Chapter 631
Chapter 631
What was the concept of TeSTAR’s latest title track, Bad Feelings?
Suits, the office, and easy listening.
A modern suit concept for adult men.
To define it in one word: "Something everyone would probably like."
It was a comfortable, sophisticated concept that wouldn't polarize the fandom and would be easily accepted by the general public without any burden.
The goal—to ensure not a single person who showed interest would leak away, keeping them consuming the music with a satisfied "This is good"—had worked perfectly.
Of course, just as pressing one side of a balloon makes the other side pop out, the advantages came with disadvantages.
It felt a bit plain.
They say a true superstar drives both haters and fans crazy. Having no "dislikes" also meant there wasn't a layer of the audience feeling an intense, cult-like attraction. Avoiding risk was synonymous with lowering the ceiling of their potential impact.
Furthermore, the released original content, Ghost Story Office, felt more like a drama than a concept for the song itself. In the end, the independent and unique identity of the track became even flatter.
It almost felt like a mere OST.
In conclusion, that was why even Kim Rae-bin’s fan instantly had these thoughts the moment she clicked play on the video titled [Special] TeSTAR - 'Bad Feelings' (?? Ver.).
‘They were conscious of it.’
TeSTAR was being TeSTAR again.
It seemed they had racked their brains once more to stubbornly bring out a supplementary measure.
Well, then... with the same title as the new song, a question mark attached as if something were different, and "intense and unique" as the expected descriptors, only one thing came to mind.
‘Is it that hip-hop version?’
The wildly rebellious, old-school hip-hop remix they had performed at the Glastonbury Festival.
They were likely releasing a separate choreography or performance video of that to calm the controversy with extra content.
Isn't that what TeSTAR was always confident in? The stage!
Kim Rae-bin’s fan rubbed her temples.
"Ah... I can see right through their move."
Still, it was only right to let herself be fooled. Her heart softened a bit at their attempt to show something.
After all, everyone said they had become legends at Glastonbury, but since it was a one-off performance abroad, accessibility was low, and many domestic fans hadn't been able to see it properly.
TeSTAR’s attempt to somehow make up for that and take care of the fans was quite nice.
...That was what she thought while the WeTube app was loading.
[-]
The thumbnail that appeared was a blood-stained spiderweb.
"...??"
What—what was this?
‘Horror again?’
Startled, Kim Rae-bin’s fan looked again and realized it wasn't blood, but red lasers.
And the spiderweb wasn't a spiderweb either...
‘...Wires?’
She was right.
In the video, countless transparent wires, visible only by their white and red reflections against the black void, intersected. They were all exquisitely avoiding the lasers.
Between them, following the red light of the lasers, droplets of condensed water vapor slid down the wire strands.
Drip.
[Get this feeling]
Simultaneously, the camera dropped from the top of the screen, capturing a body hanging upside down below.
"...!"
But it wasn't limp.
With his entire body stretched straight, the figure descended while gracefully spinning half a turn, absorbing the momentum elastically as he stopped in mid-air.
A feline sense of balance.
A wire was connected to only one of his toes.
And he wore a suit that fit his entire body tightly.
But it was definitely not for an office worker.
The camera panned down from his feet, tracing a beast-like, professional black jumpsuit that hugged his frame. A clean, tall body without a speck of dust.
Blonde hair slicked back with pomade, and a black tattoo and barcode on his nape reflected slightly like holographic light.
Hanging from the wire like a spider on its web, Seon A-hyun, posed gracefully upside down, smiled at the camera.
[Then I'll fall and fall]
"Holy Shit."
The sound of shattering glass, the noise of lasers, the wail of a siren.
Those attention-grabbing alert sounds were modulated into a strangely pleasant dissonance, catching a heart-pounding melody.
However, the rhythm and the voices were composed and relaxed. As if taking slow, leisurely steps.
[Bad feelings
follow you til the end]
The image of Seon A-hyun descending from the air changed every second into the other members.
