts’ they were trying to establish overseas became even more solid.
In any case, to go global, you had to capture the target audience properly rather than aiming for general popularity.
From this concert tour, which featured all sorts of new and conceptual attempts including a worldview and choices, to the OST, where they composed an intense classical piece using only acapella without lyrics or vocals.
TeSTAR was currently strengthening its distinct characteristics.
“Hyung, here... look at this! A post was uploaded to an overseas forum!”
“Oh.”
The overseas reactions Keun-dal occasionally couldn't help but excitedly show me were the same.
And word reached me as well.
‘Sorry to bother you during your vacation, but there’s a request to release an OST album.’
‘The director is hanging around, saying he wants to find a way to use the vocal track TeSTAR originally composed.’
It could be summarized into those two things.
In short... everyone had caught the scent.
This is going to blow up.
It was a move to row while the tide was in.
TeSTAR could definitely create synergy.
I lay down on the sofa.
Done.
Everything I aimed for was finished.
The foundation was complete.
Now, just one proper comeback.
One very decisive comeback that could explode while riding this momentum... and the goal would be right in front of me.
Good.
There will be a lot to do once the vacation is over.
It was then.
Keun-dal, who had been intently rewatching a clip from the first episode of TeSTAR’s composition variety show, suddenly asked as if he just remembered.
“Hyung, but why is the song title... this ‘Misapprehension’?”
It was a question about the title of Jung Yi-sol’s theme song that we had composed.
Hmm.
“The word means ‘misunderstanding.’”
I answered, recalling the conversation we had at the time.
— Since the character in the protagonist’s delusions is becoming increasingly distorted until they finally meet their end, I want to further emphasize that sense of misalignment.
“...So. I suggested choosing a word that was intentionally difficult rather than a title that could be understood at a glance.”
— I thought it would be fun for people to look it up and think about the song title one more time.
“Because that would fit the theme of the song better.”
“Ooh...”
Keun-dal hurriedly searched for it and then nodded vigorously.
“Wow! That... I think that’s really cool. Finding it out and recognizing it for yourself.”
His eyes sparkled.
“...”
And I suddenly felt certain about the guess I’d had before.
Keun-dal.
This guy likes ‘discovering’ things.
Of course, I don't mean literally digging in the ground.
He found joy in recognizing and finding things that weren't easily visible, things that could be accidentally passed by.
Just like how he had gone out of his way to find fancams of performers who were buried without recognition but put their souls into intense stages.
‘Gun1234.’
It became even clearer when I remembered how he had endured for a while without becoming lethargic while watching the stages of unknown singers I had uploaded to that account.
And considering that this guy used to be the Status Window...
Hmm.
“Park Moon-dae.”
“....... Yes!”
“Are you interested in scouting or something like that?”
“...Pardon?”
I looked at him.
“Finding kids who want to work hard but aren't doing well and sponsoring them, things like that.”
“Uh, uh, since you put it that way, hyung... yes! I think that would be great!”
Keun-dal seemed to contemplate for a moment before readily agreeing.
“Hyung, you basically sponsored me too...”
What are you talking about?
“No. Not me, you.”
“...??”
I mean...
“Are you interested in rookie development for celebrities?”
“...!?”
“Our company is starting to need people like that.”
Keun-dal stared at me with his mouth agape.
“Tell me if you’re interested.”
“...!! A-ah, no!!”
I watched him for a moment as he shouted, asking how he could possibly do something like that.
“I-I’ll think about it.”
“Sure.”
The words finally came out.
He had a nervous face, but he looked strangely excited.
He probably never expected to hear something like this from me, but now that he was actually hearing it and thinking about it, it seemed like various thoughts were crossing his mind.
And it didn't seem like they were bad thoughts.
Hmm.
Maybe a talented professional will emerge in the near future.
I looked at him, smiling inwardly.
Then, I suddenly remembered one more thing I’d been thinking about.
“By the way, why don't you start speaking casually to me soon?”
“...?!”
Honestly, it was getting embarrassing to hear formal speech from the youngest members of the team.
On that side, one is a foreigner and the other is... well, Kim Rae-bin, so I just accept it.
But even Keun-dal was horrified.
“T-that also... please give me some time to think...!”
Fine.
“Think about it by the next vacation.”
“...! Of course!”
It seemed he understood perfectly that he’d be coming here for the next vacation too.
I chuckled as I watched him stumble toward the dryer to check on the laundry.
He seemed to have become much more comfortable.
Of course, a lot of time had passed while he was settled in this officetel.
The vacation is almost over now.
Only one day left.
I picked up my smartphone to see if there was any special news from the other guys.
Nothing major.
Kim Rae-bin seemed to have grown fond of Cha Yu-jin’s family, and Ryu Cheong-woo seemed to have had a close volleyball match with either Cha Yu-jin’s older or younger brother.
And Keun Se-jin said he went on a short domestic trip with his mother.
Seon A-hyun seemed to have met up with Bae Se-jin for a bit.
Good.
Overall, the vacation was ending peacefully.
Tomorrow, should I buy some new rice, get some garae-tteok made, and make some royal tteokbokki?
It was just as I was about to close my smartphone.
“...?”
A short text message had arrived.
From someone who wasn't a member.
“...!”
And an attached image.
A countdown.
“.......”
It’s finally here.
40 days.
That was the notice for VTIC’s military discharge.