Chapter 624
Chapter 624
Glastonbury was in full swing.
Hannah, Cha Yu-jin’s middle school classmate who had been following TeSTAR with interest ever since she ran into them at a hotteok stall, stood with her mouth agape, staring up at the stage.
Boom.
A dark, old-school hip-hop sound was vibrating through the air.
Skreeeeeee!
On the giant screen before her eyes...
Through the distorted band sound—reminiscent of a revving engine or the howling of a beast—came a low, deep rap.
It was the rearranged intro of their title track, Reload.
[Get this feeling
Then I'll fall and fall]
The choreography involved heavy, thumping steps against the floor, accompanied by a crescendo of drums.
Matching the beat, a performer wearing a hat tilted his head. He had a decadent aura, his beauty mark and piercing sanpaku eyes standing out.
Kim Rae-bin.
[Umm—]
He lowered his stance.
A distorted electric bass kicked in.
Popping and bouncing from his shoulders to his toes, he opened his mouth.
[I sleepwalk
Walking across the asphalt, slowly, all the way
Chill out, calmly, still, just step step,
(Reload)]
Behind his casual, tossing hand gestures, the other members’ choreography seemed to burst out in all directions before they aligned themselves, crossing their arms.
A threatening movement, as if prowling closer, spread along the heavy rhythm.
Over it, a gritty rap.
[Still reloading
Fearless, feverless, without you—click]
The next runner popped out from behind the hand gestures, tilting his head.
Cha Yu-jin.
[(yeah, Reload—)]
‘Ah!’
Beneath that grinning face, his bounces and steps flowed as if he were playing.
Instead of a standard accompaniment, what followed was a super-high note.
[Woo—]
Park Moon-dae’s harmonies, playing in that high octave, surged in as if piercing upward.
[I’m sleepwalking again today, every day
Because you appear even in the dreams I have
No resolve, no gritting of teeth, nothing helps]
Along with the lingering high-pitched voice, the rap poured out again.
Using their limbs rhythmically to control the intensity of the beat, they stood scattered across the stage as if bouncing... then synchronized.
They slammed their bodies down as if collapsing onto the floor.
[Get out]
It was extreme.
Hannah gasped, her eyes nearly popping out of her head.
This was... so different from the previous song!
Yet, it wasn't just sleek, bright, and exciting like the original version either.
[I’ve received so much]
Thump.
The choreography shifted in perfect unison.
[I can’t throw any of it away]
Vroom!
Intense, piercing high notes, or a relentless, battering rap.
English translations flashed on the screen behind the stage, but unfortunately, almost no one was looking at them closely.
The performance, vocals, and rap were all attacking the audience with such aggression!
[I’ll give you a gift, too]
The performers gripped their handheld mics tight, spitting out heavy, fast old-school hip-hop.
If it had stayed like this, it might have been interpreted as a sign of respect for historical tradition.
But the moment the chorus was supposed to hit...
[Bad feelings.]
A massive, twisted electronic sound slammed into the speakers.
“…!!”
If this were traditional old-school hip-hop, this would be the timing for a crude, easy-to-follow repetitive phrase.
Instead, an insanely heavy and frantic MIDI sound, close to complextro, compressed the very air.
And then, the electronic melody.
[Bad feelings
fill me up,
roll it underground]
Moving their entire bodies in large, slow, yet powerful motions, they filled the stage.
Cha Yu-jin tilted his head and twisted the corner of his mouth, completing the gestures and choreography.
Far from being natural, far from being hippie... it was a "to hell with it all" kind of progression!
The choreographic synchronization and performance were calculated purely for impact, reaching a level that felt almost like madness.
It was closer to the essence of the modern entertainment art industry.
[Bad feelings
pick you up,
roll it underground]
To hell with attitude or whatever; I’m going to do exactly what I want.
As if asserting that, as if screaming for everyone to watch, they tore across the stage.
‘What is this...?!’
In truth, the moment she saw TeSTAR’s first live song, she had thought:
—I guess they organized their performance to suit Glastonbury!
A vibe that was a bit more like a live band than usual, emphasizing vocals and emotion.
Lyrical and overwhelming sentiment!
That felt more "natural."
It fit the spirit pursued by the Glastonbury Festival, which has its roots in hippie culture, and it seemed like the desirable stance for a performer attending this glorious event for the first time.
Moreover, hadn't they already succeeded in shifting the mood with a movie OST featuring English lyrics?
She thought they were trying to restrain the "K-pop-ness" as much as possible to go for a traditional, Europe-friendly approach.
But.
[Fill in the blank]
A harsh choreography exploded before her eyes along with LED fireworks.
The largest member, who had been gesturing casually, now used his full range of motion without a trace of a smile, leading the choreography with an overwhelming, intimidating presence.
Just seeing that group dance on the screen made her body flinch.
[Ururururu—]
It was an intense display of individuality that felt like it could turn into a mess at any moment—like a patchwork of various wild animals stitched together!
It was closer to a feat of acrobatics.
High-difficulty individual choreography, vocals, and rap ad-libs popped out incessantly, continuing as if they were showing off their personal skills.
Breathlessly.
[Fill in the blank]
And then, the barely fluctuating electronic sounds grew calm.
[Fill in the blank with…]
Thump. Thump.
Between the members lined up to the slow, pulsing low notes of the bass, one person walked forward.
The member in the black jumper.
He looked around as if there was no rush and walked out to take his place at the center of the formation.
[These bad feelings]
Ryu Cheong-woo.
He stood in the center, finally returning to the chorus melody of the original song.