Ryu Cheong-woo, Cha Yu-jin, Park Moon-dae, Bae Se-jin, Kim Rae-bin...
The last one was Lee Se-jin.
Standing upside down against the black floor, he supported himself with only one hand, drawing a smooth arc as his entire body flipped forward to land in the center.
Then, staring straight into the camera, he walked forward, exchanging high-fives or gestures with the members waiting around him.
A single spotlight poured down.
And the moment the members took their formation together, red and blue lasers flashed from all directions.
[Uuuuuuu—]
To the high-pitched ad-lib that wailed like a long siren, the members moved their heads slowly, flashy piercings integrated with metal earphones glinting on each of their ears.
The keywords were complete.
Wire action, earphones, numbering tattoos, suits.
‘Ah.’
She realized it then.
This was a secret agent, a spy concept.
As Lee Se-jin beckoned with his hand from the center, the members posed silently in the darkness.
Lee Se-jin tapped the earphone in his ear. A low voice began over a silent accompaniment that consisted only of rhythm.
[Bad— feelings
Don't escape
Think of me]
A noisy, tension-filled accompaniment began to surge immediately after.
Gestures made by long fingers clad in finger-suits were captured in slow motion by the camera.
[Oh— ohohoh]
Against a backdrop of sounds like police sirens, the boisterous accompaniment ran wild over a slow, relaxed bass.
The melody was the same as the original song. But the structure was the opposite.
‘Starting from the chorus?’
The familiar melody hammered at her ears in a distorted way, pretending to be familiar before suddenly bolting away as it pleased.
As if it were deceiving her.
[Bad— feelings]
They seemed to perform the iconic choreography from the original song—using neat, classic umbrellas—only to throw them away behind their backs.
[Take it with you
Take it out every day, look—]
Instead, they unfastened the harnesses on their shoulders to use them.
"You crazy bastards."
Between the spotlights and laser lights, leather straps alternated between restraints and wire action, showcasing a flashy and refined synchronized dance.
Long legs sliced through the air nonchalantly.
In the center, Kim Rae-bin, with his sanpaku eyes lowered, draped a harness over his neck and snapped his body to the side.
A laser passed right by his cheek.
[Bad— feelings]
Music boxes and ornaments displayed in the background were hit by lasers instead, exploding and splattering paint.
The members didn't dodge; they were hit by the red and blue paint pouring down in spiderweb-like arcs.
[Uuuuuuu—]
An ultra-low bass ad-lib.
Wiping the paint from his cheek with his thumb, Cha Yu-jin grinned, baring his canines. His pomade-slicked hair was now disheveled.
"..."
Kim Rae-bin’s fan swallowed hard.
The story was roughly... right. Seeing the KIS logo just now, it must be connected to the ghost story company from the original song and content.
No, that had to be it.
‘Right, so, they said the attraction worldview is about freeing the AI TeSTAR, and after that, it's roughly implying that TeSTAR became secret agents investigating that ghost story company...’
But none of that was important!
No, she didn't feel the slightest urge to snark or criticize them for using the attraction's sequel plot again. Why? Because!
[Even if the sun sets and the moonlight falls
Feelings you won't forget]
TeSTAR’s outfits changed once. The leather suits, which looked worn as if soaked in wire action, were now more like stage costumes with more exposure.
[Those feelings—]
Kim Rae-bin’s exposed bare back and sides, covered in holographic tattoos, flashed by. They were filled with his own signature in Hanja and various musical codes.
Kim Rae-bin’s fan slammed her head down.
"Are they insane?"
Yes. The suits in the original song were a neat, sexy-adjacent concept. But... this was completely blatant.
Naturally, a competitor came to mind.
The rival who had released music at the same time and was widely praised for having a more "authentic" concept than TeSTAR.
‘VTIC at least kept their dignity.’
VTIC, who had taken on a dark fantasy concept of usurping the throne of the afterlife, had a strange sense of rising momentum, like a flame flickering amidst decay.
In short, they maintained their grace.
But TeSTAR...
"Grace my ass, they're just appealing to my basest instincts, f*ck..."
It was blatant.
Kim Rae-bin’s fan groaned.
Don't they say that once you've achieved something, you develop a desire for prestige? Don't they want to maintain a literary narrative of artistic merit or symbolism? Do these guys have no shame?
To be honest about this naturally shameless, calculated move...
"I f*cking love it."
She loved it like crazy.
Her tastes having been sniped, Kim Rae-bin’s fan began typing on her keyboard.
All her past shouting for them to stop this kind of otaku-pandering concept crumbled before her preferences.
Meanwhile, in the video, TeSTAR changed the background and pushed the choreography and song to their climax.
The storyline was the same.
The goal they had infiltrated via wires was finally revealed.
[Umumm, uuuum, um—]
A brief shot of Ryu Cheong-woo’s sharp profile as he looked into something kept in a display case.
And in the next scene, in front of a massive computer, the blue light of the screen brushed over Park Moon-dae’s long fingers as he tapped the keyboard.
What he was searching for was...
It was... the traces of the Black Torso.
‘Ah.’
Kim Rae-bin’s fan recognized it too.
In the scenario of the attraction where passengers save TeSTAR, it was said that the passengers were explicitly set as TeSTAR fans.
‘And that was expressed as the Torso.’
And it was already an established theory in the fandom that it was the same Torso Seon A-hyun had danced with.
In other words, the Torso was... a fan.
‘No way...’
Then, the search results on the screen appeared as an image.
The AI that had been the Black Torso was being kept here in a new form.
A small, worn-out teddy bear hugging a heart cushion.
And the next scene.
[Uuuuuuu—]
Ryu Cheong-woo, who had been looking into the display case, disappeared back into the ceiling via the wires.
With that large hand of his holding the worn-out teddy bear as if it were precious.
"..."
Subtitles appeared.
The mission was complete.
[pipipipipipipi---]
And with the laboratory in the background exploding after a short countdown, the music video came to an end.
Thump.
Just like her heart.
Like... her heart!
"..."
Kim Rae-bin’s fan had a premonition.
‘Kim Rae-bin...’
My real life is ruined.
And that day, even that remix track was updated on the album app.
While it was common to remix songs for special stages at the end of the year, it was rare to go this far and release a full-blown remix music video.
Especially with a concept that poured in every possible element, from sex appeal to fan service.
Excited fans began shouting to themselves across all social media and communities. It wasn't even promotion anymore; it was a collective monologue.
Of course, it wasn't that there were never any rare, sensible responses.
Specifically, regarding the results.
Furthermore, since the original track was closer to easy listening, this had been the smart choice for the sake of the charts.
The so-called "stats-obsessed fans" showed such rational reactions.
No, they tried to be rational, but they failed.
It was certain that such an intense concept would be polarizing, but the promotions were already over anyway. There were overwhelmingly more people running wild than those expressing dislike.
Because it wouldn't happen anyway.
And as if by magic, a response came.
[Notice: Application for <TeSTAR> Music Show Audience]
Suddenly, a notice for audience applications for a major network music broadcast appeared.
No matter how you looked at it, there was only one purpose.
It meant TeSTAR was going to promote with the remix.
Just like that, TeSTAR restarted their promotion period on their own.
Even the fans who had lost their minds and were screaming for promotions were taken aback by this sudden, aggressive move.
Their extremely high digital staying power was the factor that guaranteed TeSTAR’s clear advantage. There was no need to split and collapse that just for the sake of fan service.
Updating the album with the remix, or showing it as a concert stage during the tour if that wasn't enough... wasn't that sufficient?
‘Why...?’
It didn't seem like TeSTAR wouldn't know that!
In the midst of that, more news arrived.
...??
└ What?
└ TeSTAR is going on a US variety show. It’s popped up in three or four places now.
- TeSTAR is also teased for the Nerdy Andy Show.
└ Huh?
└ What??
That wasn't the end.
The start of a true conquest had begun.