*
Ryu Cheong-woo remembered.
The conversation they had after seeing the structure of this stage.
—Yu-jin or Rae-bin will probably be the focus.
It was an obvious point.
If the song was rap-centric and required a strong image and personality, those two were the right fit for this team.
Park Moon-dae had nodded as well.
—Those two do suit this kind of concept well.
However.
—But since they both have such strong individual colors, we need something more if we want them to do their own thing while still pulling together as a group performance.
—Something more?
Ryu Cheong-woo stepped into the center.
—A center.
What is the thing that strong personalities need to be most careful of?
Distraction.
As the number of elements increases, the possibility that they will look unnatural together rather than creating synergy increases exponentially.
On the other hand, if they try too hard to match each other, the flavor of those intense individual parts ends up feeling a bit lacking.
Ultimately, in order for individuals to act as they please while still looking like one team...
—Balance and power.
The heart of the song, the chorus.
On stage, Ryu Cheong-woo tilted his head.
Around him, the members took their positions in the formation with razor-sharp movements.
And then, the vocals dropped.
[Don't you escape either
Think of me every morning]
At every point where the choreographic movements matched the melody, power was applied with such precision that it locked everyone's gaze.
The song and the group dance merged into one.
And then, the pleasant chorus melody.
[These Bad feelings]
As if taking a stroll.
Over the heavy accompaniment, his clear vocals pulled the song in an easy-to-listen direction, like a breath of fresh air.
The choreography no longer fought for dominance by frantically changing colors.
It was simply and skillfully concentrated around the center.
[These Bad feelings]
The focal point of concentration.
Within that, Ryu Cheong-woo finally thought.
That there had been no need to think at all.
[Take them with you, too
Bring them out every day, like I do]
‘It was this kind of feeling.’
There was no need for complex or deep reflections.
He knew what he had to do right now, and that was enough.
Now he knew.
[These Bad feelings]
The words saying it was okay to give up.
He didn't want to hear them.
The words telling him to sit down and rest.
He hated them.
Because...
—Because I am not a person who needs that.
The reason he didn't want pity or concern was simply because he didn't need them.
He was used to being a version of himself that could do anything.
Self-efficacy.
His generosity in taking care of others actually stemmed from that. Because he was a person filled with self-trust and belief, he could be relaxed and gentle in any situation.
Ryu Cheong-woo was not a man to be steeped in failure.
Thanks to the words that served as clues to remind him of that premise, Ryu Cheong-woo could now settle things without hesitation.
Like his original self.
[I’m chasing you
I’ll pop up again tomorrow morning]
No. Worries and doubts ought to disappear.
[Take them with you, too
Check them every day, like I do]
No, all those worries and conflicts weren't like him.
Worrying about a failure that hasn't even come yet isn't him.
Fretting over a failure that has already passed isn't him.
I am not that kind of person.
[Get out]
The band stopped.
Ryu Cheong-woo, having caught the melody that cut in, aimed for the timing to enter during the brief moment of silence on stage.
[—]
Now, let it go.
Like an arrow leaving the bowstring. Cutting through the air, passing the inflection point, and flying straight toward a single target.
Thump.
The right direction. The right position.
[But no more bad feelings!]
Zzzzzzzzzing—!
The beat dropped.
“Whew.”
His eyes sparkled, his breath was short, and everything on stage was in its right place.
Ryu Cheong-woo knew.
Because he had known from the very beginning.
[Full Draw (S)]
—When you draw the bowstring, I will be in the perfect position.
: Performance Composure +150%
I can do this.
[Release (EX)]
—The arrow finally takes flight.
: Performance Effect +180%
Fireworks exploded over the stage.
[No more bad feelings]
A clear, anchoring vocal hit the air.
Choreography that was powerful and held its movements with weight carved through the rap sampling and riff melody.
As if gathering at a single point, the focus shifted to the center.
With an unwavering concentration.
[Fill in the blank]
Soon, the latter half surged forward.
[Bad feelings
fill me up,
roll it underground]
Screams and exclamations poured out like spinal reflexes at Seon A-hyun’s shockingly sudden backflip.
But the core of the song did not waver.
‘Right here.’
Holding it tight, the song’s focus came alive.
Beneath the mid-to-low voice, the drums beat like a heart, and Ryu Cheong-woo, leading the chorus melody, remained unchanged.
[Bad feelings
pick you up,
roll it underground]
Behind Cha Yu-jin and Lee Se-jin, who popped out for the dance break, Park Moon-dae screamed a high note, and the progression burst forth again, racing ahead.
[But no more bad feelings]
But the melodic chorus kept the song moving in the right direction.
Holding the mic, Ryu Cheong-woo stepped out to the center once more.
[I can run
Up there
To the stars
With words of concern
To the end of my thoughts]
A song filled with an unfamiliar language and erratic progressions.
But what pulled it back together at the end was Ryu Cheong-woo’s chorus.
It increased the song’s intuitiveness to the point where the audience could sing along.
[Bad feelings]
As hands pointed toward the sky, the members’ formation broke apart in all directions.
LED lights exploded.
“…….”
Silence.
The song was over.
People who had been confused about what this was, people with their mouths hanging open, people who had been frowning but were now staring as if spectating. And among them...
The impressed audience.
Waaaaaaaah!!
In the midst of it, Ryu Cheong-woo caught his breath.
And he realized perfectly.
It was fine if opinions were divided.
[Thank you!]
The stage was perfectly one.
TeSTAR had certainly left an impression.
*
[TeSTAR went to someone else's festival and did whatever they wanted]
From that point on, something began to change.